So, as my first blog post of 2011, I think that I may write about the past year, what has gone on, and how our lives have changed. Lets start month to month, for as much as I can remember.
January
January welcomed us to just over 6 months of marriage, our first Christmas and New Years together, and a brand new decade. I had recently quit my job as a receptionist and began studying cake decorating/baking. I also began an internship with a cupcake wrapper company.
Tim also started the year with a concussion from snowboarding. That was fun. The concussion was probably less painful than the following months battling with our insurance company to make sure it was covered. Success at last.
February
Six years ago on Feb 4, Tim asked me to be his girlfriend. As ups and downs followed, we started a journey together that would forever change our lives. Since being married, we now celebrate Feb 4 as our Valentines day, and skip out of Feb. 14. (in part because we both feel that it is far better to be loved, shown love, and do random kind things for each other throughout the year, and not only on the day that every is supposed to. Also, I like to rebel. So in celebrating Valentines day on Feb 4 we are in many ways sticking it to the man. So there).
March
My internship was in full force at this point. We began planning Cupcake Camp Seattle - the first annual cupcake event that brought together thousands of Seattle-folk and bakeries alike to raise money for the Hope Heart Institute. I loved every part of the planning process, as though my PR gene was being satisfied.
April
I celebrated by 22nd birthday on April 3rd with Tim taking me to one of my favorite Seattle cupcake shops, lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory with friends, and going to the Seattle Art Museum. One of my favorite pieces of art was a picture of a square that read, "The saddest circle is a square.". Yes, art piece, I think you're right.
CupcakeCamp Seattle was a hit! We had thousands show up and thousands of dollars donated. Shortly after this I officially start my own cake/cupcake decorating company: Captivating Creations.
April also brought the discovery of my 7th (yes, seventh) wisdom tooth and subsequent removal of said tooth after I needed to get a crown after eating a pretzel. This was a rough month for my poor teeth, but they made it through. Also, we could not be more thankful for dental insurance! If your interested in how it felt to have a crown put in, I think this blog post does it justice.
We also began the process to look for houses as we decided what our living situation would be like at the end of our lease in July. We put our first and only offer on a house in Maple Valley. It was a short sale, which means it would be a long process. So the waiting begins.
May
In May I officially began to book up the summer full of wedding cakes! It was very exciting, and from this point on, most of my weekends were booked with cake and cupcake orders! Tim was also fully into his EMT class that went through the end of June. I got to be the practice dummy as he would have to do rapid assessments and check my blood pressure on a daily basis. He would ask me to come up with fake symptoms so that he could figure out what was wrong with me. Often times I got responses from him like "I see that you are experiencing heart attacks symptoms found in men. I think there may be a deeper issue here Melynda".
We were still waiting on the house.
June
With June we saw big milestones and big letdowns. June 20th brought our first anniversary, but the day before dealt us a serious blow. Tim took his EMT final, and did not pass. He had spent the last 10 weeks working his butt off - working a 40+ hr a week job on top of an intensive class that calls you to give your all. He worked so hard, maintained a 100% in the class, and got to do several ride alongs with firefighting/EMT districts. He even got to be at harborview and witness a surgery AND had a man come in who had shot his testicles off. Oh, but thats another story. Either way, he got to his final and was put into a group of 4. During the pratical exam one of his teammates took the blood pressure wrong. Tim corrected him and told him the right way to do it but it was too late. When taking the practical exam no mistakes, by you or a teammate, could be made and the entire group failed. We were crushed, and disappointed, but also hopeful because God had a plan.
July
Tim's brother, Jake, got married and Tim was his best man and I was the wedding cake decorator/day of event planner. It went great and was so much fun. Tim also turned 22 at the end of July and just a week before that summited Mt. Rainier for his 3rd time. He hiked with my dad and friends of ours and I am so proud of them!
We were still waiting on the house at this point, but our lease was up July 23. Without any real leads, we made the decision to wait out the house and move into my parents bonus room until we found out what we should do.
