from the meadow

Life without Warning: Monet vs. Courbet

2011-08-15T13:57:00.006-05:00

Today, as I drove home from a crazy IKEA visit with all 3 kids in the sub ... I looked ahead on Hwy. 50 and could see nothing but grey just before we drove through one of the worst rain storms in my life ... little visibility, cars pulling over and slowing down everywhere, water covering the road & my windshield, not to mention the music we had playing in the car along with the 3 additional voices of commentary in accompaniment ... sensory overload to say the least. But soon, as would happen in most cases, the CD was turned off, the kids were told to be quiet and tunnel vision was acquired in order to navigate.

After about a good 5 or so minutes of pummeling rain, we came through it onto drier road, little rain and brighter skies. The CD was turned back on and my mono-focus subsided into multi-task mode once again. (At this point I'm thinking there are probably many lessons that could be gleaned from this & I'm wondering where you all would go with it; however, ...)

... as we rounded a large turn, as some of you know how the Maryland landscape leads 'round large hills, I briefly faced the line of cars in the opposite lane ... for a moment I thought about where they were going ... towards the grey wall, towards sheets of thick rain ... I thought about whether I might tell them to stop or pull over (if I had that ability), or warn them, at the very least, about what was ahead. Then, the life analogy that materialized for me regarded ... my kids.

What would I tell them about life? I could warn them about all it's woes and dangers, or I could simply try to give them the tools to deal with whatever it is they will encounter. I know most parents try to include a good blend of both and I'm sure I will too. However, I found myself recalculating that even though the other cars were indubitably headed for that storm, it may have quite a different form by the time they get to it. For one, it may have subsided a great deal, or on the other hand, it could be worse, maybe with hail. The fact is that there is nothing I could say that would fully prepare them for what was ahead, because frankly, I couldn't know for sure, as weather is always changing. (wow, 4 absolutes in one sentence is thick, oh well). If I could give them ANY advice, would it be in the shape of a warning about something I couldn't completely describe, even though I had JUST driven through it, or would it possess a more encouraging, inspiring tone? I believe I would have to say something quick & simple like, "Just pay attention, rely on your training, do the best you can and you'll do great."

... which brings me back to my kids ... do I spend more time warning and judiciously guarding them, or training them and then sending them out with an encouraging word? There, of course, isn't a right answer and again, a little of both is appropriate at times, but I have real concerns for children (including my own), who grow up hearing more stories about all the terrible things that can happen to them and not allowed to go out and experience life at an early enough age to discover that no one is a stereotype and life is mostly what you make it. Please don't read any particular group into this, because I have none in mind ... I, for one, have had to be the parent basically putting the fear of reality into my now 7 year old back when he was 3, who apparently has none, just to keep him from running too far away from me. However, as he's grown, I've tried to taper off in my warnings and recommendations of life to him.

I prefer to cultivate in him the kind of heart and mind I believe he should have ... and let him take it from there. Throughout his growth, I'm sure he'll come to me with questions and guidance, but I hope that the picture I paint is more of an impressionist work like a Monet or even a Klimt, than a realist like Courbet (nothing against Courbet). If my description is too exact or precise, I wonder if he'll have the freedom to do his best at life in his own rite, rather than living through mine. Granted, every artist's product is only their version, but I hope my version is porous without being vague; an idea instead of a direction lest I give every detail and stamp out a version that wouldn't even have a hope of being true to whatever he'll experience once he gets there himself.

And now for the religious implications: as Christ taught us while He was with us on Earth, even He used warnings and direction to guide and grow us, but for the most part, His wisdom was aimed at our hearts and He even left us with encouragement as He said at the end of Matt. 28, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Now, I cannot tell my children that I am in total control since I have ALL authority in heaven and earth, BUT, I can tell them that Christ does, and if they trust Him, instead of Mommy or even themselves, He WILL help them (sometimes even in spite of them or me ... ahhh grace). :) I also cannot tell my children that I will always be with them, but ... (you see where I'm going). YES, there are plenty of warnings throughout scripture, but in the end, He sends His children OUT, just as I must do. He tells them they WILL have trouble, but that they can overcome since HE has already overcome the world. Never did He sit down and give them a play by play about how to handle each situation they would face or how to look at a certain group of people, or how to approach every angle of life ... He told us to love, to forgive, to discern & be vigilant and wise yes, but to trust.

I am often guilty of wanting to give my kids too much advice in the form of handing them a map and an exactly replica of what life will look like. What I WANT to do is teach them through MY own actions and not my words, about how to love people and leave the rest up to God.

Not Just Surviving ...

2009-01-24T20:21:00.005-05:00

I admit it ... before I set out on this journey called Deployment, the fears I had compiled in regards to the experiences I'd have and my ability to handle them were many ... topping the list was a large dollop of doubt that I'd be able to even enjoy my life apart from Will and away from the help of family. This led me to believe that all I could really hope for was to simply survive the seven months the best I could ... stay alive and healthy, keep the kids alive and happy, keep my head down, do my chores and wait for it to be over. These feelings included the thought and hope that people would be praying for us and that God would graciously help us through as well. I had never been through a deployment with children before and the last one I "lived" through was 5 months of mostly misery. I expected intense loneliness ... I envisioned a desert ... I saw days and nights full of tears and anguish, just trying to keep going ... I said in a previous post, "I feel like I believe that God could move an actual, physical mountain, more than I believe he can make deployment a happy time for me."

The only vision I know of to express the truth of what I actually feel most days, and realize overall, is that of a type of baptism ... where the sun has set on the thoughts and fears that I had, and has beautifully risen, still just on the horizon, with the reality and beauty that is still my life, even a life miles away from my love ... now I know He can move mountains because He did what I believed to be impossible during this time in my life ... He has made me glad.

the night before

2008-10-11T22:39:00.003-05:00

We've had a wonderful day today. We didn't do anything special, we just stayed together and played and worked and ran errands ALL ... DAY ... LONG. The boys played so well this morning while Will tried to finish some projects, then we all went out to run errands together. Then we came home, ate fast food and watched part of a movie together until bedtime. It was so nice just to spend all that time together. Ben napped in the car so he was fine and the boys did so well waiting and sitting at all the places we wanted to go. We've been so busy lately, I feel like I'm in a whirlwind and still barely keeping up with things. I'm hoping things will settle down soon and I can get the cluttered, messy, newly renovated house in order and finally clean. It's been a disaster area which has added to the mess in my brain. :) When I'm in a messy place, I don't think as straight or as clearly. I can't wait until my Mom gets here at the end of November to really help. She's an organizer extraordinaire with energy and drive to spare (and I wonder where Charley gets it ... she's also a lefty just like Charley, the only two on either side of the family). :)

Anyway, I thought today would be more rough than it has been, but we've enjoyed each other so much, and been so busy, that there just hasn't been time or reason to. So last thoughts before tomorrow are ... thankful that our neighbors are helping out with the kids so I can give Will a calm, proper goodbye tomorrow and not have to worry about them seeing me cry or running off somewhere (into the water) ... happy that other friends will be there to see him off too b/c I'll feel so surrounded by support and love ... tired because we have been up so late ... sorry that Will has been working so hard up until the last minute ... hopeful that we both can rest after tomorrow and start fresh on a new schedule (and that we don't get sick, again) ... and glad that the goodbyes will be over soon, and there will be only hellos to look forward to. :)

Thank you for your prayers tomorrow; we will really need them.

a day of dread, a day of hope

2008-10-10T20:45:00.004-05:00

For the last few months, there's been a day I've been dreading ... October 12, deployment day. Every time I even thought about this impending day, I teared up and had to control myself to not bawl. Of course, sometimes (when it was appropriate) I would let myself just feel and experience the feelings of fear and grief and loneliness that I was experiencing. Lately, I've felt as this day is drawing near, the more I've focused on it, and the more I've also thought that maybe I was focusing on it too much. So during these last days, I've tried to pray for others and their struggles more. I've fallen asleep praying and thinking about them instead of crying for myself or dreading the future. On my short list right now ... my grandparents who are going through a life change with the arrival of a live-in caretaker while my grandfather recovers from a stroke, and my grandmother recovers from a dislocated shoulder ... a single Mom with two toddlers trying to be the best parent she can be to them while dealing with her own life issues (job changes, relationships, hope for the future, recovering from the past), a local friend with a newborn, learning how to balance two children and dealing with her father's struggle with cancer ... another local very pregnant friend on strict bedrest trying to make sure she doesn't go into labor too early, as well as dealing with how helpless she is as she longs to return to her normal tasks as a wife and mother.

I can still cry at the drop of a hat if I allow myself to think about this Sunday, but the odd thing is that once we get past this one day, I will immediately leave behind a day that I've been dreading and instead gain a day that I will look forward too for the next 7 months, Homecoming! It's odd that the same day I dread, will also be the beginning of the hoping phase of this journey. Yes, I'll still have difficult days with the boys and the pregnancy, but those days will happen randomly and without my prior knowledge rather than be pre-appointed days that I dread. More importantly, now I'll have a definite day to look forward too, as well as days in between when I've asked relatives to visit and help out.

Once I get past Sunday, I think I'll have a lot more days to look forward to, than not and SO... for that, I am ready for Will to leave and just get on with his deployment, and for us to get on with our lives. I'm ready to NOT dread a day and not cry when I think about it, not that there won't be other days of tears and frustration, but now, at the very least, I'll have a definite day to hope for, and more for that matter because I'll have the birth of my baby to look forward to as well. :) (although that's surrounded with mixed emotions because Will is most likely going to miss it and I can only hope that I have relatives in town when it happens because I'll be on my own). This only begins a long list of things that I am going to HAVE to learn to trust to the perfect planning and providence of God. It won't do me any good to fear or dread them, so I hope He can teach me to let Him take care of me, which might be difficult because I'm a planner. :)

With that in mind, I am so happy for the blessings He has already sent my way and for the providence He's given me, as I mentioned in my last post.

First, Will and I made a wonderful discovery upon our return to our Norfolk home in Ingleside ... new neighbors, great neighbors. They're a young, newlywed, Navy couple, without children, who love children, our children and who have offered to help me in any way they can. On top of that, the wife is an EMT and in training to be a nurse! (I've already asked her to drive me to the hospital if my family is not in town). :)

Second, I have a wonderful group of friends that I returned to at our church and in the area, here in Hampton Roads, including new friends who just moved here who have already been such a great help to us. It just so happens that our children were born within days of each other, we're both pregnant with our third (only a month apart) and I have the same birthday as the wife. I feel like we've been living parallel lives. :) Anyway, the husband has come over several days and nights to help Will fix up our home for me before he leaves, he's actually here right now. :) They have also offered help in any way I need it. I also have other wonderful friends who have watched the boys, or taken one to pre-school or picked them up so I could get to a doctors appointment or sign my will. :)

Third, I have found a wonderful girl to babysit for me a couple of times a week. She lives close and she loves kids and she's very good with mine. I'm so excited! On top of that, I have planned a schedule for family to visit every month or for me to go visit family. In fact, Will's Aunt is driving down from D.C. to help me fly to TX for Christmas with both our families and that is such a huge blessing!

Apart from the physical help of dealing with the boys and our lives day to day, I have a wealth of people praying for us and although I may place more emphasis on someone willing to watch my kids for a few hours, I know that the prayer is what will truly make the difference for us. So, I thank you ALL in advance for the prayers you send our way because they will be the prayers that sustain me when I'm mentally and emotionally overwhelmed ... they will be the prayers that find someone to help me when I need help ... and they will be the prayers that protect me, my children and my husband while we cannot be together.

I hope this beginning of a long list of blessings will be a brighter note during this interesting time for us and bless you as you remember that EVERY good gift comes from God.

spinning

2008-10-06T20:23:00.003-05:00

I wanted to blog tonight, for once, in a month, or almost 2, but I'm just too tired. I just don't have time to do justice to the wealth of emotions, thoughts, blah, that is running through my head right now - just 7 short days before Will deploys for 7 long months. I feel like I am on a new planet from anything I've experienced emotionally in a loooong time. Ok, maybe just 4 years, since his last deployment, but now I have 2 kids and another on the way. Oh yeah, I forgot to blog about that, surprise blog world- I'm 11 weeks pregnant!! :) due April 22, just a few weeks before Will returns. These parts of my life fill thoughts and words and posts beyond what I'm capable of enscribing here tonight, but I know that I will, and need to for my sanity, soon.

For those of you wondering what I need or what you can do (hopefully there are some of you) :)
- please pray for us whenever we come to mind
- please randomly call me to say hi for no reason at all, other than human contact. I hate being alone and I rarely get phone calls, probably b/c most of my friends are busy Moms whom I already run in to at church or on Facebook, but for those of you who have the time, or can make a moment to spare (even if I just saw you at church), I know I'd appreciate it. (ps. you don't have to ask how I'm doing, just talk about anything) :)
- please forgive my mood swings ... any sarcasm, defensiveness, ungratefulness, self-deprication, denial, avoidence, fakeness (the one I hate the most), are all likely to represent during the next 7 trying months of my life, so I ask for your grace ahead of time while I vent to blogland.
- if I manage to blog during this crazy, busy time, I would appreciate any comments, encouraging or critical (can you tell I crave human interaction?) :)
- come visit me! :) or get together, especially on the weekends (which will turn into just another work day for me)

Meanwhile, I will be praying constantly that Divine interaction would fill me until I thirst no more. While I'm extremely emotional about this, I'm also extremely hopeful and full of faith that God can make this time sweeter than I could have dreamed. I know He doesn't promise that I won't struggle or reach my hypothetical limit, but I believe that when I do, He will be there to help me in ways that only He can. I pray also that I SEE these ways and don't miss them and become bitter at God for letting me hurt so much. I hope that I can have perspective about how blessed I am, all the while allowing myself to deal with things that are still difficult for me now.

I have already seen His hand moving and preparing a way for me. I know there is more He hasn't even revealed yet and I am anxiously looking forward to sharing that here and experiencing it with my boys and my friends.

Lord, please see us through.

quick business :)

2008-08-26T14:03:00.002-05:00

Alicia (US-Dallas), :) please send me your e-mail address again. I've been thinking about you and wanting to e-mail, but I can't find your address anywhere! I'd love to catch up sometime. Thanks, Leigh

wow, it's been a month already!

2008-08-23T19:54:00.003-05:00

(dedicated to Christianne for faithfully checking my blog, Thanks!) :)

I'm not promising anything incredible, just a simple update ... maybe something incredible later ... maybe :)

It's been a looong month. Will was gone for 3 weeks and then got back sometime during the first week of August. His parents came to visit for 5 days; that was fun. Time is flying, we've been so busy doing I have no idea what ... a little house hunting (to no avail), a lot of down time, a lot of family time, a lot of Olympic watching time, a lot of spending time with friends, trying to fix up the house, figure out what we want fixed, figure out who is going to fix what and when and for how much.

I've been tired missing lots of sleep from staying up too late watching the Olympics and some nights going to bed really early, only to be awaken several times in the night by my cute, but needy two year old wanting anything from water, to his "Gi-Gi" bear, to being covered up again, the list could go on. :) I don't know why he started this, but I hope it ends soon. I can usually go right back to sleep after the first time, but 1/2 hour to an hour later and the second time ... sometimes keeps me up for an hour or two even though I'm dead tired. I think I just get really woken up that second time and it gets my brain going and thinking and actually writing blogs that I will never post b/c I can't remember them. I wish I had a brain recorder that could just know what I'm thinking so I could type it up later. :) I could talk into, but I would wake Will up, maybe not, he's such a sound sleeper, I'm jealous.

Anyway, Yay for my husband for finally finishing our laminate floor. No more nasty, old carpet :) Of course now it's hard and I can SEE everything on it, but at least it's more sanitary (I think). I'm proud of him for doing it himself though! :) It took him awhile b/c he kept having to leave on the ship and had been working looong hours.

I'm really looking forward to the kids starting pre-school and a little sports class at the Y in the fall. We'll do gymnastics after that. I'm already thinking about sports that will be good for Charley's energetic, yet focused nature. After seeing how Phelps had ADD and swimming helped him, it got me thinking. Well, Charley doesn't have ADD, but certainly the energy. He even said he wanted to be like Michael Phelps and practiced doing the backstroke on our bed, so cute! :) He also ate 3 eggs!! the other morning. I couldn't believe it. We'll see what he enjoys. It will be an interesting road, but fun I think. Oh yeah, Charley is officially a Lego maniac. :) Yay! :) Will and I both love Legos! :) We're starting the "keep your legos picked up" lessons early so hopefully I won't be stepping on them for the next 10 years.

Ben continues in his most adorable stage yet. "Mommy, I good boy." "Mommy, I obey." "I sweet boy." "I share Chachy!" He's so talkative and oh so cute. I almost wish he wouldn't grow anymore. From his cute little fingers and nose, to his size and movements and cute sayings...it keeps my heart overflowing daily.

I'm mostly enjoying Will being home for a longer stretch. He's even going to take some mandatory pre-deployment leave soon. We're going camping next weekend in the Shenendoah's and I think it will be gorgeous! I can't wait to let the boys run around and explore!

Oh yeah, my Mom got really sick with kidney stones recently ... it got so bad that her kidney was shutting down and she got sepsis (blood poisoning) and spent 5 days in ICU. But now she's out and doing so much better. She is attending our family reunion back in TX this weekend and I'm so sad we had to miss it. Anyway, thanks to all who prayed for her recovery.

Well, that's all for now. God's blessings abound even when I feel like I'm at the base of a huge mountain that I know I could never climb on my own ... His provisions for me during deployment are being revealed to me slowly, but surely and I am trying with all my, no, His might to continue to trust Him and lean on Him and even hope for a few miracles along the way (more on that later though). I'm trusting that deployment will not only be a fun, but a fruitful time for us all here at home. I'm not sure I even believe that it can happen now, but I believe that if I allow God to be in control, He can/will do it. Wow, I'm really trying to have that much faith. It's odd, I feel like I believe that God could move an actual, physical mountain, more than
I believe he can make deployment a happy time for me. ugh, well, He's not finished with me yet, there's hope, I'm still growing, and want to, and want to trust Him more. Thank you for all the prayers that are and will help me do that. I need it. We all need it at different time. Thanks for reading (and commenting). :) I hope to hug you soon and if I can't, I'm missing you. God bless.

precious moment #2,395,217,024

2008-07-23T19:38:00.004-05:00

putting the boys to bed tonight. i pray with each one and sing them a song. right now it's Kurt Kaiser's hymn "Oh, How He Loves You and Me". Ben wouldn't even let me sing to him until i remembered this song and tried it; now he asks for it every night.

so I sang and prayed with Ben. then went over to Charley ... prayed, started to sing, Charley started to sing with me, then Ben ... all to the very end ... oh what heaven.

it's moments like those that make all the tears worth it. that, and the fact that God loves them and they're precious, ok well there's that.

anyway, it was beautiful. thanks El Shaddai.

fun silly learning songs

2008-07-22T19:24:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to post this just because we enjoy them so much. The old 80's group They Might Be Giants (of "Istanbul" and "Birdhouse in Your Soul") finally had kids and decided to apply their zaniness to children's music. They've come up with a wonderful album called "Here Come t h e A,B,C's" and "Here Come the 1,2,3's" and there are songs on there about tons of the letters and numbers. They're great! We love them and the kids love them and learn with them. Some of our favorites are "Alphabet of Nations", "E Eats Everything", and "Seven". There are so many more, oh yeah, Charley likes "813 Mile Car Trip" who knows why. :) Many of them don't make a lot of sense, but are silly and repetitive which is a perfect combo for getting kids to learn. Anyway, visit You Tube to see some of the video's yourself, then decide. :) OH yeah, don't forget "Never Go To Work" which teaches the days of the week! :)

riddle (sort of)

2008-07-17T16:12:00.005-05:00

What does 2 hours at the Y, with the kids in Childwatch, with no energy to work out, remembering to bring your books with you and a newly renovated sitting area on the 6th floor get you? ... just for fun, pointless, poetry! :)

things we've been up to

2008-07-11T20:33:00.004-05:00

It feels like things have been in a whirlwind around here lately; time, has especially been flying. Where to begin . . .

