Top 12 of 2012

Hard to believe that another year is closing. As I am typing this we have a little under two hours left in the year.  It has not been an easy year, but it has been a good year. Many more good memories to outweigh the negatives. Regardless of it all I have seen God's hand move in an amazing way in our lives. So I compiled a list of the best things of 2012 to me. I hope everyone has a wonderful new year, and may God bless you.
Here is my Top 12 of 2012:

12.
One of the greatest books I read this year was Power of a Praying Wife. I highly recommend this book no matter how long you have been married, no matter the shape of your relationship with your husband, regardless of anything...this book will inspire you. I was inspired, convicted, and given a new outlook on how to pray for my husband and what my expectations should be.

11.
I really appreciated and enjoyed getting to spend so much of the deployment with family and friends. It was a hard, hard year...but God used them and our wonderful baby girl to distract me and keep me sane for the duration. They will never know how much it meant to me.

10.
My best friend going to the University she had been desiring to go to since before we met. I was (and STILL AM!) so super excited she is able to live her dream and follow the path that God has put before her.

9.
My sister (in-law) meeting a wonderful man and getting engaged this year is in my top 10. I am super excited for her and cannot wait to play for her wedding in June.

8.
Finding out I am going to be an Auntie again! Our family is growing so fast that I can hardly believe it.

7.
Getting to go on a few (mini) vacations with Sam and Sarah. Making a few more memories here in Germany before we leave for good. As of now we have been to the following cities: Garmisch, Flossenberg, Dachau, Amberg, Newschwanstein (Disney modeled his castle after the castle there), Rothenberg, Landstulh, Ramstein, Baumholder, Weiden, Nuremberg, and the two countries Austria and Czech. I am sure I am missing one or two, but we have been able to see some amazing sites!

6.
Having a great pastor and pastor's wife who have been a great blessing to us several times throughout the year.

5.
Sam getting to be here when Sarah crawled for the first time. He left when she was 6 weeks old and didn't see her again until she was 9 months, so it meant the world he was able to see that.

4.
Our R&R in TN. We had 2 wonderful weeks together after being separated 8.5 months and was able to fill it with some wonderful memories.

3.
Getting to celebrate Sarah's first birthday with Sam. The beautiful gift God gave us under our noses turned into a very independent toddler. She walked on Memorial day, 4 days before her first birthday and 10 days before daddy came home. Funny thing is she refused to walk in front of anyone, she would practice when no one was looking until Sam got home.

2.
Finding out we were adding to our family. The positive pregnancy test came as a huge shock to us, but God really knew we needed some light in our dark time.  We are so soon going to get to hold our new baby girl, and Sarah is going to be a big sister. God is so good to us.

1.
 Absolute number one on my list is when Sam came home from deployment. Even though the months after came with really rough patches, God saw us through it and made our marriage stronger and our love even more so. He is my best friend and the love of my life. He is an amazing daddy and loves his little girls more than this world. The deployment made us learn to not take each other for granted and to appreciate even the aggravating moments in life. Socks in the floor and piles everywhere are a comforting (even if annoying) sight when you haven't seen them in a year.  I really look forward to 2013, another year of huge changes for us...but it is so great to see that God is in control.