Year in Review...Plus Some

I was approached to coach high school varsity volleyball a little over a year ago at this time, at which point my blogs became few and far in between. Adam, Mickey, and I enjoyed many, many adventures and I am going to attempt a short recap. Let's call it my "Year in Review...Plus Some."

January 2013: January in Wisconsin is rough, especially when one goes to sunny Colorado the month before. This marked our 5 month-anniversary in Verona. I spent most of my weekends unpacking and homemaking. I painted the downstairs bathroom a horrendous color. I am embarrassed to post it. Use your imagination, envisioning a shade along the lines of "Easter Basket Green."

February 2013: February in Wisconsin is just as rough as January. Maybe more so as teachers in OSD do not get any days off. Adam and I celebrated Valentine's Day (a few days late due to a rehearsal) at Tutto Pasta Trattoria where I ate heart-shaped lobster ravioli. Sadly, I did not take any pictures. (One of my New Years resolutions was to take more pictures...)


March 2013: March was fun! My parents came for a visit. We toured New Glarus Brewing Company and downtown New Glarus where my Mom bought us matching Vera Bradley purses. We visited the National Mustard Museum which turned out to be at most, interesting. After the Mustard Museum we walked down the street to Hubbard Diner which made-up for the Museum decision. The pie alone haunts my dreams. My father, the bakery connoisseur, was in his own baked-goods version of heaven.

March also marked my husband's 28th birthday. I put together 28 surprises for Adam's birthday, ranging from his favorite candy, a gift card to his favorite restaurant, to brewery tour tickets. The gifts consisted of mostly trinkets and homemade items. I was pretty proud of my creativity on a budget.

April 2013: April begins concert season for UW. I went to many, many concerts in April and May. I am constantly amazed by his talent.

May 2013: May is gorgeous in Wisconsin! The colors are vibrant and the air is finally warm. I love it! I said goodbye to Adam when he headed to France for 2 weeks. Two of my best friends came out for a weekend visit. May was wonderful.

June 2013: Adam and I went on a "mini-vacation" to Grand Rapids, Michigan. We loved catching up with family and making memories. I would love visit Michigan on a yearly basis. June was full of quality time, naps, and small adventures.

Our 2nd Anniversary
July 22, 2013

July 2013: At this point in the summer, volleyball was in full swing. Adam and I went to Wisconsin's Great Dane restaurant for our two year anniversary. Adam's burger had 3 different kinds of meat. Again, I wish I had pictures as there are no words. Adam bought me diamond earrings and he received a tablet from me. We also experienced the Wisconsin Dells for the first time.

August 2013: August was pretty much all volleyball. Adam was very patient as I was a mess of stress. I flew Colorado's legendary Angela Knopf out to run my high school camp. I ran my first tryouts and coached my first varsity match. We have officially been living in Verona, Wisconsin for one year at this point.

September 2013: Adam and I both went back to school. He came home day after day with a huge smile, reinforcing we are where God wants us. School and volleyball took over my life. September was a whirlwind of lesson planning, practice planning, game preparation, and grading. Looking back, I had absolutely no idea what I signed up for when I said yes to varsity coaching. Would I do it over again? Yes. But so much would change.

Sammy

October 2013: My parents came out for another visit. Adam, my Mom, and my Dad drove out to Oregon for our volleyball homecoming parade, watching as goofy high schoolers from every program (athletics to music) wave and hurl candy off their floats. I just love my supportive family.

November 2013: The Oregon volleyball team earned a regional championship. We fostered our first puppy and named him Sammy. We celebrated Thanksgiving with great friends Peter, Brittany, and Adam's sister, Tiffany. I made my first Thanksgiving dinner, 20 lb. free-range turkey included.



December 2013: I played a little too much volleyball this year...and over the last 18 years. I underwent a Micro Fracture surgery at the UW hospital. I saw the worried and the "I have no control over this situation and I don't like it" side to my husband. I love him even more after the whole ordeal. He took wonderful care of me, driving me around for six weeks (including all 30 of the hours to Colorado and back) until I was cleared to drive myself.

A few days after surgery, we headed to Colorado for Christmas. The weather was gorgeous. It snowed on Christmas and was a sunny 60 degrees in the days to follow.

January 2014: BITTER. COLD. Poor Mickey would begin limping around in the snow after just a few minutes, so we bought him snow boots. We bought Adam boots as well because he was in charge of the pup and I was still under house arrest thanks to the fact that knee surgery and ice don't mix.

February 2014: Adam bought me a fantastic camera. I have enjoyed photography since high school and now I feel a little bit more legitimate and caught up with 2014 digital age.

March 2014: Adam enjoyed his spring break. A week later, I enjoyed my spring break. After three years of persistence from Adam, I broke down and said yes to another dog. We began "fostering" Maisy. There will be another post to come about this adventure.

Kailey, Noah, and my gorgeous sister

April 2014: We welcomed our niece, Kailey Joy, into the world. She's incredible. I am so thankful for my parents as they used their credit card miles to fly me down to Louisiana to meet Kailey.

My husband rocked spring concert season, in a classical, choral sort of way. In addition to his collaborative piano recital, he directed the amazing Madison Chamber Choir. Adam's parents and our dear friends the Hollows attended this performance and it was a wonderful weekend also including hikes at the Madison Arboretum.

J. and B. exploring the Arboretum

May 2014: Adam has been faithfully sending out applications to to collegiate music programs since November 2013 and he finally got an interview, and a job offer, at the perfect college. (There will also be an upcoming post dedicated to our Lord's faithfulness in this marvelous instance)

June 2014: I resigned from my teaching and coaching positions at Oregon High School because we are moving to Riverton, Wyoming so that Adam can serve as the new Director of Choral Studies at Central Wyoming College.  Picture me beaming as I type this glorious announcement. Not only it is five hours from Loveland, but it is just outside of Yellowstone, Adam says the music facilities are fantastic, and the list goes on and on. God is SO good.