"I still remember, when thirty was old...."

"...my biggest fear was September...."

(Lyrics courtesy of Deana Carter.)

I actually sang that to my friend Leslie who called at 8:00 this morning. That's what she gets for being my friend since we were 11 and she called to wish me a happy 30th today. :)

It was a great day. Derek was on call, but got someone to cover for him at 6:30 am so he could come home, make me breakfast, and help get the kids off to school. And give me my AMAZING new camera, which I would have never bought for myself, or at least not for 10 more years. And our kids are young now, so I am so grateful he bit the bullet and got it for me. After all, he IS a doctor... he can afford it, right? Ha ha ha... (By the way, I didn't get any pictures with him today! We'll have to take some tomorrow... but he made today GREAT! I love him!)

I finally made it on to the treadmill by 10 am-- Janie kept me company in her swing, watching the Olympics edition of Oprah with me while I ran. Watching those awesome athletes inspired me as I ran... even if my 3 miles took me about 10 minutes longer than it did 10 years ago. Literally. I'm okay with that... I have four beautiful children to show for it.

My sweet Mom came from Denver to take care of the kids, clean up my kitchen, get groceries, and take me out to lunch and shopping! Wow, I never get that much done, and I didn't feel like I lifted a finger! I loved spending the day with the wonderful woman who brought me into this world 30 years ago, and taught me everything I know about being an awesome mother.

My sweet Ethan asked Grandma Nancy to take him shopping for my birthday present-- he asked her if they could stop by the bank because he only had $5, but I didn't want him to take money out of his savings account, so I gave him $5. And he generously bought me Legos. How did he know I would want the Castle set?! He even put them together for me. So generous. :) I just hope he figures out gift-giving to women before he gets married. Or tries to find a wife, for that matter. By the way, he did also give me two of his Pokemon cards earlier in the day.

Derek planned a surprise birthday dinner at his parents' house, which Nori so kindly made for me. No one can beat her chicken marsala! He said he thought of inviting friends, but that I have too many, so he decided on just family. :) And it's true-- we are blessed with so many awesome friends here-- both here in Fort Fun and across the country.


Thank you to all of my AWESOME family and friends for the great birthday wishes. I can't believe how much I've been blessed... I have a great life!