My grown-up Christmas list

I made a list for Russ of what I want for Christmas.  This is what it consists of:

-a rolling pin
-Christmas themed cookie cutters
-a good haircut
-a nice pair of work shoes
-pony tail holders
-flower hair clips


One of my mission companions once said that you know you're a grown-up when you start asking for what you need as gifts instead of what you want.  I guess I don't really need Christmas themed cookie cutters or flower hair clips, but I had to chuckle that I have a haircut on my list.

After I showed Russ my list he told me his:

-children in our home
-a wife who's not so tired
-a better job

Melt my heart.  I married such a wonderful guy.  Here all my wishes were material things and he wishes only for the betterment of his family.  #1 will hopefully happen within the next few months as we pursue foster care.  #2 probably won't happen until I don't have to work anymore, but I'll sure make an effort to try and have more energy since it means so much to him.  #3 we are always hoping and praying for and with an upcoming job interview one can only hope for the best!  Maybe all our Christmas wishes will actually come true!

Good things to come.

What a busy fall this has been for us!  Here's a little bit of what's been going on:

In September we attended a 3 hour orientation meeting.
In October we completed a 27 hour training course.
Also in October we completed a First Aid/CPR course.

Any ideas yet on what's happening?  I'll keep going...

In November we will be filling out a lot of paperwork.   We will also be very busy cleaning and organizing our second bedroom and putting all the things in there that we don't need into storage.  We will be purchasing outlet covers, untangling the cords on the blinds, locking up all our vitamins and medicine, and placing all cleaning supplies safely out-of-reach.

After all that we will have a special visit from a WA State employee.  Of course before that visit we still have to purchase two fire-escape ladders, age-appropriate toys for ages 0-17, a water proof mattress cover, and a crib that converts into a toddler bed complete with bedding.  

Have you figured it out yet?

We're going to be foster parents!!!!  We have decided to do foster to adopt knowing that the majority of the children that come into our home will not be able to be adopted, but will return to their birth families. We will be open to inviting children of all ages into our home (hence the twin sized bed plus the crib that converts into a toddler bed) but we feel that the best fit for us at this time would be elementary school-aged kids (6-11, give or take a couple of years!)

Can you see how excited we are?  A little nervous, a little apprehensive, but a LOT excited.  We have both been waiting a long time for this!

I'm not even going to try to name this one

Sometimes I write a poem and then at a later date I write a poem in response to the first one. This was one of those cases. Poem I was written about three months before I even knew Russ existed. Poem II was written about 3 weeks after we "unofficially" got engaged.

Poem I --written 2-3-08

This old and withered flower with

faded petals falling beneath the

brush wonders if she

will ever produce seed to

bring her joy.

Poem II--written 8-31-08

Silly flower,

don't you know?

Wilting must occur

before new seeds can grow.

Its funny how when things are going well in our lives our perspective changes so drastically. The other day I was speaking with and old friend on the phone. She referred to a school trip (Pack Trials) we made to California just a few weeks before my graduation.

"Do you remember," she said "how on Pack Trials you thought you were never going to get married and you were scared about finding a job? And then you found a job right away and got married within 6 months."

She has such a valid point. This is so typical of me. I'm trying hard not to worry about the things that frighten me sometimes. And I feel really good about where we are right now. I wish we could just stop where we are and freeze time for awhile. Things are really good. I know that things are not perfect, but it feels so good to come out of where we were-I'm just basking in what we have right now and I don't want anything to change. I just want to stop here, with us at 29 and 34. I want to stop here, with this perfect late-summer weather. I want to stop here, with me working as an Assistant Grower in my field and doing something I enjoy, working with people I love. I want to stop here, living close to family and going on day-outings with our parents and feeling like a complete family for the first time since I-don't-know-when. I just want to stop here, with us living in this fun new apartment that is just the right size with a beautiful landscape and a trail in our backyard laced with delicious wild blackberries. I just want to stop here, anticipating the arrival of my cousin and his lovely wife and 3 little kids who will soon be moving nearby. I don't want to wait and see what things will come, whether good or bad, I am too fearful of that. I just want to stop here and stay for awhile, where things are not perfect, but good.

