looking back on 2012

2012.

Another year behind us.

As I think back over the year, most definitely it was full of blessings!

I am most thankful for God, health, family/friends, and of course,

the answer to our long-awaited prayers.

Sure we experienced a few troubles and disappointments of life; but the good definitely outweighed the bad.

 Pictured above:  Trip to Virginia to see friends.  Took L&A to the Cabbage Patch hospital for their birthdays.  Easter with family.  I became a notary.  2012 garden.  Thumpy took her first ride in Chris' truck. 
Mountain day-trip with my mom, 2 cousins, and my cousin's kiddos.  A hot date with my man.

TRYC 2012.  My brother visited for my birthday.  Many splashes in the pool.  Pregnancy announcement - definitely the highlight of the year!!!  Ultrasound at 8 weeks.  2nd row seats at Gaither concert.  Renovations to our home. 
First Christmas as a mom and dad.  Gender Reveal - It's a girl.

 

Not pictured:  Blessings of sweet friends.  Chris assisted in another house build.  Having our first Bible/book study with friends.  Sadness in a friendship.  Learning I am allergic to bee stings and I should use EPI pen.  Discovering Pinterest and trying out new ideas and recipes.  Chris diagnosed with kidney stones.  Chris' job change.  Serving lunch once every six weeks with our bible study group at local Salvation Army.  My brother survived Hurricane Sandy.  Losing my Aunt Judy. 

 

What a difference a year makes!
God truly has been good to me this year ... far better to me than I have been to Him.
God was GIVER to me in 2012 ... for He blessed us with our heart's desire.
"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."  2 Corinthians 9:15

I look into 2013 with great anticipation.

Today ...

>I ate Ramen noodles for the first time in my life. I'm 30 years old and continuing to experience "firsts."
>I ordered Angie Smith's soon-to-be-released book "What Women Fear" at the steal-of-a-deal for today only.
>I completely embarrassed myself when I attempted to turn away a church member by telling him "sorry, the office is closed." (he was coming to pick up his wife, the nursery worker's, paycheck) Yep, I've been there over a year and I still do not know everyone.
>I was secretly happy to see 97 degrees on the car thermometer. The hot temperatures keep the pool water warmer, so I can enjoy it longer.
>I've had my Facebook account deactivated for a week. This is the first time I've ever done so. I thought I'd miss it more than I do. Actually, I think it has freed up my mind to think of other things of more importance.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

who me? 30?

No way!
I'm just 29 .... plus one. ;-)


I've been blessed today more than I imagined. I truly appreciate the wonderful gift of precious friends in my life. The many, many thoughtful gifts, text messages, blog posts, phone calls, cards, and Facebook messages overwhelmed me beyond words. These kind acts overshadowed the dread I had for this day. Maybe 30 isn't so bad. After all, it's only a number. And as someone reminded me today ... "I'll be young forever - - You're as old as you act!" ((But then my mom says "Act your age.")) Oh, well, I'm gonna do my best to stay young.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

a good God and sweet people

Yesterday, upon entering my office,

I found these pretty roses and a thoughtful card.
The roses smell beautiful and the note shared kind words.God is good.
He knows just what we need and when to send it.
And sometimes He uses sweet people to deliver.That large rose is one of the biggest I've seen. Gorgeous!

a hard-working husband

I take great pleasure in watching him work.

He loves building.
And he knows his stuff.
He enjoys developing 'cool' ideas for building.
He works hard. All the time.
At times, he works 16 hours out of the day.
Working 8 hours on 3rd shift.
Driving to a construction job.
Working another 5-7 hours.
Coming home to sleep 6 or so hours.
And then doing it all over again.

He's tough. He's rough.
He's awesome. He's amazing.
And he's all mine.I love my hard-working husband.

my job

There's a longer story behind it all.

I'll save that story for another day.

But, there's no doubt, God was definitely working
in all the details aligning for my

opportunity to work at Open Door Baptist Church.

Since July 19th, I have been working
as the Ministry Assistant of ODBC.
The office is open 9 AM - 2 PM.
I assist the four ministers, answer the phone and the door,
publish weekly bulletins, pay the bills, send out daily church emails,
start-up church website, order supplies, etc, etc.
I absolutely love my job.
It's a great blessing to work
in an awesome environment with wonderful people.
I do not dread going to work each morning.
And that's definitely a huge blessing! :)

alone @ night

this week, Chris began his 3rd shift job (11 PM - 7 AM)

i knew i could camp out with family/friends.

but i also knew that doing so every night would get old.

eventually, i would need to face my fear

and stay at home at night alone.

i prayed about the issue.

