We are still alive!

I know it has been ages since posting. We have had lots going on, and unfortunately, that translates into very little extra time. Here's a run down of what we have been up to . . .

We spent Christmas morning at home opening gifts. Tanner, Nikki and Matthew were very blessed with lots of fun things. We then drove to Maryland to spend a few days with Garrett's family. While there, we went to the D.C. temple to see the beautiful Christmas lights. This is a highlight of the year for me, and I am sure when we move out of the area, I am going to miss this. It is fun to note that Garrett's grandmother, Florian Thayn, was one of the people who started the tradition of Christmas lights on the temple grounds, many years ago. In the visitor's center, there is a display of Nativity Scenes/Creches from around the world. This is hands down, my favorite part.

Garrett left for his latest deployment on January 2. He is in Qatar until the begining of May. This deployment is not a flying one. He is working at the CAOC doing C-17 OPS. You will have to wait for a post from him for a description of his job, as I don't completely understand what he does there! I know it has a lot to do with moving cargo and troops around the dessert. He is enjoying the job. He loves to learn new things, and this gives him a different perspective on the C-17 mission. Qatar is a tiny country near Saudi Arabia. Here is a map picture of the country. The base is located just outside of Doha. I found a great sattelite image, but it has a copywrite. If you want to see the base, check out: www.terraserver.com/view.asp?cx=531909&cy=2778438&proj=32639&mpp=5&pic=img&prov=gx19&stac=7145&ovrl=-1&drwl=




This is the craziest time of the year for me. I am the Scholarship Auction Chair for the McGuire Officers' Spouses Club. Every year, we hold an auction to raise money for our scholarship program. This is my 3rd year as the chair. We do tons of soliciting for donations, and I oversee all of the auction committees. Until March, my life belongs to the auction! Sort of stinks, and I didn't plan on doing it again this year, but no one volunteered. I'm a bit of a sap, and have a hard time saying no, especially when it will leave someone in a pinch, so here I am again! So there won't be many posts for the next few months (unless something big happens). Hopefully Garrett will have more time than me! Here's a shameless plug . . . if you work for a company that would like to give a donation to my auction (it's a tax write off), let me know! I am always looking for new items!

Here's to a crazy life!!!