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):

My poor baby!

Well, Mugsy made it through his surgery fine. He tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee. Everything is fixed, but I feel terrible putting the little guy through all this. I had to drop him off at 8am yesterday, his surgery was at 11am and he had to spend the night at the vet's office last night. I think he was happy to see us when we picked him up today, but he's on pain meds, so he's a little out of it. He's doing ok though, resting. I am going to post some pictures, so if you are really squeamish, you probably don't want to see them. They aren't that bad, I just don't want to be the cause of any fainting or vomiting.

Pre surgery, hanging out on Kyle's new blanket:

He doesn't like the flash on the camera, so he won't look when I take pics of him anymore:

A closer shot of the knee. They shaved like a quarter of his body, so the haircut is going to look weird for a while...:

Kyle does actually work...

So, the past couple of months have been a little devoid of any kind of update on Kyle, besides the buying of a house. So, I thought I would take a minute to give a little update on his job. He's in the 14th airlift squadron here (there are 4 flying squadrons, the 14th being on of them). Since we arrived, he has been in a "mission readiness program" where they do a lot of stuff, including a sim and 2 flights. He has completed that program and is set to go on his dollar "ride" next Monday (barring any schedule changes). I put ride in quotes there because it implies a flight. No my friends, he will be gone on a 10 day trip. They will fly to Germany and then fly cargo in and out of the theatres (Iraq or Afghanistan, I have no idea). He has an actual job for the squadron too, but he won't really start that until after he gets back from his trip. Anyway, thats about it, I just thought I would let you know that, yes, Kyle works, and he has been flying some.

On another note, our puppy is undergoing surgery to repair his knee at the moment. He's going to be in a cast for a little bit, and then I don't really know. They are going to fill me in on all that tomorrow when I pick him up (yes, he has to spend the night) :(. I will post some pics of the little guy tomorrow after I pick him up.

Finally!!

Ok, so I said that it was going to happen. And, after a few [gentle] nudges from some of you ;), here are some pictures of our house. Now, you must know that I was trying to wait until we finished doing some things and accessorizing, but I am just going to post before and after pictures once we start checking those things off the list. So here is (most) of the house:

Entry way looking into the living room

Living room

Another view of the living room

Kitchen

Kitchen and breakfast room

Dining room

More dining room

Guest bath

Guest room

Guest bed again

Master bedroom

Master again

Master bath (there are sinks to the left)

Closet

Another view of the closet so you could see where I was standing (I was right next to Kyle's flight suit)

And just to keep you coming back, here are some of the things that are going to be happening: we are getting new counter tops, the kitchen and dining room are getting painted (and the china is going into the china cabinet), and I will be accessorizing and hanging pictures.

That's it. Hope you enjoyed! :)