2022 In Review!

Well, another year has come and gone, and has brought with it more memories and exciting adventures! I’ve been a little absent on my blog as of late, but wanted to make sure I at least got this post in. I’ve got a backlog of other posts I need to write so hopefully you’ll be hearing more from me in the coming months 🙂 

So without further ado, here’s our 2022 in review:

January:

Erik and I kicked off the new year by seeing a movie in theaters on Jan 1st (Spiderman – No Way Home), then setting a goal to buy an ice cream maker and bought some in the meantime (because we’re crazy like that and love ice cream in sub-zero temps). 

We also got recruited to play “Anna” and “Kristoff” for the Zephyr ice maze in Stillwater and made a little money, plus we got free hot chocolate and cookies on the job 😉 

February: 

February brought our first Valentine’s day as a married couple, and Erik bought me a cookie making kit and a gingerbread house (we make gingerbread houses in February and/or March… It’s a long story, but it’s tradition now).

We also got ice cream in below-freezing temperatures again and bought our ice cream maker, which resulted in many new recipes to try and home-made ice cream to share with family and friends.

I also got to go to my first Gopher hockey game and we tried axe throwing for the first time – highly recommend!

March:

In March, we went to Florida with my family and got a lot of ocean beach time, good food (like some of the BEST sushi I’ve had), and lots of swimming. We were also introduced to pickleball by my parents, who have since become addicts to the game, along with my brother.

It was also the time period when we loosely started looking at houses, thinking we wouldn’t get anything until the next year.

April:

Our first Easter as a married couple! We spent the holiday with both our families and at church, celebrating the day we remember when Christ defeated death.

Interestingly, we were also introduced to a potential house lead that we eventually decided to move forward on before the end of the month! 

May:

May was spent getting our new house ready for the appraisal and fixing things so that we could pass the inspection and close on the house by the end of May. It was also filled with attempting to get out of our apartment lease (another post for another time). Eventually, we, along with our new friends (whose home we were purchasing), prevailed against the VA and passed the appraisal.

I know I’m making it sound dramatic, but just wait till you hear the whole story and then I’ll let you judge.

We were rewarded at the end of the month by closing on our first home! Now all that was left was to get released from the remainder of our 12-month lease, which still had about 10 months left on it…

June:

The summer brought warmth (finally!) and softball season! Erik and I tried our hands at helping to manage our small group’s co-ed softball team and had a blast playing ball every Sunday night! We didn’t win many games, but our team definitely had the most fun 😉

June also marked the beginning of wedding season for us – we attended about 7 weddings in total <3 

The end of June marked Erik’s 23rd birthday and a game day with friends.

July:

Softball continued into July, and we did a lot of hanging out with friends as well. 

Near the beginning of July, we also figured out a loophole to free ourselves from our lease, and were no longer under the bondage of those from The Connor Group or CityWalk (by the way – we highly recommend steering clear of those companies if you’re looking to rent). With that, we prepared to move.

August:

The very first week of August, we went to CO for a mission’s trip with the Hillcity youth group. It was an absolutely incredible experience we wouldn’t trade for anything, and we hope to go again next year if we can!

Right when we got back, we moved into our new house and handed our keys back over to CityWalk – free at last (again, this might seem dramatic, but I’m not really exaggerating that much lol). The rest of the month was filled with unpacking, and Erik left for a week to go to his LAST Annual Training for the army! I missed him a lot, but glad it’s his last one.

While Erik was gone, Anna (a good friend from church) came to spend a couple nights with me and we went to the MN State Fair, had lots of good food, and ran back to our car in one of the most intense downpours I’ve experienced in my life.

When Erik returned, we also went to the fair together and ate more food, rode some cool rides, and witnessed a sheep’s birth in the miracle of birth center. I decided that the fair is fun to attend at least once a year, but probably not more than 2 times 🙂 

My parents also took us to the Orpheum to see Wicked! It was a very cool experience 🙂

.

September:

Wedding season continues! First by celebrating our first wedding anniversary <3 We ended up doing a stay-cation to save money and explore the new city we had just moved into. It was incredibly relaxing and fun, and we enjoyed it immensely! We discovered a lot of cool places in our new hometown area and got to settle more into our new house. And I went kayaking for the first time!

Mid-month, Elizabeth Beeli came and spent a whole week with us which meant lots of fun, amazing talks, and awesome food we cooked up together (minus the egg buns we sadly couldn’t replicate). Erik and Beeli decorated the whole house for my birthday too, and it was such a lovely surprise!

At the very end of the month, Kyle (Erik’s brother) and Jules tied the knot and just like that, all three Anderson boys are married 🙂 Tere (my sister-in-law) and I decorated their hotel room and Erik and I vandalized their car – gotta say, it was a pretty fun day. 

October:

At the very beginning of October, I flew out to Texas to visit Samantha <3 She showed me all the cool things to do in her area, and we also ate awesome food and tried out Samantha’s margarita recipe 🙂 It was so nice to see her!

In mid-October, Erik also started a new job and started working from home!

For Halloween, Erik and I handed out candy in our new house, and carved our first pumpkin together. Pretty fun night! For the Youth Group, we (Erik, Anna, and I) dressed up – Matrix style.

November:

We celebrated Thanksgiving and got to test out Erik’s parents’ new hot tub! We also attended my first Wild game, and hung out a lot with our families.

December:

The month of Christmas brought many parties, gift exchanges, and lots of cooking and baking. Such a fun time with friends, family, and each other! It was also our first Christmas in our new house, which was pretty special <3

Currently, we’re staying a week with my parents and watching lots of movies, eating many cookies, and all around having a great time!

Recap:

2022 was filled with lots of movement – both physically and emotionally. Physically, we moved and we helped lots of other people in our family move as well. Emotionally, there were many hoops to jump through, and schedules to coordinate (specifically with our house and apartment situation). Ttears of frustration, and joy alike, were shed.

God grew my faith so much this year. I learned even more how much He is always in control no matter what. That when He leads you somewhere, He will provide a path to get there when it seems impossible. And that no matter what happens, His hand is always in it – even if you can’t see it yet.

Merry Christmas, and here’s to 2023!

–
Until next time,
Hope Anderson

 

Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash