Looking Back on 2012

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Since 2013 is peeking around the corner at me, I wanted to take a post to reflect on the last year and all it held for me and my family. I feel like it's necessary for one to pause, remember, and take note on how the last year changed you. Time changes us all in one form or another. We can choose to become jaded with our experiences or be grateful for what we went through. I know I didn't love every minute of 2012, and I'm sure there are minutes, hours or even days that I would choose to never re-live again. But I... learned to love new people, appreciated the hell out of my family, and I really used this year to get to know myself. Truly valuable.

Kit and I started this year off with our 2nd wedding anniversary! We were pretty poor at the time and living with his parents so we made our gifts to each other! Cheesecake and a "56 Things I Love About You" book made from a deck of cards. Best anniversary gifts yet.

On Jan 6th I turned 24! We had the most awesome time celebrating with our best friends Brie and Shawn in OKC Downtown.

Also in January my husband became an EMT. He worked so hard for it, very proud of him!

The second piece of excitement came in Feb when we finally received confirmation that the AF still wanted us. After an 11 month break, we were finally going to live lives outside of college. We were ready to turn the page together and start our adventure.

Before we left for Texas we lived up our last couple months stress-free in Sulphur, OK.

In April we celebrated my husband hitting the big 25! We went to a baseball game and I flooded his room with 25 balloons with 25 different memories from his family that morning. A great way to start your 25th year.

On April 15th we loaded, packed and loaded up our life into two trucks and began heading south to San Angelo TX!

April - November we lived in TX and made SO many memories. Kit was in and out most of the time for training in OK but when he was gone I had friends and plenty of work to keep me busy. I came away with two amazing girlfriends, Alex and Kate, that have changed my life forever. I believe things happen for a reason and it was meant to be that we all were in the same class, prevailed together through the hardest educational course we'd ever been through and made some amazing memories that I'll treasure for a lifetime. With my husband often gone, these girls were there for me, thick and thin. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay them, but then again they wouldn't let me even if I could :). These are some highlights of our time there.

First Day of Work

State Park

Lake House fun

Visiting a winery

4th of July in Austin, TX

Bestie visited

Parents visited

Celebrating our new assignments in Austin, TX

Drop Night - Tyndall AFB, FL

Local brewery trip 

Climbed Enchanted Rock

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Class trip to Big Bend National Park

We snuck out to NYC for a wedding in May

Starne's Wedding-NYC

Finally after 5 years had to say farewell to the Celica

Kit's parents visited us with the pups

Tough Mudder in Austin TX

Then came time for November..the month I had been dreading. I had to say good-bye to my husband for his year long deployment. The hardest goodbye I'd ever given, and away he went.

Graduation and moving in November, two positive things for me to focus on!

Graduation with my girls

Blessed to have family there

Third place to call home this year....Panama City, Florida. I was very lucky to move solo with a dog, 2 cats and a snake with no issues!

Our home in Florida

Luckily we ended this year together. Kit caught a break and his unit allowed him a pass to come HOME for a few days over Christmas. I could care less about tangible gifts this year...all I wanted was my love. Ask and you shall receive! We spent our first Christmas by ourselves and in our new house together. Couldn't ask for anything more.

I know this year will be emotionally, the most challenging Kit and I have/will ever face. I have no doubt we will conquer it and come out stronger because of it. My wonderful husband has 6  "benchmarks" for me to look forward to throughout the year to get me through as painless as possible. Sort of like when you want to lose 40 lbs, so you set small goals first that will add up to the big overall goal at the end. That's what our benchmarks are (he's so clever). #1 - January I'll spend the month at Hurlburt Field for training, #2 - Home for a week in February, #3 - Family visiting for SB in March, #4 - Mom visiting in May and the in-laws, #5 - Bestie visiting for 4th of July, #6 - Taking a week to hit Seattle to see the other bestie and cousin in August.  Looking forward, 2013 might not be one of my most favorite years to come...but it's only temporary (as my positive MIL always tells me) and it too shall pass.