The Best Years....

My FUN girlfriends!!!

I think he was singing right at me...watch out James & Kimberly

My one "artistic" shot

It was a rule that you had to wear your cowboy boots...

I spent the night ushering myself into my 30's with some great music by Brad Paisley & some even better company- three of my fun girlfriends. As I have been reflecting over my life for the past 30 years, I am overwhelmed with emotions. There are a ton of memories that can never be replaced- from vacations as a child, Christmas' spent with my entire family, my wedding day, the birth of my first child- really, too many to even try to name. But, what hits me the most today is the enormous amount of gratitude I have for the present. For some reason this week, I have felt that my life is very "full." Full of family, friends, and just life. To put it simply, I feel blessed. Last night, Brad played a song called, "A Letter to Me." Basically, it is about if he could have written a letter to himself in high school and what it would say. At the end of the song- he said "these are nowhere near the best years of your life." There was no better song to explain just how I have been feeling about turning 30 today. I sat there singing it as loud as I could, thinking of it as sort of a "mantra" as I enter into the next 10 years of my life. I am not oblivious to the fact that there will be hard times in my 30's...I am learning that slowly, and at times painfully. But, what gives me hope is that God is shaping me into a woman that is feeling more & more comfortable in her own skin. Comfortable to be who I am and stop pretending. So, here is to the next 10 years and what they may bring! And, on to what I believe are the "best years of my life."