2012 A year in pictures

oh hey, 

It's been a while since I've blogged. A year... almost a whole year! 

 I'm working to do better in 2013!

 But, since it's kinda of been a big year I think a picture recap is called for!

Last February I started dating this guy! He'll show back up later in this post!

His name is Brandon Salsbury 

In March I went on a 17 day trip

To see this girl (my sister Julie)

I went across an ocean for this visit!

We picked these little beauties in the black forest mountains of Germany

 We stopped by to see this little tourist stop, and had some wine, bread, cheese! You know like the Parisians do!

We hung out by the Eiffel tower! It was truly magical!

We traipsed around Paris for a few days!

We strapped on our back packs and headed for Barcelona Spain to catch up with some friends!

We loved our time traveling with some of Julie's(our) friends!

A picture from our Hostel balcony overlooking La Rambla and the rest of Barcelona

And what's a trip to Europe if you don't head to the south of France.

A little chilly but gorgeous and we had such great company!

What is a trip to Europe if you don't bring flat Caden (similar to Flat Stanley)? We traveled with a picture of my neighbor boy capturing pictures of him all along the way in all the cool places we went. It was a school project for him. 

Our last stop was Venice and then back to Germany for a few more days at Julies place!Sincerely the trip of a lifetime! It was so much fun to travel with my sister and enjoy all the sights and food  and great company!

Summer finally came!

We had another successful summer at camp. 

Very sad say, but it was my last summer at SpringHill Camps!

I did get to hang out with this girl...

and these crazy wompenstiens...

and we did some of this...

and hung out with these incredible women...

This little one stayed at my house all summer...

A dream come true for those who know of my love of the furry ones!

And i really missed this guy!

I raised a few of these...

Went to a Tigers game with friends...

and zip lined with my dear friends Ginny and Randy when they came for a visit!

This little lady made me Auntie Amanda

we may be a bit enamored with our little Cora Ruth!

This guy came home :) and a few weeks later...

Brandon surprised me over labor day weekend with a ring! 

and I could not stop smiling...

Still Smiling...

Still Smiling...

The wedding planning began, 

suits were purchased, dresses were bought!

We took some engagement pictures

We had some great friends who helped us decorate

and a great friend who took wonderful pictures

I got to wear a beautiful dress

My soon to be husband made his excited face!

and we got married

December 15, 2012

Now it's 2013 and we've moved to Carol Stream Illinois!  

I will post some more pictures soon! But right now I'm enjoying living the married life with Hubster!

Transplantiversary

This past week Caitlin and I celebrated the 2 year anniversary of her kidney transplant!

Two years later we are both doing great, and her kidney is functioning at 101% !  Praise the Lord! For those who know Caitlin, you know that she brings joy and laughter to all situations! God has big plans for this girl, and I'm blessed to call her a cousin and a sister! Cait I love you and if we were to go back, I'd do it all over again! I will hold strong to Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Post surgery hug, we were cracking up at ourselves as we awkwardly tried to hug, but in reality we were both too sore to do much more than pat each others arms! 

On the Road

Those who know me, know that i'm on the road often and this has been one of the stretches for me. It's been awhile since I've last blogged so I have some sharing to do. 

With a little encouragement from some friends I've decided to jump back on the boat and play catch up. 

We received some big news over Christmas from my brother and his wife

They are expecting a little one, joyous praise rang out from the Thompson household! 

Grandparents and Aunties are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new little to love!

Baby T is expected to arrive early August

I had a few house guests in January and we could not have had more fun!

Lindsey and Elizabeth are incredible women of God, I love the encouragement and time spent with them. We ate delicious food, relaxed and just had a fun time of fellowship. 

My cousin Caitlin came for a visit! She worked along side of me for 10 hours stamping post cards to send out to campers. What a blessing to have someone fun to serve with. We watched a bunch of movies and stamped away for an entire half of day! It is so encouraging to hear the blessing that those post cards have brought to kids. SpringHill Staff, your words mean so much to the campers!

I can always count on an exciting time when Cait is around, we went to Traverse City, to see some Reindeer, eat some cherries and catch up with Emma Berger! What a delight!

January and February at camp mean lots of time on the road recruiting. We went to Indiana for a week to visit, Purdue, IWU, Anderson, Taylor and Huntington.

Just a glimpse of the week I had in Indiana recruiting Summer Staff. It was a lot of testosterone, and good food! Blessed to work with these great guys!

 Highlight- Getting to spend time  with Tony and Jen and little Max man!

I was able to spend a fantastic weekend in Chicago. I did some shopping at 1/2 Priced Books, ate great food, met new people, but the best part of the weekend was spending time with Brandon. Those who are curious for more info, will have to ask :)

 I was down in Detroit last week recruiting again. I can always count on Jay and Danae to provide lots of fun and a cultural experience. We went to the  Heidelberg Project, which has a really incredible story. If you're curious about how one man made a difference in down town Detroit you should check it out! We ate out at Slows BBQ, and had an evening listening to some live Jazz. We also spent time at U of M, Michigan State, Spring Arbor, Oakland, and New Tribes Bible Institute. Lots of great conversations and sharing about camp!

 

It has been a busy, but incredible couple of months. I'm going to try and blog more regularly now that I'm back at home!