"You just call my name"

As I get older my birthdays, without a doubt, have taken on a much deeper meaning to me. My family has always done an incredible job of making me feel extremely loved, valued, and appreciated on that special day in April. I remember distinctly my birthdays at home...my mom would come into my room early in the morning and snuggle up close to me and get all mushy and gushy about how it was my birthday...in her super excited happy voice that would secretly put the biggest smile in my heart. I remember how we always got to pick what we wanted for dinner or if we wanted to eat out...I can still remember the surprise party my mom worked so hard to put together for me and how hard she tried to remind us just how special we were, not only to her but to all of those closest to us. She gave cause for celebration each year and I am forever greatful for the "special" feeling I have instilled in me because of it. Because of the importance my mom and dad placed on my life, on the worth of my being, I know that I am someone with the potential to Be. I never realized how integral those moments with my parents would be in shaping my entire person.

These past two years I have had the tremendous blessing of being able to celebrate my birthday in an entirely new way. Not only does my family celebrate the birth of their daughter but my new (soon to be) family celebrates the life of a daughter, a sister, a wife they'd always known existed, have prayed for, and finally get to share in the life of. Its a huge, humbling reality to be involved, immersed in the lives of an entirely new family...an entirely new life of faithfilled, passionate individuals who have already changed my life completely. As I think back on these past two years, on the past two celebrations of the life God gave me and my family loved me into I am so so so Joyful.

And this coming year....this coming October....will begin an entirely new chapter in many many more incredible birthdays to come.