Better Late than Never

I finally got around to taking pictures of our Rhode Island house. I'm 3 months late, but figured those who won't get a chance to visit would still appreciate them :) Enjoy!

The house as you come up the driveway

Our yard

The front door and patio from the yard

What you see when you walk in the door

To the right of the front door is the kitchen

Off the kitchen to the right is our laundry "room" (closet). That machine you see is both the washer and dryer. It's European!

To the left of the front door is the living room

Behind the living room is the spare bedroom/office

Across from the office is our tiny bathroom

In the very back is our bedroom

The house is little, but has a surprising amount of space for the things we brought and is not nearly as small as I originally imagined. There are definitely a few things we're not loving, but overall it's been perfect for our few months here.

While we're on the topic of homes, prayers would be greatly appreciated as we prepare to head back to NC at the end of May. Our original plan was to live on base, but when I called housing earlier this month I was told that it wouldn't be ready until the fall. And with the tornado that went through Jacksonville earlier this week, it may end up being longer. I'm a little afraid to call and find out. At any rate, we're really not wanting to move at the end of May, get our stuff out of storage, and then have to move again in the fall. So, we're considering renting a house out in town for the next few years or buying a home of our own. Pray for wisdom and direction. Pray that the Lord would be preparing a place for us. And not only a place of residence, but a church home as well.

And may we all find rest in knowing that the Lord is preparing a glorious everlasting home for us with him.

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
John 14:2-3

We've been busy...

to say the least. Our last four weekends have been packed, as will be our next four weekends. It's a good problem to have as far as I'm concerned, but it does make blogging a little more difficult. I'll try to be better at posting updates and pictures as they come rather than all at once, but I make no promises.

Here's what we've been up to!

Nate went skiing in Vermont. There are two other guys from Nate's unit in NC who are also here in school with him. The three of them took a guy's day and hit the slopes. They had a great time and Nate said it was absolutely gorgeous, but the camera died early in the day so there aren't many pictures. But, here's a shot of him with his buddy, Glen.


The next week I flew to MD on Wednesday night and Thursday morning my mom, sister, and I got in the car and commenced a two day driving trip to Stephenville, TX. What's in Stephenville, TX? Furthermore, WHERE is Stephenville, TX you may ask.

What - Tarleton State University. Brittany was accepted into the school as a transfer student. She finished up her associates degree and is now heading to TX for her bachelors. But, before signing on the dotted line she wanted to go visit to "make sure" she liked it. She'd pretty much already decided she was going to love it and visiting was just the icing on the cake. She wanted us to leave her there and mail her all her stuff :)

As for where - Check out the map. Dallas is at the top and Austin is at the bottom. The two hour drive from Dallas is gorgeous!


But, I digress. Thursday we drove from my parents house to Nashville, TN. I must say that a movie playing on a laptop with the sound coming through the speakers makes the time go by infinitely faster when you're driving. It helps when it's a movie you've seen a thousand times so you know what's going on without actually looking over at the screen (dangerous since you're driving). Our movies of choice were Twilight of course. Nashville was cool, but the most memorable part of our quick visit was Mario and Luigi singin' country on the corner.

Brit giving them some moolah for their effort.

We left Nashville Friday morning, stopped in Little Rock to have lunch with Nate's Aunt Vanessa, cousin Whitney, and Nana, and then finished our drive to Stephenville. Saturday was an open house on campus (the reason we just HAD to go this particular weekend). It was a spectacular day, from the great open house, to the 90 degree weather, to the beautiful campus. Here are a few winners from the day!

700 lb. pig. This picture so does not due it justice!

We drove home Sunday and Monday. It was great to spend time as just the girls, see where my sister will be spending the next few years of her life, and enjoy some warmer weather! If only Rhode Island could be so warm...

A few days after my return we found ourselves with a sunny day and went hiking/driving with Daisy.

Hiking along a beach :)

Driving around Beavertail State Park we found a skunk!

Shaggiest cow ever

That brings us to this past week! Christen, the wife of a Marine in Nate's class, was up visiting for the week. So Friday we went to a fancy, shmancy resort for lunch. We dressed up and had a lovely time. Lunch was delicious and the view was gorgeous!

The resort

The dining room

The view!

Saturday, Nate's class went to Boston for a tour at the Harpoon Brewery. All you can drink, as fast as you can drink it, free beer = happy Marines. It was a good time, even though Nate was on duty and couldn't have any :(

We found a dragon while walking around

Clint tapping a very large keg :)

All that beer would be gone in a few days if they shut down production!

Class pic complete with the harpoon

We left the brewery and headed to Foxborough, MA. Their claim to fame is the New England Patriot's stadium.

But why where we there?

Bass Pro, of course... We went in to "see the aquarium". Or so I was told. Turns out this Bass Pro is kind of like a museum in the middle. It was pretty, so I was happy and took pictures.





And that pretty much brings you up to date on the Adventures of Nate and Jaime. On tap for this week: my sister flies in tomorrow and my parents are driving up with my brother Friday night for Easter weekend. Yay!