Life is Full of Surprises...

It really has been a long time since I've updated this blog.  For the record, while K was deployed, I kept a seperate, private blog, solely to give myself permission to be honest without fear of judgement.  But I'm back now--as is K!  He returned home from the desert on October 28, 2011--exactly 5 days after our 1st wedding anniversary.  Needless to say, it was the best anniversary gift I could have ever asked for!

So what, you may ask, has been happening in the Gazaryan family since my last post in April of 2011?  To truly convey it all would be impossible, but below are some highlights (and pictures!)

This was my sweet family before K left:

Look how teeny tiny Meshka was!  Hard to believe she was only about 5 months old in this picture.
Here is what she looks like now:

She's definately not a puppy anymore!  Thankfully, she's done growing (tipping the scales at 55 pounds) and now that we have her food allergies under control, she is thriving and full of mischief as always!

In November 2011, I was finally blessed with an incredible job!  It was a long and oftentimes discouraging road to get there, but I honestly believe that it helps me be even more appreciative of this amazing career I have now.  I am working full-time at a Consulting company and get to things that I am good at on a daily basis!  It is a low-stress, high-paced work environment, which is exactly what I need.  Few people can say that they love going to work every single day and even now, 8 months into it, I wake up every morning excited to go to work!  What a blessing!!

My incredible husband and I had a wonderful holiday season together, and we were fortunate to get to see lots of family during that time.  K didn't have to go TDY until January, and even then, they were short times away.  The highlight of our winter was a four-legged addition that we brough home February 10th. 

Notice any similarities?

This sweet boy was left at the local Humane Society.  He is Meshka's twin brother (from the same litter) and his family could no longer afford to care for him.  A friend of mine who works at the shelter called me and said that, while it was hard to believe, a litter-mate of Meshka's had been dropped off and needed a home.  K told me no, but I convinced him to at least go and take a look at the dog, just because I was curious what his temperment was like.
We ended bringing the dog home.  We dubbed him Volk, which means wolfe in Russian and the minute he met his sister, it was if they had never been apart.  These two turkeys are inseperable--in good times and in bad! Volk is much calmer than his sister (might have something to do with how hefty he is! he was 86 pounds when we brought him home, he's now down to 75 pounds and could probably still stand to lose a few more) and he is our "hunk of love" who just wants to snuggle all day long.  We love our two fur babies and are so thankful that God gave us a second one to love.

In May, K and I took our long-awaited honeymoon.  Because K deployed so soon after we were married, and once he returned home, I had recently started a new job, we had to wait a year and a half from our wedding day to take our trip together.  We traveled to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic which is in the Caribbean area for a week and a half.  It was the best trip of our lives!

 This was the absolutely stunning beach that we spent the majority of our days at--so incredibly beautiful!

 The same beach at sunset--you can tell what time of day it is by the amount of seaweed on the beach.  Every morning, resort staff would rake it up, so the mornings, the beach was solid white!

 K and I getting ready to go swimming.

 Isn't he just the handsomest man in the world? I am so incredibly blessed!

More views of the beach.  It was hard to leave paradise!

So, in essence, what I have learned in the last year is that life is full of surprises.  I learned a lot about myself during K's deplyoment and was faced with many surprises, both good and bad, throughout that time.  Volk came into our lives unexpectedly but has completed our sweet family in ways I could have never imagined.  I found a job that I never expected and am so blessed to be in a career I love.

And one really big surprise:

It was apparently a VERY good honeymoon.

Baby will be joining us in Janary.  I am currently 8 weeks 5 days along, so really just starting this journey, which is a whole new blog for a whole different day, but this surprise, while unexpected and turning our world upside down, is such an incredible blessing that we can't wait to see what all we have in store.

Life truly is full of surprises, and I am learning to embrace each and every one!

My dog is Crazy

No, I mean that.  My dog is crazy.  Ever since K left, her new favorite place is where he used to sit: on the couch.  We'll see how that goes once he comes home!
It's been an adventure since he left, everything from taking Meshka to the ER to my work schedule changing all up the wazoo.  But that's my life, I guess :)

I'd post more, but I'm honestly exhausted right now and need to get some sleep.
And for those of you who are interested, please let me know if you'd like a link to my deployment blog.  I'd be happy to share it :)

Blessings to you!

Holding down the fort

Well, for those of you who don't know yet, K left early early (read: 4am) on Saturday morning for training.  He's safe and sound at his training location--just bored considering the lack of internet and cable TV.  I think he'll be okay, though!
It's been a productive two and a half days since he left: Meshka is much calmer now that he's not here....I wonder why? haha

K will be deploying to his designated country sometime in the next month.  We appreciate your prayers for his safety and my sanity during these next seven odd months.

I hate to leave this so short, but I need to run to work and get Meshka to the groomers---all the random snow we've been having has resulted in  a muddy dog that I really don't feel like bathing myself!

Romantic Weekend, Lovely Reminders

K and I are becoming quite the Bed & Breakfast snobs.  We visited our second B&B this past Friday night as a last getaway before K leaves this Friday.  This time we ventured to the Atwood House Bed and Breakfast in Lincoln, NE and we loved it!  It was definately different than the first one we visited on our wedding night, but still just as wonderful.
We felt like royalty from the king sized bed and leather couches to the gourmet breakfast and ornate decor.  It was quite an experience.  K and I have always been a fan of hot tubs, so we were very excited to have one that was in our suite--I think I may know where our next tax return will be going.

What was interesting to me was how surreal it was being there with him.  We've known about this deployment since the end of October (read: a week after our wedding), but now that it's almost here, it's like it's not happening, as though I will wake up on Saturday morning and he'll be there beside me just like he is every morning.
Being with him this weekend, away from home (special thanks to my parents for watching our fur child for us) reminded me how blessed I am with each moment we have together.  It was wonderful to just be together--we really didnt' do anything too exciting by adventurous standards, other than go to a spa and get a couples' massage (do it! so fun!), but our time together was a time to be cherished.