Sunday, i heard a song on the radio

by an artist i didn't know.

a portion of the song spoke directly to me:

"the One who holds the world in His hands,

holds ME safe in His arms"

right then, i felt His peace.

so, i decided to stay alone from the start.

get it over with.

i've not been scared at all.

for precautionary measures, though, i have been

staying up really late until i'm "drop-dead" tired.

leaving lights on in the rest of the house

"in case" i need to get up in the middle of the night.

playing music on the iPod or computer all night.

and had my guard dog right by my side.

i've really surprised myself. and my mom. and Chris.

and others, i'm sure.

yea, i'm growing up. getting tough.

hard to believe, i know.

and i did tell Chris i need instructions on shooting his gun.

and if he continues to work 3rd shift,

we will invest in a security system.

oh, happy day!

today has been a happy day - all the way around.

with many reasons to SMILE:

i slept in until 8:00 AM - once again, Chris said "don't worry about my breakfast and lunch, i'll take care of it." so, i let him. two days in a row!! he's such a sweetie.

then i met Chris' sister. in celebration of being at home, she treated me to a pedicure and lunch. the pedicure was so relaxing and so nice ... i sat back and enjoyed!! we chatted and caught up on life a little too. then we had lunch at one of my favorite places - Logan's. i devoured a delicious, huge salad and yeast roll. (and had chicken fingers w/ fries that ended up in a to-go box) it was wonderful to spend time with her ... had definitely been too loooong. she never fails to make me laugh and smile. thanks, H! (i took my camera along for pictures, but left it in the car, so on the way home i took the one above)

on the way home, i got the call from Beth that little Samuel's adoption is final and he is officially a Johnson!! YIPPEE! i'm so happy for them as they've been waiting for this day for a long time. CONGRATS!!

and Chris got a new, different job.

FIFTEEN minutes from home. :)

also, God is helping our friends out.

the ones i requested prayer for yesterday.

i'm thankful tonight for a happy day filled with good news and fun.

it can't get much better.

Psalm 71:14

"But I will hope continually,

and I will yet praise thee more and more."

friday's week wrap up

For those who care,

probably only our mamas,

this is what we've been up to this week:

The drive to VA was rough late Sunday night;
it was hard pulling away from home,

much lingering and lingering,
but at last, we arrived in VA a little past 1 AM.
As usual, Chris snoozed and I took over driving.

Monday morning,
we rolled our tired and weary bodies out of bed,
knowing there was no other option but to "get up and go."

A student absent on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
called for teaching with many revisions to lesson plans;
as I do not want to get to far ahead with 3 students
and have one student falling behind.
So, I improvised and adjusted
to review lessons and learn about Thanksgiving
with a few corresponding books and crafts.

Likewise, Chris' week wasn't smooth sailing either.
Left early on Monday due to equipment issues
2 hr lunch on Tuesday, while a compressor was replaced.
His helper laid out Thursday due to an allergic reaction
claimed to have "swollen tongue 3-4 times it's normal size."
Then Thursday, Chris was told there'd be no work on Friday.
not productive - which seems to be our "stroke of luck" lately.

We attended revival services at a local church.
Monday and Tuesday night's message were similar
in that the preacher was encouraging us
to push past hinderances in our Christian walk.
We must give Jesus everything.
We will have no regrets from surrendering all to Him.
Wednesday night's text was from the prodigal son's story.
No matter where we are or how far we've wandered,
the trip back to the house is a short one,
cause the Father is running out to meet us.

And on a funny note, I tried a new recipe in the crock pot,
only to come home and find it charred and overcooked.
So, Thursday, we met friends J&B at little local diner,
it reminded us of Lucky Strike at home.
Fried chicken tenders and fries, smoothered in gravy.
And something we'd never heard of ... a hot hamburger,
which is a complete hamburger covered in hot gravy.

Also, I came home Tuesday to find that Thumpy,
our typically layed-back, lazy, bum of a dog,
who has never chewed on toys or chased a ball,
had chewed on a "coffee table" book and a box of Kleenexes.
And Thursday she obviously had gotten thirsty,
she found a bottle of Gatorade from a huge pack under our bed,
chewed the lid off, and obviously drank it all.
The vet says it's her way of expressing her dislike for VA.
She's away from her home and her routine.
Just another sign; we belong home. :) That about wraps it up. It's been a busy one.
And we've been smiling
knowing we were coming home this weekend
and staying through Monday.

And now we're SUPER happy - we ARE home!
I took off Friday since Chris wasn't working.
Hey, it's only a 1/2 day
and the student will probably still be out sick,
so not too much will be going on.

visions of home now dance in my head

'tis the day I am going home

and all through my mind

are visions of this blessed place

and I'm not getting there fast enough!

if only for a few days;
just merely hours in the scheme of things.
but at least I'll be home.
***This is my 3rd post of the day, but a change of plans called for a reschedule and a push of "publish post" earlier than expected; 'cause at this moment, I'm unexpectedly in the car headed south to home! Chris was told today that there's no work tomorrow. And although Chris will miss a day's work tomorrow; I can find joy in the bad --- I'll be home an extra day. Yippee!