We've Been Busy

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy for us.



Matt's nephew, Robbie, celebrated his 1st birthday! It has been so much fun to see Matt with all the kids again. The little ones are gradually warming up to him!





We were able to catch the girls' last 2 soccer games too. This was a thrill! Soccer is Matt's favorite sport, and it is always such fun to watch games...especially when nieces are playing...or cousins, Bethany :)



We also were able to enjoy Laura Ingalls Wilder Day at a living history museum. I love this picture of the girls!



Abby was a little shy to do the 3 legged race, so I was Hannah's partner. I wasn't exactly dressed for the Laura Ingalls occasion (I'm in the red hat) :) She did such a great job! I was so worried I would knock her down accidentally. I was the slow one of the pair with the duck run...but maybe we'll blame it on the fact that our sizes weren't evenly matched ;)



Last Sunday, we had a family, friend, church picnic for Matt's homecoming:


This past weekend, we spent time down at Uncle John and Aunt Carol's with them, Grandma, and Bethany for the fair. We had a fun time but missed the rest of the family. Here's my little purchase! I was pretty excited and asked Matt to take a picture of it so I could send it to Chrissy, but he tends to like to take pictures that include me...so I guess I'm modeling it. Ohhh Matt.


(Yes, our game collection...mostly from garage sales...consists of kids games! We are such kids!)

In between, we've helped family move, and Matt has been actively looking for a job. He has sent out a lot of applications, and we are still waiting to hear from them. Please keep that (and us) in your prayers!

Pictures of Homecoming #2

It's taken me awhile to get back on here. Matt's been home for 2 weeks now. In some ways it feels like he never left, but in other ways it feels like he just got home. It was a pretty big moment when we actually got home to our apartment. I had the rest of his red, white, and blue paper chain (to count down the weeks) decoratively hung across the ceiling and of course, a fancy shmancy toilet paper "Welcome Home" sign. I knew he wouldn't have it any other way! (Ok, so I was in a hurry and lacking some resources...that, or we're going a little more green! Afterall, I suppose we can use the toilet paper again.) I thought I'd share a few pictures of his 2nd homecoming...when he came home to NY...never to wear uniform again...or so we think. Matt has decided to end his stint with the military to be able to be home with family and pursue jobs on the civilian side. I'm proud to be his wife and proud to support him wherever he is led, but I am much happier having him home!


Here I am waiting (and waiting...) with Nathanael. He thinks my purse is his personal fun bag. I didn't have time to clean it out beforehand, so he was a good helper.
Yes, my hair is sopping wet. I went to a bridal shower/picnic earlier that evening and ended up playing volleyball. So, I had to come home and shower again and rush to the airport. There was a little mix up about the time he was to arrive. (Thanks Uncle Bill :)...just kidding.) I was in a hurry...only to get there and wait. Oh well, better early than late.




The girls made such a cute Welcome Home sign, and from what I hear, Jacob added a little color too! My mom saw about 5 different Matt's leaving the gate. There he is. Oh wait. There he is. Is that him? It was making me nervous I wouldn't be able to recognize my own husband as quickly....but I spotted him right away (FIRST), and ran to the door that separates the flyers and welcomers.


Yup, same blue dress, same hug, same girl, same man!


I guess it's time to share him with everyone else who was there. It was so nice having so many family members and a few friends there. It was a lot different than being out in CA not really knowing anybody. I think I had different jitters. Each homecoming was different. I can't quite explain it...different seems to work.


Matt and his brother. No, they are not twins. Little joke. They just pretty much have the same shirt.
Did you notice Matt's haircut? Well, if you didn't..don't! There was an earthquake while he was getting his haircut. We won't blame the barber. :)


Matt and his mom...well, his mom was on the phone. She wasn't able to be there but called right away.

Speaking of Home...

You can cut to the chase by reading the bold. :)

Actually, I didn't forget to mention that I am coming home. I intended on writing another post before I left, but time just got away from me. I also figured my last few posts were long enough to add that in there, and I wanted Matt to have his ticket in hand before I sent out the news. When it comes to changes with the military, I'm not too quick to share...because they often change again. So here you have it, I just flew in at 10:25 tonight.

BUT THE BIG NEWS IS: Matt is coming HOME, Home, like OUR home. (The lovely home I often write about...full of moisture, millipedes, and all those good "m" things...but it is full of love..aww...and will be filled with "M"att. Ok, so I'm crazy excited and being ridiculous.) He is to arrive tomorrow night at 10:15pm! Anyone in the area who would like to welcome him at the airport, please join us!! I know it's not much notice, but we do what we can. Yes, this means Matt is "done" for good in the military....until he gets recalled again..:/. We have been extremely blessed to have his year of return to active duty decreased to about 10 months. July 30 is way better than October 19!

We can't wait to see the plans God has in store for us next... together!

More to come.....

