Christmas Tag

I got this from Brandy so here goes!

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? For Christmas definitely wrapping paper. The paper the bows, the ribbon; it's what makes it festive.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I LOVE real trees. But we can't have a real tree in our house by regs for more than 10 days. So artificial it is.

3. When do you put up the tree? December 1st. My daddy's birthday. We always have.

4. When do you take the tree down? When I finally find the energy sometime after January 1st.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, with Sprite in it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My "day bed". It was what I really wanted.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Several. We're kind of additcted to them. We have several kid friendly ones like the "Little People Nativity" and a set of stuffed animals and dolls that the kids play with.

8. Hardest person to buy for? David. His toys are so expensive so it's hard to find the perfect thing.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Grandparents. Pictures always work.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Snail mail it is.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can't think of anything.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Charlie Brown Christmas and Miricle on 34th St.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? October usually.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Everything.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree ? Colored. It's just so fun.

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night and Winter Wonderland

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay at home. Christmas is about home and my immediate family.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. I don't like angels with wings. It's bothered me since I was very young. And you can't find an angel without wings. Go figure!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One present (pajamas) on Christmas Eve and everything else on the morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People thinking it's about buying the perfect thing.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? We each get a new ornament each year. It makes for an eclectic tree but one very full of memories.

24. Favorite food Christmas dinner? Everything together.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? My family together and happy.

26. Favorite Christmas tradition? Christmas eve reading the nativity story and singing songs.

27. Tag 5 people - Let's just say, if you have a blog and you are reading this - you have been tagged!

I'm Still Alive!!!

No need to send out search parties. I'm alive and here. I realize that I've fallen off the face of the blogging world. I didn't mean to, but life has really gotten away from me. I really don't know what happened but the holidays started and then it was December. Please forgive me and I'll try to get back with it and post more frequently.

But for now I will try to do a quick update and I'll even include pictures, cause we all know that's what we like most!

So, Halloween came and boy was it fun. David and I decided to take the girls into "Boo at the Zoo" at the National Zoo. It's a big event every year. They decorate the zoo and vendors set up stands for the kids to trick or treat at. They get to see the animals at night and get special treats. We decided that with how much our girls LOVE the zoo that it would be a great time. And it really was!

Anya was a butterfly this year. She picked it out. She liked it because the wings and antenna had hearts and bows on them.

And Kyrie was a duck. She loved it. She quaked for weeks at everyone. She learned to say "trick or treat" and it was a big hit!

The girls loved Boo at the Zoo. They shared a juice bar, got lots of candy, and saw a lot of their favorite animals.

They even had their first experience with cotton candy! They loved it of course and were sticky little girls the rest of the night.

Then on Halloween night we went around the neighborhood with friends.

So needless to say, our girls had a full and "sticky" Halloween. I really enjoyed myself this year too. I was so much fun to see the holiday thru the eyes of my children. The pure joy at dressing up and pretending to be something else. And then to get candy on top of that was just heaven to them.

For the next month we tried to enjoy the last days of warm weather. The girls jus love playing outside and I wanted to enjoy every day they could be outside. The girls also like to play dress up. They're fairy princesses! Daddy says so!

Aren't they pretty?

Then Thanksgiving arrived! We had diner with some of our friends from her. April Kerven and her two kids, Lyam and Kaitlyn, joined us. They just moved here recently also. So we split up the work and had Thanksgiving diner with each other. Anya helped make the pumpkin pies this year! She helped me roll out the crusts and mix the filling. Then she faithfully checked them every few minutes thru the oven window to make sure they were cooking. Here's her finished pies.

And they tasted even better than they looked!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for this year that we can't even begin to say how blessed be are. We thank the Lord everyday for His love and protection.

Then December 1st arrived. This is the day that we always decorate for Christmas. So like in years past, we put up our tree and our stocking. The girls picked out Dora the Explorer ornaments for this year. Dora rules our world right now. They're so cute. So here they are putting up their ornaments.

Now we're just enjoying the season. And of course counting down till Santa coming, and Grandma and Papa coming. Grandma and Papa will be here on the 19th. We're so excited to be spending Christmas with them. But we'll be busy till then of course.

This week is full of Anya's dance class. She has her first dance recital on Saturday. So we have lots of extra rehersals and stuff like that. Well I've got to run. I'll try to post pictures of Anya's dance recital this weekend. Here she is in her outfit. Lots of love. TTFN

Growing Up

So I realize it's been a while since I've posted anything. Life just seems to have run away from me. But I'll try to do better. We've really settled in here and are having a fabulous time. It seems so odd to us that our lives are pretty much drama-free. It's been so long since we've been peaceful about life. We've been working toward that end, and praying for it and searching for it but until now we've never really found it. I have to say it's pretty awesome. I know it can't last but we're enjoying every minute of our joy and peace while it's here.

