2013 in review

The best and most fun event of 2013 was we built, bought, and moved into our very first house, bringing the number of times we have moved to 12! After almost fourteen years of marriage, we finally have entered the land of gentry. It's very exciting! I am not a big decorator, but it has been so fun to pick out furniture and the little decorations we have. We are discovering that now that we own a house, we don't have any money. Needless to say the decorating part of owning our first home is a work in progress. The next big event of 2013 was I went back to school after being out of school for 15 years. It has been so much fun! I absolutely love it. I'm totally Hermione this time around. A 36 year old Hermione. I got an A+ in all my classes last semester, (which wasn't hard to do since I was only taking one class) but all the same, I have a 4.0 at NMSU. I start spring semester in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited. School rocks, and even though it would have been nice to finish the first time around, I am so grateful for being able to go at my age. I think I appreciate it so much more. Since my blog is mostly about books and movies, I thought I'd make a top five of books and movies for 2013. My top 5 books are in not particular order, but they are the ones that stood out the most to me over the last year, and ones that made me think and feel real emotions. "My Story" by Elizabeth Smart, "The Fifth Wave" by Rick Yancey, "Blackmoore" by Julianne Donaldson, and "Hamlet" and "King Lear" by Shakespeare. I read 82 books in 2013, 2 for school, and the rest for recreation. I have a bit of a reading problem, but it's such a rewarding habit I'm going to stick with it. As for my movies, I will rate them by importance. I think my very favorite of 2013 was "The Impossible" about the real life family that survived the 2004 tsunami in Asia. My second favorite of 2013 was "Man of Steel." I just loved the message that we are all here to make the world a better place if we are only willing to stand up for what is right. "Monster's University" is probably tied for second. I love Pixar and was totally in love with the story from the beginning. Brat Pitt's "World War Z" was awesome. I loved it even though I'm not a huge zombie fan. I think "Warm Bodies" also was a great zombie show. "Captain Phillips" with Tom Hanks was another great Hanks movie. I haven't seen "Saving Mr. Banks," but I'm sure it will be a favorite of 2014. As or life lessons I learned in 2013, I feel that I am at a stage in my life of major transition. I feel that I am done having babies, and that decision has been really hard for me to make. Having a daughter or son of God grow within your body and come to this earth to experience mortality is one of the most miraculous blessings that has ever been a part of me. Deciding to be done with the creative process of having a baby is a really tough choice. But I am discovering that I am in a different stage of parenting, and the blessings of nurturing my children in the gospel and seeing their own testimonies become their own, is just as miraculous and important. That is probably the greatest lesson I have learned in 2013. God is good. He has blessed me with so much, and I am so excited to have another year to explore and enjoy His wonderful earth as a wife, mother, daughter, book reader aficiando, student, and woman.