There's Something Beautiful about Worship

Church on Sunday was amazing. The worship was wonderful! I started to wonder about when worship was put into a box. What seems to hold me back from raising my hands, or falling to my knees in total awe of the amazingness of God?
It was so exhilarating to see others just embrace worship. Wasn't it David, in the Bible who would dance and sing and even make up songs of Praise to God? It was so sweet, there was an older man who was behind us. He was singing and doing a slight 'dance' with the music; his arms bent at his sides like he was jogging, but it was definitely dancing.
It was amazing to just sing, and want to sing so loud my throat would hurt. To want to just praise! Not worry about how I look and just immerse myself in the worship of God.
In the sermon the pastor said to "DELIGHT in God's word" - well, DELIGHT in worship as well!

Memorial Day with OUR Hero!

The Savannah River

This morning we went to Downtown Augusta (sketchy, with failing businesses). There is a glorious river walk though. Lots of money went into making this riverwalk beautiful! We strapped Adalynn into the stroller and walked along the river! 
Along the way there was a "Hero's Overlook" - remembering and honoring the hero's past and present for their sacrifice. Very appropriate for a day like today.
Then we saw an amphitheater - of which I started quoting Henry V, Act 4 Prologue.

This was the Hidden Japanese Garden

There were different quotes written in the cement, which I read of dramatically (not realizing there were people just ahead) hehe.We even walked through an Episcopal churches yard/cemetery. Very old graves from the early 1800's and the church itself was erected in 1819 (we saw the cornerstone). So much history!

Ah, the river view!

It was such fun to be walking as a family. Especially today, with Stephen, as he is not only a Hero to Adalynn and myself, but to our Nation!

"Ants go Marching"

The globes I made one afternoon.

On another note: 
Outside our front door is rows of little black ants... really nothing can be done about that. At least they are outside our home, though I did see a couple crawling around inside the house, one of which was on Addies blanket. NO!
So, taking back control, I took out the spray and went outside and did a massacre around our door and the edges of our home. This morning, walking outside, I see a line of ants by our neighbors door. Oops :) hehe

The ants at our neighbors now :D

On yet another note: 

We went to the Augusta Mall today and walked around. Found some great books for Adalynn and a fun new candle for ourselves! Though I have a roast going in the crockpot and our home smelled amazing when we walked in today! YES - I went to Fresh Market yesterday and got us a fresh roast for today.

She's just cute!

Love her slightly electrified look!

Final note: Our windshield got hit by a rock and the crack grew... fortunately we have insurance and Safelite! They said they would be at our home between 12-6pm. Hmm... kinda traps us at home for six hours! lol

Cracked windshield :(

Embracing the South

Fried Chicken Dinner

The sun was brilliant this morning and Adalynn finally slept past 6:30am! Stephen had left for work early this morning, leaving Addie and myself to play by ourselves today. Which we embraced - starting with a walk down to the grocery store to pick up the rolls for dinner and a latte for myself :).

We came home, (which is definitely feeling like home now that we have all our belongings unpacked and mostly put away) and played. I wanted to make a special dinner for Stephen because today was his first day of work. He wanted Cornflake Chicken - it turned out super good too!

Very southern meal if you ask me :D.

I just want to say that baking is SO very much easier in a larger kitchen with a dishwasher! All I had to do was rinse and put the dishes in the washer. Amazing! I shall truly enjoy these 6 months, with a dishwasher AND a washer and dryer. (I feel quite spoiled actually :D).

So, now we are finally starting to fall into a routine and normalcy! 

An Ode to Our Couch

Couch of Stories

So, this may look like just a couch, but it is so much more. This couch has been with me since I had my first apartment. It was given to my by my parents, it had a scratchy material on it and the cushions had shrunk so they did not fit the whole couch, but I loved it!
This couch has comforted me when I was sad. It would cuddle me when I was sick. Friends have sat on this couch and we have shared countless stories. I held Stephen's hand for the first time on this couch as well. This couch has has given quality time to myself and my parents when we redid it. It has bedded me when pregnant and held me when exhausted. Adalynn has slept on this couch, spit up and poo-ed.
I love this couch and all its wonderful memories!

