Top 13 of 2013

It's been about my usual six month stretch from blogging, so I thought I'd hop on and give the bi-annual update before time gets away too soon.

I originally began by thinking about 2013 and I could not think of a single "fun" thing that happened that was worth noting. Neal helped me realize not only did a lot happen this year...but we even had some fun! 

13 - We started out the year with a big change for Neal, as he was made the Sunday School President of our Ward. This calling obviously makes the very most sense for someone like Neal, as he can and often does give lessons at the last minute! It has been a good learning experience and helped Neal rediscover what he loves about teaching the gospel. 

12 - One of my friends introduced me to doTERRA essential oils at the beginning of 2013. I was very skeptical at first, but now use them for everything and I'm in love! It has been very empowering for me to be able to have less invasive tools to promote my health - both mentally and physically. I also took some classes and video training to learn their massage techniques. I'm not great at it, but it has been nice to use them to help Neal and other people with the various stressors they have.

11 - Amid his busy schedule of school, work, church, etc., Neal was able to write a book review AND got it published in the Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture. We were very excited about this and the small, but crucial step it plays in Neal's future goals as an author/apologist/genius. 

10 - I attended a statewide awards banquet at work (RISE). I had nominated one of my staff to receive an award and was really excited that I got to present this to her. It was a great occasion as a supervisor to be able to show some appreciation to a staff member that has done so much to assist me in my position. I was also surprised to win an award myself for "Exceeding Expectations". I put a lot of hours, energy and emotion into my job, so it was nice to be recognized. 

9 - In June, Neal and I were able to use a Christmas gift from my parents to go see "Jersey Boys" at Off Broadway! This was such a nice reprieve from the hecticness of our lives. It was nice to have a night out on the town and enjoy some great "art" and music! 

8 - Also in June, I was blessed to be with one of my clients when she passed away. I miss this client an awful lot, as she often brought the laughter and humor into my work days. Though this doesn't seem like a highlight to a year, it was a life experience I will not ever forget. There was something so peaceful, calm and sweet knowing that God recognized the exact time she needed to leave this life and she went in such a beautiful way. 

7 - Neal was able to go back to Florida and North Carolina to see his brother Scott and his family and then help his brother, Devin, drive his van across the country to Utah. Though Neal will often refer to this as his journey through an 800 mile corn field, it was definitely one of his top highlights of the year. He was especially grateful to have quality time with his brothers, which has become more and more of a luxury as his family has become more and more spread out. 

6 - Neal's parents invited us to attend the Glenn Beck "Man in the Moon" presentation during the summer. It rained a LOT before this, so it was wet and cold....but it was a great experience! A very creative way to provide a gospel message.

This was a picture Neal's sister Sara took while we were there. I love it!

5 - This year I was a little more bold in my work parties and hosted three different dances for my clients! We held one for Valentines Day, one 80s dance and then a Christmas Dance. It's so fun for me to see my clients enjoy the music -- and even more fun for me to let loose and dance again! Hosting these dances is my new work addition. I love it!

This was me in my "80s" get up for the dance!

4 - I'm not sure what possessed our Bishop, but they called me to be the Ward Organist this year! It's a disaster every week in many different ways. But I have been learning a few things and I think I'm improving....slowly. It's a great way to develop a new talent. 

3 - Neal and I were able to stay at the Family Support and Treatment Center all year. We love living here and working here more than we could have anticipated when we decided to move in. This has been a great blessing for us in so many different ways. Our goal this year is to help one of the little girls realize we really are married even though we don't have kids. And we're not "mom and dad", we're just "husband and wife". Simple concepts we easily take for granted. :)

This was our flower garden this year. It exploded a few weeks after this. It was absolutely gorgeous!

2 - To prove Neal's success (which many of us just aren't intelligent enough to understand), FAIR (now FairMormon) did us the benefit of awarding Neal the "John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award" . Neal could explain this more accurately and more eloquently, but basically they think he is a really great writer, really great apologist, has really good ideas and is making remarkable contributions to the apologetic world. I'll leave you all a little spoiler alert...Neal is currently working on approving the final versions of some of his work in the queue to be published later this month AND was just approved to work on a Scripture Mastery Commentary mini series for Interpreter. He's always got projects going!

This is Neal giving his acceptance speech., which he felt he botched and later reposted his "what I should have said" speech on his blog. 

1- For those of you who don't know, Neal and I have been "blessed" with the challenge of infertility. In June, I had a major reconstructive surgery to try to eliminate some of the barriers that exist(ed). This was only moderately successful, so I went in for a second surgery in October to target the same area. In November, we emptied our bank account and began our first cycle of IVF. The day before Christmas Eve we found out that the cycle had been unsuccessful and we weren't pregnant. I know it's unorthodox to make this announcement and even more unorthodox to have it as our #1 highlight of 2013 - but Neal and I both feel so blessed to have gotten this far in our fertility journey and we are hopeful that 2014 will help us continue to progress towards our goal of having children.

This is a picture of the embryo they transferred that didn't make it. I love it anyway.

2013 allowed us to experience a lot of things. A lot of happiness. A lot of heartbreak. A lot of life.