Trust

"We've each come from a past that's as long as our arms. But look at all that we've overcome. Look where we are now. Just trust me."

Qualities it takes to overcome all my issues:

Patience
Grace
Kindness
Gentleness
Tenderness
Hope
Faith
Strength
Tough-Skinned

Is my husband all of these things?? No.
Is my husband everything I ever hoped for? No.
Is my husband everything I thought I didn't deserve? No.


HE'S MORE.



While I struggle to adjust to work schedules, a social calendar, making dinner, grocery shopping for two, cleaning house, giving him space so that when he gets home he can participate in some of his hobbies rather than just work and what I want to do...he wraps his arms around me and guides me along with the ease of a husband of 20 years. He knows I struggle with my work sometimes. He knows I am constantly trying to further my relationship with God but sometimes I still get angry, bitter, annoyed, and anxious. He sees me trying and praises me for it. He never complains when I don't cook dinner and when the house isn't spotless even though I've got the time. Instead he comes home and asks me how my day was and puts his own frustrations and headache aside to hear me ramble on for hours about all I did.

So when he asked me last night "Do you trust me?" when it came to a situation that I'd been struggling with...how could I look at that man in the eyes and say, "Yes but..." Of course I trust him. HE just had to remind me that by worrying, I wasn't.

So I turn to The Word this morning in an effort to rid myself of these "fears." My husband is not anyone I have ever dealt with before. He is not any of the atrocities that have been committed against me. He is my husband, my help-mate, my partner...He is the one person that knows my heart. So I have a wonderful husband and a merciful God. This wife has some work to do to show these two how thankful she is. Because I'm not doing a good job of it so far.

Finally!

After many days of applying for loans and getting denied again and again...a way became available to us that was a direct answer to prayer. I woke up one morning with an email from a friend asking to help out with our car situation. I was screaming and crying and shouting with joy so loudly that I'm sure the neighbors thought I was either dying or really excited. From the noises I was making, it could have been either one. :) Well, the ball got rolling a lot faster than I thought it would and yesterday we were able to go pick up my new car!!!! Now to start all the paperwork for re-titling, registration, and insurance. :) But the title has to be faxed here from Texas so I get to wait until next week to start it all. For now, I just get to enjoy it! :) Here's a little info on the new car: [Still undecided on the new car's name. My old car's name was Flomar and it just fit that little car so well. :) I'm thinking Toruk (like from Avatar) but am open to suggestions!]

Stats:

Year: 2004
Make: Saturn
Model: Ion 2 Quad Coupe
Transmission: Automatic
Color: White
Seating Capacity: 4 (as it's a coupe so the back seat has a center console where the middle seat would have been)
MPG: 35 (highway) 26 (city)
Modifications: Dark-tinted windows and an after-market exhaust

Pictures:

Love

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?...And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?"

If I told you that these words came to me as I was out walking Kiwi yesterday, wouldn't you think that I was on to something?! Or if I told you that a famous philosopher or poet thought these words up, wouldn't you say that what they said made sense? I mean, come on, think about it...to love your friends, now that is relatively easy (and I say relatively because sometimes your friends can have their "unlovable" moments.) To say that you love your mom or your dad or your sister or your brother, that is relatively easy as well. (Again I say relatively because this does not apply to all cases in which family members do despicable things to those they SHOULD love. This is a generalization, so work with me here.) To say you love that girl at school who always says your hair looks great or that guy who always has a smile and an uplifting word to pick you up when you're down...these are also relatively easy. Don't deny that you do it either, say you love them. I hear people ALL the time saying, "Oh! So-and-so! I love them! They are soooo sweet!" :) But think how easy it is to do something nice in return to these people when they are always so nice to you. Think how willing you would be to iron your husband's pants or run some soup over to a sick friend when they've always been nice to you. THAT, my friends, is easy.

