Happy New Year!
I decided since it has been over a year without sharing on my blog. I would do a review of 2018!!! This is as much for me to have the memories in one place as for the few of you that read my blog to see the family adventures.
January
I started out 2018 with attending my final Passion Conference with my old small group which I am very thankful for ,18:25 young adults was a blessing to me when I moved to Florida and it was blessing that my final Passion Conference I was able to attend with both Alex and Elise.
Later in January we were able to attend ProBowl practice week again which we love! If you live in Florida then I highly recommend checking it out over at ESPN Wide World of Sports at WDW. It is so cool to see fans from all the teams come together and the players are fantastic about coming over and signing autographs and posing for pictures. We were even featured on the Carolina Panthers snapchat!
This year on top of attending practice we were even able to score some tickets to the game which turned out to be standing room tickets, whoops! But they needed to fill some seats and we were given amazing seats near the end zone. It rained and rained but we stuck it out the whole game.
February
I love watching my siblings compete in their sports and hit their goals. Jonathan made it to districts and regionals in his first year as a Varsity wrestling! I am such a proud big sister and he did amazing. He didn't make it to States this year but he has grown and learned so much to prep him for next season.
February was a big month for me work wise, I have a growing business and team with doTERRA. I hit a new big leadership rank of Gold. I wouldn't be there without my amazing team and I am so thankful for helping them with their goals and working on the passion of sharing about essential oils with everyone.
March
I traveled to North Carolina to help two of my besties who are the owners of 2313 Glitter Ave work a vender event for a week. It was so much fun as the event was at another family friends huge consignment sale called Hugs and Kisses (if you are in Fayetteville, NC check it out). We had a busy week and lots of fun meeting people and cranking out lots of custom orders! Plus, I will never turn down time to see Mary and her sweet little family.
March also brings doTERRA's leadership retreat! This year it was in Orlando, Florida so we didn't have to travel far. It is always an inspiring time listing to other leaders and their visions and brain storming on how we can help each other.
April
We started our April with a beautiful sunrise Easter service in Winter Park, FL. It was a wonderful time of reflection and thanking our Savior for the ultimate sacrifice he made for us.
April also brought along the start of my room makeover that is slowly happening. Lilly Pulitzer did a collaboration with Pottery Barn. I love my new quilt, and the pop of color it brings. Along with getting some new pictures up of dear ones around the world that I love and miss.
Orlando was also able to host one of doTERRA's wellness summits this year and it was a weekend of lots of fun with team members that are local and we had the honor have hosting the amazing Emily Wright one of the co founders.
May
May is Lyme Disease awareness month and for those that know me outside of this blog you know that I was diagnosed with Lyme when I was 12 years old and I continue to work through issues that were a result of that one tick bite. This is one area of my life that I am most thankful for doTerra and the freedom it has given me in both my health and work.
May also closed a chapter in our lives as Jameson graduated from our very favorite little preschool. It was bitter sweet for sure we miss the teachers and staff, however we are so thankful for the foundation they gave him to go into Kindergarten better prepared. I am also blessed that I get to still see many of them as I continue as a substutite teacher, as time allows.
June
This was an insane month for our family with lots of crazy, laughs and fun!
I started out the month with a girls day to Disney since one of our friends had 1 day left on her pass before it expired We conquered Magic Kingdom and had a blast!
Then brought on retirement ceremony and party fun! Which meant lots of family and friends in town. After 26 years in the Army Colonel Dr. Daniel Irizarry officially retired. We are so proud and honored to stand by your side as family!
While we had all the family in town it was the perfect weekend for Jameson to have his baptism. Jameson was baptized in the Atlantic Ocean at Cocoa Beach, Florida surround by family and friends.
July
Because we can't stay still apparently...
Mom, Nicolas, Jameson and myself hit the road on our Sip and Smell Road Trip 2018. We made stops in North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee and Alabama. Reconnecting, meeting new friends and sharing and teaching about doTERRA at every stop. It was a whirlwind of 2 weeks but loads of fun and the little boys were fantastic travelers.
