Aunt Mary

I believe it was back in July (I had a busy summer of moving, forgive me if my dates are wrong!) my lovely Aunt Mary was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. You always hear about breast cancer, and how awful it is, especially if you don't catch it early. Never in a million years would I have imagined it would affect someone so close to me. (Silly me, because there's been all types of cancer in our families.) Just weeks after she lost her own mother, she was diagnosed. One thing we all knew for sure, God was not going to let her down in this journey/fight. He is right there beside her the whole way, even those days she feels He isn't.

These goofy ladies are strong and will fight through anything together.

What better support system than your sisters. (i know you hate this pic mom, but I love it!)

Another great support system, her husband, sons and daughter in law.

If she has HALF the fight this lady had in life, she will do JUST fine!

With the strong support system and family she has, the Faith she has, the God she believes in, the knowledge of the doctors treating her, she WILL win this fight!! A fight it will be, but she will not go down losing that fight. We all know she can't stay out of Target for too long :)

I just wanted to post a special blog tribute to her, and to ask all of you out there to pray for her to win this. She will only come out stronger!

Isaiah 41:10  fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Where are we now...

So, a little time has passed. And by little I mean, a lot. I'm sorry. Clearly I was caught up in our last months spent in Turkey and getting adjusted to our new life in Okinawa. A lot has happened in the last 5 months but if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you've seen it all. I don't even know where to start with  my blogging so how about we just start fresh! We are in a new adventure so what better timing!

We have been in Oki for just about 2 months now. Time has gone by fast, some days, and we are looking forward to all the adventures we will endure during our time on this beautiful island.  Of course, we got here right in the middle of "typhoon season" and there was literally a typhoon every other weekend our first month here. I mean, really, what a welcoming!!!! The first one I didn't think was anything but a strong wind storm, the second one...HOLY COW!!! There were cars flying, huge trees uprooted, roofs torn off and lots of damage. None of that damage was ours though, thankfully!! And luckily, that was the last one we had.

James works Mon-Fri so clearly on his weekends, he wants to do nothing but watch TV and play a video game. I, on the other hand, do not currently have a job and want to do nothing on the weekends but explore this beautiful place we have been blessed to live in. With much twisting of arms, begging and pleading, I can get him to get out and about occasionally. We have made a visit to the Seawall during sunset (absolutely beautiful!!), visited Pineapple Park (where they have all kinds of goodies made with pineapple), made a visit to the zoo (Which being from Columbus, OH...any zoo is a let down to me), visited some Castle ruins(a far cry from the castles in Turkey), a lighthouse (not like the lighthouses in America) and another beautiful beach(who can complain about that!!). I'm totally looking forward to having some visitors so I can go explore these places even more!

A view on our way to Pineapple Park

This view is just awesome

Pineapple Park

How absolutely amazing is this!?!

A cute guy, reppin OSU, and a beautiful sunset!

Sunset view from Sunset Beach

 I could put a million more pics on here but y'all can check out this photo album on my Facebook, if you haven't already.

I am going to try to do my best to update this blog a lot more! (Not that it would take a whole lot!) So, come back to visit me, stay tuned and here's to many more adventures!

Our Next Home..

Some news that was long awaited finally arrived on 1 March!! We were impatiently(or, I was anyways) waiting to see where our next home would be after our time here in Turkey ends this summer. We honestly thought we were headed back Stateside since we had not heard anything yet.  Well, were we ever so WRONG!!! The day the orders came out, I thought I was going to die!!!!! And more importantly, I thought my mother would die! Ha ha How in the WORLD were we staying overseas!?! Many,many emotions rushed my mind.  I was excited, but yet crushed. I knew staying overseas would be better for us in the long run but man, I was really looking forward to America again. My prayer was that God (and the USAF, of course) would send us somewhere that both of us would strive. After spending 2 years in a tropical environment, I really needed to go somewhere warm. And boy were those prayers answered!


Wellllll, as most of you already know...we are headed to Okinawa, Japan this summer!!!!!!!!! Holy cow!!!! Since the day we got to Turkey, J-Twice was determined that we would go to Japan next. I told him he was out of his ever-loving mind. Sir, Turkish culture is hard enough, you want to take me to Japan!?! BUT, I have done tons of research, and we are totally excited about Japan! We haven't heard a bad thing about the island, and believe me, we would hear it if it was bad!

courtesy of Google

courtesy of Google

So we are going to enjoy our last few weeks left in Turkey, make a pit stop at home for a few weeks and then start our lives over in Okinawa, Japan.  If someone would have told me just five years ago the places I would go, the things I would have seen and the countries I would live in, I would have told them they were absolutely crazy. But I can admit, we are having a blast with these opportunities and making the most of it. As much as I would love to be back Stateside and being closer to home, we have to take this chance to make lifetime memories and enjoy the things that other people can only dream of.

Prayers for an easy transition will be greatly appreciated and look forward to many more years of our "grand adventures"!!

