Bring in the New Year!

I'm currently sitting in a parking lot on the outskirts of central London waiting on our friends to join us. We will then catch a tube in, eat dinner, and wait for hours in the rain and cold to see one of the most fantastic firework shows of the New Year! I couldn't be more excited!

Some amazing things happened in 2012, and even more amazing things are to come for 2013!!

In the year two thousand and twelve we celebrated many birthdays! Richard turned 23, I turned 21, Nali turned 2, Athena turned 1, and Rhapsody was born. I learned how to play Bass. We visited France and Germany. We had loving family visit from America causing some amazing adventures. Richards parents met Rhapsody. We managed to move to a new home. Then my father, sister, step-mom and grandma(?) (step moms mom...) all came for a visit. We finally visited Whales! I quit my job to be a mommy. We got an assignment to Turkey for 2013. My best friend got pregnant! (Whoot!) We made new friends and lost some others. Richard and my marriage has grown and is getting better than ever. (Except on Sundays, when we argue about what capo Better Is One Day is supposed to be...) Richard got me playing Skyrim (oh snap! My geek just showed herself!)

The most memorable part of 2012 will forever be giving birth to my beautiful and amazing daughter. I had her in our small home in Brookville, in a little pool with Richard by my side, my friends around me and my mom Skyped in. I will always remember the first time I set eyes on her. My world instantly shifted, changed, became more complicated and more simple all in one moment. My Lord has given me the world by giving me Rhapsody. I have never felt a love as deep as what I have for her.

With the finale of 2012 comes all the hope and expectation of 2013! We will all gain another year of age. A new home. A new adventure is soon to come! I welcome 2013 with excitement and joy!

Welcome to My Version of Life

My Least Favourite Question...

"Isn't that awkward?"

Yeah. I hate that question. Or any variation of said question (i.e. Is that weird? Should you cover? Is this an okay place to do that?) You may be asking what "that" is. It's breast feeding. This topic comes up a lot for me as Rhapsody is still eating every hour during the day (however she sleeps all night long!) Which means that I have to feed her anywhere and everywhere. She's been like this since she was two months old, and doesn't really show signs of slowing down! I've tried to make her 'wait' longer before, but she is just starving an hour after being fed; and even crazier is that Rhaps won't take a bottle. So when I am in public and she cries, I feed her. And that's when the questions come out. For a society that lets women 'dress' themselves in practically nothing, people really freak over a breast feeding mom! I always cover when I am in food establishments out of respect for the people who have to be around me. But anywhere else I prefer to feed and walk; which means no cover. Rhapsody doesn't like the cover and will just move it around anyways, so if I can't pay attention to her completely, I won't cover. I never thought that this would ever be in issue. I didn't think people actually got upset or freaked out by a nursing mom (I never did). But they do. And it makes me sad. I'm never indecent, never revealed (not even a side boob is exposed). And I've absolutely mastered getting Rhapsody on without showing any of the dreaded nipple exposure, and I can't go a day without wearing a camisole to make sure that I am perfectly covered at all times. So where does this question come from? No it isn't awkward. I literally do this ALL the time. No I shouldn't cover. I am not 'exposed.' And, yes, this is an appropriate place to feed because my daughter is hungry and crying, and if she wants food I WILL give her food. Trust me. The alternative is not an option. I'm not sure if any of my other breast feeding moms feel the same, and I'm sorry for such a glum post, but JEEZE, I'd been asked about fifteen times to many and had to get it off my chest!

Welcome to My Version of Life

Gettin' Crafty

Richard bought me a pair of black TOMS today and me being me decided to draw on them!! Here are the results!!

Start with plane jane black TOMS... oh yeah!

Then Trace the shoes on a piece of paper....

Next draw your design, I had alot of fun with this one! I always draw on paper first to get the idea and make sure what I want will look good on the shoes BEFORE i permanently alter them...

Then draw your design on the shoes! I had a silver sharpie, found in a random drawer in my bedroom. No idea how it got there...

AND VIOLA! Finished! Not EXACTLY what I drew on the paper thanks to my sharpie being thicker then the pencil used in the original drawing. Nevertheless, I am happy with the result!

