The sweet moments in life...

The past few days I've been feeling pretty rotten. I've haven't slept well, been fighting off a sinus infection, and feeling major sinus pressure everywhere. I'm trying to fight it off myself because we have the Chief's Birthday Ball tomorrow and I really want to go AND feel good, so I'm just trying to rest a lot and not overdo anything.

Last night was badge awards for Mpact. I really miss those girls and this was the first one I have had to miss. After it was over, I got a phone call from 4 sweet little girls, 2 of them my nieces, and the other 2 their best friends. They called me on speaker phone to tell me about their rewards. MacKenzie got 2 Honor Steps AND 4th Grade STAR of the Quarter and Rachel got Daisy of the Quarter! I am so proud of them. If you have ever gone through the Missionettes program, you know it's not easy to get those badges and honor steps. They also wanted to pray for me and that I feel better. It was so sweet. Listening to each of them one by one pray over the phone with me was a sweet moment. The cutest part; Rachel said in her prayer that she wants God to help me feel better and not have a fever because she's had 2 fevers and she does not like them! Precious!!!

I miss them more and more every day. It moments like these that make it hard to be away but it's also moments like these that make me so proud that I was able to build a great bond between the two of them. That they want to call and tell me all about their accomplishments and that they are growing more and more everyday in their faith.

MacKenzie and Rachel, we are SO proud of you and we MISS you so much!!

Oh to turn 29; Happy Birthday to ME!

Ah, to be 29. When it’s your birthday people always ask you if you feel older, right now, I don’t, but as my sister said, wait a few months!! I can’t believe that I am one year away from being in my Thirties!!! It seems like just yesterday I had my 20th birthday and entering my Twenties and now I’m in the last year of my Twenties!!

My birthday weekend started off great. On Friday, Matthew sent me flowers, tulips, and took me out to dinner at Lonestar Steakhouse. We had to go somewhere where I’d feel close to home : ) On Saturday we spent the day at the Williamsburg Outlets. We ended up walking the whole mall. It was nice in the sun, but a little chilly in the shade. I got to get a few more Pink Kitchen Aid items to try and complete all my accessories. I’m lacking a few big items, like the Chopper and Food Processor, which can wait, and some of the utensils, mixing bowls, tongs, and the cutting board. We had registered for the cutting board on our wedding registry but could never find it. My Mom looked everywhere. I found one on the Kitchen Aid website which is where I found the tongs and the mixing bowls. There is also a utensil holder that has 5 or 6 utensils in it that I have seen during October at BB&B but they aren’t out right now. I guess I’ll have to wait until then to get that. Most all stores will have the Pink items in then; October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I think I might order the tongs, bowls, and cutting board now so I can get those items, but we’ll see. I was able to get the pizza cutter, whisks, and measuring spoons at one of the outlet places. Matthew is so good about finding me all my pieces : )

We also went into the Harry & David store there. I love their Truffles, but they are so outrageous in price, I don’t get them that often. While I was reading some stuff the other day I came across an excerpt about how Harry & David had partnered with the USO to deliver snacks to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can go into any store, buy a selected item and they will package it up and deliver it for you. Since that is something that I know is needed first hand, I told Matthew I wanted to send something. The food over there is not always the best and some days it’s completely awful. I know there were many, many, many days and nights where Matthew’s meal was some type of snack that I had sent in his care packages. The drive ended on Sunday so it’s too late for any of you to go send something from Harry & David, BUT if you hear of an organization that accepts donations to send overseas, buy an extra box of crackers or something at the store the next time you go and donate it. The $4.00 you spend is pennies compared to what our troops do for us overseas. God Bless them!!

So Sunday was my birthday and it also so happened to be Matthew’s 24 hour duty day. He tried to switch with a few other guys but he couldn’t find anyone, so he talked to his section leader and they gave him approval to leave for a few hours so we could go to dinner! He left at 6am Sunday morning for work, then came home around 2pm, then went back at 9pm, and got home Monday at 5pm. A LONG 2 days for him. We went to The Melting Pot. If you have never been there, you should totally go. It is so good. It’s a little weird the first time cooking your own food, but it taste SO good AND the best part is dessert!! Despite Matthew having to go back to work afterwards, all in all, I had a perfect day! : )

Here are some pics from the weekend:

My flowers!

Aren't they pretty : )

On our way to my Birthday dinner!

Yum!

The "before" picture :)

Course 1: Cheese Fondue

Course 2: Dinner Salads

Course 3: The meat & veggies

Our "pot"!

All done!!

Course 4: The dessert!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

All done! : )

The "after" picture! We were FULL!

The Fighter Jets and a Walk

Yesterday Matthew and I took Tex to the Vet to get his nails clipped and a few other things done to him. Every morning I wake up to the loud noise of our lovely Air Force Jets. The airstrip is right next to our housing area. I've seen them take off from a distance but haven't really seen any come in for landing up close and personal. Well, that changed yesterday. While we were driving off base, a few F-22's were coming in for landing. I snapped a quick picture and caught one coming in. Here it is...

As we drove around the other side, there were 3 F-15's lining up to take off. Matthew pulled in so I could get a closer look and I quickly snapped a few pics.

Today I went for a walk/run along the track that is by the bay. It was gorgeous outside and so refreshing. Here are a few pics of my 3.06 miles!! Hopefully the weather stays nice so I can do this everyday outside instead of indoors in the Base Gym.

