Half Way There

April marks the half way point for our tour in Guam. THAT I cannot believe. I remember thinking the morning we arrived (at 3AM), and after I had gotten a few hours sleep from hectic the 16+ hour move, 'What did I just do???' Aaron on the other hand was lovin' it. I couldn't understand him, but I'm thankful he was cheerful. 

Obviously, our reactions were opposite. 

He was excited to be in a new place, I was scared outta my mind. It was the first time I've ever been homesick and I couldn't imagine 'how looooonnnggg 3 years were going to take!!' Yet here we are half way done, a year and half later, we've made our home comfy and familiar.  I knew I would get to this point and I refused to have a bad attitude the entire time we were going to be stationed in Guam. I only needed some time to adjust.

Guam has been good to us. We have Aaron's cousins, the Greenwood family, stationed here too. Our next door neighbors, the Peters, & our other set of friends, the Burns-Garrett crew, hale from the Deep South (can I get a Roll Tide!), we have our dear friends, the Nielsens, who followed us from Virginia Beach.  Not to mention all the other wonderful people we've met and become friends with as well.

Aaron has really enjoyed working at his command. He tells me all the time how nice it is to be working with the kind of people he does.  He's been able to do some incredible traveling for work:

Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines and Rota (a tiny island north of us)



Japan



Japan



@ the Hobbit House restaurant in the Philippines



Hard at work in Rota

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've stepped out on our back porch and seen the most beautiful rainbows, or how many nights we've been outside hanging with our neighbors & we see a shooting star.  I'll miss that.

(I didn't take this pic, but this is what the rainbows generally look like here)

and I'll miss scenes like these...

It's been something else living on this side of the world. We've had opportunities to travel together to Fiji, Palau, Rota. and the Philippines. We're hoping to get to Hong Kong in May (we originally were going to Japan) and at least Australia or China before we leave.

HOWEVER
My Hair and Skin will NOT miss this hot humid weather year round.

Some days this is what I feel like

We both really miss having 4 seasons to enjoy

(but not when we hear about snowstorms slamming parts of the U.S.)

Lots of blessings have come our way since being in Guam.  We're experiencing military life in different aspects ....by living & working on base, Aaron had his 1st 6 month deployment since we've been married, your friends truly become family (even though we're lucky enough to actually have family on island). We are seeing the Church work in a different part of the world and learning so much too. 

I don't want to admit it, but I'm thinking a little part of me will miss all we have come to love about Guam.