~2015 Recap~

Getting caught up on my blog has been so hard. It's hard to make time, especially when there are so many things I want to share with you...so everyday, I add to my list, and I'm about 30 blog posts behind. When I get this far behind, which thankfully doesn't happen often, it's easy to just bypass some of the things that I was planning on blogging about and just skipping to the big ticket items.

I decided, however, that these small things are just as important as the bigger things. One of the blogs that I typically like to do at the end of the year is a recap blog. Big moments, happy moments, sad moments, exciting events that have happened to me and my family throughout that year.

As you have already read by now...2015 was a tough year for me. There were so many good things that happened and came from this year, but it my opinion, it was one of my toughest personally.

So here is sort of a month-by-month recap of how I view my year.

January-AWFUL-WORST MONTH OF THE YEAR BY FAR
*I lost my Nana on January 15th. I still grieve every single day.
*I left one job I didn't like and started another job I didn't like.
*My family began what would end up being almost an entire year of living on the road and out of suit cases.
*We did get to celebrate my dad's birthday on January 16th, but I kinda felt bad for him having his birthday the day after Nana died.

February-BLUR
*If I'm being completely honest, I don't really remember February at all, except for work, and being on the road.

March-NOT REALLY SURE
*Don't remember much about March, except my Mom's birthday!
*Just more work, and living on the road.
*Warren's work is going really well, which is a major plus!
*We did take a fun road trip to Atlanta to celebrate Miss June Massey's first birthday, and also celebrated Jackson Gift's first birthday as well...apparently it was the month of 1st birthday parties!
*My brother moves to Arkansas to take a job, which was really hard for me and my parents.

April-STRESSFUL
*Bowdre celebrated her first Easter, which was really great!
*Bowdre had her first trip to the hospital, and her first ride in an ambulance....STRESSFUL! (Thank goodness that she was fine and it was just a minor reaction to pollen).
*We took our first trip to the Heritage in Hilton Head as a family, which provided some much needed relaxation.

May-BUSY
*This month quickly became stressful with putting the house up for sale. Since we didn't have a realtor, it was all on Warren to be around for showings, and me to keep the house spotless.
*I celebrated my first Mother's Day. I am blessed every single day to call Bowdre my daughter and to be her mom.

June-I DON'T EVEN WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT
*Moving, packing, moving, packing. YUCK!
*Father's Day was spent packing all day, because we had to be out that Sunday night, and we weren't prepared at all. We had way more stuff that we thought, our sweet neighbors had to come help us, my parent's had to come get Bowdre, and Warren and I didn't make it back to Millen until 3AM!
*Unloading in our storage unit was not much more fun either.

July-LOOKING BRIGHTER
*We were finally a little settled living with my parents!
*We celebrated Bowdre's 1st birthday, which was really fun to plan!
*We seemed to travel alot, which was nice!

August-EVEN BRIGHTER
*I landed the job of my dreams!
*Bowdre started school!
*Mark returns from Arkansas!! So happy he is home!
*Sad note: One of my best friends moves to Louisiana. That was hard. Tears might be falling as I type. 

September-STRESSFUL AGAIN
*Things seem to be going well, but we can't and haven't found a house. Things keep falling through and we just can't seem to find what we are looking for...and begin to wonder if we ever will.

October-JUST WAITING
*We found a house, and the closing was at the end of the month...so I found October was just a month of waiting. Waiting for the holidays to arrive...waiting on the closing of our house...just waiting.

November-BUYER'S REMORSE
*Yea, maybe a little. We closed on the house at the end of October, and went into this home knowing we would have to remodel it. Warren did a large majority of the work, so he was staying in Statesboro, I was still in Millen with Bowdre...it was just a lot. We knew the holidays were approaching, so there was pressure on all ends.

December-HAPPY IT'S OVER
*Successfully made it through my first semester teaching at GSU.
*This month was more moving and packing, moving and packing.
*Please read by previous post about the holidays, and that's all I'll say about that.

As I sit here writing and reflecting, it's always easier to center in and focus on the negatives, but there were sooo many positives that I want to talk about.

*I'm so blessed to have had my Nana for 29 years. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss her or think about her, but I know she is in a better place!

*I'm so thankful that my husband took this opportunity, even though he knew it wouldn't be easy. He knew that it was the best thing for our family, and I appreciate him every day for putting us first and supporting us!

*I'm so thankful that I have loving parents that let us move in with them for almost an entire year. They cooked, cleaned, helped us take care of Bowdre, and so many other things, while also running a successful wedding business too. I can't even begin to thank them enough for all of their love, support, guidance, and prayer. I seriously have the best parents in the entire world.

*With my brother being gone for a few months, I realized just how important he is to me. Life wasn't the same without him around all the time, and I knew the kind of relationship he was missing with Bowdre. I'm so happy he is back and Bowdre loves her Uncle Mark so much.

*Even though my first two jobs of the year weren't fun, I ended the year with my dream job. I learned that all of my hard work and not so fun jobs all brought me here. I'm so grateful each and every day for this opportunity. Not only is it my dream to teach college students and make an impact on their lives, I also get more time at home with Bowdre and just more time to myself in general. It's been a blessing to say the least.

*I got a new car...and I love it.

*I lost 40 pounds this year. I set on on February 1st on a mission to lose lots of weight, and I did. I've very proud of the progress I made last year, but the last couple of months, I did relapse quite a bit. (I gained back 10 pounds :(  :(  :(   The positives of this is new-year, new-goals. (I'll tell you about those later). The positives is that by the year-end...30 pounds was gone!

*I have the most special, smart, awesome, sweet, beautiful little girl in the world! She brings so much light into my life every day, and I'm so thankful that God put her in my life. When things get hard and difficult, I try and think of all of my blessings, and I always think of her. She is one of my life's most wonderful blessings and being her mom is my greatest treasure!

*Bowdre loves school. I was worried with her staying home for an entire year that she would despise it, but it's quite the opposite.

*We have a new home. Despite how long it took us to find it and the amount of hours we spent packing and unpacking and renovating...we have a home that is ours...just ours. One that we will make so many memories and cherish special moments.

*I have a happy healthy relationship with my loving husband. He does so much for our family that sometimes goes unnoticed. I sure do love him.

*We have the best dog on the planet who seems to LOVE our new place. Matter of fact, I think she is the happiest to be there. We have 3 acres for her to run, roam and play! Makes my heart happy!

 Overall, I'm so blessed. I have a loving, happy, healthy family who is always there for each other, even when things get hard. When things start looking a little tough, I try to always think of the positive things I have in my life...which are so many. I have a loving husband, a supportive family, a smart happy daughter, awesome friends, amazing job, great home, nice car, great health, and a relationship with God that even when I fall short, He is there to pick me up.

I'd be lying if I didn't say I was happy to see a new year arrive, but I like looking back and reflecting on 2015...I sure learned a lot!