Christmas Eve Re-cap

Christmas Eve was quite the night for us! After the 5pm candlelight service at church we said our goodbyes and "Merry Christmases" to friends and headed back home to layer on the clothing! Why? Well we were about to enter a giant dome with a 9* temperature. Followed by walking around outside in 17* weather with a 11* wind chill.

Once again, we decided to attend the ICE! event, we liked it so much last year that we couldn't think of an excuse as to why we shouldn't go again, especially since we won't be here next year! The prices went up, understandably considering what a hit the event became, we were amazed we got tickets for Christmas Eve, thankfully we got a military discount! This year's theme was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" so the night before we went we watched the Jim Carey version.

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After our trip to the ICE! event, we drove into downtown DC because I wanted to see the Christmas trees... sadly we forgot to swing by the Capitol, but the National Tree was beautiful in it's own way. Around the tree is what is known as "The Pathway to Peace" where each US state/territory is represented by a small tree, the ornaments are created by school children. We both found our trees (AZ/OH), Quinn's tree happened to have a great view of the White House.

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We absolutely love the fact that both public events featured a nativity scene!! Keeping Christ in Christmas =) While neither of us would choose to live in Maryland, we both feel blessed to have been able to see all the things we have during our time here.

Merry Christmas!

The boys would like to say hello:


Please remember the true reason for the season... being Jesus Christ.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

~Isaiah 9:6Merry Christmas everyone, we hope you have a blessed time with family & friends.

80* & Sunny -- 12* & Snowing

We just got back from Arizona... wonderful, warm, sunny Arizona.

Perfect timing for the first recordable snowfall of the year. *sigh*

Did I mention I hate driving in snow?
My car even hates it... well I think my car hates Maryland in general (must take after it's owner a bit... I don't HATE the place per-say, but it's definitely on my list of "lived there, not doing it again though" and yes... I can have that kind of list!).

Anyway...
Yesterday I had grand plans of finishing Christmas shopping for Quinn. I got to Goodwill safely, no issues, picked up an antique looking frame for a photo session I'm doing for our newlywed friends. Headed to Target where the issues began- turning into the parking lot... I started slip-sliding away. Not so fun when it's a 2600lb vehicle that can crash into other vehicles causing major damage that you would have to pay for... give me my $5 sledding disc please!

Once I completed speed shopping there, I braved the semi-straight roads to the mall, if you are familiar with Maryland you know that no roads are actually straight, haha! So after having issues getting the car to turn (seems to be a trend, maybe I need some bricks to weigh down the tires?) I got there and parked safely. Sped shopped once again and was suppose to head on base for groceries, as I said, we just got back from AZ- aka: we had NO food. Well turning out of the mall barely happened, turning right onto the main road incured sliding accros an extra lane... so I said: "I'm done! Dear Lord please get me home safely without incident..." over and over. Driving in snow/ice sure is stressful!

The last one that made me SO happy I was a block away from home was kissing the opposing curb turning right into our neighborhood. Praise the Lord there wasn't another car waiting to turn left/right!

So there you have it...
this desert rat's terrible day of snow/ice driving...
I'm alive!

PS: While I was "battling" with my car yesterday, Quinn had to run a CFT (physical test) outside in the snow!! He suffered from mild hypothermia... and I was up all night checking on him. Please pray that he heals correctly. Thank you.

Nina & Noah

Nina (Quinn's Sister) and her son Noah (our nephew!) came to visit us the day after Thanksgiving for the weekend. Can I just say we are not ready for kids yet!

Here is a small list why:

1. Obviously #1 is the fact we've only been married for a year.
2. I'm terrified of pregnancy/delivering. Yes, I'm serious. Does that make me a terrible woman?
   
