10 Years in 2011

September 2011 J and I will officially hit our 10 year anniversary. Wow, does time fly or what? Here is a picture of us from our first years of marriage.

Definitely a silly pic! This was taken when J came home on R&R in 2003. Needless to say we have a lot of fun together. Okay so back to the topic at hand the 10 year anniversary.  It might have something to do with the 14 inches of snow we got this week and the fact that it is still here but...I am really thinking something nice and tropical. Yet, how do you plan for an anniversary trip when you have a three year old and a will be 7 month old?  Hmm may have to talk to the parents about this one. Just don't want to overwhelm them with the kiddos.  The idea of renting a beach house as a family has also come up. It would be nice but definitely not the alone time I am wanting. So we shall see....

What do you think? Where would you want to go on your 10 year anniversary? Right now this definitely sounds inviting....

Picture of St. Lucia via Travel Muse

A White Christmas

Well Christmas in our house was a time of fun with friends and family. Mimi had a great Christmas morning opening presents with Pepaw and Nancy. Her favorite of the morning was her new dollhouse. Later that morning we gathered for breakfast and more presents and that evening we made the trek to Hampton for a great dinner. The day after christmas we were all set to get painting...the hallway, foyer, and baby boy's room. Well Christmas night it started snowing and didn't stop until Monday. We got a whopping 14 inches of snow. Jeremy decided to venture out to pick up Dad so they could get to work on Sunday. Thankfully, a tow truck passed by them on the way out because otherwise Jeremy would have been stuck. They made it back to the house and got stuck in our driveway. :) We still have snow on the ground and as much as I like to look at it I am ready for it to melt so we can get back to life as normal. We are still dealing with road issues. In other news...I have hit the 32nd week mark which means lil' man will be here in 6 or 7 weeks. Its coming so fast, he will be here before you know it.  I leave you with some pictures from our Christmas adventures.

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Changing Area- Still a work in progress

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Painting

In the front yard

Brr its cold!

Baby Boy's Room painted and almost done.

Oh Christmas Tree!

We here are getting ready to celebrate Christmas. Our tree is up, the outside lights are on, and we will be attending our second Christmas party of the week tomorrow night. :) Mimi really likes Christmas so far. She loves to play with the little people nativity and is also very fond of singing Jingle Bells.  I leave with you some recent pictures...

An Attitude of Gratitude

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is only three days away? Wow, Where has November gone? We here are looking forward to a day spent with great people and great food. I am set to make a carrot cake cheesecake and sweet potato casserole. One of the things I like most about Thanksgiving is the opportunity to reflect on the things I have to be grateful for.  I have so many things to be grateful for so I thought I would do it in list and picture format.

I am so grateful for my wonderful family. I am very blessed to have a loving husband, beautiful daughter,  and forthcoming baby boy. Thank you Lord for giving me the opportunity to love and be loved by such amazing people.

Not only am I thankful for my little family, I am also thankful for my siblings, parents, and extended family. Not everyone is blessed with parents who love and support them but I am and that fact does not go unnoticed.  Thankful that as a family we can be there for each other when the road gets tough. Love you all.

I am grateful for great friends! Where would we be without the love and support of our closest friends? There would be a void left in our hearts that is for sure. I have been fortunate to have some very dear friends both near and far.  I am so thankful for all of them and miss many of them dearly.

Okay so I have so many friends that I truly love and am so thankful for...but I need more pictures! I need to get better at using my camera. Love to you all...
I have so much more to write but think I will save it for part two. Should be coming in the next day or or so. :)

Halloween Cutie and Looking Ahead

 Halloween at our house was fun! We went trick or treating for a little bit at our house and some at Grandma Marge's too.  We went in kind of early though. On our way to a neighbors she saw some boys in a scary costume and got very scared so I decided that was enough. We opted for passing out candy instead.

 Jeremy was out to sea over Halloween but thankfully is back now. :) Even though it was only ten days it seemed like forever. My mom was able to come up and spend some time with us while he was away so that helped make the weekend easier. Miriam had a great time playing dinosaurs with grandma. I also had a good time just being with my momma.  Now we are looking ahead to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the birth of baby boy in February. Wow, how time is flying.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because its about spending time with people, good food, and gratitude.  I have so much to be thankful for in my life.  I am pretty sure I will do a post on that a lone this month.  In the meantime I leave you with a link to a recipe I would love to make this holiday season... from Penny's on a Platter: Carrot Cake Cheesecake. Talk about Yum...

The Before

I am currently working on redoing our family room. It is super cozy but has some wood paneling that needs some updating. However, it also has a great fireplace and some pretty neat built ins. Thankfully, I am having some help with this redo. Holly Mathis over at Holly Mathis Interiors is helping me figure out what colors, fabrics, lighting etc...to transform this room from bland to grand.  You should check her out! I think you will love what you find. :) I will keep you posted on the transformation. It is going to take a little while. I have a nursery to furnish too. ;) Here is the before picture of our family room.

Williamsburg Farmer's Market

                                                          Pic taken from this site

Yesterday I went with my sweet friend Angela to the Williamsburg Farmer's Market. It is in downtown colonial Williamsburg and located in Merchant's Square every Saturday. This was my first trip and I have to say I had a blast. One it was great to be with a good friend. Two, how can you go wrong with locally grown produce and fresh baked good and flowers? Three, it's colonial Williamsburg and I just love it there. If you haven't been, downtown Williamsburg is filled with quaint shops and restaurants and just around it are all the historic buildings of Colonial Williamsburg. So beautiful. On Saturday the streets in merchants square were lined up with vendors. I loved being able to buy fresh organic produce that i knew was locally grown. I also purchased a lovely striped pumpkin from the very booth that is pictured above. They had live folk music and lots of people were eating breakfast on the veranda of the Trellis restaurant. I hope to get up there pretty frequently! I had a fresh grown tomato with my salad last night and I have to say I don't want to eat bland grocery store tomatoes anymore. ;)

October and Home Improvement

Well it is only October 2nd and in the last two days we have been busy at work with all things house and yard. Our fireplace guys came yesterday and set up everything for our gas fireplace to work.  I have to say I am loving having fireplace by remote control! Sure beats hauling in the wood and lighting the fire and then cleaning up.  If you are in the hampton roads area and need some help with your gas fireplace try using  Log Doc. They were fabulous.

Today we had the chimney doctors come out. Since the 'monsoon' started last week we noticed that we had some water leaking into our sealed fireplace. Not good, so they came out today. Turns out we had a cracked cap and no cover. Oops, kind of wished that was noticed during the home inspection. Turns out we had a fake chimney as well that was once used for the old furnace. Long story short this wasn't sealed either. Hello...people who put the new furnace in don't you think you should have told the owner that he needed to have that chimney sealed. The man who owned this house prior to us took immaculate care of it and didn't do it in a cheap way. So I know if he would have been told he would have taken care of it.  Oh well, the good news is that we found it and can fix it before any real damage is done. They also gave us a great discount. God blessed us today with a great team of chimney guys at reasonable prices.

J also has big plans for tilling the backyard and laying down grass seed. So hopefully we can have some grass back there soon. I leave you with a pic of our fireplace burning! If you are in the area stop on by and we can drink some hot cocoa and enjoy the fire. :)

MilSpouse Friday Fill In #14

 Join us over at Wife of A Sailor

This week’s questions are:
What characteristic about yourself has either been strengthened or weakened due to your 
experience as a Military Spouse? (from The Albrecht Squad)


Hmm....Being a military spouse has definitely strengthened my patience and my faith. It is a challenge but a good one.

What is your favorite vacation spot and why? (from ‘Tis the Life of the Army Wife)


My favorite vacation spot would be the mountains...I love the serenity of being outdoors. However, my favorite vacation would have to be a cruise my hubby and I went on. It is so nice to have everything taken care of and not have to worry about where you will eat etc...
 
If you could have any fast-food restaurant in the food court on base/post what would you pick? (from The Only Pink in a House of Blue)
 This is a hard one. At times I love chik fil'a but right now I am kind of tired of it. I eat there a lot with my two year old because of the play area. So instead I am going to have to go with Freebirds which is a Texas burrito place much like Moe's Southwest. Freebirds is sooo good. Spinach tortillas filled with all sorts of fresh ingredients. Yumm!

Where did you go on your honeymoon?  (from Pennies from Heaven)

Our honeymoon was three days long and we spent it in Orlando which is where we are from. ;) It was 2001 and J had to report for duty so we needed to squeeze one in quick. We later went on a cruise.
 
If you could have any job in the world regardless of money, degree or experience, which job would you have and why? (from Proud to Be a Navy Family and The Calm Before The Storm)
If I could have any job it would either be a boutique owner, interior designer, or something else fun and creative. 

The Lucky One

One of the things I really miss about our church back in Dallas (Fellowship Bible Church) is the music. We had such awesome musicians who had a heart to worship the Lord. One of those talented musicians was Helene Cronin...I have one of her cds and I love it.  Recently she has posted one of her songs on you tube. It talks about the result of a conversation she had with a soldier passing through the airport. I just love this song and I think you will too! P.S. Bring the tissues, you are going to need it. Here is the link...

