I was lying in bed last night and realized I forgot another family wedding in 2007: Joseph and Erica. Sorry, guys. Your wedding was a highlight, too! We had fun helping you apartment hunt when you first moved to Louisville and helping you get settled in.
On to 2008:
This year started in a cold, wintry home WAY out on the ridge in Madison, Indiana. We are so grateful that some church members were out of the country and needed us to house-sit for six months. This really allowed us to learn the city and more about the church before we bought a house. We had fun living out the country- hearing the coyotes at night and seeing deer everywhere!
We also got to experience LOTS of snow. This was so foreign to Florida Boy and Alabama Girl that we didn't know what to do! I remember asking church members for tips on driving in the snow and calling my employer and saying I couldn't come in because it was snowing- they laughed at me. But, we learned to manage and somehow didn't freeze to death!
We even got up the courage to take the youth skiing at Perfect North! It was a first for both of us but we survived!
In June, we bought a house in the more developed part of town. This home was amazing for ministry and had a great space to share our lives with others. We loved it.
Mallory was ordained into the ministry right around the same time. I can't remember exactly, but I think it was the week after. Our families came up to witness this special time.
In August, we planned this big Luau for the youth and really the entire church. It was so much fun; we had a pig roasted and a volleyball tournament. My sister was visiting during this time so she got to be in on celebration.
In October, we celebrated John Mark's first birthday. Just a few weeks prior to this we had found out we were expecting again! Thankfully, I felt much better during this pregnancy and even had a really extreme case of nesting syndrome- just ask Mallory or my sister or my mother. It was crazy. I spent the rest of 2008 making waffles, muffins, cleaning out every single closet and pantry and having two yard sales. It was so much fun though! I guess each pregnancy is different.
I'm out of pictures, but we hosted a huge crowd for Thanksgiving. My parents, my sister and Josh's family all came to our house for traditional dinner. It was wonderful. I had so much fun hosting everyone and it was my first time cooking for such a crowd on a special occasion like that.
We spent Christmas with family- both in Orlando and Birmingham. It was during this time that we started exploring moving back to be near family. More on that in the 2009 post.
This was also the year that we learned a tremendous amount about reformed theology, Christ-centered preaching, and biblical manhood and womanhood. Each of these things would take a lot of words to explain, but in short we grew A TON and although it was one of the most difficult years of our marriage, it strengthed us in ways we never dreamed possible. We were blessed to sit under phenomenal preaching of Josh Stahley, our now brother-in-law, who taught us so much by his fearless proclomation of the Word and his life example.
Next up: 2009 in Review. A baby and a cross-country move!
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