So, in the past year...

I've had a baby. She's 6 months old. My dad did pass away last June. I miss him way more than I thought I would after he did die. From what I was told from my sister, he did everything the dr told him not to do..like smoke or go outside. Thankfully I was able to fly home for his funeral. My younger sister, one of my older brothers and myself chose our dads headstone. There was lots of drama going on with that! A few months after that (5 to be exact) my mom would unexpectedly pass away of a heart attack. I couldn't fly home this time because my baby was due three weeks from then so I never did 'get to say goodbye'. The past year has seemed like a whirlwind!

Let's try this again

Claire's 3!!!!

Odd that this was once our little munchkin

She's learning new things all the time. She'll randomly see a truck for example and say "its red!" its awesome to watch her learn

Joe is still at TechMaster. He enjoys his job and does great at it! 

I'm still at CEC. Not THEE greatest job in the world. Some of the management makes me wonder how they got there..but oh well right? I leave there with a headache a lot but what partially makes it worth it is some of the kids are so sweet. The other day, I was dressed up as Chuck E and this little boy came up to me and said "you know what Chuck E, you're the cutest mouse i've ever seen." its the kids like that, that give me a hope for the next generation. The kids that come in and like to pick on the person in the Chuck costume (particularly if the person in the costume is short) they say "Your not real are you? Chuck isn't real. I just want tickets!" those are the kids that scare me in regards to the future America

I've been thinking a lot lately about how social media just SUCKS! I mean its a time killer. For real, you might be hard pressed to find someone without a phone, tablet or computer in their hands these days. And as soon as it dings, oh man, whoever is in the way of you answering it better watch out! 

I feel bad for my girl, I really do, she's going to grow up thinking that's normal. I'm not saying I'm not just as guilty. It just kills knowing that too. The only thing I can think of about why its so addicting, I don't wanna feel like I'm missing out. I'm here in SOCAL, I have very few friends and the friends I do have we either see each other at work or church events. It just sucks! I miss having coffee with a close friend of mine in the midwest and just talking for hours about everything. 

Before, when I was a stay at home mom, I just wanted to get a job to get out of my house and see what the rest of the world is up to, now that I have said job, I miss my family. I work typically during the weekends and Joe is off during the weekends. When he's at work during the week, its like 7am-5 or 6pm.. by the time he gets home, he's bone tired and we just don't get a lot of time together. I don't blend in with his family 100%. I feel inferior A LOT!!! Moving out here was no easy adjustment and lets just say, they didn't exactly make the transition easier. 

I miss my family. On Super Bowl Sunday, Joe's grandma fell and broke her hip. A few days before that, my sister got ahold of me to tell me our dad's heart rate is 25% and he's having a rough time breathing. I can't get back to the midwest because of the weather. UGH!

A couple weeks ago, my nephew was born. I've never NOT been there for a birth (with the exeption of 1, his dad was stationed in GA at the time of his birth) I miss the snow. I don't miss the ice and being shut in doors for days. (or the fact that I can't get back there right now)

 I miss familiarity.

life updates

I started working at Chuck E Cheese's about a month ago. Its proven to be a lot more challanging than I thought CEC could ever be. But, Its been good to finally get out and make some sort of friends. I get along with (mostly) everyone there which is good. A lot of the people are younger than me but thats alright..Just more of a reason to be an example.

Joe's still at TechMaster. He's recently gotten reading glasses which is kinda funny. He's enjoying being in the same state as his family. Since we only live a couple blocks from each other, we get more than our fair share of each other.

Claire's going to turn 3 in about 3 weeks. We're having her birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. I know she's going to have a great time. She can sit on a ride and even if its not moving she will have a great time :)

I've been meeting with a couple of Mormon girls lately. I see it as a witness tool. I met with a Jehovah's Witness in Warrensburg. Even though ideas of other religions and people seem wacky, I have gained some good friends from it.

It's been awhile...

Since I posted and I figured *those of you who might actually read this* might be kind of curious as to how our new lives are going.

Well, I am still a stay at home mom because I just can't seem to catch a break on the job front. Joe still works 5 days a week & most of the time, hasn't been getting home till late in the evening.

