The Big 3-0!

Yes, it's official: I can never again be twenty-something. :( Thirty sounds old to me, but thankfully it doesn't feel any different than twenty-nine. :)

I haven't done anything terribly exciting--we stayed in today as it's been snowing on and off all day. (We woke up to 6-8" on the ground this morning.) Gotta love springtime in New England! :) Here's a picture I took a little while ago:


I played trains with Sam, and built this layout for him after he went down for his nap. I think he'll have fun with it when he wakes up! I used every piece of track that I could find. I love building track layouts!! Think he has enough trains? :)


I am making some cupcakes for tonight--chocolate with peanut butter filling--they were in the new Taste of Home magazine. I'm not quite sure how they'll turn out. It called for a jumbo muffin tin, which I don't have, but I used my jumbo liners on a cookie sheet. Should have worked OK, but there was a lot of batter and I ended up filling them really full. So now they are overflowing on the cookie sheet! Now if I wasn't BLOND, I might have thought of the possibility of just making a few extra cupcakes to use up the extra batter. But did I think of this? Nope. Oh well, I'm sure they will taste good, even if they look funny. :)

For supper I'm taking it easy and just having leftovers. We plan to go grocery shopping after supper, so I wanted a quick meal with minimal cleanup. Jim and I are planning to go out to one of my favorite Italian restaurants within the next few weeks, for a belated birthday dinner, so I'm looking forward to that. Also, we'll be having Easter dinner with my parents, so we will have a little birthday celebration then. Jim gave me the sweetest card this morning before he left for work; it was a wonderful start to my day. :)
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Now it's much later, and I want to finish this up so I can get to bed!
I'm going to be a copycat blogger and do what I've seen some others doing on their birthdays--listing 30 things I am thankful for. Try not to fall asleep before the end of the LONG list, LOL! :D

1. God's amazing grace in my life--the miracle of salvation and the wonder of knowing
He is always with me.
2. My sweet, wonderful husband
3. My hilarious, lovable little Sam
4. My happy, and also lovable baby Julia
5. My extended family, near and far
6. My new kitchen-in-progress
7. Our wood stove
8. My dishwasher :)
9. Friends, old and new
10.The Word of God--and the privilege of having a Bible of my own. Many people in other countries still don't have that privilege.
11.The power of prayer
12.The encouraging leadership conference last weekend
13.Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes :)
14.The beautiful snow today (although I have to say I like it best at Christmastime, not in April!)
15.Birthday cards in my mailbox
16.The lovely blue hydrangea Jim bought me for my birthday
17.Books, tea, and other stuff for good prices at Amazon :)
18.Getting to see all kinds of birds at our bird feeder
19.The two deer we saw near our house on Sunday
20.The brook in our backyard
21.My new favorite CD: "You are God Alone" by Mac Lynch
22.Hearing Sam singing along with the same CD tonight when we went out for groceries--so sweet!!
23.A long, hot shower every morning
24.Julia's birthday present to me: sleeping 8 hours straight last night in her crib!! (She hasn't done this in a LONG time)
25.Jim's willingness to play with my hair and rub my head (this is one my favorite things that makes me feel so pampered and relaxed)
26.Email--how cool it is to be able to stay in touch with friends and family at the click of a mouse!
27.My piano (even though I don't play it nearly enough!)
28.Our ultra-comfy mattress
29.Sam's nearly-complete potty training
30.My wonderful, happy, busy, delightful life!!! I wouldn't trade places with anyone.

Thanks for listening to my rambling! :)