Lucky Me by Helene Cronin

First Day of School

Today Mimi started her first day of preschool in the 2s class. She looked so cute this morning. She even wore her backpack and carried her lunch box all the way to the classroom. When I came to pick her up the first thing she did was show me her hand stamp that she received for doing a good job. Needless to say I think she had a great time. She fell asleep on the way home too, yay! I brought her inside and changed her diaper so she could sleep peacefully. Note to self don't do that again. It woke her up and then she didn't want to sleep. So for the last fifteen minutes she has been talking to herself in bed. Oh wait...she may have finally fallen asleep. Whew! Thursday I will change her before we leave the school so if she falls asleep all I have to do is put her in her bed.  I leave you with our first day of school pic we took this morning on our way out the door.

MilSpouse Friday Fill In #2

Please Join us over at Wife of a Sailor

It is that time again. It is Friday and time for some MilSpouse fill in. So here goes.... :)


1. Do you set goals for yourself during deployment?  What are some of them? (from Military Mommy)
 Yes, last time Jeremy was deployed I really focused on exercising and losing a few pounds. I accomplished those goals and was the fittest I have ever been. Now I just need to do it again. Maybe once baby # 2 is here I will get back on that road.

2. What would you say to someone dating a military guy or gal? (from Mothering Off the Cuff)

I guess I would say know what you want and be flexible. If you love this person then its worth it but you have to be able to stand on your own. Be good about developing your own identity and interests. When they leave you will miss them desperately but if you have developed you outside of your spouse it won't seem like your whole world is coming apart.

3. If you have children, how do you prepare them to move to a new place? (from The Random Ramblings of A Household 6)

Well we just moved but Mimi is only 2 so it wasn't really hard this time. When she is older I am thinking we will prepare by talking about it, perhaps reading some books about it, and talking about all the fun things to do where we are going next.

 

4. Name one hobby that gets you through alone time. (from My Sailor’s Mistress)

Okay, I am going with Fellowship....I love being with other women so this is one of my hobby's if you can call it that, whether it is talking on the phone, sharing coffee, or a play date these are the times that get me through the week :)

5. What’s the one food you don’t ever get tired of? (from That Army Wife Life)
Hmmm....as of late I would have to say guacamole and any type of mexican food. Oh how I miss brisket tacos...

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Labor Day Recap

This past weekend was so much fun. J had Thursday through Monday off with the exception of a wedding on Saturday and of course chapel on Sunday, so we were able to get a lot of time in as a family. We were also able to enjoy some time with some great friends. Friday night we went on a dinner cruise called the Spirit of Norfolk. The food was pretty good and it was nice just being on the water. We were able to enjoy some uninterrupted adult conversation.

On Monday actual labor day we all gathered again to go to the beach. It was such a beautiful day here. The sun was out and it had to have been around 84 degrees. The kids had so much fun. Mimi loved playing with Abby and Isaac. All around it was a great day. I've got the pictures to prove it. :)

It's Back!

We started labor day off early this morning. My husband had to make a hand off with the duty phone by eight thirty so we decided we would all go with him so we could do some shopping afterwords for grilling festivities. I needed coffee though so I made a request to stop at the ye ol'starbucks and to my delight the fall favorites are here! I love pumpkin spice lattes. I am also in love with peppermint mochas and the ocassional eggnog latte too. For much of the year I can tame the starbucks drive through routine but during the fall and winter my car is on autopilot and somehow just ends up there. ;) The rest of the day was great. We spent it at the beach with friends and ended with a cookout. I will try and post pics soon.

MilSpouse Friday Fill In

Join us over at Wife of a Sailor

This weeks questions are as follows:

1. What is a weird/funny superstition you have?

Hmm this is a tough one for me. I am not really a superstitious person. I am however still weary of the dark. So if my husband is gone I will always sleep with a light on somewhere either in the room or in the hallway. Because you know the boogey man is afraid of light right? ha ha

2. What are your hope and dreams for AFTER the military? After all we aren't in it forever. 

My hopes and dreams are that we would settle down in one place somewhere beautiful (near the coast or mountains) and near our kids. I would get to set up my counseling practice or join one and work part time.  I would also get to have lots of one on one time with my hubby such as drinking coffee every morning on the front porch together.

3. Since this month is apple month, I'd probably ask what is your yummiest apple recipe?

I love apples and fall. My yummiest apple recipe would either be one for an apple crisp or homemade apple pie. Nothing beats apple crisp or pie with fresh whipped cream. Yum

4. How long have you gone as a military spouse without talking to husband/wife during service? 

When my husband was deployed with OIF, maybe a few days to a week. We were very fortunate to be able to communicate regularly. Later he had a cell phone so I could even call him. It was a luxury that I was very thankful for.

