Pass it on

Another year has come to a close, and a new one has begun.  I love the feeling of a new year, a clean slate...anything is possible.  Of course this can be true of any day in a year, but for me the changing over to a new year is key.

So I have a few things in mind for myself and my family this year.  One thing on the list, is the hubby and I got the Rosetta Stone program and we are going to learn a new language - or re-learn I suppose.  We chose Spanish because the kids are already being taught that in school, we have SOME tid-bits retained from our years in high school Spanish class, and it seemed like a good place to start.  So, that is one goal for the year ahead, but I also wanted to do something that wasn't just for me, but could help others.

A little background...Friday night I helped our church prepare and serve 50 of our city's less fortunate residence dinner, and then at 5 am Saturday morning I woke up to go back and start making the preparations to serve them breakfast before sending them out to another cold day on the streets (they were all homeless).  It felt really good to be able to give to these people who have nothing.  Because I was in the kitchen most of the time, the people we were serving wouldn't know me from anyone else, but just knowing that I was able to give my time to make their day just a little better, made my heart so happy.

So today I decided that my other goal for this year would be to share kindness, in a number of ways. If any of you out there are on Pinterest recently you've probably seen dozens of people pinning "random acts of kindness" ideas.  I think this is a fabulous idea - and what a fabulous way to let your actions shine with love.  After-all, isn't this what we are called to do?  "...let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16.  So for 2013 my goal is to preform at LEAST one random act of kindness every week, in hopes that for those people that are on the receiving end are led to maybe share some of their joy with someone else and so on and let the glory be to God.

To keep myself to this "resolution" I will post every now and then about some of my favorite sneak attacks of kindness.  But, I don't want people to think I'm just doing this for attention or to boost my blog-traffic.  For those of you that know me, you know blog traffic really isn't on my radar.  I just want to do it to brighten a few days throughout the year.  But, I do need some help!  If any of you out there reading have any good ideas please send them my way via comments!!  I have a list going, but I've only got about a dozen, and as we all know there are well over a dozen weeks in a year.  I'm going to need to get creative!  Also, favorite encouraging words or verses.

Alright well, that's about it for me.  I hope the year is off to a good start for all of you.  And yes, as always one of my other goals is to be better about posting on here...who knows, maybe 2013 will be my year!!  Night y'all.

I'm BAAAAACK!

How is it that almost THREE months have gone by and I haven't updated this thing??  Maybe I am just not cut out for the blogging world...or I have three kids and a husband that is deployed.  This might have something to do with it.  Although, that's only an excuse because I KNOW there are lots of military mama's out there that manage to blog daily about the in's and out's of life - I just am not one of them.  Usually by the end of the night after the kids are in bed I am just too darn tired to sit at the computer and type something up.  I much rather sit on the couch, watch mindless tv and fold laundry.  Which might not sound like much of a night, but for me it's how I roll.  But today I have dedicated nap time, to getting things done that need to be done ON the computer.  Bills to be paid, emails to write, things to order, you get the idea...

So...what have we been up to?  Well, we've stayed BUSY.  The summer flew by with all sorts of fun to be had.  I covered the first 1/2 of the summer in my last post...so here's a quick glimpse into the last 1/2.  I took the kids up to CT to visit a friend for a week and we had a blast!!  We did camps, and swimming lessons, and time at the beach.  Before we knew it summer was done and we were gearing up for school.

peach picking in CT

At the end of August the boys went back to school.  They love being back, and really like their teachers.  I just love the school that they are in, and am very thankful that we found it.

First day of school!!

I would love to be here long enough for our little girl to attend as well, but only time will tell.  We are about 1/2 way through Hubby's DH tour, so we have awhile before we start looking at what is to come.  My sister and her hubby came for a visit over Labor Day, and my parents came up the following weekend.  It's nice to have them, and I get a little break with family around.  Always appreciated!!  I'm not one to ask for help, but if it's here and offering, I will surly take you up on it!