Welcome to My Version of Life

Oh no! Another thing!

So you probably aren't aware, our little family has had a serious run of bad luck! We drained our savings after Rhapsody was born, with family coming to town and having to pay for a move. Then our landlords (who made us move, by the way, I would never have left that house!) have decided they want to keep our entire deposit! They took so long to decide, now we can't use the company set in place to investigate false claims. Then a little over a week ago my car died, and I mean super dead (seriously, i wouldn't touch that thing with thirty nine and a half foot pole). And now yesterday our computer died too!! I know, craziness!

However, I am not writing this post for pity (no, really, I'm not!). I want to share that even with all of this "bad" stuff, Richard and my relationship has never been better or stronger! We are skipping Christmas, and normally that would have me seriously in the dumps (who doesn't like presents!) but this year I am finding that I am more than happy to simply enjoy the season and day with my adorable family and our amazing friends (more like family at this point). We are saving our money, paying off our bills, and selling my husbands baby (his car! Where did your mind go?) to buy a new family car before moving to Turkey. We have a plan and we are moving forward. More as one now than at any other time in our marriage. I lay full blame on God. Even with all of these troubles, which would normally have us in knots trying to fix, we have remained with a sense of calm. I think the joy that our daughter brings us has also helped to keep our minds on the bright side of life (if you just sang the song in your head then you, my sir or madam, are awesome.)

With all of THAT said, I will try and keep the blog going but until we can save enough moola to buy a new laptop I will be posting on my phone! So please excuse any weird spelling/grammar mistakes (autocorrect, ya know!) I will attempt to proofread, reread, and triple check...

Welcome to my version of life.

First Blog... GO!

Why hello my lovelies! (not even sure if anyone is going to even read this!)

Welcome to my blog. My diary. My Journal. My thoughts. I hope to use this as an outlet for my inner churnings, so I guess this is your fair warning! If you happen to be easily offended, unable to handle sarcasm, and don't particularly like to read too much information, this probably isn't a blog for you... However, if you like the occasional funny anecdote, way too many pictures of my daughter, dogs, and husband, and want a glimpse into my world then hang around for a while and get to know me!

Here is a bit about me (really nothing terribly interesting, you could probably skip this portion). I married the most amazing man ever, Richard King, in 2010 (twice technically! Once legally in April and again in July at the church my foster mother married her husband). He is the military portion to my mom. Richard decided to go into the Air Force shortly before proposing to me, and we wanted to get married between his Tech School and first station. We found out early on in his training that the first base he was to go to would be England. What an amazing opportunity! I wasn't going to let him go without me so we got legally married in April. That September, after 9 months of barely seeing each other we finally got to live together in a country full of history, opportunities, and our own crazy sort of family (we adopted two dogs in the meantime!). Richard and I have absolutely made the best of our experience here and we still have 10 months left!

In November of 2011, Richard and I found out we were expecting a little bundle of joy in 8 months. I wasn't prepared, I won't lie, for the absolutely life altering experience that giving birth to my daughter, Rhapsody, would be. I birthed a 6 lb 9 oz miracle on July 10th, 2012. I had the amazing opportunity to labor at home, in a pool, with my husband holding me, my mom Skyping, and my best friends there to experience the joy. Rhapsody is one of the easiest, and most joyful babies I have ever met. Not saying she doesn't drive me insane sometimes, but her little giggle and smile seems to make my world right in an instant. She has her daddy absolutely enthralled, Nali (our Siberian Husky) has taken on the role of nanny, and Athena (our Husky German Sheppard mix) is always up for a cuddle.

Now Richard, Rhapsody, and I always seem to be busy! Weekends are consumed with our closest friends, traveling, and playing on the Praise team at our Church (somewhere along the way Richard taught me how to play bass...) We are preparing to move to Turkey in October (I cannot wait to be warm!), and I am one busy 'stay at home' (if only it were THAT easy!) mom.

That is the short and to the point version of my family, but you are sure to learn more in the months to come.

Welcome to my version of life.

A Military Mom's Monologue