Busy, busy, busy.

Wow! It's been a REALLY busy week... We officially moved and unpacked enough to have a functional household in two days. It's been a little over a week now and the walls are decorated, area rugs are put out, and I've even completed my first round of mopping the hardwood floors dusting, and vacuuming. All while keeping up with school, going to doctor visits for Jerry and wrangling our very busy toddler.

Joliebean LOVES our new house. She gets to run around freely now. : ) Outside is her absolute favorite place. Everytime a door opens she runs to it... when it closes, it's a 20 minute tantrum. When we decide to brave the cold, she likes to hang out on the side walk and patio. Funny child... Jolie refuses to get on the grass! She enjoys playing in her very own bedroom now. She has a new Tinkerbell bed and toy box. The room is decorated in pretty pink, purple, and green dragonflies. It's soon to be completed with pretty pink curtains. (Many thanks to Grandma and Poppa) Jerry's "man room"/office/Jolie's toy room still needs some unpacking, but we got a bookshelf in it today and it's coming along nicely.

Jerry has been a busy guy puting together shelves and lamps for me. He and our friend, Jeremy, made several large trips and moved everything. He's been keeping up with school and working more for the radio station. I'm really impressed with how well he and Jolie have gotten along lately, too. Through all the tantrums and time outs, he still keeps his cool and is the best father ever to Jolie.

Also, in the last couple of weeks, I had my wisdom teeth removed. Still as smart as before, tho! I've had a very difficult time with them. Dry socket is not an enjoyable thing. : (

Grandma Altmiller was my favorite person of the day today. I have a problem with interior decorating. I'm incapable of it... So, she took me curtain shopping! I now have beautiful curtains for about every room in our home. I can't wait to put them up! Thanks again Grandma, from ALL of us!!!

All in all, we've been very busy and it's amazing that we are able to find time for ourselves. Even with all of the chaos lately, Jerry and I are doing spectacularly. Our relationship continues to grow and he is still the best fiance ever. I have complete confidence that our marriage will be even better!

Amanda

Movin' On Up!

To the east side... well, I guess in this case it's the west side. Things are still rolling along, dresses are ordered, cake is getting designed, flowers are ordered, silk flowers are in the works, location is set, and July is on its way! And now, we have a place to move in to! Very excited. It's a four bedroom place, in a nice safe location off the street. Will be fun to see Jolie in a space that is her own, and run around. We'll be moving on Sunday, Valentine's day. 8) My biggest fear is the addition to all sorts of child proofing. I never knew there were so many different types of locks. I may have a hard time figuring them out, but I'm sure Jolie will show me. lol. We'll try to keep everyone up to date on the moving process as it goes.

Rollin' On

Them wedding plans just keep a rollin'! We're ahead of schedule in some areas, but dragging in others. While there are times it feels like we'll never be ready in time, I know it will all be great. By far the biggest thing that keeps me from feeling the stress of it is that on July 31st, whether the cake is right, the flowers are in bloom, or the music is rockin', I get to marry the best gift from God, Amanda. With that kind of blessing I can't imagine anything less than the perfect wedding day! Sorry to use the blog as my personal soap box to once again confess my love to ya babe! Muah, I love you.

We took Jolie swimming last Friday night, that was a blast. Amanda and I were playing and making sure she didn't go under, so didn't get any pics but we'll work on it next time. It was so much fun watching Jolie go from very frightened to acting like water ain't so bad after all. We practiced dunking her under, which got a little better each time, but I don't think it sits at the top of her list of favorite things to do. French fries and Elmo still hold the top spots on that list.

Then we headed up to Spokane on Saturday with Amanda, Jolie and Kaylee (Amanda's MOH and I have no clue if I spelled it right.) I left the gals smiling and holding my credit card at David's Bridal and headed to the Valley Mall with Jolie for some Daddy / Daughter time. Our first stop was the Make a Bear Store.

