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Today is the best day of the year in the Deem house. I could hardly sleep last night so I got up at crazy early o clock to just work on fun crafts and to start baking for church tonight and our neighbors. It was nice to watch the sunrise and not just because I have a paper to finish, but because I want to take in the day. So here is a picture of the goody bags we are going to pass out to our neighbors in a few hours. I love my new big shot machine that makes this cool bags and does other amazing stuff like embossing and cutting out pretty shapes.
I know I am a huge nerd but I had to give my favorite new toy of the year a shout out since it has been so fun to use this Christmas. Waiting for my best friend from high school to come decorate cookies with us and then a trip to Sammy's barkery to get food and treats before the Christmas Eve festivities begin (dinner at our favorite Chinese place with my parents, candlelight service at church, then gift opening at my parents). I am very thankful to have my husband here to celebrate this day with and we are praying for those whose loved ones are away serving our country right now.
I went over to my nephews house expecting to entertain them while their momma got some cleaning done but I got so much more than I could have hoped for. It's always fun with these guys and I always leave smiling, but today was special. To start out, Tate forgot his advent calendar last night so I got to help him enjoy that special tradition today and see him light up over chocolate. Then to top it off, he let me read him all of my favorite books I have given him (a special treat since he is usually Mr. Active) and then wanted me to read more so I took a chance and pulled out the Bible we had gotten him for his baptism. I fully expected to get turned down because it is mostly words but he wanted more after I read the part about creation and noah and moses and kept wanting more until I had to go after we finished the story of Jesus' birth. We made it through over half his Bible (50 some pages) and he said we could finish the rest next time. He usually keeps his promises and let's just say I am looking forward to it. We are so blessed with these guys and it only adds to it that this year we got to take him to a Christmas event at our church and to have shared a lot of the stories from the Old Testament today was an extra treat. God is such a big part of our lives and it is really special to share in it being a part of theirs.
This week has a lot of meaning for us. On the 14th Ryan celebrated 7 years in the Army. Congrats and thanks for your service my love. I can't believe he is over 1/3 of the way to the 20 year mark, which is pretty significant in the military. Of course he wants to be in longer than that but we'll see how it all pans out.
Today we celebrate two birthdays. The first being our lovable pups and the second being our car. Both turn two today, and no we did not plan it that way and of course we are more thankful for Samson than Chocolate (yes, the car has a name). Sammy has brought so much joy into our lives with his amazingly funny personality. He was "bread to sit on mommy's lap" as our obedience instructor put it, I am especially thankful to have him around when Ry is gone and I have my little buddy to keep me from feeling lonely.
We are having a small birthday party for Samson on Saturday. It seems silly but he loves being around people and we figure why not?! There will be lots of kids at the party so he should be one happy pup.
Stay tuned for pictures of the birthday boy in all his glory. I have my internship today but after that we are headed to Grammy's (his favorite) and we will have a mini celebration before my Dad and I head out to fo the rest of the Christmas shopping for my mom while she and Sammy have their special play time. Have I mentioned that I love how involved my parents are with my dog and that I am so thankful for their that especially when Ryan is gone?! Then we get to pick Ry up at the airport at the end of the night so Sammy should be one happy pup on his birthday.
Here are some pictures of when we first got Sammy.
He was so tired after a long day of helping me move things at church. I think he spent most of his first few weeks there getting it ready for its renovation. I am so thankful that he could tag along so I didn't have to miss out on that time with him.
On the first of many runs shortly after we got him. He wore Ry and I out then and he still gives Ry a run for his money.
With his first toy from Auntie Diana. He was actually playing with it two nights ago and it looks a little different now that he is five times bigger, but he still loves it:)
Tonight I got to help my good friend and former roomate move into her first place. The condo is beautiful and close to Wegmans:) It was great to be able to help Tawn given that she was a huge help with my emergency move and she came to unpack for a bit during my second move without Ry. It's good to have friends like her with a husband who is gone a lot for the Army. I hope she enjoys the new place and I look forward to lots of good memories there. Since I was focused on the move, I forgot to take a picture of us in her new place so this is a picture of us from our amazing trip to Chicago two years ago to see our good friend Lianna perform.
