Final November Rewind, First December Fast Forward

Goodness Gracious. It is not good when we are 2/3s done with December, and still needing to run through November. But alas....

THANKSGIVING
I was THANKFUL we had not one but two friends graciously ask us to join them for Thanksgiving this year.  This meant I got to play it safe and only make two dishes: pumpkin pie and sweet potato casserole.  In my defense these (incredibly hospitable) friends of mine are 28, so they've had a few more years of adulthood and marriage to practice. A great time was had by all, and we even got to see a RARE Cowboys victory. The LORD was SO gracious to give us such sweet friends so quickly. It was also our two month-iversary :)

Here is a collage of our first married Thanksgiving Day!

The next day we headed to to Fort Meade, Maryland to see some our greatest friends, Ryan and Mandy DeMello.  They are an incredibly wise and purposeful couple, and we learn so much from hanging out with them and observing them.  We felt extremely honored to see them one last time before they became parents! And since I'm writing about this so late, their baby boy was born at the beginning of this week. We can't wait to go meet little Micah. What a blessing to have such close Texas friends only 90 minutes away!

we spent a LOT of time in front of their log fireplace (CJ was ecstatic about chopping the firewood out behind their house), playing games, sipping hot tea, and catching up on life. 

 We adventured to Annapolis the next morning. It is so picturesque and we cannot wait to go back!

DECEMBER
After the best November I have ever experienced (Click here or here to find out more reasons why), December was upon us! Here are some highlights of the first couple weeks.

We had our first free weekend in a long time, so we were finally able to go to the Marine Corps Museum.  It is an INCREDIBLE museum, that truly makes history come alive. We were there for a few hours, and didn't get through it all.  One highlight (pictured above) was the rifle range practice (laser powered of course).  A DOUBLE EXPERT {big deal!!!} was there to teach me form, aim, etc.  This double expert {AKA my hubby} and I were both pretty impressed with my shot.

Last week we had our first Virginia snow! I was very pleasantly surprised to see that Virginia responds to snow about the same as Texas!!! (hopefully that will hold true) There wasn't much snow or ice, but it was enough to give CJ a day and a half off and for a little snowman! Our snowday was probably my favorite day of marriage thus far.  It was an incredibly rare blessing to have so much time with him.

Last week the Marine Corps showed incredible work-life balance! CJ was home two nights in a row by 6pm!!! (his usual is between 830-930). As luck would have it though, those days I babysat until 8 pm. CJ surprised me with a full homemade dinner one night! He opened my computer, saw what Pinterest recipe I had pulled up and completed it all himself. It was such a fun treat

Again, as luck would have it, the night I didn't babysit that week, CJ had overnight duty. But it was all right because our church held an awesome women's Christmas event that night with fancy appetizers, desserts, music, and a powerful message from Jen Hatmaker.  I had not heard of her before this event, but she is fairly well known for her blog, books, etc. Turns out she's from TEXAS, hilarious, and seems extremely candid. I went with one of my closest friends and we had such a great time. 

Okay, I ended up being a lot more detailed than I originally intended, and there are a few more events I could write about, but I will save them for a "holiday parties" post. Again, praise GOD from whom ALL blessings flow.  We miss are Texas friends and family so much, but Stafford, Virginia definitely feels like home too.  

Transitioning back to present day....CJ has ONE more day of training left until he has TWO WEEKS OFF!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOODNESS. It was a hard decision, but we are not going back to Texas this year. Plane tickets to Dallas (and then either flying again to Kingsville or stealing a car and driving 8 hours) were way too expensive, and it is 30 hours to get from here to Kingsville! That would have us in the car for six 10-hour days, and would not give CJ the rest he terribly needs.  This is our first Christmas to spend together (dating or married), and it will be as simple as can be. We could not be more excited.

MERRY CHRISTMAS WEEK and SemperFi

November Rewind: Part 2: Besties in DC!

Honestly, getting to do a post about this is what finally made me come back to the blog!

One of my dearest, bestest friends and her husband (who is also one of our other dearest, bestest friends) came to visit us two weekends ago! We had this trip planned before CJ and I even moved to Virginia.  It was the only way we could cope with saying goodbye...

