12~13~14

I feel like I HAD to write a blog today because of the date.

12-13-14

It's the last sequential calendar date for at least 20 years (the next one being 1-2-34).

I saw a few friends on my newsfeed had babies today too!

What an easy birthday to remember, and a cool story to go with it!

Honestly, I'm not a big numbers gal, but it's still pretty cool to think about. 

Tonight, I'm at home, sipping my wine, and watching Lifetime Christmas movies.

It's one of my favorite things to do during this time of year is to watch all the Christmas movies that are out on TV.

I know Nick isn't really into them, so it's a perfect night for me to do so while he's gone.

 

On a totally random note, Mattis got his very first haircut on Wednesday!

Dannika didn't get a haircut till she was 3!!!!!

 He went to the same barber shop that Nick get's his hair cut at, and it is appropriately called the "Maroon and White Barber Shop"!

This kid is destined to be an Aggie!!!!

He was so unsure of what was going on when we put him in the chair and put the cover over him.

He actually looked a little worried...

Fresh hair cuts, and one smiling face...

Mattis was still a little confused on what had just happened...lol

 

I hope y'all have an awesome rest of the weekend, and hope your 12-13-14 was "magical"!

What? Solo Parenting?

Is tomorrow really already Friday?

My last blog post was Sunday?

Man, I have been majorly slacking on this blog.

I just can't help it that I am having too much fun with our new life here in Texas...lol.

For real, though...

Nick left for England today for a week to pay his final respects to his mum. 

The tickets were insanely expensive so I didn't get to go.

On top of the fact that we have two kids (one in school).

I totally forgot what it's like to be a "solo parent".

Since moving to Texas, Nick has been home all day, every day with the exception of two hours on Tuesday nights for lab, and two hours on Thursday mornings for PT.

He doesn't start school till Spring, so we've been living the "temporary retired life" as I like to call it.

As soon as I dropped him off at the airport this morning, it felt SO weird to know that it would just be me for the next week.

And today was straight. up. exhausting.

I really did forget how much work it is raising kids alone without any help.

Today got me thinking, "how the hell did you do this for 7 months at a time...a month at a time....3 months at a time...?!?!"

I'm baffled, and a little embarrassed to admit that this little week Nick is going to be gone seems like forever to me. 

I'm being dramatic....I know it...and I just admitted it to y'all.

Just revoke my "badass military wife" card...I don't deserve it...lol

Oh, and you know, of course the day Nick leaves, both kids had doctors appointments, and our son needed FIVE shots....

I'm pretty sure he hates me.

The nurse had me hold him down while she shoved 5 needles into his pudgy little thighs.

Of course while he was screaming bloody murder, it freaked Dannika out, and she stood back in the corner screaming too while closing her eyes and ears....

Then she had to get a shot...that she was NOT gonna let happen....

Seriously...I'm convinced both my kids have PTSD from today's experience.

After dropping Nick off at the airport, I took the kids to get kolaches for breakfast to "butter them up" a little, so they would be in good moods on our way to the doctors office. If you're not a Texan, and don't know what a kolache is....you're seriously missing out on a delicious pillowy bread of goodness.....

This is a photo BEFORE the shots...obviously...

Let's just destroy the pediatrician's office while we're at it...

After the whole "shot ordeal", little man was pretty lethargic, so I skipped the gym, and took him on a nice relaxing 5 mile run in the jogging stroller.

Of course after his nap, he was back to his normal self and causing trouble.

His favorite spot on our cul de sac. He just sits on the curb and chills.

Dannika had gymnastics after school today, and that in itself is exhausting for me.

I have to keep a very active 16 month old entertained for an entire hour while big sister is in class....it's exhausting.

And of course, Dannika's school had a fundraiser tonight right after gymnastics at the dreaded Chuck E. Cheese. 

I survived Chuck E. Cheese.....

I hope her school does their next fundraiser at a day spa or something......and offers childcare.

I'd pay for that.

I hope everyone had an amazing week. 

We're just a few short weeks from Christmas!!!

That Texas Life...

We've been here in in the great state of Texas for almost 3 months now, and I can't even count the amount of blessings that we have.

Every time we do something, or go out some place here, we are constantly reminded of God's amazing grace.

The street we live on is filled with cheerful and happy neighbors with amazing kids.

There isn't a day that goes by when one of the kids on the street isn't knocking on our door asking if Dannika can play.

When I look down our street on a Friday afternoon, and see all the kids just running around, laughing, and having fun, I am in awe of God's constant blessings upon our family.

I always think to myself..

"This is the life I pictured for my kids."

