Respect and Murple

There has been a lot going on lately. When my parents were here the other week James was switched from instructor duty to TAD (temporary assigned duty) at the barracks. He will be at the barracks for a full year and he is working the evening shift from 3:30-11:30. He is ok with this since he knew he would have to go TAD for a year while here and it is best for eval purposes that it be our second year. In our third year he will be back as an instructor so that will be good going back to the fleet. He also chose the evening shift since it has down time and he should be able to study for his MTS. (Master Training Specialist qualification) That is the only reason people like to get orders here is to get that qual. If he wanted to become a teacher when he retires this qualification looks very good. He also hopes to start taking some online college classes soon.
The Navy gave him two weeks off for his shoulder surgery and he is enjoying it mostly. He has no limitations but is still very sore and it is hard for him to move his arm on its own. He started rehab last Friday and is going every other day next week.
Since James is going to be working in the evenings I also switched to evenings. Part of that means some weekends too. I am trying to work every other Saturday and be off on Sundays. I want to be fair to the my co-workers though so I might be working more than that. I don't really think I will be going back to days while we are here. It is my hope to get pregnant soon and then once the baby gets here I will just work maybe one night a week and Saturdays since it really wont be worth it for us to pay for childcare. This is all me dreaming though.
I haven't taken the last round of clomid. I'm not going to. I plan to call my doctor this week and tell her to just refer me down to OB. I just can't handle those hormones. Hot flashes and mood swings and dark scary thoughts are not my cup of tea. I know, I know that's what happens during pregnancy (maybe not the dark thoughts, I hear that happens postpartum) I could handle it if I was carrying a life inside me. It would be worth it then, but I'm not, not yet anyway.
Another thing that has been going on is respect. What? Yup, respect. I have been reading this book called Love and Respect. They have a website loveandrespect.com You can check it out if you want. The entire book is based on this simple concept that women need love and men need respect. I didn't like it at first, it seemed a little chauvinistic. I kept reading though till it gave me some tools to work with. The book is based on biblical teaching so I started practicing using the word respect with James. I was amazed with the response. He was immediately more loving with me. I think initially I wanted to give only to get, but now I feel different. I want James to know that I not only love him but like him, he knows that when I show him respect.
One of the biggest ways that I showed him respect last week when I trusted his judgement for purchasing a new truck. We traded in the Xterra and got an 08 Chevy Silverado. Instead of saying no no no, I was quiet. He chose the best and most logical truck of the ones we were looking at and because he is a responsible guy we have a much better credit score than we did when we got the Xterra so we have a better interest rate and our payments are lower. How awesome is that! A newer vehicle with less miles, a great warranty, and we are paying less than what we were. I'm not trying to brag by any means. It just seems like God is smacking me in the forehead again. "Audra, I gave you this great guy, but your not letting him be great. Your not letting him lead you in making big decisions. Don't you think he is responsible and he wants what is best for you?"
Anywho this past week just seems like it has been one of the best in my life. I have been respectful of my husband and he has seemed more loving than all our 7 years combined and we haven't even done anything out of the ordinary.
Today my church had a fish-fry and baptism. James came with me and we had a good time. Our friends got baptized together and I am so happy for them and hope that we can learn and grow in Christ together.
After we left the fish fry we drove over to Alabama listening to country radio. (We like driving out there if you haven't noticed.) Blake Shelton's song came on God Gave Me You. I wish it would have been our wedding song. I just love it and it fits us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDA1s0Uzaq4&feature=related I hope you will take a listen. It plays on K-LOVE christian radio as well. It was originally written by Dave Barns. 

Have a great week!

Oh and the new truck is purple. Since we started naming our vehicles (my Uncle Jim and Aunt Sandy's family have always done this, I love it and so James and I now name ours.) James came up with the name Purple Murple. We will just be calling it Murple though. My little car is named Suzi, it is fitting since it's a suzuki. So now we will say when leaving the house "Do you want to take Suzi or Murple?" Haha, I love it! :)