What to call this? Family history? Adventure mishaps? Or the feeling of home?

Russ and I have had so much fun these past two weekends! We normally work at the temple Saturday mornings, but since the temple was closed for cleaning we got to have a mini-vacation.

The weekend before last we had this great plan to visit the San Juan Islands. We can see these islands from the bay that borders our town, but Russ had never been. Since my parents only live about 30 minutes away from the ferry dock we decided to spend the night at their house on Friday, and then head to the ferry from there. Well, turns out that the Navy base was having an open house with airplanes on display celebrating 100 years of Naval Aviation. My dad invited us to go with him. I figured that would be fun and if we only spent about an hour or so at the Airplane Show (as I call it) we would still have plenty of time to go to the San Juan Islands.

On Saturday morning my dad cooked us breakfast. Have I ever mentioned that I have the best dad ever? We were a little late leaving for the

Airplane Show, but we still had plenty of time to go to both she show and the San Juan Islands.

The first thing we saw at the show were these cars.

Russ said "Wow, look at all those Dorloreans!"

I said "They look like the car on 'Back to the Future" (this is a typical Annajean comment, I am so pop-culturally illiterate that its not even funny!)

Russ and my dad then explained to me that the car they used on 'Back to the Future' WAS a Dolorean. Ooops.

As we continued on we saw some information about the plane my cousin will be flying when he gets his wings in just a few months.

We are so excited from him! Even more exciting is that he already has his orders to NAS Whidbey!!!! Not only will he be a 3rd generation Naval Officer but he will be the third generation Naval Officer to work at NAS Whidbey. We were bragging about him to everybody who cared, and being on a Navy Base EVERYBODY cared! It was so nice to have so many people share in our excitement! I LOVE that I grew up in a Navy town!

After that my dad spotted two of the planes his father flew in the Navy.

This one he trained in;

and this one he flew.

My dad also spotted the plane that he flew in the Navy, except it was the Marine version and painted a different color.

Here is a model we found later of the plane my dad flew with the right color and markings.

I had a plan that if we just circled around the airplanes and not doing anything else then we would still have time to visit the San Juan Islands. My eye kept drawing itself to a hanger though and I felt the urge to go in and look around just that hanger, but I didn't want to diverge from my plan.

Then my mom and Russ had to use the restroom, and the restrooms were right next to that hanger. So we went into the hanger, and I figured that would be okay since the other side came out near the entrance to the Airplane Show. As we entered the first thing we saw were a collection of quilts on display. I suddenly remembered something. Several months ago my Aunt Gina entered a quilting competition to commemorate Naval Service, and her quilt won 2nd place! It features photos of the three generations of Navy Aviators in our family; my grandfather, my father, and my cousin, and it is on tour throughout the country.

Upon remembering this I wondered if it would be there, and as soon as I glanced around I spotted it immediately! I announced to my family its presence and my dad (who is very quiet, shy, and soft spoken-until you start talking about politics that is) promptly turned a deep shade of red. After learning that the quilt had won 2nd place and would be on tour throughout the country my dads exact words were "I don't know about this, now my picture is going to be on tour throughout the country." And here it was practically in his own backyard! Even better yet, here it was a short walk from the building he goes to work in every day!

At this moment I knew we would NOT be going to the San Juan Islands that day. And I was completely okay with that.

As if all this wasn't enough, a reporter from the Whidbey Crosswinds was impressed by the presence of my dad with his picture on the quilt that featured 3 generations of Aviators, ALL of whom either had been or would be at NAS Whidbey and decided to include his story in an article she was writing about the quilts. Imagine how red my dad turned after that! I say this: Too bad dad, you deserve your moment of fame!

Here is the article if you would like to see it.

It was a great day. But that isn't even the end! After viewing the quilts my mom asked if I had ever seen my grandfather's name on a memorial in downtown Oak Harbor. This is a memorial that was constructed fairly recently and I had not seen it. My parents hadn't seen it either so we decided to go take a look.

