Out With The Old?

For the first time ever, I am really not sure about letting go of this year. Not because I don't look forward to wonderful things in the new year but because 2011 has been SO GOOD TO ME! Here's a quick recap:

In October of 2010 I was able to quit my job with the city and join the living and I got a job working during the day so I could sleep at night! PRAISE! I met a lot of people that I really liked at my new job including the Industrial Supply Manager, Matt.

In December of 2010 Leigh and I moved from our house into a tiny little apartment downtown. The apartment was super nice but super tiny! We knew that Leigh would be getting married and moving in the summer so we grinned and bared it knowing that it was temporary. The plan was for me to live there alone after she got married and moved in with Nate.

In January of 2011 I went through a bit of a change at my new job transitioning from mostly operations work to a lot more sales. I also went out on my first date with Matt from work.

In February Janet and I celebrated our 6 month Kidneyversary and Matt and I celebrated our first Valentine's Day!

In April I went with Matt, his parents, his sister, and her kids to Disney World! SO FUN!

In June we all went into wedding season with Leigh. Her first of nine showers was in June and the countdown to August 25th was on! Also on the first Sunday of June while I was in Trenton for one of Leigh's shower's Matt texted me and let me know that Dirt had just baptized him! We had been studying and praying and I knew he had been doing a lot of studying on his own but this news still came as a surprise and the best news of the year!

In July Matt took me on a riverboat cruise for the 4th to watch the fireworks. I LOVE fireworks and he used them as the perfect backdrop to ask me to marry him! Now we entered into DOUBLE wedding planning mode! We decided on September 24th, 28 days after Leigh and Nathan!

In August Leigh married Nathan in a ceremony that was just beautiful, romantic, and all the things a wedding should be before sailing away on a cruise to the Bahamas for a week!

In September our little Ellie turned ONE! It was bittersweet. She is growing so much which we are so grateful for but at the same time a little sad that she is not a baby anymore. That girl can walk and she can say "Mama" "Dada" "Titus" "Walt" "LeighLeigh" "LaLa" "LoLo" "Matt" "Nate" "MawMaw" "PawPaw" (or her version of these things) and can tell you what a puppy dog says, a kitty cat says, a duck says, and what Santa Claus says. She can walk like a champ and she makes the FUNNIEST expressions. She has developed quite her own little personality this year and A LOT of it! Also in September I got to walk down the aisle to the man I have no doubt God created just for me. We married in a ceremony that was just perfect and had a reception afterwards that was better than I ever could have imagined! We left that day and drove to Atlanta before flying out the next morning to the Secrets St. James resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica! Best week of not only the whole year but maybe of my whole life!

In October we got settled in to our new home and started settling into our new life together.

In November we celebrated Thanksgiving with my entire family in Trenton the weekend before Thanksgiving and celebrated on Thanksgiving day with Matt's family here in town.

In December we went "home" to Valdosta and had Christmas with the Walker's and came back and celebrated Matt's 31st birthday with a lot of our family and friends at Matt's favorite restaurant, Miyako! On Christmas Eve we went over and celebrated with Matt's grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousins and then went over and had Christmas with his immediate family. Before midnight Christmas Eve we had already received WAY MORE than we deserved! Since we got in so late we just stayed up and waited on Santa and celebrated our very first Christmas together just the two of us at our house a little after midnight on Christmas morning! Later that day we celebrated with my immediate family after Mom, Dad, and Grandma arrived. By the time we went to bed that night we were POOPED! WONDERFUL FIRST CHRISTMAS!


