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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

Who needs a smile today?????



I can not look at this picture without smiling ;)

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Monday, June 21, 2010

Father's Day

Hope all the daddy's out there had a wonderful Father's Day! we had a busy, fun day!
Below are some pictures:


Father's day presents that the kids really enjoyed opening for Jason.


There is a story behind this picture. When I asked Jason what he wanted for Father's day, he would just "nothing" One day he calls me and tells me he know what he needs for Father's Day. Of course, I am thinking it is going to be something really expensive (b/c he likes big toys) but he surprises me and says he needs a nose hair trimmer. Well, I could not resist getting it after that. (what is it about once you reach your 30s hair grows in all the weirdest places???)


Jason grilled his famous ribs and his mom and I made sides and desserts. It was sooooo good and totally BLEW my diet (oh well, it was worth it)


After we left my in-laws we went to my dad's house for swimming and more yummy food.
Jason took the kids riding on the 4-wheeler. Here are J and Jack


J and Madi on the 4-wheeler


My favorite picture of the day, J with the kids. I am so thankful for the wonderful daddy that Jason is. We are so blessed!


Remember I said J likes "big toys" Well, this is my brothers and J finally got to ride it...look at that smile =) He wants one of these so bad but he is just going to have to wait a little while...maybe after deployment =)



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Saturday, June 19, 2010

Our Anniversary

Our 9th anniversary was this week. Since it was in the middle of the week, we waited till last night to go on a "hot" date. I <3 getting to go out on dates with my hubby! (sure am gonna miss that) We decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory because J had not ever ate there. I did not eat much the entire day because I knew we would get A LOT of food (and boy did we ever get A LOT of food) It was so yummy but my fave part was definitely the cheesecake...Out Of This World! It was so nice not to be rushed and actually enjoy our food. After dinner we walked around the stores (of course that meant stopping in the apple store and playing with the Ipads...yea, I definitely want one of those) It was so nice walking around, holding hands, and just window shopping. Somehow we ended up in a kids store looking at kids clothes (how do I always manage to do that??) It was still fun though and I am so thankful we had that time.

Below are some pics:


Our wedding day =)


My beautiful anniversary roses.


Us after our date night.


Red Velvet Cheesecake...Oh...My....Word! It was unbelievable! We shared this piece and could not even eat half of it. We brought the leftovers home to the kids and they ate it all up. ;)

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Having "The" Talk

Telling your children about an upcoming deployment NEVER gets any easier. We have been DREADING having "the" talk with them ever since we found out. We knew we would wait until it was close to time before we would tell them...and we are getting to that point now.

So a few weeks ago, J had to go away for a couple weeks on some army training. (gotta love all the training/schools that take place in order to prepare for deployment). I thought to myself, well this may be the time...it was not, but I will share with you how it went.

I was playing in the sprinkler with the kids. When they decided to take a break, I thought ok...while they sit here with their popsicles, I will tell them. Here is how it went:

Me: "Kids do you remember when daddy had to go away last year for army work?"

Madi (the 3 yr old): "Yea, he was gone protecting our country"

Jack (the 5 yr old): "Yes, mommy. Daddy had to go protect our country and keep us safe. He was gone a long time"

Me: "that is right children. He was gone to protect our country. And being gone for over a year is a long time. Children, what if daddy had to go protect our country again?"

Jack: "No, mommy he already has. He does not have to do that again. I do not want him to go away for a long time like that ever again."

Madi: "Is he going to get killed?"

I IMMEDIATELY stopped the conversation right there. Why on earth is my 3 yr old thinking like this???? These are my thoughts...my private thoughts...that I NEVER share and especially NEVER share with the kids. I was completely shocked by her response. I honestly did not know how to respond. It took me a few moments to regain myself. I assured Madi that God is protecting all of us and has a greater plan for all of us. A greater plan than we could ever imagine. Not sure she understood or not, but I pray for her understanding. I pray for Jack's as well.
I did not tell them about the deployment. Not sure that they are ready to hear that yet.

