Like the Morning Light... Slow and Unfocused

A dear friend of mine, Julie, inspired me to write this. We met a long time ago and she is one of my favorite people to this day. Props to her and her amazing post!

Julie and I in 2009. That was practically four years ago!

The year was, over all, a decently good one. I feel like each year is better than the one before, and such was the case with this one. I am certain next year will be the same. My family and I have a ton of great stuff planned, but onto that in a  moment.

Art with Mrs. Paul in the spring.

This January my mom began her fourth decade and I began my final semester as a sophomore in high-school. My entire sophomore year was one of my best academic experiences. I had art (which I loved), and my two personal favorites were American History and my English class, each with Mrs. Becki Miller. I learned a ton in each of those, and Mrs. Miller inspired me to be a great writer which, in turn, helped me to decide on a college. More on that when something is set in stone; however, the degree I am pursuing is a BA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis. Oh, the stories that will be told!

Fun times at JOY.

In February my littlest sister left single didgets behind and turned ten. I have to admit, it was a little sad for me. I remember being ten and it doesn't seem that long ago! Two other friends of mine who are sisters had birthdays in February, too. My sister Mandy and I went out to their house. We went hiking and played capture the flag and jumped off of logs. It was crazy fun. Even though I lost capture the flag.

 Jumping off of a log (Hoss and Elizabeth).

Besides all the birthdays in February, my dad and I went on a Father Daughter trip down to Dudley Hall's ranch. It is seriously one of my best memories and I highly reccomend it. My dad and I had a blast making fun of the other dads and daughters there. Just kidding. We did grab some Texas pecans, which were a great purchase.

 My dad standing at the edge of a cliff at the ranch.

The Pregnancy Resource Center in Decatur held a benefit gala in February. A ton of friends and I volunteered as servers. It was incredibly fun! After everyone finished serving, we went back in a room for pizza and played games. Amazing.

On the 19th of March my parents had been married for exactly nineteen years. That is so long! Crazy.

My sisters and I celebrating at my parents' anniversary dinner.

 

My oldest sister turned 18 in March. Guess what she did? She got a tattoo. It's pretty epic. It reads, "My Strength Phil 4:13." She's an adult now! Scary.

 Shalah and her cake at Papadeux.

April... oh, April. What a fun month you were.  

All of April my friends and I put all of our energy into Godspell rehearsals and planning the most amazing WWII themed Cotillion of the century. One of the most memorable things about the Cotillion was creating the flag centerpiece for the authentic 1940's gym it was held in. 

Creating the flag in the garage. It was made out of drop cloth and paint. My whole family pitched in!

The finished flag! Thanks to my dad for the porportionate stars.

My favorite picture from the big dance!

In May I ended my sophmore year and performed my final play with JOY Academy: Godspell. As far as the script goes, it wasn't my favorite. But this play had an amazing message of salvation. It was so fun to perform with all of my friends. I cherish that play because it was the last with that particular group of people. I'm going to miss it!

 Maddie and I backstage during a performance.

  Anna and I performing on stage.

In May, many friends of mine graduated. It is crazy to see my friends growing up!

  My friends Rebecca and Wil at their graduation.

June: summer had officially begun after all of the craziness! My sisters and I celebrated by having a sleepover in the living room with a sheet tent and Just Dance competitions... all complete with a late night showing of The Princess Bride.

Just Dance and our epic pallet/tent.

At the end of June I went out for a three day weekend at my friends the Rodrigs' house. We went to the rodeo, horseback riding, the lake, we barbequed, ate at Dos Chiles, swam in the rain, attempted a blow-up pool, watched Nacho Libre... it was awesome. 

Horseback riding!

That was probably one of my favorite Summer memories. And oh, I almost forgot... we picked fresh peaches and tomatoes... Good Lord. I will never enjoy another grocery store tomato or peach again.

I turned sixteen on July 26th. I celebrated my going out to eat with a bunch of family members and then with a few friends. We watched movies, made desserts, and drank old fashion coca-cola! A laid back birthday was all I could have asked for.

 My birthday presents. Why yes, that is milk. Farm fresh milk.

My mani-pedi present. Best ever.

I also began my first job in July! Working with my cousin for her Dazzled Darling Beaded Necklaces shop. I make the necklaces. It's a fantastic job!

And now... the epic story of how I got my license. 

It was to be a fantastic day. I was scheduled to go up to the DMV in Decatur in the middle of August. We went up there... and I failed parallel parking, hence, failing the test. It's safe to say I was devastated. Luckily my awesome sister Shalah found me an appointment the next day up in Whichita Falls. Although it was two hours away, it was worth it and I PASSED! Woot. 

August: I'm a junior. This is weird. I started dual-credit college classes at TCC. Awesome. Thank God for JOY... I was totally prepared for it! The highlight of August, however, was the road trip that me, Shalah, and three of my friends took to my friends, the Hoovers, grandparent's house in Amarillo. It was so fun! We went to Cadillac Ranch, antique shopping, had amazing food... oh goodness. 

 Cadillac Ranch! We rock.

The road-trip over to Amarillo, Texas.