It's Good to Be "Home"

Ok, so we're not exactly home, but I feel at home now that I'm back with Matt. I read a couple of articles once on the "power" of being close to the one you love. "A recent study of how human touch affects neural stress release indicated that married women who hold their husband's hand feel instant relief from extremely stressful situations" (Christianity Today). It's totally true!

If we look tired, that's because we are. This was the day after he came home just after picking up our rental car.

So what have we been up to?
Still tired.

Going out for our special dinner! Thanks Brandon and Sandy for that gift! It was wonderful! (We did go shopping for another dress for me, but I wasn't comfortable with any we found, so I wore the good ole blue one. I have worn it for every special occasion, except our wedding :), since high school graduation in 2002. Oh well, it's Matt's favorite anyway.)

The Beach! He makes me laugh.


Disneyland!

Precious Cargo!




Here we are at Sea World...or Sea Land, as Matt calls it. Matt's cousin, Warren, was in San Diego for the week for classes (he's in the Navy), so we connected for church, lunch, and Sea World.



They were huge!






We make a good couple. Notice how the child glasses fit me...but...ahem, don't exactly fit him real well, especially around the ears! We have different "dimensions" that we joke about frequently. I just hope our children's heads grow after birth.

Look Who's Home!!!!!!!!

Thank you Heather for your wonderful post. I haven't had a chance to update here since. It's been a little crazy around here. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers! Matt came home safe and sound a little after 11pm on Tuesday, July 15. I know some of you wanted to be a fly on the wall to see our reunion, so here are a lot of pictures (the good, the bad, and the ugly...just trying to be real? :)) to help you feel like you were there:


On my way out to the flightline to wait for their plane.


I was just shaking...waiting for Matt and it was a little chilly. The whole day felt like the day before our wedding. I was so excited and jittery and couldn't make the time go any faster. It was just a little disappointing to me not having all 8 of my bridesmaids around to help distract me. Instead, I went for a couple walks to the Marine Mart, went for a run on the track, and watched countless episodes of old shows on TVLand and Jon and Kate plus 8.
















A reporter from a military newspaper took our picture and our information. He told us we take a good picture...hmmm, apparently not all of the time.




Matt was eager to put his real wedding band back on. That was an exciting moment.


A little sarcastic look because this picture was retaken...Matt was too quick at taking the ring, the photographer wasn't ready.







We made it!!!

Family Reunion Part 2

The rest of the week was a blur. Here are a few pictures and fuzzy videos for entertainment. What a family!


Chrissy and I after playing a lot of volleyball.

Crazy Uncles!

This is where they sat during the softball game. Right behind the pitcher!





In need of some help...except Bethany



From some of the littlest to some of the biggest...all willing to pitch in!


I'm trying to figure out that whole slideshow thing for more pictures...but having some difficulties.

*I love you Man!! We wish you were there! I'll see you next week!!!

That Family Reunion

I thought I'd share some highlights from my family reunion last week. The fun just keeps on comin. The reunion was from Sunday till Saturday in Michigan, and now I'm spending the week in Indiana. Early next week, I fly out to California. Did you HEAR THAT? I mean, did you READ THAT?? I'm going to be with Matt again NEXT WEEK!!!

Monday
When us cousins get together, this usually happens:

Again, I apologize for the quality of my videos. You can bear it or skip it.
Don't we look like so much fun? Bethany thinks so.



Also on Monday, my 11 year old cousin prayed before lunch. "Thank You Lord for the food and for everybody who prepared it....well, not everybody..." He corrected himself because not everyone had prepared the food, but we found it pretty funny.

The men (and I hear a few ladies) helped to build? a brand new sand volleyball court for the camp and for all to enjoy. Most of the ladies worked hard, ahem, sitting in chairs watching the men work...


...but we all joined together to pick a rock or two out of the dirt to do our part.

I realize we are not lifting with our knees (those big heavy rocks could strain our backs of course), but that's because the idea was to get us all in the action, possibly with our rear ends out. Yeah, our family is weird! Apparently, we don't coordinate or cooperate well either. It sure did turn out nicely! We played I don't know how many games every day that lead to many sunburns.

Tuesday
Some of the young girl cousins organized a nail polish party with verbal invitations to Room 5. Well, every female cousin, aunt, and even Grandma came, so Room 5 became the great outdoors! That was better for the smell anyway. We had a wonderful time with a "foot washing service" (6 girls crammed into a shower to wash our dirty feet together) just before the party began. Everything is more fun together (yes, it was just our feet).

This was my Grandma and Aunt Sharon's (maybe Aunt Amber's too) first time EVER getting their nails painted. My sister-in-law Sarah made sure to choose an eye sore of a color for Aunt Sharon's nails to make the most of the occasion. I think Grandma secretly enjoyed herself, even though she said Grandpa would be rolling in his grave. She even had my cousin Phoebe redo a couple nails that were globby. That Grandma cracks me up!