First post of 2010!

Well not a whole lot has been going on around here! We are finally getting back to our routine after a wonderful holiday. Jarrett had almost 2 weeks off of work and my boss gifted me with a few days off and it was so nice to be able to sleep in and wake up next to Jarrett for a few days. That NEVER happens! We managed to make it to the beach, do a lot of reading, see some movies, and just relax! It was wonderful! Jarrett went back to work last week and will be starting school next Monday. I'm back at work as well and will be starting school tomorrow! I'm so excited/ anxious. I've never worked full time and gone to school full time at the same time so this should be interesting!

Well we have been in Guam now for almost five months. I can't believe how fast it has flown by. That means only five more months until I get to see my wonderful family and in-laws, my little Olive, and the beautiful Central Coast. Over the past five months, I feel like I have matured more than I ever have. I thought that the day I got married, I would feel like a new mature woman/ wife. But it didn't happen right away. I guess living not far from family, I still felt like a young woman that was living on her own but not quite. I really don't know how to describe it. I was a wife but I still felt so young. Probably because I was still a teenager even though I was a wife too. But now that I'm a few years older and living so far from family, I feel like Jarrett and I really have become our own little family. I still call my parents almost every other day, but I feel like I am more equipped to walk through this life without the constant help and guidance of my parents. Moving somewhere so different and away from anyone or anything i knew spurred this new maturity on. I was forced to figure things out on my own. My parents couldn't tell me where to go get my oil changed, or how to get to this place or that. I have to say that I have enjoyed figuring things out on my own. I feel so proud when I am able to do something all by myself! Along with this maturity, I think I am focusing a lot more on being a more mature wife. One big change I have made is the effort I put forth into maintaining a clean home. I love seeing my husband smile and give me a big hug when he comes home to a clean house. I didn't really care about this a few years ago. I HATE cleaning and for a while, I would leave a lot of the cleaning to Jarrett. But I love a clean home and know now that it takes effort from both sides to keep a house clean. I can't say I like cleaning now, but I enjoy doing it because it makes my husband happy that I am contributing and I feel proud when I sit down and see the results of my hard work! This may seem minor to some of you but trust me, this is a huge accomplishment for me!

Anyways, this has been a really random post. Oh another thing I started on the first of the year is I joined a group/ blog called 365truth. The goal is to read the entire Bible in one year. A part of my faith that I lack in is getting into the Word. I'm hoping that by joining this group, I will be help accountable and encouraged by the other members to get into the Word daily. I can't say that I have read every day, but I know that this change won't come overnight. But I'm excited to learn and see where the Lord takes me!

Christmas in Guam!

Jarrett and I enjoyed our first Christmas in Guam and our third Christmas together as a married couple! Realizing that we are growing up and won't always be able to spend the holidays with our families, Jarrett and I made every effort to create our own special traditions and memories. During the month of December, we would cuddle up on the couch, eat some dessert, and watch a Christmas movie at least twice a week. We hung lights in the house, adorned the house with decorations that we have accumulated over the past few years, and purchased our first large Christmas tree. We added a few unique ornaments to our collection and lit holiday scented candles through out the house. All in all, this turned out to be a very special and memorable Christmas and I couldn't be more happy. What I think I loved most about this Christmas was that we didn't focus on gifts, even though that never really is a priority to us, but rather on each other and enjoying our time together. Jarrett and I will not be together next Christmas, so we soaked in every moment of this holiday season.

On Christmas eve, Jarrett and I went to church and then went to a nice restaurant for a delicious Christmas eve dinner. Christmas morning, we woke up bright and early. I immediately turned some Christmas music on while Jarrett brewed a pot of coffee. We opened our gifts one by one and recorded videos to share with those who sent us gifts. After gift opening, Jarrett made some mimosas and we spent a few hours calling family and friends. We skyped both our families which was extra special. After that, I began cooking our Christmas meal while we watched the Nativity Story. I baked a ham and prepared lots of fixings such as mashed potatoes and my favorite green bean casserole. And after we stuffed ourselves silly, we decided to go see a movie. After the movie, we came home and curled up together on the couch with some new books we got for Christmas. All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas despite being away from family who we miss dearly!

Also, my dear friend Lindsey sent me this wonderful care package. I can't even describe how nice it was to eat some candy cane joe joe's after our delicious meal. So special.

Favorites

I've composed a list of my top 5 favorite things as of right now!

