Living Blossoms

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Got paid to model (including a spread in a magazine!), went to Europe, took a backpacking trip, rode on a real train, had to put a dog to sleep, started the process of adopting a child, went a year without seeing one of my brothers...  =o(

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Not really, and no. I know C25K is some people's resolution, but we started that on November 30th!

3. Did anyone close to you have kids?
My friends Forrest & Shannon adopted twins.  =o)

4. Did anyone close to you get married?
Not that I can think of at the moment.

5. Did anyone close to you die?
Mandy.  =o(

6. Did you travel?
To North Carolina, Tennessee, England, France, Italy, Greece, El Salvador, Georgia, and Connecticut.

7. Did you move anywhere?
Nope! Which is a very good thing since I love it here.

8. What was the best month?
No contest - May! In May we went to four European countries, including Italy, which had been at the top of my Travel Wish List for years. Plus, my birthday is in May.  =o)

9. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A closer relationship with God, and a kid or kids!  =oD  And no house problems for once. That would be nice.

10. What date(s) from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 15 - My first paid modeling gig! May 12-June 3 - our Europe trip! July 2 - when we applied to our adoption agency! September 24 - When we said goodbye to Mandy.

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Q - Quarterbacks. Namely, good ones. I've been a Brett Favre fan forever, and as much as I hate seeing him on another team, and as much as other people feel betrayed, I still love him. I love watching Tom Brady find Randy Moss for an amazing 60-yard TD out of nowhere. It's always fun watching him break records and put the ball right where it needs to go. And of course there's Brady's main rival, Peyton Manning, who is also awesome. He may not have Brady's looks, but his SNL and commercials are funnier. I love football, and the QBs are always entertaining. And in the college arena, how can I forget Tim Tebow? He's not only a Heisman winner and champion, he's one of the nicest, down-to-earth, Christian guys ever. I'm so glad he's a Florida Gator! Oh, and for the record, the Lions' rookie QB Matt Stafford had the highest yardage of anyone yesterday. =oD

R - Rock music. I like that old time rock 'n' roll all the way to modern rock, especially Christian modern rock. I love that we have good Christian rock now, but I still love me some Boston, Skynyrd, and Aerosmith.

S - Sandals. I loved them even before I lived somewhere warm, but once we moved to Florida they became pretty much my only footwear. It took me a little while to get into flip-flops, but then they took over. The best thing about sandals is that even though, as usual, no one makes my size (10½), I can wear a 10 even though it's too small.

T - Thanksgiving. I suppose that could be cheating, since that what these ABCs are for, but I love Thanksgiving. So much good food, a whole day with family, and what is usually the only Lions football game I get to watch all year. This year I get to experience my first Connecticut Thanksgiving, including Pie Day the day before, and then Thanksgiving with my family when we get home. Woo-hoo!

U - Umbrellas. Usually I forget to bring one, but when I remember, they are very nice for the occasional rain storm. We also used one as a wind break when we were in Portsmouth and it was freaking freezing cold out. Even though it was raining, the wind made it colder than the rain did, so we turned it toward there instead of up.

V - Vacations. I love going someplace new or a favorite place I haven't been to for a while. Even though I have flown so many times in my life, there's still something exhilarating about airports, because it means that I'm going somewhere exciting. I love seeing old friends and family, and having new experiences. Mostly I love spending all day, every day with Isaac.

W - Word of Life. WOL has been a part of my life pretty much forever. In the churches my parents started, we started WOL Olympian clubs. I got my first Olympian medal when I was 5 years old. I still have it. I went all the way through the Olympian program, earning the 6-year steadfast trophy, and then did the 6-year DIA program as a teen, which I think got me another trophy (I had to take a test on 6 years' worth of memory verses!), and some scholarships for WOL Bible Institute, and I also went to the awesome WOL Island for summer camp. Then I went to WOLBI out of high school, which was one of the best decisions I ever made. I ended up going to second year in NY, which was also awesome, though not as awesome as it would've been if it had been in FL. Hehe. I learned and grew so much with those two years immersed in learning about the Bible and trying various ministries and having so many close friends right there - not to mention I am one of those who got a husband out of the deal. After getting married I worked for WOL for over a year, and I must admit that my main daydream of the future involves Isaac being a resident professor there and we get to be a part of it again. And now my church has Olympians and I'm a leader there. I've come full circle. Although there are some things I don't agree with WOL about, I love it so much, and the positives FAR outweigh the negatives.

H - Husband. It might seem like I should wait and do I for Isaac, but since I nearly always call him "Husband", at least when I'm talking to him, it is more fitting to make him the H. So. Husband. He is my best friend and anything that's fun without him would be more fun with him. I love being with him and I wish that he didn't have to work so I could hang out with him all the time. He is the only person who really knows how silly I am, and yet he loves me anyway. I can't wait to see him as a dad.  =o)

I - Internet. Without it I would not have met the vast majority of you reading this, and therefore I would've missed out on some great friendships. I just spent two weekends, one in Orlando and one in Tennessee, hanging out with 5 of my online friends. I must admit I occasionally daydream about all of us living in the same neighborhood. (For the record, there are two houses for sale on my block...) I've been in love with the internet since I was about 13 years old.

J - Jacksonville. I love Florida as a whole, but I especially love Jacksonville. I love that I have access to all the amenities of a city, but with a small town feel. I love that Jax leans conservative (Duval County did not go for Obama!), that we have the river and gorgeous ocean beaches, that tourists and old people drive right by us, that we can go to St. Augustine, Orlando, Savannah, Daytona, and Cape Canaveral for a day trip (a long day trip, but still, a day trip), and that we have the best thrift stores and church ever.

K - Kutless. They have been one of my favorite bands for many years now. Their songs never get old to me, because they seriously rock, but they are also obviously Christian. There is nothing wrong with a band just having positive or philosophical songs that never mention the name of Jesus, but a lot of times I want blatantly Christian songs, and when I want to rock out to blatantly Christian songs, there is nothing better than Kutless. I've seen them in concert twice and they're excellent. Their song, "Strong Tower", is one of the most encouraging songs to me.

Each day from November 1st through the 26th write a few sentences about something you are thankful for, from A to Z.
On the first, you use the letter A, on the second, the letter B, and so on.
I'm starting on Nov. 4, so this post brought to you by the letters A, B, C & D.

A - Answers. I love spoilers and I love knowing things. Mostly I love that the Bible gives us all the answers we really need in life.

B - Bethany. My name! When I was a kid, I wished my name was something else. (Don't all kids do that at one time or another?) But for many years now I've really liked my name. Just don't call me Beth!  ;o)

C - Church. I *love* my church! I knew from the first time I ever went there that it was the one for me. I've been to a lot of churches in my lifetime (more than most people, I would wager) and this is the best of them, IMO. 2½ years after that first visit, I started working there too.

D - Dad. I have a great one. When my brothers and I were kids and teens we were homeschooled, our dad was a pastor, and his office was always at home, so we got to spend more time with our dad than most people get to. We often went out to Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch, he taught us to drive when we were young (in parking lots and country roads) so we were comfortable in the driver's seat when we finally reached age 16, and he once took my friends and me, who were having a slumber party, out to Hardee's at 2am because we were hungry! And of course everyone wanted him on their team when we played basketball in our driveway. He always wanted the best for us, even though we didn't always understand it.