Pictures Galore!!

Here are some more pictures!

A huge tree house we visited in Tennessee.

This is why they are called the Great Smoky Mountains!

Kate, Ben and I at Cedar Point. It was hot!!
Aunt Joyce, Grandma, Blair, Me, and Grandpa Pohl.
The family picture at the picnic!
Teri and Kate holding Kate's beloved kittens!

The boys playing pool! They are so focused!!

Me shooting a long bow...
The bruise I got from forgetting how to hold my arm when I shot the long bow. :(

A Chicago sky line! Beautiful, huh?

Beautiful Wisconsin. I just loved this state!!

More pictures to come of the house. But sadly, the battery is almost dead on the laptop. Until next time! Love y'all!

Our Journey, Part 2

Hey y'all! Sorry it's taken me so long to update this! I will give you a quick run down of what our week in Indiana was like and then share pictures!!

First of all, we had a blast in Indiana! It was so great to see Blair's (and now mine too) family! We arrived on Tuesday around 2 p.m. It was Blair's brother's birthday so we had a wonderful birthday dinner of steak, chicken, and shrimp kabobs with rice, beans, and yummy strawberry shortcake for dessert! Wednesday was super fun. Blair, Ben (Blair's bro), Kate (Ben's girlfriend), and I all went to an amusement park in Sandusky,Ohio called Cedar Point. It was so fun! They had really fun rides and wonderful eats! When we were leaving we got an elephant ear...I don't really know how to describe it except it's really good! Thursday during the day we didn't do a whole lot. But Thursday night, my mother in law (Teri), father in law (Dennis), Blair and I went to Cold Water, Michigan to eat dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Pohl and Aunt Joyce. Friday, my wonderful mother in law (now how many people can say they love their mother in law?!) and I went shopping. We had a great time visiting and looking at all the pretty stuff! On Saturday, she and I went grocery shopping for the picnic that was to be on Sunday. Not long after we got home from the store, her sister, Kathy, and four of her six kids plus an exchange student came to visit! It was so neat to meet all of Blair's cousins! They are a very special family!! Sunday Teri, Kathy, the kids and I all went to church. It was really good to be able to worship God in a new yet familiar surrounding. After church, we went to the house to prepare for the picnic. It was wild and crazy and loads of good times! Monday was, for the most part, spent being lazy. Blair, Ben, Kate and I went to lunch at Olive Garden and that, as always, is yummy! When we got home, Blair and his mom went to town to spend a little 1-on-1 time together. That night after a spaghetti dinner, Teri and I got to visit for a long time and I cherish that! It was so great. She is such a strong, loving, wonderful person and I am so thankful to God that she is in my life! Tuesday morning we left, albeit reluctantly.

We drove and drove and drove and drove and drove....did I mention we drove? It took us about 19-20 hours but we pushed through and made it to Minot in less than one day. We arrived at 1:30 a.m. to find out that we couldn't check into our hotel until 2 p.m. that day. So we had to find a hotel in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for us, most of them were booked due to the State Fair being in town. However, we were finally able to find one and were in bed asleep by 3 a.m.

We woke up around 9:30 a.m. or so and Blair called the housing office on base to see if we'd be able to get a house that day. They said come now and yes, so we ran to the office! We accepted the house after I looked through it (don't worry pictures are coming!). We couldn't get the keys to stay there that night until we went to a warranty briefing (our house is so new everything is under warranty still! Isn't God great!). We went to the briefing on Thursday and were able to stay there that night thanks to our air bed! Friday morning I went to my new hospital to check out the unit I'll be working in. It's nice, but much smaller than what I'm used to. I'm just going to need time to adjust to the environment and their routine.

Oh, oh, I forgot to mention...I got a new car!! It's a silver Honda Civic Hybrid four door, with blue interior, a navigational system, cd player and voice command! It's really cute! I wasn't too excited about being back in a car from an SUV but after having it and driving it, I love it!!! I don't have a picture yet, but I'll get one!

So now is the time I want to brag on God a bit. I really feel that, even though Blair and I didn't necessarily want to leave LA, God has really had His hand in this move. Every little point seems like it's been taken care of seamlessly! Our trip was wonderful with no car troubles. We were able to get a house immediately, all you military wives know that's not the norm. We were able to purchase a really nice car...and it's all because of God and the prayers that our loved ones have sent up on our behalf. So thank you for your prayers and your love and support. We miss each and everyone of you and wish you all the best!! Love to everyone!!!

