2013 Review

2013 was quite the year. In many ways it was a very good year but it definitely had it's tests. I battled sickness, stress, and challenges at work. On the other hand, I feel like I have grown a lot emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and a little physically. I now consider myself (although reluctantly) an official adult. I feel more confident in my teaching abilities and feel prepared for whatever the future holds more than ever. Bring it 2014!

Here is my 2013 year in review:

LOWLIGHTS

The most challenging things of the year had to do with medical issues. I had my first surgery getting my tonsils out and really dealt with insurance for the first time. This is why I feel like a real adult. I realized the importance of having good insurance and having a savings account. I'm glad I had my tonsils out at the beginning of the year so I didn't have to deal with it any longer but it was trying financially. I also REALLY got to know my dentist this year but am glad I had the money to do what I needed to.

  

HIGHLIGHTS

One major highlight of the year was receiving my endowments at the Albuquerque Temple in April. Through the temple I have discovered greater happiness and have filled a void I didn't know was missing. I'm proud of my decision to go and am thankful to have temples close by to go to often.

 I also crossed something off of my bucket list by going to Washington DC.

WORD OF THE YEAR:
GRATITUDE
Something I really wanted to focus on in 2013 was being thankful for everything I have. Like anyone else, I face challenges, difficulties, and problems. I know I would never be able to get through them without three very important things: The Gospel, My Family, and my Friends.

GOSPEL
I honestly would not be able to get through this life without the Gospel and my testimony. I know that I have a loving Heavenly Father who knows me personally and loves me. I can always turn to Him and He will be there. I also know that I have a Savior who knows exactly what I am going through because he has experienced everything and atoned for my sins. Knowing these simple truths has helped me tremendously throughout my life.

FAMILY
This is nothing new that I discovered but I was often reminded this year that I have an amazing family-immediate and extended! They love me unconditionally and provide much needed support and guidance.

And in case you didn't know, I also have some AMAZING sisters!

FRIENDS

I now want to give a special shout out to my wonderful friends. I have been blessed throughout my life to have incredible friends. These people understand my craziness, love me in spite of my imperfections, and know how tp make me laugh. These are people who I may only see once a year but it feels like nothing has changed. These are people who have stuck with me through some of the biggest changes in my life and to each of them, I want to say thank you!

This past month I was lucky enough to spend some time with some of the best college roommates and friends a girl could ask for. We have been friends for over 6 years (crazy!) and have remained close through marriages, births, moves, and everything else life decided to throw at us.

 (One of my besties, explained how we all met and if interested, you can check that out here.) I absolutely love these girls and am forever grateful that we were all placed together as roommies!

Here are some pictures of us throughout the years. I look horrible in a bunch of them but oh well :)

 

Christmas Break 2013

I could not wait for Christmas break this year. Work was wearing me out and I couldn't wait to see my family again. This break was also the longest one I ever remember having, both as a teacher and being in school myself. I had 17 days total and 13 of them were spent at home (counting 2 travel days). It was also long enough to get used to not working again so going back tomorrow will be challenging but overall, it was a fantastic break.

Being home was wonderful as always. I spent lots of time with all of my family members and we kept busy. Sometimes I go home for too long and get bored but not this time. The Valley was extremely cold but that's normal. At least it was pretty.

We enjoyed a nice Christmas program in Sacrament meeting and went home to take our traditional Sunday before Christmas pictures.

Christmas Eve was spent without Whitney and Andy but my grandma was able to join us. We have our big meal on Christmas Eve and still had a little program where my Dad read the Christmas story from the Bible and I told a few stories.

Christmas Day was wonderful. As I grow older, I enjoy giving more than receiving and just love being able to be home with my entire family. Whitney and Andy joined us in the afternoon so we could all be together.

Christmas Morning

 My favorite gift was a t-shirt quilt I asked my mom to make. It wasn't quite finished but we got it done Christmas night.

 My dad loves toys and got us all a foosball table to share.

 I loved all of my gifts! My family knows me well.

Besides the usual Christmas festivities, we played lots of games, talked a lot, relaxed, went to Pueblo, ate too much, watched movies, and shot guns. My dad got a skeet shooter and clay pigeons for Christmas so we went shooting 3 different times. I was pretty darn good with the shotgun too; impressed myself even.

Shooting shotguns at the shooting range:

Everyone got in on the action:

Then we shot .22s

 Then shot shotguns again on our property:

If you can't tell, we hate guns :)

Usually we have a boring New Year's Eve and often come back to Utah to be with friends but this year, we got to spend it all together as a family which was fun. It was a pretty hopin' party until about 11 when we all crashed. We managed to ring in the year at midnight but as you can tell, were pretty tired...

 except for Sarah!

We went home on Thursday so Sarah could work for a day and I could see some friends. Now it's back to work and routines and seeing how long my New Year's resolutions will last this time.

I hope you all had a great Christmas as well!