I've seen a lot of blog authors write about the year 2011 in review, so I thought I'd copy that idea...so without further hesitation, here was 2011 in a nutshell!
January...ok, so this is harder than I thought. Who the heck can think all the way back to January, a year ago? I suppose I should have been keeping that journal that I've always meant to keep.
So January - February are a big blur. (Insert: Daniel just reminded me that he went on a mission trip to Haiti in January. Also, during this week, we had a huge ice storm and school was cancelled for 3 days...around the same time one of my best friend's, Kimmy, came to visit!!...sorry Kimmy, I knew something important happened!)
Frozen solid! Bauer wasn't too sure about sliding around on it!
On to March!
March - April: We started our adoption home study classes! We were really excited for these to begin since we'd been waiting since December to take the next step in our process! We met our social worker and began the life of taking an hour-and-a-half journey one way every Tuesday night. Those several weeks were busy, but we really looked forward to the date nights in the mini-van and learning about our favorite topic, adoption!
May: I finished up the school year, as well as my days of teaching full-time. Daniel and I decided before we married, that we would do everything possible to raise our children at home without the use of daycare, nannies, etc. So...with the adoption just around the corner, we knew that signing another contract to teach might prevent me from staying at home full-time once we got our baby! I was excited to start this new chapter, but I also very unexpectedly went through a time of not really knowing what my place was. It was very odd, considering I'd been waiting for this moment for years...but very quickly I didn't really know what to do with myself!
June: God completely revamped my heart for Him and taught me a lot about His purposes for me. I began to learn so much through reading His Word and spending time daily with him...something I'd been missing on a daily basis for quite some time.
July: Hannah came home!!!! My baby had been gone for a year in Thailand and I was BEYOND thrilled to have her back home. ...I think if you ask her, she might consider Thailand as her home now, but for now she's back in the states where I get to see her a lot more often!
Hannah and her nephew who is oh so photogenic.
August: The reality of not returning to work full-time settled in! Although, I did agree to do a 12 wk maternity leave at the school I taught at the last 3 years. What was I thinking, you might ask? I have no idea...but the money was a blessing, and I definitely enjoyed the students. Daniel and I attended an adoption conference in North Carolina, where we also got to spend some time with good friends.
September: The end of our adoption process was in sight as we took part in our last interviews and planned for our Home Study. I also started subbing, which made for a month that flew by! Also, this month my dad came to visit!!! We had an awesome time together.
October: The biggest thing this month was our Home Study! I spent HOURS cleaning and organizing the house...a process that started a year before when my sister Rebekah came and did a complete overhaul on this place! I would put up some before and after pics but I can't bear to go look at the before pics at the moment! Let me just say we had WAY too much stuff. I mean, WAY too much. Never again. We have limits now...such as, if we buy a book, that means one that we have has to go because otherwise the new one won't fit on the shelf. We're doing pretty well at this system. ...or maybe Daniel just piles things in his office at church now...either way, at least it's not cluttering my house!!
We also went on a cruise this month!! I was looking back on my blog and realized I never wrote about it...I certainly meant to but it must have got overlooked. Daniel and I usually go on vacation sometime this month with Daniel's parents. In the past, it's always been the beach but this year my mother-in-law decided to change things up a bit and we went on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was more than fun, although I was very sad to get sick the last night we were there. It was pretty stormy and that rockin' boat didn't settle my stomach too well! I was upset because it makes me nervous to go on any future cruises! I am determined to go again, though!
My first time on international soil!
November: We attended an adoption fundraiser. We got a call about a possible birthmom match, which made us realize this whole adoption thing was real! We spent Thanksgiving with our families.
December: I finished up subbing. FINALLY. That was a long 12 weeks. We have a new family member thanks to one of our students at church! Ruby, the beta fish is now providing plenty of entertainment for her brother, Bauer! We got to spend some time with my dad again, as he came down for a job interview. We spent some much needed time away from the "norm," with family over the holidays. We finished out the year with a trip to Hilton Head Island, one of my favorite places!! Mom and Don, Tommie, my aunt and uncle, and Daniel and I, were all in attendance.
Bauer and his new sister, Ruby. This is so funny...he will STARE at her for so long! The longest he's spent without taking a break is a full 15 minutes. It cracks us up.
Hilton Head! There's me on the bottom-right.
May you see the Lord for who He truly is in the year 2012.
Megan
