Yesterday I celebrated my 29th birthday.  More than all of the fun and surprises that Israel and the boys had planned for me, I couldn’t help but reflect on my life and how unbelievable my life’s journey has been thus far.  It’s been full of unexpected twists, but at the same time, it’s exactly what I’ve always wanted.  I would have never guessed that by the age of thirty I would be where I am now!  Married with 3 boys?  Living in the U.P?  A pastor’s wife?? (Yes, the last one was the most shocking of them all.)   God truly designed our lives to be a journey.  And what makes our life’s journey so extra amazing is all of the special people that we are able to cross paths with.  My life is nowhere near perfect, but I can honestly say that I am so happy.  There is no doubt in my mind that if we truly surrender our lives to Jesus, He is eagerly waiting to plan out our lives in such a way that would fulfill every desire of our hearts.  Many times I hold on to what I want to do, but God has given me enough evidence in my life to convince me that I can trust in Him.

I feel like my life is just beginning…to become real.  And the reality is that sin has dominated our world.  No matter how much I deny it, my parents are getting older.  Family and friends may pass away without an unwavering faith and trust in Jesus.  My pets have less than a decade left.  Someone that I am close with will suffer from some fatal sickness and disease.  Life as I know it is about to get ugly.

So, as I gear up for the big 3-0, and this new chapter of our lives, I resolve to do the following:
– Fulfill my parents’ (& Israel’s parents’) life dreams
– Appreciate my family and friends more
– Spend more quality time with my pets
– Love people more
– Pray for people more
– Build my faith so that when trials come, I will be unmovable.

Here are some pics from my favorite birthday ever:

Karen (our boys’ grandma from church who is pushing 70 – don’t tell her I told!!) secretly collected loads and loads of rocks from Lake Superior and Boston farm to help us finish up our landscaping.  I was absolutely speechless.  It was nearly all of the rocks shown in this picture.  That is several hundred pounds of rock hauling, people.  In the last batch, she put ribbons on the top of the buckets and delivered them for my birthday!

My “surprise” birthday party which ended up being the day before my birthday since Manu and Micah could not keep it a secret.  Daddy got frustrated and said, “I’m never gonna take you boys shopping for presents with me again!”  He was totally serious.  HAHAHA! 

I knew about the bike.  He bought it for me like 2 months ago.  He did surprise me with a bike trainer so I can train for my triathlon in my room during the winter!  I just ran 6 miles and they surprised me right when I came back.  He made me pose for this.  Really.

Dinner was veggie-bulgogi tacos which we all ate together on our bed while watching an animal documentary called Life.

Yummy.

On the day of my birthday, we went out for brunch, took pictures together outside, and then went out to dinner.  No dishes on that day…just a lighter wallet.

Our three boys.

The reasons why I am so lucky…most of the time.  🙂

Our family on the day that I lived for 29 years – Monday, October 4, 2010.

I was not able to mention all of the other special gifts, cards, emails, and the overwhelming FB wall posts.  Thank you so, so much for all of you who made this birthday so extra special.  I feel so blessed and undeserving to have you as part of my life.

-Judy