Friday, June 26, 2009
Company
Monday, June 22, 2009
Why I am not unpacked.
They are so over this thing. We have our beds set up, our clothes unpacked, the bathrooms are pretty much set, the kitchen is unpacked. The TVs and computers work. They are happy. They think I should be happy. Who cares that there are still random boxes everywhere. They think it is time for the playground or the zoo. They are over the "boring" unpacking process. And let's face it, we have all been in the various stages and packing and unpacking for almost a year now. . .
If I am working away organizing a room, there is a constant barrage of needs, wants, desires. I want a cookie. I need to go to the bathroom. I desire your undivided attention. If these do not work, they resort to mortal combat. Surely, if they are about to hurt each other, I will have to focus on them, right? Yep. They own me!
There are games to be played, and I hate to always tell them "not right now." So I stop and, I play. From Spencer's new Thomas game
See?? I am not unreasonable, just VERY anxious to be finished!
So last week, I needed to pick up some things and so we spent a whole day OUT. Some errands were not fun for them, but we spent lots of time in a toy store that had dollhouses and train tables to play with. And they were not surrounded by boxes. They played. They had fun. I even let them BOTH pick out TWO new things! Fun times, right?
Then I took them both to their favorite place, Chuck E. Cheese!
So I thought, now, I have given them almost an entire day.
I give up!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Happy Father's Day!
And now I am loving watching my Daddy be an awesome Bay to Jessa and Spencer. If I have Daddy wrapped around my finger, Jessa has him around her whole arm!
And then there is David, the father of my babies. I am so happy that he is their Daddy! He is a great father to them, and they love him very much. Of course, with all his traveling, they sometimes want me. BUT when the chips are down, they love hanging out with their silly Daddy. I think that it has something to do with the fact that he is about as grown up as they are! Toot jokes crack him up just as much as they crack up Jessa and Spencer. . .
We are all going to church this morning to see the VBS kids sing their little hearts out. Then we will be having a special brunch at the Scott Club. I am so excited! How lucky am I?!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tales from VBS
Here are a few pictures from Thursday night (I have had my camera the whole week, but I guess I forgot until Thursday OR maybe it was that I was less embarrassed by Jessa's outfit Thursday???)
Posing on a"dock" before VBS
Spencer NOT PEEKING! He cracked me up at how seriously he took this! And look how LONG he is. . .
Jessa with her group - I have not seen that much of her this week. . . But her crew leader promises she is behaving.
One more story:
There are 2 children in my group that are "spirited." That is the word my Mimi uses when she wants to say bad, but she thinks "spirited" sounds better and less critical? I agree, don't you? The first night of Bible School was awful. I did not want to go back and chase and wrangle these kids for 3 hours, but I went anyway. I was pleasantly surprised. One was absent and the other was a different kid! I was telling this story to Mimi and Poppy on the phone, and Jessa was listening. She said, "I know why. The first night he was bad because he did not know God yet. He was better tonight because he knows God." Such a sweet and precious thing to say! Unfortunately, night 3 they were both there and back to their old tricks! Oh well!
Tonight is the last night. I have so enjoyed it and mostly enjoyed wathing J and S be so excited about it. I just could have done without the double dose of "spiritedness" in my group. . .
I love pictures of people from behind - especially these 2. Have I mentioned this before? I want to publish a book of pictures of people walking from behind. I am going to call it "Ifs, Ands, and Butts." Good idea??
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Where in the world. . .?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The pet she always wanted
Do you think that Jessa is satisfied with this? Nope. First of all, she wants a "real live pony." Every time she gets to make a wish (eyelash, shooting star, candles on a cake), she always wishes for a real live pony. When I ask her where would we keep it, she tells me, "My Daddy can build a corral for the backyard." I guess she has thought it through.
Her other "dream pet" is a "hamstern." Each time we visit Petsmart, we spend so much time checking out the fish, the birds, the mice, the guinea pigs, and especially the hamsterns. We never leave the store without an impassioned plea to bring a cute hamstern home with us. For Christmas, she asked Santa for a hamstern with a cage. I am anti-hamstern and hamsters, too, for that matter. They are sort of like hairy mice, and I am not a fan of mice. Plus, good Lord, we have SO many other mouths to feed and so much poop to clean up, know what I am saying?
We were at Cracker Barrel the other night eating supper. Jessa and Spencer LOVE the Cracker Barrel because of the shopping. I mean, they eat the food well, too, but the focus of the whole visit is always the shopping. As we were leaving, the kids were bouncing around the store checking out all the cool things and sweet treats. And there they were, Hamsutas.
