Mashed Potatoes

Yeah. That's right. We named our new puppy Mashed Potatoes. I know it is a pretty weird name but we think its cute. She goes by Mashy though. So if you ever call her, don't expect her to respond to her complete name. Well ok, ok.... actually, dont expect her to respond to Mashy either. She is not the prodigee that is Baloo. In fact, she is quite the handful. She is very energetic, independent, and quite feisty. We love her though. And boy, does Baloo love her! Sure she is his little sister that he picks on, but they are so very attached. It is so cute!

Her first nap at home

 Daddy and the kids

 

 Mashy learning the hard way why we let others have their

privacy when they are going to the bathroom

 

 Cuddlebugs

 

Is that even comfortable Mash?

She has a pink nose! What kinds of dogs have pink noses?

She is a shelter puppy so we know she has lab in her but what else?

 

Such a hard life being puppies

Zoolights

Fun times at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma....

its no World Famous San Diego but fun times with  fun family :)

 

Justin being a snail, or maybe a hermit crab...not too sure

 

Jeremy doesn't fit hahaha

 

The boys

 

The girls

 

under the rainbow

 justin and amanda

 me and my boo! whatever that means....

Baloo's Birthday

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Baloo Bear!
Happy Birthday Baloo!

Baloo you have no idea what I am saying to you because
1) you don't how to use the computer
2) you don't know how to read
3) well...you are a dog

Me and Daddy sure don't treat you like a dog though. You are our little baby and we love you so much. I think lots of people think we are crazy for loving you so much since you aren't even human. Maybe they are right, but well, that is okay with me.
You see Boogs, you are one awesome pup. You have no idea how much you mean to me. Daddy bought you for me for Valentine's day so that I wouldn't be lonely while he was off at work, going to the field...and so far away from my family. And it worked. I sure wasn't lonely once we got you. You followed me everywhere....well you still do. And you make it a point to make sure I always know you are around (i.e. dropping a ball on my face in the morning, crossing my path when I am walking, leaving Baloo hair all over the house).
Yup, you sure are a handful. You pull me when we walk. You wake me up early to go bathroom. You make a mess with your new found personal goal to ensure all our paper is shredded. You get sick quite often.You cost me lots of money. You can be stinky. And most recently, you break my toe. Still Mr. Baloo... you are my best friend. No matter what you are always there for me. Not even when I am all sweaty, and messy, or grouchy, do you ever treat me bad. Nothing I can do, would make you stop loving me. Even when I spank you or ground you to the kennel, or leave you all day, you still wag your tail like crazy when I get near you. And that just makes me feel awesome my pup. You love me unconditionally like a true friend would.

You would think that would be the reason I love you so much but to be honest there is a little bit more to why we feel about you the way we do. You see, Baloo, me and daddy have been wanting to be a "real" mommy and daddy for quite some time now. And well, it just hasnt happened yet for us. And i think more than anyone, you have seen just how sad that has made us at times. Yes, Baloo. I know we are crazy. I know life for us right now is hectic and crazy. And being away from family makes things hard. And still not even having spent a whole year together yet. And with the very real almost certain possibility that Daddy will be deploying again, i know a lot of change is coming. Yet Baloo, mommy and daddy love each other very much and love kids so much. And to both of us having a kids is something we want so much, to carry on the great love we have learned from ours. It can definitely be hard some times to not understand why it hasn't happened for us just yet. Especially when I see how much Daddy loves you. How he takes care of you. How he worries about you. I just know he will be a great daddy someday. When will that day be?.....

Yes Baloo I know. I know God has a time for everything. God has a reason for everything. God has a great plan for me and daddy and I need to trust Him. And that is what keeps me going. I praise God for this time He has given me to learn more about myself, more about Daddy, more about His Word, and grow more in my relationships with both Him and with your daddy. And I also praise Him that He has given me you. This wonderful pup that is a year old. This wonderful puppy that has filled our year with many fun adventures. And I thank Him that He shows me love through you. And that He gives me the opportunity to be a mommy to you while we wait for His timing and His plan which is better than I can even hope for. After all Baloo, I had always wanted a little dog and along came you, a gaint but most sweetest pup. Thank you so much Baloo! Thank you for being that reminder I need to know that He always sends more and better than I could ever hope for.

First Day we got Baloo.

 

 Baloo and Daddy. He was so attached to Jeremy.

You can't see it but my face was doing the same thing as Baloo.

 

 They love to take naps together.

 Baloo! You need to go potty outside! Hahaha. Baloo actually got it superfast.

I don't think he ever even got to ten accidents.

 

 Baloo and Daisy May. The love of his life.

 

 Baloo loves his daddy so much

 

 Baloo loves the truck so much more than our VW rabbit.

 

 Gumby lasted no more than a couple days :( we can never get him any nice toys. at least he never chewed up our house things or shoes :)

 

 He got so mad when he saw the picture and saw what Daddy was doing to him

 

Silly pupper!

