(I could insert that my New Year's resolution is to post on here more often, but I won't lie. I enjoy doing this at my leisure and right now, as I've mentioned before, being on the computer at home any more than I have to is not something I typically choose to do in my leisure time. I'm sure you understand! :) )
July
July was great! We celebrated our nephew, Kyler's, 6th birthday in the first half of the month, then finished it off by going to Cali to visit Daniel's family and go to his cousin's wedding. (pic below of Daniel and said cousin, Rebecca. Yes, that's an earring in his ear. It was short-lived - guess being in L.A. got to him. ;) ) Lovely wedding and great time with his family! Got to visit Six Flags while there and it was a blast!
August
While in Cali Daniel received a phone call with a job offer from a fantastic banking software company. He, of course, accepted and began work there in August. Since then he's become a supervisor in the department he works in. So proud of him!
September
I traveled quite a bit for work in September and Daniel was so sweet to take care of the dogs and keep things moving without me. I visited Antlantic City and then Houston and Galveston. I loved Galveston! We were just there for a short time but I wouldn't mind visiting again, for sure. If you ever go, be sure to stop in at La King's Confectionery - great old-time, 1920s style candy store. They even have the classic soda fountains where they mix the syrup right there before handing it to you in a classic soda glass.
Right: Walking along the boardwalk in Atlantic City, it's fun to think of the history that's there. And of course we took the time to put our feet in the water! :)
October
My birthday month! My birthday fell on a Saturday so we had a great day of just hanging out together. The weather was gorgeous so Daniel and I went to Branson Landing and walked around for a while, had lunch at my fave restaurant down there (Cantina Laredo) and then did a little outlet shopping and ended the night with a movie at home. It was great! The next weekend our house was full of 8th grade girls from our church as we were a host home for Disciple Now (actually called Engage at our church). It was a great weekend and we were so thankful for the opportunity to get to know the girls and to open our home.
November
While Daniel went back to my hometown to stay with my family and go deer hunting, I had the opportunity to host/drive Angela Thomas while she was here for Fresh Grounded Faith. This was my third time serving as a host/driver for this even and what a blessing it is. Daniel didn't get a deer this year, but he's going to keep at it! We had a great Thanksgiving with his family. We planned to do our first 5k together at our local Turkey Trot but I ended up sick Thanksgiving morning :( Thankfully, we weren't doing dinner with his family until evening so I basically slept the entire day which helped a ton. We got up at 5 a.m. the next day because we'd picked out and saved for a couch at Ashley Furniture and we knew they were giving 25% off purchases made from 6 to 7 a.m. on Black Friday. So, we got up, bought our couch and then went right back to bed. I crashed most of the day Friday as well which was definitely needed.
December
It definitely feels like December flew by pretty quickly. It was truly pretty low-key for us overall. One weekend Kyler came and stayed the night with us which was super-fun. He was determined to stay up 'til midnight but he came about an hour shy. Of course his mom wasn't super-excited about that but I told her that's what aunts and uncles are for. ;) Then we got to watch him score a point and have an assist at his basketball game. Christmas was fantastic. We were thankful to have December 23 off of work to be a travel day to Van Buren and then spent a great weekend visiting my family, immediate and extended. After breakfast with my dad on Christmas morning, we headed back to Springfied to spend the afternoon with Daniel's family. Then, we finished off the night like anyone else who loves horses would - we went to see War Horse! :)
Left: Uncle Daniel giving Kyler some tips before the game.
Right: We took this picture in my car one night. It's not great quality but you get the idea - we have fun together! :)
2012
And now it is January 1 and we're at the start of a new year. This morning at church we sang a song that I think was great for remembering years past and looking forward. It reminds us we're never alone. No matter what is going on around us and if we're in the highs or lows of what life brings, I'm so thankful that we never walk alone and that God is soo faithful. May you find Him surrounding you today and into the new year!