About two weeks ago now, I led music for a ton of kids during a week of vacation Bible school at our church. We did the "Power Lab" Theme by Group Publishing, and it was a lot of fun. I'm sorry I'm going to miss dressing up like a pirate for the Veggie Pirate theme our church back in RI is doing, but it was still fun dressing up like a scientist and getting more experience. I definitely see this as a niche for me. The director wants me to do it every year, and even though I don't like to get stuck doing the same thing every time, just in case God has different plans, I can definitely see that I am needed and helpful in this area. I love music and I love large groups of kids (in small doses). :)

At the end of that week, Will took me to a Navy Surface Warfare Ball at the Norfolk downtown Marriott hotel. It was beautiful, and my second Navy event there. Will was sweet enough to let me get a new dress for the occasion and even wanted to go with me to pick it out. He loves dressing me up! :) Anyway, I ended up picking out a black, strapless, long Jessica McClintock dress. I wore huge chandelier earrings and gold, rhinestone studed shoes (from a previous dressy engagement). It was fun to get all dressed up. We ended up meeting some people at our table that were from Katy, TX, where we got married. It turns out that Will attended a Bible study in high school one summer with the dad of the lady we met. In fact, we found out later that her dad remembered Will. It's such a small world.

It's also always humbling to go to these events because you meet so many people who have sacrificed so much in service to our country ... so many deployments, losses, years of devotion and it makes me feel very insignificant in the big picture. I know Will is going to deploy later and we'll do our time (much shorter than many), but so far, it's been a much easier road for us than most.

Then, a few days later, Will's older brother, Robert, came to visit us for 10 days. He leaves tomorrow and has had a lot of time playing with his two nephews. I think he'll need a vacation from this vacation though since the boys kept him going so much!

Will has been very busy the last few weeks gearing up for a set of big inspections on his ship. He has had to learn a new ship and fix a lot of leftover mistakes in a very short time and I'm so proud of him and all the work he's been doing to help and really lead, the ship to pass it's inspections. He's really enjoying being back in the fleet again instead of in a classroom as he has been for so long. This is really an answer to prayer for me because I was really afraid he would not enjoy it because his last ship because so frustrating for him. When he's happy and productive at his job, the repercussions on our family are positive and that is a blessing and as many of you know, life in the military does not always provide the best work environment.

In other news, I'm starting to deal with working up for the deployment in emotional phases. I'll go through a depressed/fearful "I can't do this" phase, then a cool/collected "It'll be fine, we have a schedule ready" phase, and on to a very determined/conquering "Let's DO this" phase. I'm sure all of them (and there are probably more) are very natural and normal to go through, so I'm trying to take it in stride and weather each one as it comes. (see, I'm in the cool/collected phase right now) :) I'm also sure I'll add more as deployment comes ... such as the griping/complaining phase, the "I need to rip up/destroy something" phase (also known as the "maybe it's time to exercise and release some aggression" phase) followed by the "I REAAALLY miss my husband" phase (I hope you can read between the lines on that one because I'm not going to elaborate). Anyway, it's sure to be a roller coaster. Maybe now is the time to find a counselor to see once a week just to make sure I'm sane after October. Now is also the time to e-mail friends and family asking anyone to is interested to come visit and HELP me. What I really want is to hire a live in nanny to cook, clean and only watch the kids when I've had enough. It's odd, I'm not afraid of the alone time, I'm worried about all the time I'll have to spend with the kids. They are such a handful, and I've been thinking that it might be better to get a job for my sanity than to stay at home with them morning, noon and night. I need to be the best mom for them that I can be whatever the short term cost. If things get too overwhelming, I've just said I'll move to TX and rent a small furnished apartment for awhile near Will's parents so they can help. (shhhh they don't know yet) :) but I don't think it will come to that. I really do hope that once we settle into our pre-school, afternoon, evening, YMCA, and weekly babysitter routine, things can work.

Now to figure out small, healthy, kid friendly meals since I won't be cooking for Will for awhile. The kids are so picky and my favorite dinner food is cereal (even though it doesn't happen often) so between the three of us, I hope things don't break down to pizza and chicken nuggets every night. They won't even eat mac 'n' cheese, but one loves broccoli and both love corn. Weird. They also occasionally eat ham sandwiches with "salad" (that's lettuce). :) Time to break out the kids cookbook and make food look like smiley faces and animals. :) I would continue cooking "normal" meals in smaller quantities, but the kids so seldom eat dinner these days (no, they haven't had a snack beforehand) and they don't beg for food in the evenings either. I guess they're just filling up at lunch. Who knows. I do know that they're ready to eat in the morning. :) I'm sure it's just a phase, they'll start growing again soon and appetites will probably take off.

In other news, we're still trying to figure out what renovations we want to do to the house before October. My biggies are new bathrooms and new floors. Will wants to do an addition. I don't want to deal with it while he's gone so I think that will wait. Again, we'll see.

So much more to say ... this post is too long already, goodnight.

Chipotle Chicken Salad

2008-07-03T07:10:00.003-05:00

I don't usually post recipes, b/c I don't like to use them :) I like to "invent" in the kitchen and put together whatever sounds good based on what I have on hand. Since I had recently stocked up on just about every fruit and vegetable for the upcoming 4th of July and for a 10 day visit from Will's brother, I had a lot to choose from. This chicken salad came out really good last night and since it's filled with veggies and grilled chicken, it's pretty healthy too!

3 chicken breasts
1/3 red pepper
1 yellow squash
1 head of lettuce
2 tomatoes
1/2 can black beans (drained)
3 large button mushrooms
2 green onion stalks
1 lime

Season the chicken with Chipotle chicken rub and grill. (this can be done ahead of time and refrigerated) I pulled the chicken out of the fridge last night and chopped it up leaving it cold in the salad (which I prefer) but you can reheat it if you like. Most of the veggies I just eyeballed based on how much of it looked good in the salad. I just chopped them up and put them in. 1/2 a can of the beans looked good to me (well drained and dried off a little with a paper towel. I sliced the mushrooms thinly. Then I used only one slice of lime and squeezed it all over the salad. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make a special Chipotle salad dressing, so I used Ranch and Will put Balsalmic vineagar on his. Either way, it was pretty yummy.

The best thing is that there's no cheese (unless you decide that tastes better) and lots of veggies and the beans are so good for you and you don't even taste them! Next time I'll use lowfat Ranch or make my own.

Enjoy!

the poet/songwriter in me has been denied for too long

2008-06-22T17:07:00.014-05:00

in an effort to change this, I have posted another original poem. This one, I feel, is better than the last, but hopefully not the end of what I hope will be a longer, more frequent line of writing.

I am noticing, now for my entire life, that somewhere, almost without fail, around the ten o'clock hour, words, rhythms, and often music just enters my head and doesn't stop unless I ignore it, or organize it into a poem or a song.

I have chosen the route of ignoring it so often because of a lack of confidence or disbelief that what was happening was real somehow, but now (maybe that I'm almost 30 and it just took me that long) I am willing to finally embrace this vein of creativity as a part of who I've always been and, in fact, something that has happened to me since childhood. (maybe I'll be brave enough someday to post some of those early poems). :)

It will also be interesting to see how the subjects change as I approach the deployment phase and enter it. (oh the drama) but also, the outlet of relief.

If you choose to be subject to it and gently offer encouragement, suggestions, and ideas ... bless you, and enjoy.

Iraqi artists' find venue and voice

2008-06-03T19:47:00.016-05:00

Iraqi Artists

This is a cool CBS news segment about a former classmate of Will's, Chris Brownfield, from the Academy. He's doing some great things and Will got to visit him briefly in NY when his ship was up there for Fleet Week. Enjoy!

real life and the "D" word

2008-05-19T22:29:00.004-05:00

For awhile now, I've been looking into the future and wondering, waiting, willing it not to come ... the day when Will is finally attached to a ship again and begins the 18-36 months of random underway's for various lengths of time and a deployment thrown in there for 7 months at some point (hopefully only one).

I've wondered how life would change now that we have two boys in the mix, now that life is busier and more complicated, somehow. I've waited to find out how much time and effort Will is going to have to commit to being a department head, a much more demanding position than he's ever had, and how that will affect our family and what I will need to do to manage, support, and thrive through all of this.

For the last 2 1/2 years, I feel like we've been living in what I consider to be a "not-normal" life in the Navy: the wonderful Shore Tour, especially the "attending school shore tour". Life has been easy with Will around so much. We've had every evening, every weekend, every vacation and even many afternoons and days off depending on his schedule. It's been a great time. He hasn't missed our boys' young lives at all, up until now.

Today Will left on what I consider to be a medium length underway. (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say how long for security reasons, although when I find out if it's ok, I'll edit this post). :) He'll continue to have various times "out to sea" for training, and other things until they eventually deploy later this year.

Today, I feel like "real life" begins again for me. Real life being a physical single Mom for the better part of a year. I will still have the emotional support from e-mails and random phone calls, but I will not have much face time or physical help with the boys. Even when his ship is in port, they work ridiculously long hours and have duty days on top of that. Talk about major commitment to your job. :)

As during the last deployment, I look forward to what God has planned for us all through this. I feel like I have to search for some positive during this time in order to stay sane and to support the boys mentally, spiritually and emotionally while Will is so busy and gone. My biggest regret is how much THEY will miss him. They have grown to close to their father, their daddy, in the last couple of years and I know that they will feel that distance.

Herein lies another challenge of military life: making it work for the kids. We've already gotten season passes to the zoo, the botanical gardens, we plan on getting one for the YMCA and they are signed up for pre-school. I know all of these things won't replace Dad time, but I hope they will help the boys engage their minds and bodies in positive ways that will build them up instead of just sitting around missing Dad, and occasionally (hopefully not too often) being around mopey Mom who is drained and really misses Dad.

One benefit of going through deployment with kids is that I've heard it goes more quickly. It seems like it would be harder though since the kids are my entire responsibility, but then, I've haven't done it yet. I also feel fortunate because Will hasn't been on an IA (for a year) yet. His deployment will not be near that long, so in that, I feel blessed.

I will depend on my family (who will hopefully fly in for many visits), my local friends, and fellow military wives with wise (encouraging) words, and my Savior (who daily saves me from myself) to support me through this. Certainly, people in this area know how to do deployment (the other "D" word). :)

I am determined (my "D" word) to see our family through this next sea tour soundly. I feel like so much is resting and relying on my ability to be strong, stable, supportive, positive ... if I can only remember that to be all of these things doesn't depend on MY ability, it depends on God's.

He will never ever set a task before me that He won't equip me to handle. I will always semper paratus (be prepared) with Him, but not before the appropriate time. Whether it's mental or spiritual support from Scripture, or physical and emotional support from friends or family, I WILL be prepared. I can't do this alone. I will not just survive it, I WILL thrive, I must. I feel like simply surviving will be failing. Perhaps I judge myself and the situation too soon. The last deployment was a train wreck for me. I was miserable, it was horrible. I don't want to repeat that. Now I have children depending on me. We will see.

Now, real life begins ... could be worse I'm sure ... is hard enough as it is. I will take it ... this is where my path takes me ... to the mountains, and through the valleys, but I'm just lookin' for the meadow.

we made it!

2008-04-26T20:35:00.002-05:00

I'm borrowing a friends computer to post that we officially made it out of RI and into the wonderful state of VA!! We've already seen two family friends in D.C. and are staying with friends tonight in VA Beach. It was a loooong drive yesterday from RI to DC and pulling the trailer was a challenging, especially with some bad roads, but we're done and safe and sound and very very blessed. Will leaves tomorrow for RI again to move our stuff out and I'm staying with the boys up here. We're so exhausted. Thanks so much for all the prayers. We felt them and needed them. Time to rest, finally. night

one last packing post

2008-04-24T21:42:00.003-05:00

My husband is outside methodically packing the car (suburban) with engineering precision while my almost 4 year old son is trying to fall asleep in our room (his is too hot and he got a late nap 'cause I was gone to Will's graduation) so here I am blogging one last time before I don't see a computer for a week or more. :) I know I'll miss it, but I actually think it will be relaxing too. The kids are off their usual schedule because of this crazy week, but they sleep really well in the car so I'm hoping that naps will come easily tomorrow. They'll need it. So will we, but since we'll have to go to bed when they do in the hotel room tomorrow night, it will be our chance to catch up ... assuming they go to bed at a normal hour (8ish).

I'm also interested in how they'll do in sleeping bags on the floor of our mostly carpeted house in Norfolk. The bedrooms are hardwood and the living areas and eating area is carpeted. I think I want them to sleep on the carpet b/c it's softer, but then I can't close the door and "put them to bed" b/c it's all open. This also would mean that I can't stay up late although I'll be on an air mattress so I can be in the bedrooms. Maybe I'll just pad their bags with some blankets I'm bringing. I'm sure they'll be fine. Half the time Charley would rather sleep on the hard floor and has many times.

It will be interesting to see how we'll pass the time with only the things I packed in an empty house. My plan is to let them play outside in the dirt and water, a lot! I already packed bathing suits and sunscreen. I also plan on visiting a lot of friends and maybe finally getting a Y membership. I have no idea when our household goods will arrive. ugh. I hope we don't have to wait too long. To that end, I overpacked, just so we wouldn't have to fish necessities out of boxes once they do arrive.

Well, my wonderful hubby is done packing. I'm sure he did a great job and we have room for a few extra toys for the boys, maybe even a trike or two! The neighborhood we live in down there is great for walks. There's so much shade and the streets are wide and since the neighborhood is so secluded, the streets aren't that busy. I can't wait to be back. Plus we can see the water at different points throughout the neighborhood b/c it's on a peninsula. I hope the boys like their new home and new friends and new everything. I wonder when they'll understand we're not coming back to RI (for a long time). I hope they're ok with it all. I know they'll enjoy the adventure anyway.

Next stop, D.C., then onto warm, sunny Virginia!

Blessings!

Oh yeah, a big Happy 2nd Birthday to my youngest, Ben, this Sunday, April 27th!!! I can't believe he'll be two already! I was barely pregnant with him when we first moved to RI. :) Happy Birthday Ben!!

moving nap, I mean, update

2008-04-23T10:21:00.002-05:00

Hello all. Yes, we're still in the throws (and I do feel thrown) of moving. We keep staying up late to get things done: me, laundry; Will, car work.

We're trying to finish packing and weighing everything up today (Wednesday) b/c tomorrow (Thursday) I think almost every second of the day is planned already and there just won't be time. Charley will share Dad's Day at pre-school with Will, then Will graduates from SWOS, then we have a volleyball game that night and in between all of those things will be last minute packing, getting rid of trash and a few refrigerated items that won't survive a cooler, turning off our phone (Vonage) to use our rollover minutes up for awhile and hopefully save some $, loading the Mazda on the trailer and loading the sub, then weighing all of that so we can leave really early Friday morning.

Friday we're hopeing to beat the NY/CT traffic in the morning and the Baltimore/D.C. traffic in the afternoon, then we'll stop in Baltimore to assure U-Haul that we still have their working trailer (b/c it was a LOT cheaper to go from RI to Baltimore and then onto Norfolk, than straight through ugh), then will continue on to D.C. to visit Will's Aunt Donnette, and stay in Springfield for the night. (oh yeah, did I mention we'll have our German Shepherd, Gayla, with us?) :) fun times :) Good thing Red Roof is very pet friendly.

Saturday we'll visit our friends, the Burkman's (and their new baby) in Springfield, then leave around 9:30 to continue on to Norfolk where we'll unpack, drop off the trailer, then take the boys out to stay with friends in VA Beach (so grateful!!) so we can see a house back in Norfolk, then back out to VA Beach for dinner with the friends, then back to our empty house in Norfolk for the night.

Sunday, if we're still alive, we'll go to church to visit all of our old friends and hopefully have lunch with some of them afterwards. Then Will leaves via train overnight to go back to RI to do the house move out. He'll join again us hopefully Thursday night. Then he has to start a week long school that next Monday and somewhere in there, the Navy will arrive in VA with our household goods.

Will's parents arrive that week (the 8th) as well to help and stay for about a week, then my Mom is coming after that when Will is out on his ship in NY where I'm planning on visiting him for a few days. (this is late May).

SO, if I don't blog in awhile, this is what's going on and I hope you can all pray for us during this crazy time. Please pray for travel safety, health, logistical peace and security and for the sanity and happiness of all of us, especially the kids, and more that I'm sure I don't even know to ask for. (I'm sure the Lord will bring it to mind) :) Thank you so very much, in advance, for all your prayers.

We will dearly miss all of our good friends in the RI area, especially our neighbors and friends from 1st Pres. Thank you to all of those who supported us with words of encouragement and constant friendship during the difficult times we faced here and for seeing us through with your prayers. Thank you Sarah Circle for sending me off in prayer yesterday. I hope we are at least able to visit if the Navy doesn't send us back anytime soon. If not, well, there's always Facebook, e-mail, blogging, the phone and definitely the lost art of letter writing. :)

I look forward to reuniting with our friends in the Norfolk area and catching up with you all in turn. For those in nearby D.C., Annapolis and Pennsylvania, I really hope we can make a trip up soon to visit and catch up with you all. And last, my Texas family and friends, I must miss you for a little while longer. It doesn't look like a visit is in our near future. I'm still not sure what I'll do when Will is deployed, but right now I'm leaning towards keeping the kids in the familiar and in their schedule and routine vs. the disruption of a big trip. I'll have to decide as the time grows nearer. It might depend on if we're prego later this year or not. :) It's all in the Lord's hands and I pray He'll guide us.

Ok, that's about all the update I can manage at this point. Time to rest and keep packing. God Bless.

Nina Simone

2008-04-15T06:34:00.003-05:00

I just discovered the jazz singer, Nina Simone and am decidedly a fan. I love her songs, the tone color of her amazing rich voice and the variety and diversity of her songs and her voice. Some might recognize her from the movie The Thomas Crown Affair, or if you're older ... from the 60's. She sang the "Sinnerman" song when Thomas was putting the art back and stealing another painting at the end of the movie. Great scene! :) She also sings "Feeling Good" which was sung on American Idol recently (last year, I think). She was most famous from singing at rallies and things in the 60's, very powerful.

Anyway, I just bought her "Compact Jazz" album on I-tunes this morning, yay! :) If you want to her some of her songs just go to You-tube. One of my favorites is "Ne Me quitte pas" ("Don't Leave Me"). So moving. Enjoy!

Judah Ben Hur

2008-04-13T21:47:00.003-05:00

I'll miss you Charleton Heston. You had a gift Judah ben Hur, Moses, and so many more amazing characters that I'll always love. (hee hee, I think part of the reason I love the name Judah for Charley's middle name, besides it meaning "praise", is that Heston helped it represent an amazing man in Ben Hur.)

You are missed. You are appreciated. You are loved.

crazy days

2008-04-13T21:12:00.003-05:00

ok, just a quick blog to update you all on the craziness going on around here (which is mostly in our minds) :) So, most of you know, we're moving in 2 weeks! ahhh, crazy! We just got finished throwing a massive 2 year Ben Birthday/Going away party. 27 people in the house, crazy! :) It went really really well though and my prayers all week were answered: the rain held off until the last guest drove away, then it started, crazy! (well, not considering who I was praying to). So the kids were able to go outside for a bit.

I got creative (or anal, depending on your perspective) and made signs for the different rooms and places in our house where things would be happening so people would know where to go and what they could do. Signs included, "food" area, "crafts/toys" room, "smaller ones/nursing" room, "coats, shoes, purses" room, "bouncer" area, and last but not least "W.C./potty". :) We had kind friends who let us borrow a huge bouncer that actually fit in our basement and the kids loooved it, plus it really helped with kid/crowd control. I also borrowed a big, plastic, round, kids table that seated about 6 kids and put craft stuff on it for the kids who wanted to 'make things'. It was so cute to see them all sitting there with the little foam stickers, colored pencils, glue sticks and kid scissors. Plus, all the toys were in that room so the mess was contained to one location, yay! :) I still have to clean it up though :) I'm actually looking forward to it though, ugh, I know, it's weird. Then, just when I thought I was being overly detail-oriented (yeah, you know), it turned out that the nursing room (which is the boys small bedroom, complete with changing table), was used a number of times for nursing purposes and for sleeping babies!

I knew with that number of people, there had to be activities, but for the age group (0-5), and amount of space, organized activities were probably not a good idea. So they were able to spread out around the house doing different things, including outside and the flow went really well. The moms were able to relax and eat fruit and veggie and deli trays (yes, I'm in pre-move keep it easy and simple mode), while the dads ran the bouncer and kept watch outside and chatted as well. I thought it worked out well for all. (of course, I hope the people who read this blog and also attended agree) hi! :)

Of course, things got a little chaotic around cake time, but fortunately, come genius thought up a cupcake cake, where cupcakes are put close together and iced as if they were one big cake. This made it sooo easy to hand out cake quickly and easily to the anxious little kids below. It was a Thomas the Tank Engine party, so Ben got a bunch of Thomas stuff including a backpack and sleeping bag we plan on using for the move.