 

 Poor Baloo!

 

 Trying to get Baloo to use his new bed.

 

 I think he caught this one.

 

 Super Pup!

 

 Baloo's Birthday at the park.

 

 

 

 

Hey Boogs! Happy Birthday! We got a surprise for you! You have been asking for one and now that you are seven and old enough we think you should get a new puppy!

Meet Mashed Potatoes.....our new baby girl!

Ouch!

Well I was in the ER again. I have been there about four times just this past year. Well the good part of it is that it has never been for anything serious but then again, after about the 3rd time, I start to feel silly for having to go so often.
Anyways, thankfully this time it was again, not a big deal. Still, I think this probably was the most embarrassing visit.....

Doctor walks in with a big smile on his face
"So I understand you are here.....because...... because you tripped over your dog?"

Ok...so I didn't really trip over Baloo, as much as get run down by him, but either way, it sure is funny to everybody when I tell them the story on how genius abby and jeremy thought it was a great idea to take our puppy to a pitch black Frisbee golf course at night using only glow stick lights and the moon to guide our way....Uncle Danny, how come you didn't stop us? hee hee :) just kidding. (we miss you by the way)

Actually Baloo did well the whole night except for that moment. Maybe it was my fault I decided to wear all black and forget to wear my glow stick lights. Well you can be sure after belly flopping on the only little bit of pavement in the middle of tons of grass, that I put my glow sticks on. You can also be sure that after the bruised palms, brusied knees, bruised stomach, sore arms, and broken toe that I will also not be taking my puppy out at night........

 Ok, ok, so I probably will. I just love that puppy too much. After all my bruises are pretty much gone, and my toe is almost completely healed after only a week.....not to mention it gave me something funny to write about.....

**we love and miss you**

My first Turkey

Not being back home for Thanksgiving sure was hard. We both miss our family so much! Throughout the day I missed so many of my family traditions, such as our Thanksgiving church service, my brother's annual Turkey Bowl, and Nana's thanksgiving dinner....

But well, since you got to make the most of things, my little family over here decided we would look on the bright side of things and see the joy in celebrating our first Thanksgiving together since we have been married!

We had a great day. Uncle Danny was here to celebrate and it was great having family around. We also had a few guys from Jeremy's work over which was real nice as well. Most of my day, however, concentrated around the kitchen.I know you would never believe that I actually woke up early on a day off since I love to sleep so much.....but wouldn't you know I woke up with a stomachache because I was so nervous about making the Turkey! Well I wont bore you with all the details about the 7 hours I spent in the kitchen prepping and praying that we wouldn't have to eat pizza for Thanksgiving...but I included some pictures in case you were wondering how I handled it.

According to those who ate, everything came out good. I was too nervous to enjoy it. Hahaha!

Well just to close this up...I just want to take the time  and thank the Lord for all He has blessed me with this year.....for Jeremy's safe return from Iraq, our first "real" year of marriage together, our firstborn puppy Baloo Bear who is our pride and joy, the sweetest most cutest nephew in the world, a new beautiful place to live in, wonderful family who love & help us so much back home, friends that are like family to us, jobs, health and most importantly God's great gift of love and salvation. To all of those of you who are reading this....know that we love you and our so thankful for you being part of lives. I hope you all had a nice day too!

Washing the turkey is a lot harder than I would have thought. It is so heavy and slippery.

I am supposed to stick my hand where?!!!!!

 

Jeremy could'nt handle it so I had to take over.

 

Baloo was sitting near the counter hoping something would fall his way. He ended up getting some flour all over his face.

 

Dinner is ready!

  

Well of course we had to have give Baloo some turkey too! See his obedience training at work? He is performing his Wait command here.

 

The Great Place

Well I know I said I want to try to stay positive in this blog but I just felt I needed to write about the tragic events that happened at Fort Hood on Thursday. It breaks my heart and I've been told that sometimes writing about things makes us feel better so here goes...

This news definitely hit close to home because Fort Hood was our home just about four months ago. Sure we may have not lived on post or always thought it was the best place to be, but it definitely holds a special place in our hearts...because it was our first duty station and it was where we learned and grew to be part of the army family. I often joked about the post, that it was in the middle of nowhere and there is not much to do there but hang out at Walmart. Or that upon entrance at the gate when security would greet you with a "Welcome to the Great Place", you would always think sarcastically to yourself, "Uh...not really, but Ok...if you say so." But as I realized before, when we left, I loved that place for it was where I made lifelong friends. 

When I first heard the news from a friend, I called Jeremy right away...our first thoughts were to call those we left behind at Fort Hood. Thank God, after awhile we found out everyone was OK and accounted for. It breaks my heart to know that not everyone got such good news. I heard on the news that some families got word as late as midnight, maybe even later, that their loved one had not been so fortunate. I know that the military does there best to follow procedure and notify, but I know how awful it feels to hear something in the news and to sit and wait and fear that two uniformed men  will show up at your door instead of getting the phone call from that person you love so much. My heart and my prayers go out to all those who have been affected by this tragedy.

