Long Time No See

Hello Blogging World!!! I'm not going to even pretend to try and catch you up on what has been going on with the Halls in the last year, but I did think there were a few highlights that were worth mentioning:

1) I finished my first year of teaching. I taught 7th grade science my first year. To say it was a huge learning experience would be an understatement. I had heard horrible stories about middle school students, but I actually loved my students. They were so fun and made me laugh often. This year I stayed at the same school, and have been teaching 7th grade reading. I am enjoying teaching the subject matter much more this year.

2) My youngest brother, Kalen, got married March 13 to Lindsey. Ryan and I were honored to be in the wedding and loved witnessing their big day.

3) My other brother Michael proposed in May to his girlfriend Brittany. They got married October 23 and Ryan and I were also honored to be in their wedding. Don't they look cute?

4) Ryan and I have been working on getting our house put together. It is a huge work in progress, but we have made some major steps in the right direction. For a long time, we had just a few things on the wall, but lately it has started to feel much more put together. I have even been working on some art projects for the house that I will share when they are finished. I will definitely have to post pictures of all the updates when I finish.
5) Ryan and I went to Washington DC this summer to visit his parents. We had a great time and enjoyed visiting a lot of places while Ryan's parents were working. We went to a lot of the museums, Georgetown for a day, local wineries, and many other places. Here we are at the National Cathedral, which was not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. Seriously, if you ever get a chance to go to DC, you definitely need to go here!

What would a trip to Georgetown be without going to Georgetown Cupcakes? They were insanely delicious! Our favorite? Cookies and Cream.

6) At the end of July, I went to Young Life Camp in Colorado for a week. I left camp a huge Young Life fan. I loved how the entire week's purpose was to show high school kids the extravagance of God's love, which really resonates with me. It was such a huge privilege to witness God's work in these kids' lives. Here are the girls in our cabin- isn't camp so pretty?

7) Ryan and I spent Thanksgiving in the valley. It was our first holiday to not be around family, and while we missed them, we really enjoyed our time together. It was relaxing and a good time of rest for us after such a busy semester. Ryan carved our turkey and did a great job- now we are really adults :)

Here is our plate of food and it was all so good! I actually couldn't believe we pulled it off. It was a real sense of accomplishment.

We HAD to wear maroon to support the Aggies' big game that day.

8) My brother, Michael, graduated from Sam Houston State University in December. We went to see him graduate, but then had to turn around and come back to the valley because I had 3 days of school left. Once I finished school, we headed back to The Woodlands for Christmas. We were able to spend a week with my family and enjoyed our time there. We even were able to go up to Fort Worth to visit both of our extended families for a couple of days. It was great to be able to see everyone. Here are Ryan and I after the Christmas Eve service. 9) We spent New Years in the valley with some friends and had a good time with everyone. We now anxiously await what God has in store for us individually and as a couple in 2012. It will be a good year!
Well, I know this could not possibly be everything that has happened in the past year, and I know I have been a HORRIBLE blogger, but I am going to work on that this year- I promise! Thank you for being a part of our lives and we wish you a very Happy New Year!