first impressions

Hi friends! We, well I, have been living in Virginia a little over a month. Everyone has been asking how it's going, so I thought I would give a general update.

So far, these are our, mostly my, thoughts and feelings on the matter:

-The city of Stafford does not even compare to our beloved city of Lexington. It is missing that homey feel, where everyone is nice and there are tons of locals who have lived there for years. There are no cute little restaurants or boutiques, just a few boring chain restaurants.

-There are tons of Marine families and government workers, which is nice. But, the nonmilitary people don't seem to like the military people.

-Speaking of military life, I am enjoying being a part of the Marine Corp. I am getting to know lots of the wives. It is nice to have friends in a brand new place. Everyone comes from different places and backgrounds, but in the end, we are all going through the same thing. It is nice to have someone who understands how you are feeling. It is also nice to have married friends, even though I miss all of my friends back in Lex.

-There is lots to do and see in the area. We are surrounded by lots of neat cities, Fredericksburg, Alexandria, Arlington, and of course D.C. We would also like to make it up to NYC or Boston before we leave the area.

-I love my job. LOVE IT. The family I work for is incredible. They are so nice to me and make me feel so welcomed. We have a very open relationship with good communication. The baby is such a good baby. Yes, there are frustrating times, but who doesn't enjoy snuggling with a baby all day. I am on serious stay at home mom status, watching Live!with Kelly and Michael and the Rachael show. I'm kind of obssessed. I also watch way too much HGTV and Food Network, but I'm not complaining. I keep reminding myself how lucky I am that I found this job.

-We are also in love with our apartment. It feels so big compared to our last apartment. It is also very new and clean. I feel like I'm living in luxury, which actually sounds kind of pathetic. We love coming home after long days at work and relaxing in our cute apartment. We also are very happy to be back together after 2 months. Jake really appreciates my dinners when he gets home every night.

-Jake is working very hard. He works very long days, like I'm talking 13 hour days or longer every day. How many people can say that? He also studies a lot. I am so proud of him for working hard and never complaining. He really is a very positive person and it always rubs off on me : )

Overall, we are very happy here in Virginia. We are taking things day by day and trying to enjoy each moment as much as possible. Soon we will be learning where we are headed next and then graduation will be here before you know it. We are so excited to see where the Marine Corp takes us!

Until next time,

J and M