28 – This one’s gonna be great! I’m not one to have ever hated getting older, but I’m especially excited that this birthday marks the age I’ll be when my baby Liam is born.

Having a birthday in January means that I get a fresh start at the beginning of the year, every year. A new year, a new age, a new life! So many things to look forward to in the next 8 weeks – my heart is very full. I remember this time last year, I was so upset that I had to endure a “birthday” just 6 days after we had Robert’s memorial. I didn’t want to be alive, much less have yet another empty birthday. I make big deals about the smallest things; I love celebrating absolutely anything, but I made the choice last year to call off any and every birthday-related activity. Thankfully that time of darkness and uncertainty is over, I feel rested and ready for what life has planned for me. Life events like those truly exercise your ability to bare trying times and emerge with a thicker skin, stronger heart, and a more open mind. Thank God for that.

I never thought I would be 28 before I had my first child – that was certainly never the “plan”. But here I am, so much wiser and more prepared to be a mommy for this little one; I feel like a completely different person because I am.

I just wanted to publish a quick post to say “Thank You” to everyone out there for being there for me through this past year. It’s been a year full of ups and downs but I am so grateful for all of my friends, both old and new, who have stuck by my side and shown me what love really is. I could never repay you all for it but hopefully one day when our foundation is helping start other families I can say this is my pay-it-forward for what everyone has done for us. I can’t wait!

Love you all,

Jamie