See why I would be a little hesitant to let go of 2011? My life has changed more than ever but all for the better! God has already surprised me by giving me way more that I could have ever even asked for in 2011 and I fully trust that He will take just as good of care of us in 2012 but I am still putting 2011 away as my year ever. So far :)

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

I must say that either Santa has REALLY lowered his standards or he got me confused with someone else this year, there is NO WAY I was good enough to deserve all I got! I am making myself blog this morning because I want to remember this Christmas! First, this is what our Christmas season has looked like:

December 9-11: Christmas with the Walker side in Valdosta and my high school homecoming.
December 11: Matt's birthday party at Miyako.
December 15: Girl's Night Christmas Party and ornament swap.
December 16: Melissa and her girls came into town and spent the night with us.
December 17: Santa Claus came to our neighborhood and the nieces and nephew came to see him and have a big brunch.
December 18: The Young Professionals class from University had their annual Christmas party and Dirty Santa.
December 22: Office Christmas party.
December 23-26: OFF WORK!
December 24: Christmas with the Sulkosky side of the family.
December 24: Christmas with the Morris'.
December 25: Santa came to our house so Matt and I had our first Christmas together.
December 25: That afternoon my parents and Grandma Garner came in town and we had our Walker Christmas.
December 26: Christmas dinner at our house.
December 27: Christmas with the Bond's.
December 30: My parents will leave to go back home.

I don't THINK I left out anything except THE WORST stomach virus I have ever had (20th-22nd) and passing some kidney (or bladder, yet to be determined) stones (24th-NOW). Even those things had NO CHANCE at spoiling this Christmas though!

I will be posting some actual pictures later but these are some of my favorite gifts I received this year:

• A Nikon D3000 camera from the world's greatest husband!


• A cooling memory foam mattress topper from my parents!


• Some more pieces of my Lenox Holiday Christmas china from my parents!


• A Dyson vacuum cleaner from my in laws!


• A Waxing Poetic necklace from my in laws!


• A Kindle Fire from my in laws!


• A steamer from my sister in law!

The two gifts that I CAN'T WAIT to post pictures of are the one's my sister's gave me! This year we decided that instead of buying each other gifts that we would make each other something. Since we are all on Pinterest we all had a plethora of good ideas and we just thought it would be something fun and less expensive. Louise and Leigh both got the crafty gene that skipped completely over me! Louise made a wreath for my front door using Hydrangea's similar to the ones used in my wedding. It is SO PRETTY! Leigh made such a cute hanging calendar that you use dry erase markers to write on and this magnet board that is one of THE CUTEST things I have ever seen! I can't wait for you all to see them!

I need to tell you all that I am quite convinced I am the MOST blessed human being that has ever walked the face of the Earth! To have been blessed with the most wonderful family that I was born into and get to be raised how and where I was and then get to marry THE BEST man that God could have ever created for me who has a family that I just LOVE getting to be a part of! If I started actually counting my every blessing now there is no way that I could live long enough to name them all. I just could never begin to thank God enough!

This husband of mine, this best friend/best nurse/ best helper/ best at making sure the garbage gets taken out/ best gift giver/ most thoughtful/ best provider/ best hugger/ most loving/ sweetest/ best Uncle/ best gift giver/ best cookie decorator/ even does the dishes sometimes husband of mine is the present God really outdid Himself with. I have always had a wonderful family, although I try not to take it for granted and I love them with all of my heart, I have never known anything different. The same goes with my great friends. I have always hoped that if I ever had in laws that I would love them and have a good relationship with them. But, in my wildest dreams I never even knew a husband could be so great so I didn't even know TO wish for it! God took my greatest expectations for a husband and basically said, "THAT is the best you can dream up?!? Thank goodness I was in charge of creating him!" and gave me something SO much more and SO much better!

I was SO, SO sick Tuesday night. Not a I just feel bad and need to be left alone to recover sick....NO, a somebody had to be there to help me and clean up after me, no less pleasant in the world kind of sick! This man was so wonderful. He never complained and never made me feel bad for the high level of grossness that he was having to deal with or his lack of sleep. He put himself in harm's way (I can't imagine anyone in their right mind choosing to even breathe in the same air as me for fear they might catch it) to help me not only LIVE through it but to help make me as comfortable as possible. He had me at the Doctor when they unlocked the doors that next morning and did all he could to help me recuperate from that night of terror. What did he get for all of his hard work? Well, me passing stones and feeling terrible just as all of our guests were arriving. Bless his heart. I know he wasn't planning on pushing the "in sickness" part of our vows so early into our marriage!