#1 Everything Christmas! I was a little worried about the holiday season coming around because I was afraid about how I would feel being so far from family but I feel so blessed by this Christmas season. Jarrett and I are starting our own traditions which include watching Christmas movies almost every night, having a small glass of wine and eating yummy fudge after dinner, and buying a couple new Christmas ornaments to help boost our ornament collection. We have been talking about our plans for Christmas eve and Christmas and I am excited about what we have planned!

#2 Lots of candles! My husband is really getting irritated about my obsession with candles but I just can't help it. If I find a yummy candle, my obsessive behavior takes over and I have to buy it! Yesterday, my husband managed to pry me from a display of candles on sale, but unfortunately he lost the battle today when I found some delicious soy candles for only $4 a pop! I managed to sneak one into our cart. My belief is you can never have enough candles.

#3 Bethany Dillon. I seriously have loved this musical artist since I was like 15. She is amazing! I love everything on her new cd and I think I could listen to it for hours on end. Her lyrics go much deeper and are more honest than any other artist I know.

#4 My new Flip video camera. I asked for a video camera for my birthday and after a bunch of research, I decided on the Flip Ultra. This little camera is not for the serious videographer, but more for the videographer that just wants to take simple videos to share with friends and family. I seriously love this thing. It has a USB thing attached to it, which makes it super easy to upload the videos onto your computer. And the best thing about this camera is that it can be purchased at a super reasonable price! In fact, it's on sale on Amazon for $90. This irritates me slightly since I just purchased mine on Amazon for $120 and it went on sale like a week later, but I still feel like I got it for a good deal compared to the price I almost paid to buy it on the island. I've attached a couple short clips at the bottom.

Video 1 from Kate Boyd on Vimeo.

Video 2 from Kate Boyd on Vimeo.

#5 Speaking of Amazon, I am obsessed with Amazon!! I think I did more than half my Christmas shopping on Amazon because everything is so much cheaper and they offer free shipping on most items over $25. This is really helpful when shipping stuff to Guam because it can get a bit pricey. This website is a Guamanian's dream come true because the selection of items is awesome and the items are much cheaper than I would ever pay on this island!

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

We set up our Christmas tree last week. We both had such a fun time hanging ornaments on the tree, dancing around to Christmas music, and ending the night with a fun Christmas movie. It's hard being away from family during this time of the year, but we are both trying our best to remember the reason for the season and start a few of our own traditions. Although the temperature outside never dips below 78, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas inside our home with the help of Christmas lights and cinnamon and Christmas cookie flavored candles. I was telling Jarrett that I think this is the most festive our house has ever been, and I love it. I'm looking forward to many more nights spent watching Christmas movies, sipping a glass of wine, and watching the twinkling lights on the tree with my husband curled up beside me. The only thing better would be to have the rest of our families sitting alongside us. Maybe next year!

My little bee

It all began over 20 years ago when little Katie moved into the house across the street from me in Florida. An extraordinary friendship began to grow and has bloomed into something neither of our families could have imagined. We did everything together from the moment we met when we were toddlers. Everything from running through the sprinklers, knocking teeth out on the slip and slide, being human tornados that left nothing unturned, riding Thunder Mountain at Disney World, and eating Mimi's mac and cheese until our bellies popped. Katie is the sister that I never had. We often joked and still do that we were born to the wrong mothers. Katie is the wild and crazy one like my mom and i am the more conservative, quiet one like her mom. When my family decided to move to California when I was 7, it was decided that we would continue to see each other. Actually, I don't even know if we discussed visiting each other; it was more like an unspoken understanding that our friendship was more than just a simple friendship and it would continue no matter what. From the time I was 8 years old, I would pack up my bags, hop on a plane by myself, and make the trek out to Florida to see my little Katie. (I say little even though she is older than me. But she is just so cute and petite!) Every summer, we would take trips together whether it was to North Carolina, the Grand Canyon, or New York City. Despite the length of the country between us, Katie and I have managed to be at every important occasion whether it was her high school graduation, my high school graduation, or my wedding. We are there for each other.

I mention our story because I am asking for prayer. Prayer for my little bee, my sister, my hero. See Katie had a kidney transplant when she was two. Unfortunately, her kidney began to fail a little over two years ago and she has been on dialysis for the same duration. Dialysis is an incredibly exhausting procedure but it doesn't stop Katie. About six months ago, the doctors decided that Katie is also in need of a liver transplant. The past few years have been an exhausting, emotional journey for Katie but we are rejoicing that there is almost a light at the end of the tunnel. Katie is currently number 1 on the transplant list. I pray that anyone reading this would pray for Katie. Prayer in numbers is a powerful thing and I have incredible faith that the long awaited phone call will arrive any day now. She has been so patient and faithful. Please help me in praying for my dear Katie. Also, please pray that when we do receive the phone call, that I would be able to make it home to be with her. Not even the distance of half the world will keep me from being there. :-)
I think this picture was from spring '07
Here is Katie dancing with my dad at my wedding.
My two favorite ladies. Katie and my mom.
Katie was my maid of honor.

