Christmas Day - 2008

It was a very special Christmas for us this year. First, Josh and I actually got to spent Christmas Day together and it was not via web cam, nor were we packing and getting ready for his imminent departure to Afghanistan. Also, it was our first family Christmas in our very own home. Since it was truly our first Christmas together, my family came to our house this year. We had a great time together and I wanted to share some of the pictures with you...

My Mum bought us each a 'Marshmallow Gun' - we had a blast!

Charlie did not have much fun! As with everything else, he was scared of the flying marshmallows, but he found comfort on Grandma's lap:)

We agreed to have a "small" Christmas!



It was so great to have my family with us on Christmas morning

I cooked my very first Christmas Dinner - it was delicious!

Even Charlie and Angus got into the Christmas spirit:)

It was truly a magical Christmas!

Christmas Eve...and yet another tradition.

I absolutely love Christmas Eve! In fact,I think I may even prefer it over Christmas day. Christmas Eve has all the excitement of Christmas day without much of the stress. On Christmas Eve, we always get to open just one gift, which always conveniently turns out to be new pyjamas.

Josh loved his new pyjamas!

This year my Mum thought it would be funny to buy my sister and I Victorian-style nightgowns - not sexy, but incredibly comfortable!

On Christmas Eve we make it a point to take it easy; therefore, we cook as little as possible. Fondue is an easy and delicious alternative to cooking a whole meal for five people. So, while eating yummy white chocolate fondue we watched "The Santa Clause" - it was so great to have my family altogether!

We need your prayers...

I know this may seem a little impersonal, but I truly believe in the power of prayer and need your help. Josh's father was admitted to hospital early Tuesday morning after suffering from a stroke. He is currently in ICU because he suffered from a brain hemorrhage. The doctor is telling us he is stable, but they cannot operate. Josh is on his way to Las Vegas, but due to the freak weather there he spent last night sleeping in Newark airport. Please pray for Josh's father Robert, and please also pray that Josh may eventually make it to Las Vegas.

Merry Christmas from the Walkers!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thought I would share with you our annual Christmas picture. Well, it is actually our biennial Christmas picture, since Josh is deployed every other year. I cannot explain how difficult it is to get three animals to cooperate, but I think the results are OK. A few lucky people may even get a copy in the mail...

One of our many traditions...

One thing we love about Christmas are the many traditions that each of our families has. Now that we are married, we try to incorporate traditions for both sides of our family. We always have cheese and chocolate fondue on Christmas Eve while watching a Christmas movie (I always vote for 'Elf'). After Midnight, we get to open just one of our gifts, which always turns out to be new pyjamas. My absolute favorite family tradition started about 18-19 years ago. Each Christmas morning, my sister and I receive a Christmas tree decoration in our stockings. My Mum spends all year trying to find the perfect Christmas tree ornament. Many of the decorations are found during vacations or business trips, for she always tries to get the decorations from unique and interesting places. I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you.

This is the tree decoration that started the tradition 18-19 years ago. The decoration is an actual snow globe that has a small Santa inside. The Santa inside is starting to fade a little due to age, but I still love it. My Mum bought this decoration in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I would have to say that it is one of my favorites. I still remember opening this parcel - it is very special to me. (Sorry for the blurry picture, but this is the best I could do).



In 1992, we took our first family vacation to America. I had never been to the United States before, so I was quite excited. We spent two weeks in Orlando, Florida, and then spent one week in the Philadelphia area visiting family. During our trip, my parents picked up this ornament. When I opened up the parcel on Christmas morning I was instantly reminded of the wonderful vacation we had shared.




In 1994, I received a Snow White tree ornament. I was 11 years old when I received this ornament and I just loved the pictures that encircle the bauble. I believe this ornament also came from Edinburgh, Scotland.






In 1995 (ish?), my Dad went on a business trip to Israel and my Mum went along. While my Dad worked, my Mum travelled around the country and saw many of the historical sites. During a trip to Bethlehem, my mum found this beautiful Christmas ornament. I think is it special because of the scene it depicts, but I think it is extra special because it actually came from Bethlehem. If I had to pick a favorite, it would definitely be this ornament.



I received this wind chime ornament the last Christmas I spent in Scotland. My Mum brought it for me in my hometown of Kirkcaldy, and I think this is why it is so special to me. Every time someone walks by the tree it makes the most beautiful sound - having 2 dogs and 1 cat constantly running around means I get to hear it every few minutes.





In 2006, Josh and I received our first ornaments are a married couple. We received a gingerbread couple and a heart marking our first Christmas together. I think the gingerbread couple are absolutely adorable, and we always make sure that they are hung on the tree together. What makes them even better is that they smell like actual gingerbread!


We are thankful for the traditions that our families have given us and we look forward to continuing them with our own family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Winter Wonderland!

To say we love this time of the year would be an understatement! We love everything associated with Christmas. Of course, we appreciate the significance of the season, and I am hoping we can find a church in our little town of Sanford that we feel comfortable in by the time Christmas Eve rolls around. It is the one time of the year that our radio station is tuned to only Christmas music and Josh and I can watch our favorite Christmas movies over and over again. We love Christmas so much that we even started Christmas shopping in September and were finished by mid-November. We are really looking forward to our family coming for Christmas and can't wait for all the festivities to begin.

We just could not wait to decorate our house, and this will be the first year that we will be in our own house for Christmastime. We have been married almost three years, so we have been buying decorations in the sales for the past two years and now we can finally use them.

Josh and I have agreed that he is in charge of decorating the outside of the house and I will handle the interior.



Josh spent Saturday morning climbing the ladder, stringing the lights and running extension cords, but the results are great. Josh decided that the outside of our house should be colorful. I do not like color lights, but I am OK with the outside of the house being multi-colored. I especially love the inflatable snowman Josh picked out, but our Dog Charlie is not such a big fan! Charlie keeps waking us up through the night because he thinks someone is in our yard - ha ha!



I have spent weeks preparing to decorate the house and I have become incredibly crafty. Although it is not technically the interior of the house, I am especially proud of the wreath I made for our front door. Just some ribbon, garland, pine cones, iron-on letters, and baubles and I have a personalized wreath - I love it!



I also bought garland to decorate the doorways throughout my house. I have become a bow-making expect and I must say that I am quite proud of the results.




Josh also contributed to the inside by decorating the chandelier above the dining room table - I think he did a great job.







Finally, we got our first tree! We went with a real tree and the house smells wonderful. The tree makes our home feel so warm and I am going to be sad that we will actually have to take it down.



We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving in St. Augustine

So, as a couple we have not yet decided how we are going to divide the holidays between our two families, but for this year we spent Thanksgiving with Josh's sister Raychl in Saint Augustine, FL.



On Wednesday November 26th, we set off on our 7 hour drive to St. Augustine. The drive down to Florida was very easy and we had absolutely no delays. Some people may hate long car rides, but Josh and I always have such a great time together. We spent our time scanning the radio stations for Christmas songs and signing along.

We spent Thanksgiving with my Aunt, a.k.a my Husband's adoptive mother - it's a long story, but if you ask I will tell! As always the food was amazing and plentiful. As is tradition, we took many naps and then the family moved into Black Jack mode. I was a rookie player, but happy to say that I did very fell.


On Black Friday we followed the crowd and went to the St. Augustine outlets to do a little shopping. We had finished our Christmas shopping prior to Thanksgiving, so we mostly bought things for the house. I must be the luckiest girl in the world, because I married a guy that loves shopping almost as much a me! We had a great time shopping with Jonathan and Raychl. Later that night we went out to dinner with Jonathan, Raychl, and three of my cousins that I have not seen in many years. Mark, Kevin and Steven are cousins on my Dad's side of the family that are the ages of my sister and I. It was really great to get together with them!



We made a trip to the Old Town to see all the lights - it was absolutely beautiful! What made it even better was the 75 degree weather! We walked around the Old Town and Josh was able to wear shorts and a polo the entire time. It was even warm enough for us to get ice cream without freezing to death.




On Saturday, November 29th, we headed to Brunswick, Georgia, to spend the night with my parents who were staying with my Aunt Joanne and Uncle Phil. Mum and I did more shopping, while Dad and Josh went to look at new cars. I am so glad Josh gets along so well with my Dad, for it gives Mum and I a chance to escape and do all the girlie things.

Our drive back to North Carolina was not nearly as smooth as our ride to Florida. Due to traffic and a minor accident, our 7 hour trip turned into almost 10 hours. Regardless, we had a great time spending time with our Family! We are truly thankful for our wonderful family. We are settling into North Carolina, but we hate that we must drive a minimum of 6 hours to visit our family.

Josh and I are thankful for so much - family, friends, secure jobs, our comfortable home, supportive parents, Charlie, Montey, Angus, Josh spending a year at home, being able to pay our bills, a full pantry, heating in the winter and ac in the summer, our troops (a special mention to Josh, and my cousins Gary, Graeme and Michael), police officers and firefighters (thanks especially to Nick), our new DVR :), having great health insurance, lower gas prices, ...

- We are truly blessed!

Welcome

Welcome!

So, I have decided that I had better actually write something on this blog! As with everything else in my life, I have procrastinated long enough. I (Kirsty) set up this blog and will probably be the only one to write, but I will often refer to we - meaning Josh and I. I hope that Josh may contribute, but I am certain that will remain a dream. I am not sure how interesting a blog about our life can be, but I figure that someone may read it. Anyway, let's begin - enjoy!

How We Became the Walkers

OK, so I have finally decided that I should actually write something on this blog. I thought a good way to start would be by telling you a little about our life as the Walkers and how it came to be.

Josh and I met on June 16th, 1999. I remember the precise date, for it was the day after I moved to the US from Scotland. I was fifteen years old at the time and very overwhelmed by all the new changes. Josh did not make my transition to the US any easier, for he was also the typical sixteen-year-old - need I say more! It would also be an understatement to say that Josh and I did not get along during our teenage years. We most definitely had a love-hate relationship, but we both had no idea that it would turn into true love.

Josh and I started dating August 8th, 2003. Josh had returned earlier that Summer from a deployment in South Korea. We spent the summer together, but that same summer I left home to attend the University of Georgia.

Despite the distance, Josh and I continued to date throughout my college years and we were engaged in October 2004.

Shortly after our engagement, Josh left for a tour of duty in Iraq. I spent our time apart studying and planning our dream wedding.

And on June 3rd, 2006 at 6:30pm we were married. Our wedding day was truly the happiest day of our lives. We had the most perfect wedding with all of our most important family and friends - it was truly magical!

We have now been married well over two years. I believe that we have the typical marriage; we have great days and not so great days. We also have double the stress, if not triple the stress, of a typical marriage due to Josh being in the U.S. Army. Josh returned March 2008 from his second deployment and he is set to leave in March 2009 for his third tour of duty. I believe that his deployments are a blessing in disguise, for it makes us truly cherish each moment together.

We are blessed in our life and believe we will go far as long as we are together - I love you Josh!