It has been, to my utter shock, an entire year since last I posted here (optimistically touting that I would resume my regular schedule in the near future). Well, I suppose you may be wondering what in the world could have happened to me to cause such prolonged radio silence. It boils down to pure business in the Spring, and multiple life changes over the rest of the year.
2015 was, by far, one of the most topsy-turvy years of my existence. As you may have known, I forget whether I mentioned it or not, I was asked to be the stage manager for "Annie Get Your Gun" last Spring semester. This entailed far more than I ever could have imagined, but I would not trade the experience for anything. I was enrolled in 18 credit hours, I worked 8 hours a week, and I spent at least 40 hours a week on the show. Needless to say, I was not in possession of any free time to be spent on blogging. The show was a tremendous success in the end, with all three performances sold out and lifelong friendships formed. I left for home that summer without the slightest realization that I would not be returning again.
I may have mentioned before that my dad is a pastor. He had been at the same church for 8.5 years in Colorado, but God saw fit to open a new door for my family. In May, he was voted into a new church, two weeks later my sister, Rachael, got married, and two weeks after that we moved to California. It was about this time that I started thinking about my education. This move more than doubled the distance to be traveled to school. I began to consider transferring to my dad's alma mater, which is a mere 3.5 hours from my new home. Everything snowballed faster than I could blink, and by late June, I was enrolled in my new university.
It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, and the goodbyes were painful, but I am so blessed to be where I am now. Last semester was bumpy at times, but that was to be expected. It is never a smooth process to completely change your life. In fact, nothing in my life is the same as it was a year ago. Kimm and her husband Johan moved into the States, though it was a tricky process due to bureaucracy. Kimm ended up coming to live with us for a couple of weeks because of the entire mess, which wasn't a bad deal for us, although she rather missed her husband. Rachael and her husband, Jared, also had a career change and moved from their first home. I suppose they thought getting married was not enough of a change for them. The main point being that life brings changes, and sometimes they are all at once.
We were blessed to have everyone with us for Christmas, and we all went to Disneyland like the grown up children we are. It was marvelous to be in fifty degree weather in the middle of winter. This is one thing I am definitely enjoying!
It is a brand new year now, and I am sure that life will continue to surprise us, twisting and turning in unexpected ways. Frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Happy New Year to all!