Our Johns Island birthday adventure...

Wow...it's been so long since I've blogged anything. I'm horrible at this and finding less and less time to write. I'm going to try my best to blog at least once a week though on Phil and my recent adventures. Phil and I have been really blessed and within the last few months, as he's been able to come home just about every weekend. If you know anything about Phil's job, you'll realize how rare this is for us. Because of this, we're taking advantage of every moment we have together -- whether relaxing at the house and making dinner together, or seeking out a new adventure in SC, we're soaking up every minute we have as a couple. I'm so thankful we have this time together -- It's been incredibly hard being apart on and off so often, but God has really blessed us with moments we can share together. So i'm going to do my best to keep you updated on all our recent journeys (through cooking, restaurant hunting, outdoor exploring and life experiences!)

One of the most recent things we've done together is go out on a date (for Phil's Bday) to a place called The Wild Olive Restaurant on John's Island. I found this place online, when I was looking for Italian food as a surprise for Phil. I read some reviews and then found a great article in Charleston Magazine about this fairly new establishment. After hearing from close friends how amazing it was, I was ready for our date.

For one thing, if you're going to drive 40 plus minutes to eat, it better be a fun drive, and it was. The drive in itself is beautiful -- you cross a couple bridges on your way, and the views over the water, especially in the evening, is just gorgeous. It was such a relaxing ride that we almost missed our turn into The Wild Olive. It's tucked back a little bit, so if you plan on going, slow down once you get within a .5 mile.

Once inside, the atmosphere feels like home -- dim lighting, close seating and filled with people and laughter. It was shockingly loud inside, but i realized how much you can just relax and be yourself, because the scenary is anything but stuffy. One of my favorite features of the restaurant is the ceiling -- the room we sat in had large wood slabs suspended with white lights hanging from them...so pretty!

Beyond the atmosphere, was the delicious food. I could go on and on, but to cut to the chase, we both ordered fantastic entrees. Phil had the gnocchi with scallops and a creamy butter sauce, with a mix of vegatables. I ordered the swordfish on top of canallini beans, calamari, mushrooms and a butter based vinegrette. It was delicious. Phil had a really amazing caper berry martini, and I had an Italian mojito -- basil, lemon, vodka and some lemon sorbet....oh my lord. So good!

We finished our dinner off with the best tiramisu i've ever had, and expresso :) What made this night even better, was the conversation and laughter. It was so nice to just be husband and wife -- it felt like we were finally doing a "family" thing, and I love that.

Join us next week, for kayaking in Shem Creek (we're testing out whether we want single kayaks or a tandem!) Should be a good read haha.

these feet were made for walking...

Something i've come to appreciate and love over the years is a leisurely walk. To me, just about any bad day can be forgotten over a long, and intentional walk. I can come home, grab the dog leash, jump in my tennis shoes and within minutes, the day that once was so overwhelming is about to be left behind.

I think living so close to the city has peaked my interest in walks -- that, and owning a dog that loves them more than his food or dog treats.

Every walk is different. With Gus, our walks have three purposes:

1. (5 a.m. walk) Leisure -- we take the "stop and smell the roses" approach this early.

2. (lunch hour walk) Strictly business -- this walk is serious, fast and to the point. He knows he has about 10 minutes to get the job done. :)

3. (evening walk) Exploration and exercise. We sprint on and off for the first 5-10 minutes -- and i mean SPRINT...good lord -- i feel like i'm in a chariot race from Ben Hur.... The next twenty minutes we spend taking a new route or exploring a different area of grass...This is by far my favorite walk :)

People walks aren't much different. Sometimes Phil and I go into the city, simply to drink a coffee and to walk leisurely down King Street or East Bay, and just talk and laugh. Some days, we're on a mission (especially if Phil thinks he needs to check out the Apple Store) -- and somehow we are zipping and weaving through people, to find our destination store or restaurant. And then some days, my favorite days, are spent exploring...maybe not so much for exercise, but we definitely walk long distances, just to see parts of Charleston that we didn't know existed. I love these days, because I come home feeling like I discovered something amazing.

Walking -- once thought to be a boring old-person activity, is now growing on me, and becoming my favorite weekend hobby.

I'm not enough, but He is.

...wow I knew this would happen -- my life seems too chaotic for a blog, but I want to keep it anyway, and I want to be so much better at jotting things down. So here we go, with an attempt to at least get back into a weekly groove.

So I've been wrestling with this book, Crazy Love, by Fr

ancis Chan... it has been one of the most difficult books for me to read, because it has called into question my very own faith and love for Jesus...it lays out in very real terms the reality of what it means to be in a relationship with him and to love and follow him fully. One part of the book says:

"The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?"

Wow.... this was hard to swallow, because frankly I knew the answer, and it wasn't good. This chapter made me rethink everything about my faith. If I can truly live a life that is all about Christ, it should probably start with a deep relationship -- one that couldn't live a day without him. And I think this relationship can only happen for me, if I give up the distractions that keep me from him, and follow and love the things after his own heart: people...not just my family and friends...the poor, the sick and (the hardest one for me) ... the people tha

t have hurt me.

My mind has been racing lately -- I feel like I have this blessed life, and I can do so much, but I don't even know the best place to start. Giving up my "distractions" and turning a 180 and following him isn't an overnight thing...at least not for me. I can't do it cold turkey.

I keep thinking, that if I was on my death bed tomorrow, could I really look at my life and feel like I gave the very best of me to the people that need it most, and could I die satisfied that I did everything I could to show people the love of Jesus...i can definitely answer no to that right now. And that has to change.

I don't want to waste any time -- because time is precious.

It's not enough -- but we've started sponsoring a child from El Salvador -- he is a precious 8 year old, who comes from a poor farming family. He isn't able to go to sch

ool, so we're hoping that through World Vision we can get him there, and provide him some good meals. Its only one person, and it feels so not enough -- I'm so not enough -- but its something. And I know its just the start of something bigger.

I don't want this life to pass me, without giving the best of me...so I'm ready, let's do this!

R & R is a beautiful thing...

Today is my last day of R & R before heading back to working again. It's hard to believe the time is up, but it was amazing to have the opportunity to rest and reunite with my family. When I got home, Phil met me at the airport and the Naimans (close family friends I've known since living in Turkey) surprised me there as well. I got in extremely late -- close to midnight, but Phil was really sweet and had dinner waiting for me at home. Knowing how much I'd missed mexican food, he had put together a mexican lasagna for us to eat :) We spent the next couple of days just relaxing together and working around the house, which we don't always get the chance to do. Later that week we headed to Pawley's Island to pick up my grandmother, Nomi. It was so wonderful to see her again. My grandfather passed away in December after a long battle with cancer -- it was hard to go back to a place that was filled with so many memories of him, without him there. Nomi drove up to VA with Phil and I to see my family for Easter. I was able to see all my siblings except two, which is pretty good! We spent the week cooking, going to the Zoo, going to the beach and playing Banana Grams (this was new to me, and i'm awful at it...) Phil and I were able to get to know my new sister Olivia better -- we had a lot of fun playing with her. Two is a fun (and busy) age! I can't tell you how nice it was to finally see Gus again too. He is 67 pounds of fur and slobber, but so sweet. Since coming home, i've really enjoyed our long walks together. I missed those so much.

After getting home, Phil and I spent a lot of time in the yard planting our first vegetable garden, crape myrtle tree and citrus trees :) Despite still being apart a lot, its nice to have these days where life feels normal. (Although Phil says I have no idea what "normal" life even is...haha).

Another project we took on was putting together the office...aka man room. We painted and hung pictures on the walls. Phil also was able to mount a TV in the room and get our new computer all set up. It was a fun project. We still have a few more things to do in that room, but its coming along!

The rest of our days were spent just relaxing together -- one day we headed into Charleston to walk down King Street -- we looked in the shops, ate at the Mellow Mushroom (amazing...), got some Starbucks and walked along the Harbor. It was a beautiful day to spend downtown.

Most nights we watched episodes of The Office -- i've only seen this show a couple of times, so I didn't know what I was missing out on! Our stomaches were sore after watching a few episodes!

Overall, its been an amazing time readjusting and getting back into a routine. It'll be hard to go back to work I think, but its so wonderful to know that i'll be going home each day. For those of you still overseas, you have much to look forward to when you get back, and I'm looking forward to your return!

America, oh how i've missed you...