Since we scheduled the trip so far in advance, we didn't know what CJ would have going on that weekend.  Turns out they came on the heels of Rifle Range weeks, him spending 2 nights in the freezing cold, and a 6-mile ruck march (I know 6 miles doesn't sound like a lot, but soon I'll do a post explaining what a ruck march is). I was worried about him enduring a full, windy day of DC exploration, but alas I underestimated his strength and how much he loves our friends. He was completely good to go, and it was me complaining about my feet hurting by the end of the night.

Here are some highlights of our day!

~Picked them up at their hotel with lots of squealing and hugs

~brunch at a hipster place in Georgetown

walked around national mall

~spent FOUR HOURS in the National Air and Space Museum 

walked down the reflection pool

quite a hike to the Lincoln Memorial

 made it to honest Abe

super fun "birthday dinner"

....and that was just Saturday!!

We spent Sunday in Stafford, showing them glimpses of our new life here. We went to our church, drove around and showed off the base, had some girl/guy time, and hung out at our apartment! Sunday was definitely the most surreal part of the weekend. Were our best friends from TEXAS really seeing our new life and home in VIRGINIA?! Yes, they were...and we loved it!!!

Monday CJ had to go back to work, but I got to have one more day with our friends! I impressed myself by train-ing to DC, then two metros to meet up with them. Let me be honest though, the second I got to the Metro Station, a man working there could tell I was completely lost, and gave me step by step directions :)...but I still did it!

We spent the majority of Monday in the NEWSeum.  Definitely, my favorite museum I've ever been to.  It has THOUSANDS of in depth stories. If you know me well, you know I am an information absorber, so I was completely enthralled.  With it being the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, there were two special exhibits devoted to Camelot and events surrounding the assassination and aftermath.  I learned more about that tragedy at the Newseum than I ever thought about learning in Dallas.

We also spent some time touring Ford's Theatre, learning about Lincoln's presidency and that assassination. It is an undeniable reality that the vast majority of stories and history we learned about that day revolved around man's wickedness...

Evening came and our time together had to come to an end.  We didn't get a long, drawn out good bye because we were afraid I was about to miss my train back to Stafford.  That was probably for the best because we weren't able to get all sad and emotional.

Later that night though, CJ and I both felt our first batch of homesickness.  It is easy to get plugged into our new life here, and put everything and everyone in Texas in the back of our minds.  Spending time with them was a tad bittersweet because we were reminded of all the people we love and all the time we aren't able to spend with them (I say them, but I really mean y'all who are reading this!)

It was a GREAT thing Thanksgiving was just a few days later because we were overwhelmed with love and joy and thankfulness. That will be my next post and the last November Rewind!

November Rewind: Part 1: Birthday Ball

Wow! Yet again, so much time has passed since my last post, and so many exciting things have happened. I'm going to do a few separate posts, documenting the past three weekends we had.

My last post was about CJ and the Rifle Range.  CJ ended up getting Double Expert, which is the best you can get! I am so proud of him, while he thinks he could have done better. There is a range of scores that is designated as expert, so CJ, of course, is only satisfied with a perfect score. My man is so motivated...

The weekend in between rifle range weeks, was the Marine Corps Birthday Ball.  Whether you're stationed at Quantico, overseas in Okanawa, or deployed in Afghanistan, the Marine Corps' birthday is always celebrated.  Naturally, depending on the situation, size, etc. of where you are, the celebration part will vary.  The ball for TBS students and staff, is the largest one, hosting over 3,000 people.  (If you haven't noticed, I like to compare things here to Aggie life. So, it's sort of like Muster being world wide, with the largest, most formal program being at aTm.) It was so fun to get dressed up, meet a  lot more of CJ's platoon, and experience some of the traditions and pride that makes the Marine Corps so unique from all the other branches. (Hmm...pride, traditions...another similarity to aTm)

Here are a few pictures from the night...

My man is ridiculously good looking in his dress blues!

