Yesterday was February first. Yesterday was my birthday. Yesterday I turned 26! Yikes! When did I get so old? I am now closer to 30 than to 20?!?! I know that's not really that old. But it feels like it sometimes. I remember being a kid like it was yesterday. I remember swinging on the swing set in the back yard while making up songs that I would sing to Jesus. I remember chasing my kindergarden boyfriend, William, around the playground threatening to kiss him. I remember my first pair of roller skates. They were black with neon pink paint splatters and neon green wheels. I remember naming my soccer team the Rockin' Rainbows (my only contribution... I was more into picking dandelions than actually playing soccer!) I remember when my sister Stacey was born and I was THRILLED to have a real live baby-doll that I could play with and dress up. I remember buying my much loved teddy bear named Rusty that I slept with every night until I was married (Bluejay had a bear that he slept with until we were married too! We were meant to be!). I remember wearing purple from head to toe because it was my favorite color. I remember being crushed when my purple converse high-tops wore out and got a hole in the sole that I tried unsuccessfully to patch with scotch tape. I remember reading a chapter from Indian in the Cupboard with my mom before going to sleep each night. I remember several summer camps and jr. high crushes. I remember getting my first camera. And I remember ruining the film because my curiosity got the best of me and I opened the back. I remember getting my driver's license and thinking I was so grown-up. Now I see "student driver" signs on cars and I whip around them because I don't trust them, haha. I remember the day I graduated from High School I thought that my "real life" had finally began. I remember trudging through community college while I tried to figure out what I wanted to be when I "grew-up". I remember my first guitar and my first banjo and taking lessons with the hopes of starting a band- which never came to be. I remember turning 20 and leaving my teen years behind with joy! I remember traveling to Europe by myself on my way to Bible School in Spain and England. I remember my first boyfriend and my first kiss. I remember my first heartbreak. I remember transferring to Northwestern College and meeting more people who love Jesus more than anything. I remember meeting Bluejay. He was so funny and goofy. I thought he was a big jock and that he didn't even know I existed. Once we became friends, I remember thinking he was such a cute "younger brother" type guy. I remember telling some girlfriends that he would be such a great husband for some girl, but definitely not me (little did I know!) I remember the moment I realized that I was falling for him. It was when a group of us went out swing dancing and I watching longingly as he danced with my friend and not me. I remember the night weeks later when he asked me to be his girlfriend and my heart leaped! I remember my last first kiss ever. I remember the day Bluejay asked me to be his wife- it was the same day we said "I love you" for the first time. I remember trying on my wedding dress and just knowing it was "the one!" I remember the day we said "I do". I remember the sunsets, the turquoise waters and the guacamole from our mexican honeymoon. I remember the day Bluejay told me that he wanted nothing more than for me to follow my dreams of being a photographer and he bought me my first DSLR camera. I remember saying goodbye to my parents as they moved to California. I remember the times of prayer when Bluejay and I asked the Lord to guide and direct our lives and our desire for ministry. I remember the Lord's specific response to those requests. I remember...
... my first stuffed animal...
...my first tennis shoes...
...my silly smile when my lips were chapped...and my first 80's mullet haircut (thanks mom!)...
...my matching outfits with Stacey...
... wearing the same coat that my grandmother made for my aunt when she was little that was passed down to me...
...my dress that had my name embroidered on it. I also remember going to a hole in wall Vietnamese restaurant to celebrate my 26th birthday with Bluejay over a bowl of steaming of Pho (Vietnamese soup). I remember that on the way to the surprise dinner he kept saying, "what the fu!" I remember thinking he was a doofus and ignored him. I remember that he thought he was so funny when he explained that Pho is pronounces "fu". I remember his dimple when he laughed. It made me remember how much I love that guy. And it made me think of all the ways that being one year closer to 30 isn't a bad thing... I have one more year of memories!