I can officially say that tomorrow i'll be back in America. What a strange thought, to finally be going home. This has been quite an adventure - one that I know i'll tell my children about one day. I came to Iraq hoping for an opportunity, and I'm leaving with a lifetime full of memories. In my short 6 and half months, I have had the chance to travel throughout Iraq doing Public Affairs. Its been an honor to have seen this part of the world, and to have served side-by-side my fellow servicemembers. I couldn't ask for a better team and friends. I go back feeling as though i've learned so much in a short period of time, thanks entirely to the people that gave me this opportunity and taught me along the way. Depsite long days, stressfull challenges and the threats that come with being deployed - i wouldn't trade this for anything.

So, thank you Iraq, for being my home for this deployment - but mostly, thank you to the people that filled my days and made it feel like home and family. I go home with a full heart.

To those still there, I'll be praying for you until you come home. Look forward to seeing you on American soil!

Ships are the nearest thing to dreams that hands have ever made...

I'm in love with sailboats. I don't know where this is coming from -- but I came across a link to Charleston Harborfest, and I fell in love all over again with sailing. Unfortunately, this event has been postponed until 2011...but i'll be there next year! http://www.charlestonharborfest.org/

I have fond memories of going down to the docks in Hawaii to watch my dad sail. We would stay out until sunset watching the boats race, until one by one they all came in. A couple years later my dad bought a catamaran sailboat. We lived on the water in Hawaii, and we would take it out for hours at a time...each of the kids had a part in make the boat sail. This boat traveled with us overseas to Turkey as well, where we would take it out over vacation weeks. That boat carries a lot of memories.

There is something about a boat that requires nothing but wind and sails to make it go. And I love that.

When I was a teenager, my dad had my older brother and I take sailing lessons after school for several weeks straight. I remember spending hours practicing my knots (which, by the way, i've never been good at.) We had to learn what to do if our boat tipped over...which happened ALL the time. It was so scary at first, but then after awhile you could sort of feel when a big tip was coming, and you learned how to react. My biggest fear wasn't losing the boat, or drowning...it was always the fear of being eaten by shark. Still my biggest fear to this day. How pathetic is that? No number of sailing lessons can get me to overcome that fear :)

Maybe one day I'll buy a sailboat. Until then, I can dream...

...unconditional love comes with slobber and all.

My Nana sent me the book Marley and Me for Christmas this past year. I have dreaded reading it because I saw the movie and literally wept...and I hate, hate...hate crying. I try avoid it at all costs. But, and perhaps against better judgement, I picked the book up. Stuck in transit for 4 days has allowed me to read and sleep and amazing amount.

I know now why she wanted me to read it so badly. She has met my monsterous dog, Gus. And after babysitting him for a week, and having read this book, she knew he was a Marley in golden retriever get-up.

I've only read the first 5 chapters...but oh my goodness. Everything about this dog's puppy years reminds me of when we brought Gus home.

The first night, I just expected him to fall asleep in his crate, but he cried in this high-pitched yelping for hours, until we broke down and let him sleep in the bed...and of course he fell asleep in an instant. I continued putting him in his crate each night until I couldnt' take the crying anymore, and then he'd end up in bed with me, large drooly face in my face, and snoring... Eventually, I grew so exhausted from this routine that he just slept in bed with me, only to my horror I would wake up to him in my closet eating my shoes or ripping my socks apart.

Just like Marley, he would chew on my arm and wrist constantly to play...until the point that my brand new watch had teeth marks in it...I still wear this watch -- but its so torn up that i have a hair band holding it together.

As in the book, he would scarf his food down before I could even get the bowl on the ground. And then he'd lay at the pantry door and cry for more.

The energy that the author talks about with his dog is the same energy that I could never seem to wear out of Gus. I remember one night, after we had just walked for an hour, I was cleaning up dishes and putting them in the washer. Gus loved to lick the dishes as I put them in the washer, and sometimes I would find him standing on top of the open dishwasher door...but this night was different. I had just pulled a Glad container out of his mouth and was turning to wash it out again when I caught him pulling a large stake knife out of the washer, and before I could grab him he was racing around the house with the stake knife in his mouth...it was very Pirate's of the Caribbean-esc. After about 5 minutes of chasing him, I some how managed to pull the knife out of his mouth without either of us getting hurt.

This was a normal day for me and Gus -- but despite the sleepless nights, the chewed up shoes and the constant energy, there is something endearing about something that tirelessly begs of your affection, and will love you no matter what mood you are in. I think that's the point my Nana was trying to make...he is crazy, loud and energetic...but probably misunderstood. Behind all the slobber, he's doing it all for my attention.

Drooly face and all -- I love him. I guess there is something to be said about unconditional, messy love.