Now I just have to solve the real live pony problem.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
What is a Miltary Wife?
I hope you enjoy!
What is a MILITARY Wife?
They may look different and each is wonderfully unique, but this what they have in common.
Lots of moving---
Moving.
Moving.
Moving far from home.
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog----all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house.
Moving curtains that won't fit.
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends, moving toward new friends.
Moving her most important luggage; her trunkful of memories.
Often waiting-
Waiting, waiting,
waiting for housing; waiting for orders; waiting for deployment; waiting for reunion; waiting for phones calls; Waiting for the new curtains to arrive; waiting for him to come home for dinner----AGAIN!
They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better.
She can balance a checkbook.
Handle the yard work.
Fix a noisy toilet.
She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move, -- all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
Reinvents her career with every PCS; locates a house in the desert, the arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all 'home'.
SHE makes them all home.
She is fiercely IN-dependent.
Military Wives are somewhat hasty.
They leap into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives, churches and friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other. They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse-network and accept offers of friendship and favors and record addresses in pencil.
Military Wives have a common bond. The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands, his commitment is unique. He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission' he can't just decide to quit. He's on-call for his country 24/7 but for you, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign: TDY, PCS, MOS, FOB, ACU, and so,
a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long-distance link to keep them informed the glue that holds them together.
A Military Wife has her moments----
She wants to wring his neck, dye his uniform pink, and refuse to move to Siberia...
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days, a travel brochure, a long hot bath, a pledge to the flag, and a wedding picture.
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man...
Who puts duty first.
Who longs to deploy.
Who salutes the flag.
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that
as long as he is her Military husband,
She will remain his Military wife.
Happy 234th Birthday U.S. Army!
Thanks to all the soldiers AND all the families!
For more info visit:
http://www.army.mil/birthday/234/
Thursday, June 11, 2009
When life gives you cinder blocks. . .
When we moved here, we were planning to move our satellite with us. I never thought I would even like a satellite dish, but I am so addicted now. I love the children's programming! I love that we get an east coast and west coast feed - so if I miss something, it plays again, later. I most especially love that we do not have to start over each time we move. With the phone, we have to have a new account with a different company every new place we go. BUT with DirecTv, we get to move our already established account with us. Awesome!
The only problem is that since we live on post, we cannot attach anything to the house structure itself. No problem; at Ft. Stewart, we mounted it on a pole. Problem solved. When it was time to move, we were required to dig up the pole and take it away. The pole costs like $125, so David, my frugal husband hauled this long pole in his cute little Volvo all the way from GA to IL. This was no easy task!!
He signs for our new house and we ask for permission to put up a dish. Permission granted. The only catch is that we cannot attach the dish to the house, but we also cannot "dig a hole" in the backyard. A little tough to install a satellite on a pole with no hole, wouldn't you agree?
Our installation guy had a solution. He could use a "sled" and secure it with cinder blocks. Apparently having four large dead spots in the grass is better than a small hole. David agreed, and we were in business.
I decided that these cinder blocks, while they are serving a very important purpose, were not very aesthetically pleasing. So this weekend, the kids and I had a project: make planters!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The fish who Lived.
This weekend, I changed the water in both of their tanks. They both needed clean water, but I was REALLY worried about that. Sometimes that can be shocking for them. But after their water was all clean, David put their tanks back in the proper place (since the incident they have been on top of the fridge for safety). Well, I think she is feeling better because she is swimming around like she used to. She is eating. Wow! I was preparing the speech in my head to tell Jessa what happened without implicating Lord Stewart-mort. I did not want Jessa to be mad at him.
So despite the bored, lonely, murderous Lord Stewart-mort, Hannah Montana will live to swim another day. . .
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
spoiled dogs and boxes
Fast forward to the unloading on this end. . . The dogs were hanging at Daddy's house most of the time, so they missed the packing, the loading, the unloading, and a fair amount of unpacking. Once we all moved into our house full time, I resumed the unpacking. But a strange thing happened, the first time I cut into a box, Dunken got fired up and came running. The silly, spoiled dog thought that it was a package with a treat!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
11 YEARS - An Anniversary Post
Since this is the first anniversary I have had since I started blogging, I must do a special post. . .
The first time I met David was right before R.C. (aka Rose Carnation - the Phi Mu Spring Formal). I was not dating anyone and had no clue who to take. My roomie Heather said she might know of someone. . . Bless his heart, he agreed to take me to this formal without ever even seeing a picture of me! And he says he knew that night at the formal that he would marry me. I was a little harder to convince. . . But luckily for me, he was patient and persistent.
