Favorite Moments of 2009

Happy New Year everyone! I am so excited for what this year might bring. 2009 was by far the most challenging and the most joyful year I have ever had. I thought it might by fun to reflect and make a list of my top 9 moments of 2009! So here they are. Enjoy!

9. I know this sounds lame and it’s not exactly a moment, but reading the entire Harry Potter series was one of my favorite things about 2009. There is nothing, absolutely nothing better than Harry Potter! It was an awesome and “magical” summer with those stories!

8. Opening my bridal shower gift from my sweet cousin and best friend, Sasha was definitely one of my best moments of 2009. She had made me a scrapbook full of photos from our entire lives. It was so hilarious and sweet:)

7. After months of searching the moment Matt and I found and got our first apartment together was definitely one of the top moments of the year! It was so exciting knowing that we found the first place we would live together. There was also something super exciting about finding a place in a new city. That was such a fun time.

6. Going and cutting down out first Christmas tree together was so fun. I had never cut down a real Christmas tree before so it was such a great time. It’s fun to know you’re starting new yearly traditions:)

5. Reading Matt’s Cup of Comfort entry was one of the most wonderful moments ever. It is something that no matter what will always be something I read over and over and cherish forever. If you want to read it too click here!

4. Meeting Oliver (our kitten) was the sweetest moment of the year! I just loved him so much from the second we picked him out. He is the cutest little ball of fur in the world! He has brought so much laughter and fun to us. It may sound silly but he really makes me excited to have a baby someday because I think if I love a kitten this much, having children is going to be so much more amazing:)

3. This was so hilarious that it had to make the list, and it had to be up there on it. So my parents, Matt and I went to dinner at this awesome restaurant about a block from our apartment a couple months ago and we sat outside... A bird pooped on my mom’s head, in her drink and in her food. There’s just nothing funnier than that. Hands down. It was awesome;)
***This isn't a top moment but I just have to add a little "Momism" that she said later that night at the grocery store hehehe... When an employee asked my mom (again we are at the GROCERY store), "Is there anything I can help you with?" my mom replied, "No thank you. We are just looking." Classsssic.***

2. In the summer of 08 Matt lost his job right after we became engaged. He worked random, awful jobs here and there and we both became increasingly panicked and depressed as the months went on without a new job. He had dozens of interviews but there was always someone more educated or with more experience in an economy where everyone is looking for work. As February of 09 was coming close and we were getting closer and closer to the wedding day we decided that if Matt hadn’t found a job by the time the next big wedding payment was due (the last day of February) we would cancel the wedding. We were living two hours from each other and everything was so overwhelmingly stressful but this decision had become necessary. I know a lot of people had it much worse, but to us it felt like the end of the world to cancel the wedding our families and we were so excited for and had invested so much time and non-refundable money towards. I cried and cried because it had been 9 months so I just knew that there wouldn’t be anything coming his way. That next morning, my Memaw called me. There was no way of her knowing about our decision because we hadn't told anyone but Matt's mom yet… She said she had been praying and she felt like God was telling her to tell me that if I totally put my trust in Him and trusted in His will for my life that everything would be okay. I knew this was what I needed to do. It’s easy to say your complete trust is in God no matter what the outcome, but it’s quite another thing to really feel that way. It took me a couple weeks but I really came to a point where I put our future 100% in God’s hands. Whatever He decided I would be happy because it was His will. I prayed that if Matt didn’t get a job by the end of the month that we would cancel the wedding and God would show us what we should do next. A week later Matt had an interview at UCD (for a job he had applied for months earlier) and just a couple days before our next payment was due he had a job. Not just any job but a great job. It was one of the most wonderful moments to know without a doubt that our marriage was part of God’s plan:)

1. And the absolute best moment of 2009 and of my entire life was the moment Matt and I said, “I do.” After all the planning, stress and time apart we finally said the words that meant we got to be together forever. It was such an exhilarating and exciting moment. I don’t think my heart has ever raced so fast as it was at that moment:)