2022 Reflections

As the curtain closes on 2022 and the sun readies itself to rise on 2023, I thought I would like to take this time to reflect back on the year we have just had.

What a year! I think one of the biggest blessings for me is that it has been one that has seen the decline in Covid restrictions and getting back to normality. We've been able to travel again, finally celebrate our wedding with family and friends all together and enjoy being with people, without having to keep 2 meters apart. It's been a year of new beginnings, and also a year of endings as I said 'goodbye' to my dear Grandad, who passed away at the end of November, and also to our beloved Queen Elizabeth II.

To reflect, I thought it would be fun to briefly look back on each month from 2022, remembering the blessings I have enjoyed.

January

Celebrating the birth of a New Year and busy preparing for our upcoming wedding celebration in March. Although we got married two days before lockdown in 2020, we were finally getting ready to have our big celebration with family and friends! We made a lot of the decorations ourselves so it was a busy time.

February

This was the month we stopped going to the gym, to try and limit our chances of catching Covid before our wedding celebration and honeymoon. I remember Tom and I going for evening runs instead, or following an exercise video in our living room on YouTube.

March

The month of our dreams! We finally got to celebrate our marriage with close family and friends, and enjoyed a beautiful day renewing our vows in front of everyone, eating good food and dancing the night away. And, after two years of waiting, we finally got to travel to St Lucia for our eagerly-anticipated honeymoon, and it was so worth the wait! I have wanted to visit the Caribbean for years, and St Lucia did not disappoint. I would go back again in a heartbeat. Being surrounded by tropical palm trees, gazing across the sea to the horizon where we saw some stunning sunsets from the beach, going dolphin watching and standing underneath a real waterfall are all beautiful moments I have captured in my heart and will always treasure. Celebrating our two-year wedding anniversary on this gorgeous island is something I will never forget.

April

It was a real blessing travelling to Plymouth to spend a few days with my family over Easter. The weather was warm and sunny, and we enjoyed a pleasant walk at Dartmoor, and relaxing outside in the garden, just being together as a family.

May

At the end of the month, Tom and I enjoyed a road trip to Kidderminster, where we got to experience the nostalgia of the Severn Valley Railway. It was such a treat to take a ride on a steam train and gaze at the beautiful scenery as we chugged down the line. May was also the month that Tom started his new job, which has been a really positive change for both him and for me, as it affords us more time together.

June

This was a pretty quiet month, although I had a fun evening one Friday night and had a bunch of my girlfriends over, where we enjoyed sipping Prosecco and nibbling on fresh strawberries in the back garden on the patio, chatting the night away.

July

One of mine and Tom's highlights was our trip away to Corfu for a few nights. The weather was glorious, and we managed to pack a lot in to our few days away, including plenty of dips in the Mediterranean Sea, a boat trip with snorkelling, exploring Corfu Town and romantic walks and drinks at the beach.

August

Such a hot month! I don't think I've ever known our summers to be as tropical as this. Tom and I spent many evenings basking in the warmth of the sun in our back garden, and enjoying a good soak in the hot tub (which we had turned down to cool off!).

September

The month in which we lost our Queen, but she will never be forgotten. What an incredible woman she was, and such a beautiful legacy she has left behind her of true faith in God, courage and fortitude. Tom and I paid a visit to London, a few days before Her Majesty's funeral, and were able to lay flowers for her at Green Park and pay our respects to our faithful Queen. It was also a special month, because it marked the occasion when my Nan visited from Plymouth, and saw our home for the very first time.

October

This was a big month for me. It marked the beginning of a new decade as I turned 30. Tom truly outdid himself in treating me this year! The week before my birthday, we had a lovely visit to Plymouth to stay with my family for a few days, and I got to celebrate with them, which was very special. Then, for three days over my birthday the following week, Tom took me to London, where we had an absolutely spectacular time, taking in the show 'Frozen' at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, cocktails up The Shard, a day-trip to the stunning Kew Gardens and a tour of Westminster Abbey, as well as general sightseeing.

November

November saw us make a start on redecorating downstairs, which we spread over into December as well. We repainted both the lounge and dining room, as well as putting up wallpaper for the very first time on one wall in the living room to have as our feature wall (I'll be forever grateful to Tom's Gran who helped us enormously by showing us how to do it!). It's been a busy time getting things together, that's for sure! But I do love watching a room transform, despite the long hours and aching arms and back, and seeing how a lick of paint and a bit of new furniture gives a totally different vibe to the house.

December

December seemed to fly by in a flash! Tom and I were so busy with work and redecorating, as well as trying to fit in festive fun in the build up to Christmas, that I blinked and it was gone. It was a very special and fun-filled month, though. We went ice-skating together for the very first time, baked and decorated Christmas cookies and watched some heartwarming festive movies. One of my highlights was staying with my family in Plymouth for several days the week before Christmas, and we had such a special time playing fun games that had us laughing and joking, a stroll around a Christmas market in the City Centre, as well as a trip to the museum there, a cinema screening to see the new musical film 'Matilda', a beautiful Carol service at my family's church at St. Andrews, and just enjoying being all together as a family.

It was also a sober time, as we had my Grandad's funeral and internment whilst we were there. Tears were shed and hearts ached, but through the tears, were glimpses of smiles and echoes of laughter as we remembered who Grandad was and the times we shared with him, and reminisced in the happy memories we had of him as we celebrated his life as one big family. Despite it being sad circumstances, it was also special being with the wider family and seeing Aunts, Uncles and Cousins whom I haven't seen in quite some time.

This was also the first year in which Tom and I hosted Christmas at our home, and it was enormous fun playing host and hostess and making our guests' stay special. We had Tom's parents and one set of his grandparents stay with us overnight on Christmas Day, which meant there was no rushing about, no keeping an eye on the clock, and we could all just relax together and enjoy each other's company.

Tom and I began the day by exchanging one gift and opening a Christmas card to each other. We then got ourselves ready and began preparing the Christmas dinner ready for our guests, before joining Tom's family at our church for a Christmas Day service. It was so beautiful to gather with brothers and sisters in Christ and remember the real reason for the season: our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to earth to live a perfect life and then die for us in our place to rescue us from the power of sin and death, and then rose again from the dead three days later.

After church, we all headed back to our place, where we enjoyed canapés that we had prepared in the morning along with a glass of champagne, followed by a delicious 3-course meal, with the main event of the dinner being the spectacular Turkey, of course. After dinner we adjoined to the living room, where we all exchanged gifts, and laughed together as Tom's Dad dressed up as Santa, dishing out everyone's presents from under the Christmas Tree.

When the present-opening was done, it was time to all sit around the dining room table as we played the new board game Tom and I were gifted from his parents for Christmas, whilst munching away on a buffet spread we had laid out in the kitchen. The day was rounded off nicely with a family film night, watching Christmas With The Kranks, whilst sipping on cocktails that Tom and I had made from scratch.

Looking back, 2022 has been one incredible year, and I am so very thankful to God who has blessed us in so many ways that I can't describe. My prayers is that 2023 will also be a year filled with joy, beautiful moments, peace, good health and that it will bring us ever closer to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who has not only blessed us with wonderful family, a beautiful home and the best life together as a couple, but ultimately He has gifted us with Himself, and no year is truly peaceful without Him in the very centre of it, for He is the Prince of Peace Himself.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end." - Isaiah 9:6-7.