I asked everyone to bring a picture of their family for our memory books for the boys so we could look back and remember all our friends from RI. Of course, half of them are Navy so we won't see them here again, but maybe on the road somewhere else. It was so great to see all of our friends (after a looong winter of practical hibernation inside) and let the boys say hi again to all their babysitters, who were also invited. I made special gift bags for them to say thank you. I also had fun using foam stamps to stamp the kids gift bags. I got the little white bags from Michael's and the boys' bags had a frog on them and the girls' bags had a butterfly.

Well anyway, it was such a blessing that so many people could come out and celebrate with us and I hope they enjoyed it too. It seemed like everyone had a great time, especially with the diversity of the crowed, i.e. church friends, Navy friends, neighborhood friends etc. It's always interesting to me when not everyone knows each other. I love watching people dynamics and wondering who will enjoy talking to whom.

ok well, I'd better go to bed. Will and I worked on a new set of 'to dos' tonight and now that the party is over, I'm officially in move-mode. Tomorrow begins the preparation with the vehicles, cleaning, oil/fluid changes, tire balancing and rotation etc. Then, since next week is Spring Break, I plan on getting some babysitters to help with the kids so I can complete some last minute projects and stuff that's difficult to do with the boys around. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. I'm mostly praying that Will and I will be able to keep things low-stress and calm for the boys. They really pick up on big changes etc. and their attitudes show it and although I have a very positive attitude about moves in general, the fact is we have a lot to get done and moving is in general, a stressful thing, sooo, please pray that we handle it well and balance things well so they don't feel left out in the meantime and are still at ease by the time we get there. I know they have no concept of the fact that we won't be coming back here, but I'm hoping they'll be ok with that, especially once we re-introduce them to old friends and fun places and the warmer weather! :)

Good night, God Bless!

ps. will post pics soon (i hope)

missing YOU!

2008-04-07T06:46:00.005-05:00

This morning, I'm missing my home state of Texas ... Blue Bell ice cream, bluebonnets, warm weather, humidity, (not mosquitos) :), flowers in bloom in my Mom's backyard, the smell of all the flowers in bloom in my Mom's backyard, shorts, tank tops and sandals, neighborhood swimming pools, my Houston peeps (ok, well Texans in general), the awesome Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the wonderful Houston Rockets who just made the playoffs! :) I don't know when I'll be able to make it down there soon, but at least I know that our nearby Norfolk friends are anxiously waiting and praying for us. It's so nice to feel wanted and I can't wait to see them again and how big all their kids have grown in the 2.5 years since we left (well, 1.5 years since we visited)! :)

the forsythia are about to bloom!

2008-04-03T09:20:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited that spring has almost sprung up here in RI. Lord knows there are so many things I don't like about the NE, but I have yet to see a more beautiful springtime anywhere. (Maybe the looong, cold winter was worth it, naah) :) All of the bulbs are beginning to come up, crocus, daffodils, narcissus, hibiscus and so many more that I can't even name. Yes, I miss my TX azaleas, crepe myrtles, bluebonnets and wild flowers, but the tulips and other bulbed plants around are are exquisite! I'll try to take some pictures to capture it, but I think you'd just have to see it for your own eyes. There's a field up here where they keep dividing and replanting daffodil bulbs and it turns into a photo op for most families once they're all in bloom. We haven't done it yet, but this is our last chance while we live here and the boys are such a young, cute age so I'm going to try. Hopefully they'll all be in bloom before we leave in 3 weeks and what a send off we'll have as all of the flowers will seem to wish us well with they're beautiful, colorful blooms!

A beka

2008-03-27T10:34:00.002-05:00

Ok so of all my conservative friends out there, especially of the home schooling and private Christian school type, could I get some views on the A beka curriculum. A friend of mine is looking into sending her kids to a school that uses it and I am also considering some private elementary schools that use it in VA later on for my own kids. I grew up hearing it was very good, but didn't use it first hand. Anyone with closer ties, I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks.

Atonement was a really sad movie ...

2008-03-25T21:52:00.001-05:00

good, but sad :(

simple Easter and family update

2008-03-21T07:29:00.006-05:00

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I posted (minus earlier this morning). I feel like Will and I have been overwhelmed in thought and activities. Thoughts about our move, money and possibly buying another house in the Norfolk area, and activities such as volleyball, voice/piano lessons, church activities, school tests (for Will) and the general stress that accompanies all of this.

We're studying a book in our women's Bible study called "Calm My Anxious Heart" and while I don't think I feel anxious or worried about any of this, I do feel excited and I also feel the partial weight of a decision that will affect our future. Just to combat any potential for worry (and hopefully stress) I decided to finally set aside some time to specifically pray for awhile about all these decisions. I tend to take the "pray as you go" approach throughout my day since I rarely find myself with an hour or so of time (that I'm actually awake and lucid enough to think), but thankfully, this time (and God) found me a couple of days ago in the afternoon when everyone in the house was napping. I admit, my mind wandered some, but I managed to keep coming back to the "house/money" topic. This time, though, I tried to focus on the "praise" part of prayer because I feel like I too often assume the "Lord please help me with this and that" posture. So even though I wasn't praying about what I needed help with during the entirety of my prayer time, I felt that by trying to praise and glorify God (basically tell Him how awesome He is) I was communicating that because He's so great, I want to seek Him in everything and I want His guidance in every area of my life (hence, covering the house issue) :)

I didn't feel any major decisions were magically solved by this prayer time, however, I did have a peace of mind that at least I had sought God, and no, I don't think this one time absolves me of any others, I just felt that it helped me know and recenter myself with the knowledge that, "yes, I actually did pray to God about this, yes I am continually seeking Him in my prayers throughout the day, and yes, I can expect His direction and guidance and peace as we continue to walk in the path of these major decisions."

Anyway, other major news, we finally have a confirmed move date: April 26 & 27 (Ben's 2nd birthday) Will and I will drive the family down to Norfolk to live in the house we already own down there. Will will return to RI to finish his last week of school and move the household goods out when the movers arrive April 28-30. Then I will receive our stuff whenever they get down here, hopefully that Friday, so any VA friends reading this, please help me find babysitters for the boys or consider taking one for the day. :) Then, after Will finishes school that week, he will drive down and join us that Friday or Saturday, May 2, 3. He starts a 5-day school on May 5, then has a week off to help us get moved in. During this week, we'll work on the house and hopefully get it rental ready, as well as keep searching for another house. We'll only move some of our things in, but if we don't find a house we like, we'll just move everything in and look for something next year.

It's so relieving to finally have a date. For those of you who have kept up with the saga, we thought we were moving last year, but neither the orders nor an explanation ever came through. This time, we're really moving. Finally.

Because of all that has been going on, we will not be having the large Easter meal that we usually have, including lamb. We'll be going simple this year, although I'm still not sure what that will look like. I think all I hope to do is make it to church, have an Easter egg hunt with the boys, and most importantly, tell them about why we celebrate Easter, about Jesus dying on the cross to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and rising again to conquer death forever and bring us new life eternally with Him. I asked Will if we could have communion as a family, but he thought the boys were a little young for that. I mean, obviously they wouldn't get it, but I thought it might be special to start as a tradition that they would understand later. Maybe next year. :)

Well, may you all have a blessed and Happy Easter! He is Risen, He is Risen indeed! :)

Good Friday

2008-03-21T05:48:00.003-05:00

Blessings on this Good Friday. May we all feel the enormity of God's love for us on this day as we celebrate Christ's defeat of death by giving up His own life on the cross so that we could live with Him for eternity. Thank you Lord for providing a way for us in this, and in life everyday. Your mercies are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness!

some of my favorite Charley quotes

2008-03-08T07:20:00.005-05:00

Three of these are from this morning! :)

Mommy: "Do you hear the birds singing?"
C: "Yes, they're having a Thanksgiving party, they're playing some Thanksgiving games."

C: "Mommy I'm growing. My body is trying to push me up." :)

C: "Mommy are you so proud of me?"
Mommy: "Yes, Charley, I'm so proud of you."
C: "Do you love me so much?"
Mommy: "Yes, I love you so so so much."
C: "I love you so so so so so so so so so so much much much much much . . . that's a lot of muches"

C: "Mommy, I'm hiding my thoughts from you. " hmmm

Charley brought me a tower of legos he built this morning and asked, "Could you sell this for $40 bucks?"

ON sale Correction

2008-03-06T14:33:00.002-05:00

Ok, they do have some things on sale for 50% off, but after looking at my receipt, I realized I may have been mistaken about the double discount. I think it's just 50% off the original price, which for some things is still a pretty good deal, but for things like t-shirts, is still higher than I like to pay. :)

Anyway, if you decide to check it out, please let me know. Now I'm a little confused because there was definitely a 50% off sign near the clothes, and I thought it said 50% off clearance. Maybe it was mislabeled and I should have said something, or maybe I just read it wrong. Now I wish I could go back and look. Sorry for the confusion. Still, 50% off is a decent discount.

shout out to the lady who's bored in her cubicle

2008-03-06T13:53:00.003-05:00

HIII! :) I know you posted at 10:45 and that was a few hours ago so I hope your day has picked up by now, but if not (and assuming my blog is on your google reader, which maybe I shouldn't assume so maybe I'll shoot you an e-mail just to let you know this post is for you), here's something for you to read, albeit not very inspiring or interesting, but something. It's times like these that I'd get sucked into adding things to my Facebook profile. Oh the time I could spend. Anyway, only 4 more hours 'til quittin' time!! (yay)

ummm, here are some jokes I looked up just for you ....

"Well, congratulations to Barack Obama, the big winner of the Democratic caucus. Stunning victory. He got 57% of the youth vote, 35% of the female vote, and 100% of Iowa's black vote, a guy named Larry." --Jay Leno

"Obama and Hillary argued last night over which candidate the Republicans are most afraid of. Interesting. I don't want to take sides here, but I think it's pretty obvious which candidate Republicans are most afraid of, John McCain." --Jay Leno

Hillary's Deal With the Devil

Hillary was finishing up a day as Senator for New York when the Devil suddenly appeared in her office and made her an offer...

"I am here to offer you a deal," the Devil said. "I will give you unlimited wealth, even more power, and a media that will pander to your every whim. In return, all I ask for is your soul, the souls of every member of your family, and the souls of all your constituents."

Hillary pondered for a moment and then asked, "Unlimited wealth and power?"

"Absolutely unlimited," the Devil asserted.

"A pandering media?" she asked.

"They'll fall over themselves to support you, no matter what you say or do," the Devil assured.

"And you want my soul, my family's souls, and the souls of my constituents?" she asked.

"Yes. All of them," the Devil answered.

Hillary was deep in thought for a moment, then finally spoke:

"So...what's the catch?"

if you want more you can go to this website. Hope that brightened your day a little. :)
Blessings

ON sale

2008-03-06T13:04:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to let those mom's of young children out there, know that Old Navy is having a 50% off clearance SALE right now at the Newport store up here in RI. From talking to other moms in the past, I've learned that sometimes these sales are nationwide, so I just thought I'd mention it like I promised Dana I would when I saw it again.

For those of you who don't know, it's not 50% normal priced items and then put on the clearance rack, it's 50% off items already ON the clearance rack! This is the cheapest way I've found to buy decent clothes for future seasons for the kids. It's definitely cheaper than Wal-Mart and when you consider that they'll probably last longer, it's a steal.

Anyway, just wanted to pass that along in our network. :)

second "super" Tuesday

2008-03-05T21:41:00.004-05:00

this is my reluctant election post ... I admit, some of my election year excitement has faded considering my options; however, I vow that this will not diminish my general enthusiasm for one of the biggest competitions in the world and for the hope of winning, even if I'm not that excited about what I'm winning.

on a side note, I thought it was fun that TX (my home state) and RI (my temporary state of residence) both held their primaries on the same day, and both had the same outcome: Hillary and McCain.

I'm not depressed that Huckabee/McCain wasn't more of a contest, or that Hillary actually won something. I'm simply nearly uninterested because of the lack of a candidate to get excited about.

In fact, to be brutally honest (if you could imagine the picture that goes with what I'm about to say looks something like me shielding my eyes as I type, however that's done) I must be a Hillary fan for a short while and hope she clinches the Democratic nomination because I think McCain has an easier chance of beating her.

Yes, I do believe I'm falling into that camp.

Even with no decent Republican options, I find that I must still support McCain (even though he's an unbalanced moderate), not because he's a Republican, but because the Democrat options are so violently liberal, that I can't fathom supporting them.

Yes, I can support some of the general "ideas" that Obama has suggested, but his suggestions seem to lack the details that make me comfortable with how he would carry out his plans (yes, I've read his positions on the website) and knowing he's liberal, I can only wonder that they would include too much of a socialist bent. His lack of experience gives me concern that he would actually know how to protect our country not only with military force, but also economically. His position on certain moral issues makes me cringe and I don't want a president to decide to spend my taxpayer dollars on things (embryonic stem cell research is one, his support for abortion is another) that could involve killing more unborn babies. (besides, research and implementation has shown better results with adult stem cells).

But enough about him, how about Hillary. I certainly don't want her "village" taking over the public schools (not that I would let my children near if she were president). Her record is no better as far as abortion and other moral issues. One of the biggest things that concerns me about her, besides the fact that I believe she's completely two-faced, dishonest and basically a crook, is her lauded health care plan. It's similar to the one our Canadian neighbors loathe right now and it would be a nightmare. I actually spent a month and a half in Canada a few years ago and it's amazing how many people I heard complain about health care there, and I didn't even have to ask.

Anyway, even though McCain is not a conservative, I don't believe he'd do anything too radical too tick off his base (I hope) and I can only hope, as I've said before, that he would surround himself with a good cabinet and battalion of advisers that would help him make good decisions. Trust me, if he is elected come November, THESE are the people I'm going to be praying for. That, and a prayer that McCain would listen to them.

Whatever happens, I will "give to Caesar, what is Caesar's". I will try to respect our president no matter who that ends up being, and I will send my ardent prayers, to accompany my money, into D.C. in hopes that whomever is elected president will not hurt this country too much in their 4-8 years in office.

Hmm, it seems that whichever candidate we end up with could spark a prayer revolution because they're all scary enough to send us to our knees (where we should be for every president anyway). Maybe that's why we don't have better options this year. :) that's an interesting thought.

doc in training

2008-03-05T19:19:00.005-05:00

Tonight Charley and Ben enjoyed playing with a new kids doc kit. While we imagined various emergency scenarios and illnesses, I mentioned to Charley that he was a good doctor to which he very quickly replied, "I'm an excellent doctor!" nuff said.

good morning

2008-03-04T10:03:00.004-05:00

this morning, i got to break my early morning groggery by snuggling with my husband and watching my youngest son pretend to be a frog on our bed, complete with, "ribbit, ribbit" or his two year old version of it. so adorable. thank you Lord for moments like these.

little boy Ben

2008-03-02T22:00:00.002-05:00

he's at such a cute age right now. not quite 2, learning new words everyday, discovering his will, playing with his brother, deciding he has an opinion :) but one of the cutest things he's doing right now is answering "shoo" for "sure" as a yes answer to many things we ask him. it's soooooo stinkin' cute!

when he sees a picture of himself, he points to himself and says, "me!"

when the baby I watch is over at the house, he circles her saying, "hi baby, hi baby" over and over and over again getting really excited and then gently petting her on the head, ooh so cute

he dances and skips everywhere he goes and lately has started standing on one leg with the other extended behind him as if he's doing an ice skating move

he loves music and bobs his head or dances to anything even slightly rhythmic he hears

he gets confused when he's supposed to say "thank you" and says, "welcome" instead :)

he can't say his brother's name, but says the vowels so it comes out as "ah ee" for 'Charley' and I think he says, "min" for his own 'Benjamin' and of course 'please' comes out "pees" (with his "receiving hands" held out together in front) receiving hands are my way of trying to teach them not to grab at what they want, so they end of doing it when they're saying please for something

he think to give a kiss means to gently put your cheek up against another persons cheek

his sweet eyes and adorable smile melt my heart and make it very difficult for me to say 'no' to him, until he starts throwing a fit, then it's easy :)

he's still small enough to hold in a bundle, but he's getting so big, I find myself in denial that he's not my baby anymore and this makes me yearn for another one

even when he's sick, or in pain, or coughing his head off, he is able to find something to smile about, he's definitely a happy boy

besotted!

2008-02-26T21:48:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited to go see the new movie "The Other Boleyn Girl" this weekend! Once I saw the preview, I ran out to get the book and read all 661 pages as fast as I could, which ended up being 4 days! This is amazing for me because 1. I NEVER read novels, much less books in general. I don't have the attention span (I prefer shorter things like mags or poetry), or time and am constantly distracted by the boys and 2. I generally would just as well see the movie coming out, than take the trouble to read a book that's going to be different anyways. Both awful reasons, I know, but I think I turned over a new leaf with this book b/c I had just finished "Mirror, Mirror" before it and while I was buying "The Other Boleyn Girl" I bought a few others I was interested in as well, including "Atonement", which I also haven't seen yet. Ugh, I'm changing. :)

It's just so strange to me because I have never been in a book club, or really desired to be, other than the fun of being included, and really never understood what everyone was getting so excited about. Turns out, I just hadn't found a book that got me excited. :) Plus, (as awful as this is going to sound) I don't like using my imagination to create what the people in the books looked like or how they acted because I think my perception is going to be less than what the author had in mind or what a brilliant Hollywood team could create on film. (perfectionism, I know).

Anyway, now I see how fun it can be to see if your perception of the book is going to be anything like the movie, although I'm promising not to be disappointed like so many people get if it's very different b/c all perceptions are valid right? I'll let you know when I've seen the movie. :) Plus, I guess it's also fun to be pulled into another world going on at the same time as the present world you live in. It's fun to escape to that world and get involved in the lives of the characters. I guess I just need to look harder for books I'm really interested in.

All this time, I thought I didn't like to read books, I guess it turns out I was just picky. :)

tired and thankful

2008-02-25T22:18:00.003-05:00

what a loooong day .... I think it started over the weekend as one long day led to another and I never seemed to catch up on sleep. Then Sunday night after the exhaustion had built up and cumulated in one last hurrah at a friend's birthday party, we all came home and crashed. The boys were in bed by 7 and the adults were soon to follow by 8.

However, the promise of a long, good night's sleep soon faded when Ben started coughing again. It was waking him up in tears and he was crying for us. It was breaking my heart so I decided that he should sleep with me all night so I could prop him up in my arms. Of course, Charley was lonely by himself so he got permission to climb in bed on daddy's side. So we all finished the movie "No Reservations" at around 8:30 and went to bed. (cute movie by the way) I woke up at 10 and decided that since Ben hadn't been coughing, maybe he would do alright in his bed. So I took both boys back to their own beds. I'm not sure how much later it was, maybe 11, Ben woke up coughing and crying for us again. Ok, good night's sleep out the window. :) Sometime later, Charley woke up and realized he was all alone again (I'm not sure how, since it's really dark in their room, maybe he just remembered that he started out in our bed and wanted to come back, who knows) so he came back in around midnight. ugh, however, this is part of the reason we sprung for a King size bed and it was kind of fun.

The rest of the night was filled with Ben squirming, tossing and turning towards me and almost pushing me off the edge of the pillow and the bed. I didn't want to move him around too much when he did this b/c at least he wasn't coughing and at least he was getting some much needed sleep. But, I finally had to move him a few times just so I could get comfortable. My arms were so stiff and I was in and out of sleep the whole night. I remember my dream however, so I know I slept some.

This morning was difficult though and since I'm not a morning person anyway .... well, it wasn't pretty. I decided it was time that we go back to the Dr. Ben was tugging at his ears again (even though we had just finished our Amoxicillian for an ear infection (his first ever) a few days earlier) and his cough sounded awful. Charley had been coughing also and upon hearing all sorts of stories of illness and nebulizers etc at church the previous morning, I had heard enough and decided to act sooner than later. It's odd though, b/c they don't seem sick, just recovering, who knows.

Anyway, I'm posting this whole thing, just to say how grateful and thankful I am that God, in His providence, allowed me to get two back to back appointments with the same doctor for the boys, early this morning. Not only that, but it was during a time that Will just happened to have off between his own doctors appointments for general check-ups, so he was able to come over and help me with the boys (in one tiny room) while they were being seen.

The final verdict, Charley is fine and was prescribed Sudafed and Robitussin DM for congestion and coughing which I already had been, and will continue to administer on as "as needed" basis. Ben still has a yucky ear infection and was prescribed a stronger antibiotic to fight it. This might concern me if he had taken many antibiotics before, but since this is his first time to ever take one, I don't think there's a big chance of him developing an immunity to it, I just think that's how bad the infection is (even though we caught it pretty early). Plus, it's not like I have a choice, if you let things like ear infections go, it could affect their hearing permanently. Also,

Ben was prescribed Robitussin which I wouldn't have given him before b/c there are no cough syrups with dosages for kids under 2 anymore, but I got the correct dosage from the doc (1/2 t every 8 hours) and it doesn't have the ingredient, Dextramethorphin, which helps but is too strong for a child under 2. All of this, I wouldn't have known if I hadn't gone ahead and taken him in. And since the humidifier and juice w/ lemon weren't working as home remedies, I really needed something for the poor kid. I was about to try herbal stuff like echinacea and licorice and there's no herbal place around here (I don't think) and try to figure out how to get that into him to stop the cough, who knows if it would have worked or not, or how I was supposed to give it to him. (grind it up and put it in his juice I guess?).

Anyway, he's still coughing a little, but it doesn't sound as constant or as bad as last night, so I hope I'm in store for a good night's sleep, if I can finally get into bed. :) At least his lungs are clear so no nebulizers for us yet thankfully, and he's still laughing and playing and acting like his usual cheerful self. so cute!

poetry, finally

2008-02-24T07:18:00.004-05:00

Ok, I finally posted a new poem. I was on the way to a baby shower yesterday and while I drove through our newly come icy-land formerly known as RI, fun phrases and lines kept coming into my head. So I cautiously wrote them down and tried a little rhyming, a little alliteration, whatever I seemed to feel and called it a poem. It's not a masterpiece, but some just-for-fun phrases that I hope will get me started and working at developing things. As always, ideas and thoughts are always welcome. :) Thanks for reading.

Total eclipse of the moon

2008-02-20T21:31:00.003-05:00

Hey, it's not too late, go watch the lunar eclipse. It's about 2/3 done out here on the far East coast, but central time should be beginning ... soon, it almost has a hint of pink! So cool! The next time will be 2010. So pretty.

so cool

2008-02-13T20:42:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I got the chance to play volleyball with some officers at the Navy gym who get together every T/R. Random people show up each time ... this time, I ended up on a court with officers from Tunisia, Jordan, Uruguay, Ukraine, and France. THAT is amazing to me! To know that they come from such different countries and yet we can all be on one court, playing together. I mean, in some countries, they would never be playing sports with a woman, but we all had a great time cheering each other on and consoling each other when we failed. At one point in the game, the officer from Ukraine hugged the officer from Jordan. I never thought I'd see that random mix.

This base (Naval Station Newport) in general, and the Naval War College specifically, is such a neat place to be a part of. At Will's graduation last year, it was so cool to see all the different clothing and dresses from all over the world. The African headdresses were amazing and colorful, the middle eastern and far eastern dress was exotic and made with delicate fabrics that rippled as they walked, they all looked so unique and amazing. It almost made me laugh that I wear jeans and t-shirts on most days and even when I dress up, it's all cotton. :)

cool feelings

2008-02-11T20:54:00.001-05:00

I know this is going to sound like Jack Handy's "Deep Thoughts" on SNL ("the face of a child can say a lot ... especially the mouth part of the face" LOL) but if there are any H-town 104 KRBE listeners out there, hopefully they'll remember when Psycho Robbie did his morning "cool feelings" back in the 90's. They were a little more goofy and a little less serious than mine, but non the less these are some cool feelings from my day ...

... when ... I'm reading to my children while they're in my lap, and I can smell my husband's aftershave scent on the back their heads from when he was holding them and reading to them ... it reminds me that I have a husband who loves my children and spends time with them, that's a cool feeling.

... when ... I'm doing chores and I hear my son singing "Awesome God" to himself in the next room, that's a cool feeling.

more to come ...

some thoughts

2008-02-06T22:44:00.001-05:00

Many prayers go out tonight for one of my friends, and especially for her father who is fighting cancer. I wish I could be near her in person to just hug her. Please pray for them with me.

Along the same lines ... I randomly visited Beth Moore's blog and read responses to some tough questions she was asking as research for a project she's working on ... so many hurting people ... so many things happening ... to all of us, at different times. I could identify with some of them at different times in my life via struggles I have met and overcome and other issues I am still wading through. Typical of my personality, I wanted to make a list of all of them and sort them by 1. issues I deal with rarely 2. issues I deal with every so often 3. issues I deal with daily. I wanted to make myself aware of them, that they exist or have existed, and then begin trying to purposefully work on some of them beginning with releasing any fear or self doubt and finding strength in Christ to help me deal with these things. just a thought.

And on what seems like the other side of the world ... here's a story in my children's very young life that I want to remember later on ... sometimes when Charley is thinking about doing or has done something mischievous, but funny, like finding a creative way to disobey that doesn't really break the rules, but that he knows is still wrong ... I'll be smiling at him while putting him in time out or telling him to stop, and he'll look at me with a smile and say, "Mommy do you love me?" and I always say, "Yes, Charley, I love you so much." It's like a script every time. Then he runs over and gives me a big hug and a kiss. aaaahhh and he only asks this when he's doing something wrong. Sometimes his questions is also followed by, "even though I'm being a bad boy?" I love that he is establishing the understanding now for the kind of unconditional love I have for him, and am trying to explain that God has for him. My answer to him when discussing why God still loves him is along the lines of "because He made you and you're special to Him." Other times it gets into Jesus dying for his sins. I wish I could get inside of his head to know what he thinks or understands about this concept, but I can't and have no idea since I know he can't understand yet. However, he loves the Easter story and I know that it will click someday.

Oh that we would always accept that we are loved by God unconditionally, even when we aren't able to love each other that way at all times ... even when we feel ugly, stupid, sinful, failing and so many other things that would keep us far from God. But in truth, we're white as snow as children of God. God's children are innocent in His eyes because of Jesus' sacrifice for us. Praise be to a God that would lovingly pay our way and long for us to be near Him.

go to the polls ...

2008-02-05T13:33:00.000-05:00

Today is Super Tuesday!! ooh so exciting. Why don't they call it Terrific Tuesday? I'm not quite sure why, b/c I'm not particularly interested in one candidate over another. I think I'm more excited about the process and what it's leading up to ... election day.

That's the day I pull out my map of the U.S. and color in the states red and blue as the results come in. (which I'd be happy to post a copy of in a PDF version for your kids to use on election night and learn something). It's my own version of the Super Bowl, but a little slower. Seriously, I make a white cake with a fruit flag on top (red strawberries with white icing are the stripes and blueberries are the well blue part) and have chips and dip, the whole nine yards.

Even though I know that our election process (and governmental rule) isn't perfect (i.e. the DNC deciding not to hold primaries in Michigan simply b/c the state moved up their primary date and ticked off the DNC ; therefore, citizens of that state don't get a say in the Democratic nominee) ... despite that, I still am excited to live in a Representative Republic where we can pretty much say and do whatever we want (unless we're on government owned property in which case we dare not mention the Christian God). Honestly though, it seems like almost anything is up for grabs for those who choose to get involved and change it. I guess that's why I sometimes get tired of Christians complaining about the unfairness of this or that when they haven't written a single letter to their representative, or run for school counsel. I know I know, there are too many sides to discuss and too little space and time, and I'm done now. But if you can, GO VOTE! :) (then tell me who you voted for and why so I can decide for myself amongst our dismal choices this year.)

So I've narrowed it down a little to three possibilities:

McCain: who temperament scares me, but who I hope can be balanced out and kept in check by a sturdy Congress, VP or cabinet.

Obama: who liberalism and lack of moral backbone scares me, but who I believe might be able to change things (even if they're for the worse) to get this country thinking outside the box a little more, and here's hoping he'd only serve one term. I'm glad he doesn't have a lot of experience, I think that will help and it might get him to investigate things a lot more than someone who thinks they already know it all. I don't know if this might come up if he were president, but it really bothers me that he is in favor of late term abortion. (abortion at all, but late term? (meaning up until the baby comes out) especially when so many are born perfectly fine so much earlier. it's disgusting to me that a perfectly viable, healthy baby doesn't have rights in his book simply because it's temporarily living in a uterus. mother's rights? it's a privilege to carry a child, not a matter of rights. sorry, sidebar, I'm done)

Huckabee: I really like his ideas, but he just doesn't seem very "presidential". He was governor of Arkansas though so he's got credentials. I also don't like the label he has of being the "Southern Baptist Preacher" candidate. I don't know if he gave himself that label or if it was given to him, but that, to me, is not a platform. He won't be running a church or shepherding a flock, he'll be presiding over a country and dealing with other countries. I'm sure many comparisons can be made between being a pastor and a president, but he just doesn't strike me as tough Washington material. However, he's still on the ballot for me. He strikes me as the Republican version of Obama in the sense that he has some pretty radical ideas for change and little experience. That could be completely off. I've missed the last couple of debates. I need to hear more. We'll see.

Please feel free to post your opinions and thoughts. I'm not looking for a political debate, just ideas, concerns, etc. Thanks!

That reminds me, I need to let TX know where to send my ballot in November since I probably won't be in my district on election day.

"See, God?"

2008-02-04T08:13:00.000-05:00

Sorry to all our faithful Patriot neighbors today :( What a crazy game!

I'm sick again, (as of last night) this time it's a head cold instead of chest. hmmm time to go to the doctor? not sure, since it's not a bacterial infection, just a virus he can't treat anyway. we'll see. Bad news is that Charley finally got a little cold too. He's on occasional Tylonol and Sudafed so he can breath and so it doesn't get worse and turn into a nasal infection. He's been getting gradually stuffier for the last week. It's weird how his symptoms are never as bad as mine and he doesn't act like he's miserable at all. Maybe his body fights things differently or something. Ben had a little runny nose but is still in the clear as far as a cold.

Charley was praying for dinner last night ... "God would you help the blister on my leg feel better? because I have a a blister, see?" and he proceeded to pull up his pants leg to show God. Too cute. I love how close he imagines God is to him. I really don't know what or who he thinks God is, but he at least thinks that God can see and hear him. We talk regularly about the idea that if Charley ever has a problem or is afraid, the first thing he should do is pray to God to ask for help so it's fun to see him actually trying to do this.

completely random

2008-01-30T22:19:00.000-05:00

Super Tuesday is almost here... are you excited?!! The field is being narrowed, decision time is coming.

Hilarious, Night Rider is coming back! The next thing you know, the Smurfs will be on!

The Hunt for Red October is such a cool movie!

I'm still hoarse & flemmy from a week ago ... this has to end! I'm almost out of Mucinex.

Now we might move in April. Tune in next week, it could be March! :) Praise the Lord! He's in control! He knows my steps before they're taken.

new year, new name, new blog, new un-resolution

2008-01-30T14:48:00.000-05:00

Surprise! :) I really didn't plan on changing everything, but when I was revising my poetry blog name, this new name for my main blog just hit me. My name, Leigh, actually means "from the meadow" and so I thought it would have more meaning and be fun. Plus, I really like the verse I found to go with it and I think it really fits since we're raising little ones.

Will is planning on helping me edit the picture, but it's from the Smokey Mountain National Part in TN where Will and I went after he got back from deployment in June of 2003. We celebrated our second anniversary there and just a few months later, I was pregnant with Charley. The meadow in the picture is at Cade's Cove. (and I have a cousin named Cade!)

Now if I could only finalize the poetry blog and get brave enough to post something I've actually written, gulp. :) It's still fun to have it there and hopefully it will encourage me to write more.

As for the new un-resolution . . . since I have been married, it has been a struggle for me to plan and make meals. Other things I get easily but this, for me, is hard. It's not something I really enjoy; I'm more of a baker. Cookies, pastries, especially pies, that's my favorite, but other than some of the prep work of cooking, it's not something I get excited about. This could be b/c I'm fighting to cook while I watch the kids and keep the house picked up right before Will gets home and a plethora of other things combined with the fact that I'm not too good at planning ahead in this area. However, Will has communicated that this is something that's important to him, no surprise there, but it's also something that we understood before we got married as being my role. It's something I've fallen short on for years and struggled with (even trying a few different methods to help, but with no success).

However, I think I just needed practice and determination to overcome this one. This year, for the first time, I have had meals planned out every week!!! (wave the flags, blow the horns, this is huge for me!) I've had all of the ingredients (with only a few misses I think) and had everything ready to go every week since the year started. The only reason some of the meals haven't materialized were because of illness, or last minute changes to our schedule, but not b/c of my unpreparedness (Yay, finally!). I even grabbed a small dry erase board to leave in the kitchen with the meals for the week on it. I NEVER thought I'd do this. Will and I have "struggled" with this for awhile and my constant answer was, "I'm not like your mother and you can't expect me to do things like her." While this may be true, I also want to serve my husband, and if having a weekly meal plan (something he's used to) can help relax and help him for some reason, even if I don't understand it, it's a small thing to do.

The funny part for me is that I didn't make any new year's resolution to do this, it just sort of happened until one day I realized I had been doing it and succeeding. I even mentioned it to Will and he hadn't noticed, but thought it was great! (I'm sure it was because he's been so at ease now that he knows the meals every week) LOL :) just kidding hubby, I love you!! :) Anyway, I'm glad it's working and I plan to try and continue to get this right for forever :) or until he decides to start cooking. Although, he did say he wanted to be a stay-at-home dad and let me support him with a singing career. Umm, let's just say I don't think that going to happen anytime soon, even though I do hope to get involved in the Norfolk Opera when/if we move back there. I'll keep ya posted! Anyway, until then, it's happy cooking for me (and baking!).

Happy Birthday in Christ!

2008-01-28T13:22:00.000-05:00

A few days ago on January 25, but in the year 1984 at 8 PM, I prayed and asked Jesus to come into my heart. I was 6 and it was one of those special amazing moments that I will always remember. I know that not everyone has an actual date or time that they remember giving their lives to Christ, and I don't really think it's of paramount importance, but I am glad that it was part of God's plan that this is how it happened for me. It's helped me when I've had doubts and it's also been an important part of my witness to others.

In high school when students of other religions accused me of having been basically forced to become a Christian, I was able to tell them my testimony ... which in short is that I had been asking my parents for months if I could ask Jesus into my heart. And before that, when I was too young to understand, I used to ask Him into my heart every night when my Mom was putting me to bed, then I would run excitedly into the living room to tell my Dad, "Daddy, Daddy, I asked Jesus into my heart!" This was usually greeted with something like, "that's great honey, now go to bed," and I was a little confused why everyone wasn't as excited as me. But later, because my parents were concerned that I didn't understand, they asked me to wait to make an "official" profession of faith at church so that they could talk it over with me and make sure I understood what I was doing. They also wanted to make sure I wasn't doing it b/c my best friend was doing it. :) (so only God knows when I really understood!) However, the fact that they asked me to wait has always helped me know that what I did was of my own choice and since they talked it over with me, I feel that I really DID understand what I was doing.

Anyway, ever since then, I've always used this day as a day of remembering when I first asked Christ to come into my life. I know I didn't understand the whole "Lord of my life" thing at the time, but I did understand that I needed to be forgiven and the Bible says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart, that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10: 9, 10.

Since that time, God has continued to change me ... sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but always steadily and surely, and even though I don't have as dramatic or powerful a testimony as some people, I am grateful that I knew Him at such a young age. I'm not sure my elementary teachers were, b/c I used to tell Bible stories incessantly in class and I tried to witness to my friends a lot. :) Well, I was an evangelical Southern Baptist, right? No, at that age, all I understood was that I was excited about Jesus, even zealous and wanted EVERYONE to know about Him. It makes me cry to think of that innocent love for Christ, but I still remember it and pray that God would help me to be more like that at times.

It's been 24 years since that night and I know that little excited child is still bursting inside of me, but I think I try to hold her in more now so that I won't be too embarrassed. It's been a life's struggle to know what to say and when since I'm usually not very poignant. I think I'd even scare some of my friends with this, but if I acted on how I felt most of the time, I'd be hugging random strangers all the time, talking incessantly to people about Jesus and probably more acts of random kindness that would make people uncomfortable. Not that those things are bad, but they scare people and get annoying really quickly. I discovered this as a kid over time. :) Well, I guess that's a cue for me to pray that the Holy Spirit would tell me when to speak and how to act in constructive ways that would honor Christ and spread the Gospel in positive ways.

I DO know that even though I temper myself, I AM trying giving my kids part of myself in that I'm teaching them to be warm and friendly to people and to try to help and love them because God loves them. This is a message the boys hear a lot and I hope one day I will be able to see the joy that I feel for Christ in their eyes as well, even if they express it differently from me.

As growth is ever a process, I pray that I would continue to grow into the way that God meant for me to be on this earth until I meet Him in Heaven. Amen.

2008-01-26T08:22:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted ... things were running through my head all week that I wanted to post, but I never got around to it.

One of this weeks big news items is that I started watching a 6 week old for about 5 hours, 4 days a week (so about 20 hours a week). It's so fun to have a baby around again and is giving me baby fever! I thought it would help me want to put it off, but no. She's adorable and the boys LOVE her! She's quickly adapted to taking a bottle from me and to the new faces and sleeping in a pack'n'play. Charley gives her the most gentle kisses and says, "it's ok sweetheart," when she cries, and Ben says, "hi, hi, hi," over and over to her, it's so cute!! My biggest relief is the boys are being absolutely amazing with her. They're so gentle and caring. They want to hold her and give her toys and even feed her, although that doesn't go so well. When she's in the swing, I have to make sure they don't swing her hard, they can get wound up and carried away at times, but usually they're great, even running to get things for me to give the baby. It made me think how much easier a third will be. I'm also glad that the boys are a little older and can enjoy having her around instead of feeling robbed for time by her.

On OUR baby front, it looks like we're going to have to wait a little while b/c of the ship Will is assigned to. To make a long story short, we both agree that it wouldn't be a good idea for me to have a baby right after he leaves for 6 months. We're going to try to time it for a pregnancy while he's gone. Although, if God decides that's not the plan, I'd be perfectly happy with that (hint hint). :)

Also, Will got orders to a different ship in Norfolk with a job he's more interested in; however, his detailers are still trying to get him the Ops job (Operations officer) he'd prefer, so things may still change. The good thing is that they probably won't take us out of Norfolk b/c it's cheaper for them to move us there than anywhere else and b/c there are more ships there to choose from for jobs, so these new orders still don't feel final. I'm fine with that, but I just wish I at least knew for certain which city we were going to end up in. I think it will be Norfolk, but I hesitate to celebrate yet in case it changes. More evidence that I need to remember the verses in the Bible about not planning too far ahead and remembering that God has everything planned already. :)

I'm feeling better too, that's nice. I think I've finally coughed up the gallons of mucus in my lungs and can almost sing again. I tried choir practice on Wednesday and did fine for a little while, then just started coughing again and getting flushed and had to leave, ugh. At least the boys stayed well.

Will and Charley are taking a road trip today to Danbury, CT to get some parts for the Mazda. Charley talks about fixing the Mazda a lot and since Will found a cherry picker to lift the engine out in order to work on it, we can start buying the parts we need. Will is so excited and giddy when he finds time to work on it and it's turned into a fun hobby for him. Will and I had our first official date in that car and I look forward to the day when Charley and Ben are zipping around in it! :)

Anyway, that's a brief update on us!

droopy day

2008-01-18T08:12:00.001-05:00

This morning, I feel like that character, Droopy, from Looney Tunes. I caught a cold earlier this week and instead of recovering pretty quickly, like I usually do, it's been getting worse. It started in my throat and chest, which is weired b/c I usually get a head cold first and then it goes into my lungs.

Anyway, I'm just tired and keep coughing and can't breath very well. The kids are being pretty good, just energetic as usual. I just want to curl up in bed and sleep instead of keep up with them. At least Will is coming home early after a big test he has this morning. They're watching VeggieTales right now for a short break, then Ben goes down for a nap and hopefully Charley will play quietly for awhile, or some snuggle with me. :)

He came in this morning and told me that he prayed to God for me to feel better. I thought that was so sweet. He spent the next 1/2 hour looking for different things to pray for ... Daddy's big test, more snow, when the zoo opened, etc. :) I love hearing this, even if he doesn't completely understand. It gets really interesting when he tells me what God tells him back. For instance, he said God told him that the zoo was going to open in 5 minutes, and that God said yes to more snow. So cute. We'll talk about listening and meditating on God later, but for now, I'm just glad that he's developing such an open dialog and hopefully feeling like God is always near and can always hear him ... such a precious fragile time ...

