Another year has passed by and it is still not easy to put all those memories from year 2011 in one blog. 

The year 2011 started out with the Christmas tree from 2010 still up (it was undecorated though!!)  So really it was more like an indoor plant..tree…. and it stayed a little while longer  then it should I suppose.   We did take it out into the backyard and for the longest time it smelled like Christmas every time I went on to the back porch.   The year 2011 was a year of the “Super Moon”  which apparently was very awesome but it was cloudy here so I didn’t get to see the moon be super that night.  I really had looked forward to seeing a “Super Moon”  but hopefully some year I will get to see it be Super!  

The year 2011 was full of life changing events, some very happy and some very hard.   May 18^th was a day my Nanny (my grandmother) passed away.   She had a stroke and died within days of having it..so it all seemed to happened quickly … we just didn’t see it coming.  It was very hard to deal with losing her, Its hard to put into words what she meant to me…she meant the world to me.  My Nanny was a special lady who I spent lots and lots of time with growing up..and even when I got married I got a great opportunity to live 2 houses down from her.  It was kinda funny because she was very nosey and liked to know everything happening around.  My Nanny’s health got to the point where she wasn’t able to do much for herself anymore and so I would cook and take her dinner or lunch and usually my sister would pick her up something for lunch and she would have easy things she didn’t have to do much work to for breakfast.   I wish I would have sat down and spent more time with her in those days, but I always seemed to have stuff I needed to do at my home.   She learned to use a computer and the internet because I taught her and its was funny to me how she would send me emails and talk about stuff she had read lol  She eventually went to a nursing home after one of her last big falls.  She really hated it at first but then she made the best of out the situation and really enjoyed socializing with people she knew.  My sisters and I visited her for Easter that we spent a lot of time outside with her (which she loved being outside!)  and I am glad we took that day to cherish her,  it was one the last times I went to see her that I got to hang out with her. There is good in all of this I know with out a doubt that my Nanny is in Heaven today,  running around enjoying not having any more knee pains and being able to walk and lift her arms and surrounded by loved ones.  She is the one who made sure I knew who Jesus was and she took me to church every Sunday when my parents did not.   So it was tough to loose her and I still miss her today, but I know some day I will see her again.   

 

 

Another life changing event was my baby sister Kaitlynn graduating from high school!  I am so proud of her!  She is a wonderful  and I love her passion for Jesus.   God has great plans in store for her  I am sure!

Other big things happened too… Chandler got a new job which was a total God thing!   Chandler also got a motorcycle during the summer and so this past summer he really enjoyed that!  I also started to enjoy riding with him some too!   Then towards the end of the year we traded in my civic for a crv (small suv)  which we both really love it drives nice and I don’t have to drive a stick (Manuel)  anymore…well unless I drive the truck. 

  

This past year I hit the big 25yrs and also Chandler and I celebrated 3yrs of Marriage on Nov 8^th ! 

This past summer more things got done around the house, still more to do… but I changed the kitchen cabinets by staining them a dark color and because “Rustoleum”  is awesome and makes counter top paints I finally got to do something with our old and yucky counter tops too!  So the kitchen looks so different and all under $100 (which includes new cabinet hardware!) 

This past year we welcomed the newest member to the Holmes family a pup named Max.  He is very awesome!  I found him near my work on a Saturday morning, he was very small and around 8weeks old it was kinda funny because this happened on Chandlers birthday lol  I checked around the building thinking his mother or family was around some where and he just wondered off because he was so small but someone had abandoned him.  I put up a sign, posted it on fb and put an add in Craigslist but no one claimed him.  I called him Buddy for awhile because I didn’t want to name him but after taking him to the vet we decided to name him Max (Maxwell)  but he just goes by Max.   We are in love, he is a great!  The other dogs play very well with him and even my in laws boxer does too.   He is a perfect addition to the family! 

 

^ above is a photo the day we found Max 

the photo below is a more current photo of Max today!

 

 

This past year God has used us in many ways in April we went on a mission trip to Savannah,Ga to do some work for a teen pregnancy center… it was so great just to help out in any way we could, it was rewarding and it was the last S.M.A.S.H  event we attended.  I  really enjoyed being apart of the young adults ministry, it was certainly eye opening and a wonderful experience.   God called us to move into another group that year which was more targeted for married couples and (some not)  but it was definitely were God has called us to be… We have learned so much.   This past year we still kept doing the media ministry at church, still do today!   Chandler and I both started getting involved at our church’s Store House Ministry  which is great to volunteer and give our time to.   People who are in need can get help getting food and clothing and other things too..  Most times I help find clothes for  the people who come in there.  While some may take advantage of this place there are so many who are just grateful to get some things to wear and keep them warm.   I am still reading my bible from front to cover,  I know it was the goal to have it read by now…but there is just so much to take in and I also missed out on reading a lot towards the end of the year.   I plan to get back into that this year. 

So here it is the first day of the new year  and so far its been great!  I went to church this morning and then have spent the day with my awesome hubby!  I don’t know what this year holds for me yet and there are many things I would like to happen this year but only if its Gods will for me. 

If you have made it this far through my very long rambling blog, I Thank you friend!  I hope you have a wonderful New Year!