30!

On March 12th, I turned 30. Greg got up with Cameron and allowed me to sleep in. At about 9am, I was awakened to them bringing me breakfast in bed. A fried egg, waffles with cinnamon and sugar, coffee and juice. And vitamins. Cameron said to me "Make sure you eat your vitamins, Mommy!" So sweet. I stayed in bed for awhile, leisurely eating my breakfast while watching House Hunters. :)

Around 1pm, my mom, sister Kristi, and dear friend Lacey came over to start setting up for my birthday party. Greg, Lacey and Kristi planned this party for me, and I have to say, it turned out beautifully. They put so much time and effort into it all, and I can't tell you how special it made me feel.

Beautiful cupcakes made by Lacey. Unfortunately, Lacey ended up being sick and wasn't able to join us for the party. I felt terribly for her, as she spent sooo much time and effort on the party and then didn't get to enjoy the fruits of her labor.

Gorgeous flower arrangements by my sister's friend Erin of Lindeman Weddings & Events


Our good friends Ed and Stacey, who will be welcoming their second baby in July!


I asked my sister-in-law, Heather, to take photos as the evening went on. My sister, cousin Debbie and I were standing around chatting when Heather came by with the camera...of course Kristi had just taken a bite of chewy bread...making for a less-than-flattering photo! Being the wonderful big sister that I am, I'm laughing hysterically in the background. ;)

We let her finish her bite and tried again. :)

We made this an adults-only evening...but made exception for sweet little Ryan, son of Heidi and Craig, who was just one month old.

Later in the evening, Greg gathered everyone around and started a little speech.

As is par for the course with him, he had just about everyone in the group laughing. :)

When he finished, I went up with him to chat a little bit...I started off by saying that with the events that had occured recently with my surgery, I wanted to keep the group small and invite only our closest friends and family. I invited people who have been extremely supportive and helpful in the past few months. I felt so very blessed by the outpouring of support that I felt during my recovery...and that's when I started to cry....

So I forced myself to smile, and said "we're not going to cry, we're going to smile...and thank you all for being here."

After that, they played a slide show put together by my sweet sister. Pictures of my first day of kindergarten, high school graduation, wedding, my sweet Cameron, and everything in between.

And then it was time to blow out the candles on a cheesecake (my favorite!).

My dear friends from high school, Jessica, Luke, Mike and Leah.

My sweet parents...how cute are they?!

My sister and I with my parents....I love this picture because I can really see the family resemblance. Kristi looks like my mom, and I'm a carbon copy of my dad...with hair (sorry dad, had to put that in there!).

With my mother in law and sister in law

It was a great party and I feel so blessed to have been spoiled with such wonderful friends and family.