Thursday, December 27, 2012

2012 in Review

Well, 2011 ended with a bang...



It was such a fabulous year that I was kind of sad to see it go.  Yet come and go it did, and it made way for 2012.  A year that brought many changes and happy memories to the Dugas household!


True to Dugas style, 2012 had its fill of days consumed by fishing and hunting.  We have logged many hours on the boat and days spent happily on the water.  We found refuge in the serenity of sunrise on the water and relished in the calm that came with a day spent on the boat together and with friends.


Of course Josh and Kyle made many fishing trips as often as Josh could get to Mississippi.  The end result in all of those trips could pretty much be summed up by this... ;)



Our annual river trip was something that we did not miss in 2012.  We missed those regulars that could not make it and enjoyed the company of the new ones added to the floating trip mix.  This is the year that I was surprised by Meagen and Jaymie's arrival.  They were able to make it at the last minute, and I was over-joyed to see them when they drove up!




Aside from living our outdoors life, we had lots of exciting news between our family and friends.  Two of our best friends announced they were getting married in 2013...a wedding that we can't wait to see and be a part of!  On that same note, Jef blessed our family by marrying Eighmey and adding her to our crazy mix.  Their wedding was fabulous!  We all had a great time visiting with family and watching a young couple join as one!




Josh and I spent our first anniversary in West Palm Beach, Florida celebrating Bubba and Shell's nuptials!  It was another one of the amazing weddings we were able to be a part of, and the settings of it all were just out of this world.  We had the greatest time and were blessed to be able to spend quite a few days there with them!





My mom turned the big 5-0 in June, so of course we had to throw a surprise party....because you just don't turn 50 every day ya know!  It was fabulous!  We all had a great time, and I think she really was blown away by the surprise.




Over the course of this past year our backyard has gotten a much needed make-over.  While some of it is still in the works, it already looks like a new place.  We are now the proud owners of a brand new cedar fence that Josh built by hand.  He did an amazing job and worked so hard on it every day until it was done.  Now he is on to phase two...screening in our patio.  It is coming along slowly, but it already looks great!!  How lucky am I to have such a talented man?!




Josh started school this summer.  It has changed our lives dramatically to have to come home from work and worry about studying and papers, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  Josh is doing better in school than I could have ever imagined.  He is so dedicated, understands his material, and does amazingly well on all his tests and assignments.  Starting in January, he will be going full time to straight school and actually beginning his drafting and design courses.  I cannot wait to watch him grow on this path.  I know he will be as incredibly good at this framework as he has been over the past two semesters.  Some late night homework settings got tough, but we always had amazing friends to fall back on who would pause their meal to text us some hints when we really hit a rough spot!





In January, Josh won't be the only one in our household in school.  I found out a couple of weeks ago that I was accepted in to Nicholls State University's Masters of Science in Nursing (AKA nurse practitioner) program.  We are both over the moon with our excitement over this.  I know it will be hard with us both being in school together, but I have no doubt that God will not give us more than we can handle!  My schoolwork will actually be online for the first two years, so I will be able to maintain my full time job while I work through the program...that is a big blessing in itself!


So between weddings, school, and maintaining our outdoorsy lifestyle, 2012 has been a pretty busy year.  Thankfully we were able to spend the little down time we had getting closer to our friends and family...those who live right down the road and those who live miles and miles away.  We were shown who we could really rely on and have been able to build a very solid stronghold of friends many of whom are now closer than family.



Josh has been amazing...surprising me almost daily.  His hard-work and dedication with juggling work and school is something that I cannot even fathom.  His amazingly calm nature, forgiving demeanor, and playful attitude remind me every day how lucky I am to have him in my life.  He is my rock, my best friend, the one I always run to.

We are excited to see what 2013 has in store for us.  While we know that it may not be easy trying to juggle two school schedules and re-learning how to live as a one income household, we have faith that God will be with us guiding us through this next phase of our lives.  We trust in His guidance and His timing and know that He only gives us what we can handle.  

Here's to 2013...may it be our best year yet!!



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