Holidays have begun...

This year is the first year that I will be away from my family on the holidays. Thanksgiving was this past Thursday and it was hard. We had all the fixins that I always had growing up, but it still didn't feel like Thanksgiving. There was something missing.

The night before Thanksgiving, my sister and I would usually be at Mom's house starting to get things ready for the next day's festivities. We would bake, cook, and clean. There was always laughter. We would always be laughing about something. That was my favorite part of the whole thing. Laughing with my family about the silliest things. This year, my sister called me a few times from her house as her and my mom were getting things ready for the next day. It made me miss them so much.

Christmas is on the way next and I already long for those shopping days with them. Some days we wouldn't even buy anything, but we would spend the entire day out having fun. Christmas day would roll around and we would all be together opening presents and laughing with each other.

This year is going to be so hard for me. Don't get me wrong, I love where I am right now. There have been a lot of changes this year and I am grateful for each one. I have a man by my side who loves me and three gorgeous children who are the light of my life. It's just difficult to be away from those people that you love so much for the first time in your entire life at this time of year.

I can do this. I have to be strong and put on a brave face. I know that my family misses me too and that they are thinking of me all the time. But what I wouldn't give for one day with my sister again...

He Asked...I Accepted!!

It's a little late, I know but everyone is curious on how he asked. It was completely unexpected and very romantic and worth the fight we had earlier that day. Let me back up a little...

Before we left Arizona for Colorado, we talked about having date night in Grand Junction on Saturday night. We wanted to take full advantage of all the babysitters we had available while in town. Saturday came and I began to talk about wedding planning. Living in Washington and planning a wedding in Colorado takes work...some that can be done via email and Internet, but other work that needs to be done in person. Baines and I began to fight about what needed to be done at that point. The fact that he didn't properly propose came up and I began to get angry. I said to him "Maybe we should just call this off..."

After sitting down to dinner at our place and discussing the issue at hand, he convinced me to see a movie with him. On our way to the theater, he takes a detour towards the Monument telling me he has the perfect place for a picture. I didn't think anything of it. He pulled the truck over at our spot and helped me walk to the edge of the cliff in the dark. Once we reached the top, I could see the candles and small basket which held a bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries. He turned towards me and asked the question..."Will You Marry Me?" With tears in my eyes, I exclaimed "Yes!"

Baines reached into the basket, pulled out my ring and slid it onto my finger. Of course, I couldn't see it in the dark! But with the magic of technology, he opened his cell phone and I was able to see the ring that I always wanted sitting beautifully on my left hand. Of course there is a story all its own...

A week before arriving in Colorado, Baines came home from work later than usual. He said that he had taken the afternoon and driven to Tucson to purchase the engagement ring I wanted and the jeweler did not have it. I was bummed because that meant that I would have to wait until we settled in Washington to have my ring. Dang It!! Truthfully, that was all a part of his "Covert Operation". Really, he went to the jeweler, ordered my ring in my size and asked that they deliver it to his dad's house in Colorado to arrive on the 23rd. Every morning, he would call his father and ask if the package arrived. Nothing...until the morning of the 25th...the day of the proposal. He was sweating...no doubt.

So, yes...we are engaged and planning a summer wedding in Colorado. I have already picked a dress, flowers and a cake. Now...where to hold the damn thing...

Made It!!

So we made it to Washington...finally!! Took us long enough but here we are!! From what we have seen it is absolutely gorgeous here and from what we hear, it's only going to get better as the seasons change.

Currently we are in temporary housing on post and it's not that great. It's a hotel room with a kitchenette. My man and I sleeping in the same room with three kids...yowza! All of us are pretty sick of each other and ready to scream at the end of the day but then realize that we are very lucky to have each other. We'll make it through!

We think we may have found a house on our first day out. It's 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths right in our price range. Funny story how we found it. First Baines found where the Cabela's store was...then we branched out our house hunting from there. Surprise...the perfect house...down the street! We called the number and the owners let us in right then. The only thing is that we would have to stay in temp housing for another week or so. Ugh!!

I'm looking forward to starting our lives here together and once we have all the kids with us, it should be even more fun.