Update

I started this blog awhile ago and have since started another one over on Wordpress. That one is more basic. Updates for family and friends on our life and pictures. This blog has always been a little more personal and for 2014 (so crazy) I am going to commit to blogging here as well, but it will be more personal. More about my thoughts instead of just mentioning the basics of our day to day life.

I thought I would kick of my recommitment to this blog with an update and introduction. We currently reside in Germany. My husband is in the Air Force and after reenlisting last January we got orders for August 2013 to Germany. I can not believe how last year flew by and now we have been living here and trying to make Germany home for over four months. My husband and I have been married for two and a half years and we have two kids. Kien just turned four and Hannah is one and a half. We have a dachshund named Moose who is our beloved family pet.

I am sort of crunchy and my husband is not, but we have found a good balance. Sometimes he doesn't get why I do things a certain way and I him, but we accept one another's differences. We love Florida. He is from SW Florida and I am from Idaho. After growing up in a place with only a few months of summer I dream of settling down in the place where summer never ends.

We don't love Germany. Or even like it most days if I'm being honest. But we are trying to make it our home because we have awhile here. Our life here is much more simple and sometimes much more complicate then it used to be, but we are slowly adapting. There will be many more posts about our experience living abroad with little ones.

I will also be posting soon about my resolutions for the new year. Many involving health and figuring out what I want to do with my life.

Thanks for reading and joining on this journey.

Day 1

Today we went to a Halloween party. I have been looking forward to it for awhile because I love anything that gets me out of the house. Kien loves his costume this year and would wear it all the time if we let him. Hannah is equally obsessed with hers. Because of all the fluff she can't wear it in the car. When I was getting them dressed this morning she got so mad because she wanted it on. I put it in a bag to take with us and she got all upset and pulled it out and brought it to me. We had a lot of fun at the party. Hannah toddled around chasing after balloons and Kien loved the games especially bowling.

Our Girls is 7 Months!

Seven months seem so crazy to me. It's one month past six and closer to being one. She is now closer to one then she is to being newborn. She has seemed to grow up so much just in the past month. She finally discovered a love for food. Before she refused everything. I tried with fruit puree at four months, five and then finally around six she decided eating was fun! She is so close to crawling and currently army crawls and rolls all over the house, grabbing everything in sight that is either brothers or not a toy. Whenever she wakes up from a nap or in the morning I find her on all fours just rocking, and sometimes screaming. Her only and first word is dadada. And she loves to be outside. She and Kien are just starting to really interact and play together and it is the sweetest thing. These are the best moments as a mom and the reason I love having two and would consider having three. I have been taking monthly photos of her and I'm going to wait until this Sunday when she is all dressed up in her Easter outfit. Speaking of Easter I am going to post later on what I am filling their baskets with this year.

Today we went for a walk and had lunch and played at the park. Kien ran around with friends and Hannah got to swing for the first time...which she loved! We also went swimming with some friends later and the pool was so warm compared to the last time we went and she was in love with the water, kicking her legs and splashing.

I am still struggling so much with our upcoming move. I will post more on that in an upcoming post. On Thursdays I am going to start posting five things I am thankful for that day so here is what I am thankful for now.

1. My beautiful children who make my life so full, I am so blessed to be their mama.
2. My faith.
3. Friends who are supportive and who love my children.
4. My dad who will find a way to help me whenever I need.
5. The military. I have a love/hate relationship with this one. But the military is what gives us the life we have which means security when so many people don't have that right now. And it has given me some of the most supportive and amazing friends I could have asked for who understand what I am going through because they have been there too.

Is this real life?

Brian and I have talked a lot about what would be best for our family, for the future. His first enlistment was coming to an end this April, but we knew he needed to stay in because getting out right now would be way too risky especially without a college degree. Some good friends of ours are doing recruiting. You have to get accepted, and it is a very stressful job. It would mean we could choose off of a list where we want to go and no deployments. To us this sounded perfect. We have been wanting to move closer to his family in Florida and have our kids grow up with their cousins and know his family well. On Friday Brian had a meeting with someone who's approval he needed to apply. If she said okay he would next meet with the commander. He called me after his meeting and said it went great. He told me she thought he would be perfect for recruiting and just what they were looking for and he scheduled his appointment with the commander for Tuesday. He also told me one of his best friends here and his wife got orders to Germany. I thought that was awesome, but told him thank gosh it's not us. I do not want to go to Germany, I do not want to go over seas. He was excited about how good his meeting had gone and we hung up. Twenty minutes later I got the call. You are going to be so mad. What...what..I ask. We are going to Germany. With that a million thoughts rushed through my mind. But I don't want to go...but wow living in Europe, but I really don't want to go.

