Congratulations Corporal Carpenter!

Cam on the far left

Right in the middle

With the Captain

Pinning on his promotion

Last Wednesday, Serg and I headed down to Camp Lejeune, NC to visit my brother and to pin him for his promotion. He was promoted from Lance Corporal to Corporal. It was such an honor for both of us to be able to pin him! We had such a great time seeing him!!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

I love you Serg.

Apple Picking

Top down!

Dad, Justin, Serg, Meg and Mom

Huge Pig!!

Mom jumping for apples....

<3

Mom, Me and Meg

Meg and Dad

Justin, Viking and Serg at Hume Day

Trying in the chain maille

On Saturday, to celebrate my birthday, we went apple picking and then went to Hume Day. Hume is a town about an hour from our house and they were having an annual celebration with food, animals, artists and live music. The day could not have been more beautiful, especially for riding with the top down in the Jeep. We had a fantastic day with family! I plan to bake apple bread, apple pie and stuffed apples this Friday. I'll post pictures of all the delicious desserts! :)

Update

Wow...I haven't posted in awhile. I wanted to add an update with everything that has been going on with us. I don't know if I ever posted anything about getting a second job but for the time being I've been working 6-7 days a week. When I get home or get a day off, blogging is honestly the last thing on my mind. With that, Serg and I have both been doing really good. Closing on the house has been pushed back a week, but everything on our side is done and we should close no later than Oct. 15, but probably closer to the 7th. Please keep praying for the house and that everything goes smoothly. We are planning on a house warming party sometime towards the end of October, so look out for dates for that. I think that's all the updates for now. I'll try to update more often but with work, packing and moving it may be hard!

Love you all!
Kate

Under Contract!

Well I have good news to report….we have a ratified contract on a house! Here’s the story:

Last Wednesday, after waiting 3 weeks to hear back on the 1^st contract we wrote, my cousin Liz called me and told me that a house right by her that went up on the market. She sent pictures via text message and gave me the phone number of the listing agent. I called the company and as they told me about the house, I thought for sure it would be too much. To my surprise it was exactly how much we were approved for! We went and saw it that night and 6 days later we have a ratified contract! I honestly feel that God led us to this property. Everything has worked out perfectly and has been very easy. In saying that, we haven’t closed yet, so we still need prayers that nothing comes up and that there are no problems! We are scheduled to close on the property September 30^th.

Here are the stats:

• 3 Bedrooms
• 2 Full Bathrooms
• 2 Levels
• 2 Acre Lot
• 2 Car Carport

plus....They are updating the entire inside of the house...new kitchen, new bathrooms, new paint and floors, and a totally re-done basement. We are excited to take the next step as a couple and are blessed that God has given us so much! Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers! Hopefully in a couple of months we'll be already for guests!

Oink Oink!

I made these cupcakes this past weekend for my cousin Gillian's 5th birthday! I think they turned out pretty good!

Funny Military Joke....

Is Sex Work or Pleasure ???

The commanding officer of a regiment in the U.S. .
Marine Corps was about to start the morning briefing to his
staff, battalion and company commanders. While waiting for
the coffee machine to finish its brewing, the colonel
decided to pose a question to all assembled.

He explained that his wife had been a bit frisky the
night before and he failed to get his usual amount of sound
sleep. He posed the question of just how much of sex was
'work' and how much of it was 'pleasure?'

The regimental executive officer chimed in with 75-25%
in favor of work.

A captain said it was 50-50%.
The colonel's aide responded with 25-75% in favor
of pleasure, depending on his state of inebriation at the
time.

There being no consensus, the colonel turned to the
private who was in charge of making the coffee. What was HIS opinion?

Without any hesitation, the young PFC responded,
'Sir, it has to be 100% pleasure.'
The colonel was surprised and, as you might guess, asked why?
'Well, sir, if there was any work involved, the officers would have me doing it for them.'

The room fell silent.

Thank You.

Update

Well it's been 3 weeks since we put a contract on a house and still have no response. We are waiting patiently but keeping our options open and continuing to look. I'm not as anxious as I thought I would be and we're keeping the faith that God will provide for our family.

It's been 2 and a half weeks since my cousin moved in with us and everything is going great. He's applied for a ton of jobs and is working on getting his drivers license. Keep praying that he continues to do well.

This past weekend we visited my Dad's side of the family in Syracuse, NY. We had a really good time!! It was great to see everyone and I got a lot of great information for my family tree! My Uncle Mike taught Dad and Serg to play Ladder Golf and they had a lot of fun. Can't wait for next year!

The Final Inspection

**Warning: You may need a tissue**

The Final Inspection

The solider stood and faced his God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as brightly as his brass

"Step forward now you solider,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek
And to my church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
"No Lord, I guess I aint,
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays
And at times my talk was tough
And sometimes I've been violent
Because the streets were awfully rough

But I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills just got too steep,

And I never passed a cry for help
Although, at times I shook with fear
And sometimes, God forgive me
I've wept ummanly tears

I know I dont deserve a place
Among the people here
That never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears

If you have place for me here O'Lord
It needn't be so grand
I've never expected, or had so much
But if you don't, I'll understand

There was a silence all around the throne
Where the Saints had often trod
As this solider waited quietly
For the judgment from his God

"Step forward now you solider
You've borne your burden's well
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell"

(IN MEMORY TO ALL THAT HAVE SERVED - Author Unknown)