All the gifts I received may sound like they are the reason this was the best Christmas ever but I assure you, they were not even the icing on the cake, they were just the sprinkles. I can honestly say that spending Christmas with Matt and my family made for the greatest Christmas. Plus, truth be told, as great as all of those gifts and all the others are, I got the greatest gift back in September.

I hope all of you had just as wonderful of a holiday season as I did!

CATCH UP....Again!

I am through apologizing for my lack of time and blogging abilities! Just accept me for who I am! ;) I think the best way to do this is to do a quick synopsis month by month!

July

Besides the engagement (already blogged about!) July was VERY busy with birthdays (mine and Leigh's among other's), wedding showers (for Leigh), and lots and lots of wedding planning (mine and Leigh's)!

August

August brought mine and Janet's ONE YEAR KIDNEYVERSARY! We had a little party at our new house and it was amazing! One year is SUCH a huge milestone for a kidney recipient and my family, Janet's family, and a few mutual friends, along with myself were SO HAPPY to get to celebrate with her! I had NO idea when I checked into UAB on August 12th, 2010 how much my life would change and in how many different ways that it would by August 2011! August also brought A LOT more wedding shower's for Leigh and a WHOLE LOT more wedding planning! Finally, after almost a year of preparation my baby sister walked down the aisle in the perfect dress to the perfect music with the most perfect flowers and married the man of her dreams! They then left on what has been described to all of us as THE PERFECT honeymoon! It was a WONDERFUL day! :) And, boy, did we all nap afterwards! ;) Not for long though....September 24th was RAPIDLY approaching!

September

Ah, September! September was filled with showers, Ellie's birthday (already blogged about!) and lots of other things that I can't remember right now because ALL I can remember is September 24th. 340 days after I first laid eyes on him, 248 days after our first date, 82 days after he asked me, and approximately 222 days after I first knew I would, I walked down the aisle and said "I do." to the man of my dreams. It was a perfect ceremony, surrounded by perfect flowers, I was in the perfect dress, and every t was crossed and i was dotted just perfectly but MOST IMPORTANTLY, I walked down the the PERFECT man for me! It was more than I could have ever dreamed of and HE is DEFINITELY more than I could have ever dreamed for! It's so RIDICULOUS to me that I ever thought I could marry anyone else! I thank the Lord EVERYDAY that I live on His time and not my own! I will post another post with pictures but, honestly, it was the most perfect ceremony, down to the smallest detail! I would LOVE to give a shout out to all those that made it possible but that would just be setting me up to fail! However, be looking for a post VERY soon about two of the best friends a person could ever ask for! After the wedding was the HONEYMOON in Jamaica! Perfect and wonderful and I am counting down the days until we can do it again! Again, pictures will follow on a later post!

October

Wow! How chilly weather and the end of the year snuck up on me! This month involved A LOT of getting our house from moved in to lived in, A LOT of Auburn, Tennessee, and Faulkner football, a trip to the pumpkin patch, some more family birthdays, and a lot of readjusting back to the post honeymoon real world! It also brought Matt's second trip down to Valdosta and we had my shower down there! SO fun and it will be referenced in the "coming" blog I already spoke of!

November

More football, MORE football, the beginning of holiday traveling, A LOT of eating, and Ellie's first steps! Having Matt around this year and Ellie a little older REALLY cushioned the awful, no good, very bad year that Tennessee had!

Finally! That catches us up! I missed a lot, I KNOW and if I know myself at all, I know that I probably forgot some really BIG things so be looking for me to revise this post pretty soon! However, I consider myself OFFICIALLY caught up and I feel that I can start blogging when I want now without being overwhelmed with how much I have to catch up on! Maybe you'll be hearing from me more than five times in the coming year! ;)

Interruption

I'd like to take a moment to interrupt your regular scheduled programming to remind you that....................WE ARE GETTING MARRIED THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We now return to your regular scheduled programming.

