2014

I flew home to visit my family and we spent some time at Walt Disney World! // Alan and I enjoyed R&R and deployment came to an end. // My word for the year was less, with a general goal for me to work toward being content with less and stewarding God's provisions better. I've both struggled and succeeded with this. On the upside, even my struggles usually result in conviction and lessons learned for the future. // I ran three 5ks. Two were on the same day. // I flew to California to attend The Yellow Conference, where God showed up in amazing ways, and returned home with an idea but no idea how to implement it. I'm still stuck there. :( // That idea was The Too Much Day, a blogging community where people can write about days when life is just too much and what they really wish their friends/families/people in general knew about those tough days and what they really need. // We drove to South Padre Island for a mini vacation. // Alan received an Army Commendation Medal for his work during deployment and was also honored with the Honorable Order of St. Barbara. // I earned my master's degree in licensed clinical mental health counseling and was also a co-recipient of the University Mission Award. // We started creating our own Christmas/Advent traditions. // My parents and sister drove down to visit us for a few days.

Overall, 2014 was a year of great blessing. That's not to say that there weren't some trials, but I'm learning to focus more on the blessings instead of dwelling on the negative.