Each year I send out an end of the year email and I have decided to put it in a blog. Here you go! Hope you enjoy the read =)
In life there are procrastinators, I confess I am one of those! I really wanted this email to be done right before Christmas but as you can tell my gift of procrastination got the best of me. Instead of saying have a Merry Christmas I will say I hope you had a Merry Christmas. I don’t know about you but I am somewhat happy to put this year behind me. I am ready to move on to the new year…I am happy that I no longer have to do it alone! As all or at least I would hope that all of you would know that I GOT MARRIED!!!! This past year has been crazy and here are the reasons why.
In March I made the decision to make the move to Columbus Ohio to be closer to Nick. This would mean that I would leave a great job, an awesome church and my mom behind in Indiana. It was a bittersweet move for me as I knew that I would be moving closer to Nick but leaving home once again would be hard. With the move to Ohio came a new job. I accepted a position as a Behavior Support with a school for children on the Autism Spectrum. The trip to Columbus was eventful as Nick and I experienced our first flat tire together. We borrowed a truck from a friend and knowing nothing about trucks this made changing the tire eventful for two extremely tired people. This would lead us to an eventful year!
In June Nick accepted a position with Apple Inc. as an At Home Advisor. With this job he has been able to work from home and was able to take a pay raise. This was a huge transition for him as he was working days and now he is working four nights a week with 10 hr shifts. He continues to be a hard worker who continually finds ways to provide for us.
July was an exciting month for us as a couple. Anderson First Church of the Nazarene had us as the guest speakers at a weekend Children’s camp. I was in my comfort zone with kids but for Nick this was a challenging weekend. He did amazing and the kids really connected with him. This was a great challenge for us as a couple and in our ministry together!
September 20th I became Kendra Jones…and it was one of the best days of our life. We celebrated with some great friends and family. It feels so great to have someone love me the way that I love them. I could make this section really mushy but I won’t. If you would like to check out our wedding video you can view it on youtube at this hyperlink: http://youtu.be/lsH-n7p57lo
As many of you know Nick and I got into a car accident while on our honeymoon in Gatlinburg, TN. We hadn't even been married for 48 hours! This was the beginning of an eventful marriage! We are so thankful that all parties involved walked away from the accident with no injuries. With the accident happening in Tennessee this would mean that we would have to make a trip back out there when our car was done getting fixed. Frustrating but once we got our car back we traded in both of our cars for a brand new Kia Sorento…We love it and we praise God that he provided for us!
In October I unfortunately lost my job which ended up being a blessing in disguise. The day I lost my job it felt great to come home to a loving husband who held me and let me be angry. He has been amazing to pick up extra hours at work when needed and I excitedly got approved for unemployment. Yet again God provided for us! November would bring great things for us!
Nick spoke at a revival that he booked four years ago in Monongahela, PA and God continually blessed him that week. This revival provided some extra income for us this month and it was yet again another way that God provided for us. Are you starting to notice a trend? November was also the month that our local church, Obetz Nazarene, hired me on as their Children’s Pastor. I am loving every minute of being back in church ministry.
This month Nick and I celebrated our first Christmas together. The whole family traveled to visit with my sister and her family in TN. This time with the family was amazing and we continually thank God for his blessings every day. In the months a head Nick and I will be teaching a discipleship class at our local church and we are so excited about this opportunity!
As you can see this year has been a year of amazing adventures and has taught us to fully rely on God for his provisions. We pray that your family had a great Christmas and will have a great new year!
With Love,
The Joneses
