Christmas is Almost Here

Christmas is almost here, and we have been busy with celebrations and activities. Chris and I had a good time at our church life group Christmas party this past weekend. It was our first time out without kids since June.

We went to the Marine Christmas party yesterday. Logan and Brady saw Santa and had their picture taken. Brady was not so happy this year, as you can see below. Logan didn't want to sit on his lap, but he let Santa know that he wants Team GeoTrax for Christmas. Chris and I have been hearing about Team GeoTrax (a toy train) for months now. Logan talks about it all the time, and even prays for it every night before bed.

We started on our Christmas cookies already. I have had lots of help from Logan. Every time I get out a recipe, he grabs a stool and wants to help. Logan decorated Santa's cookies with lots of sprinkles and icing. Yum.

With so much focus on Santa and presents, Chris and I decided to start a new tradition with the kids this year. We have been talking more about the true meaning of Christmas with the boys, and chose to get them each three gifts to represent the three gifts that Jesus received. Hopefully this will give our gift opening some meaning and put more focus on Christ when we explain it to the boys.

My Body for Life challenge is over. I made it through the full 12 weeks of eating healthy and working out. Now that it's over, I plan on keeping it up, but allowing for a few extra treats during the holidays. I was able to lose quite a bit of fat and change my body shape. It's feels so good to be healthy.

Crying or no crying, you must have a picture with Santa.

The Marine Christmas party.

Daddy must play this game every night.

Mommy and Logan time.

Logan's cookies for Santa.

Brady was mad he couldn't touch them all.

Matching sweater buds.

Settling In Again

We are finally feeling settled in. Chris and I have been working hard on unpacking and organizing. It's so nice to be able to hang pictures on the walls and make this place our own.

Our first house guests came a few days before Thanksgiving. The Sobey family, our good friends from Lee's Summit, stayed with us for a few days on their way to South Carolina. Logan and Brady were so excited to see their friends, and I enjoyed seeing my best friend, Stacia. We took them to the beach and enjoyed a beautiful 70 degree day playing in the sand.

It was a little hard being away from family for Thanksgiving. We missed seeing everyone and all the traditions. Our new friends, the Hornsby Family, had us and another military family over for a potluck Thanksgiving meal. Having friends to spend the holiday with was such a blessing.

Logan with the Sobey kids.

A family beach photo.

Jen and Stacia.

One of the many military helicopters that fly by every day.

New House New School

We moved again! It's so nice to be back in a house. We moved in over a week ago, and love being here. God has really blessed us with with an amazing home, and we look forward to having people stay with us. With that said, I'm missing my friends and family so stinkin much, so start booking your flights. Seriously, let me know when you would like to visit. Did I mention we are just a few minutes from the beach? I included a few new house photos below.

Logan had his first day of preschool yesterday. I can't believe he is that old. He loved school, and is ready to go back. When we got home, Logan walked around like he was big stuff and Brady followed him around. It was too cute.

Our new finished house.

Logan is showing you his new playroom.

The living room and kitchen.

The master bedroom.

Logan's room.

After giving the tour of the house, Logan wanted me to take more pictures of us.

Spaghetti and chocolate pudding face.

The Children's Museum in Wilmington.

Halloween boys.

Mr. big boy. First day of school.

If you can't tell, we are super excited about our new house. It's pretty much the highlight of our day, to drive by and look at the work they have done. There are less than 30 days until we close on our new home, and we can't wait to move in. Chris and I dream about the things we can do when we have our own place again. Not only are we excited to have our friends and family come visit and vacation here, but we hope to use our home to serve others in the community. I look forward to hosting playgroups for other moms and kids and having families over for dinner. Jacksonville is full of military families that move often, and we are hoping to be a stable force in an unstable community.

One blessing about living in a small apartment for three months is we have been able to sight see every weekend. Instead of focusing on yard work and house chores, we have been exploring our surroundings. Two weekends ago, we took a trip to New Bern for their 300 year anniversary celebration. The celebration was small, but we enjoyed walking around the town and learning about it's history. Last weekend, we drove to the North Carolina Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores. It was a beautiful drive up one of the barrier islands. The boys loved seeing the fish and other sea creatures that are native to NC.

On top of everything we have been doing, I have decided to take on a challenge to become fit and healthy. To do this, I started the Body for Life program, which involves strength training, cardio exercise, and eating a balanced diet. The program last for 12 weeks, and today is day 18. By week 12, I hope to have developed healthy eating habits that I will continue to live by and to have more energy. I figure that if I blog about my challenge, I will be more likely to stick with it. Now that you all know, I can't quit.

You can check out our house and trip pics below.

It's really looking like a house now, with siding and stone.

Brady has never seen so many ducks at once. New Bern is pretty cool like that.

Logan totally thought this was Lightning McQueen.

Pretty Pine Knoll Shores.

Logan and Chris watching the fish.

The NC Aquarium.

Wilmington, Earl and More

We took a trip to Wilmington, NC last weekend and discovered a neat train museum. Logan was so excited to see trains and watch model train sets. Wilmington is a beach city with lots of shops and things to do. It's about an hour drive from Jacksonville, which makes for a great day trip.

