i can't believe it is already 2009. time has passed faster than i ever imagined it would.
2008 was filled with so many wonderful things, and as the year came to a close, i couldn't help but reflect on everything that happened.
january... found me at my little sister brindy's baptism, trying to give a talk on the gift of the holy ghost. i sounded like a mouse to a ridiculously long lasting cold, forcing me to whisper like the holy ghost whispers to us.
february... brought austin a big white envelope with a call to the toronto canada mission, his departure set for june 18th. a week later, i played mom while my parents went on a romantic weekend away for their 22nd anniversary. all the while, balancing how much i really was in love with branson, and if i could see us having a 22nd anniversary.
march... started by calling the temple to see what days were available to get married in june, finding the engagement ring i had dreamed of for years, and after many painfully poof-y dresses, finally finding the perfect dress. i was completely caught off guard when i found my ring in a fortune cookie, with a fortune that said "shan, will you marry me?" and the planning officially began.
april... blessed me with the opportunity of going through the temple on my birthday with one of my best friends, my brother austin. that was the best birthday present i could have ever received.
may... was spent finishing up plans, politely arguing with the reception center's wedding coordinator as to how many people were realistically going to come to our wedding reception. "i'm pretty sure there will be close to 400 people there" i said a few times, quite confidently. "oh, honey, 400 is a h u g e turnout. 300 is a very big wedding. i would be surprised if more than 250 people came." "i know you've done this a lot, and i know that 400 is a lot of people, but just wait. they'll come. i'm right, you know..."
june... began with the funeral of my grandad. we were peacefully heartbroken, but reassured from the blessings of eternal families, that he would be able to be present somehow at our wedding. and i'm sure he was. the day before our wedding was forcast to snow - in june?! my thinking, exactly. but we were blessed with an absolutely perfect day! not a single thing went wrong - i couldn't have asked for a better wedding day. it was truly perfect. and wouldn't you know it - at the end of the night, the wedding coordinator told my dad she had never seen a wedding so big. she counted over 400 people, giving up towards the end. hmph. i was right. :) our honeymoon was short and sweet with a 3 days get-a-way to park city, but we hurried back for austin's farewell/my talk in church/father's day. and within the next week, we said goodbye to austin for two years, and left him in the hands of the Lord. we then headed to san diego for an open house reception that was also lovely. it was such a beautiful place. we took the "to be continued" from our park city trip and resumed our honeymoon after the open house, spending time on the beach, at the san diego zoo, at pantages theater watching wicked and at disneyland, the happiest place on earth.
july... brought me a new job. my days at the utah league of credit unions had reached an end. i was offered a job at shadow mountain records, the record label of deseret book co. i had big shoes to fill, but seemed to fit in well and caught on quickly.
august... sent us back to san diego for a weekend. branson's brother chad was off to the santiago chile mission. we flew out - my first ever plane ride - to hear him give his farewell talk, and to spend some time with him before we placed him in the same hands we had just barely placed austin.
september... blessed me with a new nephew! jack larson curtis was born, making me an aunt for the second time. we loved spending time with jack and wesley, as well as kendyll, brad and other family too.
october... led us to grandma and grandpa lowman's. we were recruited as moving help and enjoyed spending time with my newly acquired grandparents. it was such a great experience to spend time with grandma pauline and help her sort through all of her many possessions. i was lucky enough to even inherit a few. what a way to welcome a new granddaughter-in-law!
november... made history with the most interesting election to date. barack obama was elected president of the united states of america, envoking many emotions all acrossed the country. i am still hopeful that the attitude of "yes we can" will linger in the hearts of those running our country, but more importantly that we remember that God has a watchful eye and that "yes He can". it kicked off my favorite month of the year - the month of gratitude. our thanksgiving was spent with branson's family, with a pre-thanksgiving spent with my family. i made a lengthy list of things i was grateful for... a list that grows longer every day still.
december... marked our 6 month anniversary. i still can't believe it has been 6 months already! my, how time flies. we spent many a hour with family and loved decorating our house for christmas. we hosted a few christmas get-togethers and attended a few more. the spirit of christmas was definitely present in our house. and we enjoyed our first christmas together. and might i just say it was a great one!
2008 was a wonderful year! and i have a feeling 2009 with be even better.
it will be a year of love and laughter. and i could not be more exciting for it.
so here's to a year filled with happiness and joy, love and success.
happy new year!
