Ice Ice Baby

Jake and I were longing to be in Minnesota when they were blanketed in snow, but the drive was a little too far to make, so we decided to hit up the ice rinks here to get a little dose of cold.  :)

Notice the lack of people in the background?  It is soo much nicer to go during the week when there is not a crowd.  We need all the room we can get to show off our skills ;)

Jake perfecting the backwards skate.  We were also working on our "crossovers" and "hockey stops."

At the Columbus Cottonmouths hockey game.  Our friends Joe, Emily, and Taylor also joined us to learn some fancy footwork from the skaters in the Southern Professional Hockey League. 

ABOLC Graduation

Jake graduated from Armor Basic Officer Leaders Course yesterday! This is such a great accomplishment as he is now ready to take on his own platoon at Fort Carson in CO.

I must brag on my hubby a little and say that he not only graduated, but made the Commandant's list (I didn't know this til I saw it in the program, and was so proud of him!) I keep telling him it's okay to brag to ME! I'm his wife. This means he graduated in the top 20% of the class. 

Jake had a few classmates who also had wives! YAY for me! This was a great/easy way to make friends.  This is me with Emily (brown hair) and Lizzy (blonde hair).

After graduation we stepped outside because Jake SOOO badly wanted more picture taken of him ;)

Then we drove to check out, and Jake was done for the day! Woohoo!  We went to the dog park as usual, and then celebrated with Mexican food, margaritas, and Jake's favorite, brownies smothered in frosting. 

Now Jake works around post for the next couple weeks, then starts Army Reconnaissance Course (ARC) in the middle of March.  That lasts about a month, then off to Colorado we go!

"Army Strong"

I am excited to tell you about this new bible study I am in that one of my friends here is leading.  Our first meeting was on Tuesday, and it was so honest, encouraging, and insightful.  I am excited to go back again next week!

We talked about how army wives tend to become a little hardened as we "roll with the punches."  I cannot tell you how many times I've heard the sayings: "yeah...welcome to the army," "soldier on," "you were given this life because you are strong enough to live it," and "army strong." We start to take pride in being able to handle everything on our own and don't ask for help from anyone, including the greatest Counselor and Savior.

Thinking about this got this old hymn stuck in my head.  I so enjoy this rendition by Bart Millard.

I am trying to remind myself that Jesus delights in being my friend and helping me.  He wants me to depend on Him, so I do not need to be prideful and say, "don't worry, God, I got this."  Ever notice that usually after someone says they "got this under control" something terrible happens?  In our house it usually means there is about to be a huge mess in the kitchen, haha! 
Just a little reminder, for you and me, that we don't have to do life alone. :)

Copycat

williams sonoma peppermint bark

I love finding foods Jake loves and trying to replicate them at home.  So far I have made Red Lobster's Bay Biscuits and those puffy frosting-buried sugar cookies you can buy at WalMart and Target.

Both my copycat recipes turned out well, so when Jake started raving about the peppermint bark that Williams Sonoma sells for $30 a tin around the holiday season, I knew I needed experiment with making a homemade version.

I googled it, and of course someone had already created a recipe, so I used theirs!

my homemade peppermint bark

I think it turned out very well.  Delicious and so pretty.  Now all I need is an adorable tin with a cute dalmatian on the side! :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

After being in Minnesota for only a short teaser of a weekend for Thanksgiving, Jake and I have Christmas break on the mind. Then we will be in Minnesota for two whole weeks! 

Don't get me wrong, we love our life here in Alabama and it felt great to get back to our apartment and our pup, we are just always looking forward to the next time we get to see our friends and family back home. 

Without snow, we needed some Christmas decorations to help us get into the holiday spirit.  With lights and tinsel strung on the porch, the nativity scene displayed on a night stand, and Gumby-Santa hanging from a cabinet, we are ready for December!

colored lights and tinsel

please excuse the fallen king, eda evidently has a problem with him

gumby santa

Happy Veterans Day!

Sending out a huge thank you to all the servicemen and women.

Oh how I love you, soldier.
I couldn't be more proud.
Xoxo

Pumpkin Carving

Jake, Eda and I carved pumpkins this week and we are very proud of how they turned out. 

  Eda is by far the most proud....

Splish Splash

While Jake was at work today Eda and I took a little ride down to the Chattahoochee River.

Eda was thrilled.

Jumping fish.

Fisherman.

Squirrels.

Water.

Sticks.

Rocks.

Bugs.

Eda loved them all. 