This is a typical Fri/Sat/Sun afternoon....toys all in the street....bikes just laying out on the curbs....kids running back and forth to each other's houses.

This is just a a few of the kids on our street hanging out in Nick's Chevelle last weekend. They all sat in there for a while just soaking in the beauty of it. Nick even opened the hood for them and taught them all the parts of an old car. He was quite the "cool dad" last weekend.

Every morning, when I am walking Dannika to school wearing nothing but my gym capris and a t shirt, I think back to this time last year when I was bundled up in my thick coat, scarf, gloves, and hat...I was cold, miserable, and never wanted to leave the house.

I find myself enjoying the outdoors a lot more, and I appreciate the ability to be comfortably outdoors in December.

Our family just seems more "at home" here, and it's the happiest I've seen them.

I don't know how you "cold weather" people adapt to living in places with long, cold, and snowy winters. 

I couldn't adapt, and I give mad kudos to y'all that can.

Nick and I's relationship as a couple has also gotten ten folds better since moving here.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he is home so much, and we have really gotten to enjoy good old fashioned family time (which doesn't mean we haven't gotten annoyed with each other with all the "time" we have together...lol).

It also helps that Nick gets to be outside more since the weather is permitting.

He used to get absolutely stir crazy on days we would get snowed in in Massachusetts..."stir crazy Nick" made him an "irritable Nick"...and and "irritable Nick" made me suuuuuper irritable. 

The one thing I truly truly miss about living in Massachusetts (besides the fresh lobster and clam chowder) is our friends.

We made such amazing friends and neighbors out there, and I find myself often wishing they were still here.

It truly goes to show you that the people you surround yourself with make your living experience somewhere either great or not so great.

Nick and I have been blessed to have been surrounded by great people every where we have lived.

My mom prays fiercely for us every time we move that we are surrounded by good neighbors, and so far, her prayers have been answered...every. single. time.

Our neighbors brought over this plate of delicious home backed goods to our house last night with a thoughtful HANDWRITTEN Christmas card! We are too spoiled living here!

Dannika had a Christmas dance recital this weekend at Wolf Pen Creek for their annual "Christmas at the Creek" celebration.

"Dance dad". Nick's helping Dannika put on her jazz shoes.

We don't get AS pretty of a Fall as New England does, but it is December, and I'm wearing a short sleeve sweater and no jacket....

Some of the dancers in Dannika's class.

We also found a home church!

We miss our church in Massachusetts SO much, but I am so thankful to have found a church so quickly here.

We actually found THREE churches here that we absolutely loved, and was having a hard time deciding on one.

We ultimately chose the one with a great Sunday school program for Dannika.

It's a bonus that a lot of her friends from her Kindergarten class go to this church too!

Annnd, one of the associate pastors lives on our street, and Dannika LOVES playing with his daughters, so it worked out so beautifully for us!

Again...God's blessings have been absolutely surreal for us...and we don't deserve any of it!

Before church today.

I hope y'all are having a great Christmas season so far, and are getting to really enjoy the season of giving and our Savior's birth.

I know Christmas can become stressful sometimes with all the gifts, family drama, family, and everything else that comes with this season, but I pray that y'all get a chance to really have some peace and enjoy this magical time of year!

Korean American Thanksgiving

Thank y'all so much for the outpouring of love and support for our family during our difficult time!

Hearing about some of your own personal losses made us feel a little less alone.

My mother in law's funeral will be held in England on the 16th, and Nick will be flying out there to pay his final respects for our family and the rest of his brothers and sister who can not make it out there.

 

This year is our family's first official Thanksgiving as residents of Texas!

It was so nice to not have to worry about packing and making crazy travel plans to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

We literally woke up Thanksgiving morning, got dressed, and drove an hour and a half to my parents house...almost as easy as Dorothy clicking her heels to go home!

We had our Thanksgiving dinner at my Uncle's high rise condo in downtown Houston.

The view that we get from his condo of the Houston skyline is absolutely breathtaking.

 As always, my family boasted a traditional American Thanksgiving meal with turkey and all the fixins' ON TOP OF a myriad of Korean dishes!

I call it our "fusion Thanksgiving", and I am so blessed to be a part of it!

The girls in my family are seriously the prettiest.

My aunt Hanna and my Dannika!

 

Nick did the honors of carving the turkey.

My grandpa and Mattis

Dannika and all my cousins.

See that gorgeous skyline in the background?

It's even better looking at it through floor to ceiling windows.

My mom and I

Drinking some Silver Oak wine from Napa while chit chatting with the fam.

We also get an awesome view of the fireworks and the lighting of the Christmas trees from the balcony of the condo.

And Nick's favorite part of Thanksgiving at my Uncles house is going to his gun room to check out his guns.