I love being reminded how I can come to God like a child by my own children ... with a hopeful, "eyes wide open" spirit, with complete faith, and mystery. It's even better combined with my own adult faith and the experiences I've had so far and all the ways God has shown me that He's alive and active around me, but also forcing me to grow up with the struggles that He allows me to face, and the patience He has for me when I slowly face and recover from them, and the blessings that He gives me during the trials like a supportive and loving husband, extended family, and far off friends that pray for me even though we haven't seen each other in years. too many blessings to count ... helps me remember that with a God like this, I needn't fear moving to a strange new place b/c it's more of a fact that God will provide for us, than faith simply b/c He's promised to and b/c He's proved it in the past.

the roller coaster goes up, the roller coaster goes down ... weeeee

2008-01-17T10:21:00.000-05:00

... and so the roller coaster that is our possible move location, time, date, etc. begins again. We went through this last summer when we thought we were going to D.C. and nothing ever happened. Now we know for sure we're leaving, but don't know where. :)

Roller coasters are exciting and fun, but scary at times. So far, the exciting part is wondering what job Will is going to end up with and trying to imagine my life in whatever random place it is. The scary part is knowing that if we don't end up in Norfolk, I will miss my friends there very much.

Mostly, I try to imagine all the positives of a "new" place we haven't lived before. I love exploring, finding a church, meeting new people, finding fun places, parks, special things about that place. It's a good thing I like this part b/c I pretty much have to if the move is going to be a success, not only for my attitude, but in an effort to teach the boys to enjoy new things since this will probably be the first of many moves in their Navy lives.

One good thing is that Charley has been asking to move into a new house for awhile now. I have no idea why b/c we really hadn't started talking about moving yet. He said something about a tree dying at this house, I'm not sure what he's talking about. BUT, I'll take it and run. We started talking about moving after that and he's ready, although when we actually move, I wonder how he'll feel. He has such an adventurous spirit, I think he'll be fine. Ben is too young to understand things, but with Charley around to play with him, I think he'll do well too.

Another part of our roller coaster is finding out which ship Will will be attached to and WHERE that ship happens to be in its deployment schedule. We had a possible San Diego option pop up yesterday with a great job that Will would love. The ship deploys in June - Dec. so I would need to prepare for that happening right away almost! Wow, that will be a lot to deal with ... moving to a new area and hubby taking off. I have a plan though and I know God will give us the grace we need, and hopefully the support as well. We had plenty of support in Norfolk, it's been harder to come by here in New England, but hopefully in a new place, with new and different needs, we'll find our way. God has always given us what we've needed when we needed it. For instance, Will has been home a lot here in RI and life has been a lot more relaxed than it will be on a ship, so we haven't been "in need" as much here. This might not make sense to non-military people, but I think military families will know what I'm talking about.

One final loopty loop that could be a part of our ride this year is the possibility of baby #3. We want to start trying soon and as always, we're praying for God's timing and blessing.

So please keep us in your prayers throughout this year. If we randomly come to mind, take it as a sign that maybe God wants you to send a prayer or two our way. And as always, we'll always be in touch here in the blogosphere. :)

Election Year

2008-01-16T10:44:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, I love politics. I follow from a distance since I'm a novice, but just the same, the competition for president and even some gubernatorial and congressional elections thrill me! It's probably because I love games and am so competitive by nature. Some years it's also because I don't like the president or want to see a change, but I'm since I'm not too passionate about politics, it's usually not that, unless I'm really fired up about a particular issue.

If I don't like a candidate, I try to remember that God has appointed the people who lead us and He is ultimately in charge even if it's someone dangerous. That being said, I know that a lot needs to change in D.C., in general, but since the field of candidates slim pickin's this year (in my humble opinion) I haven't decided who I want to vote for.

This is usually NOT me. I usually have my mind made up before everyone has even thrown in their hat, but not this year. There's just no one that I completely agree with on every issue (like that's possible) but more than that, one who encompasses the moral, fiscal, and constitutional conservatism that I desire. However, since the probability of the next president appointing a supreme court judge, I feel that I don't have to be as concerned with the next president's moral aptitude. I think as long as I focus on getting morally conservative congressmen elected, they'll have more control over the moral side of things that I care about.

The argument could be made though, that if a president has a poor moral character, this will ultimately affect how they run the country, but I believe that God doesn't necessarily insist that we elect Bible believing Christians to run the country every four years (Lord knows they are NOT always the best leaders), but instead to elect the person who will run the country justly, and best for our circumstances, with the Lords guidance, always! I can't encompass all the important criteria here in this short blog so before you start throwing things at the screen and stop reading my blog, try to read this in a broad sense, not as the absolute reasoning for electing a president.

This leaves me to concern myself with the candidates fiscal and constitutional conservatism. As of now, I will state my position: (gulp)

I like Guliani for his fiscal conservatism and for the leadership he showed in NY and plethora of positive changes he made there. However, I disagree with his position on immigration (too soft) and I feel iffy on a couple of other ideas he has, but feel that he is strong enough to get some good things done in D.C. and not be pushed around by the "thinkers" in charge there. Lobbyists . . I hope not, but maybe, who knows. I also don't like his position on abortion and personal history of cheating on his wives and not being in good standing with his own children. However, as I said before, I'm more likely to ignore some of the candidates moral positions b/c I don't think they will be able to affect the country as a whole in the next few years by a judicial appointee.

I would like McCain, but I think his service and time spent in Vietnam cost him a lot that would hinder him being a good president (I don't want to go into these things b/c he deserves our honor, but if you want to know, you can e-mail me).

I don't really care for Romney or Thompson. I don't feel like they understand what really needs to happen in Washington and prefer things just stay status quo. I like Duncan Hunter, and his strong immigration policy, but I don't like his energy policy. I think he might be too radical a conservative to unite behind and again would leave too much alone. This could be b/c I haven't heard enough from him b/c of his lack of press time.

Umm, who's last, oh yeah, Huckabee. I like his "flat tax" idea and think it would encourage saving and a more responsible use of money in Americans. I also think it would keep certain people from being able to avoid loopholes in paying taxes etc. by hiding money. You're only taxed on what you spend and don't pay taxes up front on what you earn. I also like some of his other policies that I can't remember right now, but my concern with him is that his lack of experience in D.C. would keep him from making good appointments and controlling lobbyists. He just seems so nice and soft and Washington is such a hard place. I could be wrong on this though, we'll see.

So there it is. I totally haven't made up my mind. I even ventured to the dark side for a bit to consider EVERY possibility even using Obama to stir things up for a few years and make some good changes and develop bipartisan work (since he hasn't been around long enough to make too many enemies), then elect a conservative to keep the good changes and throw out the bad ones. However, since he's a Democrat, I think that in the end, most of the changes he'd want to make would be too socialist for me such as not enough accountability and higher taxes etc. I also liked some of Edwards' ideas, but haven't studied him enough yet. Also, the fact that he's been characterized as earing his millions as an ambulance chaser and being a scuzzy lawyer concerns me, but it may just be character smearing, I'll need to look into that.

Obviously, I have a lot more studying to do, but in the mean time, I've been asking the opinions of everyone I talk to who's willing to share just to get more points of view and more ideas. So if you're willing, please post your thoughts and ideas and opinions. Maybe you could help me make up my mind! :) Thanks and happy voting!!

Christmas catch-up

2008-01-15T16:56:00.000-05:00

I realized I hadn't posted anything from how our Christmas went this year. Charley woke up at 4 am for some little reason like having to go to the bathroom or something, but Will didn't realize that it wasn't time to get up so he went ahead and mentioned going in to see if Santa brought anything
(I never thought I'd do it, but yes, we went ahead and let our kids enjoy "Santa" for a few years) :) I think the kids weren't the only ones excited about opening presents, but anyway, once I told Will it was 4 in the morning, we had to try to keep Charley from opening the presents. So Will went in and slept with Charley on the couch until we all woke up around 6. How sweet, I should have gotten a picture.

Anyway, the kids had a wonderful time opening presents and we had a great time watching. They each got slippers and new pjs which I think will be a family tradition. Ben wore his Thomas the Tank Engine pjs and slippers and Charley wore his Incredibles pjs and Cars slippers the entire day!! Not exactly Christmas attire, but it was a relaxed family Christmas, we just wanted it to be easy and fun, and it was.

Now for the food ... above is a picture of me and the boys at the table with my Christmas brunch of Quiche Lorraine, fruit salad with a special fruit salad dressing (I'll have to post the recipe, it's so yummy) and a blended orange juice, cream, ice drink. So yummy! Christmas dinner went great as well. The roast came out juicy and great. I ended up not making the potatoes since there was already so much food and only 4 of us. My scheduling and planning worked great, but since it was just us for Christmas, we didn't realize that that meant a little extra work on our part as far as watching the kids, and cleaning up. Even so, it was fun!

We also went next door to our elderly neighbor's house to say hi to their family. They love our kids and our impromptu visits and they had gotten the boys a couple of presents. It was a little funny to be over there while their family was there opening presents too, but they're all very nice and they all know us by now .

Will got me a beautiful Ann Taylor red puffer vest with a faux fur hood (I need to post a pic of it) and I got him some books, and cuff links. We were so worn out by the end of the day, but I have to say a nice pecan pie made everything much better! :)

poetry blog finally

2008-01-11T08:55:00.000-05:00

I finally made the poetry blog, but it's a rough start for now. Posie de Poesie At least I have a place to start posting (yikes!) :) Check it out and post some poetry of your own!

one New Year's resolution

2008-01-08T19:13:00.000-05:00

add more laugh lines to my face :) Happy New Year!

Christmas menu

2007-12-24T12:44:00.000-05:00

Here's the menu I have planned for tomorrow:

Brunch: Quiche Lorraine (w/ mushrooms, green onions and bacon instead of ham) and - fruit salad w/ my Mom's fruit salad dressing (a creamy delight!!)

Dinner:
- roast beef au jus
- yorkshire pudding (really just soft rolls w/ a little gravy)
- a variation of Campbell's green bean casserole (w/ some water chestnuts added)
- mashed potatoes
- cranberry salad
- fruit sabayon (fruit w/ wine cream sauce)
- pecan pie

I decided not to shirk on dinner just because it was only the four of us and I thought having a normal meal would make it feel more special somehow too. It will be special because this is our first Christmas home together w/o traveling. We'll miss our family, but this will be special since the boys are old enough to enjoy Christmas and we actually got to slow down, decorate, enjoy the season, sing in the concerts and services, visit people, start traditions and actually have presents under our own tree. :)

One fun tradition I think will stick for awhile is watching "Frosty the Snowman" on Christmas Eve and making Frosty face sugar cookies (the Pillsbury kinds with his face on them). The kids discovered Frosty after hearing the song on Pandora radio. They love it now!

We forgot to put together our gingerbread house, but maybe we can do it after Christmas anyway. Charley has also already put our reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter from pre-school) and a healthy snack (strawberries and water) for Santa.

We've also talked a lot about why we celebrate Christmas and so far, all Charley understands is "Jesus is a baby" and "Jesus saved us" which is good enough for me for now. A tradition I think we'll continue from when I was little is reading the Christmas story from Luke by candlelight on Christmas Eve. That was always special. Although we read from the KJV and I don't think we have one of those around. :)

Well, I hope you all have a very blessed and Merry Christmas together with your friends and families and may you have safe travels and good health as well.

Rejoice!! Jesus is here! Jesus is here! Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Rejoice!!

Last year in the 20's

2007-12-19T20:17:00.000-05:00

I turned 29 today. I say that part wistfully and part joyfully, but most of all: very blessed-fully and fully blessed.

The wistful part is that I have only one more year before a very fun and eventful and young decade of my life will be over. After this decade, my body chemistry will probably dramatically and permanently change (from what I've heard), I'll add more white & grey to my hair and more stretch lines to my face, my agility will lessen, and my once extensive memories of my young childhood will dwindle even more. I will also lose the occasion (if I haven't already) to blame any mistakes on being "silly and young" :)

However, the joyful part is that the body chemistry shift won't be that major and at least I'm healthy now. I watched "Shadowlands" as I was in pain with the virus yesterday, and today I was actually thanking God that I had the health to stand on my own and do the dishes, and change diapers, and clean and do laundry. On another note, age will help me develop vocally since the vocal chords don't fully mature until your mid-30's, and since it is my joy and honor to spread the message of Christ with my voice, I'm thrilled at this potential. Another very joyful part is that hopefully, I will grow to be a more mature, wise, loving, sensitive (which is what I usually need to work on most), and thoughtful person in the next decade. (and so many other qualities I don't have room for) :) Hopefully, my memory loss will encourage me to hurry and write young memories down that I don't want to forget such as hours of fun playing outside with my younger brother, mud wrestling with a friend, hours spent pretending to give birth and be a Mom someday, special times with each of my parents, and time spent with relatives and friends in Texas who I miss right now ...

Ok, some of you may be rolling with laughter right now because I'm only turning 29 and I'm talking like I'm turning 50, but any of you who really know me, know that I'm a very introspective (not introverted), melancholy (not pessimistic) person and I take a lot (probably too much) seriously and analyze a lot in hopes of growth and learning. Plus, this is my blog and this is what I have to say today ... and this is what I'll have to laugh at with you when I'm 50. :)

Most of all, (and especially after being reminded of how precious life is after watching "Shadowlands") despite my expectations, disappointments, ignorance, frustration, tiredness and all the other things that can get in the way, I know that I am a very blessed woman. I am blessed that I got to spend today as a pretty healthy (still trying to get over that virus), loved person playing with my boys and making them laugh and reading to them and holding them and hugging and kissing them. I am thankful for my family, my friends (wherever you are all over the country), our home, the snow (that I got to play in and snowboard on today for the first time), my husband, my life and my Savior. What a Happy Birthday.

icky day

2007-12-18T20:09:00.000-05:00

With snow on the ground and freezing temps all day, we really haven't ventured out anywhere for probably the last 3 days. This turns out to probably be a good thing since 75% of our family has now come down with a stomach virus.

Will battled his last Sunday, and Charley and I came down with it today. Fortunately, Ben has been spared for the time being, but he did get a nasty burn yesterday after deciding to push the stool too close to the stove after Daddy pulled it away. It's amazing how looking away for that split second makes all the difference. Well, he's not in too much pain now, but does have some blisters that I might try to treat while he's asleep tonight. Poor kid might wake up with neosporin and band-aids on 3 of his fingers in the morning and wonder what happened.

Anyway, Will had to miss most of his classes today and he had a big presentation to help with and give, which he had to mostly miss. I spent the day hunched over b/c my stomach hurt all day. I was afraid to take much of anything for fear of throwing it up. Fortunately, I got to rest a lot and Charley, after throwing up only twice this morning, was doing great by mid morning and keeping apples and peanut butter (of all things) down. That's definitely not my idea of comfort food, but he liked it and kept it down so, it worked.

Now Will is back at his school studying for a huge test tomorrow and is already very tired from such a long day. Fortunately, tomorrow is his last day too. I just want to feel better so he doesn't worry about us while he's trying to concentrate, and because tomorrow is my 29th birthday and I would really like to feel like eating cake for that. :) especially since I love cake! :) Will was only super sick for a day and has been slowing but steadily recovering ever since so, I have hope. I'm just glad Charley wasn't sick for too long, even though we kept him home from pre-school, and I hope Ben doesn't get it. It's so hard to watch your kids suffer.

I am thankful though that they haven't had many colds this season. Ben has a constant runny nose, but no other real "cold" symptoms. I keep getting a cold every 2 weeks and when I finally went to the doctor last week, the nurse practitioner who treated me told me I had an allergy problem and wanted to put me on a third allergy med!!! I really don't like taking medication if I don't really have to, especially year round, but to be on 3! It seems like excess to me, but I'll try it and if I stop getting sick, she said I should only use it during the winter season.

Sorry for the icky post . . . just goings on in our lives right now. Oh yeah, a couple of things we're enjoying right now . . . sugar coated popcorn (Will's homemade version of kettle corn), and our Value Tale books. I love these books. I read them and started dreaming about my life when I was in kindgarten. They deal with a famous person who demonstrated a different value to do whatever great thing they did. Most of the people these books cover, are people who helped mankind in some great way, so they're already great examples. They're fairly long books, but because the illustrations are like cartoons, They're able to keep the attention of Charley throughout the whole book. We've read several and we have 30. He loves learning and listening and as he gets older and we read them over and over again, I hope he'll start dreaming about what he wants to do with his life too.

older Ben

2007-12-14T09:13:00.000-05:00

I thought Ben looked so much older in this pic Will took of him yesterday. I don't know if it's his face or his longer hair, or that he has more hair or what, my baby is growing up! Time for another? :) ha ha, not quite yet, but Lord willing, soon!

a few snow pictures

2007-12-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday, the snow came a lot sooner and faster than predicted. It was already sleeting by the afternoon when we tried to go sledding. That resulted in some unhappy kids b/c it was so cold and the sleet was blowing into our faces AND somehow, we lost their gloves. :) It all added up to a very dramatic tantrum. We
recovered and made caramel popcorn together and watched a little "Cars". Then the boys went down early while Mommy crashed from being sick (again) and Daddy went snow boarding on the golf course hill and had a blast! :)

This morning we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland, with streets plowed and safe for driving (which I am not confident or very good at in the snow) and the sun shining. It was beautiful.

I thought these pics were fun. Apparently, dump trucks are for dirt AND snow! Charley had fun trying to shovel the walkway and Ben enjoyed watching. :)

It's snowing!!

2007-12-13T11:42:00.000-05:00

It's coming down pretty hard right now and I have to leave in a few minute to pick up Charley from pre-school. I'm hoping they release Will early from work so he doesn't have to drive home during the worst of it this afternoon. It is accumulating already and looking very white and very beautiful. I guess it's easier to appreciate since we don't get a lot of snow up here, but just enough to enjoy. If I had to live in this all the time, maybe I would feel differently, maybe not. I love snow!

waiting for the flakes

2007-12-13T10:55:00.000-05:00

It's about to snow ... a LOT! I'm so excited, we're supposed to get anywhere from 5-10 inches! This will be our first big snow and will probably stick since the ground is frozen. We've had previous sprinkles, but nothing you could sled on ... which is what Will and Charley have been dying to go do on the golf course nearby. Anyway, we'll see what happens when it starts in a few hours and goes through the night. Hopefully I'll have some fun "snowtime" pics to post tomorrow! Yay!!

marathon weekend

2007-12-10T08:09:00.000-05:00

My marathon weekend was a race, of sorts, that didn't involve running on a path, maybe symbolically, but not physically (although I was very exhausted at the end).

Ok here goes ...

Friday - clean all the hardwood floors with a wet towel on my hands and knees
- wipe down all of our walls 3 times (first with Clorox on a towel, second with the Magic Eraser, third with water to get the first two off for safety)
- make three batches of cookies (with the kids helping which turned out not to be the best idea) I made sugar cookies and dyed the dough different Christmas colors, then cinnamon/glue/water dough for non-edible ornaments, then oatmeal/white chocolate/cranberry cookies
- picked up babysitters for rehearsal at the church and on the way smoke started coming into the car from the heater (that wasn't working so while I fiddled with it, it must have shorted out or broken b/c it smelled like rubber was burning) I had to pull over, air out the car (containing the three sisters all coming to babysit and my two little ones!!) Then I turned everything off and we kept going b/c the smoke stopped. I was impressed that the girls didn't even freak out, especially the one that had smoke streaming out at her feet.
- attended a successful rehearsal of my duet and solo for Sunday night's concert
- then we had to wait for the girls' mom to pick them up after work b/c I was too nervous to drive home with them, then Will came to drive with us
- at which time he let me know that the Navy gym on base was having a kids night and they had several moonwalk slides and jumpers etc. set up and activities, so we grabbed some fast food (as it had just started to snow and rain pretty heavily) and headed to the gym until 7 PM.

That had to be one of the longest days in a busy, good way! (well except for the car trouble, but fortunately it wasn't too serious).

