Dear 2013,

You were the year everything changed.

You started off awful, I'm not going to sugar coat it.

But slowly, ever so slowly, you became my best year yet.

The year I graduated.

The year I fell in love.

The year I got my first grown up job.

The year Abbie left on her mission.

The year I travelled to Boston, Boise, and Oregon for the first time.

The year I had my last "summer break".

The year I got engaged.

Honestly, the year I grew up.

I've never been more lonely, confused or discouraged as I was at times this past year. The big plans I had in January of 2013 did not come to pass, and quite honestly this is the last place I expected to be in January 2014.

However, I've also never been happier as I was this past year, and I keep getting happier every day.

I'm pretty sure that without the bad-I couldn't be this overwhelmingly grateful for the good.

This really was my best year yet. It gave me happiness I'd never known-it brought me Nate.

And most importantly it brought me closer to my Father in Heaven, as I learned that he really does have a plan for me. A plan so much better than any I could have come up with on my own. And I couldn't be happier about that.