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