Exhausted, but home

Our apartment complex

Here is a picture of what we see walking out our door. I feel the picture does not do it justice. It is a beautiful apartment complex! We are close to the pool and fitness center, which is nice when having to carry Adalynn there :D (she gets heavy! hehe) The place is clean, with high ceilings, new carpet and paint!

I will admit, last night was hard though. Sleeping on the floor with only a sheet underneath you is difficult. Needless to say, I did not get a good nights sleep. Which made today harder, though it could also be the fact that we have finally made it HOME so I have a let down of all the stress of moving.

Adalynn is finally feeling the effects too. She's been fussy all day, not wanting to be left alone. Who can blame her really though?

* In the last 8 days we have been in 5 different hotels before moving into our apartment
* Traveled 15+ hours by car (with a cat), roughly over 900 miles.

Whew, I suppose we all have reason to be tired. It's not over though, all our belongings get moved in tomorrow morning! YAY! I miss my couch, and bed and a changing table! hehe

We did spend over 2 hours at Fort Gordon today getting healthcare figured out and setting Addie up with her 4 month doctors appointment. Boy was that a process... for all those military spouses out there, I so respect each and every one of you! Lots of work and processes for simple things. Just trying to find out where an office is located was difficult.

Here is my idea: for those families that just arrive on base, there should be like a welcome booklet or pamphlet or ONE office to go for their spouse to get all the helpful numbers and info. I do not think this would be so difficult.

Instead we went (carrying Adalynn mind you) into one building, visiting 3-4 different rooms, all doing slightly different things. Then traveled to the medical building, visiting 3-4 different places (all while carrying Adalynn in the Snugli). I think we have a basic understanding and are all registered with the healthcare. Sheesh! :P

Just ask how much work went into organizing the movers! YIKES! lol....
I think they need a better system, but I am grateful for all that they are giving us!

Anyhoo - I am PROUD to be a military wife!

And to switch things up; Addie is getting so close to flipping over from her back to stomach! AH, she's way strong! :P

Addie is almost rolling from back to stomach now! :D

Home Sweet Home

We have been "homeless" for one full week now. What a strange feeling, caring all the bare necessities with you in the car with a cat and a baby. How odd to not even have an address. Honestly, it was more amusing, but only because we knew we were getting a place soon. How scary for those out there who truly do not have an address and do not know how to get one or cannot get one.

There is a sense of simplicity though. Not having all this 'stuff' which we think we all need. Grant it, when we finally do get all our belongings I will be so grateful :D. A move like this makes you step back and realize how much we truly have. It's a lot! Wow!

I am excited for Adalynn to have her own room now too; to decorate and possibly sew her curtains!?  Maybe... something simple, but still :). I will have a sewing table too so I can actually sew whenever I want! Plus, just the fact that Stephen and I get our own room again, after almost 4 months, we finally get our own space again! Maybe we will be able to get ready for bed with the lights ON tonight! :) Though, we won't actually have a bed until the movers come, hmm... at least they just cleaned the carpets!

Love this video I took this morning. Addie is fussing then sees me :)  She tries to eat her animals sometimes without using her hands. :P Silly Girl!

"Just Another Manic Monday"

Bedtime snack :D

We are good to go! We are moving into the apartments tomorrow at 2pm! They had to do past apartment searches for both Stephen and myself and we had to wait to hear from them. I actually had to research my old apartment in Grand Rapids. First calling the house deeds office in Grand Rapids to get the full name of the landlord (he is now retired); then we had to research his name in the white pages and make a phone calls until we found the right one. We found him though and I talked to him and it worked out!

We will not get our belongings until May 17, HAH... we get to kind of squat in the apartment until then :D hehe. I will make a Walmart run to pick up the essentials for living after we settled in. Adventure! Hey, as much as I love hotels, I am super excited to finally go live in a home again! It will have been a week since we left too.

