A new chapter

Oh my goodness. We are still alive, I promise! A lot has been going on in the Wetzel family since we left North Carolina, and I have so much to share. The Lord has been doing some awesome things in our life since the beginning of the year, really. We didn't know the direction things were going, but He seemed to wrap it all up pretty well in the past couple of weeks. It is so amazing to stand back now, look back at the past 10 months, and stand in awe of His power. The Lord has been way too good to us and we do not deserve everything we have been blessed with. But isn't that always the story?

I am so overwhelmed with everything I want to share. I guess it will just have to come out over time. As to what we are up to now... Soon after getting to Houston, Daniel got a job with BP - Alternative Energy. He was hoping to break into the wind energy industry, so we were both super pumped for him to get this job. We also found a house, closed, and moved in an just about record time. I sort of feel like a blob right now because all I do is think about the house. It is definitely an upgrade (space-wise), so I am trying to figure out how to make everything work in a bigger house. I want to get everything done with the house, so my brain can finally start thinking about other things, but unfortunately we are lacking the funds. I need to learn some patience and just slowly do a little at a time. It is a lot easier said than done, though. There are more important things than decorating a house -- like spending time with the Lord, influencing my children, and finding some friends in this new town. Hopefully I can make some strides in the right the direction these next couple of weeks, including updating this blog.

The girls are changing like crazy. It is amazing how much faster your second child grows up! It doesn't help when she is doing things twice as fast as the oldest. Olivia was sitting up at 4 1/2 months and started crawling before 7 months. Geez. How am I already to this point where we need to baby proof everything? Emily is such a sweet little girl, and we have been having so much fun together. She is such a loving, helpful sister. I could not ask for two girls that love each other more. It is so special to see their relationship grow. I hope they are always best friends. And before you laugh at that last sentence, let me just say, I know it is possible.

A lot more updates to come, including starting up Multitude Mondays again. I got off track when Olivia came and have been meaning to resume my blessing posts ever since. So many blessings have come our way that there is no way I can acknowledge them all, but I will try!

An attempt in dressing ourself

We are busy, busy, busy over at the Wetzel house right now. Although we are attempting to move ourselves, we are paying for movers to load the moving van. Most of our belongings are packed and we are finishing the last few boxes before our help arrives on Thursday. My mom flew in yesterday, and we are so thankful she is here. It is a lot easier to pack and take care of two children now!

I had a lot of posts planned about everything I am going to miss about this place, but as always, I did not get around to writing them. Soon, hopefully. Since I know that my Aunt Charlene checks this thing religiously, and is probably looking for something new, I knew I had to post at least something...

My mom always told me that I started dressing myself at a very young age. Emily definitely got my stubbornness, and in the past month has taken this joy away from me, as well. Like her mother did at the age of two, she picks out what she wants to wear for the day and puts it all on by herself. I finally learned I have to keep her bedroom door shut, or we go through, at least, 5 outfits in a day. I think we are in need of some dress up clothes now because I am tired of not knowing if her clothes are really dirty, or if she got tired of her outfit, put it in the clothes hamper, and picked out a new outfit.

Although she dresses appropriately now (and even matches) for a while it was touch-and-go...

Boxes and wrapping paper... check!

Oh, the headache that is about to ensue as we attempt to make this move on our own! Although the military will pay for movers to pack and transport everything, if you do it yourself, you can pocket a whole bunch of extra cash. We figure this is a good time to save up, and it is extra exciting because a couple of months ago we become 100% debt free. Yeah!!! It's so nice knowing that we don't owe anyone anything, and all this money we will make will cushion our savings account as we start our house hunt.

One of the first big expenses when moving is buying all the boxes, packing paper, etc. One nice thing about the military is that there are always people moving in and out of the area. I stopped a family a couple of days ago as their movers unloaded the van and asked for all their packing supplies. Today, Daniel picked up the first batch of moving materials. They are an older couple with 20+ years in, so I know we will be more than covered. Check this out...

And to think, there is more to come!

