The Ousley Clan Blog

More pictures

2009-09-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Here is my sister's wedding while I was home in June. We had so much fun and it was a very emotional time for me to watch my little sister get married.
This is how curly Jaelyn's hair was for the wedding! Of course by the time the wedding started, the curls had relaxed some.

My handsome husband and me! I don't know what I would do without this man and I don't think I tell him enough. He ran around like a chicken with his head cut off the whole time we were getting ready for the wedding. I just couldn't be more grateful everyday for the blessing of having him as my husband.

This is my dad after the wedding. We are both smiling so big because all though we were so excited for Holly to get married, we were so glad it was done and we could enjoy ourselves! I miss my dad so much and cherish each moment I get with him when I am home. I miss him so much and can't wait to live closer to home one day....

This is the city of Sevilla- well one part of it. If you look closely you can see the pools on the roofs of the buildings. I would think that is awesome to have a pool on top of my building! It sure is a beautiful city and full of lots of History.

This is Christopher Columbus' tomb. I learned this from a friend AFTER we had this picture. I plan on going back to the Cathedral in Sevilla and listening to the tour, so I know what all everything is. It was a beautiful Cathedral and I can't wait to go back!

We got to witness a Spanish wedding while we were there that day. We didn't see the actual wedding, but when they came out from it. It was a gorgeous Spanish dress and the wedding looked very traditional.

Here we are on top of the cathedral and behind us is the city of Sevilla. I can't wait until the weather cools down and we get to discover more of Sevilla!

This is just one of the many stained glass windows in the Cathedral. I can't imagine how they even did this so long ago. The whole cathedral was just so majestic and full of history. I could just stand all day long and look at all the detailing of the place.

It's hard to tell from the angle this picture is taken, but it is about the whole length of the wall of the Cathedral. It was HUGE and beautiful.

You can really tell here how grande' the Cathedral is just by looking at the doors going in and out of it! Just amazing! Of course I wouldn't want to pay the electric bill in the winter here!

Steve and I sitting on a King and Queen's bench- this is what we called it at least.

Poor Jaelyn was so shocked by this display. She kept asking me"Who is that?" and didn't understand why a head was in the display case.

Catching up..

2009-09-13T02:03:00.000-07:00

This is our newest member of our house, Loco. He is a kitten we rescued out of a tree on the 4th of July. When we first got here, our neighbor told us about four little kittens a mama cat had up in a tree in our back yard. Well, you know the kids and I were out there right away checking it out and sure enough there they were. It was so high we had to use a tall ladder just to get up to them and then of course they did NOT come willingly. We only got two that night and had to leave the other two up there. Eventually the base caught them and took them to a vet that visits the base here and they were treated and released. The Spanish like to keep the wild cats around the base, so they keep the rat population down here on base. Yes, you heard me right, I said RATS! So here is Loco, he lives up to his name and fits into this family just right. I love having him and he helped me keep my mind off of missing Samson while he was at Grandma's house.

So I am sitting here at my desk (at home) at 5Am and getting ready to start my day, my first day back to work. My desk faces my two back windows out of my dinning room and it is actually thundering and lightening pretty good. If you know me at all, you know I love thunderstorms. In California we didn't ever get thunderstorms at all. I would have to look forward to going home to Ohio to get a good thunderstorm. We have been here since June 17th and this is the first storm and the first "real" rain we have had here. Boy is it pouring down too.

So I decided to put some pictures on here and trying to catch up from the time we got here. I was looking back at some past posts the other day cause I was trying to remember something we did and realized how much I use to enjoy blogging because it's almost like scrapbooking and keeping memories somewhere when you can't find them in your head anymore (not cause I am getting old either).

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I have enjoyed taking them. We sure have hit the ground running here in Spain and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon either. There is so much History here and so many wonderful little towns and cities to discover and I plan on sharing all of them with you.

This was at the beach in Rota where the kids had a blast! We went with a couple of friends of ours and found out this day that Chelsea was having her tonsils taken out the next day. From left to right is Little Tyler, Jaelyn, Big Tyler, Tripp, and Chelsea.

Chelsea started High School this year as many of you know, so of course I had to take a picture of her on the first day of school. She isn't as excited about the first day of school pictures anymore, like she used to be. My little girl is growing up so fast. I get sad thinking that I only have a few more years left with her and then she will be off to college. Hopefully Ohio State!!!

They just look like they are having so much fun in this picture!

Tyler and Jaelyn's first day of school. Jaelyn was so excited and did so well that day until she realized she had to continue going back each day. The second day of dropping off to school didn't go as well as the first day did. Luckily, I was prepared!

My wonderful and handsome husband making sure to be there for Jaelyn's first day of school. He was at Chelsea's first day of school, but of course that was many moons ago, missed Tyler's first day of school, and made it for Jaelyn's. She was so happy to have him there too!

We finally received Samson via Air Cargo!! We left Samson behind at Grandma's house in June and due to weather had to wait to get him on September 3rd! That was the longest I had been without my dog! I missed him so much and as you can see, so did Steve. He had to endure a long flight and long hours in his kennel, but he finally made it here to Spain. My girlfriend Stephanie and I got up at 2AM to drive up to Madrid, a 5 hour drive there and 5 hours back, just to pick him up. It was a lot of traveling and a lot of money, but it was worth it! He is so happy to be back with his family again. I can't thank Mike and Diane enough for taking such good care of him while he was there. I also have to thank my Aunt Linda for picking him up and running around like a mad-woman for two days trying to get all of his paperwork for the flight in order for me. Thank you so much!

