2010 in Review... December

December

Well, I finally finished the year in review... before June!

What a blessed and busy year indeed.

My 2010 Christmas tree - I just loved all of my decorations this year!

Went to Julia's Christmas choir concert - I love when I can go to the Lewis children's events.

I made Christmas cookies with the Vrettos family and Jamie B.
Had such a good time, and made delicious treats! Also it was a lovely day, so we walked around Waynesville in the snow!

Had our annual college girls weekend in WCH. This photo was at Clifton Mill.
In the rain. But we had great shopping, great food, and such a fun time together.

ARC door decorating contest at work! We won!!!

My last Christmas program with my kiddos for a while. They are precious.

Tacky Office Christmas Party. Complete with sweaters and tacky gifts,

Whirlwind visit with Steven. Felt like we were running a marathon,
but we had 6 months of no visits while he was in Basic. It was such a fun few days.

I won an award at work - a surprise, and humbling.

FINALLY went to the Nutcracker with my mom. We always enjoy seeing things together,
and this was no exception. Catapulted me into the holiday spirit for sure!

2010 in Review... November

November

Sometimes when you can't see someone for Thanksgiving, or send them food - you make
a turkey/pie/sweet potato/sushi dinner to mail them. Laughing follows.



My birthday party theme this year was MacGyver... and my friends pulled it off brilliantly! Themed foods, games and costumes. Good times were had by all - and I've finally gotten images of Gotschalls stache out of my mind. My $2 Donald Trump wig worked quite well for MacGyver, too!



My fav picture of Matthew-batthew and I



On Black Friday instead of shopping we held our first annual "Princess Pancake Picnic" and it was a blast. We wore fancy clothes, play games, made fairy princess wands/crowns, and of course ate pancakes!



2010 in Review... October

October
Busy month in October! I'll let the pictures speak... the only photo I need to find is when Ka'Shira and I saw Rocky Horror. That was quite the adventure!


I dressed like an ice cream sundae in public for my goddaughters!



Continuing the traditon of The Pumpkin show with 2 aunts, mom and dad.

Pumpkin display at the Circleville Pumpkin Show!

Swiss Fest tradition returns... this time with a baby!



Sweet Nora had a first birthday and lovely
dedication on her grandparents farm



This month had some of the prettiest Ohio sunsets I've ever seen!



Sweet Elijah James was born - watching his birth was another blessing.



2010 in Review... September

September

Matthew turned 1 and was baptized this month. What a blessing to celebrate his sweet little life with so many who love him. I made a Tootles cake, which is a character from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I spent an afternoon taking photos and eating yummy food with Ka'Shira, Bella and Avah at the Wilmington Corn Festival. Also learned about a particular type of engine there with my dad. The "One Love" walk fundraiser for CSI Jamaica and Project RAISE brought another visit with Lisa Lockwood in Waynesville. I met her daughter Laurel that day, and quite a few board members for CSI I'd only before known by name. Mom joined me, and was able to meet a number of people that day, too. For Derek's birthday I made a turntable cake... and gave him a fake rubber heart. Hence the murderous photo. I think it was a success.

2010 in Review... August

August

August started out with Steven's departure to Army Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and thus the letter writing season began. While I liked writing and recieving letters, I was very much okay with the end of that season in December and starting up daily communication again.

Also in August, this world lost an amazing man when Dr. David Hoover passed away. What a celebration service of his life though! I'm sure he was pleased, and he was such a blessing. He gave the best hugs and advice, and was a no nonsense man of God. He has been missed.

 Our friends went to the Columbus Zoo together that month, and had fun despite a shortened day from the rain. Nina, Jordan, Junior, Jaques, Ka'Shira, Avah, Becky, Ryan, Matthew and I saw polar bears and fish. And rain. And a carousel. Good times just the same. The zoo is so fun when you experience it with children.

I helped with Dora's 10th birthday party, which was a "Cake Making" extravaganza! I taught them how to decorate with fondant, and it really was a lot of fun. And a big mess!

The first annual"Be the Church" Sunday was held at my church - with services on a Sunday morning being replaced with outreach activities. Already our second one is scheduled for this May. It was a blessing to take part in the Children's stations.


"Goodbye" Senior Picture Pose



Cake Party

At the Zoo



BOUNCY HOUSE for "Be the Church" Day



2010 in Review... July

July

July was a fun month, but not a lot happened. Christina's birthday, and recovery from a busy June mostly. One adventure was camping in Kentucky with Steven over the 4th of July weekend. Not quite halfway between OH and TN, but closer. Great weather, great campsite, great antiquing, hiking, caving, and just resting. Nice little mini-break for the month. And we didn't have to go anywhere for great fireworks... picnic blanket in a field, and they were right above us!

2010 in Review... June

June:

Warm June - Summer at last! June brought the birthdays of Becky and Steven, Avah's very first birthday, a trip to the Shoe for a work training, StudioGo! VBS at church and the First Annual Knoxed Up with my college peeps in the Vern. It was a good month indeed!

Avah J turns 1!

Shoe

Not their first meeting, but the first interacting of Nora and Matthew

Knoxed-Up 2010

2010 in Review... May

May:
My mom's birthday is in May, and her cake in 2010 was a Lemon Creme Cake - as I attempted to recreate that cake from The Spaghetti Warehouse. That didn't really happen, but it was a delicious lemon cake!

I went to Women of Faith weekend for the 2nd time with Nina, Kelli, Shena, Mel and Sierra. We stayed at a super cute hotel (The Loft) in the Arena District with b&w photography and exposed brick. Other than being too tiny to hold all of us, it was a cool time.

Beyond that the rest of my month was spent in Jamaica. I blogged about that quite a bit, so I'll summarize with photos and this thought: I prayed to be in the moment, and I was. The photos don't reflect the people I met or will work with in the future - I didn't often photograph them, but I haven't forgotten their faces. Below are moments of finding my new normal instead.



My new future roomate. Or its cousin.



My fancy toes from AnnaKay



Bedwards: The Wal-Mart of Highgate!



My first time driving on the wrong side of the road/car.



Sometimes you just have to be direct! This was my fav "billboard" in Port Maria.



Last night in JA for 2010 - the most spectacular sunset in MoBay.