What is not easy, is to do these same favors for your enemies. If that woman who was gossiping about you behind your back or that guy who was always trying to rat you out at work emailed you and asked you to work a shift for them so that they could take their kid to the doctor, wouldn't you be inclined to give them what they deserve?? They definitely DO NOT deserve kindness and not from you! But I speak for myself when I say that there were many times that I deserved a lot worse than what a I got dealt, whether it be from my parents, husband, a friend, or a sibling. Do you know what that's called? When you deserve something BAD and instead of getting dealt that something BAD you not only get forgiven for it but dealt something nice instead?? That's called GRACE. Think of how much more it says about you if instead of starting rumors about the woman that gossips about you, you approached her and invited her out for a coffee date sometime. THAT, my friends is NOT easy.

Jesus was the man who said the quote at the top of this blog. Don't you think he was on to something??

Obsessive Dog (and socks??)

Posted by Alyssa. [I put this here just for you Stephy!]


Our dog gets really lonely when we leave. What does she do to console herself you ask?? Simple. She does what any dog would do. She gets bills from our office, a sock from the laundry, and curls up on our bed surrounded by happy, familiar things that smell like her Mom and Dad.

Bizarre you say?? Uhhh yeah, I reply. We have a very odd dog. Yes, we do now close all the doors...I'm just wondering WHY she does this. Maybe it's because her parents are weird too. Maybe she's just modeling our odd behavior. But I promise, we definitely don't consider curling up with bills and socks romantic. Maybe, if we did our bills in just our socks, it would be??

Chad socks:



Me socks:



Go ahead and delete that mental picture now.

Amen

–interjection
1. it is so; so be it (used after a prayer, creed, or other formal statement to express solemn ratification or agreement).

–adverb
2. verily; truly.

–noun
3. an utterance of the interjection “amen.”
4. a musical setting for such an utterance.
5. an expression of concurrence or assent.

This is my idea for my first tattoo. Obviously I'm not talking about the entire dictionary.com definition of the word Amen but rather the Arabic writing of the word. I'm looking at getting it on my neck, but I'm still thinking. I want to be absolutely sure before it is permanently etched into my skin. But what better to have etched into my skin than the word which falls so freely from my lips. Amen God. Amen. It would be me saying YES to God. It would be my way of always reminding myself that I concur with God, I don't disagree or fight or rebel against Him. I agree. (Or at least that I should!!)

Another One Bites the Dust

I was prepared to chalk today up to a failure. It was going to get crossed off of the week and taken off of the calendar. Not only did I toss and turn all last night, but I got declined for a car loan (again) and lost my phone. [Chad had an equally long day as well.] That may not seem like a lot to some but for me today, it was just the right amount of disappointment to make me feel sad, grumpy, and upset.

But then, something strange happened. After I moped about and abated my woes with bargains from Hobby Lobby and Target, and after I found my phone, and after I realized that the car I so desperately wanted just wasn't meant to be mine, and after Chad and I ordered pizza and played 9 rounds of Mexican Train Dominoes, and after we laughed over me shoving my face with CinnaStix, and after we snuggled while watching an episode of Angel...I realized that although I don't know God's plan in all of the failures that we experienced today, I do know that if I would have allowed my disappointment to dominate my day...I would have missed a lot of really amazing memories and fun times.

It's a FREAKING hard lesson to learn, but maybe HE does know what is best for me. After all,

"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying." -Luke 12:22-29

Now I will go rest, and dream, in peace...for I am free of worry and stress. Night all.

I Missed Again

I am just not very good at this everyday blog thing, gosh! It's not that I'm not trying...honest to goodness I am...life just seems to have this very funny way of becoming really busy really quickly. :)

Just before I pulled up my blog page here, I read my daily devotional from this fantastic devotional Bible that I got from Goodwill. Each day has a story written by a different person that corresponds to a verse, or a set of verses in the Bible. I read one of these stories each day. Today's was about a woman who was 30 years old, pregnant, and in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy. A year and a half earlier, she had a miscarriage. Two years before that, her 3-month old son died of congenital heart disease.

Can..you...even....imagine???

I can't. I know I can't. I'd like to think that I know how devastated she felt, but as I don't even have kids yet, I know I'm nowhere close to knowing how she felt. Then, when they baby was born, they discovered he had autism and instead of being bummed, or cursing God for giving her more struggle or getting upset at her circumstances, she quoted Isaiah 40:31, "Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Do you know why she got through those years? Those difficult, trying, heartbreaking years?? Because she relied on God as her strength. On our own, we are WEAK WEAK WEAK. But if we trust in God, we will be able to run endlessly, walk without getting tired, and FLY. That first step, though, is key. We must first trust.

