Second Honeymooon in Guam

Wow. Where to begin. It was so great to get to see Matthew. I have said this before, but I will say it again. I do not know how women do this on a regular basis and how women do this for longer than me! Being without Matt has been tough and I cannot even put into words how blessed I am to have been able to go see him! I can now make it the last 6 weeks until he comes home at the end of September! During my time in Guam I thought of Tyler so much. The last time I went on a beach vacation was when the whole family got to go to Cancun in June 2006 before Tyler's car accident. So, there were so many things that reminded me of him and of my family's time in Cancun. I was reminded of the family relay races we had in the pool, the family races on the beach, the snorkeling, the hanging out by the pool, the volleyball games on the beach, the sitting around the dinner table together...what great memories we have as a family! For my birthday one of the things that Matt did for me was rent scooters for us. We spent an entire day driving around the island and seeing the sites on those scooters...a very great birthday present! This reminded me of Tyler because he used to say that when he went to college he was planning on buying a little scooter to ride to and from class. Can you imagine Tyler's 6'4" frame riding a on a tiny little scooter. That image always makes me smile! Tyler was a very unique individual! Also, for my birthday Matt got me an Ipod. I have been wanting one for about 2 years...but just have never gotten one. So, I was so very pleasantly surprised by this gift! He also got me several other small gifts from his time in Japan. And, we got to go parasailing too. This was so cool! We got to do it together. So we were just floating along about 100 feet above the water for about 15 minutes. Very cool experience! But the greatest birthday present of all was just getting to be in Guam with him! Man, I have missed that guy so much! I think one of things that I missed the most was the way that he makes me laugh. He can make me laugh like no other! So fun!

Hanging out on the beach with Matt!

Scooter ride for my birthday! We drove all over the island. It was so fun!

Beautiful view we saw when we were on our scooter ride.

My birthday dinner!

Hanging out at the pool again. :)

Birthday breakfast

Delicious hazelnut coffee!

Gorgeous view of Gun Beach

Got to see my first starfish up close in real life!

More Gun Beach

Cool little cove that lead us to Gun Beach

By the pool at our hotel.

As a dear friend reminded me. I am so blessed. I am living this great adventure and getting to see so many amazing places and experience so many different things right now in my life. As much as I miss my family and I miss Tyler (and right now I miss Matthew)...I cannot say that I am lacking anything at all. I am so blessed. I probably have mentioned this verse before but I am going to share it again. This verse created a turning point in my grief for Tyler.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." ~1 Peter 1:3-8

Early May to Late June

It is so amazing what a little rain and a lot of sunshine can do to a place! Matt and I hiked Falls Creek Trail with some friends a few days before he left for Guam in early May. And then, a few days ago, my friend Anna and I hiked this same trail again. I thought it was beautiful the first time I hiked it. But now it is simply breathtaking! The way that everything has turned so green is stunning!

See for yourself. These are pictures from Matt and my hike in May:

And these are pictures from a few days ago on that same trail with Anna!

What an amazing place that I get to live. I do not always appreciate it, because some days it is really hard to be so far from my family. As I think I have said before, it is hard to be in a place where I am around people that never knew Tyler. Even Matthew didn't ever know Ty. So, it is very hard in that sense. Sometimes it feels like I am betraying Tyler because I am around people that don't even know that I miss him and think about him everyday. I know that I am not betraying him. I know that he is so happy and excited for me. I know that Matthew is an answer to not only his prayers, but the prayers of many! But it is hard to live in a place that Tyler never knew, with people that he never knew. ...I hope and pray that I will appreciate this beauty that I am surrounded by every day and that I will never let a day go by that I do not see God's glory in it!

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the spirit."

~2 Corinthians 3:18

Heather's Visit to Alaska

So, I have decided that I think everyone should visit Alaska at least twice in their lives. Once in the winter and once in the summer. These two seasons are so very different and extreme. And... they are so amazingly beautiful in their own unique way, that I believe everyone should see God's amazing beauty here! I am still being constantly amazed by the beauty and mystery of this great place.

Heather was able to come for a short visit during the time that she should have been moving. She finished with work in Baltimore last Tuesday and she starts work in Burmingham on Wednesday. So, instead of moving all of her stuff and getting settled in a new city before starting work, she decided to come see me! It was so great to see her!

Heather and me trying to stay warm on the boat tour. It was pretty windy, rainy, and cold...but still fun!

A beluga whale.

One of the many beautiful views we saw on the boat tour.

A sea lion.

Some sea otters.

One of the glaciers we saw along the way. Lots of ice was floating everywhere in the water!

On our way up north to go fishing.

Heather and the tiny fish she caught. So we didn't catch any big fish...but we did learn to fly fish a little...and it was fun!

Matthew and my friend Cory took Heather and I fishing. On our little hike to the river to fish we found these caribu antlers.

