The Five Cent Tour...

Well, we're all moved in! I still have a lot of pictures and shelves to hang and a few boxes to unpack, but for the most part, we're organized. (OK, sort of - we're still awaiting the truckload of our storage contents from TX. More funiture, home decor items, patio furniture, etc. are set to arrive April 6. Can't wait to see what I've forgotten we have!)

Anyhow, I thought I'd go ahead and take some shots of our home as it stands right now. I hope some of you will be able to come visit and see it in person sometime!



Look, we have a palm plant!



Entry way...




Living Room, Kitchen & Dining...








The Office (also serving as a catch-all for items not unpacked yet)



Guest Bath & Guest Bedroom...




Master Bedroom & Master Bath...







Screened Patio (serving as another catch-all space for now)...

Graduating The Basic School

Mike spent an enduring six months training at Quantico to gain the basic skills of a Marine Corp Officer. He did very well, graduating near the top of his company on March 16. We are so proud of you, Mike! Congratulations!

As promised, here are a couple of shots from Mike's graduation. The pictures taken at the actual ceremony didn't turn out, unfortunately, but here are some taken afterward. Mike's parents came in town for the event and I took a couple of pictures of Mike with his mom and dad, but it must've been with their camera. Ginger, if you're reading this, can you send me the pictures from your camera?

I love Mike in this uniform. Soon, he will add another uniform to his collection... a flight suit!

Mike with buddy and fellow flight contract, Caleb Davis.



Mike and me with Chad and Sommer Tucker (middle) and Brent and Margaret Rider (left).

We're Home!

After a week of craziness and two days of driving, we are finally home. We've been busy bees for the past two days after closing on our new home here in Milton, FL. We LOVE the house!!! We spent yesterday shopping for a new washer and dryer and a microwave. Then spent last night doing some heavy duty cleaning. Turns out the previous owners had three gi-normous cats. We used our trusty Kirby vaccuum, equipped with some special allergen bags we found and sucked up a lot (hopefully all) of the dander and such in the carpet. Our furniture is supposed to arrive tomorrow morning. I can't wait to get off this air-mattress and into our bed. As far as our painting project, we've cancelled it. The paint the previous owners used is beautiful!!! Our taste exactly. We won't change a thing, except maybe add an accent wall here or there. And of course we'll paint the nursery once we know what we're having.

Here's Junah. He slept 99.9% of the drive. As you can see, he can sleep in just about any position.


I took this as we crossed from Alabama into the Sunshine State. Hello sunshine!!!

I'll post pictures of the house once we have all our furniture in place. Stay tuned also for pictures from Mike's graduation.


I'm nine weeks along today. Mike has been tolerating my morning sickness. It's driving me insane, however. I feel nauseous throughout the day and actually get sick two or three times a day. I'll have about three more weeks of it, I guess. Other than that, I feel OK. No cramps or headaches or anything. There's so much to do around here, and it's a bit frustrating that often I can't find enough energy to do it all. Mike is so understanding, and I'm so lucky to have him! I'm looking forward to the second trimester, which I'm told will be much better.

On the Move

A quick update...

This past week has been a hectic one for us. Our household goods were packed Monday and Tuesday, the movers came Wednesday, Mike's parents came in Wednesday afternoon, Mike graduated Thursday, we helped our friends pack all day Friday and then crashed last night on our air matress in our empty apartment. Phew! What a week.

We headed out around 11 a.m. today in our loaded down Escalade with the Camry in tow. We drove for seven or so hours and tonight I'm typing this while sitting in our hotel about an hour outside of Atlanta. The drive hasn't been bad at all - very nice weather. We like watching the outside temperature gauge raise higher and higher as we trek south. We plan to wake early to drive the next half tomorrow. We should arrive in Milton (the little town we'll live in) around 3 p.m. Florida, here we come!

(Oh, and I'll post pictures from Mike's graduation after we get settled this week.)

Countdown to Moving Day

Seven days and counting...

One week from today, Mike will graduate from The Basic School here in Virginia. Way to go, Mike! We are so proud of you! He's really looking forward to flight school. And we're both looking forward to a warmer climate.

It hasn't really sank in yet, but we will be moving next Friday. This weekend, we'll be gearing up for the packing and moving company that will be here Monday thru Wednesday. We are excited to get down to Pensacola and see our new home (in person) for the first time. We close on the house Monday, March 20. However, our furniture and everything won't arrive until the 23rd. That's a blessing I think, because we'll have the perfect opportunity to PAINT! I'm so excited to pick all new colors! I've been watching HGTV and looking at lots of magazines lately to get ideas. I love paint. It's such a dramatic and inexpensive way to add character to a space. For the six months we've been here, we've had a lot of items held in storage in TX. I think we've both forgotten what we have, so it'll be fun to see what arrives!

Say Hello to Baby Wallace!

Mike and I went to our first true OB appointment today. I was checked out for awhile first, then Mike was able to come in for the second half, which was our first ultrasound. The baby is very tiny still - only 11mm long, but the heart is beating strong at 160 beats/min. It moved around as we watched in awe. My estimated due date is now Oct. 19. We were told everything looks good so far. We feel very blessed, and we appreciate all of the prayers and kind words everyone has given us.

A Shower of Surprises

Recently, my friends Margaret, Carolyn and I had been planning a surprise baby shower for our friend Sommer. The three of us had met secretly to plan the theme, the decor, the games and the food. The theme: "Momma Needs a Cocktail" (Carolyn and Marge had seen a t-shirt with this phrase and we thought it was hysterical and a perfect party theme). So we decided to dress up and serve "cocktail food" and tummy taming 7-Up in martini glasses, garnished with rock candy on a stick. It was too cute.

Not until I arrived did I realize Marge and Carolyn were tricking me the entire time and had been planning a double shower for both Sommer and me! I was confused at first, but then so excited! On the other hand, Sommer thought she was helping plan a shower for me. Needless to say, Carolyn and Margaret were really stressed up until the minute before.

It turned out beautifully. We had so much fun playing games and eating delicious treats. Thanks to them for such a great surprise!