{2014 In Review}
2014 was a year of mixed emotions.... here it is in review...
January
We said good-bye to some of our best friends. We love them so much and were sad to see them go, but we plan on having lots of visits!!
February
Portland received a huge snowstorm. Everything was closed for a few days... Nate was in Utah visiting his dad while the storm was raging... and it happens to be the same weekend my great-grandma passed away. Yes, I lived 29 years with a great-grandma! During the snow storm I scrambled for flights and was able to make it to Utah for a few days. Nate was able to extend his trip and stay for the funeral.
March
Hmmmm... can't remember anything major happening this month... oh well.
April
We celebrated Easter. I made skirts for the girls... don't know if I'll attempt that again.
Wait, who am I kidding... I have 3 girls and dresses are expensive. Of course I'll make more skirts. I just need to remember to give myself a little more time and to not make them at the last minute.
May
Ava had a Kindergarten singing program. It was fun to see all those cute little kidlets singing and having fun.
I also just loved watching my girls play with each other. They are best friends and they're just too damn cute for words.
I turned the big 3-0. I celebrated by having a colonoscopy. Yay! Go me!
Actually, it all turned out to be good. Remember last year how they found a pre-cancerous polyp in my lovely colon? This year was my follow-up to see if everything was all good. And it was. I had a polyp, but it was benign, so I need one in another 3 years. That'll be my life... every 3-5 years me and the butt doctor will have a date. :)
My mom came to visit for my birthday, and it was awesome. Also, a sweet lady from my ward just dropped off this bouquet of flowers for my birthday. I almost cried. It was so thoughtful and brightened up my day.
I also tried implementing a chore chart. It lasted about 3 weeks...
I'm attempting another one in 2015.
June
Ava finished Kindergarten and Halle finished preschool. Yay!
I also started watching my friend's cute little girl. It was a joy to have her a couple of times a week through the summer. It was good for Coco to have someone to share with... hee hee hee.
I can't believe how young Colbie looks! Whoa!
And I can't believe how big Ava is getting. One day we were just chatting while she was laying on my bed and I snapped this pic. We are definitely entering a new phase with her, and it's exciting but terrifying. I just hope I don't screw her up...
July
We celebrated the 4th...
and Heather came to visit. We had tons of fun going to the zoo, Rhododendron Garden, eating at Lardo's, and just having lots of fun.
We also made it to the beach. But you already knew that.
August
We celebrated a friend's birthday... wait, maybe it was in July. Ah! I can't remember! All I know is I really love this pic of Nate. He cracks me up. Like, all the time. Like, I think he is one of the funniest people I know. Like, everyday I still can't believe I'm married to him. :) He's dreamy.
Whoa.. getting carried away here...
Halle celebrated her 5th birthday! We went to Papa's Pizza and she had some of her friends come and play. I made little cake pops in the shape of ice cream cones. They were a big hit.
She also told me her favorite food was snow and that she wants to be a "regular mom who cuts vinyl" when she grows up.
#loveher
She also learned out to ride a two-wheeler without training wheels.
Oh happy day!
We went camping near the coast for our ward campout. Wild blackberries grew everywhere and the kids had a blast just picking them and eating them. They all had purple mouths and hands!
September
Ava started 1st grade (doesn't she look just soooo stinking cute?) and Halle started Kindegarten. It has been great having 2 kids in school. Ava absolutely thrives in a learning enviroment and is at the top of her class. Halle is enjoying having her own friends and loves her teacher... who happens to be the same teacher Ava had. :) I love hearing her stories.
We also went sailing on the Columbia River. Our bishop has a sailboat and invited us to go one day.
It was exactly what we needed, and I'm grateful the bishop was in tune to invite us. Just that week, Nate had talked to his boss at work and was told he needed to find a new job. There are other details, but I won't get into it here. I cried for days and just felt hopeless. I felt like God didn't care about us, and I just didn't see a way out of our situation. Our little sailing adventure was a great stress reliever and just very much needed.
Oh, and did I mention I ran a half-marathon? I did it in under 2 1/2 hours (my exact time was 2 hours 28 minutes to be exact) which was under my goal. I trained hard all summer and it was an experience I'll never forget.
October
Ava celebrated her 7th birthday. Yikes!! We also ventured out to Hoyt Arboretum. It was extremely windy, but beautiful. Ava spent an hour explaining different types of pinecones...
We also celebrated Nate's 31st birthday. Man, he's getting old. And getting gray hairs. But he's still as sexy as always.
We also bought a new van. It's so amazing. It's nice to drive a car that actually works.