Some of the sixth platoon platoon wives and new friends

(a Hawaiian, an Aggie!, an Alabama girl, and me)

One of CJ's new buddies

We had a wonderful evening. The ball was in Richmond (about an hour away) so we carpooled down with one of our favorite couples. The evening started with a cocktail hour, followed by the traditional ceremony which includes the Marine Corps anthems, flag processional, key note speaker, message from the commandant, and cutting of the birthday cake. Here is one tradition...The first slice of cake goes to the honored, guest speaker (ours was a General), then to the oldest Marine attending the ball, then to the youngest.  This is to symbolize the passing down of wisdom from one generation of Marines to the next. I cannot remember how old the oldest was, but I do remember the youngest was born in 1995!

After the dinner, there was a dance.  Only about 15-20% of the attendees were from CJ's company (who were in the middle of two of the hardest weeks of TBS), and it was pretty obvious who those were....the guys who were too tired to dance and most of the first ones leaving! Exhaustion aside, it was a lovely, memorable night. I can't wait to attend many more!

The Basics on The Basic School

Yikes! It has been two weeks since I posted. This is not because I haven't wanted to, but because things have been pretty busy around here...

CJ is about to finish his FIFTH week of TBS.  I'm not sure if that feels like a long time or a short time. I guess it really doesn't matter...graduation date is not changing. I think it's only fair to share some of TBS.

I need to start a book of essential terminology, vocabulary, and acronyms for new Marine spouses! I will practice with this post.

The first four weeks CJ held the billet of "Squad Leader," putting him in charge of 13 Marines.  He was given this Billet upon checking in.  It was completely learn as you go, so it was fairly stressful at times.  From what I could tell, "training" never came. More like just don't do what you just got yelled at for doing again. Lovely. From here on out the billets will only last TWO weeks (because they're so dang intense!), so CJ and the other Marines holding billets were beyond mentally exhausted. He overall did a GREAT job, and received good feedback in his evaluation. (I'd be more specific but don't want to a bragging-blogger wife  ;)) We are thankful he didn't get a billet these two weeks.  He will have a little time to process and begin doing what all the other Marines were able to do the first month: learn from others mistakes. The next time he gets a billet (it should be a position other than squad leader) he will have SUCH a better idea of the purpose, responsibilities, ways to execute, etc.

billet= leadership position

This week and next week are Rifle Range. It is two weeks of intense, world-class training on the fundamentals and execution of rifles and pistols.  This has been the most physically challenging week of TBS thus far.  Each morning (at 4:15) they walk 2.5 miles to the range with about a 50 pound pack on their back.  They then spend the next 12-14 HOURS at the range practicing, observing, learning etc.  ((Unfortunately, I don't know many details because since Monday we have probably been face to face 1 hour total)).  They then march 2.5 miles back to the barracks, wait, and have formation. By then it's around 9, and tasks and preparation for tomorrow begins. Wake up the next morning at 3 something and repeat.

Despite the exhaustion, and literal FREEZING temperatures, CJ is really enjoying what they're doing.  Thanks to his dad and growing up on the ranch, he had a great starting point!  Today was QUALIFYING day...still waiting to hear!!!

barracks= Where the sleep, similar to college dorms

formation= This thing that happens every evening (and morning).  The whole company gathers together, maybe an announcement is given. It happens everyday, but everyday they wait 45 minutes- to 2 hours just waiting for it happen. What is it? Answer unknown. Why is it so delayed? Answer unknown. 

CJ, gettin it done!

Well, that's all for now! I am "waiting on word" to bring some things to CJ!

Saturday spent in D.C.

This past Saturday we took our first trip up to our nation's capital! One of CJ's great friends from the aTm Corps was in town after working overseas for over a year.  We met up with him at Penn Quarter Sports Tavern- where the D.C. Aggies hangout each Saturday to cheer on the Ags.  We had a great time hearing about his experience and watching the Ags BTHO Vandy.

One of my great college friends, Meredith, and her husband have lived in D.C. for almost a year and a half.  They were able to meet up with us for the end of the game.  Then they became excellent tour guides, walking us through China Town and taking us to the National Portrait Gallery.  We went to the President Exhibit.  CJ loves being able to study great portraits and analyze the detail, and we both really enjoyed reading the back stories behind the portraits and presidents.

Afterwards, we said goodbye to Mere and Clay, and CJ took me to a lovely dinner to celebrate my birthday and our monthiversary.  It was a snazzy place, that I would love to go back to.  My salad was DELICIOUS. Now that I'm a seasoned chef, I like to order things I know I probably won't make.  I have yet to get into red meats, thus...

