My 30 Year Old Heart is Full

Another week, another milestone....I am officially a thirty-something. To be honest, I was a little depressed on my birthday last Thursday. Not because I'm no longer in my twenties, though. I've been saying lately that it seems like I should have been thirty a long time ago! The last decade has been incredibly eventful. Marriage, college completion, a "career" of sorts, and of course becoming a mother to the 3 most amazing kids ever made.
No, I definitely wasn't depressed about turning 30. I was depressed because my birthday was spent in airports, airplanes, and the clinic in Dallas among strangers who didn't even know it was a big day for me...despite the fact that I had to show my driver's license to at least six of them (except my dad of course, who was awesome to be our chauffeur yet again and give me even more awesome birthday $$). And as I have explained in detail in a previous post, our bi-monthly trips are far less than enjoyable. When I got home I crawled into bed and attempted a nap. I didn't even see the rest of my family until late that afternoon. Rachael called and asked if we wanted to go eat, and we did. Despite a tornado warning and a sick Boaz. I needed a beer!
Then off to work on Friday and a lazy, order pizza kind of Friday evening. We made plans earlier in the week to go eat at my favorite restaurant Saturday night with my mom, Rachael and Michael. After lining up babysitters, we were all set. Rachael called Saturday afternoon to see if we could just swing by and pick them up so that we'd all be in one car. When Kev and I pulled up to the house, I wondered why the blinds in the kitchen window were closed. I opened the door and saw Michael on the chair in the front room texting. He got up and said, you guys ready? In the next second I noticed a bunch of food on the dining room table behind him and then..

SURPRISE!!!

And all my favorite people (minus 2 babies) jumped out and just about gave me a heart attack!! Even Bronwyn was there! It was absolutely fantastic! The BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!! I don't know how they all pulled it off, but I was beyond shocked. I took me like 10 minutes just to stop shaking. What's truly AMAZING is that Kev did not spill the beans. He is terrible at any kind of secrets. And he had told B like 2 days before, but neither one of them gave anything away. Of course, he could not have done any of it without my AWESOME sisters, mom, and brother in law. Rachael, Michael, and mom worked like dogs to get the house ready for people. The last time I had been over there, which was like a week and a half ago, it looked like a bomb had gone off from the Neagles moving in. But last night, the inside was perfect and the backyard looked like something out of a movie! Such a wonderful evening with people I dearly love! Thank you SO much everyone for giving me a warm welcome into the next decade. Rachael and Michael, mom, Samantha and Whitt, Natalie and Nick, Tara and Jason, Shelly and Kevin, Wendy and Daryl, Eden and Todd, Becky and Lyndal, Amber and Matt, Line and Lambert, Luke, Tony, and of course my amazing husband...I love all of you SO much! Oh yeah, and happy birthday Kev too! Thank you for letting me have my own birthday for once :)

My awesome sis and Nat

The Gonzalezes

Matt, Amber, and Line

Mom, Todd, and Eden

Michael and Matt

Samantha, Rachael, and Whitt

the amazing overnight bag that Amber MADE me...this pic doesn't do it justice!

I LOVE this man!