A JOB!!!

2009-09-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I really thought I would have way more time to get on here and blog....boy was I wrong! I can't explain why I am so busy all the time, but I really am! I am always on the go and really there aren't many places TO go here on the base. I did develop a wonderful relationship with the donut shop in Moron. Oh man, I wish you could taste how divine these donuts really are, there just aren't words to describe them! I had to end that relationship quickly for fear of having to buy another new wardrobe from an expanding waist line. My husband already thinks I gain and lose weight on purpose, just so I have to buy new clothes for each size. So, I ended my donut fascination and moved on to other things. We were spending lots of time at the pool, but once we finally got our stuff- YES, we FINALLY got our things, we were hanging out at the house more often. Mostly because I had more things to do around here with trying to get settled in. Then we were very close to moving again, this time off base, but we chose to wait until the Spring at least. We had actually looked at a 5 bedroom house with a pool and was about to sign on the dotted line, but we talked it over very thoroughly and decided to wait. I freeze ALL THE TIME and the heating is not the same in the houses over here off base like they are on base or in the States. It was fun to look at the house and think about it though. The kids were all ready to move due to having a pool right in our backyard. We'll see how the winter goes here. It doesn't snow, but I hear these houses get cold and I am sure the Spanish tile is not very warm!
The kids started school and they are doing great! Jaelyn has a total of five GIRLS in her class. Poor Mr. F- her teacher. He is great, but boy do I feel sorry for him. She finally had one litte boy start two days ago and two more boys start tomorrow. Yes, that is how small the classes are here, there are only 8 kids in Jaelyn's class and that is Kindergarten and 1st grade! Tyler has the biggest class of course, but is still very very small. Tyler has 11 kids in his class and that is 2nd and 3rd graders put together. I am sure you are getting the idea of how small of a school it is here. I am actually thrilled with the idea because they get alot more one on one with the teachers and more time to do more work. They both love their teachers and enjoy going to school each day. Jaelyn is slowly adjusting and still has trouble leaving me in the mornings. She is getting there though. Chelsea is doing well too and loving High School. Those words still don't roll out of my mouth very well. It's so weird having a High Schooler now and all that it entails. She is doing great and she doesn't even complain about the bus ride to school at all. It could be because she has a boyfriend on the bus....nah...that has NOTHING to do with it at all! She learned the hard way about how things work at a small base, such as this one. I knew before she even got home from school that she had a boyfriend. I love that about this place.
Oh one more last thing, boy this is a long post- but I GOT A JOB!!! I am so excited and I start on Monday. The application process was a long one, but finally I found out the other day I got the job! Today they called me to offer the job (the Dodds school district in Germany) and told me I would start on Monday! So you are wondering what I will be doing for the next two years here at Moron AB? I will be the school secretary at Tyler and Jaelyn's school! It is only part time, which is perfect for me because I can still have a couple of hours to myself to do some homework while the kids are in school. It will keep me busy while we are stationed here for the next two years. The family is just as excited as I am and I am looking forward to working out of the home again and feeling like an adult! It's been too long since I have worked out of the home. Of course, I had to get a new wardrobe for my new job too, so that was just as exciting as actually getting the job!
Off to enjoy my family! If you want to see pictures of Spain, just go to Facebook! We went to Sevilla this past weekend and went to the Cathedral there and to TGIF's!

It's been a while....

2009-07-07T01:40:00.001-07:00

Well, here I am! It has been too long since I have had the chance to sit down and blog at all. Things have been crazy since we left California and they still are crazy here in Spain too! Yes, we are finally in Spain and have been here for about three weeks now. It seems like we have been here forever cause we have met so many friendly people and they seem like they all have been our friends forever now.
Our time in Ohio was great! We spent lots of time with friends and family and was so happy with the way we spent our time. My little sister got married while we were home, so it was a busy week during the week of the wedding. I didn't mind one bit though cause she would have done the same for me in a heartbeat! I am so glad she found a great guy to spend the rest of her life with. The wedding was beautiful and went by so quickly, after all that time spent planning. I am so excited for my sister to begin this new journey in her life. Best wishes Holly and Aaron! Now I am ready for another niece or nephew!!!
When we left Ohio, we had to leave Samson behind with Grandma and Grandpa. The weather has to be under 85 degrees in all cities that the plane lands in and with it being summer, that hasn't happened yet. We are waiting as patiently as we can to get him here. I miss him like crazy and my house isn't complete without him in it. He is having lots of fun at Grandma and Grandpa's though and getting very spoiled by everyone. Leaving Ohio, we drove to New York and stayed the night there and left out of JFK to fly to Barcelona, Spain and on to Seville, Spain. Our sponsor was waiting for us at the airport with a big van for all of us and our luggage. After arriving here we were soooo jet lagged, but had to stay up to try and adjust to the time. We hit the ground running. We went to the housing office and checked out some houses off base, but unfortunatly they didn't have any four bedrooms available at the time, so we took the 4 bedroom on base they had waiting for us. I am glad we took this house because everything is so close for the kids. The park is right across the street and the pool is one minute down the road. It has been great! I feel like we are on vacation or something here. We have been to BBQ's already, fireworks, joined the Library Reading club, I go to the gym almost everyday, we went to eat at a Castle this past weekend, I have joined a Bunko group, we both are getting invloved in the Church here, and hopefully this weekend we are going to go to Ikea in Seville. I also want to plan a day trip sometime soon and go do some sightseeing!
I have posted tons of pictures on Facebook, if you want to go there and check them out. The upload so much faster on there than on here. That is the place I am hanging out still. It's just easier to chat with people on there.
I will blog more often now that we are slowly getting settled. Our SUV gets here on Thursday and we are still waiting to here when our household goods is suppose to get here. Right now we are just using loaner furniture and let's just say it isn't the greatest stuff. We have an air mattress blown up on top of the mattress to the bed we are using. It just isn't the most comfortable bed at all!
Hope all is well all around the world with everyone else! I really think we are going to enjoy ourselves here alot. The weather is HOT and gorgeous, the house is a great size for us, and the kids are enjoying the neighborhood already.