Our biggest problem, if you can call it a problem, since we've arrived is trying to decide what to do with David's days off. There's so much to do in the area that I don't know if we'll ever run out of stuff to see and do. Luckily we should be here a while so we should have plenty of time to see everything we want to. Yeah!!! We did spend one weekend last month in D.C. doing the touristy stuff. We took the girls to the Natual History Museum and they loved it. We also stopped at a few of the monuments, but lets face it, they're not as interesting to 3 year olds as dinasour bones. :)

Of course our ever contant companion, Kitty, had to come see D.C., too. Anya and Kitty seem inseperable on most days. But that's normal, and pretty cute if I'm honest. She's growing up so fast that I just love the little things that tell me that she's still a little girl. She started dance class two weeks ago. She's loving it, and actually learning things. After class she comes home and shows Daddy everything she learned. She's so proud of herself. She looks so grown up with her hair pulled up and her dance clothes on. This week she was so excited about class that as soon as she saw her teacher she ran off and didn't even look back for so much as an "I love you" or "I'll see you later." And then when class was over she was so sad that she had to leave. :( It's going to be so much fun watching her learn more throught this class.

Kyrie is learning so much everyday. She still looks so small that I often forget how old she really is. So when she does or says things it sometimes takes me by surprise. She is currently very upset with the world because she isn't as big as her sister. She was so mad when Anya when to dance class and she couldn't go too. She seems to think that she should be able to do everything her sister does, and most of the time she does. As much as I don't like to think about it, she too is growing up so fast. My darling girl loves to play pretend already. Right now she likes to pretend to be different animals. One day she's a cow and moo's all day, and the next she might be an elephant or puppy. We never know what she might be. She's so cute making all the different animal sounds. But even though she's cute, she's still developed a few unfortunate habits. Her worst is her squealing. She thinks that it's a great way to communicate. If she's mad, or upset, or even just excited she loves to squeal as high and loud as she can. She thinks that she's queen of the world and we should all bow to her whims. She even has a crown. See!

They're just growing and learning so much and so quickly. It's hard for a Mommy to keep up, but I'm trying. And loving ever minute of it!!

Ft. Meade, Maryland

So we're here! We are offically stationed to Ft. Meade and will be here for at least the next 3 years. We arrived here on July 10 and David checked into his unit. They didn't have our townhouse ready yet so we stayed in an "extended stay" hotel. One of those hotels that have a little kitchen area so that I could cook a little and have a fridge. We stayed there for a week. Let me say it was a hard week on my girls. David needed the vehicle most days so it was just the girls and I stuck in a hotel room for 7 days. Yuck!! Not fun. But finally we got to move into our housing. The townhouse is on Ft. Meade. They have several different "neighborhoods" here. Ours is called Midway Commons. This is the enterance.

Our house is 3 bedrooms, on bathroom. We have a playground just a block away. Here's a picture of the townhouses in our neighborhood.

We also have access to several neighborhood centers that have fitness centers, a children's library, pools, party rooms, and laudry facilities. They're really nice and very convenient to get to right down the road. Anya and Kyrie love the children's library. They go in and never want to come out. :)

I've just finally unpacked my last box today so we are offically all moved in. It's really nice to be here and to know that we can get settled in and stay for a while. I've gotta run, but I'll post again soon.

Memories

Brandy has this on her blog and I thought it was a fun idea! So enjoy and I hope you copy it to yours so I can share my memories of you too.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Moving On

It is official! David has completed his course with Honors. The graduation ceremony will be held tomorrow morning and then we are officially done at Pensacola, FL. We will be moving next week to Ft. Meade, MD. The movers will come on Monday the 7th and Tuesday. Then Wednesday morning we'll be in the car and on our way. It feels a bit odd to be moving on, but at the same time we are sooo ready to be done with schooling. Time to start living the job and get really settled into the area.

