Being content and cute kittens

Well, we're a little under a month away from finding out the gender of our little peanut! I've already picked out some neutral colors for the nursery (light green and yellow) and have the two paint colors I like best narrowed down. So painting the nursery will be a fun project that I very much look forward to.

We've been attending the church in Bainbridge Island that we liked and have really started to enjoy being there. It's a good-sized church, which makes it a little difficult to get involved in, but the music and sermons are wonderful. The sermon this morning was on "chasing glory" and was very convicting. It went along well with a book my mom recently gave me called Calm My Anxious Heart. It's all about being content with what the Lord has given you, no matter the circumstances. It's one of those books that makes you realize just how self-centered and ungrateful you are. We all struggle with coveting different things based on our interest or needs at the time. I struggle with wanting pretty things for our apartment, more little pets to take care of, more time with my husband when he's at work, a job I love to keep me busy, etc. Andrew, on the other hand, struggles with wanting things like a new phone, a higher rank, a nicer car, more time to spend doing things he loves, etc. We both want more money, to be closer to friends and family, the honeymoon that we never really got - it's fairly easy to come up with a ridiculously long list of things we both want. Some are silly little things and some are important things like financial stability. But the main message God has put in my life recently is that your own circumstances are not supposed to dictate your satisfaction with life. This book I've been reading makes it clear that being content is a state of the heart.

The man who preached the sermon this morning has been fostering a little baby boy for the past few months. He said he and his wife's philosophy was to have one more kid than you're comfortable with to force yourself to rely on God. He was half-joking, but I loved that. We're always supposed to be challenged by God so that we can learn to trust Him completely. If you are completely content, it should not be because of your circumstances because even if they are great, circumstances can change in a second. There are so many people that have demonstrated contentedness for me over the years, but the first people that always jump to mind are my teachers in high school. I got to watch them firsthand for four years and admired them more and more as time went on. They work harder than many people I know and do it with a smile. They get very little thanks or recognition and while they should be getting paid like NFL players, they are definitely not. I never stop admiring how much they care about their students and their willingness to always work around the clock. What a great example of being content where the Lord has placed you.

So, since I don't have much of an update on what's happening in our lives right now, there's what's been on my mind. Here's a picture of our new kitten, Winnie, hanging out on the changing table next to Philly. They're best buddies.

Exciting news

Well quite a bit has happened over the past couple months. The last time I posted was just three days before Andrew and I found out we are expecting! Our complete surprise was accompanied with overwhelming joy and we are excitedly preparing for the new member of the family due on July 29th - my birthday.

We had a blast telling both sides of our families the news on Christmas. What a relief to know we don't have to keep that secret anymore. After the families' jaws had un-dropped, we all enjoyed discussing name ideas, nursery decorations, etc.

Obviously because of this change in plans, I won't be looking for a job anytime soon. One thing I've heard of many military wives doing is becoming a nanny/daycare provider for another family during the day and keeping their child with them. It's a great way to earn money and not have to put your own child in daycare. So, that's one long term prayer I have. I'm sure we won't start thinking about anything like that for another year or so.

Andrew has been put in Alpha 2nd, which means he is stationed at the waterfront. This is great news for us since we've heard that those working the waterfront get much better hours than those who are in the limited areas. It sounds like he should be able to return home most, if not all, nights when he's working. Alpha 2nd started work this week, but Andrew and a few others are held back simply because of some equipment that they have yet to receive and are unable to stand post without. So he could be detained for up to another month before he will officially start work. Things can change by the minute around here. Flexibility is crucial in the military!

Along those same lines, Andrew has it on fairly good authority that we will be stationed here for four years instead of two. Of course, we realize that anything is still subject to change, but it's sounding more and more definite with the more people he hears it from. There are pros and cons to this news, but our overall reaction was disappointment. We are happy in Silverdale, but Andrew took his job here based on the fact that it was a two-year ballot. He probably wouldn't have taken it if he had known it would be four years. So, there are many things to consider now - whether he wants to change his job description after two years, how this will affect his decision of reenlisting or not after four years in the service, etc. The definite bonus of this that I am very thankful for is that he will probably not get deployed in the next four years. Especially with a baby on the way, that goes a long way in calming some fears.

So, our main prayer requests are these:

• That we stay content, no matter where the Lord places us over the next few years
• That our "little bitty" stays healthy over the remaining months
• And that God continues to keep Andrew safe in what he does

We are also struggling to find a church that we really love. We went to a church on Bainbridge Island last week that we liked more than any of the ones we've tried so far, but I'd love to find one that I can really get involved in. It would be great for me to know that I have a support group while Andrew is working and out of touch for the better part of two weeks at a time. I'm really starting to miss the fellowship and worship of my church at home and would love to find something similar out here.

Thanks to those who continue to read these very spaced-out blogs. I think I'm afraid if I write too often it'll turn into my own personal diary that no one would take any interest in. :) If there is something to write, I'll write it. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!

Christmas decorations and new furniture!

These are the paintings that Ditters gave us!

