I'm 29 Today

or turned 29 a couple of days ago. I've been reflecting on my life from last year to this year, where I was to where I am now. What I have accomplished and what I'd like to accomplish. The following is an entry from my blog a few weeks after my 28th birthday:


We're doing well, even if the economy is not so well, and we don't have a permanent address, for now. We have our health, we have each other, and that's what matters.
Life is full of trials, and if you don't have trials, you don't grow. Well, I think we're doing a lot of growing, and I feel like we're taking it easy, positive, and peacefully. Once we know where life is taking us, I'll post it. In the meantime, life goes on, we enjoy every day, almost every moment, and can't wait to see which path Heavenly Father is going to guide us to. I'm a firm believer that He is with us and is guiding us to where we're supposed to be in life. He knows us better than we know ourselves and knows what we can handle.


Funny, a year later, most of that is still true. We kind of have a permanent address, but our time in UT still doesn't feel that permanent. I keep thinking 2-3 years. I have mixed emotions about being here, but overall, I feel that I'm happy, I'm adjusting, and overall enjoying our time here, as long as it is not for the rest of my life. Life does go on and I feel very strong that our Heavenly Father guides us. Each one of us matters to him, individually, and He is aware of me and my life. We are supposed to be here, in UT. I'm glad a lot of the above is very true today.
I had a really good birthday. We did our daily routine, what we do on Thursdays, Arden's final Bugs class and his last swimming class. The kids were surprisingly sweet and good. Arden even let me pick out what kind of pizza I wanted for my birthday. We got a babysitter so Newel and I could go out for the evening. I didn't want to go out to dinner. Instead, we went shopping for my birthday. It was fun. It was different...as some of you may know, I'm not a shopper, but it was fun to go out with Newel and get what we wanted. Even Newel, who is less of a shopping fan than I am, got into the shopping spirit. And for us, we even came home 'late.'
I'm glad I waited a couple of days to post this, because when I started to write this post, I was feeling pretty miserable (not about getting older) about my accomplishments as a mother and in my personal goals. I was beating myself up about how I lack discipline in my life, how I have such a hard time controlling my temper and I am so impatient. After having a wonderful night of sleep, I can say, it's life. I'm not supposed to be perfect. These are my weaknesses, I can make them strong. One day, may be fifty years from now, I'll look back and see how much I have improved in my life.
If I look back just five years ago, I am a different, perhaps even a better woman now than I was when I was 24. So this year, my challenge is not going to be learn 9 nine new words each month, or get down to 129 pounds, or even do a sprint triathlon, etc. I think my challenge is going to be focused on being more disciplined in my life. I was doing well for a while, going to bed early, getting up early, running and studying...but, then I hurt my knee and all of that 'discipline' went down the tube. I'm recommitting to get back on the horse, I'm going to exercise again, study, and work on controlling my temper. I will feel better about myself and about being a better mother for my children. So off I go, for a walk around the neighborhood. Let the discipline in my life begin...