Time flies...

Time sure does fly when you're having fun as they say. We've got almost another month under our belts and wouldn't you know it, I still haven't sat down to blog our NH trip. One day. I'll get there. Maybe. It's a long month coming up. This time last year things were looking pretty grim and this year, they couldn't look better. Just stinks that we won't get back to FL until January while Daddy is deployed. But oh well. Maybe we can convince them to come see us! At least that's what the girls think. They think we should be inviting all our family from home and they should just show up. Right girls. Anyway, Uncle Stephen made it back from the desert and the girls always bring out the silly in him. They quickly figured out how to sweet talk him into jumping them on the trampoline.

Emily hanging out with her friend Bri. Two cute princesses.

The two pics above were taken with a new camera we purchased recently (nothing like spending deployment money before you have it!) I do love how crisp the pictures look though. Anyway, we purchased the new camera and just had to go try it out. So we took the girls out to a place by K-State and bribed them to give us their best smiles. A few of the pics we got are below. However, I did take the originals and edit them on Picnik.com. I had fun playing around with that too. Too bad I don't have more spare time on my hands. Nichole has started soccer practices and loves it. Much better response than we had 2 years ago, so that's good. Poor Emily can't wait to start and puts on Nichole's shin guards while she isn't home and runs around the house. Ok well it's only been like 10 minutes and I'm already getting A.D.D. with not much else to report. So enjoy the pics!

Refer back to 16 May post.

So I keep hearing the song "God Gave Me You" on the radio and I finally found it where I can put it on the little song player thing. So I did. And then after posting about camping, even though it was a short and probably rather uninteresting post, I got A.D.D. So the NH update will have to wait, b/c I want to have fun writing it and I just don't have the energy for it right now.

Just a quick update from here. We have moved onto base, er post, and are loving living in a a neighborhood. The girls are always in and out with their friends which is fine by me b/c that means they aren't bugging me! :) They have also both started school and Emily loves it, so much that she has asked numerous times in the first week of school why can't she go all day. We keep telling her that when she's done with this year, we promise we'll let her go all day AND even ride the bus with big sister. For now, that seems to work for her. She is anxious to start reading but unfortunately the teaching degree I have doesn't usually turn into patience with my own kiddos when it comes to teaching them stuff. For now I am letting her get the basics at school and not over do it so she's bored next year or the following year. Oh well.

Nichole has lost quite a few teeth and her piggy bank is about to bust at the seams. I think we have 5 or 6 we have lost total in the past few months. Yesterday, she decided to pull one on her own b/c Daddy has pulled all the others (sorry not a fav thing of Mommy's to do) and she insisted she could wait on Daddy to get home from his TDY. Little did she know that he was on his way home from his TDY when she pulled it. Of course, it was only hanging on by a thread, but we'll let her think whatever she wants. It's hard to believe in just a few months she'll be 7! Time flies!

We are busy settling into a routine meanwhile knowing that routine will be a little jaded within the next few months. Daddy is set to deploy for 6 months starting this fall. We have talked with the girls about it extensively and they understand that he'll have to be gone to fight the bad guys again. At times it does lead to questions I'd rather not be having to answer like "Daddy, have you ever been shot?" and things that like, but we manage to give the best answers we can. It should be an interesting deployment since the girls are used to having him around a good bit since being in KS. It's weird not to have to ask if he'll be home for dinner or not when he's in town:) I'll be busy holding down the fort though while attempting to maintain my sanity. I will continue working from home part time doing my insurance work and also I'll be teaching spin classes at the gym on post. Hopefully enough to keep us busy.

So yea, that's it. Speaking of work, I want to get back to it so I can catch up and have some free time at the end of the week when Daddy gets back from his TDY. For now, take a listen to the song I posted about back on 16 May and enjoy. God puts everyone in our lives for a reason and I'm so glad God gave me a wonderful hubby and girls (and many others of course) to get through the days.

"God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
If there are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you

On my own I’m only
Half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I pray we never undo"

Oh and a big thanks to "Living Proof Studios" for taking some professional pics for us while we were in NH this past summer giving me a new picture to put up top :)

Trying something out

So here we are trying something new, blogging from a cell phone! Crazy how times have changed. Not going to make this lengthy until I see if it works. Eventually I'll catch up on the blog. I have New Hampshire to still blog and we've got friends coming to visit soon so there will be even more to put me behind. Oh well, until I can update enjoy this silly picture of the girls.