Day 2 of the break has been even better than the first. Started the day off with some time with Christen (sister-in-law) and the boys. In case you haven’t noticed, I adore our nephews and they light up my world. After that I headed to a long anticipated meeting with Army Community Services (ACS) on Ft Belvoir.
In October I decided that I wanted to volunteer for a cause that impacted soldiers and their families. They give so much of themselves and I wish I had taken this step sooner. I wrote/called ACS and the USO and ACS sent an enthusiastic response, but our schedules conflicted until now for the intake interview. It was worth the wait. I am so impressed by the magnitude of programs that they have to offer and at their interest in connecting me to a project I will enjoy.
Today I met the Family Advocacy Program Director and five other staff members who are more than interested in my coming on board. Possible projects for me include leading life groups for soldiers in AIT on Belvoir (the course after basic training), working with a moms group where the husbands are deployed, and giving briefings/trainings on domestic violence, child abuse, and/or sexual abuse. I am definitely going to be getting involved in a program they work with the Chaplain on called Hearts Apart, for spouses of deployed soldiers. I will be one in a few months, but regardless they need people with counseling skills and a spiritual background to be active in the group and I happy to step up to the plate. One thing that others could help with if you are interested is creating a welcoming environment through greeting and mingling at Warriors in Transition meetings. I will keep you posted once I know the dates of some of those.
So after meeting the wonderful staff and feeling really blessed by their enthusiasm about my background and skills, I am going to have to figure out where I should focus my time and resources. They are also going to try to figure this out and will get back to me shortly to get it all started. So far I suggested that an average of 4-8 hours a week would be plenty and I am hoping that I will be able to stand firm on my boundaries of time as I commit to spending more quality time with my family and to taking care of myself through a regular exercise routine. That said…it’s off to a family dinner at Diana and Jason’s to see their wonderful kitchen post-remodeling.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first day of my winter break. I got to spend some one on one time with my youngest nephew and am looking forward to spending some more time with both nephews tomorrow. I had to take Ry to the airport this morning but he comes back late Thursday night and is off Friday and everyday but Monday next week. So excited about some quality time with him!
I love the quality time we get with our families over the holidays and am excited to work on work on some scrapbooks with my family in PA. I am also looking forward to spending some extra time at the elementary school where I intern at because there are a few kids that I am concerned about and I want to try to figure out what is going on. I am hoping to get a few babysitting jobs to help pay for that last tuition payment that is coming up. It's finally time to start working on Laura's wedding invitations too which will be fun. Still working on my list of other fun things to fill the next month with.
In any case, it is just wonderful and strange to be so relaxed and to be able to do fun things without feeling guilty for the first time in months. It is kind of weird to think that this is my last winter break. I plan on making the most of it!
Carter's debut on the blog. He is pretty much always that happy.
In the past three years so many things have happened and at times I looked to the wrong things for comfort, like baking and Spaggettios. I also didn't put forth the effort to look for healthy options for meals on the go since my life is fairly fast paced. I definitely didn't set aside the time I should have to exercise. Then right as I was getting motivated this past year, I sprained my ankle, tearing most of the ligaments in my right foot. While the crutches gave my arms a good workout while I was on them, the rest of me suffered because I was exhausted and in pain for most of the summer. Excuses aside, its time to get back into shape.
My goal is to get back to the same kind of shape I was in on my wedding day. In the year of our engagement I ate better and made working out a priority. I felt healthy and loved the way my clothes fit. The bad thing for my health is that my confidence is not dependent on my weight. The good news is, I know that I need to be healthier for myself and the future of my family.
So, all that is to say that this past Friday after my internship, I began my new commitment to working out. I spent 30 minutes on our elliptical and it was painful (sad, I know) but it was also invigorating. Saturday, Ryan and I spent 40 minutes getting our you know whats kicked by Jillian Michaels and it was good to have someone to workout with. Yesterday I was too sore to do much (it hurt to clap during worship) so I spent 20 minutes on the Wii Fit and carried a 16 month old up and down the stairs a fair amount when I went babysitting.
