Officially Thirty!

Few weeks before my birthday, Mike has been asking me how I wanted to celebrate it. He suggested going out of town or treating our family out. To be honest, I almost forgot that my birthday was coming. I guess I've been so excited and looking forward to November when I will be giving birth to Baby Shiko that I've lost track of the other occasions that would come before it. If you've known me for years, you should know that this is so not like me. My birthday has always been a big thing for me. When I was still single, I used to prepare and save money to make every year's celebration a blast. I love seeing my family and friends come together year after year. Even Mike was surprised that I almost forgot about my birthday. I told him that I don't want to celebrate my birthday this year, I just want to save up money for Baby Shiko's needs and to prepare for his delivery in the next few months. I guess priorities really change as we grow older.

In one of my alone moments, I felt the Lord speaking to my heart. He reminded me that while it's a good thing that I am starting to mature and change my priorities, I also should not forget that my birthday is not just about the details of the celebration or the amount of money that I would be spending on it... more importantly, it is the day when I was born in this world... on that day, He already knew the plans and purposes that He has for my life... on August 19, 1986, He smiled from heaven as He heard my very first cry... and every single day of my life was recoded on His book. I wept as I felt convicted in my spirit. Because of too much excitement for Baby Shiko, I felt sorry that I made God feel that I am neglecting my birthday and just wanted to treat it like any other ordinary day, when it should be a day of thanksgiving, a day of remembering His faithfulness in my life for the last thirty years. I repented, and told Him that I would celebrate it, even in a simple way. 

So last week, I officially turned thirty years old! I feel so grateful because I never imagined that I would be living such a blessed life! Not without problems or challenges, but with the presence of God through it all! I never thought that I will be entering this new decade and season of my life with the most precious gift moving and kicking inside me. I feel so blessed to have a husband who does his best to make me feel so loved... to have family and friends who are always there for us. I feel so undeserving of all of these, and I thank God because this is all His grace!

I know that I would want to look back at this post one day, so I don't want to miss the chance to document how I celebrated my 30th birthday. The day before my birthday, Mike and I went to the mall to start buying Baby Shiko's clothes, and some stuffs that we need as we set up his play room. It was such a beautiful moment with Mike. I remember daydreaming about that moment many years back, and I couldn't contain my happiness as it was finally happening! (Maybe I'll post another entry about those baby stuffs soon). Afterwards, he treated me at Racks as our simple birthday dinner celebration.

My husband is not really into music so I was surprised when he asked me to go with him to RJ Guitar store after we've had our dinner.  I was so surprised when I found out that he brought me there to buy his birthday gift for me --- a pink acoustic guitar! Totally unexpected! The Lord knows how much my heart grieved when Mike decided to get rid of my electric guitar and amplifier last year because of our house mold problem. I felt like he didn't really care about my love and passion for music... it really broke my heart. So when Mike surprised me with this gift, I couldn't help but weep especially when he told me that, "I care about the things you love.. the things that make you happy.. Happy Birthday.." This means so much to me as a wife.  I felt the presence of the LORD as I wept remembering the times when I was pouring out my heart, crying as I tell Him that I choose to submit to my husband even if I was hurting inside, because to honor and please Him is more important to me than my love for music. This pink guitar will always remind me that God listens to the quiet longings of my heart... and of course, it was a big pogi points for Mike! He really made me feel special through it!

The next day, we spent the entire day starting to set up Baby Shiko's room. Mike was really tired as he was the one who did the general cleaning. We celebrated my birthday with the family the Sunday after my birthday. We went to church together, my mother and siblings in law cooked some of my handa, and we just had a simple get together at home. Over all, it was fun and I felt the love of the people closest to me. :)

I missed doing this with them! :)

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