Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hello Strangers!

I keep telling myself I NEED to update the blog and then time gets away from me. Ella and I traveled to Illinois to visit a bunch of family and some friends. We didn't get to see everyone that we had hoped to, but it was still a great trip. We both were VERY ready to get back home to our routines and beds! We are both still adjusting but we will hopefully both be ready to go for Monday! If we did not get a chance to see you, I am sorry :( Please do not think we were avoiding or ignoring you! Ella and I arrived in Chicago for the first part of the trip, took a train down to Macomb on the 26th to see Curtis' family, and then we got a ride even further to stay with more family! It was a packed trip, both with people and luggage. Should Ella and I have to make the trek by ourselves again, I will be driving, haha. After this trip, the stress has got to be less...

Our Adventure...
A friend dropped us off at Norfolk airport and when we were checking in at the gate, I was told we did not have a seat. I purchased these tickets MONTHS ago, I wasn't going to mess around with the holidays... There was an announcement made about giving up your seat for $$$...it started around $300-$400 and by the plane was boarded they were offering $600 and hotel just to get Ella and I on board. Thanks to one of the ladies, they asked a pilot from a secondary crew if he would sit in the jump seat of the cockpit so we could have his seat. Talk about down to the wire and how nerve racking. We thanked that pilot a LOT. We arrived at O'Hare and I was carrying the car seat in the bag I got and it ripped! Not our lucky day. A nice gentleman assisted us as far as he could go between his gate changes. How awesome are some people?! And FINALLY we got our big suitcase to meet Dad outside. 

Fast forward some days and the train... there was NO way I could carry all our stuff by myself down the platform and onto the train. With the help of Dad and Toni, and the gate person just telling them to go, and a few unhappy other workers, it happened. Let me just give major kudos to Ella for her behavior on the plane and train so far! We sat next to a family with a 20 month old that was screaming, trying to walk around, drinking out of a baby bottle still (still shocked by this) and here was Ella strapped in to her car seat on the ground facing me just chillin and watching Frozen on the iPad! By the way, trains have NO seat belts for car seats. Thankfully I bought her a ticket anyway because the train was packed!

Fast forward again to us arriving at St. Louis airport to make the trek home, with an anticipated lay over in Chicago. I planned that on purpose...if I am going to have a layover, it was going to be on familiar turf! And guess what...my plane that was departing around 11 was apparently REALLY late and I got rescheduled onto a flight that wasn't leaving until 1pm AND was connecting out of Newark. We were getting in 2 hours later than planned which meant even later bedtime for Ella who was already exhausted because she didn't sleep well the night before and really, our girl loves her schedule and sleep. Besides, traveling is exhausting.

Eventually we did make it home and some how I was still up at Midnight on New Year's Eve, unpacking, cleaning, etc. I am still not sure why I didn't just go to bed. Oh, and a cat that was starting to lose her voice from meowing so much because she was excited that we were home. haha. She has not left my side unless absolutely necessary but it sure makes some tasks difficult.

Christmas!
Ella and I are so blessed with family and friends! Ella was down right spoiled at Christmas with love, gifts, and chocolatey treats! The #1 favorite gift had to have been the BIG Frozen blanket from Grandpa. She didn't really take to opening presents until 3rd stop when she started opening presents without asking, haha. We continue to be thankful for everything that we have gotten, especially with the help in getting to travel home.

Ella devoured a WHOLE piece of Gino's East deep dish pizza, minus crust. She also enjoyed almost a full hotdog, bun included, from Bella Luke's. She got to taste some AWESOME Chicago style food and was loving it.

