Memories of 2012

Our family Christmas card this year included our annual “letter,” (below) which for the past few years has been our “Top 10” for that year…

Our Top 10 in 2012

#10 We were reacquainted with Mercy Medical Center once again with Alissa this year…once in June from a concussion & in August for four days from a colon infection. We no longer take our health for granted!

#9 Zach is 15, and a Sophomore at Prairie. He has been/is involved in soccer, club soccer, show choir, & choir.

#8 Alissa is 18 and graduated from Prairie in May. She is in her first year at Kirkwood Community College, taking Liberal Arts classes. She celebrated her 1 year anniversary at Buffalo Wild Wings in June.

#7 Julie is enjoying her role as supervisor at Mission of Hope & celebrated 18 years in Mary Kay in February. She is once again a Bible Study Fellowship leader.

#6 Bill is still in the Cereal Lab at General Mills, which keeps him very busy, balancing different schedules.

#5 We had a wonderful summer vacation to St. Louis with the Herrings (took in a Cardinals’ game!), Chicago (saw a Chicago Fire soccer game!) & relaxed in Lake Geneva the end of June/ beginning of July.

#4 Julie spent a week with her best friend Tina in Sarasota with Tina’s mom, Barb in September. In the same month, Bill & Julie escaped for a long weekend away to Chicago. We went back to St. Louis with the Van Horne Gorkows over Thanksgiving break. (Goodness, we traveled a lot!)

#3 We celebrated our 20^th wedding anniversary in August & renewed our wedding vows in October. It was very special…something we’ll cherish forever!

#2 We made some priceless, never-to-forget memories with friends & family all year long!

#1 Our family continues to experience God’s faithfulness, grace & love as we stand on His promises, & rely on His provision. We are thankful for His Son, Jesus, for what He is doing in our lives, and for giving us the opportunity to journey through this life with you!

Those were the highlights of our family’s 2012.

But written in between the lines are so many more memories. Such as…

…Me leaving the LinnMar varsity soccer game in embarrassment of my husband and his not-so-positive remarks. We can laugh about it now, but as I sat in our car that day and missed our winning goal, I was not laughing. 🙂
…Finding a pair of ladies’ thong underwear (that wasn’t ours) in our hotel bed at the Geneva Ridge Resort this summer. Needless to say, we didn’t finish our vacation there.
…Celebrating Alissa’s graduation with a beautiful party in June. God gave us a wonderful gift at the end of our party…a double rainbow!
…Bill took his health seriously in 2012 and lost over 115 pounds! His wife couldn’t have been more proud of him. I have back the man that I married!
…Watching Bill enjoy his meal at Sapori Trattoria in Chicago which was full of clams, salmon, scallops, mussels, and crab. It about made me sick to my stomach! 🙂
…Bill ran his sixth 5K this fall! Alissa, Zach and I surprised him in cheering him on during the route.
…My 25th school class reunion took place this summer, as well as our tri-annual family reunion on back-to-back weekends. My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so much during those weekends! Great fun!
…Experiencing the false alarm from our security system the Saturday of our family reunion was a pretty nerve-wracking afternoon! Brother Steve came to the rescue!
…Our family experienced a Blake Shelton concert and a MercyMe concert this summer. If you read my posts about them, you already know what I experienced at each. 🙂
…Our land now holds a soccer field! Bill built a beautiful area for Zach, complete with two soccer goals!
…We’ve learned to appreciate moments made in the ER and in our doctor’s office, as we’ve been there much this year. The thousands of dollars we are still paying on medical bills have been a reminder of how thankful we are to have medical insurance!
…For those of you who really know our family, you’ll be amazed that we purchased a new big screen t.v. in November! I now wonder, what did we ever without it??!! 🙂
…Bible Study Fellowship has been life-changing for me, once again this year. I’m so thankful for what God is teaching me through it in our study of Genesis! I am reminded, we each are fearfully and wonderfully made!

I’m sure I’ll be reminded of more moments as 2012 comes to a close and as I reflect on our year. But for now, I’m so thankful for all God has allowed us to experience and for His blessing upon our lives!

I pray as you reflect on this year that you are reminded of God’s goodness to you too!