2008 in Review

I had so much fun with this reflection last year, I think I'll do it again!

Cliff's got something up his sleeve for our New Year's celebrations this year and I have no idea what they are. I know they involve days off from work, a chunk of money, and end with a trip to Cleveland on Saturday and Sunday to celebrate Christmas with his family. But as for today, tomorrow, and Friday? Beats me. But I'm so excited!

I've been thinking a lot about what next year is going to possibly look like for the two of us. There's so much more that is certain going into 2009 than was in 2008, and yet I still can't shake that feeling of hoping and believing that anything God can grant us is always much, much better than what we can even dream or plan for. So when I set goals, I leave room for God to do some things I don't expect. Last year, I never dreamed it would have taken me until the first of December to get a job - one that was so perfectly crafted both in the timing and the nature of it. This was a long year, but an incredible one. And in that vein, it's gone by too fast... how is that possible?

So what does our year in review look like? Let me give this a try:

January: We rung in the New Year at Mom's in Virginia with Cearra and Marcus. Our drive home involved our first trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway! We really picked up with our training for the Country Music Half Marathon. This is also the month we started facilitating our first Financail Peace University class for our Nearly/Newlywed's Sunday school class.

February: A trip to Maryland to celebrate Grandpa's induction into the Georgetown Athletics Hall of Fame. Cliff gets a bad case of the flu, which derails our marathon training just a tad but not enough to keep me from hitting the 3-mile mark which was a first. We spend most nights going through the Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and Rambo serieses. We celebrate Valentine's Day twice with a Pioneer Woman-inspired dinner at home and then, what we liked to call, Christmatine's Dinner at Bonefish (thanks to Lampo). Baby Avery Coles is welcomed into the world!

March: We take a trip to do some kayaking, camping, and exploring at Grayton Beach and Panama City Beach in Florida. Belmont SIFE wins regionals in Atlanta and started getting in gear for Nationals. Cliff shaves the beard. Belmont men's basketball almost clinches a win against Duke in the NCAA Tournament! I spend most of the month planning for and then booking our first anniversary cruise!

April: What a month! We finished saving for our 3-6 months Emergency Fund, which means we've finished Baby Step #3 and are on numero quatro. Investing in a Roth IRA and Roth 401K soon begins. I book our excursions for the cruise! Cliff celebrates his first anniversary at Lampo! My new hobby becomes yoga. We go through a big turning-point in our relationship. I receive, start working on, and finish my comprehensive exams and we enjoy a relaxing Easter weekend free of my schoolwork. We develop our House Savings plan. ELP Department picnic at Pinkerton. We run (and actually finish) the Country Music Half Marathon and Aaron comes in for a visit! Rites of Spring goes off with a bang (and lots of rain) at Vanderbilt while Cliff takes a weekend trip with the guys to do some camping and canoeing out on the Caney Fork. Our FPU class graduates! I complete my final group project ever (I say that, now) and my practicum binder, turn them in, and I am officially done with school. Cliff meets his end of year (2008) work goals and has to re-do them for the rest of the year. Again... what a month...

May: Our families come to town for my graduation from Vanderbilt, which turns out to be a good stretch of days and a great celebration. I head to Chicago, where Belmont SIFE places well in their league for the semi-final round after winning their opening round. I celebrate my 24rd (golden!) birthday with Cliff and the Hartleys at Brooke's home in Collierville, with a night out in Memphis! I have the famous incident with the branch manager at US Bank at Publix. Lampo hosts an awesome day for the company and family at Nashville Shores. We celebrate with Vaughn and Whitney at their wedding reception!

June: My bitty brother Marcus turns half my age. I teach VBS at our church and love every waking minute of it. Yoga becomes a little bit more than a hobby... more like an obsession. We take in Casper Hartley for a week and get at taste for living in our apartment with a pet that doesn't swim in a fishbowl. My bitty sister graduates from high school (gasp!) and we take a trip to Virginia Beach to be a part of the festivities! Our dearest Canon Rebel XTI is purchased, along with new lenses and accessories, and my life is changed forever. We celebrate Cliff's 25th at the lake... sigh. Natalie moves back to Nashville and we go to the pool... a lot.

July: Bitty sister Cearra becomes an adult and I freak out. We ring in a new year of Independence at the lake. I spend a lot more time at the pool, hit the fifteen books mark for what I've read since graduation and do my best to make the most of my time. Cliff, meanwhile, starts enjoying having me pop by for lunch just about every other day. We go on our INCREDIBLE cruise and there: swim with dolphins and stingrays, lounge and lax on the beach and by the pool, see great shows, do some cave-tubing, and celebrate one great year of marriage (complete with new bling).

August: Marcus comes in for a week to visit. I take him to lots of fun places during the day and we end his visit with a trip to the lake! We sign a new lease on our apartment. I join the Lampo Writers' Club. Our lovechild (also known as our iMac) makes its way into our home. Cliff takes a trip to Cincinnati with his team for a day at King's Island for meeting team goals! He comes home with a massive sombrero. We start facilitating a new FPU class at Lampo. Plans for a road trip out west quickly develop and by the time it's late-August, we're going complete with the company of Nat and Ryan. The beauty of the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone was everything I dreamed it would be and more.

September: We join the 2000s and actually get internet. The gas crisis hits Middle Tennessee and we come out unscathed. I see Switchfoot in concert for the 14th time. I get offered the opportunity to work closely with volunteer coordination for the Presidential Debate at Belmont.

October: The Debate comes and goes, which are both good things. We survive our volunteer posts and I end up getting offered a part-time, temporary position at Belmont because of it. I start my photography internship/apprenticeship with Gray Photography. We visit the fam in Maryland just because. We vote early and then take a weekend trip to the Smokies and a UT game with the Barneses. I get food poisoning (for the first time) and Cliff goes to Portland (also, for the first time) with work!

November: We celebrate our fourth meetiversary and dativersaries. We go to the UT Homecoming game with the Butchers! History is made in the form of an African-American senator from Chicago being elected as the new President of this country. I go through the whirlwind of applying for and then being interviewed and selected for the Director's position. We have a weekend away in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We celebrate Thanksgiving first with our fourth annual Fincher-Neeley T-Giving meal and then with Cliff's family in Cleveland. I have two of my own photoshoots! Cliff posts twice (and then hasn't since)!! We meet our first year house goal!

December: I try my hand at designing Christmas cards for us and for the Bentons and they turn out pretty well. We visit with family in North Carolina for a weekend. It snows a lot (well, at least for Nashville). Lampo has another INCREDIBLE Christmas party! We celebrate our second Christmas in Virginia Beach and Maryland with my family.

And now, we're off here soon to bring in 2009 doing who knows what.

But I can be sure that it'll be good. And I can only hope that whatever your 2008 has looked like, that you have considered yourself fortunate to see each of the seasons and expectantly hope for God's best for the next to come.

In case we don't get a chance to say it tomorrow or Thursday, we hope you have a Happy New Year's!