Goodbye, 2010

It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. I don’t think I’ve ever had a year of such extremes. Here is our year in review, minus the things I’d like to forget:

• At the end of January, we moved from our two-bedroom apartment in Columbia to a one-bedroom garage apartment in West Columbia owned by a really sweet Christian family. This was an incredible provision; a smoker had moved in under us, and we needed to find a place fast before Nathan was born. We also needed a cheaper place to live, which was hard to do since our rent was already low, and did not want to rent from a property management company again. Their boys brought us peanut butter cookies (the kind with a Hershey kiss in the middle) the day we moved in. I don’t recommend moving when you are almost 9 months pregnant, but we had some awesome friends and family who helped us.
• We had a baby! I was due Feb. 25, but Nathan Phinehas came six days late on March 3, four days before our first anniversary. I had a long, but great birth (Parts 1 & 2). His first six weeks (my maternity leave) were so precious. My mom stayed for a few days; Gus’ parents came for a few days; and Gus’ mom, aunt, cousin and grandfather came at the end of March for a short stay.
• Gus graduated! He has his bachelor’s degree in physical education.
• Nathan got baptized! The day after Gus graduated, Nathan was baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by Dr. Ferguson in front of our families and church family.
• Gus got a job at Target, and I babysat two days a week in the summer. This wasn’t that great, but not forgettable either.
• In July, we decided we needed to make a move. Gus needed a job with benefits, and we needed to cut our living expenses. God provided another great place for us to live in Greenville, even cheaper than the last place and also owned by a Christian family. Gus went back to Starbucks as a shift supervisor and began studying to become a personal trainer.
• We lived with my parents for three weeks in August before we could move into our cabin.
• Nathan celebrated his first Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and continues to grow and become more precious to us everyday.

It’s taken me all year to come around to the idea that God actually had a great plan in all those terrible things that happened this year. While I’m sure I don’t see it fully, I know that the good times would not have been so good had I not had something so bad to compare them to. I’m still not sure that I wouldn’t ask those things to be taken away if I could, but I know that I wouldn't have been so thankful for my blessings had I not went through those things.

We can't wait to see what God has for us next year!