More of Joe's talents

More of Joe's work. This is my belt for my dress. It's really pretty. You can't see how it will lace in the back- but it will be corset style. He did it all by hand- including the dye job~ It's a beautiful deep red. I love it.

We're getting our costumes together piece by piece and are totally excited. Joe is working on a shield for himself and then a quiver for me. We'll see where time brings us- and if there is some extra.. he may try a pair of shoes (Very difficult).

I'll post more as it he finishes.
xoxo
Samantha
P.S - I turn 27 in a few days- Whew!

Joe's third project

Have to brag about my talented husband - His leather working skills are just amazing.
This is his third project. They are bracers for his outfit for the LARP stuff we are doing this year. He made them and dyed them himself. I love them!

We have finally got the office/craft room finished- These bracers were actually completed in the craft room! The only thing we have left to do is pick out and hang curtains. I'll be glad when we are completely done- but I'm super satisfied with the progress we have made so far!

More to come!
Joe, Samantha and BABY BUMP :)

Life -- lately!

Things have been moving along. We're excited for the fall- so we can get into some of the LARP stuff we do. We're in the process of making our costumes right now. You can see the awesome shield Joe made himself this past month. He's working on bracers for himself and a quiver for me at the moment. We'll post pictures of us all dressed. I usually go with a corset style outfit- but the baby in the belly doesn't like tight spaces (Imagine that!)-so my outfit will be quite different this year!

We have almost completed the office renovation project. *sigh* We can't WAIT to be done. Joe has done most of it with the help of numerous family members -Uncle Steve, his Dad -etc! I am SO excited to have our crafting room/office put back together -which we plan to do this weekend! We'll try to get some pictures up. Next up is the ceiling replacement in the baby room. Sometimes it feels like it never ends.

I start speaking on the 25th and am REALLY excited to get back to the work that I love. Can't wait to motivate and inspire in High Schools.

That's it for now
Samantha, Joe and Baby Bump

Military Spouse

Saw this on another military wife blog- Had to repost!
I hope all you Military wives enjoy!
And all you civilians get a better understanding of all of us~

Samantha :)


Each one may look different and each is wonderfully unique, But this they have in common:

Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house; Moving curtains that won't fit; Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...

She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move...
.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS; Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed; the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart .
It was stolen from her by a man,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband, she will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.

--Author Unknown

Our big news!

We had this amazing moment with the above picture on July 10th

Hello!

Now that we have made it almost to our 8 week mark(it was hard)and had our first two appointments with sonograms(all is well) - We wanted to let you know that we are expecting our first child. We are very excited, nervous, anxious,scared..etc etc!

So far, So good. I have been VERY tired. Exhausted. I hate it. And I crave all kinds of things- lately cheese, grape popsicles, V8 juice and pickles wrapped in turkey. Belly is starting to grow and we will post belly pictures as it gets bigger.

Due date is March 22nd. We will be finding out the sex and WILL share
that with all of you in our 19th week in early November as long as baby
cooperates for the sonogram! Today in the sonogram we saw the tail. Personally I am hoping it's a penis. (Although we are wanting a healthy babe, send us all the boy dust you can!)

Love,
Joe, Samantha and Baby LaCouture

Wow- AUGUST!

Well.. August is here. We are shocked.

Lots going on in the LaCouture household. We have finally replaced the ceiling in the office (from the water damage during the last deployment)- Which has been quite the project. We figured we'd do a lot while we were in there. We ripped out the closet to make a bigger room(and craft storage I found in a magazine). We also are in the process of stripping the wall paper. Well that got some water damage too- So we will have to re-plaster those walls before we paint. A lot of sanding involved. I can feel it. Mr Chief Electrician Joe LaCouture did re-wire for a light too. Right now we are mid-project and it's pretty crazy. Our house is messy and dusty... And (drum roll) we have ordered food twice in two days. Yes, that is right- TWICE. Pizza last night and Chinese is on the schedule for this evening. Joe might want to start this project over just for the joy of take out TWICE in such a short span of time!! Joe will post pictures shortly.

Quick shout out to some of our help this week:

Eric Doe - For help moving a few big items out of the office
Stephanie Peterson - The fantastic and cheerful taxi service
Chris Ewing-Chow - Thanks for the help hanging the dry wall ceiling.
Dad LaCouture, Liz and Dee - Ah, so nice when family is visiting when you're mid project. I swear we didn't plan this guys. Thanks for everything!

Speaking of family- Dee is with us for the week and I am psyched. We have a few plans. We don't intend to make her do our projects all week. On the agenda- nothing in stone- but berry picking, relaxing, some shopping....and mostly just getting excited for the three of us to travel to Japan in early September. Dee got into Toyo University in Japan- Joe and I are taking her out there and making sure she is settled. We are all so excited!

As for the rest of August- A few plans. Joe's mom got a new puppy- Jack. He's an adorable Dobie who we are planning to meet next weekend when we go to Maine. We are also expecting a visit from two of our favorite people- Auntie Gail and Uncle Steve mid August. They are going to help us finish a few projects and do some well deserved visiting. We haven't seen them in over a year(When we drove to Chicago). We're super excited about that visit.

That's it from us!
Stay cool everyone and enjoy August!
Joe and Sam