Joy that bubbles over

This new year makes me think alot about the past year. All the things I did, and all the things that happened. I mean, in 365 days, I:

• had a great last semester at Moody,
• went to the Philippines for two weeks
• saw my Lola (grandma) one last time
• spent time with my mom's side of the family in the Philippines
• spent the summer being blessed in Chicago with my five families I was a part of,
• was a camp counselor at 2 summer camps,
• spent time with friends,
• rode my bike in the city,
• rollerbladed everywhere,
• went to Beaufort to prepare for a wedding,
• got married,
• went on a honeymoon,
• went to universal studios,
• drove halfway across the country,
• packed up my apartment in Chicago,
• drove to Storm Lake,
• settled in a new home
• helped Ryan coach soccer
• signed up to be a sub at the elementary school
• got hired full time as a Reading Instructor
• learned how to cook some decent meals
• learned how to make sugar cookies
• had my first few blizzards and snow days
• had our first overnight guests in Storm Lake
• roadtripped a few times with my husband
• flew home to beaufort to celebrate Christmas with my husband for the first time
• flew to Kansas to celebrate New Years

and thatz only SOME of the things that happened last year...it's crazy how much can get crammed in one year and to be honest, alot of it is a bluuuuur to me.

Now, starting a new year, I'm not quite sure what to expect. I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, but I do have hopes for this year. Here are some things I hope to accomplish:

• To be honest, i'm only posting this one to help keep me accountable to it:-D Ryan and I joined the fitness club here in town, in hopes to stay healthy and fit, so we've been woring out pretty consistently (minus the two weeks of Christmas break). God is good, I'm working up on my time on running...went from 15 minutes to now 30 minutes straight in a nicely paced run:-D Must say, i'm pretty proud of myself. I'm planning on reaching 45 minutes, at least four times a week. My goal is to drop down 20 pounds. haha, we'll see...like they say, muscle weighs more than fat:-D jk.
• Eating better. After getting married, I've been learning how to cook, and I've been aware of all the ingredients that I put in my meals. I'm loving it!:) I love finding new ways of eating healthy, and how to make it tasty and appealing for my Anti-veggie husband (haha.) But since getting married, we've found ways to enjoy our meals, portion our intakes, and eat well-balanced meals.
• memorize Philippians. Being in a community where I have yet to find believers to fellowship with, I am constantly been digging in God's Word for enrichment...although, going through life without girlfriends, or even friends to fellowship with for Ryan and I, has been a challenge, especially being used to always having brothers and sisters in Christ that have sharpened us throughout our life. God has really been emphasizing in our lives, the need for one another to enrich each other in the word as husband and wife. it has been a true blessing to be married to my best friend. And even though we lack Christian fellowship or growth with other believers, we have each other and the Word of God pulling us through all this. So with that said, I've been going through the Philippians series from Community Bible Church (my church from back home) and have been listening to the sermons from Pastor Broggi; I would like to spend this next year memorizing Philippians.

For now thatz about it. I have a feeling this year might not be quite as jampacked, because this lil town of Storm Lake is alot slower paced, but I'm thrilled to see what God decides to do with us this year with the ministries that we have started and hope to start this year:).