Monday, December 31, 2012

So long, farewell 2012!


So long, farewell....



1-What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
*Made my first batch of chicken noodles.

*Left the familiarity of the classroom, my comfort zone, to take a position as a technology facilitator, rather than a classroom teacher.
*Discovered instagram.

2-Did anyone close to you give birth?
*My friends, Brad & Laura, had Alexander last January.
*Blair Anderson had Colt in May.

*My BFF, Mary had Maggie Ann in November.










Tyler and Alison announced their much longed for pregnancy in June, my 
TWIN nieces will be making their arrival in the VERY NEAR future.


3-Did anyone close to you die?
*My choir director from church who I spent a decent amount of time around and talked to 2 days before he past away- died in early December.
*My mom's cousin Gail passed away in December at a young age of 54.

4-What dates from 2012 will remain etched in your memory and why?
*I will always remember June 8th- the last day of school for the year and my career at BHE and learning that I would be an aunt.
*December 10th being woken up at 10:40 pm to the news that Barry Hobbs had passed away.
*December 14th driving home from Greensboro and having lunch with Traci Hardy to hear about the tragic school shooting at Newtown, CT.

5-Did you suffer any illness or injury?
Aside from my tonsillectomy on December 26th- no.

6-What was the best thing you bought?
All kidding and simplicity aside, the fruit packs I've eaten since having my tonsils removed.


7-Where did most of your money go?
 *Paying my car off or having it fixed.
*Paying towards the tonsillectomy.

8-What song will always remind you of 2012?
Every time I hear Pontoon by Little Big Town I think of hours spent on the lake this summer either at Badin with my family and the Holders or at Norman with the Varners and Yates.


9-What do you wish you'd done more of/less of?
-I wish I'd done more blogging- which I think I'm doing better at now that I actually "bit the bullet" and spent money having my blog professionally updated.
- I wish I'd spent less time dwelling on "what could have beens" & "why me's", these low experiences, though painful have stretched me and made me all the better.


10-What was your favorite TV program?
Definitely Duck Dynasty- I love the redneck reality tv and the icing on the cake is how clean (maybe not literally) the show is and each episode ending around the kitchen table with prayer.
11-What is the best book you read this year?
Let's go with books... I tried reading the Hunger Games but just could not get myself into them. Last summer I had started a Karen Kingsbury book but never finished it so I picked it up and before I knew it I had read 12 of her books- The Baily Flanigan series, Unlocked, Coming Home, after I read Coming Home it made me want to go back and read the first Baxter Family series (all 5 of them), then I read her new holiday book The Bridge. Now that I've read the Baxter books I want to go back and read the Fame, the Baxter series 2. She has a way of doing that to you, getting you so immersed in a series that you can't put it down.
  
I also started a devotional written by Steven Furtick, Greater , this has been a great refreshing read

12-What was your favorite movie this year?
There weren't really a lot of movies that stood out to me this year- at least not any that I'm dying to see a 2nd time. Here's a list of some I saw in theaters this year...
-Joyful Noise with Dolly Parton & Queen Latifiah
-The Vow
-The Hunger Games
-Lucky One
-What too Expect When You're Expecting
-Spiderman 3 (this may be my favorite seen in theaters)
-Odd Life of Timothy Green
-Sparkle (story of Whitney Houston)
-Wreck it Ralph (seen with Ayden at the GEM)
-Breaking Dawn II of the Twilight series- probably the best out of all of them

13-What did you do on your birthday? How old were you?
Went to eat with my family at East Coast Grill and Wings. 28 years

14-Did you travel anywhere this year?
To Holden Beach twice, once in June and August.
To ATL for July 4th.


15-What national event stirred you the most?
Unfortunately, I will never forget the Sandy Hook shooting this December. It really feels like the world has spun out of control sometimes and it makes me so sad. I am so thankful for a God who is here with us and comforts those who are in pain.


Also, the 2012 Election was important and memorable.



16-Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
God's activity in my life is not conditional of my actions nor a direct reflection of his love or thoughts towards me.

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

2012! Oh what a memorable year!

At the dawn of the New Year I just a feeling that this would be a year of changes- little did I know the changes that were coming my way

January-low key month
February- my birthday
March- low key month
April- Easter & Spring Break
May- Eternity Production at church
June- Tyler & Alison joyously announce their much longed for pregnancy- TWINS!
       - I left Beverly Hills Elementary after 5 years of teaching 5th & 4th grade
July- Precancerous mole removed from my back.
      -Road trip to the ATL for the 4th!
August- I began working as an Instructional Technology facilitator at Shady Brook Elementary, my
             elementary school alma mater.
            -First car wreck. Rear-ended by a small truck. $900 worth of damage.
September- TWINS are revealed as 2 girls!
                 -Attended college roomate, Amy Beth's, wedding in TN
                 -Tyler turned 30 years old.
                 -Choir retreat at Lake Junaluska
October-Dad was terminated from his job of 36 years at Phillips Medical.
November- Black Friday Shopping, Dad's birthday, Election 2012
December- Mom's birthday, Tonsils removed, Alison but on bed-rest with the twins at 33 weeks,
                  Annual Choir Dinner Theatre



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Friday, December 28, 2012

T'was the day after Christmas...









Ready or not... the tonsils needed to come out! After my Summer 2011 Sinus Surgery my tonsils had grown enlarged and I had chronic tonsil stones... the only solution was to get my tonsils O-U-T!
In addition to the tonsillectomy Dr. Langford wanted to go back in and shrink some more sinus tissue- which suited me fine as I had a Sinus infection to arrive over Christmas and the procedure eliminated that...
 
 
The procedure was out patient and took all of 30 minutes...
 I've stocked up on slushies, chloroseptic and fruit blends for easy eating...


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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Christmas 2012

Every Christmas Eve, since childhood family has all gathered near at my parents house...

Cousins immersed in their iPhones



Looks like the moms are too.... Mom trying to educate Aunt Myra on how to use an iPad




Treasured talks with Paw Paw around the dinner table


Bella taking a snooze...




Santa left something for Reagan and Harper...

Paw Paw admiring his gag gift- the pooping reindeer









Paw Paw and "Belly" aka Bella







Cousins minus Tyler because he had just left to go to work on Christmas Eve.


Maw Maw, grand chef, giving her orders in the kitchen


What's Christmas Eve without watching this?

Only special people still use my full name!

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Happy 1st Birthday Faithie!


A year ago today a little piece of heaven entered our lives in the form of Katherine Faith Porter...


She was a sign God's tangible "faith" to her family and friends in honor of her big brother James whom God took directly to heaven before he breathed his first breath on earth



What a perfect miracle she is! A truth testimony of God's redeeming love...




She's the most perfect thing we could have ever imagined. Ten perfect piggy toes and 10 little fingers wrapped around our heart from the start...



Playing peek-a-boo with those mesmerizing blue eyes... perhaps the prettiest eyes and eyelashes ever laid upon a baby...




The best cuddler...



Full of sugar and spice and everything nice...



I could eat her with a spoon...



Those priceless cheesy grins and batting eyelashes are so hard to resist...

 

What happiness and joy you've brought into our lives already...
 


Bathing beauty...

Practicing her stretching routines during summer Olympics... no doubt the next Gabby Douglas...


Fall afternoon swings on the porch...

First birthday photo shoot...
Some one's waiting on Santa! 


Once the tree was up you decided you would start crawling...


Your smile (with 2 teeth) lights up the room, forget the Christmas tree lights!


Taking Santa in... not a bit scared!

How old are you sweet girl!?! One! That's right!
Sweet birthday snuggles!:)