A Recap

I was just sitting here looking at the posts I wrote this time last year in recap of 2013.

It's crazy to me that I picked the word beautiful to describe last year, because I've felt like this year has been so beautiful as well.

But I think the word I would pick to truly describe 2014 is progress. Many situations that were going last year on in my life and in the lives of those I love carried into this year...and some are still going on. But I've seen progress. I've seen God working. I've seen some of the good come out of them...and I'm just waiting to see the rest of the progression.

I also had a couple of hopes and dreams for 2014 that I wanted to review and think on.

The first one was to be more intentional in my relationships. I think I've done this fairly well with some people, but not so well with others. This is definitely something I still need to work on, but I see the progress.

The second was to read and journal more. I don't even know if I really even spent any time journaling this year. But I do think I've gotten better at reading. I have my BCB's to thank for reading in general, and I've been a bit more consistent in my Bible reading because of the YouVersion app.

I also said that I thought our lives were going to change a lot this year. While I feel like our lives are kind of similar to last year, I do see that some things have changed. Some of Josh's ministry aspirations have changed, our church situation has changed (hallelujah!!), and I definitely feel like we have changed and grown a lot personally and in our marriage. So while our day-to-day lives make look almost the same as they did last year, I know we are not the same people we were this time last year.

So now, let's do a little recap on this year.


We started off 2014 in Disneyland! We went with my sister and her husband. It was so fun to be in my happy place again with my sister, as it had been quite a few years since the two of us were there together! I went wine tasting with some ladies to celebrate a friend's birthday. I also went to a baby shower for a friend, and went away for the night with some of my girlfriends to celebrate my birthday. I also had a couple of other fun celebrations for my birthday to end out the month of January.

February started off with my first crab feed. I went to Disney on Ice, helped surprise my brother-in-law for his birthday, and celebrated a friend's 40th birthday. And of course, we went to Disneyland to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary.

In March, we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday and had a pizza night with my worship team. We took a trip to Colorado to see our friends there and I got to celebrate Emily's birthday with her. We were asked to take pictures for our friends' wedding. I helped organize a birthday dinner for my sweet friend L.B. and I did two Scentsy parties. I saw Divergent with some good friends and we had a potential pastor visit our church. I finished out the month celebrating my friend M.D.'s 30th birthday. And my BCBs and I formed our book club.

April brought my sister's birthday and a fun day of celebrating her life. I also hung out with an old friend and we had a great Easter service at church. We spent the rest of Easter Sunday with family and friends. The following weekend, we went to our friend's family's cabin with our marrieds group. And then my friend E.K. and my goddaughter arrived to stay in this area for awhile.

In May, I was able to get together with E.K. once a week. It was so good for my heart. We saw Spiderman and X-Men, and I spent a fun evening with some beautiful young women while Josh was at a short men's retreat. We celebrated my dad's birthday and Mother's Day. I went to a bridal shower for the now married Y.H. My oldest niece turned seven (!!) and my BCBs and I started reading Harry Potter together. I went to a fun wine night and we went to L.B.'s daughter's second birthday party. We celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday, and went to the grad party of our former pastor's son. Our friends from CO came out that weekend to attend his graduation, so we spent a lot of time with them while they were here. May was also a little scary because my grandma had to have brain surgery.

June brought E.K.'s baby shower and celebrating Father's Day. I also went on a fun girls day out and the last of my hubby's childhood friends (dot35) got married. We also spent the end of June and part of July on a fun trip to Portland and Seattle.

The beginning of July brought our first nephew!! I went to a bridal shower for a dear friend and we watched some fireworks with our friends. We celebrated L.B.'s oldest daughter's birthday and had a birthday dinner for Josh's grandparents. E.K. gave birth to my second nephew and I got to go meet him shortly after they arrived home from the hospital. I also went wine tasting to celebrate a friend's birthday and had some really fun hang outs with various friends. My BCBs and I finished Harry Potter and read The Giver. And we found out our friends K.W. and S.W. were expecting a baby...and that they were moving back here!

In August, we found out that baby W. is a boy!! We went to a taco night fundraiser for our local police squad and I went wine tasting with L.B. and her parents. We saw our friends' band play and spent Josh's dad's birthday at a baseball game with his family. I had a nice visit with my mom and my grandma, and we celebrated K.W.'s birthday. We went to a house warming party for our friends V.M. and K.M., and our Sunday night service ended at church. We saw Guardians of the Galaxy twice, and I had some other fun hang out and wine nights with friends. My BCBs and I finished the Delirium series, read Paper Towns and We Were Liars.

We started September off with a fun day at the beach with friends. I got to celebrate my bestie's birthday and had two fun craft nights with some friends. We celebrated a couple of friends' birthdays and I had a fun night out with my friend M.D. I had a fun girls night and we celebrated my niece's 3rd birthday twice! We also went to a co-ed baby shower, and my BCBs and I read a funny book called Beauty Queens. We also went to see Josh's great grandma to say our goodbyes, and got to see Josh's oldest brother and his family...and meet our nephew!!

In October, we went on a fun getaway with some friends. I did a Scentsy party for a friend and we went to a corn maze with our marrieds group. My mom, sister and I had a fun girls spa day, and I hosted a fall BUNCO night at my house. We went on a fun sushi date night with my sister and her hubby, and to a fun Halloween party that our friend throws every year. We also got a new senior pastor finally!! I had some fun hang outs with friends, and my BCBs and I read an amazing book called The Invention of Wings.