[Louise Tucker Jones is the name of the lady who wrote this incredible story that I read today. She is in inspirational speaker and author. I encourage you to look up some of her work! Also, the name of the devotional Bible that I am reading through is the One Year Life Verse Devotional by: Jay K. Payleitner. There are some incredible stories in here-I encourage you to pick up a copy if you don't have a devotional Bible already!]

Project Bathroom: Complete

The bathroom is done! One thing checked off of my list! Woohoo! [Well, with respect to my perfectionist personality...it is ALMOST done. Other than figuring out what prints are going to hang on the wall above the towel bar and doing the major renovation, it is done. Just wanted to clarify. :) ]

I feel so good walking past that bathroom now knowing that there isn't ancient wallpaper hanging on the walls. I can walk in, pee, look around, and feel accomplished. Ahhhh! What a feeling! :)

Here's proof:

BEFORE:





AFTER:

In a Blog Rut

All I can seem to think of to blog about is my danged bathroom. I think about it, dream about it...ahhh! It's a disease. ;)

Update on bathroom renovation:

New hardware partially installed. (Waiting for patches in wall to dry.)
Hole in wall repaired (Now have to sand it down, spray texture, and paint over the huge white spot on my wall.)
Yellow rug purchased.
Yellow and orange flowers in vase on the counter.
Orange soap pump purchased.
Mirror-still haven't found one that I like for a decent price.

Eventually this thing will get finished...who knew it would take so long?? :)

Today's plans:
Apply for a car loan so that hopefully I can buy a car. YAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! I can't possibly explain how excited I am. Now I just have to stop praying long enough to actually apply, once the bank opens....until then, there's no place I'd rather be than

ON

MY

KNEES.

"Girl, remember what your knees are for!" -Sugarland

Who is this Man??

...he lives in the same house as I do...sleeps in the same bed that I sleep in...he usually eats the same meals that I eat...and yet here he is, at 6:30 in the morning singing "cadences" at the top of his lungs. [He said I was only allowed to blog about this if I called them cadences, and not chants...which is what they sounded like to me.] If I remembered half of the things that he was singing about, I would put them all up here for you. Something about being up really early, and marching a lot, and expensive boots and airborne rangers, and etc.

So with my cadence singing husband (who says they had him singing these in the army to expand his lung capacity and build team spirit-who knows why he is singing them now?? ;) off to work and golf this afternoon, I am off to apply the second coat of paint to the bathroom and then pick Melly up for an afternoon of fun. :)

I'm Audi 5000. ;)

I Am My Mother's Daughter

I know I'm my mother's daughter because my day consisted of painting my bathroom (which used to be covered in an icky wallpaper) and a rampage of the Goodwills in the Colorado Springs area. I ended up with books (as always), a really nice women's devotional Bible, a really nice yearly devotional Bible, a shirt, sweatshirt, pair of shoes, picture frames, curtains, a candle, a dish, and a vase. All of this for under $40! What a steal!! Grocery shopping wasn't quite as cheap...but hey, gotta feed the hungry bellies of the Duncan household.

Our main level bathroom is now...what could best be described as...spring green. Yup! Despite a power outage while I was on a stool in my very tiny bathroom with a paint tray and open paint can on the floor...the first coat has been applied! I have to go back tomorrow and do another coat after I go get a straight-edger pad from Lowes and once all four of the walls have dried. Next step in bathroom remodel?? Picking out a nice, new, bright rug and towel to brighten up the space and compliment the vase of orange and yellow flowers that is going to go on the counter. Bright?? You said it! Eventually I'd really like to get a new mirror (but am needing some ideas as to where to get a semi-inexpensive, yet chic oval shaped mirror-possibly with a frame around it), an entirely new vanity (or just a pedestal sink, and turn that icky linoleum floor into nice tile (or hardwood). How can one room possibly need so much work??

