5 words meme

Last week I received 5 words from my blogging friend, Mari. It's all part of a meme, that you can do too, if you want to. Here's how it works. Mari got 5 words from another blogger and she did a post about the words she was given. She then offered to give 5 words to someone else. I thought it would be fun, so now I'm going to post on the five words she gave me. If you want to join in, tell me in the comments and I'll send you your own five words!

1. Daughters: Most of you know that I have two daughters, Adeline (2 1/2 yrs) and Camille (4 1/2 months). What you may not know, is that we struggled through infertility before conceiving Adeline. I don't share many personal things on this blog, but maybe I'll do a post on this some day. I thank God every day for the gift of my girls. Of course I would have been happy with a son, but I REALLY wanted a girl. Patrick can share his love of sports, skiing, snowboarding, fishing, golf, and reading (to name a few) with girls. However, my love for scrapbooking, tea parties, decorating, and shopping really are more suited to those of the female gender.

2. Korea: Some of my new readers may not know we spent a year in Korea with the air force. We really enjoyed our time there....certainly more than I expected to enjoy it. We met some amazing people, and we continue to stay in contact with them. I really liked my life there. There were so many activities and fun day trips with other moms. Plus, Patrick's schedule there offered us more family time than we will probably have throughout his career. It was great to have him home so much. We also did a lot of traveling (China, cruise from New Zealand to Australia, and Thailand, as well as many trips in Korea). Adeline has more stamps in her passport than most adults....too bad she won't remember any of it.

3. Music: I play the flute, piano, and guitar. Well, let me clarify that.... I play the flute. I took piano lessons for 9 years, but I haven't read music in FOREVER, and now I am only comfortable playing worship music with chords. I started teaching myself to play the guitar in college (because my roommate Sarah decided to learn and bought a guitar). Patrick came with a guitar when I married him (although he doesn't play), and I have gone through periods where I've tried to improve my playing. I haven't played in almost two years, which means no callouses, and an ability to play VERY limited songs with VERY easy chords. So, I guess I really don't play the guitar. Although I love music and love playing instruments, I don't sing. I mean, I sing in church, when I put my daughter to bed, and occasionally when the mood strikes, but that's it. It's not pretty my friends. Patrick, on the other hand, has an amazing voice. I guess that is another reason we make a great team. Now if I could just get him to sing for me more often...

4. Cooking: My mom is a wonderful cook, but a stifled one. My father is a picky eater, so she is very limited on the types of foods she can make for our family. My time in Pakistan (I really do need to do a post about that) taught me to eat things I never would have put in my mouth...and learn to enjoy them. I knew how to cook when I got married, but I have learned so much more, and experimented with ingredients I never knew existed over the past 8 years. I love to try new recipes. I only keep the ones we LOVE. I am blessed with a husband who will eat anything I make and enjoys the variety.

5. Military: Patrick was working at Johns Hopkins and applying to medical schools when I met him. He was trying to decide if he wanted to take a military scholarship to pay for his education. I remember we hadn't been dating long, so I didn't feel I should have a voice in such a major life decision, while at the same time realizing that if things went well, this decision could have a major impact on MY life. He took the scholarship. We haven't had the "typical" military life. We moved an hour south for residency (at Andrews AFB), volunteered to go to Korea for a year, and then returned to Andrews where he is currently stationed. We both have family and childhood friends within 2 hours of our home. Patrick has the option of finishing his career here. We'll see...