It was such a humbling experience. We were standing in a park that I had spent time at before it was even a park. In front of blackberry bushes that I had grazed off of years before, staring down at my grandfather's name that was there because he had been in this town over 40 years before I was even born, before he even met my grandmother, across the street from the College I had attended for over a year, and no more than a mile and a half from my parent's home. My entire life I had felt unsure about calling Oak Harbor home. I was not born there. My parents were not born there. It always felt like home, but I never felt like I had any deep roots there. But then suddenly I realized that I DO have roots there. My grandfather will now have five members and three generations of his posterity living in the vicinity. I wonder if that ever crossed his mind back in 1945 when he stood upon those soils. And now I really can feel like this IS my home.

Even better yet, this park is walking distance from most of the Navy housing. There is a good chance that my cousin, his wife, and their three young children will live walking distance from this park. I am so excited for my cousin's kids, my grandfather's great-grandchildren, to come to this park and see the name of their ancestor. And after all-isn't that what life is really all about? (Malachi 4:6)

Oh, and P.S. We DID get to go to the San Juan Islands the next weekend. More about that next time!

Since May...really?

I can't believe I haven't posted since May. A lot has happened. I'll have to give the details later, but here are just a few hightlights:

1. We moved (not far, just to the next town over)

2. I worked my first 59 hour work week in my life (yup, the same week that I moved!) and actually survived...okay, there were a lot of tears involved, but I survived.

3. We got a new (to us) car. You do crazy things out of desperation. In the past three years my car has left me stranded on the side of the road three times and almost stranded two times. I currently drive 60 miles every day to get to work and back and every day I was getting nervous. Definitely more about this purchase later!

4. We went on an outing with my parents and saw a fun surprise! I can't give any details about this without spoiling it. You will just have to wait as this merits its own post.

5. Russ got to see the San Juan Islands for the first time. After a year and a half of not being able to take any trips whatsoever we are having more than our fair share of fun! Pictures to come!

My Anniversary Week

One week from today is my anniversary. To commemorate I've decided to give my husband the 7 days of LOVE. Every day he will have an envelope to open and inside will be either a quote or an act of service. He doesn't know yet so I'm so excited for him to find his envelope waiting for him in the morning. Here is one of the quotes I found in my search:

"My heart to you is given: Oh, do give yours to me; We'll lock them up together, And throw away the key." -Frederick Saunders

Also here are some pictures from our wedding two years ago:

The Family: A Proclamation to the world.

Even though there are only "two of us for now" we are still a family and I wanted to participate in this photo essay blog hop on The Proclamation to the family.

Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God ...

All human beings-male and female-are created in the image of God.

Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.

Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.

If you would like to read the entire proclamation you may do so here.

My husband thinks he's so funny!

ME: I love Tchaikovsky's music. It's some of the best ever!

HUSBAND: Yeah. Wasn't he on Star Track too?

ME: Puzzled and confused stare.

HUSBAND: Yeah, he was like a pilot or something.

ME: Puzzled and confused stare.

HUSBAND: (With a hint of sarcasm) Oh yeah, that was TUVOC!

Pumpkin carving

My husband and I at last had the chance to spend a much-needed day together. At first I wasn't sure sure how my sweetie would feel about pumpkin carving for the first time in many years but it turns out that we both had a great time. Now my next task is to bake the seeds we saved!

Can you guess who carved witch pumpkin?

Ode to parents

Why is it that the older I get the more I get choked up with emotion every time I think if my parents.  Gee, views on life sure do change a lot between ages 16 and 26.  I'm so glad they're still around, so many people aren't so fortunate.  I think the hardest thing about my wedding day was the feeling that I was abandoning my parents.  I guess that after all those growing-up years filled with feelings of misunderstanding, disentitlement, frustration, embarasment and all other feelings kids have growing up, it all worked out in the end after all.  Turns out they're some of my favorite peeps in the whole wide world!