August
We spent August enjoying the little sunshine that Seattle was given this year, as well as working with our Real Estate Agent, Carla Clark. She was amazing throughout the whole process and went above and beyond any and all of our expectations. We got more leads on the house and found out that it was looking like the bank would accept our offer!
Tim and I also enjoyed a small getaway at the Salish Lodge!
Tim and I also enjoyed a small getaway at the Salish Lodge!
September
The bank approved and we signed the closing documents on our first home on Sept. 24!!! We moved in the next day and had a huge painting party with all of Tim's cousins. With their help we had the whole house painted in 1 day!
October
We participated for the 3rd time in the Walk for Hope - Breast Cancer walk! It was wonderful to walk alongside my friends and family including mama Gayle who is almost 2 years out of surviving breast cancer!
October also brought the death of a close family friend. He was a man who had no family, no one really. Tim went grocery shopping for him every week and took care of household things. Tim has become the executor of his will, and this has been a rough time of learning, being okay with hurting/grieving, and just trusting in the Lord all the more.
November
After talking a lot about wanting to get a pet, Tim and I went to a state wide shelter adoption event and found our puppy! The story behind him, you ask? Well, let me tell you. When we got to the event, he was part of the only litter of puppies there (others were dogs that were older). He is part border collie, german shepherd, and golden lab (all dogs that Tim and I have had in the past and we loved them). All of the puppies were different solid colors, but he was the only one with markings. We picked him up and instantly fell in love! We thought he was adorable, and then we looked at his information. His name was Abe!!! Abe!!! I know that may not seem like a big deal, but if you recall, Abe Lincoln came to our wedding! There was a civil war reenactment going on the same weekend and it was just too perfect. We knew we had to get him :)
December
Our first Christmas in our first house! It was great. We ended the year with having all of Tim's cousins and my family over to our house for Christmas eve and just thoroughly enjoyed spending time together. Tim got some days off which were WONDERFUL because he hasn't had much of a break. He also was employee of the month :)
When I look back over the past year, I am reminded of one of the most beautiful Bible verses I have ever read. It is the last verse in John, concluding the book. I think that it describes how I feel about this year, how I feel about my life and all that God has done. No matter how much I write about it, tell of what the things God has done in my life, I could never stop writing! For there isn't enough books in the world that would tell of all that God has done!
October
We participated for the 3rd time in the Walk for Hope - Breast Cancer walk! It was wonderful to walk alongside my friends and family including mama Gayle who is almost 2 years out of surviving breast cancer!
October also brought the death of a close family friend. He was a man who had no family, no one really. Tim went grocery shopping for him every week and took care of household things. Tim has become the executor of his will, and this has been a rough time of learning, being okay with hurting/grieving, and just trusting in the Lord all the more.
November
After talking a lot about wanting to get a pet, Tim and I went to a state wide shelter adoption event and found our puppy! The story behind him, you ask? Well, let me tell you. When we got to the event, he was part of the only litter of puppies there (others were dogs that were older). He is part border collie, german shepherd, and golden lab (all dogs that Tim and I have had in the past and we loved them). All of the puppies were different solid colors, but he was the only one with markings. We picked him up and instantly fell in love! We thought he was adorable, and then we looked at his information. His name was Abe!!! Abe!!! I know that may not seem like a big deal, but if you recall, Abe Lincoln came to our wedding! There was a civil war reenactment going on the same weekend and it was just too perfect. We knew we had to get him :)
December
Our first Christmas in our first house! It was great. We ended the year with having all of Tim's cousins and my family over to our house for Christmas eve and just thoroughly enjoyed spending time together. Tim got some days off which were WONDERFUL because he hasn't had much of a break. He also was employee of the month :)
When I look back over the past year, I am reminded of one of the most beautiful Bible verses I have ever read. It is the last verse in John, concluding the book. I think that it describes how I feel about this year, how I feel about my life and all that God has done. No matter how much I write about it, tell of what the things God has done in my life, I could never stop writing! For there isn't enough books in the world that would tell of all that God has done!
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written
John 21:25
