Reflections on 2012; Looking Ahead to 2013

Happy New Year! We enjoyed bringing in the New Year with dear friends and family at home. New Year's at our house wouldn't be complete without explosives of some kind and a game of Quelf!

A tradition we have started is that New Year's night, everyone shares what their favorite moments were from  the previous year and shares what they are most looking forward to in the upcoming year. I thought it would be fun to share some of them here.

Austin and I both agreed that 2012 was a challenging, yet good year for us. It was our second year of marriage (which is an accomplishment all by itself). It started off with Austin leaving his job doing security at Union and getting a job in his field at Health Connect, which was a huge answer to prayer. We've had our ups and downs with that as he's learned how to do his job and maintain a certain number of clients. We've learned how to live on less, make a dollar stretch, and ask for help when we've needed it. We went on a much needed, relaxing trip to the mountains with our wonderful friends, the Mayfields (as well as watched The Bachelor and The Bachelorette seasons). March was my trip to Honduras, a life-changing experience, that helped put my own life into perspective: how truly blessed we are with what we have. It was such an encouragement to see those at the orphanage (both the workers and the children) trust the Lord for everything they have and display that it is possible to have joy in any circumstance. May was the much anticipated celebration of Austin's graduation with his Master's degree, marking the end of a three year journey of post graduate education! It was so fun to get both sides of the family together! Austin, Dad and our neighbor, Dan, built a gate for our fence and did some other repairs to it! I planted yellow rosebushes in front of our house. We made a trip to Atlanta, a few trips to Birmingham (one trip to celebrate the wedding of our friends Kyle and Melissa), a Fourth of July trip to Paducah, a trip to Gatlinburg for the Ward Family Reunion, several trips to Nashville and a Thanksgiving trip to Chicago. We became members of our church, First Baptist Humboldt, joined the choir, and became a part of our newlywed Sunday school class. We worked hard, laughed, cried, and prayed- A LOT.

The Lord has blessed us with so many fond memories of this year and people to share them with. We are so thankful for our family, who has been supportive of us in so many ways and a constant encouragement to us. We can only promise that we will bestow the same blessings to others as we have been given. Our friends in Jackson and elsewhere are so precious to us. It is wonderful to know that we are a part of such a wonderful family of faith. It's so fun to share life together- our work, our struggles, our goals and our celebrations!

Something we have prayed for consistently throughout 2012 that will continue on through 2013 is for us to learn reliance on the Lord for providing our needs and for trusting in His timing. We realize that this season of our life is so special and we can never have it back once it's gone. It's all too easy for us to wish it away when we're constantly thinking about what's next. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us, but we yearn to be content in all circumstances, as scripture so clearly instructs us to do.

Living in the present doesn't mean we disregard the future! I'm the biggest planner ever! We love to dream and think about what our lives will be like. Here are some things we're looking forward to in 2013:

In March, we are co-leading the GO Trip to Honduras! This will be our first mission trip together! It will be wonderful to serve the Lord together alongside our awesome team in a place that is already dear to my heart.

We will be purchasing a new car! My car, dear Mr. Alvey, has seen much better days. Austin drove him 17,000 miles over the past year for his job. Repairs are not worth it anymore. The car search is underway...

We are excited about strengthening our existing relationships and making new friendships! Specifically, we're excited about really plugging into our church and serving.

As cliche as this may sound, what we're most excited about are things we have no idea about yet! We look forward to seeing what opportunities the Lord will give us and where those will take us. Although not easy, we look forward to circumstances that will challenge us and mold us further into the character of Christ. We pray that our marriage will be ever strengthened and blessed so that it may be a reflection of the gospel to the world.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

Christmas 2012

We hope that you and your families all had a wonderful Christmas, filled with the love and joy of Christ. Joy to the world, the Lord is come! This year, we were very blessed to be able to celebrate with both our families!

