Apartment!

While I was in Alabama waiting for everything to go through so I could get out here, my amazing husband was busy trying to juggle school, paperwork, and finding a place for us to live. I have to commend him for his work...because I LOVE the apartment! Its about ten minutes away from Monterey, which is where the beach and Josh's base is.

We're still waiting on all of our furniture to come in. It was picked up TODAY from Josh's parents house and is now on its way! So, we've been making do with air mattresses and plastic ware.

When you walk in the front door and look to your right, there is the living room...

I can't wait to decorate once it has furniture in it...oh, and I can't wait for Josh's filing cabinet which is where all those lovely papers will live...

Then when you're standing IN the living room, this is the view of the kitchen:

I LOVE the kitchen...it has a lot of counter space which you don't normally find in apartments! Notice Josh's handiman work...he hung the F up. I had gotten that as a wedding present from a friend at church. Josh insisted we put it in the kitchen because the F stands for food....such a kid.

Here is another view from in the kitchen:

I do have a dishwasher...I'm just handwashing them because everytime I go to the store I forget to get dishwashing soap!

From the living room down the hall:

The first door to the left is Anistyn's bathroom:

And to the right is her room...and yes, she was currently sleeping in her bed when I took this picture!

Then straight down the hallway is mine and Josh's room. Pretty sad right now, but once we get the furniture it will look better!

There is a cute little balcony out from our room too. There's one in Anistyn's room as well.
Here is our bathroom looking in from the bedroom:

And the inside of the bathroom..with a wedding frame in it. That is NOT me in the picture frame...ha.

And thats it! I will have to post more pictures once it has furniture in it!

Yay for Internet!!!

Its been awhile since I last posted and I have a LOT to update everyone on! I'll probably need to spread it out into a few blogs...so I will apologize ahead of time! We've just now got out internet and I've been dying to share everything! The short version is that I am now in Cali with my darling little family and loving every minute of it! But...who likes the short version anyways...


So, I'll start with the trip.

My mom, Ani and I left Alabama at 2 in the morning on Oct. 28th. We had an amazing trip! We thought we would eventually get those "AAAHHHH!!!! Are we there yet???" feelings, but we really were having too much fun to notice the rediculously long drive.


After going through Mississippi, we had to drive straight through Oklahoma. Which, in case you were wondering...is about the most boring state. Nothing exciting going on there...so of course we got excited when we made it to Oklahoma City and saw a little bit of life there...





Once we made it into Texas....






The scenery started looking up. At one point there were a lot of gorgeous fields...




And out in the middle of it was this enormous cross


We stopped in Amarillo, Texas the first night. We had enough time to eat and unwind before bed. In Amarillo they have this restaurant that serves 72 ounce steaks...they have a webcam where you can watch people try to eat the huge steaks at anytime. We didn't eat there, but we did stop and snap a few pics:






After a good night's rest we were up again and made it into New Mexico the next morning.

(It was still dark...but you can make out the sign...I hope!)

New Mexico is by far the most surprising state. When I pictured it, all I thought of was desert. I was very much mistaken. Every turn we took, I was taken aback by all of gorgeous scenery. Its amazing to see what God has created! He's an amazing artist! When you first enter, there are flat fields and in the distance there are these breathtaking mountains with snow on top:

We stopped in Albuquerque to eat breakfast with my Uncle Dominic and cousin Kirsten. My uncle is retired from the Air Force (although he still works there on base) and was stationed in New Mexico many years ago. Now they've just stayed...and for obvious reasons! The scenery!

From there we kept driving, running into the historic route 66...which my mother swears she didn't think was "real"....too funny.


Seeing more beautiful scenery...


Then we ran into snow! We also passed an indian reservation and stopped so we could have a little fun in the snow.





Then we made it into Arizona...



And we drove straight through before making it to Bullhead City, CA. I was so excited to actually be in the same time zone as Josh! The next morning we got up and started on the last leg of our trip.

Here's where Anistyn made us stop, pull over, and take a picture of a cactus. Although it really didn't look like a cactus to me...but it satisfied her...



My little indian did amazing on the trip thanks to coloring books that friends had given her, her little leapster game, and a big thanks to Aunt Bethany and Uncle Andy for the dvd player!

Mimi bought her this little getup at the indian reservation...



I never knew California was so full of mountains and hills! I guess this would explain the "Hollywood Hills"...yes...I am hitting myself now for not putting two and two together...

But they were beautiful!






Then FINALLY we made it!!!!






Anistyn and I were SO HAPPY to finally be with Josh!!!


And now my little family is together and starting our life together! There's much more to come!

Hitting the road!