I think the thing that gets me the most though is that these men and women were killed here at home, a place where they are supposed to be safe. I know that danger and the possibility of death comes with the job but its just not supposed to happen on post. I remember breathing a sigh a relief when Jeremy and the guys got back....almost like a weight being lifted off my shoulders. And yet to hear that a young woman just got back from being deployed, was getting ready to go on leave to see her family, and then gets killed before they could see her again..... It's horrible.

I have no idea why this man did it. There is a lot of speculation going around....maybe it was PTSD? maybe it was a relgious thing? maybe it was that he just had a mental disorder? I dont know and I have all kinds of thoughts on the issue but I can't really say too much on it since we just dont know. What I do know though is that I sure hope he gets what he deserves. 

Yesterday, two years ago, Jeremy left for Iraq. I think it was one of the hardest days ever for me...knowing that there was a greater possibility than normal that I may never see him again, given that his job requires him to be out there in the middle of everything. He told me not to cry and I didn't, not even as he was pulling away on that bus and I was trying to make out every last detail about the face that I would not see until possibly June. Thankfully, the Lord protected Him and he is back home now. Not everyone , including some of Jeremy's close battle buddies was so fortunate. I don't think I will ever understand why some have to get hurt and die and why others don't. As a human, I cant help but think about it sometimes and I mind goes in circles. However, I hold on to my Lord or rather He doesn't let me go and I though I dont get it, He gives me reassurance that He is in control and knows things that I cannot see or understand and I feel at peace.

In light of this tragedy on our first home, what I need to do is thank God for His love and grace. And thank God that Jeremy and our friends are here and will be getting to spend their first Thanksgiving, Christmas, Anniversary (well me and Jeremy at least), and New Year in the States,  in two years! I will do my best not to focus on all the bad things out there and just be so thankful for the fact that they are here now. Thank you for your prayers as Jeremy was gone and please please please continue with me to hold up these families in prayer who had to undergo such tragedy at a place where though I first did not realize, was truly the Great Place because of the brave women and men and families who made it so.

I love cars!

Well as some of you may know we only have one truck and have to share. Jeremy tends to need the truck more at work because he is required to drive around on the different bases and go to trainings. I on the other hand have the luxury of time and bus stops being available at the places I need to go...so I tend to use public transportation some of the time. Here are a few lessons I have learned while riding the bus and walking that I hope may help you if you ever need to do so.....

1. Dress appropriately. Wear comfortable shoes. And if you are going to a nice job or interview, carry them in your bag because your feet will freeze in 30 degree weather and have blisters after you miss your bus and have to walk 3 miles home. And even though your clothes may seem right for the weather, it gets cold when you are standing for the bus and hot when you are walking
   
2. Bring tissue if you are going out in cold weather. Your nose and self esteem will thank you for it.
   
3. Bring a pair of sunglasses along. Even if it isn't sunny you might need them to block the pebbles and small dirt from entering your eyes that bounce off the road when the cars drive by.
4. It might be good to invest in a map of the town. You never know when you will get lost and you don't want to spend your time going the opposite way of where you were supposed to be going. Oh and don't forget to pick up your bus route schedule. It never leaves my purse.
   
5. It's not a good idea to stop at the library if you love books like me. If you do you will probably end up walking home with way too many books. They might not weigh too much at the library but they will after a few minutes of walking.
6. It may not be too fun being early but it is a good idea to take the bus prior to the one which will drop you off on time. Buses break down. Buses pass before they are supposed to. And Buses are late. You don't want to be late to your job orientation.
7. Do not take it personal when the bus driver yells at everyone on the bus. It's not his fault everyone who gets on the bus complains about him being late when in fact it was the bus in front of him which broke down.
8. Do not assume that cars will stop when you are walking in the crosswalk. Sometimes I don't think they even notice you are there.
9. If you live in Washington an umbrella is a must.
   
10. Never ever...no matter how smart it may seem at the time...trade 2 cars including your newly fully paid off car...for 1 truck! ha ha ha :)

I know like it may seem that I am complaining but I am not. Sure these experiences may not have been to fun at the time but they make for good stories and they make me laugh now. I have noticed while riding the bus that many handicapped people use public transportation. I find them so brave for not letting their handicap keep them at home. And it has also reminded me to be thankful for what I have. Praise God I can walk! Praise God that I can drive the truck when I really need it! Praise God that I don't have to ride the bus at night or on the weekends! Praise God that many times my husband can get out of work and come to my rescue at the bus stop! Praise God that I am getting more exercise! Praise God I am learning more about the town and can get us around different places as long as we follow the bus route! Praise God that we will not get stuck in the snow when it begins snowing here and that we were able to transport our things when we were moving!

Yeah, walking and the bus may not be the funnest thing to do and I definitely do have a new appreciation and love for cars....but the experiences are interesting and help me to remember why I am so blessed.