3. We enjoy sleeping through the night... aka: not getting woken up at 12am, 3am, and 5:30am.
4. When you need to use the bathroom/shower there isn't banging and screaming coming from the other side of the door.
5. All of your breakable items (ie: candles, glass decorations, vases) don't have to take up all of the counter space in your tiny kitchen to avoid being broken.
6. We've never had to clean our nice TV- until we got sticky hand prints on it...
7. Weights are for working out, not dropping off the first stair onto the tile floor.
8. Guinea pigs nibble on fingers that smell/taste like food- which ensures screaming & crying.
9. We can actually find the remote control and it isn't covered in spit...
10. We can go where we want, when we want, stay as long as we like. Yeah it sounds selfish.

Now this is not to say that the weekend wasn't fun, it completely was! When Noah took a nap, we took a nap... making up for the lost sleep at night. We took him to see Santa at Bass Pro, and then we attended a holiday market and the tree lighting show at the National Harbor. We also had a "mini-Christmas" for them, we bought Noah a Little People Nativity Set- it's SO cool, and a tonka fire station. Nina got some much needed mom-pampering items... aromatherapy candle, wise words for busy women book, and a gift card to bath & body.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Thanksgiving

First the guinea pigs have something to say:

Quinn and I started the day off right making breakfast together, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV, and now we're relaxing before we have dinner with our "Maryland Family."

We hope you all enjoy this day of "thankfulness" and truly remember the important things.

GOD BLESS!

This Life

Do you ever have a moment where things just hit you? Not that it's bad, it just all happens at once.

Yesterday I had that moment...
Erin & I were helping Amanda clear out the remaining items in her house, clean, and load up the car. Baby Payton cried the entire time- so much change for an 8mo old and daddy was no where to be found. As we were walking out, a couple of tears slipped from her eyes, we gave our hugs and said "goodbyes." It was in that moment I realized... I will be there soon. I will say goodbye too many times to count. I will move multiple times. Each house will have its own memories. Each state will have its own friends and "family." I will have to be strong and independent (except for God) for months at a time when he is away. I will be there.

Lucky for us, she'll be back in a couple weeks to take her final exams at school... I'll get to see her one more time before she is California bound. I hope to see her after that, maybe make a weekend trip to Cali while I'm in AZ?

It amazes me how many friends I've made in just a year of living here, I cannot imagine the number of friends I will make when I actually live somewhere for 3-4yrs!

I think our Christmas list could be HUGE by the end of his time in the military. Haha.

235th Marine Corps Birthday Ball

On Wednesday the 10th we celebrated the Marine Corps Birthday, how it is celebrated wherever Marines are located. (Seriously though, even in the midst of combat they do their best to at least have some form of cake!) It is a proud day for all Marines- future, current, and former. To begin the ceremony the Honor Guard marched in followed by the special guests and guest of honor, then the Color Guard presented the flags. Afterwords the Chaplain offered a prayer for the group, the food, and the remembrance- I absolutely love that this is still part of the tradition, that prayer is still allowed, and at the number of "Amens" we heard all around the room. This year they paid a special tribute to the Korean Veterans... here is the Commandant's Official Message, which they played at the ball:



After the video the guest of honor spoke and then the cake was brought in, per tradition the first piece is cut with a sword then given to the guest of honor. A second piece is cut and given to the oldest Marine in the room- who then gives the piece to the youngest Marine (this year born in 1991!).

Rumored to have been made by Ace of Cakes

When the cake detail left, the "Missing Man" table was presented and described. At this time the drummer and bagpiper came in... I did my best to hold back tears. I think bagpipes are the saddest yet most honorable instrument next to the trumpet for honoring those that have left us. I think part of the reason I relate to them this way was from attending my "Uncle" Chuck's funeral when I was very young.

Once the remembrance and formalities were completed dinner and dessert were served followed by dancing. It was a fun night, we won the glass pitcher centerpiece at our table, which has "235th Marine Corps Birthday Ball" and an EGA etched into it. We each received a bottle opener saying the same thing with Iwo Jima images on the back.