Saturday - we had 7 families over from Will's class on base to meet them and their kids. I think we had about 10 or more kids running around. We were busy cleaning and preparing all morning and this is when I brought out the cinnamon ornaments for the kids to paint. Will made homemade kettle corn (which he is quickly becoming an expert at), and we tried dying it, but it didn't work too well. It was yummy though! We also had shrimp dip and chips and apple cider, that never quite heated up. :)
- after everyone left, I got ready to go to a cookie exchange at a friends house where I used the batch of oatmeal/white chocolate/cranberry cookies. It was a lot of fun and I brought home some yummy cookies for the family. :) We took it easy that night (I think)

Sunday - we had church in the morning (choir practice before and after the service)
- I got ready for the concert that night when we got home by cleaning, doing dishes, and icing all the sugar cookies.
- Then we had the choir concert, which of course I was nervous about, but the duet ("What Child is This?") and solo ("Silent Night" in German and English) went great and I got feedback that I pronounced all the German correctly by some native speakers who were there. Yay! I also hit all the high notes fine, but on the very last note of the song, I could quite come down low enough because I had been singing so high, so that note was a little sharp, but ok, I hope. :) I'll have to watch the recording b/c Will was there recording. We also brought to this, everyone loved the cookies (even though they got green dye all over them) and the babysitter watched the kids in the nursery the whole time. The kids did great even though they were up way past their bedtime. Will and I were exhausted and I don't think I've slept so soundly in awhile!

This was the busiest weekend we've had in awhile and I wasn't used to trying to keep everything straight and prepare for it, but I did fine and I think it's something that is only going to happen more often as the kids get older and we're able to get more involved in things. I was just glad I made the extra batches of cookies, even though I wasn't really preparing them on purpose at the time; the sugar cookies just sounded like a good idea, and the cinnamon ornaments are something we made and painted as kids that I happened to decide would be a good activity to slow the kids down at our party.

I think it was providence more than anything else, so Thank you Lord for helping me this weekend and helping me prepare for things before I even knew I needed to. He Blessed me at the concert to honor him with my singing, and best of all, He gave me a supportive husband to help me prepare and plan and get everything together so it would all happen, including many hours of watching the kids so I could rehearse after church or clean, or prepare. After all this, Will still made it to his Monday morning work out at 5:30!!! ugh Fortunately for me, the kids slept late so I got a full 8 hours of sleep! Now that's something to be thankful for!

Now I just have to catch up on laundry and dishes and errands, but I think we'll just try to have a slow day today, especially since it's oh so cold and wet outside.

Merry Christmas!!

lotion lover

2007-12-05T08:25:00.000-05:00

Another quirk of my second son is that he loves to do so many things that my first rebelled against. I'm sure it's a good thing, it's just that I'm not used to it b/c of having to fight Charley when he was Ben's age. Things like brushing teeth, changing diapers, putting socks and shoes on to go outside, and yes, putting on lotion. He loves lotion and while I'm changing his diaper, he'll rub it on his legs and arms and tummy. It's really cute and GREAT since it's so dry now, but it's also very hilarious to me to see my 19 mo. old putting on lotion like he's such a big boy. Also, if Ben had his way, he'd have a toothbrush in his mouth 24/7. He LOVES to brush his teeth and runs for it every time we accidentally leave the bathroom door open.

We're still waiting for snow around here. Will got so excited when we had some flurries a few days ago. He can't wait to take the boys sledding at the golf course around the corner from our house. He also can't wait to go skiing. He's going to see the new Warren Miller snow movie in Providence tonight and by going, he'll get free ski passes to some places around here. He can't wait! Seriously, this is going to be something we have to work out in our future: Will wants to live somewhere cold and I love warm weather with short winters. I DO love snow and skiing, but I just don't like cold for 6 months! Plus, with the dry skin issues I've mentioned in previous posts ... I just don't want to be itchy, cracky and dry every winter just so we can ski nearby. I'd rather travel somewhere to ski and wear my shorts and t-shirts most of the year. Anyway, I know we'll compromise on the perfect place someday (once the Navy is done with us, or vice versa and one plus is that with all the moving around we have to do, we'll get to visit different parts of the country to see what they're like before we have to choose.

Oh yeah, another success on the potty front, Charley is finally going #2 in the potty! yay! I know it may sound late to most, but with the issues he's had and meds etc. I'm just thrilled and he's proud too. He's been going consistently for 3 days now. I'm not holding my breath, but I think he may have conquered the constipation thing. He doesn't even want his medicine anymore and doesn't seem to be having problems without it now. It started getting easier for him a while back and when he had to go, he'd go and grab a pull-up and go. When we realized he wasn't struggling anymore, we started disciplining him if he didn't go in the potty. I think this helped us get where we are now, but for the longest time, he really was struggling and having a really hard time pushing it out, and we didn't feel that we should punish him for not using the potty b/c of that. Well, it seems to be over now, so we'll see how the next week goes and hopefully it will become a habit and easier for him. Yay!! It's funny, I'm actually excited that I get to wipe his bottom b/c it means he's gone on the potty! Of course, he wants to that by himself and he doesn't do a bad job at that, so double YAY!!

mmmmmmm

2007-11-29T11:42:00.000-05:00

I was just playing with my son, Ben. He was playing peek-a-boo and tickling me and then he tried to pull my socks off. :) Whenever I get these one on one moments to just play and enjoy my kids, the same thought often comes to mind, "I must be the luckiest person in the world to be playing with this little child right now."

I guess I just imagine how incredibly special they are; then I think about how someday they'll be special to other people and hopefully do some really good things for people; and that makes me feel like I'm so special for even being given a moment of time with them. Because later on, when they're grown and gone, I'll remember that I was given some of the biggest blessings I can ever have . . . time, fun, love and a simple smile from my baby boy.

sweet dancing Ben

2007-11-27T09:15:00.001-05:00

Ben is growing up sooo fast! Charley was his age when we first moved here and now I can't believe Ben is already 19 mo. old!! He's such a cutie with his little blond hair and big smiley cheeks! He's always grinning about something. I just had to write b/c I want to remember later that he loves to dance. Anytime he hears even a couple of bars of music, he starts bobbing his head and, if he can, moving his legs. It's so cute. I guess he's going to be the music lover in the family. It's just so much fun to watch and he is usually able to get the whole family started too. Once Ben starts, then Charley follows and pretty soon, we're all dancing around and being goofy.

We especially enjoyed one of these moments this past Saturday when we went to get our Christmas tree from Escobar's Highland farm, here on the island. We brought it home, turned on some Christmas music, heated up the cider, and the dancing and celebrating began. We got all the Christmas boxes down and had such a fun time together. I know it might seem a little early, but this is the first Christmas we won't be traveling in years, which means, I get to decorate! :) We plan on having a low-key family day, simple, easy, fun. (that's the plan) :) We'll miss all of our extended family, but if you've been reading, we've traveled quite enough in the past few years, and with very small children. Anyway, since I know we're going to be here, I just couldn't wait to get everything out and decorate for Christmas so I can enjoy it this year.

In other news, we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with my Mom and brother, Grant, who flew from Houston, TX to be with us. My Mom was here for a week and my brother, who had to finish finals, was here for three days. Will and Grant went to NY on Thanksgiving day because Grant had never been in this area before and wanted to see it. They had a blast, and then we celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday. My Mom and I stayed home with the kids on Thanksgiving day and since it was such a beautiful day, we had a blast doing a ton of pruning and yard work. The kids played outside and it was so much fun! We also did crafts with the kids (finishing a handprint apron for the grandma's) :) and while my Mom (Nonny to the kids) was here, we also got to have a fun shopping trip to Providence place and did some sewing together. We had such a great time and it was so great to see both of them.

Well, back to chores and stuff while Ben naps. Charley has pre-school today to it's an errand day. :) All part of the fun!

Blessings!

my favorite reason for winter ...

2007-10-30T09:12:00.000-05:00

EGGNOG!!! :) I love eggnog and when I went to the store the other day to get milk, I was happily surprised to find that eggnog was now on the shelves!! (somehow, I forget this every year and am surprised again every year, but what a nice thing) :) Anyway, don't get me wrong, the leaves and chilly weather are nice, even the pumpkins everywhere and the thought of snow, but for me, too much cold weather is not a good thing. I have extra dry skin to begin with and the cold doesn't help. We've already started running humidifiers in the boy's room every night.

Charley has already had his first mini-cold, which consisted of temperature for a day and a runny nose for three days. Not too bad, I'd say! Now Ben has the runny nose, but not temp, and I was fighting off something a couple of days ago, but I think it's just allergies. Anyway, my cuticles have been cracking since September (when there was just a hint of dryness in the air, or I should say, when the humidity was back down to a pleasant level for most people). But not me, I love warm humid air. I feel like my skin drinks it in. And I'll miss feeling the sun on my skin when I wore tank tops and shorts out during the summer. Oh well, hopefully we'll get some good snow this year. Will says it's going to be our last "true" winter for awhile since we won't live this far North next year. (unless we get stationed in Japan!) :) Somehow the snow distracts me from how cold it really is. Some people have said that it insulates the earth and so it actually IS warmer outside. Who knows, just give me eggnog and let me crawl under my electric blanket at night and I'll be fine. :)

Yes, we've already put the electric blanket on the bed. The lows are getting into the 40's at night and the house is in the mid 60's. We have our heater set at 62 but have a heater in the boy's room at night. That way we're just heating two rooms at night instead of the whole house. Of course it's freezing in the morning, but oil is expensive so what are you going to do? :) Anyway, now the boys have a humidifier AND a heater running at night .. probably at opposite purposes, but it works well enough to keep them warm and moist through the long winter. Hopefully it will stave off colds too. Especially once we get the flu mist and Ben gets the second dose of the flu shot. Which I must add, he took very well the first time! All I heard out of him was a little "eah" and that was it. Of course, his brother and I were distracting him with stickers and songs. He never even knew it was coming! I was so proud of him non-the-less.

Oh yeah, and I have real stitches for Halloween, not that we go all out around here for Halloween, we really don't do anything at all except let the boys get dressed up for social hour and candy collecting in our very friendly neighborhood. :) I just think it's funny that some people put on make-up to look like they have stitches and I really have some. I had a bump removed from my leg and I have about an inch and a quarter worth of internal stitches. It's healing nicely now though. The bump wasn't cancerous or anything, just an abnormality that looked odd and I kept nicking when I shaved ouch! It was itchy occasionally too, just a pain. So since the Navy was paying, I went ahead and had it removed. It was considered purely "cosmetic" surgery, which sounded funny to me, but since it wasn't necessary, that's the category it was placed in. I'm actually amazed it's healing so well since the boys have been crawling and walking and bouncing on it almost everyday since I came home. I've tried to protect it and that worked for the first few days, but after that all bets were off. :) I've had it bandaged too so I'm sure that's helped.

Oh yeah, I drove our friends back to MD last weekend (a week ago). It was a looong weekend. I drove 7 hours down with her and the girls and the dog, spent the night in Havre de Grace, then turned around and came back the next day. ugh! :) We had such a fun time talking though. Anyway, since then I've been catching up with chores and enjoying the alone time with Will; hence the lack of blogging.

Anyway, more to blog later. Gotta do more chores while Charley is away at pre-school. :) ta ta!

safe home

2007-10-18T19:43:00.000-05:00

just a note . . . Will made it safely home last Thursday from Norfolk and working on our house, that is now for sale instead of for rent. He brought back with him some friends of ours, Amy and her two daughters Anna and Sabrina ("Izzy") and their dog, Bo. Her husband is on an IA (Independent Augmentation) for a year in Iraq right now and she's staying up here with us for a week or two. We've had a good first week and gotten into a good groove with all the kids and schedules etc. It's fun to have a full house for awhile and the kids are really enjoying each other, not to mention, Amy and I are enjoying the company and conversation. Ben loves Izzy and does a little dance every time he sees her in the morning and after naps. It's so cute. We call it the "Izzy dance". Charley is enjoying being the "big boy" in the house and has turned into quite the helper, as well as providing constant entertainment for everyone. We're all having a blast, staying busy and very worn out each day! :)

growth spurt? and normal

2007-09-28T19:52:00.000-05:00

I think Charley's growing ... he's eating a lot and being really clumsy. He keeps falling down randomly and bumping his head and running into things. I'll have to keep an eye on him to make sure this accident prone stage isn't just an active boy thing, or something else. For now though, I think it's because he's getting a little more lanky. :) We'll see.

Will is driving home tonight, as I write this. He'll only be home for 3 days, but still, it's been two months! I miss him so much and I know the boys miss him too. He'll be gone again next Tuesday for his brother's graduation and travel to TX with him, then fly to Norfolk to make sure our house is ready for new renters when we find them. So if anyone is interested, 803 Townsend Ct. Norfolk, VA 23502 is available beginning Oct. 8. :) You can see our ad at militarybyowner.com. Anyway, then he'll be home again for about a week and start department head school.

It will be so nice to get back to normal again (even if it means I have to start cooking regularly again-not one of my favorite things right now with two kids running around that need supervision). Hopefully it will get me to plan ahead more and do more prep-work in the morning or whenever I have down time. We'll see how it goes. I'm more of a baker, than a cook. :) I enjoy making pastries, pies, desserts etc. I think cooking will become more enjoyable once the kids are a little older though. I hope.

our pics are ready!

2007-09-27T14:35:00.000-05:00

If you want to see the pics we had taken at the Academy when I went down to visit Will, just click on this link: Visual Concepts and enter the session ID: williamandleigh_portrait We're so excited with how they turned out! It was so much fun to take them too. :) I'm so glad we'll have this memory of Will in uniform, especially at the Academy. If he ever gets out, it will be a nice memory of his time in the military. Hope you all like them and if anyone wants to order any, the info is on the same page as the pics. Enjoy!

apple picking

2007-09-26T08:18:00.000-05:00

The next craft I undertook came from a "Country Home" magazine I picked up while I was waiting for a flight down to Baltimore. It was all about decorating with pumpkins and apples. One of the decorations was an apple garland, heavy, but pretty. :) So this past weekend, we went apple picking at the Rocky Brook orchard on Wapping Rd. here on Aquidneck Island. It turned out to be the perfect weekend for picking MacIntosh apples (according to the owner). The boys didn't quite get it, but we had fun and got a lot of apples. The owner even let me get two bags of cheaper apples that had fallen on the ground for my garland! I have a lot of baking to do this weekend so if you live close and want an apple pie, I'm making them in bulk when Will comes home this weekend. Anyway, I hung my garland above the door. You bore holes in the apples with bamboo skewers then put twine through them. It's holding well. I don't have colorful leaves to put on it yet, but I'm looking. I also made an apple wreath which I haven't glued together yet, but hopefully will finish this weekend as well.

Next, I want to carve pumpkins, but I'm afraid a bunch of pumpkins and the garland would be a little too much produce for one front door. The garland is supposed to only last about 2 weeks, so maybe I'll wait until then to go pumpkin picking on the island. :)

crafty finger

2007-09-26T08:09:00.000-05:00

If you're good at growing things, you have a green thumb, but what if you get crafty for a little while? Do you have a sticky finger? (b/c of all the glue) or is that only for baking? Anyway, since Will's Aunt Donette came to visit this passed weekend, and Will's Mom was here a week before that, I've been able to pull a few projects together and thought I'd share.

First is a shelf for some wooden letters I've been painting (for years) of the boys' names. I didn't want to hang each one individually (that's like 25 holes in the wall), but all the shelves are much to wide for these 1/2" thick letters. So I had to come up with something else. (by the way, ledge shelves are really expensive at Micheal's) and I really needed just a ledge. So Will's Mom and I had the idea of putting a piece of pretty molding (for the wall) against a small, flat piece of wood (like a 1/2" x 3") and that would make the thickness I would need for the ledge. I glued them together, clamped them and then nailed them (just to be sure). :) Maybe it was overkill, but I don't want the glue coming apart in the humidity. Anyway, the next step is to stain them. I'm not even finished with the letters yet, but now all I have to do is hang the ledges (2 for each boy b/c I did their first and middle names) and then set the letters on them (high enough that the boys can't reach them of course). :)

poetry blog name

2007-09-20T08:12:00.001-05:00

Please help me pick a new name for the poetry blog I want to start. I listed a few options in the poll on the right, but if anyone has any other suggestions, please leave a comment. I want it to be a collection of work I love that has already been written, work of my own, and poetry by other people if they are willing to have it posted. I don't necessarily have to love it all, which is why I liked the Potluck Poetry idea for a name, but it didn't sound artistic, classy or symbolic enough for what I usually prefer, but it IS down to earth and simple and an honest representation of what the blog will hopefully be so that's all good. Any ideas? :) Thanks

ps.

2007-09-19T13:36:00.001-05:00

check out the collage of pics I put together at the bottom of this blog. it's a long scroll down, but worth it! :)

Amazing Annapolis Weekend

2007-09-18T21:03:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I got to fly down and visit Will for a wonderful weekend getaway in Annapolis. We'd been planning it for weeks and it finally arrived. Will's mom was gracious enough to extend her stay with me so she could watch the boys and we just took her back to the airport today, so sad, but it was time and I know she missed her hubby. :) Let me just quickly say that I appreciate my in-laws visiting so much and surviving this time while Will is away would have been soo hard without them. Thank you!! :)

Ok, back to the wonderful weekend. It has been years since we got to get away, just the two of us. In fact, the last time was probably, when Charley was a year old when we stayed one night in a nearby hotel. This was my first time really away from Ben, which was so hard, and our first trip away and alone since the kids have been born. Anyway, that's why we wanted it to me memorable and planned it so much. :) The main goal though, was simply to relax, and enjoy our time together at this stage in our lives.

I flew out on Friday and Will surprised me with gifts waiting for me to open at the hotel. I knew he had gone shopping for me, but he really outdid himself. He had jewelry, lingerie, outfits all wrapped in matching paper. He got all my measurements in advance and everything fit like a charm. I didn't have to keep it all, and I didn't, and he was so generous to not be offended if I wasn't automatically thrilled with something. It was fun, none the less and he said he really enjoyed getting to dress me in fun things that I don't usually get for myself. When I first arrived at the BWI airport and saw Will, it still took me an hour or so to realize I was on vacation and really relax, but I'd say by the time we got to the hotel, the kids and stress were temporarily forgotten!

Friday night we got to eat at one of my favorite places in the Annapolis area, Cantler's. I loooove crab and they sell lots of it there. They bring it to you on a tray covered in Old Bay and your table cloth is a thick brown piece of paper. Anyway, we had fun digging for all the meat until we couldn't eat any more. I think the two of us made it through 8 of them!

Saturday was so relaxing. We slept in, then went to have breakfast at the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish Farmer's Market. It was so cool!! The whole place is filled with fresh things: everything from meat and produce to pastries and pies. Their cinnamon rolls are amazing! :)

Next, we did a little shopping and then headed over to the tattoo shop to see if they had a Navy Crew symbol on file that a bunch of Will's crew friends have gotten. I was even going to get one too, for fun, a little dragonfly on my hip, but alas, they didn't have the "N" symbol and so we didn't get tattooed. :) (hmmm what must everyone be thinking about this??) :)

Anyway, after that, we went back to the hotel room for a soak in the hot tub and ordered a movie ("Meet the Robinsons" which was a lot deeper and darker than I expected, but fun) and then took a nap.

Then we headed out to meet friends at a tailgate party before the big Navy v. Ball State game. We had such a blast at the game and it was so fun to catch up with friends and just relax and watch a football game, especially an Academy home game! It was so fun to watch the plebes to push ups every time Navy scored. Unfortunately, Navy lost in overtime, but we still had a blast!!

Then we went out for a quick dinner and dessert with some friends and headed back to the hotel to crash for the night.

As if it could get anymore special, Will's ultimate surprise was to have a photographer take pictures of us at different places around the Naval Academy yard! He wore his black SDB uniform and I had gotten a dress earlier Saturday for the occasion. I thought red would be a good color to compliment his uniform and stand out against all the white marble and green grass at the Academy. He had actually bought dresses and shoes for me and wanted his mom to sneak a dress in my bag b/c he wasn't quite sure what I should wear, but the dresses he picked didn't fit and the dress I ended up packing (his mom gave it away b/c she couldn't find it):) didn't really work b/c it was white. She didn't tell me what it was for though so it was still a surprise when I got there.

