As this year draws to a close, it's been both fun and a struggle to think back over the highlights of 2011. Some have been amazing and some have been hard. But the beauty of this life that's been given to us is that from ALL of these experiences, we learn something, grow and prepare ourselves for whatever God may have in store for us in 2012. Here are our top experiences of 2011:
#11: Continued success at Starbucks! I'm sure with most people's jobs, the year consists of a lot of "I love my job!....I hate my job!...I love my job!..." etc, etc. The same goes for me, but I can say that this year proved to have more moments of success & pride than anything else. I built my team up with a group of truly amazing baristas and they helped make this year one of our best yet. We beat our target sales by over 25% the majority of the year and just a couple of weeks ago, received a 95.5% on our Eco-Sure health audit (our highest score since the store opened in 2008!). I love my job and am so thankful for the team I have.
#10: Working for Destinations in Florida! If you know me but at all, you know how much I love Disney! In February of this year, I was given the opportunity to work for an amazing company that allows me to book Disney vacations! I can work right from home and get the chance to make other families' dream vacations happen. I love being able to put smiles on people's faces and getting to help them experience the magic of Disney that I so believe in! In working here, I met some other amazing agents that are big Disney freaks, just like me! We met a couple of times in Orlando for training and had a blast- so thankful for this opportunity!
#9: The departure of Katherine. She will laugh at me for writing that so dramatically ;) In August of 2010, I met and became friends with Katherine. We met thru her husband, Jonathan, who was the worship pastor at my church at the time. In a VERY short amount of time, we grew very close and spent a lot of time together! (I take pride in having taken her to Disney for the first time at age 29!). So when the news came that she and her beautiful family would be moving to Atlanta in the summer, it was a rough time. It especially sucked when moving day came and they ended up leaving earlier than expected and I couldn't make it home in time from a small vacation I had taken with my family. Luckily, I am VERY good at keeping in touch ;) and was also fortunate enough to visit Katherine and her sweet babies this past October. We had a blast and I am very grateful for her friendship.
#8: Meeting Carter Anne! My cousins Chad & Melissa were blessed with another baby girl this year, and I was fortunate enough to go home to Arkansas and meet Miss Carter Anne in August. I am always so thankful for trips home, but especially when I get to welcome a new member of our family! She is a spitting image of Chad and such a sweet baby- can't wait to watch her grow!
#7: Swedish Fish! This year, we had an exciting reunion for our family! Our aunt and cousins came to visit from Sweden! This was very cool for me, because I always love meeting members of my family from Chile. But this reunion was really special because my father-in-law hadn't seen his sister (my aunt) in more than 18 years! She surprised him with a visit and they stayed for 5 weeks! It was very cool and we all bonded right away. We took them to Disney for the first time, and we all had a blast just spending time with them. Now, we keep in contact and are already planning the next visit- and Sebastian and I are hoping to go to Sweden soon!
#6: Help for keratoconus? Sebastian has keratoconus. Keratoconus is the degeneration of the structure of the cornea. Basically, he is blind in his left eye. This has been progressively getting worse since he was about 11 years old. These last couple of years have been a real struggle as the condition worsens. To add to this, he works with computers every day and this, obviously, puts a real strain on his eyes. Just a couple of months ago, I was reading a blog written by a woman that used to play the violin for the Jonas Brothers (do NOT judge me). Her husband has the same condition and they recently learned of a doctor in Beverly Hills that developed a surgery that not only stops the degeneration of the cornea, but repairs the sight that may have been lost! We are looking into this and just ask for any prayers that you may have while we start this long, drawn-out process. Here's hoping for sight in 2012!
#5: Getting my 1st tattoo! I had always wanted a tattoo. The problem was, I never knew what I wanted. I usually tossed the idea of a shooting star around, but it never really seemed like something I HAD to have on my body for all of eternity. So, I never got it. I figured if something ever came along that really made me want to have it, then I would get it. And that is exactly what happened. My Meemaw, who passed away in 2009, absolutely loved redbirds. This trend had started with my Granny Annie, gone thru both my Meemaw & my momma, and now has ended up with me. Meemaw would have approved (ok ok...I don't know if "approved" is the right word but...maybe after some time she would have!)
#4: Orlando Trip to visit Daddy. I was very fortunate to have been able to visit with my dad, who lives in Tennessee, several times this year. I should say, I'm very fortunate that my dad came to Florida to visit ME several times this year. :) In the summer, he flew into Orlando and Sebastian & I drove up to visit with him for a couple of days. We went to Disney (of course) and even got to see Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba (me & Seb's favorite!). My dad and I didn't see each other for several years so I am EXTRA grateful for the time we do get to spend together and that is why it is one of the tops on my list for 2011!
#3: Down with mold. Some of you know (and some of you don't) that what has literally been consuming our lives the last half of 2011 was some scary mold that appeared in our home in July. We fought with our leasing office, after they tried to tell us that what we were seeing wasn't mold. Sebastian, we found out, is allergic to mold so we had to move...quickly. We came to a different unit, only to find that it is here too. Needless to say, 2012 will be filled with allergist appointments and, most likely, a new home. This was definitely one of the negative highlights of 2011. :/ The picture below is what they told us was NOT mold...
#2: Continued part of our nephews' lives. We have 2 of the cutest nephews on the planet. We feel very fortunate to be so close to them (both in proximity and in relationship), and there was memory upon memory made in 2011. Both Ignacio and Christian were named Student of the Month in 2011, we took more than one trip with them to Disney, and our favorite outings are the sleepovers we had. They are such cool kids and we love to just be around them and soak up that energy that only a child can give you. We look forward to watching them grow even more from sweet babies to sweet young men in 2012!
#1: Diabetes Turnaround. My top highlight for 2011 has to be my decision to really make a change in the way I was living my life. With diabetes, you have to maintain a certain way of life to make sure that you are as healthy as possible. I was NOT living this way and finally, after much prayer, I finally understood. I really GOT it, you know? I recognized that the way I was handling things was not going to bode well for my future. For the past 3 months, I made the necessary changes and am happy to report that my blood sugars have been in line. It's not always easy, and there have been a couple of frustrating moments of wanting to just revert back, but I know that if I push thru, I will be happier in the long run.
And that pretty much wraps up 2011! What a year. Happy for the memories, thankful to see it go- only because I know that 2012 will be just as filled as this past year was. I look forward to creating new memories and continuing to grow. I hope everyone's New Year was safe and full of love, and that you all have memories to learn from and appreciate in the coming years!
Happy New Year!
