3 weeks down, 14 more to go...

Well I don't really have any super interesting news to report. I've been getting to talk to Garin briefly about every other day. Its been a rough week. They are in that stage where they do nothing right and get punished for everything. It has to be frustrating and demoralizing, but I'm trusting that those CG peeps know how far they can push and need to push them to get them to the end result. I'm sure he'll look back on it and be glad for the experience...its just pretty tough to withstand the current fire. So, please be praying for him!

As for me, I've been doing pretty well under the circumstances. I'm trying to take it one day at a time. So far no major breakdowns. God has been so faithful to supply me with the everything I need. So what have I been doing?! Well, I'm now working three days a week for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities (my old job). I am absolutely LOVING the schedule...I get enough hours to make some money and fulfill that career hunger in me, yet enough time off to enjoy some of the finer things in life...like having a life! I have also started my LAST semester of grad school!! I just have these last two classes to finish before I will have my MBA (2.5 years in the making)! In the past I have taken the classes in a traditional classroom through UNCC, but since I wasn't sure where I'd be this fall, I signed up to take my last two classes from ECU's online program (but my degree will come from UNCC...that seems to always be a question). I'm not to sure how I feel about this online stuff...I definitely like the classroom better...but the flexibilty has been really nice! So, other than school and work, I've been enjoying church activities, hanging out with my family and friends, and making slow progress on our wedding scrapbook! If I just had Garin home with me life would be close to perfect :).

2 weeks down, 15 more to go...

Well I we have officially made it through 2 weeks of Garin being at OCS. I've actually gotten a couple of SHORT phone calls from him. They are super short and its hard to hear him on the phone but it is great to get to hear his voice and hear what he is doing. It sounds like he is doing pretty well. After the first round of physical testing (push-ups, sit-ups, 1.5 mile run, and 12 min swim) he was #4 in his class of 93 candidates. I thought that was pretty darn good...can you tell I'm a proud wife? :) He is also serving as the Company XPO for the next two weeks...I'm not EXACTLY sure what that means, but from what I gather he is basically in charge of all the guys (and gals) and must make sure everyone is doing what they should be doing. Its great that he is getting to show his leadership skills, but it also brings on a lot of added stress and more yelling. I'm sure he is doing a great job though...he's the man (well, in my bias eyes). He's also training to be a lifeguard for the pool there...not sure what all that entails, but that's my little fishy (he's more like a big fishy).

If you get a chance, please pray for him. The mental stress is pretty intense (EVERYTHING is evaluated) and he's not getting any substantial time in the Word. Just pray that God would supply him with the energy, wisdom, patience, and forbearance that he needs. And also pray that he will find spiritual encouragement in the midst of the chaos and that God will strengthen his faith and witness while he is there. That's all I'm asking :) Thanks to everyone for all of your support!

Boston

Now to finally finish up our vacation!! On to Boston!

So after we left New York City we drove up to Boston to explore for the day. Erin, who used to live in Boston, told us exactly what to do so we were able to see most of the city in one day. We parked outside of the city and then road the subway into downtown. Once downtown we picked up the Freedom Trail and followed it around the city to various historic sites.

This is the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was first read from the balcony.

This is the steeple to the Old North Church, where lanterns were hung to alert Paul Revere as to if the Red Coats were coming by land or by water. Pretty cool!

This the USS Constitution, aka "Old Ironsides" from the War of 1812. Its still in active service for the Navy today.

And of course, we can't go anywhere without checking out the local Coast Guard Station, so here are some boats moored up at the Boston CG station. They were A LOT bigger than Garin's boats at Emerald Isle!!

We both really enjoyed Boston. I hope to be able to go back sometime and spend some more time there! We spent the night in Boston and then got up the next day and headed down to New London, CT. That afternoon we took a tour of the US Coast Guard Academy and explored the little town. The next day we hung out together in the morning and then prepared for me to leave on the train that afternoon. It was a tough day.