The festivities began on Friday, December 21st when we went to Dickson and attended the Dickson County High School Christmas Concert. Austin and Arica were both involved in the choral program when they went there and it is tradition that at the Christmas concert, alumni are invited to join the current choirs on stage and sing "The Hallelujah Chorus" and "The Lord Bless You and Keep You". That was definitely the highlight of the concert for us. 

We hung out with Austin's family in Dickson Friday night and all day Saturday. My awesome mother-in-law and I made and decorated Christmas cookies and Saturday evening concluded with a fun game of electronic monopoly with Austin's parents!

Sunday afternoon was the celebration with Austin's mom, maternal grandparents and siblings at his sister's beautiful new home. Arica and Dylan were gracious, fun hosts and the time together was special. We had an array of tasty goodies: Chick-fil-A nuggets, meatballs, chips and dip, veggie tray, cookies, candy, cheese and crackers, peanut butter fudge. Sadly, our nephew, Ewan, wasn't feeling very well, and my allergies were acting up, but it was good just to get to spend time with everyone. We received wonderful gifts: books, CDs,   a racquetball racket, a beautiful apron for me made by my very talented sister-in-law, Leslie Ward, photos and other keepsakes. The most priceless gift however, was a collection of recordings by Austin's grandparents, telling their stories. We are so excited to listen to them! Such history!

As is customary at Ward family gatherings, we took a group photo! This one is definitely getting framed and put up in our house!



Left to right (starting in the second row): Austin, me, Nancy Zamora (Grandmomma), Al Zamora (Granddaddy), Arica, Dylan, Adam, Leslie, Ewan, Ailidh and Carol.

After the time at Arica and Dylan's, we hit the road and headed to Paducah (only after a slight detour on the incorrect interstate!!!) We listened to my new CDs, the "Walk the Line" Soundtrack and Two Cellos. Before we knew it, we were at my grandparents house!

Christmas Eve was spent mainly visiting, eating, meal planning, running to the grocery store and doing some last minute wrapping. Mom, Mary, Larry and Donna Maye (our precious puppy!) all came up from Atlanta. Out of my mom's three brothers, two of them live in Paducah with their wives, so we had a fun gathering for Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas morning we all slept in, then Mary and I prepared a breakfast casserole for brunch. We were both excited to open our presents from "Santa" (the tradition has been that we open our stockings and presents from Santa in the morning, then open presents from family that evening after dinner), but since it was already mid-afternoon, we went ahead and opened up all of our presents- haha! Austin and I each brought one gift for each other. He gave me a gorgeous infinity necklace encrusted with tiny diamonds. I love it and have worn it often since! I gave him a wallet keychain, which he had been wanting (due to his keys having caused damage to several pairs of slacks!).

Christmas afternoon, we prepared for dinner that night with the entire family (minus Uncle Wesley and his family who arrived the day after Christmas). My mom's oldest brother, Uncle Richard, brought the most delicious, tender ham for the main course. We also had mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn pudding, Sister Shubert's rolls, grape salad (brought by Aunt Sherry), and mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Everything was so delicious! Somehow we managed to squeeze everyone into that small kitchen!

After dinner was the gift exchange. It's so fun to watch everyone open presents and see wrapping papper and ribbons cover the floor. It makes me miss the my childhood days when it was considered "cute" to play in the wrapping paper. Now, I would get strange glances :-)

We concluded Christmas Day by going to the movies at 9:35 p.m., braving icy sleet to see "Les Miserables". Oh. My. Goodness. If you have not seen it, I HIGHLY recommend that you do so! The music, acting, costumes, set, history and the timeless theme of grace versus law are outstanding!

The next day we relaxed and looked forward to seeing my cousins, Michael and Matthew, and Uncle Wesley and Aunt Joan that evening. It was a joyous reunion when they arrived, as we barely missed each other last Christmas. We enjoyed a delicious meal from Texas Roadhouse, then Austin and I said our good-byes and headed back to Jackson!

I realized this after the fact, but we didn't take any pictures from our time in Paducah. Sad!