That's only the bathroom. The other rooms in our house need a great deal of attention as well. But absolutely NOTHING else will be modified until we for sure buy the house. We don't want to sink any more money into something we don't even own...but once it's ours...I'm gonna go a little nuts!!

Master List of Renovation Tasks:

1. Replace all the linoleum in the house with wood and/or tile.
2. New carpet?
3. Paint ALL the walls. (Tying the blog title in here...;)
4. Remove the wood paneling in the entryway and living room.
5. New hardware in the bathrooms and kitchen.
6. New kitchen counters.
7. Refinish the cabinets?
8. Paint the outside of the house a more attractive color.
9. Build a better deck out back.
10. Build a storage shed for the "garden tools." (Lawnmowers...)
11. Pretty up the front yard with some flowers.
12. New light fixtures in almost every room.
13. New outlets (in WHITE).

Okay, I'll stop there...for now. :) What can I say...it's in my blood!! ;)

Make Up Post

Since I didn't post yesterday, I'm double-posting for today to make up for it. Woot woot!

Today's topic for blogging-a list of my likes and dislikes. I'm a VERY picky, stingy, and opinionated person and today I'm going to share why. ;)

Likes:

1. Watching kittens play--hello?? Baby kittens rolling around on their backs, swipe each other with their teeny paws, and purr while nursing...what's not to love? Especially when one of them is my very own (still to be named, but leaning towards the name Josie)!
2. Playing Wii with my brother--even thought I got whooped, spending time with my quickly maturing brother is priceless!
3. Hand-writing things--it's just so much more enjoyable than typing sometimes. I just like the feel of a pen in my hand and a notebook in my lap.
4. Chuck marathons--that show is SO stinking hilarious. I just wish Sarah and Chuck would date for real already!! (I'm only part-way into episode 2, so anyone who is further, don't ruin this for me!)
5. My sparkler--by that I mean my ring. It's still kind of new to me...so every time I look down at my hand I still smile. :)
6. Chicken--nothing tastes as good as chicken. Fried, baked, strips, sandwiches, nuggets, casserole....I just LOVE chicken!
7. Ketchup--you KNEW this was coming next, admit it! The stuff just tastes so dang good! But even better than just ketchup...organic ketchup!! (Which reminds me, I need to find a place that sells bigger bottles of it than Wal-mart. Any help??)
8. Sermons that speak to my heart--you hypocrite you!! I love it when God slaps me around a little and gives me that icky feeling in my belly because I know when that happens..."Like Barack Obama said, it's time for a change." (Just a song, don't hate the quoter!)
9. My family--yes, I miss them! Okay?? Nothing wrong with missing loud, slightly chaotic, and at times dangerous family gathering with some of the sickest people this side of town!! ;)
10. Sweet notes--"I love listening to you sing! What a gift God has blessed you with. :)" That was on the counter when I got home. Mmm-that makes do one of those little happy sighs...*ahhh*

Dislikes:

1. Weak nails--I know, I know Stephy...I need those vitamins. When I go grocery shopping tomorrow, I'll go buy them. :)
2. Contacts--My mom is the bomb.com for hooking me up in this department. :) I just love not having my face dominated by frames, even if they are cute. :)
3. Headaches from cute hairdo's--all cute things should be pain-free. Yes, this includes child-birth, cute heels, fake rings, and that one shirt that cuts off the circulation in my arms because the sleeves are too tight.
4. Whining--it should be illegal. I should be flayed for ever having done it, for doing it, and for when I will do it in the future.
5. The smell of pee--this may be weird, but oh well. I just hate the smell of walking into the bathroom after someone has peed. It just smells so...fresh and pee-like, eww. Same goes for dog and cat pee of course. It's just all icky.
6. Screaming--it just hurts my ears. Shouldn't some octaves just never have been invented??
7. Those who do not use headlights in fog--isn't this one a DUHHH??!!
8. Huge zits--like the ones that never form a head but just make huge bumps and becomes really painful. I know, this is super gross....but isn't it super true?
9. Flat cherry limeade--so sad!!
10. Woodpeckers--arrrrrg! Their pecking drives me CRAZY!

