Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. This is by far my favorite time of year. I love everything about it- the festive mood, the spirit of giving, the excitement of children, Christmas trees, beautiful lights, holiday baking... I’m sure you get the point, right? ;)
This year has been a busy year for us. Unfortunately, the Marine Corps decided that our time in beautiful, sunny Arizona was up. So in January, when Jeremy was back in NC for fleet support, he met with our realtor and started a half-hearted attempt at finding a new “Casa de la Beaven”. He had it narrowed down to a neighborhood that suited him with its proximity to base for himself and the civilized world for me. It also appealed to his need to be surrounded by trees and nature. He wound up finding the actual home on his own. It wasn’t on the realtors list, but had a sign in the yard so he asked her to stop. After seeing it, it became the house that he was comparing everything else to. That made our choice pretty clear. We feel very fortunate that he was able to find what we were looking for in the few hours he had to spend on the mission.
We were very careful to enjoy every minute we had left in Yuma, but in May, we loaded up the kids, pets and household goods and headed east. After a brief stop in Albuqurque to visit Jeremy’s dad, we split ways so we could visit more friends and family along the way. Jeremy took a more direct southerly route, while I went further north.
Since arriving in NC, life has been non-stop. We bought the house knowing that there were things we wanted to change, so on top of living around some cosmetic remodeling, Jeremy was scheduled for trips back to Yuma, Las Vegas and Pensacola. We also worked on landscaping, took a few trips to PA, had an 8th grade graduation party for Abby and got a puppy. Phew! I’m tired just thinking about all of it!
Jeremy embarked on deployment #6 with the Marine Corps in September. He is keeping himself busy in his “undisclosed location in southwest Asia” with long hours and little rest. He is back with VMAQ-3 and on top of his normal flying duties, he is also in charge of the aircraft maintainers. They are by far the bulk of the enlisted portion of the squadron and keep him plenty busy assuring that all is running smoothly and safely. We are incredibly grateful for modern technology which allows us to email and text daily with skype sessions as often as our schedules allow. We are all looking forward to seeing him in person in late Spring.
The children are handling all of their transitions quite well. It becomes more and more apparent to us each day how mature Abby is becoming. She is a delight to be around and has such a sweet gentle nature. She performs this wonderful role of part friend, part mentor to her younger siblings. Since moving to North Carolina, she has taken a few art classes, started to play the violin and take gymnastics. All three kids do Tae Kwon Do and surprisingly enough, Abby prefers it to the gymnastics. Marshall has also matured a lot in just the last 6 months. He loves all things history and science related and constantly blows me away with his sponge-like ability to learn. He and Amelia are both learning to play piano this year and he gets his testosterone fix at Tae Kwon Do. Football is the most recent expression of his blossoming male personality and he is a huge Steeler’s fan. Amelia remains the life of our house. Her energy, love of life and huge personality can’t help but be contagious. She is rocking gymnastics with her persistence in practice and natural ability to tell what her body is doing and when. She obviously gets that from her dad!
I have kept myself busy this year taking care of my family, homeschooling all three bitty Beavens and helping out at church where I can. Jeremy gave me a wonderful gift of a trip back to Yuma for my birthday this year. It was wonderful to catch up with all of our friends on the west coast and was the perfect way to pass some time while he is away. So many people that we know have been going through some very difficult times this year, either financially or with serious health issues. I pray that each of you feels the love that our God and Savior, Jesus Christ has to offer you. The most wonderful gift one could ask for and it’s free for the taking! This world can be a cruel place to live. Thankfully, it is but temporary. Please try to remember that what is really important is to make it through this life with a relationship and love for our Heavenly Father. That little baby and his sacrifice being the real reason behind my love of all that is sentimental during the Christmas season.
Much love to you all... wait. When in Rome, right?... Make that ya’ll!
Thought you might like to see some other photos from our photo shoot. I really wanted to take this pictures on a nice sunny day around sunset. The sky glows a beautiful pink around here. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating with me, so the end result is... a winter day in NC. Toto, we're not in Yuma anymore!
I had to interject a few fun poses just to keep them interested and their faces with real smiles.
So sweet!
All this love and the mistletoe is at home!
The kids wanted a picture with our pooches.
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing the pictures of our beautiful grandkids. I was hoping that we would actually be in close proximity when we moved to NM but those Marines didn't have the same idea.
We are expecting to hear from the "long distance" family member later today and praying that he isn't "long distance" next year.
We miss and love you all.
Merry Christmas.
Sue Beaven
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