Yesterday was my 27th birthday. I cant believe how time has flown by and how much my life has changed. When I looked toward the future 10 years ago this is not what I thought my life would look like. I thought I would have a career I loved, buy my dream home and have at least one kiddo by now. I never imagined graduating from College in an economy like this with student loans that seem insurmountable or being laid off from my job a week before my birthday. I also never imagined we would lose mom. She was one of the few people in my life I always called in a crisis or to share great news with. It is hard for me to imagine that if someday Brandon and I are able to have a child I would not be able to call her....do you think heaven accepts calls? Birthdays are some of the harder times for me because my mom was always so great with Birthdays, each gift we received was unique and personalized to us. She made sure we felt special on our special day. Since I lost my job last week I decided to come "home" to Visalia for a visit and to spend some much needed time with my baby sister. Coming back to Visalia is hard for all of us. We remember the precious memories we had at the house we grew up in, which my dad no longer lives in, and when we go to church it takes everything in me not to just sit there and cry. As I listen to her favorite songs or listen to my dads sermons (which was her favorite thing to do) or listen to the praise team sing (which she also loved) I hear them sing a song she loved or didn't love (amazing grace) all those things make me remember how I thought it would be and I look over at the row that used to be hers and get teary eyed. I know right now things are not how I imagined them but they are also better in different ways. I am thankful for my beyond amazing husband and my amazing extended family that I still have. I am blessed with two amazing rock star sisters, the best grandparents a girl could ask for, fabulous aunts and uncles and pretty awesome cousins. Coming "home" also reminds me of those blessings and the amazing family at Visalia Church that was there every step of the journey with mom. I have searched and searched for a church family like Visalia and have yet to find one. So even though I am now 27 years old and life is not what I had planned I can still say I am very blessed and loved and I am looking forward to a future full of surprises and new memories to make.
The walking is going well still. I had a rough week last week and didn't do much walking, but so far my baby sister has been a big help and we walked 3 miles on Sunday and a mile yesterday around the Pepperdine campus. We are planning on doing another walk today. It is beautiful here and makes me want to bathe in the sunshine.