A little tired....

2009-05-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

So I am a little tired and put the pictures first and wrote last....lol. These aren't exciting pictures, but at least I put some up here. I will have more after this weekend, so come back to visit soon...

The packers have arrived!
Ready to go to the Hotel!

It's almost all packed and ready to put on the truck..

More packed stuff. It sure does make you look like you have alot when it's all in boxes.

Back at the hotel playing in the hot tub!

The kids are loving being in a hotel. My kids have to be the best kids ever when it comes to traveling. They love being in a hotel, flying on airplanes, and even living out of a suitcase! I don't like the suitcase part of it...at all.

I am sitting here in a hotel room just exhausted from all the work this week. It has been a busy, non-stop week filled with packing, moving, cleaning, and emotions. It is so hard to explain to people how stressful a move is on a person.

Monday night was our last night in our house. It was kind of sad trying to sleep that night, knowing that things were going to be crazy from that next morning on. I will miss that house so much, but am ready to move on to our new adventure. That is what we have been calling it lately, our new adventure.

Tuesday we moved into a hotel room on base. They were pretty nice living arrangements with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and living room. We weren't there at all during the day due to the movers packing at our house. Once we arrived there and it got darker outside, a bunch of bugs started coming out all over the place inside! It was horrible because if you know Jaelyn at all, you would know she has a huge fear of bugs! Tyler and Jaelyn were crying and couldn't sleep, Chelsea was complaining that they were everywhere, and I was not sure how well I would sleep with the bugs crawling all over the wall. We were going to try and stick it out until the next day, but by 1030 that night I had had enough! I started packing our stuff and we called the desk to get a new room. Unfortunately they didn't have any for us and we then had to move off base to Vacaville. It worked out really well though cause this place has a pool and is closer to all of our friends and our church!

The movers were at our house for three days and they finally packed the last box on the truck on Thursday. It was a long three days as they packed and moved our stuff, but we found things to keep us busy.....like cleaning. Boy was that house a mess! Places you don't think to look and clean on a daily basis were just filled with dust bunnies.

So we are now going to hang out here at this hotel until the 1st. We then hop on a plane and head out to Ohio to visit friends and family and watch my little sister get married. I am now able to focus more on the bridal shower, now that the moving part is over. I am excited to spend time with my family and friends.
I will have plenty of time now to update my blog, so I am sure you will be hearing from me plenty. Oh yeah, did I mention I went back to school in the middle of all of this? Yep, online. It isn't my first choice of how to get my education, but with our situation of going overseas, it is my only option right now. This is what works and fits for ME and for MY family. I am so excited and have been trying to keep up with all of my homework in the middle of all of this chaos. I like to be busy and so far I am doing a good job of it.
I will be posting lots of pictures over the weekend of all the events we have going on! So stay tuned....

Stressful Times...