Some pictures

I just wanted to update my update with pictures! Enjoy!



This is on the bridge crossing the Mississippi River looking into East Memphis.



Here is the Sanderson's, minus Mr. Richard, with Blair and me. We had the best time at their house. We hated to leave.This is my cousin, Landon, and Blair shooting their pellet guns.


This is my uncles land that we took pictures of. Yes, those are his cows too! Isn't it beautiful?!


This is my uncle, Hughie, petting his horse, Bud. Bud looks grey but he's really a red roan. Neat huh?Do you notice the mountain in the background where the line of the mountain and the trees meet? I hiked down that slope when I was 1o or 11. Yes, it is as steep as it looks!! But it was fun!!

Our Journey, Part 1

Hey guys! I have been informed that I am to keep blogging, so here is an update of our journey so far...

On Monday, July 7th, Blair and I left Louisiana. My mom, dad, sis, and two best friends came to see us off. Amid many tears, hugs and "I love yous" we headed out of town. It was extremely sad for me and Blair. I think my eyes "watered" for quite a while. I took the first shift of driving, which was probably not the best thing since my eyes were not up for the strain of staying open after crying. My poor husband got stuck with driving the rest of the trip! After we left Bossier City, we went to Jackson, TN for the night. We visited with friends that I have known for about forever, whose kids are almost as close to me as my sister. It was a very nice visit, seeing as how I'd not seen them in a year. We didn't want to leave and wished the good times could continue, but we had to head out.

Since Blair drove most of the way to Jackson, I got the driving duty to our next stop, which was Crossville, TN about four hours away. Now, I was quite proud of myself for driving that far since I usually tend to drift to sleep about an hour into my shift of driving. I did, however, call my mom, my dad and my sister to be able to stay awake that long! But we finally arrived in Crossville to visit with my grandmother, Granna, who is my mom's mom. Not long after we left, Blair and I went into town (about 15 minutes away) and signed up for a week at a gym in town, then worked out for an hour. By the time we got home we had our first visitors! We visited for a little while before they headed home. By then, we were all pretty tired and went to bed shortly after. The next day, after the gym, my aunt and cousin came to visit. We hung out for a while and then went to eat at Cracker Barrel. We parted ways after lunch and went home to rest off out full bellies. Today, we woke up and went to a Mennonite settlement that's about 30 minutes away called Muddy Pond. My grandmother was able to come with us and we had a really good time. We went into their "Country Store" and I got homemade Peach ice cream that was amazing! Then we went to the "General Store" and hit the mother lode! We got a bread knife, four paring knives, cheese, candy, bread, sweet potato butter (I haven't tried that one yet), dried fruit, and lots more that I can't think of! After the Mennonites, we went back home. Blair took a nap since I made him sick on the curvy roads! Then about 5 p.m. we headed out once again to visit my aunt, uncle and cousin. We ate dinner and Blair and my cousin, Landon, played with their BB and pellet guns. Meanwhile, my uncle and I took their 4wheeler around the mountain they live on to take pictures of their cows and land. (I don't have my laptop hooked up to the internet to post the pictures, but I will post some as soon as I can!)

So their y'all have it! That is my life thus far! I miss everyone so much! It still feels like I am just on vacation, instead of moving 22 hours away! I'm sure it will hit me when we get to Minot and get settled in.

I hope that this finds everyone doing well. Keep me updated on your lives!

To My Fellow PEP-sters

I just wanted to tell you thank you! I meant so much to me that you all were willing to reschedule the last PEP so I could attend! That in and of its self would have been enough, but y'all went above and beyond. Thank you so much for the gifts! I loved each and every item!! You all know me and my fleur de lis!! (Haha, that rhymed!!)

These past months that I have been apart of your group have been so special to me. I will forever remember all the fun times we had getting together to pray, eat, play, or just talk! I sincerely hope that I can find a group of women who are as wonderful and special as each one of you are, but I don't think any one can top y'all!!

Please keep blogging (as I will try to do) so that we can stay a part of each others lives!! I love y'all!!

