Tender Tennessee Christmas

We arrived in Tennessee around midnight to my Mom and brother picking us up at McGhee Tyson airport in Knoxville. I was so excited for her to see my ring, but she wouldn't look at it so I finally had to put my hand in her face. She was excited...along with the rest of our families. It wasn't a big shock to most, but they were happy for us.

Shortly after arriving to town, we traveled to our old stomping grounds at TTU to see Jordan's brother, Jesse, graduate and get sworn into the army. Jordan got to swear him in so that was a cool ceremony to witness. I got to visit with old friends for awhile and spend time with some new ones as well.

The next days passed quickly as they always seem to do when we're having fun. Christmas was busy, but wonderful. We were running all over the place, but we had a great day filled with more presents than we could ever need, a lot of food, and time with family that we were so blessed to receive.

After the festivities were over and we had time to relax, I fell prey to a yucky sickness. I'm glad it waited until Christmas was over, but it is pretty miserable just the same! I'm feeling a little better today than I have been, but I'm still not back at 100%. I'm hoping to feel better by the New Year.

Thinking back on the past year, I am grateful for getting through it. I'm thankful for all the lessons I've learned during it and for all the answered prayers. I'm so glad Jordan is home this year for the holidays, safe and sound. We don't know where the army will take us over the next few years so this Christmas we are elated to get to be home with our families and are very much enjoying creating memories together. Here's to hoping 2010 will bring along with it a lot of time with each other. Have a safe and Happy New Year! I will have more exciting news next time you hear from me...

Introducing...

[caption id="attachment_73" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Shortly after the Proposal"][/caption]

The soon to be Mrs. Weigle. It's official...Jordan and I are engaged! I can't tell you how difficult it was to keep that secret. As you may have noticed, I hinted around about the new engagement in my last post. We didn't want to make it public until we traveled home to tell our families and were able to see their expressions. It's something so special for us that we wanted to share it with them, too.

Jordan proposed while we were at Chena Hot Springs. I was so surprised and very excited. I won't go into details because that's a very personal moment for me, but I will say that it was an incredibly sweet and perfect memory for me. I was/am elated to soon be his wife.

My ring is gorgeous, too. I can't tell you how happy I am!

(P.S. I couldn't get the video to work that I wanted to post, so this photo will have to do. Notice my mascara under my eyes: So much for being flawless.)

Last weekend in AK for awhile...

Once again, I'm blogging when I should be doing something else. There's laundry to be done, dishes to wash, army gear scattered across the floor waiting to be picked up, gifts to wrap, beds to make, and packing to be done. It's okay, though. I have plenty of time. This morning I woke up feeling so amazingly content. I have a best friend to spend the rest of my life with. I have a roof over my head and food in my belly. I have a plane ticket to Tennessee to spend Christmas with our families. Life is sweet!

This past weekend was wonderful. On Saturday, we made the snowy drive to Chena Hot Springs to enjoy sitting outside in 15 below Farenheit weather. The water felt so good as long as we stayed crouched down the entire time. It sure is a cold walk to get to the springs, though! We took a video of us running. Stay tuned, I may post that later! After we dried off we walked over to the restaurant located by the hot springs for a cup of cocoa with vodka and vanilla chambord. Pretty tasty! On the way home, we stopped at the Trapline to eat. We tasted gator as an appetizer and had burgers and ribs for dinner.

On Sunday we had a nice day doing a bunch of nothing. We slept until around ten, then we got up and made our way to church. I really enjoyed the sermon called "Escaping Materialism." I think it's a good lesson to learn and remember around Christmas time especially. The real reason for the season escapes so many of us sometimes. We forget that it's a celebration of the birth of Christ. It's not about stressing over having money to buy the best gifts or wondering if you'll get the newest updated version of your favorite toy. I enjoyed having the reminder. Truly, all I want this year is time with friends and family.

The rest of our Sunday was spent at Barnes and Noble sipping coffee and purchasing last minute items. Nope, our Christmas shopping is still not done (tsk tsk)! When we got home, J decided to fix us a feast! We really enjoy cooking together and hope that we continue to do so in ten or twenty years from now. It's a great way to spend time together and also accomplish something productive together. I've got to say, he did most of the work last night. I grated lime peels, stripped garlic cloves, and sipped on a celebratory beverage. I'm including a picture of Jordan's creation: angel hair pasta with pesto, lime flavored shrimp, and scallops. Yum!