CJ wasn't too impressed with his meal, but he ordered a turkey sandwich- what can you expect!?! At least we now know I make better sandwiches than fancy restaurants! #winning

We of course couldn't leave DC without catching a glimpse of this...

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon, minus a couple run-ins with the law! We managed to get a parking ticket (being only TEN minutes over!), get yelled at for slowing down to snap above pic, and we THOUGHT we saw our car being towed.  Thank goodness it was a false alarm. Okay, so nothing too dramatic...

It was such a refreshing day getting away from the  daily TBS stress.  This weekend CJ has a LOT of studying to do as his first major test is Monday.  He decided to stay on base and get a couple hours of studying in before coming home.  Thus, I'm a bloggin...

SemperFi {Always Faithful} 

Home Sweet Home

Preface for the post: CJ is doing security patrol ALL NIGHT LONG tonight, so he didn't get to come home :( So I will blog about our life to keep me distracted from missing him :)

...Considering, we picked this apartment complex without ever seeing it in person, we feel very blessed with how everything has turned out!  Our apartment is just off the main road that gets us to all the near by places within a matter of minutes (as long as you're not trying to get anywhere between 6:30 and 9:00 AM). It kind of reminds me of College Station: We live off "Texas," always head to "University," and "George Bush" and "Wellborn" don't exist! It is really nice already {somewhat} knowing my way around.


Back to our apartment....here are a few pictures of our home. The process was a LOT easier on us {well me} than it should have been because my incredible husband drove up here the week before our wedding.  During his trip, all of our furniture was delivered and he made our bedroom sleep-able.  When we finally made it to Stafford around 11 pm that first night I could not have been more thankful that we could immediately go to sleep! He is the best.

Here is what it looked like after unloading. YIKES!

Our little kitchen.  The hooks CJ hung on the wall have been super handy, and we made a spare closet into a pantry to give us more room.

Our eating nook. We are still lacking a 4X6 photo to go in the frame. Whoever sends us one first will take the place of honor!!

Our living area. The walkways and doors are fairly restrictive, so we had to get a little creative with the set up. I'm beginning to get over it not being centered.

Our bedroom.

What one corner of our "office" looks like...

What the rest of our "office" looks like! A whole lot of moving supplies that we will be using again in just half a year...

Darn, I just got really sad. I already know we will be sad to leave our home and the friendships we are beginning to make. More on friends and fun coming soon!

SemperFi {always faithful}

2 Weeks In...

{{Preface Update: I am ALREADY having to fight the urge to give up on the blog!! NOOO!!! You see, the thought of having a blog seems hip yet practical, but the thought of creating a blog post seems daunting. But here I am posting, so progress is being made.}}

I realized a couple days ago how "normal" this all feels- and normal in the best sense.  I was talking on the phone to one of my best friends about things we can do when she comes to visit...and all of a sudden I realized/remembered I AM CURRENTLY LIVING IN VIRGINIA. Things have felt so normal and right that I forget I am living 1200 miles away from everything I know! Well, everything except for CJ that is...and he is why things feel so normal. Being married to him is right, normal, and the best thing to ever happen to me.

However, just because things FEEL normal...doesn't mean they ARE normal.
Here are a few highlights from the past two weeks that were not our typical normal, until now!

...having our own home together! More pictures coming soon- promise! 

...being surrounded by beautiful scenery.  It is gorgeous, but 30-foot tall trees always surrounding you makes it a little difficult to try to explore the area by just looking out the window! 

...having historical Government Island right behind our apartment complex. Don't feel bad, I hadn't heard of it either.  This bridge once lead to the sandstone used to construct The White House and Capitol Building! Now it takes us to an incredible natural park preserve.

...cooking 3 full meals a day!  ...and learning how much food my Marine eats! I was given great advice to make full recipes, so the two of us can have leftovers. Yes, charming idea... It has been fun trying out different recipes, and CJ is very vocal about his appreciation which I LOVE!

...And working long, long, tiring days.  This is CJ right after he tried to get up Saturday. He didn't last too long or make it out the door...