I've almost got my apartment put together. We still need to put up Claire's bed and our bed as well. Sharing a bedroom between all 3 of us is not easy. Claire wakes up through the night several times and ends up in our bed the majority of the time. One morning, we woke up and she was right in between us. We have no recollection of how she got there.

Yesterday, We went to church for the first time as a family in a few months. It was really nice. The church is predominately foreign people but it is a good reminder to be that we are foriegners on this earth. I know thats a Scripture reference but I just can't remember where. So funny but embarrassing story...I wore a dress to church (for the first time in a long time), every time I would bend, my bra would hang out!! I didn't know the dress was down so low in the back! After the main service was over,  my mother in law caught me in the bathroom and told me about the peepshow I was giving everyone.Thankfully, she fixed it for me.

The guys at the church were doing free oil changes. So we got our oil changed for free!!! We also got our break lights fixed and the hatch on the back of our SUV fixed. When you wanted to put something in the back, you had to get it in through the back seat..well, no more of that! We still plan to sell it because it just takes up too much gas, especially since we are a 1 income family for now.

Joe is doing excellent at his new job at TechMaster. He's been told he's been the fastest new learner. He's possibly up for a position to go to Antartica with TechMaster actually. He will be gone for 3 months...I don't know how to feel about this. While I am very proud of him for his accomplishments, I don't want to be apart again for that long!

Trusting God has a plan for me here has been hard in the midst of my homesickness for the mid-west but after talking with Joe about it I feel better, I'm supernaturally having an easier time trusting God that he has a plan for us here. I can't find a job so thats frustrating and makes my trust wane a bit but I'm still overall having a good feeling about this move.

The Missouri part of our book has closed

Claire and I arrived last Saturday. She did great on the plane for the most part. She didn't know what to think of the assention part. Her reaction was to pull against the plane trying to pull her up. She didn't eat the candy or gum she had in her hand, she just sat there still. Once we got past the clouds she would stand in my lap and say "I'm flying!" it was too cute. We had a couple unexpected blessings along the way too!I was worried about how I would carry all our bags by myself, it turns out the check in was almost literally where Claire and I were dropped off. I was a dollar short of getting Claire and I a snack before we took off, the cashier let me go ahead and keep her cookie!
 The last few days have consisted to trying to find my way around, lots of walking and looking for places to work. I know God must have a plan for us here. Even if I have no idea what it is yet. I'm hoping I will find a job I enjoy and don't really consider "work".
I am a little homesick for the midwest but the change is nice and its home to my husband so I'm thinking we will both be happier here. If he's happy and Claire's happy..so is momma.

its happening...

Claire and I are finally flying to San Diego next week. We've been apart from my husband for roughly nine weeks. There have been times when Claire has said 'i wanna walk. i need daddy.' or "call daddy." its been rough.
We had been in Illinois for about a month in a half. Now we are in Moberly just hanging out till we leave next Saturday. It's been quite and adventure. Its been bittersweet spending time with people I know I won't see for awhile. Probably a year ish actually. Its been hard because he isn't here with me.Obviously, he would be normally.
I'm excited to start a new life in a new place. I'm excited about the confidence I will gain from doing things I would normally have thought that I can't. I'm also apprehensive because I am going to uncharted territory. I've been there a couple years ago. However, it was a vacation that only lasted a week.

the door closed...

The door on the Navy was closed fairly soon after Joe went to bootcamp so we will be opening another one!
We will be moving to California. Joe started a new job this past Monday at a place called techmaster. He will be calibrating equipment. He will be staying with his parents until he can save some $ to get an apartment for our littel family. There's just not enough room for us all to stay at his parents' place.
As soon as we get there, I will be looking for a job. I am nervous because I haven't worked outside the home since I was pregnant with our first daughter 4 years ago. I am really hoping to get a job at a coffeeshop..or a daycare sounds like I would like it too. We'll see what happens I suppose.

Claire is doing wonderfully. she's a little stinker thats for sure! She likes to ' push my buttons' to see how long it will take before she gets in trouble so thats been a little trying on my patience and my heart because a lot of the time I just want to let it slide but I know thats not doing either one of us any favors.

Being a single parent for a few weeks is rough! I have to pack everything up all by myself too and keep a 2 year old under wraps at the same time..sounds tiring really