Dear Mr. I hate jet noise neighbor...

Dear Mr. I hate jet noise neighbor,
I wanted to let you know what a delight it was to meet you the other day! It's so great to meet people who are so honest and immediately let us know that the jet noise is SO bothersome. Trust me, we know the value of great neighbors, considering we've lived in 4 different houses in the last 2 years! Fortunately, my kind and generous husband can laugh at your attempt at humor. You see, I have had such a blast trying to pursue my career goals while moving to places in the middle of nowhere so that we don't bother people like you with unncecessary noise. I consider it only a challenge when I learn that I am least 2 years behind the classmates I graduated graduate school with. That's why it was also so kind of you to give your opinion on my driving 45 mins each day to work, cause trust me, opportunities knock on the door every day. So you're right, it is absolutely "crazy" for me to take advantage of this one! It's also so great to have neighbors we can count on, since my husband will be gone the entire month of March and could be deployed to Afghanistan as soon as May! But let's look at the positive, that's one less pilot making noise in the area! And hey, if he doesn't get Afghanistan, there's still a good possibility that he could get stationed in Japan this summer, so don't lose hope yet. And yay, I get to make a fun decision of staying here to try to further pursue my career or go to Japan with my husband, life is just filled with such grand choices!!! So yes, Mr. Neighbor, we are truly sorry for the inconvenience the noise has caused you, especially during the show 24 as you informed us. I mean, you're totally right, who wants to listen to real men and women train to protect us when you can just watch the fictitious characters on TV save the country over and over?!? And I wouldn't dare ask you to invest in Tivo as that could be such a life altering event. Please feel free to let us know any other ways that we can be of service to you, you're input is greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
So sorry to burden you with our presence.

Aside: Kurtis and I are very blessed with our lives and we are completely happy. I was just trying to make a point, please don't go up to anyone who serves and complain about their work. It's just plain rude and ignorant.

Hello Anacortes!

So...its official. We are now Anacortians. Last week, we successfully moved from Oak Harbor, WA to Anacortes, WA, 30 mins up the road. The house we moved into is about 500 sq feet smaller than the one we were previously in; however, it is much more modern. The kitchen is amazing with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. The living room, kitchen, and dining room are all one big open area with a hallway that leads to the 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. The living room front windows have a great view of the water and Guemes Island. (Kurtis says he is going to tell the kids that Guemes Island is Japan.) From the master bedroom and back deck, there is an amazing view of Mount Baker, when the weather is actually clear enough to see the mountain. There is also a hot tub on the back deck that we are looking forward to using. It's the perfect house for the two of us.

Last week, the weather was very chilly and dry. It snowed just a little bit on Sunday afternoon/evening, but didn't stick much longer than Monday. This week has actually been in the 40's which is nice, but very hazy days. The sun does not rise around here until 8 or 8:30 and begins to set around 3:30. Kurtis has a night flight tonight that actually takes off at 4:15 since it is already dark by then. We were warned about the short days before moving here, but you never can really prepare for them until you are living it. We finally admitted to eachother this past weekend that we think the lack of sun is really affecting our moods. The sun never looks as if it has risen all the way. At any time of the day, it looks like dusk. Fortunately, the winter solstice is just around the corner and the days will start getting longer. This is my new favorite day of the year. Mom sent us some information on seasonal affective disorder and we actually may order one of the lamps.

So far, we are really enjoying the town of Anacortes. It has a great small town atmosphere, but there really isn't anything we can't get that we need. It's also nice being 20 mins down the road from Burlington which has a broad range of shopping. We kind of get the best of both worlds. Downtown Anacortes is so charming with the small shops and restaurants. Mom and I visited last August and they had beautiful flowers everywhere. In the winter, they do a great job decorating with Christmas lights.

If anyone ever wants to get away and visit Whidbey or Fidalgo Island, give us a call. However, I recommend coming in the summer unless you are a winter sports enthusiast.

