Chair Repair

Ok, so it's not really a repair as much as a spray paint job, but "chair repair" had such a nice ring to it! I found this Ethan Allen chair (pictured below) sitting in a throw away pile in the foyer of my apartment building the other day and decided...I've got time on my hands...I might as well. So I grabbed it quickly and hopped on the elevator with my newest project.

The first thing I did was Lysol, the second thing I did was Lysol and then I whipped out the handy dandy spray paint (my solution to the world's problems). The funny thing is there's no great place to spray paint around my apartment, so I ended up doing on the balcony. I got a few funny looks. I was a little worried about my neighbors complaining about the fumes, but then again they blow smoke in my direction 24/7...literally. So I just spray painted my little heart out. 

I was very pleased with the result and it's now sitting by my side of the bed...I'll have to post some pictures of the bedroom next week. I'm almost finished! I couldn't be happier with my free chair that I updated with about $3 worth of spray paint! Enjoy...

Two Great Reads for Military Wives

Since Robert has left for his "summer cruise" I've found myself reading more than ever. I've gone through two books since he left and am half way through another one. I realize everyone has different ways of coping with deployments and times apart in the military. Reading may not be your thing, I never in a million years thought it would be mine! I'm not much of a reader to begin with, outside of things that pertain to photography or design. I always told myself, "when I get out of school I'll read all the time, because it'll be for pleasure and not forced." Well I've been out of school for several years now and yes what....the Twilight series is probably the most I've read, as embarrassing as that is to admit, it's true.

My goal while Robert is gone is to fill my head with as much beneficial reading as possible. The first book I picked up, God + Military Spouse, I had skimmed through before and it was actually given to me by the author. I attended a small group bible study at a friend's house and she was there and gave me a copy of her book. She's a Navy wife that has survived many deployments and hardships that come with this lifestyle. Her book is an easy read that feels more like a conversation than anything else. She's passionate, I hope you didn't take the phrase an "easy read" to mean that it's not challenging material. Cline talks about certain things that we need to hear that we may not want to hear. Like the fact that God provides us with female friends to support us and lean on during deployments and separation. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that for the 6+ months our husbands are gone we're not going to have contact with the opposite sex, but we need to be wise. Be aware of the situations that we put ourselves into, because that's exactly who's in control of our actions...us. I know some people will read that last few sentences and think I'm a prude, but if that's what it takes for my husband never to doubt my love and faithfulness to him and for me to not end up in a horrible situation, then hello...I'm Miss Prude!

The other book that I have absolutely fallen in love with is Hope for the Home Front. Marshele Carter Waddell has been married to a US Navy Seal for over 25 years and has been blessed with 3 children. If I had to sum her book up in a word it would be, honest. It was refreshing to hear an honest, Godly perspective on this crazy lifestyle. While reading her book, I couldn't help but think about Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 11. It's towards the end of the chapter, he's defending his apostleship and begins listing everything he's been through:

Imprisonments
Danger of death
Beatings of numerous kinds
Shipwrecked
Danger of robbers
Danger of his countrymen
Danger of the Gentiles
Danger of the city
Danger of the wilderness
Danger of the seas
Danger among false brethren
Labor
Hardships
Hungry
Thirsty
Exposed

The list goes on, but you get the idea. While reading this book I realized Waddell has quite an impressive list of deployments, injuries, moves, children, missed holidays, lost loved ones, lost friends, foreign countries, feeling lost, feeling depressed, feeling alone, disgusting living arrangements, small paychecks, and broken appliances, cars and whatever else you can image that always seem to happen when your spouse isn't around. She's more than capable to be writing this book and I'm grateful that she did. It takes someone like that who's been through all this and is still standing on the other side of it smiling and clinging to their faith to pass on their wisdom. As a young and fairly new military wife, it's great to dwell on the positive and God-centered truths that someone else can bring out of what could be devastating situations. This was an extremely encouraging read for me.

If you would have told me 4 years ago that I would one day be living in a foreign country and married to a US Marine, I can honestly say I wouldn't have believed you, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's easy but depending on God and not myself or even my husband for that matter, makes it easier. I definitely haven't perfected that last sentence, it's a constant struggle. I realize how blessed I am when I look around at the women who's husbands are gone far more frequent than mine and it's humbling. The pride that I have in my husband and what he stands for is unexplainable...and sight of him in his dress blues doesn't hurt either! ;D I hope that if you're in need of a good read you'll think about these books. Enjoy.

Don't have anything for mom?