This post is dedicated to Mama. :)

Pictures and Orientation

Andrew is in his second week of orientation and things are going really well for him. They're working him hard with tests almost every day that he studies hard for and does very well! He's also getting harder PT now, but enjoying that as well. We're both very excited that he gets a 4-day weekend this week for Veterans Day, which means today is like a Friday! We have some things we'd like to get done, but we're also planning on doing lots of relaxing and spending time together. We're both mindful of the fact that he'll soon start leaving for two weeks at a time and we can't take for granted the time we have now.

We're still getting little bits of our apartment put together, hence the pictures. We recently got a little entertainment center, but I'll post pictures of that once we also get our coffee table! Then it'll look like a real live living room. :) 

We're having a few friends over for Thanksgiving, which we're both excited about. It'll be another couple we know and mostly single guys that aren't able to go home or anywhere else. I'm a little nervous about cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner for around ten hungry people, but maybe the pressure will be what I need. I'm sure the nightmares of burning the turkey black will start soon...

Andrew and I are still praying that we can come home for Christmas. At this point, it's still 50/50. We're hoping to get more information about it this weekend, so we'll see. Either way, we're very grateful that it looks like Andrew will have quite a few days off for Christmas! That doesn't necessarily mean we can go home, but at least he'll be home with me. 

It's been a while since my last post

Mainly, to be honest because there's not much to post about. Andrew and I have gotten into a routine that we're really enjoying. Unfortunately, that will probably be changing in the next couple of weeks. He's been hearing that he will be dropping into a class and his orientation (aka training) will start. That will be around 2-3 weeks of intense work for him, from what he has been told. After that he will start his schedule of two weeks on, two weeks off. He'll be standing watch for two weeks straight with the rest of his company. He'll eat, sleep, etc. there for two weeks and probably will have little to no contact with me or anyone else. Then he'll be home for two weeks to relax. He might have to muster occasionally or PT, but for the most part he'll just be home! So it's definitely a bittersweet situation for us. The two weeks where he is away will be hard for us. It will be weird for me to adjust to him being gone and find things to keep me busy for that time. However, once he gets home we'll basically have two weeks of vacation to just and relax and enjoy our time together. Like anything else, it'll take some adjusting, but I'm sure in time it'll start to feel normal.

Anyway, until then it's pretty much life as usual around here. I'm still working on getting things done around the house while Andrew's at work everyday. We recently got a washer and dryer (hooyah!), so we had plenty of laundry to do. I've also been enjoying trying out some new recipes for dinners and Andrew has graciously tried and liked them all, according to him. :) Tonight we're off to see Paranormal Activity 2, which will undoubtedly be followed by cartoons and Oreos. I wouldn't be surprised if we slept with our lights on tonight.

Here are a few pictures I've taken of the house, the cat, etc. Just a little taste of our lives, I guess.

This doesn't capture it at all, but I just thought the trees looked so pretty when we were out driving today. They're all really changing!

Until next time!

Philly

Here's a couple pics of our new kitty, Philly!

Couches and Kitties

Andrew's first week at work went well, for the most part. He spends most of his mornings and afternoons just sitting outside with the rest of Alpha Company studying for tests and talking. He almost always gets a two-hour lunch break, though, which means he gets to come home and be with me halfway through the day! Always a nice way to split up the day. He also does about an hour of PT every afternoon and is usually home for good anywhere from 1530 to 1630.

I spent this past week getting our apartment organized. It's definitely not completely finished, but everything is at least put away in closets and neatly organized piles in our spare bedroom. I still have plenty of things waiting for me to do this coming week, but pretty soon it will be time for me to start job searching! That will be interesting for me to try and find hours that will match up with Andrew's, but as I like to say, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. :)

We did get our couch delivered today! Andrew and I are extremely excited to have somewhere comfy to sit while we watch TV in our livingroom. I also was finally able to put together our bed at the end of last week, so we have no need for our air mattress anymore! Getting our furniture into our apartment really helps the place start to feel like home. I'm also beginning to hang our posters and pictures around the house. Tonight Andrew and I had our first home-cooked meal! I cooked meaty calzones with mozzarella cheese and pasta sauce. Mmm. Very yummy - if I do say so myself. I also made a chocolate cake the other night. Once I got all of my cooking supplies I just couldn't wait to start cooking and baking.

I took my first major shopping trip for the week at the Commissary this past weekend. It went well except when a female employee in her 60's insisted on helping me out to my car and then expected a tip. I'm pretty sure I can manage my own grocery bags much better than the elderly and I can't afford to be generous these days. Next time I'm putting my foot down.

Andrew and I spent most of Saturday afternoon at the Humane Society adopting a kitten! Yes, I completely talked Andrew into this decision. However, he'll even admit that he's kind of excited to have a cute little pet around here. I'm picking her up tomorrow afternoon while Andrew's at work. Her litter box and food and water bowls are all set up and ready to go! We decided to name her Philly (for obvious reasons). I got to hold her for over an hour on Saturday and she is the sweetest thing. She fell asleep on my lap for most of the time. She seems like a good mix of playful and cuddly. Pictures of her will most likely be coming tomorrow.

Andrew had off today for Columbus Day, so we got up and made pancakes and had a very relaxing day. We're going to start a movie before we go to bed, so I'll leave you with some pictures of our new couch.

Then with the framed print that Cindy and Dave gave to us: