2022 - The Year in Review

Well, y’all – what a year. I’m a wife now. Haven’t been one for long (just about seven weeks) but I’m a wife. Ryan and I became homeowners. 2022 was a life-changing year to be sure and as we close out this wonderful year, I wanted to look back at each special month! 

 

January – The month we became homeowners! Wow! After searching for a couple months and seeing a few places here and there (Front Royal, Woodstock, Stephens City, somewhere way out in West Virginia on the side of a mountain) we found our first home. There were some bumps on the day of move in with Dominion Energy but otherwise, all went well! There was also plenty of snow in January and I even got the chance to dig my car out of an ice prison after one particularly fun storm. *sigh* We spent plenty of time getting our house set up (although we’ve done a lot more since then). It was a lovely January and a wonderful way to kick off the year 2022!

February – Such a good and full month! I finally had a Valentine to celebrate with and one of the ways we celebrated was by attending the church’s marriage conference! It was a great experience and something I hope we can attend every year to strengthen our marriage! I attended a pretty giant wedding expo and came home with tons of freebies and some interesting ideas (and we popped by the table for our lovely photographer). We made a trip to Lynchburg to pick up my wedding dress – no sneak peeks Ryan! And we hosted our first house guests when Ryan’s Mom and her boyfriend came for the weekend – we had a great time showing them our new hometown and our house! We closed out the month watching Ryan’s cousin Noah perform his concerto in DC!

March – I feel like March wasn’t too busy of a month! Ryan and I celebrated a year together on March 6^th and we spent the month getting to know a little more about our new hometown. We bought plants for our home and tried out restaurants in our town: Patty’s Place for breakfast, Route 11 Diner for some delicious diner food, Las Trancas for something south of the border, Woodstock Café for unique, perfectly curated & crafted meals, Flour & Water for the best baked goods and homemade soups, Sugar Creek Snowy & Sweet for the most amazing ice cream and our favorite spot: Spring House Tavern! We also explored nature around our home with the Riverview Park and Seven Bends State Park! 

April – The weather began to seem a little more Spring-like… until it snowed in mid-April, ha-ha! Easter was a wonderful day, and we had some great adventures in April. We started the month freezing at Evelyn and Emily’s birthday (who knew it would be 40 degrees on April 1^st?!?) and celebrated my Dad’s birthday with brunch in Martinsburg. We took a trip to Gainesville for the day and I found my wedding shoes and Ryan had himself a seafood feast! My Mom and I attended a wonderful women’s conference and also went to the Apple Blossom Women’s Prayer Breakfast and last but not least – Ryan and I took our first dance lesson!

May – Goodness what a full month! Ryan and I began the month seeing Steven Furtick and Elevation Worship in DC and it was an incredible concert and worship experience! My little sister came home for a little over a week and the whole family headed to Mississippi for a long weekend; we spent so much time with friends and family and Ryan, and I were honored with our first wedding shower! Family and friends from the church I was raised in (FBCC) showered us with love and gifts and we were truly blessed and blown away by how much love we were shown! We spent a couple days in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge – a long time family favorite spot and a new favorite of Ryan’s – we hiked and shopped and saw the sights and had a wonderful time! Ryan and I closed out the month by hiking the almost eight miles around Lake Frederick and enjoyed our Memorial Day with an ice cream ending!

June – Another full month! Ryan started a new job and finally had weekends off, so we were able to really enjoy our weekends together! We went to the drive-thru and had a Friday night picnic one weekend too.  We were able to have lunch with friends after church and just truly use the weekends to relax! We spent a Saturday at a Nationals game and got to see Ryan Zimmerman’s number retired – truly a special moment in Nationals history! Near the end of the month, we hosted Ryan’s Mom and Doc at our home again and were honored with another wedding shower! We were celebrated by friends who have become like family here in Virginia and it was truly a wonderful time of blessing!

