2011 Review
This is a tradition carried over from my last blog:
1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before? Used a pressure canner
2. Did you keep your New Years resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I always resolve to try and eat healthier and exercise more. And I do a little bit better every year. (That's what I posted last year and it applies to this year as well!).
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend, Genevieve, gave birth to her third child, Molly. One of my cousins had a baby...but we didn't know she was coming until two weeks before the baby was born!
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes, Ben's dad passed away in August.
5. What countries did you visit? None!
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? A rigorous focus on my family. I want to be a better wife, mom, daughter, sister, etc. I'm hoping to spend more time with family and host more family get-togethers.
7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 29th; it's not only Luke and Brad's birthdays, but we also closed on our current home on that date. August 9th; the day Ben's dad passed away.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting in the habit of spending time with God in the mornings.
9. What was your biggest failure? I didn't lose those last 10 pounds!
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? None, thanks be to God!
11. What was the best thing you bought? Our new home. Not only because we like the house and land, but because we felt led by God throughout the entire process. Our new blender is pretty cool, too.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Ben. This has been a tough year with many surprises and uncertainties and he's weathered it all like a champ and has stayed strong for us. He also attended a 9-day wilderness medical training in February and passed the exams with a high score.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Does the U.S. government count?
14. Where did most of your money go? We had to cut a $17k check to the bank just to simply get out of our last home. That was painful, but we saved that money at God's prompting and felt like we were following him, so it wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 1. We're excited about the path God has been leading us in regards to downsizing and paying off debt. 2. Although I HATED the idea of leaving our church back in Imperial, we have found another church that we are really excited about.
16. What song will always remind you of 2011? None but Jesus by Hillsong
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? About the same, I'd say. There have been ups for all the downs, I think.
ii. thinner or fatter? Mayyybe a pound or two lighter.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer. Even having spent so much on getting out of our house, this mortgage is so much less AND we've learned a lot about how to live on less.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Spending time with God, blogging, and taking pictures.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Facebook. Seriously limiting my online time this year. Same for television.
20. How will you be spending the Winter? Exercising, reading up on gardening, bees, and chickens, reading to the boys.
22. Did you fall in love in 2011? I continue to fall in love with Ben and the boys.
23. What was your favorite month of 2011? July. It was crazy, but we really saw God come through for us.
24. What was your favorite TV program? The Office is still our favorite. Jericho was awesome, as was Survivors (BBC).
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope. Not a hater, such a waste of time.
26. What was the best book you read? The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven was really good. It really encouraged me to look past the physical and pray for/against the spiritual.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? None but Jesus by Hillsong, Charlotte Church Christmas songs.
28. What did you want and get? A little house on some acreage, a Blendtec.
29. What was your favorite film of this year? HP7.2
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Went out to dinner. I turned 31.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Losing weight.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? Just getting by, but tired of that look.
33. What kept you sane? Prayer.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? None, unless you count Ron Paul. But he's not a celebrity - he's the real deal.
35. What political issue stirred you the most? The election is on the horizon. We are behind Ron Paul all the way.
36. Who did you miss? Chelsea moved when we bought our new house and I miss her.
37. Who was the best new person you met? I'm excited about our new neighbors!
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011: Even when we follow God, our paths aren't necessarily direct from point A to point B. Sometimes it appears we are drifting or rambling. If we simply wait on God, he'll get us to where we need to be, in his time. We may not be moving fast enough for our likes, but we should serve him no matter what, no matter where we are, and he'll use us.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "There is no one else for me,
None but Jesus,
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise."
1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before? Used a pressure canner
2. Did you keep your New Years resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I always resolve to try and eat healthier and exercise more. And I do a little bit better every year. (That's what I posted last year and it applies to this year as well!).
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend, Genevieve, gave birth to her third child, Molly. One of my cousins had a baby...but we didn't know she was coming until two weeks before the baby was born!
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes, Ben's dad passed away in August.
5. What countries did you visit? None!
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? A rigorous focus on my family. I want to be a better wife, mom, daughter, sister, etc. I'm hoping to spend more time with family and host more family get-togethers.
