A Happy Birthday

G and A came into my room this morning just before 7:00 A.M. wishing me happy birthday with a breakfast burrito they had made for me, half a banana, cran-raspberry juice and even a garnish of cilantro on the plate.  They were cute to point that out to me.  :)  I thanked them as they walked out of my room and set my plate on the nightstand where I quickly fell asleep after getting to bed after 2:30 in the morning.  (D and I had been talking to C's girlfriend in our room until then.  Pretty fun times.)  I woke up around 8:30 and quickly started to eat my now crunchy breakfast burrito before the boys returned and could see that I hadn't eaten their breakfast.

J cleaned my bedroom last night while I layed in bed as my present.  It was perfect, especially after Christmas where it had become the "chuck everything in mom's room" room.  Complete with dusting, vacuuming and putting things away.

This morning after everyone was awake I made it to the girls room and found C's friend with a gift for me.  It was so sweet of her.  She said she also had something on her computer for me.  I sat there wondering what she had while she got her laptop up and running.  She called me over and there was a note from my missionary wishing me a happy birthday.  I cried as I read the words he had written for me.  Man, I love that boy man.  That's going to take some getting used to.  :)

I played the organ in church today for the first time in over four years.  My boys didn't even know that I played.  While playing today, I had this overwhelming feeling of joy.  I was playing with confidence, I has happy and smiling and I was so grateful for my Aunt Evelyn who taught me how to play the organ.  I loved her so much and I'll always be grateful for her and all that she taught me.

The kids were really cute all day today telling each other to get along and to help pick up since it was my birthday.  It was awesome.  It truly was very sweet.

I thought about myself turning 41 today and felt a little sadness.  Was I truly over the hill now?  I loved turning 40 just last year and all that it meant to me.  But this year it just seemed different.  Throughout the day I noticed myself confident, smiling and truly happy.  I asked myself, "What is so bad about being over the hill?"  I think about a six mile run I did a few weeks ago and how amazing I felt after doing it.  The last three miles were all up hill and I had to keep telling myself that I could do it, that I could make it up the hill.  It had been years since I had done that long of a run and  I was so proud of myself for doing it.  I think about C and being over half way done with his mission just this past week.  Thinking about all the growth he's seen in himself the last year makes me embrace being over the hill.  I'm still the same me that I was yesterday at 40 when I was on top of that same hill looking out.

I love this phase of my life.  I've learned to embrace my growing older family.  I'm feeling so blessed and grateful today.  It's a happy day; a Happy Birthday!