2010: Don't fail me now...

I've sort of been avoiding blogging lately because there have been so many random thoughts going through my mind. Thursday (New Years Eve) was spent mostly reminiscing on the last year. Oh boy...what a year! We started the year out dealing with morning sickness while taking care of an 8 month old. Not something I necessarily want to do again in my life. Ever. We celebrated Cash's first birthday and experienced the joys and financial strains throwing said birthday party brings... We searched for and bought the most perfect house for our family a mere 6 weeks before the birth of the most beautiful baby girl you will ever lay eyes on. We adjusted to life as a family of 4 and now here we are...

So naturally, while I played that video montage of the last year in my head all day Thursday (complete with sappy music that makes you wanna cry), I felt happy and sad at the same time. Shappy. Then Friday rolled along and I got over it. New day, new year, new attitude. Then I read an email from our worship leader. She was encouraging us to reflect on the last year and how God can use us in the coming year. But what struck me from her email was how we're not only entering a new year, but also a new decade. Drew mentioned this the other night and I didn't really give it a second thought. But in her email Dena was telling us how far God has brought her over the last ten years and it got me thinking...where was I ten years ago?

Well for starters, I was 17 and in my junior year of high school if that tells you anything! In the last ten years I've: cheered at football games, sang at my graduation ceremony, said goodbye to the best friends I'd known for 10 yrs, made new ones at college, kept a few of the old ones, realized I didn't really want to go to college, got my heart broken, watched friends get married, watched friends have babies, worked at a bank, a plumbing company, a law office, and the American Baptist Churches region office. I've tried out several different churches only to realize home is where I started out, lived with a friend, lived on my own, got a puppy, was in 15 weddings in a year, met Breanna, met Sophia, lost my grandma Dunaway, met Ava, met Gibson, went to Europe to visit a boy I was "dating" even though I really liked a guy back home, dated the guy back home, broke up with him, came to my senses and got engaged to him, planned the most beautiful wedding ever, laughed when everything went wrong during our wedding, did the Thriller dance at our reception, gave my purity ring away (woo hoo!), turned our first house into a home, became a mommy, sold our first house, moved at 8 months pregnant, realized you do love your 2nd baby just as much as the first one, gained and lost 40 pounds (twice!), danced till I couldn't stand up, laughed till my stomach hurt, sang my heart out (with and without audiences), realized my best friends have the same maiden name as me, cried more than I ever thought possible, rejoiced over first smiles, coos, giggles, steps, words, and fell in love with my husband a million times over.

To say God has done a lot in my heart is a complete and utter understatement. He pretty much went all Extreme Home Makeover on it -- bulldozing the old to build a brand spanking shiny new one. The last ten years have been awesome, crazy, heart-breaking, sad, incredible, joyous, and adventurous. I can't wait to see what the next ten hold...