Has it really been over a year since I have been on here?! Wow. What a slacker! 2013 really was a great year. Very busy, but still full of blessings. So much happened so I am going to try my best to fill you in on everything. Let's start from the beginning :)
Josh got hired at Hendersonville Fire Department in October 2012! He had to go through their fire academy in Bell Buckle and was gone Feb-April. He did get to come home one day on the weekends but it was pretty lonely around here during the week. I tried to keep myself busy by working a lot and started exercising with my mom a lot. I lost a few pounds (that I gained after we got married!!) while he was gone. He lost like 20 lbs while he was gone! It was a great learning experience for him also. He graduated from the academy in April. Oh happy day :)
Summer was very, very busy. Josh's schedule is 24 hours on, 48 hours off. So he is able to do his grass and landscaping job on the side. It it is great for extra money but did become stressful at times. Our schedules were totally different. If he ever had an evening off, I would be working late in the salon that night & visa versa. We are going to try and coordinate our schedules a little better this summer for sure. We did get to take a little time off to go on vacation with our families! We had such a great time with everyone. That will be for a separate post with tons of pictures :)
Towards the end of the summer, Josh got a very exciting email. It was from Nashville Fire Department offering him a job!!! This was such wonderful news! Josh has always wanted to work at NFD and his name has been on their list for years. It is his dream job! I am so so proud of him. He had to go through another round of fire academy though! Luckily, this time his school was in Nashville and he was able to come home every night. It was nice having him home every evening :) His schooling started in October and he just finished the beginning of January. So 2 fire academies in one year! Whew! He is loving his new job so far. He is back on 24 hours on, 48 hours off. It is MUCH busier in Nashville, which is what he wanted- more experience. He has already seen so much. He loves it but it makes me worry about him. So I have been praying like crazy for him- for protection ... for his mind and what he will be seeing ... for him to stay strong in his faith and be a good example for others. I know God has big plans for him and I am so thankful for him!
Another exciting thing that happened in 2013 was that my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary! We threw them a big party and it was SUCH a great day! That is for a separate post also.
It is crazy how times flies by. It is already another year just like that. This year I want to focus on my relationships. First of all, with the Lord. I want to have a closer relationship with Him. I want to study the bible, instead of just skimming through it. I want to pray more and just walk daily with Him. Next, I want to focus on my relationships with my family and friends. Life is SO busy. We are too busy for each other. I have cut back my hours in the salon for a few reasons. One of them is to be able to spend more time with ones I love. I do not want to be so busy that I do not have time to invest in someones life. I am doing OK so far this year with my goals! I could always improve but it is better than where I was. I love this quote by Max Lucado-
"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not the one who says it, our prayers make a difference."
I hope you have a blessed day and take some time to spend with the Lord and to invest in someones life. You never know what a difference it could make :)
