A New Look

I've spent the past hour trying to update the look of our blog, it takes me a while to make decisions. It's not completely how I want it, but I have a feeling Mac will be waking up from her nap soon so I'm going to stop while I am ahead.

We dropped Nathan and his friend off at the airport this morning. It wasn't as emotional as I thought it would be since we're going to see each other in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. It seemed like every time I was about to cry Mackenzie was running away from us, climbing on something, yelling at the giant stuffed bear, or just being silly. Gotta love that girl. When Nathan entered the security line I told Mackenzie to wave good-bye to dad and she looked up at the 10 foot bear standing to the left of us and started to wave at it. Oh well, I tried.

One of Mackenzie's new tricks is going completely limp when she doesn't want to do something I want her to do. I noticed her doing this a few other times before today, but was hoping it was just a fluke....I was wrong. Give this girl a wide open space, like an airport, and she's off to explore. Whenever I tried to gently guide her back to our seats she would fall to the ground like a wet noodle. Thankfully she wasn't kicking and screaming, I'm sure she's saving that for later when we're in a really crowded mall.

The pictures were taken yesterday at the beach near our house. Cappy is a pretty lazy dog and will sleep about 95% of the day, but something gets into her at the beach and she's ready to play. She even wandered into the water a few times, tried to take a drink, and realized it was salty.

A day at the beach

I think Mackenzie's face shows exactly how I was feeling last Wednesday. We found out that Nathan was to check-in to ATC school on November 18th. Yikes! Not only is that our two year anniversary, it is about 2 months earlier than I was expecting. I'm trying not to be one of those "oh, poor me" kind of girls, so encouraging words are warmly accepted at this point. I knew he would be leaving again (and again, and again, and again) but I thought we would have a little time to meet people and familiarize ourselves with the area. Guess I'll be flying solo on this one.

Here are my observations of the base so far; not as many children as I expected, the playgrounds are usually empty, NO cell phone reception at our house, close to the beach, pretty laid back atmosphere, not a lot of places to shop other than the Super Wal-Mart. Oh, and the restaurant selection is limited, unless you like Bojangles' (famous for their Chicken 'n Biscuits). I think the base will grow on me as I meet more people and become involved with the programs here.

Despite the challenges our family faces, I am thankful for this life and the path we have taken. I feel myself changing, growing. I often have to remind myself that with great challenge, comes great reward. I believe this to be true and have already seen those rewards through relationships and new experiences. So, while the months ahead will be different than I had planned, I know we will be alright.

The pictures below were taken today. It's November and we went to the beach. That's crazy to me, can you tell we're from Indiana?

Here we go again...another move!

Wow, it's almost been two months since my last post. Things have been very hectic around here and since I am short on time I will update you with a few pictures. Nathan and I leave Atlanta this morning and head to Cherry Point. I'll get back to posting once things settle down. Hope everyone is doing well!

Mackenzie waiting for our private tour of The White House.

Still waiting....with a hot, cranky, baby.

Some of Nathan's fellow classmates from TBS that took the tour with us.


Leaving The White House, thanks for the tour Amber!

Mackenzie and I went home to Fort Wayne for a two week visit. I drove past our rental house and found this....over grown ivy, bushes, and weeds. I am happy to say that with a few calls to the property manager things were cleaned up.

We went to the lake for a few days and enjoyed the quiet cottage. Mackenzie wasn't too sure about the sand, as you can tell by her face.

Mackenzie got a new tutu from her Aunt Joyce and....

...she wore it on the golf course. What else do you do with a tutu?

We had the chance to spend some quality time with friends and family. Mackenzie spent most of her evenings running around on the golf course with grandma and grandpa, the neighbors loved us!

Mackenzie and I made the 10 hour trip back to Virginia without any problems. Nathan was glad to have his girls back. We spent the next few weekends sightseeing in DC. Some of our favorites were the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, aka the DC zoo, WWII Memorial, Washington Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial.

"I love this place."


Mac trying to climb into the WWII Memorial.




Mackenzie in Nathan's barracks room.


Nathan and Mac on Warrior Day. Warrior Day was the day before graduation that allowed families to come see what their Marines have been doing at TBS for the past 6 months.

Mac in an amphibious assault vehicle. She looks right at home.

Me with a M249 SAW.


Mackenzie familiarizing herself with a M240 G.

Lt. Richardson and his family. Little Alan and Mackenzie had quite a few dates at the local McDonald's.


Nathan finally graduates from TBS. Congrats!




After graduation we drove down to Cherry Point to check out the base and find a house. This is what we ended up with, who's jealous? We will move again in Feb. to a renovated house.


We moved out of our apartment at the end of October and headed south to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Miller.


"I hate pumpkins."


"Not really, I just hate having my picture taken."

"Meow" says the kitty with high waters on.

Happy Halloween!

She who is responsible...

