Jake is home!

He arrived home safely yesterday afternoon. Thanks for all of your prayers for him.

Mom's weekend in Savannah

My mom came to see me last weekend! We were talking on my way home from work Thursday and we discovered that we both had the next 5 days off work. She joked that is would be fun for her to come out if we could find a good air fare. So I looked when I got home and booked the ticket and hour later, and she we her 24 hours later! Thanks mom for being spontaneous. We went to the beach, the pool and went shopping. She also helped me around the house, thanks mom. It really helped pass the time while I am waiting for Jake to come home. He will be home in a little less than 2 weeks! Thanks you for all those who have been and are praying for him and us. We couldn't have done the last 15 months with out your prayers. God has been faithful.

One gnome mystery solved!

It was my friend Katrina that lives here in Savannah that placed the yard gnome on my front door step. Her husband is deployed with Jake and we go out to lunch every now and then. I mentioned that I sent one to Zoe and told her about the gnome hunting in college. She thought is was funny and saw the little gnome and bought it for me. It has been on my door step since March! She has keep it a secret since then. Today at lunch I told her I was doing a little yard work and she asked me if any strange little men have shown up? All I could say was, it was you! Mystery solved, except who sent Zoe and I the matching gnome shirts???

NASCAR...yes really NASCAR

Last weekend I went to a NASCAR race with my friend Sarah. It was so much fun. It was in Charlotte, North Carolina. We had an awesome connection with garage and pit passes. Part of the race we watched from a suite and the other part from the center of the track. The cars are so loud, and fly by very fast. My favorite part was being a few feet away from Jeff Gordon's pit stop! Those guys work fast to change the tires and add fuel. I took away a few lug nuts as a memento. Who knew that someday I would be a NASCAR fan?

My Grandma Joan's Wedding

My parents.
Grandma, Melissa and I after she caught the bouquet!
The Holtz's
Cousin Ryan with Auntie Cherie's tulips.
Annie and Jon's new addition Joseph.

Holly and I.

Grandma Joan
Cousin Tyler, Aunt Wendy, Cousin Ryan and Uncle Randy.
Grandma and Gary! My cousin Ryan.
Mom and I.

My grandma got married last week on Saturday. The wedding was beautiful and the couple is very happy. I was home and busy with family for a few days. To all that read my blog and live in Gresham I apologize for not seeing you. I had family in from Maine and California. We had a wonderful time being together. Also during my visit home my sister-in-law Annie had her third child, Joseph William!

Four Things

Four jobs I've had:
1) Baby Sitter
2) Real Estate Secretary
3) Nursing Skills Lab Assistant
4) Nurse

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1) Meet the Parents
2) Adventures in Baby Sitting
3) Juno
4) Devil Wears Prada

Four places I've lived:
1) Boring, Oregon
2) Corvallis, Oregon
3) Enterprise, Alabama
4) Pooler, Georgia

Four TV shows I watch:
1) American Idol
2) The Office
3) Criminal Minds
4) Lost

Four places I've been:
1) Booth Bay, Maine
2) Oahu, Hawaii
3) San Diego, California
4) Orlando, Florida

Four people who email me regularly (doesn’t include blogging comments):
1) Jake
2) Mom
3) Zoe
4) Grandma Joan

Four of my favorite foods:
1) Pad Thai
2) Mexican
3) Grilled Chicken
4) Ice Cream

Four places I would like to visit:
1) Virgin Islands
2) London
3) Greece
4) Hawaii (again)

Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:
1) JAKE COMING HOME FROM IRAQ!!!
2) Long Vacation with Jake
3) Going home for Christmas
4) Spending time with Jake

Four friends I'm tagging:
1) Jake
2) RaeAnn
3) Holly
4) Laura

Visiting with Andrea in Charleston and Savannah

My friend from nursing school came out this way on vacation. She came to Charleston first because her boyfriend has a conference there. So on Sunday I went and spent the day with her touring Charleston. We went to brunch, took a boat to Fort Sumner, and went shopping. Monday night they came down to Savannah. We went to dinner on River Street then they spent the night at my house. Tuesday we got up and went to Savannah and had lunch and I showed them around downtown. It was a lot of fun.

Mystery Gnome

So this friendly creature showed up on my front door a couple of weeks ago. Who sent it?! I have no idea who it is from. If anyone out there has a clue let me know. My sister thought I did it and I thought she did it, then I blamed Zoe and she said she didn't put it there either. What a funny mystery. I hope some day I find out who came to Pooler, Georgia and placed this lovely specimen on my front step.

Julie and Disney World

Julie came out to visit last week. I showed her around Savannah for a couple of days then we went to Orlando. We visited Disney World's Animal Kingdom and Epcot. She is a wonderful friend and I was thankful for the time we were able to spend together.

Spring in Savannah

These photo's are from Forsyth Park in down town Savannah (kinda the Central Park of Savannah.) The sun is out and it is so nice here. For all you Oregonian's hang in there the sun will come out soon for you, and it will be too hot to go outside here in a couple months.

Jake picked one of these flowers for me last spring.

Jake's trip home!

At the airport when he first arrived! Can you tell by my smile I was happy?
Downtown Savannah on River Street.
Pioner Square downtown Portland.
Jake's birthday cake with his nephew Jonathan.
Jake and Ally at our neighborhood park.

Jake came home for 18 wonderful days at the begining of the month. We had a great time and it reminded me of how God has blessed me with a wonderful husband. The time together came and went quickly but we enjoyed downtown Savannah, time with family in Oregon, downtown Portland for one night, celebrated Jake's birthday, being home, and working on projects at home. Jake is truely my "family handy man" he replaced our kitchen faucet, fixed a toilet, fixed the counter top, and cleaned up the garage. I am so thankful for him.

New Year's trip to Oregon

While I was in Oregon I went sledding, snowmobiling and spent a lot of time with Jake's family and my family. It was nice and relaxing.