Some Words to Describe 2011

What a blessed year Tyler and I have had. Over dinner tonight we had the opportunity to discuss our highs and lows of 2011. We have done this for the past 3 years over New Year's Eve dinner. God's faithfulness has once again been evident in our lives this year and we know it will continue to be in 2012.

Here are some words I think describe 2011 for us:

NEW (New town, new jobs, new home, new roles, new friendships...lots of new for us this year!)

BIG (Big move, big changes, big faith)

EXCITING (All of the above was very exciting!)

SCARY (All of the above was scary too!)

GOODBYES (Or should I say "See you laters?" Yeah, let's stick with that! Lots of hard "see you laters.")

HOMESICKNESS (This word probably applies more to me than Tyler. The first few months were hard, but it has gotten much easier.)

BALANCE (This word also probably applies more to me than Tyler, but boy have I had to learn about balance the last half of this year. I am still working on it.)

JOY (2011 has brought us so much joy! We have a plethora of joyful memories from 2011!)

LEARNING and GROWTH (I believe we have both learned a lot this year and have both grown as individuals and a couple, a big move and new jobs will do that to you. It's been very humbling.)

COMPLETION (I completed my Master degree! Big sigh of relief!)

LOVE (We have felt incredibly loved this past year and have had the opportunity to show love to others around us. Our love for each other has grown this past year as well.)

FAITHFULNESS (God has truly been very faithful this year. He has provided for our every need. I feel ashamed for sometimes doubting. We serve such a good God.)

HOPE AND DREAMS (I love that God has given us the ability to hope and dream. We were reminded to take each day as it came in 2011 , but also encouraged in our hopes and dreams for the future. Ultimately, our lives are in God's hands and we continue to put our hope in Him and what He has for us.)


We pray that your 2012 brings you and yours love, joy, peace, and many precious memories!
Happy New Year!!

-Tyler and Tiffany

It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas Around Here!

Us Ellises love Christmas! It's truly the best time of the year!

Here are some pics of our decorated apartment!
Our living room with tree #1! The real tree!Tree #2! Our fake tree with childhood and mismatched ornaments!

Our mini tree!

November...

November seriously flew by! What a fun and busy month!

ROCK Bowling on Veteran's Day...
We had the priviledge of attending the National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta. It was four awesome days of jam-packed learning. We had a great time and came away feeling encouraged about our calling to youth ministry. The convention was held at a really cool hotel in downtown Atlanta. That was where we stayed. We got in late the night before the conference started and found out that they were upgrading our room to a suite. It was huge and had a beautiful view of downtown! We were so busy with the conference that we really didn't spend much time in our room but it was fun to come back late at night to a spectacular view!Thanksgiving 2011 was spent in Redding with my wonderful family! We had a great visit! I miss my family so much and the 3 days we had with them flew by. I always shed tears when we leave. It's been 3 years since I moved from Redding and I still miss it.