For All Women Registry

So, I watched something today that really touched my heart and I wanted to share. You might have seen this on Oprah yesterday, but just in case, I wanted to pass along this information. I don't normally watch Oprah, but after reading the "about caption," I decided to view this particular episode. I could not take my eyes off it. Her show featured two journalists, Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn, reporting on what they have termed "genocide" in their book "Half the Sky." The book features the discrimination, degradation, abuse, lack of education, and rape that women are suffering from across the world, especially in places such as Africa. More women have been killed in the past 50 years from these factors than all of the men combined in all the wars of the 20th century. And somehow this problem has been overlooked. More than 20 million women are "sold" to pimps who sell their bodies in brothels and torture them.

I am usually a firm believer in the phrase, "the buck stops with you." You are where you are right now due to the choices you have made in the past. Yes, life has some unexpected turns, but you still have the privilege of choice. But this philosophy only holds true on one principal truth, human rights.

1 out of 20 women die in pregnancy in Africa. Getting pregnant is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to you. And we in America can ignorantly look at these women and say, well you're paying the consequences for your actions. This is not the norm for these women, these women are raped as a form of weapon, which then makes them uneligible for marriage or work, not to mention the diseases they come into contact with with hardly any available healthcare! Kurtis's surgeon left Whidbey Island in September to go to Ethiopia to try to educate physicians on complex surgeries. People are trying to help, but imagine what we could do if everyone did something small. He is truly my hero in more ways than one.

This is not a matter of feminism, this is a matter of providing safety, education, and healthcare to a human being that is being left behind. We live very affluent lives in America with many things that we take for granted. Yes, the healthcare industry is in disarray, but its more a matter of money than availability. We have amazing healthcare facilities in this country, vaccinations for children, charity clinics, and great organizations such as the Salvation Army that help families in need. These women have NOTHING because they cannot earn a living because they are not allowed to have an education and very few are willing to help. They are looked on as nothing more than animals.

So, I wanted to post the website on Oprah's page that makes it easy to help. For what is pocket change to us can change a life! I have to admit, I had heard about these things before, but I did not realize the magnitude. I think awareness is the key here.

www.oprah.com/forallwomen

On this website, you can support a mom, help a rape victim, save a slave, teach a girl, offer a microloan in order for a women to buy a cow, or just help by passing along this information.

Adios and Vaya Con Dios Texas

I just got back from Texas today and I miss it already. Now that I'm back, we have events galore, doctors appointments, and we move on Monday. Just a little overwhelming, but at least I had a refreshing time in Tejas to gear up. The weekend started with Amanda's and Chad's wedding, which was absolutely a blast. I got to see all my girls from home and had such a good time! I miss my college girls very much and it just made my trip to get to see them. My beautiful sister, Jamie, also agreed to be my date, which was great since I don't get to see her very often. Here are a few pictures of the wedding, Amanda looked absolutely gorgeous.

I then got to spend the week at my parents house shopping for Christmas and for work clothes. I'm so happy to have most of that done, although I did have to borrow another suitcase to get everything back to Washington! Thanksgiving was held at Aunt Ceri's in La Grange, which is always fun, and we got to enjoy the babies as my cousin brought her new baby, Archie, and my sister was there with her 7 month old, Jace. Noah and Taylor enjoyed rides on the Raider with Uncle Boog. All the kids are getting so big! When I first arrived, Noah and Taylor (Jamie's kids) greeted me by running into my arms. What a welcome home! Taylor asked if Uncle Kurtis protects us in the skies - she's a smart girl! Carter, Ryan, and Jace (Jeanna's boys) just got back from Disney World, so they had lots of stories to tell, including Ryan's infatuation with Daisy Duck. Jace is the happiest baby on earth, although Archie gave him a run for his money on Thanksgiving. I also enjoyed shopping with my mom, she did a lot for me, including taking up the length on all my new work pants and waking up at the crack of dawn to take me to the airport. We also got to once again ring the Salvation Army Bell at the mall; however, this time I didn't know ANYONE. When did we get so old? I probably gained 10 pounds from all the Texas sized margaritas I gulped down this past week, but it was totally worth it. We may travel all over the world and meet amazing people, but its always great to go back home.