Dear Ellie

Dear Ellie,

I so wish that I was more eloquent with words than I am! There are so many things that I want to tell you but the translation from my heart to the keyboard is not very good. It's funny when I think back to a year ago today. I had worked all night and was so tired and your Leigh Leigh called me and said I needed to get up to the hospital! We were so nervous! I knew I would be so excited to meet you but I had totally underestimated how nervous I would be about your mom (my little sister!) being in labor! I don't think I will EVER forget that moment when your dad sent us the text with your picture saying that you and your momma were healthy! There is no telling how many hours I had spent in prayer for you to be healthy and your mom to have a healthy delivery! To see your precious little face was just the biggest relief ever! I'm not sure if there has ever been a child more anticipated, more prayed for, and more loved than you are, Ellie Jones! I use the analogy all the time that I feel like I was the grinch before you were born and meeting you made my heart grow three sizes bigger! Sometimes I just look at you and am overtaken by emotion! I always thought that I could never love anybody more than I love your mom and your LeighLeigh but then I met you! There is something special about the little girl of my little sister! I was so nervous when I was first introducing your Uncle Matt to the family but I couldn't wait for him to meet you! I knew that you would win him over just as soon as he met you and you did! Now, just a week from tomorrow you will crawl down that aisle (or be rolled down in a wagon :) towards him right before I do! There are so many thing that I want to tell you! Like to always remember how many people you have that just love you to pieces! There will, undoubtedly, be hard times in the coming years but, no matter what the hard times bring, having so many people around that love you is sometimes the only thing that helps. I know this from experience! I also want you to never take for granted having the parents and grandparents that you have! I also know from experience what a gift it is to have good, Godly parents and grandparents! People are lucky to have one really good spiritual role model in their life and you are surrounded by them! There are so many things that I guess will have to wait for other birthday letters but the last thing that I want to tell you is that, no matter what anybody else says, you are 51% Tennessee, 49% Auburn, and you will ignite a riot if you EVER wear crimson! ;) I love you so much sweet baby Ellie, I pray for you every day and will continue to! I pray that you will always be as healthy and happy as you are now. I pray you always keep your eyes on the goal of heaven. I pray for the parents of your future husband that they are making as good decisions raising him as your parents are making raising you. I can't wait to see the plans God has for you!

Love~

La

The Move(s), The Fireworks, and The Ring!

WHEW! What a weekend! As I mentioned in my last post we got a new house and me and Leigh decided to go ahead and move out of the apartment to save a little money. So, the plan was over this long weekend and also the first weekend we have stayed in town in over a month so we got to moving! Matt's parents have been AMAZING and have put in countless hours in June painting and cleaning and painting and mowing and painting and shopping and painting and did I mention PAINTING?!?!?! So all of the immediate needed living area of the new house was ready to be moved into! My parents drove also threw their hats in for parents of the year by driving down here Friday night just to help us move! Dad and Matt painted Friday night while Louise, Mom, and I went and packed up the apartment. I need to say something about Dirt and Louise here. I moved to Montgomery in 2006 from Lineville under not awesome circumstances and they came and packed me up there and moved me and Leigh into our old apartment. We were only there for a year before we moved into our house on Hill Hedge and they helped us move there. We lived there from September 2007-December 2010. Then they helped us move into the downtown apartment (which was UPSTAIRS) and I still wasn't allowed to lift anything over ten pounds so that was probably the worst move! Then, here we are less than a year later, and we called on them again to move us out of the UPSTAIRS apartment! I know I probably harp on this too much but I REALLY do believe I have the best family ever! They go far beyond "normal" familial duties!

So, now we are to Saturday morning. Now, look, I know how most of you feel about the kidney thing and I understand that but I am being dead serious when I say that if my options were doing a surgery like that again and spending my entire Saturday of a holiday weekend helping friends move heavy furniture an boxes out of an upstairs apartment in the blazing heat I promise I would pick the surgery! Moving is just SO AWFUL! I HATE IT! All that being said, Tiffany, Everette, and Belle Johnson all gave up their holiday weekend ALL DAY on Saturday to do just that! There are no words because we wouldn't be anywhere NEAR as close to being done as we are without them! Friends like that are indeed PRICELESS!