We survived our first hurricane! Jacksonville was under a hurricane warning a few days out of Earl's arrival, but we were downgraded to a tropical storm warning before it reached us. We experienced some strong winds, rain and a power outage, but nothing major happened in the city. After Earl passed, the boys and I went out to the beach and found some great shells and other sea life.

Our new house is now completely framed and boarded. The roof, windows and doors are on, and they are working on plumbing and wiring (the picture is before some of this was complete). Our prayers were answered yesterday when our mortgage broker re-ran the numbers and told us it is no longer necessary to sell the Lee's Summit house before the end of the month in order to be approved for our new home. We still pray that we find a buyer soon, but are comforted knowing that we will not lose our new home.

Watching the trains at the Wilmington train museum.

The boys and I walk to the park a lot during the week.

The trees are amazingly tall here.

Our new house is going up fast.

Playing at North Topsail Beach.

Our Apartments with Earl closing in.

Preparing for the storm.

We found big shells, coral, sharks teeth, sea glass and starfish.

The coolest kids in North Carolina.

Settling In

Hi from Jacksonville, NC. We have been here three weeks, and are starting to learn about our new home.
One really sweet thing about living here is we are close to a beach. We are within a 20 to 30 minute drive of three different beaches, and are already taking advantage of it. Logan and Brady were excited to see the ocean for the first time. They were a little cautious of the water, but loved playing in the sand. Brady had his first taste of sand when he promptly grabbed it and put it in his mouth. Instead of spitting it, he tried to chew the sand, and I had to watch him closely from then on. Logan enjoyed collecting shells in a bucket and building sand castles.
Since we were without kitchen supplies for our first week here, we had to eat out almost every meal. We have most of the major restaurant chains here, along with some great local restaurants. Bojangles has become one of our favorite places to eat, with it's famous chicken and biscuits and sweet tea.
The boys are starting to adjust. They really enjoy going to the park next to our apartment, which has several walking trails surrounded by tall pine trees. They are also excited about the apartment pool and playground. Logan and Brady each got a fish (in place of Laney) and love feeding them and watching them swim. Logan named his fish Blue Fish (so creative) and Brady named his (red) fish Stop (it's his favorite word).
We have started to attend a Baptist church, which is close to our new house. Chris and I found a Sunday school group to join, and are enjoying getting to know some new friends. I was already invited to a few play dates with some moms in our group, which we really enjoyed.
We are excited to learn more about our town and watch as they build our house.

We moved!

It's been a while since I've been able to post. We have had a very busy summer so far, and we look forward to things slowing down soon.
Our lives have been changing so quickly, we haven't even had a chance to take it in. Chris got an interview for a Sports Director position at Camp Lejeune, NC in June. Within a few days he was offered the position and we accepted it. He is so excited for this move, which is a big step up in his career. Chris will be in charge of planning sports and youth sports for a community of around 50,000 Marines and their families (a community of about 140,000 people). He will also be in charge of the gyms, along with recreation equipment rentals. This is the perfect opportunity to use his college degree and make a difference in peoples' lives.
The past 6 weeks have been full of packing, moving and seeing all our friends and family. After accepting the job, we were told that Chris had a start date of August 1. We quickly put our house on the market, and started packing our things. Within a week, we put in an offer to build a new home and found an apartment in Jacksonville, NC (the town that surrounds Camp Lejeune) that we could rent for three months while they build our house. Unfortunately, our boxer, Laney, could not make the trip out here and stay in the apartment with us, so we had to find a new home for her.
The boys and I took a trip out to St. Louis to spend some time with my parents and see everyone before we had to move. We also tried to pack as much friends and family time in as we could, while we were still in Kansas City. It seems like we were going non stop for the last few weeks, but it was totally worth seeing everyone.
The moving truck came and took all of our things several days before we could move into our new apartment, so we traveled to my parents' house to stay for a few days, before making the rest of our trip out here. God really blessed us as we traveled to NC. The boys did well, and both cars made it safely.
We were able to move into our Jacksonville apartment two days ago, with one little challenge...our things have been delivered to Camp Lejeune, but will not be delivered to the apartment for seven days. Thankfully, we brought our air mattresses with us, and some extra clothes and towels. I am not too excited about having no place to sit and no kitchen supplies, but it has given me a new respect for the military families that have to go through these moves on a regular basis.

Checking out the beach after Chris's interview at Camp Lejeune.

Saying bye bye to Laney dog (Brady says it best).

Stopping by on our way out of town to say bye to our BFFs, the Sobey family.

Stacia and I.

Logans BFFs, Jenna and Beca.

A traditional Alger/Sobey dinner.

Another BFF of Logan's, Trayton.

Logan's first train ride at the STL Zoo.

Slip and slide time with grandma and grandpa and cousins.

Pea Pod get together in KC.

Pea Pod get together in Springfield.

Stopping to see another train.

Visiting with great grandma and grandpa.

Marrah girls.

Marrah family visit.