New Year...New Habits

You can like new year resolutions or hate them...but I have to tell you I love the way a new year gives me the opportunity for a fresh mental start. Yes, I know it's all in my mind...that I could start new habits any day of the year...but I like the freshness of January 1.

This year is a different one for me. I not only take stock of my own life...my own heart...my own future...but I take stock of what my life needs to best serve the life of another. What my own heart needs to cultivate to not only give love to Ryan, but receive love from him. What my future might entail...that will in turn affect HIS future.

He and I have our hopes, of course. Hopes of finding a job for him that is closer to mine so we don't have to spend extra hours each day apart from the other. Hopes of selling both our homes and finding a new house that together we can transform into a home. But it might not happen that way. A year from now, we might still be sitting in this same house, working the same jobs. And if that's the case, it's okay. We'll just pray for extra commuting grace. :)

But here are some things I'm doing in hopes of making a busy-commuting-new-wife life the best it can be. Things that hopefully will cultivate my relationship with God and in turn help me be what Ryan needs.

1. USE the day planner. I bout this Planner Perfect planner partway through the year last year, and I really like it. There's a lot of freedom in it to use the pages how I want to use them...customize them for daily to-do lists, shopping lists, date-planning, and more.

So the goal is to use it to the max...not just to write appointments in the boxes of the monthly calendar, but to use it as its creator intended...to make life dreams and goals a reality on paper.

2. Read through the Bible. A few years ago, I read through the Bible in a year. It felt like a marathon...and we all know how I do with running. NOT WELL. I said I'd never do it again. But I stumbled upon this over at Melanie's blog a few days ago and thought I might give it a shot again this year. She's taken the daily reading plan and transformed it into a weekly reading plan. I like that concept. If I have a day that is packed and I don't get to read...it's okay. And if I have a day with 2 spare hours...(what is THAT!?!?!?) I can catch up...get ahead...whatever!

3. Read a daily devo again. This past year, I really floundered with daily devos. I didn't have one that I read consistently and as a result, my quality time with the Lord every day really suffered. That is not a good way to start a marriage. If I had one thing to do over about this past year...it would be that. I should not have slacked off with my God-time!! So, at my request, Ryan got me this devo book for Christmas:

The book is called Praying the Promises of God by Cheri Fuller and Jennifer Kenned Dean. Lynne told me they are both phenomenal prayer warriors so I'm excited about what the book holds.

4. Participate in Beth Moore's SSMT again. I did this two years ago (she only does it every other year) and it was great accountability for me in working on Scripture memory...which is something I'm TERRIBLE at doing. It urges women to memorize two verses a month - one at the beginning of the month and one halfway through. I'll give it my best shot!

5. Work out 3 times a week. UGH. After the 10K, I completely fell off the exercise bandwagon. Ryan and I got engaged less than a week after the race and the next two months were packed with urgent wedding planning and then there was...you know...Christmas. So I've just done NOTHING. And it shows. I feel disgusting. (Not a great way to start a marriage either...I'm just a slacker!!) So here we go again. Back to the routine. It's really important to Ryan and I want to make sure I stay faithful to that!

6. Date planning once a month. I love theme dates and have some already marinating in my mind. My goal is to plan a fun date for the two of us once a month. I'm excited about sharing them with you after they take place! (Can't tell you before then because Ryan reads the blog and that would ruin the surprise!

So those are some of my goals!!! Hoping for many successes! :)

It's the Weekly Recap!

The final weekly recap of 2012!

* Last Sunday evening, we had Christmas with Ryan's mom, stepdad, and siblings. It was my first family Christmas with someone else's family and it was much fun! I feel very welcomed and loved by them and I appreciate that so much!

* Monday was Christmas Eve, and I had the day off, while Ryan did not. I stayed home all day, madly cleaning and doing last minute chores. My friend Faith stopped by with her two daughters, and we had Christmas together...

...and then Ryan and I went to a family Christmas for his dad's side of the family...and then we went to our Christmas Eve candlelight service at church! It was a very busy day!

* Tuesday was our first Christmas together!! We started the day with our own Christmas at home:

Then we went to Christmas at my parents' house, followed by another of Ryan's family Christmas gatherings! It was such a beautiful day...our first Christmas together!

* Wednesday it SNOWED. I got up and drove to work in the morning, and it had just started snowing at my house (and was instantly horrible driving). As soon as I got to work, they turned around and sent me home with two days' worth of work, just in case! So while Ryan was at work, I hunkered down in the living room with a pot of coffee and a box of work and this became my office!

* Thursday I worked from home again, thankyouverymuch, snow!!! I was kind of stir crazy by the end of the day, actually! So excited, that night, to have a visit from my good friends, Tom and Olivia, who were home for the holidays! They came over to meet Ryan, drink coffee with us, and we exchanged gifts. And I have (gasp) no photos to show for it...as Olivia took all the pictures and took them with her! OOPSIE!!!

* Friday night I had a date with my husband! We went out to dinner at Applebees (thank you, gift card from our wedding coordinator!) and then went shopping to use up some Kohl's cash we had. One of our purchases was this mini food processor, which we named Choppy McChopperson. (Yes, we name the appliances.)

* Saturday we had our final Christmas celebration of the year. This one was with Ryan's mom's side of the family. There are a WHOLE BUNCH of them! They were so welcoming and I had a great time there. On the way home, it was very slick and snowy, and I noticed a car down a side road that had gotten stuck. So we turned around and went back. We arrived at the same time another car did, and two guys from that car and Ryan got out to help push the car. Ryan was wearing a vest coat and a short sleeved shirt and got SOAKED with snow and mud. (If you look, you can see it on his sleeves, all down the front of his coat, and all down his jeans. He also had it on his face and all down the back of his arm.)

 And that's it! 2012's last week all wrapped up! Thanks for hanging out here and reading through our weekly happenings all year...hope you'll come back again next year! :)



2012...Beyond ANYTHING I Imagined

The other day, I glanced back at my January blog posts and found this one that I wrote right at the beginning of the year.

His ways are not my ways. His thoughts are beyond anything I could have imagined. And here I am, at the close of 2012, a wife. He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure...so kindly allowed me to enjoy the answer to a 30 year prayer. He has allowed me to know a love I've never known before. Deep, unconditional, sacrificial love that points me to the kind of love He Himself has toward me.

This year was CRAZY wonderful.

I rang in the new year with Faith...by celebrating with sparklers in my backyard at midnight...with semi-garish Hawaiian Goodwill shirts and grass skirts - covered by a wool coat:

I worked my first SHARE fundraiser at WBCL:

I went to a Super Bowl party and even watched like...a whole minute!...of the game:

I played Mickey Mouse at a concert - and met Point of Grace wearing the costume:

I went with Lynne to the Fresh Grounded Faith Conference in Ohio:

I celebrated Easter to the MAX:

Entertained my inner 6 year old at a birthday party:

Worked a Newsboys Concert:

Spoke at a mother/daughter banquet:

Spent a day at the Craft Hideaway:

Worked the Secret Keeper Girl Conference:

Turned 34:

Took a weekender road trip to Granville, Ohio with the lovely Lynne Ford:

Took a vacation to the Biltmore Estate, in Asheville, North Carolina to celebrate my best friend's birthday:

Participated in the Three Rivers Festival Parade:

Got to spend some time up at Lake Webster:

Found myself asked out on a date by a guy named Ryan:

Went to the Women of Faith Conference:

Found myself asked to be Ryan's girlfriend - and said YES:

Went to a Selah Concert:

Ran a 10K:

Had the surprise of my life when Ryan showed up at work and proposed to me on air:

Spent a day in Brown County celebrating our new engagement and planning for our future:

Went to a pumpkin patch!

Purchased a wedding dress in 45 minutes FLAT:

Had our engagement photos taken:

Celebrated Ryan's 33 1/2 birthday:

Worked the Mercy Me Concert:

Ryan took me to my first Colts Game:

Ryan's mom and sister threw me a personal shower:

My best friend threw me a bachelorette party:

My work girls threw me a shower:

I enjoyed my first Thanksgiving as an engaged woman. Come to think of it...also my last as an engaged woman!

And then, you know...I GOT MARRIED!

And came home and had my first Christmas as a WIFE!

And that is how the end of my year ended up SO very different from how it started....and God has blown my mind with His goodness.

He has indeed redeemed the heartache of my past. And. I. Am. Grateful.

Christmas with the Fam

Taking Ryan home for our family Christmas was extremely entertaining. All the way over, I prepped him for all the things likely to happen...like the famous picture Mom and Dad always take as we walk in the door, which usually results in the two of them trying (in vain) to figure out how to work the camera while we stand holding packages and smiling. Or like Dad wearing his "Wise Men Still Seek Him" sweatshirt. Or like Dad playing my embarrassing rendition of a Luke 2 recitation from when I was 4. Stuff like that.

We arrived and walked in to hear Mom say "I can't find my glasses! You'll have to take the picture." To which Dad replied, "I don't know how to work that thing."

Ahhhh. Let Christmas begin.

This year it was my sister, Julie and her husband, Tom, Mom and Dad...and Ryan and me. Can't tell you how much I loved having someone beside me at that table this year. (Even if he did bring out the phone and show the UBER embarrassing station music video I hadn't told my family I was in. They loved it. I sat quietly. That's a first.)

 Dad opening his first gift. Historically this means the rest of the day, he'll play with this present. The first one is always his favorite. This year it was some sort of thermometer.

 My beautiful sister, Julie, modeling a scarf Lori gave her.

 I never got a clear shot of my shirt! It said "Naughty, Nice, I Really Tried." The I Really Tried is checked. Unfortunately once I donned the bare hiney shorts as a joke - my Dad piped up with "You did NOT really try." I wanted to be sorry but I really wasn't. It was that funny. (And I would love to post a picture for you but I don't think my work would appreciate it!!)

 Ryan's new Colts shirt! He loved it! (And he will look SO good in it. Shows off his arms. Sigh of joy.)

 I love this picture of Mom. She's usually so busy hollering instructions to me about "no legs, one chin..." that she forgets to smile.

 My new vest coat from Mom. And gloves! I loved them so much.

 Dad still working on that thermometer. He brought Tom in to help....

 Taking a short break to open another gift - an ice scraper of some sort. He asked Ryan to hold it while he read the directions. Out loud. God bless that Ryan...such a good sport.

 Dad is nothing if not a vision in plaid.

 I think he got something like 4 new plaid shirts (displayed on the chair behind him) and I bought him a dress hat so that...you know...if he should have another wedding on the books anytime soon...he won't have to wear his How Old I Art baseball cap. He seemed to like the hat. Unfortunately he didn't seem to see the point in removing the tags. Baby steps.

Mom and Dad with Ryan and me!

All in all, a GREAT Christmas! We texted pictures out to Lori and Jeff in Kansas so they could see what was happening...Dad only fell asleep twice...and we had LOTS of good laughs along the way. A great day!