Have any of you watched this movie?
Well, I have. Apparently, in the world of bird-watching there is an informal competition where fanatics can dedicate an entire year of their life in pursuit of seeing or hearing the most different birds possible. Long story short, the year is a once in a lifetime opportunity, as most people can't just take a break from work and family to travel for an entire year. Essentially, the entire year is focussed on their passion: birds.
Although I don't take pictures of birds (or many pictures of my own life for that matter), I feel confident in saying that I just had my very own "Big Year." This past year was a once in a lifetime trial--- I mean opportunity, that I had to grow and learn so much about myself, my spouse, and life as a married girl. And best of all, this year gave me a chance to really focus on my passion: life. Although I didn't blog all that much about life, I know that I was genuinely living it and rolling with the punches that it had to offer.
So, let yourself enjoy looking over my very own "Big Year."
JANUARY
I got engaged to Mr. Jonathan Ruiz in December, so in January we took engagement pictures. Since we're just so sentimental, we went to our very own abandoned house out past the town of Granum; a place where we stopped once while dating and pretended to be married and looking for places to buy.
I found an old Wedding Time Capsule I made when I was a teenager. It was fun to open that up.
I also got a late birthday present in March. Jon took me to watch a play at Stage West Theatre. It was SO GOOD. And the food was delicious. It was such a fun night.
And, obviously, I was still continuing with my downward spiral towards Depression. It's a miracle Jon didn't walk away. My stress levels were so high I'm pretty sure I was sick with a cold for close to four months.
APRIL
Classes came to a close,
Jon and I continued with our marriage preparations,
and I moved home at the end of the semester to finish up the wedding plans.
And I was a basket case when I went through the temple for the first time and had cold feet about the whole thing. Again, Jon, what were you thinking you were getting yourself into?! Haha
MAY
Got hitched on May 4th.
Left for our epic honeymoon on May 7th. Arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on May 8th. Spent a couple days with Jon's aunt and uncle before leaving for the Galapagos Islands on May 11th. On May 14th a third member of our marriage showed their ugly face. I had full fledged Depression and I was going to be stuck in South America until June 29th. Yay!!
Don't get me wrong though. Despite all the hard times we had on our honeymoon because of me, we still had some super fun experiences. The Galapagos Islands are AMAZING!!
JUNE
Back in Ecuador. It soon became obvious that with my condition Jon and I couldn't stay in Ecuador for the entire month. I would have lost it. Thankfully, my dear, sweet husband sacrificed the rest of the trip and some money to move our flight home back a couple weeks. We were able to visit his Grandparents and two other pairs of aunts and uncles before leaving on June 15th. Ecuador is a beautiful country and Jon has such an amazing family down there.
Is it possible to say that things only got harder once we got home? Now that I was officially diagnosed with Depression, I was for some reason convinced that I could cure myself. If I went on a run everyday, ate healthy, and read my scriptures; I was positive all of that would cure me. However, my over-confidence only made things worse.
JULY
Jon had the great pleasure of coming to his first Gibb Family reunion. I soon realized that even the best event of the year can be hindered when things aren't going 100% in a marriage. Fortunately, I reached my breaking point and started taking... candy... to treat the Depression. Jon and I lived at his parent's house in Calgary during this month. I started working at the Mount Royal University Pool. We were constantly looking for our own place to move into. Jon was kind enough to take me to visit my family as often as possible
and I got a free piano!!
AUGUST
The candy was working just great. After surviving the hardest three months of my entire life, it was nice to finally enjoy the last month of the summer.
We moved into our very own place.
We went skydiving with Jon and his family
We also had some fun boating adventures down south with my family.
SEPTEMBER
Back to school obviously. Jon went through the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks of Accounting Recruiting.
We both got callings in our new ward.
OCTOBER
Went south for Conference. I was forced to hold a baby. Had a good time visiting with some relatives.
We also had some very lovely family pictures taken.
I am also feeling great. Marriage is lovely. Eat my shorts Depression.
NOVEMBER
Umm, I feel quite confident in saying that NOTHING happened in November. I don't even think I took a single picture. Jon and I spent the entire month watching Community. It was fantastic.
DECEMBER
Finished another semester! Spent the holidays with Jon's family in MEXICO!
I was the designated photographer for this professional beach volleyball team.
All in all, it was a "Big Year." I got pushed to my limits and lived to tell you about it. I'm so grateful to have had such an awesome guy by my side through each of these months, for better and for worse. I now know more than ever what I am capable of and what it takes to benefit from a trial. I've grown in more ways than I can list. What a wonderful blessing to be entrusted with a trial and choosing to grow from it. And what a blessing it has been to have a wonderful husband by my side for the entire ride.
Well, I have. Apparently, in the world of bird-watching there is an informal competition where fanatics can dedicate an entire year of their life in pursuit of seeing or hearing the most different birds possible. Long story short, the year is a once in a lifetime opportunity, as most people can't just take a break from work and family to travel for an entire year. Essentially, the entire year is focussed on their passion: birds.
Although I don't take pictures of birds (or many pictures of my own life for that matter), I feel confident in saying that I just had my very own "Big Year." This past year was a once in a lifetime trial--- I mean opportunity, that I had to grow and learn so much about myself, my spouse, and life as a married girl. And best of all, this year gave me a chance to really focus on my passion: life. Although I didn't blog all that much about life, I know that I was genuinely living it and rolling with the punches that it had to offer.
So, let yourself enjoy looking over my very own "Big Year."
