A new Decade!

2010. Its here a new year, a new decade, and as I reflect on the last ten years I’m amazed to see all that has transpired, I could call it the transition time, or changes at every corner, or the Unexpected! As dreams, hopes, visions, are all apart of life and its effect upon it. Some dreams achieved, there are some yet to happen, and even some dreams that had to be let go.

Ten years ago I was on the verge of graduating highschool, my days then seem so simple as I reflect, a history and English class, with mostly creative writing stories, study for the ACT and spend the rest of the day scrapbooking, and spending time with my family. My older sister had moved to Colorado, so I was the “oldest” at home and we were looking to follow her there once our house had sold. I loved art, writing even back then, and could spend days on a story. I loved the history of Ohio, and considered being a teacher, or a librarian or a historian, or an art teacher, but so didn’t want to go on to do more college.

Our house did sell, that moved us from Ohio, where we have spent the last decade, into Colorado… a whole new phase of life for the family. I got a job at Whit’s End, shortly after moving, which at the time was the Disneyland to our family. I had my own room for the first time of not sharing with my younger sister. And I learned a whole lot about people as I worked with a whole different crowd of cultures from co-workers to guests. It also brought a whole new group of friends into the mix.

The next years merged into my family purchasing a house here, I got my first car, paid in full for my little teal green escort, Ellie, starting college at Pikes Peak community college, getting a job within the same work department as receptionist, out of whit’s end’s youthfulness, and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. There were crushes but nothing came of those came to be anything, a blessing in disguise.

2003 brought about a new adventure as I left my family, job, and school and flew away from home all the way to England, Cuckfield, in West Sussex to an ancient manor house, called Holmsted, where I began journey with YWAM, youth with a mission. It was a crazy start to my love for people, travel and adventure. From this I traveled to many countries for missions, Amsterdam, Ukraine, England, China, and Africa. Each journey changed my life, impacted my world and lead me on grand adventures I never expected to encounter as the homebody I am. It developed my love for photography, travel, and people in ways I never expected.

I worked and finished my AA in 2006, and when I had returned from England I found my old job available, and slipped back into that very easily and have continued on there this whole time, seeing many people come and go through the years, made many new friends, saw hundreds of thousands of visitors, and learned a whole lot about people. Hard to believe it has been close 10 years in August of this year, I’ve been apart of Focus. Through Focus I met the couple guys I did date, and then the love of my life. God brought about Kyle in 2004, but our friendship didn’t deepen or form until 2007 where we “re-met” at theMill... for the whole story you can see Our story, a previous post. I left for China, the best mission’s trip experience I had, and returned to a friendship and romance I had always dreamed of. Just a short 7months ago I married that amazing man.

My family went through transition too, lots of moves instate, out of state, back in state, out of state again, within sate…with rearranging houses and all. There were marriages, babies, school, and jobs. Learning how to stay in touch due to distance and I think as siblings growing into being great friends we knew to daily count on. 2004 I bought my own house, and started my own family of friends and roommates, as the Lord brought about deep friendship with the girls of CAMA, Cara, Annjeri, Melody, and me. :) Those women of God who through many trials, pain, joy and love became another family I could count on to be there.

There has been loss too; the sting of death had not passed our family. Two beloved grandparents, my father’s mom and dad, my sister’s friend in an accident overseas, two girls from my mission’s team in China gunned down at church, my best friend’s brother to cancer and recently my own husbands dad so unexpectedly just a few months ago. Grief at times has been unbearable; God has been the faithful one to daily walk through it as life continues on.

There has been lots of life too, additions to the family, with my wonderful nieces, and another baby wicks on the way. Plus there have been wonderful marriages, my older sisters, my own, my brothers shortly after, adding to our family of six into nine, now with the new baby, an even 12. There have been wonderful vacations, holidays, new traditions and old.

I have loved the wonderful friend’s I have had. There have been ones only for a season, but their impact in life not small, others our daily friendship is settled into when we can get together, but still loving our times we have. I have been very blessed with good friendships. My love for writing, art and anything creative developed into tangible dreams through school and hard work. I threw in some more art classes, and try to write more and more. I’m still hopeful at what those gifts will bring about. Now being a wife brings me the greatest joy, as our marriage thrives, and I share my life with my best friend on earth.

So many adventures, too many to name, friendships, relationships, family, church involvement, work, school goals, changes, expected and sudden, life and loss, the ten years have been huge ones and hard to capsulate in just one small article, as so many thing do happen in even just on year, let alone a whole decade, but I do hope the next ten years will be just as adventurous and the Lord center of all.