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}