1. In January, the Lord opened the doors for me to start grad school at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary's extension campus in Vancouver. I was giddy at the prospect of going back to school, and my class on Tuesday mornings was the highlight of my week. My semester at Golden Gate was an incredible experience, and even though it's been put on hold during this current season of my life, I'm looking forward to completing my degree in the future.
2. As a belated birthday present, Rochelle took me to see the Harlem Globetrotters in Portland for my 24th birthday. I'm sensing basketball-themed celebrations to my past couple of birthdays, wouldn't you agree?
3. After college, I lived with three incredible roommates for a summer, and the four of us have continued to stay in touch and be actively involved in each others lives ever since. Meeting Michelle's beautiful little girl Ellianna for the first time in March just warmed my auntie-heart, and having the four of us together again reminded me just how much of a blessing these women are in my life.
4. In April, my amazing big sister organized a team to participate in the MS Walk 2013. Despite pouring rain and frigid temperatures, our team showed up in full force, raised over $1000 for MS research, and my sis won a well-deserved award for organizing the "Rookie Team of the Year"! It was awesome to see the love and support from so many people as we did what we could to fight against the disease that has had such a huge impact on our family.
5. Also in April, worship leader Jaime Jamgochian came to TFBC, and my friend Sean and I got to have lunch with her before her concert. It was so cool to get to spend some time with someone who is passionately following the Lord as a single woman, and I was deeply encouraged by our conversations!
6. Cheesy as it may sound, I took a whirlwind 24-hour trip to SW Missouri at the beginning of May that changed my life. It was my first visit to SBU for an on-site interview for a Resident Director position there, and little did I know that place would soon become my home.
7. As a result of that 24-hour interview/trip, I accepted the job and packed my life into a U-Haul to be shipped across the country.
8. But before I headed east, I squeezed in one more trip to sunny Southern California to celebrate Alise's college graduation/commissioning into the US Army.
9. I officially moved to Missouri in June, and spent the summer car shopping, settling in, sweating a lot, making friends, and acclimating to a new culture and new location. I finally bought a car (well, two actually, but that's a long story!) and prepared for the start of the school year.
10. August brought the official start of my job, the fall months consisted of RA training, the beginning of the semester, and surviving my first Homecoming.
11. The Seattle Seahawks took the NFL by storm this fall, and when they visited St. Louis in October, I was there, cheering like the super-fan that I am! We narrowly pulled off the win, but the highlight of the night had to be meeting Russell Wilson and Golden Tate after the game!
12. After almost seven months in the midwest, I headed back to the west coast for Christmas. It was a packed few weeks including a roomie reunion, a wedding, and a trip to the beach!
13. But of course the highlight of Christmas vacation was spending time with my crazy family. We got entire-family pictures taken for the first time (ever!) by the wonderful and talented d.louise photography and spending time with these lovely people was the perfect way to draw 2013 to a close.
2013 was chock full of change - both hard and beautiful. I think I've grown and learned more in the past six months than in the past six years combined, and I won't lie about the fact that most of the time that growth hurt - a lot! But I'm looking forward to continued growth in 2014 and seeing what exciting adventures the Lord has in store for this year!