I'm not big on advertising for other companies, but MyPublisher is who I ordered my last photo book through and I had the best experience! They are now offering a last minute deal for mother's day. Go to their website and get 50% off photo book gift certificates. I can't imagine what a mom would love more and you get a fabulous deal...hurry it doesn't last long. And yes that picture is of my grandmother, my mom and my uncle...love it!

Happy Birthday Morgan!

Meet Morgan! Isn't she adorable? This is my friend's daughter and she turned on this past weekend (if you didn't get that by the first pic). I had the joy of taking pictures at her birthday party. Afterwards we went out with the whole family and did some more portraits with a little less cake. These are just a few of my favorites, if you would like to see more please head over to my photography blog and take a look. Enjoy!

Better late than never...

It's a little over a year and a half since Robert and I were married and I finally ordered our Wedding Album...oops! I sat down many times with the intention of selecting all the photos and getting it all organized, but usually I got 20 minutes into, felt overwhelmed and quit. Once we got to Okinawa, I sat down and knocked it all out in one day! I got it in the mail a few days after Robert left...what perfect timing! I've looked through it about 10 times already.

Looking through this book brings back so many great memories. I'll be honest, I was a little cynical about my wedding being a perfect day, but it absolutely was! Don't get me wrong, we had some things that didn't go exactly as planned and there were people that I wish could've been there that couldn't make it, but at the end of the day I was Mrs. Robert White and that was perfection enough for me. Here are some of my favorite pages...

The getting ready pictures: I love Tasha's intense face, my lovely Becca who did my make-up and Ashlee and I putting on our eye liner in sync...love my besties!

My dad's face in this picture is priceless...if you know him, it's typical Phil :D

Robert and I before the wedding...he looks ready!

The votive candles...I think we had close to 200, not kidding. Mom and I spaced them out perfectly, there was a methodical plan to follow...if you know my mother that's vintage Kay...haha, love her! We tied those pew bows the Thursday before the wedding. Thank you Julie Wages for all your creativity, you made everything look beautiful. And of course the moms and grandmothers walking down the isle...love it...all the ladies in our lives!

When you look at this page of course you notice Robert's look and my big smile, but I always tease my dad that he looks a little too happy in this photo. The photo opposite of that is Chad tell about our first date, which he and several other's (including Robert's parents) were privileged to be apart of...oh memories!

The KISS! It was a bit long and we got some laughter from the crowd. What most people didn't notice was Robert's uniform getting tangled in my dress. It was a close call but nothing wripped...thank goodness! 

Our beautiful wedding party...so thankful for good friends! The knife and server we used for the cake was the one from my Memom and Daddy Jack's 50 Wedding Anniversary Celebration.

Cutting the cake we couldn't stop laughing cause with every move of the knife we knocked off more of the beautiful decorations, oh well it was scrumptious! I choked on the milk that we toasted to out of Mason Jars and ended up accidentally cutting the chocolate groom's cake instead of the yellow cake with chocolate icing...oops

There's so many things about this page that I love, I could talk about every single person on it, but I won't. On the first page on the bottom left is one of Robert's dear friends, "Murph" that was stationed with him in Hawaii. He and his lovely family surprised Robert and came to wedding. Right across from that one is all of my college roommates and our parents together...perfect picture...love you all! Top far right is my house party, what would I have done with out you?! So happy to be apart of their lives and even more thrilled that they're apart of mine. Right below that is a picture of Robert and I talking to his Uncle Mark. I'm especially thankful for this picture in light of recent events. Mark passed away this week, he had been battling Alzheimer's disease for quite sometime. I'm so thankful for the time that I got to know him and this precious picture.

I never gave much thought to catchy a bouquet. They always say whoever catches it is the next in line to be married. Well, who knew that would be the case! Danielle, a childhood friend, was married almost exactly a year after that photo was taken...so special. I love all the photos of us leaving, the limo was surprise...quite different from the Ford Focus we were expecting to see.

And finally our pictures out at my family's land. First, the limo left us here on accident and we had to call him to come back because I wasn't letting anyone from our family drive us to the hotel...haha! Second, the picture at the top left was taken right after Robert swept me off my feet. Literally, he picked me up and didn't realize that he was standing on my dress, all I hear was RRRRIPPPPP and then we both started laughing. Thank goodness all was said and done for the day. By the way it was just a little rip underneath the top layer. Thank you to the amazing Hailey Erickson for capturing our day...can't thank you enough friend!

All in all it was an absolutely lovely and perfect day!