September: September was filled with school and homework... yay. The one highlight was going to a Warriors football game in Decatur with a few friends and then Braum's afterwards. It was crazy fun! I love those people.

Maddie and Morgan were secretly taking pictures of Sarah and I. I think in this picture we were accidentally making hearts with our hands and then realized a few people were staring. Don't we have nice cover-up faces? I changed my heart into a circle rather quickly.

 And the laughter afterwards...

October: Now THAT I remember!

Early October it was back to the Rodrigs! That time around we went spotlighting, wild-flower picking with Nate, the Bowie fall festival (so fun!), a classic car show, an art competition, hunting, and I got an archery stamp and officially shot my first bow! I wasn't half bad... it was harder than I thought it would be. Got it back on 40, though!

 Why, yes, I did make Rebekah take a picture of me. I was pretty proud of myself.

 Nate picking a bouquet for his mom. Oh my gosh. So sweet.

 Mine and Jonathan's favorite car at the carshow. We both claimed it, but in different colors.

That would also be Hoss' hand. Just him being Hoss. Ha.

 My archery stamp which was supposed to be archery tags... Thanks Wal-Mart.

In October I attended an amazing fall pumpkin carving party that my friend Maddie threw. Ah, good times.

A picture from the party. 

In November I went to Canton (a mega-flea market in east Texas) for the first time. I went with a goal: get a dog. That is exactly what I did! I got the cutest freaking dog on earth, even though I originally went in for a bird dog. Oh well. I'm a sucker for cuteness. 

Meet Miss Kay! (named after Miss Kay from Duck Dynasty on A&E)

She is a Yorkie-Poo. And has a pot belly. I love her.

Later on that month we celebrated Thanksgiving at my Uncle Richard's house. I made pies. I might as well have been famous for those pies. The day after we went to the Texas Motor Speedway right by us and drove through their Christmas lights. It was... sad. Ha. But good quality family time.

Lights at the Texas Motor Speedway.

My favorite part of November was ordering our first real, live Christmas tree from New Hampshire! (Weir Tree Farm) It got here the first week of December and was BEA-U-TIFUL! It was a hybrid tree: a Fralsam. 

The tree came in a box. That was a little surprising.

Beautiful tree in the end, bad image quality.

December. My favorite month for one reason only: Christmas. I am a Christmas fanatic. I love the whole idea of Christmas... gift giving, decorating, winter, classic movies, family, lights, cooking... ah. My love. 

My presents, but I really love the new quilt and pillows I got. Note: that red blanket? A Christmas gift from the Hoovers and I LOVE IT.

On the 21st, though, my friends threw an End of the World party at their house. We did a Chinese gift exchange, which was laughable. And my friends and I laughed and laughed while star gazing on the trampoline. Gah. 

The group at the party. Good times!

Shalah and I at the end of the party.

And here we are... December 31, 2012. The final day of the year. It's really weird for me. I feel like the year just started... 

Here are a few recaps of some of my favorite moments that I can't date exactly, but loved. 

 The familia... I believe this was taken in November on my sister Mandy's birthday.

 My first official car! Although my tahoe soon became my mom's... it was my first official car. It was later replaced with my killer truck, a 2003 Chevy Z71.. 4x4 baby. Thanks, Dad! Oh, the perks of having a car dealer for a father.

 The Fourth of July was spent in downtown Fort Worth watching the city's firework display with some family friends.

 Tubing at the lake! I got a major sunburn on the back of my legs from this... I don't reccomend tubing three-hours on end without reapplying sunblock. Especially if you're as white as I am.

 More tubing! This was bitter-sweet for me because I missed my friend Sarah's birthday due to being in Oklahoma. But it was super fun other than that!

 My younger sister turned thirteen. *wipes tear away*

 Shalah and I at my cousin Tara's wedding. Notice the red hair? Yeah, that was an unintended color.

But don't worry, I got back to butter-batch real quick.

The entire family and some extended at the wedding.

 It snowed on Christmas! My little sister prayed for it to snow on Christmas ALL YEAR. God is hilarious and took that very literal.

 Our house covered in snow. Best sight to come home to.

  I would be lying and crazy to say I wasn't a JRR Tolkien fan. This movie was amazing.

This is a passion fruit tea lemonade from Starbucks that I woke up to today. It is my favorite drink from there. Why is this important, you ask? I shall tell you. Part of my New Years resolution is to boycott Starbucks... for multiple reasons. The main three are A) Starbucks supports abortion and homosexuality, B) it isn't exactly the healthiest option, and C) I averaged out how much I spend yearly at Starbucks... about $340. Ha. Ha. I'm not going to think about that.

 

I know this coming year is going to be the best one yet. My plans include a trip to Orange Beach, Alabama, hanging out with friends a lot, heading out to the lake, pheasant hunting with my dad, starting up online early college classes at Regent University, and more... Thinking about all of that makes me very excited for January. Here I am, blogging with temporary pink highlights in my hair and sparkling cider in my hand.Only a few more hours!

I pray that this coming year will be full of fun, making memories, blessings... all the works. I pray the same for everyone else. 

 

Happy New Year from me and my family to yours!

Blessings,

Ryleigh