Christmas Cheer

I might have insomnia. I told myself I would step away from the computer now that my blog is all caught up on the last 4+ months of my life. I was going to wait awhile before I posted and try to get some sleep. I don't know what's wrong with me, but for the past week or more I haven't been able to drift off into dreamland at a decent hour. I think it is partly because I really don't do much throughout the day while Jordan is working. We are sharing a vehicle at the moment so I'm living the life of a shut-in right now. I miss going for walks outside, but it's just too darn cold for that.

Another reason I might be having trouble sleeping is it's almost Christmas! This year, that means that it will be the first time I've been able to see my family in five months. I'm elated! I cannot describe how much I miss them. Sometimes at night I lie awake thinking about everyone and it brings me to tears. Some tears are happy because I am grateful for them in my life, but some are sad, as well, when my thoughts drift to my niece and nephews. Will they even remember me when I get home? Being away at college and now in Alaska forces me to miss out on so many milestones in their lives.

Christmas is so exciting because I'll be able to be with family AND my soldier is home for the holidays this year. Thinking back to a year ago, I am reminded just how much I have to be thankful for. Last year, J spent Christmas in Iraq. I missed him so much and would make myself miserable thinking of all the families who had loved ones absent from them Christmas morning.

As soon as Thanksgiving was over, I was ready to start filling our first home together with Christmas cheer! J and I drove to North Pole, Alaska to the Santa Claus House to buy ornaments for the tree. We chose several favorites that were somewhat characteristic of Alaska so that we would always remember where we got them when we went to decorate our tree in years to come. I'm glad we found some that have a special meaning to us. I plan on keeping him around awhile!

With Johnny Cash Christmas songs on repeat on the ipod, we merrily decorated the tree and living room area. We've wrapped presents together (I never thought I'd find anyone worse at wrapping than me!), attempted baking cookies, and settled on the couch for a few of our favorite holiday movies. These little moments I will cherish forever.

That's one positive aspect of many military relationships... It's nearly impossible to take J for granted because I'll never know when he will be told he's deploying again. I want to be sure next time he is gone for an extended period of time that we made the very best of our time together. I think the world of that man!

Skiing Birch Hill

Whew! Skiing in Alaska is much harder than I remember skiing elsewhere. Muscle memory did not exist for me that day. I realized I was going to be terrible when I could barely maneuver myself to the ski lift. I did not know, however, that I would roll down most of the mountain. J, my encouraging instructor, helped me gather skis and fasten them back on every single time I fell. I was getting very frustrated with myself, but not once did he make fun of me. Of course now, he thinks it's pretty hilarious. I look forward to trying again, but I think skiing lessons are in order. Otherwise, I'm going to break something!

Enjoying a cup of hot chocolate after the falls

Thanksgiving

November rolled around faster than I ever thought it could. Time passes much more quickly than it had during that darned deployment! I had a good birthday despite being away from family and close friends. J and I went to dinner at the Regency Hotel for all-you-can-eat crab legs and to see A Christmas Carol in Imax 3D. He bought me some jade jewelry while we were in New Zealand and gave that to me for my birthday.

Thanksgiving was bittersweet. We made plans to busy ourselves and take our minds off being so far away for the holiday. I woke up and immediately called my family to talk to everyone. I missed them so much! I started cooking, though and the day got better as I finished dishes because I was so proud that everything turned out well! I'm slowly, but surely learning the art of cooking. J put on his dress blues and went to serve the enlisted guys their Thanksgiving meal. I went over to our friends' house to help her cook, set up the table, and decorate her Christmas tree. Although we did not get to be around our families, we were thankful for the friends we have here in Fairbanks.

North Island New Zealand

From October 26 through November 2 we made our way to the North Island of New Zealand. During our short stay, we saw much of the island, but did not get to do our first open water dives. My first impression of the country was a positive one. We flew into Auckland early in the morning, quickly rented a car and experienced driving on the left side of the road, and explored the city. It was somewhat quiet; the only life we saw for a few hours were the many runners on the city streets. Everyone seemed to be so fit!

