most blessed mom!!: A Year that Changed My World!

2012 was full of challenges and so very many wonderful opportunities!

January:

My nephew, Jeremy, left on his LDS mission to Finland (really left in Dec- but close enough!). I had a student pass away unexpectedly. Charly received word that her book would be published! And Eric and Alison told us they were expecting... that's right, they had a healthy little piano!

February:

Much to my dismay, I hit minefield after minefield in the dating world as I 'met' (on the Internet) one con man after another! The 'joys' of older dating!!! And I had to try to get a decent picture of myself to boot...

not sure how successful that turned out.

But an email sent by my principal entitled "Why Men Die First" sure made me smile!

March:

The dreaded dating world did not disappoint... on helping me meet more con men, that is... Oh well! Began to consider taking a break, but also began to feel I should take a giant leap of faith by joining an expensive dating site...

Jon earned his first 4.0!!! Such an exciting accomplishment!

And my favorite quote of the entire year- from my Adilynne Sue: "We are going to Aunt Deanne's?! She is my best friend!"

April:

New chairs!

Springtime!

No more engine in the garage!

Great food!

April 6th: Charly got the job! Macey's Deli could not have made a better decision!

And I followed those promptings of the Spirit to join eHarmony. Result? Luke!

April 9th brought me this profile:

The one thing I am most passionate about:
I want to do good, through learning and service, to the extent God grants us capacity and wisdom to do it. I love to learn from the scriptures, languages, history, creating software, new skills, and music (though little time, some piano & organ), and want to be far better at lifting others toward our Master, to peace, joy, and eternal life. To learn to be like our Father, and help others.

I was so impressed with his testimony of the Gospel and his willingness to share it!

April 20th: Alison's graduation from BYU!!! And this text: "I'm by a bench to your right"- The start of the BEST thing EVER to happen to me!!!!

May:

Eric received a full tuition scholarship to the University of Utah! The best Mother's Day:

And life became very complicated very fast as Luke needed to date more people, and I began a waiting game...

Loved this quote because it SO helped me to hang in there while I waited: "Maybe faith isn't any more complicated than simply believing there is a purpose behind hard things and allowing God the latitude to do it His way instead of ours."

How true!

And on May 27th, Luke and I attended the wonderful baptism of his twin nieces, and then made it official- we would date exclusively.... Wow and Yikes!

June:

Summertime!

A big storm knocked over half a tree... which meant that I finally was able to get rid of that tree... Yeah! Not one I enjoyed.

And lots of fun with my girls!!

And another terrific Celtic Celebration! Love Charly being part of this!

July:

Spent the 4th with Luke's family being carni's! We helped run a carnival booth for Luke's brother... and Josh came too! Fun times!

Then, there was camping, as in real, honest-to-goodness camping, in tents and everything! Yes, I must have really liked this man- plus he is so much fun!

Devon was married- and Antoine was there too!

And Jon and Charly had the best experience on trek!

August:

6 chicks spent the remainder of the summer living with Jon!

Charly, Sue and I saw 'Wicked'!

Spent a few last summer days playing with my girls...

Luke showed me the true meaning of love by giving his beloved unicycle to his nephew!

Best article of the year: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765597847/What-if-we-had-only-what-we-were-thankful-for.html?pg=2

I discovered that even while I was overworked, I LOVE my job!

August 13th! Charly's eBook is released!!!

And spent a day at the beach with my family and Luke's children! Not bad for the end of summer and beginning of the school year!

September:

Dates with Luke are always amazing- and not run-of-the-mill either! A date off-roading in his dad's truck, a date to the dump, two dates cleaning two different church buildings... and then there was the date picking up the dog run for his sister...

September 22nd- Best day yet!!

And I said yes!

October:

General Conference changed our family for good- and for the better! Charly decided to serve a mission for the LDS church, and Jon will be leaving on his mission up to six months earlier than planned! Such exciting news!!!