JANUARY
I got engaged to Mr. Jonathan Ruiz in December, so in January we took engagement pictures. Since we're just so sentimental, we went to our very own abandoned house out past the town of Granum; a place where we stopped once while dating and pretended to be married and looking for places to buy.
And like an early predictor of things to come, I started getting fussy. I was stressed out with planning a wedding and my temperament was starting to ch-ch-ch-CHANGE. Even ask Jon.
FEBRUARY
My bad mood and stress persisted. I tried to combat it with anything I could. Such as starting a gratitude journal
and studying good books.
Fortunately, Jon still loved me and took the time to show me he did with a lovely Valentine's Day dinner.
MARCH
I also got a late birthday present in March. Jon took me to watch a play at Stage West Theatre. It was SO GOOD. And the food was delicious. It was such a fun night.
And, obviously, I was still continuing with my downward spiral towards Depression. It's a miracle Jon didn't walk away. My stress levels were so high I'm pretty sure I was sick with a cold for close to four months.
APRIL
Classes came to a close,
Jon and I continued with our marriage preparations,
and I moved home at the end of the semester to finish up the wedding plans.
And I was a basket case when I went through the temple for the first time and had cold feet about the whole thing. Again, Jon, what were you thinking you were getting yourself into?! Haha
MAY
Got hitched on May 4th.
Left for our epic honeymoon on May 7th. Arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on May 8th. Spent a couple days with Jon's aunt and uncle before leaving for the Galapagos Islands on May 11th. On May 14th a third member of our marriage showed their ugly face. I had full fledged Depression and I was going to be stuck in South America until June 29th. Yay!!
Don't get me wrong though. Despite all the hard times we had on our honeymoon because of me, we still had some super fun experiences. The Galapagos Islands are AMAZING!!
JUNE
Back in Ecuador. It soon became obvious that with my condition Jon and I couldn't stay in Ecuador for the entire month. I would have lost it. Thankfully, my dear, sweet husband sacrificed the rest of the trip and some money to move our flight home back a couple weeks. We were able to visit his Grandparents and two other pairs of aunts and uncles before leaving on June 15th. Ecuador is a beautiful country and Jon has such an amazing family down there.
Is it possible to say that things only got harder once we got home? Now that I was officially diagnosed with Depression, I was for some reason convinced that I could cure myself. If I went on a run everyday, ate healthy, and read my scriptures; I was positive all of that would cure me. However, my over-confidence only made things worse.
JULY
Jon had the great pleasure of coming to his first Gibb Family reunion. I soon realized that even the best event of the year can be hindered when things aren't going 100% in a marriage. Fortunately, I reached my breaking point and started taking... candy... to treat the Depression. Jon and I lived at his parent's house in Calgary during this month. I started working at the Mount Royal University Pool. We were constantly looking for our own place to move into. Jon was kind enough to take me to visit my family as often as possible
and I got a free piano!!
AUGUST
The candy was working just great. After surviving the hardest three months of my entire life, it was nice to finally enjoy the last month of the summer.
We moved into our very own place.
We went skydiving with Jon and his family
We also had some fun boating adventures down south with my family.
SEPTEMBER
Back to school obviously. Jon went through the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks of Accounting Recruiting.
We both got callings in our new ward.
OCTOBER
Went south for Conference. I was forced to hold a baby. Had a good time visiting with some relatives.
We also had some very lovely family pictures taken.
I am also feeling great. Marriage is lovely. Eat my shorts Depression.
NOVEMBER
Umm, I feel quite confident in saying that NOTHING happened in November. I don't even think I took a single picture. Jon and I spent the entire month watching Community. It was fantastic.
DECEMBER
Finished another semester! Spent the holidays with Jon's family in MEXICO!
I was the designated photographer for this professional beach volleyball team.
All in all, it was a "Big Year." I got pushed to my limits and lived to tell you about it. I'm so grateful to have had such an awesome guy by my side through each of these months, for better and for worse. I now know more than ever what I am capable of and what it takes to benefit from a trial. I've grown in more ways than I can list. What a wonderful blessing to be entrusted with a trial and choosing to grow from it. And what a blessing it has been to have a wonderful husband by my side for the entire ride.
I am so thankful to have you in my life Kristen, you remind me that there is always something bigger, and that even some of the strongest people go through trials. We are all God's children which means we are all special but also means he doesn't play favorites. Thank you. I am so glad you didn't let depression get the better of you. You have wonderful people in your life (especially Jon!) to support and love you! You are a beautiful wonderful person, and I still cannot imagine someone like yourself with such a demon. Knowing you have overcome it gives me great hope for others.
ReplyDeleteLv it Kristen! Lv u
ReplyDeleteMay 2013 be bigger and better in every way!
I love reading everyone's "year in review" posts and I usually comment something like, "Wow, sounds like you had such a great year!" and I'm going to write the same in your comment box, only for you it seemed great in a different way. Not in an everything-we-did-this-year-was-just-peachy-keen kind of way, but more in a growing, learning, and trail-overcoming way. It sounds like you were really tried and that you overcame and grew from this year. Which I personally think is the best kind of year. Sigmund Freud said (even though I think he's a quack, this quote is good) "One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle with strike you as the most beautiful". I think it's really admirable that you're so open about your depression and that you help people understand more about it. Thanks for sharing all your experiences and thoughts :)
ReplyDeleteGreat year in review post! I should start doing these or something. They're really fun.
ReplyDelete