2022 was a wiilllllld ride! We made a lot of memories, we traveled, we spent time with family. It was a busy year, but an amazing one.
January
For the year 2022, I chose the word “presence” to remind me to put down the phone and be present, but also to remind me to focus on the presence of God in my life. I can honestly say God was certainly present in my life in 2022. There is a lot that has happened, and His hand was in all of it.
Shortly thereafter, our entire household caught “the rona.” We spent about a week shut indoors, down for the count. I took the hardest hit and missed almost two weeks of work. I am hoping for good health and no more “going viral…” unless it’s related to my blog.
I also shared my vision board– I’ll be making another one this year and I can’t wait.
February
You know this girl loves a good paint project. This year, I gave spray painting a go and decided I really like it. I shared my tips for spray painting furniture.
We also came down with a stomach bug, and went to a wonderful Valentine’s Day dinner at our church. This is our church at sunset, as seen from the historical church on the hill. It’s a beautiful place, but it’s filled with loving people who love the Lord. We are truly blessed.
March
In March, I shared some artwork I created for my daughters’ rooms.
Also in March, our kids attended their first competition of the season and they really racked up some big wins- in fact, all of their dances placed. It was amazing.
April
We went fishing a lot in the month of April. Our neighbors graciously let us fish in their pond and we love it. We even saw a river otter this year in the pond.
We celebrated Easter Sunday with our sweet church family, and it was such a blessing. This also marked our one year anniversary of finding our new church home.
We did some landscaping in the backyard and built some raised beds for veggie plants.
The girls competed again, and while they didn’t place as high in the rest of their numbers, E won a crowd pleaser award and their group number placed first overall and won a judges’ award.
May
E finished fifth grade and A “graduated” kindergarten.
The girls had great school years- E had her best one yet- and I was sad to see it end.
Just look how cute!
The girls danced at Shake the Ground and I took probably my favorite picture ever of Aubrey and her friend.
And my husband and I celebrated 13 years of marriage.
June
School let out, and a bunch of us teachers headed to Orlando for the AVID National Convention and it was awesome. I’ve never been that far away from my girls and husband for so long, so it was a bit hard.
Shortly after I returned from Orlando, Emorie also celebrated her 11th birthday.
We went to Wilmington to catch a Chatham Rabbits show.
Here are the girls posing with Sarah McCombie.
The girls danced in the annual dance recital and Emorie won the studio’s scholarship award for dedication.
July
We headed to Tennessee for the girls’ national dance competition. We experienced Wilderness at the Smokies (kind of like Great Wolf Lodge), Dollywood, and also the Inn at Christmas Place.
On the way home, we stopped by my alma mater, Western Carolina University, so the girls could see where I went to college.
August
Back to school! I started my sixteenth year in education, Aubrey went to first grade, and Emorie started…middle school.
We also had a very good Vacation Bible School, in which the kids loved. I participated, too and had a blast.
Also, the kids’ Dance Competition Season kicked off hard and fierce! E began her sixth year competing and A began her third.
September
Emorie took up cross country and loved it. She even ended up placing in the top ten before her season ended.
We also attended an Old Fashioned Farmer’s Day in our community and had a great time.
We began working on our backyard some more and finished our backporch project.
October
We participated in our church’s Trunk or Treat and had a blast.
November
Aubrey turned seven and we headed back to Dollywood to celebrate her birthday. It was cold and rainy, but we loved DreamMore Resort and we had a good time. We plan to go back!
We also went to West Virginia to see my family for Thanksgiving and had a blast. We somehow managed to not take a single picture. Why, I do not know.
December
December was one of the busiest months of all! We kicked off our December with the town’s annual Christmas parade and tree lighting. Our daughters danced in the parade with their dance studio, and performed at the tree lighting.
We also attended our church’s annual Christmas dinner and candlelight Christmas ceremony. Aubrey was an Angel in our church’s Christmas play this year.
We celebrated Christmas with both sides of Michael’s family and we are celebrating this weekend with both sides of mine.
Christmas at home was a somewhat quiet affair this year, but a wonderful one.
2022 held some challenges, but God was good to us, as He always is. I cannot wait to see how He blesses us in 2023!