Our Merry Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

I'm being cheap, but I'll blame it on being "earth friendly" so I'm skipping out on including a Christmas letter with the card (which hopefully you received... if you did not receive one, well I'm being earth friendly and didn't send cards out... =)   )

Blah... Blah... Blah...

Andy and I had a pretty busy year and boy do I feel like it flew by.  Just last year we were in Saint Louis and Andy was working on his last semester of school EVER (hopefully, cross fingers)!  He went on a trip to Guatemala through the new year with some people from his class to do therapy there and really enjoyed it (while I rang in (or slept in) the new year all by myself).  He then arrived back in the states only for two days until he went under sedation to try and repair his knee (he dislocated it back in undergrad while wrestling (awful sport and awful situation: so mad at him =)  )).  I took a couple of days off of working at the bank to nurse the old baby to health and just made myself sick with exhaustion...

Whoo Wee! (my new phrase I'm trying out, hope you like it cause you'll hear a lot about it)  So that was January.  Such and such months later we were blessed with news that we were about to become Aunt and Uncle times 2!  No. Not twins.  My sister and my sister-in-law both had news that they were expecting their first children (both boys... whoo wee!)!  So we were excited about that news and kept it in mind as Andy applied and interviewed for jobs about the country.  We had always dreamed about living in Colorado and being super close to the mountains, but were kind of disappointed in the reality that Colorado is PT Saturated and the living is high and pay is low... Boo... So we (ahem HE) interviewed in Richland WA at Kadlec Medical Center and I interviewed the city...  So a good interview and 2 Targets later.... (drum roll please) we accepted the job in Richland!!!

Andy graduated in May and turned 26 in a matter of 2 days!  We had both our families down for the celebrations and rejoiced in both of us being out of school and real adults! =)  We then packed up all our stuff in another short 2 days... Half celebrated our 2 year anniversary and headed on our way south.  We made minor detours in Charleston, Schaumburg, Yellowstone, Badlands, etc.  But we eventually stumbled upon the Tri-Cities: our new home.

We lived with only an air mattress, a couple of plates and utensils, a skillet, a sauce pan, a computer,  some clothes and two towels for about a month and a half as we lived a nightmare through phone calls with U-Haul... until finally! we got our stuff! Hallelujah! Since then we have settled into our new home.  We joined a community group.  Made a few new friends. Became members at a church  (Crossview).  Joined a classy gym (Gold's).  Made numerous trips to Seattle (had to see our nephews!!! Parker and Jackson!).  Made trips back home for weddings and family.  Andy likes his new job, but definitely sees a change in the future (a more sports- centered clinic).  I also (reluctantly) gave up my retirement and became (not reluctantly) a full time nanny to a wonderful 2 year old boy.

We feel somewhat settled, but are definitely looking forward to the new year and so far very few planned trips out to Seattle.  We are hoping with staying put for a while that we can grow in this area and become more and more connected and make it more of our home.  Andy and I are praying that God will bless us with a child this year and just to stay positive during this time.  Hopefully next year's letter will have a wonderful blessing of a child as its main focus.

We wish you the most wonderful Christmas/  We pray that you are all doing well and that you will enjoy time with your family this season.


Love you all,
Andy and Allysha



P.S.  Are you proud that I never mentioned Buckley in our Christmas letter?!?!  He's doing well by the way.  If you want to read more about him just read every other post I have ever written! =)

Our Weekend

Hello All! Our weekend in pictures... ( A weekend of nephews that is )

Observations

Hey People!
I've been "in the working world" for 4 days now, and can I say that I am SUPER busy?!?  I mean seriously.  I was thinking today as I was vacuuming and this is what I have realized...

• I talk out loud what I am doing at the house where I nanny and at home.  Dogs and babies/toddlers get practically the same attention from me. "Miss Allysha/Mommy is cleaning this or that... Miss Allysha/Mommy is making a sandwich... What a good boy!... etc...."
• I am living two separate lives.  I clean and vacuum at one house only to go home to clean and vacuum at another.  I make meals at one house to only come home to make meals.  I go grocery shopping for one house only to go back later to grocery shop for my own.
• Getting things done need to be quick and precise.  Quickly make doctor's appointments.  Quickly run into the store for one item.  An hour lunch though seems long is short.
• I love Gold's Gym and the preppy-ness of it.  I love going into the steam room and hot tub after working out.  Makes working out worth it.
• My toes already have blisters... and it's only November 15th...
• Working all day makes you sleep REALLY hard at night.

Well my husband is finally home and now we have to figure out when and how to figure stuff out.  Like Thanksgiving.

The Past 2 Weeks

I've slacked on posting... Shame on me...  In a nutshell here's what's been happening...

• I turned 25.  Had a great birthday.  Drank a venti soy pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks and went to a pumpkin farm.  Super fun.  Thanks hubby!

