A decade in review.

A whole decade has gone bye and it just shocks me to think about what all happened in the past 10 years. It's absolutely CRAZY!! A blog that I frequently read, Muddy Boots, did a decade in review: so here is mine!

2000: I was in grade 10!! Y2K had the world in a frenzy and we all thought the world was going to come to a crashing end at midnight. If you didn't think the world was going to end then you were busy getting ready for the return of Christ which many people thought would also happen. I had just got my drivers license and drove the family's second car, a Buick Cutlass - classy!

2001: Grade 11 at Campbell Collegiate! No one will forget the terrible terrorist attack of September 11. I still get goose bumps when I watch footage of that horrible day in NYC. It changed the world in many ways. I lived at home with my parents, nothing too exciting really. I'm sure if I pulled out my old diary I would read funny comments about boyfriends I had, crazy times with my girl friends, etc. but nothing seems to stand out.

2002: Graduation from Campbell Collegiate! Wow, I felt so old at the time but man was I young and immature. I had a stressful year of self discovering and learning who God wanted me to be. I lost myself and found myself and gave my parents a run for their money, that's for sure. I decided to go for a year of Bible School and that fall attended Canadian Bible School.

2003: Freshman in College at Canadian Bible School. I lived in dorms and made many amazing friends! I went on a life changing trip to downtown Toronto where we lived in a homeless shelter for 10 days. I met James at CBC and spoke to him for the first time in April during the last week of school - never imagined we would be where we are now! In May 2003, James came to Regina to take me out to watch a football game. We have spent every weekend since then together. My parents moved to Vancouver, Washington (just outside of Portland, Oregon) in June 2003. I moved in with my grandparents. That summer we took turns traveling to Regina/Outlook and had a great summer together. In the fall I enrolled in University of Regina's social work program and James went to University of Saskatoon for Kinesology. On December 27, 2003, after 6 months of dating, James proposed to me while on a hike in Portland, Oregon. What a whirl-wind year for us!!!

2004: Decided that I didn't want to be a social worker and transferred over to the U of R's Arts department. I decided to major in Psychology. I also planned a wedding!! James and I traveled every weekend, taking turns doing the driving. In April James left for 4 months to go to BC for tree planting. While he was gone I planned the wedding (without having my mom or James near me!). James returned in August and on August 28, 2004 we got married! We went on a honeymoon to Banff, Alberta. That December we went to Orlando with my family for Christmas!

2005: James and I enjoyed our first year as a married couple. We both attended the U of R full time in the Arts department. James worked for Crawford Homes, a home building company in Regina and I worked for Living Hope Alliance Church as a Admin. Assistant. That summer James left again in April for treeplanting. Made for a really long summer without him! We bought our first house, on Mullin Ave., that year. What a great home that was!!

2006: We continued on with School for most of 2006 - same boring life of a poor student! We decided to build a our first new home that winter. I decided to no longer attend school and in June '06 I took a job as receptionist at Royal LePage Regina Realty while I took my license as a Realtor. James also decided to not attend University and he bought a new home exterior company from a man who was retiring. In August we sold our home on Mullin Ave. and had to move in with my grandparents until our new home was finished in November. Luckily for us my grandparents built a new house right beside us!

2007: In January we decided to try for a baby and the next month we found out we were pregnant! We went on a cruise in February during which I was incredible sick! I was probably sick for most of this year... or on meds to not make me sick! In February I also became a licensed Realtor in Regina. James' company was doing extremely well, especially with the huge housing boom in Regina and surrounding area. In July I went and visited my parents in Washington. At an ultrasound in August we found out we were having a baby girl - a shock to us because we were really thinking we were having a boy! I turned 23 in October - and I thought I was so grown up. On October 25, 2007 at 4:36 pm, after 17 hours of labour, we welcomed our greatest blessing: Sommer Lyn McCullough. She weighed 6 lbs 5 oz. That was the best year of my life so far. In November we opened up a new company: Trademark Homes Inc. with our friends the Cressman's.

2008: We enjoyed this new role of parenting and watching Sommer learn so many new things! Once again, we decided to build another new house, this time in a little community of White City/Emerald Park which is 10 km outside of Regina. My grandparents also decided to build another new house - again, right next door to us! At the end of June we traveled to Orlando, Fl. for a reunion with everyone from my mom's side of the family! We sold our house and moved in with my grandparents again until our house was completed in September 2008. We became Aunt Melissa, Uncle James and Cousin Sommer on August 30, 2008 when James' sister had baby Mara. Our little girl turned 1 in October and we could hardly believe how fast that year had flown bye!

2009: We did a lot of traveling this past year: Portland, San Diego, Las Vegas. I guess we wanted to go as many places as possible while Sommer was still flying for free! In February we decided that it was time to add to our family - something that we are still trying to do but we are trusting God to bless us with another child. This year we have been reminded that everything is done in God's timing, not ours, and only He is in control. It was a year that stretched me and made me grow deeper in God's promise to us. My verse for 2009 was Jeremiah 33:3: "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." I strongly believe this verse and know that God WILL hear our prayers and he WILL show us things we can not imagine!! God is so good. Another one of James' sisters had a baby in March, baby Kaylah, making us Aunt/Uncle for the second time! Sommer turned 2 in October, seriously hard for me to wrap my head around. She is now potty trained and in 2 weeks I will be registering her for Pre-School!

It was great to look back at this past decade and see how much can change in 10 years! I also look forward to what 2010 has in store for the McCullough family. I hope you stay turned to see what happens on our journey!