November started off with a small memorial service for Josh's great grandma. I went to S.W.'s baby shower, and went wine tasting with some friends. I went on my annual trip to the pottery painting place with my friend S.S., and I watched my hubby receive an award for his hard work. We had FriendsGiving with some amazing friends, and checked out a local distillery. We went wine tasting with my sister and her husband, and I went to a Christmas craft night. I saw Mockingjay three times, and threw a surprise party for Josh for his 30th birthday. We celebrated Thanksgiving a day early with my family, and then headed out of town for the weekend to spend some time at the beach. My sister-in-law and her family did a special birthday dinner for Josh while we were staying with them. I also read Orphan Train with my BCBs and our youngest niece turned 3!!

And so far this month, we went to our local Christmas parade, and have gone to a couple of Christmas parties. We got all of our shopping and wrapping done early, and really enjoyed decorating the house. I've been listening to Christmas music since November 1st, and we have watched about half of our favorite Christmas movies. We had a fun dinner with family, and I got to see our niece in her Christmas program at her preschool. We have a lot of fun stuff planned in the next couple of weeks to celebrate Christmas with our family and friends. I am looking forward to some time off work, and some time spent surrounded by the people I love.

I am planning to come back and post about some hopes and dreams for 2015 (it's so weird to type that number). Until then, have a wonderful few days before Christmas and soak up all that wonderful time with loved ones. And most importantly, remember Who this season is all about.

God is Working

This has been one of the best years.

I've gotten to see, hug, and spend time with so many amazing people. People I missed seeing last year, people I hadn't gotten to spend a lot of time with in previous years. I look back on the pictures and the things we did this year...and I just smile. It's been so full.

It's also been very hard. I have dealt with a lot personally, as have many people in my life. I have walked through some very hard situations, and walked alongside of family and friends who are dealing with some very heavy stuff. There's been a lot to be sad and hurt about this year.

But in spite of all that, I can still see the good. I see how amazing life has been. I see how much my friends and family have grown through their trials. I see how God has worked in incredible ways in and through those people. I see the good things that are sprouting up from those seeds of sadness and hurt.

I don't think I've understood more than I do this year of what it means when it says in Romans 8:28 that we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. All things. Even the really ugly, incredibly painful and depressing things. Every last one of them.

I look back on my life and I see how God has constantly been working in me, changing me into the person I am today. And I know He has so much more work to do. But it's crazy for me to see how different I was 10 years ago, getting ready to turn 20, compared to where I am now, getting ready to turn 30. I am so grateful for the hard things, the tough lessons, the trials, the tears, and everything else I've ever had to endure...because it has brought me here.

And even though life can be really hard, it really is so beautiful.

November Comes and November Goes...

November was another busy month, full of time spent with family and friends.

We started off the month having a little memorial lunch for Josh's great grandma. We are having a service with the whole family in January, but his grandma wanted to do something sooner than that with her kids and grandkids. Josh made a slideshow of some pictures of his great grandma and we shared some good memories and stories of her.

I went to my friend S.W.'s baby shower. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law threw her the sweetest shower. We got to personalize and make a block for baby P.W. to play with! Such a cute idea.
Later that evening, I went wine tasting with my wine tasting friends and then we had a wine pairing dinner together. It was such a fun night and made me so thankful for having friends in different stages in life than I am.

Since Josh and I both had Veteran's Day off, we went out of town with a couple of friends to check out some stuff at Ikea and to grab some food at a fun restaurant.

The next day, my friend S.S. and I went on our annual trip to a local pottery painting shop to make some gifts for people in our families. We have gone four years in a row now and it's always such a fun time.
That evening, my hubby was honored at the school board meeting for some of his hard work in the past month. I was the proud wife who had to snap a picture of him with his award.

That weekend, we had a Friendsgiving dinner with some of our friends. It was such a fun night. Everyone brought something to contribute to our Thanksgiving meal and everything was so good!

The next day, we went and checked out a local distillery that makes vodka and moonshine. It was a fun evening. They have very unique flavors and made us some yummy drinks with them. They also gave us some good recipes to try at home. I think my favorite was definitely the drink that tasted like Tootsie Rolls! After our tasting, we went out for some yummy Italian food.

The next day, I sang for worship at church. After church, we headed out to do some wine tasting with my sister and her husband. We took them to some of my favorite local wineries. It was a fun afternoon.

The next night, we had a little Christmas craft night. I made my Christmas wreath and I'm pretty excited with how it turned out.

That weekend, I saw Mockingjay twice! Once with some friends and once with my hubby. It was so good but so emotional for me. I think seeing something in a movie/TV show after reading it makes it that much harder on me emotionally.

On Saturday, I threw a little surprise party for Josh's birthday! Things didn't quite go as planned with the timing, but I think everyone ended up having a good time. It was just such a good night of reminiscing on Josh's first 30 years of life.

We celebrated Thanksgiving a day early with my family. We also celebrated my mom and Josh's birthdays. We had a wonderful evening of eating together, watching the birthday people open presents, and spending time together.

On Thanksgiving, we had a very relaxing day. We woke up and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Later that afternoon, we saw Mockingjay again with my parents. After that, we came home and put the Christmas lights up on our house and then watched Home Alone. It's a Thanksgiving tradition we have, as it used to come on TV on Thanksgiving every year when I was younger.

The next day, we headed to my sister-in-law's family's beach house for the weekend! It was cold and rainy at home, but sunny and warm at the beach! They had a special BBQ dinner on Friday night for Josh's birthday and our niece helped make him a birthday cake (she picked out the blue frosting with the sharks).

After getting tricked into "smelling" the cake

On Saturday, we spent some time at the beach and had a fun family dinner together. The girls had a fun afternoon in downtown doing a little wine tasting. The weekend definitely went by too fast, but we had such a good time.

Yesterday, after a long drive home in holiday traffic, we grabbed some dinner with a couple of friends. And watched the mid-season finale of the Walking Dead(!!).

November is always one of my favorite months, because it brings so many wonderful things, and is the precursor to the best month of the year.

Bring on all the Christmas stuff!!