OUR FIRST YEAR AT PRATTVILLE

As of Jan. 1 we have officially been here 1 year!

I wanted to recap our year for those of you that are interested!
I want to warn you that this is long and a little choppy (rambling) since I did it at work and I went back in the end and took things out and added things in.... but I hope you enjoy!

~~In January I had my first Birthday away from what I call home….. While I was glad to be turning 20 (I was just happy to be out of the "teens" so people would take me seriously) I was VERY homesick…. The adjustment to being married, my husbands responsibilities and moving to a town without my family was HARD! I spent a lot of this month crying at the drop of a hat…. I know it was HARD but Eric comforted me the BEST way he knew how.
~~In February We bought our first HOME! That was so EXCITING! We have a pool…. Which was really NICE since my husband moved me away from the beach. My Mom came when we moved in helped us clean and when she left I cried some more….. Even now that I had a HOME I was still missing the home I had known for 11 years.
~~MARCH- We had our 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! It was so EXCITING! In your first year you learn so much! When Eric and I were dating I really thought he ENJOYED shopping….. after a few months of marriage I found out the TRUTH! You also find out how kind and considerate that they can be and how much more protective they become when you are their wife instead of girlfriend….. You may be wondering what we did to celebrate this BIG event in our lives…… well, we didn't take a second honeymoon or go on a weekend get-a-way….. Instead we spent our first anniversary at my first Faulkner Jamboree!!!! "The Kids" (youth group) wanted to go so we took them with us. We had a blast…… and as something thoughtful my husband took me to Red Lobster (it was one of the restaurants we ate at on our Honeymoon) for dinner….. (We didn't take the kids. They ate before they came and while they were busy on campus we went to eat).
~~In April Eric had a BIRTHDAY! THE BIG 22! I wanted to throw him a surprise party so Stephen helped me out! Since Eric loves music we decorated the fellowship hall in that theme. Stephen hung old records from the ceiling and Im pretty sure their were Christmas lights (If you know Stephen you know that he carries these around with him) and we decorated the tables with black and blue cloth and balloons! Everyone who knows me knows that pulling this off was a MAJOR task for me….. It took all I had not to tell him about it!

~~SUMMER- The summer came and went so FAST! It seemed like Eric was gone ALL the time. Since, I had taken a new Job at ALFA I was unable to go on any of these trips. It was really HARD for me since I loved going just as much as he did. They went to camp (which is my favorite) and my mom went and did crafts for Eric's FIRST OFFICIAL week of camp as a director…… (He was nervous for months wondering how well he had planned). I have heard so many great things about that weekend since then! Then they had the mission trip…. Which I really hated to miss. But we have so many pictures and I have heard all the stories…. So I feel like I was there. Their were also a lot of little trips in between! I want to add that up until this point I was still HOMESICK. Some weeks were harder than others but I still caught myself talking about "Home" a few times a week and crying at least once a week. When Eric would leave is when it got worse…. I would feel all alone with no husband no family and no friends……. But I did enjoy the pool some this summer and my family came to visit and I went to visit them. Oh yeah and I am closer to my Dad so when eric went out of town I would go and visit him.... which was really great!

~~August is when the kids started back to school and everything seemed to get back to normal (for the most part). We also took our first "Vacation" since we had been married and to none other than .....GULF SHORES, ALABAMA (HOME)! On our way their I started to CRY at about the time we got to FOLEY…. 20 minutes from the beach…… I really missed home and it was great to be back. This was the first time since we had moved. We had an AWSOME time; however, Church on Sunday was hard… They still had not found a Youth Minister since Eric left and that made it harder to see the kids. We spent some time with our FAVORITE people one afternoon,The Thompson's. They had been very close to my family and then to Eric when he moved there. So all in all our trip was GREAT. It was much needed for me and my homesickness….. I had also begun to make friends at the end of the summer….. (They are mentioned in a previous blog). I also quit ALFA in this month…. I was just not cut out for that work….. I don't like sitting at a desk all day with only 30 minutes to socialize at lunch and taking phone calls from "not so nice people".
~~September-Novemeber all just kind of run together. We were so busy with the Youth Group and other Church activities that naming all of them would take me days (And I know you have already begun to wonder when this would be over) lol But I will say that we took a trip with Katie and Matt Griffies and Chris and Tiff Simmons and that was a very Relaxing weekend (Katie and I got a NEW Uncle Larry) I also, started PartyLite in this month…… For those of you who don't know what this is just ask!
~~December- Was crazy I don't think we had one weekend at home except the weekend of the Christmas parties…. Yes I did say PARTIES so that weekend was crazy too! I also got a job at a chiropractor's office (which those of you who know me well you know that this is what I did before we moved here and it's what I love to do). I love knowing that I am working for someone who makes a difference in people's lives! We ended the Year at a 4 day YOUTH RALLY with the kids.... What could have been better?.?.?.?.

So after a year here at Prattville we have several new friends and a lot of great memories! Im still a little homesick but having friends makes it so much easier…. I think the transition would have been easier on me if I had had them from the start! Thanks to all of you and I hope that you are richly blessed in the upcoming year but more importantly I hope you bless someone else in this New Year!