September started all sorts of fun activities for the boys.  Big kid is playing fall ball (baseball), and my middle is playing soccer again.  They are also both singing with the church kids choir and the big kid is still doing scouts.  With all this our weekends are pretty full and I spend most of saturday going from one ball field to the next.  But it's so fun to watch and I'm proud of both my boys!!  My bible study started back up for the year, which I LOVE and am so thankful to be a part of again.  The girlie goes with me to that, and she really enjoys her little class.

my little baseball star

October rolled in with my big kid turning 8 - yes EIGHT - years old!!!  How do I have an eight year old????  We celebrated with Grams and Papas and a trip to Chucky Cheese.  Thankfully he agreed to not eating there, and we just ordered pizza after we got home.  All three of the kids had a great time playing games, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  Can't beat that!

Happy Birthday Kiddo!

The day after big kids birthday I took off to meet the Hubs in Israel!!  His boat had a port visit there and  so I jumped on the opportunity to fly out and meet him!  It was a trip of a lifetime and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to go.  We saw everything we possibly could in the 5 days I was there, and I would still go back again to try and see even more.  It was really great to re-connect with him after all this time.  Of course he is as sweet and handsome as ever and I'm reminded how incredibly blessed I am to have him!!  AWWWW.  Okay - mushy part over.

Greetings from Israel

So, that more or less brings me up to now.  We are gearing up for Halloween and all the fun that comes with that.  This weekend we have a few fun things to go to in the neighborhood as well as soccer games and baseball, so it will be another busy one, but that's okay.  If I have learned anything through this deployment it's that staying busy is key, because busy kids (especially active little boys) are happy kids!  Things are good until they start getting "bored" and then we have trouble.

my boys :)

Whew...so consider yourselves caught up!  More or less.  Maybe one of these days I'll get myself together enough to post more often, but for now it's like I tell my kids, you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit.  With that I'm off to get to that above mentioned list of "computer tasks".

Have a great week y'all.

what the what??

Yes my friends...it's a post.  From me.

I have been terrible at keeping up with this whole blog thing.  Mostly because by the time the kids are in bed, I'm done with a capital D.  Summer has been so fun, but by the end of the day I am ready to call it a night.

We've been quite busy though.  I got to go visit Matt in Cyprus early on in the deployment, which was AMAZING!!!  Then after school let out we took a trip to the beach with Matt's family, then spent some time with my family in GA.  The boys had a few weeks of swimming lessons, summer camps and now we are on our last session of lessons.  We have one more trip planned, and before we know it school will be starting.  My oh my how time sure does fly.

But today is Sunday, and that means I do my best to not do any real "housework" if it can be avoided and just enjoy the day of rest.  With three kids and only one of me, rest is a term I use loosely, but you get the idea.  Today we are "resting" watching the olympics.  In a bit we will get ready for church and then will just have to see what the rest of the day brings.

So, as ever military spouse knows, some things ONLY happen when your significant other leaves.  Dishwashers break, all the lightbulbs start going out, trees fall, and huge rainstorms come leaving you stuck in giant puddles.  Yes folks this is how we spent our night last Saturday.

It.was.crazy.  The good news: it can be fixed.  The bad news: I've been without a car for over a week, and have two weeks to go.  Good news: we have another car that's not being used.  Bad news: it's a Jetta and I have the aforementioned three small children.  It's a tight squeeze.  I feel like I'm driving a clown car.  Especially when we get to our destination and we all fall out of it.  Best news: no one was hurt, we have insurance to cover the costs, and in the end it all makes an entertaining story.  I just feel very thankful that God was watching over us, and that everything worked out the best it could have given the situation.

But that's not all we've been up to.  Here are a few more pictures of the kiddos from over the summer.  

I will TRY to post again before another 3 months goes by, but can make no promises.  Truth is, most the time I don't even know what I would post about.  But every now and again something will hit me.  So until then, stay cool my friends.

