Crossing My Fingers

So there has always been a slight chance that Nick might not have to go to Louisiana with his unit this June. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but that slight chance is definitely getting bigger.

You see, Nick's unit is supposed to be getting back a whole bunch of vehicles in June. And, being the supply officer (or the tanker in the staff job, as he described himself yesterday), he is the one who is responsible for all of those vehicles, and for making sure they get where they're supposed to go.

Ya, I'm definitely crossing my fingers and praying that this pans out, all the while trying to keep my expectations low.

Yesterday

Yesterday, the director at the pregnancy center asked me to sit in on a counseling session. So, I asked one of the counselors if she was alright with it and went ahead and sat in.

Wow, what a great experience! It made the whole process seem so much less intimidating. So far I've only seen things from the paperwork perspective, but this was a conversation. It was one person caring about another person and listening to what was going on in their life.

I have to admit, I had been getting a little bit anxious about the counseling room since we're so on top of the data entry now. I'm still definitely not anywhere near ready to take on the counseling room by myself, but it was a great opportunity to see what actually happens in there. And it made me excited about it all again.

I kind of wish there were enough counselors to let us go in as pairs and play off each other all the time, but I will be going in with another person for awhile. And I'm sure with time and practice, I'll continue to get more comfortable with the whole situation. And it's all practice with active listening and reading people.

I'm still not totally sure how much training I'll get done before we move in the fall, but I'll definitely keep going on this track and see where God wants me from there.

Marathon Day

I had the longest day ever yesterday! It was pretty much nonstop. It wasn't necessarily a bad day, it was just realllly busy. I barely had a second to relax until I got home that night.

It started out with a field trip with Rachel's Pre-K class. We went to Petsmart & the park & had lots & lots of fun! The kids enjoyed running around and playing and we were all exhausted at the end of it. Totally worth it though!

It reminded me of when I worked full time though (and how much I hated that) because pretty much as soon as I got home, I had to walk to dogs since they had been cooped up all day. I also had to help make one more nametag. It was a little bit chaotic throughout the day arranging getting the supplies and getting it all done, but thankfully, it got done.

Then, Scout had a vet appointment where he was a champ and got like 5 shots. Of course, he loved all of the attention and was an excellent patient, as always. He also got to play with an adorable Great Dane in the waiting room.

Then, I worked out really quick and hurried to get ready for the welcome dinner. I was barely ready when my friend Megan (who helped me with the nametags) came over & then we headed to post to pick up another new wife who needed a ride. Phew.

Finally, there was the actual welcome dinner. It was really great meeting the new battalion commander's wife. She's definitely a character (not exactly what you'd expect from a Lt. Colonel's wife, but in a good way), but seems really genuine and friendly. We ended up leaving around 9pm (after originally intending to leave around 8:30), and I finally got home around 9:30 after dropping people off.

Ya, I was pretty much exhausted. I feel like I'm still recovering somewhat today, but the rest of the week should be fairly normal. And I'm not planning on having a nonstop day like that for a long, long time.

Things I Love...

...about living in the South (and/or Texas specifically):

1- The Spring
It is currently 85 degrees and sunny! Hard to believe it was barely 60 degrees last week, or that it snowed in mid-February! Notice that I didn't say "the weather", because I've never lived somewhere with crazier weather. There are weeks when the weather changes 40 degrees in either direction. It's nuts! Also, in a few short weeks it will be crazy hot again and I will be living in the A/C.

2- Mexican Food
Ya, Tex-Mex is a little different than Mexican food in California, but mmm, it is tasty! And I love me some Mexican food! We only had 1 "pretty good" Mexican restaurant in Kentucky, and man, it was rough. Give me Chipotle or some sour cream enchiladas any day.

3- Hobby Lobby
Only like the greatest store ever! They have awesome weekly sales and I have stocked up on decorations for every holiday imaginable. It is way addicting. I always seem to find something I "need" while shopping there and I've had to restrain myself from checking it out every single week. It also makes me think I'm crafty, although I've made some very cool things from supplies I got there (see Nick's stocking).

4-Thunderstorms
We get some good ones around here! Although they sometimes lead to tornadoes (which I thankfully haven't had to experience yet), they're soooo cool to watch. The other day, in the span of 5 minutes, it proceeded to hail, pour rain, and then become sunny and warm with a rainbow. Nothing cooler than that.

5-Barbeque
Mmmmm! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! It's a really good thing our favorite BBQ restaurant is 45 minutes away because otherwise, we would be chubby from all the brisket. Yum yum yum!

Creativity

So we're having a welcome dinner for our new battalion commander's wife next week and I was asked if I would help out with nametags. Thankfully, one of the new wives was also asked to help too. So, today, she came over and we worked for a few hours on them. Here's how they came out:





I'm pretty excited about the result! Not too shabby considering we had no idea what we were going to do coming into it and were given pretty much free creative control. We were a good complimentary team though. I did the technical stuff (printing, logos), and she did the cutting and layout. Nick said they looked professionally done.

It was really nice getting to know a new person to the unit too. There were a few people who stood out when we were new to the unit, and I'm happy I get to carry on that legacy. She's somebody I just clicked with and we had a good time laughing about my ridiculous dogs (who were actually pretty good) and just chit chatting. I think she and her husband are going to come check out our church tomorrow too! I think our church has become the unofficial church for our brigade, ha ha.

Gotta love that I was slightly stressing about a bunch of our friends moving this summer (like Alice), and now, all of a sudden I feel like we're crazy popular! Yet again, further proof that God is good.

7 Years!!!

Today marks 7 years of Nick and I being together! We started dating oh so long ago when we went on a mission trip together in Mexico.

Us in Mexico

Man, I feel like we look like such babies! But, then again, 7 years is a long time, and I was 17 at the time! I still can't believe it's been that long though.

We're going out on a date tonight to celebrate and Nick already is on his way home from work early! Love it! Happy Anniversary to us!

My Adorably Geeky Hubby

I have freakishly good eyesight. Which is surprising because my dad had Lasik and my mom wears glasses. I honestly freak people out with how far away I can read things. By comparison, pretty much anybody has bad eyesight. Nick's was always decent, but since he got home from his deployment, he's been complaining that he can't read stuff.

So, after much encouragement from me (I try not to nag. Proverbs 27:15 says "A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day" and Proverbs 21:9 says "It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.", ha ha. Can't say I disagree), Nick finally got his eyes checked a few weeks ago. Then these showed up at the house yesterday:



I think he looks pretty cute, especially in this pair. He got a couple pairs for the field and stuff too, but those aren't quite as fashionable.

And I'm just joking about the geeky thing (see title). Glasses definitely do not=nerdiness. Although I definitely think Nick looks smarter with these babies. Plus, there's the added benefit that he can actually see, ha ha. All he kept saying was that everything looked so much sharper.