I usually use this blog to post pictures of the kids (they change so fast) and I usually don't prefer talking about myself so much, but today I'm feeling the need to do a little writing & reflect on this day. Today I'm 29 & it's funny, because 4 years ago today I would probably be freaking out knowing that I was going to be this old... knowing that I'm in my last year of the 20's. However, now that I am 29... I'm really proud of my age & all that has come with it. I have grown a lot. From 20 to 29, I am a different person, almost completely. I think the 20's bring the most growth, for me at least, it has. I now have a wonderful, loving, supportive, honest, loyal, sincere, protective husband who is a provider above all things. He makes sacrifices for me & our family and these are things that I couldn't be more grateful for. I also have a very deep relationship with God and I now have my priorities straight. Each day is a challenge to try to be a better person & it isn't always easy.
In my 20's I learned the tough lesson of "loss". To lose friends & family due to life circumstances, lose family & friends to death, grieve for loved ones, grieve the failure of unexpected losses, grieve the loss of not obtaining a goal, or realizing you made mistakes that you can't take back. Growth doesn't come without sorrow, sorrow doesn't come without joy. In your 20's you learn the circle of growth... the ups & the downs of life. You can't ever know the truest feelings of joy, if you haven't ever felt the worst of the sorrows. During my 20's I dealt with a lot of tough, dark, despairing moments. I am grateful for those moments now, because you realize what you're capable of overcoming. You realize that God made you strong enough to overcome these life circumstances. With the few years of sorrow I dealt with, I felt I had been handed the most precious gift of all... the light, after the darkness; Motherhood.

In my 20's I had the greatest privilege of all to be blessed as a Mother. Not just a mother of 1, but a mother of 2. Being entrusted with the gift of life, is by far the greatest blessing anyone can ever receive. Raising Aubree & Preston is my truest pride & joy. I don't know where I would be right now without my children. I became a mother at 25, my oldest will be FOUR this year... You don't ever realize how fast time flies by, until you have children. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time, especially now that Preston is ONE & just at the sweetest stage in his life. I love all the kids stages in life. Aubree at almost 3 1/2 is as sweet as can be, polite & extremely talkative... sometimes to the point of exhaustion! I get a little sad with the thought of her leaving this innocent stage - of course, I'm sure every parent wants to maintain their child's innocence, I know that's my goal.

In conclusion, I don't regret too much from my 20's - sure there are definitely things I would like to change, but you realize that you can't change anything that happened, but you can learn from your mistakes. That's what I'm going to take with me after this decade in my life comes to an ends, so for now I'm going to soak up the last 365 days of my 20's; because I know I'll never get this time back, I really believe in "living each day like it's your last", but for me I have a final goal after the end of this life... So, for me, living each day that I'm given is to strive to be a better person of faith each & every day. I'm glad I've gone through all my ups & downs... so that I can be the person that I am today.

Thanks for those have been with me on my journey - I value nothing more than the wonderful people that are brought into my life!

God Bless,
Dana