This morning we went to Target! Southern ladies are so funny and sweet. So many have come up to us and talked to Adalynn. We met such a sweet lady at Target, she said everyone calls her Grand Mo  hehe... She just couldn't get over how cute Adalynn was! The lady at Starbucks soon came around teh corner to look at Addie and then a gentleman that was sittting came over. Adalynn was just sitting there smiling at them.Grand Mo just kept telling everyone around us how sweet Addie is. It was fun!

We went swimming again! We are even getting smiles from Adalynn in the pool now! We've actually had the pool to ourselves most days, which is surprising with it being such a nice pool and all. We've enjoyed it. It will be getting Addie into the outdoor pool at our apartments that may be challenging.

Addie after swimming

Swimming!

We made it to a much nicer hotel that has a heated indoor swimming pool and hot tub! YAY! So we took Addie swimming... she did much better, the water was so warm! :D

Tomorrow we are trying out In Focus Church, super excited about this!

The Sovereignty of God

So, remember how we were disappointed about our hotel? Well, we found the perfect apartment for us and we would have never found it without staying here. Here's how it happened:

We were going to visit Stephen's friend, Chris, and check out the apartments he lives in (which are not super nice). On the way there, from our hotel, we passed these beautiful apartments and decided to stop to look into them. They did not have any availability, but recommended us to another place - Century Glen. So we went there to check those out. PERFECT.

Honestly, Stephen asked what would be on the "perfect apartment" list and these had it all. A swimming pool, fitness center, walking distance to a grocery store, close to the base and the church we are looking at! Plus they had a small putt putt green (how cool!) Gated community as well! They were right in our price range too, which was amazing, and a bottom floor apartment JUST opened up while we were there and they are re-carpeting right now. Everything seemed to fit, so we applied and signed a lease for 6 months. We truly felt God was leading us to them.

This would have never happened had it not been for this crappy hotel! HAH! Stephen walked into our hotel room and looked at me and said, "Isn't God Sovereign" and it hit me - HE IS! Wow, we truly feel blessed and that God truly wants us here! We are so excited! Plus - we are switching hotels tomorrow, I'll get my hot tub on Mother's Day! Stephen is WAY to sweet! :D

Amaya was hugging Stephen when he came back from the base this morning. HAH!

Poor Addie has been so tired today too. She slept for like 3 hours this afternoon, which strangely I found myself not knowing what to do with her sleeping so long. We are all doing much better this evening though. I was able to run to Walmart and pick up a few things too, which allowed me to explore around town a little (found a Target) and to set the radio stations in the car. :D

Poor Addie last night, this is how we all felt - tired.

Arrival into Augusta!

 Our makeshift activity center (under the pull out bed!) HA

Hey, we stayed near the vineyards, we had to try their wine

I will miss the wonderful hotel in North Carolina. It was beautiful!

This basically sums up how we all feel :D

 
We have arrived! We only had 4 hours to drive today (turned out to be near 5 because of heavy traffic... we accidentally chose to drive right during rush hour in the morning in Charlotte, NC). Oops :D

It was a relief to finally arrive in Augusta though. Oh the gaiety when entering into GA! Then Adalynn decided she didn't want any part of being in the car anymore and the gaiety left while trying to calm down a very fussy 3 month old. Then the gaiety left a little more when arriving at the hotel and realizing they don't have check in until 3pm, and it's noon.  (We did manage to get a room though! Hallelujah!)

Amaya kinda stumbled around the hotel room for a few hours, still doped up on her "chill" pills. hehe.
Adalynn has been fussy and quite frankly, hasn't wanted to leave my arms, until now because she finally fell asleep for a nap!

She did make friends with some of the hotel workers though! They came and talked to her, cause, well, she's ADORABLE! She smiled and laughed with them. It was quite charming. Then we went back to our room and she cried. lol... what can you do!?