    

too old for a regular box of candles...

• Buckley greeted me one day at the door with a 5 pound weight in his mouth.  Definitely working his jaw muscles!

• Buckley sprained his tail (swimmer tail) because he gets way too excited and is just one special pup.
• Saw our new nephew Jackson.  Super cute.

• Saw our good friend Augie get married to his best friend and lover, Naomi.  Andy was the best man.

my claim to fame: decorating the get-away car

• Saw Andy's family and their new broken legged puppy.
• Saw Megan who flew in from Mexico just for the wedding.  Love her and her future sombrero wearing babies.

• Saw Gregg from PT school and went on a sickening 4 hour pizza hop in downtown Chicago, only ending in running to catch the train home.

• Saw Grandma.  Love her.

• Hung out with my parents and played a mean game of Nertz.
• Saw other nephew Parker who has grown so much in a short 2 months!

• Came home to Buckley after his week in rehabilitation (aka our 80 year old neighbors' house).
• Back to work for Andy and back from my long sabbatical to work this coming Monday.... (nannying a 2 year old, 40 hours a week, etc, etc)

Well that's all I wrote.  Apologizes for the delay and shortness of this post but a nutshell isn't very big...

The Big 2-5

My birthday is tomorrow and I really don't know what I think about that.  It's coming inevitably.  But really? 25? Seems a little unreal and too quick.  I just feel old.  I'm married.  My body aches after running (sad). I get a sore arm from throwing the tennis ball for Buckley (sadder).  I get tired from walking from my bed to the couch in the other room (joke!).  Old.  One quarter of a century.  But I guess my life thus far has been pretty good and pretty fulfilling...

I was born into a wonderful family, with two great parents and a mediocre sister (HA! My old age has me cracking jokes all over the place!) Just kidding! A great sister.
I grew up going to school and was given a ton of opportunities.
I had wonderful friends growing up and still am friends with some! (22 years with a wonderful girl named Megan!)
I gave my life to Jesus in 5th grade and was baptized when I was 20 and since then I have grown and learned so much as what it really means to be a follower of our Lord and Savior.
I got to grow up and know my grandparents some better than others, but I have gotten to know my grandma well and realize what a wonderful lady she really is.
I met and married the love of my life early on when I was only 18 (well married him when I was 22..., but I did know I would marry him when I met him- scared my mom my second week of college).
I have gotten to live in many great and life changing places (just things that happened in these places, not necessarily the places being life changing) : Schaumburg, Charleston, Pocatello, St. Louis, and now Richland!
I have gone to many great places either on vacations or mission trips.
I have a nephew of whom I love and adore and am so grateful to be so close to!  And another one on the way!
And of course I have a wonderful dog who loves me VERY VERY much!  (And Skippy who still adores me despite my absence)

I can only hope that my years to come will be just as great or better.  Maybe next year I will have a little one to be even more grateful for (praying, hoping, wishing)...

Southern Comfort

This past week I left my husband and dog and headed down to Georgia... Well first I flew to Chicago to my parents and then my mom and I drove to Savannah.  I got to witness one of my great childhood friends get married to the love of her life.  What a wonderful thing to witness!  It made me feel old, I know we've only been married about 2 and half years but to see people get married now is so refreshing to watch.  The reminder of the vows that you made to one another and the covenant that you and your spouse made before God is just a wonderful feeling and definitely made me miss being with Andy.  I truly wish Laura and her new husband Bryce the best in their years to come.

I had a great week even despite having a horrible cold and walking around historic Savannah with a tissue stuck under my eye.  I got to spend a lot of time with my mom and do some shopping... =) Saw the Gianeskis family and my friend Kathleen and her sister, it was a really great time and I was really glad I could make the trip.
Also when we got back to Schaumburg I got to spend some quality time with both my parents like watching scary movies and being scared out of our minds when someone knocked on the door.  And of course I got some quality Skippy time.

But boy is he cute.

Back on the homefront... Andy couldn't function without me and was getting frustrated about how the house kept getting messy and unorganized.  Buckley was a mess and tore up our flooring by the front door in fear that I had left him forever.  But I am home now and everything is in its place, minus the flooring which will cost us some money...

Fall in the McG House!

It's been pretty chilly here in the a.m.'s! Like purple toes chilly.  The leaves have been changing.  And because of these fore-mentioned things I can officially say it's FALL! Hooray!
Fall means my BIRTHDAY- 18 days folks until I'm a quarter of a century old: GROSS.
Anyways... we're all decorated for the greatest season of the year and I wanted to show you some of my projects.  Wall decor is almost complete.  All I need are frames...

This has been done for a while, just haven't shared.  Toilet paper rolls.

