Happy New Year!

Well, 2012 has been quite a year for the Elliotts! A lot of ups, and some downs. I'll try to cover the highlights. Right now we're being super boring. It's 8:37pm, I'm in my PJ's watching Netflix while Ryan is doing homework. We plan to go to bed around 10... My mom says we're way to young for this, but I'm totally okay with our 'exciting' New Year's Eve :) We had a really fun dinner with Jon, Courtney, and our adorable nephew, Orry! So on to my summation of 2012 -

We began 2012 by sending Calvin out on his mission to Berlin, Germany. We got to skype with him last week and it was so great to hear him and see him. He's had struggles, but he LOVES the country and the mission. We pray for him daily, and love to read his e-mails. He's so busy all the time!

What a handsome guy?!

From January to May I did my student teaching at Harrison Lane Elementary and I LOVED IT! I built a lot of great relationships with my mentors. I busted my butt and graduated summa cum laude from UTA in May. It's so great to finally be done with school!

I took a break during the summer, and did a lot of job hunting! I found a position as a special education paraprofessional with Bell Manor Elementary in HEBISD (can't believe I've been in the same district - school, student teaching, and career - since I was in 2nd grade!). I really love it here. The staff is so great; I love the ladies I work with in our special ed room. I do hope to work up to getting my own classroom next year, but this has been the most educational and rewarding experience I've had thus far.

Ryan is expected to graduate in a little over a year from now. He's continuing to do well at his job, and he's really finding his stride as a supervisor. I'm constantly proud of how much time and effort he puts into motivating his team.

Over the summer we had a bit of a low... and in hindsight I'm so grateful that I didn't work during this time. Ryan was rushed to the hospital after multiple doctor's appointments. We were too late, though, and his appendix had already burst. I had lots of time to stay at the hospital and take care of him during recovery. It took quite a while for the infection to be eradicated and for his fever to break. Needless to say, I was exhausted, but I walked away knowing my husband much better - and loving him more for it. After a nice week-long "vacation" in the HEB Texas Health hospital, he came home and has recovered very nicely since then.

 

On a positive note, Ryan started an intense work-out system over the summer, and the surgery helped him jump start his weight loss. As of today, he's lost over 60 pounds! I'm so proud of how hard he works! Lots of people ask his secret - hard work -> a lot of cardio and dieting. He looks so great (and now I need to get my act together :P). 

In November we got to witness the sealing of my brother to my new sister-in-law, Michelle Donner! She's such a great addition to our family -there's no one in the eternities who could possibly be better for Parker. I'm so excited all the fun we'll have as family. And, to be honest, it's nice to not be the only girl! We're so happy for them!

<3

We had another low this fall - one that has been coming on for some time. It's hard to put into words sometimes, though I have no qualms being open about our situation. For now I'll spell it out in pictures:

And after 3 different medical opinions...

Of course there is still faith and hope; as Neal A. Maxwell says:

Starting this next year we'll be embarking on some new rounds of aggressive fertility treatments, so that'll be fun (*spoken with optimistic sarcasm). I haven't decided if I want to blog about it in detail... but I figure we've been married long enough that most people are expecting us to have children by this point. I know it's helped me to go and read stories of other women in my situation, but I know it's also opening the floodgates to potential unwanted advice. I want to give a big thank you to our families and friends who are very loving and supportive (especially all my girlfriends who patiently listen to "ovulation this, and Clomid that" all the time). We're hopeful that 2013 will bring us a bundle of joy!

Okay, that's a big downer, so I'll have to close with the BEST NEWS OF 2012! As of TODAY, we are officially HOMEOWNERS!!! (but let it be known that I hate this picture and no, I'm not high)

We just closed today and it feels super cool to start out 2013 in a house. We'll be officially moving in at the end of January (so I can get my pretty white cabinets right now) and we're so thrilled! It's a 4 bed, 2 bath house in Fort Worth (only about 5 minutes away from Jonathan and Courtney). I'll definitely post pics once I've painted. 

This concludes my post - so Happy New Year! I hope 2013 brings you all of your desires! I'll end with pictures from Ryan's MEGA DATE

The Hobbit @ AMC

Sea Life @ Grapevine Mills

trapped in the tank!

Favorite shot of the day!

I could stay in this room forever! (Also, can I say Ryan is looking super fine?!)

blurry, but oh well

Ryan made me homemade tortellini soup - so good!

MEGA DATE part 2: Nutcracker at the Bass Hall (with Grandma Elliott)

such great seats!