Anyway, the pics turned out beautiful. We got a preview even though the photographer is still editing them. I'll post the link when we get it though and there's a link to her studio on the right, her name is Linda Etherington and I listed her as "great Annapolis photographer". :) She really got into taking our pictures and it was so amazing to watch her create art right before our eyes. We love the Academy and wanted to remember this time in our lives as a special one. It will also be a nice way to remember this special weekend (not to mention the fact that I'll actually have a nice record that I've finally gotten back down to my preferred size after having Ben). We've moved about 6 times, had two kids, done a deployment and been married 6 years. I know some people have done more, but it's been quite a lot for us. We're at a slower time now that the boys are at easier ages and Will is in school. Next year when we move again, in May, things will pick up once Will is on a ship and so we wanted to take advantage of this "down" time.

Thanks Debbie for watching the kids so we could have this wonderful weekend. We feel so blessed that we could do this together. Thank you Will for planning such an amazing time for us together and for all the thought and time that went into it. We all miss you and can't wait for you to be home for good in three weeks! :) I love you!!

Been awhile . . .

2007-09-14T06:27:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted ... so much has been going on.

Another drama before the in-laws got here: the breaks on the sub went out while I was taking the children to a play date. We managed to pull into a day care parking lot so I could call USAA and get a tow. The car got fixed just in time to pick up Will's parents the next day and a the friend I was going to see for the play date squeezed us into her sedan and even took me grocery shopping to make sure I had stuff in case I didn't get the car back for awhile. So sweet! Anyway, another misadventure full of God's grace and blessings.

Will's parents came and were such a blessing. I got to see Will that first weekend (2 weeks ago now) and that was wonderful. He almost didn't make it home because they got held in class too late, but he caught the last flight out Friday night on standby. That was such a special night because I had gone to see a movie ("The Bourne Ultimatum") with Will's dad, then right when we got out, Will's mom called to tell us Will had caught a flight and was coming home, yay! Then as we drove to pick him up, we drove over the Pell bridge while fireworks were going off only yards away off the Navy War College peninsula!! It was beautiful! :) Not to mention the cheap parking spot I got really close to the theater minutes before the movie started which, if you know anything about Newport in the summer, is almost impossible (so we didn't have to pay $20 for a spot) :) Anyway, it felt like God was just smiling down on us giving us one little blessing after another to make a really special night, especially after I got to see my husband! :)

Will's dad, Doug, stayed for a week and we got lots of yard work done. It was great! I love yard work and got so much trimming and pruning done that I had been dying to do for years here at this rental house. We made 3 or 4 trips to the dump to take twigs and stuff and then I got to go pick out some mums to plant out front. They're so pretty and lined with stones. I'll have to post a pick.

Then, we also started pre-school a week ago! Charley looked so cute for his first day. It was one of our most difficult mornings, getting ready, but I think it's because he knew it was a big day. Anyway, we made it with the grandparents and Ben. We took pictures and prayed together and he had a great day. The teacher said he and a couple of other boys bounced off the wall the first day because of the newness of everything, but this week she said he was doing great, sitting still etc. I was so proud of him for telling the teacher when he had a problem when another kid took his toy away, instead of trying to "handle" it himself. We've worked on that when Ben takes toys and since Charley has turned 3, the changes have been amazing. He's so sweet to his brother, even than before. He gives him toys and food and drink and his little comfort bear and trying to "make him happy" all the time. So far, they're turning out to be the best of friends. Anyway, Charley is loving pre-school and doing great. He hasn't had any potty accidents and is bringing home artwork almost everyday, so fun! He's polite and respectful to his teachers saying, "excuse me," if he needs help and thanking them everyday before he leaves (with my prompting). He picks up his trash after lunch and I'm enjoying decorating his paper sack every morning with stickers and markers. I even asked him if he'd like a lunch bag like all the other kids, but he said he likes his decorated sack better. :) I couldn't be more proud or thrilled for him and me since we've both worked so hard for about 2 years now to get where we are. Charley is more challenging than most kids and has quite a stronger will so it's taken a lot more patience and constance to get him here and it's nice to see all the hard work, love and discipline finally paying off. Now it looks like Ben is headed for his terrible 2's (not quite there, but soon), but at least I'll have experience, and he'll have a very sweet brother to be a good example for him. We'll just pray through it all again and hopefully make it out soon with more grace and support from others than I was granted with Charley, and always by the grace and help of God.

Will's mom, Debbie, will be here until next Tuesday and we've had a wonderful time together. She has saved me during these long weeks while Will is away. It's so nice to have an adult to talk to and someone to help out with the kids, as well as all the cooking and cleaning she helps with. She's been such a blessing. We've been on the Newport Dinner Train and to the Topiary Gardens and to parks and other places and had a blast with the kids. I will miss her when she's gone, but thankfully, Will's Aunt Donnette will be out to visit in a week and then Will will be home soon! :) It's been a long month and a half and now we're almost done.

This weekend I get to fly down to visit Will, while Debbie stays with the kids, for a Navy football game and for his 29th birthday! :) We'll get to see friends from his class and just enjoy a weekend away together. We both can't wait and the weather is supposed to be beautiful for it all! Please pray for Debbie while I'm gone. I'll be home Sunday afternoon.

On another note, I'm going to start giving voice lessons to a girl from our church who lives down the street and I'm very excited about the chance to actually use my training again, and get paid for it! I gave piano lessons when we lived in Monterey, CA and had about 5 or 7 students, but haven't done voice yet. I think I'll also give her some basic piano and theory as well and that is always a blast for me! :) Now if I could start composing again and maybe singing professionally again, that would be great! :)

Ok that's all for now. I'll share pics and more stories when I come home. Oh and fall is here by the way, YAY!

Later Gators! :)

Welcome September

2007-09-11T07:53:00.000-05:00

I'm glad you're here.

Nightmare Day Full of Grace

2007-08-28T07:43:00.000-05:00

I guess one of the realities I have to face is that when Will is gone, all the little problems of life are not going to stop. Life goes on with its blessings and daily issues. I experienced one of these delights last Friday when I left a sink filling up so I could stain treat some clothes and forgot to turn it off. I flooded the washer/dryer area of our basement with about 2 inches of water, which of course started seeping into the thick carpet of the next room.

I was just about to walk out the door to take the boys to a Barnes 'n' Noble reading hour when I heard a trickling downstairs. (blessing #1: I discovered the flood BEFORE I left home). So I called the friend I was supposed to meet down there with her two boys to tell her we wouldn't make it and to call me if she had any suggestions as to what to do (I was still at the "Freaking out" and "Oh my gosh did this really happen?" stage and not yet to the "OK, I know what to do" stage).

So after that I decided to go downstairs and call our landlord to let her know, and also to call a lady from church to ask if her two girls can babysit while I clean up the mess. I, of course, have lots of trouble finding telephone numbers while trying to not completely break down in front of my children, which ends up happening anyway to which Charley responds very sympathetically and sits and watches while I attempt to get things rolling. I finally call the girls to babysit and blessing #2: they're available to come over right away! Plus, they're mom is bringing over a really big shop vac (since ours is small) to help.

I hang up from talking to them in tears and keep looking for the landlords number when the doorbell rings. I answer the door, still in tears, to find that the friend we were supposed to meet at Barnes 'n' Noble has showed up with her two kids to help me and watch mine while I clean up the mess. <--- blessing #3. They go to the backyard and begin distracting my kids while I am finally able to get the landlord on the phone. She's a very nice landlord, by the way so that conversation went well.

The friend from church shows up and brings her 3 daughters to help out and plans on staying to help me too!! So her older daughters take over babysitting so my friend can go run her errands and she and her younger daughter start moving everything out of the carpeted room so I can pull up the carpet. Blessing #4: I totally didn't expect her to stay and help, plus bring so much help (her third daughter and the shop vac, not to mention her other daughters who are babysitting).

Anyway, they stay until the job is DONE, and I mean, helping to clean up stuff that was gross and icky etc. We were all sweating, I started to get dizzy (it was a hot day), they moved heavy things, swept out the garage where water was seeping, threw stuff away, moved stuff around, cut up the carpet padding so we could lay it out to dry and the list goes on. I was so grateful and overwhelmed.

It's not often I've met people who will pitch in like this and be there when you really need it, especially when it involves getting dirty and especially when I don't know them all that well. It was truly a blessing. Fortunately, Will was coming home the next day for a short weekend visit, but all he had to do was move the fan around and help me keep emptying the dehumidifier and close a window that was letting in more humidity.

So that's one of our adventures during this time when Will is gone where I definitely felt God watching over us and taking care of us. It's important for me to note these times because I forget them pretty quickly when I'm feeling like God isn't around or doesn't care. I have a very short memory when I (a spiritual and physical creature) feel like my physical needs aren't being met and when those things distract me to the point of doubting the God who shows me so much grace, I can come back and read this and start honoring Him again.

Another favorite

2007-08-27T07:38:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on a name for my poetry/writing blog so if anyone has any ideas, feel free to make a suggestion. I warn you, the one I have in mind now is a little cheesy so anything goes, really. :) While I ponder, here is another one of my all time favorite poems. It's by John Donne, the early 17th century English poet.

HOLY SONNETS.

XIV.

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

John Donne

Kipling article

2007-08-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

article I like about Kipling ... "Have you ever kippled?"

His blog is under Rants and Raves on the right if you're interested.

I had a wonderful, relaxing outing the other day when my regularly scheduled babysitter, Zoe, came over. I ran an errand, then went to Barnes 'n' Noble to have a drink and a snack and write some poetry. Then I just browsed for a good non-fiction book (which I didn't find) and a good poetry book, which I did find! It was a big poetry anthology! Yay! So now, I promise I'll move on to another poet. :)

Kipling

2007-08-19T20:38:00.001-05:00

I mentioned Kipling in an earlier post and wanted to share a few of my favorites of his. I found these at this site. Another that I like that was too long to post is "The Female of the Species". Enjoy!

When Earth's Last Picture Is Painted
1892
L'Envoi To "The Seven Seas"

When Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried,
When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died,
We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it -- lie down for an aeon or two,
Till the Master of All Good Workmen shall put us to work anew.
And those that were good shall be happy; they shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair.
They shall find real saints to draw from -- Magdalene, Peter, and Paul;
They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at all!

And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They are!
-------------------------------------------

The Gods of the Copybook Headings
1919

As I pass through my incarnations in every age and race,
I Make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market-Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market-Place.
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings.
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Heading said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew,
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four --
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

* * * * *

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man --
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began --
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mice,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire --
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
--------------------------------------------------

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

some music

2007-08-19T13:47:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to mention some more great music I've been listening to lately . . . the latest "Pride and Prejudice" movie soundtrack featuring Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the piano. I wasn't a huge fan of the movie, but somehow, the beauty of the soundtrack makes me want to see it again. Anyway, the music is really enrapturing and if you're getting a taste for my lyrical, melancholy taste in music, this really fits. :)

It's the only thing I wanted to sing or play on the piano in college ... anything with a pretty melody, lyrical and in a minor key. I guess some things never change. ahh I need to compose again. Anyone got any poetry or lyrics? :) Although I used to write only instrumental stuff, I find myself wanting to try something with lyrics. I promise it won't all be in a minor key. :) Maybe I should start with some Kipling poetry. I love him. I'll have to post on of his poems that is one of my favorites, "The Gods of the Copybook Headings".

John Barry, the composer of many beautiful soundtracks, such as "Somewhere in Time", "Out of Africa", and "Dances with Wolves", is another favorite of mine. Also, "The Red Violin" soundtrack is beautiful too. Joshua Bell is amazing on the violin.

All this stuff really calms me after a long day on my own with the boys. :)

this makes me cry

2007-08-17T12:19:00.000-05:00

This classical piece is beautiful! It's Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor, Op. 18: II. Adagio Sostenuto. The one I prefer is played by Lang Lang and the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre & Valery Gergiev. I don't think it's legal to post the music here, but for those of you who have i-tunes or an equivalent, I strongly encourage you to go listen to this. It's about 12 minutes long depending on the tempo of the pianist you listen to.

I think this is the most beautiful piano concerto I've ever heard (and there are some beautiful ones out there). I'm not a huge Rach fan; I supremely prefer Brahms and Tchaikovsky, but I heard this on my roommate's (thank you Andrea) Piano by Candlelight tape (yes, tape) my fishy year in college and have been looking for it ever since.

I don't know if it conjures emotion now simply b/c I was going through a lot at that time in my life or because it's truly that beautiful (probably a little of both). I'm simply thrilled to be reunited with it. This piece, to me, feels like a musical description of the storyline of my soul. (sorry so cheesy, but it's really moving). ups and downs, peace and confusion, depth and simplicity . . . all wrapped up in one amazing creation of God. In a word ... beauty.

an update

2007-08-16T07:20:00.001-05:00

Will was able to come home for a short, but very enjoyable visit last weekend. It turns out he had a cold which he unfortunately left with me. I've been struggling through that all week, but am feeling better now that's it's finally moving into my lungs. (at least I'm not sneezing anymore). Fortunately, the boys don't have it yet.

Some good news is that one of our babysitters came back into town and is going to give me a break 2 or 3 times a week for the next 2 weeks before Will's parents get here. This will give me a chance to get some much needed mowing done, and other chores as well as rest.

We've been doing better than I thought and Will has been gone for almost 3 weeks now. We've stayed busy, running around, playing with friends, going to the Barnes 'n' Noble book hour and playing in our pool in the backyard. My only guilt is that I had to relax on the TV watching this week b/c I felt so miserable. Even when Will left, I had managed to keep it down to a half hour to an hour a day, (it's usually none or half an hour). But this week, I was in survival mode. Hopefully, next week, between the babysitter, play dates and my feeling better, I'll be able to cut it off or at least back down.

Also, the weather has cooled down significantly which has been such a blessing. Since we've been able to stay busy, Will being gone hasn't been as awful as I thought. I think it will be even easier once Charley starts pre-school in September. I have friends that are on their own for a year, and am still thankful we haven't had to do that yet. I know that's a whole different ball game. This shorter time though, has been good practice for what we might face in the future and I'm looking at it as a blessing in disguise. :) It's been a good taste so I can prepare better for next time, which I'm sure there will be since he's not getting out of the Navy anytime soon.

Gotta go rest while the baby naps, happiness and health to all!

ps. Don't forget to pray for the missing miners, the Peruvians affected by the earthquake, the northern Iraqi's affected by the bomb and the upcoming hurricane season (here's hoping we'll have another gentle one). :)

new words

2007-08-08T19:51:00.000-05:00

I keep forgetting to post that Ben said some new words the other day. He said "love ya da," while talking on the phone with Will. He had prompting, but he still clearly said it. So cute! :) He's saying so many new words now, I can't even catch up. His first was "da da" months and months ago (when he was about 8 mo old I think). Next was, "want dat" and "down". "Ma ma" took a little longer, but followed shortly. He says, "by by" and "Gi gi" is his bear and a bunch of other ones that I can't think of now. Oh yeah, and he said "thank you" to Charley for the first time yesterday too! :) So fun!

soaked

2007-08-08T19:45:00.000-05:00

How often do you get caught in the rain and just enjoy it? Today, after a long, hot couple of weeks, we got some scattered showers. We decided to go for a bike ride, but didn't see the dark sky until it was too late. It was just sprinkling, so I left with the two boys in the bike carriage behind me. We stopped at a neighbors house to look at a backhoe front loader that would be working on her driveway in the morning, then it started to pour! I covered the boys with the rain shield, but I got completely soaked. We weren't near the house, so I just finished the ride. I would have gone longer, but I was worried that my cell would get wet. We made it home, and by then it had let up. I dropped off my cell, splashed in the water running down the street a bit, then took another short bike ride around the block totally drenched. It was so much fun! :)

how to stalk a front loader-backhoe (for dummies)

2007-08-03T20:59:00.000-05:00

So one of the things that is keeping us occupied while Will is away is watching the construction projects all over the base. I feel like we're stalking the same front loader-backhoe day after day because it's just moving around repairing the sidewalks on base. We know it's the same one because it has the same driver. I'm sure the workers recognize our blue suburban by now. (It wouldn't be the first time). Anyway, the boys love it and are entertained in our air conditioned suburban for quite awhile and I don't even have to get them out of their seats.

There are other projects going on on base so we just make the tour every other day, and sometimes everyday. They are repaving a parking lot and finishing the construction of some water towers (I think that's what they are). When my mom was here they were tearing down an old house in Navy housing . . . Charley still talks about it.

It's just amazing to drive up, park, roll down a window and watch. Both boys just stare out the window in amazement. Then I tell the boys to wave and some of the workers have waved back at us! :) Next step: bring the workers cookies and ask if we can sit in the truck during break time. (or maybe not) :) They still earn cookies in my book for the entertainment, and education, they're giving my kids. I wonder if they realize that they're heroes to my little boys.

happy feet and shrieks of joy!

2007-08-03T20:55:00.001-05:00

I was recording some fun things about Charley, and remembered some moments with Ben I didn't want to forget as well.

One cute thing Ben does is climb down the stairs to the landing and step around quickly like the penguins in the movie "Happy Feet". It's really cute and so when he does it, we all do it together and have the best time. :)

Also, every time I come home from being away from the boys, Ben lets out this ear curling shriek with a big smile and . . . happy feet, of course. :) It's so cute and it's one of the few things that Charley copies. So now I come home to two shrieking boys. It's sweet, a little deafening, but I know I'll miss it someday. It's nice to know they love me. :)

by the way . . .

2007-08-03T20:45:00.000-05:00

I forgot to mention that last night as we were getting ready for bed and I was about to read Charley a book ("Puff, the Magic Dragon"), he said that I was the best Mom in the world. :)!! I have no idea where he's heard that before. I have a hard time believing he came up with it on his own, but you never know, he's a sharp kid. Even though I know he doesn't know what that means, it was still nice to hear.

In other news, he now knows what lying is and how to convincingly tell one. ugh! It's scary how good he is at it. Hmmm, do I wash his mouth out with soap or is that too much these days? :) Right now I'm settling for simply talking to him about honesty and trust and what God wants us to do, with time outs, creative discipline to fit the crime and spanking, if necessary, to follow.

In better news, Charley can almost spell his name. The other night we were writing with soap crayons in the tub and he asked me to write a C-H-A-R but didn't know the rest. I know it's sight spelling, but it's a start and it's nice to know some things are coming together in his little head. We've always worked on phonics so hopefully that will be the next step. It's a whole new world!

lovely words on a hot day

2007-08-02T20:27:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I've mentioned yet in my blog that Will is taking classes in Dalgren, VA for 2 months while we are up here. It's been pretty miserable with the heat and no A/C; add to that the fact that Charley acts up when Will leaves so all the great changes that have occurred since he turned 3 (calming down a little, more self-control, more understanding, not as reactionary, less of a temper etc.) have gone on hiatus while he tests me day after day. Maybe it's because he wants to know if things are still the same when Dad's gone, maybe he doesn't like the change, maybe he's too hot! or maybe he's just lapsing for awhile, probably some sort of combination of all of those and more I don't even know.

Anyway, he said some sweet things to me today that I wanted to remember for posterity. I had just gotten off the phone with Will and gotten myself really depressed b/c I was thinking about how when you're on your own with the kids, the weekends are no different than the weekdays = no break. I was laying on our bed trying to pull it together (Ben was already down for the night and Charley was playing with trucks in the living room) when Charley came in, crawled on the bed and said, "I just wanted to come snuggle with you and give you company." I started to lose it again.

Then he wanted me to come outside and play before his bedtime, so we did (after a good hug and kiss). I, of course, had to tell him how much I loved him and how happy he made me and he said, "because I help my baby brother and a good boy?" and a list of a few other things I can't remember now. Then he set up some chairs and a little table as a foot rest and we sat there together talking (with our feet up together, so cute!) and asked, "Do you think Daddy would like doing this too?".

Then we made pretend snacks out of the maple tree seeds, then we made a train track out of them, then we blew them on the ground, it was so much fun! Then, he wanted to play catch with the nerf football, and to my amazement, he can catch now! So we had such a blast actually throwing the ball back and forth and I felt so lucky to be the mother of two little boys that will want to play sports with me (hopefully) :) He even put a spin on the ball a couple of times! :) Now just a year or two more and we can all go camping. Charley could probably go now, but I don't think Ben would do well, especially in a tent at night. ahh someday!

I'm also holding out for a girl and she will hopefully want to play sports and camp too, and with a mother and grandmother who love those things, I'll be surprised if she doesn't. In fact, my Mom taught me more about sports than my Dad and was a bigger sports fan in our house. It's funny because now I'm the bigger sports fan in our house, although I don't keep up with it right now for obvious reasons. Anyway, Will knows that I'd be happy having even four boys before we had a girl. I think we'd finally stop at boy 5, but hopefully, we'll have a girl before that. If not, I think we'd seriously consider adopting one. :) Who knows, maybe we're not even supposed to have that many kids b/c the two we've got require so much activity and energy. One kid at a time then, until God gives us peace that we're done.