My hubby is finally home so I'm off to talk his ear off, try to listen, snuggle my socks off, and continue on our Chuck-a-thon. Adios!!

Already Forgetful...and Yet Ridiculously Selfish

I know, I know...I forgot to blog yesterday!! Dang--only a few days into this "blog for a year" thing and I'm already forgetful...Go me! :)

Yesterday was a fun-filled day of sleeping in, Kenpo, Chuck-marathoning, Chipotle, tag-team babysitting the Deutsch kiddos, and Chadley surprising me with a trip through the Sonic drive-through on the way home for limeades. (Speaking of limeades, I couldn't finish my entire drink so it's still in the fridge...maybe I should go get it...mmm!) It was the perfect weekend-day, relaxed and super fun!

You'd think, as much time as Chad and I spend together that we'd be picking at each other all the time, sick of each other, and desperate for time alone. Maybe we're still in the "honeymoon phase"...but we are two of the best friends in the world. He is my video game partner, always teaching me HOW to play them in the first place and then guiding me through step by step, giving me tips on how to get better. He is my comic relief, always coming up with the perfect punch lines to push me to the verge of peeing in my pants. He is my protector, always holding onto my arm when we walk around so that he can stop me when I lose myself in the OH-so-important-and-riveting story that I'm telling to avoid getting run over my cars, crazy shoppers or little kids playing chase with their limitless amounts of energy. He is my teacher, kindly helping me adjust to the fact that the phrase that I've always used "all-of-the-sudden" is actually "all-of-a-sudden." He is my confidence-builder, always boosting my self-esteem when it seems like I was not blessed with ANY natural skills. He is my joy, always making me smile in times when it seems like I don't have anything else to smile about (and then he helps me realize what I DO have to smile about). This guy is one-in-a-million and he is mine...all mine. :)

So...forgetful and selfish, what a combo for today! ;)

New Do

After 5 or so years of rebelling against any form of color in my hair...I've finally asked Stephy to do something stellar with it. I want something different, but not quite as cool as my sisters can pull off. :) She came up with (somewhat) subtle red streaks that just add a little sparkle to my hair in the sunshine. I love them. They're just right on me. :)

So here are some pics to prove that I am no longer an anti-hair-color snob. ;)

What to Say....?

Now that's a problem I don't run into often. :) But alas, it is only Day 2 of my "365-Day Blog Challenge" and I already don't know what to blog about. Go me! :) Started out not feeling too well today, but I think a day of rest and Chuck-marathon-ing with my dear husband made me feel more energized for tomorrow. As long as working out doesn't make me throw-up again, I'll be in business! :)

I honestly have SO many thoughts rolling around in my head right now. There are so many things I COULD talk about, could mention, could throw out there, could bring up....but there are also just as many things that I could just be still about. I am most commonly known as a very loud, vocal, opinionated, and talkative kinda gal. Tonight though, for some reason that I'm sure will become more clear to me the more I reflect and pray on it, I feel the need to be silent.

I feel called to NOT be opinionated and loud and talkative tonight.
I feel the urge to say that sometimes it is better to not respond with the first thought that pops into your head. Sometimes, it IS better to think before you speak. Sometimes your battles DO need choosing.

Because as much as I tend to NOT do this-tonight I am inclined to believe that not EVERYTHING is worth fighting about.

I may have changed my mind about this tomorrow...but for tonight, my lips, my voice, and my overloaded brain are going to take a rest. My body needed rest today and these things needed a rest tonight.

I will see you all on the flip side!

Alyssa

365 Day Challenge

I'm going to blog EVERYDAY for the next year!! Yep, you heard it. Every single day. Why?? Because I am going to try and Facebook less and blog more as I feel Facebook has just become so....much like MySpace. A waste of time. Yes it's nice for connecting with friends and family members that you don't really ever see. I just constantly finding myself wondering why have the people I have as friends are my friends anyway. If my friends are a reflection of who I am, do I honestly want to look like THAT?? I have family on there, old high school friends (some I was never even that good of friends with anyway), friends from Kindergarten, friends of friends, and on and on and on. This is not intended to sound rude, but do I really need to know what some of you really did when you went out last night?? Or who you were with?? Or how you feel about your best-friend's little sister's ex-boyfriend?? In that same vein, I'm sure most of you don't want to know what I am thinking about naming my cat or how much I really do love my husband, again. :) So I will most likely be putting my friend list on a diet and also try to even log-in less. I don't want to be so caught up in what is going on in everyone else's life that I miss what is going on in my own. (That was not designed to be rude either, or selfish. I'm really sorry if it sounded that way!)

