2012: Looking Back

John and I spent New Years Eve at home snuggled with blankets, a fire, candle, glasses of peach sparkling wine, and our pens and tablets reflecting on all that has happened this past year, discussing goals met and goals for this next year.

{What I really mean: I snuggled with blankets... J did not. I was disappointed to find the sparkling wine was not as good as I was anticipating -- yes Carly it was the one you told me about so many times!! Pens and tablets actually means respective laptops with a shared word doc we were editing together about our goals... but pens and tablets sounds so much cozier. :) It turns out I didn't actually set any written goals for this past year, so it was more of a looking back at goals for J and life events for both of us. And I'd prefer to call our goals for this year 'plans' ... and 'desires'. I'm a bit over the 'goal' thing. I wasn't a soccer player growing up... yes waterpolo, but that's beside the point.}

OK... now that we have gotten those clarifications out of the way... :)

2012 was a really full year. Mostly great and some hard times. But isn't that how every year goes?

So you have a recap through July. {But, since I forgot I already did that... I already typed all of the below... so much of this is overview. Sorry about that. I just can't delete it after I wrote it, ya know?}

So, another and continued recap:

J and I did quite the mini house remodel in January... through March. I already told you about this, but what did we do? Demolished tile, pulled a TON of wood off our fireplace and 15 foot ceiling, re-drywalled in many needed areas behind that wood (and the hole from when J fell through the ceiling... don't worry, he's fine and it was in the laundry room), re-painted... and then re-painted with a different color, re-tiled, installed 16 new light fixtures (which includes re-running all new wiring... which is a lot of work), re-carpeted the house, and re-baseboarded (is that a word? It went with all the other "re"s.) everything. So, this kept us quite busy during that time. We are beyond thankful to have that all behind us and now just have a few touch up items... like paint touch ups and getting a real live mantel! Don't worry... we are almost done. I learned (well, I knew this, but it was again true in this case) that house projects always take longer than you think. And I also learned that my husband is a rockstar and can do ANYTHING! He did everything all. by. himself. And it looks amazing.

We both made huge job changes. I am beyond blessed and excited to be doing what I believe the Lord has called me to and gifted me toward. And it is so special to be able to pray for children brand new to the world as I care for them and their families. John went back to work at Point Loma Nazarene University as the Network Engineer. He now has the further commute and I have the short one, which I of course am loving. We both count ourselves blessed to have work. I even went to my first professional conference with my friend and coworker this year!

My sister graduated college in May (GOOO SISSY!), so we went to celebrate her and stayed at a really fun and classy hotel {inn?} overnight also. It was so fun to celebrate her and have a little getaway with the family.

With that came Ava, the cutest little labrador puppy ever. She and Baker and Emma are becoming quite the little friends, although Baker still is jealous of her.

We visited Temecula (a bit north of us) for our friends' Chris and Katie's wedding, which was the start of a really special friendship. Since then, we started a bible study with them and our friend Paul, and have grown to be really great friends with all of them. Katie is a nurse also and she and I have similar interests, and these three guys couldn't be more similar. I think the similarities really bonded us all, compounded with our love for Jesus.

J's brother Sam and his wife Valinda moved from Northern California to West Virginia, where she is from, and Sam became a police officer. They came to visit this summer, which we loved. We miss them tons but are really excited for them and all the new adventures they get to have in their new cute home with their sweet {not-so} puppy Syd.

It is baby season in our friends' lives and this year we welcomed many little ones to families. Mark and Katie had baby Colton, Brandon and Sarah had baby Aubrey, Dwain and Jaclyn had baby Evie, and Joe and Ali had baby Joey just last week. What joys to watch special people who love Jesus get to see His love in a new way through these precious children.

Our big trip this year was back to Oregon to visit our most special friends, Mark and Katie, and their children Elle and Colton. We love the Ritter family. We loved every moment we got to spend with them and every moment of our time in Oregon. We also got to see my childhood friend Casey and her sweet husband Jake, who also recently moved to Oregon! It was so fun to catch up with them and hear about how much they love living there. We reallllllly like Oregon. Not now... but it's not ruled out in the long term :).

Needless to say, we have been so blessed this year. So much learned, so much still to learn. But I'm thankful for the family and friends I get to do life with, the man I get to walk life beside, and the Heavenly Father that never ever fails.

God is good! Happy new year!

A little goes a long way

This weekend, J and I made a few {small to you, big to us} home improvements.

1. the espresso maker

{the long story} We've had kinda a rough go with our awesome espresso maker. 

