Shannon's World: I am so blessed.

Life in the past two years has changed so much. I have become an aunt for the second time, got a dog, graduated from college, moved from Springfield to St. Louis, got hospitalized, lost a dear person in my life, and fell deeper in love with the man of my dreams. Here's some more detail...

Becoming an aunt for the first time was amazing, but becoming an aunt for the second time was just incredible! I had the fortune to be with my niece and nephew from the day they were born. I got to see them change week to week which was so cool! Abigail and Cooper are just amazing and I love getting to be their aunt!!!!!

Next, I got my awesome dog Teddy! I actually got him before Abby was born, but he is also a big part of my life! He is just awesome and loves our new home in St. Louis with mom and dad! :) he has become part of the pack and couldn't be happier!

In the last two years I also graduated from Ozarks Technical Community College. I would not have expected to graduate from a technical school when I first started college, but it ended up working out for the best! I met some incredible people during my time in Springfield including my incredible boyfriend of now three years! I have been incredibly fortunate to have met then people I did and make the connections that I did! :) I have no complaints on how my college experience turned out and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

After I graduated in May of 2012 Gary and I moved home to St. Louis the following November. As much as I loved being away for school, I was just as happy to move home. I am a big home body and I love being here! Gary is originally from Sikeston, but is adjusting well to the suburbs! He is working the FedEx terminal here and has already received a promotion! I am so happy here with him and some of my family and Gary says he loves it here too! :) I am very happy with the move and love being back!

The following February after we moved back I actually got a blood clot in my liver. It was something so out of the blue I thought I had the flu! It definitely made me stop and reevaluate what was important to me. I had to slow down, take my time healing, and take a break from my job search. It actually was a blessing in disguise for me. I ended up spending the summer with my wonderful grandma. We had a lot of time together to go shopping, watch tv, and hang out. I couldn't complain about it if I try.

I also ended up getting a job offer to be the nanny of one of the cutest kids! I have been her nanny since she was two months old! Sydney is so much fun and I love getting to see her change. The family I work for are so nice to me and appreciate me so! Being around a baby makes me miss Cooper and Abby, but I still get to see them most every month.

This past winter was a bittersweet one. We found out my grandma had been living with stomach cancer in September. My grandma Bern was one of my favorite people in the world. She was so full of life and God's love that it was hard to imagine being here without her. When we found out she was sick, she was moved back to her home. She had been moving around staying with her kids the four years or so, but she had always wanted to move back to her home. It was such a blessing for her to be able to do so. We went up almost every weekend to be with her. She ended up passing away on the 16th of December. Christmas was hard for the family, but it definitely helped being together. As we thought and talked about Grandma we had realized we had her for the past three Christmases, New Years, and her last birthday and Mother's Day. We are heart broken she is no longer here, but reflecting on the last year with her makes it feel okay. I got to spend so much extra time with my granny and I would not have traded it for anything.

Well, that's my life on the past two years. Maybe I will keep this thing up to date from now on. Here's to hoping...