July - Ryan and I stayed busy in July; kicking off the month with a four day weekend, July Fourth trip to Lancaster, PA! Ryan was able to show my parents so many of the places he grew up and we were able to spend time with his Mom, Doc and some of Ryan's friends and family. It was a wonderful start to the month! My Dad and Ryan built a fence for our backyard - they did such an incredible job, my Mom and I had a girls weekend and picked up my wedding dress and Ryan and I went kayaking - it was my first time! It was a wonderful month of Summer fun! 

August - The last month of Summer! We went to Jiffy Lube Live to see Loverboy, Styx & REO Speedwagon in concert; I don't know if Ryan and I knew many of the songs, but we sang along to a couple! I attempted camping again for a whole weekend - we cooked over an open fire, hiked and slept in a wee green tent with the sounds of the night lulling us to sleep (or in my case, waking me up and making me poke Ryan and say "what was that?!?). Ryan and I enjoyed the Warren County Fair and we finally got the chance to introduce Ryan to the Udvar Hazy Center - and all the planes! The best part? We mailed out our wedding invitations and started getting RSVP's! 

September - This was the month of travel! I headed to Germany; specifically the Bavarian area, in early September for ten days of exploring the German countryside! We took in the Eagle's Nest, multiple castles (including Neuschwanstein), the city of Munich and the city of Salzburg, Dachau Concentration Camp and the peak of Zugspitze (the highest point in Germany). We also saw the Oberammergau Passion Play - performed once every ten years! It was a dream, but I was also happy to be home and reunited with my heart when it was done. I happily attended our church's Lavish Conference with my friend Meridith and Ryan and I explored the great outdoors some!

October - The final month as a single lady! I celebrated my 38th birthday with Ryan and my family; we took an overnight trip to Alexandria and Ryan spoiled me! We also saw Hamilton at the Kennedy Center - what an experience! We participated in the Mancini grape harvest and I had two wedding showers! We did the final run through at the venue ahead of the wedding and of course - we got our marriage license! We celebrated Halloween as the Sanderson Sisters (me) and Maverick (Ryan) and Penny Benjamin (me).

November - The month I'd been waiting for all year long! The month that Ryan and I became husband and wife! My little sister hosted an absolutely amazing bachelorette weekend at the Hillbrook Inn and we reached the place where there was no more planning, just celebrating! We had the most beautiful rehearsal dinner and wedding day - surrounded by so many family members and friends - it was truly perfect and couldn't have gone any better! We spent a wonderful week in toasty Jamaica and then returned home to host Thanksgiving at our house for the first time! What a wonderful month! 

December - The final month of the year! I can't believe how few pictures I have but I will say; for December, it was a surprisingly relaxed month! Ryan and I settled into life together and we went to see some Christmas lights and celebratory things here and there, but for the most part the month was pretty relaxing. We celebrated our first Christmas as husband and wife - and we will close out the year together in Asheville, North Carolina!

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What a blessing this year was - I can't believe how quickly it has passed! And yes, I know - I say that every year, ha-ha! I hope you all have a wonderful close of this 2022 year and that 2023 is a blessing!

A Chilly Yuletide Season

Greetings Friends - there are basically 48 hours left in 2022! How have we arrived here so quickly? I wanted to share snaps from the Christmas weekend with you as we get ready to close out this lovely year and move into a new one!

 

It was absolutely frigid here in Northern Virginia for Christmas! Friday night, Ryan and I had a little date at Spring House Tavern and this meant we made the decision to head out into the night when the temperatures were hovering around 5 degrees (-17 with the wind chill) - it was brisk! We had a wonderful date night and then headed home and continued some traditions of making Christmas sugar cookies (my family) and dipping pretzels and Ritz in chocolate (Ryan's family). 

 

Christmas Eve dawned bright and brisk (still) - although it was a smidge warmer and cracked the teens during the day, ha-ha! We didn't get up to much early in the day, but we headed to visit with my parents shortly after lunch and then went to the Christmas Eve service at church - which is always wonderful! 

We headed back to my parents for a little Christmas Eve get together with family friends, chatted and caught up with some people and just enjoyed some good company! We had all the delicious things: meatballs (which the husband enjoyed, ha-ha), Rotel Dip, pigs-in-a-blanket, magic squares, the best cheese dip ever, the list goes on and on... we headed home full and settled in to watch White Christmas before hitting the hay!

We started our Christmas day with coffee - always - and a reading of the Christmas Story done by my sweet husband, after which we did the Christmas Advent. I should note that my husband woke up before 6 AM and whispered to me "it's Christmas". *insert laughter* We opened our stockings and some presents from "Santa" before we exchanged gifts with one another.

Ryan gave me wonderful gifts - but one that I will always hold especially close is a pinecone ornament that has petals (I know they aren't called petals) with the words to our first dance song. One petal has our last name and the date of our wedding and another says "I love you more". It might have made me cry, I love it so much!

We headed to my parents shortly before lunch time with our amazing Christmas t-shirts on - and they cracked my parents up! We thought we were pretty cute in our matching shirts (or at least I did, ha-ha).

We had the most wonderful Christmas dinner - my Mom always does such an amazing job and I made my small contribution with some corn casserole and rolls. Everything was so very delicious and then when we were all stuffed, we gathered around to exchange presents and Ryan and I were blessed indeed! We also watched the movie Die Hard - a first for me. All I can say is... it's pretty violent.

It was a beautiful Christmas and we headed home with our car even more stuffed than it was when we headed to my parents, ha-ha! Monday the 26th was also a special day because it was Ryan's birthday! We ate a little breakfast and then got ourselves put together and headed toward DC! My parents gifted Ryan tickets to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert and so after a stop at Red Robin, we made our way to Capital One, settled into our seats and rocked out to some lasers, fire and Christmas rock!

 

 

My Apple Watch was very worried for my hearing - but you know, what can you do? When you're rocking out... you just have to go with it! Hehehe! 

I can't believe it's December 30th! Less than thirty-six hours left in this year - and what a year it was. Life-changing to be sure! I'll have a year in recap post tomorrow and then I'll probably be jumping off until mid-week next week - we are headed to Asheville today to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with my precious in-laws! 

The Twelve Days of Christmas

When I was a young woman of twenty-six, I made the decision to begin collecting a Hallmark Ornament Series entitled "The Twelve Days of Christmas". I remember when I first purchased that first ornament, I wondered what my life might look like in "a million years" when Christmas of 2022 had come and I had completed the collection. 

I think I imagined I'd have a husband and multiple children - and while I do have that husband (the best husband) - we don't quite have the children yet. My life looked very different than I thought it would as I collected these ornaments, but every year was a blessing and I wouldn't change a thing. The Lord has made (and is making) my life beautiful in His time - and that is the greatest blessing there can be.

The First Day of Christmas - A twenty-six year old, living and working in Mississippi and celebrating Christmas with friends and family in our little town in Mississippi (not Bethlehem). My parents were living in Virginia and my sister was (I believe) in pilot training.

We; of course, took our annual picture of the cousins - previously taken on the stairs at our house, but now - with my parents living in Virginia - we moved the Christmas Eve celebrations to my Aunt Beth and Uncle Neil's. I was single this year... and that will be a theme, ha-ha!

The Second Day of Christmas - Christmas in Virginia! I flew to Virginia on the twenty-third and flew home on the twenty-sixth, so it was a bit of a whirlwind visit, but wonderful all the same!

My lovely little twenty-seven year old self had snow around Christmas for the first time and thought it was delightful. It was a wonderful Christmas, even if it seemed like it flew by in a flash!

The Third Day of Christmas - I was twenty-eight and I didn't know it at the time, but this was the last time I'd host Christmas in my home in Mississippi! The family came down and we had our traditional Christmas Eve celebration with friends and family.

We grabbed our cousin picture and my twenty-eight year old self was - of course - single. And y'all, Watson got the most handsome little gray hoodie! 

