Bubbly, No Resolutions, and a Whirlwind Year

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.~ Hellen Keller

Here we are on another New Year's Eve. My traditional New Years blog post is always a recap of all the things we experienced in the year, the places we've gone, the shining moments if you will. The journey we're on continues to amaze me, teach me, humble me, and mold me into the wife, mother, and woman I am and for that I'm grateful. It hasn't been an easy road sometimes this past year, but as I sat reflecting on 2013 I was in the end smiling, thankful, and feeling immensely blessed.

In January Annie led Mason's beautiful dedication at Greystone Baptist Church in Raleigh. We were

surrounded by all of our friends and family and Annie wrote a beautiful service. I read her sweet prayer to him all the time. Dedicating him to God with the support and love of family was one of the greatest days of our life. James made the huge decision to not apply to Officer Candidate School and instead pursue his electrical engineering degree which makes me so proud. We love enginerds in our family. In the Spring I got invited to Tim McGraw's VIP pre-party at the Raleigh, NC concert (What, you seriously thought I wasn't going to put that in my 2013 highlights? Please.) and James and I got a special serenade from Mr. McGraw. Mosquito Joe was featured in Inside Business, the Hampton Roads business journal. It was a fantastic article with a picture of the corporate staff, which means yours truly was in a business journal. (Ha, I know.)

One of the most defining moments of 2013 and the hardest to overcome was James losing his best friend Justin to Hodgkin's Lymphoma in June. I can't convey the sadness of losing Justin in words so I'm not going to try. I will say that his wife Kaitlin continues to astound me with her strength and spirit every day. She's an inspiration to me, even though she probably doesn't know it. Justin's parents and sister are in our thoughts and prayers every day.

In June Mason Eldridge took his first three steps and life has never been the same for us. In August, we celebrated his first birthday and once again were surrounded by family and friends who continue to overwhelm us with how loved that little man is. James was pinned with his Aviation Warfare Pin which is a very big deal and I am constantly astounded by all he does while he's at sea. Studying, boards, tests, awards, pins. Mosquito Joe is still such a bright spot in my life. I love being on the marketing team, managing social media, I'm a key contributor to the blog, and I get to work with people I adore. We're now operating in 12 states and on target to have 50 new locations in 2014. I've watched this company grow from zero franchises to where we are now and I'm so proud I got to be a part of it.

James and I celebrated four years of marriage in September with a wonderful dinner and then being asleep by 10pm because we were tired! Oh how things change. In October we made the move from Norfolk to Virginia Beach and I LOVE it. I thought I would have to adjust to condo/apartment life but I'm 2 minutes from daycare, 2 minutes from work, I have no yard work, and my kitchen and bathroom are huge.

The biggest story of 2013? Brings me back to the other woman in our life. The USS Roosevelt. In August she moved back to Norfolk to her home. Pier 12. I've had lots of moments with that pier now. I've cried watching James leave and I've cried watching him walk off the ship as my heart breathed a sigh of relief he was with us again. Going back to Pier 12 means she's active again, she's at sea all the time and she takes James with her. Adjusting to having part of our happy threesome gone a majority of the time has been a struggle at times, but I think we've all done ourselves proud.

What a year, right? We have a beautiful 16 month old who is 100mph all day every day, he has a lot of teeth, he learns a new word almost every day, and he the funniest person I've ever met. I'm so grateful for every person reading this because where ever you are, you're a part of our support system. I'm grateful for my family. We are so blessed and have so much to look forward to in 2014. I'm grateful for my friends, the ones I've known my whole life and the ones who have come into my life recently. I'm grateful for my husband. He is the glue that holds me together. I'm grateful for the lessons 2013 taught me...but I'm ready for 2014! Especially because James is working and I won't actually see him until 2014 ;) I don't ever make New Year's resolutions, but I do know I am going to resolve to keep happy because our success and happiness lies in us.

Where ever you are and whatever you're doing this evening as you ring in the new year, I hope you're smiling, I hope you're surrounded by people who love you (with a little bit of bubbly), and I hope 2014 brings you lots of success and happiness. Happy New Year's from the Greens!

xoxo