2013 in Review

As I reflect on 2013, it has been a year of many emotions.  The Lord's faithfulness continues to amaze me.  Here are some highlights:

January -  Isabella made her profession of faith at church!  The most important milestone of her life we celebrated as a family.  Brook performed in a play from her theater class.  She did great.

February - Isabella turned 12!  She had several different birthday celebrations with friends.  Our family had a one night get-away in Nashville, combining some work & play.

March - Nicole & Tyler got married!  It was beautiful & the sweetest vows ever.  It was a fun night to celebrate them!  This month was also big as our family was officially approved as missionaries to Bogota, Colombia.  We said so long to our dear friend, Julie, who moved back to Texas.  And it snowed in Memphis this month!

April - Isabella got her braces this month.  Avery & I became aunt & uncle again as Avery's brother & family had another baby girl.  Isabella went on her first Jr. High choir trip, I went on a women's retreat from church, & our family all traveled to Charlotte, NC & Greenville, SC for a visit, which also included a fun beach trip with the Greens.

May - Our school year ended, & I went on an overnight girls trip to Nashville with some of my closest homeschool friends.  Avery & I celebrated our 15th anniversary.  Our family went camping with Jared & Kaitlyn.  Brook got her braces off this month too!

June - We celebrated the wedding of our dear friends Mac & Mary.  This was for sure one of the funnest nights of our year.  We had a fun family girls trip to NYC & this was Brook's first trip to New York.  The girls participated in VBS at church.  Then we all traveled back to Greenville, SC for a week. My dad retired this month & celebrated his 70th birthday.  It was a special time to honor him.

July - We did lots of swimming & hanging out with friends this month.  The girls also started back to school (Isabella - 7th grade/Brook - 4th grade).   The highlights were our family week at Camp Palmer, which the girls just love, & of course, the birth of baby Prince George to William & Kate.

August - Avery surprised me with a new wedding ring to celebrate our 15th year anniversary this year. It is beautiful.  Our dear friend, Rachelle, came to Memphis & stayed a few days at our house.

September - Avery & I attended a training conference in NC, & the girls stayed with grandparents in NC. We celebrated Avery's 41st birthday this month, & I had a reunion with Delta Air Lines.  The highlight of this month was going as a family to the house & land where my grandparents, Moutie & Pop, lived.  I spent so much time here as a child & teenager.  It was a great day to spend with family & show it to the girls.

October - Brook turned 9 & she had a fun red carpet party/sleepover.  It was a fun night!  Our family took a vacation to Washington, DC.  It was fun & especially memorable with the government shutdown.  We also took a train to Charlotte, NC for Avery's sister's wedding.  We had fun at Sara & Ricky's wedding with everyone.  It was a beautiful location.

November - Our family once again went to Greenville, SC for a missions conference.  It was a great time at the conference & with the Greens!  I celebrated my 43rd birthday with a very relaxing day & good food. Brook & I spent several days in Brandon with my nieces & nephew.  We transitioned to a missionary house as we began packing up our house in preparation to move & Isabella killed her first deer this month! Isabella also went on her 2nd annual Jr. High Buffalo retreat with church.

December - This month went by fast & the time was filled with friends & family.  Another dear friend, Carmen, came to Memphis & we so enjoyed our day with her.  We were busy this month, but really enjoyed Christmas with family.  We came to North Carolina for a visit with family & friends, & will ring in 2014 in Greenville, SC.

Happy New Year to you all & thanks for reading the blog with me this year!