ALL DAY Saturday we moved most of our stuff out of the apartment then went to Matt's house in Dalraida and got all of his furniture and big stuff and then took all of mine and his stuff to our new house. Although I won't be officially moving in for a few months we went ahead and took everything except my daily essentials and a box spring and mattress over there so when I do move in there won't be hardly anything to move! We did the same with Leigh's stuff. We took most everything to their new house and just her living essentials over to Matt's house in Dalraida where we'll be staying. We got so much done but I think I speak for the entire group when I say we were thoroughly exhausted!

Sunday in between services we moved more stuff from the house in Dalraida to the new place. Monday we were up and at it again early and I met Leigh and Jessica, who ALSO threw her hat in the ring for friend of the year, at the apartment and we got the last of the stuff and gave the place a good scrubbing. It's an awesome apartment but I am super glad not to be there. Monday Tom, Matt's dad and Matt worked like dog's getting stuff out of storage and two more truckloads of stuff while me, his mom Rose, and Ellie :) all started unpacking at the new house and trying to get things in order there.

When I first moved to Montgomery I was able to buy some pieces of the most beautiful bedroom suite. I only had enough money to purchase some but always planned on finishing it out later. I had even told my family for the past few birthdays and Christmases that I really wanted the nightstand from the set. Well, the first time that Matt came over to the apartment we were sitting in the living room/Leigh's room watching tv and Matt looked in my room and said, "I think we have the same bedroom suite" I should have known then what good taste he has! :) Turns out we had the exact same set from the exact same furniture store! Together we have more than an entire set MINUS ONE nightstand! SO, I had been telling Matt that for my upcoming birthday that I really wanted that nightstand. Then we got the master bedroom put together and it NEEDED that nightstand! It just couldn't wait! ;) Matt called me from the furniture store and said that the nightstand had been discontinued! BOO! He assured me that it would all work out and even though I didn't have time to dwell on it I was really disappointed about that stupid nightstand!

Later that afternoon while Matt and his dad were out getting stuff from storage and the old house and picking up our new grill Louise and dirt came over to pick up Ellie who had been helping me unpack the kitchen while here mom and dad did a little shopping. Louise was real insist ant that I come back to one of the guest rooms to decide about furniture placement. It was weird because the room isn't even painted yet but I'm still enjoying the process so anytime someone wants to talk about it I'm all in :) Then Matt's mom came and got us and said that I needed to go to the master to look at something. When I walked in there was the beautiful nightstand! With some awesome luck Matt and Tom had been able to find just the ONE nightstand that had been moved to the furniture stores clearance center since it was discontinued! YAY! Now our master bedroom set is complete and it looks awesome! As soon as I get everything cleaned up I will post some before and after house pictures!

Matt had planned for us to ride on the riverboat to watch the fireworks that night so we had to bust it and get ready and eat some bbq with his parents and run by and see everybody at Leigh's before we loaded at 8:30. by the time we got on the boat we were POOPED! We just sat inside and talked. Even though we are together almost all of the time we hardly ever get to do anything just the two of us. We had so much fun just sitting there talking! Before we knew it almost two hours had past and it was time for the fireworks! If you know much about me you know that I LOVE fireworks! The 4th is my favorite non big two holiday! I just LOVE IT!

So, we went out to the deck with everyone else to watch the fireworks over the skyline. It was so perfect! Matt was standing behind me and about half way through he asked me if I was happy. I, of course, answered, "Well, yeah!" and he replied with, "You know what would make me happy?" and I felt him moving! I turned around and he was on one knee with the ring and said, "If you'll marry me!" I said (again), "Well, yeah! Get up! Are you getting your pants wet?!" (It had been raining so it was so wet on the deck!) Turns out the couple right beside us had the same idea and got engaged at the same time! It was just one of those rare completely perfect moments in life.