The First Laundry

In my life, days and weeks go by and I don't always pay much attention to actual dates.  If it wasn't for my phone and/or watch, I wouldn't have a clue as to what day it was or even what day of the week.  Most of them sort of just run together one not much different from the next.  Thank goodness for the "reminders" my phone sends me, and for the giant white board in our kitchen telling me what needs to be done and when!  And lets not forget the importance of automatic bill pay!!

Anyway, the hubs has gone.  We are in full-on deployment mode.  And now that we have made it past the first (and second and third and so-on) laundry, we've got our groove.  Why the laundry?  Well here's the deal.  In those weeks and days before the hubs leaves, I'm constantly doing laundry so that he can take as much of his stuff with him as possible.  But obviously I can never get it ALL because he does have to remain dressed up until his departure.  Which means there is always something left behind.

Time to go.  He leaves, we hug, give kisses, say our "see you laters" and he's on his way.  Days go by, kids and I do our thing and adjust to our new normal.  And I'm good.  Enter laundry.  I start to fold, and sure enough there are his things.  A few t-shirts, some socks, boxers, etc.  This is usually when it hits me, and I have my little moment.  The tears come, I can't help it.  Something about putting away laundry that I know he won't be needing for the next 1/2 a year just does me in.  So I do the ugly cry for about 2.16 minuets and then move on.  If I didn't have kids it would probably last a little longer, but the last image I want them to have is me snotting all over the hubby's clean t-shirt.  Which will now have to be washed yet again because of previous statement.  Thankfully the second wash doesn't phase me and it's now safely in a drawer waiting for his return.

But like I said, we're all good around here now.  There have been MANY MANY loads of laundry - in-fact I've lost count - and we've adjusted to our new normal - which may or may not include ice cream for lunch, later bedtimes, and "camping" in my room with sleeping bags.  I'm just saying - do what you gotta do - ya know??  I even got a little break to go on my very first port visit to see my sweetie.  It was an amazing incredible trip and I treasured every second with him.

Summer break is just days away, and then the fun really begins.  We have some fun adventures planned, summer camps, VBS, swimming lessons, you name it!  I'm sure by the end I'll be more than ready for school to start back up, but for now, I'm looking forward to some lazy mornings, time on the beach, and enjoying the company of these crazy kiddos.

With that I'm off to clean the kitchen and get to bed early tonight.  It was raining today so I actually got the kids to bed on time which means I can follow their lead and do the same!

Happy Easter!

I've had a bit of writers block. Not that I am by any means a "writer". I ramble far to much to be considered anything that...um...sophisticated? Sure we will go with that. But I just don't know what to write most the time...

But, today is Easter, and it was such a wonderful day celebrating the Good News that Jesus is RISEN!!! AMEN! So I wanted to write and share my love of all things Easter with you. I even have a few pictures. However, I'll warn you in advance they are all from my phone so not exactly the best you've ever seen.

The kiddos ready for Easter Sunday service!

I love Easter. I love the Hope it brings. I love the pews at church - packed with people coming to praise the Lord. I love the butterfly release at our church. I love John 3:16. I love that even though I repeatedly mess up - I.am.forgiven. That thought alone leaves me in awe, speechless, and oh so grateful.

And of course there are all the other things that come with Easter - Time with family and friends, egg hunts and baskets filled with goodies from the Easter bunny. Ham and sweet potatoes, loads of jelly beans and all the hardboiled eggs you can eat. Cute little "Easter outfits" and bunnies made of chocolate.

The boys showing off their eggs after the egg hunt at church on Saturday morning.

And a new tradition in our house - the "Lamb cake". The school that the boys attend have an Easter party and there is always a lamb cake for every class. This year I volunteered. This is what I came up with. The stand up cake was for my middle man's class and the circle was for the oldest.

It was just the kids and I this year, so it was a quiet Easter, but wonderful all the same. We woke early to see what the bunny brought, looked for eggs, ate cinnamon rolls (and a bit too much candy), went to church, ate more candy, spent lots of time playing outside enjoying the beautiful day, and had a great (although somewhat random) Easter dinner. I let the kids pick the menu because I figured if I was going to cook a meal for Easter, I wanted to make something they would eat! After the baby went to bed, the boys and I ended the night watching the Muppet Movie together. I am very blessed.