Even though it was summer, we did need quite a few layers to keep warm!

The sunset. This picture was taken at just past midnight! The sunset usually starts at about 9:00pm and last until about 1:00am these days. Four hour sunsets are pretty amazing!

As I said, it was so fun to have Heather here! I hadn't seen her since Matt and my wedding in October. So it was great to get to hang out!

RoSeS fOr Me

Today was my day off work. I was doing a little cleaning and laundry, getting the house ready for Heather to get here on Wednesday because I work tomorrow and Wednesday and Heather gets here Wednesday night. As I was cleaning, the doorbell rang. I was suprised because I wasn't expecting anyone or anything. I went to the door and opened it to find a guy with some beautiful roses just for me from Matt! I have a wonderful husband that is so thoughtful. I am not much of a flower person usually. But, I just love surprises! This was a great one!

Matthew is enjoying his time in Guam for the most part. He was able to get scuba certified and has gotten to go scuba diving a few times. And he has gotten to eat at some great sushi restaurants. He loves sushi, so this has been fun for him. Matt had never really gotten to do much traveling outside of the US. So, this has been a fun adventure for him. Although he, of course, wishes that I were there with him...and since he has now been gone for over 7 weeks, he is getting really ready to come back home! Only 24 days until I get to go there and spend two weeks hanging out with him! And then about 6 weeks after that he comes home!

Wow! It is gorgeous there. I cannot wait to go!

So, as I said. Heather is coming to see me on Wednesday. She will be here until Monday! Today is her last day of call/work in Baltimore, Maryland and she starts work in Burmingham, Alabama on July 1. During her small amount of time off she is coming to see me! We are hopefully going to go fishing in Seward on Thursday. A friend from church has a boat and is going to take us out on it to fish! And we are going to try to go clam digging on Saturday with a friend from work. And then on Sunday I think we are going to go camping, biking, hiking, and kayaking on/near lake Eklutna! I am so excited to see her and to get out and enjoy some summer activities with her!

Matthew and my friend's, Devin and Sarah, are moving here this summer from Arizona! They are planning to leave AZ to drive up here in the next week or so. We are so excited to have them move here! They are some of our best friends and it will be so fun to have them up here to share in this adventure with us!

So...lots of exciting things happening in the next 24 days before I go see Matthew in Guam!

Arizona and Back Again

While I was in the lower 48 I had to make a little stop by Surprise, AZ to see Nate, Terah and Colton! Colton is now almost 8 weeks old and it is amazing how fast he is growing and how much he has changed since I saw him last. He is making all sorts of adorable little faces. He is so intent on examining everything and trying to figure things out. He is also a talker. He will sit and talk to you and be so happy for as long as you will talk back! It was great to get to see them and it was fun that Landon happened to be out there on business while I was there, so I got to spend a little more time with him too.

This is Colton enjoying wearing his great new hat from his Aunt Sarah. :)

Me and Colton having a little hang out time

Colton loves being with his mom! Colton hanging out with Uncle Ted.
Me and Colton getting ready to go shopping.
Ben, Gini and Shelley
Ben and Papa
Cori, Shelley, Mama, Gini, and Ben
Mama and Me

Me and Papa
Tyler. Today would have been Ty's 22nd birthday. I think that in ways it is getting harder as the days go by, because I wonder what he would be like now. Where would he be living? What would he be doing? Would he still be in college getting his degree to teach and coach? Or would he be working for Concord with Papa, Zach and Landon? Would he still live in Abilene?

....I had planned to write more about him...but the words are just not coming out as I thought they would tonight. So, that is all for now.

It was a great week with my family and it was wonderful to see my family and some friends! I am so blessed!

Texas Time

Just a few pictures of my vacation in Texas so far. It has been so great to see my family! I also get to go to Phoenix for a couple of days this week to see Nate, Terah and Colton!

Gini and Will

Shell and Kara
Shelley and Will Cotton

I don't think this picture even needs a caption. I think it speaks for itself.

Will playing basketball at the pool.

Zachary and Shaggs

Levi's adorable little feet in his cute little flip flops.

Zach and Kara cooling off in the very nice pool. It was really hot this day!

Gini and Shelley

Landon doing a "Jack Sparrow dive"

Landon and Whit

Me and Gin

Shelley getting ready to chill in the pool.

Me and Levi

Zach and Will

Shelley, Max and Levi all showed up for dinner dressed a like...so I had to get a picture!

It has been so nice to get to relax and hang out with my family. I thought that it would make me miss Matthew less...but I actually think it has made me miss him more because I am having fun and I wish he were here having fun with me! But, he is enjoying his time in Guam. He has gotten to go snorkeling a few times. And, he is having fun planning things for us to do while I am there! I had no idea I could miss him this much! Only 41 more days until I get to go see him! I am beyond ready and so excited to get to see him!!