Here are a few other highlights that don't have a picture to go with them.  Most are more exciting than the pics...but I felt pictures were needed to keep you all engaged! 

• joined a church- Mt. Ararat Baptist Church: It has a lot of opportunities to get involved during the week (for me) and on Sundays (for us). AND the main pastors are all from Texas! 
• made some Marine wife friends: We had a spouse orientation last week, and I was able to meet almost all of the other wives.  There were about 40 total and there are 7 whose husbands are in the same platoon as CJ.  He spends 90% of his time just with his platoon.  Tomorrow "The Wives of 6th Platoon" are getting together!
• made some church friends: I tried out a Bible study on Tuesday and met a couple other sweet girls who were incredibly welcoming. We ended up hanging out for a few hours after the study, and they have invited me to a few upcoming things as well! Might as well have a social life if I don't have a work life right?
• searching for a job...that just need its own post...
• Saturday we had an impromptu date night! We went to downtown Fredericksburg which is very similar to downtown Bryan. We did some strolling and ate at a very yummy Italian restaurant.  I wish we had a picture from our first married date.

Most of those updates were about me weren't they?? Sadly, our only face to face time is generally 4:20-5 AM, 9:30-10:30 PM, and weekends.  Here is a TBS update.

TBS is living up to its reputation and then some. CJ was given a billet (leadership position) the first day of training and he has it for the first three weeks.  For this billet, he is in charge of 13 Marines.  I won't go into all the details (because I know I would butcher it), but it puts a lot of extra responsibilities on him.  I am SO proud of him, and he is already doing a great job. I say that as his always supportive wife, but there are specific things he has already excelled at and been commended on! I know nobody is surprised at that.  These first two weeks are a lot of paperwork/waiting on word/classrooms/waiting on word/assignments/general craziness/ and some more waiting on word.  CJ and I memorized Philippians 4:4-8 right before training started.  He picked the passage, and it has been more beneficial than either of us could have realized...

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

For the few people who have actually made it through the blog post...I'm impressed.  Not having such lengthy posts would probably happen if I would update more frequently! Motivation..Oorah!

SemperFi {always faithful}

A Bloggers Preface

If you know me (Lindsay) well, you know that it is impossible for me to share an idea, desire, opinion, basically anything, without prefacing.  I don't see why a blog would be any different...

Begin Preface: Of my roughly 20 attempts to regularly journal, I have failed 20 times. My brain is too impatient to slow down for my hand, and for a multitude of other reasons {excuses}, it just has never worked.  With that being said, I make no guarantees (to myself, or anyone who may happen to read this) to update regularly--- or ever. However, I have high hopes that my first blogging attempt will be different! There have been a few, rather significant, changes to our circumstances in the past few weeks, so I feel I have more of a purpose and reason to try blogging/online journaling than ever before.

The recent changes:

1. New last name: On September 28, the Lord allowed CJ Baumann and I to marry.  Our engagement season was shorter than most and took some dramatic changes (like moving the date up 6 months), but it was a wonderful journey and the beginning to a blessed adventure.

2. New state: CJ and I had both never lived out of Texas, but as of October 9th, we became Virginians! We have {98%} settled into a cozy, 1 bedroom apartment in Stafford, Virginia. This is in the northern part of Va, only 40 miles from D.C.  For any Texans reading this...between now and May would be a GREAT time to schedule a DC/Virginia trip!

3. New military life: Changes 1 and 2 happened (or happened when they did) because, Tuesday October 15th, CJ became an active duty Marine Corps Officer.  He will be at The Basic School (TBS) until May 2014.  I am beyond proud of him, and TBS is already living up to its reputation.  {{More details coming soon}}

Things will be fast and furious for us as newlyweds, so I feel this is a great way for CJ and me to document pieces of our journey, and it will hopefully serve as a way to keep dear friends and family back in Texas a little more up to date on our happenings.

So, to end preface:  my plan is for the blog to serve as a highlight reel (with some inevitable lowlights) of the beginning of our marriage, in a new state, with a new career.  I don't have any intentions of it becoming a diary of my deep, profound philosophies of the world we live in, but who knows... 

...The possibilities are endless in the blogging world!

SemperFi {always faithful}