T minus 21 days

I went into our marriage knowing what my life would be like in the beginning... moving to a different state away from family and friends, long stretches of time without a husband, and experiencing a lifestyle unlike anything in the real world. Daniel and I would often talk about how we envisioned the future going. I was prepared for possibly giving my husband up for a career of 20 years in the Marines. I was prepared for the numerous moves, the numerous deployments, the numerous friends that would come into our lives, and I could not wait for the numerous memories we were going to make. We went through our first deployment and I believed I was made to be a military wife. I'm extremely flexible, I don't get worked up easily, and I roll with the punches -- all the things that are necessary for a military spouse. Plus, I am very independent and can handle not having a man around the house.

Then the Lord told us he had other plans.

In 21 days we are packing up and moving out of here. We are leaving our little bubble of a neighborhood, we are leaving all of our wonderful friends, we are leaving our cheap grocery store known as the commissary, and we are leaving full coverage healthcare. We are also leaving this humid state of North Carolina, we are leaving a place with dress codes and crazy slow speed limits, and we are leaving the stupid red tape that is involved in everything military.

In 21 days we are packing up and moving out of here.

Bare with me this next month as our life gets flipped upside down. I will be busy squeezing in doctor's appointments, filling prescriptions, and lining everything up for our move that we will be doing ourselves. Here's to getting every last dollar we can out of the government...

Our big baby

Compare these two pictures. They were taken at the exact same age (pretty much down to the day) for the two girls. Do you see anything alarming?

Emily

Olivia

Emily was not known as a scrawny baby -- Olivia is just that big. If you look closely, you will see that both of their heads start at the same place on the mat. Now notice where there butts end. And check out those thighs!

Just trying to survive

We have been dying over here, lately. A lot of people don't realize that this place is as hot as Texas, although we are further north. We do have mountains in this great state we are currently living in, but our close proximity to the coast (it's 10 miles away) makes us experience completely different weather than most of the state. For example, back during the winter, one weekend it was a pleasant 60 degrees, but if you only drove only one hour west, you would be in the middle of a snowstorm that dumped 2 feet of snow. It was crazy. Although, I would take snowstorms any day over what we have been going through.

For the last couple of weeks, the thermostat in our house has been registering at 80 degrees by the afternoon. Yesterday, we got up to 81. The AC just can't keep up with the horrible heat and humidity. Do you know what 81 degrees feels like inside a house with no air flow? It's horrible. I sit around feeding Olivia in the evening and we are both drenched in sweat. Two bodies close together in the winter provide warmth. During the summer, though, it is a nightmare. I keep forgetting that a lot could be solved if he had some window treatments, which we don't. Even with window treatments, though, there is not much you can do in 95 degree weather when the humidity is at least 85%. My running group went running the other morning and the humidity was over 90%. I learned my lesson and will now be bringing a towel to sit on for the ride home. Humidity is one thing that I can never get use to, no matter how long I live in it.

The only thing that has been saving us recently is going to the pool every afternoon with friends. It blows the whole afternoon and wears both of my girls out, which ensures everyone is ready for bed when we get home, leaving one happy momma. Today we are actually under a heat advisory and weather channel says it feels like 111 degrees here. Perfect.

You will know where to find us...

New adventures in parenting

Waiting for Daddy to deploy

Daniel has been gone for almost 6 weeks. Although it isn't a deployment, any time over a month really starts to wear on you. I cannot wait for him to resume his role as my partner in this adventure we call life, but most of all I cannot wait for him to experience the next couple of months with Olivia. I like to believe that Daniel was deployed the perfect time during Emily's life. Although he missed most of her milestones, there isn't much you can do with a 3-10 month old. He got home just in time to see her take her first step (the biggest milestone there is, in my opinion), develop a personality, and truly interact with us. When he gets back, Olivia will be an age that he never got to experience with Emily. Daniel will soon watch Olivia roll over for the first time, watch her sit up and start crawling, and also watch as she takes part in our family dinners.

It's going to be an exciting couple of months for him.

I can't wait!