2009-05-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to begin how stressful these last few weeks have been for not only me, but my whole family. Moving isn't easy, but moving out of the COUNTRY is an even more difficult task. We are making it work though. Just when we think we have things planned out and in writing, it changes. Not too many things have gone according to our plan, as of yet. Hopefully that will be changing soon.
It's been a while since I have updated my blog, but I will re-cap our life as best as I can. We finally got our orders to Spain. We couldn't do a thing without this one piece of paper. When we finally got our orders, the ball really started rolling with things. We had to make travel arrangements, set up a pack date/shipping date, set up shipping our car, and lots more that I won't bore you with. It's a lot of work, that's for sure. So we have most of those things done. We will be flying home to Ohio and then driving from Ohio to New York to catch our flight to Spain. I am excited about spending a day in New York. I have always dreamed of going there and seeing the "big city" and wasn't sure it would ever happen, well now it is going to happen!
The movers are coming in a week and a half to pack our stuff up and ship it off to Spain for us. At this point we move into billeting, which is a temporary living facility. It's pretty much a small furnished apartment. We will be living there for ten days, then we fly out to Ohio. In the midst of all this, we have had complications with travel arrangements for our dog, Samson. We found out a few days ago, that we will have to leave him behind for a week or so with his Grandma in Ohio. This was a very, very hard pill for me to swallow. I said from the get-go, that Samson was going with us no matter what the stress, no matter what the cost. Well, it turned out the airlines had a different plan for me. There isn't much we could do, since it was up to the airlines. It will be ok though because I know that he will be following us a week later....just tell that to my heart as I drive away and leave him behind.
We have had some exciting things go on in the midst of all of our chaos. My mother n law came out here last Thursday to help us with our move. We had a great time putting her to work. We spent all day Friday setting up for the garage sale for Saturday. We woke up to rain, but it didn't stop us from making some sales. Then Saturday afternoon we had Jaelyn and Tyler's b-day party together. Tyler really wanted his b-day party before we left and with all of his friends. His real birthday isn't until June 12th. We had a blast. It was a little crazy and loud- the place is called "Kidz Gone Wild", so use your imagination. The kids had fun, the adults were happy when it was over. We then woke up Sunday and went to Church, watched some movies, and shopped. It was alot of fun having company for the last time in California. We were really sad that Mike and the kids couldn't have come too.
I think that about covers it all. I have tons of pictures to share. Some may be boring to most, but I enjoy looking at the pictures too! I will be blogging more often now, since I am officially unemployed. I am ok with being unemployed right now though, trust me, I don't have time to work at this point in the move.
I will probably be blogging tomorrow as well because it is my baby's birthday tomorrow! Jaelyn Kaye Ousley is turning 5! I can't believe how fast the time has went. More tomorrow...enjoy the pictures.

This is my little man Damon! He was my youngest and my most attached. This little guy was so much fun and I am going to miss him terribly. He was calling me "nanny" with a long A sound. It was so cute.

Chelsea up bright and early for our garage sale!

Grandma freezing her boody off!

Steve waiting for the customers...

Jaelyn trying to stay dry.

Steve putting Jaelyn's training wheels on her new bike she got for her birthday.

KIDZ GONE WILD party...

Tyler is wild....LOL. This is a huge slide the kids were running down.

Steve and Jaelyn shooting some hoops.

Grandma and Tyler at the bottom of the slide. Tyler couldn't hardly breath from laughing so hard.

Jaelyn and Grandma cooling off in the fan after working up a sweat!

Jaelyn and her twin girlfriends, Hannah and Tess.

Jaelyn getting some much needed rehydration.

Tyler getting a nerf gun for his b-day. This isn't the only one he got for his birthday and I can't even tell you how many bullets and balls were flying around my house this past weekend. Tyler, Grandma, Jaelyn, and Steve had a few shootouts. I would like to think that it was the kids that started it, but I have a feeling it was the adults. So I decided to get involved and went out and bought myself an automatic nerf gun! Jaelyn and I did a sneak attack on Tyler as he walked in the door from school. It was so much fun!

enjoying some cake and ice cream.

Tyler and Grandma settled in for a movie. It was nice to find some time to relax too...

Chelsea ready to watch a movie too...she looks a little shocked here...LOL..

Not sure what Chelsea is doing here. They all look pretty comfy though huh?

We even went bowling while Grandma was here. Jaelyn kicked everyone's butt!

She is one talented little girl! If you look closely at her ears, you will see that they are now pierced! We all went to the mall so Jaelyn and Chelsea could get their ears pierced. Jaelyn did so good and her grandma was so proud of her!

Steve and Jaelyn waiting for their turn to bowl.

Keeping Up!

2009-04-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to jump on here really quick and put a few thoughts down. I think it helps me to mentally "unload" alot of my thoughts and worries. If you know me at all, you know that I worry about EVERYTHING. Leave it to me to do the opposite of what God tells us to do. He says worry about NOTHING, but what do I do? You got it, the opposite! It's something I am working on. I think it's a control thing really. I don't like to NOT have control of things, even it's something that is impossible to have control over in the first place.
I have decided in the midst of planning to try and do one thing each day towards our move. I started it this week and so far I have things coming down off of the walls, my food pantry cleaned out and wiped down, and some toys pulled out to go into my garage sale. I am having a HUGE garage sale on May 2nd and am hoping to make some extra money towards our move. I have had ONE garage sale in my entire adult life and hope that I do better than I did the last time. I am not good at messing with those haggling expert garage salers, that's for sure! My two good friends, Heather and Susan, are joining me with the garage sale, so I hope we make some good money.
I am four weeks from closing my business. It will be a bittersweet moment for me. I am so ready to be done with childcare in my home. I love every part of having my business, except it's in my house. It is so hard for me to separate my job from my home life and I hate it. It makes me not enjoy my job at all and that makes me sad. I love working with kids and couldn't imagine doing anything else in my life. I will be very sad to see my last two daycare kids go on May 1st, so sad. They have become a part of my family and almost seem like my own children. I have had one of them since he was 6 months old! I have watched him get his first tooth, start crawling, say his first words, and even start to walk! He is attached to me almost as much as his mother (almost) and cries when I walk out of the room, or is left with a stranger. I worry about him going to his next daycare provider so much. So even though my hear it breaking, it also rejoices knowing we are moving onto a new stage in our military career.
I guess I have rambled enough about nothing really. My head feels alot clearer just getting these things out there. It is so hard to keep my head clear these days with the ten million things going on in it. From getting ready to move overseas, planning my kids' birthday parties before we leave,to my sister's bridal shower I am throwing, to helping with wedding plans, and even planning stuff while in Ohio with family, I am VERY, VERY overwhelmed right now. It will be a nice break this summer in Spain to just relax and enjoy my own children at the pool everyday...not to brag or anything...LOL!
I know I keep promising pictures and I hope to get some up sometime this weekend. We are heading back to Six Flags to check out the animal section. (My favorite!) I promise to get some up soon.
Spring Break is right around the corner and I can't wait! I will only have ONE daycare child and we have lots of things planned for the week to keep us busy. Six Flags, Chuck E Cheese, and maybe even the ocean are just a few of the things we have planned so far! I can't wait!