After letting Jolie hold and kiss every bear/dog/moose/unicorn/and those that fall in the realm of "is that supposed to be something", she finally picked out a black dog. It was difficult to figure out which she liked best, but I knew it was the one she liked because she started giggling pretty hard. Then we picked out an outfit for the guy. This was an easier choice, because she showed absolutely no interest. Except with the fire fighter jacket and hat. So I grabbed the jacket and headed to the stuffing table.

Jolie watched the couple kids before us and by our turn she had it figured out pretty well. When it was all stuffed, she got to pick out a little heart and then she kissed it and hugged it before delicately putting the little heart into the dog. You'd think she was Doogie Howser at her first surgery.

Then it was time to check out and at this point I gained a lot of pride in my girl's creativity. The line was long, the store was hot, and patience thin. Then the smell hit me. Jolie managed to clear out the line in record speed and we went strait to the front. Best part was, she was a team player and it was all bark and no bite, so I dodge another dirty diaper bullet. That's one story I'll be sure to tell every guy Jolie brings home when she's older.

After a little more clothes shopping, Amanda and Kaylee caught back up to us. They found the dress, slip, what sounds like many many veils (who knew there were more than one? Guys aren't taught this stuff), and a secret garter. Apparently I don't get to see it yet, but I'll love it. Been guessing with no luck yet, but here's my guess Amanda: Is it a choose your own adventure garter?

Guess I'll find out in July. For now, that's a little taste of how we've been. More later!
~Jerry

ENGAGEMENT PICTURES!!!!

Sorry, Jerry. I posted them first... I WIN. : )

This is my favorite.

Amanda here,

First, an update on Jolie:

Our poor baby. She has the yuck virus that's going around. Complete with throwing up on mommy's shoulder, non-stop diapers, and fevers high enough to rush us to the Emergency Room. This is day three of this business and I'm about fed up with it. Honestly, I'd much rather be at work! I'm taking her back to the doctor tomorrow and telling him to fix her!

Next, an update on wedding things:

I finally put my foot down on bridesmaid dresses. I picked the ones I want, in the color I want, and I don't want to hear any of my bridesmaids complain anymore! I ordered their shoes to go with the dresses. No complaints about those... I also ordered my dress for after the ceremony. Jerry and I may have come to an agreement on our honeymoon destination too! How exciting!! My goal for this week is to get a design finalized for announcements and invitations. Shouldn't be too difficult, right? We are having Engagement photos done this Saturday : ) You know... Every time I see Jerry, I get more and more excited to marry him.

What sound does daddy make, Jolie?

Amanda here...

An update on Jolie's vocabulary is due. Our animal sounds include fish, kitty, monkey, owl, and we are currently working on puppy. However, Jerry and his wonderful sense of humor have made up a sound for mommy.

Jerry: Jolie, What sound does mommy make?

Jolie: Mommy?

Jerry: Yes. 'I'm mommy! Blah blah blah.'

Amanda: Har har har, Jerry.

So, we are working on another sound.

Amanda: Jolie, what sound does daddy make?

Jolie: Dadadada?

Amanda: No, ooh ooh, ah ah. Same as the monkey!

I am very thankful that I have Jolie and Jerry. Jolie makes my heart smile. Even when she's being naughty. Because I know that ten minutes from a fit she has, she'll come over and give me a big hug and kiss. I love her sooooo much. I never thought I'd love being a mother as much as I do. I am very blessed to have Jerry as the man to spend the rest of my life with. He makes me laugh, he cheers me up when I'm sad, he makes me appreciate the little things. Most of all, I love watching him with Jolie. He shows her just as much love as I do. Her eyes light up as soon as she sees him. I know that he wouldn't treat her any differently if she was his own. But you know what? As far as he and I are concerned, she is his. I'm overjoyed to be marrying Jerry. I can't think of a better start to our soon-to-be marriage than the one we've had.

To Jerry: I love you, hun. You make me very happy. Thank you for wanting to share your life with us : )

We are engaged!

So it's been a week, and lots has happened. Turns out blogging every other day is hard when you're busy enjoying your time. But to sum up, after the holidays I convinced Amanda to marry me. (Wasn't too difficult to convince her. ;)

I'm more excited to be married to Amanda and Jolie than I have ever been about anything else in my life. I know there will be many stressful times in planning, but even if every day from now until July 31st is just insane with planning, it's all worth it for the chance to stand there and marry my love.

