What a year this has been!

I thought that with the end of the year rapidly approaching, it would be appropriate to do the required look back over the past year on my blog, so here goes!

Time really has flown this last year -- I remember last Christmas time, Nathan and I were putting up our new four foot tree in our tiny little apartment.
Literally, you could reach everything from the couch. We ended up driving out to Georgia for Christmas to spend with my family, even though we were only able to stay for a couple days. Classes started again in January, and to be honest, I can't even remember what classes I took that semester. Shows how much I learned! But thus began the best year of my life, and it's continued to be amazing every new day.

I finished out the semester at TJC in Texas, and we spent the first few weeks of the summer on vacation taking a roadtrip up to Minnesota. I got to meet some of Nathan's family for the first time, and we had a (very) early birthday party for his grandma (we celebrated her birthday first of July ... it's actually in December, or sometime in the winter). We got the see the Mall of America, and I rode my first rollercoaster there in the mall!

We got back to Texas just in time to load up our u-Haul in pouring rain, and prepare for out trip out to Tennessee. Loading up that truck wasn't the only time it rained on us during that move. When we moved all the stuff out of the apartment and into storage, it rained. When we loaded up the truck, it rained. When we drove out to Tennessee, it rained. When we moved into our new house, it rained. I'm just thankful that none of our belongings got too wet or damaged.
We were greatly blessed when we moved to Tennessee and found out how large and beautiful our new home would be. We hadn't had the chance to come out and see it for ourselves, so we had to rely on friends taking pictures and promises from our landlord that it would be fixed up and presentable. Apparently, the two guys living in here before us were very uneligible bachelors who only needed a pathway from the door to their bed, because in all the pictures we saw, there was about three feet of crap piled on either side of the bedroom, and a small little path going through it. But we unlocked the door for the first time and set foot into a beautiful little two bedroom house that we will call home for at least the next four years. We absolutely love our home, and there's not much you can do to drag us out of it once we get home from the day.

Nathan continued working with his company in Texas, and I got a job at a rehabilitation hospital in town. The hours aren't the best, and I'm often tired from it, but it is fulfilling work, and in the long run, I love my job. I started my first semester at southern, and the last four months here have sped past. I finished my last final this morning, and I'm so happy to be done. I got accepted into the nursing program, and I'm so proud of myself for getting in.

We had some sad things happen this year as well though. As most of you know, we lost our dear little niece, Eleyna Petersen, at Thanksgiving time. Her passing has cast a shadow on many Thanksgivings to come, because we will always remember the sadness. Nathan and I spent our first wedding anniversary down in Florida at the funeral, so I'm hoping we can make it up next year by going somewhere special.

So now it's Christmas break, and I have a few days of freedom before I embark on what will possibly be the hardest two years of my life. But it'll be worth it, and I'm looking forward to it all (lol .. .ask me again in five months).

I want to wish everyone out there an amazing Christmas season -- don't forget what it's really all about, and spend time doing what matters most.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.