September Snapshots

It's looking like a nap is out of the question for both Joey and me, since we are having a new dishwasher installed, so I thought I'd jump on here for a bit.

A touch of fall for my mantel. I aim for cozy minimalism.

It's official -- Tim is retiring.

I think it will be good for all of us eventually, but right now it feels very strange and unsettling. We look at real estate listings every day in Tim's parents' town, and we spend about 90 percent of the time sighing about how slim the pickings are; and the other 10 percent obsessing about the perfect house that pops up on the market when it's still too early to put in an offer. We see it come, we click through the slideshow again and again, have his parents walk through it, talk about it some more, watch it get snapped up by someone else, and there it goes... It can be a little maddening. Just for fun, last night Tim showed me this gem that was built in 1972 and remains completely unchanged since that year. Why do the crappy little houses have the best backyards? Because they got there first, and they staked out the best spots. Now people are crowding big, new houses in wherever they will fit. That's my theory. In a few months we will get a realtor, and they are going to love us and our wishlist.

In the meantime, I am just savoring these last months of normalcy before life turns upside down again. It's a recurring theme in my life, I know, but there's something different about this time. I'm really struggling with it, to be honest. I have made myself too much at home here. I love my surroundings and I love the familiarity of it all. I know that ultimately, staying here is not what's best for our family; we'll all be happier closer to extended family. I also know that change would be on the horizon, even if Tim weren't retiring. We'd be getting orders this summer, so staying put would not be an option. It just feels like there's a stubborn little kid who lives inside me who can't accept this. So I try not to think about it, and then Tim gets annoyed at me for not wanting to talk about it because it's all he can think about. Can't I live in denial for a little while longer? Can I just read a book and ignore reality? 😂 Keep me in your prayers.

The kids are settled into school, with only the minor disruption of Hurricane Dorian. Delaney's in 7th grade, Annie's in 5th and Timmy's in 3rd. Joey's doing Tuesday and Thursday morning preschool again. 

Joey has a lot to say when we pick him up from school. Tim picked him up the first day. He's had some leave to burn this month, so he gets to do nice things like that. He told me that Joey told him that Charlotte was the snack helper. Tim then asked him if she was his friend and he said, "No, I don't like girls." Tim reminded him that his sisters are girls, to which he replied, "But she was hugging me and I didn't want her to!"

That's all I have to say for now. I think of stuff to blog about all the time, but when I sit down to do it, the words won't come. The dishwasher installer left a little bit ago, so I'll see what I can get done around the house before the kids come home. I'll leave you with some random snapshots of every day life. Have a great weekend, everyone.

A December to Remember

We didn't do any traveling, but I feel like this was our busiest December yet. 

1. We hosted a Christmas party for Tim's officers and their families, and it was a success! This was something I found daunting, as my hostessing skills are kind of untried, to tell the truth. It didn't help that for months, Tim would keep reminding me it was coming up and I'd better be making lists..🙄Well, it came together beautifully. I had souvenir ornaments made for everyone as a parting gift, and I tried to up my game when it came to decorating. Tim put those meatballs that Annie and I had worked so hard on, into a big pot, along with sausage, to simmer all day in his delicious sauce. We put on some Christmas music, and right before everyone was due to start arriving, I had a glass of wine, which did wonders for my nerves.

When I stopped to think about what we're trying to accomplish when we invite everyone to our home for a Christmas party -- to make everyone feel welcome and at home, for us to get to know each other, to celebrate the season -- it became pretty simple. Then there's the fact that Tim has been throwing his heart and soul into leading this battalion, and I want to be able to support him in that. When I thought about that, I stopped trying to get everything perfect, and stressing because I couldn't. 

We'll definitely do this again next year.

2. A few days later, Tim's parents flew into town and we got glammed up and went to the Ball in Greenville, NC. We stayed overnight, what a luxury. We had a great time.

3. We watched Delaney play clarinet in her first band concert. Unfortunately, we were too far away to take a good picture.

Later, Tim emailed her this:

Hi Delaney!