So if things get busy and we don't write often, that's a good sign because it means we're getting stuff done and getting closer.

To Amanda: Thank you for saying yes! I love you and Jolie very much and am the luckiest man alive! Muah!

Jerry

Family Picture!!

December 30th, 2009.... ish!

Jerry - 27, Amanda - 22

Jolie - 16 mos.

A Growing Vocabulary

From Mommy and Daddy, to milk, to making monkey noises... Jolie is learning to talk more and more every day. It's soooo much fun watching her!

Lots and lots of Christmas...

JON AND HIS NEW TACKLE BOX

JOLIEBEAN OPENING CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

MOMMY AND JOLIE ; )

JOLIE AND TAELOR PLAYING WITH BOWS

JACOB, GRANDMA & JOLIE

Well... three down, one to go! Last night consisted of a gift exchange at Jerry's house. I'm not sure what the exact number of people that were here was, but it was close to twenty. Children and crazy adults everywhere! Jolie found a little boy about her age to play with. They ran up and down the hall screaming at the top of their lungs. But it was a happy scream. One of those screams that hurts your ears but you don't want to tell them to stop because it's so cute. The kids opened their gifts first. Jolie got some yellow pajamas. Soft and cuddly ones. Then we did the gift exchange. We ended up with an M&M desk lamp... not my first choice unfortunately. However, Jerry's mom was kind enough to give us the blanket I was after : ) That ended well.

Next, we headed to my house. Lots of presents. Jolie made out like a bandit. Complete with a guitar, monkey weights, a new wardrobe, and a toy that blows balls into the air. Jerry left my mother's decked out in Dallas Cowboys gear. My favorite part was the stockings. My family is BIG into scratch tickets for Christmas. So, all of us sitting at the table scratching away... I ended up with about $80 in wins. Yay! It was ten o'clock when we headed back to Jerry's for the night to play Santa. We didn't even make it around the corner and Jolie had fallen asleep. We made it back here and everyone put the kids' Santa presents together while I put the finishing touches on Jack's (Jerry's dad) blanket. That damn thing..... my fingers hurt from hand-sewing all of it. But the blanket was a hit. He's been napping in his chair with it all morning.

This morning we were all up and opening presents by 8. I've never been at a present opening that took three hours... paper and boxes everywhere. Kids tired of opening presents. Wow...

But now, Jolie is napping, others are eating or sleeping. Tonight will be Christmas dinner and more presents with my grandparents and cousins. Then another dinner at my mom's. Gotta love that holiday food.

Daddy's First Trip to the Doc

I learned a few things today. First of all, when Amanda says "make sure to bring the diaper bag with you," she means it. I found myself sitting in a small room with nothing except a lamp to turn on and off, and a trash can to beat as a drum, for thirty minutes. My idea of 'hey, lets lean back and take a nap' was nowhere near Jolie's top ten list of things to do. Also, I'm a smart enough guy to have forgotten Jolie's blanket. Another one of those, "don't forget to always take this with you" items.

All in all though, I think Jolie and I did pretty well on our first visit to doc. I think she understands I'm on a bit of a learning curve and she takes it easy on me. Reason 326 that I love Jolie- She's patient with me.

The one part that didn't go so well was verifying her medical history. By time I got to my 30th round of 'I'm not sure' and 'I don't really know', the nurse was looking at me like maybe Jolie wasn't supposed to be with me. I'm thinking, 'Great, now I'm going to have to call Amanda and explain why the outpatient clinic has custody of our daughter.' As it turns out though, its a common thing that dads don't know what meds their kid is on, or what they weighed two months ago. I'd have looked more suspicious if I did know.

More after Christmas!

'Twas the Day Before Christmas

Twas the morning of Christmas Eve, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, except my brother's spouse.
The stockings all hung, in the living room with care,
Amanda and Jolie have been added up there.

The nieces and nephews, all snug in their beds,
While visions of tomorrow's chaos danced in their heads.
Now my love is at her house, and I am at mine,
But this evening we share Christmas, for the first time...