The Fourth Day of Christmas - The first Christmas that I was living in Virginia! I remember I imagined that this Christmas would be magical because I'd finally been able to move to Virginia... and while it was a wonderful Christmas, I was working in retail at the time and I also distinctly remember crying on Christmas Eve. Whoosh!

 

It was wonderful to spend time with new friends who have become family and we were able to go see the National Tree in DC - because I was now living in what is technically considered a "suburb" of DC. 

Twenty-Nine, single. working in retail - but hey, I got my ornament this year for over 40% off - because I was working at Hallmark. 

The Fifth Day of Christmas - London! For my thirtieth Christmas on this Earth, we arrived in London on Christmas morning and spent the next week discovering all the parts of England! We saw the city and the country and celebrated Christmas Day with Afternoon Tea at the Dorchester!

The trip was truly a dream come true and I could have spent more than a day hanging out at the Tower of London! We rang in the New Year in the shadow of the London Eye and it was certainly a unique and wonderful way to celebrate Christmas!

The Sixth Day of Christmas - A lovely Virginia Christmas indeed! We participated in Wreaths Across America, even with frozen temperatures and ice everywhere and my Mom and I attended a lovely tea at Abundant Life (our church now).

This was the first Christmas in my parent's new home - the four of us were together and little dog was in the midst and it was a wonderful time indeed! I was thirty-one and I was still... single!

The Seventh Day of Christmas - On the seventh day of Christmas... I got to meet Mr. National, Ryan Zimmerman! We explored DC and Lindsey was home from Las Vegas (I believe - she moves a lot) to celebrate with us! Watson was less than impressed with his hat, ha-ha!

There were Christmas celebrations all around throughout the month - and my thirty-two year old self was (if I remember correctly) struggling quite a bit with being single.

The Eighth Day of Christmas - Thirty-three and celebrating with friends as I grew into life in Virginia! We made a trip to Monticello, Lindsey was in Virginia again for our celebrations and we raced around DC taking in all the sights!

 

Our favorite treat? Taking in ICE at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort, where we were submerged into the frozen land of all things A Peanuts Christmas - my absolute favorite!

The Ninth Day of Christmas - Christmas cookies and hot cocoa and traveling to Maryland to take in the Symphony Orchestra's Christmas performance... I remember distinctly sitting in a BJ's Brewhouse on December 23rd with my family for a little dinner on the way home. 

We were fresh off a November trip to Italy and Lindsey was - once again - in lovely Virginia to celebrate with us, so we were a foursome once more! I was thirty-five and single! *smirk*

The Tenth Day of Christmas - Oh... the Christmas of COVID! After making it almost all year with no struggles, my Dad and I attended an event at Belle Grove (see below) and then, he ended up with COVID! And while he was through the ten-day period by Christmas Eve - it was definitely a Christmas to remember.

 

Lindsey came home from England to celebrate and we didn't leave the house once we'd picked her up! 2020 will always be remembered as the COVID Christmas! Blegh. I was thirty-six... and I wouldn't be single much longer.

The Eleventh Day of Christmas - Ryan had been in my life for ten months, he'd been my fiancé for seven months and we celebrated a week early with my parents by taking in the lights of Enchanted on an unseasonably warm evening! 

 

Ryan and I celebrated our first Christmas together at my parent's home, while in the process of purchasing our first home and planning our wedding together! It was a special Christmas, to be sure.

The Twelfth Day of Christmas - My first Christmas as a wife! Ryan and I celebrated at our home together, reading the Christmas story and exchanging gifts together before heading to my parents for Christmas lunch and more gifts!

It was a wonderful Christmas - a different Christmas (in a good way) as Ryan and I start our own traditions together. And it was the culmination of my "Twelve Days of Christmas" ornaments - and compelled me to look back on the last twelve years!

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Life rarely turns out the way we plan for it to - but if there is one thing I know, the Lord works out all things in His perfect time, in accordance with His plans. What a blessing to know the Lord is working out our lives so wonderfully! Here's to twelve more days of Christmas - and then many more!