Darrian fell asleep with his deployment doll last night. I think these are a great idea. If you don't already have one, and are in the Army, you can suggest the deployment doll to your FRG and they can try to locate them. I am not sure if they have them for the other services, but I don't see why not. You can put a picture of your loved one in the face and it is just something a little extra to hang onto while daddy or mommy are away. We have 2 because I got one when my husband last went to Iraq and then they gave them out here. So I put one in my older boys room and my younger one sleeps with his, and me of course. He has stolen daddies spot since dad has been gone. He tells me he doesn't want me to be lonely. I tell him that when dad get's back he get's his spot back. I know this is probably not a good habit in the normal world, but he no longer lives in the normal world. In the normal world dad's don't go to war. So sometimes living the military life you make exceptions. Not many, but some. Anyway I thought some of you might like to know about these if you have kids.

Happy Birthday Raya

My grandaughter Rielyn (Raya for short) had a birthday on March 20, the day before my son Brandon. So we had a birthday party for her at her second Mama Rachael's house last Saturday. There she is in the middle with the right sided pony tale enjoying her pizza. We had a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed it.

Today I got an e-mail from Dominic so at least for now I know he's safe.

Goodye Jeremy Sherwood

Yesterday a soldier on Army Wives was killed in action. The episode was heart breaking yet so well done. Normally I would not watch something like this with my husband being deployed, but I've watched the show since day one and I wasn't going to miss this episode. Apparently in the following weeks the death of Jeremy will cause the wives to question everything they believe in. I think this has to be done. In fact since I have been at Ft. Lewis there have been many of us wives in my neighborhood and their kids who have questioned their beliefs. You see there is a lady around the corner from me who lost her first husband in Iraq. My son's play with her daughter. Her daughter is only 13 and an Atheist. She told me she lost her faith when her dad was killed. IT saddens me when I pass her SUV parked in front of her house all the time and on the back is a magnet that says "we love our hero Sgt. So and so," that was her dad There isn't a day that this doesn't impact me. Then their is my sons friend who lives next door. His dad was wounded in Iraq and has very little use of his arms. We have become friends with both families. Both families go to our church. What they have gone through is more then anyone should have to. My hat goes off to Army Wives for not only portraying the death of Jeremy accurately, but of following up on the impact of his death in weeks to come. Was anyone else affected by this show, especially this episode? I know my friend Sandra (Diary of a stay at home mom) was because the episode barely ended and we were chatting about it on facebook. I could tell that it was heart wrenching for her too. She is also a military wife and Knows many others in the military. So I think for us it was just a little too close to home. So with tears in my eyes I will finish this post.

Congratulations Darrian

Yesterday Darrian got an award for Student of the month for responsibility. He struggles a little in school so he was very happy to get this award. There he is scratching his head as his principal looks on.

Everyone who knows me knows I love the cooking show Extra Virgin. I act like I know Debi and Gabriele personally. Last night I sat with the boys until 10:30 pm catching up on the episodes I missed. Today I made Gabriele's Bruschetta Pizzaiola. It was delicious and so easy to make. I gathered all the ingredients, went to work chopping and mixing and then put the mixture on sliced Italian bread that had been toasted. Popped them in to the oven for 10 minutes and the next thing you know we were eating Bruschetta to die for. There will be many recipes over the next few months I make after watching Debi and Gabriele. I will share them with you. In the meantime check out Extra Virgin if you like cooking shows. It think it's one of the best for authentic Italian food. After all Gabriele is from Tuscany.

MilSpouse Friday Fill in

There is a wonderful blog out there called Wife of a Sailor and she has this Fill-in so that Military spouses can get to know each other better. The questions could pertain to people outside the military also. So if anyone wants to participate I would go on over to her blog Thursday and get the questions and answer them for Fridays blog. I'm finding this to be great fun. I love reading the other spouses answers. Here goes: 1. What is your must have gadget? submitted by Flying High With My Flyboy: Cell phone with a qwerty keyboard. I love being able to text my husband and friends all day and I especially like knowing the kid's and their school can get in touch with me at any time. Also my Kitchen Aid blender, is this a gadget? DVR, can't forget this one.
2. How does your adulthood compare to what you imagined it would be like when you were a little kid? submitted by L to the Third: I think it's better then I imagined. I always thought I would work in the Medical field and have a family. I ended up volunteering at my kid's school and having 7 children. I still love anything Medical, but my heart lies in working with kids. I found my soul mate and nothing could have prepared me for this. This has been the best thing that ever happened to me. I always imagined a white knight marrying me and I got one. So my adulthood definitely is better then I could of ever imagined. Also being able to travel all over the place: Germany, Spain, France, Hawaii, doesn't hurt either.
3. What is your favorite chocolate recipe? submitted by Our First Deployment: Brownies, brownies, and brownies.
4. How do you deal with military life when it gets to be to much or to hard? submitted by Combat Boots And Pointe Shoes: I watch mindless tv, or lose myself in a book, or just imagine what it would be like if I couldn't show my kids their is a whole world out there that the Army is enabling us to experience.
5. What piece of advice would you give a new Military spouse facing their first deployment? submitted by The Albrecht Squad: You don't need to go home. Staying close to the base and helping the FRG is a lot of fun and who else can support you better then the spouses going through the deployment at this moment. In fact that is what I am doing right now, Immersing myself in the FRG. Blog, there are spouses out there who can give you a world of info. Have a life of your own. Whether that's work, volunteering, anything. Hobbies help too. I scrapbook and blog when my husband is gone so he can feel connected. Can you tell this is old hat for me.

Can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with tomorrow!

Surreal

Surreal...How else to explain the first few weeks of deployment. It feels like I am walking in a fog. Today I found myself wandering around the commissary without even glancing at my list. I have been down this road before and the feeling never changes. Until Dominic is safe on the ground, settled in, and able to shoot us an e-mail here and there, I know this feeling will hang around. I plan on it being different every time but it never is. It's hard getting used to being by myself. I have the kids, but it's not the same. No more listening for the van to pull up front at night, no more "I love you" texts during the day, and no more impromptu lunches. If the hubby was here I know just what I'd text..."How bout that sun Eyore?" I call my hubby Eyore because when it comes to weather he only likes sun and we live in WA, need I say more. I tease him about it all the time. Anyway that's what I would text him. He would of course text something amusing back, but for now I will have to wait. His last text was from McChord AFB last night as he loaded the plane. Tonight I will take over all the stuff that dad likes to do. It will be the first time I drive 20 minutes to Lacey to take my son to youth group. His dad always gets home on Wednesday night by 6:30 to drive him, no matter what, even if he has to go back into work. It will be strange, but it will be my job. Until he returns things will be like looking through glass, but I know he is trained well and will do his best to keep him and his soldiers safe. For now, we will survive.

Goodbye my love....see you soon...Godspeed

This is the last picture I have this morning of dropping the hubby off at his company (he looks like a polar bear, overdressed as usual, trying to recreate the Hawaiian heat he enjoys so much). Please pray for the 54th MP company to have safe travel and a safe deployment. Dominic is supposed to be home in July so we can attend a family reunion. I am hopeful all goes well. Also please pray for my new blog friend Mari's son who is also deployed to Afghanistan. I will be praying for my husband, Mari's son, and all the men and women of the Armed Forces. Please join me. Thank You.

IHOP

Dad is deploying tomorrow night so we have been having a bit of fun as a family. We went to the IHOP last night for dinner, which was fun, except for the fact that my hubby chose chocolate chip pancakes and was not happy when he ended up with chocolate chocolate chip pancakes. I told him to try the Cinn-a-stack, which my good friend Pamela recommended, Thanks Pamela, but he stuck with his old favorite, except for his old favorite doesn't include the pancakes being chocolate too. That's why you should always read the description before making your choice. I'll have to say the Cinn-a-stack was to die for though. Tonight we are going to the Red Robin and surely we will all be reading the hamburger description's before making our choices.


Can we all say YUMM-O!!!!!!

Milspouce Friday

Join us for MilSpouse Friday Fill-in over at Wife of a Sailor


1. What are some of your ideas for staying connected with family…you know, those people we moved thousands of miles away from? Skype. Also I keep my blog so my husband can look at it any time he gets the chance and so can my relatives and friends. This keeps them up to date on our lives past and present.
2. What’s the most romantic gift you have GIVEN? My hubby always try to buy me red roses on my birthday and Valentines day. I find red roses very romantic.
3. Would you encourage your child, if they came to you and wanted to join the military? Yes. I would encourage my children in any path they want to take. I have a son in college now who plans on enlisting in the air force afterward.
4. What is your least favorite bill to pay and why? Cell phone. we all have a phone and the bill is high and we barely have any services. I can't imagine what it would be if we all had internet capabilities.
5. What is the proudest moment you’ve had as a military spouse? So many I wouldn't know what to put. I'm always proud of the men and women in uniform. They really impress me.

New book....and deployment time....

