2013: Year In Review

This year has been wonderful!  I have been overwhelmed by the amount of opportunities and blessings we have had in our lives this year.  Sometimes I worry that getting older means less exciting things but this year definitely proved me wrong.  I think this year was proof that hard work and being thankful for the people in your life is what really matters and can pay off big time! 

The two lessons I was reminded of regularly throughout the course of this year were:

“To be kind to all, to like many and love a few, to be needed and wanted by those we love, is certainly the nearest we can come to happiness.” – Mary Stuart

“For most of life, nothing wonderful happens. If you don’t enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting down to a meal with family or friends, then the chances are you’re not going to be very happy. If someone bases his/her happiness on major events like a great job, huge amounts of money, a flawlessly happy marriage or a trip to Paris, that person isn’t going to be happy much of the time.  If, on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in the yard, a drink or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of happiness.” - Andy Rooney

Some of my favorite things that happened this year:

• I ran my first 5k
• We went to Switzerland to visit friends and had an AMAZING trip
• My best friend announced that she was expecting a baby
• Kyle started his doctoral program, I’m so unbelievably proud of him!
• We got a new youth pastor for Ignition and it has been such a blessing for the students and the leaders
• I got to go to BigStuf for the 5^th year in a row and spend a week with some awesome high school students
• We celebrated our 5^th wedding anniversary
• We made our 5^th annual trek to 12 Mile, IN to visit Kyle’s mom with our biggest group of friends yet
• Kim & Austin announced that they are expecting a bundle of joy as well - a baby boy they will name Owen Jacob who will make his debut in April 2014
• Blair & Jenna got engaged
• I got to help host a baby shower for my best friend
• Kyle got to go to Kansas to see his cousin David marry the woman of his dreams Katie
• I got to visit Alyssa in Houston twice this year
• Larissa and I went to Montreal for a girls weekend
• I wrapped up my term as president of our HOA, I learned a lot but I am so thankful for the freedom of being done with my term
• Kyle went to Boston to present at a national conference with some of his professors
• We got to spend Thanksgiving in Metter and Savannah and this year Deborah got to go with us!
• 12/17/2013: My best friend became a mommy! Emma Caroline was born weighing 4 pounds and 12 ounces.
• We spent the week of Christmas surrounded by the people we love and had a wonderful celebrating our many blessings with others.

Southern Girl

Not surprisingly it clearly picked up that I am from the South. I think the one that pegged me more than others was that I grew up calling rain while it sunny outside "the devil beating his wife."  

I work hard to keep my southern accent at bay but apparently the dialect is harder to subdue.  I am proud to be a Southern girl though and loved growing up in a region where going to church, drinking sweet tea, eating boiled peanuts, and being polite were highly emphasized.   

Link to the Quiz: Dialect Quiz

Holiday Shopping

I’m so proud that this year Kyle and I each only have one gift under the tree for one another and everything else is for other people.  We have had such a big and busy year that we decided to scale back our gifts to one another and focus on giving to other people.  We are also giving a lot of handmade gifts this year which has been really special and a lot of fun compared to just buying something generic online or at a store.  I can’t wait until we can watch everyone open their gifts!

Thanksgiving & Savannah

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” - Frederick Keonig

I have so much to be thankful for.  It seems my heart has been overflowing with love for the people in my life and I hope I never take that for granted.  I am surrounded by people that I love, who love me, who help make me a better person, and who make every day events more wonderful just by being part of them. 

This year we went down to Metter for Thanksgiving to be with my entire family.  South Georgia has a hospitality and charm that you simply can’t find elsewhere.  It goes beyond sweet tea, roasted pecans, and pie that will change your life.  There is a genuine love and consideration for others that make me proud to be Georgia born and raised.  We enjoyed a lovely meal and stuffed ourselves full of delicious homemade food.  Then we retired to the living room to talk and resist the urge to nap to sleep off the heavy meal.  After some hilarious attempts at a group picture we finally got one we could use and people started saying their goodbyes. 

That night we headed to Savannah to continue our long weekend away from work.  We stayed in a beautiful hotel across the river and had a lot of fun riding the ferry back and forth to River Street.  Kyle’s mom came with us and it was so fun to share all our favorite Savannah traditions with her.  We of course ate lots of pralines from River Street, strolled through charming shops, walking through the squares to Forsyth Park, did some Christmas shopping, visited our favorite piano bar, and ate at some wonderful restaurants.  The weather was beautiful and thankfully a tad warmer than in Atlanta.  We took a ton of pictures and made memories that I know we will all cherish for a long time to come!

Operation Christmas Child

This year we decided to get a group of friends together and pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  I had so much fun buying the items and making the boxes with our friends.  We were able to make 12 boxes and I can’t wait to get the email from Samaritan’s Purse telling us which country all the boxes ended up in!  I know it’s just something little but I hope those boxes bring some joy to the kids who receive them and that they realize someone far away loves them and is thinking of them.

Fall Photos

One of the girls in my small group has really discovered her passion for photography over the last couple of years.  She is saving up for a big trip to New York for a conference with her school yearbook group which includes sessions on photography and layouts.  She mentioned that she wanted to build her portfolio and needed to save for her trip so we decided to schedule a mini session with her for photographs for our Christmas card.  We were very lucky and had very mild weather and some leaves were still clinging to the trees.  Here are a few of my favorites!