Christmas 2009

Ben and I spent our Christmas here in Quantico. We couldn't go home because by the time we found out Ben had leave and what the dates were, ticket prices to PDX were about $800 a person and we had just seen family in October. So we decided to stay in the area. Our Christmas festivities started out grand. On Christmas Eve we started a new tradition of eating Swiss cheese fondue with our fine China. The picture below shows Ben ready to eat our Christmas dinner. Then followed opening presents. We finished the evening off by going to church at 8:00pm. The service was wonderful and very moving. We sung songs off the church's new Christmas album. I practically knew all the words because I had listened to the album all week long. The funny part was the pastor's whole sermon was about a man who served in WWII and he kept telling the congregation (mostly military families) that he fought during that war in 1950. Sadly, that is why they call the Korean War the "Forgotten War." Nonetheless, his message was wonderful and about a man who came to know the Lord after traumatic experiences at war. Through the course of this man's life he shared the gospel to many people. The pastor emphasized that it's not too late to come to know the Lord and if you have left Him, you can always come back.

On Christmas day I woke up praising the Lord for bringing His son into the earth to die for me. I was so happy to be celebrating Jesus' birth. When Ben woke up he made me breakfast and we spent quality time together. We relaxed the entire day and I got to skype my family and watch them open presents. In the evening I started to get homesick. It was the first time I had been homesick since leaving Portland. Sadly, this was my first Christmas not spent with family. To be honest it was really hard. We didn't get to go to my parents house and listen to my dad read the Christmas story from the Bible, didn't go to my in-law's house who has a great feast on Christmas day, didn't drive down to Corvallis to see grandma and grandpa (they just passed away in the Spring), and I didn't get to play with the nephews. Sure I am so thankful for Jesus and His birth, I am just used to celebrating the occasion with close family. Next year WILL BE DIFFERENT. Hopefully we can go back to Portland. If not, I will make sure we either volunteer in a soup kitchen or host dinner for another couple who cannot make it to their hometown. Sadly the only other couple we knew who were in town were in labor on Christmas evening so we didn't get to spend time with them. Everyone else had flown home.

For those of you who have moved away from family, what traditions do you miss? Have you started any new ones? I'm looking for ideas. I can assure you the one tradition I will never miss is my mom making us clean the ENTIRE house before opening Christmas presents. So cruel.

Ready to eat!Ben got me a vintage looking Pan Am bag to use for all my travel adventures. Not sure what "Pan Am" is? Click here. I would say it's a symbol of the kind of travel that has been forgotten.

My mom got me this cool scarf for the East Coast winter. I love the Eiffel Tower in the background (located in our dinning room).

Sherlock Holmes got a pipe for Christmas from our brother in law, Chris.

National Christmas Tree

Visiting the National Christmas Tree is a DC must if you are in the area around Christmas. It is the brightest Christmas tree I have ever seen! Besides viewing the National Tree, within 50 feet you can visit Santa, see a large Nativity scene, warm your hands by the bonfire, listen to free concerts, watch the toy trains, and look at Christmas trees decorated by all the states and commonwealths of this fine country. As you can see, the National Christmas tree is situated right near the White House.
Up close to the National Christmas Tree.

Oregon's Tree.

The Oregon ornaments are pretty typical of what you'll find there- trees. Yes, we Oregonians are proud of our trees; but the ornaments were boring. It was only wood. I mean, Wyoming's tree had all different snowmen ornaments. Each snowman was doing a fun activity like skiing, camping, hiking, fishing, etc. Then there was Hawaii with surf boards and such.

The Aftermath of the Arctic Blast

It stopped snowing late Saturday night but there is no evidence that some of the snow has melted. Our street has been cleared and you can now drive around, but the yards and parks still have inches and/or feet left on the ground. My neighbors built the biggest igloo I'd seen in my life and I built a "snow woman". Did you notice the pretty skirt with lace at the bottom? She also has hairy arm pits.

Ben worked on clearing the snow from the garage door while I took pictures. Our neighbors took pity on us again and offered their shovel.

I wonder if anyone lost their car in all the snow. We were very thankful we parked ours in the garage.

The actual town of Quantico (the town is located inside the base) was busy again with all the Marines getting their weekly hair cuts at the barber shops.