Some photos from the night:

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Scholastic Book Fair

At the school I worked at today there was a Scholastic Book Fair...

Alexis will be proud of me!
The two children's books are distributed only through the schools, so it's pretty cool that I got them for $4.99 each! Plus, how could I pass up a story about a penguin who plays soccer (in Spanish, no less!) and HELLO... a guinea pig that thinks it's a dog?! I have two of those, haha.

Books are not as cheap as I remember them being at our book fairs, between .75c and $2.50... then again I was in 6th grade 12 years ago, so 1-5th even longer, crazy!

Random Musings & Facts

The Marine Corps is continually teaching me things:

1. Don't plan anything too far in advanced.
2. Just because it's written down, doesn't mean it will happen, it's bound to change.
3. Something completely unrelated to a persons job can affect them.
4. Training never ends.
   

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Fact: I got a new camera.
Fact: I love it.
Fact: It ate up ALL the space on my computer...

Therefore: I need to buy ANOTHER external hard drive so I can have my pictures in at least two places. {because that's how I am, I can't imagine losing my pictures!}

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People's affinity for rudeness will NEVER cease to amaze me. How do we even function as a whole when so many (ie: almost everyone) is continually focused on THEMSELVES.

Example #1
At a job last week I threw some used combs into a trash can. The janitor saw me and said:

"Ohhhh no you did not just throw those in there! Trash goes in the can around the corner, these cannot be used, they are for tomorrow only. I can't believe you just did that."

Wow. Really lady? We'd been there all morning and I had requested a trash can to use first thing, AND she saw me walking to the can, watched me proceed, then reamed me as soon as I let them fall out of my hands. Yikes. I'm sorry I used the trash can you just emptied, I do appreciate you doing the job you do, I remember doing it for summer camp- I hated it.

Example #2
I cannot stand driving around here. In all honesty, it stresses me out. People have NO courtesy for other drivers. NONE WHAT SO EVER. When my parents were here they saw multiple cars drive down the emergency lane on the highway. People cut you off at the absolute last second. People don't understand how to merge- it's called the zipper effect- not drive as fast as I can to the absolute end of the merge lane or even further into the emergency lane because I'm a jerk and it's all about me, me, me!

Reality check- we're all trying to get somewhere on time. I don't know about them, but I'd like to make it there alive, in one piece, with my car escaping damage as well.

I used to like driving... *sigh*

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I wonder if I will ever find my "niche." It's going to be kind of hard moving around every 3-4yrs... but at the same time that excites me. We've only been married for a year, yet in that year I've traveled to so many places I didn't think I would ever see!

However, we had some friends over recently and jobs came up. One of the guys (a marine-straight out of high school) didn't understand why I wouldn't move home if/when Quinn gets deployed. I cannot simply STOP my life, quit every job I get, and move in with my parents EVERY time my husband leaves.

Yes, we would save money. Yes, I would be around family.
But come on... how on earth is that practical in any way? This is real life, I'll be moving enough as it is, and I do not want to live out of boxes. My "home" will be where we get stationed. Vacations to visit the parents will happen that's for sure, but I can't imagine moving home every 1.5-2yrs just because. Or that my parents would be thrilled with that notion. Not to mention how crazy my resume is already, I don't need to explain why I've quit X number of jobs over the years...

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I took our friend's Christmas family photos. I think they turned out pretty well... they loved them, which is even better. However, it got me thinking that I should probably have pictures taken or pick out some favorites from the year and get started on a Christmas letter! How do the holiday's sneak up on us? I definitely want to send one out this year since last year we got married, moved here, traveled for Thanksgiving, then all of a sudden it was no longer 2009!

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I am blessed.
I have a loving husband.
Caring (and doting) family.
Good friends.
Cute Pigs.
A place to call "my own."
Live in a free country.

But most of all, I get to enjoy God's blessings daily.
Whether it be the sunrise as I'm stressing in traffic, a smile from a stranger, a song I needed to hear, a prayer whispered for me, or just a good book to read- escaping technology.