I feel like blogging is going to be a better use of my time as it will be more like a journal that I'll keep for forever. I'll be able to look back and see how I felt on which day and what happened when and note all the funny moments in between. :) Then, people who want to read what is going on in my life can subscribe to my blog and those who don't, don't ever have to come to this page. Ta-da!

I'm going to try and post more pictures on here than on Facebook as well. So keep your eyes peeled as I'm going to attempt to get some pictures in the next few days of some of the more awesome parts of my life! :)

For now, that's about it. I'm going to go look up more cat names on Google (yes, I may very well be obsessed) and then later have coffee with a fantastic new friend. :)

Adios, mi amigos!

Deutsch-like

I'm dedicating this post to Tisha and her FANTASTIC Deutschland-blog that I simply have not been able to get enough of today. I am going back and reading all of her posts and they are inspiring the living daylights out of me.

So in honor of Tisha and her fabulous family (which I am now privileged to spend time with twice a month) I am making a short post...on a day which I already made a post on...simply about dinner. My blogs are usually these LOOOOOONG factual descriptions and updates of Chad and I's life, usually only centered around big events, and usually probably slightly boring. ;) [Yes, that slightly awkward sentence was purposeful.]

Here it goes:

No oatmeal cookies today. I opened the kit I had to make them and the brown sugar was hard. I had already dumped it out when my mom told me that I could have microwaved it. Oh well! I did, however, make chicken sandwiches and DELICIOUS homemade french fries that we ate with organic ketchup (which made [Chad] feel better about eating a lot of it).


Speaking of my darling, HFC-conscious husband...

...he crashed after a long day of work and many hours in the sun golfing. Boy-oh-boy, I love that fella!

It's A New Day

Believe it or not, I DID blog about the ENTIRE wedding. I left no detail out and my rendition of the big day was touching, and beautiful, and would have made you felt like you were actually THERE. Then, the web browser crashed, logged me out of blogspot and I lost the ENTIRE thing. I may have cried...maybe, maybe not. :) Soooo....until I get the motivation to re-blog it (which may SEEM easy, but for some reason is actually not)...you'll have to just make do. :)

Since the wedding we have:

1. Been on two different trips.
2. Become the proud owners of a Wii and some of the fantastically fun games that go with it.
3. Made some slight home improvements.
4. Gotten involved with a few more church activities.
5. Cooked some pretty dang good dinners.
6. Tremendously enjoyed spending time with each other.

Honestly, there is no one on this earth that I would rather spend my days with. He knows my habits, my faults, the things that make me squirm, the things that scare me, the things that bother me...Being with him is like being with a less annoying and obnoxious version of myself...*ahhhhh* :)

Slowly but surely we are establishing a routine for our weekdays and weekends, planning future trips (another one to Sacramento this summer), figuring out what our 5-10 year plan is, and growing closer together, towards God DAILY. I have found that in surrendering my will to Him that I am happier, more satisfied, and far more blessed than I could have ever been ALONE.

Until the next blog update, which I am honestly going to try and do more often...:)

Alyssa

Homecoming

No, no, no...not the dance...:) My husband is returning home today!!! Finally after a very long 27 days, 17 hours, 40 minutes...he is coming HOME. :) It may not seem that long, but trust me, it was. Throughout the last 4 weeks, I have replaced toilet seats, unclogged the shower, broken the kitchen light, fixed the screen door, broken the screen door again, picked up a million pounds of dog poop, read over 20 books, watched an entire season of Lost, completed about 25 Sudoku puzzles in 4 days, and spent every night alone. At times I cried, at times I laughed at how silly I was for crying, and even found myself watching Cops at 2am once. Now that's how I knew I was starting to go crazy. ;) Chad has endured a much more busy version of the last 4 weeks. He has been working at least 8-12 hours a day with only an occasional Sunday off of work. He has been diligently working his butt off to make sure he did what he needed to do in the short time that they had him there (I say short, because they wanted to keep him longer). He has been living out of a hotel room, eating out every day (which doesn't sound bad, until you have to do it for a month), and had to spend the month after our wedding in Miami (which is where we were supposed to go for our honeymoon) with Gary, a work friend (and that, much like the eating out, doesn't sound bad until you have to do it for a month-just teasing, Gary)!