2008 was filled with so many wonderful things, and as the year came to a close, i couldn't help but reflect on everything that happened.
january... found me at my little sister brindy's baptism, trying to give a talk on the gift of the holy ghost. i sounded like a mouse to a ridiculously long lasting cold, forcing me to whisper like the holy ghost whispers to us.
february... brought austin a big white envelope with a call to the toronto canada mission, his departure set for june 18th. a week later, i played mom while my parents went on a romantic weekend away for their 22nd anniversary. all the while, balancing how much i really was in love with branson, and if i could see us having a 22nd anniversary.
march... started by calling the temple to see what days were available to get married in june, finding the engagement ring i had dreamed of for years, and after many painfully poof-y dresses, finally finding the perfect dress. i was completely caught off guard when i found my ring in a fortune cookie, with a fortune that said "shan, will you marry me?" and the planning officially began.
april... blessed me with the opportunity of going through the temple on my birthday with one of my best friends, my brother austin. that was the best birthday present i could have ever received.
may... was spent finishing up plans, politely arguing with the reception center's wedding coordinator as to how many people were realistically going to come to our wedding reception. "i'm pretty sure there will be close to 400 people there" i said a few times, quite confidently. "oh, honey, 400 is a h u g e turnout. 300 is a very big wedding. i would be surprised if more than 250 people came." "i know you've done this a lot, and i know that 400 is a lot of people, but just wait. they'll come. i'm right, you know..."
june... began with the funeral of my grandad. we were peacefully heartbroken, but reassured from the blessings of eternal families, that he would be able to be present somehow at our wedding. and i'm sure he was. the day before our wedding was forcast to snow - in june?! my thinking, exactly. but we were blessed with an absolutely perfect day! not a single thing went wrong - i couldn't have asked for a better wedding day. it was truly perfect. and wouldn't you know it - at the end of the night, the wedding coordinator told my dad she had never seen a wedding so big. she counted over 400 people, giving up towards the end. hmph. i was right. :) our honeymoon was short and sweet with a 3 days get-a-way to park city, but we hurried back for austin's farewell/my talk in church/father's day. and within the next week, we said goodbye to austin for two years, and left him in the hands of the Lord. we then headed to san diego for an open house reception that was also lovely. it was such a beautiful place. we took the "to be continued" from our park city trip and resumed our honeymoon after the open house, spending time on the beach, at the san diego zoo, at pantages theater watching wicked and at disneyland, the happiest place on earth.
july... brought me a new job. my days at the utah league of credit unions had reached an end. i was offered a job at shadow mountain records, the record label of deseret book co. i had big shoes to fill, but seemed to fit in well and caught on quickly.
august... sent us back to san diego for a weekend. branson's brother chad was off to the santiago chile mission. we flew out - my first ever plane ride - to hear him give his farewell talk, and to spend some time with him before we placed him in the same hands we had just barely placed austin.
september... blessed me with a new nephew! jack larson curtis was born, making me an aunt for the second time. we loved spending time with jack and wesley, as well as kendyll, brad and other family too.
october... led us to grandma and grandpa lowman's. we were recruited as moving help and enjoyed spending time with my newly acquired grandparents. it was such a great experience to spend time with grandma pauline and help her sort through all of her many possessions. i was lucky enough to even inherit a few. what a way to welcome a new granddaughter-in-law!
november... made history with the most interesting election to date. barack obama was elected president of the united states of america, envoking many emotions all acrossed the country. i am still hopeful that the attitude of "yes we can" will linger in the hearts of those running our country, but more importantly that we remember that God has a watchful eye and that "yes He can". it kicked off my favorite month of the year - the month of gratitude. our thanksgiving was spent with branson's family, with a pre-thanksgiving spent with my family. i made a lengthy list of things i was grateful for... a list that grows longer every day still.
december... marked our 6 month anniversary. i still can't believe it has been 6 months already! my, how time flies. we spent many a hour with family and loved decorating our house for christmas. we hosted a few christmas get-togethers and attended a few more. the spirit of christmas was definitely present in our house. and we enjoyed our first christmas together. and might i just say it was a great one!
2008 was a wonderful year! and i have a feeling 2009 with be even better.
it will be a year of love and laughter. and i could not be more exciting for it.
so here's to a year filled with happiness and joy, love and success.
happy new year!
1 comment:
Happy New Year to you! You did have a wonderful 2008!
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