2011 Recap

Let's take a moment to recap the highlights of 2011...

January

We were very thankful for the blessing of Chris starting his job with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Even though it proved to be a rather boring and stressful job, I'm thankful for the Lord's provision and for a husband who was willing to work through the stress to provide for our family. With him working full time, I was staying at home with Grandma and keeping busy around the house. I worked on many crafty projects, including making felt food for a dear friend.

February

The end of January and beginning of February brought a big snow and ice storm to Texas. I felt like I was living in Illinois again, except it was worse! We were stuck in the house for several days. It was fun to watch the dogs run around in the snow, but we were very thankful to see the warmer temperatures after a few days!

March

We were sad to experience the loss of our sweet Golden Retriever, Wilson, in March. He brought us a lot of joy and happiness in the four months we had him. I still think of him often and wish I could cuddle with him again! To keep myself entertained throughout the month of March, I attempted to do Weekly Challenges here on the blog. I spent a week deep cleaning the house, wearing a necklace each day of the week, trying new recipes and giving reviews, and keeping my kitchen clean.

April

April brought much warmer temperatures to Texas, which meant getting the garden planted! Chris worked hard to get the plot ready and everything planted. I worked on cleaning out a flowerbed and planting my herbs. It felt so good to work outside after the cooler winter.

May

May was the month for the kitchen renovation! Chris tore out the old cabinets and counters and put in new in order to make room for a dishwasher! I really appreciate his willingness to make my life easier! Unfortunately, we never got around to finishing the kitchen before we moved.

We also took a trip to Mississippi to visit my grandparents. My parents, brother and sister-in-law also drove down to spend a few days with us. We had a great time visiting, shopping, and going to the beach.

June

I took a weekend trip back to Illinois to attend the annual meeting at Little Flock the second weekend of June. It was wonderful to spend time with my family and to visit with our church family there. We were also busy harvesting the garden throughout the month. We put up a lot of vegetables in the freezer and I tried my hand at canning pickles for the first time.

July

Chris and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on July 5. We celebrated by spending the day in Dallas before we headed to Florida. This was our first trip together to Florida to visit Little Union. It was during that visit that I fell in love with the church family and felt the Lord working in our lives.

We also welcomed Bailey into our family in July. We are thankful for the time we got to spend with him. Sadly, he didn't work out well in our family, but we are thankful he is happily enjoying his new home with Chris' mom and her boyfriend.

August

We celebrated Chris' birthday weekend with his family in the Metroplex. The weekend was filled with a lot of fun as we went to two Ranger's games and spent a day at a water park.

September

September was a pretty low-key month for us. We made another trip out to Florida together. I also made a trip up to Illinois and Ohio with my mom. I also started subbing part-time, which was full of interesting experiences.

October

October was a big month for us! We found out that Chris was called to pastor Little Union and made the decision to move to Florida. We are so thankful for the Lord's work and direction in our lives. We were also excited to have my friend, Shelly, visit for a few days. It was a great time of catching up, laughing, and working on craft projects together.

November

November started out with Chris and I making the decision to move Grandma to Florida with us, rather than put her in the nursing home. The month was also full of making plans and packing for the big move. We also enjoyed Thanksgiving with Chris' family. The end of the month brought the big move!

December


We welcomed December in our new home in sunny Florida! The move from Texas went very smoothly. We were anxious to get into our house and begin settling in. It didn't take us long to get unpacked and deck out our home for Christmas. We were excited to host our first church fellowship in our home. We closed out the month and the year by spending a week at Disney World with my family. It was a fun-filled and memory-filled week, a perfect way to end a big year!