Happy New Year!

2013 was a really good year... I wanted to do a quick recap of some of the great memories just as a reminder of how very blessed we are! Here we go...

-JANUARY-

We rang in the new year with my family here in Chicago... Bryant stayed with us a few extra days after my parents had to leave... We experienced the coldest weather we had ever seen... I spent a lot of time trusting the Lord for His plan for our new year...We also searched all over Chicago for a new apartment...

 

-FEBRUARY-

We moved in temporarily with our friends... It snowed a lot... I started teaching at my cute little school... We found out that "snow days" don't really exist here, ha... We celebrated Valentine's Day with a dinner cooked by Z...

   
-MARCH-
We finally had a few sunny days... We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with Joe and Lolly... I flew home for a week for Spring Break and loved every minute I got to spend with my family {including a trip to the beach!}...

 

-APRIL-

I remember April being a very long month... We had extremely cold and snowy weather for "spring"... We celebrated my birthday with a yummy dinner at Gibsons and Sprinkles cupcakes... I officially took zero pictures... {This is actually the homemade cake my mom made when I was home for Spring Break in March ;)}

 

-MAY-

It finally warmed up!!!... Katie came to visit... I finished my first semester at my new school... We went home to celebrate Z's brother's graduation {no pics?!}

 

-JUNE-

We moved into our new apartment... Stephanie came to visit... We finally had some "summer" like weather... Summer camp started at my cute little school... We had a lot of fun exploring our new neighborhood with long walks and trips to the beach

 

 -JULY-

My family came to visit... We celebrated my mom's birthday here in Chicago... The weather was extra chilly for July while they were here... We celebrated July 4th with sweet friends... We continued to make our new apartment "home"

  

-AUGUST-

We spent a lot of time outside... long walks, trips to the beach, exploring areas near our apartment... We went to a street festival to hear Sister Hazel... Summer camp ended and a new school year began

 

-SEPTEMBER-

We made a trip to Michigan one weekend... We celebrated Z's birthday with a yummy dinner at Gibsons... We watched a lot of football with our friends... Stephanie came to visit... We had glorious fall weather and spent a good bit of time outside

 

-OCTOBER-

I made a trip home to see a few of my besties... A football game, trip to the beach, shopping, and lots of catching up were just what I needed during our girls' weekend... Z and I went apple picking... We celebrated our 3 year anniversary... lots of football and cooler temps made for a great month

 

-NOVEMBER-

Katie came for a quick weekend visit... I went to Bang Bang Pie Shop with 2 sweet friends... the leaves were beautiful... We had our first snow of the fall/winter season... We drove home to spend Thanksgiving with our families...

 

-DECEMBER-

We got a lot of snow... We found the tiniest, cutest Christmas tree... My little school had holiday pageant, SO cute!... We did a lot of Christmas shopping together... We drove home again for Christmas with our families... We spent NYE with some sweet friends, so much fun!

Such a great year! We're looking forward to a great 2014!! For now, I'm just enjoying some down time before I start back to school {full time}. I feel extra thankful to be home, snuggled up with a blanket in my pjs and a cup of coffee since it's snowing and so cold here!! A great start to a great year, indeed ;)