I know life won't always be as wonderful as it is right at this moment but I am enjoying every second of it while it is! He is, without a doubt, the man that I remember my parents praying for as a little girl. My life is such proof that God's timing is undeniably best!

Morgan Immitating LoLo Preaching!

Thanks Michelle for helping out your Not-Very-Technically-Savvy friend!

Sorry this video is grainy (shot in the dark with my cell phone) and sideways (I have no idea why) but it is probably my favorite 8 second video EVER! :)

A New House, A Shower, and "The Water", and THE Crawl!

Seems like life is moving at mach speed these days! I can't believe how ridiculously different my life is than it was less than a year ago! And it doesn't appear that it will be slowing down or staying the same anytime soon!


About a month ago the house next to Matt's parents went into foreclosure and his parents asked if we would be interested in buying it. This house is just gorgeous! WAY nicer than what I ever expected to live in and worth WAY MORE than what either one of us could afford to live in! However, because it was a foreclosure it was made possible. We talked it over and decided to go for it! We decided to paint every room except the kitchen and laundry room so we have been spending every night except Wednesday and Thursday nights (mid week church services and church league softball) working over there! Very tiring but VERY exciting!


Because of that purchase me and Leigh decided to go ahead and try to re-lease our apartment and we are SO thankful it rented! Now we are in the process of moving Nathan into his and Leigh's new house, Matt into his new house, and me and Leigh into Matt's old house. Of course we all have full time jobs and we are out of town EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND this month due to showers, family reunions, and birthdays. No biggie! No stress! :) Me and Leigh will live in Matt's house in Dalraida until she moves into their new house after the wedding and I will stay in Matt's old house getting it ready to be sold until ????


Speaking of showers, Leigh had her first (of TEN if I am counting right :) wedding shower in Trenton at mom and dad's congregation. It was SO NICE! I'm sure she will be blogging about it but she RACKED UP! Those people are like family to us and they truly spoiled her! She is so blessed, we all are, to have them in our lives!


Her shower was on a Sunday in between services. The order of services in Trenton is class at 9:30am EST and worship at 10:30am EST. At our home congregation the schedule (we attend the early service) is worship at 8:30 CST and class at 9:30 CST so we are actually at services at the same time on Sunday morning. Well, while I was in class at Trenton I got a text from Matt. I thought that was weird because, although he had no idea what time class and services are in Trenton, I knew he should be in worship service. But, I though maybe he was texting to tell me he was sick or that he had decided to sleep in and go to late service since I wasn't there.

I have to insert here that Matt was raised very devout Catholic. Ever since I met him he would come to services with me at University but he would also attend mass at his church that meets at a different time. He has been studying the entire time we have been dating. He is very much a student of the Bible and enjoys studying, especially with two members of The Church who were both raised Catholic. On the advise of many we have tried to stay away from much religion discussion for obvious reasons. Because of that, I knew he had been studying a lot lately but I really had no idea where he was in his studies.

Back to the text, I open it and it says, "Would you be upset if I got baptized when you weren't here?" WHAT?!? I was so taken back I didn't even know what to think! I texted him back and told him that, of course, I wanted to be there but NO I would never be upset if he did it while I wasn't there. Then I HAD to ask if he was just inquisitive or he was thinking about TODAY! He said he was thinking about that day and had been thinking about it for a while! I called him after our services and their class was over and he said he wanted to talk to Dirt and they were going to lunch and I said to let me know when he decided. I was SO NERVOUS and SO HAPPY! I carried my phone around like it was glued to me for the next hour or two. Then I had to take Morgan to the restroom and I sat it down for just a minute. OF COURSE, when I got back I had a text and a missed call. I didn't even open the text, I just called him right back. He said, "Didn't you read my text?" and made me open the text with him on the phone. The text read, "I was just baptized :)" He had discussed it with Dirt and they went back to the church building and Randy, our preacher, took his confession and Dirt baptized him! There are no words to describe how I felt! Just a great day in so many ways!