So that's our vacation. I hope you enjoyed it :)

The Cruise

So we left for our cruise on Thursday out of NYC harbor. It was really cool to see the city from the water as we pulled away. I was really impressed with New Yorker's ability to create "normal" life in a big city...check out the driving range below that is part of a pier on the Hudson River...how cool is that?!

Our cruise was on the Carnival Victory. It was a HUGE ship, so Garin tells me...I've never been on one to compare it to. It had 13 decks complete with everything you could ever imagine on a ship. The first day we were out to sea for the entire day and then the second day we arrived at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John wasn't the most exciting place to visit. The only cool thing is that it sits on the Bay of Fundy which has some of the largest tide differentials in the world(like 20 feet!). This large change in tides actually causes a pretty neat phenomenon with the Saint John river called the "Reversing Falls." Its tough to explain so check out this website: http://www.new-brunswick.net/Saint_John/reversingfalls/reversing.html. We went there when it was almost high tide, so there wasn't a whole lot of excitement going on.

After we visited the falls we took a hike around Saint John. It is some historical city for Canada I think...but it wasn't exactly the most exciting place to just walk around...pretty, but nothing different or really cool. As you can see below, our cruise ship was about as big as the city...maybe that is trick photography, but it really wasn't that large of a city.


After our awesome day at Saint John (we got back on the boat at 2:30 and never left again even though the boat didn't embark until 8 that night...that's how exciting it was) the next day was another fun day at sea as we headed back to New York. Since you're on a boat and can't really do anything they have all kinds of activities you can participated in. Garin agreed to go to a dance class with me...we learned a sixties dance. It wasn't exactly what we were expecting (we thought it would be couples dancing) but it was fun nonetheless. Garin was a good sport and I was proud of him.
After our super fun day at the sea the next day we arrived in New York again (it was only a 4 day cruise) where we navigated our way back to Erin and Wayne's to pick up our car and head for another adventure in Boston.

Vacation!! Finally...

Yay, so I finally have internet at my house and I'm officially back in action :). So time to post some vacation pics!

To start off with we drove from Charlotte up to Jersey City, NJ (across the Hudson from NYC) and stayed with our friends Wayne and Erin Burton (they used to be in our Sunday School class before they moved there). I LOVED their flat and was pretty impressed with Jersey City!

The Burton's adorable building...they live on the first floor (but not the basement).

We spent the night with them on Wednesday and then took a trip into New York City to eat lunch with Wayne (who's office is a block away from Time's Square...how cool is that?!) and catch our cruise ship. Driving in NYC is an adventure, I must give major props to Erin's mad driving skillz!

Garin and Wayne at lunch.
Erin and me at lunch!

Much thanks to the Burtons for letting us stay with them, taking care of our car while were gone, and helping us traverse the "Big City!"

Picture Him There

Just found this picture and thought some of the curious might enjoy seeing where Garin will be spending his next four months. This is the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. The big pirate looking boat at the bottom of the screen is called the "Eagle" and Garin will get to spend 2 weeks on this beauty as part of his training. He got sea sick on our massive cruise ship...I have a feeling he is going to be doped up on some Dramamine for those two weeks!

No Internet!

I don't have internet right now (they won't come and hook up until next Friday). So right now I'm making runs to Panera and the Library to check email and such. So I don't really have time to post all of the pictures from our vacation. So I'll just post one of my favorites and then I'll have to tell the story of our trip in another post.

I did get to talk to Garin Thursday morning before he left to report. He seemed to be ready to get it over with. I'm ready for it to be over with too!! We had a good fair well. It was like in one of those old movies. I got in the train and we waved to each other as the train pulled away. Tearful moment. The last two days have been okay. Thanks for all of your prayers that I know are providing me with the peace that surpasses my understanding.

We are unsure of what the communication will be like. I have heard that he will probably get a short phone call next weekend. That's not too bad compared to boot camp! I'll keep ya posted!

Sorry for the drought of Updates!

We just got back from our cruise and I will be dropping Garin off at OCS in two days :( I'll be updating with pictures from our cruise and other super interesting information when I get back in town. Pray for us...its gonna be a rough week (make that a rough next 4 months!). Thanks!