2012. year in review

well guys, it's that time...that time where it's no longer easy to say it's "twenty-twelve" ...or "twenty-ten"...{twenty-eleven was actually pretty hard, too}...it's "twenty-thirteen." which, lets be honest, is harder to say. 

my sister-in-law gets back from her mission in 2 days. which is rather exciting, and as my other sister-in-law and i were talking about what has transpired over the last year and a half that she has missed....i realized....nothing has really happened.
it was rather pathetic.

but in reality, 2012 brought a lot of newness {yes...newness...}, change, and growth for me.

so here's my basic year in review:

in january i quit my job at molinelli's jewelers and became a student again by attending ISU's cosmetology program.
 {and now look...i graduate in may :)}

{sorry so blurry...these are my hair school homegirls at our christmas party}

then in march my husband and i took a trip to florida to visit my sister and her family.

lots of stuff happened in may

my forever favorite puppy in the whole wide world passed away at 13 years old. {still am not ok with it}.

i also took another trip to puerto rico to help bring home my sister and her four children.

then at the end of may, we moved into my parents house to house-sit and in July they left on their mission to Nashville, Tennessee.

and that's when the biggest growth and change happened.

my sister was newly divorced, trying to get back on her feet, all 7 of us living in the same house and trying to adjust to the new situation we had found ourselves in.

and i won't lie about it. it's been one of the hardest things...ever. when you go from living with just you and your spouse to a house full of kids and your sister...it's different. and when everyone has different idea of "clean" and trying to figure out new rules and what's ok and what isn't and your role in the house...it gets really chaotic and frustrating.

 and although i feel like i went from a newlywed to a mother of four, i love these girls and their mom so much and am so glad for the experiences we have had together. good and bad. it has taught me that i actually do want to be a mom {with 10 nieces...sometimes i wondered....:)} i learned about patience, and communication and love and being there for someone when it's not easy or convenient for you.

i did a whole bunch of other fun things inbetween july and december like, i got bangs, i got the stomach flu a lot {which was really stupid}, went boating/camping/fishing, norman and i celebrated our 2nd anniversary, and all kinds of mini adventures...and it was fun.

2012 was a good time...

but hello 2013!