Merry Christmas!

I wanted to write yesterday but I had a small dose of the stomach flu..I mean small in the amount of time. It was that 24 hour one but boy oh boy does that wipe a girl out! I managed to bake a cherry pie and make cherry coke jello yesterday evening though. It's funny how sometimes sickness creeps up out of nowhere and then BAM you're leaning over the toilet crying and thinking I HATE THROWING UP!! haha

Darren was on duty yesterday and had to spend the night so he was not around to take care of me physically but was able to email with me all day to see how I was doing, what a sweet man!

I ended up watching all my favorite christmas movies that's been a tradition to watch since i was a tiny girl. I had a wonderful christmas season and hope you did too!

Darren is currently sleeping, he called it a Christmas nap and I admit that he talked me into one as well. We were like two little kids on Christmas morning today and had a blast opening all our gifts. He bought me a stand-mixer! I am now an official baker...in my opinion it's the badge of entrance into a whole new world of baking. No longer will I have to fuss with my hand mixer to bake! woohoo :)

He bought me a few Cd's, the twilight series!, but mostly I loved having him home for Christmas. It was the best gift he could give me. We had a lot of fun and ate cinnamon rolls for a brunch. Tonight we're having a nice meal together around our coffee table because our new table isn't here yet. lol that will be a lot of fun though.

I was dreaming of a white Christmas like back home..but am afraid this area doesn't get too much snow. They are calling for a snow shower tonight though?! I hope so! It is a very strange thing to me not having any snow on Christmas. Snow goes hand in hand with Christmas, right? :)

Four Christmas' ago (2007) Darren took me hiking in Arizona and when we reached the top he pulled me aside and asked me to be his bride. Christmas is even more special because of that and I will never forget feeling on top of the world and dreaming of our future together. We are much more in love since that day and i'm blessed to call Darren my husband.

So i've started to collect the Willow Tree statues. I only have a few but this Christmas I was given TWO more! Thanks to my mother and mother in law. They are really simple statues but they say so much in how sweet they are. I had the first one of the couple but was given the pregnant one and family one for Christmas. I love them!

Darren came home and woke the little guy and I up. Well i was awake writing in my journal so he actually just woke up the baby. It was fun to talk about how this is our last Christmas just together for a long time. I can't wait for our son to be a part of Christmas with us and to teach him why we celebrate Christmas and start new traditions with him. He is going to change our family for the better and i'm really thankful for that. Well my husband is stirring and I'm going to talk him into playing a game :) maybe..

Merry Christmas everyone! and to leave you with a devotional I read this morning by one of my favorite pastors, chuck swindol. I hope it blesses you too.

December 25, 2010

A Christmas Masterpiece
by Charles R. Swindoll


Before time began, God had in His mind's eye a masterpiece—a beautiful picture of grace that His beloved Son, the second person of the Trinity, would illustrate with His life.

Even before the breathtaking splendor of creation, God sketched out His plan for His perfect fellowship with humanity. But not long after He had splashed color on the landscape, the deep, dark shadows of man's rebellious choice to live independently of His grace obscured the beauty of God's work. Coal black, pitch darkness enveloped the scene, and all creation hung in suspense of what God would do.

How could God redeem His masterpiece? What could rescue us, the pitiful portraits in whom breathed God's breath?

Then, with a heart weeping for His people, God dipped His brush in Calvary's scarlet ink, wrote His message on a rough wooden banner, and pinned it against an empty sky for all the world to read. Bold, crimson words: "I love you."

This is the message of Christmas: Because He loves us, God has come to redeem us—to bring life and color back to our lives, to expel the darkness of our hearts and from our world.

On a rescue mission designed by His Father before time began, Jesus silently slipped into our world, breathed our air, felt our pain, became acquainted with our sorrows, suffered and died for our sins . . . to show us the way out of our darkness and into His glorious light.

This Christmas, may you know the warmth of the Savior's love spreading over you as you never have before. May the beauty of the season remind you of His intense concern for every detail of your life and His great, sacrificial love for you.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Insight for Living.

Can I tell you how wonderful these past few days have been? I have had a lot of fun but wish time would slow down! It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in this apartment alone begging God to turn the clock forward a few days so I could be with Darren.

It's neat to realize how much God has reconstructed my heart while Darren was gone. I'm not claiming to have a perfect flawless marriage because we're two sinful beings but it is awesome to be able to say there is much love in our marriage right now. I truly believe when God is at the center of the hearts of a wife and husband he will bless that relationship greatly. That doesn't mean arguments won't come or tough times won't be there..but he'll give you the grace and strength to walk through those moments together in a way that glorifies Him.
Darren has been an incredible husband and best friend. This past week I have cherished introducing him to this pregnancy and his son. It's fun when he places his hand on my belly and talks to our little guy. He is going to be a great dad and i know our little man will adore him.
I was praying last night and asking God what makes our marriage so different at this point then a year ago? Because i'm crazy about this man and find myself walking down a really great road with Darren. While I was spilling my heart out to God I realized that loving Darren the way God loves me is the key. I respect my husband because he's a man of God and is worthy of my respect. This world is a mess and I desire my husband to have a safe place in me...he needs that. That's what's changed..my attitude and view of Darren. A year ago i'm not sure that I respected him or put him before me. I was always asking what can he do for me and after I did something for him I was expecting a favor back. I'm a selfish young woman unfortunately and for the rest of my life i'll be fighting to put Darren first ahead of me. I have been blessed with a really great husband who loves me and makes life more full.

