Thanksgiving 2013... That's A Wrap!

17 hours in the car, copious amounts of food consumed, and lots of hugs to go around... Thanksgiving 2013 was a success! Our Thanksgiving celebrations were really low key, and that is honestly all we wanted. Time with family and too much turkey stuffing and pie was just what the doctor ordered. Celebrating Thanksgiving twice means twice the amount of food consumed... I mean it would be rude to only eat once, right? ;) Needless to say, the half marathon training was less than enjoyable this past weekend.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving was simply sitting around the living room spending quality time with the people we love. The drive was fine and the food was delicious, but none of it compared to face to face conversation with our family. That's a rarity in the military world, so we savor it when it comes! We spent two days with Parker's family and two days with my family. It's honestly a little weird to say "Parker's family" and "my family" because I really just see it as "our family". Now, if "our family" decided to live in the same city, that would make holidays slightly easier, but we'll call living in the same state a win. :)  We decided to take Christmas pictures with each family, and of course being a blogger and picture fanatic, that was fine by me!

These people are one of the big reasons we have so much to be thankful for this year and always...

 I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have recovered from that turkey coma!

Blogging: Year One

Anchors Aweigh has officially turned 1! I started this little blog one year ago yesterday on December 1, 2012. I really can't believe it's been a year! I've written over 230 blog posts and honestly loved every minute of it. Blogging started out as a simple outlet. It was a way for me to connect with our family and friends in different parts of the world, it was a way to document our experiences to one day look back on, and it was a way for me to put my thoughts onto paper the Internet. Blogging is still all of those things, but the one thing I didn't expect was the relationships I would form with other bloggers. I have loved being what I hope is a source of encouragement to others, and I have been so encouraged by the many wonderful people I have met. Blogging friends are real friends, yall! Parker and I also didn't expect anyone to read this little blog other than our mothers. Receiving sweet comments every day from those of you who read this blog has been such a blessing!

How this blog has changed me...

Well, for starters it has made me even more of a picture-taker than I already was, if that's even possible. I couldn't get the ios7 update for weeks because I refused to move any of the 3000 pictures off my phone.

It's obviously taken time. I try not to publish blog posts just to publish blog posts. If I don't have anything productive to say, I just won't schedule a post for that day. I want to take time to think through each post, not just slap something together about going on a walk with my dog so I can click "publish".

I actually think this blog has been a tool in developing my faith, which I never expected to be the case. Looking back on old posts and seeing how God had His hand in every situation I blogged about has been so faith affirming. Blogging has also been an awesome outlet for me to share my faith with the rest of the world.

Yes, I've had the opportunity to score some free goodies for reviews and giveaways. I'm not going to lie and you and tell you that's not a perk :)

How this blog hasn't changed me...

It hasn't really changed my relationship with Parker at all. This blog has given us something else to discuss and enjoy, but I wouldn't say it has had any effect on our relationship. Parker and I have a solid relationship based on faith and friendship, and that would exist with or without this blog.

Favorite posts from year one...

I loved getting to write about being a twin. It's such a huge part of my life that I had rarely talked about on the blog before this post: It's A Twin Thing

Parker and I got such a kick out of ourselves when we wrote the post about Disney movies giving girls unrealistic expectations about men. The premise is funny, but I thought the inherent message was good: Disney Movies Gave Me Unrealistic Expectations About Men

I really liked the post I published about babies and the military, not necessarily because of the post but because of the comments I received. Honestly, I learned there is never going to be a convenient time to have babies, but God's plan will be a perfect one: Babies and the Military

I assume this time next year my blog design will have changed, so for my own future reference, here it is at one year of blogging!

Thank you to everyone who has read Anchors Aweigh and keeps coming back on a daily basis. It is my hope that Parker and I are able to glorify God through our relationship and the blessings He has given us. Thanks for reading!