Hello, 2010...Goodbye, 2009!

This was a very crazy year! A ton of things happened, and most of the time I felt like I was in a whirlwind!!

January:
Happy Birthday, hubby! We adopted our crazy puppy Jasper from a local shelter. He was 2 months old...and so sweet!!!

February:
Joe lost his job due to the downturn in the economy. He worked in a small business, and the owner couldn't afford to keep all of his staff. 4 people were laid off, in the order they were hired. My hubby was #1. Yay.

March:
Joe went to a job fair nearby and met an Army Recruiter. I didn't think he was actually considering this until the recruiter showed up on my doorstep and my hubby asked him about half a million questions.

April:
After TONS of talking, praying, and asking others to pray for us, Joe enlisted in the Army. I had NO idea what either of us had signed up for.

May:
I'm pretty certain this was an uneventful month for us...just more adjusting to Joe staying home and me working all day...and getting used to the idea that my husband was going to be in the Army soon.

June:
Happy 1st Anniversary to us!!! We spent the weekend at his grandparents' beach house...thanks to them for letting us stay there and giving us my birthday money in advance. =) I also joined a gym to help get my toosh back into shape! After one year of marriage, working in a restaurant, gaining about 30 pounds, and barely surviving on one income, I figured I needed to do something!

July:
Happy birthday to me! And goodbye to the hubby for 10 weeks of BCT. I took him to the recruiting office at 11 a.m. on the 21st. It was a day I'll probably never forget. I was a complete and utter wreck after he got on that shuttle to MEPC in Charlotte. Luckily, my small group girls met up with me and took care of me for the rest of the day. =) I thank God for my wonderful church and small group!!!

August:
I was beginning to learn how to live by myself. I lived at home until we got married, so this was my first bachelorette experience of sorts. I was incredibly lonely, missed my hubby so much, and eventually made plans to go spend a week with my family in AR in Sept.

September:
I was getting better at the living alone thing. I threw whatever energy I had (mainly anger and frustration) into working out. I worked out about 4-5 days a week for about 45 minutes. I wrote letters to my hubby every single day and prayed for those phone calls...and cried after them. I spent a lot of my nights going through the Bible looking for comfort and strength. I can look back now and say these were some of the best nights of my Christian life. I didn't go to AR...I'm still not sure if it was God telling me not to go or just my worrying mind...but, I took a week off instead and made a gorgeous scrapbook for my niece!

October:
Probably the best month of this year!!! Joe graduated from BCT and it was great!!! I was never so happy to see him in all my life! It was nice to see him in uniform too. =) I was so, so proud of him for going through all that physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging junk. I was also kinda proud of myself for not going crazy. After his graduation, we entered new territory: AIT.

November:
After weeks of traveling back and forth to GA to spend a weekend or two with the hubby, we finally figured out that the Army would definitely pay for me to move to GA. Woohoo!! We found an apartment...and then were told we couldn't move til the beginning of Dec. So, I loaded the car anyway and spent a week down there. A day or two before Thanksgiving, Joe's 1st SGT announced they could leave for Thanksgiving. Joe filled out the packet, and we drove back to NC where we would spend the last few nights in the apartment we called home for our first year of marriage.

December:
I finally made it to GA, along with our furniture and stuff!!!! =D I got to see Joe every.single.night, and even though he couldn't stay for a sleepover it's been well worth it! My niece was born on the 6th, and I hated to miss that. Of course, she HAD to wait until I left. Silly girl. We spent one week in AR for Christmas and the next in NC for more Christmas festivities. Joe and I rung in the new year on our pillows, sound asleep. =)

I know that people love to set goals for the New Year, and I think that's great...but I'm not really one of them....usually. Here are a few of my goals (in no particular order):

1. Lose some inches!! (I'm trying NOT to focus on the number on the scales...)
2. Figure out what on earth I want to do with my life...before kids.
3. Find an amazing church, similar to our "home church" in NC
4. Do something awesome for God.
5. Be a supportive, helpful, encouraging wife to my husband.

I hope this year is less eventful than the last, and I can't wait to be in Hawaii in April!!!! Ah, sweet paradise! Happy New Year, everyone!!! I hope this year is amazing for all of you!!!