It is a beautiful river with nice clay banks.  

Eda had a blast and took a long hard nap when we got home.  

Total sensory overload for this pup. 

Getting to know her

Here are some things we are learning about our four-legged fur baby:

She is still a puppy.  As much as she looks like a grown lady, she throws temper tantrums, tests our rules and authority, and needs a lot of attention.

Eda gets so so so excited to see Jake when he gets home from work.  She wants his undivided attention and gets a tad jealous when we hug.  Sometimes she 'talks' to us about it, and sometimes she just tries to squeeze in.

Eda and Jake play a little tug-of-war.

She is afraid of the dock.  She likes water, and wants to go in the lake by our apartment, but she is absolutetly petrified of being on the dock.  When we walk near it, she puts on the brakes.  We've tried everything to lure her onto it, even treats.  Nope.  She has made up her mind that the dock is NOT somewhere she will go. We aren't yet sure if it the idea of being suspended above water or the gaps between the wood planks that she doesn't like.  I guess we will find out when we get her on a deck or in a boat.

As I told you in my previous post, she loves, loves, loves, toys that squeek.  The closer she can get to your face while she squeeks them, the better.

This is her favorite toy.  It has lost lots of stuffing and one of it's squeakers, even though i reinforced the stitches.

She loves tummy rubs.  Sometimes, the only way to calm her down is to flip her over and rub her tummy.  It puts her in a total tonic state.

She likes to hide things under the couches.  When she cannot reach them, she puts her paw on us and looks at us like, "help?"  The broom has been used more as toy-reacher lately than it has been for sweeping.

Speaking of sweeping, Eda sheds a TON. The broom isn't great at gathering up all that light, fluffy hair, so our new vacuum that we got as a shower gift from Jake's grandma has never been used more.  It is a lifesaver as it works great to pick up all the hair, even off the wood floor.

If the door to our room is open, Eda can be found laying at the foot of our bed.  Not sure if she just loves laying on the carpet, or the idea that it is special treat to be welcomed in.

Eda is a bug eater.  Gross.

Eda's favorite treats are peanut butter and pepperoni.  Jake said I better be careful not to make her overweight.  But who can deny special treats to a pleading pup with beautiful blue eyes?

She talks and "runs" as she sleeps. I like to tease that she has restless leg syndrome like Jake. 

She loves to chase and to be chased.  Our entire apartment (excluding our bedroom) is hardwood floor, making this game quite the slippery scene, usually resulting is hysterical laughter from Jake and I.

She has brought us so much happiness, and we hope we have done the same for her.  :)

Eda

 We have added another love to our lives.  Eda is our newly adopted 8 month old Siberian Husky.  She is very friendly with other canines and people, sweet and cuddly, hilarious, and a bit sassy. She loves to "give kisses," sit, and come on command (unless there are other intriguing distractions, which there often are). She is extremely toy motivated, so we usually hand her a toy for a reward (saves money on treats, right?!) Oh, and the squeakier/ more annoying the toy is, the more she LOVES it.  Right now she weighs 45 pounds and we don't expect her to grow much more.

A few days after we adopted Eda, we noticed a wound on her abdomen and immediately brought her to the vet.  They were great with her, and scheduled surgery for the next day to make sure there were not left over sutures from being spayed causing infection.  When I dropped her off for her procedure, she was happy as could be.  She loves meeting people and greeting animals whether they would like to meet her or not. When I picked her up later that day, she was a different dog.  The incision was still painful, she had an uncomfortable drain tube sticking out of her wound, and the cone she had to wear on her head embarrassed and annoyed her.  The nurse flipped Eda over to show me her incision, and Eda cried out.  Then I cried.  I said, "Oh my, this is tougher than I thought.  What will I do when I have a baby!?" The nurse laughed at me and told me I would have to be strong, and that really Eda is quite the drama queen.  This cheered me up because it is sooo true.  In this short week we have had her we have found that, in Jake's words, "Eda is very expressive."

Eda is doing very well now, just a little "sassy" from being kept in the apartment all day and only taken out to do her business.  She gets her drain tube out tomorrow.  I'll have to put on my big girl panties and be tough.  She will still have to wear her "pretty necklace" (cone) and relax for another 7 days until she gets her stitches out. It is not the easiest to keep an active dog from being active, but it will pay off when we have a healthy, happy pup.  We tell her that we know it's hard, we know she's bored, we will make up for it when she is healed.  She understands.  She is one smart girly.