-13 Degrees to 82 Degrees!

Matthew and I went to Hawaii on January 2 and spent 10 days there!! What a perfect vacation. We could not have asked for a better vacation. We got to spend 10 straight days hanging out. Which in itself is AMAZING. But on top of that...we got to leave Alaska's -13 degree temp to go to sunny, beautiful, 80 degree weather in Maui!!!

 We got to do a little snorkeling and saw lots of fish, coral and some sea turtles!

 We also drove about half of the road to Hana. Along the way we saw lots of beautiful waterfalls.

 We went to the North Shore and to Jaws beach to watch the surfers. So cool. I would be scared to death to even go out in those waves. It was really amazing to watch!

 The pictures do not even do the surfers justice.

 We also went on a kayaking trip! I had never been kayaking before, and have to say that I loved it. We had so much fun. While we out on the water we got to see 6-7 beluga whales off in the distance. AND then, all of the sudden a huge whale surfaced about 10 feet from our kayak!!! I was so scared. I was shaking. I didn't even get a picture of it because I was soooo scared. Matt was just laughing at me, because I could not stop shaking. It was an incredible experience and an amazing display of God's creation.

 We also rented scooters one day and drove all over the island :) And, we went and watched the Hyundai PGA Tournament of champions. So fun. We had never been to a PGA tournament before. If we ever have the opportunity to go to one again we absolutely will because it was sooo fun!!

 Plus, we spent LOTS of time laying on the beach or at the pool reading our new Nooks :)

 We also went on a doors off helicopter tour of the island. Gorgeous!

 And one of the highlights of the trips for Matthew was visiting the lavender gardens! Matt loves lavender! So he had a blast walking around the gardens and tasting the teas and foods made from lavender :)

 This is the lanai at our condo where we sat and ate breakfast every morning.

Ahhhhh, again. It was a fabulous vacation. We had a great time with each other. And it was a nice change from Alaska (even though we go love the cold in Alaska!). We are so blessed to have been able to take this vacation.

Christmas Eve to the New Year

On Christmas Eve we had a few of our friends from church over to work on a 1500 piece puzzle, eat dessert and hang out. It was nice for all of us to get to hang out with friends (especially those of us who are very far from our families)!

 Matt and I had a very relaxing Christmas Day. We had gotten each other Nooks for Christmas, so we spent the day hanging out at the house and reading mostly!

 Matt doing a little snow shoveling in his shorts :)

For New Year's we hosted the first annual Puzzleoff!! We bought three puzzles, had some friends over, divided into three groups and raced to see who could finish the puzzle first (and we had prizes for the winners). I have to say I believe this was a hit and will probably become a tradition in the Cornett household!

Jen, Ryan, Cameronn, Emily and John got first place!

 Sarah, Devin, Tami, Kate and Aaron got second place.

 Sadly our team got third, but we had a blast!

Marianke, Courtney, Eli, Matt, me and Aiden :) 

I got to hold Aiden a lot while doing the puzzle, which was fun!

The guys bought a few fireworks and put on a little show for us afterwards!

We had a great time bringing in the new year with friends!!

Our driveway is notoriously difficult to get up and down! So, the next day, Jen slid down the driveway into the snowbank at the bottom of the driveway. Thankfully it wasn't stuck too bad. They managed to get it out with a few snow shovels!

New Year's Day was a gorgeous day! It was COLD, but pretty clear and crisp. Beautiful.

It was a good start to the New Year. Matt and I are looking forward to what God has in store for us this year. He has taught us so much through many different difficult, sad, and joyous situations and we are anxious to see where He will take us this next year as we are getting out of the military in about 10 months!

Got Snow?

Over the last few weeks we have been thinking we might not get to have a white Christmas. I know. In Alaska, we were concerned about this??! But it's true. It has been snowing and then the next day getting really warm (high 30's, low 40's) and getting super windy and blowing/melting all the snow away! I was always so disappointed to see the snow go. Not only because I like having snow around, but also because I don't like the wind and everything being melty all the time made for not so great road conditions.

