Catching Up

Wow! Has it really been a month and a half since we last posted on our blog? Sorry for the long delay. We have not done a good job at keeping up with our posts, but we will promise to do better!

Since it has been so long, let us catch you up on everything that has happened. Nicholas has already completed two more schools and is in his third course now. First, he completed Airborne school (a three week course) with five successful jumps out of a plane. Bridgett was able to watch him jump out of the plane and caught it on video. Mom and Dad (Stevens) were able to come down for the graduation. We had such a great time! It was fun having them stay in our home for the first time (since we’ve been married). We felt so grown up. Nicholas also completed Sniper school and learned all about the sniper weapons and how to use the snipers that will be in his unit. Now, he is in Stryker school, another 3 week course. Here he learns all about Strykers, an eight wheeled all-wheel drive armored combat vehicle, which is what his platoon will travel in rather than on foot. This might be the last course he has to take. If so, that will mean we will start out-processing soon for Hawaii. However, we aren’t setting any dates until it happens. God is really teaching us how to be patient, flexible and trusting. We might not know what will happen or where we will be in the next few weeks, but God does! We are trusting in His plan (which is not always easy, but we are learning).

Jumping From a C-130 at 1,250 ft.
(VIDEO)

Sniper and his Spotter.

Our Beloved Stryker.

After mom and dad (Stevens)left, we went to the pet adoption at Pet Smart just to look at the cute dogs. Warning to the reader, if you are not in a position to get a dog, DON’T GO TO THESE PET ADOPTIONS! We fell in love with the most adorable black and tan hound/beagle mix puppy. Of course we had to get him out and play with him. Two hours later we walked out as foster parents of the coolest dog ever, with a leash, toys, and dog food. Although we were only foster parents for a week, we were happy to be able to give this puppy (we called him doggie) a temporary loving home. We could not keep him due to Hawaii’s laws of importing animals. There is a happy ending to our parting. After “doggie” left his first loving home, he was adopted by law enforcement as a drug doggie. While we wish he could have been ours, we were happy to send him off to bigger and better things!

Doggie!

On Labor day weekend, we went home to Durham, NC to spend the weekend with the family and celebrate Bridgett’s birthday. The best part was all of the Mead family was there: Dad, Mom (Mead), Ben, Brook, Bobby, us, and Brook’s boyfriend Bennet. Hopefully we didn’t scare Bennet off (because we really liked him). We had a very full house and a great time! If anything would have scared him off it probably would have been the games we played. Those Meads can get pretty competitive! Also, there’s nothing like a famiIy game of rock band. I don’t think we will be going on tour anytime soon. Sunday we went to Maggiano’s, a delicious Italian restaurant that we go to for special occassions. It was definitely one of those special times, with the whole family together again! We kept saying how it felt like Thanksgiving, because there was a house full of people, with ungodly amounts of food, and football playing all weekend. What a great time!

The Fam post-grubbin'.

We really enjoyed ourselves that weekend and probably indulged in a little too much food. But we decided that was our weekend to indulge for a specific reason. The day after we got home, we started the Body-for-Life program. This is a 12 week diet and exercise program in which we eat 6 small, well-portioned meals a day consisting of carbohydrates and proteins, and exercise 6 times a week with weight training and cardio. We are currently in week four. Things are going great! We get to eat often, so we don’t feel hungry. Our favorite part is the trips to the gym together. Whether we go early in the morning before Nic goes to work or later in the afternoon when he gets home, we find time to go together. We can motivate and push each other to do our best. So far we have seen good results. We are feeling strong and healthy! We will keep you updated on our progresses.

Last weekend we were able to go home to Bristol and spend the weekend with the family. This was such a great time because the whole family was there: Dad, Mom (Stevens), us, Daniel, (soon to be the next “Mrs. Stevens”) Lindsey, and Luke. This was the first time we’ve seen Daniel, Lindsey or Luke since the wedding! It had been too long, and it felt great to all be together again! We spent the whole weekend just being together, eating, and having fun! We think Lindsey really got a taste of what Bristol is all about at the Hunting and Fishing expo we went to. We were so glad that Nanny and PopPop were able to make it to that delicious lunch on Sunday before we left! It would not have been a complete trip without seeing them. Our favorite part of going home to Bristol is just sitting together on the patio, eating good food, being with and talking with our family for hours. One day we want to have a patio just like this, where time seems to stand still and you can just truly relax!

That about brings us up-to-date. We will do our best to not let so much time pass before our next post! Last night we enjoyed watching the presidential debate. Never have we been so into politics, but it seems like we can’t get enough of it! While we won’t get into specifics or personal preferences (right now at least), the best part of the debate was when Nicholas said, “Obama just seems like that smart kid in elementary school that made straight A’s on everything, raised the bar making it harder for the rest of us, and would probably be the first to tell the teacher if you did something wrong. We think he might have been the kid from the TV show “Smart Guy.”