2013 so far

It's hard to believe January is almost over!  This month has been busy (aren't they all?) full of wedding planning and spending time with friends.  So far on the wedding front, I have a dress, we have a photographer, DJ, and photobooth rented.  Our venues are booked and Save the Dates came in the mail last week to be sent out soon!  Things are moving right along--I feel like I've gotten a lot done, but I also know there's a lot more to do in the coming months.

This past weekend was a lot of fun.  Friday lunch my mom, David, and I went and met with one of the potential caterers for a tasting--it was a lot of fun and all the food was delicious!  Friday night we enjoyed communion dinner with the Young Adults group and then David and I caught up on some TV and some time together--our evenings together are getting fewer and further between.

Saturday I slept in (finally) and then I spent the afternoon with my adorable nephew.  He wanted to play outside, so we put on his jacket and hat and went up and down the street.  We spent the rest of the afternoon coloring, reading books, and playing with his toys.  He is at such a fun age right now and I love getting to spend time with him!

That night we headed to Main Event to bowl with our group and some of our international friends from UTD.  There was a long wait for bowling, so we passed the time with a little karaoke.  I've never sung karaoke in public before, and it's not my favorite thing, but we had most everyone get up and sing and it was a lot of fun.

Sunday we had an early meeting, church, and then lunch and games to say goodbye to our friends Paul and Hannah who moved to Colorado today.  I will miss them a lot, but it was fun getting to hang out with them one last time.

This week has started off a little crazy--I'm home sick today, but hopefully can get some good sleep and head back to work tomorrow!

And that's January so far

Year in Review

Yeah, I know... it's January 3 so I'm a little behind on the re-cap of 2012 blog.  But I spent Monday and Tuesday enjoying being lazy and watching movies and playing games with David to recover from our week of Christmas traveling, so I didn't ever open my computer long enough to blog.  But 2012 was such a crazy and blessed year that I can't let it get too far away without remembering--especially because looking back a lot of what happened is nowhere in my blog posts--whoops!

In January, I started in my new position at work on our enrollment team.  It was something none of our other offices had done, so we were the guinea pigs.  It was a crazy month getting a system going--I worked a lot of long days and we were adjusting to a new team.  The first few months were rough, it was like starting a brand new job and I was exhausted every day.  But I was also so excited for the opportunity to be doing evaluations all the time since that is what I love most.

February started with a girls weekend with my best friend and her mom.  It included lots more of the same--working, Bible Study, sleep.  I also got to attend a wedding for my friends Courtney and Kenneth

 March brought lots of time outside as the weather turned nice.  We had a play date at the park with puppies, a game night at my apartment and a weekend trip to Pine Cove.

In April, I spent lots of time with my family for Easter and other weekends and celebrated at a wedding reception for my friends Paul and Hannah.  I also went on the Women's Retreat with Woodcreek where I got to connect with new friends and enjoy getting away from life here.  That weekend I also expressed to my friend Sami some frustrations about feeling like I was ready for some sort of change in life and tired of being in the same place.  Little did I know that that weekend was one of the first times David started seriously considering asking me out.  (oh how fun it is to look back on the year and see God's hand in ways I never would have at the time)

May started with a girls' weekend with my friend Katie.  We had breakfast and then I went with her and Melissa to celebrate our friend Laura's birthday.  That night Katie was my plus one for Cinco de Reedo at Jeremy and Aja's house.  May also brought helping Erin with set up for Matt and Daisy's wedding--it was a fun day celebrating with the couple and our friends--and it was made even more fun for me when it ended with David asking me out to dinner.  So the rest of May was spent on our first dates, getting to know each other and having fun together at several different locations.

June and July brought getting ready for and leaving on our Hiking Trip in Red River.  It was definitely an experience.  Looking back, I learned a lot from that trip and the time in the mountains--even when things went nothing like we planned.

In August, I went to Nicaragua for a week with a group from church.  It was neat for me to get to see and experience the things I've heard about for the last couple years.  The rest of the month was pretty low-key and ended with Chase's 1st birthday party.

September and October were full of Fall Fun!  We went to the Fair, a couple Rangers Games, and Six Flags.  We also enjoyed a few Saturdays at home watching football.

November was a bit crazy as well.  The first weekend included a trip to Pine Cove for workcrew, then I came back for my mom's surgery.  The next week was spent working part-time and being with my family the rest.  God taught me a lot in walking through cancer with my mom and I am so grateful for the healing He has provided as I continue to pray and hurt for others in my family who are touched by it right now.  November also included a quick trip to Waco to meet up with good friends and watch Baylor beat K State!

And December rounds out the year.  It started with a proposal and was full of Christmas (and wedding planning) fun!  We enjoyed several parties and Christmas outings as well as trips to visit family.

And now we're in 2013!  Last year was full of unexpected turns (both bad and good) and I never would have predicted at the beginning of 2012 that I would be engaged by the end of it.  But I am so grateful for God's timing in it all and the man He brought in to my life.  And I'm looking forward to 2013 possibly being the best year yet!