Stephen checked in at the base and we have plans to visit a few rentals tomorrow. Hopefully we find a place soon cause this hotel isn't as nice as we expected it to be. They didn't have a room for us right away (they say it's due to the high percentage of use). The hot water in the shower takes a few minutes to work (they say it's due to the high percentage of use). The internet is super slow (they said it's due to the high percentage of use.) Hmm... maybe they should work on this :P
It has a fridge!  hehe

It is beautiful outside though! A slight breeze blowing and warm air. Just lovely!
Their pool here is funny, the pictures are beautiful on their website; Addie and I walk out to the pool and there's a few lizards in it and a piece of trash that blew in (it's an outside pool). The lovely smell of moth balls surrounds the area as well; plus it's the size of maybe two hot tubs put together :P and it's cold! lol... in a way, comical. We still might try to take Addie to it later. Hey, chlorine kills all germs anyway!

Well, Addie is up and chit chatting (yay for being happy again!)

Gypsy Life

The Gypsy life - waking up in Ohio!

So, we did indeed wake up in Ohio, later realizing that we were only 5 minutes from West Virginia, and only minutes from other descent hotels. :)  We drove over the Ohio river and into West Virginia! Amaya was not having any of it and was not doing well, we ended up having to stop to give her a "chill" pill, which sent her into a high (hey, worked for us!).
    We drove.
    Addie slept.
    Amaya dazed.
 Addie was hungry, we stopped at this beautiful rest area in the middle of the mountains in W.V.
    We drove.
    Addie slept. 
    Amaya dazed.
We entered into Virginia! Stephen got his first speeding ticket! :) (I was quite honored to be there for that.) Actually, his first speeding ticket happened right as we came out of a mountain. It was all very dramatic.
   We drove.
   Addie slept. 
   Amaya dazed.
Hunger soon overcame us and we stopped at subway! (way better then some greasy place) and we tried to get Adalynn to stretch and kick (all on the table too... hehe).  
    We drove.
    Addie screamed. 
    Amaya meowed.
    We stopped driving. 

My first swimsuit - size: 12months

Daddy and Addie in the water!

 MUCH better hotel! Love it here! We are at Shelton Vineyards area. Beautiful! Only 3 1/2 more hours till Augusta tomorrow! Now time for dinner and a movie :D

We had to hide Amaya in the shower :)

Road Trip!

Sitting in the hotel, after putting Addie to bed (thankfully she seems to be sleeping well) and wanted to write about the day. I just want to give cahoots to all the parents that have traveled with kids, what a job! Between figuring out when she needs to eat, her diapering issues and our own personal needs with the restroom, it was an adventure! :)

We did start the family tradition of singing songs on road trips, though Adalynn look annoyed at times.
We did meet a sweet lady at a DQ in Bolivar, OH. She just thought Addie was so cute. lol.
Amaya calmed down on the trip too and just stayed under Stephen's seat the whole time, peaking her head out occasionally. 

So, now it's time to sleep and get up early again tomorrow to start all over, except this time we are more prepared. 

Our Hotel (Motel) - love Amaya in the window

We took a walk outside!

The soggy grass from the river outside the hotel.

Moving Day has Arrived!

So, it is 9:12 in the morning. After not being able to fall asleep - to many thoughts running through my head and not being able to put down "The Hunger Games" - I finally got out of bed at 6:30am to finish up packing.
Stephen and I finished putting the items we are taking on the road trip down to GA in the car and bathroom (the one room the movers will not enter), then I made the trip to Bigby for some coffee and bagels!
We relaxed a bit, thinking the movers were coming at 8am, which we later found out will not be until 11am (UG, why did we wake up so early! :D)
Now, Adalynn is fed and happy and asleep again for a nap, while Stephen and I are trying not to fall asleep ourselves playing games on his phone sitting in our living room full of stuff. Quite amazing how three people can accumulate so much, but we are grateful!

Our living room before the movers.

 The movers finally came at 1ish and did not leave until 7pm! AH!

Afterwards... so bare.