Some times someone does something that is so unexpected its impact reaches the deepest depths...my wife did that. I will admit, these past 5 months at TBS have been pretty hard both professionally and personally..but I think our family has definitely strengthened its bonds which will help in the trying times that are sure to come with the state of world as it is. You all know that I don't post very often, I leave most of that to Kelly who rocks it for both of us. But the events that transpired last night compelled me to get on and recognize she who is responsible. One of our favorite wedding gifts was a nightly devotional titled Night Lights by Dr. James Dobson and his wife Shirley that we received from our marriage mentors. It is something that has brought us closer as a couple and brings light to issues and topics that we probably wouldn't talk about normally. And through these hard times it has been a blessing for us to take a few minutes at the end of the day, read it together, and share with one another on the topic at hand. It has become a powerful tool for our marriage. So anyways, a couple weeks ago the topic was romance and being romantic. After taking an inventory we found that I have mad skills at be romantic but Kel could use a little boost...which came as a surprise to both of us. Well, she took this heart and hit one out of the park last night. The demanding schedule of TBS has taken its toll on our "mommy and daddy" time, simple date nights to dinner and movie have been few and far between. My wife shoulders a very heavy load...being a Marine is hard...being a Marine wife is harder. We look forward to the weekends and I expected a typical Friday night of getting the babe down around 8pm and hanging with the wifey on the couch till we fell asleep...but no no the boss had plans of her own. We put the little one down and she told me to watch tv in the bedroom and not to come out until she said so. So I said "Yes Ma'am" and marched my behind right into the bedroom, I was pretty excited, I didn't know what to expect. I thought maybe she cooked something special for dinner and she didn't want me to see...but when she came to get me it was so much more. She told me to come out and as I stepped through the door I was meet with by wife who had changed into a stunning brown dress, a candle lit dinner complete with fresh flowers and wine, our favorite CD playing in the background and the opportunity to be able to sit and enjoy one another, one on one, husband and wife. This touched me deeply because I know the trials and tribulations, and if you have read her past post, all the challenges she is facing right now...yet she took time to think of me and produce a memory that I will remember forever. It was the best night we have had since we began this journey. And I tell this story, yes to brag about my wife, but also to tell a story about caring and true romance. Babe, you showed that book who was boss. I am a grateful husband today, and my heart has been filled.



On another note, we found out on Friday that we will be stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC. This is a good thing because we wanted to stay on the East Coast. I will get my reporting date on Monday, but at least we know where we will be for the next couple of years.

Are You Serious?

Before Mackenzie and I moved out to Virginia I remember thinking about how I was going to get certain things done without any help from family/friends/daycare. Simple things like going to the dentist or doctor. Most have normal business hours and wouldn't understand if I wanted to make an appointment for 9:00pm, which happens to be the time my husband will be arriving home tonight (he left for work around4:30 this morning). I don't need full-time daycare, I don't even need part-time daycare, I just need someone to watch my kid for a couple hours....someone I trust.

I must have been complaining about this issue enough that Nathan found a child care center that offers hourly and daily rates. First, I was impressed that he found a joint like that and second, I was excited about the idea of doing something by myself (not that I don't love the kid). I went to check the place out today and my dream of going to the dentist came crashing down. The place sucked, it wasn't terrible until I saw the lady working in the toddler room without any of her front teeth. Of course it would be the room that my child would be in. We left and ditched the packet of information. I better figure something out or I might end up missing a few of my own teeth.

I had the chance to have dinner Tuesday night with some good friends. We hadn't seen each other in months and it was great catching up. Mandy lives in DC so there isn't any excuse for not seeing her more often and Jilly lives in Chicago. I drove home that night thinking about my friends that I don't get to see very often (that's pretty much all of them) and realized how much I miss them! Remember back in high school when you would hang out with your girlfriends at least four times a week? I believe it should still be that way, especially since adulthood and motherhood bring on so many more stressors. What were we stressed about back in high school? If we needed each other then, we REALLY need each other now. I miss you girls!

Home Sweet Home

Home, it was just what I needed.

I've been in a bit of a slump here in stay-at-home-mom/military wifeville. The newness of this town is gone, Nathan has been working (really) long hours and I know we'll be making another move within the next few months. No one said this lifestyle was going to be easy and I'm quickly learning why the divorce rate is so high in the military. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, at least about us. The divorce rate in the military is quite high, there is no way a weak marriage could survive something like this. I've learned to cherish the time we do get to spend together as a family. We try not to be lazy on the weekends, which is why we decided to pack up and head home for Labor Day. I love being at home, everything seems so much better. We were able to see family and friends and celebrate Mackenzie's first birthday. Mackenzie had a great time climbing up the stairs at Grandma and Grandpa LaVine's house, chasing the cat, and running around on the golf course. She also loved the extra attention from family members. I left Ft. Wayne feeling refreshed and energized, I'm hoping it lasts for more than a couple days.

I love this picture

Lakeside


Mackenzie wasn't into having her picture taken, she wanted to run around
and play in the water

This girl loved her cake!





This clearly isn't a good picture, but I find it interesting to look at everyone's face.


Refreshed after a 3 hour nap


Walking with dad

My dad, love him