Settling in..

More random thoughts & lists. I would write way too much if I elaborated on everything!

Dec 23rd - just moved in. love our home!

spent lots of money on basic items for the house..sheets, pillows, towels, dog beds, etc

our stuff should arrive in a few weeks. we have loaner table, chairs, bed, couch for now

washing & reusing plastic plates/bowls/silverware

thanks mom for the tumblers! using them daily

bought tin foil things to cook with & one glass pan

taking lots of pics. SO wish pictures could capture what it is really like!

Christmas Eve - had BBQ chicken, veggies, & potatoes for dinner & went to see movie New Years Ever (corny..liked it)

movies are $3 per person. 2 drinks + popcorn was $4.75. Total of $10.75! awesome

learning how to use a gas oven

neighbors are so helpful

joey & linc are doing so good

rob is helping to clean & cook a lot

recycling everything. love it

can see mt. etna from our bedroom window

Christmas day - toast & bagels for breakfast. hot dogs on the grill for lunch. hung around the house all day in jammies. steaks on the grill for dinner.

bought rob a little charcoal grill. hes experimenting. its always yummy

lots of people have dogs here

and trampolines

Rob thinks the birds in Sig are suicidal. They fly in front of cars & planes

looking for a nursing job soon

skyped with the fam today. got to see jack!

:)

this was our Christmas tree!...

& here are some more pics of our loverly home

i love the laundry room!

guest bathroom. weird, i know.

lots of closet/storage space

from our bedroom window...mt etna in the background!

our little yard :) love everything except for the soft ground! yard is always muddy/squishy

back porch. it continues to the right to a 2nd door just like this one

we got bored & went exploring a few days ago. drove halfway up mt. etna. beautiful!

volcanic rock + lots of snow

can see the water in the distance

also took several pics on the drive between NAS 1, NAS 2, & base housing. we go to NAS 1 for trips to the NEX or commissary almost every day!

favorite photo 1 - etna, orange trees, flowers

these little yellow flowers bloom during the day & close every evening

favorite photo 2 - orange orchard

gas station..rob really likes this pic

funny sign for mom. oh yeah..still trying to figure out what all the signs mean. this one was pretty easy

reminds me of jax :) 

still haven't quite figured this one out

On our trip to Etna we drove through Motta & several other little places...

cactus everywhere!

(so now I've seen yellow flowers, orange trees, cactus, bamboo, olive trees, corn stalks, yucca plants, & palm trees. i find the mixture kind of funny)

so many round-a-bouts!

thanking God daily for our many blessings!

being patient as we wait for our things to arrive, truck to arrive, our 'in doc' class to come around, me to find the right job (depending), the time to come for us to start a family, the time to come for us to take trips home.. so much to look forward to in the future!

 my parents have been on my heart a lot lately. i love you so much! continuing to pray for daddy's health

starting a family is something that has also been on our hearts a lot lately. we are not planning on anything right now. but in God's time..its something we are really excited about

And in Your book were all written

the days that were ordained for me

when as yet there was not one of them

Psalm 139:16

The wise heart will know the proper time and procedure

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter..

Ecclesiastes 8:5-8

Prayer by Lori Mumford from Faith Deployed in devotion titled "The Proper Time"

Dear Lord, Only You know our futures. I have no power over any of it, but You do. Praise You, Father. You say in Proverbs 16:4 that You work out everything for Your own end. Verse 9 says that in my heart, I plan my course, but You, Lord, "determine my steps." Now, take my worries and let me rest in Your peace that if it is Your will, You will let me know when it is time to help loved ones or to rejoice with them. And You will provide me with the way and the means to get there. Thank you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Vanessa Peters from Faith Deployed

We can't simply muster up the willpower to survive; we are strengthened by a Savior of infinite power.

we love you friends! ciao :)

The Move

Packing

Soon after we arrived in Sig, after our 2 days of traveling, instead of blogging I just made a list of things to write about. Rob helped me & then he said the list should just be my blog. So then I made another one for the next day too & here they are...

