29

I turned 29 on Sunday.

Every year for as long as I can remember, I have always thought up something crazy to ask for for my birthday. Like kittens or skydiving or an extravagant weekend shopping trip to NYC. I never wanted something normal or practical like a sweater or a pair of sensible shoes. For years, I would use my birthday as a way to indulge in the fabulous, ridiculous things in life and make my friends join me in the extravagance.

That changed when I had children. Instead of wanting things for myself, now I ask for things for the family. Plus, I'm at a place in my life where I really can't think of a single thing that I need. What a blessing to not have a single need or want, yay God! This year, all I wanted was to go to one of those pottery painting places with JD and Beatrice. So we did.

Somebody loved painting. Daddy got into it too.

We painted a deviled egg dish. We actually needed one of those so not only is it a symbol of our love, it's also practical. Behold, our egg love dish.

It was a great weekend. I wish I could share some big revelation about being older and wiser and blah blah blah, but I got nothing. The only significant change I feel this year is a desire to know God more and live a life that pleases Him everyday. I'd say that is pretty practical advice no matter how old you are. Oh, and I want to show these people how much I love them too.

I like knowing that I have matured into a person that gains more from watching others enjoy things than a person who indulges selfishly. I'm sure my friends and family are pretty stoked about that too. One can only get so many kittens or ridiculous weekend excursions for their birthday before people start talking about you.