So Amanda and I are sharing our first out of many holiday seasons together. I think of all the days, Christmas Eve is what I'm looking forward to most right now. Dinner and a gift exchange tonight will be a fun time, but it's after the kids have gone to bed that I'm waiting for. In my parents house tonight we are craming: my mom and dad, brother, sister, sister-in-law, 5 year old nephew, 5 year old niece, 2 year old niece, 1 year nephew, and just shy of a year old niece. Additionally, I get to have Amanda and Jolie here tonight. So 13 all together in a four bedroom house.

And I don't mind the cramp quarters at all. After all the kids have racked out, we get to stay up and set up presents and stockings, drinking egg nog and telling stories of Christmas Past. And then waking up tomorrow morning! The way Jolie's eyes light up watching Christmas lights, I can't wait to see her in the morning with presents, stockings and wrapping paper every where. Can't wait for the next couple days, going to be a lot of enjoyment.

Side note: I'm not completely naive, I do know with that many children 5 and under there will be a good amount of not so fun chaos, but when it's all over, I think that will even be a bit of fun.

Merry Christmas All!

Amanda here... I'm probably going to be the one behind the camera, so it's doubtful that I'll be in many of the pictures and videos. Let me tell you, all of these little family moments we get to have, make my heart happier than I could ever describe. I'm thankful that I get some of them on video : )

This evening, Jerry was "working" on my computer. It kind of looks like he's doing more work on getting Jolie to share her cookie with him. And the answer to your question is: no. My computer never got fixed... but watching this made that alright.

The Beginnings- Jerry's Story

I had given up on finding someone to share my life with. I was in and out of relationships of all kinds. Healthy ones, disasterous, boring and outright taxing. I had also come to the conclusion that I'd never be able to trust any partner while I was in the military. Soon as I'd leave for duty, even for only a short while, I'd lose the person I was with. Then I deployed.

With all the time I had on deployment, I enjoyed a lot of self reflection and personal time with God. I prayed for the impossible. The perfect mate. Someone that I could laugh and love with. A woman I could trust without thought. One that I could share memories with until we were old and gray and unable to remember anything. A wife that would be my perfect vision of a mother to my children. A partner I could depend on in my worst moments, that I could show my weakest sides to without fear of losing her. A friend that I could sit with on Saturday afternoons and travel with on misguided adventures.

A vision of beauty that would hold my undivided attention. A muse that would inspire me to always put my best foot forward and never grow so comfortable that I felt I had won and no longer needed to woo. A Juliet who possessed the passion to accept my over-the-top romance. Stable enough to steady me, but spontaneous enough to stay on her feet and follow the flow. She would love me, without idolizing me. Respect without fear. And these are just the beginnings of what I was praying for.

Reading all that reminds me how impossible the task I asked of God. When I got home, He delivered. To my amazement, not only did I find this eluvise perfect woman for me, she was in the same spot I was. Tired of the sport and games of dating, and looking for one man to fit the bill.

I didn't want to meet Amanda when our mutual friend Jeremy first starting insisting I come out for a drink. She was beautiful, and even if I did stand a chance, I knew she had a daughter and more to lose than I did. I didn't trust myself to not let this friend of a friend down. I knew my intentions, and as a soldier returning from Iraq, it's not difficult to guess what those were. But he finally convinced me, and I knew after a short conversation and small kiss, that night was the start to what I'd always asked for.

Amanda and I have one of the most important ingredients to a healthy relationship, in addition to our shared faith: communication. We have discussed at length what we desire and what we fear. We agreed to not fall into our old traps that had been the ruin of so many other attempts at happiness. And now we share a wonderful life and look forward to the future. I love Amanda and her daughter, Jolie, as my own.

Through our postings we hope to share our lives as an example to others, and also just to post a bunch of pictures and videos and stories of happiness and laughter. To quote a great song, " God blessed the broken road, that led me straight to you." Hopefully, we can leave a map here for others, and more importantly, a map back home for us should we ever stray. So here's to the future!