Happy Holidays!

This year for Christmas J and I packed up and headed to Arizona.  We alternate having major holidays with my family and J's family.  This year we went to my parent's house for Thanksgiving so we had Christmas with my in laws.  While I love going to Arizona and seeing our family and friends out there, it is still strange to spend holidays away from my parents and siblings.  I don't really know how old I will have to be before it stops feeling strange not to be with my family. 
Anyway, we had a great time in Arizona and we felt very blessed to have such a nice peaceful Christmas. We were able to visit with several of our friends and spend lots of time with J's family. I hope that everyone else had an awesome Christmas!

J and I on Christmas Eve

The M Clan

House Tour

 I am finally getting around to posting photos of our new house! 

Front of the House

My GORGEOUS new piano in the living room

Other side of the living room- we love the windows!

Family Room- I hand sewed those curtains :)

Other side of the Family Room

Dining Room

Kitchen!

Downstairs Half Bath

Harry Potter closet in the Bathroom

Office

Extra Storage Upstairs!

Currently an Empty Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Guest Bathroom

Guest Bedroom

Backyard

We feel beyond blessed to have this new house!  After spending the last three years sharing walls we were so excited to get a stand alone house.  I still have a lot of decorating to do but I'm happy with where things are!

Thankful

I know this post is late for Thanksgiving but this blog is a bit of a journal so I'm going to write it anyway :)

Every year in November people on Facebook list off things that they are thankful for daily.  A lot of them are very standard- family, friends, God, living in America, etc.  This year I chose to list something in my head every day that I was grateful for but I wanted to go a little more basic.  With my job as a nurse working with children with special needs I have come to realize how many basic things are truly taken for granted in this life.  I'm not going to list all thirty but just a few that really stuck out to me.

1) I am very grateful for the ability to cough to clear my throat.  It has been eye opening working with a little guy who can't make himself cough when he needs to.  Instead he has to struggle to get any secretions up and sometimes that results in him throwing up.  I have never thought to be grateful for a cough before but now I realize that it is truly a gift meant to help our bodies function properly.

2) I am very grateful for the ability to use all of my limbs the way that I choose to.  Watching patients who have no control over their movements and no use of their legs for walking is a constant reminder that these are not things to be taken for granted.  Even just dealing with wheelchair accessibility makes me think about how many places are restricted if not impossible to get to without the ability to walk.

3) I am very grateful for the ability to eat anything I want without the fear of choking on every bite.  I never considered how different life could be without the basic ability to swallow.  The majority of the patients that I work have feeding tubes in their stomachs to put the calories directly in their stomachs.  If they have the ability to swallow a lot of them can only eat pureed food or they have severe allergies or diabetes. I am so grateful for the ability to eat and taste all different types of food, even the ones that I don't like.  I am grateful not to have to ask if things that I want to try have certain ingredients in them to avoid anaphylactic shock.

4) I am very grateful for the ability to communicate effectively.  At work I find myself constantly saying "I wish you could tell me what you need because I would be SO happy and willing to get it for you" or "I wish I knew what was going on in your head."  When spoken words are taken away from a person they have to find other ways such as sign language, gesturing, pointing or writing to communicate with others.  These techniques aren't as effective as speaking but they are a huge help.  My current little guy doesn't have any of those options.  His only communication is crying or seeming content.  This is a constant reminder to me to be grateful for the ability to speak.

These are just a couple of the things that I thought of over the course of November but they have such a huge impact on all of our lives.  I am so grateful and blessed to have good health.  I appreciate every day of work with my patients and the wonderful presence that they are in my life

Happy 237th Marine Corps!

Our first ball together '07

November 10th is the birthday of the Marine Corps.  Every year to celebrate, each unit has a Marine Corps Ball where the Marines wear their dress blues (my favorite uniform!) and their dates get to wear fancy ball gowns or tuxes.  I love this event because I am a sucker for a man in uniform, particularly my handsome Marine!  I never really thought I would have an excuse to get dressed up in a gown after senior prom but I have now been to six balls and it is something I look forward to every fall. 

TBS ball in '08

Back in 2007 J was enlisted in a reserve unit in Arizona. When we had been dating for about six months, he invited me to my first ball but as a guy he couldn't really give me any details about what to wear.  I asked if I was supposed to wear a gown or a cocktail dress and he looked at me like I was crazy and said "Just wear something that you look good in."  Not very helpful to a woman!  I ended up calling a friend whose then boyfriend now husband was also in the same reserve unit and she told me I definitely wanted a gown since dress blues are equivalent to a tuxedo.  We ended up having a great time and I was introduced to a lot of Marine Corps traditions.

2010

Every ball has a ceremony which includes a ceremonial birthday cake of which the first piece is given to the oldest Marine present who then hands it to the youngest Marine present to symbolize the passing of knowledge from experienced Marines to the new generation.  The ceremony also includes a video message from the Commandant of the Marine Corps and a guest speaker.  There is always a table set for one that nobody sits at that is in honor of those who have paid the ultimate price.  It is humbling and interesting every year.

2011

This year was the Marine Corps 237th birthday.  We got very lucky and had a great group of fun people sitting at our table.  J was in the ceremony so he had to wear his sword and call cadence.  We had a great time and I can't wait to go to our next one!

2012

Happy 237th Marines!

Starting a Blog!

So I have decided to start a blog because I want to document everything that is going on in our lives.  J and I live in sunny Southern California near Camp Pendleton where he is stationed.  J is a Captain in the Marine Corps and I am a licensed vocational nurse.  I have an awesome job working with children with disabilities in schools and the home care setting.  Currently I work with a sweet little guy with cerebral palsy who is a joy in my life.  We just moved from a condo to a house and I am loving every minute in the new place!  It has been amazing not to be attached to any of our neighbors and to have extra space. J is from Arizona and I am from Wyoming so our families are a little far away.  We miss our families but love every visit that we get with them.  We met in college at Arizona State University and got married shortly after graduation.  We have been married for a little over 4 years now.  I like to decorate, cook, read, and with the help of Pinterest, get crafty.  We lead a very blessed life! I look forward to using this blog to keep track of the things that we do on our journey through life :)