1) I met Casey and Leslie. These are two amazing, beautiful, brilliant girls who love God and are fun beyond belief. Getting to know them this year has been a blessing. Kudos to Kaitlynn and Natalie for inviting those girls to Bible study at my house.
2) I finally got a gorgeous six foot wooden bookcase in my living room and unpacked my books from the garage. I sort of feel like it's my best piece of furniture. And okay, my couch is super comfortable, but the bookshelf holds the words dear to my heart.
3) Girls' Bible Study trip to Duck Bay over the summer. It was a blast spending time with the girls out in the middle of no where. They really impressed me with their ability to keep calm when my dad acted like our water tour guide and basically terrified us on his jet boat. But you know, at least we had the musical warning. Whenever he played "American Woman," we knew to hang on tight.
4) Basically all of my childhood/high school friends got married this year. I attended five lovely weddings. Seeing friends that I've known for so long marry the person they love was incredible, and I am happy I was there to witness it. Plus, the cake was pretty good, too.
5) The end of the 09-10 school year in June was heart warming. I was really proud of my kids and how we formed such a tight community in our classroom. Even if the students I have this year think I'm a mean teacher, I know that there are at least 28 other kids who viewed me as a rock star and knew that I cared about them deeply. They are fifth graders this year and I love it when they pop into my classroom in the morning to say hello and how much they miss being in my fourth grade class.
6) Through the sudden death of a loved one, I learned how strong and filled with love my family is. I also discovered that I was more capable at leading prayer than I thought. It was the worst moment, but it was the moment that I could feel God was still with us. I can see the whole thing play in my mind like a movie. All the relatives were at the funeral home and about half of us chose to view the body. I had to. I knew if I didn't, I would keep on thinking my grandpa was just playing a joke on us. When I saw him, it became tragically real. Tears streamed from every face. Just as we were about to leave, my sister cried "Shouldn't we pray?" But she couldn't because she was hysterical. And nobody else wanted to take it on either. What are you supposed to pray about when someone dies? But I knew what my sister meant. We were here with his body for the last time, and it felt like we should pray. So even though I don't like to pray out loud in front of people a whole lot, I scooped up the hands next to me that were holding Kleenexes, and I said the first words I could think of. "Thank you Jesus, thank you Lord." We all knew then that it was the right thing to say. It was the only thing to say to God at the time. I kept praying and I thanked God for giving us Papa, and for blessing us with a grandpa who was so loving. Thank you God, for allowing Papa's time on earth.
7) My sister and fake brother celebrated their two year anniversary, and they still like each other. That makes me happy.
8) Girls' Trip to the Beach with Gram. This adventure was totally epic. I loved hanging out with my aunts, mom, sister, and grandma. We laughed till we cried, ate lots of chocolate, revealed secrets, learned family history, crafted, and laughed even more. I am already looking forward to our 2011 vacation.
9) I found a local church that I totally dig.
Happy 1-1-11 everybody!
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