This is just one section of the gun closet!!

I'll be heading over there during the zombie apocalypse! 

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving, and got a chance to reflect on all the things to be thankful for.

We truly do live in a country where freedom is something we take for granted.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to y'all!

I Haven't Blogged

It's been a while since I've blogged. 

Last week was so busy with things going on at Dannika's school, and with Thanksgiving.

I had a few posts planned over the break, but decided not to post them.

The day after Thanksgiving, our family received the news from our relatives in England that Nick's mom had passed away.

She had been dealing with health issues for a long time now, and her health issues was one of the biggest reasons why she left Alabama to move to England.

The amount of sadness our family has felt is something can't be put into words.

I always thought as a Marine that I could handle death better than anyone.

After all, I have been dealing with death my entire time in the Marine Corps.

In reality, I think Marines handle death the worst.

But this blog isn't about me...

It isn't about MY Thanksgiving...

It's not about my kids...

Tonight, I write about a remarkable woman named Sandra Jane.

If you don't know the history of how Nick and I got married....I'll give you a really quick (super short) version).

We eloped in Vegas without telling anyone.

I remember the night we told Nick's mum (cause that's what British people call their moms).

We were sitting in his jacked up Chevy Silverado after a date night, and it was on the phone when we broke the news to her.

I remember hearing her voice on his cell phone...

"You did WHAT?!?! Nicholas!!!!!!!"

I spoke to her on the phone that night as Nick's new wife, and remember thinking, "wow...this woman is so nice considering I just married her oldest son without telling her or meeting her first..."

That was my first encounter with my "mum" as I grew to call her.

I fell in love with her instantly, and (I hope) she loved me as much as I loved her.

I could call her anytime to chit chat or for advice, and she would always lend her ear to me.

I could complain to her about anything, and I never once....felt judged or ashamed.

I told her some of my darkest, shameful secrets, and she never once made me feel less than what I was.

I would say that if mum had one fault, it was that she loved too hard....if that's even possible.

She saw the good in everyone...even after they had betrayed or hurt her...she still believed that there was good in them.

It's a lesson I learned from her.....

There is no greater gift than love...

She loved when most people felt it would be impossible to.

She loved fiercely...

I hope that one day my kids will learn to love as fierce as she did.

I brag so much about my husband, and I often get compliments from my friends and family about what an amazing man he is.

I get told all the time that "men like him are few and far between".

Sometimes in makes me mad because I feel like I'm not good enough for him.

But you know...Nick is the man that he is because of Sandy.

She raised him to be a good, moral, decent, and honest man...

She oftentimes raised him alone (she was an air force wife)...

As a Marine wife, I am in awe at what she did with Nick.

I oftentimes find myself frustrated and alone in this life....the deployments...the training.

I used to call mum often when Nick was deployed to Afghanistan to just vent.

She sat quietly on the phone while I cried while adding in the occasional, "I know, dear."

She always knew what to say to me.

I remember on night while Nick was in Afghanistan when I called her because I was so fed up with this life...I was so lonely...and I was tired of being a "single parent".

The only thing she told me was...
"I am so proud of you. You're a Marine, and Marines don't give up and let something like this get them down."

Whenever I was sad or feeling sorry for myself...she always pulled the "YOU'RE A MARINE!" card.

Gosh, I hated that, but man was she right...

I sit here and write this with tears running down my face, and I can't help but think about how much I miss her already.

I am selfish to want her back, because she deserved a life so much better than what she was handed here on earth.

She deserves to be with our Creator in heaven where the burdens of human life are no longer a burden.

I just hope that one day, my kids will love as fiercely as she did.

I hope that I can love as fiercely as she did.

I pray that she is with me when I go through my difficult times with Dannika and Mattis...

So with that...

Rest in peace, mum.

You deserve your new life in heaven with our great Lord and Savior.

She hated having her picture taken, but because I'm a picture taking nazi (as some would call me, I managed to get some good ones of her).

This is when she came out the California to watch Dannika so that Nick and I could attend the Marine Corps ball in Vegas.

We took her to the Cheesecake Factory because it was her favorite restaurant.

She spoiled the hell out of Dannika.

Dannika wasn't even one yet, and I remember catching her sneaking starbucks whipped cream from her frappucino into Dannika's mouth.

When she got caught, her response was, "my grandbaby loves it, so I'm gonna give it to her!"

So beautiful....and look at Nick with his blonde hair!!

This is Dannika helping her bake in Alabama when we went out to visit her.

She pinned on Nick to SSgt.

I'm so glad that she got to be a part of this moment in Nick's life!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Love fiercely...