Sometimes People Can Surprise You

So this trip to South Carolina has been going A LOT better than I thought it might. I love my sis in law, Chanel, but her husband has always seemed to have a bit of chip on his shoulder about me. We haven't seen each other since Christmas so his reaction to my visit was kind of up in the air. At first things seemed kind of tense. Few words exchanged, but he was extremely kind to Emi which is really what counts. He's in the Navy for training right now, so his days are extremely long. It means a lot to me that he can still be friendly too her even after a  hard day at work. After a day or so here, I gave into my motherly instinct, so to speak. Helped Chanel with the dishes and walked the dog in the morning so they could sleep in. Hell, if I couldn't sleep in, there was no reason they shouldn't. Turns out, that pretty much opened up the doors for Jake and I. It really is like a huge weight lifted off my shoulder to not be so tense around him. I want us to be friendly towards each other, after all we are family. Like it or not! MWAHAHAHA.

Oh yeah, and Emi ADORES her uncle Jake. And I really truly mean ADORE! He walks into the room, and her face lights up like a Christmas tree. And he likes her too. So do his friends. Though, they may not want that little rumor going around the BQs so shhhhh. Its nice to have the help from them. They all interact with her and acknowledge her "speaking" to them. It's really cute to see these sailors take so easily to this little girl. Even if they are drunken, or partially drunken sailors.

SO needless to say, I'm LOVING it here thus far. Which is good since I've got another 10 days here. hehehe. Chanel keeps cooking awesome foods and I'll keep washing the dishes afterwards. It's a win-win. And Fudge.

A break from the Army life

For the past month we've been on 'vacation'. Although the initial purpose of the trip was simply to get Rylan to his dad, Emi and I decided to take advantage of the time away too. The break from the Texas heat has been much appreciated. As much as I like the warmth... the heat there can become too much. The trip has been rather insightful in terms of the people in my life. Luckily, it seems that the people in my life that I most enjoy are also the ones I've known the longest. My sign language has gotten horrible...I wish I could find someone back in TX to practice with. I'm hoping to teach Emi some signs as a baby. She seems like a smarty!


Emi got to celebrate her first 4th of July during this trip. She wasn't even afraid of the fireworks. She laughed even. So not only is she smart, but she's a brave one too. I have a feeling she'll be trouble as a toddler...awesome. She also got to visit with the Madison's. They love her like their own. Feels like a real family with no tension... no hard feelings. Just lots of love for all. That's truly a place I can refer to as 'home'.

We had a nice visit overall. Didn't do as much as originally planned. But it was a much welcomed break from sitting in a house where the only person to talk to is 5. Our final leg of the vacation takes us to Jake and Chanel in South Carolina. I'm excited to see them, for them to see Emi, and to see Charleston. So that about wraps up this first entry. And since we're gonna be here for a while and my life is so uber awesome...you should keep reading my posts. <3 love from the East Coast!