182 Days...

It has been 182 days since I married my best friend. 182 days since we were married on a beach (on Sam's birthday). 182 since our parents and children joined us while celebrated in Florida. 182 since Memphis went to the beach and tried to "eat" the water/waves.

A lot has happened in 182 days.

Recently, Sam and I had an anniversary...now this anniversary is much different from the ones I mentioned in a previous post. This anniversary was for our engagement.

Here's the story.

Some of our dear friends own a restaurant in St. Louis (Soulard to be exact). We registered to run in the St. Louis Hot Chocolate 5K (without much training or prep), so we drove up the day before the race. As usual, we didn't have any set plans for our mini road trip/weekend getaway...or so I thought.

We went to Twisted RAnCH, had a delicious meal, and after picking up our race packets, we decided to go to IKEA. Exciting, right?  What I didn't know is while we were having dinner, Sam asked our friend Jim if he could propose to me on the rooftop of their loft (without me knowing anything about it).

Yep. We got engaged on the rooftop of a loft in St. Louis.

I just thought we were going to IKEA. I didn't realize that stopping by the loft to "drop off our bags" was code for "I'm going to propose to you."

So, we decided to go up to the rooftop to look at the various Christmas lights around the city because, hello, the view! And then I turned around and Sam was down on one knee.

I said yes. 💗

And the next day we celebrated by running a 5K. I thought I was going to die a couple of times, but I ran a race with my soon-to-be-husband. That was pretty awesome.

And how did we celebrate running a race together as future Mr. and Mrs.? We went to Twisted RAnCh to eat.

So many things have happened in 2016 for us. We were married on June 14 (did I mention on the beach?). We were engaged on a rooftop in St. Louis overlooking the city. We took a few road trips. We went to some softball tournaments for Kirsten's travel team. I graduated with my Master's degree. Sam was able to travel for his job to Palo Alto. I was able to travel for a conference to Denver. And Sam went through the trauma resiliency program and graduated with Memphis, his beautiful service dog from This Able Veteran. We have three dogs in our house, and we stay busy. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Yes, we have three dogs. In addition to Memphis we have Kip, a Chihuahua/Pug mix, and Archie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Do they all get along? Yes. They play, share toys, and I think the little dogs often wonder why and how the big dog always gets to leave the house...

I think of all of the good that has come to us in 2016, and it makes me eager for 2017. I can't wait to see what this journey has in store for all of us. I think of all the challenging times, and am thankful we had those opportunities to learn something, grow stronger together, and love each other even more than we thought possible.

I hope you can think of the good that came to you, and your family in 2016. You may even remember some challenges and you may long for a new start in 2017. I hope you are excited about what can come for you in a new year...I know we are.

We are blessed beyond measure. 

Our first "family" photo taken on June 14 in Navarre Beach, Florida.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Do you know that phrase, "When life gives you lemons...?" Some people finish it with "make lemonade," or "give them back and ask for chocolate!" The phrase, meant to be used to encourage optimism and help you gain that positive attitude, has been around for a long time. Lemons are meant to represent the sourness in your life.

Do you have sourness in your life? Do you often feel that you've been dealt some lemons? I bet we all have at one time or another.

The holiday season can sometimes make that phrase come to mind. Lemons (sour times) being that we have a lot of family to see over the holidays and not enough time to do it. Or, we can't decide on a good Christmas meal menu (and we always want to have good food at our family gatherings, right?), we wait until the last minute to do our Christmas shopping, we complain about the lines, the people...the list could go on and on...

Some Veterans struggle with the holidays. For the longest time, I didn't understand why Sam said, "Christmas Day is hard for me." I thought maybe he lost a family member around the holidays, or there was a bad family experience that took place one Christmas. I never dreamed it would be due to the military.

Anniversary dates can be difficult for Veterans, or those serving in the military. If you've ever been around Veterans to hear them tell stories, it might get quiet...there might be a moment of reflection or remembrance, and maybe they drift to that very moment they were talking about. Maybe they remember when they lost someone in their unit. Maybe they remember a mission, and those memories can come back at any time, but sometimes memories come on "the anniversary."

Some anniversary dates for military personnel can be the date of their enlistment or retirement, the date(s) they were deployed, dates of soldiers lost, the first time they fired a weapon, the first welcome home and even dates of certain missions...

Christmas Day is an anniversary date for Sam. I know the story and the reason why this is so difficult. It breaks my heart, and I know it weighs on him every Christmas.

However, our holidays will be a little brighter this year. We will be celebrating with our children and extended family, but we also get to celebrate with Memphis.

I know that while difficult memories may come back on Christmas Day for Sam, Memphis will be there for him. That is one of the best Christmas gifts he could ever receive...

There are so many people who are hurting or suffering. At times that seems amplified during the holidays. There are many Veterans who would love to celebrate their holidays with family, but a family gathering might be too much stress. Some Veterans may not have anyone to celebrate with, or may not even want to leave their home. I know there are some Veterans who may dislike the holidays for a variety of reasons, and maybe they have an anniversary date around the holidays too.

So, when life gives you lemons...even if it is during the holidays...I hope that you can make lemonade, trade it in for chocolate, find time to spend with your loved ones, call a friend you haven't talked to in awhile, get coffee with your significant other, enjoy a nice meal around the table, and support the ones you love--even if the holidays are difficult for them for whatever reason. Love. Show it. Live it.

 While the holidays can be hard for some of us, I hope that for just one moment we can embrace the holiday spirit, love one other, forget all of our troubles, be kind to one another, do something kind for someone, and spend time with the ones we love. We get to celebrate with a new loved one this holiday season, and that definitely puts a bright spot in a season that can be so difficult. Here's to no lemons during your holiday season. 

Happy Holidays from the Hoekstra's...human and furry.