I'm now reading "The Book Thief." I know many people have read this one and I just wanted to give it a try. I read mostly Christian fiction but once in awhile bear off the beaten path. I did not really like the last book I read because It was a little to progressive for me, but I liked knowing how other people think, so it was a worthwhile read.

Dominic is leaving for Afghanistan next week so it has been a busy time for us. I will have a whole year by myself so I'd better get used to it. It's always hard in the beginning but settle's down to a normal pace rather quickly. We just try to go about our day to day business and keep our mind off dad being in deployed. This seems to make the time go a bit faster. It will be strange with just occasional contact but he knows that I like to talk and that I will save up all I have to say for that phone call. Same with the kids. We write down things that are happening in their lives and then they won't forget anything when dad calls. And then there is my blog. This was the way we kept in touch last time. I post lot's of pictures of what we are doing and then he e-mails me all about what's going on. Thank God for modern technology. So be prepared for my blog to be filled with many pictures in this year.

Putting Away Childish Things

This is the first piece of fiction Marcus Borg wrote. Although I don't agree with many of his beliefs, I'm more of a C.S. Lewis type, I like to read about what other people may be thinking. So far I am enjoying the book but finding it very controversial. The main character has some Christian beliefs that are definitely not along the lines I believe in. All in all it gives a good picture of what a progressive type of Christian looks like.

The Veganist

I am reading "Veganist" by Kathy Freston and am really enjoying it. Most people who know me know I am a food nut in a way. I am a very picky eater so going Vegan would probably be rough for me. I do eat meat, minimally, and only bought at Whole Foods, but much of my diet still consists of dairy (ie, cheese, milk, eggs, etc.) which is not exactly Vegan. I am trying to eat less meat so I am on the hunt for the best alternatives out there. I do make a wicked baked ziti made with vegetable crumbles, which no one ever guesses is not meat, and I make a wicked fettuccine, shown above, which people also love, but not Vegan. So on my quest this year I will be showing some of my dinner's and letting people know how they taste when I veganize them. So Sat. it's hello again "Whole Foods" this time on the search for a perfect Vegan cheese...and of course a caramel sea salt gelato, my bad!

Time to get back to blogging....

...so I've said before. It's been awhile but I miss it. Life has been so busy. My husbands parents came for a visit. We had a lot of fun but it was too short. March 21 is leave day for hubby to make his way to Afghanistan. Please pray a blessing over him and his unit. I'm reading the Veganist and enjoying it. It's crazy how much I still have to learn about eating.

Our Pastor's new book

Here is the link to my Pastor's new book. He is doing his preaching on the things he wrote in this book and it's amazing. Last night he preached on how powerful the words we speak are. It was an awesome night. I learned a lot.

Ipad VS laptop. I love my Apple laptop but it is shot. I have had it evaluated and it would cost me almost as much to fix it as to buy a new one. I have heard that Ipad's are good but they still can't come close to a laptop. Does anyone have an opinion on this?

Anyone who knows a military person will appreciate this video

FT. HOOD TRIBUTE TO THE TROOPS

Happy New Year...Seattle style

We had a fun Christmas. The kids say it was one of the best we ever had and I'm pretty sure they were right. With 4 kids there it was crazy. I love lots of kids and lots of fun and lots of chaos. Anyway eating was so good especially since we got to share the holidays with my daughter, her kids, and Dawn's family. Definitely planning a repeat. Anyway here are some crazy videos, and I do mean crazy.

Merry Christmas

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

New kindle Skin

I love pink so when I saw this skin on Amazon for my Kindle for only $2.97 I had to have it.

Percy

I will be reading these books 1-3 to the boys over the Christmas holiday. Percy has dyslexia although he sounds a lot like he has ADHD. My boys can totally identify with Percy. Although Jr. has read the first one I want to read it to all 3 boys. I think they will get a lot out of these books and I will enjoy them too. Anyone reading anything interesting for the holiday season?

Trip to the tree farm

It was sunny yesterday and we took the kids to get our tree. Here are the pictures from the hunt for the perfect tree. The hubby wanted to know if you cut a tree and then find a better one what do you do. I told him I don't think you're supposed to do that.

Time to Decorate

I'm late this year with buying a tree and decorating the house inside and out. My neighbor put up a lot of lights as you can see. So when my hubby came home from work tonight I pointed to their house and said "I want you to do that." Let's see what happens. If anything I will get something going on this weekend. Probably not as elaborate, but Christmasy all the same.

Long Time No Blog.....

