I just wanted to write a quick post about yesterday, my birthday.  I turned 28, and apposed to what my husband keeps telling me, this is still quite young.  However, it made me think about all the great things that have happened to me, and all the blessings I have received, in the past 28 years. 

• 28 years ago I was born into a wonderful loving family.
• 25 years ago, my little brother Matthew was born – granted, this didn’t seem like much of a blessing at the time.  Hey, I grew to appreciate him as he grew up :).
• 20 years ago I was baptized into the LDS church, which has been one of the greatest blessings of my entire life.
• 16 years ago, I became an aunt.  I now have 13 nephews and 11 nieces, and I have always loved being an aunt!!
• 13 years ago, my family moved from Sparks, NV to Twin Falls, ID.  At the time I was heartbroken.  How could I have known that I would not only love my time time there and make many wonderful friends, but that I would meet my husband in a 10th grade Consumer Economics class?  (Sometimes things don’t seem like blessings at first.)
• 10 years ago, I graduated from Twin Falls High School.  I sat next to Kevin the whole time, how crazy is that?  (We were both Valedictorians, and so I was first and he was second to graduate.)
• 10 years ago, I went to BYU, and I started the fun and crazy adventure of college life.  I also met some amazing people who are still a part of my life.
• 9 years ago, I went to Israel for a semester.  I can’t even describe to you all that I learned about myself, people, cultures, life, and especially Jesus Christ.
• 7 years ago, I went on a mission for my church.  It was an amazing and difficult experience.  I felt like I relearned all those lessons I had learned in Israel, but on a much deeper level.
• 6 years ago, I went to visit an old high school buddy, and four months later, we were engaged.
• 5 years ago, I married Kevin in the Salt Lake Temple.  It was wonderful, and still is.  (And even though he still claims I’m crazy for choosing him, I know I got the best guy!)
• 5 years ago, I started teaching 4th grade.  Wow, were those some fun, crazy, and difficult days – and I will be forever grateful for them.
• 3 years ago, I had a baby girl, Lily Elizabeth.  She has changed my life more than I can say, and made it so much better – even if I haven’t slept well since :).
• 2 months ago, I had a little boy, Derek Michael.  Like his sister, he has made my life even better than it was before.

Wow!  I didn’t really expect to have that big of a list.  I even held myself back quite a bit.  It is amazing how blessed each of our lives are, especially when you look back at how far you have come.  In closing, my birthday was a good day.  I got to talk to some of the people in my life who mean the most to me, and I had a great time eating ribs with my little family.  What more can you ask for?