Right after that conversation we left for Leigh's shower. After all the "showering" was done, Michelle took Morgan on a walk through the building and tried to explain what Matt had done. She took her to the baptistery, which she is infatuated with anyways. She is always asking to go see "the water." When they came back in the shower Morgan asked me if I would take her back to see "the water." So, off we went. On the way to the auditorium she is telling me how Matt got "in the water" and how she is so happy. SO SWEET! It meant VERY little to me that she had no idea what was really going on! :)

When we got up there we looked at "the water" some more and then she wanted to stand where LoLo stands (LoLo is my dad and he stands at the pulpit when he is preaching :) I pulled the chair up there so she could stand there and she giggled and played for a minute. Then I said, "What does LoLo say when he is up there preaching?" She didn't even hesitate. She replied by banging her hand on the pulpit (which he never does!) and said in the microphone loudly, "GET IN THE WATER!" HAHAHAHA! I did get my phone out and ask her to repeat it but I can't figure out how to load it on here. SO FUNNY! It was such a fun and happy weekend!

When we got home Louise, Ellie, and Dirt turned back around on Wednesday and left for family vacation in Chattanooga. I HATE when Ellie is not around! They FINALLY brought her back on Sunday ;) But, because Matt and I had taken a little trip to Jackson to celebrate Grandma's 80th birthday and for him to meet that side of the family we weren't going to be able to see her until Monday after work. Ellie will be nine months old this Thursday. She sits up better than almost any other baby I have ever seen, she says "MaMa" and "DaDa" and scoots like a champ wherever she wants to go but the kid seemed determined to NOT CRAWL! Until Monday! She FINALLY DID IT! And boy can she move! And every time she does you would think she has just won the Olympics the way we go on! What a champ! Needless to say, we are BURSTING with excitement and couldn't be more proud!

I hate to keep pounding on the same things but I am just so blessed and I DO. NOT. EVER. take it for granted. I am so thankful for this life that I am getting to live! Stay tuned....

Quick Catch Up....

OK, I am just going to have to skim over the biggest year of my life so far or I am NEVER going to be able to blog again! It is just too overwhelming! ONE DAY I promise that I am going write about the surgery from my standpoint one day but that day is just not today. Let's see what you have missed since I last wrote...

1. The entire Philippines trip

2. Surgery

3. ELLIE!!!!

4. New job!

5. Leigh got engaged!

6. Matt :)

1. It was amazing AS ALWAYS but this one was topped off by finding out the very day that my plane took off that I was a match for Janet! I honestly believe that everyone should take one trip to a third world country to do mission work. Everyone may not love it the same as I do and want to continue doing it but NO ONE would ever regret going and it will change your life.

2. The surgery is one of the best and the worst things that has ever happened to me. I got to see the best in SO MANY people but physically it was the worst! I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I have never regretted for one minute doing it! The funny thing about it is that everyone thinks Janet received the gift but it was definitely me who is better off than before the surgery.

3. ELLIE! Isn't she the best thing ever??? I mean, seriously! I feel like my heart is literally outside of my body and when she is happy it brings me a joy like no other but when she is upset it literally breaks my heart! That little person is definitely proof of God's perfection!

4. I am no longer working night shift, no longer at 911, no longer working multiple jobs, and am no longer in school. Consequently, I no longer have any money. However, the life I have gained is worth more than all of the money in the world.

5. Leigh is engaged! The proposal was awesome and I am SO GLAD we all got to be a part of it and witness it! She is in the midst of wedding planning and although she is a little stressed she is loving every minute of it! We love Nathan and are all impressed that he can deal with the little Walker fireball! Just kidding! I, obviously, think she is the greatest and no one deserves her but he is a good, Christian man and I hope God showers them with more blessings than they know what to do with! Stay tuned for details on the impending nuptials!

6. Meet Matt. The kindest, funniest, sweetest, adorable, most handsome, most thoughtful, calmest, most encouraging, most helpful, most loving person I have ever met! There is a line from one of my favorite movies that goes, "You are everything that I never knew that I always wanted." Matt is that for me. He's kind of like Ellie because it is hard for me to remember a time before him. Apparently, God's time REALLY is better than my own.