I tell you all of that to help explain how the last month has felt for us...which was....like a lifetime! But now that he is finally returning, it feels like the time passed in an instant. I definitely wouldn't want to do this again anytime soon, though! :)

I go to pick him up mid-day today...and as evidence by the earliness of this post (I've been up since 2am)...I am SOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!! I am going to spend my morning primping and fussing with my hair and my makeup and my clothes (yes, yes, I'm suuuuuuch a girl). Then I'm going to go pick him up and enjoy a much needed weekend with my sweet, sweet husband. :) Valentine's is Sunday and we have no plans yet but to relax, cook some yummy food, and then pick up Chad's sister, Alicia, later in the day from DIA. Next week will be spent running around like mad people tying up loose ends before our wedding ceremony on Friday. My Oma and Opa will be driving here from Illinois and will arrive Sunday as well. So here's to a nice, relaxing weekend before all the craziness of next week breaks loose. BUT-the great news?? We'll be in Vegas...(Let me take a minutes to explain...plane tickets to get to Miami, where we were supposed to go for our honeymoon, were getting REALLY expensive and as Chad just spent a month there...we decided to go to Vegas instead. My parents lent us the use of their awesome time-share with Westgate Resorts, and we will be staying the awesome Flamingo Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.)...for a whole week! We plan on trying to check out some cool shows, hit up the M&M factory, and spend a week really relaxing and enjoying ourselves before getting back into work and the swing of things. :)

With all of that said, I am finishing up my last episode of Lost for the morning and then I am off and rolling! See ya'll in a few days when we resurface! :)

Love,
Alyssa and Chad

Married Life...

...so far consists of waking up, showering, getting ready, running errands, cleaning, eating, playing video games, watching the Fast and the Furious Movies in reverse order, building lots of fires, and praying my crazy eyes out! All of these things fun, but all of these things, alone.

I have been Mrs. Alyssa Duncan for 13 days, 1 hours, and 11 minutes...and only got to spend about 15 hours with my husband before he left.

But here's the thing, I'm not telling you this to make you feel sorry for me (us), or to make you think I'm not holding up, or that I don't like being married if this is how it is turning out....Because here's the TRUTH:

I LOVE being married. If there was anything in this world that I know I was meant for, it was this. He is my BEST FRIEND, the man that I love with all of my heart, my sweetheart, my dear. To try and imagine my life without him, is like trying to imagine life without my consistently beating heart. Even from 2000 miles away, he still calls me every night to tell me he's safe and that he loves me, he lets me babble away even though he's worked a 14 hour day and needs rest, and he still comforts me after I've had a bad dream.

Yes, I am counting down the days until he gets home. But I am thankful that he is staying in Miami for now (to assist Southcom). It will make his return trip easier and makes me feel more at ease about his safety. I am also thankful for such an amazing church family. We have received a plethora of prayers for his safety and his general well-being. That means the world to me.

Now the PR guy from Northcom is writing an article about Chad and what he's doing down there to assist Haiti and Southcom. He is with three other guys but they chose to write about him. I am so incredibly proud. The guy who is writing the interview sent him a list of questions to answer about what he is doing. The last question asked him if there was anything else he would like to add. His response was:

"I got married the night before I flew down here to
USSOUTHCOM and my new wife, Alyssa, has been beyond supportive and
understanding during this rough time."

After I wiped away the giant crocodile tear that rolled down my cheek in reading this, I thanked GOD for sending me a wonderful and amazing man. I am so in awe.

In conclusion, married life will be much better after he is HOME. But married life nonetheless, is incredibly fulfilling. And beautiful. So beautiful.