Dear Facebook, It's not me, it's you... (A Breakup Letter)

Well, not you personally (although you have made quite a few changes that affect my privacy, but I digress) but more the environment you have created. When I first joined way back in 2004, only college students (or people with a .edu email address) were allowed to join. I loved having the opportunity to connect with other students. When you opened membership up to everyone, I wasn't too happy then I realized that I could connect with even more people. You brought people together, allowing me to feel involved in the lives of people who may have faded from my memory otherwise. 

Then things changed. 

I'm not sure if it's because we've been in a pretty steady relationship for the past 10 years (man, I'm old) but the thrill is gone. That thrill has been replaced with disgusting videos/pictures, judgemental posts, hateful comments and just a lack of the main thing that drew us together in the first place: connection. I honestly feel less connected than ever before.

With that said, I think our relationship is coming to an end. Not a complete, "I'm deactivating my account", end but more like an, "I won't be logging in as often end". Don't worry, I'll still come to visit (at least until I get out of the habit of logging in). With your millions of users, I'm sure I won't even be missed. 

So long for now Facebook! If you miss me, I'll be connecting in real life. 

Nürnberg: Volksfest

On Saturday, our family met up with another family (of seven with one on the way!) in Nürnberg to check out their Volksfest. Volksfest is pretty much a large fair. There were rides and games (and beer, I mean it is Germany). We had a lot of fun (even though Liam was pretty cranky most of the time) and plan to attend more fests and attractions since the weather is nicer (you know, when it's not raining).

Our Week in Pictures {April 14 - April 20}

A First Birthday Letter to Asher (And Party Pictures)

My sweet little baby Asher,
I still can't believe that a year ago, I held you in my arms for the very first time and for the third time in my life, I fell in love. I know you won't be this small forever so everyday I am thankful for having you in my life. I will treasure every smile and every moment I am blessed to spend with you. Happy first birthday my love!

Here are a few pictures from Asher's first birthday party!

Our Week in Pictures {April 7 - April 13}

This week was a pretty quiet one. We spent lots of time at home, went one a few walks and celebrated my 29th birthday. 

29 years.

(This post was intended to go up on April 11th, the day after my birthday but I broke our router.)

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. I do not feel 29. I feel more like 24. It's weird to think about my life and where I'm at. Things have a way of working out quite differently than we imagined or planned. 10 years ago, I would laughed if someone told me I'd be a 29 year old Army wife and stay at home mom (with no degree). I probably would have said something like, "Do you think I'm stupid??!!". But here I am and it's not all that bad. This birthday has caused me to do a bit of self-reflecting. I realize that I am not a very happy person. I'm not sure if it's the lack of family/friends in my life or just the realization that I haven't lived up to my full potential.

Growing up (and even into college) I had a few adults take an interest in me but I never took advantage of their outstretched hand and mentorship. I always skated by doing the bare minimum and just accepting things as they came. I never realized that if I wanted to grow and improve as a person, it was up to me to do it. Instead I waited around for others to present me with opportunities and made half assed attempts when something finally fell into my lap. I wish I could say that was in the past but honestly, it isn't. This year, this 29th year, I plan to change that. I plan to work on my happiness but also work on building my self worth. I am worthy of opportunities for self growth and if those opportunities don't present themselves, I will go out looking for them.

All I can say is that this 29th year, I will grow as a person and 30 will be even better. 

Our Week in Pictures {March 31 - April 6}

Three S's: sunshine, smiles, and Sophie.

Original Liam artwork.

Soccer practice.

Orange heart shades.

Family runs.

Just me.

Liam's duckface.

A Lesson to be Learned

Aka "The time the Army kept most of our paycheck". 

I just checked our pay for next payday and I am surprised that I'm not curled up in a ball, crying after seeing such a low amount. We knew this was a big possibility in the back of our mind but overall, we could have prepared a lot better.

Pretty much, after Will came home on emergency leave and they decided that he did not need to return, the Army did not stop his deployment pay (even after multiple trips to Finance). After we finally got things worked out, they told us how much we owed and we set up payment arrangements. Well, let's just say that the Army decided not to use that arrangement and instead is taking all of the overpay this month. Yeah, not fun at all.

If this had been a couple months ago, I would be freaking out. I'm not sure if it's because we were semi-prepared for this or if I'm learning to deal with these hurdles (and controlling my anxiety better). Either way, I have learned a lesson in this situation. We definitely need to simplify our lives and start building our savings. We want to be more yah prepared if a situation like this were to happen again. 

Any tips on simplifying and/or building savings?

Marriage is...

HARD! I'll be the first to admit that we do not have a perfect marriage (or relationship for that matter). I did not have great examples of healthy relationships growing up. My parents divorced when I was young (and never really had a great relationship during or after their marriage) and although my mom had relationships after that, they were usually unhealthy.

I always knew that if I got married, I wanted a marriage different than the ones I saw growing up. I wanted my children to have a stable household full of love. Well, I think we've accomplished those aspects of our relationship but there are some areas that need to be improved.

Over the past month, both Will and I have put a lot more effort into our marriage. We've started to do more things as a family (even though Will runs on a regular basis, he has started doing my 5K running plan with me and the boys as well). We have also made communicating a priority. I think that has been the biggest issue with our marriage and I'd like to see that change. I have come to realize that we'll never have the perfect marriage and I have to accept that. There will be hard times and there will be good times but I wouldn't have it any other way. The way I see it, if we didn't have hard times, we wouldn't appreciate the good ones. Let's hope for lots of good times in our future.