2011

Well, we had a great Christmas and I could make a whole post about it, but with it being New Year's, I wanted to make a run-down of our past year.

January- We celebrated New Year's with my family at our apartment, and my brother got married in Springfield on New Year's Day.  My parents took us to Dixie Stampede to celebrate my college graduation.  We took a fun vacation to Memphis, TN and had the BEST fried chicken we'd ever had!  Steven had unofficially accepted a position in Maryville, IL.  After our 3 day trip to Memphis, we were so excited to go  to Illinois to look at houses and make everything official with the church there.  At the last minute and out of nowhere, we were told we couldn't proceed with the move yet, and maybe not at all.  We left heartbroken and with no idea what to do.  We visited some family in Oklahoma that weekend, and during our time there we got an e-mail from Pastor Dan that they had decided to move forward with the youth pastor position in O'Fallon.

At Dixie Stampede for my graduation dinner!

In Memphis at our new Fave place, Gus' Fried Chicken!

February- We had TONS of time to really think and pray about what direction to head towards.  The starting date we had set at FBC Maryville came and went, and we were praying continually about what to do.  We met with Pastor Dan for Steven's first interview in Osage Beach.  Steven and Dan chatted for a while while I was shopping, then we all went out to dinner together.  We left the interview knowing that God had everything under control, but unsure of whether we were to go to Maryville or O'Fallon.

Valentine's Day dinner at Hinode, a Japanese Steakhouse

March- I continued to work on diy projects (including restoring my great-grandma's cedar chest) to pass the time.  We went to O'Fallon to continue the interview process, and upon getting to know the people there, immediately felt a real PEACE about the opportunity.  Everyone had been so welcoming and the members and leadership there really had a heart for God's Word.  At the end of the month, we received an offer from both O'Fallon and Maryville churches within a few days of each other.  Steven and I were back in KC at the time, and used the opportunity to get advice from our families and other loved ones.  We just knew in our hearts that O'Fallon was the place God had for us, and accepted the position there with the starting date May 1!  My parents took us out to JackStack to celebrate, then we arranged to come up to O'Fallon to begin looking at homes!

Celebrating Steven's job!

April-  Steven lost (/ it got stolen) his wedding ring at Jiffy Lube, so we had to get him a new one.  In the middle of the month, we went to O'Fallon to look at houses.  We were disappointed to find out that we had to wait until 30 days after Steven started working to close on a loan on a house, so we would have to find some short-term housing in the mean time.  We looked at furnished apartments and extended stay hotels, but my good friend Lauren's family was SO generous to offer their basement to us!  They have a bedroom, full bathroom, kitchenette, and living area and it was PERFECT.  We started looking at houses, and found one that we liked, went to put an offer on it, and it had JUST accepted another offer.  We stayed another day and found another we liked, so we got the paperwork out to put an offer on it, and it had a contract accepted the same morning!  We went back to Springfield disappointed that we had no head-way with the house department, but with the knowledge that God would provide the right one. We moved in to the Waltrip's the end of April, and looked at more houses.  There were only 4 to look at that we hadn't already seen, and when we got to the last one, Steven and I looked at each other and said "I like this house!" and put an offer on it (successfully this time)!

On our way to O'Fallon to look at houses!

May- Steven's first day!  The church was so generous and welcoming to us and we were overwhelmed with gratitude for what God had provided!   We were anxiously waiting to see whether our offer had been accepted, when our realtor called that 5 offers had been made and to make our best price.  We did, and while waiting to hear back I got to go to North Carolina to visit my best friends Kim and Kelly.  While I was there Steven called me that they had accepted OUR offer, which meant I had a ton of paper work to do from 1,000 miles away.  It was stressful but we got it done and were SO thankful!!  We had our first Sunday night youth group, and my birthday.

Our first Sunday at Dardenne Prairie Bible Church

Mr. Litfin helped me get my housing paperwork signed! 

June- June was a whirl-wind!  We were able to move our closing date up a week, and spent the first week of June picking out carpet, flooring, paint colors, etc.  We learned about all of the paperwork and technicalities in buying a house, but were able to close on it June 10 and many of the men at our church graciously came to help us tear up the old carpet and get started on fixing the house up!!  We spent the rest of the week living at the Waltrips, but spending almost every waking moment at the house to have it ready to move in by the next weekend.  My parents met us in Springfield to help us pack up our stuff from our apartment in BBC.  We got back to OUR house and some of the youth kids met us there to help us unpack!  We got everything unpacked and spent our first night at the house on June 18.  The NEXT day we picked up our puppy, Barkley from a girl who had "rescued" him from her roommate's farm.  In addition to all of this, we started Discipleship 1 at the church, had VBS, Steven's birthday, went to the Ozarks for my brother's wedding reception, and had a high school lock-in.

Our new home!!

Closing day with our realtor Lisa

July- We kept busy with more cosmetic things at the house, like adding a pantry to the kitchen.  We went to the Ozarks for my family's Triplet reunion and spent the weekend there and also threw a baby shower for my cousin Dayna.  Finally, we had Camp with the high schooler's at Logan Valley.  We all had a great time and went to Johnson's Shut-ins and on a float trip!

Steven and some youth boys at Camp

August- First, we celebrated our second anniversary!  We went to downtown St. Louis and got a GREAT deal on the Hyatt Regency hotel.  They even upgraded our room because it was our anniversary!  We had a great dinner at a steakhouse, then went to the Arch (it was Steven's first time!).  I drove to KC by myself and stayed the weekend for my cousin Ali's bridal shower.  We were done with all of our "big" home renovations, so we decided it was time for me to start looking for a job.  I had my eye on an independent living center close-by, and ended up getting a job as an Activities Assistant next door in their company's nursing home.  I started on August 25 and was definitely shocked by my new job, but knew God had placed me here for a reason so resolved to make the best of it!

Getting ready for dinner on our Anniversary!

September- Steven's "dad" Matt had to report to jail this month, so we made a trip to KC to spend time with him and the rest of the family before he had to check in.  It was obviously an emotional weekend for everyone, but we were so glad we were able to go!!  The most "exciting" event of this month is that Steven caught fire at our church's Labor Day picnic!  His apron blew in the wind and caught fire, and as he was trying to untie the apron to get it off, he burnt his fingers and side severely.  I met him in the emergency room and we found out he had 2nd degree burns.  It could have been MUCH worse and we were so thankful that God had His hand on the situation!  This experience gave me a reminder to never take my husband or our health for granted.  I went to KC again shortly after, to be a bridesmaid in Ali's wedding!  She looked beautiful and I was so happy to spend that time with her, as well as see some of my family and high school friends!

Ali's wedding day!

October-  My Grammy and Papa came to visit, and we took them around our new city.  They were super generous to buy me a sewing machine while they were here, thus giving me a new addiction!  God provided a way for my car to pass inspection without us paying $900, and we prepared for the Suzuki to get taken away. (though it didn't...haha)  Finally, we had a Costume party at the church, and Steven and I dressed up as Frankenstein and Frankenstein's monster!

Steven and I at the costume party

November- My family came to visit us and see our house finished!  We spent the month working and keeping busy.  I worked Thanksgiving Day, and then met Steven at Dan and Susan's for Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was delish!  We went Black Friday shopping and were even hard core and waited in line at Target outside... but didn't buy anything haha.  Steven and I cooked our first turkey and it turned out great (though it didn't agree with Barkley's stomach).  We had a huge answer to prayer when a member of our youth group who we had been praying for for months, got saved!

Getting Starbucks before Black Friday shopping!

Steven carving our first turkey

December- We had both of the youth groups over (on two different nights) for Christmas parties, and got to leave on December 18 to go home for Christmas!  We stayed in KC for 4 nights, then Tulsa and Bartlesville for the rest of our time.  We had a good but very busy trip- a lot of driving and packing and unpacking when you make as many stops as we did!  I got food poisoning so missed out on 2 days of being with family which was disappointing.  Barkley was boarded in KC, but stayed with his "cousins" in Oklahoma the rest of the time.  He LOVED it but is much better behaved when he is by himself!  We got back on the 28, had a youth event at Incredible Pizza that went from 10:30 - 3:30, and then spent New Years Eve at the Waltrips house.  Being in their basement brought back a lot of memories!

High School group crammed into our house for Christmas!

2011 was probably the biggest and craziest year of my life.  So much happened and I grew in so many ways.  We really grew up this year with a house to maintain and big-person jobs.  It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster- there were broken relationships, nights I cried myself to sleep, moments when it felt like the world was crashing down on us and we didn't know what to do.  But there were even more laughter, new relationships made (or previous ones made stronger), and moments when everything "clicked" and we began to see how the puzzle pieces fit together.

It was a beautiful year of seeing God's plan for our lives develop and settling down where we know we are supposed to be.  We were blessed so greatly by the Lord.  We have so much peace as we begin 2012, knowing that as long as we keep God as the focus of our lives, marriage, and youth group, He will continue to reveal Himself to us and bless us.

There is no one else I would have rather spent this year with than Steven.  He helped me to keep the faith when we were waiting on the Lord.  He was there for me when those I loved hurt me, and held me when I cried.  He always had my back.   Going through this year with him has made our relationship so much sweeter and our friendship so much closer.  I can't wait for 50 more years with him.

So, here's to 2012... the people who will come, those who will go, and those who will stay...  We are excited to see what God does this year!