Recap of 2010

Phillip proposing to Jillian over Thanksgiving
My boys getting ready for an Auburn game.

4/5 Fab in Auburn + Mason

Boof and me at Matt and Amanda's wedding in June...wow, I do love me with darker skin and blonder hair!

June, Justin was finally home from his 2nd field season!

Mason loves warm spring weather and thick grass to roll around in!

Mother's Day 2010 at Mamaw's

Valentine's Day at the Biltmore Estate

Girls' Weekend in Auburn in January

I honestly can not believe that 2010 has come and gone. As a child, I remember my grandfather saying, "It feels like we have 5 Christmases a year because the time goes so quickly." and now I understand what he meant. As a teacher, I definitely believe in reflection; not harping on the past, but learning from it and looking forward to the future. I also believe that memories are so important and since this blog is one way I keep up with things going on in our lives, I love blogging about the high lights of our year. So, with that said, enjoy as I reflect and recap of all the things God has done in our lives in 2010.

January: 1.) Mom and Jill came back to Auburn with me after Christmas for a girl's trip since Justin was in Mexico for 3 weeks doing research. We had a wonderful visit together! 2.) Because I was having so much fun over the holidays and with family visiting, the morning after they left, I realized I was a week late and took a pregnancy test...indeed, I was pregnant!!! I was shocked. We had been using protection and by no means did this make sense to me. Justin was away and I couldn't call him. "Holy Cow" is all I could say. 3.)Justin got home and we began to celebrate in the surprise of this child. However, on January 21st, God had different plans and at 8 weeks pregnant, our baby went on to be with Jesus. I really don't like the term "miscarriage" because it sounds like a mistake and God's hand was in this the entire time. The next few weeks and even months were defined by this event in our lives as God really began to work on my heart about surrendering my hearts' deepest desire to him and Justin and I both grew significantly as a couple. We also were able to see how wonderful our families and friends were during this time.

February: Valentine's Day trip to Asheville, NC! Justin's grandparents always give us money for Christmas and we had decided that we wanted to use this money to go on a trip. We had no idea how much we NEEDED this time. It honestly was one of my most precious times with Justin. We enjoyed the cute shops and amazing places to eat. We visited the Biltmore Estate and museums. It was a very romantic and intimate weekend for us as a couple. While there, we also realized that God was placing on our hearts a peace about beginning a family. We both realized that we had "our plan" but that it was different than God's plan for us. Though we always thought we would wait to have children after Justin's Master's program, we both knew at this time that God was really asking us to trust Him, so we decided that we would begin "trying" to have a baby and see what God had in mind.

March: Love, love, love the spring time! I had my annual "girls weekend" at OIB in NC with my college best friends and enjoyed the warmer weather and began to really get back into shape. Justin started P 90 X and though I have excercised religiously through out college and since then, I got really focused on wanting to be in the best health possible before I got pregnant. God was continuing to do A LOT in both Justin's and my heart and we were learning a lot about trusting Him.

April: Justin's family visited for their annual Easter trip and we continued to enjoy the spring. Justin's grandparents also visited at the end of the month. We always enjoy family coming into town. We enjoyed taking Mason to the dog park, going to baseball games, working in the yard, and reading under our magnolia tree in the afternoons after work.

May: Justin left for his 2nd field season, leaving Mason and I to have some bonding time. We spent Mother's Day weekend at Mamaw's house (which was very difficult for me this year, after having lost our first baby and not being pregnant yet) so it was really great to be with Momma and Mamaw that weekend. Mason and I watched the month fly by as the school year came to a close and spending all our afternoons going on long walks and keeping the house tidy without Justin there to make things dirty. :) Mason celebrated his first birthday and got to each a whole pork chop! On Memorial Day weekend, Zach, Jillian, and Phillip came to visit. We had a great time and Jillian got to stay with me for the week afterward, moving into June.

June: Jillian started the month off with me laying by the pool, eating lots of Tutti Frutti, and going shopping. We headed north back home and I started my 3 week visit to NC. I was able to attend 2 college girl friends' weddings as well as Mason and I spending some much needed time with Justin in the Outer Banks. I was also able to visit with my family and friends from home and it was wonderful.

July: Justin and I spent the 4th of July in Auburn with friends. Beth, Natalie, and Candice visited Auburn and it was so nice to have a piece of "home" in Auburn! While they were here, we found out after 5 months of lots of prayers and waiting, we were indeed pregnant!!! It was so great to have close friends from home to share the news with us. Justin's birthday came and we almost lost Mason to poison. We also had our 2 year anniversary, which was bittersweet as well as we awaited news if Mason would make it or not. Praise the Lord, he did and our "first son" was back home with us. It took him several weeks to get back to his old self, but we were so glad to have him back home with us. Justin and I enjoyed the rest of the month relaxing and enjoying the summer with wonderful Auburn friends.

August: School and volleyball season came too quick for me, but it was a good transition, even though I was in my first trimester. Fortunately, I did not have to worry too much about morning sickness, I got more sick at night, but my exhaustion was like nothing I had experienced. Before getting pregnant, I honestly thought many women were kind of wussy when they talked about being tired and sick all the time and I ate my words. Though I vowed I would never complain about a single symptom in pregnancy since it's something I so deeply wanted, I really was the most tired I have ever been. Justin was a champ and helped me so much during this time.

September: Justin's parents visited for a football game and we enjoyed our last official days of summer. However, I was pumped because fall is my favorite time of year! We did lots of yard work and enjoyed the cooling nights, football games, and fall foods. We also enjoyed a visit home to celebrate in the wedding of some good friends in Shelby, as well as celebrating the wedding of good friends over Labor Day weekend with friends in Auburn.

October: I celebrated my 25th birthday, as well as finding out we were going to have our little boy, Jude. What a blessing and the best birthday present ever, to know our son was healthy! We carved our 4th annual jack-o-lantern and enjoyed home made pumpkin bread for Halloween. (One of Justin's favorite traditions.) Justin's grandparents were also able to visit! Unfortunately, volleyball season came to an end, but not without us going all the way to sub-state, winning the Area Tournament, coming in 2nd in the Regionals, and ending up in the top 16 6-A teams in the state. I was very proud of our girls!

November: My parents came for a visit and we had a great time. We enjoyed going to the Calvary Museum in Columbus and prepared for cooler weather. We officially put the flannel sheets on and put Mason's "warm" blanket in his pin. We enjoyed long walks together at night and snuggling on the couch. My exhaustion was much better so I finally saw after 9 pm again. :) We enjoyed Thanksgiving with Justin's family, as well as a quick visit from Jillian and Phillip. The very end of November brought great news to our family, we were gaining a brother in law...Phillip had proposed to my baby sister!

December: After decorating the house and listening to my first Christmas song of the season, I was in official Christmas mode. December was really great for us! We picked out lots of gifts and spent a lot of great quality time with our friends in Auburn before leaving for the holidays. We also had the nursery painted and the crib set up, so when we get home after New Year's with the rest of Jude's furniture, his nursery will be almost finished. It's really beginning to set in that 2011 will be totally different once our little man arrives!

Each day is so quick to pass and I am reminded of the importance of making each moment count. Sorry for the long post, but after looking back, we have so many great memories to be thankful for so many people have touched our lives in 2010. Thank you Lord for your many blessings.