'Tis the Season

I can hardly believe December is already upon us!

The holiday season has been different

 having to be so far away from family and friends.

As our first Christmas as a married couple approaches,

Jason and I have had fun introducing each other to the

holiday traditions we are used to and creating some of our own.

One tradition I grew up with that I desperatly wanted to continue was

having a REAL Christmas tree!

I was able to find a tree farm where we could walk out and pick our own tree to cut down.

I have so many memories of going out and my brother and I running around to see

who could pick out the BEST tree!

My mom can tell you that when picking out a tree

we always argue on what size to get.

Mom would always point out trees that were hardly as tall as she was,

where I would be pointing out trees that were realisticly

to tall for our living room.

Eventually, mom would give in and let me get the tallest one we thought would fit.

Most of the time we had to trim the top down for the angel to fit, and her head would be squished on the ceiling.

(Mom, I missed doing this with you!)

Well Mom, Jason and I have vaulted ceilings...

Can you guess what our tree looks like? 

Thats right!

Our tree is almost ELEVEN FEET tall!

(it still doesn't touch the ceiling.. guess I'll have to find a taller one next year.. j/k!)

This is Jason's first time having a real tree :)

although.. I had to agree to vacuum all the pine needles to get him to agree to a real one.

Jason knew that getting a Christmas tree is one of my favorite traditions.

He was so sweet and let me pick out my favorite one,

I couldn't believe he agreed to let me get such a tall one! What a sweet hubby!

Even as tall as Jason is,

he had to stand on one of our chairs that you can raise up

in order to put on the lights :)

Yes, my husband decided to plan out where to put the ornaments :)

Decorating OUR FIRST TREE!!!!

I was to scared to stand on the chair...

so Jason was in charge of all the high branches

Jason had to go up into the loft in order to put the angel on top!

Our first Christmas Tree











Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is our Thanksgiving since Jason had to work Thurs.

Before I wake Jason up & we get started on the chaos

of cleaning and cooking and organizing..

I wanted to take a little time to think about what I am thankful for,

because I have been so incredibly blessed 

I am so thankful for my family.

You are so incredibly supportive.

I am so grateful to have been raised in a Christian home;

to have been able to know Him from a young age.

I can't tell you how comforting this has been to me lately.

I know I am so lucky & blessed to have been raised in the Word

from such a young age... that I have been able

to know Him for so long, and have the example of a family who desires

to serve& follow Him.



I am so grateful for being blessed with such a WONDERFUL husband.

Thankful to his parents for raising him in the Word.

Marriage does take work, but what a blessing it has been!

I am so blessed with the extended family marriage has given me.

I couldn't have asked for more supportive & caring in-laws.

Thank you for taking me in so quickly & making me feel

apart of your family right away!

I am thankful for all the opportunities I have been given.

I am grateful for the wonderful home I have been given.

I am thankful for my health and that of my family's.

We have so much to be grateful for...

But I want to leave with a verse..

giving thanks & praise to

He who provides for all our needs!

 I am so grateful that I am HIS!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;

(I am so grateful to be His!!!)we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations.

A Little More Like Home

Some WONDERFUL News!

For those of you who hadn't heard,

After 4 months of waiting & paperwork...

(DRUMROLL PLEASE)

OUR THINGS ARE FINALLY PACKED AND ON THE WAY TO ENGLAND!!

YAAAAAAY!!!

What a blessing!
It is estimated we will have our things sometime early in January!

We are so excited to be able to set up our house!

We also got our new couch delivered this week.

It is nice to have some furniture of our own!

A big (& comfy!) improvement from the little green seats provided by the AF

We also added two new furry additions to

the household.

Sir Ratigan & Penny :)

(Sir Ratigan from the great mouse detective &

Penny from the rescuers)



Sir Ratigan(L) & Penny (R)

We were able to take some small trips the past couple weeks.

Our friend Michaela came to visit her, now FIANCE (they got engaged while she was here),

so we tried to keep her busy while he was at work.

We were able to visit Scarborough Castle

Daniel, Michaela, & Jason

And we were able to visit Skipton Castle

So far we seem to be settling into a routine.

Jason has had less classes & is getting into his work schedule, which helps.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and although Jason works Thanksgiving day,

we are having some friends over for a dinner on Sunday the 28th.

Hopefully all turns out well!

It will be my first time cooking thanksgiving dinner,

and since we don't have our things yet,

this means:

1 pot, 2 pans, and plastic "silverware"

with which to make & serve a Thanksgiving dinner...

It will be an adventure... we shall see how it all turns out!

Life!

Sorry I waited so long to update!

We've been trying to get into a routine.

But Jason has had classes, which initerrupt his work schedule.

His schedule is crazy, 3 on 3 off, nights & days.. soon they will be trying out a new schedule

where its still 3 on 3 off, but they work days for a couple weeks and then switch to nights.

Maybe this will help our routine! 

We've taken a couple small trips lately.

One of which was to Lakenheath AFB.

We were able to sign up for cell phones, get some uniforms for jason, the usual errands..

OH and of COURSE.. Taco Bell!!!!!!

Jason was soo excited they had a taco bell on base, he has been craving it ever since we got here!

 I was also able to go on a hike in the Yorkshire Dales.

It was a 6 mile hike, which took us past Bolton Abbey and then through some of the most BEAUTIFUL countryside!

I kept wishing I had brought my Bible and could stop and have devotions,

but one scripture kept running through my mind. 

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
   night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
   no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
   their words to the ends of the world."

Thank you for all the letters & boxes we have been getting!

We miss and love everyone MUCHO!

God Bless,

The Schulhauser's <3

YORK



We were able to walk on the wall that was built around the city.



York is a town full of history.

We were able to see some incredible sights

only a short drive from home.

Our friend Daniel

was our "tour guide"



Daniel and Jason walking on the city wall,
showing off their "brolly's"



York is the British city which was

attacked by William Wallace,

this may sound familiar if you have ever 

seen the movie "Braveheart" ;) 



This is the front entrance, there was NO
WAY to get the whole building
to fit in one picture!



 One of the most infamous sites in York is the York Minster.  The current minster is actually the fourth minster built in this location. The original was built in 627. Although the start of the construction of the current day minster began in the 1200's, it was not completed until the 1400's ( BEFORE Columbus ever sailed the ocean blue and discovered America!!)

 

Jason looking at statues of the Kings of England.



 

Inside the York Minster, where service is held
The stained glass window in the back is apx.
53 meters tall (173 ft)



It was incredible to be able to witness so much history.

There were so many Gorgeous stained glass windows all throughout the minster.

Some of the glass in the windows was dated back to the 1300's. We were not able to see the largest window (78 meters or 255 feet tall)  because it is currently under repair. But we did learn that the man who created it, was paid 56 Pounds in 1408.  The current estimate for repairs is 9 MILLION pounds! 

 

 



Jason and I in front of the old prison

 

After our tour of the Minster we

were able to walk around town and take in

some of the sights.



Jason and I standing on a part of the ruins.
I believe we were in front of what would have been
the stables.



Daniel took us to see an Abbey.

Even though it was in ruins, it was still beautiful.

There were plaques on the ground,

so you could know where you would be if the abbey were still whole.



Daniel, Jason, and I in front of the Abbey



Jason and I in the oldest pub in York!

One of the last stops of the day was for dinner of course! 

We were able to eat, and have a delicious pint of traditional British Cider in the oldest pub in York!

We enjoyed being able to spend time with friends and see some incredible history!



Fall Fun

With the leaves turning colors and the cold weather setting in...

Fall is here!

We decided to enjoy some fall fun and carve pumpkins

and roast some yummy pumpkin seeds

Jason diggin in  

YUMMY!! Pumpkin Insides..

Jason decided to pick a detailed design... actually he combined two different designs.. so he

spent quite a bit of time working...

... and working

for a couple hours...

But I'd say the end result turned out rather nicely :)

                                                

Road Trip!!

Friday, 17-9-2010

Because Jason was going to be starting his shift, he got the day off on Friday! We decided to take the extra day to go and explore! We woke up in the morning and decided to just GO…  BUT of course we decided to start our journey off with a stop at Starbucks! Starbucks is like our little home away from home.

Jason decided he wanted to head east, and that is where we headed.

We, of course, passed and followed several tractors (makes me think of you Mija.. so I always have to take a picture when I see one).  

We passed by the city of York, which has walls all around it.

I tried to talk Jason into going into the town,

but he wouldn’t because “its not going east”  :0) Goof…



One of the entrances in the wall around the city



Of course driving east, what are you eventually going to hit?  The beach!  We ended up in a small town called, Withernsea, I believe. It did remind me some of the beach in Washington, fairly cold, and windy!



The entrance to the beach!



But the entrance was much more beautiful than any I’ve seen in WA.  We spent some time walking around and Jason played around trying to outrun the waves ;)  It was such a nice time to get away and spend time together!

A beautiful Sunset on our drive home