Kitchen Lighting

In our ongoing efforts to "update" and "maximize return on investment" for our house, we've updated the kitchen lighting. For a total of 60 dollars, we grabbed this system at Ikea on our way back from MI. It's newly hung, so you'll have to excuse the "kinky" cords. They'll straighten out over time...we hope.

Before...

I can not tell you how much I despised this lamp in here...however, I moved it to the "dining room" which we made a sitting room and it looks FAB!

After...

I love the new look it gives the kitchen!

Twenty Eleven!!!

2011?!?!?!?!

seriously. is that what we're calling it?

I think I like two thousand eleven better, just seems like better grammar. And you's all knows me takes on great gramma.

So here we are. Another year. We were truly lame this year and were in bed before midnight. And not like, "oh, it's 9:30, let's go to bed" lame, like, "it's 11:50, wanna stay up? No? K, let's hit the rack." L.A.M.E.

It's sad really. Paul and I kinda partied ourselves out in MI. The night before we left to drive home, we attended the annual dinner that all his friends put together and stayed up until...wait for it...12:30!!!!! We're so fun!

Well, this year brings a little change, but not much. Ethan will be starting Kindergarten in the fall, I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday we were talking about hopping on the TBS (The Basic School)or what we called it-(the baby school) bandwagon and trying to get pregnant! I can not believe he is already 5. He'll be 6 when school starts, and it's just amazing to me that time went by that fast!

Hannah just turned 3 at the end of December and was moved up to the "big Girl/Boy" room at preschool. She is really excited to be in a new class with  new teachers. I also can't believe she's already 3. She's as tall as Ethan now and refuses to stop growing! The nice thing is she can stand up for herself now, though. :)

Grant turned 1 in August. Ugh. No more babies. No more bottles. No more midnight wakeups. (well not for him, anyway) He's running after his bro and sis and trying so hard to get a word in  at every opportunity. He's grown so much and we enjoy his belly laughs and joyful smiles everyday.

(louie is still fat and lazy)

The changes that are in store for us this year are on more of a personal list, and not so much a transitional list. We won't be moving, starting new jobs, buying new cars, or having new babies (fingers crossed). Instead we've set some personal goals for ourselves that we really want to stick to.

Paul and I are going to run the Music City Marathon in April. (Please pray for me, since I don't normally run. Ever.) 

Other than that, nothing's really new for 2011. I turn thirty. But we really don't even need to mention that to anyone. That can just stay between you and me. Deal?

ok, well, here are some pics...

G discovered the cowboy hat on the lamp!

This is their "pose" for Christmas Morning.

We took a trip to Historic Bell Buckle with my dad. It's always a fun time! Antiques, an old soda shop and home of the RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival!

The uniqueness of this town is just beautiful!

This is how cool this small town is. It just screams early 50's!

i hate that H is blurry, but what a cute pic!

Just me and my dad.


So while we were there...

Hannah started her modeling career...

apparently so did Ethan...

My dad realized his arch nemesis follows him everywhere...
(he works for State Farm)

And Paul enjoyed a wonderful cup of Hot Cocoa.
It was good. I tried it.

Hope everyone else did something fun and exciting for their new year. You can pick up my slack...
Here's to a wonderful 2011!

Salute`!

Flooding

Ok, when I said interesting, I guess I said a mouthful. I had no idea that the day would come to this.
Currently I am watching a Mayor's press conference about the flooding here in Middle TN. We have had over 12 inches of rain in some areas and there is one confirmed drowning. The current is picking up buildings and floating them away and then destroying them due to the amount of pressure built up by the water.
For those who know the area, 1-24 and Bell Rd (Hickory Hollow area) was COMPLETELY flooded. This is about 20 minutes north west from us.

Please keep all the folks in our area in your prayers. We've had 3 tornado warnings and several watches. They still expect MORE rain (up to 5 inches) for tonight and tomorrow.

So far, our neighborhood is still above water, but it could all change over night.

Ok, and the news just now issued a new tornado watch. 

Please keep us in your thoughts.

Thank you!

Rainy Days

It's been fabulous here weather wise, sun shining and breezy all week long. And then. The weekend comes. This is the second soccer game that has been cancelled due to rain. And I'm not talking about "showers". It's severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings across middle Tennessee. It's been tough to find stuff to keep the kids busy and out of our hair all weekend. We hope to get some much needed indoor house work done while we're stuck indoors, though. Hopefully we can get all our garage sale things organized and start our master bath re-do. I've also decided that I absolutely despise the color in my kitchen and I can't take it anymore. So we're going to repaint it as well (and by "we", I mean I'm going to try my hardest to convince Paul he needs to do it since his painting skills are far superior to mine!). My friend who's an interior designer gave me a free mini consult the other day and we think the best value for resale would be to paint these ugly orange oak cabinets and it would look 10 times better. A lot of work, but low cost for high impact.
That's about all that's going on here. We're getting ready for my parents visit at the end of May and we hope to get away for our anniversary. 6 years! Can you believe it!? And we haven't had that much time away from the kids so I told Paul don't even buy me anything, just take me away and make me forget I have children for a night. That's a gift in itself.
Hope everything is well with everyone and we'll update soon! If anything interesting happens that is.