Staying busy

2009-03-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought I would take the time to update my blog. I guess it's been a while? Like I said before, I have been hanging out over on face book alot lately. I just pop on there and see what everyone is up to and that's about it.

We are keeping busy here as always. I have some pictures I plan to post on here soon, it's just finding the time to do it. The past two weekends we went to Six Flags, which is only 20 minutes away from us. We have been here 5 1/2 years and this was the FIRST year we decided to buy season passes and look what happened. We got orders! It's ok though, we will use them alot before we leave. The kids have a blast there. It's such a different experience when you aren't rushing around trying to fit everything into one day. Chelsea rides all of the roller coasters with Steve and the two younger kids and I hang out with the animals or in the little kiddie area. It's fine with me. I have the best time just watching my children have a blast. I am not into the big roller coasters much anymore. I guess I am getting too old.

Our first time there which wasn't the warmest of days, I got to participate in the dolphin show. It was amazing. I have the video I am going to try and upload onto here. I was so happy to be picked to participate and then kind of regretted it at the very end. You will have to watch the video to see why.

Other than hanging out at Six Flags, we are just getting all of our stuff done to head overseas again. It's not like they hand you the papers and say "farewell", you have to get medical clearance, get a bunch of papers signed off, take a terrorism thingy online, get your passports....the list goes on and on. That's not even including getting your house ready to be packed up. Yes, they have movers come and pack your house for you, but you have to sort through everything and decide what to send with the packers, what to put in storage, and what you want to carry with you. How in the world do you do that? Do you realize how hard it is going to be to pack clothes in a suitcase to last a month? Yeah right! Once the movers take the clothes, I can't just go and get them back and change my mind. It is going to be frustrating, but I am trying to plan so it will hopefully all work out.

The kids are doing well. They are all excited about going to Spain, except Chelsea. She has made some really great friends here and worries that she won't make any over there. She is slowly warming to the idea. We are being very considerate of her feelings, but also are encouraging her to think positive. I know she will love it once we get over there, it's just going to be hard for her to leave here first.

Tyler has now started his baseball season. He LOVES baseball and is sooo good at it. I am not just saying that because he's my son either. Saturday was his first game and he threw two kids out at first! I was such a proud mommy! I just love watching his games and really hope that he stays with baseball. He has such a natural talent. I love his coach this year because he played in college and I know he is going to learn so much.

Jaelyn has a birthday coming up. She is going to be 5 on May 9th. Where has the time went? She amazes me each and every day with something new she says or does. She got tears in her eyes the other day when I told her that when we move to Spain this won't be our house anymore and she said "But I love this house! What if somebody takes it?" She is so sweet and innocent, but don't let that fool ya! She already has a teenage attitude! She wants to be such a big girl, yet she still wants to stay at home with her mommy. It is so sweet. She will start school and Spain and I know she is going to love it!

Hope all is well in the blog world. Seems like alot of people aren't blogging as much these days. Kind of makes me sad, but it is a busy world. I promise to try and put pictures up soon!

Guess what?

2009-03-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday as I was going about my business at lunch time, my phone rang. I recognized the number and my heart dropped. It was Steve's First Shirt calling to let me know we got ORDERS!!!!! Yep, we will officially be leaving California by June. Yes, you read that correctly, JUNE!! I have THREE months to get my house, kids, dog, and business ready to move! Anyone looking for some daycare items??

I don't even know where to start, so I started making my list of things to do. It is going to fly by quick. The sad thing is, we bought season passes to Marine World (Six Flags). We have decided to go there as many weekends as possible, so we can get our use out of them. That's not a REALLY bad thing, but fitting it into all the other things we have to do will be.

So where are we going you ask? Most people know because I have been hanging out over on Facebook alot. You can join me over there anytime, it actually is alot of fun! We are heading back to Europe to.......SPAIN! Yep, Spain. We are soooo excited. This wasn't our orginal plan, but you know what a sense of humor God has right? I am sure He is sitting up there giggling right now! The base we are going to only has 100 military people there. That is small, very very very small. It will be even smaller than the Azores, but at least we won't be stuck on a tiny island this time. We can drive ANYWHERE in Europe we like to. I already have plans of heading up to Ramstein, Germany to see some of our good friends up there. I am sure Steve will do some golfing while we are there and I will have to do some shopping! I am so excited to be able to get some great things from over there! Christmas shopping this year is going to be AMAZING!

Not only am I working on getting things done around here for the move, but I am looking ahead for a job over there. They have a really small Child Development Center and I am really praying I get a GS (government job) position while we are there. It is a good job to snatch, if you get the chance. That was one of our regrets from the Azores, so I don't want to make the same mistake again.

I am rambling on and on here. I just had to get on here and post this for my non-Facebook friends and family, although there aren't many! I hope all is well in Blog world. I plan on getting on here tonight and hopefully posting some pictures from the snow this weekend. We had the BEST time ever!

Check back for some pictures soon!!!

You be the Judge!!

2009-02-18T10:21:00.001-08:00

This is a post I have been wanting to do for a while. I am very excited to announce that it has been a complete and FULL year, since I last drank mt.dew...or any soda for that matter. Steve left last February for school in Texas. I knew this was my chance to actually kick the habit! He loves his mt dew and I knew I would not be able to quit with it in the house. If you know me at all, I am the "cold turkey" type and that's what I did with this habit too. I was drinking close to 3-4 mt dews a day! Think of all that sugar I was taking into my body! Wow! Have you ever read the label on a mt dew, or any soda? It is not good at all, even diet drinks aren't great for you. I have quit drinking mt dew a couple of other times ,but they only lasted MAYBE a week, so this is a huge accomplishment for me.

The hardest part for me was when I went out to eat. I LOVE LOVE fountain mt dew or any fountain soda, so it was very hard for me to eat out and not wash it down with a cold tasty fountain drink! It took about two weeks until I actually enjoyed the food too. It really helped me not want to eat out as much, so I am sure that is a good thing. I still carry that habit too. I am not too big on eating out as much, at least fast food.

I am very proud of myself for this lifestyle change. Alot of people have "judged" me through this process and I have learned to let it go in one ear and out the other. It's not their body, they don't have to live with it...right? I am still learning how to maintain and think I am doing fairly well at it finally. It took me a while to learn that it was ok to eat a few extra things here and there. My problem is I don't know how to do moderation. I am still learning, but have really got alot better at it. I am still running about 3 times a week. I have to admit it has slowed down a bit since my husband's return. I am back in the game again though. All I want is to be in good shape, so I can live as long as I can to be around for my children. I am really hoping to lead them by example. I don't want them to go through the same struggles as I have had too.

So I am challenging myself to another year of being soda free. I am going to decrease my eating out habits even more, and my goal is to be running 5 miles, three times a week. That is my goal for this year. I made last year's goal, so I have complete confidence I can do it! If not, then I have you all to hold me accountable!

You be the judge and tell me what you think! I think I have done a great job! Please do not confuse my being proud with being conceited....I am by far from being conceited, if you know me at all.

This picture was taken the day before I quit drinking Mt.dew. February 2008

Me! One whole year later....and I don't miss it a bit!

Quick post

2009-02-13T12:50:00.000-08:00

Well we are definitely back to normal around here. We have got back into the fast pace of life again. There is usually something going on almost every night of the week and full on the weekends too.
Business has been good for me, but very exhausting. I am full with six kids all day long. My first child arrives 645AM and my last child leaves by 5PM. It is a very very long day. Most people probably shake their heads thinking I have it made being able to work at home, and I agree, but it's not as easy as you think. I am a maid, diaper changer, mediator (between children), cook, and much much more. My days are FAR from easy. I enjoy what I am doing, but look forward to when I get to work out of the house again. I feel very tied down here alot.
Steve has been back to work and things are going well for him. He is running his shop now and it isn't an easy task. He does a great job and puts in alot of hours as well. By the time 8pm rolls around, we are exhausted and ready to relax. There isn't much room for relaxation though. We have been busy searching for the right new vehicle for us. We started out hunting for a smaller SUV, but that road took a sharp turn and this is what we got! I love it and love everything about it. If you are in the market for a new car, now is the time to buy. They are almost GIVING them away at this point. I am so pleased we went with a Chevy because they have awesome warranty's going on and you just can't beat them. I know it's a huge car, but when you are driving it you can't even tell. Here is a quick picture of it. It's a 2008 Chevy Suburban.
Other than that, there isn't much going on. We are planning our vacation in May, helping my sister with her wedding details, and just getting our kids through the rest of the school year. Tyler is about to have a Science Fair next week and we are so excited for him. This was his first Science Fair Project and I think he did a GREAT job- It's on Ants and their Habitat. (He chose the subject) I think it's a little young to be doing such a HUGE project, but who am I to say anything? He has learned alot from it and that's all I care about.
It is nap time, which is my quiet time, so I am going to get going. I have dishes to do and paperwork to complete. It's a never-ending job.
Please keep me in your prayers. I will be going in on Wed for a bunch of lab work. I am sure I am fine, but the doctor just wants to check me out thoroughly. I will let you know...

Finally! Some pictures!

2009-01-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

I am FINALLY getting back here with some pictures. The kids are playing so nicely right now and it's free-time, so I decided to jump on here real quick and get some pictures on here.
You know me, I am a little backwards, so this post will be backwards too. Anyway, we are having a great time getting back into a routine. I am back to work, so we are celebrating Chinese New Year this week in daycare. The kids are LOVING it. Monday we made Chinese Lanterns and then yesterday we started our Chinese dragons and finished them off today. I can't show pictures of the other kids in my daycare without permission, so you are getting a picture of Jaelyn working hard on her dragon. They all love to paint.
Steve goes back to work next Monday, so he is enjoying his time off for now. He has been hunting, golfing, and out for a ride on his motorcycle. He has been fixing his motorcycle up too because he thinks he is going to sell it. I leave the decision completely up to him. We have plans together to pay everything off next week and then we will be in the market for a new Family vehicle. We have a couple in mind, but have to get out there and test drive them first. We are not jumping into this purchase lightly. We did that with the Rodeo and regretted it. I can't wait to get my new car, even though I won't be driving it through the week during the day! I guess that means it will stay that much cleaner for a longer time!
I hope everyone in blogger world is doing good! I am so happy to have my husband home and to be getting back into a routine. Here's to a NEW YEAR- Chinese Style!

Jaelyn working on her dragon.

Our Chinese lanterns. The kids loved cutting these. Of course, I had to help my little ones.

This is our dinner out to Cattleman's. It is a great Steakhouse and has wonderful food! I had steak and lobster and was in HEAVEN. I love lobster- any seafood. If you are wondering why Steve is wearing this lovely hat, it's because our friends told them that it was his birthday/Welcome home dinner and of course the restaurant had to sing to him.

This was his face when they first showed up. I promise, I had NOTHING to do with this!

The cute couple out without kids and enjoying being together.

Samson is even happy to have his daddy home too!

Tyler practicing Guitar Hero. He can play it on medium now! He is just like his daddy- good at everything. Kind of make you nauseous.....lol.

Just hanging out together.

Jaelyn and Daddy- together again...

Tyler getting kisses from Daddy. Chelsea did get a hug and kiss too, but she didn't hang out too much. She is a teenager now you know and that is "so" uncool.......

Hugging my man! It was such a wonderful feeling to be hugging him again! Don't mind my backside. I wasn't happy with this angle at all, but wanted everyone to see our reunion picture!

Waiting patiently....

More pictures to come soon. I have been taking lots of pictures lately. I am loving my camera and still have more to learn about it, but will eventually.

Oh yeah, we are FOR SURE going on vacation this May. I reserved the hotel already and put a down payment on it too, so hopefully that will make us stick to it! We will be heading down south to DISNEYLAND! I can't wait to go and wish it was tomorrow! It will only be for a five day trip, but it will be lots of fun. As soon as we return, we will be heading out to Ohio for my sister's wedding. I just see this summer passing me by already!

What can I say?

2009-01-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

There aren't words to describe how wonderful this past week has been for me, not only me, but for my whole family.
We had a wonderful reunion last week with Steve. His flight didn't come in until 10PM, but I still chose to take the kids to the airport. They were way too excited to keep at home this time, so we all made a trip out of it. It was so awesome to see Steve's face again. It had been a long six months and I was so happy to have him back in my arms again! The kids were just as excited. We made signs saying "Welcome Home Daddy!" They were so proud of their signs too. I have pictures, but don't really have time to post them tonight. That will have to come later this week. I need to get to bed soon, since I have to go back to work tomorrow.
I feel like we haven't stopped since Steve walked off the plane. We have ate out alot, SHOPPED alot, played Guitar Hero TONS, and even found time to take a nap or two. It just has been so awesome. This has been one of our best reunions ever. I have enjoyed every moment of it and wish it wasn't over already.
We have actually had time to think things over and have decided that we are taking a family vacation this year. We will be taking it in May, but I will share the details later. I don't want to jump the gun too much. I always get so excited and then things don't work out, so I am waiting until closer to time to talk about it.
I can tell time is going to fly by so quickly already. We have our vacation planning, my sister's wedding to go to, and also this year is our TEN year anniversary! I can't even believe it's been ten years already! Time just passes you by way too quickly when you are having fun.
I hope all is well with all my blogger buddies! Sorry I haven't been around much, but I am sure you all understand.
I promise to post some pictures later this week. It's just a matter of finding some time.....

What goes through your head?

2009-01-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

As you sit and wait patiently for your husband to arrive home, after being away six months?

I can't even describe to you how crazy my head feels right now. I have ten million things going through it at once and don't have a clue where to start. I did start yesterday by making myself a list. I am a list person. I like to sit down and be organized with everything I do. I make a list of bills, a list for the grocery, a list of things to get in a busy day, you name it, I make a list for it. The funny thing is that I make all these lists and half the time I forget to LOOK at them!
Of course I made a list of things to get done before Steve gets home cause it helps clear my head. I told Steve I was going crazy trying to get all these things done before he got home. He informed me that he would NOT be even going to be remotely worried about how clean the house is when he walks through the door. That makes me feel better, but I still want it done. These things need done anyway, so why not do them?

Well, only two more days to get through, after today. We finally got his itinerary and it wasn't exactly what we expected, but as long as he gets here, I don't care.
So remember us Tuesday night as we are all reunited once again. It will be a late night for us all, but we won't care cause we will all be together again!

Only ONE more week!!!!

