CJ & Autumn Miller

CJ picked up his rifle in Michigan while we were visiting at Easter. We realize we might have a real need for it in Alaska & accuracy could be an advantage to our health & livelihood. After a day full of packing & cleaning our home we took a break to do some shooting practice with Gabe & Elizabeth at the family dairy farm. It was a beautiful place & a beautiful day for that sort of thing. We brought Teco along & the poor dog literally jumped in my lap the first few times the gun was shot. We'll have to get her used to that. At sundown Gabe treated us to dinner at Ham's & then back to our house to clean the guns. While the boys were doing that Elizabeth made us a sign for the back Subaru window... ALASKA OR BUST! 

Thursday was our last small group before the big move & our friends there made it special. We shared a meal at Rus & Sally's house & discussed the views of the Mennonite Church. We were sent off encouraged & blessed with prayers. On the way home we were so thankful to be a part of this group & for the valuable relationships we have built with them in such a short time.

We are leaving our home in Virginia in 20 days & it's beginning to dawn on me. I know we've only been here ten months, but we've lived life here & loved it. We cherish the mountains, the climate, our beautiful old house, & the bicycling, recycling, farmers market shopping residents of Harrisonburg. We have spent weekends camping in the national forest, days backpacking in the national park, afternoons mountain biking on the trails, and way too much time finding tics. We watched Casablanca under the stars in Court Square, ate donuts at the Maple Festival, & served meals to Harrisonburg's homeless. We went trick-or-treating with neighbors, picked peonies from the yard, & shoveled snow from the driveway more than anyone would have predicted. I got in running shape on the hills of Keezletown Road, walked to the grocery store, & threw a quail BBQ in the rain. We experienced life on cistern water, heating oil deliveries, no air conditioning & drying underwear on a line for the neighborhood to see. Teco developed an odd resistance to the electric fence, ran away chasing the 17 neighborhood cats, experienced snowfall taller than she was, & learned to shake. CJ built a porch swing, made a man garage, played a mean season of church basketball & drove to work over a one lane bridge. I made kitchen curtains, refurbished garage sale tables, viewed life through a fancy camera, & discovered food as a celebration. We learned that the best date is the cheapest date (Kline's Ice Cream), that Mennonites believe in peace at any cost &  I only last three days as a stay at home wife.

Thank you visitors for witnessing a part of our life.
Thank you friends willing to invest in our friendship. 
Thank you Harrisonburg for being our home.
Virginia, we're going to miss you.

We drove southeast Friday & watched the snow accumulation drop off as we neared the coast. When we arrived in Hampton we drove under a body of water & CJ proceeded to hold his breath through the tunnel... as he was driving. Now, I am not usually a paranoid passenger, but this made me nervous. It was a long tunnel & traffic wasn't moving particularly fast. I finally yelled "Breathe!" & he gasped for air.
We arrived, grabbed our bags & ascended to our room on the 12th floor. Friday night we located steamed shrimp at a place that seemed to give us a peak of winter life in a fishing town. The beach was quiet & cold & we loved it.
Saturday it snowed at the beach. We toured the Virginia Aquarium & viewed a 3D IMAX on Dolphins & Whales. We were educated on whale species & concluded that it was in fact a humpback whale we saw on our honeymoon while backpacking the coast of Vancouver Island. Our Valentine dinner that night didn't go quite as planned. We were seated on a cold enclosed porch with a group of the most obstinate, loud, & rude people I have ever seen. We ate quickly & enjoyed the Olympics in our room with a view of the ocean & a hot tub.
Sunday was sunny & we were able to experience the beach after breakfast. While driving home CJ took a wrong turn & we stumbled upon a REI! We happened to have a couple old gift cards in the glove compartment, so we went shopping. When we arrived home there was a pink heart cake in the fridge... What a nice surprise! Thanks Mike & Ana for watching Teco & for the Valentine's cake! AND thank you CJ for a wonderful weekend!

