Hello 30!!!

Today I celebrate the last day in my 20's. I have to say that the past few weeks have been rough and I was a little depressed about turning 30. But today a good friend of mine reminded me how blessed I am and how much I have to be thankful for, rather than being upset that I get to start another wonderful year of life. He made a good point, that so many people pay too much attention to what they don't have and haven't accomplished, and not enough attention to the things they do have. So, tonight, I want to take a moment to express how thankful I am for all I have and all that I have accomplished in my 29 years.
Just after turning 20 I met the man I would spend the rest of my life with. I fell fast and hard for him, and despite all the bumps in the road (some of them mountains), we are more in love now than we have ever been, or at least I am. :) Because of him, I know that my God is real and am so thankful that He is a forgiving God. I have never felt so loved or forgiven than I do at this point in my life. God has blessed me with such a beautiful husband and then sweetened the pot with our two precious babies. Seeing Natalie grow into such a sweet little girl makes me proud to be her mommy, and looking at Dallas's little smile makes my heart melt every time. Watching Chad with our kids makes me feel overwhelmed with the love of God. Only He could be so forgiving and gracious, because I know that most days I do not deserve such an amazing man. He would do anything for me and his kids and give us everything he has to make us happy. He is truly a man of God and he is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
So...I have to say my greatest accomplishment in my 29 years is marrying my best friend and being able to not only raise our two beautiful babies together, but also being able to help raise his other two amazing kids who I have grown to love like my own.
Although my career plans didn't turn out exactly how I wanted them to because I became a mom before I could become anything else, I was able to get into a great nursing school and am counting down the days (still a long way to go) to graduating and starting my nursing career. I feel accomplished in being accepted into the program and being able to maintain a good GPA while being a wife and raising my kids at the same time.
I am so thankful for my parents. Even at 29 years of age they still take care of me. I know that no matter what it is, I can call them and they will be there for me 200%. I am so thankful that after all the headaches and heartaches I put them through as a teenager they never once turned their back on me, even when I turned my back on them. No matter how hard I pushed them away they always pulled back 100 times harder. I am forever grateful for their patience and forgiveness. I am also lucky to have a brother and sister who have my back no matter what and love me despite my faults.
I am going into my 30's with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. Some of them have grown to be like brothers and sisters to me and I cherish their friendships dearly. I look forward to making more memories with all of them in the next decade of my life!!
So, thank you, friend for setting me straight and making me remember how blessed I am to have lived another year with such an amazing group of people around me and making me excited to be starting off yet another amazing year!
Here's to being 30 and fabulous....