Halloween Re-Cap

Halloween has come and gone, we bought WAY to much candy for the trick-or-treater's... I would say "live & learn," but we won't be here next Halloween! Haha... oh well, more nerds & bottle caps for me!

We attended the AC/BC Halloween Party on Saturday evening:

Quinn won best overall costume!

The pigs dressed up on Sunday:

Pig-O-LanternSuper Pig!

Our door & pumpkin welcoming the trick or treater's:

Moto enough for you?

Trunk-or-Treat

Last Sunday our Journey Group participated in the church's "Trunk or Treat"... we had an AMAZING turn-out from the surrounding community... like in the 2,500s+! There was face painting, hay rides, pumpkin carving and painting, a fall photo "booth," and then... the cars *ahem* trunks!

My car was transformed into "The Great Pumpkin" from Peanuts.

Alex's truck was transformed into an ocean with a sea of fish with names, representing "Fisher's of Men." Complete with a fishing booth, that Quinn conveniently got stuck in for the last 30min...

Our group is so much fun to hang out with.

It was also the actual DAY OF our 1st anniversary... so we took this cute photo:

This weekend we are planning on carving our 2nd pumpkin (the 1st one got all moldy and gnat infested... ewww) and continuing on the tradition we started with the Bradford's last year by making halloween cookies. Saturday we have a halloween party with our journey group and Sunday will be our first time passing out candy to the neighborhood kids! I also made tiny costumes for the piglets... so expect an update next week =)

Happy First Anniversary♥

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Our first date.
4.21.2007

Seeing each other for the first time after 10mo apart.

5.14.2008

The wedding!
10.24.2009

First Anniversary Trip
10.17.2010

Places we've gone in our first year of marriage:

• San Diego, CA
  
• Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA
• Miami, FL
• The Caribbean (Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belize)
  
• Kettering/Cincinnati, OH
• Newport, KY
  
• Philadelphia, PA
• Alexandria, VA
• Hershey, PA
  
• Baltimore, MD
• Washington DC
• Ocean City, MD

We have made some amazing friends here in Maryland, found a great Bible study group to be a part of, love our church, have two sweet guinea pigs, and a nice little town home. I haven't been home in a year... but I have gotten to see my family twice (January, then September for Alexis & October for mom & dad). It will be sad to say goodbye to all the amazing people we've met here, but I know our next duty station will have just as many friends and adventures in store for us.

I ♥ you Quinn.

Here is to many more adventures, memories, goofy moments, jokes, and love... above all, a lifetime of God's blessings.

1st Anniversary Trip

So our first anniversary isn't until this Sunday {24th} but we volunteered my car to be the "Great Pumpkin" from Peanuts at the Trunk or Treat event at church. So last weekend we checked another place off our East Coast list by celebrating in Ocean City, MD.

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My favorite new Corvette.
{it was corvette weekend-they even drove them down the boardwalk!}

The "moto" car, haha...
It's license plate said "Rated R"

Pretty white sand beach.

This store was amazing! We bought taffy, candy buttons, soda gummies, and a mini jawbreaker candy dispenser. There were at least 25 stores down the main street and on the boardwalk!

Sunset on Saturday night... the beach is directly behind our hotel!

"This thing is HOW old?!"
Love his facial expression, haha...

Our hotel... "The Princess Royale"

We got up early on Sunday to watch the sunrise!

This is my favorite sunrise picture...

Soaking in some sun before heading back home.

It was a nice weekend getaway, I can totally understand how it gets completely packed in the summer time. The water felt nice, it was actually warmer than the air temperature- so I guess not much different than California! Although... I was talking to some surfers and they said no matter what time of the year, the waves suck. They actually hope for a long hurricane season just so they can have good surfing!

We definitely spoiled ourselves, but we decided since it was our anniversary weekend and both of us had really bad weeks at work- we deserved it!