The weather predictions started on Wednesday ranging from 6" to 40" of anticipated snow accumulation. We had no idea at that point how much we would get, but we opted to cancel our pre-Valentines weekend in Virginia beach just to be safe. We figured even if it snowed a little we could enjoy a snow weekend at home just as much as a rainy weekend in Virginia Beach. So it is rescheduled for this weekend & we will be able to celebrate Valentines Day on the appropriate date. Back to the snow- we got 22" of total snowfall according to the yardstick still planted in our backyard. CJ spent most of the afternoon Saturday shoveling us out of the driveway & Harrisonburg practically shut down for a while.
We walked to return our RedBox, I knit, CJ read, and we kept saying to each other "It's STILL snowing". Saturday night we broke out of the comfort of our home & went to the Palmiter's for a movie. Sunday they came over early for the Superbowl & we went sledding on the golf course. The snow was so deep it ended up being more like a luge. Poor Teco wore herself out hopping through the snow & slept through the whole football game willingly in her cage. Today it looks like business as usual & I will attempt to drive through our snow tunnel of a driveway to the bakery tonight. Here are a few pics of our winter wonderland. If this keeps up we are going to invest in some snow shoes!

So the snow has finally melted from the big storm & the ground is saturated & muddy. Friday we had freezing rain & it was a challenge to even get safely from the front door to the Bronco in the carport. Schools were canceled that day, but the bakery is kind of like the postal service. People need their danish. Sunday & Monday it rained all day & we had a flash flood warning. It ended up being so much water that schools were closed again & people couldn't make it to work due to flooded bridges. Today it is snowing. Whoa, can't wait till tomorrow!

New Years weekend we left town yet again. We flew commercially out of Washington DC to Longview, TX. That makes our total weekends at home only .5 in the last month. The trip proved to be fun & definitely worth it though. We traveled to Longview to celebrate the marriage of J & Kirby Wilcoxin. CJ was a groomsman & I helped with wedding details. It was a little weird visiting a city I lived in for a total of 6 years & stay in a hotel room. We did our fare share of reminiscing. We drove by the old Maxey Rd. house & no one is living in it. A neighbor put up a nice fence, but that is about it. East Texas isn’t our favorite vacation spot, but we did take the opportunity to visit our favorite Texas resteraunts: Bodacious & GZ’s & catch up with some good college friends.

This past weekend we took advantage of being home & went exploring  in the woods near our house. CJ found some trails along a beautiful stream & we bundled up for some snow hiking. We enjoyed our excursion so much Saturday that we went again to the woods Sunday. I brought along my new camera & tried to capture some beauty.

We have been at the JAARS base in NC since Tuesday of last week. We both took time off work & CJ is working hard here at his AIM Air technical evaluation (proctored by JAARS). Last week he was tested orally & practically on aircraft maintenance. Starting tomorrow, Monday, CJ will begin the flight tests. He will be flying a large six person tailwheel that he is not familiar with, & for that matter – hardly anyone is familiar with. Using the Helio Courier for the test enables them to evaluate much more than just hands-on skills, but how a person learns new information & practically applies it. This weekend he has been studying the Helio Courier Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH), memorizing checklists, & familiarizing himself with the cockpit. I sat copilot with him this afternoon & induced imaginary fires & engine failures into the regular routine so he could practice the emergency procedures. Please pray for CJ this week – it is a big test.

Meanwhile, in Harrisonburg our good friends Mike & Ana are watching over the house & Teco. Ana texted me Friday night & said that it might snow & I was like “I hope it does”, not really thinking that it would actually REALLY snow. I am new at this whole living farther North thing! Well it did really snow & as of Saturday morning they had already built two substantial sized snowmen in our yard. CJ & I were so jealous. I mean, we leave for one week & all the action happens at our house! Our backyard hill would be great for sledding & I have been daydreaming about it ever since we moved in six months ago. CJ called Mike to inform him about where the sled was kept & I hope they got some good runs in for us. I sure hope it snows again so I can play in the snow this winter. I have already hyped myself up & bought gloves. Below is the picture they texted us of the snowman in our yard & cold Teco in the snow….aw.

The week of Thanksgiving is quite possibly the busiest week of the year at the bakery. You can only imagine how many pies & rolls we made in preparation for everyone’s big feast. By the time Thursday came around, I thought I would be tired of cooking, but I wasn’t. It was still fun & exciting to be cooking for MY feast & MY family. My parents drove up from Alabama to spend the holiday with us in Harrisonburg since it was a bad week for me to try to get extra time off. It was the first time they had visited our house in VA, so it was especially fun to show them around. They were amazed at how truly beautiful the mountains are & took several walks in our neighborhood past the cattle grazing over the rolling hills. Thanksgiving Eve we took them to Kline’s Dairy Bar for a true Harrisonburg experience. Dad talked about his Eggnog ice cream for the rest of the weekend. They will probably come back, if only for some more Kline’s ice cream! Who could blame them?!

I consider this Thanksgiving a success. It was my first Thanksgiving meal at my own house & I didn’t burn anything down, so it should be rightfully considered a success. You agree? Dad kept referring to mom as the “Turkey Coach” all weekend, so with that in mind I will admit I had some help. But, with one home-cooked turkey under my belt & lots of Birmingham Thanksgivings spent as the kitchen slave, I think I am experienced enough to do it on my own if need be.

Yes, I admit, I went shopping on Black Friday. And I dragged sleepy CJ with me. We left for Old Navy at 4am the morning after the feast. It was dark & cold outside & the parking lot was packed. There were excited caffeine induced screams coming from the saleswomen when we arrived & I looked for the dressing room in a blur. Like an idiot, I left my phone at home still charging by the bed. I didn’t think I would need it at this time of the morning. CJ separated to scour the men’s jeans & that was the last I saw of him, for literally hours. I waited in line for a ridiculously long time to purchase a jacket & CJ was no where to be found. I checked the car, the bookstore, the coffeeshop, GAP outlet, Eddie Bauer, the curb, everywhere I thought likely. I had no car keys & it was too cold to stand by the car, so I wandered around sleep deprived until 6:30am when I finally found him exhausted, trying to sleep in the car. How had we missed each other? We were both too sleepy to make any sense of it & went back to bed.

I think CJ’s in-laws made him sick, or at least they apologized for it in jest. Or maybe it was the holiday shopping that did him in. He spent his extra long weekend mostly taking it easy. CJ in turn gave me the infirmity & earlier this week I felt as if my eyes would pop out from all the sinus pressure. Needless to say, we didn’t cut down a Christmas tree as originally planned & the house is still decorated for fall.

CJ & I have enjoyed exploring the area around our new house. There seems to be so much of the outdoors that needs to be experienced & so many mountains that need to be climbed. Two Sundays ago we skipped the church potluck & drove out to a little trout river in the woods. We cooked chili on the camp stove & watched Teco swim after fish in the water. Last Sunday we had a baptism service in Bridgewater & the weather wasn’t so conducive. We sang ” Down to the River to Pray” & watched our friends shiver in the river water. It was lightly raining & freezing cold, but that didn’t stop us from celebrating!

I was scheduled to work the Saturday of Halloween at the Bakery, so I wore my red wig to work. It must have looked pretty believable  because not many people mentioned it except for the regulars who got some good laughs. The bakery is in downtown Harrisonburg & there was some sort of Halloween festival at Quart Square, so there were tons of little dinosaurs, princesses, superheroes, and trolls in and out of the bakery. It was a mad house, but it was really fun. Halloween night CJ & I went trick or treating with our neighbors & CJ scared alot of children with his old man mask.

This past weekend we drove down to Spruce Pines, NC. The Sizer family was having a reunion at my uncle’s cabin & Christmas tree farm. It was fun to be with family, some of which I hadn’t seen since our wedding. We played horseshoes, spoons, watched lots of football, and took a tour of an old apple orchard. CJ & I decided to take the scenic tour back home on the Blue Ridge Parkway last night & it was a beautiful day for a Sunday drive!