The first few years of our marriage haven't been easy but i'm thankful that we're standing on solid ground (Christ) today and very much in love. I have to thank God for bringing us into to navy and using that as a tool to rebuild our marriage and make us stronger. We've been really blessed.

Alright well I am going to finish some laundry and hang up the ornaments i found yesterday! I hope that you are having a great day. I'll probably be back tomorrow to share with you about this awesome year and my excitement over Christmas!

Laura

Was that a dream?

Good morning! I woke up this morning and turned to find Darren :) I definitely did a double take because for the last 5+ months I have woken up to a cat laying near me not a man. Once I realized that yesterday DID happen and he is actually here I started smiling really big. It took EVERYTHING in me not to hug him and wake him up and tell him how happy I was. haha I'm trying to be considerate of the fact that he can finally sleep in!
So it wasn't a dream and i'm thankful that Darren is home.

It's been fun to watch him adjust back into civilization. When you spend half a year on a ship you lose touch with driving, the real world, foods, etc. But he's doing very well now.
I've really enjoyed catching up with him and we've found ourselves laughing a lot which has been great.

I'd love to recap what happened yesterday :)
The night before I couldn't fall asleep..it was terrible! So I prayed and prayed talking to God about everything under the sun and when I finally did fall asleep I woke back up to a clock that said 4 am! The bad part was those few hours of sleep seemed to be enough at the time because my mind went right back to 'i can't believe he's coming home!'. So..i stayed up and when the clock hit 6 I jumped out of bed and started getting ready.
When I went to the pier I saw a handful of huge carriers and I started crying. Everyone waited in the bitter cold for what seemed like forever. As the sailors made their way off the ship it was really neat to watch husbands and wives reunite and little children see their mom or dad. I was once again crying! I don't think I can explain the height of emotions everyone feels after long deployments..it was special though.
I almost grabbed the wrong guy..twice :). I decided that to stand in one place until he found me would be better. Even though it felt like forever eventually I turned and saw my darren walking towards me with a huge grin on his face. I can't even tell you how sweet that moment was. With a little belly in the way it made an even better reunion! He was so funny about how much my belly has grown but it was awesome to see his reactions to feeling his first kicks yesterday and when he'd move around.
We went on a date yesterday and to a few stores to look for a kitchen table because we're going to have a few people over for Christmas dinner and not having a table wouldn't be good! I dragged Darren to the baby section and although he willingly went he wasn't as enthusiastic as I am about baby things ha.
We had a lot of fun yesterday and it felt like a second honeymoon! We soaked each other up the entire day just getting back to Darren and Laura. I love that he's been my best friend this year, and even though we had to be apart it didn't change, God has blessed us so much.
Today my sweet man agreed to come to the doctor with me! Can you believe that? That meant a lot and i'm looking forward to going with him. Wish us luck as we venture back into the military healthcare system! It's confusing and weird but we're blessed to be provided for in this area.

I'm going to go make my list for groceries this week. I finally have mr. muscles here to help me carry things up the stairs :). I hope you are having a great week so far! Thanks for letting me share with you today.
Laura

here are a few pictures from yesterday...

I love him so much! He brought me flowers:)

setting up the xbox!

After our date we went to starbucks to get christmas coffee treats..mmm

I'm sorry for not writing! I have had plenty of time to write a post but it's funny because the words just haven't been there! ..and i'm a girl of many words normally!?

How can I even explain this deployment in one blog?

I've been blessed by God with good family and friends who came alongside of me and made this time away from Darren a lot easier. Is it okay if we leave it there today?

He's coming home tomorrow! YES that's right :) I've finally been given the green light to talk about it. It is unreal that tomorrow i'm going to be standing on a pier looking towards a giant ship that has been my husband's home for over 5 months. I'm anticipating the tears and smiles and the moment I see him! That moment will be so special between us.

I think God really blesses your time coming back together and i've prayed hard for a smooth transition.

I'm 30 weeks pregnant today! I am still crazy about this little guy even after he discovered my ribs this week. (ow!)
He is one wonderful baby though and the poor thing gets the hiccups all the time now.
His room is not ready but Darren said he wanted to help me with that and i'm really looking forward to sharing that together.

I still love our new home and am adjusting well to the area. It's been nice to make a few friends as well!

I've done a little baking for Darren and had a great time! The baby boy was kicking and moving around the whole time..i think he really wanted some of the baked goods.

Well it is finally dark and that means soon it will be time for bed which means it will be the morning soon!! I hope you have a wonderful night :)