"Nothing to Do, Nowhere to Be, A Simple Kind of Free"

I have been worried about so many things and once again, I am reminded that there is no need. Tomorrow will worry about itself. My burden is light.

JORDAN

After Christmas, Russell and I went to Jordan to visit a couple friends. When Russell and I told our coworkers why we were taking some vacation days to travel, many of them asked, "Jordan? As in the country?...Why?" I guess if you're living in America and tell people you are going to visit a country in the Middle East, a lot of them see it as an uncommon and even dangerous decision. I had a couple people tell me to be careful. To be honest, I started to worry as well but if you hang around Russell long enough, his everything-will-be-fine attitude kind of rubs on you.

Overall, I am thankful, even blessed, that we were able to go to Jordan. It wasn't dangerous; I think it's an American misconception that the Middle East is scary because of our media, the war we have going on, and a combination of these things. I actually saw quite a few European tourists. The country is beautiful and learning about the culture was insightful. Not only that, but we got to celebrate Jonathan and Erin's engagement!

Below are summaries of the different sites we saw. Warning, there are lots of pictures so loading time might take awhile.

Reflecting on 2013

Significant Events that Happened in 2013:

• I got married!
• Russell was in the hospital quite a bit last year, but!--he is fine and healthy now. Praise God.
• We got a puppy :)
• We also got a saltwater fish tank
• I finally have my first sister. My brother-in-law got married in August to Kristen. Woo!
• Exciting things/plans for Russell's work
• Started as a Marketing Coordinator for a mortgage company
• Went to a [short] trip to London, England.
• Went to a great trip to Amman, Jordan (future blog post on this one).

2013 has been a year filled with blessings. It will always be a year I refer to since it is the year I got married. It'll have a special notch in my heart which I am ready to whip out anytime someone asks what year I got married in. It's a year that will never end :)

As for 2014, I'm eager to see what it holds. Where will Russ and I move to once our lease is out? Where will Russell's work take him? I also need to mention that there are a couple of AWESOME WEDDINGS that will take place this year. 

2014 is also the year of the horse! 1990, my birth year, was the year of the horse. The number 14 is also my favorite number. I'm not much of a superstitious person, but I am excited for 2014 for a lot of mundane/silly reasons such as the ones I just listed. Hehe...