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a lot of people here and watched football most of the day. My dad is in from NJ, my daughter Vanessa was in from HI, and my son Brandon is in from Greenville College. Add them to my daughter Kira and three grandkids Julian, Kai'lie, and Rielyn and we had a fun day. The turkey dinner came from Safeway and Kira did most of the work putting out the spread so I had a great, relaxing day. Now everyone is going back home with my dad last to leave at the end of next week so I expect to get back to blogging a little bit more. Other then that it is time to get ready for Christmas.

I WON

Thanks to Sandra (from: Diary of a Stay At Home mom) I won this recordable book which Dominic can use before he deploys to Afghanistan. The kids will get to hear this read by him every night. I was so excited to see I won this special book. Thanks so much again Sandra.

Bought this......
But ended up with this................

The kids painted some cute little pumpkins for my fireplace mantle. I thought they were adorable. We did get a giant pumpkin that we will open next week so I can bake the seeds and mash the pumpkin for yummy treats.

Our God is Love....Hillsong....Australia 2010

I am always sitting in the on site Starbucks at church having my hot cocoa when I hear this song and I know it's time to go into the sanctuary. I love this part. It puts the whole service to a good start.

Message from Stephanie

I had to post this message from Stephanie. I have been following her since I heard about her plain crash from my sister and I am inspired almost every day by the things she writes on her blog. I thought what she said about motherhood in this message was beautiful. Her story is amazing. She is amazing.

Keurig or Tassimo?????

Keurig or Tassimo? Which one to get? My friend Pamela has the Keurig but the Tassimo has Gevalia as one of their discs and everyone knows I only drink Gevalia. Opinions?

Hawaii or bust!!!!!!

We decided to retire from the Army, 4 years to go, in Hawaii. Yes it's expensive, yes it's far away from the mainland, yes it's a scary move, but when me and the hubby met over 14 years ago we were both wild free spirits willing to try anything. Where did that take us? Germany, Spain, Washington, Hawaii....so why change now. You only live one life and Hawaii is where we want to be, so yes we are going for it...and nothing's gonna stop us now.

My dear friend Pamela from the blog (When Good People Get Together) recommended this meme to me. I thought it was so cool that I wanted to participate. As usual I am late getting it up but I'm sure that's okay. MilSpouse Friday Fill-In gives you questions that you can fill in the answers too so that you can get to know some of the military bloggers. For more check out the blog Wife of a Sailor.
So here goes:

This week’s questions are:

1. What characteristic about yourself has either been strengthened or weakened due to your experience as a Military Spouse? My tenacity. I have just used it recently in the move we made to WA. So many things I didn't like about my kids new school that I have been busy pushing my way in and making a difference. Weakness would have to be impatience. I don't like to be in the middle of change and that is what the military is all about. I am fine once I'm settled, I just hate limbo.
2. What is your favorite vacation spot and why? Hawaii. I lived there almost 9 years and it was like a total vacation, in fact we will retire there. Hawaii, need I say more.
3. If you could have any fast-food restaurant in the food court on base/post what would you pick? Chipotle's. Organic Mexican food. A healthy fast food restaurant. I am enjoying the one here in Federal Way but we don't have this on post.
4. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Las Vegas. We were married there so I call it my honeymoon.
5. If you could have any job in the world regardless of money, degree or experience, which job would you have and why? I don't really know. Probably some type of therapist. I like working with kids so maybe a guidance counselor in Middle school. Possibly elementary. I was at my kids school 4 hours yesterday helping put a new program into play and I totally loved being around the kids. Especially mine.

This is my favorite show on tv. The new season started last night and it was as funny as ever. Great entertainment.

Waiting for Superman

Anyone catch the Oprah Show about this new movie? Bill Gates was involved in this project and I can say it really made me think. My kids attend school here in WA. and I was wondering what is being done here where Mr. Gates lives. I sent an e-mail to his foundation and am awaiting a response. I have always had to supplement my kids education and I do believe that this is the job of the parents but I can't see how the schools cannot be improved just a little bit. This film was sad. It shows that the education system in America is really suffering. I have been very tempted to homeschool and won't be surprised to find myself going this route in the not too distant future. But I am wondering if my e-mail will generate any response. My kids school holds Middle Schoolers who parents are in the military and deploy quite frequently. The last thing these people need is to have to worry about what type of education their kids are getting. It's probably the biggest reason I don't work, so I can make sure I am available to supplement my kids education, but not everyone, especially people in the military, have this option.

Okay it's Damian's second day, technically. But I got a pic anyway. So far so good. He loves his school Of course today will only be the 3rd day so we will see.

First day of school

I will post some pics tomorrow but my camera is full and I need to download it. I did find out that breakfast is free in WA for school kids so that's awesome for me. I can only hope for reduced lunch.

