It's My Birfdaaaaayyyyyy! ... Or... ya know.... was.....

Hello World!

Look at this.

My poor little blog.

I only got one blog post in, in December, and it was not even a very informative one.

I'm hoping to get back into blogging, and vlogging, more regularly and thought I'd start my catch up posts with talking about a pretty big event in my life.

I've entered the adult world.

It's pretty terrifying!

And exciting!

And the same...

But different?

For the first time ever on my actual birthday when everyone asked me,

 "So, do you feel any older?"

I could truthfully answer

 "Yes."

There is suddenly a new weight to one's age.

You are 18 years of age now, and have to act it.

There is no excuse to be anything else but an adult.

To start off my day, I asked my mom if she'd do a photoshoot with me that morning.

I love having extra pictures of late to document momentous times in my life.
My version of makeup is putting on mascara, lipstick, and a gel glitter on my eyes/face. To me, the extra shine is perfect and my favorite, so these pictures are mostly portraits as I was hoping my mom could capture the sparkles.
(which she of course did!)  

If you have been around on my blog for a bit, then you'll understand why I have fairy wings on.

If not?

Lets just say, I love adding a little magic into life.  

For the whole month of December my mom kept asking me what I wanted to do for my special day.

Well....

Here is an idea of what went on in my head.

 "I want a party!

But that can be expensive by the time I add in friends and family.

I know, I want to go somewhere and go on an adventure!

But again, there is the money factor of paying for people, and what can one do that is fun in December?

I know, I'll do something low-key with the family!

Except, not all my family members can make it...

And what's something that's exciting for an almost 18 year old to do that can include a 5 year old? Maybe I'll just invite a friend over.

But which one?

Maybe I just won't do anything fancy, and eat ice cream all day and wear pajamas.

That sounds pretty tempting, but will my 35 year old self wish I had done something more interesting?

I've got it!
I'll put on a dance!

I love dancing!

How could I not have thought of this?!"

*Looks for a dance hall*

*They all ask for a $2,000 rent fee*

*Ooh, look they all include the amenities, ... which I don't need!*

By the time I wrote out the pros and cons of everything, it left me a bit uncertain of what to do.

I knew the one thing I wanted was to have a fun day and not be stressed or stress anyone else out.

A low key party was eventually settled upon.

I invited people who I geek out with, dance with, am related to and attend church with.

Also known as, people who know that I have health problems but give me grace and love me anyways.

My party consisted of; dinner ( corn chips and soup, which also happened to be served in mugs. It's my FAVORITE way to eat soup! ), games, and a photo booth, so I could take a Polaroid picture with each of my guests.

Dan and I were on the decorating squad.

My photobooth wall.

 

 

I was no longer on AIP for my birthday, but was still cutting out a lot of foods, so this was my "Cake."

It was a simple chocolate cake (with substitutions of oat and walnut flour for the grain, applesauce for the eggs, and coffee for the buttermilk) with jam filling, and a chocolate glaze.

Sugar was one thing it contained a lot of!

For everyone else I made a Red Velvet cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

If there is one thing about me, it is that I love to bake, and I love velvet so making this treat was a lot of fun for me!

 

I don't have many pictures of the night, and most of them are horribly blurry, so instead I am just posting the polaroids that were taken as I think they catch the spirit of the night.  

(Yes, I'm well aware I look pregnant in this one, but It's still one of my favorites!)

Sadly, two of my guests weren't able to make it, another one had to leave the party early, and my younger sisters went off to bed before I took the pictures, so I still need to take a couple poloroids with some special peeps!

And that was my day!

I know this post is horribly late with only mediocre pictures, but to be honest it's been a bit of a struggle to want to blog again.

Part of me has been trying really hard to limit my screen time and spend more time reading ( especially all the lovely books I got for Christmas! )

And part of me has just been avoiding it as it can be hard to try and make my blog happy and encouraging when I'm struggling.

I look at this year of turning 18 though and all I can say is that even though I fail and am not constant, God is faithful and constantly there.

I'm more excited for another year of life than I ever have been before, but I'm also slightly terrified.

My hope and prayer for this coming year is that my relationship with God would show more than anything else in my life.

That I wouldn't be scared to talk about Him, and what He is constantly showing me in my life.

That I would yearn to read my Bible like no other book, and that He alone would be my favorite person to talk to everyday when I pray.

That when people see me happy they would know it's because God is my source of joy and strength.

Some of you may not say these are birthday wishes, and I don't think any of these were what I thought of when I blew out my candles, but I want to be so focused on serving God with my life that nothing else will matter.

That I will be so in love with Jesus that the stress of life won't be there. 

As I end this blog post, I just want to say really quick, thank you to everyone who made my birthday special and magical! From coming to my party, to just wishing me a happy day on Instagram. I'm so very thankful for each and every wonderful and beautiful person in my life. <3