2012 Recap and Adventure

Today is the last day of 2012.  There will never be another day in 2012--for some this would be a sad thing, to others, it is a new beginning, a fresh page.  To me it is a combination of the both.  This past year has been a year of some of the greatest happiness and also some of the most gut wrenching misery as well. But it was the year that I had and while not all of it has been the happiest, it was the year that God had in store for me. I accept every bit of it as it has made me the person that I am sitting here writing this right now--and I am okay with that.

My word for the year was adventure and an adventure it was indeed.  January flew by in a blur as I started a new job at work that did not allow me to catch my breath.  Before I knew it, February was upon me and my little girl turned three.  The day after a raucous birthday party, I flew to India to begin a three week stay for work that would ultimately change my life as I opened myself up to a new country, new people, a new culture, and new everything else along the way.  I am thankful for this opportunity to travel as I have found out a couple of things along the way--your education is priceless and travel is one of the things in life that truly will enrich your life--and not in a conventional way, but how you open yourself up to what you are seeing, experiencing, and loving.

Source: decorativestorageboxesnow.org via Kristin on Pinterest

This year, I was fortunate to visit three continents and six countries.  Some of this was for work, but some was for pleasure too.  My trip to Dubai in June was probably one of the most culturally different for me as I had never been to a Muslim country.  I found it incredibly interesting and thankful for the rights that I have as a woman in the United States.  I am not criticizing, but I do have to say that I have grown quite accustom to my public and personal freedoms that I take for granted here in the United States.

I was fortunate enough to take two vacations trips this year.  The first was on a cruise with fabulous friends and the other was a family vacation aboard the Disney Magic.  Easily one of the highlights of my year was watching Elizabeth's face glow with joy and excitement being among all of her Disney princesses and friends (a post in the new year).  I have several pictures that I managed to capture digitally, but the ones in my memory are far richer than the ones I was able to capture with a camera.  Elizabeth managed to give both her daddy and me tears of joy through her excitement and vivacious attitude.  We took Elizabeth to her very first beach on Grand Cayman (a great way to start--forget Galveston, people) and she absolutely adored playing in the sand and feeling the cool water on her toes. I am grateful for a husband who planned this trip down to the very last detail as this vacation that will go down in the books as one of the best ever.

This year brought a lot of challenges as well.  The terrible threes have been interesting. Elizabeth is a very independent minded little girl and to say that we have had a few clashes along the way would be an understatement.  It is part of her growing up, becoming her own person, but a person who is respectful of those around her.  We are constantly working on our manners, our words, and in general, being the best girl we can be.  She is a work in progress just as we all are.

Work has been a challenge.  The absence from my blog is blamed primarily on the work that I was constantly doing--at all hours of the the day and way too many nights.  I found that my stress level has bounds I did not know could exist--and stress levels that I do not like.  Through this, I have learned about limitations, when to say when, and what is truly important to me in this life.  While going through this trials and tribulations, I again realized what a rock star of a husband I have and that I have an amazing partner in crime at work.  While work has been challenging, it has in ways that are hard to describe been rewarding all at the same time.  At the end of the day, I can actually see the changes I have made and been part of working for the benefit of my company.  That's pretty cool if you ask me.

Other highlights of this year in no particular order are as follows:

• Karen and Randy got married in November.
• There was a wedding shower for Karen and a baby shower for Sean's cousin, Nicci. Ella was born in July.
• I have another niece, Kennedy, that was born in October
• Rangers baseball games.
• Allen hockey games.
• The Dave Matthews Band concert with the lovely Summer and had the best seats I have ever had at a Dave concert.
• We watched a lot of Olympics!
• Girls weekends in March and August--with a few random sitings throughout the year as well.
• Sean went hunting for deer twice but did not see anything.
• Sean and I both celebrated birthdays.
• Elizabeth started gymnastics.
• Sean and I attended the Better Than Ezra concert--awesome show!
• I declared London to be my favorite city in the world--thus far.
• My iPod died--that was a very sad day.
• I watched my daughter fall in love with a Minnie Mouse doll.  :)
• The last few months of this year, a Bible verse seem inscribed on my heart--Jeremiah 29:11.
• I miss yoga!
• I am ending this year with broncitis.
• I ate way too much good food this year.
• Lots and lots of movies this year--and lots of the Oscar contenders too.

While 2012 may be rapidly winding down and my word of the year will be retired with it, this year has been one for the Kristin books. And even though adventure will not be my word this coming year, it is a word that I plan to keep alive perpetually as ever day is an adventure and that is how I plan to live my life--with a since of adventure.  Cheers!