ONE YEAR

On Tuesday, July 30th, Newel and I hit our one year mark since moving to Birmingham.  I wanted to do something fun to celebrate our year mark.  I was thinking we could go out to eat some fried chicken and collard greens and then looking for some wild boars in Liberty Park.  It's not like it was our wedding anniversary, but I wanted to do something special and Southern-ish since coming here was a very big step out of my comfort zone and I felt very proud for being here one year without running back to Utah because I couldn't handle it. :)

Alas, it just didn't work out to do something like that.  Newel has been really busy at work, and he ended up getting off work even later than expected on Tuesday.  He hurried home, we ate some good leftovers and then went to visit some families we go to church with that we really love.  Then we went home and went to bed because we were tuckered out.  It was kind of anti-climatic, but it's funny because being here a year wasn't that big of a deal so it was probably fitting that we just had a normal day.  I think being here a year was just a big deal in my head. :)

I remember dates really well, and I like to think about where I was a year ago and then think about how much I've learned and how much I've grown and how much better I am now that I've had another year's worth of experiences.  I like to call them "let's celebrate me moments" that I can have all by myself.  Sometimes I invite Newel to "let's celebrate me" because he's my number one fan. :)

Jokes aside, there's so much I want to share about being here a year, but I can't find the words to describe it.  We feel really grateful to be here.  There are people we've met and experiences we've had that we would not have been able to meet and experience anywhere else, and that seems so weird because we wouldn't be who we are now without them.  We are better people because we've been here in Birmingham this last year.  This is where we've needed to be, and I believe where ever any one is right now is where they need to be.  Does that make sense?  I believe my brothers in Utah, my sister in Texas, and the rest of my family in San Diego are all meeting the people and having the experiences they need to have to continue becoming the better people God wants them to be.  I just wish someone had a camera filming all of them so I could share in all the great things that are going on in all their lives.  Oh how I miss them and love them.

With all that in mind, I'm looking forward to another year in Birmingham.  I'm glad to be here.