I know I said this last night but your mother and I are SO-SO-SO very proud of you!! You did such an amazing job at your concert. We watched you over the last couple months work so hard at learning how to play and it was so great to see. I know I give you a hard time about not picking up your room or making your bed, but you are a great kid growing into such an amazing person.

Keep up your hard work, and keep being YOU!!

Love,

Daddy and Mama

4. We celebrated the third birthday of a very special little boy. Joseph Daniel, we love you so.

5. We made Italian Christmas cookies -- a half batch one day; and when we realized that wouldn't be enough, another half batch the next.

6. Joey had his first preschool Christmas program (there are no good pictures of him gaggling around with the other two- and three-year-olds and not singing). The highlight turned out to be when Ms. Susan called Delaney onstage with other alumni of that preschool, to sing a song. Imagine her delight!

7. The boys got horrible haircuts again. After Tim brought Timmy home again, looking like Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber, I ranted and raved. I said, "Please make it stop! I'd rather see a messy mop on their heads than to see them get HACKED again and again. There's nothing worse than seeing handsome boys with bad haircuts. Next time give me the $10, and I'll light it on fire! Just buzz him, I'm serious. Buzz him!" At least the bad haircuts our mothers gave us were free. Why is it so impossible to get these boys a decent haircut? The barbers around here are plentiful, but really only know how to do one kind of haircut, and they're guaranteed lots of business. Tim doesn't want them to look like little Marines, but I'd like that a whole lot better than this! (I can't seem to find a picture of Joey's hair.)

8. We had a peaceful and happy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, just us.

Aunt Jayne's Rice Krispy wreath arrived while we were at Mass. Impeccable timing!

Joey put the star on the Jesse Tree on Christmas morning. Happy birthday to Jesus!

Joey's biggest present was a hit with everyone.

Mom and Grace gave Tim this world map that has hearts on Cincinnati, Grafton, MA, New Bern, NC and Parris Island, SC. There are pins for all the other places that he or we have gone.

Christmas morning: a whirlwind of activity and me collecting trash.

Tim and the kids were Skyping with Tim Sr. and Carolyn later in the morning, and I was walking around the house trying to clean up, when I heard them discussing boxes they'd sent, and presents that the kids should have gotten. I was like, "Wait a minute.." and I dashed off to our bathroom closet, where two boxes of their presents were still sitting there! Oops, haha. I'm pretty sure I assured them both before they left that I would remember to get out all the presents. Well, I did, eventually. Among them was the most lovely surprise -- this Willow Tree nativity! I love it. I've been wanting one of these for awhile. I kept trying to take the perfect picture of it.

I'm not sure which of Delaney's presents is HER favorite, but I can tell you which one of hers is my favorite, and that's this bean bag chair. Inside it are all her stuffed animals, and now she's got a comfy place to read her Warriors books.

Annie put together this 'knot-a-quilt' in record time. She said it was easier than other ones she's tried, because of slits that were cut into the fringes.

Willow is six months old. Still kind of crazy, but very sweet when she's tired.

There's so much more I could say, and so many more pictures I could include. I should do this more often. I love going back through the old posts and counting my many blessings.

Change of Command

Last summer we celebrated Tim's promotion to lieutenant colonel; and last week, a change of command ceremony marked the beginning of the culmination of his career, everything he's been working toward all along: the opportunity to lead Marines as their Commanding Officer. This was also the 'beginning of the end' because two years from now, once he turns the battalion over to his successor, he will be retiring after what will by then be 26 years in the Marine Corps. We're going to settle down, buy our forever home, and let our kids experience what it's like to not be moving every few years or less. (That doesn't even feel real to me right now.) I'm always making references to how fast time is flying, or is going to fly, and that's because when you keep breaking down life into chunks as small as two, three years, or even seven months, they just go so quickly. These two years of command will go faster than anything before that because they'll be super busy, and we'll also be figuring out the next chapter.

His parents came down, and my mom, dad and sister Grace came from Topsail to attend the ceremony. Knowing how seldom it is that we can get all these individuals in a frame together (last time was in Quantico for Annie's baptism), I hired a photographer. Megan of A Beautiful Moment Photography did a wonderful job of capturing the memories.