We dread telling them...it is not going to be easy. Right now I am just praying and asking God to prepare their little hearts to hear this. That is all I know to do for now.

So how do I tell them??? How do I reassure them??? Any advice here is greatly welcomed. =)

I will leave you with a picture of my little patriots:




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Friday, June 11, 2010

Remembering

Next week is my wedding anniversary...#9...(glad we are able to be together this year) For whatever reason I get all nostalgic around this time and like to pull out the ol wedding video (which is still on vhs...yikes, really need to get thing converted) Anywho...the kids REALLY enjoy watching the video. No kidding, they really do. If I would let them, they would watch it 100 times a day. Jack thinks we are famous because we have a movie (ha!) Gotta love that =)

As we were watching the video, I had a moment. Not a moment where I was sad about the upcoming deployment and missing another year + of our lives, but another kind of moment. See, my granddaddy (who passed away in Feb) was the one who walked me down the aisle and gave me away. As we were watching the video and laughing about different parts, the camera scanned over to the part where my granddaddy saw me for the first time. That was such a special moment and now it means so much more. The moment when he saw me and was afraid to hug me....the smile on his face...how nervous he was walking me down the aisle...how healthy he looked...how full of life when we danced at the reception. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of him and miss him. Not a day that I don't think about my Mamaw Beth all alone. Not a day. And though I do not wish him back here in all the sufferings of this world, I miss him and long to see him again. I am glad I have memories to hold on to, pictures to look at, and videos to watch.

Speaking of pictures, a friend of ours, Paul (who happens to be in my hubby's unit) was so kind to take some pictures for me of my granddaddy's grave site. Paul's granddaddy passed away Memorial Day weekend and is buried at the National Cemetery close to my granddaddy. Paul asked if he could take pictures for me and I am so glad and so thankful that he did that. He got some really great pictures so I thought I would share one here on the blog. The flowers you see on there, were placed by Mamaw Beth and the flag was placed by the Boy Scouts. The scouts place a flag on every grave at the National Cemetery...how awesome is that and I am sure a beautiful site to see as well.




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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Weekend Fun!

So, I am a little late posting these pictures...but better late than never right???

A couple weekends ago we took my mom's boat out for a fun day of riding, skiing, intertubing, and swimming. We had so much fun! There is just something so relaxing to me about riding on a boat and listening to my children laughing. =)

Below are a few pictures from our weekend:


Jason on the wakeboard.


My brother Jeremy on the wakeboard.


The kids and me on the intertube.


jack and Jason on the intertube.

Below is a video of the kids and me on the intertube =)




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Saturday, June 5, 2010

Attention MilSpouse Bloggers




The Household Diva had a GREAT idea. She is linking up milspouse bloggers. Go check it out!

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Friday, June 4, 2010

Guess Who Got An Award???

ME! =)

Thank you Photina @ One Guy In A House Of Girls for this award!



When receiving this award tell 7 things about yourself and pass it on.

So, let's see...7 things about me...

1. I love to entertain. I have a whole notebook full of articles and pictures of tablescapes.
2. I love to cook. And becuase I love to cook, I have a serious cookbook collection =)
3. I know way too much about super heroes and action figures...that's what having a little boy will do to you.
4. I know way too much about baby dolls and dressing up...that's what having a little girl will do to you.
5. I think I enjoy running in the sprinkler just as much if not more than my kids do.
6. I enjoy scrapbooking. I have a whole room dedicated to my scrapbooking and a special desk that my hubby built especially for me and all my "stuff".
7. I enjoy reading other milspouse blogs...it's fun getting "to know" others who are going through the same things


I am passing this award on to:

Karren @ A Bee & His Honey
Kathryn @ Singing In The Rain
Kristen @ Hope Abound
Pamela @ TroopPetrie
Julie @ Julie The Army Wife

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