Birthday Festivities!

Well, well, well!!! It has been quite awhile since I have consistently blogged and I just KNOW this is a season in my life that I am going to want to look back upon and reminisce! It has been a whirlwind past couple of months. My roommates continually remind me how much things have changed – who knew the difference a few weeks could make (I tell you what; the power of prayer and fasting!!).

Things at work are well underway. We have created another Learning Center to address the needs of many struggling students and it’s been a relatively smooth transition. We’re still a long way from where we want to be, but we are very much moving forward and everyone seems to be on the same page. It’s been a very exciting place to be!

A few weeks ago, I was able to head up to Orange County to help Stephanie celebrate her birthday! What a fun – and not often enough – time enjoyed by all! We had a delicious meal at BJ’s with fabulous company and then headed to her parents’ house to play games, laugh, talk, and catch up. I spent the night there before heading back to San Diego in the morning. Jamie was out of town for a week with USD’s swim conference. She got to hang out in San Antonio with Jojo and crew in amidst coaching her team to a decent performance. What a season it has been! She came home on Sunday and spent the week recuperating and getting her voice back! So, last weekend we were finally able to get together to celebrate her birthday! We made a meal at the house and then headed out to play Laser Tag (original intention was miniature golf, but these incredible adverse weather conditions here in San Diego – aka some rain – prevented us from doing so)…it was an absolute blast!! We then completed the evening with a few Chinese Fire Drills for old times’ sake. Gotta keep acting young to stay young, right?!

My weeks have basically been filled with lots of work and preparation, youth group, Bible Study, reading, working out, hanging out, and spending hours on the phone/facebook/skype with my fabulous boyfriend, Josiah! We’re in the throes of enjoying a whirlwind romance and it’s hard to even fully express all that’s gone on since that now famous Marshall’s encounter!! Supposedly, Josiah was unable to get off of work for my birthday, so we weren’t sure when we were going to see each other next – but thanks to my keen discernment skills and history of nosiness, I was onto something! I just didn’t want to ask too many questions, because I really did want to be surprised!!

So, Tuesday at work I’m just minding my own business and hanging out in my co-worker’s office before lunch. We hear a knock a few doors down and she tells me, ‘ I think I just saw someone walk by with flowers!’. So I open the door and look towards my office and see Josiah standing there with flowers, his mom, and my co-workers!! SOOOO FUN!! (His mom states that I was jumping up and down and screaming and she was attempting to capture it all on camera…it might cause motion sickness at this old age, so I haven’t watched it yet!) Oh my goodness, it was so AWESOME to have him here! He hung out at school for a little bit and we headed out afterwards. We spent the afternoon (after chowing down on some pizza) walking around San Diego – laughing, talking, listening, sharing, window shopping, playing life-size checkers, etc. It was great just to have him here and in person!! We went up to a friend’s that night to hang out with her and jam out a little bit. Then, we headed back home to pick up Jen and go see a movie. So nice to do just normal everyday things with him that don’t happen that much seeing as he lives on an island for the time being!

Wednesday, I headed to work and he came from his mom’s to pick me up around noon. Part of getting to leave early on my birthday involved a commitment to go meet my boss  We had a good time talking shop and catching up with her and then it was off to birthday celebrations! We swung by Submarina and headed to Balboa park for a picnic…barely missing the rain! Then it was off to the grocery store and back home to prep for our dinner party that night. We made a delicious spread (baked brie, guacamole, mini pizzas, fruit, veggies, hummus, etc. completed with salmon, chicken, and salad…then finished with a DELICIOUS carrot cake his mom made!) and entertained many people at Casa Camden! I felt so incredibly loved and blessed and it was SO much fun to have everyone hanging out – I just might celebrate my birthday every week!! The party wound down and everyone headed out by about 12:30 (on a school night!! I’m such a rebel!)
Thursday, it was up early and back to work. My last students of the day were on a field trip so Josiah picked me up around 2 and we headed down to Tijuana together for him to get some dental work done. I just love creating memories together!! We headed back to San Diego to get his In ‘N Out fix and then to hang out with the roommates. We played games, laughed, danced, and just hung out. It even worked out that my best friend Lyndsey and her husband Kevin drove into town on Thursday night (before catching their Friday cruise) and the four of us were able to hang out for a few hours! SO FUN! Unfortunately, it was our last night together and I drove him back up to his mom and step-dad’s around midnight then made the trek back home. So sad. Or so I thought…

Turns out the boat he needed to catch was sold out and I was able to leave after work on Friday to go pick him up and head up to San Pedro for him to catch the later boat! It even worked out that my mom and Jim met us with dinner at the port beforehand. Then, it really was sad as he jumped on the boat back to Catalina. Thankfully, Spring Break is in a few weeks and I’ll be able to head out there for a few days.
So, there you have it! I’ve hit the ground running in this 29th year and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down! The Lord is so good to me I can hardly even handle it!! May you experience His blessings today!!