2012, it's gonna be swell...

Happy New Year!  It's hard to believe that 2012 has arrived.  So much has happened in the last twelve months, and so much more is going to happen in the next few months.  Life has been a whirlwind since my last blog entry, but I'm thankful for all the wonderful moments that I've been able to spend with many of the special people in my life.  Here's just a bit of the highlights:

• went to a FABULOUS Christmas concert at a church in Fresno that featured 8 different Christian artists, including my favorite, Tyrone Wells.  I was able to shake his hand and chat with him for a bit after the show, and that was just the icing on the cake.  :)
• yummy dinner and salsa dancing with my two soon-to-be roommates, Cailah and Rose.  Cailah is here visiting family and friends over her break from working in Costa Rica and Rose will be joining the SI staff a few months after I get down there.  Lots of laughs and silly moments indicated many good times ahead with these ladies.
• hanging out with three dear friends from high school and college and two of their darling baby boys!  What a precious gift to spend time with my friends' babies.
• three Christmases in two days with both sides of the family.  I am blessed to have parents, grandparents, and extended family who love the Lord and desire to honor Him in our celebration of His birth.  
• a Christmas breakfast and party with my Visalia girls where we drew a name and made a homemade gift for our "secret santa."  I do not consider myself very creative and was blown away by the ideas these girls came up with.  I have much to learn!
• beach trip with the Frantz family for two nights.  It was the last time the six of us will be able to go to Pismo before my brother and sister-in-law have their baby and I move.  A fabulous dinner at McClintock's and quality time together was much needed 
• and to end/begin 2011/2012, a trip up to Yosemite to enjoy the Lord's beautiful creation and go ice-skating!  So much fun and my rollerblading skills proved to transfer to the ice rink just fine.  

Oh, and in the middle of all these wonderful adventures and time spent with loved ones, I moved out of the house my roommate Kristin and I had been in for the past few years and moved in with my cousin and dear friend Annie.  A really neat blessing that came out of the moving process was something that happened when I was selling some of my furniture.  I put some pictures up on facebook of furniture I had for sale and I sold two of the three pieces the following day to a gal I knew from college.  The following day I put my couch up on craigslist and had several people interested real quick.  The lady that ended up coming to buy the couch brought with her a family from Dinuba who had a truck to help her move it.  The women that the truck belonged to looked at my room filled with bags and asked what I was going to do with all that stuff.  I responded that I was planning on donating it and she proceeded to tell me that she would be happy to take it because she works for a church that gives clothes and other things to needy children and families.  Long story short, I sold my couch for the price I asked for it AND had my living room cleared out of a TON of donated items all in one swipe.  I think the Lord knew that I was feeling stressed and crunched for time and He sent just the perfect person to buy my couch and to take my donations. And we wonder why we EVER doubt if He hears us and answers our prayers!

I'm looking forward to the new staff training with Students' International that I will be attending this Wednesday through Friday.  It will be so great to see my field directors again and also to get to know this organization I'm coming on board with better. :)