As we come to the close of another year, I look back and am amazed at how quickly life passes. The blessings of this past year have been immeasurable for Daniel and I. We have learned a lot about ourselves and each other and we continue to grow with each passing day. Our first year of marriage has had more triumphs than trials. We can look back and count our blessings and know that God has had a hand in it all.
Daniel has just completed his second to last year at Tennessee Tech University. We are counting down the days until next December when he will graduate and get a job and we can settle down into a more normal life. Daniel made the Dean's List for this past semester (he didn't know what this was at first), but was excited about his high grades.
I continue to work at Trademark Printing, a small family owned printing company, here in Cookeville. Like any job, this job has its share of good and bad aspects, so I continue to try my best to get the most out of it. Daniel thinks that I am going to become a union leader at work because I have been able to lead some group discussions with my boss that have led to an increase in benefits for all of the employees.
Daniel and I have worked on many projects together this past year. This has definitely been a learning experience. We have learned how to express our ideas to one another and then work together to reach a goal. We have built shelves, a kitchen island, and installed a washing machine in our kitchen. We live in a small space so we thrive on making the most of it.
We have enjoyed countless weekends of hiking. One particular trip that began as a normal day of hiking, turned into a spontaneous trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We stopped at a Goodwill to buy clothes and a WalMart to buy toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant. We look forward to many more weekend trips to the mountains.
We have been truly blessed by our church family. We officially placed membership at the Collegeside Church of Christ here in Cookeville. The You Marrieds class has given us some wonderful friends. It has been exciting to find our niche and be a part of a thriving group.
To sum up our first year of marriage is a Top 10 List of what we have learned this past year:
1) Daniel's idea of cooking is to order Pizza
2) Cheree does not iron
3) The more spontaneous a trip is, the more interesting a story you will have to tell later on
4) If you are going to check out a camping site, you should not attempt to drive your Nissan Altima anywhere that only a 4-wheel-drive vehicle should be. If you are stubborn enough to do it anyway, you may manage to get stuck for a while or even raise one or two of the wheels completely off the ground
5) Do not decide to hike an 8-mile loop if you only have 3 hours until dark.
6) Driving to Canada for a weekend is maybe trying to do too much.
7) If you are going to cook with dried tomatoes, you should rehydrate them before you try to cook with them.
8) A roll-a-way toolbox in the living room isn't such a bad piece of furniture after all.
9) It really is possible to live in a 450 square feet of space and not kill each other.
10) You really can live off love.We hope that each of you has a wonderful Christmas, New Year and Holiday Season.