Happy New Year!

... and what a year 2011 has been. I have gotten engaged, had 4 jobs, lived in 3 states, and appear to have crested into the stage of life known as "the late twenties". NBD. 2012 holds just as much in store for me, as we move to North Dakota and hopefully GET MARRIED! 


2011 really and truly was an interesting year for me, and it demanded a lot of me, especially in the maturity department. Moving out on your own is no easy task, let alone being removed from everything you've ever known and replanted in what may sometimes seem to be like another planet, and with someone else who has a hectic and demanding lifestyle of their own. Nonetheless, I have survived, and might even say that I enjoyed the roller coaster ride of 2011 and have grown tremendously in the last year. As I sit back and reflect on the year of 2011, I can't help but think of all that I have been blessed with and very often take granted for. My mother is ever loving and supporting and will literally get up in the middle of the night to feed you or listen to what you may have to say at 2 in the morning ... I have the 3 best friends in the world ... some may even say that they are .... 

I have very loving and kind future in laws who look out for my best interest as well as Alex's. I am blessed to have a wonderful man who is so incredibly kind to me and pushes and stretches me to be a better and more productive person each day(despite the great resistance he faces ... daily). The blessings that I have are countless and although there are many .. many many many days when I complain about the uncertainty of my day to day life due to "third parties" (cough cough THE AIR FORCE cough cough) I still have plenty of days where I marvel at the opportunity I have been given to help such a capable person achieve his dream and to experience life all over this country of ours; being forced to adapt has allowed me to love life in a different way and appreciate a way of life that I never thought I would be able to even survive in. Besides, no one's life is certain and health and wealth can not be invested in, so the best that we can do is invest in every moment that we have been given. 


So with that I bid you adieu and wish for the happiest of New Years to you, and I leave with you a prayer that I hope to be true for you in the year 2012 as well as the rest of your lives 

I will pray for you now, for you have been my faithful friends 

while the road we walk is difficult indeed

I could not ask for more than what you've already been 

only that you would say these prayers for me 

May your heart break enough that compassion enters in 

may your strength all be spent upon the weak 

All the castles and crowns you build and place upon your head

may they all fall come crashing down around your feet 

May you find every step to be harder than the last 

so your character grows greater each stride 

May your company be of humble insignificance 

may your weakness be your only source of pride 

What you do unto others, may it all be done to you 

May you meet the One who made us 

and see him smile when life through 

May your blessings be many but not what you'd hoped they'd be 

and when you look upon the broken 

may mercy show you what you could not see 

May you never be sure of any plans you desire 

but you'd learn to trust the plan He has for you 

May your passions be tried and tested in the holy fire 

May you fight with all your life for what is true. 

I have prayed for you now all of my dear and faithful friends 

but what I wish is more than I could ever speak 

As the way wander on I'll long to see you once again 

Until then, would you pray these prayers for me? 

Oh, that you would pray for me. 

-Kendall Payne, Pray