7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 29th; it's not only Luke and Brad's birthdays, but we also closed on our current home on that date. August 9th; the day Ben's dad passed away.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting in the habit of spending time with God in the mornings.
9. What was your biggest failure? I didn't lose those last 10 pounds!
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? None, thanks be to God!
11. What was the best thing you bought? Our new home. Not only because we like the house and land, but because we felt led by God throughout the entire process. Our new blender is pretty cool, too.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Ben. This has been a tough year with many surprises and uncertainties and he's weathered it all like a champ and has stayed strong for us. He also attended a 9-day wilderness medical training in February and passed the exams with a high score.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Does the U.S. government count?
14. Where did most of your money go? We had to cut a $17k check to the bank just to simply get out of our last home. That was painful, but we saved that money at God's prompting and felt like we were following him, so it wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 1. We're excited about the path God has been leading us in regards to downsizing and paying off debt. 2. Although I HATED the idea of leaving our church back in Imperial, we have found another church that we are really excited about.
16. What song will always remind you of 2011? None but Jesus by Hillsong
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? About the same, I'd say. There have been ups for all the downs, I think.
ii. thinner or fatter? Mayyybe a pound or two lighter.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer. Even having spent so much on getting out of our house, this mortgage is so much less AND we've learned a lot about how to live on less.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Spending time with God, blogging, and taking pictures.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Facebook. Seriously limiting my online time this year. Same for television.
20. How will you be spending the Winter? Exercising, reading up on gardening, bees, and chickens, reading to the boys.
22. Did you fall in love in 2011? I continue to fall in love with Ben and the boys.
23. What was your favorite month of 2011? July. It was crazy, but we really saw God come through for us.
24. What was your favorite TV program? The Office is still our favorite. Jericho was awesome, as was Survivors (BBC).
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope. Not a hater, such a waste of time.
26. What was the best book you read? The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven was really good. It really encouraged me to look past the physical and pray for/against the spiritual.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? None but Jesus by Hillsong, Charlotte Church Christmas songs.
28. What did you want and get? A little house on some acreage, a Blendtec.
29. What was your favorite film of this year? HP7.2
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Went out to dinner. I turned 31.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Losing weight.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? Just getting by, but tired of that look.
33. What kept you sane? Prayer.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? None, unless you count Ron Paul. But he's not a celebrity - he's the real deal.
35. What political issue stirred you the most? The election is on the horizon. We are behind Ron Paul all the way.
36. Who did you miss? Chelsea moved when we bought our new house and I miss her.
37. Who was the best new person you met? I'm excited about our new neighbors!
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011: Even when we follow God, our paths aren't necessarily direct from point A to point B. Sometimes it appears we are drifting or rambling. If we simply wait on God, he'll get us to where we need to be, in his time. We may not be moving fast enough for our likes, but we should serve him no matter what, no matter where we are, and he'll use us.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "There is no one else for me,
None but Jesus,
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise."
I love when you do these - I'll need to copy it over to LJ and do it in the next few days.
ReplyDelete3. Anyone else? ;)
11. I was going to ask if it was a vitamix, but I saw later it was a blendtec. I LOVE their "will it blend" videos. If it's not a health risk after the fact (meaning, if it will totally wash out), my homeschooler challenge to the N's will be to make a lantern with glow sticks =)
13. *slow clap*
30. youngun =)
36. I've been meaning to ask you if she decided to move out or with you. I bet you miss her!
39, etc. I'm sure I've heard it - I listen to KLOVE all the time... I just can't place it. I'll have to pay closer attention.
Love you, Jenn! Happy New Year!
Haha, sorry Gen. I updated it. That's the only bad thing about doing this at the end of the year; it's hard to remember everything that happened. I couldn't remember what I did for my birthday, either.
ReplyDeleteI love the Blendtec. It's $$, but we burned through three blenders in 5 years so I figured it was worth a shot.
Yes, do this on LJ! Can't wait.