At least we can laugh about it...

Aggie football last year that is. A friend of mine, who coincidentally went to Baylor, sent this to me. You have to have a sense of humor right?

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There is a reason for my absence....

The blog kind of went dormant over the Christmas holiday, and I promise there was a good reason for that. Kyle and I were not able to go home for Christmas, and we were sort of bummed about it. It was nice to spend it here at our new home, but its just not the same without family. We definitely missed everyone! However, we received an early Christmas present on Christmas Eve (we don't open any presents until Christmas morning).

Well, this wasn't the kind of present you open anyway...Kyle and I found out that we are expecting our first child! On Christmas Eve! It was pretty special, especially since we were feeling lonely without our families. Isn't God's timing perfect? We are thrilled! So that was the reason the blog went quiet for a while, there hasn't been a whole lot going on besides that, and I didn't want to spill the beans before we were able to let our family know through non-internet means.

So, in case you are curious (and most people I talk to are), here are some answers to some popular questions I have been getting:

-When are you due/How far along are you? I have not been to my OB yet (referral issues...I will be a spokesperson for NOT having government health care for everyone. Trust me), but the date the clinic has given me is August 23rd. Subject to change I guess. That would make me nine weeks next week.

-How are you feeling? Pretty good, but I am tired all the time! But, a friend told me that my body (in the first trimester) is working harder than a non-pregnant woman doing an 8 mile mountain hike. I feel justified in taking my naps now.

-Any sickness? Sort of. I have never actually gotten sick, and I sometimes feel nauseous, but mostly its just a lack of appetite.

I will hopefully be able to go see an OB in the next week or so, and I will put up more info as we get it. We are truly excited and so thankful for this blessing!

Guten Tag from Deutschland

Since Amy says I will post about my travels, and I never do, I thought now would be a good time to start. I am in Germany now and we had some time off today so we visited the city fo Trier. Founded by the Romans in the first century, Trier (pronounced Tree-air) is considered to be the oldest city in Germany. They have what is considered to be one of the most wonderful Christmas markets in all of Germany. So wonderful that even I bought some Christmas gifts there. Anyway, we toured the city, marvelled at ancient relics, and tasted the local cuisine. Here are a few photos, so that I don't have to write much more.














Here is an interesting statue that probably has some great historic importance unkown to me.















The main Christmas market area filled with amazing foods and shops.















A cathedral.






























Porta Nigra (Black Gate). Roman city gate built in the 2nd century.

Some pics, before and after

Ok, I promised pictures of our dining room and kitchen once we were finished getting things done (remember that!?). Anyway, if you don't remember, we got new kitchen countertops and had the kitchen and dining room painted (Kyle and I discovered that painting is not nearly as much fun as we thought it was...maybe there was something special about base housing at Laughlin that made painting fun? who knows). Its hard to tell from the pictures, but the kitchen actually is a different color, but its still pretty light since the counters are dark, and the dining room is a beige that compliments the wood on the furniture and matches the curtains that will (eventually) be hung in there. It should be a fairly monochromatic look.

Our kitchen before:

Our kitchen after:

My sink (I had to put a picture because its huge! I looove it)

The countertops up close and under a very bright light (the flash), obviously, it looks black normally

Dining room before:

Dining room after:

Our china cabinet (the reason we bought this furniture):

My Thanksgiving centerpiece, its simple, but I think its pretty:

And just because, here are some pictures of Mugsy. He is now 4 weeks post-operation and is doing really well! You could see him trying to get out of the picture in one of the kitchen pics above. He also got a hair cut the other day, and I must say, he looks very handsome!

Yay!

Kyle came home from his dollar ride last night!! He had a great trip that I am going to let him write about. It will be much more detailed and inevitably more entertaining. But I am happy to have him home :D

Mixed emotion...

Last night, history was made. What a great country that we live in that a black man was elected as commander in chief of a country who once didn't even recognize the rights of blacks as humans. That friends, is amazing and encouraging for all Americans, not just blacks. I am proud, as an American, to show the rest of the world just how far we have come.