We are going. In August to be specific and for three years. We have talked about it all weekend. I have cried a little, we have gotten excited. And I have had to break the news to people and sometimes it kind of broke my heart. I hate making people sad. And I am such a homebody. I got homesick when I moved 45 minutes away from my hometown. I'm obsessed with my momma. Still, almost 22 and I have to talk to her everyday. That's the part that makes me the saddest. I can't imagine leaving my friends and family. I can't imagine my children not having family around them for big events. Christmas, their birthdays. But then I go back to what an amazing and life changing (one in a lifetime) experience this will be. It is going to be so hard. We still have six months, but every time I think about leaving I want to cry. We have so much to do and six months seems far away, but it isn't. I am a true believer that things happen for a reason and that our lives take a specific path meant just for us. I know I will be fine even though now I feel like I won't be. I am just going to take a deep breath, make tons of lists and try to spend every minute with my friends and family that I can. Wish me luck and I will have lots more to come!

Robie Creek...and more about the gym

One of my biggest resolutions to myself is weight loss. I will go to the gym, I will eat healthy, I will lose the weight. I start and then I stop and it is an endless cycle. One that constantly leaves me feeling bad about myself because I cannot stick to it and because I still don't feel good about my body. I am so about health and wellness. I use natural products and sell them. I am very concerned about what is in the food my kids eat. You would think I would be concerned about my health too. I think as moms we spend so much of our time and energy making sure our children have the best and we forget about ourselves. I have been needing something for myself. Something positive and something that makes me feel better and more confident. Also just something that is all mine. I made a promise with a very good friend that we would go to the gym every day and one weekend day. It has now been two weeks and we have both stuck to it. I have only missed Saturday both weeks and on Wednesdays I go twice because I do Zumba at night. Having someone to hold me accountable has been the biggest motivator because she does hold me accountable. There are days we don't want to go, but we do and I always feel so much better after. Okay so on the the crazy part of all of this...

When I was 15 I ran a half marathon with my mom. It is called Robie Creek, and 8 miles of it is uphill. It is considered the toughest half marathon in the Northwest. Last week I saw a friend of mine had posted about how the entires were opening that day at noon. She told me that you have to register as fats as you can because so many people want in and it sells out quickly. We got to talking and for some crazy reason I decided to enter and see if I got in. At noon I started my entry, typing furiously, and knowing I would be so disappointed if I didn't get it, but probably also super relived. I pressed the enter button and waited...and waited...and...I GOT IN. I couldn't believe it, but I took it as a sign. So now I am training for a half marathon. I feel really crazy and am doubting myself as to whether or not I can do it, but I am going to try my hardest and prepare as much as I can and prove to myself I can stick to it. Wish me luck!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is Valentine's Day and it has been a good one. So different from Valentines of the past now that we are parents of two. The kids and I went to the gym (more about that in another post) and then went to lunch with two of my girl friends. Brian surprised me by coming home with not one, but TWO boxes of chocolate (he's totally trying to sabotage my diet :P). Also two roses. I am a bachelor fanatic, and last year he came home with one rose. Why one I had asked...because it was the final rose. Bachelor fans will get it! So this year I get two and next year three, he is so clever! This Valentines is different just because it won't be one spent out all night at dinner and a movie. Instead we are staying in. I am making fillet Mignon, shrimp, smashed potatoes, green beans with bacon and a lobster salad. Then we will probably watch American Idol and maybe a movie. Fingers crossed the kids go to bed early! Even though we are staying in I couldn't imagine a more perfect night. I feel like I have grown to appreciate the simple things. And now Valentines for me is not only about the love I have for my husband, but for my sweet babies and amazing family and friends. And also my life. I will update on how dinner turns out, I am attempting some Martha recipes and hopefully they will turn out! Happy Valentine's Day, hope yours is spent with those you love! Xoxo

I could only get a picture of this little love today, the other was not as cooperative.

To 2013

Wow I took a very long break from blogging. So much has happened since then! We welcomed our beautiful baby girl Hannah Lee into the world. She was born on August 21, 2012 in the middle of the night of course. She has fit into our family so well and we love watching her grow! K is an amazing big brother. He loves to help and act silly to make her laugh and smile. She will be six months in a few short weeks and I can't believe how the time has flown by. A big part of starting a new year for me is setting goals. I need to be constantly moving forward and doing things to better myself, so here they are.

• Lose the baby weight. Workout 3-5 days a week and cut out fast food and processed food as much as possible.
• Blog at least once a week.
• Grow in my business.
• Get better at photography and learn how to use my camera.
• Start saving.
• Get my Associates degree finished.

I will leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the past five months...