Today I am 35

Yes, today is my birthday and I am officially closer to 40 than 30. Wow! Not that I'm complaining. I have thoroughly enjoyed my 30s to this point. Most of the great stuff in my life has happened in (or around) this decade of my life and I have much, much, much to be grateful for. I think it's fitting to take stock of who I am in this point in my life.

I am a child of God. Forever forgiven, loved, and blessed.
I am a wife to the love of my life. He often deserves better than me, but I am ever thankful for the life we have together.
I am a mother to two gorgeous children who light up my life. I never knew it was possible to love this much.
I am a daughter to two wonderful mothers - one by birth and one by marriage.
I am a sister to my incredible sister and her fabulous husband and aunt to their two great kids.
I am a niece and cousin in a fantastic family.
I am a loyal friend to those that really matter.
I am a working professional at a job I love.
I am a volunteer to help those in need.
I am, at best, a horrible housekeeper. I can procrastinate with the best of them.
I am a self-confessed computer junkie. I love my Photoshop, my message boards, my blog.
I am a perfectionist when it comes to things I want to be good at.
I am a happy person who loves to make others smile.
I am passionate about the things I believe in and not afraid to let you know it.
I am a 35 year young woman who is quite comfortable in her skin and in her place in life.

Just a small list of who I am that will probably get added to as I think of more.

BTW, Pook took the picture. She did a fabulous job, don't you think?

Happy Birthday to me!

My first Top Ten

Once again motivated by Jessica, (who I am not afraid to admit I have a slight girl crush on...I mean, c'mon on...how can you not? The woman is so incredibly creative and just from reading her blog you can tell that she is one of the best mothers on the planet) I am tackling my very first top ten things of right now in no particular order.

1. Watching K-Man play with Pook and Diesel. They adore their father and all is right with the world when I get to watch him in action with them.

2. Spending time with my sister. We live 4 hours apart (too far) and she's visiting for a while with her kids while he DH is deployed to the Middle East. We've spent our time tag-teaming our children as they run the gamut of loving each other sooooo sooooo very much to fighting the way kids do when they've spent too much time together in one sitting. Ours is a special relationship, one that has matured too much to even try to describe over the years. We're finally at that comfortable place where we are able to fully accept each other for who we are individually. We can argue, agree, and then somehow she's the recipient of a MUCH needed pedicure courtesy of moi. I'm a great big sister! ;-)

3. Our weather right now. It's been an incredibly mild summer by Texas standards. TONS (and I do mean TONS) of rain and we've only hit a high in the high 90s once or twice so far...and it's mid-July!

4. Music. I'm singing in a friend's wedding in September so I'm learning the music she wants me to sing. I've also got to pick out a song to sing next Sunday at my DH's childhood church. Must. go. do. that. SOON. I've been listening to a lot of Selah and getting goosebumps. They've got some songs that do it to me everytime.

5. Believe it or not...work. July is a pretty slow month for me in the office actually and I just got my last big project for the summer out of the way so I can relax...just a tish.

6. My tan. Yes, it's incredibly vain, but I love my golden glow.

7. Anything cooked on the grill. DH is a master griller and we had burgers and dogs last night. There's just something about not messing up my kitchen that makes them extra tasty.

8. Summer. Which for me, always includes reading completely worthless books and not feeling guilty about it.

9. Homemade ice cream. DH made some this past weekend and I'm already craving it again. Maybe I can talk him into making more this weekend.

10. Good friends. We've been blessed with some incredible friends. What is is the old saying? In your life you have two families, the ones your born with and the ones you choose. I guess sometimes they choose you, but nevertheless I'm grateful to be able to count good friends as family.

Blissfully tired & happy to be home

Ahoy, mateys! We're home and settled and blissfully tired. Now the mountainous task of laundry begins. What a great week we had. Four different ports and we have fallen in love with Roatan, Honduras. Seriously...DH was online last night looking for vacation properties there. On the 4th day of our cruise (July 4th) We hopped a cab with our two couple friends and headed to West Bay Beach. Our personal tour guide was Grace and she was fantastic. She stayed with us the whole day, sitting on the beach and watching our stuff. I snorkeled for the first time in my life in the reef there. They have the second largest reef in the world and it is absolutely gorgeous! So wish I'd have had an underwater camera. The colors of all the fish were amazing! We swam so far out that we could feel the temperature of the water change and when we looked down we had reached the drop off at the edge of the reef. The ocean floor drops to 1800 ft. there and I was staring down at the bluest water I've ever seen. The beaches are pristine and we were so sad to leave there, but know without a doubt that we will go back. It really was paradise.



Our first port, Cozumel, was fun as well. It was the only day we actually did an organized excursion. DH went on a Mexican Cuisine one and I spent the day on the beach. Luckily, they were at the same resort so I could run up and visit at any time. I also had the added perk of being able to sample the stuff they cooked. The grouper was outstanding, but I had to show you a photo of his dessert creation.




Day 5 had us porting in Costa Maya, Mexico and once again we grabbed a cab and headed out. We'd learned from some people in Honduras that Mahahual was the place to go and we soon found out that they were right. It's a very primitive fishing village with a stretch of gorgeous beach, the perfect breeze and friendly people. My friend and I got massages right on the beach and DH & her DH found us the perfect spot on the beach under a mangrove tree. Our only complaint about the place was that we had to leave it all too soon.



Progreso was our least favorite port so we spent only about an hour roaming around the city. I did get some cool architectural shots though.




Days 2 and 7 had DH in meetings all day so I spent my time lounging by the pool and reading and visiting with all the other wives on the trip.
I knew I had missed my kids, but I wasn't prepared to feel just how much I did until I saw them yesterday. They were waiting outside for us when we pulled up and I couldn't get out of the car fast enough. Pookster ran out to meet me I started crying. Our friend brought Diesel to me and I'm not ashamed to admit that I can't keep my lips off either one of my precious kiddos. They're going to be sick of me by the end of the day today.

Pook starts her first VBS tonight. She so excited and I know she'll have a blast. Laundry and the grocery store await me so I need to get off the computer now, but I'll be back to post about our nightlife aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas later.