As I sit here enjoying the end of my winter break I find myself thinking back about all that has happened with us this past year. We've been blessed this year so here's a couple highlights from the Newman's 2012!
We started out the new year 4 months into our marriage. At this point, our marriage had outlasted Kim Kardashian's! LOL. Okay, seriously though, we made it through the first third of our first year of marriage. We were settling into each others quirks and into our home (a duplex in Ozawkie). Marriage has certainly been an eye opener but we are blessed to have each other, to hold, to love, to cherish, to annoy...even when I want to hate Vince, I fall in love with him over and over!
In the spring we started planning our summer vacation to Colorado, went to a few of my sister's track meets, took Flat Stanley on a few adventures around Ozawkie (for my cousin Riley's class), starting looking into buying a house...ya know all the boring adult stuff. In May, we traveled to Winfield to watch my baby sister walk across the stage at her graduation from Southwestern College! I'm so proud of her! I know she'll make a great teacher!
Then we made it to summer! Summer, the best part of the year for a teacher; paid vacation! Just kidding, I love my job but those 3 months as a stay-at-home wife is certainly a perk. Plus, summer is my busiest photography season! Summer is also the season for truck pulling. Vince spent much of the winter with his dad re-building a 1972 Chevy C-20 2WD Pickup with a 468 big block called the River Rat. He had a pretty great season with the Flint Hills Truck Pullers, coming in 2nd in points.
At the end of June, Vince started full time with the Jefferson County Ambulance Service. I'm so proud of his accomplishments in the emergency service. He not only serves our community as a firefighter but also our county as an EMT. I'm proud to be a Firefighter/EMT Wife!
In July, Vince and I, along with my cousin Cody and his wife, Becki took a trip to Colorado. We rented a cabin for the weekend, drove to the top of Pike's Peak, shopped in Manitou Springs, visited Garden of the Gods, went to Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine and relaxed while we were there. Vince wanted to propose at the top of Pike's Peak but it was too snowy when we were there so what better way to celebrate almost a full year of marriage than to go to the top! This trip was our mini-honeymoon and we had a blast. Glad Cody & Becki came along too!
After our trip, our realtor called us about a house she thought would be perfect for us. We'd started to lose hope (at least I had) for finding a home in our price range that didn't need a lot of work but I went to check out this house. We fell in love and made an offer immediately. This is when the whirlwind started. In a matter of 3 days, we offered, they countered, we countered, they accepted and boom!, we're home owners! Our close date was September 25th and we moved at the end of the month! August and September were crazy with adjusting to Vince's new work schedule, starting back at school and packing! I decided no more big life changes in September, it's just too hectic with the wedding in 2011 and the moving in 2012! Oh well, it's part of the fun of life! Oh and in the meanwhile, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary with a quick little photo shoot! Enjoy the pics!
As we were starting to settle into our home, I also did a lot of traveling this fall. I'm not sure if two trips classifiess as a lot but since they both took me away from school, it seemed like a lot! In October I had the priveledge of accompanying 9 wonderful youth to the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis. I had such a blast with them and am thankful for the opportunity to watch these young people represent our school. In November, I had the opportunity to represent Kansas at the National Grange Convention in Boise, ID. During the summer, I gave my speech about my experience promoting the Grange at Farm Aid and won our regional competition, giving me the opportunity to give my speech at the national level, which is what I did. I met up with my parents in Boise and drove home with then. Again, I am thankful for the opportunity to represent our state and promote the Grange and agriculture.
While I was in Boise, my first "nephew" was born! My cousins and I are all very close, especially Cody and myself so when his son Colt Eugene was born on November 17th, Vince and I got promoted to Aunt and Uncle. He is such a cutie and I can't wait til he's a little bigger so I can spoil him some more!
Finally, it's December and life is starting to "slow" down. At least we're getting settled into our lives, our new home and each other's crazy schedules. We even got to bring our furry baby Otis home! We actually feel like we've spent some time together this month! We had a blessed Christmas (even though Vince worked) and hope you and your family did too. On Christmas, we welcomed a new family member to our home and are so excited to introduce him to you! Yes, it's a boy! Meet Maxx, our lab/husky/border collie mixed puppy!
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I'm so blessed to have my two boys home!
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And for those of you who are wondering about our princess Minnie, she is still our baby but has happily made herself at home with Grandma and Grandpa Bostwick (my parents) and I hate to have her readjust to a new home. We love our little girl very much, she's just not home with us.
Well, I think that's most of the highlights of our year! Thanks for sticking through the entire post! My "new year's resolution" is to blog more about our lives so keep your eyes peeled! I wish you and your family a very prosperous 2013! Much love and blessing from our home to yours!
Love,
Molly
and Vince, Otis & Maxx
