The Burley Year In Review

What a year this has been for us! Had I known what the year would hold when the clock struck midnight January 1, 2008, I may not have gotten out of bed for the rest of the year. But, whew, we survived it! In honor of this crazy year, I thought I would take a trip down memory lane and review our year!

January 2008
Started the year off putting the Christmas decorations away late, hitting some good sales, enjoying a good snowfall in Anderson, and getting a new soup recipe - what a carefree time! However, Camryn started the year off with a double ear infection and tons of coughing!

February 2008
Jason turned 29 and got a Wii for his birthday and my Cammy-bug turned 2!

March 2008
Had Camryn's 2nd birthday party and survived the cake fiasco, presented The Gospel Easter presentation at Covenant in Anderson, celebrated Easter, and had a surprise party for Jason's grandmother's 85th birthday.

April 2008
Witnessed the first ever Camryn temper tantrum, Camryn experienced a kidney infection, and had an amazing family vacation week in Oak Island, NC. This is where our lives really began to get turned upside down. We came back from the most relaxing, wonderful week spending time as a family in Oak Island to find a message on our answering machine from what would, in just a few short months, become our new church. We had no idea how significant that call was. In fact, I think Jason heard the message, didn't think much about it, and actually deleted it! However, the pastor was persistent and called Jason again, and we began to find out more and more about the "new" Covenant and the possibilities there. It was also about this time that I was really bummed that a job opportunity in Anderson District 5 fell through. But little did I know, there was a reason that job was never in God's plan.

May 2008
Went to my first Mother-Daughter Banquet with Camryn and my mom and returned to Seabrook Island, SC, for our annual Memorial Day trip with my sister and brother-in-law. All the while, there were lots of phone calls being made and lots of prayers being prayed concerning our new church. We set up an interview with the search committee and began to realize this was really real!

June 2008
Interviewed with the search committee and knew this was the place God was leading us to. Jason was offered and accepted the job at Covenant. Planned an anniversary trip to Asheville, NC, to have some down time and get our thoughts together. Told our closest friends we would be leaving in less than two months. Talk about hard!!!

July 2008
Camryn's first haircut, attended the 4th of July festivities at our new church and were officially confirmed by the church, announced to our old church we would be leaving, put our house on the market, began our search for a new house, our old house went under contract, packed up all our belongings, crammed in as much time as possible with our friends in Anderson, spent countless hours in the Hammetts' pool, and said goodbye to our old church.

August 2008
Officially sold our house, said sad goodbyes to our friends, officially moved, started a new church, started new jobs, Camryn started a new daycare, continued our house search, made an offer on a house, started the almost month-long crazy throwing up episodes I couldn't seem to shake (I have come to believe a lot of it was completely stress related!), lost the house we thought we were going to buy, and spent a lot of days feeling sorry for myself and my family.

September 2008
Celebrated my 29th birthday, made our first visit back to Anderson, began to settle into a bit of a routine, and found what would soon be our new home!

October 2008
Took Camryn to her first state fair, went back to Anderson for our college choir reunion, and started to really settle into "life" in our new town.

November 2008
Voted, celebrated Thanksgiving, and began to anticipate getting into our new house.

December 2008
Had our first major presentation with the choir at our new church, officially became homeowners again, moved into our new house, amazingly had everything in place AND decorated for Christmas in about a week and a half, enjoyed Christmas with our family and our friends, and are now looking forward to a QUIET 2009!

If you've stuck with this post all the way to the end, thanks. And, if you've participated at all in getting us through this year by praying for us, hugging us, listening to us, helping us, feeding us, housing us, holding our hand, smiling at us, giving us an encouraging word, or loving us in spite of leaving you (yes, that one's for you, Anderson people!), thank you from the bottom of our hearts! I know even through the craziness, upheaval, and the hard times of this past year, we are right where God wants us to be. I learned in the past year that God's plan for our lives isn't always easy and sometimes, it just downright hurts (like leaving people you consider your family), but His plan is always perfect, always on time, and always for our good. We can't wait for 2009 and all the good things He has in store for us! HAPPY NEW YEAR!