Our wedding day was PERFECT! Here are some random memories. . .
I was so emotional and so excited. I cried happy tears for days! Every time I saw someone, I would burst into tears! So many of our family and dear friends came to share in our day - I was overwhelmed! It was SO special. The church was packed! They even had to bring in folding chairs. And some people watched from the sound booth! My Daddy avoided me all day because he did not want to cry - I thought he was mad at me. When the doors opened and I saw David standing there, I practically ran down the aisle with tears flowing. Seriously, the organist did not even get through the first part of the song!! Daddy and I stopped and "picked up" Momma so they could BOTH give me away. David was wearing the same Dress Blue Uniform that my Daddy wore when he married Momma. I was wearing the veil that my Momma wore when she married Daddy. I was carrying the prayer book that Mimi and Momma both carried at their weddings. The preacher was the same preacher who married Momma and Daddy. (He also Christened Jessa and Spencer!) Can you tell I LOVE tradition????? My bridesmaids were beautiful and so precious. My sweet brother read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. My Phi Mu Little sang "I will be here." While she was singing, David had tears in his eyes that I wiped away - thanks to Rebecca with the tissues! When we were saying our vows, he stumbled because the minister said to say "I David, take you Dana." He NEVER calls me Dana unless I am in trouble, so he said "I David, take you, D, uh Dana!" My roomie and oldest friend bribed the ring bearer down the aisle with a handful of gummy bears, thanks Heather! David learned never to trust "friends" to polish your shoes - Jason Pletsch wrote "I love men" on the bottoms that showed when we knelt. (it never came off and he had to buy new ones!) We had the best reception! We danced, we laughed, we had fun with all of our awesome guests. We cut the cake with Daddy's military saber. My feet hurt so bad, and I asked Daddy why he did not work at a sneaker company like Steve Martin in "Father of the Bride!" We sure know how to throw a party!! We never ate anything more than one bite of cake. Momma gave us $20 before we left in the limo, and we ordered a pizza from room service at the hotel. No one decorated our car because Mimi and Poppy helped him hide it at the hotel before the ceremony. What an awesome day! What a great way to start our life together.
A few days before the wedding, someone asked me if I was worried or stressed or nervous. I hardly thought about it before I replied, "A little, I guess, about some details. But there is one thing I am totally sure of and that is David." And it was true then and it is still true 11 whole years later! He may not be perfect, but he is PERFECT FOR ME! I am so lucky and so blessed that he never gave up on me. I am so grateful for our life together and our beautiful children. I am so looking forward to the rest of our lives. . .
For the record, an anniversary tally:
First: He was in Albania; I was in Georgia.
Second: Together in Germany
Third: Together in Germany
Fourth: Together in Germany
Fifth: Together at Ft. Stewart, pregnant with Jessa
Sixth: Together at Ft. Stewart
Seventh: He was in Iraq; I was in Georgia, pregnant with Spencer
Eighth: Together in a hotel room, moving to Louisiana
Ninth: He was in Louisiana in the field; I was in Georgia - the day before Lucas's transplant
Tenth: He was in Iraq; I was in Georgia
Eleventh: Together in Illinois!
I guess in an Army marriage, 7 out of 11 ain't bad!
Happy Anniversary, D!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Ewwwwwwww
In the shed at Ft. Stewart, there were 2 big boxes of smaller "pretties" boxes. When we got ready to pack up the curio before the packers came, I went out to retrieve them from the shed. I discovered that the shed had a disgusting cockroach infestation. Mimi and Poppy were at my house, and Poppy helped me kill a few that were down in the big boxes. GROSS! David bombed the shed before the stuff was moved, hoping to dispose of this unfortunate problem.
I packed up all the "pretties" on May 16 and put them back in the big boxes in the guest room to await the packers on Monday May 18. They stuffed some paper down in the boxes to make sure there was nothing that would move around and sealed the boxes. On May 20, the sealed boxes were all loaded on a big truck in like 80 degree weather. The boxes sat locked on the hot truck May 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25. May 26, the boxes were unloaded into our house. On June 2, 18 days later, I opened up one of the big dish packs with my "pretties" boxes and a COCKROACH hopped out onto the floor! WHAT?!?! The kids and I all freaked out! We were so shocked! I grabbed a heavy book and dropped it on him. (I left it there for David to handle when he got home. . .) How did he make it so long with no food, water, or air? I fully believe what they say about cockroaches being the only thing to survive a nuclear bomb.
Can you say Ewwwwwwwwwwww!?!?