Hope you all had a fabulous Easter!

the big O-N-E!!

Guess who's ONE???

This girl!!

Yesterday my baby girl turned ONE!!! I can't believe it's been a year since she was brought into our lives. She is such a blessing and gift from God (as are my other two children - but this one is all about her). So, this will be my last monthly post for the little one. I have no more little stickies to photograph her in. Kind of bittersweet actually. The year went entirely too fast. I feel like tomorrow I'll be sending my little bug off to college.

Again it's been a busy month full of more firsts! First case of the stomach flu...check. You had your first airplane ride to go down to Georgia. You met your great-grandma (and more aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.). You have new words including - baby, no, and a much clearer version of "bella". It no longer sounds like "dada". You've taken your official "first step" however you're not quite walking on your own yet. You've gotten two of your first year molars. You had your first cupcake - it was a hit!

Yesterday I started asking you "how old are you" and showed you how to put up one finger. You're getting the hang of it pretty quick!

You're still in size three diapers, 12 month clothes, and your feet are almost a size 3. I love your tiny little feet...they are adorable. We have your 12 month appointment with the doc tomorrow, so I'll post those stats later.

You love to play patti-cake, sing songs, play with your little people farm - I think we listen to the cow say "moo" about 96 times a day. You love your books, you love your stuffed baby, you LOVE to give kisses. Big slobbery ones. You love playing in your brothers room, you love to climb and you love to feed Bella. You love to chase the vacuum when I'm cleaning and "helping" with all the laundry.

You are SUCH a fun baby. And while I wasn't quite ready for you to turn 1, I am so excited for all our adventures to come. I couldn't love you any more sweetie. Happy 1st Birthday!!!

Oh - and if anyone is wondering, we will have a little family celebration after daddy gets back. I figure she doesn't know one way or another, so I'm sure there will be more cake pictures down the road.

11 month-aversary

How can this be?? Less than a month now and little miss will be ONE year old!! Moments like this always make me reflect back to the past year and all that has happened. It's been a crazy busy one, but full of so many blessings as well.

My sweet little girl, you are now 11 months and oh have you grown so much. Height and weight wise you've stayed about the same, or at least I think you have from the way you look and feel. We will get real measurements next month at your 1 year appointment. Geeze...that still just doesn't feel right. You're in the same size clothes and diapers - and your tiny little feet are still the same size 2 they have been since you were itty bitty. I absolutely adore them. So cute. It appears your hair may have a little bit of red coming through - but we will have to see what happens as you get more.

You're working on your 1st year molars and they are giving you a mighty tough time, but other than a fussy moment here and there, you are still always so happy!! You have a few more words now, "all done" and "this" are two of your favorite. You move all around the house pointing at everything saying, "this...this???". Part of your curious nature, you love to know the name for everything. You know where your nose is now, and if asked "where is your nose??", you scrunch it up on command. Cutest.thing.ever. And of course you still think you're SO funny sticking your tongue out all the time.

Some of your favorite games are patti-cake and peek-a-boo. We could play them hours on end and you would never get bored. You also love to read books. You sit in my lap and would let me read all day long if I could. You are also a big fan of "lunch dates". On days when your brothers are in school we often find ourselves grabbing a girls lunch together and you ham it up for anyone around. So much fun. I hope we always enjoy lunch dates together in the future as much as we do now!!

You are SOOO close to taking that first step - it's going to be any day now. I'm scared I'm going to miss it when you're at the nursery in church or something like that. You are funny, animated and just a blessing to be around. I love coming to get you after you wake up from your nap (which is now a regular thing in the afternoon after lunchtime) and you are all grins and giggles. The other day I took a few pictures of you just because you are always so happy when you wake up.

I can't believe that the next time I post pictures it's going to be of your 1st birthday!! Happy 11 months sweet baby girl - can't wait to see what this month has in store for us.