I was even able to squeeze in a side quick visit with my Godson and his family at the factory in Franklin, TN. While there we were also able to pop into the Show Hope head office.
August
After being home only a couple of days I flew out to Kansas to spend time with my Goddaughter AnnieRae and her family. We even went and spent the weekend at the Lake in Missouri. It was wonderful time reconnecting again and I am so thankful for these visits and the bond between AnnieRae and I started back in 2015 ( you can go back and read all about that summer)
September
High School Football season is in full swing and this year Jonathan is a Junior and Aiden is a Freshman. I love high school football and even though this season had some rocky parts the boys played amazing and it is all about making those memories.
At the end of September we headed out to Salt Lake City, Utah for the annual Global doTERRA convention. This is always a fun highlight of our year... we had 30 team members attend and this year doTERRA celebrated their 10 year anniversary. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite top highlights from the week.
My amazing Momma and team leader made the rank of Diamond and was able to walk the lavender carpet at Gala.
I was able to walk across the stage as a new Gold leader
Hugh Jackman showed up as our keynote performer and speaker!!!!!
Healing hands and the co-impact sourcing movement are doing so many amazing things.
October
Really all fall but one of our favorite events at Epcot is the annual Food and Wine Fest. It was always fun going with friends and family throughout the fest and trying new foods around the world.
October is also Down syndrome Awareness month and we were able to celebrate and share about our crazy rockstar Jameson all month long and with Team Jameson's 4th annual walk with the DSACF who were celebrating their 20th Step up for Down syndrome walk this year!
November
November I celebrated National Adoption Month by doing 30 days of adoption shirts and sharing their stories on my Instagram and Facebook. It was such a fun time to look back and reflect on the families and little lives that have been touched over these simple fundraisers of shirts. We are all called to do something... Adopt, Sponsor, Support and Pray!
We rescued some sweet baby squirrels from our backyard... it was an adventure for sure and we were able to run a squirrel clinic for the weekend while waiting to get them into a local rescue. They were so stinking cute and fun but it was a tiring weekend getting up every 3 hours to feed and care for them. It was like having a newborn in the house.
Our month finished out with family day at Universal with the DSACF! It was a great day and Jameson was so excited because we was finally over 42 inches which opened up another world of rides for him.
December
Our family grew by 4 paws!!! For years we have wanted a dog but timing was not right but then we got a message from our dear friend that owns a dog rescue in Tampa area called Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Dog Rescue saying she had a sweet girl that was coming up on being available for adoption that she thought would be a perfect fit and we needed to meet her. We fell in love with her and within a couple of days she was home with her furever family! We are soaking up being a dog family and learning all about Catahoula leopard dogs :) Meet Cassidy Faith
For the second year in the row we have loaded up the crazy bus, and went to a cabin in North Georgia for Christmas. It was so nice to just sit and relax and have no plans for a whole week! 2018 has had lots of ups and downs to just be with family was so nice.
So 2018 I was sadly not able to fly to my home away from home at New Hope but I was able to help with some fundraisers from this side of the ocean. We sold shirts and calendars and I have also been able to connect with some new families which is always an amazing experience. 2018 I was also able to meet up with 3 families that came to Disney and 2 of which were on Make a Wish trips. Love seeing these New Hope kiddos home with their families it is the the best feeling. If you are coming to Disney or Orlando in 2019 please let me know I would love to try and pop over and meet ya'll!
So what does 2019 bring?
It brings new goals, hopes and dreams and a fresh start.
I am dreaming big in growing my doTERRA business and I can't wait to see where that takes me.
I also just got a fresh new passport and I will be packing my bags and heading back to New Hope for 2 months this spring. Be on the lookout for more details about collecting supplies to bring over with me.
I am so excited to see what chapter 28 in my book of life has in store for me.
~Stephanie
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doterra link- www.mydoterra.com/stephanieelizabteh
