a grown up is a child with layers on.

so my brian turned 26 on tuesday... and i will be 22 in a few days. it's weird. i do not feel that we should be this old. maybe it's because i still play dress up and brian still plays video games in his p.j's all day on saturdays. or maybe it's because we would be content watching disney movies all day long...or maybe it's because we dialogue in only song for entire conversations. a plethora of reasons (but then i catch myself using words like "plethora" and think, hmm maybe i can be mature sometimes). the point is, i do not want to grow up. i want to be young, innocent, and free forever. but i also want to be wise...very wise, which i know comes with age & experience while walking with the Lord. 

the good news is, living in the Kingdom of God gives us the best of both worlds. God delights in a child-like faith, declaring that His Kingdom belongs to those who possess it. we are precious and innocent in the eyes of our Father, and set free from everything that could ever hold us back from Him. we are commanded to be like little children and are called children of God. but we are also to chase after wisdom and to move past spiritual infancy and onto more mature matters. we are to instruct and teach those younger than us. 

brian tells me i have so much little girl inside me...but he also calls me a woman (which is really hot by the way). i am a woman with the spirit of a little girl...and i love it! i love growing in my walk with the Lord, knowing Him more, gaining wisdom, and teaching/encouraging those younger than me...but i also love having the wonder of a child, feeling so small in my Heavenly Father's presence, and the joy and freedom He gives me. it is the same with brian...he is an incredible man of God, who is still a big kid at heart. i love how strong and wise he is, but i also love how he finds joy in the simple, much like a child. and i love how somehow being married has caused us to grow up in some ways and to become more like kids in other ways...because really, when you get married, you just have another person to be silly and immature with :)

celebrating with my family at cheesecake factory...yuurrrmmm

the carrot cake i made for him...also notice the star wars legos i bought for him on the table :)

please also be aware that we did not eat this cake on the same night we went to the cheesecake factory.

happy 26th birthday boo :)