thankful.

I have an infinite number of things to be thankful for. And it feels like this year, more than any other year, my heart is full of gratitude to the Lord for the life He has given me. So, in pictures, the top things I am thankful for this year.

Derek and I started dating almost 4 years ago and on January 16, 2010 we got married! I am so lucky and so thankful to have him as my husband. He truly is my best friend :)

 On January 20th, (four days after our wedding!) my little brother Kenny got deathly ill. We found out he had double pneumonia, caused by the MRSA virus. He nearly lost his life; all the doctors were telling us to start saying goodbye to him because there was no way his lungs would be able recover from the damage that was being caused. However, God healed my brother and today he is alive and well! He was in the hospital for over a month. That picture was taken a couple of days after he was able to wake up from the drug-induced coma he had been put in. Seeing my little brother smile again was one of the most thankful moments I've ever had. Medical professionals are astounded that he is not only alive but does not have any lingering effects from his illness. This next picture was taken in early June, only about 3 and a half months after he came home. I am so unbelievably thankful that my little brother is alive!

I am so thankful for my whole family. The only person missing from this picture of the Christenson side of the family is my grandma. I have great parents, great siblings, a beautiful niece, a great aunt and uncle, and great cousins! This picture was taken in March, after Kenny came home. Our out of town family came in to celebrate his being home from the hospital. We have become a stronger, closer family after the events of the past year and I love each and every one of them dearly.

I truly got blessed and married into a wonderful family. I have a great new mom, dad, and sister! They have been so supportive of us and have really welcomed me into the family. I love them and I am looking forward to getting to know them better after we move to Boston! I get to have my first Christmas with them this year; I'm very excited :)

My list could definitely continue, but these are the highlights. Happy Thanksgiving!

13 days...

13 days until we fly out to Boston. 13 DAYS!! Holy moly. We said goodbye to my older brother, sister in law, and niece this week. We were able to fly down to San Diego to see them for a few days, because we were unsure of when we would next be able to see them after moving. It was so great to see them, but also was a hard realization that the Christenson side of my family is really going to be spread all over the country. I can't wait to be close to Derek's side of the family, but I am going to miss my parents, brothers, sister, niece, grandma, aunt, uncle, and cousins. I wish the East Coast was closer to the West Coast.

She hugged him like this for at least 10 minutes :)

On another note, my niece Grace is quite a handful. She's 2 1/2 and into EVERYTHING. I know that comes with the territory of a toddler, but oh man. I love that little kiddo...I'm pretty sure she's the cutest thing, ever. I also witnessed the incredible drug-like power that Barney has on a toddler. 

In the next 13 days I need to finish a ton of homework and manage to get things wrapped up with our apartment. 13 days really isn't a long time...if you think about it, pray for my sanity :)

oh boy.

I've officially reached the point of overwhelmed. I am taking the hardest class I've ever taken in my entire life (graduate level economics...blah), I have another class on top of that, and we are moving in less than a month. We need to finish packing, sell our car and furniture, and hopefully have a moving sale. Whatever isn't sold we'll have to cart to the Salvation Army...moving across town is such a process, and moving across the country on a very limited budget (both money and time wise) is proving to be incredibly stressful. My semester doesn't end until the week after we get to New England, which I suppose is good because I'll be able to take my econ final without having to worry about finishing packing. There is just so much to do, and its not like Derek can lighten my homework load for me.

A week from Sunday I will be in my great friend Terra's wedding, celebrating her and Josh's new marriage. I am so excited for them! We're wearing super cute dresses and TOMS wedges, I can't wait! Their wedding is 2 days before Derek and my 10 monthaversary :) Can't believe we are closing in on our 1 year anniversary!

I haven't had a complete break down yet, but that may be a different story after December 11th (the day classes end for the semester!) I think I may sleep for a week.