Anyway, all that to say I had a lovely evening with my son at the end of a very hot day. :) Thank you Lord!

10 years ago . . .

2007-07-30T19:19:00.000-05:00

It was strange and wonderful being back in my hometown of Houston for my 10 year high school reunion this past weekend. 10 years ago I graduated and moved away (probably for good). It's a fun town, more so than it probably gets press for and it was so great to see so many people I had gone to elementary, middle and high school with. My family never moved in my 18 years at home so I was always in the same school district with some of the same friends, some of whose parents also haven't moved. : ) It was great to see how successful so many of them were and also how much so many of them had overcome. It made me feel blessed in my own right, but also special to be a part of such a great group of people. It was also fun to find out how many of them are living in this area so I really want to get together an Alief/New-England reunion sometime before we move. New Years anyone?!

One of the very different and great things about Alief is that it is so equally diverse. There is no real majority of race and a couple of nights ago I was standing next to my Chinese, Hispanic, Black, Arab and Indian friends almost in amazement that we were all so close and actually all in the same room. I seriously think the last time I was in a room that diverse was probably when I had my driver's license picture taken a few years ago and I was in Houston then too! I feel fortunate to have been able to attend a high school like that because I got the chance to learn so much about so many different people, races, religions, cultures, etc. It was more of an education than I bargained for and I will always be grateful that when a lot of our friends were moving farther out into the suburbs, we stayed in the shadow of Houston (just outside the city limits) in what became a more diverse area every year.

One comment that was fun to hear from the people who had moved away from the state and come back to visit, was how friendly Texas was and how they missed it. I was surprised to keep hearing it from different people in different conversations throughout the two night reunion. I wasn't able to attend the final family get-together on Sunday because I had to catch an early flight home, but I'm so grateful that my husband supported me going. I had a wonderful time and had a blast catching up with some very old friends.

another New England saying, Holy catholic church, one body, one Christ

2007-07-23T09:38:00.000-05:00

As I was on the plane to Kansas (last May)(well to Detroit since that's where my layover was) for a former roommate and bridesmaids wedding, I sat next to a lady in a Catholic missions group. The group was on the plane too. She referred to New England Christians as the "frozen chosen". I thought that was hilarious, but pretty accurate. New England is a very challenging area spiritually (to put it delicately). It's interesting too because this is where the nation began and so many great men of the faith lived and attended church here. Anyway, times have changed. Now it's a very liberal area for the most part. The New England Christians I have met are quieter about their faith and not very evangelistic. However, the show their faith in other ways such as serving and helping the people and community around them. They are there for you when you need them most. They have a quiet, commitment to their friends and their church. I'm not referring to just Protestants in the area, since it's a predominantly Catholic area, I'm referring to ALL Christians. I have met some wonderful Catholic brothers and sisters in our neighborhood as well.

Which reminds me of something I believe and have wanted to convey for a long time. I just want to express the importance of our responsibility as Christians and Protestants of any denomination to support our Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ. Their church has gone through some difficult times as we all know and this has done a lot of damage to their witness and shaken their faith. I've talked to several people who have dismissed going to church at all (and believing in anything related to church) because of what's happened. So this is when we need to pray for them and for the Catholic church because we're really a part of the one Holy catholic (lower-case) church under one Lord and one Saviour, Jesus Christ.

I watched the replacement process of the pope pretty closely and was excited that they elected a conservative pope, Pope Benedict, to follow John Paul II. Because of the influence and power of the Catholic church and the stance that they have on certain issues such as abortion and homosexuality, I thought this was important. We need to remember that we are on the same side when it comes to these issues, even if we disagree about how to worship or on the leadership of the church etc.

I was disappointed when Pope Benedict issued a document a couple of weeks ago saying that the Roman Catholic church was the only true church and that Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches and thus, don't have the means to salvation. This really ignores that we all serve the same God. He asserts that Jesus only created one church, but we believe this is for all who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and died and rose again for our sins.

Despite that however, I still believe we should, with full knowledge of our disagreements and differences, choose to support each other in our common missions and goals whether this be a political or moral stance, or simply to help people begin a relationship with Jesus.

busy July

2007-07-23T07:55:00.000-05:00

Wow, this month is flying! I just finished an incredibly busy week leading VBS singing and reviews at the beginning and end of the day with a friend. It was so fun to be up there in front of all the kids doing motions to fun songs and recapping the days' stories and Bible points and verses. Too bad we will have moved the same time next year. Maybe we'll be moved in enough so I can do it again though. SO much fun. We even did a recap on Sunday for the church. We had the kids come up and do a couple of songs, then retold a Bible story from the passed week. The kids love watching the wall of Jericho fall down! :)

Anyway, this Thursday, my gracious husband is watching the kids so I can go down to my 10 year high school reunion. Then when I fly home on Sunday, he drives 10 hours down to Dalgren, VA to begin classes there for 2 months. So we basically have 3 days left together until he's gone, except for any weekends he's able to fly up and visit. I'm hoping some of his family will come visit. Also, I have my sights set on September when pre-school starts because that will be different, fun and exciting and it will begin a whole new schedule for us. I already plan on going over a little pre-school book with him just to start home lessons during Ben's morning nap, just to get him into a routine and try to get him ready. Also, I'm hoping our little lessons go well so that he might enjoy home schooling later on if I decide we need to do that.

That's one of our plans now if we move back into our house in Norfolk. The public schools in our area are not good and we knew that moving in, but we had small children and knew we'd move before they would attend school. We didn't count on really loving that house though. :) So if we move back there I'll either put him in private school at Norfolk Christian or home school. The other option is buying another house in a good school district and letting him go to public school. I really like Norfolk Christian though, it's just a big investment. It's actually a very reasonably priced private school associated with the church we attended while we were in Norfolk, Tabernacle Church. Several of our friends attended and one of our friends teaches there. I think it's worth it, we'll just have to budget for it if that's what we decide to do. Who knows, our orders might change and we might not even be stationed in Norfolk. I really love the Norfolk, Virginia Beach area though. We'll see!

we're home!

2007-07-18T14:57:00.000-05:00

what a whirlwind! We went to Europe and back in less than a week. Everything worked like clockwork, barely, and we made it! In fact, I was laughing at what a checklist might look like for what we did so here goes . . .

(oh yeah, we drove to Newburgh, NY on Wednesday afternoon to be near Stewart AFRB and catch our Thursday flight to Dover)
1. Thursday: catch "ify" mac flight to Dover then find out flight to Ramstein has been cancelled . . . check
2. surprise Dover AFB staff and try to fit on different plane going to Ramstein, Germany . . . check
3. 6 AM Friday morning: make it to Germany on a noisy C-5 (wearing earplugs the whole way) watching a sunset and sunrise (really cool) over a 7 hour flight and take taxi to nearby train station (by the way, "try to communicate in German" should be at the end of some of these next few) . . . check
4. buy correct passes/tickets for traveling through Germany and on to Prague . . . check
5. catch four trains, make all connections (usually late), poorly order lunch on train, sleep on train (barely), sit in wrong seats reserved for same people twice . . . check
6. get passports stamped when crossing Czech border (tense, but fun!) . . . check
7. end up in Prague and figure out how to take metro to our stop to meet Will's family . . . check
8. arrive w/i half and hour of the rehearsal dinner, meet Andrew and family for first time (Elanor's fiancee), surprise everyone that we actually made it . . . check
9. call mom back in RI with Will's Aunt's blackberry and cry b/c I miss my kids (that actually happened 3 times over the course of our trip) :) . . . check
10. Friday night and Sunday morning: attend rehearsal dinner, relax Saturday morning, walk through Prague (touristy part), get awkward pedicure and manicure from lady who barely spoke English, learn a bunch of Czech words, get Czech money (crowns) . . . check
11. attend beautiful, and very different Anglican wedding at 7 PM and see Elanor and Andrew ride off to reception in horse drawn carriage . . . check
12. attend reception and get to bed at midnight suffering from jetlag :) . . . check
13. Sunday: finish gift shopping Sunday morning after sleeping late and finding a French Czech restaurant to have breakfast at . . . check
14. train back to Germany, not able to buy ticket at all at first and irritating Czech attendant when we only have Euro's to pay for it . . . check
15. stop in Munich late for the night, no place to stay, hungry, figure our how to use pay phone and call hotel, take taxi to hotel, arrive at 11, walk to dinner a few blocks away (still open thank the Lord) and finally sleep at 1 . . . check
16. Monday: walk through Englisher Garten (largest inner city garden in Europe) get rained on twice, figure out metro system back to huge Deutche Bohn (German train) station where we had Burger King and sank into our private first class train room for long trip back to Kaiserslautern train station . . . check
17. after 2 or 3 train changes arrive in Ramstein, taxi back to base and sign up for mac flight leaving on Tuesday . . . check
18. Tuesday: after staying in cute hotel in town of Ramstein and having a nice meal at a local restaurant the night before, we taxi to Ramstein base at 8 AM to stand in line and hopefully catch a potentially very full flight back to Dover, DE . . . check
19. make it on flight, whew! (note: when flying space-A on a free military flight, you are not guaranteed a seat. You are given priority in travel based on your Class and when you signed up for the flight. We are Class 3 (active duty) and signed up for the flight 5 days before when we arrived. There were 99 seats to fill and a large room full of people to fill them, thus the thrill of "making" the flight!!) . . . check
20. arrive in US on Tuesday afternoon and fly to Providence, RI on a delayed flight (now 2 AM Germany time and we are tired!! Germany is 6 hours ahead of East Coast time) . . . check
21. friends pick us up at Providence airport and we arrive safely home in Middletown at 9:30 (now 3:30 AM German time) ugh! but soooo happy to hold sleeping children and see Mom!!! . . . check
22. Wednesday: drive back to Stewart AFRB to get car where we left it, see West Point and beautiful Hudson river valley along the way . . . check

Whew! what a trip!! My Mom did a wonderful job with the boys, I swear they didn't miss us. :) She flew out on Friday and I began VBS as a singing/drama leader this past Monday. We're still going!! Will leaves July 31 for a 2 month school in Dalgren, VA the same day I return from my 10 year high school reunion in Houston. This summer is flying by! Thanks for all the prayers of safely while we were gone. I'll post pics when I can. Germany was absolutely beautiful country! I wish we could be stationed there for a little while so we could learn the language and culture. Taking the train around really enabled us to see so much and the public transportation system in Europe is so incredible, it's amazing (and probably a shame) we don't have the same thing in place over here. It was so easy to get around and once you were on a train you didn't have to worry about driving and you had time to talk, or rest, or sleep or read . . . it was wonderful!! :)

waiting . . .

2007-07-03T22:04:00.000-05:00

Well, our mac flight was canceled today (which is completely common for mac flights, that's why they're free) :) so then we spent a few hours in the morning trying to buy a last minute flight+hotel deal and the website wasn't letting us through. After a few hours on the phone and trying different things, Will finally had to take a break. That was all before 10 AM this morning. So then I called another base and found out they had a flight to where we need to go later on this week. We're going to try to catch that one, and all the trains to take us to Prague after we get to Europe. Getting back here should be less challenging, but just as interesting. We'll see. :) If it comes down to the wire, we'll buy me a ticket home and Will will follow later on a free flight.

All this going back and forth between commercial and military/train travel has been a bit stressful, but we're easing into the drama. It will be quite a story for later though, that's for sure! :) We're trying to take things one step at a time, not taking anything for sure, or granted and if we make it, wonderful, if not, well, we really tried. I know Will would be more disappointed than that though since it's his sisters wedding, but we were never sure we would even make it in the first place.

Anyway, we're both nearly packed in our hiking backpacks and feeling more prepared now than if we had left this morning. Plus, we don't have to pack as many clothes since we're leaving later so that's a plus too. Oh yeah, and we get to spend more time with my mom and leave her here for less time alone with the boys. I'm going to miss them so much!

Well, time to start our trip again . . . tomorrow :)

zzzzzzzzzz

2007-07-01T21:41:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, another thing we did this past week was get a new mattress. We have had a hand-me-down one since we got married that was well-worn before we got it. We opted for a Simmons Beautyrest Plush top in a King size. :) The thing is 15 inches thick!! Anyway, it's so comfy and we're sleeping and feeling so much better on it. Mattresses can make a huge difference in how you feel and I'm so glad we finally got a new one.

We went with a King because we enjoy snuggling with the boys in the morning, but we were always getting trampled on before if they decided to start moving around. Plus, we plan to have more kids and thought it would be fun to have the space as a family. We wrestle, and tickle and play on the bed so it's like a soft, social gathering area at certain times of the day in our house. :) Also, my circulation has been bad since I was a kid. Limbs would fall asleep in elementary school if I sat the wrong way. So now, it's nice to be able to stretch out at night and not poke Will. Yes, I'm one of those people who can't touch anyone if I'm trying to sleep. Unless I'm really tired and we're snuggling. That works.

Before we got it Will said the only reason he slept on our previous mattress and not on the couch was because I was there. Now he actually looks forward to going to sleep. Amazingly, it also makes it easier to get up in the morning, because we feel so good! Time to go try it out again for the second night while I wait for Will to get home from the Boston airport with my Mom! YAY! zzzzzzzzzz

one by one

2007-07-01T21:26:00.000-05:00

my goodness what a busy summer we're having, and I don't even have kids in school yet! Will and his friends made it home last Monday from their boat trip. We spent all week running errands and doing chores since he had the week off. We also, just enjoyed some downtime. I'm not sure we had time for the downtime, but it was nice to relax anyway and be together after the busy weeks we'd had before with Will graduating, and the boat trip etc.

I busied myself getting the house in order for a trip to Prague, Czech Republic this week. Will's sister is getting married over there this Saturday, July 7 to a guy she met at Abilene Christian U who's from Ohio I think. They're over there on a year long mission trip. I haven't said much about the trip because I wasn't sure if we would be able to go, but pieces are falling into place and it looks like it will happen. We're going to try to mac-flight (military space-available) out of a nearby reserve base over to Ramstein in Germany, then take trains over to Prague. All of it is a little tricky with security measures, timing, luggage (backpacks basically) not to mention language and exchange barriers. It will be an adventure for sure! My mom is flying in tonight to take care of the boys for us for 2 weeks. Hopefully we'll make it back in time to spend time with her before she leaves though.

Bon Voyage! (I'll have to look up how to say that in Czech)

long day starting at 1 AM

2007-06-23T10:42:00.000-05:00

So, putting Charley to bed in undies w/o anything to drink and going to the potty right before bed still didn't work. He woke up crying around 1:15 AM because he was all wet. The only sheets I had left were some girly pink striped ones and a floral pillowcase. :) I'm still washing his other ones from wetting the last two nights before last night. Still, after I changed all his clothes and his bed, he came back in to snuggle with me at 1:50. I let him stay until around 2:15, but then I couldn't fall back to sleep until around 2:45! Ugh!! Then wake up call every morning is just before 6 and I try to stay in bed and make them wait until 6:30. It's not really a relaxing time for me though. So I dragged myself out of bed and now it's 11:45 and I still feel like I'm half asleep. We played outside and went to BJ's this morning. They're down for an early nap so we can go to the air show in the early afternoon. So, I'd better grab a nap while I can! See ya!

tears of relief, joy, pride

2007-06-22T19:24:00.000-05:00

So today is day 3 since Will's been on the boating trip. He said it's been a little rougher than they expected with some engine trouble and rough seas, but they made up a lot of time today with some smoother waters and might make their destination of Annapolis by tomorrow. He got sea sick today though, which wasn't fun, but said he's feeling better.

My plan for today was to take the kids to the mall. I had some things to return and there was a big sale going on that I wanted to use a 20% off coupon with. We left at 9ish this morning for a 40-45 minute drive to the Warwick mall. The thought was for Ben to take his morning nap in the car on the way, and for us to be home before 12/1 o'clock naps in the afternoon. :) ha ha I was also planning on going to Target after the mall. Well, Ben did sleep in the car, but we never made it to Target and didn't leave the mall until 12:50. They usually are napping by then. :) It turns out that I got an even bigger discount on some things I needed because I got to apply for a new Macy's card so I wanted to use it to get stuff I might wait on (but really need later) that I really liked. I'm pretty good about returning stuff I realize I don't need right away anyway. By the way, I think that's the second time I had been to the mall all year so I tend to cram all my shopping in at once for stuff I've been waiting to get. Anyway, that's why we were there for so long. It was fun and the day flew because of it, which was nice.

Ok, enough about shopping. The real reason I wanted to post is because the boys were soooo good for me that I actually cried when we left. We ended up staying and have lunch at the mall and I had some returns from VS to make (they're have a big sale too) and then we went back to Macy's where I actually tried on a dress, took Charley to the potty for the second time and then made it out to the car when I realized (after the kids were buckled in) that we'd left Ben's bear/blanket inside. I just couldn't leave them and run in really quick so I got them out, left the stroller and walked in. Someone had left it right inside the door on a display knowing I'd come back and find it. I was just so proud of them. They didn't whine, or fuss, or pick at each other (well barely at all). Charley told me he had to go potty and went! He sat in his chair at lunch and I didn't have to strap him to a high chair or the stroller. He stood halfway on the stroller and the chair most of the time, but that was fine, at least he was staying put. He's so active, especially after being tied to a stroller for an hour or two, that he needs some running time, but he was sooo good for me. I was really surprised actually. Turning 3 has really done wonders for him or he's turning a corner or something. He didn't break down or throw a fit about anything and we all talked and had fun the whole time! (he did when we got home because he was sooo tired, but that's my fault) :) I was so grateful b/c the morning didn't start out that smoothly and Charley was crying for Daddy twice before 8 AM. But, we made it out of the house, whew! and on the way home, Ben slept, and I managed to keep Charley awake passed his nap time so we could make it home. We got home at 1:30. Ben went right down and I made Charley go down at 2. He slept for 2 hours and Ben stayed down for the same time as well so all in all, Ben slept for 3 hours and Charley 2. I didn't sleep because I had coke for lunch, but I still rested. It was a nice break. The evening was long, but we made it and tomorrow we're going to the air show to see the Blue Angels! Sunday is church and another long afternoon and then Will flies home Monday!! :) and I will have made it. ugh deployment is going to be a beast! At least Charley will be in school. :)

Anyway, another really neat thing is that it seemed like at every store or place we went, there was never a line, then one would develop right behind me. I felt like God was just sheltering me or giving me an easy time or something just to give me a break. It was really nice. Thank you Lord for whatever You were doing. I felt your love so many times, and thank you for my wonderful boys and that they did so well today. I really needed that!

Also, I have to mention, in other news, Charley went #2 for the second time again today!! I'm so excited. It so strange what a difference being potty trained makes. He's really getting the hang of it. He didn't have an accident all day and is getting to the point where he's only having them at night. I should have put him in a pull-up, but I want him to get up and go. I don't know, maybe night is another step for later on. I know people who still put their 4 & 5 year olds in pull-ups just in case. I don't think I'll do that, but the whole potty training thing is still new so maybe I should. Well, he's in undies tonight, went pee right before bed and hadn't had anything to drink for an hour or two before bed, so we'll see if that helps. :)

g'night!

ahh beautiful opera!

2007-06-21T21:10:00.001-05:00

I stumbled upon this clip in another blog and had to post it. It's absolutely beautiful. Paul Potts, the latest America's Got Talent winner sings "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot. Just beautiful!

Boat trip news

2007-06-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

. . . it was too foggy for the guys to leave when they had planned this morning. So after going to bed at 12:30 last night and getting up at 5 something, driving Will to the boat, going home to get something he wanted and coming back, we all ended up going to have breakfast then coming back to the boat. That's when Will discovered he forgot the laptop charger and had to take me back home to get it. It was already 9 something and Ben was asleep. It's just funny because he could have driven himself in the first place. It was a fun adventure even though we were very tired. It will be a long day for the guys trying to navigate through pea soup and showers. They're supposed to make it to Long Island to the Merchant Marine Academy which apparently is a mansion and the former residence of a Roosevelt or some other wealthy person, I can't remember.

As for me, we all came home and took naps. I was so glad Charley was tired and ready to sleep. It means that he won't nap this afternoon, but that's ok. The day has been moving quickly and I'm got a babysitter tonight for a First Presbyterian Ladies Night Out at a Pawsocks game in Newport. I'm not a big baseball fan, but it will be fun to get away again and hang out with the ladies.