Long Hiatus

I thought I was finally going to become a faithful blogger. Alas, it has now been four months since my last blog post. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of another beginning for me in the blogging world. Much has transpired in our journey over the past few months, so let me share what God is doing...

Bradley began Arabic studies at the Defense Language Institute on August 15th. Overall, he has enjoyed studying and the challenge that comes with learning a new language. His grasp of concepts, vocabulary, and grammar are amazing, and I must admit that I'm a bit jealous of the opportunity he has to be in language class everyday! We are looking forward to his two week Christmas vacation, which begins December 18th.

On August 27th, I received the horrible news that my brother, David, had been killed, along with his girlfriend Heidi. Never in my life did I imagine something like this would happen to my family. We are so grateful for the promise of eternal life, and the knowledge that we have of David, and Heidi's, personal relationships with Jesus Christ. We are confident that they are with Jesus and we will one day see them again. The journey of grief is long, painful, and different for everyone. I am thankful that I had two weeks right after David's death to spend with my family in VA. We had times of crying, laughing, remembering, and pondering the future. Leaving them to return to Monterey was difficult, and I still struggle with being so far away from them while we are all still grieving the loss of David. My parents have been a testimony of God's grace and strength, and I feel so privileged to have parents who not only teach the truth of God's Word, but also live it out in their day to day lives. We mourn. We hurt. We miss David. The only thing that I can say is getting me through this, is keeping my mind fixed on the character of God. The attributes of God never change. He is: Good, Loving, Faithful, Just, Sovereign, Merciful, Compassionate, Kind, Gentle....the list could go on. Some might struggle with believing these things about God in the midst of difficult times, but by God's grace, He is enabling me to keep believing these truths about Him and resting in Him as I struggle with the loss of my brother.

Right before David died, we found out that Baby #2 is going to be a girl! So, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our second daughter. This pregnancy has been fairly easy, much like my first. Having Bradley with me during this pregnancy has been a wonderful blessing and I'm so thankful that we are able to share these special times. I'm currently 35 weeks pregnant, and counting down the days until this baby comes.

I'll try and post some recent pictures soon, and hopefully will become a faithful blogger, keeping track of the ways that God continues to guide us on this amazing journey of life!

San Diego Fun

After a long drive through the California deserts and vineyards, we finally arrived home last night after a great visit with friends in San Diego. Bradley's good friends from his Bob Jones days get together every year, usually in Charleston, SC, but this year we gathered in San Diego for a new West Coast adventure. Some of the highlights: feeling the COLD Pacific Ocean with Isabella for the first time (she did NOT enjoy that experience), attending the Del Mar horse races and being entertained by those who bet on the races, having Bradley join us for the last two days (thanks to our gracious US Navy and generosity of wonderful friends), touring the San Diego Zoo, and laughing harder than I've laughed in a long time! There is nothing like getting together with good friends and enjoying one another.

Despite the lack of routine sleep, Isabella was a trooper! We are so grateful for our precious little girl. In the past few days, she has started some firsts, for which we are excited! She claps her hands now, almost on demand, and loves to smile and praise herself. On Saturday, I rubbed my finger across her gums for the millionth time in the past few months, and FINALLY felt a tooth! I think that toothless grin is going to be gone soon. And, I think the best of all (for me anyway), is that she has started to say "MA MA". Granted, it's more babbling than actually trying to get my attention, but it's endearing nonetheless.

This second pregnancy has been much different than the first, mostly because my attention is naturally on the developing life of our little girl. However, I'm beginning to get what I think is a preview of Baby #2's personality. There have been very few little flutter kicks this time around, just very large, and hard, punches and kicks. While driving home last night I was kicked so hard that I exclaimed out loud and startled Bradley! I don't think this next one is going to allow me to just keep my attention on Isabella--even in the womb--he/she is going to make himself/herself known! What a joy it will be to watch these two little ones interact together. We are blessed indeed!

I'll try to post some pictures of our trip later on, but I need to get unpacked and straighten up around the house.

San Francisco

We arrived in Monterey on a Wednesday and immediately began our furious house/apartment hunting search. After exhausting all possibilities, we submitted an application and decided to drive up the coast to San Fran for the night! We had a great time, mostly watching the scenery on Highway 1 as we made our way north. Here are a few shots of our time there.

The famous Golden Gate Bridge
Bradley indulged me and took me to Chinatown--the largest Chinatown outside of Mainland China. We had an authentic Chinese meal, and Isabella had her first taste of lychee. The hostess at the restaurant was enthralled with Isabella and insisted on feeding her lychee. I tried not to think about the fact that she was licking the lychee juice off of her own hands before feeding it to my daughter!

MMM! Sweet and sour chicken, chicken and cashwes, and REAL fried rice!

Thrid Time's a Charm

This is officially the third time I've started a blog. A friend encouraged me to begin blogging and I think it will be a great way to record the journey of our lives. I do my own journaling, but that is usually spiritual and personal thoughts, so I figure this can be my outlet for remembering our family memories and keeping tidbits of information on our children as they grow.

This past year has been a whirlwind! Bradley joined the Navy, we had a baby, moved to San Diego--where we lived for a total of 5 months--, got pregnant with Baby #2, and moved to Monterey! I never cease to be amazed at all that God can allow to happen in one year. We rejoice, though, in the challenges we have faced as this year has grown us and stretched us in ways that would never have happened otherwise.

Our move to Monterey took place about three weeks ago and so far we absolutely LOVE living here! Our new apartment is small, but we have a great view of the Monterey Bay, we can walk to Cannery Row, and we love the quaint 'small town' feel of Monterey and Pacific Grove. Bradley's drive to work each day is only 5 minutes (another blessing) and we have already made friends here and found a great potential church. The Lord is good and gracious to provide so much in such a short amount of time!

Isabella is a trooper! She has handled all of this change well and gets sweeter and sweeter every day. We are so blessed to have her as our daughter!

Tomorrow Isabella and I head back to San Diego for a vacation with some of Bradley's college friends. Unfortunately, B can't go with us, so we'll miss him, but we're looking forward to catching up with friends and spending some time at the beach.