The more things change, the more they stay the same...

As is usually the case, this post is coming a bit later than I had originally planned! While reading back over my last post, I realized how much time has passed, and how many things have changed since the last time I posted. I am going to *try* to catch everyone up on our life happenings, but my goal is to make this post as brief as possible. To put it simply, you guys will be getting the Cliffs Notes version of the past month and a half!

For starters, our job situation has been resolved!! Thanks to all of you who have prayed for and encouraged us over the last several months. I was offered a job at Eastwood Middle School in Tuscaloosa in mid-December, and since Matt and I had agreed to take the first offer that was presented, I verbally accepted. Three days before I was to be approved by the Tuscaloosa City School System, Matt received a call from Bob Jones with a job offer. Since our offers were in two different cities, we spent a lot of time weighing the pros and cons of each. After much discussion and prayer, we decided that it would be in our best interest for Matt to remain at Bob Jones. This was a difficult decision for us for many reasons. Matt and I both love Tuscaloosa, and no matter where we live in the future, a part of our hearts will always be in that city. Though the chance to return to Tuscaloosa was appealing, we are near family in Madison, and many of our college friends are finding jobs in this area as well. Since Matt has already spent a year and a half at Bob Jones, we also felt that his chance of retention might be higher than mine would be if teaching at a new school. Eastwood was very understanding when I called to back out of my position, but I still felt terrible (and a little sad!) about turning them down last minute. Though there are still many uncertainties about Matt's future at Bob Jones, we are so very thankful that we have been given the opportunity to stay in Madison for the time being.

Despite staying in Madison, Matt and I were forced to change apartments during the week of Christmas. As if that week is not hectic enough already, right?! After I had accepted the job offer in Tuscaloosa, we told our old complex that we would be vacating our unit. By the time we figured out that our plans had changed, Weston Ranch had promised our unit to another set of tenants. While finding an affordable apartment AND moving during the week of Christmas was incredibly stressful and crazy, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Matt and I were able to find a place that was within our budget that provided us with much more living and storage space. It has been wonderful to finally be able to spread out a bit! While we are still working to get everything unpacked and organized, below are a few pics of our living room:

 Our Christmas tree!!! One of the things that made me hate our job uncertainty, was the fact that I could not decorate for Christmas. Thankfully, our job situation was resolved just in time for me to get my tree up. Matt and I literally decorated on the 23rd! I know it looks a bit like a Charlie Brown tree, but I was so proud of it. I did not have time to buy any new ornaments, a topper, or a tree skirt, but given our situation, I think my tree turned out just fine :).

One of my favorite things about our new place (other than the additional bedroom, of course!), is that we have a mantel! If you sent us a Christmas card this holiday season, you should be able to find your smiling face in this picture. We eventually received so many cards, that some of them had to be displayed on the outer edge of our kitchen counter. No worries though, if you sent us a card, I made sure it was displayed somewhere in our new abode :). I was also REALLY excited to get to hang our new stockings. Matt and I get teased a lot about our Alabama football obsession, so it should come as no surprise that our stockings represent our love for our alma mater.

One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was a set of lamps from my grandparents. I am obsessed with the color blue, which is evidenced in many places throughout our apartment. I saw these lamps while visiting my friends Nick and Laura in Dothan, and absolutely had to have them. Thankfully, my family took the hint and gave them to me as a Christmas gift. Laura also ended up purchasing a set for her new house, but we figure that nobody will notice since we live six hours away from one another! 

Besides the craziness that centered around our job search, finding an apartment, and moving, Matt and I kept busy in the month of December with work (seasonal job for me), shopping, and Christmas parties. Below are a few snapshots from the last two months. 

 As an early Christmas present, my brother bought us Iron Bowl tickets! Since my brother is a student at Auburn, our seats were in the student section. Many people thought we were crazy for sitting there in our Alabama gear, but it was fun to sit amongst Auburn students while the Tide beat down the tigers in Jordan Hare. We greatly enjoyed spending time with my brother too. Roll Tide!

Normally I take dozens of pictures around the holidays, but this year I dropped the ball. The picture above is from my cousin's camera, and was taken at our annual Christmas gathering with my mom's side of the family. With the exception of one cousin, every member of the family was in attendance. One of the main reasons I love Christmas is because of all the gatherings with friends and family. While we were sad to be unable to make the trip to California to see Matt's family, we had a blast hanging out with friends and family in Alabama.

 Matt has had to find his inner handyman since our move. For almost a week straight, it seemed as if I always needed him to hang pictures on the walls, assemble furniture, or fix a temperamental appliance. Thankfully, he has learned quickly. What a great sport!

It takes a contortionist to get out from behind our dryer. Needless to say, Matt was not in the mood to pose for a picture after our gazillionth attempt to fix the dryer.

As I mentioned earlier, I unfortunately failed to capture many of our holiday outings on camera. In the month of December we also celebrated Christmas with my dad's side of the family and our Sunday school class. In the little bit of time we had between work, moving, and Christmas gatherings, we also attended Christmas at Calvary (in Tuscaloosa), and spent time with friends watching holiday movies and checking out all of the Christmas displays that Madison had to offer. We also brought in the new year with our Sunday school class. Not everyone made it until midnight, but considering that most everyone had been moving or traveling, I think we all did pretty well! Since we were moving, the holiday season was kind of a blur this year, but we did enjoy the little bit of it that we had time to celebrate.

Though the new year holds many uncertainties for us, both Matt and I are looking forward to the year ahead. Despite the ups, downs, and transitions that 2011 held, we are ultimately in the same place that we began. The more things change, the more they stay the same! We are so blessed to have a job, a place to live, and to be in a city near family and friends. Though the road to 2012 was often rocky, I could not be more thrilled with the place that we find ourselves in 2012. Here's to a great year (and hopefully more frequent blog posts!)