My transition

The past week I have been reflecting on our move to Guam and how the transition is going. I know I have talked a lot about our move but I hope you understand how this move has rocked my world and therefore is the topic I am often consumed with and wish to discuss. I feel like so much as happened within this short period that has forever changed my life; my mom says I should write a book about my recent experiences because a large portion of them have been quite entertaining/ odd/ educational. When Jarrett and I got married and I made the 4 hour move to northern California, I soon became consumed with overwhelming sadness. It would be fair to say that I was probably experiencing a mild/ moderate depression. For the first three months at Travis I did not work, go to school, have a solid home church, or friends. My days were spent at home alone where I spent most of my time in front of the tv or sleeping. Those first 3 months culminated into probably the hardest time in my life thus far. The weeks leading up to our move to Guam, I became consumed with the fear that I would again experience what I had in those first 3 months at Travis. From the moment I walked off the plane in Guam, I became obsessed with getting busy, involved in things, finding a job, and friends. I think about it now and that probably wasn't the healthiest thing to do but for me I was in survival mode and nothing could stop me. Now that we are getting settled in, I am reflecting on how the Lord has truly blessed us with an easy transition. Maybe it's the fact that it's not the first time moving away from family, or that I have found a good job and have gotten involved in various activities. Or maybe it's the fact that i am just more mature. Whatever it may be, I feel blessed. I have experienced homesickness but that can only be expected. I have felt overwhelmed and sad at times but I believe that is only healthy and natural.

I feel proud of myself for putting myself out there and being bold. I found a job off base and have made friends with many locals which is something that a lot of military don't do here. I choose not to stick to the base because I have been so blessed by the culture and people here in Guam. It has been tough because of cultural differences but rewarding none the less. I have met senators, radio personalities, and other local figures due to my job and I don't believe that would have happened unless I had put myself out there.

But along with the wonderful things we have experienced, there has been a fair share of discouraging events. I have met people that didn't have my best interest in mind which has been a very hard lesson to learn, especially this week when I was faced with a painful and heartbreaking situation. We are also learning how to celebrate the holidays away from family and how to create our own traditions. This is fun but at the same time a sad thing to learn how to do especially if you are stubborn like me. And we are learning how to accept or at least respect cultural differences that we don't agree with or believe are "right."

Many times in the past few months my heart has felt heavy and I have prayed so many prayers asking the Lord to carry me through this trying period in my life. But also in the past few months I feel I have matured and grown in ways that would not have been possible if it wasn't for this move. I know without a doubt that I will look back on this time and smile no matter how many tears were shed. I'm thankful that I can see that now.

Home Sweet Home or something like it

How does one make a house into a home? This is the question that I have asked myself countless times over the past few months, but even more so in the past couple weeks. I think it takes at least a year for a house to finally feel like home. A year to work all the kinks out, figure out where everything should go, etc. But I'm impatient. Home and how it feels when you walk into it is so important to me because I am a homebody. My favorite nights are the ones spent at home curled up on the couch with a good book and my husband by my side. I love to be at home. Maybe I'm just really homesick but this house just doesn't feel like home one bit. It feels like a shell still that needs some major TLC. I find myself complaining lately about everything that has to do with this house. The walls are too white, the tile is too white and gets dirty so easily, the house is too big, we don't have enough money for furniture, our furniture is too small, and so on. Never thought I'd find myself complaining about a house being too big but the grass is always greener on the other side isn't it. We moved from a tiny 900 square foot townhouse into a large 1600+ square foot single family home and our furniture just doesn't fill it. So many things that frustrate me that I'm struggling to find the motivation to try and make this house into a home; I don't know where to even begin. At the same time, I'm disgusted with myself that I even have these frustrations because so many people do not have the luxuries that Jarrett and I do. So many do not have a large roof to cover their heads at night. So many people on this island alone would do anything to live in a house like we do. I am so extremely thankful for the blessings that we have and the fact that I have my wonderful husband whose very being fills the space between these walls. I'm just trying to be honest here and open about my frustrations. So anyone have any inexpensive, easy suggestions about how you make a house into a home? And here are some pictures of our living room so far. It's pretty much the only room that we have really put some time and money into thus far.