HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I feel like I was just getting settled in for October, and now here we are already well into November.  I guess time flies, even when you're not blogging about it!  Mandi and I are still loving being here on this tropical wonderland.  We also enjoyed our first Halloween together (we started dating in January 2011, and I was deployed last October). 
The week before Halloween we were asked to chaperon a church youth dance.  Man, I am SO GLAD I'm not an adolescent anymore.  Poor, awkward kids.  But we had fun.  Mandi went as a Hokie, and I went as me.





Later that week, we participated in the "Trunk-or-Treat" at the church parking lot.  Beautiful Amanda went as a cat.  I went as me.  Seeing a pattern? 






 


Oh, and I shouldn't forget to mention that Mandi won a top prize in the chili cook-off.  Thanks, Patsy, for the recipe that brought great honor to the family!  Then, to top it all off, on the actual Halloween night, we handed out candy.  Is it okay to post pictures of peoples' kids without asking?  I don't know.  I'm sure I'll find out...

Let's see....what else has been going on?  I've become more comfortable with my job as the legal advisor to the base commander.  It seems like every day I get new questions about issues I've never dealt with before, so I spend a lot of time researching and getting advice from people who are a lot smarter than I am.  I'm glad I'm not too prideful to ask for help, because there are a lot of generous and kind Navy JAGs around the fleet willing to take the time to help out.  Mandi's still doing her online classes, but on top of that she's started substitute teaching at the Department of Defense school AND she's been asked to teach seminary on Wednesday nights at church (for those of you who are LDS illiterate, it's essentially a bible study class for high school age kids).  It's a good thing she's such a dynamic lady, or she'd be overwhelmed, I'm sure.

We've been snorkeling practically every weekend.  I've been fortunate enough to go SCUBA diving a few times so far.  Mandi's about halfway done with her SCUBA certification.  As soon as she's done, we'll be able to go together and she can enjoy moments like this one with me (photo credits to Brent Collins.  Thanks, bud!)








 I think that's enough catching up for now.  However, it wouldn't be right closing this post leaving Mandi holding the cooking trophy.  I'm gonna go ahead and vote that my goat cheese/mozzarella/parmesan pizza blew her chili out of the water. 

Another Week In Paradise

I can't believe how fast this week has flown by! It seems like the days are getting shorter which is a little sad considering we only have three years to be here on Guam. Then again, the days are shorter here. The sun sets here at 6:30 pm every day which doesn't leave us much daylight after the workday. Fortunately, we haven't let that stop us from having our fun! We were able to get in about a half hour of snorkeling after Ben got off of work one day this week which was a pretty nice treat and enjoyed a fiesta last weekend with some of our new local friends. To top it off, we got to eat a pretty delicious boar.

We've met some really great friends here that we've been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with this week. Last Sunday, we had dinner at the Smith's house and, my goodness, their kids are awesome! All five of them. I always joke with Ben that he's still a kid at heart and watching him play with little Bugs (aka David) solidifies that theory. It's a benefit to both of us, though. If it weren't for Ben, I don't know that I would ever really "stop and smell the roses" - literally. He has a way of appreciating all of the little things like coconuts, lizards, and how the mice in the snake traps stay alive and I'm grateful that he is around to remind me how precious those little things are.

This past week marked the one year anniversary of our engagement. Speaking of time flying, I can't believe it has been a year since we were in Natchez, MS enjoying time with Ben's family and realizing I would be able to spend eternity with the amazing man in my life. To celebrate, I made Ben a cake and decided to decorate it with a heart made out of red licorice. To put it plainly, it was a failure. I've never been one to succeed at double layered cakes but with Ben's advice, I pieced the broken clumps of cake together and "glued" it with icing.  And so voila, we had our dessert for Family Home Evening!

Wrong. I had our desert for family home evening. Knowing it couldn't be eaten, Ben had this burning desire to smash our cake in my face. After composing myself from laughing hysterically, I was able to taste it and I have to admit... it was delicious. Too bad the rest of the cake had to go to waste.

This week was also a milestone in our move here because I think for the first time since we arrived on island, we finally started feeling like we were settling in. Our furniture still isn't here, but for the first time in our seven months of marriage we have our own home and are enjoying the benefits of "normal" life. It's definitely a hard adjustment after an extensive deployment and feeling like vagabonds for the past couple of months.

On Friday, we went on a date night to the 25th Guam Micronesia Island Fair followed a frozen yogurt treat. People representing all of the Micronesian Islands were there with some hand made crafts and lots of local food. It always amazes me the things that people can do! On that note, Ben also learned how to shuck and cut open a coconut which was his claim to fame for the night. There were fireworks and dancers from all of the islands performing. Such a fun night!

Saturday morning, we went for a hike in the jungle (that's right - a "boonie stomp!") that led us down the old historical Spanish Steps (which shouldn't mislead you, we climbed down ropes to get there) and I think it had to be the coolest thing we've done since we got here. To top it off, the Spanish Steps led us down to this secluded cove of one of the neatest snorkeling spots we've seen. It was such an awesome adventure and we loved every minute of it.

Our weekend ended with a really great sense of peace and humbleness. I was able to attend the re-broadcast of the General Relief Society Broadcast (we watch it as a stake a week later here because of the time differences) and it was so uplifting for me and exactly what I needed. I'm really excited to watch General Conference next weekend with my husband and our new church family.

AND to top off our already amazing week, we got a new baby nephew! We are truly blessed.

Thus begins the obligatory blog!  You may be wondering about the title, "We Live Here!"  Well, ever since Mandi and I arrived on Guam about three weeks ago, it's a term we find ourselves saying over and over again.  Here's how it goes:  we're driving around somewhere on the island and we come across some paradisaical vista or tropical novelty and one of us will say to the other, "We live here.  Can you believe it?  We're not vacationing, or just visiting; we actually live here."  For example:

When Mandi and I came across Big John and his Carabao (water buffalo), and Mandi got to go for a ride, we said, "We live here!"




Another example: when I picked a coconut from the tree in our BACK YARD and chopped at it until we got to the coconut water inside, we said, "We live here!"

After awhile, I started thinking how, "We live here!" has the potential to be more than just a fun exclamation.  It can be our philosophy.  Mandi and I both try our best to be adventurous. And by that, I don't necessarily mean skydiving and cliff jumping, but really that we can find fun, interesting, and even adventurous things just around the corner.

I was reading a talk by one of our church leaders recently, and in his discussion, he shared an anecdote about an elevator boy who was whistling a merry tune on his way up on the elevator one morning. “Why so happy?” a grim-faced, scowling rider asked him.  The boy replied, “I’ve never lived this day before.”(Roy Pearson, Words to Live By.)

That's how Mandi and I want our life to be.  We want to be like the little boy who is happy just to have a new day - every day is brimming with potential.  So, whether we're living on a beautiful tropical island or in some small town in Anywhere, U.S.A., we want to always look at each other say, with smiles on our faces, "We live here!"

Oh, by the way, if you're wondering what the coconut tree in our backyard looks like, here it is: