Gratituesday: Blessings of 2009

That’s a wrap!

My 2009 year of sessions, that is. I finished up 2009 with a last minute (due to the upcoming deployment) wedding on Saturday and a 60th wedding anniversary party Sunday (sneak peeks coming shortly!). And if I do say so myself, it was an awesome way to close out the year - what with celebrating 60 years of wedded bliss and all!

As a way to welcome 2010 I thought I would take a look back at 2009 and share my gratitude of being blessed with another year of life. Soooo many amazing things happened this year. Amazing! It was one of the hardest years of my life (if not THE hardest) yet I am able to look back and see that the blessings I was given this year were among THE BEST blessings I have ever received!

As I look back on 2009 with my family, this is what I am especially grateful for:

• I have prayed and dreamed for hours (possibly too many hours) about my career goals and God’s provision for my family. I believe He gave me an answer this year in the CLEAR direction that my business has taken. It is so nice to finally feel a peace about God’s plan for my career. (Not to mention - my dreams coming true!)
• I believe my photography reached a new level this year. I am grateful for the opportunities I had to upgrade my equipment, develop relationships with other area photographers, and really step it up in this business in general. I feel like I am 100x further than I was this time last year and I have 100x more steps to take ahead of me. I’m excited!
• My trip to Nepal back in February absolutely changed my life. Not a day goes by that I do not reflect on something I saw or experienced while in Nepal. I am sooo grateful for that opportunity and hope to have another chance to go on another mission trip again in 2010.
• We had so many awesome mini vacations and trips this year! Tommy and I went both to the mountains and to the beach (a few times!) this year. I met with my dear friend Emily in Charlotte, NC for a “girl’s day” (think massages, coffee, shopping and girl talk!). Of course there was the trip to Nepal, my trip to visit Tommy in San Antonio, lots of photography traveling (Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, Atlanta, to & from Fredericksburg over and over and over again!), July 4th in the ATL, etc. We are so, so blessed to be able to see so many cool places. I am hoping to hop to a few more in the next year to keep me busy while Tommy is out of the country.
• Speaking of, this pending deployment has been a blessing in a few ways (not sure if they outweigh the downfalls just yet, though… :)) and I am excited to see where 2010 takes us. I am grateful for the (somewhat) advance notice we got so that Tommy and I could plan this last month or so accordingly.
• My friendship with my big sister has grown ten-fold this year, both through my new marriage (we finally share similar life experiences at the same time!) and this business. It has been awesome to be able to share my passion with someone who listens with the same excitement I have for both of those things. I often think of my business as my baby… and the way I feel about her babies is about the same she feels about mine. (Completely head over heels…!) And it is so cool. I love that we have grown closer through our similar passions!
• I am grateful for a few material things that have changed my life this year: my new juicer, macro lens, my new living room furniture (actually, on that note: my new living room. The pool table has been sold!), my brand new overnight bag that Tommy got me for Christmas (early! Since we’re out of town right now, he gave it to me early to use for this trip), and my new pots and pans that I slowly accrued over the year (one little pot at a time - I now have the whole set!). I am grateful for the little things that add happiness to my days.
• I am grateful that I can take vacation time anytime I want now.
• Having the puppies this year was such a fun (and a little bit wild) experience. I don’t know that Tommy and I were put here on earth to breed dogs (okay, we weren’t) but it was fun while it lasted. I know we should never say never… but I think it may be safe to say we’ll never have a little of pups in our home again. haha. It was a fun experience, though, and I’m grateful for the lessons we learned.
• I am thankful for some of the incredible people in my life who stood by my side during some of the tough things I went through this year. I am blessed with both a family comprised of truly wonderful people and the best friends I could ask for.
• On that note, I am thankful for the hard times. I have learned a lot this year and without those trials, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

Honestly I could go on and on and on. I’ll spare you. However, I would love if you would share with me what you are most grateful for from 2009. I love hearing positive people sharing positive things!

Here’s one of my favorite images from a year ago - I was with my family celebrating Christmas Day and my favorite Shelby was in a particularly cuddly mood. I think Tommy took this.