But before we leave, we have been trying to enjoy a few of the local attractions that we haven't seen yet. We went to the National Naval Aviation Museum last Saturday. I totally forgot my camera and was very upset with myself. Oh well, I guess. I have been trying to get David to go to it with us since we got here. He just keeps saying, "I don't like that kind of stuff. Do we really have to?" That kind of stuff. Well I finally told him the girls and I were going and he could come or stay home by himself. So he came. After 15 minutes at the museum it was, "Wow this is really cool. Why didn't we come here more often?" So we had a really good time. Anya enjoyed seeing all of the airplanes. They had wonderful displays. All of their planes, helicopters, and jets are actual "decommissioned vehicles'. They have planes dating back to before WWI. Up to the F/A-18 Hornets that the Blue Angels fly. Then yesterday we went out to one of the 'Blue Angels' practice shows. It was fun to see them preforming their maneuvers. It amazing to think that in one of them, the four jets form the Diamond Formation, there is only 18 inches between the jets on any side while they're traveling at speeds between 400-700 mph. Talk about having no margin for error. :)

We've a blast here in Pensacola and have really enjoyed the experience. And now we continue onward.

We Have Orders

So I just need to quickly say that we finally have written orders in our hands. They are for Fort Meade, Maryland and we have to be there by August 9th. David graduates here on July 3rd so we will be leaving shortly thereafter to Ft. Meade so that we can be settled there before he has to report in August. This is happy news for us. We don't know anything in detail yet; we'll talk to the Transportation Officer on Monday to start working out the details. Just wanted to tell you all that we finally know where we will be. I'll post soon with more details.

3 Weeks to Go

Well everyone, it has been an interesting couple of weeks. We have now been told that we may not be going to Ft Meade. We were assigned there, but we were "removed from that command." They couldn't say why the change or if it really is a change. They can't tell us if we will be reassigned elsewhere or if we may be put back on the list for Ft. Meade. :) Gotta love it. We are 3 weeks away from graduation and we have absolutely no idea what they're going to be doing with us. LOL. I expected myself to be very frustrated about this but oddly I'm only mildly annoyed. :) David's sergeant is looking into the orders situation in hopes that we can find out something soon and get our written orders. Oh well! In 3 weeks we will graduate and they'll have to do something with us. I'll let you know; whether that's this week or the day he graduates, time will only tell.

Anya is still doing great. She's informed me that I'm not entertaining enough for her. She says she "would like to go to school, you know a class, so I can be with friends." I guess that's the big clue that she's ready for preschool and a more formal learning environment. LOL. I think we'll be looking into some sort of group for her wherever we end up.

Kyrie is still the same. Still not walking or teething. She loves playing with her sister and she loves to sing songs.

I've been doing okay. My health has taken a bit of a stumble but I'm sure that I'll be back to my statis quo soon. The humidity down here takes getting used to but it really is lovely. Besides if we play outside early in the day it's not as hot, and we have A/C inside. So love to all of you and we'll keep you posted on our orders.

Just another Week

Hey everyone! We are doing great. Time has flown by and we have been enjoying it. We are now down to the end of our time here in Florida. David has one more section to test over and then his FINAL! He graduates on July 3rd and then we're off. We found out this week that we will be stationed for 3 years at Fort Meade, Maryland. We are very excited about it. Ft. Meade is about 45 min. outside of Washington, D.C. and an hour and 20 min. outside of Baltimore. It will be nice to be able to settle in somewhere for a while. :)

My extended family also has had a good couple of weeks. Mom and Dad have gotten a new job in Spokane, WA. They will be moving by the end of June and are looking forward to this new chapter in their lives.

Katie is graduating from high school today and is now trying to decide what to do in her life. Where to go to college and all of that. She doesn't know if she will move with Mom and Dad and go to work and school up there or if she will to to CSI in Twin Falls, ID and say nearby Kurtis, Rhonda, Emmy, and there new baby.

That's right. Kurtis and Rhonda are expecting another child in January. They are also buying themselves a new house there in Wendell. They are doing really well and are excited about all of these "new" things.

Here in Florida we are well. Anya is getting smarter and smarter everyday. Her vocabulary is just amazing to me. She really does sound grown up and not like a toddler anymore. She's now doing a lot of make believe play. She likes to have tea parties with her animals, and play act stories with her toys.It's adorable.

Kyrie is doing okay. We just love her so much. We had a doctor's visit for her this week and they had some concerns. She's very, very small. Too small they say. We talked about her diet and they agree that it's not that she's not getting enough food. There are also several other warning signs such as the fact that she is now 15 months old and has no teeth. This added to the very low weight is making them concerned about the possibility of a growth hormone deficiency. They explained that this could be why she has the teeth, you can see the outlines on her gums but without enough growth hormone they won't come in on their own. It would also explain her very low weight. But we are waiting on tests till we move. Some of the tests aren't really fun and it could very well be that she's just a small girl and her teeth are coming in latter. So we'll give her another month or two and then see if they would like to do the tests then. But other than being small and toothless, she's very healthy and meeting all the other developmental guidelines. All I know is that she is adorable and a very good girl.

We are doing great and will post again later. TTFN.