A Sad Goodbye

Well, folks, last night was my last night to work at Willis Knighton South NICU. It was sad, but the girls made it happy for me. Even though we were slammed with over 40 babies, they still took the time to let me know they'd miss me. One of our doctors even cooked dinner for all of us, and made us smoothies!! I am so blessed to have worked with such wonderful people. I can't even describe the feelings rolling around inside right now.

If any of my coworkers read this, Thank you!! I will miss you so much!!

State of Our Union

As of today, Blair and I have been married 366 days, (ok,well, when I started this post that was true, I procrastinated, as usual)! The last weekend I was off we celebrated by going to Dallas/Ft.Worth for a cousins wedding and spending time with family.

Friday started off great because I was offered a job in Minot!! My tentative start date is August 15th. If, when we get up there, I see I can start sooner, my new boss told me I can! I am so excited to start this new chapter of our lives. When she offered me the position, I wanted to start right then! I'm also excited because she said I will get to wear whatever kind of scrubs I'd like!! Finally, no more teal!!!

But back to our trip...On Friday, we left around 11:30 or so. That morning I worked off and had not been to sleep yet so as soon as we got in the car and on our way I was out like a light!! Blair woke me up about an hour out of Dallas to keep him company. We arrived at the hotel around 3:30. As soon as we started unloading, one of Blair's uncle's and family pulled up. Blair's parents flew down with Blair's youngest brother and his girlfriend (who I had not met and was anxious to do so). When his parents got in to the hotel, we all met up and went to dinner at this wonderful Italian restaurant, Bravo's. When we got done eating, or shall I say, gorging ourselves, we all went to the parents of the cousin getting marrieds house. By the time we arrived, all of the cousins and aunts and uncles were there! I think I said, "How are you? I'm good." about twenty times! It was so good to see everyone and catch up. Blair and I had not seen everyone since last July when the sister got married. The get together was an "ice cream social" so we got to eat yummy ice cream. Everyone was exhausted from traveling all day so we didn't stay for too long.

Saturday morning Blair and I got up and met his immediate family to go sight seeing. Oh, by the way, I love Blair's brothers girlfriend. (Ben is his brother and Kate is his girlfriend.) We immediately clicked and got along great. She is a great girl and treats Ben good so I like her even more for that! Anyway, Kate wanted to see where Kennedy was assassinated so we loaded up and headed off. After we had some fun in downtown Dallas on the X that marks the spot of the assassination, we set off to find a place to eat. We found a street that had a bunch of restaurants and all a sudden this man came running across the street and said "Come eat at RJ's and we'll give you a free appetizer! And two free deserts!" We all looked at each other and shrugged and went to RJ's! It was really good so we were glad we went. After gorging ourselves again, we had to walk about three hundred miles (it was really about five blocks, but on a full stomach...) back to our vehicles. We decided to go shopping at a really nice shopping center close to our hotel. We stayed there for a couple hours then went back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding was really beautiful. It wasn't at a church, but at a place called Mediterranean Villa. It was decorated in neutral colors and fleur de lis!! So it was right up my ally! I loved it!! The reception was on site at the dining/banquet hall. It was also beautiful! Christi, the bride, was gorgeous in her wedding gown and glowing with love for Danny, the groom. The reception was amazing! The girl cousins got out on the dance floor and had a great time!

Sunday we visited with the family for the last time before everyone headed home. It was a really good time and I am so in love with all of Blair's family. They have accepted me right into their fold! When we left the family gathering we went to Six Flags!! We had so much fun! All the rides were exciting (until I almost blacked out on the Titan)!! After Six Flags, we went to the hotel to get spruced up and went to eat at Saltgrass for our anniversary then went to see Indiana Jones!! We had a great time talking about the wedding and our weekend so far.

Monday we were going to go to Hurricane Harbor but when we got there the sign said "Open only on the weekends!" But we weren't too bummed, we just went shopping instead! Blair got some really nice clothes from Van Heusen and I got three pair of non-teal scrubs!When we got home, we decided to go eat again for our anniversary. So we went to Imperial Cathay and had a blast. Then we went to see the new Narnia movie, which was awesome!

So after celebrating our one year anniversary for days, we decided to sleep off all the fun! I am so thankful to have a wonderful husband that is so willing to make me happy. He is kind, considerate, loving, playful, serious,...he is every thing I could want or need in a mate. I am so thankful to call him MINE!!!