The love of a family is life's greatest blessing.

Fortunately, I have been blessed with a great, loving family. While I realize not everyone can say that, I feel very blessed that I was able to go home to Florida and spend time with my family while the best hubby and dad (next to mine) stayed back with the girls. It was a long week for him due to unforeseen things happening like lightning striking and frying a few things, but hey, everyone survived and for that, I am very thankful :) The few days before my cousin's wedding I got to help out with running errands and hang out with the bride to be and my other cousins. We always have lots of laughs and good times together when we hang out. We're a crazy bunch :) I also got to hang out with my little sister (the same one who hung out with my friends and I when I was in high school) and some of her basketball buddies. Oh my, did I feel old :) Maybe it was the "Hey, do you mind if I drive" I got from her as we left one of her games.

It was also nice to get to spend Father's Day with my dad. My aunt came over and joined us for dinner and we got to take a walk down memory lane looking back on the past 9 months and the journey "Operation Breath of Life" has been on. We read through the letters between my dad and Timothy's mother and just enjoyed each other's company knowing how precious the time was and knowing that 9 months ago, we'd never have thought we'd be able to all sit together on Father's Day. It was truly a blessing and Father's Day I'll remember for many years to come.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

A family pic (well those of us that were there) after the wedding

My dad with the beautiful bride!

My little sister and I always seem to have a lot of pictures when we're together. This one was taken really for the girls :)

Daddy's girls!!!

Me with my crazy cousin Lindsey. Isn't she the cutest? :)

Can't believe my baby sister is 16! Where does the time go?

The girl cousins on the Hornsby side before the wedding

My baby sister and I with the beautiful bride, Kelly.

Mr. and Mrs. Brad Creviston!

A group of the cousins. Poor Brad. He's trying to fit in with us :)

There is an ongoing thing that puppy chow (if you don't know what it is, google it, delicious!!) is made with at least Kelly, Kylie or I involved. So Kylie and I decided that the new couple needed a little bit for their wedding. But not before we taste tested it:)

Not sure they ever got to taste test the puppy chow themselves. It was left behind while they were on their honeymoon, and we couldn't let it go to waste :)

We're not related... at all. Yea right, doubt there is a chance of trying to get away with saying that! After all, why would I want to?:) I love my family, cousins and all! I love that we always have such a wonderful time together and can always look back on events with such fond memories! Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Creviston! Can't wait until you're closer to us:)

Girls, girls, girls.

This is just a recent pic I wanted to share. It's too funny. Girls will be girls I guess. Funny thing is, they learned this pose from none other than their Aunt Kylie. Cracks me up. They are about to embark on a week without Mommy, only Daddy. They are excited for the week to pass though b/c that means we'll be moving all our stuff over to base housing! Finally! They can't wait to get out and play with neighbors and ride their bikes up and down the streets. That's it for now. Not much else to report. Will post more once I've been home for my cousin's wedding and have gotten to spend time with my dad for Father's Day. Check out his blog if you haven't for his recent update. It's one you don't want to miss!

What it means...

I saw this post on a fellow milspouse's blog where she posted a challenge to share what it means to be a military wife and thought it would be interesting to see what I could come up with. I think some of it is from a mil wife/mom perspective, but oh well. It's my list and it can be what I want :)

Being a military spouse means you get a lot of heartache coupled with a lot of joy. And a lot of other emotions.

It means that even little girls enjoy wearing "work clothes" like Daddy. Even if their best color isn't a green "bag".

It's feeling a huge sense of pride when at a public event such as a football game and having the National Anthem playing with your hero standing beside you.

It's trying to figure out what to do the day your hero is ready to be deployed and having a pit in your stomach the entire time.

It's having your kids (not even 3 and 5 at the time) still remember the previous deployment homecoming when they were woken up in the middle of the night, were good listeners for Mommy and we welcomed Daddy home a few hours later.

It's the girls wanting to sit down to read a story called "Tell Me About Faith" (a story about a little girl whose father is a soldier) for only a 48 hour TDY.

It's checking on the girls at night once they are asleep to see them cuddling with their Daddy Bears, even if he's home.