On my way back to the house, a few jets were coming in for landing. They were so close I could actually see the pilot! It was like they were almost directly in front of me. I tried to get a picture but this base really frowns upon Photography, and there were a ton of cars around so I couldn't get one in front of me, but I got one that came in behind me. Here it is...

Well that was my excitement for the day! Hopefully this weekend we do something fantastic and I can post something more interesting! : )

Randomness..

I wish I could say that we've done some interesting things lately, but we really haven't! I think we both have been so tired from the past few weeks that we haven't ventured out to see anything but the grocery store. Hopefully in the next few weeks we'll have some nicer weather and we can at least go out to the pier or the bay and check things out.

We finally finished one room, our bedroom. We painted the walls because they were an awful patchy white color. The downside about living in base housing is the walls. They aren't the most perfect in texture or color, but nothing a little paint won't cure!! We also found our bedding, which I LOVED the minute I saw it. We aren't totally finished with putting things on the walls so I want to wait to post pictures, but I promise I'll get some up soon.

My days have pretty much consisted of cleaning, cooking, job hunting, and holding Tex. Seriously, that dog is like a little kid, always wants to be held, but I will have to admit I do like having him here with me to snuggle up to. He's so warm that he keeps me warm!

The job hunt is not going so well. I'm keeping my hopes up but nothing yet. I went to the mall today and while I was walking around looking at all the other people, I thought, man I wish I was working. It's funny because 2 months ago, I would be at work and be saying, man I wish I was off today! It's funny how when you work, you want to be home, but when your home, you want to be at work. I know that's not the way for everyone, but unfortunately it's in my blood. I've worked since I was 16 and yeah, some would say, it's time for a break girl!, and I would agree, I've had my 4 weeks of break time and though I worked so hard at times that I wore myself out, I really do miss my job. I miss the highs and the lows, the adrenaline that runs through you sometimes, and the feeling you get inside when you accomplish something so great. I know I'll have those feelings again someday, I just have to be patient, which if you know me; that's not one of my many qualities : )

I have been doing a lot of cooking though, something I didn't do much in Texas. Maybe it's because I always had my Mom to cook, but I really do enjoy it. Surprisingly to some, I haven't baked but one thing since I've been here! Shocker I know!! My stress outlet is baking, so you would think I'd be little Miss Betty Crocker in the kitchen, but I haven't, which is a good thing, there are only 2 of us to eat all those sweets now, so I have to watch it!!

I guess I've rambled on enough..hopefully I'll have some new pictures to post soon. Until then...Adios!

Firsts!

Okay, so for most of you, you won't understand why I am posting this but since I have finally had to chance to use the many wedding gifts we were blessed with I get really excited about the little things!!!

So I made brownies last night and finally got to use my new Pink Kitchenaid Mixer we got for the wedding. Matthew felt the need to document it so I thought I would share it with you. Here's a pic and a small video clip:

This was our first Saturday in the house and it was absolutely gorgeous!! The temp hit 77degrees on base and the sun was shining. We decided to spend some time outside so we put together our new swing! Tex hung around the backyard while we were working on it. He loves having his own place to run around in and loves the outdoors! Here's a little family pic our neighbor took of us :)

Snow Video

I didn't get this posted yesterday but I was trying to get Tex to go potty before we got on the road and instead he galloped through the snow! Check it out:

It's finally happened!!!

We are FINALLY together!! After 26 LONG months, we are finally together and in our own home. Words cannot describe how excited we are to finally be at this point. We are both sad that we are no longer in Texas and miss our family so much, but are so excited about our new journey. I can't wait to see how our life changes and how much fun we are going to have in the process!

The drive to Virginia was certainly exciting to say the least. After leaving Dallas on Saturday, February 28th at 1:25pm, we began the journey to our new life. About 8 hours in we hit the snow in Arkansas and it go so dangerous on the highway we had to pull off and find a place to crash that night. It was a little challenging because we had Tex but luckily we found an Econo Lodge that took pets and had a warm room available. The best part; there was a Waffle House out front so I was excited because I was HUNGRY!! After staying the night we started out early Sunday morning, hoping we could make it to Virginia by the time the snow hit there. It took us 3 hours just to get out of Memphis and halfway to Nashville. The DOT in AR and TN did not do a good job of clearing anything on the roads. It was a little scary at times, a big truck, packed full, towing a car, packed full, icy roads..you get my drift right... : ) We drove as long as we could and finally crossed the Virginia border..Yay!! We were trying to make it to Roanoke, but the snow hit us again and the roads started to ice so we had to stop again for the night. This time we found the first hotel off the road and prayed they took pets. They did, and so we camped there for the night. The snow was so beautiful but it was soooo cold. We started out Monday morning and actually had smooth sailing. The Virginia DOT did an AMAZING job clearing the roads, it was like there was nothing on the road at all. We ended up pulling up to the house at 2:45pm on Monday, March 2nd. We were so glad to be home, a 20 hour trip that took 48 hours was exhausting. So what do you do after you've driven across half of the country; unpack the car, take the trailer back, grab some Chick-Fil-A and enjoy your new home : )


Here's some pics from our trip across half of America...



Tex enjoying the ride..


You would have thought we were in Colorado or something!


Day 3


Day 2

Day 1