double deuce.

Raise your hand if you can tell me what today is.

Today is my birthday! Today is my BIRTHDAY! TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!

Got it? Okay, good. :)

My birthday celebration began a few days ago, actually. In fact, I prefer to have a birthday preparation week, because I love birthdays so much. Lucky for me, I have friends that LOVE to spoil me. That, among many, many, MANY other reasons, is why I would bet anybody anything that my friends are the most wonderful people on this earth. The MOST WONDERFUL. Not only are my friends, but my family is pretty daggum incredible, too. IN-CRED-I-BULL.

My celebrating officially began on Thursday night. Teesh and I had a date night with Josh and Dorothy that included a yummy dinner at their place followed by bowling. We're so blessed to have so many married friends who are great role models for us--we love them all so much! Thennnn, on Friday night, Teesh and I spent the evening with Savannah, Andy, Candie, Heather, and Robbie for more family bonding. We ate pizza and then played putt putt at Frankie's! Teesh and I cleaned and decorate our soon-to-be home together on Saturday afternoon [YAY!!!!!!!], and on Saturday night, P. Sawyer took me out for a #hpdobirthdays evening! We ate at Bonefish [also known as "heaven"], and then went to see Beastly! It was super appropriate for us to see this together since one of the top items on our "Reasons We Are Soulmates" list is our mutual obsession with Beauty and the Beast. And on top of all that, she even bought me my very first pair of TOMS, a bird candle, and the BEST homemade card I've ever gotten! By the time Sunday rolled around, my belly was [at least] two inches thicker and there was still more eating to be done. We celebrated Dustin and Freeman's birthdays with our whole family [allllllllllllll 30+ of us] with some good ole' home-cookin' at our house, and for dinner, mommy took us to Kanpai. Mmmmmm, Kanpai. Uncle, Val, and Hank came with us, making us the nine most excited people in the restaurant. Freeman, Dustin, and I even got to wear some super cute chef hats to make sure everyone knew we were all turning a year older [the boys loved it, I'm sure you could guess that].

Pretty sweet, huh? And those were just the days leading up to my birthday! I've got more eating, more presents, and more time spent with more of my favorite people to look forward to! Fancy and Cait Cait are coming from Clemson tonight to take me out to eat for my "official" [as if all the others don't count] birthday dinner. See, I told you: best. friends. ever.

These next 365 are going to be filled with many , many changes. Some of which I've already begun planning for [isn't somebody getting married or something?] and others of which I won't see until they hit me. One thing I'm sure of is that this will be my best year yet. I've got twenty-two years of experience on this earth, more than some and less than others, but if I've learned one thing out of all the lessons that have come my way, it's this: your life is what you make it. It's my prayer for my twenty-second year to be bold and compassionate and take things as they come and love people a little more than I did last year and always give my very best and never refuse to wear my heart on my sleeve and push through any pain that wanders down my path and always forgive and follow through with the things I say I will do and never get tired of walking the road less traveled. I may not get to control what happens to me, but that's just half the battle.

So, here we go. Another year to let my light shine. I wonder if it'll happen when I turn twenty-two, too? ;)

"Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children's approach to life. They're people who don't give a hang what the Joneses do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought - sometimes it isn't much, either." -Walt Disney