Grace! For our kitchen table, no it does not sit on the table... It's kinda a stretch but have some imagination! It's harder to do than it looks! Especially with kitchen items.  Thanks for the confidence booster... =)

Debt

So Andy and I from the beginning, even before we got engaged and were talking about getting married we talked a lot about money.  I LOVE(d) spending money and Andy LOVE(d)(s) saving money.  So we were and still kind of are on two different ends of the spectrum.  But we both agreed that we did not want debt.  Nothing will be charged or financed except our home.  Now when we were talking about this way back when I had to think REALLY hard if this is what I wanted.  I mean no new cars for me unless we had enough cash!  But I guess I loved this boy enough to say goodbye to my dream car.
So we have only been married a little over two years but we have no credit card debt,... but we have a crazy amount of school loans.  Let me tell you Physical Therapists pay a TON to get educated and their salaries do not match, not saying they don't make a lot, some do, but it's not comparable.  Anyways add to that going to Wash U the 2nd best PT school in the country and you could say we have a lot of school loans.  Andy surprisingly got off fairly well with being married and me making some money.
Long story to say to this... We paid another loan off! Loan #3! We are super pumped although we have a LONG way to go.  We have a budget and we live comfortably.  We are only on one salary right now.  (I'm planning to start subbing soon once I get my WA license.)  But I think we're making great strides and I just can't wait until were at like $6,000 instead of $66,000 cause we'll live off rice and beans and pay that baby off! Andy and I do little celebrations every time we pay off a loan (like eat ice cream or have a dance party) but we will definitely have a HUGE party when that last one is gone!
*This is kind of a bragging post so I apologize.  I just think it's fun when a loan total turns to $0.*

Crafting is in the Air

As fall is speedily approaching, Christmas is not far away... I know! I said the worst words ever! But I am SUPER excited to start to make my Christmas gifts.  Right now I'm working on my nephews' (yes even the one to be!) present and it just makes me happy to think about! AH! I love them (my nephews and my gifts for them)!  If you're not in my family and want to know what I'm working on you can message me and I'll show you! Yea for giving!

Proof of Being an Aunt

 I finally got to see the little guy...

and my parents got to see their grandson...

 and we finally got a family photo...

09/11/2001

Facebook feeds are full of "Remember 9/11", "Honor the victims", so on and so forth.  Someone wrote, "11 years, the memory is more clear than some just a few months ago"...

11 years ago I sat on the bus on the way to Eisenhower Jr High, I was an 8th grader and I was sitting next to my best friend, Laura.  She ran late to the bus again and was a bit frazzled.  Her dad was in downtown Chicago that day.  She turned to me while the bus was driving down Bode Road, going east, "I have a feeling something really bad is going to happen today."  I remember laughing, "Oh Laura..."  Little did we both know that at the end of the day her suspicions would be correct.

I remember being in history class and a friend came up to before class, "A plane just crashed in the world trade center and (making her hand crash down on the desk) the building collapsed."  I laughed.  The gestures she was using were funny to me.  I didn't know what the trade towers were.  I didn't know thousands of people worked there.  I didn't know it was a commercial airplane.  My friend was laughing too.  We heard rumors and the class was in an uproar.

My teacher that period turned on the T.V.  There it was as my friend had shown with her hand.  The building stood and slammed into the ground.  Laughing, obviously silenced.  The true meaning of planes crashing into these buildings was revealed.  The classroom was probably quieter than when we all took tests; the only sound was the T.V. spreading the horrible news of the events that were taking place.

I think for all of us who were alive this day will remember this day.  What I most remember after was the unity that came about.  People reached out to one another.  For one moment in time the United States of America was truly united.  In spite of tragedy, unity emerged.  We don't fully understand evil in the world, but it does exist and we can only look to God to find comfort and hope for the future.

Blessed

Andy (usually about once a week) turns to me and says, "You know we really are blessed".  Sometimes this phrase can really get to me (especially when I'm anxious, worried or stressed (which I am 95% of the time)).  I want to shout back, "Ha! Yeah okay we really are, are we?".  But I don't.  Because we are.  Then we usually start talking about all the ways God has blessed us.  We both have parents who are still married (thanks!), we have a roof over our heads, food in the fridge (if it was on the table it'd be getting spoiled or bad), good health (most of the time minus my freak illnesses, probably because I wasn't breast fed! =) hehe), Andy has a great, stable job (trust me looking on job listings everyday the majority of job postings are for physical therapists (I dare you to check it out)), um we have THE best dog (you were waiting for Buckley to be mentioned so there you go!), we don't have to fear going to church and proclaiming our faith, our government is not hugely faulty (okay I'm really not political and yes our government does some crazy things, but I'm talking about countries where their leaders are totally incompetent, so please don't jump down my throat... I mean they're not making us do anything too crazy), and the list could go on and on.