mon dec 19 - tues dec 20

spent the night with Bob & Karoline (aunt & uncle). to the airport at 530am

dogs paperwork 12 days old. supposed to be only 10 days. soooo nervous. but no problems

(this pic taken by Aunt Karoline. the boys spent a lotttt of time in these kennels)

left my black bag sitting at starbucks in airport..security kinda freaked out. oops:) im not a great traveler!

benadryl for dogs

jax to atl, atl to norfolk, norfolk to rota, rota to sig

melatonin for us

mac flight played water for elephants. i hate that movie

my first plane food experience...i hate complaining & was thankful to have it..but cant deny it was gross! Delta American dinner - not great but i ate it. Spanish lunch on military flight..i ate the orange

hello sig

hello Hurt (sponsor)

hello Navy Lodge

green paper towels (not everywhere..just a few places..rob thinks its holiday related..really not sure why they are green)

weird toilets

everythings old

geep (goat/sheep)

orange trees, olive trees, cactus, bamboo, more orange trees

train

mt etna

burger king has no italian dressing (only dressing is olive oil), and subway has no italian herb & cheese bread. we are in Italy!

ran into Hurt & family again at NEX

had some ice cream

still need a little Christmas tree

hotel water is brownish

exhausted

wed dec 21

so great! so productive! so thankful!

(orange trees to the right)

Rob checked in to new job

got mailing address

met some people he works with. sooo nice. everyones like family

rented a car

went by the vet for info on registering the boys

bought dog beds

got Italian cell phones

got into base housing!!!! moving in Dec 23rd!!!!

back to hotel. Rob played xbox. i napped. so sleepy! time change is weird!

Paradise for dinner- a restaurant in Motta (the nearest city)

had spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner (did NOT taste like olive garden! kind of orangish color. kind of cheesy) & tiramisu for dessert!

the guys left this for the restaurant on deployment!

kind of blurry..but all of the cities at the bottom of mt etna look like this from a distance at night

italians drive kind of crazy. the condition of the roads are not so good..bumpy etc. stop signs are suggested. all the cars are stick shift. anyway..riding with Rob in our little rental is quite the adventure!

so looking forward to moving into our house friday

friends already invited us over for new years

household things & truck should arrive mid to late January

Rob goes to work very soon

our in doc (intro) class starts Jan 6

everything here is so family oriented. everyone loves kids

back in the hotel now. Rob playing more xbox. me playing on my blog

some more errands & exploring tomorrow

missing our family & friends. love yall so much!

thank God for our many blessings!

Italian words I can use so far:

Ciao - hello/goodbye/greeting

Grazie - thank you

si - yes

:)

Our kids

Almost there..

Rob is home & it is wonderful!

Today was the day we were supposed to be leaving for Italy, but as is typical with the Navy, plans have changed. Now we are leaving in a few days. I am thankful for this though because I will be able to travel with Rob & the dogs without getting separated.

A lot has happened in the last few months. Daddy is waiting on the results of 1 final MRI to be sure that there is no cancer in his brain (Dr thinks theres none), but there is definitely none in his chest. God has been so good. I quit my job at Clay Behavioral & spent a lot of time getting things ready for the move. Our house is on the market & we are hoping to do a short sale. All of our things have been moved so we spent a few days sleeping on our air mattress in our empty house. It was fun bonding time! Now we are staying with our good friends Chris & Kimberly. We were able to spend several days with friends & family in Columbus enjoying Thanksgiving/early Christmas & saying our goodbye-for-nows. We left one of our dogs, Jack, with my parents in Columbus. That was hard! but he is having so much fun spending time with grandma, running around their huge yard, & getting lots of snacks every day. We are taking Joey & Linc with us to Sig. I am nervous about the flight! but praying for peace.

Now that we are about to leave..I'm seeing things in perspective & accepting the change. I'm thanking God for his blessings & provisions. & I'm looking forward to settling in to our home in Sig & making it ours. This shore duty will be an adventure!

Right now I'm reading Faith Deployed by Jocelyn Green. Its an awesome & encouraging devotion & I recommend it for all Christian military wives! http://www.faithdeployed.com/