michelle castro photography: August 2013

Well . . . as much as I’ve tried, the days have passed and today, August 15, 2013 {at 2:01am, to be exact!} marks my . . . ready for this . . . yep, 40th Birthday!!! That’s just really crazy . . .even as I type this I don’t really believe it! I remember when my mom turned 40 . . . and, honestly, I thought that was about as OLD as anyone could EVER be! And . . . well, here I am! I’m 40! Aren’t you supposed to be mature and have it all together when you’re 40? I still feel like I’m 25 . . . but, nope, one look at my birth certificate will slap some sense into me and I realize, that, I am, IN FACT . . . F O R T Y!!!! {Maybe if I say it another 20x it will sink in!}

HOW CUTE ARE WE!!!!

So . . . when I turned 39 last year I kept thinking about the BIG 4-0 . . . what would it be like . . . would I EVER lose those lbs I’ve been TRYING to lose ever since my last child was born? Would I have it “all together” once I hit that magic number? Would I instantly need a cane or some other support for walking or moving? Pretty sure none of that will be necessary! As I approach this milestone . . . I realize . . . it really isn’t that big of a deal! Yeah . . . it’s a milestone . . . moving from one decade to the next, but, well, big deal! Right?

In October last year my friends encouraged me to run a half marathon with them . . . WHAT? ME? You have to be KIDDING!!! {I’m pretty sure those were my EXACT words!} . . . well, they are persistent little buggers and in December I started training with my friend Kristen . . . and ALL BE DARNED if on May 10th I didn’t cross the finish line of that crazy thing! AND . . . I ran the entire thing . . . with the exception of the RIDICULOUS hill that they all “forgot how bad it was!” . . . nice! All of a sudden my list started forming . . . there wasn’t a SINGLE person around me who would’ve EVER thought that I’d run a half marathon, much less finish it!!! Truly!

so . . . my husband, girls, and parents all woke up super early and surprised me at the finish line! So amazingly sweet!!!

So . . . next on the list was to climb Mt. Whitney . . . yes, I said that . . . the highest peak in the continental United States . . . can’t tell you when I first had this dream, but it’s been there for at least 7 years . . . and has been nagging at me for the past two years! So, on July 17th with five other friends, I embarked upon what would end up being 20 (YES, TWENTY!!!) hours of hiking . . . where for 30 minutes I sat on top of the world!!! The girl who is AFRAID of heights sat at the top of Mt. Whitney and reflected upon so much that the Lord has taught me and brought me through over the past, almost, 40 years!

The amazing people I got to share this experience with!!!

At 14,508 feet!!! Pretty unreal views!!!

On this INSANE hike I kept thinking about Philippians 4:13 . . . one of those verses I memorized when I was a child, and yet at those points when I didn’t think I could go on . . . I thought, YES, even THIS I can do because it is CHRIST who is giving me the strength! My goal was to summit . . . and I did!

I don’t have it all together . . . I’ve made a million and one mistakes . . . sadly, I’ll make some of the same ones again . . . I still have SO much to learn . . . BUT, I am so thankful for the experiences I’ve had over the last 40 years!!! {still not believing the whole 4-0 thing!} I’m blessed BEYOND measure!!! I was given these AMAZING parents!! Truly! If you know them, you know I’m NOT exaggerating at all!!! They are really quite awesome and some of the most fun people you’ll EVER want to hang out with!!! I’m blessed to be a sister, sister-in-law, cousin, niece, auntie, and friend . . . but the two titles I am MOST BLESSED with is wife and mom! My husband is truly the person you would LOVE to hang out with . . . he’s charming and funny and loves me! He has given me these BEYOND amazing children . . . my three precious girls I get to kiss every night and my beautiful son who is sitting at the feet of Jesus! I LOVE being his wife and their mom!!! In all my 40 years . . . I couldn’t imagine anything more!!!

Here’s my cute mom . . . just before I was born!!!

IMG_0506[1]

One of my FAVORITE baby pictures! Vain from the beginning!

Well . . . here we are . . . 40 years later and I just sent my oldest girls off to 5th and 2nd grade today! You know how you sit there in the hospital room staring at your precious baby and EVERYONE comes in and tells you that it goes by SOOOO fast . . . THEY WERE RIGHT!!!!

So . . . not the BEST picture of us . . . but that’s what I have on my phone . . . too tired to get the images off of my big girl camera!

I look forward to what the Lord has in store for the nest 40 years!!!
Thank you all for the part you have played in my journey!!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!
I hope you all have a GREAT day!!!
Love, ME!

I met Crystal about a month before the wedding . . . they KNEW that there were meant for each other and it didn’t make any sense to them why they shouldn’t get the wedding done! So they did!!! In about 3 months they had the wedding planned and executed!!! They had everything that they needed . . . each other! It was a beautiful wedding and completely apparent that they love each other and desired to give honor and glory to the Lord!

I loved the ring bearers outfits . . . so cute and creative!!! What kid wants to wear a tux? I mean really! A cute polo is way better!

They were each surrounded by those they love and who love them in the beautiful amphitheater and Grace Baptist Church!