I have felt particularly blessed in the past couple of weeks.  When moving to Washington I did not have any jobs lined up nor did I really want to begin searching.  To tell everyone the truth I realized through a series of events that I felt my career path had changed.  I went into teaching wanting to change children's lives.  I feel that the American family has gone down a lonely and unhelpful path.  Children are split between two parents, they have new siblings who are way older or way younger, their parents spend most of their time with the doors closed (or open) screaming and yelling, children are left alone until 9 or 10 at night because their mom is the only income source... I still desperately want to help these children (I saw it all throughout my student teaching and substituting).  But I really felt God tugging at me and wanting me to be a stay at home mom.  Now I was totally against this throughout high school, college, and going into marriage.  "What about the girl?  She works so hard during school and she's supposed to throw it away to stay with her kids all day?  How about the guy stays home?..."  The question that kept getting thrown into my head was, "What greater way to change a child's life than to be there for your own child?"  If I was to be a teacher I feel like I would have to choose between my own children or the children in my classes..  I know there are great teachers who are also great moms and I give props to them.  I just don't know if I could do it.  Anyway... a long paragraph to say this I'm not teaching and I'm not really looking for a job (God has blessed us that we don't need my income to survive (although YES I KNOW IT'D HELP WITH THE LOANS)), but my next career title will be MOTHER (hopefully soon).




Andy and I have recently become an uncle and an aunt, respectively. My sister and my brother-in-law now have a little boy named Parker Louis who is absolutely adorable.  I am so thankful that we live in Washington and are only 3 short hours away.  I just think that if we still lived in St. Louis who knows how long it would be before we could see him.  And! I can see him more than just once a year! We are taking a trip back to Seattle (we were there the 17-19th, Parker was born on the 20th... fail...) this weekend to see him and I get to take Parker's newborn pictures!  So the weekend of the 17th, Andy had a conference for physical therapy (a continuing education thing) so we got to see Amy and Brandon and stay with Chris and Melissa.  We are just so excited that we live so close to our siblings and that we can get to know them better and just hang out with them more often.  And we get to see our adorable nephew (soon to be nephews) as much as we want!

Sorry I was a little chatty this morning... Most of you just look at the pictures anyway. (And I apologize for the parenthesis usage- what can I say! I love to use them!)

Buckley's New Job

So Andy and I often joke about Buckley not making any money and how he needs to get a job.  I've often said he should model... I think he'd do wonderfully.

Baby Shower

So I "hosted" a Mailing Baby Shower for my sister because getting my family together would probably be mere impossible... So a mailing shower is where everyone sends Brandon and Amy a gift during a specific week.  And may I say it is SO much easier than planning an actual shower (which of course I would have done if a real shower would have been possible).  Anyways I wanted to show off a bit and show you the card I made because I think it looks good and I just really want to show off. HA!  (Their nursery colors are grey and yellow)

(Curtsy) Thank you! Thank you! =)

Hydroplane Races, Fires, Sun, Dogs, & Family

This past weekend Chris & Melissa came down & over from Seattle to spend the weekend with us.  In honor of their visit our city decided to have some hydroplane races! We went on Saturday and Andy & I experienced them for the first time.  It was really weird; kind of like NASCAR on the water with "cars" that just decided they would shut down in the middle of races.  Other than that we had a great time and soaked up a lot of rays.  It was nice to just lay out at the pool and read and relax.  Buckley and Reeses got along- sort of.  It's hard to explain their relationship.  Reeses was not herself probably for fear that if she was she would be pounced on and expected to wrestle. Cordial might be the correct word in this situation.
Overall it was a fun weekend although very tiring- probably all the sun.

hydroplane- one that actually races...

hydroplane- fastest boat being towed by a normal boat: how embarrassing would it be to be that guy?!?

OH! I guess I should read my own title... There were fires on the hills next to the highway for miles! Nothing massive like what they had in Col but fires none-the-less... It was kind of cool to see (I can say this as nothing was really in harms way).

Loving Our New City

Sorry for the post overload, sometimes I just get into the groove...
So we had a great past weekend and I was talking to my dad on the phone on Sunday and was talking it up.  We have "hot" sunny days that feel amazing because there's NO humidity so you can actually enjoy the sun without sweating buckets.  If you sit in the shade there's a cool breeze and could easily sit without feeling warm at all.  The river is loaded with activity pretty much all the time and is only 5 minutes from our house.  We have a mountain that is about a 10 minute drive that is about a 3 mile hike, perfect for watching sunsets.  And then after a hot ninety or so degree day it cools down at night to like 60 or 70 degrees, perfect for sleeping.  It's also super pretty, even though there's not many trees, there are beautiful skies and landscapes.

We live there! (where the teeny tiny arrow is)

One day I walked into our bedroom and found this.

 

Me and Buck sleepin' (I'm faking =) )

Buck and Andy wrestlin'