A Quarter of a {Century}. Hooray!

It's my birthday! And, I expect lots and lots of birthday wishes today! Seriously. Get to it, people! Okay, okay, I don't really expect it. But, it'd be nice :). It is my day after all...

I am blessed to be celebrating 25 amazing years today, even if that does mean I'm a quarter of a century old! Thanks, family. Just thanks. However, I do get to constantly remind my mother that it means she's going to be half of a century old soon. *mwahahaha*

These past 25 years hold so many ups and downs, it's ridiculous. But without them, I wouldn't be who I am today. And today, I'm celebrating my birth. I'm celebrating the day that I entered into this world, to be held in the arms of the most amazing parents and awesome big sister (even if I didn't know it at the time). I'm celebrating the good AND the bad. God has only prepared me for what is to come, weathering every storm that comes my way with the support and love of my husband, my family, and friends. I couldn't and wouldn't have come as far as I have without any of them. For that, I am grateful. I'm a pretty lucky lady! 

And now, some highlights of the past 25 years in no particular order:

• Holidays with family, including with those that are no longer here such as my Granny Getschmann, Granny Mendel, and Pops. I miss them so much and cherish every memory that I have!
• Every St. John 4th of July Picnic we've attended {that I can remember}
• Vacation to Big Bend National Park
• Vacation to Missouri
• Numerous camping trips to Lake Somerville and Lake Belton - even the few trips to Lake Medina!
• Spirit sprinkles :)
• Countless sporting functions, from volleyball (varsity team as a freshman and being named to the All-State team), to softball (soooo many cold days/nights and Coach Oden driving me from a band competition to a district game in which the Ganado coach's windshield was shattered...oops!), to track & field (regional track meet that I participated in for shotput...), to two-a-days (I was usually injured...ha!), including Little League - I believe there was even some soccer in there!
• Vacation to the Frio River
• Memories from being on the drill team
• Band. 'Nuff said! ;)
• The friendships through it all {and for those of you that stuck around all this time...thank you!}
• Leaving home and moving to a big, new city for college, in which homesickness kicked in
• My car accident
• Marrying my best friend
• College hardships
• Sexy Hexy 
• Concerts
• Trips to Corpus to visit my sister on the weekends
• ROAD TRIPS! {especially our recent trip to Dallas}
• Club Volleyball {including the bajillion photos that were always taken...thanks Mom! And, I cannot think about those days and the pictures without thinking of Stacie laughing at mom harassing her with the camera!! Great times!}
• C.C.D. in St. John
• Jumping into freezing cold water at the lake in the middle of winter for $5
• Every injury I've ever experienced playing high school sports
• The joy that high school sports brought me, especially volleyball 
• Confirmation 
• Birthday parties, especially my 21st and the one we had at Ariel's house in high school...so fun!
• Friday night football games
• The unending support of my family to every sporting function, football game to watch me dance/play in the band, support through school, especially through club volleyball and when I made the choice not to continue collegiately 
• Scrapbooks 
• Summers at home doing chores and eating fabulous homemade lunches at my grandparents' house
• Soaring with the eagles ;)
• The loss of my grandmother
• The loss of my other grandmother
• The recent loss of my grandfather
• But honestly, the weekends at home with family just hanging out, watching television or into our normal, random shenanigans around the farm were and always will be my absolute favorite memories that I will forever hold near and dear to my heart {not to get sappy or anything}. Seriously. To you, it may sound boring and no fun, but trust me, it's far from both! I love just spending quality time with my family {and extended family} just being ourselves and doing nothing fancy. So amazing. {I'd totally link to some blog posts here, but it's pretty much every.single.one, so...yeah. Just go check out my blog archive!} 

These are only a few of the life events that have brought me to where I am today, and for each one, good or bad, I cherish. In my short 25 years, I've accomplished a lot. I'm married. I've graduated college. I've begun my career. We're getting more and more financially stable. And most importantly, I'm happy. I know there are rough days, but the good days far surpass them! I hope and pray {and know} that the next 25 will be just as amazing, if not even more so! I know God has a plan for my life and that this is only the beginning.

And speaking of the future, in light of my milestone birthday {can you even call 25 a milestone?? I am anyway...it's my birthday after all!}, I've been working on and have finally completed my 30 before 30 list! And now, to share with all of you, because I know you're just dying to know. :)

I know God has a plan for me, and everything happens in His time, but here are 30 things that I want and aim to do in the next five years, before I'm thirty {in no particular order}:

1. Kayak on Lady Bird Lake
2. Make zucchini bread {and have it be amazing, duh}
3. Create a routine of regular family Scripture study & prayer, and stick to it
4. 'Tour' the capitol in Austin
5. Be intentional in my marriage
6. Be a homeowner
7. Build up to and consistently work out at least four days/week
8. Visit another country
9. Donate money to charity
10. Take a cooking class with my husband
11. Learn German
12. Participate in a 5k
13. Work only one job
14. Build up our savings account {no goal amount at this time, but keep a lookout for it to come!}
15. Spend the night under the stars
16. Project 365: blogged.
17. Have a paint fight with my husband & photograph it
18. Pay off at least two student loans
19. Become a mommy
20. Fill all frames in our home with actual pictures of people that we know
21. Learn more about Catholicism
22. Visit New York City
23. Buy a DSLR camera and learn how to use it
24. Lose a total {at least} of 60 pounds
25. Take a trip with each of my siblings
26. Learn to crochet
27. Attend a small group Bible study regularly
28. Read 100 books in a year
29. Become a runner
30. Visit a winery

I look forward to the next five years to see just how many of these I can accomplish! Some of them will be easy and some won't, but I'm excited to see it all play out. I know that I will continue to have the love and support of my family and husband to encourage me daily and keep me focused on what's important in life. So, whether it be the good, the bad, or the ugly, I say

BRING.IT.ON!

Here's to the next twenty-five years! :-)