Tarsus

Way back at the end of February, we finally took a little day trip to Tarsus.  I have been wanting to take this trip ever since we got here.   It's only about 30-40 minutes away from base so there really was no excuse for us not going, minus us not having a vehicle of course. There are always group trips to this town, but we had yet to go on one. Finally one day, our group of friends decided to make an adventure out there.

view of the countryside as we were driving

*The info I am about to give is from a brochure I picked up along the way*

Tarsus is in the south of Turkey, between Adana and Mersin.  It is the oldest settlement area of not only Turkey, but the whole world. The foundation is 10,000 years old. 

Along the way, there is a beautiful waterfall that makes for awesome pictures! This is from The Berdan River, which means cold water river. The way the river meanders through the Tarsus Plain is one of the many reasons that the city was established in it's present location.  Today the waterfall is valued highly by the local population,especially during the hot summer months. The river is supposed to bring health, however some people have developed problems because of it.  An example is Alexander the Great, who is said to have bathed here, developed pneumonia and shortly afterwards died in Syria.  

From the waterfalls, we found a place to park (but not without some adventure first. We tried to visit a cemetery, without knowing of course, ha ha) and ventured the town to see what we could find. Our first stop was St. Paul's Well. During the times that Christians ruled in Tarsus, the Well's water was supposed to be Holy and useful for healing. 

I still to this day can not believe that we have stood in the same places as people from the Bible. I will forever be thankful to the military for allowing us this experience! 

After we visited the Well, we weren't sure where to go from there. The guy working didn't speak much English, but with finger points and a map J-Twice finally found (about ten minutes later), we continued walking. 

The Turkish children seem to love when Americans visit. On more than one occasion, in more than one location, I have seen them whip out their cameras and take pictures and videos of us. This particular day, they weren't exactly being pleasant but we have learned to deal with them. Lord only knows where our pictures have ended up! ha ha

From here, we eventually ran into The Ancient Road.  I say ran into because it wasn't what we were looking for, but it's where we ended up! That happens a lot around these parts! This road is two thousand years old,and found by chance in 1993.  

Check out these cute little houses and roads we walked along on our walk through the town. I always enjoying photographing places like this. 

One last place we visited while there was Cleopatra's Gate.  The gate is the last of several that were part of Tarsus's ancient walls; it opened from the city to the west.  

This here ends our visit to Tarsus. There are many other places to visit in this town but we didn't have that much time due to evening plans. Maybe we will have the chance to return but if not, it's okay. 

Until our next adventure...

An Afternoon of Photography

An easy job for spouses is doing their own photography business. There are quite a few over here in Turkey. One of the ladies I follow on Facebook was holding a "Hero Mini Session". I have always wanted to get photos of Jorge in his uniform and what better opportunity?! It only took a little bribing to get him to agree. 

While this session was only about twenty minutes long, I feel like we got some pretty good shots and here I am to share them with you! I have all of them on my facebook and I know you all (or at least, most of you) have already seen them but I thought I'd put them on here as something to go back on and reminisce. 

Many thanks to Ella Grey Photography for your wonderful work. 

Blog Hiatus

I am ashamed at how long it has been since I have written ANYTHING!!! Seriously, Becky, almost 4 months and you havent posted one,single thing! Wow.

So, I obviously have TONS to write about. Bear with me as I get this thing updated. I need to do it now before this summer gets completely ridiculous with our move! (I will fill you in, no worries!) Unfortunately my computer has decided to stop charging and I cant get any of my pics from there right now. Therefore, I really have no idea where to start on my updates. lol

In the last four months we have taken a few trips, I went home for a little bit, and many other little things have happened.

Stay tuned for some late, but exciting things! :)

My Dear Valentine

I found this survey on-line and thought it would be fun to do! Enjoy

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?
6 years and 4 months! wowzers!
2. How did you meet? (What's your "love" story?)
We grew up in the youth group together. We always knew who each other were, he was a player and I was "the hot twin" (his words, not mine.) After he dated a few girls, I dated a few guys, our paths finally crossed. Thanks to our friends playing match maker and me being outgoing, we started hanging out and it's been a love ever-after since then!
3. If married, how long have you been married?
June 7th will be 4 years. 4.long.years! (just kidding, most days)
4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding? If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?
We had a big wedding in Ohio,with lots of family and friends!
5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!
Babe
6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
His humor, his good looks and his love for me.
7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?
We were visiting friends in Seattle. We took a trip to Alki Beach, at sunset. (two of my favorite things) and he popped the question!
8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?
More towards the flowers and teddy bear kinda guy. This year was a mug and K-Cups kinda guy! :)
9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
I could really go for either or. I LOVE the beach, but I love being comfy at home also!
10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?
Visit Italy, a dream of both of ours!
11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
Well since being in Turkey, we have so many options...ha ha he worked during the day and for dinner we went to a restaurant on base...
12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
He always ask what I want, my typical answer "nothing".
13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
Communication!!!!!! Keep the lines wide open!
14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

Hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's Day! xoxo

It's A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

This past weekend, we have had absolutely gorgeous weather! It has been rather nice, considering on Wednesday it was cold enough for us to have snow flurries. Have I mentioned that here in Adana, we DON'T get snow?!!! This snow was not witnessed with my own eyes, but I have been told from many different sources that it is truth. I do not recall it being this cold last winter, it definitely rained a lot more but not this cold.  I'd almost rather have the cold than the rain, because the sun is usually shining! (and we all know how much I love the sun)

Anyhow, since the weather has been so amazing, I tried to be outside as much as possible! Yesterday, J-Twice and his friend headed to the "driving range" to test out his new golf clubs he got for Christmas. From what I hear, they were defective. hmmm...your guess as to whether it was the golfer or the golf clubs. ha Here he is practicing in our front yard:

While they were at the driving range, a friend of mine, her son and I headed to a couple of different playgrounds (we have multiple ones around the housing areas).  It felt amazing to just sit in the sun and soak it up.  I didn't want daylight to end!

It was decided since it was going to be so nice again today, we should have a BBQ at one of the parks on base.  We gathered a few friends, fired up the grill, got the corn-hole out and had a fabulous day enjoying the outdoors. It felt so nice to just be outside all day, enjoying each others company and having a great time.

These last few days have made me totally ready for Spring/Summer to arrive!  And this will be our last Spring/Summer in Turkey..time sure is flying by!

I'll leave you with a photo of J-Twice in his new, custom- made suit. Doesn't he look handsome?!

Cirque Dreams

Our base sure is stepping it up with the entertainment they are providing this year. Last month we had Daughtry, last night we had 'Cirque Dreams' and in March the band Seether is coming. It sure will be interesting to see what they come up with for the rest of the year as well!

I have been to a few "wanna be" Cirque Du Soleil shows.  I say "wanna be" because they arent as exquisite as the actual CDS shows. Even with that, these shows are amazing!!! It's still hard to believe that one can do such things with their bodies. HOW in the world do you figure out you can do such a thing?!!! It's amazing!!!! This is a "preview" of what we saw last night, just on a much smaller scale.

We were told ahead of time we couldn't take our cameras, but then found out once we were there we just couldn't use the flash. Therefore, I have no pictures of our experience. Oh well! It was nice to have the entertainment.
Now I'm off to practice and see how many different ways I can bend my body and look as abnormal as possible!

Thank you to Cirque Dreams for providing our Troops this entertainment!

A Blog Hiatus

It really has been almost two months since I have blogged? Oh boy. Sorry folks! I wish I could say we've been so busy doing so many awesome things and that is the reason for the hiatus, but I'd be lying. I had to go back and see what my last entry was even about, it's been that long! I was then reminded that I was supposed to post these two pics:

Okay, so let's see what has been going on. OH! We actually got to go home for Christmas this year!!!  YAY!!! My momma's one Christmas wish was to have us home and as much as I tried to surprise her, it didn't happen. I still think it would have been fun to do the whole Folger's coffee commercial (even if she doesn't drink coffee) but maybe another year.

It was a very quick,short two-week visit home. Since I was home ALL summer, I didn't think it was necessary to be home for long in the winter. But at the end of our trip, I was thinking another week sounded nice. Go figure,right? In the end, we had a FABULOUS Christmas and mom and dad spoiled us like always!

 Before we headed home, we had a little gathering here at the house with some friends and us girls decorated Christmas cookies. The boys were Scrooge's and didn't want to take part. We had fun anyways. We didn't attend the Squadron's Holiday party this year, so nothing to blog about there. (I have a husband who apparently doesn't like to attend events like this.) Rather, we had another get together at a friend's house; That was pretty much our Christmas celebration here in Turkey.

Since we were also home for New Years, J-Twice was determined to find a place to party, like only he can. Why would anyone want to party like it's 1999 at a friend's place instead of being with a bunch of ignorant drunks at a bar downtown!? Ha. Just Kidding. It wasn't that bad (the whole night,anyways). J's friend, Ben, and his girlfriend went along with us and we had a good night. We danced, they drank and got silly, caught a kiss at midnight and waited an hour for a taxi to get home.

The rest of our time home was spent enjoying the family and just hanging out.  We only got to see a dusting of snow while home, which was perfectly okay with me! J-Twice was hoping for more, but I was okay with what we saw. On our flight back to Turkey, we spent our last evening in Baltimore and when waiting for the shuttle bus at the airport, it was rather windy and he said "man, I forgot what cold was like!". Yeah, I'd prefer to keep it that way!  So, to God and the powers that be in the AF deciding our next location, keep that in mind! :)

Okay, enough for now. I will try to do a better job with keeping  up with this blog for our remaining 6 months here in Turkey! Be on the lookout to see where we are off to next!