The Big THREE-OH

Today for my big thirtieth birthday, I decided to list some of my favorite things (yes, you should be singing the song from Sound of Music in your mind…raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…) So, here are a few of MY favorite things…

…enjoying watching cartoons in bed this morning w/ Rufio & Autumn.

…watching Rufio try to help Autumn brush her hair, but Autumn is little miss independent and wanted to do it herself.

…letting Autumn wear the necklace that Dad bought for me for my birthday and letting Autumn think it’s hers.

…seeing Autumn put her babies in the chairs in the formal living room and covering them up w/ her dish towels.

…soaking up the sun outside while Autumn & Andrew had fun playing on the fort.

…having Autumn & Andrew run up and down this beautiful walkway Dad put in.

…getting some cute pictures of Autumn & Andrew in these old fashioned wash tubs.

…capturing a cute and tender moment of cousins.

…seeing this beautiful butterfly hanging upside down from a flower and being able to get the perfect shot before it fluttered away to enjoy the sunny day.

…laughing at Autumn & Andrew having so much fun w/ each other.

…adoring Autumn’s laugh and beautiful smile.

…savoring the amazing taste of egg nog. I love that stuff!

…getting these great earrings from Mom & Dad and this awesome movie from Lexie & Jon. I secretly wish I were Queen Latifah and my family calls me Queen Lisa-tifah. She's so sassy and successful confident and just awesome all around.

…discovering this awesome green lizard sunbathing on the lawn chair outside.

…wondering why Andrew is wearing a jacket and Autumn is walking around in a swimsuit.

…devouring the food we had for my special birthday dinner. It’s a tradition that we get to pick whatever we want for our birthday dinner. Usually I request rouladen or homemade egg rolls, but those are so much work and I wanted Mom to be able to enjoy the day w/ us and not have to be tied up w/ cooking the whole time. So, we had a shrimp boil (even though I don’t eat the shrimp). We had red potatoes and corn on the cob and sausage in there and it was TASTY! Maggie & Josie came over to eat w/ us, too, which was fun.

…being ecstatic about this GORGEOUS cake that Lexie & Jon brought up from the Cake Plate.

…questioning if these flowers were real or fake b/c they looked so amazing.

…making a wish while blowing out my candles.

…laughing to myself when I realized Autumn is definitely my daughter b/c she is chowing down on this delectable cake and taking bites that are way bigger than her mouth.

…wishing I could make the temperature of the pool warmer before jumping in b/c it was COLD…52 degrees!

…relaxing in the hot tub w/ Autumn Bottom.

…helping Autumn & Andrew splash Dad (and as you can see, losing horribly).

…cheesing it up for a picture of the only ones brave enough to get in the hot tub.

…laughing out loud while Autumn kept making Dad plug his nose and then pushing him under the water and then getting concerned if he was under too long and pulling him back above the water by his chin. Not only did she do it to him, but she did it to me & Lexie over and over and over.

…appreciating a cute picture when I see it. I just love this picture of Andrew & Jon and how Andrew’s feet are propped up on the side of the pool while he gives his Dad a hug around the neck.

…hosting everyone at my house to watch the BYU game (Mom & Dad don’t get the channel it was on at their house). Too bad BYU played so horribly and lost. But I loved having everyone here in my house. I have adopted the philosophy of “the more the merrier.”

…savoring these fresh out of the oven, warm and gooey, chocolate chip cookies.

…finishing off the day w/ this mint Utah Truffle that Rufio brought me special from Utah.

It was such a wonderful way to celebrate my thirtieth birthday. I remember being 12 or 13 years old and thinking that people in their 30’s were so mature and OLD! Well, now that I am 30 my thoughts on that have definitely changed. Time is so warped to me now. I still feel like I just graduated from high school a few years ago and I still can’t believe that I’ve been married, and am now a single divorced Mom. Thirty isn’t that old at all, and I’m excited to see what this next decade holds for me.

I think of all that I was able to do and accomplish in my 20’s. I went to the Marshall Islands for an internship, graduated from college, went on a mission, got my first real job, lived on my own, traveled to Hawaii and Las Vegas and Slovenija, lived w/ my best friend, got married, had a baby, got divorced, moved back to Texas to be close to family and start over, reconnected w/ old friends, etc. Looking back on the past 10 years the summation of it all is that I am blessed beyond compare.

I have had quite a few trials and struggles, but I am stronger b/c of it. I have learned a lot about myself through all that I have been through. I have been blessed w/ the best of friends and family to support me. It is true that being a mother is the greatest thing in the world and Autumn is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have come to realize that I was lucky beyond compare to be born into the family I was. I had the perfect childhood and have such phenomenal parents and hope that I do for Autumn what they have done for me. I have always felt loved and cared for, I was pushed to be my best and excel, I was taught to work hard and not take things for granted, I was taught how to gain my own testimony of the Gospel and live according to its principles through example, I was taught how to love and serve others and just be a good person in general. I want to give all these things to Autumn.

It all boils down to focusing on these three things for the next decade of my life:

LAUGHING

LOVING

LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST