to Him be the glory: a special year

So long 2012...you will be one hard year to beat. The past year was definitely a year for the books in our little family. It was the most important and exciting year in my life thus far, in many more ways than one.

On January 2, 2012 I began student teaching. I loved my sweet second graders (all 23 of them) and really grew a lot during those 6 months of working. Yes, it was full of stress, not much sleep, hundreds of lesson plans, peer/mentor/and principal evaluations (all on top of meeting all the final credentials for graduation in May) and so much more. But - it was a memorable time in my life that I loved every minute of.

On March 30, 2012, John and I settled on our very first home. We built a 3 bedroom stone townhome in Ellicott City, MD. It was so fun designing every aspect and picking out all the features in it. HUGE props to my husband for handling all the difficult work, mortgage/loan stuff, and all the annoying hoops he had to jump through to make it happen (all the while - I just designed the interior and was on my way back to Raleigh to teach).

On May 6, 2012 I walked across the amphitheatre of Meredith College, graduating Summa Cum Laude. What an amazing four years those were. I met friends that I love and will call my friends for a life time, the traditions were endless and each one amazing and special in its own way, I had professors that are now friends and worked hard to provide one-on-one assistance during extra-hours in order to make sure every student had the best education possible (only at Meredith would the professors give out their home/cell number in case you needed help/had any questions during the evenings), and the list goes on...Four years that went by WAY too fast and are some of the best memories and experiences of my life.

On June 2, 2012, We vowed to love each other for the rest of our lives. Through the good and bad, pretty and ugly, highs and lows. That was the best decision I ever made. I married my best friend, my love, and companion. It has been 7 months (TODAY) and it only gets better every day....Can you believe it has almost been one year? No way..

On June 3, 2012, We took off to St Lucia for 7 nights... Ahh, pure bliss. enough said. I want to go back!!!

June 10, 2012, I moved up North and we started life in Maryland as newlyweds. Though I had anxiety about this move for months and months prior to it actually happened, the good Lord gave me grace and strength through it all. I cried the entire 5 hour drive and for 2 days straight at home (my poor husband was so good through it all), but after that, I got my stuff together. It has been such a good thing for our marriage and I'm so grateful for the Lord and all He's doing in our lives.

On June 22, 2012, we got our sweet Noe! Well, everyone knows we just love her to the moon and back. Sweet baby girl!

On December 25, 2012, we celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple. We had both sets of our parents up and that was just the perfect Christmas all-in-all. It snowed Christmas eve and the day after Christmas...Talk about a dreamy first Christmas! (and we threw out first christmas party for family and friends on christmas eve eve - it was such a fun evening!)