Out With the Old, In With the New :)

I remember starting 2012 and hoping it was as wonderful as 2011. Little did I know it would be one big roller coaster.  Starting 1-2-12 I knew it was going to be a hard year. It's hard to explain in words, but it stemmed from one email from my manager and I just knew. I was pretty much right, but it wasn't ALL bad. I had given up hope on being able to get my own place. I remember my mom coming home one night and I could tell she wanted to talk, but thought she was waiting for me to put Maddy to bed. Once I came back she proceeded to tell me she found a for rent sign at a duplex that I had been keeping my eye on. I about flipped out. I wouldn't let myself get too excited and was trying to find the negatives to contain my excitement lol. I never would have guessed in April I would be signing a lease for mine and Maddy's new house. Looking back the wait was totally worth it. This is one thing I KNOW God had planned for me and Maddy and I thank Him often for His perfect plan.  Signing my lease came soon after tornadoes that had touched down near where my duplex is. God wanted to wait until after the tornadoes, so I wouldn't have to endure the anxiety a tornado brings. The tornado incident is just ONE reason I waited three years. He was waiting for me to draw closer to Him so I would continue to do so once I moved out. Honestly, the timing was just perfect. I still find myself looking around amazed that me and Maddy finally have a place to call home that is ours (temporarily lol).

This is the day we had tornadoes...I think. Weather really fascinates me and I'm constantly checking the radar and taking screen shots of it from my phone to share with other people.

This was the day we signed our lease.
Prior to finding out I would be moving out, I also celebrated my 29th birthday. We celebrated on St. Patrick's Day and it was a lot of fun. I always choose Olive Garden because it is my all time favorite restaurant. In May we headed down to Panama City Beach, FL with my mom and step dad for a few days. This was the first year Maddy really enjoyed being at the beach. She was SO excited!

We headed back down to Panama in June to stay a week. It was my first vacation alone with Maddy, and she did really well!
In July we celebrated my mom's 50th birthday and the fourth of July. Every year we go to a local amusement park called Lake Winnie...it's always a blast :) Maddy rode her first coaster and it made me tear up lol. August is when life became very stressful for me. Mostly just work, but as a single mom always fearing for job just gets exhausting. We went up to Gatlinburg for the weekend and went to Dollywood and celebrated my mom and step dad's 10th anniversary. Maddy associates "mountains" with Dollywood...oops! September was Maddy's 3rd birthday and it was a lot of fun. She got her slide and to this day begs me to go outside lol. I'm so fortunate to have a family that could help get this for her...it has made her dreams come true. October was Halloween, November was Thanksgiving, and then December. December 7 at 3:00 p.m. is when I found out that instead of having a urinary tract infection like I thought, Manny actually had kidney failure. My world came crashing down. He spent 3 days in the hospital. Since leaving the hospital...after he got his sleep in...he became a new dog. He was just like a puppy again. I knew his numbers had gone up some when I went back to have them checked, and they did but not as bad. The vet gave him 3 months to 3 years to live. He is part of the family and I feel like he is my second child. Him and Maddy have really formed a tight bond and I am no where NEAR ready to lose him! He is only 5 years old.

I started 2012 out wanting to get my faith back where it was when I first got saved. I can say it isn't 100% back, but I am so much closer now than I was starting out. I highly recommend the devotional Jesus Calling. I started 2013 out trying to find ways to not stress about things and let God handle it. Every where I turn I am seeing not to worry, God's got it and reading about how we should rest in God and let Him handle our problems. I don't feel like this year is going to be a HORRIBLE year, but I do think it will be a year of teaching me to let God handle everything. I feel like it will be a year of tests. I am hopeful that it at least feels better than last year. I am so thankful that God does take care of me because sometimes I just don't know what to do, but He does. I need to be the best I can at all times and let Him do the rest. I would never have survived last year without God and of coarse my family. Here's to a New Year!!!