It's waiting for that phone call, even if it's at 3 a.m., or email, or text to let me know he's still out there, and is ok. A phone never becomes such an appendage as when your hero is deployed.

It's remembering where your kids were born or what stage of life we were in based on where we were stationed.

It means planning the addition and birth of your second kid around deployments, TDYs and exercises on base. Right down to the day of induction. Just to make sure he can be there to catch her.

It's about always making a home wherever the AF may take us and missing the jet noise when you're stationed somewhere without jets.

It's being sad for military friends who are missing their loved ones and feeling overjoyed for those about to be reunited.

It's the feeling of disappointment when your phone dings from a text and you know it can't be your hero b/c where he is, there is no texting.

It's reading a card your hero wrote and left with you as he said goodbye.

It's reading a letter your hero writes to his girls and them wanting you to read it 77 times a day from where it hangs on the fridge.

It's living up to the line that "absence really does make the heart grow fonder".

It's the school girl feeling and butterflies you feel on the day of his return that can only be explained and completely understood by another military spouse.

It means that when I think about how life has gone and if I would ever change a thing, I don't think twice before knowing I'm in this life for a reason and part of that reason is the man I love, my hero.

That's what I love about Sundays.

1 rainy Sunday afternoon + 2 crazy girls = 3 outfit changes and unlimited performances. See the video below for their performance. They crack me up with the things they come up with. I think I'm somewhat worried for the future :)

Nichole wanted a picture of her "rocking out".

Yea, don't ask. We don't anymore :)

May, the month of randomness.

So I don't carry my regular camera around with me all the time, but here are a few pictures from my phone.

The girls share a room. However, this particular night, they were split up to go to sleep. Nichole started out in our room. Somehow in there, an extra person crawled into our bed with her. Not sure whether to punish them for not listening or feel blessed they love each other so much they don't want to spend a night apart?!?

One day while Colee was at school, Emily set up a tea party for her, myself and her invisible friends, who have no names, I've asked. I'm apparently allowed to call them whatever I want, but they have to have girl names. Got it. Anyway, I reluctantly (insert sarcasm here) put my computer aside since I was doing Quicken to enjoy the tea party. Emily wanted us to say a blessing before we "ate". I had to turn my phone on mute though b/c she caught me taking a picture at first and scolded me saying "Mommy, we don't take pictures during the prayer". :)

Nichole had a birthday party to attend, so Daddy took Emily on a date to see "How to Train your Dragon". She wanted to get dressed in this get up. Luckily for him, she wanted the hair piece taken out before they left. Once they got home she was so excited about the movie and told me it was "totally awesome". She can't wait until it comes out on DVD.

We are dogsitting my BIL and SIL's puppy, Herc while they are deployed. Him and Aspen are buddies and get along great. Unfortunately, part of being in this family requires you to be okay with being dressed up. So far, Herc hasn't minded too much :)

I was busy taking a picture of the girls from the stairs and turned around to see the boys hanging out waiting for me at the top

Emily off and running with her hubby Herc at the dog park. I don't think he's lacking for attention.

Wichita Zoo and friends

I love how my girls and their friends haves so much fun together. With Scott, Sydney and the girls, there is never a dull moment but they all get along so well and we have been lucky enough to see them again a few times before they move to Vegas. While Daddy was TDY for a training exercise, we took a night to go visit them in Wichita. I got to attend a spin class again with Shari and then we figured we'd get some of the kids energy out at the zoo. For some reason, they wouldn't let us try to leave them there where they belonged;)

We had to take a pit stop by each animal statue.

They are all such great buds!

You can see Nichole peeking behind Scott. I'm going with they are all small enough to be "prey" ;) Thanks Shari for letting us crash at your house. Can't wait to get together again!

God Gave Me You

I keep hearing this song on the radio and it reminds me of someone I've spent the past almost 12 years with...9 years of marriage :) Also as I watch the video it reminds me of the love between my grandparents and really just certain people God has brought to my life. He puts them all there for a reason whether we understand that reason or not. It could be family members, it could be civilian friends (haha, I love to call them this) and at most times Air Force friends/family who help us through many ups and downs! I am so thankful for my husband, daughters, family and friends whether they are on this continent or not!! :)