Just an average week

It's so odd to realize how quickly time goes by. I feel like I haven't had any time to call or write or anything lately, but I can't seem to figure out what has kept me busy. I'm just at home with the girls and taking care of the house.

David on the other hand is nothing but busy. He passed another test this week. Apparently the pass rate for this particular class is on about 50%. Not so good. And most people who are recommeded and accepted to this course have been working in the field, in this job for 2 to 3 years. So in my opinion, David is at a bit of a disadvantage compared to everyone else and still doing well. I'm so proud of how good he's doing, but every week we hold our breath while he takes one more test. We're now counting time left in "tests to take" not weeks. (We have 10 more tests by the way.) Anyway, we're always glad when the weekend rolls around and we can have "Daddy time". The girls love the weekend. It's all Daddy, all the time. They don't want Mommy help. Daddy's here now. They love it. So does David.

The girls are doing great. Anya is happy with Daddy in her new home, she says. But she does miss "her very own Grandma and Grandpa and Kelly and Katie and Chris" and snow. :) She likes to ride her bike and is looking forward to when Mommy thinks it's warm enough to swim. She loves being on base and seeing all the sailor, soldiers, airmen, and Marines marching around. She knows their different uniforms and knows which ones are like Daddy, in the Army.

Kyrie is getting bigger, not a lot but some. She still has no teeth, but refuses to eat any and all things that might be baby food. She wants what is on your plate or nothing. She has a very shrill scream when she doesn't get her way, and knows how to use it. :) She has also decided that she wants to be just like her big sister. If Anya is doing it, she wants to too. She'll follow Anya from room to room and try to play with her. Anya's not too thrilled about this new development. I think it's adorable.

All in all we're doing very well. Life continues on and we continue with it.

Gratitude

I probably sound like a broken record. I keep saying the same things about life being good again and again; but it's still true. Today I found out a good friend of mine is in the middle of having her world torn down around her. Five days ago she thought everything in her life was great. Things were going the way she wanted them to. She had finally hit one of those calms in your life where you look around and say, " Wow could it be any better!" It usually doesn't last for long, but it usually doesn't get real bad either. Her life just turned really, really bad. And it won't get much better for a long while no matter what she does. It's made me stop and think about my life and life in general. I've decided that I, and I think a lot of us, go thru life waiting for it to get good. I don't think we stop to be grateful for everything that we have. Life may not be great all the time but I'm seeing that it can often be sooo much worse and we don't even recognize it. I think that if we stop day by day to really see the good in our lives, that we eventually will find that we have more "good" days. And that when our lives truly do get really, really bad we'll have the faith to know that it can and will get better. And maybe, just maybe, if we have developed that wonderful strength of gratitude thru practice during our small trials; maybe we won't see our lives as really bad. At least I hope so. I know that we never know when our lives can be changed forever. It only takes a moment. A small step, and it will never be the same again. Whether it's your job or school or your marrige or children. But I hope that I can learn to embrace the good in my life and become as grateful as I should be.

Kyrie Turned One Year Old

Hi everyone! Saturday was Kyrie's 1st birthday. We were talking about what we should do for it and Anya informed us that Kyrie really wanted to go to the Zoo on her birthday. So to the Zoo we went. I was wonderful. And I'm sure that the girls and I will be going there often. Here's David and the girls wih an elephant statue. Kyrie liked it almost more than the live animals, except for the peacocks. She loved the peacocks! :)

Then we came home and had cake and presents. Of course Anya was more excited than Ky.
But after figuring out that you could mash the cake between your fingers and then eat it, Kyrie decided that cake was very good.
She also eventually got the hang of unwrapping. Anya was sad about that because she had been told she could unwrap them if Ky didn't figure it out.
Kyrie got some clothes from her Grandma and Grandpa Hill and a Little People SUV from Mommy and Daddy. She had a wonderful day.
We all had a really wonderful day.

I was telling my parents the other day that it's very odd. I keep thinking that I should be getting homesick and feeling lonely, at least a little. But I'm not. Neither are the girls. We are all so happy and content that I know, without a doubt, that we made the right decision to move here. The Lord truly does direct us if we choose to listen. To the world this decision is slightly silly and economiclly stupid to put it plainly, but it is so right for us. I feels wonderful to finally be doing the right thing for our family, in the right place, at the right time.

I can't believe I'm doing this!!!

I never thought that I would be "blogging" and I blame Brandy for this. I was looking at her blog and David saw it. He said, "Hey that's cool. We should do one so you can keep in touch with everyone. Really you should!" So here I am. I'm still not sure what I'm doing but I'll do my best to keep everyone up to date on our lives.