Twenty-Four

I celebrated my 24th birthday yesterday. I had a nice day of relaxation and a bit of spoiling. I awoke to find a small wrapped present on my headboard. I waited to open it until Jesse was awake. He had written a letter to go with it. It said:

Mandy. Today is your special day. It's your birthday! I couldn't be happier to spend this special day with you. It's been about a year and a half now. That just seems crazy to me, time flies by so fast. It's been an amazing ride with you. Through all of the good and hard times. Normally in that last phrase, you'd say "all the good times and bad times" but I can honestly say that I really don't think there have been any bad times. Yah I think we have had our struggles, but those don't even compare to the triumphs that we have had. I believe so strongly that God has placed us as one to manifest his glory through us, and bless other people. This is exciting and I am just overwhelmed sometimes by the immensity of that. Also one of the best parts is we get to ride this ride together. Recently something God showed me was "how I should love my wife". I thought of the verse "Love your wife as Christ loved the church" and I thought Wow! What an amazing love! And then I prayed to God, how can I possibly love like you loved God. I then was overcome by the thought of how God has already established this love within me. So I just prayed then to God to not let my selfishness get in the way of that love. This is not something that happens overnight, but then I had a thought that said, "just by merely wanting to not be selfish, is sacrificial love". At that moment I was so excited and just so happy to have you as my wife.

Mandy, I love you more than anything. And I will move beyond the trials, beyond the selfishness, beyond what keeps me from what is truly important, to fall even more in love with you. I know that today and the rest of our lives will be an adventure that I will never let go.

I love you and Happy 24th Birthday.

And I'm sure you are curious what was in that present...

(A diamond wedding/anniversary band)

I also went and got my nails done to show off my fancy new ring.

Then that evening, I went out to dinner with my family: Jesse, my mom, my brother David, and my brother-in-law Michael. We went to Chili's- my favorite restaurant!

My gift from my mom was an I-Pod Nano- hot pink, of course! I've been fighting the i-pod craze since it began, but since beginning to work out in the gym at work, I thought it'd be nice to not have to listen to CNN or oldies. So, having my own selection of music will hopefully keep me more entertained and motivated.

I even had the Chili's crew sing to me and give me a free chocolate milkshake.

When I went to work today, I had balloons tied to my chair:

I also had a card signed by my favorite co-workers:

And, finally, my former co-worker and wonderful friend, Delynne, brought me roses:

I still have plans on Saturday for a very romantic date night with my amazing husband. All I know is that it will involve dressing up and going to a nice restaurant. Everything else is up in the air and he's planning the whole thing! More pics to come...