I only wish this historical event would have put someone more conservative, more experienced/well known, someone other than Barack Obama. I have great trepidation for the next 4 years. Fear for businesses and the people that work for those businesses, as raising taxes on them will result in higher cost of goods, loss of jobs and for those who keep their jobs, loss of benefits. I also fear for the safety of our country. When you hear congressional leaders like Barney Frank (who is on the house finance committee) call for a cut in defense spending by 25%, that should frighten every American to their core. What many people don't know is that there is so much more to defense spending than just the wars. All of those funds go towards keeping you and me safe. I hope and pray these things will not come to pass.

That being said, the reality is Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States of America. That makes him our leader (and coincidentally, my husband's boss) for at least 4 years. Even though I may not agree with his views on certain things, as I Christian, I am commanded to submit to the leadership placed over me. Hebrews 13 states,"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." (Heb. 13:17). I will pray for our new leadership, that they will speak for the people and not their own agendas, but my hope is ultimately not in our president, our government, or even in America. My hope is in the one true King, Christ Jesus, who is on His throne watching over His people.

So, congratulations to Barack Obama and all who were elected last night. See you in 2012.

A variety of thoughts...

1. Mugsy update: Mugsy went back to the vet today and is doing very well! He is starting to put his toes on the ground when he walks (he has been carrying his leg since last Monday). I thought we were going to get in trouble because he managed to pull out all but 2 of his stitches, but apparently, no biggie. Here are a couple of pictures to compare from just a week ago:

Up and walking (remember how I said he doesn't like the camera...yeah, he blinks when I take pics of him. Its so hard to get him looking and with his eyes open):

Another close up of the wound. Much better huh?

2. Kyle's dollar ride: I think I mentioned that Kyle was going to be going on his first official mission soon. Well, he left tonight. In fact, I heard a jet take off just a minute ago and that was probably him (I say that, I really don't know). They are going to pick up some cargo in New Jersey and then its off to Germany. They will stage out of Germany and fly cargo in and out of the theatre (the war zones). Its supposed to be about a 10 day trip, but could be cut short and could be longer if their plane breaks (which happens). Just be praying for him and for me, since he is over there, I am here for 10 days without him. I'll be fine, I have plenty of things to do, but I do tend to get weirded out at night without him here. Oh, and I was the cheezy wife who took pictures of him before he left (since this is a big deal, to me at least), so here are those:

Kyle with all his bags:

A close up of Kyle in his desert flight suit (I know I am biased, but that is one handsome man!):


He is very thoughtful too. He got me a very lovely arrangement of roses today before he left. Funny story about those roses...we were walking into the store and I got distracted by the pretty flowers by the door and I hear Kyle behind me go "dangit!". I looked at him inquisitively and he went on to tell me that he fully intended on getting me some flowers, but got caught up in getting ready for his trip. So, he told me to turn around and picked out a bunch of roses for me. It was really funny and really sweet too because he innocently forgot to get them until right then. So, here are said roses:

Ok, but really he is very sweet. He also ordered me the matching loveseat for our living room without my knowledge as a surprise for me around Christmas. I know this because they sent an order confirmation in the mail today and when I saw an envelope with "pottery barn" on it, I was instantly hoping for some kind of coupon or special offer. I opened it and was completely bewildered and showed it to Kyle. I again hear him say "dangit!" and was then told it was supposed to be a surprise. I was surprised...just earlier than intended. You may be thinking at this point...man, that girl is materialistic. Not so. If you have read the book The Five Love Languages (a great book for all couples to better understand your spouse/significant other a little bit), my "love languages" are gifts and touch. Kyle's are words of affirmation and acts of service. Anyway I diverge, this all leads me up to the point that I have a great husband whom I love dearly. I am so thankful that I have a husband who takes joy in making his wife happy, and all I can do is a) thank God for him, and b) do my best to return the favor.

3. Our house: We have a maple tree in front of our house and it turned fall colors. I thought it was really pretty, especially since we don't get a lot of fall colors in Texas. Also, Kyle has been working diligently to set up the garage. Half if it is reserved for my car, but since Kyle's truck is too long to fit in the garage even if we wanted it too, he decided to turn the other half into a workout area. He found some weights for sale on craigs list and bought a weight bench. He also did a great job of organizing the random stuff we have in the garage and set up some shelves (that I hated when he put them up in the house in Del Rio, but work marvelously in the garage). He also used some of our old stereo equipment and set up some speakers and radio out there to make it a true home gym :).

Our house on a lovely fall day, with previously mentioned maple tree:

Me trying to be artistic while getting a close up of the leaves:

The man in his domain (he's proud):