I think they did a better job plowing our street than they did on the main roads on base.

(see below)

East Coast Arctic Blast

We had an arctic blast hit us this weekend. Forecast called for 2 feet of snow and though I am not sure exactly how many inches or feet we got, it was more than I had ever seen before (aside from being at the mountain). It heavily snowed non stop for 24 hours. This meant making an igloo, relaxing, baking cookies, eating up freezer food, hot cider, taking pictures, sledding, and hanging out with the neighbors. We are trapped in our house and literally no one can drive anywhere. Church is cancelled tomorrow and everything on base is closed for the weekend. It's crazy but so much fun. Is there a limit to how much snow can go on top of a garbage can?
Building the igloo. Yes, I counted it as my workout for the day along with all the sledding I did.

An engineering masterpiece. I ended up putting in a large storage container and pulling it out once all the snow was packed around it. This created the empty space to sit in. I even poured lots of water all over to freeze the snow.
Sitting in the snow was like a giant cushion. Here is my new arm chair.

Getting ready to sled in the morning. In my left hand was my "sled" aka a plastic bag (don't own a real sled). Whenever I summit Mt. Hood I sled down the mountain on a plastic bag since I cannot pack around a regular sled. Ok, that works on Mt. Hood because it's super steep. My idea did not work on the hill near my house. The neighbors took pity on me and offered me their sled.

Ben relaxed and watched lots of movies today. He did hangout with me outside a little, but he works 80 hours a week and much of the time is spent outside in the frigid cold. I think he can be a couch potato inside today. :)

Cherianne's Salon

Ben is required to get his hair cut every week. In the USMC men have to have their hair at 0" near the ears. I do not agree with spending money on 4 hair cuts each month so I am learning how to cut Ben's hair (by trial and error). The first time I attempted cutting Ben's hair it was the ugliest job in existence. It seriously looked like I placed a bowl on his head, cut around it, and never "blended" in the hair to the 0" mark. The pictures below show my third time cutting his hair. I think the third time is a charm and we are on the way to saving money! The finished hair cut.

St. Nick's Day

I got Ben a Marine Nutcracker! Behind Ben is our tree that is bursting with ornaments.
Ben got me a funny book about traveling.

Our "stockings" from my family.

Growing up, my family always celebrated St. Nick's Day. We open our stockings every Dec. 6th and they are mostly full of candy, freebies, and small items that are perfect for our personalities. This year I was not able to be with my family so they sent Ben and I stockings in the form of a flat rate shipping box. Ben and I also did stockings for each other.

Thanksgiving and Mt. Ararat

Thanksgiving this year was much different that ever, but nonetheless wonderful. It was our first away from close family and friends in Oregon. We were invited by a couple from our new church to come to a giant gathering at a home in Stafford, Virginia. We didn't know anyone when we showed up but got to know many great people by the end of the day. Most of them attend Mt. Ararat church so it was great to connect with people outside of church services.

The feast which consisted of 3 turkeys and 1 ham for 23 people. We came home with leftovers!Mmmmmm. the yummie food. Ben had lots of good food. The man next to Ben is a retired USMC attorney. They had lots to talk about and I go to Women of the Chapel with his wife. They are the ones who invited us. The "adult" table. All the kids sat in another room.

We were so thankful we could spend our Thanksgiving with such great people. We are thankful we have also found a church in the area we immediately liked. I haven't told you much about our new church so now would be a great time to tell you.

I asked ladies at Women of the Chapel where they would recommend churches and about half of them attended Mt. Ararat church. So Ben and I decided to try it on one of our first Sundays. The people were warm and friendly and the serman that weekend was strong! It wasn't wishy washy or legalistic, the style was contemporary and yes- people wear jeans to service even on the East Coast!

After the service we went to a room for first time visitors. We met some of the volunteers, they told us about different ministries we can be a part of and gave us free hot cocoa. We were also invited to the Thanksgiving gathering there. When Ben and I went home we received a phone call from someone at the church asking us if we have questions, etc., we were invited to a newbie luncheon, have received many emails from the church and letters. Wow! You can tell Mt. Ararat wants new attenders to get plugged in immediately! To add to the great church, the people are at similar stages in Ben and I's life or have been there. There is a good mix of young and old and families. I think we'll keep going.