Recap of 2011

2011 was a great year! It was a year full of fun experiences, friends, family and memories. It was also a year of heartache as I sadly attended nine funerals over the course of 2011. More than I've ever attended in my life. Through the sadness, God continued to show his love through many blessings in my life. Here is a quick overview of 2011.

I got to start off the year by celebrating New Year's Eve in Charlotte with three of my dear friends from childhood (Leigh, Alana and Margaret). We all grew up dancing and teaching dance together.

In April I got to fly over my family's pecan orchard in south Georgia in a private airplane. What an amazing experience to see the farm from this view!

(Whoever planted the pecan trees sure did a good job planting them in a straight line!)

The week after Easter, Susan (my clinical teacher from when I did my student teaching in college) and her husband Tom came to visit my family at the farm. We made a day trip to Savannah and got to see the sights of the historic town.
This spring I made my first, "big girl" purchase. I bought a new car. After eight years of driving jeeps I sold my silver 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and purchased a white 2011 Toyota Highlander. It was a sad day to see my Jeep go away, but I love my Highlander! (I've already put 17,000 miles on it!)

This April, my former teacher, role model, mentor and friend passed away. Coach D was the Athletic Director of Salem Middle School and was the Women's Soccer Coach at Apex High School. There was a candlelight vigil at the high school after his death and the stadium was full. ESPN did an article on his life and published my picture with the article.

In May, my grandmother, Elva Alice Anderson Belcher passed away. She was almost 103 years old. She lived a long, healthy life. Full of love, blessings and joy. This picture was taken at Christmas when she was 99 years old.

This summer I traveled to Kenya for a 10 day mission trip with my church, First Baptist Cary. We built two houses, attended schools and orphanges. We got to share God's love as well as experience the true wildlife of Kenya.

While in Kenya, I got to stand on the Equator!! Sadly there was not a line drawn on the ground like there are on maps. Here I am standing with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one foot in the southern hemisphere.

In October I went with my childhood friend to the NC Hot Air Balloon Festival in Statesville, NC. We enjoyed the full day of seeing hot air balloon contests, mass ascenions and a twilight glow.

Throughout the year I performed with my tap company, Footnotes Tap Ensemble, at nine different performances throughout the Triangle area. We performed at places like UNC Children's Hospital, Sparkcon, the SECU House at UNC Hospital, the Burning Coal Theatre and the Carolina Inn.

I ended 2011 with New Year's Eve 2012 in Charlotte, NC with my friends Leigh and Alana. Sadly, Margaret did not join us this year,but we continued to carry on the tradition of dancing the night away!

Here's to 2012. May it be full of love, happiness, blessings and memories to cherish.