*Surprise* Chicago Birthday Weekend

Dwight is so good about always doing little things to make me feel loved. I knew he was probably up to something considering it was my 25th birthday but I definitely did not expect to be surprised the way that he did!

The night before my birthday, he hands me a card and inside are tickets to a broadway show for that Saturday night we have been wanting to see for awhile. I was ecstatic to say the least but then he had  me look again at the tickets and see where the show was playing. When I saw that we were going to CHICAGO...i lost it. Lost it so much that I had to remind myself to keep breathing when I started feeling light headed from all the jumping around, hugging him and squealing I was doing.

(i really...realllly love my husband. And not just because of the sweet things he does like this...but the man is just the best...)

We caught an early flight out Saturday morning and arrived in a dreary cold Chi-town. I was mentally slapping myself across the face to gear up for the inevitable bone-chilling wind that was awaiting to attack me...but surprisingly, it wasn't all that bad.

We caught the orange line into the city and I couldn't help but sing the theme song to "Family Matters" in my mind as we whizzed pasts rows of houses that looked liked Carl Winslow's neighborhood. Which got me thinking (as I sat next to a relatively sketchy passenger) that if something were to happen to me in Chicago and I needed police assistance, Carl Winslow is not the ideal cop I would want rushing to my rescue. Couldn't he have been a banker, or even in insurance agent? I mean, let's face it...he enjoyed one too many donuts in his career.

Once we managed to successfully get out of the subway with our over sized suitcase through the rotating entry bar thingy's...we walked a few blocks to our hotel, The Drake (HELLO!!! My Best Friend's Wedding, anyone?) We had the great misfortune of not having our room ready yet and were upgraded to the executive suite. Again, HELLO! (to Dwight's credit, he did reserve a suite for us but the executive upgrade was nice perk.)

First thing on the list was to eat infamous deep dish pizza. We indulged in Lou Malanati's and it did not disappoint. We are unashamed thin crust pizza lovers so our allegiance did not waver as we partook in its fatter older brother. It was good, but we still will stick to what we know. However, their house salad was possibly one of the best I have had. Highly recommend it. We left fat and happy and decided to check out the Shedd Aquarium.

It was a fun experience and an escape from the dreary cold. We saw lots of whales, sharks, fishies, and other things with gills and fins.

We decided to enjoy the perks of our room at the hotel and take it easy before that evening....I watched the cars go by next to Lake Michigan and kept running to hug Dwight and saying "this is so much fun :)"

Unfortunately, I caught a 48 hour virus that felt like death and we caught an early flight home. Seriously, I was sitting in the lobby of the hotel, leaning against Dwight crying and the nicest bellman ran up to me and embraced me saying "please don't cry my dear! I will fetch you a water and tissues! Just remember, its not about how you start, but how you finish!" Not exactly the most appropriate advice at the moment, but it made me smile none the less :)

We hope to go back sometime soon and finish where we left off (ideally when its a little warmer). All in all, I loved Chicago!

Twenty-Five

I turned twenty-five yesterday.

Can I first just say how no matter where I am or how "significant" the birthday age may be, the people around me without fail always make me feel so special and loved. I have been blessed to have wonderful people sprinkled throughout every season of my life...thank you Lord!

Obviously it has been quite a while since I last wrote here. Blame it on busyness or just plan ol' prioritization of time...the blog I had such high hopes for last year has sat dormant.

However, with yesterday's festivities and me being a little more reflective than usual, I found it necessary to write out a few thoughts about this whole turning a quarter of a century thing.

25.

The number that I feel seems so much more respectable than any of the previous ages I have been.

Being that I have been the perpetual "youngin" amongst my friends, I was most excited about turning twenty five since it felt so much more adult than twenty-four.

After-all...

I am married.
I have been *thankfully* employed going on 4 years now.
We own a house.
We talk about things like life insurance.
I meal-plan!

All these things merit being considered a mature, respectable adult, right?

But as I answered the typical birthday question of "how old are you?" My chipper response of "TWENTY-FIVE" was met with "only twenty-five? you are SO young"

aaaaaaand...cue the crushing of my spirit.

c'mon people! I had such high hopes for today!

I guess you have to wait until you are 40 when people stop saying that...but then you get black balloons and a grim reaper on your cake as everyone congratulates/ridicules you for being Over the Hill....

so. I'd like to know what the universal age of "arriving" is. 

or maybe you just need to hang around younger people to get the responses you want?

At least the kindergartener I asked how old they thought I was restored by confidence by telling me I did in fact look 25 :)

Anyways, the thought of age really is such a relative thing. To me though, i like 25.

It feels good :)

I'm grateful for these 25 years. So many things about my life are not at all what I would have anticipated and yet, others have wildly exceeded my expectations. I am thankful for how God has guided and orchestrated the large milestones down to the tiny steps all throughout my life. I have some of the sweetest friendships, a wonderful and loving family, a godly and protective husband, a great job and good health. My life has been rich and full of great joy because of the presence of Christ intricately weaving himself into every part of it. Thank you God for these 25 years of fullness of life!

now...off to Chicago! Dwight surprised me with a weekend trip...he is truly the best :)