* Started off 25 with a new relationship........and that same relationship ended several months later. Learned a bit about people and myself.
* Learned how to live in one house with 5 roommates.......fun times, loud times, awkward times.....
* Discovered that sometimes guilty pleasures will catch up with you.....like that time I got rear-ended in the Taco Bell drive thru. I shouldn't have been there in the first place...lol!
* Remembered the hardwork that school demands. I pulled a few all-nighters as I worked on my master's degree and then went to work on less than an hour of sleep......more than once.
* Became Auntie Em when my sister gave birth to my dear nephew in February. He's so adorable!
* Got my own place and moved to Leesburg in April. Painted it purple to make it "mine" in August.
* Struggled to know how to be supportive to my family as various trials popped up throughout the year.
* Became an ambassador for our country as I hosted a friend from Ukraine for a month. It was fun to experience everything as if for the first time with her.
* Completed the Master's degree in July- a month early!!! Very proud accomplishment this year.
* Snagged a new job within a week of getting the degree- something that I thought impossible.
* Learned the hard lesson of trying to do too much at one time. I had a complete body breakdown in July and had to drop some of the balls I'd been juggling....good life lesson.
* Enjoyed the company and friendship of great volunteers at both jobs. It's great to get paid to hang out and pour into cool people!
* Started up a new small group in my area in October- biggest blessing ever! I am so encouraged every week by some awesome chicas as we do life together.
* Fought to regain fitness and health after letting it slide while pursuing everything else in 25th year. That is a challenge that carries over to 26.
* Had the best Thanksgiving ever with a motley crew of friends and friends' friends. Who else can you get caught in a traffic jam at midnight with while in the backseat you're squished like a sardine while a friend sings Jingle Bells in Romanian? I love my crazy friends.
* Learned the valuable lesson of the ups and downs of friendship. It's worth it to stick it out in the hard times because friends are worth so much.
* Stepped out in faith to pursue some new opportunities that the Lord is providing. Mysterious, I know, but nothing is public yet- news to come in the next week or two.
* Most of all, I experienced God's love and mercy in new ways. He is so faithful and He is all sufficient. When I went through positive times- He was there. When I was really going through the rough times- He was there. He is always there and I am so thankful for Him.
