Home Away From Home

Today is my 30th birthday. Yikes!

I thought I would have a lot of conflicting emotions today, about getting older and feeling older. Sure, I have a lot more grey hairs today than I did last year or even last month, more wrinkles, and my body is a lot softer than it used to be. But you know what? I don't care about any of that. I mean, I care a little bit, but I know none of that is important. I know this year and this decade will be the best yet, and more than anything else, I'm grateful. For everything I've been through, everything I've been given, and everything that's yet to come.

I love my family, I love my life, and I'm happy. Today, I'm happy.

My best friend from Georgia came to visit this week with his girlfriend, so we all took a hike up A Mountain this morning first thing. It was such an awesome start to my new year!

My boy, as he is most of the time these days. Wubbanub in his mouth, playing outside on his roller coaster.

Regretting: Some of the things I said in this post. I'm sad that some of my first thoughts when Ray told me it was finally time, I can finally quit my job! were selfish thoughts. I was worried about how I was going to handle being home all day. About getting bored and about how I was going to get work done and just nonsense. I'm sad that my thoughts immediately went to myself. I've been given this gift- this wonderful, beautiful gift- of more time at home with my sweet baby. I thought I would never get to do this, but God knows the desires of my heart and He made this happen, for me. Now that the anxiety and worry and excitement have worn off, now that I've had time to really reflect on what this change means for my family, I am so grateful. But why wasn't that my first thought?

Motherhood has caused me to see myself more clearly- to see my selfishness plain as day. I'm so thankful for that. I want to see my faults so that I can make myself better.

Looking Forward To: This weekend! My best friend from Georgia is coming into town with his girlfriend on Wednesday and I can't wait to see them! Thursday is my birthday (I'm turning 30.. That's a whole post in itself. Look for that soon.) so we are heading out of town to celebrate, sans baby. We're driving up north to Flagstaff on Friday, then taking our friends to see the Grand Canyon on Saturday. It's going to be freeeeezing! It's in the 70's and sunny here these days, so I'm looking forward to a weekend of real, actual winter.

Reading: The very first Inspector Rebus novel- Knots and Crosses. I've read all of the books in the series that are available on Kindle, and I'm so hooked! I have just one book left, the very last one, and I can't bring myself to read it because then it will all be over.

A couple of the early books in the series aren't available on Kindle, including the very first one- Knots and Crosses. My mom recently started reading the series and bought the paperback, so she sent it to me when she finished it. Thanks mom! I read it furiously yesterday while Ray and Emmett watched football. It filled in so many gaps and told me so much about Rebus's past. Anyway, I know this is getting boring for you. I'll move on.

Watching: We're caught up on Justified. Waiting a week for a new episode of a show is for the birds! I'm so used to binge-watching shows on our Roku that regular TV seems like such a hassle to me now. Patience. Working on learning what that word means...

So last night we started a new show that I've been dying to watch. Y'all know I love a good detective story, so when I saw the trailer for HBO's new show True Detective, I was hooked. Matthew McConaughey is on a roll right now, big time, and he's at his best in this show. He plays a philosophical, insomniac detective, haunted by his past and the death of his 2 year old daughter. It's serious in the best way, and Woody Harrelson (love me some Woody) adds just the right amount of comic relief.

Warning: This show is graphic, very adult in nature and not for the faint-of-heart. But if you're into creepy, haunting detective stories and don't mind a little smut, I'd definitely recommend it.

^^On Friday I took Emmett to the zoo. Mary had an extra culture pass from the Library (free passes to the zoo! Isn't that awesome?), so we picked it up and spent the morning running around looking at animals. Emmett especially loved the lion, the monkeys, and that fake zebra in the second photo. Silly boy.

^^He's really into climbing under tables and chairs lately. It means a few extra bumps on the head, but he's really proud of himself and thinks it's a really fun game. :)

^^ The other night I let him bring his little duck friends into the bath with him. He didn't realize they were bath balls that fizz away in the water, so he was really confused and then sad when his buddies disappeared. I should have known he'd be traumatized, but it was so funny (and sad)!

I hope you had a lovely weekend! Linking up with Jenny & of course, the lovely ladies at A Mama Collective!

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