Although it made some amazing vanilla lattes and we enjoyed many nights with Carly over lattes,

for the second time, this one piece broke. The first time, I got to exchange it for a new one. But I can't do that again and it's not important enough to me to send it back to the manufacturer.

Anyways, this weekend we said goodbye, which meant extra counter space.

Now I feel like things have their place a bit better and my coffee pot has a home.

{one day I'll have a coffee cart for my coffee stuff, but that's long-term-in-next-home}

before

after

2. the plant
{the long story} J likes plants inside and outside. I like plants outside. I used to feel plants [minus cut flowers] should be kept in their natural habitat, outside. Mostly because they die when they come in my house. I have since began to appreciate potted plants and even find them beautiful. During this Home Depot trip, J convinced me a small plant would liven the place up a bit. To which I said sure and suggested we put a tree on the balcony {how far I've come... don't worry, we didn't do that.. yet!}. Anyway, he won and we have a little plant on our counter now. Which I am actually fond of. Even though I don't feed him- J does. It's better for him that way. :)

3. the living room blinds: window and door

{the long story} At some point since having our two little balls of fur, we found a vertical blind missing.

At another point since Baker, our window blinds were remodeled so he could see out the window.

{we have replaced blinds a few times since getting the puppies, but these were the final fixes}
Anyways, we still make sure to pull up the blinds a bit in the daytime so Baker can look out the window {as pictured}.

4. the balcony light
{the long story} there isn't really one, except the old one has been there since our home was built 30 years ago. It's been driving J crazy, so we upgraded to a slightly more fashionable light.

Who knew something like a light could be so fun!

Little by little, it becomes more and more our own.
It makes me excited to do big changes! A little motivation is always a good thing :).

New layout!

The blog has a new look! Check it out!

It may change, considering I can't make up my mind. 

But for now, announcing the new "Moments" :)

And I'm gonna try to be a more consistent blogger, which I am really excited about. 

There are so many moments ready to be embraced!

From country to contemporary: Our second bedroom remodel

[sidenote: I just wrote that title in APA... gosh I've been in school for too long]

Well, after being a homeowner for 19 months, we remodeled a room.

Not like, we-knocked-out-the-walls-and-added-a-fireplace kind of remodel, but more of a repainted-and-got-new-furniture kind of remodel... which totally counts under the category of 'remodel' in my opinion.

This was it before. I really did love it. Especially the red and yellow colors, and my bed. And I love my husband for letting me paint and decorate it how I wanted.

But it was time for a change. Not that we didn't make a few changes along the way. :) But I am fond of change. I get bored with my environment rather easy, and I really love color, so my ideas combined with J's idea of a "totally modern and contemporary room" created a new masterpiece.

At least, we think it's a masterpiece.

Besides, I really like new furniture. And I needed a bigger space to do my homework. And J's desk was a little wobbly. I sadly said goodbye to my beautiful little bed and J to his desk, and we went to work. I like working on projects with my husband.

Baker helped. Until we started painting. Because he wanted to help a little too much. [Did I tell you he broke into the trash the day after this... the trash with blue paint rollers in it... and painted his paws... and our carpet? Oh. He did. But it's ok because he's cute and we love him.]

We were good little shoppers and came home to assemble desks and such by pictures. (if you haven't tried assembling Ikea furniture, make sure you put words to the pictures and make sure you're using the right parts... you know, just in case).

And somehow, it all came together! Minus some wall art (a wall isn't complete without wall art, which J is slowly learning) and a few other little things, it's pretty much there!

His and Hers.

and a filing cabinet (gosh we are such grownups that this thing is almost full) and a cute box to organize my wrapping supplies ... yay!!

Super fun and slick. "Modern" as J calls it.

Call it what you want, darling. :) It's different and I like that.

For now. Until I get stir crazy and want something different. :)

Our humble home

I sorta blew it. We had our one-year anniversary with our condo on October 15th and I forgot to celebrate via blog. I thought about post-dating this. Or back-dating, or however you say it. But then I thought, well that's not very ethical. So I am being honest. I forgot. Oh well.

Our home is one of our big blessings. I am so thankful for our little condo. Two parking spaces and laundry. Those were the requirements. And everything else has been an added bonus.

Here are a few memories from the beginning.

We got the keys!
J installing our new doorknob. Safety first :)
My little magic machines.
Stripping the wood in the bathroom... our first remodel project.
My red and yellow room after we put stuff in it, minus wall decorations. I think it is happy. Our first Christmas in our new home. We got to have an 8 foot tree. We probably won't do that again. But it was fun to try :)

We are so blessed to have our own place. Thank you Lord for working out all the cracks last year. Thank you for our home.