Well everything is packed and I'm ready to hit the road in the morning. I should be in bed...but I'm just too excited! I'll have plenty of time to sleep on the road anyways. I'll have plenty of time to talk on the road so expect phone calls and feel free to call. Thank you to everyone who has helped out or been there for me! I love everyone and I can't wait to show you all pictures of the trip and of the new apartment!

Pictures!

Here are some pictures from the gift card party yesterday. My Aunt Debbie is amazing with a camera!



My precious daughter...


Me and my princess





I love that smile!!!



Lamb cousins-Samantha, my sister Tia, Miles, Ani, me, Rachel and her baby Rhett. This is only a small handful out of all 35 or so of us!




Me and my little brother and sister....missing our big sister Tiffany...








Such a model...


Me and my baby sis...


Goofy sibs...


I love this picture of her!

What a weekend...

WOW, I had a crazy busy weekend! Now that we are less than week away from getting to California (yay!) we had a lot to do!

Friday I said good-bye to Mama Barbara and headed to Anniston, Alabama to get my military liscense. Once that was done, I drove home and packed up all of mine and Anistyn's belonging. I stayed up very late getting everything together because I had to pack some things that the movers will bring, and some things I need to bring myself in case the movers don't come for awhile.

Saturday morning Josh's parents came to Birmingham to pick up Anistyn's bed and dresser. I loaded boxes in the blazer to take to they're house and headed to Rome for the night. We had to sort through ALL of Josh's stuff...and let me just say...my sweet husband is a PACK RAT! Needless to say, we can't take a lot of it since we'll only be gone 6 months. But we DO have a lot of furniture and for the most part we're all set! Dane, Ellen, and I went out to eat at a mexican restaurant and then worked until 11pm getting everything situated...we now have 5 piles of things and had to put blue tape on everything that is going.

I got up early on Sunday morning and headed back to Birmingham for church. I had wanted to say my good-byes to my church family. They are all so sweet and have been there for me a lot the past few years. There were a lot of tears and hugs, but everyone is extremely happy for me.

Then I headed over to my aunt's house where my family met up to throw me a "gift card" party. A great idea from my Aunt Debbie! We of course had a photography session (its bound to happen if Debbie is around!) and ate great food.

I will post some pictures when my aunt gives me the ones she took...but until then here is one of me and my aunt Tammy at the gift card party...



And I had to post this picture! Its Tammy and her son Kade, along with my cousin Rachel and her precious baby boy Rhett!



Now I am exhausted!!! Now all thats left to do is pack up the blazer with everything we're taking...and head out early Wednesday morning!! I can't wait!

Memory Lane

The past few days for me have been great. Aside from the fact that I am DAYS away from seeing Josh, my wonderful grandmother came to visit me for a few days before I left. With her, she brought a ton of pictures from the past and we've had a great time looking at old photos and talking about anything and everything, but especially remembering my dear sweet grandfather. I think I will write a whole other post about him, although it would take a million to really understand what an amazing man he was.

I have only the best memories of the two of them, who I call Papa Joe and Mama Barbara. See, they aren't even my real grandparents. Years ago, when I was barely one, my father was a preacher in the small town of Lincolnton, Ga. This older couple came to visit the church and it was courteous for the minister and his family to go to newcomers houses and greet them. So we did with Joe and Barbara Carani.

Papa always told me the story of how we got so darn attached. See, he was a big man, Italian and tough. He had gotten into a car wreck years earlier and was paralyzed from the waist down and used a wheelchair everywhere. He said that to most children he was a frightening man. But when I was at his house, still in a diaper and barely walking, he sat in his wheelchair and extended his hand to me. I slowly walked up to him and just looked back and forth between his eyes and his eyes. Then I put my hand in his as if saying "I'm not scared of you big guy." And that, he said, is when his heart did flips.

From that day on, they were my grandparents. Italian and hungarian, you won't find better food. Since Papa was paralyzed it allowed him to take up a love for cooking. He and Mama Barbara would spend hours in the kitchen cooking up amazing food. Every meal was a production. I spent my summers there growing up. They lived on a farm with a pool that was built when Papa got hurt. It allowed him to exercise his legs. He taught me to swim, dive...well he taught me a lot.

My sweet Mama Barbara has taught me a lot, but now being newly married, I look at her as the true reflection of a loving and dedicated wife. She didn't plan for her husband to get hurt. He was a cop in Miami...a tough man. She didn't plan on him being so dependent on her. But when he layed in the hospital after getting out the coma and saw the extent of his injuries he said to her "You can leave and I would understand. I don't want to be a burden." And she looked at him and said "Oh, you're not getting rid of me that easy mister." So for the next 18 years she was at his beck and call. His personal nurse. She cared for him and loved him every day of his life. And she never complained. She did it lovingly and willingly. I hope to be just like her.

Here is a picture of Papa Joe, with my sister and I.