in 2013, i learned...

::you have to be brave. 

bravery this year looked a whole lot like jumping in with both feet into photography. it started with an online class and then morphed into taking more photos for people and even creating a facebook page (which felt very silly and very terrifying). 

i'm definitely still an ameteur and need to learn so much more, 

but it felt good to try. to put myself out there. to be brave.

::sir winston may be more of a car camping dog than a backpacking dog. 

we learned this the hard way, as he faked his own death, only to be perfectly fine after a comfortable night in a stranger's b&b. 

maybe he's got a little bit of diva in him, but 2013 showed me that i will always love him just the same.

::c.s. lewis was really onto something when he said, "there are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." 

we said goodbye to our basement apartment this year and moved into a pretty awesome space.

it's really perfect for us, and we love it.

::there is great power in contentment. 

2013 felt a lot like finally getting into a groove. 

feeling more at peace. identifying areas where i needed to adjust my expectations and choosing thankfulness.

::beer is more than coors light and college frat games.

 there is an art to it, and, if you're lucky, it can create a pretty great community.

::a gift can mean the world. 

this year, i received the most thoughtful gift, and it is a daily reminder of friendship and love.

friendships morph and change over the years, but if you're lucky, the good ones will stay deep and constant, despite it all.

::marriage is hard and yet so beautiful.

it is hard because it takes us out of our own worlds and forces us to love another person with a selfless heart. 

but it is beautiful because we see the world through another's eyes and find more wonder and goodness than we ever could on our own.

::God's creation is rich with beauty and wonder.

go explore it and prepare to be amazed.

::running is good for my soul.

i spent a lot of my summer and fall running with two great friends.

we trained for a half marathon and dominated those 13.1 miles in october.

many days i don't want to lace up my shoes and get out there, but i know something inside of me is both brought alive and put at ease when i run.

::it's ok to be disappointed with God, 

while still knowing there is hope in the midst of this crazy life.

::summers are better with a bucket list, 

especially when you get to play volleyball at the park every week, make a cherry pie, and eat hot dogs at the ballpark. 

::never, never, never buy a new car, ever. 

because if you're anything like me, people will like to run into you. 

in 2013 i became an expert at calling my insurance company, and driving rental cars, and become best friends with the woman who manages the body shop. 

jealous? 

::just because something is hard, it doesn't make it bad.

teaching last year was hard (fortunately, some of my students still liked me at the end of it), and i struggled a lot. but i think i have turned a corner this year and am truly enjoying my job once again.

i know that last year gave me endurance and a little more grit to add to my resume.

::service makes life rich.

this year i helped organize a blogger event to collect a whole bunch of turkeys and canned goods for the denver rescue mission and also had the privilege of taking some of my students to serve there as well. 

they were two of the most meaningful things i did all year.

and last, but certainly not least...

::when you take something out of the oven, use a hot pad for the love of God.

hand burns are no joke.

______________________________________________________

these end of the year recaps just might be my favorite posts of all.

it's good to look back and remember.

to look through photos and recount memories and identify all the blessings that surround me every single day.

this life is such a gift. 

i hope i always leave space to remember and choose gratefulness. 

2013, you were good to us.
and i can't way to see all the lessons i will learn in the year to come.

 

2012. the good. the bad. and the ugly.

{i fully realize this post should have been written about like 10 days ago now, but we're still in january, so i feel like it's not too overdue.}

2012. 

where to even begin.

you were the year i got married. the year i said yes to spending this life with mr. lesley.

the year i walked down the aisle, changed my name, and started our family.

so, for that, i will always love you.

but the journey to that day was anything but easy.

let me just say it, being engaged pretty much sucks.

there are so many decisions to make. so many people to please. so many things to consider. 

i'm pretty sure i went crazy. like really crazy.

and cried more than anyone should cry during the "happiest time of their life." 

now don't get me wrong, some of my expectations of what this time in our lives would look like were met and exceeded. 

there were friends and family who surrounded us with love and support and worked tirelessly to make our wedding day more than i could have ever asked for. 

and for them i am eternally grateful.

but there were disappointments too.

they made you hard to handle, 2012.

and can we talk for a minute about how i cried on my wedding day? 

{and not the "this is so amazing, and i'm overwhelmed with love" kind of cry. more like the "i'm standing by an outdoor bathroom, under an overpass, and it's raining really hard, and we didn't get to do communion, and we couldn't play our favorite songs, and i'm super overwhelmed and upset" kind of cry.}

remember that one?

looking back now, i wouldn't change a thing about my wedding day, but june 16, 2012 was quite different than what i had planned.

and 2012, remember that time my husband of two and a half months moved to the other side of the country for an internship? 

yeah, that was fun. 

we are so not long distance people. 

and once again i was crying more than anyone really should.

but once again, this time apart reminded me of all the good people who made us feel so loved and supported and took such good care of us. 

and i would be amiss, 2012, not to mention all the other big moments your brought into my life...

during your year...