I love the snow! Today we woke up to LOTS of snow. We got at least a foot at our house last night. So, today I am listening to Christmas music, baking bread, making maple-pumpkin cheese cake, cinnamon rolls and other goodies for our Christmas Eve Party and to take with me to work in the morning.

 This is a picture of me and Matt on our porch. Just a little accumulation :)

Having a little snow ball fight! The snow wasn't the greatest for making snow balls though...it was a little dry!

Look how much snow is on top of our mailboxes!! Crazy.

I love how our house looks all covered in snow

Another nice thing about the snow (besides it putting me in a great mood because I love it!) is that you don't even need a refrigerater :) Just keep your milk in a little snow.

Remembering to Have Hope

I was just talking to Matt, Devin and Sarah about this the other night. The fact that it feels like Tyler is getting further and further away. I am growing up. I am now 28 years old and I was 23 when he died. He will forever be 19 years old. He won't ever get older. When my nieces and nephews grow up and are 19 years old....Tyler will still be 19 as well. It is a very strange thing. And, if makes me miss him so much, because without new memories to add to the mix, it feels like he is slipping away.

He was such a godly man who wanted to share Christ's love. He especially wanted to share Christ's love with young kids. He wanted to be a teacher/coach so that he could impact young kids for Christ. Don't get me wrong, he had his flaws. But, Tyler was one of the best men I've ever known. He had a huge heart and a ready smile. He was kind and compassionate. And he had a very easy and natural sense of humor that made almost anyone laugh. I miss him. I rejoice that he is in heaven because he knew Jesus Christ as his savior.

I recently listened to a podcast by Paul David Tripp through the Village Church website. It was a sermon on Isaiah 59 and hope. Two things that he said that really impacted me were, "hope is found through the door of hopelessness" and "when you give up on horizontal hope, then you're ready to find real hope", which is a hope in Jesus Christ. He talked about how we attempt to place our hope horizontally, in people and in things of this earth. But those things will ALWAYS let us down at one time or another. But hope comes when we realize that we are sinful and we need Jesus Christ, and when we place our hope, faith and trust in Him. I am so thankful that I have this hope.

Boarding and Sauerkraut

 

This weekend Matt and I went snowboarding for the first time this season. We went with a few people that Matt works with and with our friend Ryan. And, I am now soooo sore from head to toe! I took a pretty major wipe out (I wear a helmet...so no major damage), and now my muscles feel similar to having been in a car accident. But, the soreness was all worth the boarding! :)

After boarding we went over to Ryan and Jen's house to hang out and to eat Jen's amazing pork and sauerkraut! I hadn't had pork and sauerkraut until two New Years Eve's ago when Jen made it, and since then I have begged her to make it more often. I haven't braved it and attempted to make it myself yet, but I will definitely have to at some point.

Matt and Hailey getting a little cuddle time :)

Chicken Tacos

Matt and I went over to Devin and Sarah's house to eat tonight. They made chicken tacos. They were delicious. Maybe Devin should open a restaurant :)

Georgia Football

On Saturday, we had a few people over to watch the GA vs LSU game. We knew that LSU was the better team, but we were hoping for an upset. GA got out hopes up in the first half...but just couldn't pull it out in the second half. But it was fun to have people over and cheer for GA anyway!

The Nutcracker

On Sunday Devin, Sarah, Matt and I went to see "The Nutcracker". I had never seen it before. I didn't even know what it was about. I was so excited. Devin was not excited at all! But he was a good sport for his wife! I ended up being a little disappointed in the show. I mean, it was good. But it wasn't as great as I thought that it would be! We had a lot of fun even though the show wasn't as wonderful as we expected :)

I didn't get a picture of Matt and me because Matt had gone to warm up the car for us :) Such a sweetheart.