Well rain has finally come but it doesn't look like it will stay. We will have to see. At least I did not have to water my grass last night.

Not much on the agenda today. Just enjoying the quite house for awhile.

School Days, School days, dear old golden rule days...

School starts Sept. 8th. It will be new for my 2 boys who will attend Middle School for the first time. Keep them in your prayers. I told them if they have any problems at all I will pull them out and home school them. They have never had problems before and I really like the Middle School they are going to attend, but it seems to me the mainland has really not got a handle on the bullying issues from what I have read. This is totally opposite in Hawaii where it is not tolerated. I am hopeful that they have a good year. My little one is going in to 2nd grade and my neighbors all like his school. Of course it is DOD (Dept. of Defense) and bullying is never tolerated in these schools so his year should go well. Let me know how your school year is going?

My daughter posted this picture of her family on myspace so I copied it. I haven't seen them in quite some time. They are still in Mexico. Hopefully they will be back in the US soon.

One picture....10,000 words

Finally, 10,000 lbs. unpacked. Need I say more.

Finally settled in WA...Kind of

We are in the house and Monday we will receive our furniture. Thank God. We will be able to set up my regular computer and I will be able to visit all my friends in blogland. We did get our van last Friday so no more walking lol. I hope all of you are doing well out there. Can't wait to be able to blog hop again.

New Home woohoo

Because of my daughters medical needs we are lucky enough to get a house on post immediately. Even luckier for me it is one of the historical houses I have always wanted to live in. It has a fireplace, a porch dining area, and dormer windows. I know I will enjoy making this house my home. Luckily it has a full basement and 4 bedrooms. And if anyone was wondering it was sunny and hot in WA today.

Moving

Our house is being packed out tomorrow and crated for shipping on Thursday. We will be in a hotel until the evening of July 27 then it is off to WA. The kids are excited to go to a new place even though we were already stationed at Ft. Lewis. I found out today that my friend, who took her baby to San Francisco last week , is home and that the baby has been diagnosed with infantile spasms and seizures. They may be sent to Lewis too in a few months. The baby is doing good and she had the perfect seizures while hospitalized. As soon as she did the neurosurgeons ran down from observation and got to see the whole thing. As much as this sucked for her it showed them a lot about her seizures. Anyway that's the news for this week.

Chuckie Cheese for Darrians Birthday

Darrian is 7 today. Happy Birthday my sweet boy. Here he is opening a few gifts.

I thought this was so cute. From the mouths of babes.

The Devil

Two boys were walking home from Sunday School. They had just heard a firm teaching about Satan.

"What do you think about all that devil stuff?" one boy asked.

"Oh, I don't know," said the other one. "Remember Santa Claus? He turned out to be just your dad. The devil's probably the same thing."

For more Friday Funnies go on over the Kim's blog, Homesteaders heart.

Pray for baby Hailey

Pray for Baby Hailey who is going to CA today to find out what type of seizures she is having and what can be done about them. Here she is in 3D glasses.

Friday Funnies

Q: Why did God create man before woman?
A: He didn't want any advice.


For more Friday Funnies go on over to Kim's blog, Homesteader's Heart.

Fourth of July...almost here

We will probably enjoy a last minute bbq with our neighbors and then walk up the hill to enjoy the fireworks at night. The kids have a huge box of poppers they can't wait to play with. What is everyone doing for the fourth?

I'm reading Lake News by Barbara Delinsky and so far I am enjoying it. What is everyone reading?

Vacation Bible School

The kids had vacation Bible school at church this week and they are really enjoying it. They have some type of cosmic theme where the leaders are dressed as astronauts and they made the church garbage cans into robots. I still think the most fun the kids have is at the end where our children's pastor, Pastor Mel, throws out t-shirts into the audience and if you catch one you get to keep it. Doesn't everyone like something they get for free? Anyone else doing VBS this summer?

New Show

For fans of the series "Hopkins" there will be a new show starting Thursday, Boston Med. Boston Med was filmed at 3 Massachusetts hospitals, Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women's, and Children's Hospital Boston. Check out this website if you are interested, as for me I can't wait.

Scott's Pool part 1

Darrian giggling as he came down Scott's pool slide.

Darrian comes down the slide then swims back to me.

Geeze doesn't anyone get sick of the slide, I should talk, I love it.

A day at the pool part 2

Damian climbing rock wall at Scott's Pool HI. The clip is shaky at the beginning, but the ending is fine.

The hubby filming me at Scott's Pool.

Damian, rock wall, again.

Jr. getting his diploma...we were told not to clap until the end

Miss Chung (PHK Principal) speaking at Jr's graduation