Nie Nie

I have to share my absolute favorite blog with you all. Nie NIe Dialogues Stephanie Nielson is the author of Nie Nie Dialogues.Her husband and her were in a plane crash in 2008 and they spent a long time in the hospital. You may have seen them on tv. They do quite a few interviews. I am always inspired when I read this blog and I know I can do all things when I see the things she has accomplished after going through so much. She will be adding to her family soon, Stephanie is pregnant. If you ever get a chance to stop by her blog, do it, its' amazing. I never go a day without thinking of Stephanie. If she could come through this with joy then I know I can get through anything with Joy too.

Food Matters

Food Matters. Thanks to my friend, The Not So Perfect Housewife, I am able to share this clip with you. If you care anything about our food supply or the foods we eat then sign up to see the whole movie free between Oct.2nd. to the 8th.

Luckily Pamela hooked me up with this fabulous Fall blog challenge or else my blog would never get the boost it needs. If you want to participate go on over here. Today is day 1 and you have to list some of your favorite Fall traditions. so here are mine:

Dallas Cowboys!!!!! I love the Cowboys, probably because of all the years I lived in OK but I love the Fall because it is the start of the NFL and for me it's all about the Cowboys.

I like that the leaves turn colors and I love sweatshirt weather. Although I spent 9 years living in HI and can't wait to be back, I am enjoying the Fall for now.

pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies.....and on and on and on.

The kids love their church activity that is their version of trick or treating. Although the costumes are always religious. They have a lot of fun.

Middle school football. Both my boys are playing this year and I can't wait to see the kids games. I love football of any kind and It's fun to watch the kids especially. My oldest plays for Greenville Christian college in Illinois but sadly I have to miss those games.

Outlander.....

This is not my usual genre of book I read, and I have tried reading this at least 4 times over the years, but after watching "Camelot" on Starz, I got hooked on knights and castles. So I picked this book up once again and I will tell you by page 300 I was so hooked that I went on to read the second book "Drangonflies in Amber" and am now going to the library to grab the 3rd "Voyager." Now I know why these books are so popular. There are 7 in the series and I am on number 3. Who want's to bet I will read all 7 in a row lol!

9/11

Happy birthday to my daughter Kira 9/11/83 and happy birthday to my son Josh 9/11/85. Pray for our soldiers. Things are crazy right now over in A-stan and I kind of wished the US would of held off on all these memorial things until the war was over and our men and women were on safer ground. If you ask me and you read the news today, this is a recipe for disaster. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but if you have a loved one deployed right now you would know that 9/11 is not done and that all of these things are really making it hard for the soldiers over there. So sad. Praying for the US and our safety today.

School begins again

Well summer is coming to an end and it's back to school on Wednesday. I will miss the boys. They have had a lot of fun at the new park pictured above. We don't have long summers here in WA like we did in HI so we enjoy every day. I can't wait to get back to HI because summer is my favorite. Dominic is doing well in Afghanistan and we are doing well here but time is moving slowly. I'm sure once school starts it will be back to business. I volunteer at their school so that keeps me well occupied. Is everyone ready for the school year??

busy blogger

I have been so busy with getting the three boys ready for school. Supplies, clothes, shoes, sports equipment, etc. It's been crazy so no blogging for awhile. Also there has been an injury in my husbands unit so prayer's are needed. The soldier is doing well so that is the good news. We have been set up to make meals for the family. Any good ideas. I am going to make a chicken cordon bleu casserole!

Christian Cinema

There is a wonderful Christian movie rental web site that rents out only Christian movies and shows. It is called Christiancinema.com. Years ago it fell under a different name, but it is still an awesome company. If you like to rent Christian movies from new realeases like Soul Surfer and Grace Card, or Christian documentaries, Animated, Biblical drama, family, holiday, home school, this is the place for you. I am a member and it works exactly like Netflix yet everything on the site is Christian, period. No garbage. Check it out.

Getting ready for school

It's soon time for the kids to go back to school. They will go back by Sept. 7. They are used to Hawaii school's that have a year round modified approach so this has been the longest break they have had. They are ready to begin the year. I can't believe all the school supplies we have needed and all the physicals for sports. It's just crazy but slowly we are getting things done. I am looking forward to our lives back in Hawaii where it seems the year runs more smoothly with frequent breaks every 3 months. This schedule I just can't get used too. How about you all. What is your school year like? How about supplies, do you need many?

Sonic...what can I say....Yumm-O!!!

