Sideways Reflections and Hopes for Tomorrow

I'm back! After taking a break from blogging, I wanted to end the year with a glance back at this whirlwind of a year that has filled our lives with both overwhelming joy and heartbreaking sorrow...all the while, looking forward to where I see both myself and this blog going in this new year.  

One year ago today, I started my morning with some of the craziest people I know! I began Crossfit after going to an open house for the box and feeling like maybe this was something I could be into.  In the course of those 8 months, I found strength I never knew I had and made friends with some people whose paths I may never have crossed otherwise.  

But what about the rest of that day....one year ago, today.  Well, it just happens to be the day I married my best friend and the love of my life.  With the help of our families, friends, and wonderful people who quickly became friends...we had the most amazing day! 

 Our awesome wedding party

 Keith's mom and dad

My family...yep, that is totally us.

One of my favorite parts of our ceremony was the Prayer Circle. We asked our parents, along with couples whom we consider to be mentors or role models in their married lives, to encircle us and lay hands on us as John Dale offered a prayer for our marriage.  It was one of the most special moments of our day, and a picture that I will always treasure.

This last picture I want to share of that day pretty much sums us up completely.  

We began our married life with a gorgeous honeymoon in Cancun.  It was a week of much needed downtime with my honey and we are already planning our next trip!

The remainder of this year has taken us in so many directions.  Within the first two months of living in Memphis, I had two wrecks...very minor and neither were my fault, but both stressful in their own right.  I was able to be a bridesmaid in a wedding for a sweet Albanian sister friend that I met a couple of years back while serving on a mission trip.  When she asked the four of us girls who had just come back from the trip to join she and her husband in Chattanooga to be bridesmaids, we said absolutely! This was my 26th wedding. I'm not kidding. My 25th was my own, but other than that I have been a bridesmaid, honorary bridesmaid, maid of honor in 25 other weddings.  I was honored to be a part of Matthew and Francesca's wedding.

May was a month of peaks and valleys for us.  I found out I was pregnant, about eight weeks along.  We were elated! But I just knew that something was off.  And when I miscarried a week later, it nearly broke my heart right out of my body.  It is an indescribable pain and leaves you with a deep void and tons of questions that you may never get answers to.  And as well meaning as people are, more often than not, most words still hurt your heart.  I will always remember this pregnancy...always feel a void.  But we have faith that God has a plan for us to have children, and we are praying fervently for Him to bless us and show us His will.  

The rest of this year has been pretty amazing.  I have witnessed the wedding of another sweet friend...I have cheered and jumped up and down upon finding out that friends are expecting babies...I have changed my hair...and then changed it again...we took a family vacation to Florida over the summer and had a wonderfully relaxing time. In June, my position as a Wedding Consultant with David's Bridal ended and teaching jobs were scarce and impossible to obtain with the redistricting that had just taken place...so I began babysitting sweet Isabel, At first, I worried that it would be difficult after losing a pregnancy...but it has turned out to be a great blessing.  Keith and I both celebrated birthdays this summer, his in July (the BIG 4-0!) and mine in August.  This fall we made good use of the trails near our home and hit the road any time the weather permitted.  In November we celebrated our first married Thanksgiving and were so blessed that his parents were able to join us in Memphis to celebrate.  December ushered in my favorite season and we celebrated the season every day and in every way possible! Tree lightings, Christmas plays, caroling, hot chocolate...you name it, we tried to fit it in! 

 Sweet Isabel

Jamie and I~Florida~Summer 2014

One of my finest achievements of 2014 was the complete mastering of the selfie.  No joke. If you don't want to see a picture of my worst hair day, best hair day, cutest outfit, best lip gloss, most hideocious happenings...you might consider unfriending me on Facebook and no longer following me on Instagram.  It's my party and I'll post pics if I want to! I mean, I worked on it pretty hard...and have gotten quite good at it.  I even managed to get my lovely husband in on the action! 

But in all seriousness, it has been a truly amazing year.  I have grown closer to some friends and I have lost touch with others.  I have been on the mountain top celebrating with God, and in the valley shaking my head and crying out with despair. But through it all, we have striven to make Christ the center of our marriage. Some days we fall short. But we are committed to growing closer to Him and to one another this year.  We are still looking for a church home. I won't lie, that has been one of the most difficult things about living in Memphis.  I am a "girlfriends" girl. I love my friends and it does my heart good to see them and be social.  So, it is painful to my heart that after a year, I am still searching for that sisterness in Memphis.  I thought that we'd found a church home, but that has been more difficult than I anticipated, and becoming part of a group as an adult can be far more intimidating than as a child.  It is a very true and real fact that cliques still exist in the Church...and we need to be doing all that we can to tear those walls down so that all feel welcome.

I have lived...WITH A BOY (!!!!!!!!!) for a solid year.  And, you know what? It's kind of amazing.  People told us that the first year would be one of the hardest.  And while we have had our share of hard times, I can truly say, that if this is one of our hardest years, I am pretty excited to see what the future holds.  I know that God has great things in store for my love and I.  So for now, I am content (okay, well closer to content than I used to be) with our life in Memphis.  It may not be my ideal location, but if my Lord wants me here, then I will find the work He has set apart for me to do and I will do it to the best of my ability.  

Looking Forward:

I am not, nor have I ever been, one to make resolutions.  I feel that they set me up for failure. I inevitably fall short and instead of rolling with it, I use it as an excuse to give up.  However, I have chosen to focus on four things in 2015; mind, body, soul, and spirit.  Every month I will be blogging about what I have done to benefit those four components of my life.  I will resume my Foodie Fridays blog, but have decided to do it on the third Friday of each month, rather than every Friday.  And every other month I will be blogging about my favorite things.  It could be anything from fashion to furniture to faith! So, I hope that you will come along with me, and share in all of the great things that 2015 has to offer.  But for now, I am signing off so that I can ring in the New Year and celebrate 1 year of wedded bliss with the one my soul loves.  

Happy New Year, friends!!!