2012 Year in Review!!

2012 was a sweet year in a lot of ways. I'm so thankful that our family all stayed safe in 2012. We learned tons and grew even more in our walk with the Lord. However, I'm super excited about 2013 and what the Lord has planned!

Janurary
I re-discovered my love for the Passion movement and watched every second of it on the live stream.

February
I chaired my first big JSL event - preview party.

We celebrated Matt's 30th birthday!!

March
Apalachicola Trip

Celebrated Billy and Miranda's engagement!

Found out we were pregnant...due in December.

Our sweet Ginger passed away this year. :( I grew up with her and she was such an amazing, loyal dog. Blakely loved her too. I miss her every day.

April
B's bachelorette weekend in Carillon Beach near Panama City.

May
Billy and Miranda graduated! We are all proud VSU graduates!

We got some bad news and I joked that instead of coming home with a baby I came home with new back porch furniture. We used this every single day in May and throughout the summer.

Had my first ever real surgery. A D & C. Thankful for my precious Dr and supportive family and friends.

I finished my gifted classes and obtained my endorsement! Yay!

Went to Passion City Church for the first time (how did it take me so long to go?) and found my dream church! :)

June
B's wedding in Jacksonville!!

6 year anniversary trip to Charleston!!! I could post millions of pics...Shem Creek, Isle of Palms, Wild Dunes, porch and breakfast dates, King Street. Perfection!

July
Got some good Atlanta family time! PCC again!! Beth Moore was there this time so that is always a treat.

August
Destin with Matt's family!

10 year dating anniversary! We celebrated by going on our exact same first date...same booth and all!

Friday Night Lights began! Our first year having season tickets!

September
Labor Day beach trip and fun at Seaside/Rosemary!

VSU football!

Seasons weekend!

October
Found out we were pregnant again!!! Due in June!

Best Christy Nockels concert ever!

B and M tied the knot!!

Our precious Blakely girl turned 6 years old!

November
Thanksgiving in Atlanta! PCC again! My favorite visit yet!

December
Christy Nockels /Shopping early birthday trip to Tampa!

Victorian Christmas /Birthday weekend with the seasons!!

Christmas in Dublin! It was so rainy, but we just relaxed and enjoyed family time. There was lots of skyping going on...since Billy was in Arizona!

New Years Eve with lots of neighborhood friends! We have been blessed with wonderful neighbors this year! Our entire neighborhood is really great!

2012

Every year I try to think of a song and a verse that describes the year or one that has truly helped me grow or been uplifting to my soul. I didn't start listening to this song until April when it was released....but since then we have faced some difficult circumstances. In my head, this was my song. I hope it was/is evident in my life. Through this song I was reminded that it doesn't matter how much I do or what others think of me...all that matters is who I am in Him. I want everything in my life to be, "For Your Splendor, LORD!" I play it so often that I bet even Blakely knows all the words to it! Haha! I love it! I have it written on a chalkboard right over my night stand. It is For Your Splendor by Christy Nockels.


And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing. Ezekiel 47:12

New Year, New Rug, New Paint

We've been making some little changes around our house and you know that makes me happy!! Just in time for the new year!

First, here is my little kitchen project complete. My favorite thing about chalkboards is looking for verses to put on them! I love our home to filled with scripture! If I ever get tired of chalkboards I'll just put the glass back in the frames.

We got a rug for our dining room. I LOVE it! We've seriously been looking for years. I wanted it to have burnt orange, light blue, and some brown in it. I also wanted it to look traditional. And I didn't want to pay a lot for it. We had some Christmas money from Matt's grandma...and that is what we bought it with. I think we got it for a steal! It actually has green in it too which I didn't know if I loved but once we got it in the room I realized that it kind of pulled some little green details in the room together.

Our mudroom is taped off and ready to be painted. I've been all about light blue for a while but coudn't decide on the perfect shade. I am sort of a stickler about only using Benjamin Moore's historical colors, so when I saw Wyeth Blue I knew it was perfection.

When we decide what color we're painting the ceiling in the nursery we'll paint the guest bathroom in a historical color that compliments both the nursery and the guest room on that side of the house.

Pictures of pretty painted rooms coming soon! :)

Everything should be monogrammed.

I used to be all about monograms. In college and right after I got married, everything I owned got monogrammed in some sense. :) Jewelry, hats, clothing, linens, candles, cups, notebooks, scarves, coasters, platters, ornaments, shoes (yes I had a pair of monogrammed Nike's in college), baskets, totes, purses, robes, towels, flip flops, rugs, luggage, aprons, and the list goes on and on. :) I sported this on my wedding day while I was getting ready.

And my wedding dress was even monogrammed. The bow was monogrammed in white so it was really subtle...but it was there!!! I also had to beg to get a monogram put on my cake. It wasn't popular then and no one wanted to do it. They eventually gave in. :)

Gradually as it became more and more popular, I kind of stayed away from the trend.

However, in the last year I've jumped right back on the bandwagon. And this holiday season I've gotten some of the sweetest monogrammed gifts. I love them! I can't wait to order things with Baby W's monogram soon!!!! The other day, Matt mentioned that he might like to have his iPad case monogrammed in a "manly" font, like his luggage. :) Haha! I love it!

My white kick...

Yesterday, I decided to take down all the colorful plates and platters in my kitchen. I also wanted EVERYTHING off of the counters and fridge. In my mind, I see frilly white plates, platters, and pitchers...but I had to make do with what I already had. So, I got down my white dishes and bowls and got to work. I did leave a few pops of color in the breakfast nook. :)

I will be finishing a new chalkboard project tonight, using some frames that I dug out of our garage. I bought them for a nickel each at Bargain Bazaar a few years ago, spray painted them white, and then never found a place for them. I'm going to add some more greenery and a few white pieces here and there as I find them. I already like it better.

And just look at what my friend Carrie Beth texted me last night. EXACTLY my thinking!

First Trimester and a few extra weeks!

So, I kept a few notes about each week of pregnancy on my phone. Pretty much a summary of highlights, cravings, and events from each. I may start doing weekly updates...maybe every few weeks. We will see. :)

I am so thankful to be past the first trimester. Overall, I felt great the entire time. I had some waves of nausea here and there (I taught with a trash can beside me a few mornings :) and definitely became a whole lot pickier about what I ate...apples are still my best friend...and I really don't like meat). I started going to bed a lot earlier around week 7 or 8. I mean like 6:30 early most nights. :) Overall my symptoms were the same as the first time I was pregnant, which obviously made me a little nervous.

4 Weeks
I took 10 positive tests!!! Happy tears. Lots of prayer. Made the first call to the Shaw Center. Bought baby jacket outfits.

5 Weeks
Celebrated at Shaw. Set first appointment. So much bloodwork! Worth it!!!

6 Weeks
Christy Nockels concert! (Baby Whelan's very first concert...how fitting!) Celebrated my brother's wedding and kept our sweet, yet hard secret to ourselves so the weekend could be all about them!!

7 Weeks
Heard the heart beat for the first time and told my parents!!! I didn't know it, but my dad then told every single person in my extended family. They kept it a secret until I figured it out at almost 12 weeks. I guess he's a proud grandpa. :)

8 Weeks
Halloween week is when I started getting super tired early at night!

9 Weeks
Heard the heart beat again! (Baby Whelan went to its second concert, Chris Tomlin)

10 Weeks
Got my flu shot! Craving Christmas decorations? :) and Christmas tree cakes (Someone at lunch was eating one and I felt like I had to have one. I also began craving pears.

11 Weeks
Decorated for Christmas. Told Matt's family our news. Celebrated Thanksgiving and took Baby Whelan to PCC for the first time...ha! I started craving apples the day after Thanksgiving. All I wanted for every meal was an apple. On the way home from Atlanta we had to stop at a grocery store so I could have an apple.

12 Weeks
Best moment this week was spending a rainy weekend at home in my pj's looking at Christmas lights and relaxing. The holiday season is so busy!

13 Weeks
A great Dr's appointment! Baby W is the size of a Georgia Peach! Yay! Week 13 is a milestone! Spilled the beans to my co-workers and our neighbors! Matty took me to hear Christy Nockels. Baby Whelan already loves her music, I just know it! :) Haha!

14 Weeks
Officially announced our pregnancy to the blog world and facebook along with my best friend, Bex (who needs to start blogging again). She was the maid of honor in my wedding and her due date is 4 days after mine. :)I turned the big 3-0 and ate my words "I'll never be an old mom." I will say that I would've liked to become a mom a year or two earlier, but it seems like a pretty great time to become one and I know His timing is perfect. I got the best reaction from a sweet friend, Carmen, at Victorian Christmas. We also confirmed our childcare!!! Whew..we are thrilled! What a relief!

15 Weeks
Spent Christmas with my family! Still craving apples, organge juice, and now strawberries! Nailed down some nursery ideas. We made a list and are beginning to pace ourselves on things that need to get done or need to be bought before the baby arrives. I also had my first head ache this week. :(

16 Weeks
I don't know if I'm nesting or if I just get like this at the end of every year but I want everything perfectly clean and organized. I also want everything around me to be white.

Ok. I think I'm caught up for now!