So here we are again...

Today is our 2nd Anniversary! That's right, 2 years ago we gathered with all of our family and friends in White Stone, Virginia to celebrate Emily and I coming together as a married couple.

What a couple of years it has been too! We've made a couple of major career decisions, we've moved over 15 hours away, and we've acquired some major debt (cars, house, etc)...and we couldn't be happier!

I think we're ready for the next step now and although I have an idea, I just don't know for sure what that step will be...

"You can cling to your fears if you want to. To your heart and your soul you must be true..."
- Edwin McCain

'Tis the Season!

Well, well, well...another year has crept up on us...

December has showed up and reared its AWESOME head! I LOVE this time of year!  It's the season of freshly baked cookies, gift wrapping, Christmas songs, holiday cheer (in most cases), and best of all....it's Jesus's birthday!!


Seeing as how this is our first Christmas in our "new" house...We decided to go all out (when DON'T we). Luckily we stumbled upon a 75-90% off sale on Christmas lights last December 26th...that's right, we stocked up on over 4,000 lights before we even knew what house we would have to decorate!  So with all of the lights already purchased, this year we simply had to buy the electrical cords to power them all!  Whew, talk about an interesting couple of shopping trips.  How many people buy 20 extention cords and no lights??

It took a couple of days but we finally got the outside finished and VOILA!

                                      Our 8.5 foot Tree (fresh from a farm!)

   

 We asked and the girls are ok with sharing a stocking

                    This used to be my grandmother's ceramic tree!

And since we commensed the "exterior illumination" just after thanksgiving, Emily and I figured we needed something to officially "ring" in the Christmas season...Trans-Siberian Orchestra!!  Our friends Justin and Shara, and of course J and Meghan all joined us as we spent the weekend in Raleigh and shared a truly amazing experience!  Now I've always enjoyed the music of TSO and of course I've heard about the shows but to hear and to actually witness are two amazingly different things! Between the story, the music, the instruments, the lights (and FIRE), it was a complete awe-inspiring moment!  And in case you couldn't tell, all 6 of us HIGHLY recommend taking in a show!

So the season is well upon us and, in fact, Christmas is almost here.  What will you be doing?  We're going to be celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior while savoring the times we get to spend with family and friends!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBOOOOODY!

Love, The Straslers

Thanks!

Wow, what a week it has been.  Last Wednesday my folks came into town for the very first time since we moved back to Havelock! Adam also came down Wednesday afternoon and Jessica, Jason, Landon, and Bella (just a couple of months away) came into town Thanksgiving day!  Emily made one HECK of a Thanksgiving meal and was quite the hostess as we had a full house for the first time! 

After everyone got some much needed rest Friday morning, Emily and I took the family to Minnesot Beach and Oriental by way of the NC Ferry system!  Although it was overcast and VERY windy, it seems as though everyone had a good time and Landon got to enjoy his first ferry ride!

 

It's been a few months since all of us have been together under one roof and hopefully it won't be that long again.  We had a great time hosting and it was really good being able to spend Thanksgiving together again!

Getting ready...

So in this past week we've celebrated the 235th Marine Corps Birthday, Veteran's Day, and even South Carolina winning their very first South Eastern Conference East Division title! Now it's time to get ready for the holidays...

Thanksgiving will bring in my folks to see the new house for the first time!  Jessica, Jason, Landon, and Bella (soon) will be here to visit as we host a holiday for the first time in our house.  It's pretty exciting to finally be "grown up!"

Blessings

Doesn't it just feel awesome when someone notices when you pour your heart and soul into something??

This past Sunday our friends Justin and Shara (along with the rest of UTurn) organized a church softball game that would be followed with food and fellowship. The event itself was an absolute blessing as we all played (first time in a long while for me), ate, and eventually started our "Ask the Pastor" service. Granted it was a little chilly but it was awesome looking around our circle and seeing men and women of all ages coming together for our cause...to celebrate all that He has given us!

After our softball game we trekked on over to the church where we held our weekly service. Boy were we in for a nice surprise! One of our regulars brought a professional Japanese singer to sing some of our hymns! This woman was AMAZING and it turns out that she's a pastor in Japan. It's pretty cool that while she's visiting, she wanted to come by a see how we worship.

The best thing? At the end of our service, she came up to me and told me that she plans on going back to her church and changing the way they worship!

I don't care who you are, that's pretty cool!

"You can cling to your fears if you want to. To your heart and your soul you must be true..."
- Edwin McCain

Well here we are...

I'll give you two guesses as to what my costume is all about!  That's right, this year we decided (last minute) to go to a Halloween party to celebrate! Emily came up with these amazing costume ideas and we had a complete blast at the party!  Where was it, you may want to know...

We aren't really sure (weird I know). We were invited by some friends of ours to go to a party that they were invited to (yes, they were told to bring friends) by a client of hers (she's a hair styler). So since we really haven't been able to celebrate much in the past, we figured that this was our year!  And boy was it ever!  When we got there, we pulled up to a field where some 200 cars were parked.  There were people dressed as devils, referees, chickens, breathalyzers (one of my favorite), and all sorts of crazy things.  This was a BIG deal!

We walked up to this HUGE house on the Trent River (literally...RIGHT ON the river) and there were 3 open bars, an oyster bar, a buffet table, a dessert table, it was truly ridiculous!  I won't bored you with all of the night's specifics but let's just say it was one of the coolest parties I've ever been to and it was definitely the biggest!

Hope everyone had a happy (and safe) Halloween and bring on Thanksgiving and Christmas!!

P.S.  Figure it out yet??

I'm going to go back and think about all that has happened over the past few weeks and talk about it one day...today is just not that day...

It's 0630c on 12 May 2010. I pick up my Separations Orders at 0800...out of town by 0830. What a long journey this has been and what an exciting road ahead of me...!

"I have nothing left to give, I have found the perfect end."
- Breaking Benjamin