I'm not the routine kind and definitely want to stay interested so I plan on switching up my work outs with various options like this. I also have to be aware of how exercises will affect my ankle and be cautious not to make it weaker by straining it. Most of the exercises I plan on doing will strengthen my ankle and hopefully prevent the sprain I am at high risk for this winter (ice is not my friend right now).
My plan is to do at least 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week, but 7 would be even better. My goal is to lose the weight before Ryan's deployment this spring so that way he will know he has a healthy wife back at home. Now that I have put all this out there, please hold me to it and I hope to keep you all updated, if only to hold myself accountable. Stay tuned for details on new healthy food options I am trying. I think I will do some wii fit now (love those balance games to strengthen that ankle) and looking forward to some elliptical time later today. Did I mention that I am so thankful I have this Winter Almost Break to help me make the time for jump starting this process?!
Some Recommendations for you to try if you are interesting in getting/staying in shape:
I enjoyed blogging when it was part of my job as the Assistant Pastor at Saint James, but I dropped it when life got a little crazy. So here is to a fresh start and to recounting the many wonderful memories that we make every day. I hope to be fairly regular about posting and that you enjoy hearing about our many adventures.
If you are wondering why we picked the address that we did, its because my husband is in the Army and one of the Army's slogans is Army Strong. We have called ourselves Team Deem for a while as a reminder that we are stronger together and its only fitting that we add a little Army to the mix since it plays a pretty big role in our lives.
We are off to church soon but here is our Christmas card/letter from this year in case you didn't get one in the mail:
December 1, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
This year has been another interesting one for us. For highlights from this past year you can check out our picture website: photos.teamdeem.org. The year started with Ryan’s commissioning ceremonies, where after 6 years in the Army, Ryan entered the officer corps as a 2nd Lieutenant. This spring was full of celebrations and good times. We visited a friend in LA and we were thrilled to have the youthgroup from Richmond come up for a mission trip in DC (the third annual). We were overjoyed at the birth of our second nephew in April, and that Ryan was able to be meet baby Carter before heading out to his 5 month long training two days later.
I was very fortunate to be hired on as a Youth Employment Counselor for the City of Alexandria for the summer and I loved every minute of serving the youth and working with an incredible team. Aside from the job, this summer presented a series of challenges while Ryan was away, but God provided through an unexpected move due to apartment flooding, my injury, dog surgery, and another move while I was still recovering from my injury. I don’t think I realized how strong I was going into this summer, but I think I have a better idea now. Shortly after we moved in to the new place in September, Ryan came home and Samson and I could not be happier. We spent the Fall packing in good times with family and friends and each other and we feel like we have continued to live by our rule of not taking a single day for granted.
I am finally in my last year of school! It has been quite the journey having officially been in grad school longer than college. In addition to my four classes, I spend three days a week serving as a School Social Work intern at Edison High School and leading a few groups at Mt. Vernon Woods Elementary School. I love it and it will be hard to leave in May, but I am confident God has a plan for a job for me after graduation. You can expect a big hooplah in May when I finally get both my Master of Social Work and Master of Divinity degrees.
Ryan is happy to be back home, having graduated with honors from training. He still loves his job as an Engineer for the Army Evaluation Center and is part of a wonderful team—not only are they all brilliant and hard working, but they have so much fun together. Ryan is also enjoying the new leadership aspect of his role in his unit. His unit is preparing for a deployment this coming spring and he will be responsible for 45 soldiers from the support platoon while gone for approximately fourteen months. We know that this will be a challenge, but we have been preparing for this for many years and we know that we are very blessed to have been given so much time before it actually happened. Your prayers are greatly appreciated until they all come home.
Here is to praying that this letter finds all of you well. Here is to praying for hope in a new year. Here is to praying that we all remember the reason for the season—that God loved us so much that He sent his only son to live among us and eventually give his life for us. May our lives be a reflection of that love now and always.
Love,
Ryan, Erika, and Samson Deem
