What a year 2016 has been!
I think in the future I will remember this year as the year that I really transitioned into the next phase of my life. My life now is pretty different from how it was at the beginning of the year, so it’s been an exciting year!
We started off the spring by vacationing for a week in Colorado. We visited Rocky Mountain National Park, as well as Denver, and Colorado Springs. We had a blast and it’s definitely one of my favorite places that I’ve been to. The mountains were absolutely breathtaking and I’d love to go back again sometime in the future!
I finished my up my internship in downtown Kansas City. This was such a great learning experience for me and it was a lot of fun being able to work downtown. It was the first time that I worked for a large company, so it was great to be able to experience how a larger organization runs. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone with this job and felt that I did myself proud. It was a great opportunity for me and I really made the most of it. It was a bit bittersweet to leave, but bigger and better things awaited me in the year.
I graduated college with my Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Missouri – Kansas City. I graduated summa cum laude with a 3.9 GPA, which I am extremely proud of. It might just be an extra medal that I get to wear and an extra thing they announced with my name, but I’m immensely proud of how hard I worked in school.
I got to watch Andrew graduate with two degrees: his Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and his Bachelor of Nursing. He later passed his nursing boards and is now a certified Registered Nurse (RN). I was so proud to watch him walk to the stage – not once, but twice! – and to see all of his hard work come to fruition. Super proud wife right here!
We moved from Kansas City to St. Louis . This was a really bittersweet time for us. It truly signified us closing the chapter on our college days and coming on home. Sometimes I wonder if we made the right decision in moving back to St. Louis. There are a lot of things I miss about Kansas City and I shared my sentiments on what home really means. Kansas City will always hold a dear place in my heart and we visit friends often!
We spent a lot of time making the house in St. Louis our home . We were given a wonderful opportunity from Andrew’s mother to live in their childhood home for very little rent. We are using this time to pay off our loans and to save up some money for a future home.
This summer was a tough one for me. While I planned to take a couple months off before looking for a job, I really suffered with depression. I was trying to find my identity and worth in other things, such as my employment, when really my identity is rooted in Christ. I learned a lot and I grew a lot, but it wasn’t easy. You may have noticed I wasn’t very active on the blog during this time.
In late July, I had to put my nine-year-old dog to sleep. I’d had Tabor since he was a little pup at ten weeks old. He was my Christmas present in the 8th grade and my best friend. He had just moved into the house with us when we moved back to St. Louis. While I still miss him dearly, I have a lot of great memories with him and he was the best dog!
After losing Tabor, Andrew and I adopted a female puppy from Stray Rescue and named her Chloe. She is a black lab terrier mix that we love to pieces. She is very energetic, and though she’s not so small anymore, she is very smart and loves to cuddle.
I ran my first 5K in September for a girl named Kali. It was a hard run but I ran through the pain and took every step for victims that have suffered from sex trafficking. The race was organized by The Covering House, an organization that provides physical and emotional relief from sexual abuse and exploitation. I couldn’t have been happier to spend my first 5K running for such a great cause.
Also in September, I was offered a contract position through a staffing agency and I jumped at the opportunity. I ended up really liking the people that I work with and the position, so when they offered me the full-time position at the end of November, I accepted .
Things seem to have settled down near the end of the year as I put my head down and got to work at my new job. I’ve really enjoyed making friends with my new coworkers and learning new things. And it’s good to see how God has answered my prayers throughout the year. I had a lot of anxiety and fears – about moving home, about finding a job, about all of these big life changes and God provided throughout all of them.
I’m just incredibly thankful to see how far I’ve come in just one year and to see how far He has brought me, and it makes me even more excited for all that 2017 will hold!
Cheers, 2016! You were a great one!
We were all stuffed and I unintentionally took a brief nap when we headed back to his mom’s.