Ode to my brother

Here is my post. I had a great day.

Have a great day.

This girl is Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!!!!

I  love me some Hannah! Especially when she's eating something. She dances and really "experiences" the food. SO I couldn't pass up this opportunity to get some good shots of her enjoying her lollipop the other day.

Have a great day!

Holy Cow...Was That 2009?

by Paul

As 2009 draws to a close, I am looking back on the past twelve months and wondering how we managed to squeeze so much into a calendar year. Abbey and I have jokingly labeled the last few years with an appropriate title; 2006 was the "year that wouldn't end," as a littany of events and changes made the year stretch on and on. 2007 was the "year of fun," as I finished my post as an aide and we hosted both sets of grandparents in Okinawa and got out to see a lot of the island. 2008 we dubbed "the year of sickness" due to both kids being in pre-school and life on that tiny island bringing every manner of germ and bacteria home...it seemed like at least one or all of us was consistently down with something or other for the entire twelve months. 2009 had to be the year of transition, or maybe activity, as we have been running non-stop.

The year began for us back in Oki. Just after the new year, we were enjoying the warm breeze on our back porch one night and I said to Abbey, "you watch...it will be 2010 before we know what's hit us." Not that I looked in a crystal ball, but I suspected that the moving process, starting a new job, recovering from surgery, a new baby, setting up house back in the States, and multiple family visits would make the year fly. And so it did.

Here's a quick recap of what went down, in no particular order...

Michigan

We managed to all make it back to our home state twice in 2009. Abbey & I had each visited once separately but it had been our first collective visit since 2005. I had been really missing the ol' mitten but a properly-timed trip in the throes of winter made me again thankful for living in the South.

Grant

We added another boy to our family with Grant's arrival in August. The bonus of living relatively close to home (well, compared to Japan) allowed both Grandmas to come and assist with the first weeks of his life.

Mark

My brother, Mark, earned his commission as a second lieutenant and was able to move to Tennessee temporarily to work with me. This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm so thankful we were able to make it happen. His presence in Middle Tennessee has allowed us to pursue the "Pizza Quest," where we sample all of the local pizzerias and see how they stack up. So far, so good. We also got to take a family road trip to our old stomping grounds in Virginia to see him graduate OCS.

Sports

I've admittedly never been a huge sports fan, but being in Okinawa and having little or no access to such things most of the time leant itself to rekindling my interest in hockey and college sports. Plus, my duties require me to talk collegiate football a lot so it's really "researching," right? I hadn't been to a pro sports event in years but I managed to squeeze in the following in 2009: a couple NHL games, a Texas Rangers game, in Arlington, a Memphis Grizzlies game, and something like 10 NCAA football and baseball games. And Ethan got to go with me to see a minor league baseball game (Nashville Sounds) and watch the Predators lose to the Flames.

Family Thanksgiving

Abbey and I decided over a year ago that, when we returned to the States, we would love to host our families to a Thanksgiving dinner. We were really excited about doing it but, honestly in the back of our minds we didn't think our families would ultimately be able to make the trip. To our delight and their credit, everyone made it down and it was easily one of the most memorable holidays ever.

Officer Selection Duty

My new job has been stimulating and rewarding. It keeps me on the road a little better than half the month on average, but I love what I'm doing and enjoy being out in the civilian community. I think we all miss being near a lot of other Marines, though.

There's so many other things but those are the big ones. We have a lot of goals in 2010 and are hoping it turns out to be as amazing as 2009 was...although hopefully a little more stable and less busy. :)

1 Month!

It's hard to believe that Grant is already a month old. We are just settling into some sort of a routine, but I'm sure he'll change that soon enough. We're looking for preschools for Ethan as he's asking on a daily basis when he's going to see his friends at school with his new teacher. Hannah is getting used to her new "mother hen" roll, whenever she finds a pacifier, she needs to stick it into Grant's mouth. So things are good, just looking forward to more sleep soon. Cross your fingers.

FROM PAUL:

Hey everyone! Here's the latest and greatest... I graduated Communications School yesterday. So now I'm completely done with my initial officer training and am all certified to move on to the Fleet Marine Force and my next duty station in Okinawa. As it stands now we are set to leave in early January but we'll be back in Michigan for the holidays (should arrive the evening of the 15th). In the meantime I'm currently just working at the base reviewing some materials for an upcoming inspection. Nothing too exciting or demanding (which is good at this point).
Abbey has been trying to get everything ready for the move, and neither of us are looking forward to a 17-hour flight with an infant. I'm working her like a dog but she keeps feeling better and seems to be recovering from her infection nicely. Ethan is growing quickly and gets more and more alert every day. Abbey caught him watching TV recently so we've been trying to keep it turned off to avoid "rotting the brain."
Right I sent that newsletter out bragging about the warm weather, things took a nose-dive and we've had some snow and a few icy cold days. Kind of unseasonable for this time of year from what the locals tell me. Despite the cold we've been trying to get out and get back in shape, do a little unfinished Christmas shopping and see some friends for the last time before we move. The other night we went to a fellowship gathering at our friends' house and I tried brisket for the first time! Pretty good.
That's about it. Hope to see you all soon.