I was reading the paper the other day, and a man had submitted an editorial that talked about cherishing your spouse.  What an appropriate time for that to be published.  Sometimes, in the rush of our days and weeks, we forget how important our spouses are to us, what they do for us, sometimes even the romance that drew us to them in the first place.
With K leaving, that meant all the more to me, which helped me to hold to our wonderful weekend to get me through these next 7 months.

So, true to what I've been trying to do, here is my challenge to you  today: Cherish your spouse.  Take notice of the little things that they do for you, whether that is making a little extra coffee so you can have a cup, folding the laundry without being asked, giving you a hug after a long day.  Remember those moments because life is too short to take loved ones for granted.
I am so blessed to have an amazing husband, and while I am not particularly looking forward to the end of this week, I know that we will learn and grow so much from this experience.  and for that, I embrace it.

I'm Back!

Apologies for the lack of posting recently.  Between being sick, working a bunch and a naughty puppy (and a broken computer that may or may not have been caused by my fur baby) I have been quite behind on posting.
This will be a short post, but I promise that shortly I will be back into posting mode and back to the normal blogging me :)

Little Reminders in a Puppy's Bark

In case you haven't noticed by now, I am a sucker for my fur baby.  Yes, she probably is the most spoiled dog on earth and if we had the funds to do so, she'd probably be even more spoiled than she is now.  However, the longer we've had her, the more lessons I've learned about myself--and have begun to discover things that will serve me well not only today, but many years into our future.
Yes, I do think too much into things, but bear with me a moment.

One of the first things I have learned because of our fur ball Meshka is selflessness.  When you have a puppy, the world has to revolve around that puppy, even if you don't want it to.  You have to wake up at 2am, when it's snowing and -400 degrees outside so they can do their doggie business.  You have to go right home from work so they can go out instead of going straight to the gym.  You have to play with them, you have to feed them, you  have to make sure they're well cared for.  You have to spend a lot of money on them.  I didn't realize all of these things before we got a puppy, part of me is glad I didn't, because if I had known, I might have opted to wait a bit before adding to our family.  However, I am glad that we did get Meshka, because it has taught me a new level of selflessness that I probably wouldn't have learned without a little nudge from a 25 pound ball of fur. 

The second thing I've learned is patience.  If you know me at all, this is probably my worst quality.  I have no, and I mean no patience.  Potty training is a good example of this.  It doesn't happen overnight, and you have to be consistent.  Definately not an easy thing for me....at all.
Which segues into my next point: grace.  Meshka still has her occasional accidents.  Sometimes it takes everything in me not to slap her silly and send her to bed with no supper (don't worry, that has never happened).  But over time, and through the grace of God, I have learned to extend grace to Meshka as she learns how to be a member of our family.

I think perhaps why it is so hard for me to deal with our puppy sometimes is because she is so huge.  She doesn't look like she's only 3 months old--someone today asked if she was 6 months old!  I think I forget how little she truly is--and I need to take a step back and breathe for a moment before I react to some of her antics.

Meshka has really taught me a lot in the last 2 and a half months.  Life is so simple for her.  Perhaps I need to simplify a bit too--and learn contentment.  It amazes me how she can sit in front of a window for hours, just looking at the outdoors.  Or how she can flip a piece of her bone in the air and think it's the best game ever created.  It makes me wonder where my contentment and sense of wonder have gone.

All of these things can be applied my own life.  Things I need to work on or reflect on.  Things I need to hone in on before K and I decide to grow our family with human babies.  I think Meshka is God's way of preparing me for motherhood years in advance.  K and I want to wait at least 3 to 4 years before starting our family, and apparently, God knew that I needed these lessons now, rather than later.  And for that, I am very thankful.

Call me crazy, but I am thankful for my naughty, adorable fur baby.  While I've been teaching her, she's been teaching me....now we just need to get "sit" down before she's bigger than me!

Never too late for a Resolution

I have a confession.  I am completely unorganized right now.  If you know me at all, then you know that this little fact is driving me absolutely up the wall.  To my left I have 3 boxes that need to be put into storage, to my front, I have wedding stuff just waiting to be filed away, to my right I have a dishwasher that needs to be unloaded and reloaded....and behind the door, I have a closet that isn't color coded.  Yes, I am having a panic moment.

However, I have decided to make a resolution (and it can't be called a New Year's resolution because it's pretty much already February).  I am going to focus more on being organized, but also on not sweating the small stuff--also something that is VERY hard for me.

In other news, Konstantin and I have begun to read "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. 

My Aunt and Uncle recommended it to us as newlyweds, and we are looking forward to learning how to best use our money in a way that is beneficial to our marriage but also glorifying to the Lord.  I have heard wonderful things about Dave Ramsey and I will continue to keep you updated as to what we learn from the book and ultimately what we think once we're through it.

Another resolution I have made to myself is to try to do at least one thing a day to bless my husband.  You wives might be thinking "why in the world would you want to do more than you already do? Don't we already bless our husbands?" 
The answer is, Yes.  We already do bless our husbands, but this challenge is about taking that extra step to go above and beyond the normal.  My parents always told me that marriage isn't about 50/50, it's about 100/100.  My challenge to you for the next month would be to take that 100% and do 110% this month.  Be proactive about blessing your spouse--even if it's something small like writing a note to leave in their lunch.  I really believe that it is those small things, that little "extra" step that can make all the difference.

So there you have it.  My 3 not so New Years resolutions.  I challenge you to do the same--pick 3 things you want to really work on for the month of February.  Feel free to post them in the comments section, and we can work through our resolutions together!