a year in review and looking ahead

looking back over the last year, i realized that quite a bit has happened in the walton household. here are a few highlights from our year...

* in march, graham and amy got married... 

* in march, i got my first teaching job = god's providence. that is all i can say when talking about how blessed i was to receive this job. after taking every content exam i could imagine, becoming certified in every possible area, and substitute teaching for nearly a year, god stepped in and reminded me of his steadfast watch care over my life. i had come to what i thought was the bottom. i couldn't understand why with a bachelors and a masters, i could not find a job. one afternoon in early march, my mother-in-law called me and told me she had run into Marsha, my old high school principle, and that she was looking for teachers for a new charter school she was opening in granbury. i don't remember what gave me the courage to call her but i did, and 2 days later i was in her office accepting a job. i was the first teacher hired and i have loved absolutely every second of my time there.

* in april, we sold our first house and bought our second house = although we loved our 1929 tudor in historic ryan place, when we found a great deal on a bigger house, in a better area, we couldn't resist. because we bought our first house for ridiculously below market value, we were able to sell it for a great profit and buy a house we never probably would have been able to afford otherwise. it was hideous on the inside, needed tons of work, and for those reasons, along with the horrible market, had been for sale for over a year. hence when we swooped in and bought the adorable 1950's ranch-fixer-upper. we've spent the better part of the year renovating, everything from the curb appeal to the kitchen. every square inch of our house has been painted: every wall, every piece of trim, every ceiling every built in, heck, even the fireplace. we are so proud of the work we have accomplished.

* in late april, we found out we were pregnant... 

* in june, my sister and ryan got married...

* in july, we went to hawaii with my family...

* in july, we welcomed another nephew, Reid Maurice Walton, into the family...

* in august, we found out we were having a boy and decided on a name, baird samuel walton...

* in august, we found out my sister and ryan were expecting their first baby too...

on labor day weekend, my mom and rodney got married... 

* in september, we welcomed a niece, Lucy Danielle Walton, into the family...

* in october, we babymooned in boston... 

* in november/december i had multiple wonderful showers...

* in december we had maternity pictures taken... 

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looking ahead, 2011 is extremely exciting for griffin and me. we have so much to look forward to, not only in the next couple of days, when we will finally be welcoming baby baird, but also for many things to come. here are the top ten things we are excited about for 2011...

{one} baird being born, watching baird grow up, and all things baird related

{two} spending quality time together as a family, without a list full of house projects. we are so thrilled that our house is basically done and are even more thrilled at the amount of time it will give us to spend time together.

{three} welcoming cooper, my sister and ryan's baby boy, into the world in april

{four} being a part of whitney, my college roommate's, wedding festivities, including wedding showers, her bachelorette party in fredericksburg in may, and her wedding in july.

{five} celebrating our three-year anniversary in june

{six} completing the final two house projects: the mudroom/pantry/laundry room and the back porch

{seven} vacationing with griffin's family in vancouver in july

{eight} vacationing with my family in italy in early august

{nine} starting the 2011-2012 school year

{ten} celebrating our first halloween, thanksgiving, and christmas as a family of three

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to say we were blessed beyond belief during 2010 would definitely be an understatement. we are so thankful for the countless blessings we have been given and look forward to a year full of new and exciting adventures. 


hope your 2010 was as wonderful as ours and your 2011 is even better...


love,
maggie