November
The beginning of November I took a weekend and went to Arizona. There is a photographer there who was offering a class, and it was cheap, so I signed up. That, and one of my dearest friends lives there (see what happened in January...) and I was ecstatic to visit her.
I left Nate with the girls and flew down with another good friend and spent 5 glorious days recharging. I ate delicious food and chatted my brains out. It was sooo good for my soul.
Colbie also celebrated her 2nd birthday. We kept things small... but it was fun to celebrate her and the joy she brings into our lives.
We spent Thanksgiving at my uncle's house. It was a lot of fun.
While we were there, I started having some issues with my foot.... boo.
December
My friend and I hosted a craft night and extended it to everyone. It was small, and we are hoping to get more people out next time, but we had a few new people to come, and it was a lot of fun. I also started working as a virtual assistant for one of my friends. The same friend I went to Arizona with . She has a food blog and needed some help, so I took on the job. I love the work I do and am glad it's working out for both of us.
I had 2 x-rays on my foot, several dr. appts, had blood work drawn (everything is totally normal...) and now it's been over a month, and I'm still dealing with my foot issues. I have an MRI scheduled for Jan. 6th and am hoping to get some answers. Until then, I'm in a lovely boot.
We drove down to Utah for Christmas. It has been great. Nate just called and said he made it home... it took him 11.5 hours! I am still in Utah because some things came up that I need to be here for... I'll explain more about that later.
Throughout the Year
I continued to bake any chance I get. These blueberry lemon cupcakes were my favorite.
Nate continues to serve as YM President. I am still serving as RS Secretary. We have both grown in our callings and have learned many new things.
In a way, I would love to erase much of 2014 from my mind. Not going to lie. Yes, there were amazing moments for me and my little family, but I think it has to be the hardest year Nate and I have faced. Nothing major happened to make it so rough... it was just rough. I think I cried more than I ever have, was angrier than I've ever been, and there were many days I just couldn't make myself get out of bed. 2014 was hard on us physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. By the end, I was ready to just give up. Many times, Nate and I looked at each other and just said "What in the hell are we doing?"
Then the biggest change of our lives came just a few weeks ago. As I mentioned before, Nate was told to go find a job. We had already been looking, but the search became really serious. 3 months pass, and he had interviews, but nothing panned out. I knew the search was going to be long. Back in August, I received this overwhelming thought that we are exactly where we need to be. While it was frustrating to be on this job search, I'm grateful for the words that were whispered to me. It comforted me and gave me a little tiny ray of hope.
Then one day in December, Nate's boss came to him and basically told Nate that he was retiring ASAP and that Nate was to replace him. A week later, Nate started training for his new position. While Nate isn't the CFO, he was made Controller of the company. In a few months, the partners will evaluate where things are and see if Nate is to become CFO in the future.
This is an opportunity of a lifetime and will give Nate the experience he needs to get his career in line. This is what we have worked so hard for. Along with the new position, Nate did get a raise, and that will provide for another baby. No, this is not an announcement... but we've had the feeling to have another baby for a year now. But, we were so strapped financially, there was no way we could even pay for another baby. I told God that I would get my IUD taken out the day Nate got a new job... well, finally around Thanksgiving, the prompting came so strong, I made the appointment to go see my dr and get things moving so we could try for another baby. As I made the appt, I was shaking because I was so nervous as to how things were going to work out. Then, a few weeks later, Nate gets this new position, and we now can afford to have another baby... I cannot tell you what a miracle this job is. I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father moved mountains for us.
We have been faithful in paying our tithing, even when there were times my faith was gone. In fact, one time, I had Ava give the bishop our tithing envelope, because I just couldn't do it. It was so hard and took everything we had. At tithing settlement, the bishop told us how grateful he was for us and our service and how the Lord would bless us, and I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't feel like we were being blessed. I felt beaten down and weary. I finally broke down in tears in the bishop's office. I felt so bad for him because he wasn't expecting it and he didn't really know what to say. I can't say that anything spectacular happened immediately after our tithing settlement, but Nate and I get the feeling that the bishop went to the Lord and prayed on our behalf and pleaded our cause. I still get teary eyed when I think of how everything has come together for us to start this new chapter in our lives.
While Nate and I have a long ways to go to reach our goals (which we set while eating shakes at Arctic Circle) we are confident that the Lord is on our side. Nate's new position was an answer to our prayers. Prayers that have been repeated over and over for the past 4 years. Our prayers were answered in the most unexpected way, and we are still in shock, but there is no doubt in my mind that God has a plan for my little family.
So, here's to 2015 and new beginnings.
