Here We Go Again...

We haven't updated in quite some time. We are truly living a crazy life now that we're all settled here in Bay City. We finished up the purchase of our home, Ryan is now officially out of the Army and we are "home" in our house. I have been working a lot, taking classes and trying to help Ryan maintain our household. Ry has been spending a lot of his time being a "stay at home dad" to our two puppies (newest addition is Cruizer, mini dachshund). He keeps up with the yard pretty well.
As for the house, everything has been going pretty smoothly except for the latest SNAFU we have run into: the people who lived here right before us built on a 6'x9' addition to our bathroom. Sounds alright, right? Wrong. This is where the issue lies: they must not have gotten a building permit. The addition is built on top of the old 'rigged up' deck that we have. No foundation! We spent a day or so trying to figure out what we were going to do. Oh my goodness, this is such a huge disaster in my mind. LUCKILY we both have family who are fairly handy. Ryan has an uncle who knows building/structural, therefore we are able to utilize his help in tearing down this addition while holding up the existing roof (to remain as an awning). This will be our project this summer, removing the addition, closing the hole in our house, and putting up a new full deck. Please stay tuned for lots of pictures to keep updated on the status of our otherwise boring life ;).

"Hurry up and wait!"

Welcome to the life of an Army Wife. Will always feel this way when it comes to the military. We were told 30 days on October 22nd. Then we were told December 1st. Now we are being told we're just "waiting on orders". Orders come this Thursday... they have to give 10 days to clear--however since it is around the holidays, we were told that it will be more like 2 weeks to clear. Therefore, getting orders on 10 Dec--we aren't sure that we'll be home for Christmas. If anyone knows me what-so-ever, they know that Christmas is my holiday. I am all about tradition and spending the holidays with the people that I love the most. However, we are doing everything we can to make it back to spend the holidays TOGETHER this year. My lovely mother says that if all else fails she will put Santa and all his surroundings on hold. I think that would be silly to inconvenience the rest of the family for Ryan and I, but it sure is a nice gesture and thought. I am scouring my apartment clean for now, as I came home to an official bachelor pad. (I'm talking dirty dishes under the sink, and in my oven!) Laundry hasn't been done since I left at the end of October... yuck!

Big Update

I'm trying to get this blog up and running seriously this time.
At the current moment in time, I am in Bay City while Ryan is in Fayetteville trying to finish up things with the Army. I have been waiting to try and get back there the cheap way (ride with his mom), but it looks like things aren't really working in our favor for that. So, I'm strongly debating getting a one way plane ticket back and waiting for his mom to come when its more convenient (and we know more with what's going on with the Army). I have lots to do with packing anyhow, and saying goodbye to my friends.
Things--to say the least--have been slightly stressful in the last few weeks. We have things set on our very first home, and have been working to make it "live-able". For the most part right now it looks wonderful and things are rolling. I have posted original pictures of the house on my Picasa page (linked) and will be posting more once we finish the fix-ups and move in!

I just "got the job" as a Substitute Teacher in the Bay Areanac ISD... super excited and nervous to start!

Also, my dad and I are doing a "Biggest Loser" type challenge with each other and are looking for people to join in! Let us know if you're interested.

Addition to Our Family

We have been debating for a long time about what kind of dog we want to get--all we knew is that we were going to get one. The discussion of whether we wanted a big or small dog didn't really come up until our apartment complex put a size limit on the dog. Since we had to have a small dog, we thought long and hard about what kind of small dog would be "worth it" as both of us really wanted a bigger dog. We agreed on a dachshund as they are known to have extreme personalities and are very loving and friendly. We scoured and scoured the area and finally came across the little guy. We picked him up at 7 weeks, 1 day old from his birthplace. He is a little spitfire and loves to play. He is always jumping around and playing with mommy or daddy at every chance. Here are a few pictures of the little man. Oh! Right, and because Ryan is oh so mature, his name is Peter. Initials being P.D.--so I call him Petey! :]

I'm Going "Home"

Ryan has come and gone back to Ft. Bragg again. He was here for my graduation, which was so nice. I figure with all he does making me proud, it was finally my turn to return the favor. It's nice to have something to show for all the hard work I've put in... and the distance we've spent apart. This weekend is the wedding shower, and I'm really excited. My mom and grandma have put a lot of time and work into it. It should be really fun and I'm looking forward to seeing all of my friends and family there.

After the shower, I plan on packing the car and moving my life down to NC to be with Ryan FINALLY! I can't explain my excitement. We have been waiting for this day for years, and it is finally upon us. I'm scared to leave my family, but SO excited to just be my own family with Ryan. We plan on getting a puppy this summer sometime, so it will make our family 3! Once I get there, I will start the search for a job... and also for a school who will let me do my student teaching with them. We shall see how everything works out, please keep me in your thoughts for those two things.

What's Going On?

It has been a really long time since I have updated with a post, but I figured I would give updates on what is going on with us. Ryan has been back to Michigan on leave already--and is back in North Carolina working for a few weeks until Jenae's graduation. He will be in Michigan for a few days and then we'll be moving down to NC together. [[FINALLY!]] As for right now, we're just in that transition phase, not knowing what is really next for us. We're looking forward to the wedding shower and can't wait to see all of our family and friends there. We really aren't looking forward to the unpacking and moving everything into the apartment, but we just simply cannot wait to be living together as a married couple officially. Next time we post, Jenae will be a college graduate and we will be living full time in NC.

Ryan is Home!

Well, after all of the ups and downs of this re-deployment... he is finally here. The date and time was supposed to be Sunday at 10:55am, but there was a huge layover in Germany that didn't put them in until Sunday night/Monday morning around 1am. All of the anxiousness and nerves were really getting to me by that time, as is probably easily guessed.
I asked Chris Petrini to come with us, and he brought his girlfriend. It was Jason, me, Chris and Alexis there for him when he got off the plane.

When he first got off the plane, they did formation [thankfully it was short], then we got 20 minutes with them before they had to turn in equipment. The 20 minutes were a lot more awkward than I had originally hoped, but everything went well for the most part.

We stayed up all night...made a huge purchase of a TV/TV stand. It was a rather expensive TV, but we got it for 30% off, and our total purchase was less than the TV itself was originally. Here are some pictures from the first night he was home... I will post updates of the apartment once we get a little bit more stuff in here!