5. I occasionally watch When I was 17...on MTV. So what was something significant about your 17th year of life?

My 17th year was a good one. I grew up a lot that year. I decided where I was going to college and got my first job. It was also the year that I began dating my hubby. I would say that was pretty significant. ;)

Bedroom After

Our bedroom is coming together. The paint is done. The curtains are up and the furniture is in. Now all that is left is accessorizing with lamps and wall art. I am finally starting to feel like the house is really ours and not the previous owners. We are still working on the living room and dining room. I will post pics of that when it is done which will hopefully be in the next couple of weeks.

 In other news, Mimi is adjusting well to her big girl bed. Last night was her second night with no getting out or falling out of bed. We will see how today at nap time goes. Saturday is the kickoff for college football season! Yay, I have been waiting for this for months. I did get some relief last night when I was able to watch Tebow play for the Broncos. I am also excited because things are starting back again. Bible studies, women's groups etc...Moving to a new place in the summer is hard. Not a lot is going on so it is difficult to meet new people.  I am hoping with these new outlets I can begin developing some new and much needed friendships.  Below are the pics of our bedroom.

Big Girl Bed

Well the time has come. We are officially getting ready to put Mimi into a big bed. We went yesterday and bought her some new furniture. Today we will pick it up and also buy her mattress. Wow, how time flies. It seems like yesterday that we were still swaddling her for naps. She was a trooper during all the painting. (She spent a couple of days with our good friends and their children. She loves Abby and Isaac so much.) She also had a good time following P-Paw around the house while he was here. The day he left she came home and called up to room over the garage "PPPP-PAW!" I had to tell her he went back home to Florida but that she would see him again soon. The house looks great. I am waiting on some furniture to get here to post pictures but will make sure to do it soon. I leave you with a picture of our sweet daughter long before she was ready for a big girl bed.

Date Night

Tonight will be our first date night since we moved to Virginia. To say that I am excited would be a bit of understatement. I am not entirely sure what we are going to do but does it really matter? ha ha Right after we got married Jeremy and I read the Five Love Languages. It has really helped us understand how we receive and return love.  We discerned that his love language was acts of service and mine was quality time. So for me a date night is like some serious quality time. I think we will probably just head out for some good food and conversation.

Paint, Paint, and More Paint

The house that we bought has been meticulously maintained but lacks some serious color. The entire inside is painted a cream color with a slightly darker trim. So needless to say not a lot pizazz going on here. Thus far we have painted Mimi's room a nice shade of pink and the kitchen has been stripped of the dreaded fruit wallpaper and painted a lovely shade of gray. My dad is coming up this Saturday and our mission is to paint and then paint some more. (P.S. Can i just say that my dad is flying all the way from Florida just to help us paint. He is the best. Love you Dad!) We are going to paint our bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining room, and guest bedroom.  When it comes to picking out paint colors the task can seem a bit daunting. I mean color is great but how much color is too much color? After what seemed like an eternity of looking I think I have got everything sorted out.

For the Bedroom we are going with a color called tranquility. I found it on rate my space and it was used in the following bedroom created by a designer named Patrick.

In the living room we will be using the colors called Tyler's taupe and tawny rose. For the bathroom it will be a beige/brown color and more of the same beige/silver color in the guest bedroom. I am taking a pillow from the bedding to have it matched at home depot.  Hopefully it will all turn out great!
I will keep you posted.

An Incurable Counselor

In the title of my blog I describe myself as an incurable counselor. Mind you this is not because I am constantly analyzing people and their lives. So no need to worry if you have a conversation with me, I am not breaking down your psyche. I use the term incurable counselor because I love counseling and believe it is part of the pulse beat of my personality.

Counseling like everything has a great side and a not so great side. The great side comes in when you have the chance to walk beside someone as they seek to change for the better, making decisions for positive growth. The not so great side comes in when you are dealing with painful situations where the resolution is either ignored or sabotaged. Overall, though it is a privilege to walk beside someone as they traverse their journey.  Besides, God is the true healer. I am just one conduit of His grace.

I finished my counseling degree in 2008 and set to work in ministry focusing on Children's Ministry and some pastoral counseling. As of June I have transitioned to full-time mommy. I am not sure how counseling, military life, and mommy hood will coincide but I know God has given me this desire and will put me in the place I need be. He always has and always will.

Where to Begin?

I don't have much time, my two year old is growing restless and I've got to get this day going. However, I wanted to begin my blogging expedition today. I have just recently delved into the blogging world and I love what I am finding. As someone who has just transitioned from the working world to the mommy world, I think this is just the creative outlet that I need. I am hoping to meet some good friends and explore life through this brand new world. I will give a more detailed post on who I am and what brought me here later...I have got boo boo knees to kiss and animal sounds to make for now.