::we brought a brand, spankin' new car::

 ::i watched with such pride as my sister walked down the aisle and married the love of her life::

::mr. lesley and i had a pretty wonderful honeymoon in mexico::

::we took our first road trip and camping adventure with sir winston::

::i started a brand new teaching job:: 

and

::i cheered on my sister lele as she ran the chicago marathon::

just to name a few.

2012, you were great, but you were hard.

but you taught me one of the greatest lessons of my life...

life will almost never be what you expect.

so stop crying already and enjoy the ride.

what a year.

i think 2011 is my favorite year to date.

now, of course, it wasn't always unicorns, cupcakes, and roses, but the good definitely outweighed the bad.

and looking back i feel incredibly blessed and thankful.

in january, i got my first new year's kiss (it's totally normal to have your first new year's kiss at 25, right?), rescued sir winston from the shelter (his underbite won me over), and became the proudest momma you've ever seen.

in february i lost my wisdom teeth with the biggest tub of greek yogurt you've ever seen by my side and thoroughly enjoyed a couple days off of school due to the frigid temps. we lounged, crafted, played with sir winston, and refined our pallets at village inn. did you know they have free pie on wednesdays? 

changed. my. life. 

in march, i extreme snow shoe-d for the first time with only a few expletives on my tongue, celebrated mr. lesley's and my first anniversary, and spring breaked it up in costa rica. in costa rica we learned to rappel from water falls, use our limited spanish to order delicioso meals, and most importantly, that it's NEVER a good idea to drive a rental car in that country unless you like your blood pressure to rise to unimaginable heights. 

in april, sir winston graduated from doggie training classes with flying colors (or something like that), i decided to finally get up the nerve to sign up and start training for my first marathon, and mr. lesley and i started our relational discipleship groups at church, which really helped us connect and find a community we absolutely LOVE.

in may, i finished my second year of teaching middle school (that is quite an accomplishment in and of itself if you ask me), celebrated my 26th birthday and mr. lesley's 30th, and went to the greatest concert of my life, ADELE, with my big sis.

in june, heather and i dominated the steamboat half marathon (well, heather definitely dominated. i finished without passing out), mr. lesley summited mt. kilimanjaro (he is my hero), my step-sis lele came to visit us in denver (we pretty much had the best time ever), and my big sis got engaged, which is definitely one of the year's top highlights. 

in july, mr. lesley and i spent a great week with my family in illinois. then we took the train to michigan, where i had an amazing tour of the state and met his extended family for the first time. we even took a trip up to the UP, and it was beautiful. never underestimate michigan. it's pretty awesome.
after we returned to denver from pure michigan, mr. lesley's cousin came to visit. i met one of my favorite bands and rode in the moonlight classic through the streets of downtown denver. and, to top it all off, i went to my very first rodeo, cheyenne frontier days, with my favorite new friend of the summer, new friend kim:).

in august, mr. lesley and i had such a great time on our church camping trip, my dad came out to denver to help move my brother back to illinois, and we went rafting with mr. lesley's family and only lost one person on the way (sorry again kristin). we finished off the month by completing the warrior dash with poynter-lauschs. we just like jumped over fire, no bigs.

in september, i had the privledge of being in my friend bethany's wedding in oregon.i partied it up at her bachelorette party, reunited with my favorite college girlies (and got to introduce them to mr. lesley), and celebrated the couple while dancing to our hearts' content at the reception.
it. was. epic.

in october, well, we got ENGAGED (hands down, the best event of the year...possibly the decade!), celebrated with all of our favorite denver peeps, and ran a marathon (my step-sis even flew in for the day to cheer me on!) all in the same weekend (probably the greatest weekend of my life thus far). at the end of the month we ran the gorilla run with mr. lesley's family in honor of his cousin emma, and i went to my first football game as a lion's fan (or something like that:).

in november, mr. lesley and i spent a fabulous weekend in the mountains with our friends nancy and justin and krista and luke where they taught me to shoot a gun for the first time, and nancy and justin even let me do a wedding photo shoot for them! we were also able to spend thanksgiving with mr. lesley's family, and i was honored to help with my sister's engagement photo shoot (and got some good shots of my own).

and last but certainly not least, in december, we bid a found adieu to sir winston as he left for his prison training program  (yes, he is at the real, actual prison), celebrated my first christmas with mr. lesley and his fam, and just rang in the new year with my family and friends in illinois. 

even though 2011 was pretty incredible, i know the best is yet to come.
and i am so, so thankful.