Prompt 25: Photo - a present to yourself

Sift through all the photos of you from the past year.  Choose one that best captures you; either who you are or who you strive to be.  Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words.  Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

I know it's a picture of my and Andrew's feet, not of me, but I love this picture because of the memory of that day.  I took this picture when we were on our honeymoon in Maine and it was a wonderful day.  We were spontaneous - driving to four different lighthouses in one day without much of a plan.  We took this picture after we walked out to a lighthouse.  It was extremely hot so we sat down on the rocks surrounding the lighthouse before we decided to walk back to the shore.  After this picture was taken, we went to see this amazing woman who makes rag rugs.  We bought one that is now in the front hallway of our home, which is a great reminder of our trip.  This picture reminds me of that day and the fun I have simply hanging out with Andrew.

Prompt 26: Soul food

What did you eat this year that you will never forget?  What went into your mouth and touched your soul?

We got invited to Carrabba's for a free dinner on them!  It was some of the best food I have ever eaten in my life.  You can read about it here.

Prompt 27: Ordinary joy

Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments.  What was one of your most ordinary joyful moments this year?

We had a really good day where we took the dog to go get boxwood bushes for our garden, came back to the house and planted them, and then ordered pizza.  It was great because we worked really hard, felt really accomplished, and then got to hang out with the puppy and eat pizza.  That was a good day!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas as I hope everyone else did!

On Christmas Eve we went to church for the four thirty service where I sang and Andrew ran the powerpoint.  Then it was off to friend's house for a party that's been going on since I was in the fourth grade.  It's a wonderful tradition with family and friends that I love going to every year.  Then it was off to the eleven o'clock candlelight service at church where I got to sit with my parents for the first time ever, since they're usually singing in the choir.  Andrew and I finished up the night by coming home and putting on our Christmas pajamas, one of his family traditions that we carry on.  I got these snazzy pajama pants this year!  (Those are polar bears on them if you can't tell.)

On Christmas morning we woke up and went over to my parent's house where we had the fullest house for Christmas morning we've ever had.  It was:

• my grandma
• my aunt
• my mom and dad
• me and Andrew
• my brother, his girlfriend, and her brother
• my sister, her fiance, and his brother

We opened presents and I was so excited to see that everyone loved the presents we got them.  My presents included purple candlesticks, a purse made of saris, the movie Inception (I'm so excited to watch the extras),  and my favorite gift - tickets from Andrew to see Wicked!!!  We had tickets to see it last week, but we both ended up sick and weren't able to go, so I'm so excited to be able to see it and not have to be sad every time I hear about Wicked!

After we opened presents, Andrew and I went back to our house to meet his family, his dad, stepmom, and sister, who were driving down to spend the weekend with us.  They hadn't ever been to our house so we spent some time there with them showing them the house and Schmoo!

Then we went back over to my parent's house for Christmas dinner and games.  The day went really well.  Andrew's family and my family get along really well, which is absolutely wonderful.

We were able to spend some more time with them over the weekend.  We went out to brunch at Cafe Patachou and then saw the movie Tangled, which was absolutely wonderful.  (It's been a while since I've seen a Disney movie that's been that good!  If you're thinking about seeing it, you totally should!!!)  Then we went back over to my parent's house to watch the Colt's game with everyone.  We got to spend some more time last night talking and playing games back at our house with Andrew's family.  We even managed to light our first ever fire in our fireplace last night.

Overall, I think the Christmas was relaxing and wonderful.  It was so nice to be around all of our family, especially because they were (mostly) all in one spot!

Prompt 24: Everything's OK

What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright?  And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

The moment that Andrew acknowledged how hard things had  been the last time he was looking for work and told me that he would not let that happen again.  It showed me that he realizes that he needs to do things differently, even if it's not something that's easy for him.

I will try my best to support him and encourage him to do the things he needs to do (update his resume, send out applications, talk to people who would be able to serve as contacts) without pushing him to do those things.  The most important thing is for Andrew and I to remember that we're in this together and that we're on the same side, something that it can hard to keep in mind when times are tough.

Peace

Andrew lost his job yesterday.  It was completely unexpected.  Obviously, it has changed things.


But I figure we have two options.  Option one is to be upset about it, to blame the company for not having any loyalty to its employees (even after three years), and to dwell on it.  Option two is to realize that there's nothing either of us can do to change it, to be grateful for the support we have around us, and to view this as an opportunity for Andrew to find a job that he actually enjoys.


So even though things around me are changing and uncertain, I am doing my best to be calm about it.  Even if I don't always feel calm, because I have a hard time with things being out of my control and because I hate seeing Andrew discouraged, I think that acting calm about it will help Andrew and I eventually be at peace with this.


(I definitely think there are things that God puts in our path at particular moments.  One of those is the song Peace Peace by Sara Groves.  I had never heard the song until earlier this week when we started rehearsing for the Christmas Eve service at church.  I definitely think that I was supposed to hear it this week to help me be at peace with what has happened.)

Peace Peace

by Sara Groves

Peace, peace, it's hard to find

Trouble comes like wrecking ball

To you peace of mind

And all that worry you can't leave behind you

All your hopes and fears

All your hopes and fears, oh

All your hopes and fears

Are met in Him tonight

Peace, peace, it's hard to find

Doubt comes like a tiny voice that's so unkind

And all your fears they conspire

To unwind you

All your hopes and fears

All your hopes and fears, oh

All your hopes and fears

Are met in Him

And in your dark street shines 

An everlasting light

And all your hopes and fears

Are met in Him tonight

And all your hopes and fears

All your hopes and fears, oh

All your hopes and fears

Are met in Him tonight

Peace, peace

Peace, peace

Peace, peace

Prompt 15: 5 Minutes

Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes.  Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

Looking at houses.  Our feet freezing in the first one we looked at because the heat was turned off.  How huge the third house we looked at was and thinking about using all of that space.  Hanging out with Blaine.  Going in through the back door that happened to be open of the house we actually bought because Blaine could never get his key to work in the lockbox.  Sitting on the barstools in the kitchen talking about this house.  Moving in.  Feeling comfortable being in the house by myself, even when Andrew spent the weekend in Chicago.  Planting bushes and bulbs in the front yard.  Picking spots for trees in the back.  Learning to mow the lawn.  Deciding to actually look at puppies.  Driving to Muncie to look at the litter of puppies.  Schmoo coming up to us whenever we made eye contact with him.  Bringing him home in the car and how tiny he was.  Watching him clumsily climb up and down the stairs.  His first bath and then him peeing in the middle of our bed afterwards.  His first time in the snow and how he eats it.  Our housewarming party and how fun it was to have people over.