Saturday, July 10, 2010

My 40th birthday!!


****COLE WAS IN ALASKA WHEN THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN, SO i CALL IT THE JACKSON5 MINUS ONE!
I have not been doing so great at keeping my blog updated! I apologize to those of you who wonder how we are doing! Thank you so much for all of your care and love!

I was just thinking the other day of all that has crossed our lives since Travis has been gone. Quite a bit! Let's see . . he passed on Oct 17th . . . The end of Oct, we celebrated Halloween with Travis' mother being here. Sadly for the circumstances, we loved being able to be with her as we've only seen her 3 times in the past 20 years! Abby and her really bonded! Nov was our anniversary (the kids and I went out for Mexican and glow in the dark golf) and Thanksgiving (spent at the Lagerwey's home - our business partner's family), Dec was Christmas (spent up in the apartment due to living room construction in preparation for a cold winter we never had!), Jan took Joshua to his first Supercross .. a dream he'd had! A few months of Supercross helped Josh with a goal he'd had, and that his father put so much into helping him reach! Feb was Valentine's Day (M and M Floral was so sweet and sent me a bouquet of flowers just because they knew that Travis would have gone to them and ordered some for me! Thank you again, M and M!!), May was Travis' birthday (we celebrated once again with mexican. Travis enjoyed going out for mexican.), May also brought Mother's Day, which wasn't as hard to go through without Travis, cause like he always reminded me, "You aren't my mother." I just had a day filled, like any other mother, with love and admiration for the amazing children that Travis helped me to have and raise as far as he did! June was Father's Day (the girls and I put a beautiful bouquet on his grave and I had a bunch of our family VHS tapes made into DVDs and we came home to watch some after dinner. It was harder to watch them than I had thought it would be, but also nice. My kids have copies of the DVDs. It was MY Father's Day gift to them.), June also took Cole to Alaska for 6 weeks of net fishing. I have been SO blessed to have the home that we do! My boys live out in the apartment that was built in our barn, so it is nice that they can have their own space and yet still be home close to me! Even if they are busy with their own lives all day, I know once I mention food, they'll come running! Mealtime is looked forward to!
Cole being in Alaska has made me buck up a bit more than I already had. I learned how to drive and use the lawn mower as well as the tractor! Next will be the weed eater! Hey! Someone's gotta do it! One of my dear friends has dibbed me "Stud chick"! I love it! Kyleigh doesn't like that word, but I have grown rather fond of it! Makes me feel I can do anything! I do get a bit overwhelmed at times with how much lawn (the house and around the pond) there is to upkeep here. But we'll figure it out. Routine is major.
One of the main reasons I've been reviewing the past 9 months is because June 30 was Kyleigh's 16th birthday. I've thought about all the holidays and dates we have been through . . . which is really a lot in 9 months if you think about it . . . and Kyleigh's 16th birthday brought us our first family milestone to experience without Travis. She got her driver's license! First try for the written AND first try for the drive test too!!! I know her dad would be proud of her! He would be in as much awe as I am. They grow up SO FAST!
So this brings us to today. I'm sure there are dates I've missed since Oct. But these are the the things that stand out in my mind. As for this month . . . today is my 40th birthday! I'm a 40 year old widow. I have over half of my life left to live, and I am going to make the best of it! I started running this year and working out a lot. I've always tried to stay in shape, but after Travis passed, I didn't eat a lot and lost about 15 lbs. I started exercising hard again and running. I have enjoyed going to Lake Padden and running around the lake. I will celebrate my birthday by leaving the house here in about half an hour and doing the Chuckanut Foot Race in old Bellingham, WA! It's a 7 mile interurban trail through what is called Fairhaven . . . . my favorite place in Bellingham! I am proud of myself for being healthy and in shape. I have always wanted to do a marathon, and this is not only the perfect way to start . . but the perfect way to celebrate my healthy 40th birthday! Here's to a healthy and long future!

I was thinking last night . . . if I accomplish anything in my lifetime . . I want to know that when my children get older they look back and can say, "My mom did the best that she could with what the Lord gave her, and I'm proud of the example that she has been to me." I know that I am not perfect. I could list a few things I wish I'd done differently, but for the best of it . . . I feel good for where things are in life right now with what we've been given. I am thankful to the Lord for His hand and the refining that He has been doing in me! I know that he will carry us through!!
Thank you for reading!

1 comment:

  1. Reading this makes me realize I am a better person with you as my friend. Happy 40th!

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