We hiked around Thames, drove along the scenic Coromondel Peninsula, wine tasted at Mills Reef, and went wherever the wind blew us. The vegeation in New Zealand is vast. It's not uncommon to be looking at gorgeous beach views that quickly morph into a mountain range and then again into green rolling hills. It truly is beautiful and unlike any place else I've ever seen.

On Day 5, we drove into Whakatane where a boat was waiting to take us on a journey to White Island. White Island is an aquatic active volcano in the Bay of Plenty. How many people can say they've walked in a crater created by a live volcano?

In Rotorua, New Zealand, there were lots of touristy activitites to do. On the top of the list was zorbing. Unfortunately, I was too short, but Captain J had a great time rolling down a hill in a giant ball. He was completely soaked and somewhat dizzy by the end of the ride, but he was happy to have zorbed in the place where it first began. We woke up early one morning and went kayaking in the lake nearby. This was my first time in a kayak. I found it relaxing, but also a bit of an arm workout. I really enjoyed that, too.

October firsts

October brought about so many fond memories for the both of us and many firsts, too! One weekend we visited the Chena Hot Springs after a long day of fishing in a near by river. We hadn't had much luck so we decided to take the advice of a man we'd met who said his favorite fishing nook was in Delta Junction, Alaska. We hopped in the truck the next day, camping and fishing gear in tow, to a beautiful campsite a couple hours away. Camping in Alaska is much different than sleeping outside in Tennessee! I was so cold that night and my frustration grew every time I rolled over and saw  J sleeping (and sweating) comfortably in his sleeping bag. We had a good time, though.

The first snowfall of the season came in October, too. It brought about shooting lessons from two of the Army's fine veterans: Lt.s Joshua and J. I was somewhat frightened at first because of the hype of the "kick back" of some guns, but after I shot it, it seemed pretty easy. I actually hit my targets!

The days began to feel much shorter as the sun started going down much faster so Jordan and I decided to give scuba diving a try. We signed up for classes at Test the Waters Adventure Sports in North Pole, AK. This new activity was a first for both of us and we were glad to have found something that neither of us had done that we could do together. We bought all the gear we needed and jumped in the pool for lessons. Breathing under water is one of the neatest things I've ever done. Instinct is to fight it and swim to the surface, but after awhile, the regulators in our mouths became second nature. We did well in our practice dives and finished the test portion making us well on our way to being certified. We hoped to get our first dive under our belts in our upcoming trip to New Zealand.

Homecoming

September came and I wondered if he would ever make it back from Iraq. Delays, delays, delays! Homecoming was amazing, though. It was truly a unique experience. I've never felt so many different emotions from so many different people in one room. It was thrilling to see J after so long, jump in his arms, and know that we have the rest of our lives to be together. Awesome, awesome feeling.

Amy and me anxiously awaiting his bus to arrive

Finally back in his arms!

 

When he finally got home, we only had a week or two left of September to enjoy before winter reared its ugly head. The first weekend he was home, we headed to Anchorage for the weekend. We went out a lot that weekend and found a really chill jazz/blues club. The purpose of the weekend was to find Jordan a vehicle to drive. Little did I know, he would find a CJ8 that rivals his love for me in his eyes! I'm not opposed to him having such a nice toy; I'm simply eager for warmer weather so we can enjoy it!

J and his new toy

New state, new friend

Reflecting back on the past few months makes me all the more happy I decided to start an official Mrs. K Blog. The bottom line is: I am forgetful and I don't want to forget my experiences here in the Great White North. August was a difficult month for me because of all the many twists and turns my life took. I got on a plane and headed miles and miles away from the life I had grown accoustumed to. I had little money to speak of and was completely alone. I arrived in Fairbanks after many delays due to smoke from the forest fires in the area. Thankfully, I had been conversing with a young mother and fellow Army wife via email for the last couple of months and we had arranged for me to stay with her for a couple days while I found a place for J and me to live. Days turned into weeks when I struggled to find housing here. I am forever grateful to her for welcoming a stranger into her home like she did. I ended up settling in an apartment just down the road from her and we spent many days attempting to pass time more quickly. It turned out that her husband knew J. Small world!

Nicole and me celebrating her daughter's 1st birthday