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In reflecting upon 2012, I absolutely believe it was one of the greatest years of my life. It was filled with quite a bit of change, but also so many beautiful moments. Moments I try to hoard away in a special compartment of myself, but there are so many of them that they just come spilling out, lighting the whole room and making me smile at the thought of each & every one of them.

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In January, I spent New Year's Eve back in North Carolina with my family and shared a tender NYE's kiss via Skype with Zack. I also got to spend my 25th birthday (the last "cool" birthday before the big 3-0) in North Carolina as well.

It was also in January when I made the resolution to become more serious about my photography, and to devote myself fully to learning the craft that I love so much. 

In February, I flew back to Germany. We threw Gretchen & Josh a baby shower for baby Jax....who turned out to be baby Rylie. Oops. :)

February also happened to be my most favorite month of 2012. Because late on a snowy Valentine's day, my husband came home after one year in Afghanistan. I remember every second of that night like it was yesterday. It was probably the single most beautiful moment of my life to date.

 

February was also the month of our fast & furious UK weekends- one in London with our best friends Jamick and the other in Edinburgh. Fell so hard for both cities.

In March, we went to Latvia (a rather odd place that I would advise visiting only if you were near death by boredom), said a tearful goodbye to the Rud family (not knowing we were going to be seeing them in a few short months!) and visited Malta (gorgeous.)

 

April was another month chock-full of delicious travels. Prague, Cologne, Berlin, Dresden, and Beelitz. Whew. Definitely some of my favorite cities, and most favorite trips while in Europe. I also punked Zack in my greatest April's Fool prank. TROLOLOLOLOL. April was also the month we found out we were for sure leaving Germany 7 months earlier than our original PCS date.

 

May included a visit to the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in Holland with Jamick. It may or may not be the most gorgeous place on Earth. We also took a few day-trips into France, went to Antwerp for a weekend, and took a Rhine River cruise and saw more castles than a person should ever hope to see.

June might possibly have been my 2nd favorite month of 2012. We squeezed in all of our last minute travels- Lagos, Portugal (!), Venice & Verona (swoon), and Interlaken, Switzerland (omg.)

 

 

 

 

June was also the month we said goodbye to Germany for good (or, well, for a very long time.) It was so bittersweet, but in all honesty I think we were ready to get back stateside. We took full advantage of our two and a half years there, and I have no regrets- only the sweetest and most entertaining memories from all of our travels, and the amazing group of friends I formed. (B6 for life!)

July included a trip back to North Carolina and a week at the beach with my family, 4th of July in Kansas with Zack's family, moving to Fort Leonard Wood, and getting to meet the newest Rud- Rylie Jo.

August saw us settling into life in Missouri (thinking we were going to be there for a full year, only to learn later that we would be moving again in December.) My aunt Sheree also got married in August, and I am so happy she is getting the love she has always deserved. I think we threw in a few trips to St. Louis, too. Oh, and a random trip to Nashville to see some good friends, that happened. (I'm telling you- sometimes that wanderlust itch just creeps up on you & doesn't let up until you get in the car and make something happen.) I also deleted Facebook in a fit of rage, and was able to remain clean for nearly four months. As silly as it sounds, it truly was healthy and I was insanely more productive in my time off. (I am happy to report, I barely check Facebook anymore and no longer feel its sick pull to look at it compulsively every 10 minutes.)

In September, Jamie came up from Oklahoma to visit for a weekend to meet the RyPie. We celebrated Zack's 26th birthday, Zack's dad's 50th birthday, and my mommy's 50th birthday in September as well. At the end of the month, my parents flew to St. Louis to have a belated birthday weekend! September was a big month for me, because it was on a random weekday that I declared loudly to an empty room- "I am starting a photography business." I had dreamed of it for too long, and each day that slipped by was one more day spent fearing the unknown and failure that hadn't even happened. I quietly put my advertisements out to the Leonard Wood community, and was blown away by the response received. It gave me the confidence to realize I was right in pursing my dream, and to push forward- getting better with each passing day. I am by no means where I want to be professionally, but I can look back fondly on that first shoot and already see progress, so it's exciting to think where I might be one year from now.

 

October brought the cool weather, Halloween, & finding out our next duty station- where we'd be calling home for the next three (possibly four or five depending on the command que) years. Fort Drum, NY! I had a momentary freak-out, not because it was Ft. Drum, but because it wasn't Ft. Bragg. But I quickly adjusted my attitude, bought a parka, & got pumped for a whole lotta snow. (And it's funny...now I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. I don't know when I am going to realize that God has got this thing called my life under control...) 

In November, we got to celebrate Thanksgiving with Zack's family and visited Jamick at Ft. Sill . It was also the month I had this epiphany. (Excited to say I now have some concrete ideas of the small things I can do to make this world the tinniest bit brighter.)

December was the busiest, and fullest, month of them all. Zack was promoted to Captain and graduated career course, we spent a fun-filled weekend in Chicago, enjoyed Christmas in Kansas with the Willey's, packed all of our things (AGAIN) for our partial DITY move, & made a surprise visit to North Carolina where we rang in the new year.

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2012 was a year of change, for certain. But with change, comes growth, and grow we did. We grew as a couple in ways I never could have imagined when Zack returned from the deployment, we grew in knowledge as we traveled to so many new places, and we grew as a family and gave serious consideration to the future. I grew professionally and personally- and sometimes those growing pains hurt, but I'm here, I'm stronger, and more sure than ever of the path I'm taking. I am thrilled to be starting 2013 off with a fresh start, in a new place that I am loving more with each passing day.

2013, you've got some mighty big shoes to fill. Hope you're up to the challenge. :)