Ella's Vocabulary
Over our trip, Ella's vocabulary was expanding, both sign language and speaking. Before we left, she was saying Santa but you had to listen carefully because it sounded like da-da. Santa started off as a whisper and it slowly gets louder and has a forceful pointing gesture ;) She had a dancing/singing Santa and Penguin (or Snowman) in her daycare room and has been crazy about it. She was also signing "more" and "cookie" before we went down and has been trying to say "cookie." She has also been saying "bye bye da da" because of our United Through Reading Videos and will even say "Bel Bel" with some attempts at saying "cat." While visiting, she managed to come VERY close to saying "Roosevelt" for her scentsy buddy, and figured out that signing more got her food and treats, especially M&Ms from Grandpa! While we were downstate, she learned puppy and was signing it for everything! Ella got to see some cows and loved having them run down the lane towards her when Grandpa Jerry would call them. She attempts to make the sign but it is a work in progress as is her attempt at saying it. I am VERY impressed with how quickly she has picked up on some of these words. Roosevelt has progressed to "ro ro" but if you ask her where Roosevelt is, you better believe she will look around the whole room and find him! It is absolutely amazing to see the progress in such a short time. When we got home I was trying to show her the signs for "mommy" and "daddy" and they are kind of there, with her own unique twist. I can't wait to see how she continues to develop, but I think she may never stop talking when she realizes that she can! Look out Daddy!! ;) And actually, Curtis just reminded me, she says "ow" and "uh oh" quite a bit these days haha. Most of the time unnecessary but she definitely has those two words down!

Julie
Well, I continue to be extremely busy between work, online school for Medical Transcription, and chasing Ella around. Some days are harder than others but the time goes by fast. I am almost done with my 3rd semester but after taking a break for vacation, I need to get motivated to work again! There isn't anything too exciting to share on my end.

Curtis
He continues to do well and is thankful for all the love and support he has. He recently was promoted! Whoo! Please email, text, call, etc for more information about work for Curtis. He is healthy and doing well. The  time away has been difficult but pictures, email, skype, etc. are all GREAT for the time being.

Pictures...LONG over due but here is one of my favorites from Christmas....

Santa Ella

Brookfield Zoo

Ella & Grandpa

Left to Right: Dad/Grandpa, Julie, Ella, Shelby, Kyle, & Christine. Toni is taking the picture.

Shelby & Julie = Good genetics ;)

Merry Christmas!!

Update to Julie's Thirty-One Party!

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that my Thirty-One party is almost over. It ends on the 23rd.  There has been a change to the special deal going on!  Check it out!

You can now get the October deal OR the November deal! For every $35 you spend you can get a bag from the Retro Metro Collection 50% off OR you can get a Medium Utility Tote or Square Utility tote for only $7.

Don't forget, these can make GREAT Christmas gifts!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Thank you!! :)

Thirty-One Party!!

Hi! I know I sent some of you emails or facebook invitations but I wanted to get the information out to anyone that I may have missed. I am hosting my 1st Thirty-One party and I am VERY excited! I wanted to ask if you would take a couple minutes and look at what there is to offer. I have started my wishlist for myself and friends/family and maybe you will too!

Start your own wish list!!

 My consultant, Victoria, has been sharing some GREAT deals that are happening this month. The main deal is if you spend $35 on products, you get 1 of 4 metro style bags for 50% off!!

All you have to do is go to http://www.mythirtyone.com/victoriagurgone then click on "My Scheduled Parties" and click on the "shop now" associated with my name. I hope that you will take a couple minutes and see what there is to offer. Maybe you can get a Christmas gift out of the way early! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask! Make sure to look around because there are so many great deals out there. Thank you for your help!

Ups and Downs...

We started the week off with Curtis getting Quicksand Warrior/Sailor of the Week, had a minor scare that Ella might have had hand, foot, and mouth disease (didn't), had a leak in the ceiling from all the rain we got, I had to go to the doctor due to sore ribs from excessive coughing, and the latest is that 2 planes from 2 different squadrons on the Carl Vinson, Curtis' ship, collided. As I am writing this, 1 of the pilots is still missing...

Here is the original article: http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=83231
Here is the most recent update: http://www.navytimes.com/article/20140912/NEWS/309120043/Report-F-18-collision-witnessed-by-flight-deck-crew

One of my current favorite pictures posted by one of the family members on the unofficial Carl Vinson facebook page....

Hoping for a safe recovery of the 2nd pilot

As of the last update, the one pilot is still missing. The Carl Vinson family has been supporting one another in a way that is simply amazing! To see all of the different posts and comments on the facebook page(s) gives you a wonderful feeling. I even started talking to one of Curtis' co-worker's mom on facebook. It really is funny how things work out... Thanks to Mrs. Faulkner and her son, Rob/Bobby, I am able to share these two pictures with you!

This one is easy to find Curtis :)

Now we have to play "Where is Waldo" Spencer style...

Ella
Ella had a fever last week and had to stay home from daycare. Thankfully our WONDERFUL friends were able to watch her for the day so that I could save up my sick days since our friends moved back to Indiana :( We miss you Cammi and Orion!! Ella got to play with her boyfriend all day and they snuggled. Some things never change...these two pictures were taken almost a year a part.

Playing sure takes a lot out of you!

Snuggle Budies - The Beginning

Ella and her boyfriend, Orion, got lots of play time in. Cammi made sure to take some pictures of them playing together because they were just the most adorable tiny humans ;)

Ella also happened to figure out that she could get in Bela's cardboard castle...

Ella has been starting to walk more and more. She has been comfortably taking about 4-5 steps at a time but she still would prefer to crawl. Anytime the daycare director or one of the other ladies come in to observe, she stops walking. We keep joking that she knows they are looking for her to walk so they can move her to the pre-tot room. Currently the room record is 16 months before moving on to the next room...I think Ella has accepted the challenge but we will see. :-p Soon enough she will be the oldest one in her room. I really think that is all she is waiting for, to be the oldest and to claim the room as hers. I've been told she knows how to open the gate there and she is just a character! One of her new favorite things is to come tackle me when I'm laying on the ground playing with her, then crawl over me, and laugh like it is the funniest thing in the world and repeat from the other side.

Julie
My cold from a few weeks ago went away but the horrible cough I had with it has been lingering. It started to go away with my medicine but then I was getting horrible pain under my right ribs. After some co-workers convinced me to see a doctor, I scheduled an appointment. Apparently I was was coughing so hard that I caused some minor trauma to the cartilage between my ribs. Needless to say, I hope that I don't sneeze, cough, pretty much do any rapid movements unless I want to be doubled over in pain. I seriously never knew you could cough THIS hard. I did lose my voice for awhile because of it and some other fun stuff but you don't need to know all those details! ;) I thought I was on the mend but Ella was crawling over me and managed to get me in the throat, I went into a coughing fit, the pain got worse. So here I am, TRYING to rest, HAH!, and take care of my aching ribs or cartilage or whatever I messed up.

Otherwise, I am doing pretty well. School, Work, and Ella are all keeping me very busy which is good, but I need to re-learn my school year time management routine.


I've sent out Curtis' first and second care package (the first got returned to me so now he gets 2) and I have the next couple waiting to be sent at their appropriate times. I'm a little too prepared and have about 3 boxes ready to go with some basic snacks. My hope was to decorate and prepare now and it would distract me less later on.

As soon as I hear about the missing pilot, I will do my best to post. I will also try and get a video up of Ella walking. Thanks for following our interesting adventures!

Carl Vinson News

The USS Carl Vinson publishes a newsletter called the Voice and Curtis is featured in it on page 17 for Quicksand Sailor of the Week. You can see him sitting in the Captain's Chair! It is also pretty neat to see all the things going on with the ship while they are out.

Take a look!

Voice September 7, 2014 Issue




Congratulations Curtis!!

Curtis found out last night that he was Quicksand Sailor of the Week for the Airwing! He got to meet some of the higher ranking officers, sit in the captain's chair, and drive the ship! I am so excited and proud! They started to put some of the pictures up on the Carl Vinson Facebook page but I downloaded them to share here!

Quicksand Sailor of the Week is someone who has gone above and beyond in their normal day-to-day activities and has been nominated by their chain of command for the award.

I cannot even put into words how excited I am for him to be getting this recognition for all of his hard work!

Curtis said in an email that driving the ship was harder than he expected. I think that might be what he is looking at in the top picture, but I could be wrong. Either way, CONGRATULATIONS CURTIS on this AWESOME achievement!! Less than a month down in the books and already kicking butt!! :)

Updated Address

There is a NEW address for Curtis that you will need to use.  I won't go into the details, but someone screwed up and the original address did not work. I'm pretty sure I was the start of this dilemma when I got my first care package returned to me, but I could be wrong! ANYWAY....here is the address that they say should be used now. Fingers crossed everything gets there now...

AM3 Curtis Spencer

VFA-81

FPO AE 09501-5755

If you have any questions, please let me know and I will help to the best of my abilities!