grateful heart

the family on my birthday...and some yummy coconut cake

natalie helping me blow out my many candles

natalie and i at the zoo

my angel

This is going to be a sappy blog, but I can't help it. My heart is full, and I am grateful.

Several people asked me if I felt older on the day I turned 30. I don't feel any different (besides the growing belly), but lately, I sense an extremely strong feeling of gratitude. And that is how I feel about being 30--grateful.

God is teaching me about being content, in all circumstances, and I am not only content...my cup is full. Now to preface this, there are certainly times and weeks that go by that I wish for more...a bigger house so that we have more room for Natalie to play, a more organized basement, to live in a different community--away from the concrete jungle, a different career, a more fit body, a different hairstyle, the ability to travel and get away more, a new couch and a maid...maybe I should stop. Maybe it's the fact that I'm finally feeling better that my viewpoint has changed lately...maybe it's the good weather or the fact that I thoroughly cleaned my house today, but probably it is just a lesson from Above.

Because as I feel my little one kicking in my belly at this moment, I am so grateful. As I was praying today, I couldn't stop thanking God. Thanking Him for my precious angel, Natalie, who is so amazing and makes me smile and laugh every day. I am grateful for a safe and beautiful home, filled with memories of starting our precious family. I am thankful for a husband who is loving and an amazing father. I am so grateful for our precious children, who will bless our lives in unimaginable ways. I am beyond grateful for my parents, sister, grandparents and great-grandparents, who are living examples of gratitude. I am thankful for precious friends, near and far from the ATL, who keep me grounded and teach me about love. I even decided that I was grateful today that I can hear I-85 from my back deck (sometimes I pretend the roaring engines are the ocean). I am grateful for that because it is so easy to hop on the interstate, get to work, or get to the best little city of LaGrange or Athens, GA. I am thankful for my workplace--grateful for my colleagues and friends there who teach me so much and display wisdom and courage in their jobs. Thankful for the patients, who are amazing people that overcome great obstacles.

On my actual birthday, I had the best day, really I did! Dave took the day off and cooked me breakfast...my favorite--scrambled eggs and pancakes. Then it was off to the zoo to take Natalie for the first time. A yummy lunch at Dakota Blue made the day perfect...home for naps...then Dave took me out to dinner at the restaurant where we had our first date. He bought a yummy coconut cake and Natalie helped me blow out my candles to top off a perfect day.

As I stood in church this Sunday singing the last hymn of the service, I couldn't stop the tears. Because most of all, I know that I am grateful for my Saviour, who died so that I could live in the abundance of His love and grace. I am grateful for His words, which teach me about living with faith and hope. As I sang, "Because He Lives," I knew that I can continue to live each day no matter what lies ahead because He is with me.

And so to me, 30 = grateful.