Going to go here tonight for a chili dog. I have not been to a Sonic since 1996. I have not lived anywhere near one since then. I was so excited to find out we had Sonic here. I guess that's Army life...even a Sonic can excite you....when you haven't been to one in 15 years !!!!!!!

I am trying to learn to speak Spanish from this book. Don't ask me how that's going!

Hillsboro fair

We spent this past weekend with my daughter Kira and her family at the Washington County fair in Hillsboro OR. We had fun and the kids got their fill of rides and deep fried foods....twinkies, snickers, oreos, etc. One night we all had dinner at PF Changs. It was so good. They have family style food so you get to share and try all the dishes. The younger kids chowed down on the lo mein. If you have one of these restaurants nearby you should try it. It was inexpensive, classy, and best of all YUMMY!!!!

Vacation time...

Darrian playing magic quest hotel interactive game

Water park
In room bunk beds
We went to this great indoor water park hotel called Great Wolf Lodge last weekend. The kids had a blast and it took their minds off of their dad going back to Afghanistan. The water park was amazing, the room with the separate bunk bed kids area was amazing, and even the magic quest hotel interactive game was amazing. All in all we had a great time. There are a few of these hotels in the US so if you ever get the chance to go to one it is a great experience. I can tell you though after that I was totally worn out. I have recovered and now will be headed to my daughter's house in Oregon to go to the Hillsboro carnival. I will let you all know how that turns out. The only one getting worn out this summer seems to be mom.

Faith Deployed Again

I am reading a wonderful book that one of my new blog friend's Tonya is featured in. It is becoming my favorite morning read with a cup of coffee in hand and a moment of time devoted to God. It is a book of devotions and I can tell you it is something really special. I think you could use this book even if your husband was not deployed, but since mine is, and this is the focus of the book, it has been a God send to me. I hope you will go over to Tonya's blog, which is awesome too, and check out the post she wrote about Faith Deployed Again. I know many people that this book could be a comfort too. I am even going to recommend it to my FRG at the meeting next month. I wish you the best with this book Tonya and I know it will do well and that God will use it to help many.

Busy

Since Dominic has been home for 2 weeks R&R, Vanessa has been in from Hawaii, and Brandon is home for the summer from college, we have been pretty busy. By Next week everyone will be gone except Brandon and the other 3 boys. I will be able to relax and get back to blogging and reading. For now, things are crazy, but fun. Hope everyone else is enjoying their summer.

Northwest Trek

Last week we visited a place called Northwest Trek. It was pretty cool. We got to ride on a tram that cruises you through a wildlife park that contains animals from the North West. We had a good day and got to see many animals. The kids loves it because the animals came right up to the windows of the Tram so we could get a good look at them. After our day we enjoyed dinner at Olive Garden, which was awesome, as always.

Darrin is very technical. He likes to fix things and do things like this (see pic above). I think he was a little bored the other day, with school just ending on the 27th, and waiting for summer school to begin on July 5th, he found something to occupy his time...this was it.

Dominic is due into the SeaTac tonight at 8:45pm and my son is due in from Hawaii tonight at 8:45pm, nice coincidence for them. They will take the shuttle home and be here around 10:45. Hopefully there are not glitches and Dominic will finally be able to start his leave.

Homecoming

Well Dominic is supposed to be home by July 1 for 2 weeks R&R but he and 2 other guys have not been able to get flights out of Afghanistan for the past 5 days because of weather, sand storms and all that. He was supposed to get a flight out last night for the first leg of his trip but so far I am not sure how that went. He won't make it home by July 1st but luckily his leave won't start until the day he signs in here. I am praying he gets home soon. It is hard for the guys to be waiting for flights all the time.

Happy Birthday Stephanie

I just wanted to wish my little sister a Happy Birthday. she blogs at: Stephanie's written word. Her blog is a book blog and she does a good job with it, so if you are a reader you might want to check it out.

Darrian fooling around in his older brother's hat, doesn't he think he's the big shot!
So what is everyone doing for the 4th of July? My daughter wants me to come down to Oregon for a picnic but since falling down the stairs and cracking my tail bone (butt!!!) I have not found driving very comfortable, so unless it starts healing quickly then I don't think I will be making any big trips for the 4th of July. I have been using a dohnut, you know those things they give you after you have a baby to sit on, but after awhile even that doesn't seem to cut the mustard. My Dr. says it takes about 6 weeks. 6 weeks, it he nuts? It's not his fault, but for one tiny crack you'd think it would heal a little faster or maybe feel a little better a little sooner. So far though that hasn't happened.