2009-01-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Just one more week until I am re-united with my wonderful, awesome, and HOT husband! I can't wait to see him and hold him in my arms again. The last time I was able to do that was July 14th of 2008, so I am way beyond ready to see him again.
We are still waiting on an itinerary to see when I will be picking him up from the airport, but at least we have a date. The kids and I are so excited and aren't sure how we will ever get through this week. This part is the longest and hardest part of the whole deployment, cause this week will go by slower than the past six months!
Hope everyone is enjoying the New Year and have found ways to make it even better than last year. My goal this year is to increase my physical activity, so I can get in really good shape. I have a personal trainer arriving via plane next Tuesday! We have plans on starting to run together. I have always dreamed of running with Steve, but on a secluded warm beach in Hawaii. Since I can't have the Hawaii part, I will settle for running with Steve. Also this year, my sister is getting married. I have the honor of being her Matron of Honor and will be busy helping her plan for her special day in June.
I can tell it's going to be an exciting year this year with many things to look forward to, both here and in Ohio. I hope you make many memories this year, so you don't look back with any regrets. Life is too short to sit and let it pass you by.....

How are you spending your New Year's Eve??

2008-12-31T19:14:00.000-08:00

We are spending it sitting here in New Jersey today. I can't even describe to you what kind of emotional, stressful, and tiring day it has been spent at the Passenger terminal today. We arrived at 930 AM at the terminal to wait patiently for our flight to arrive and find out if we would be on it. The roll call wasn't until 330, so we knew we had plenty of time to waste around the airport. Around noon or so, the snow started falling and the wind started picking up. The next thing I knew they were changing our roll call to 740 PM, uh oh, I knew this wasn't going to be good. They made an announcement for us telling us that the plane might not even be able to land, due to winds. My heart dropped. Here we go again. I just wasn't sure how much more my emotions could take. All we could do now was wait and watch the weather and the screen to see if the time was changed again for roll call.
Finally around 6PM they announced that they were not sure of how many seats were available, but they wanted to get us all ready so when the plane lands, we all could be bused out there and take off.....to home....Travis AFB. After taking all of our luggage, giving us tickets, purchasing a meal, and sitting down waiting to be called to the gate, they made another announcement. They flight was being delayed, yet again, for TWENTY-FOUR hours. This time my heart not only sunk down, but tears instantly welled up in my eyes. All I want is to be home, in my bed, with my dog and enjoying my last few days before I have to go back to work. That's all I want, is that so much to ask for? I had my fun, saw all my family, even seen lots of snow, so I am done with this trip and want to be home!
I knew this announcement was bad for many reasons. 1. There wasn't any billeting rooms (like we stayed in the night before) open on the base. 2. It's New Year's eve and I wasn't sure how easy it would be to find a hotel room. 3. I wasn't going to sleep in my bed yet another night.
Well, we found a room over here at an Army base connected the Air Force base. The kids have had a BLAST today. They have been wonderful and have played so hard with many new friends we have made on this leg of the trip. They are out in the hallway playing with many of them as I type away here in the room. They think this is just the best vacation ever. I wish I could say that I am enjoying it as much as they are, but at this point I am not.
So we will be spending our New Year's eve here at Fort Dix, New Jersey. I am sure we will stay up tonight until the New Year arrives. I am going to pull out my camera and start making some memories cause I know one day I am going to look back at this and just laugh and talk about how much fun we had. I know my kids will look back and remember this New Year's Day.
On another note, I found out today of a date when my husband will be arriving home! Yes, I will be hugging and loving on my husband in 13 days!! Can you believe it? I can't believe that six months has finally went by and is coming to an end. Hooray! I finally made it. I am so very proud of myself for how well I have handled this deployment. There aren't many people that can do what I do on a daily basis.
I am going to go and play with my kids now in the hallway. Can I just say there are some GREAT people in the military? I have had so many people that have helped me with my luggage, and I have LOTS of luggage, and have made sure I found a place to stay. It has been wonderful. We have met some great people. We are all in the same boat and all stranded here, but are making the best of it. We all ordered Chinese at the terminal today. I think I saw the Chinese Delivery guy about 4 times today. He made some good money today. Tonight we all went in together and got some Domino's. I hope you are enjoying your New Year's eve as much as I am.
I just hope this next year I get to spend more time with my husband than I did this year. That in itself will make it the best year ever.......

Our Wonderful Christmas

2008-12-30T11:16:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say I was sitting in my house in California with my Yellow Lab lying at my feet, but I can't. I am sitting here looking out the window watching a KC-135 land, in sunny New Jersey. Our trip hit a little speed bump on Sunday night, after driving 9 hours in the car to Maryland. We checked into our hotel and I called to check on our flight for the next morning and they informed me the flight was canceled. I had a slight melt-down, but soon recovered and came up with another plan. I am hoping plan B works. We will find out tomorrow. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow afternoon, that we get back home. I know this is what Space A is all about, but it still can be tough and stressful. The kids are doing great and having a blast. We have a small apartment type hotel (TLF) here and are enjoying the space. I must admit that I have wonderful kids, that are pretty flexible and well-traveled.

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas! Ours was fabulous and there was only one thing missing, my husband. I am hoping to find out something soon about his arrival home. Hopefully by next week! We had a blast in Ohio for Christmas. It was alot easier with the kids being a little older. I think we got to see everyone we wanted to this time. I took tons of pictures, but seem to be losing my memory a little. I didn't get hardly any pictures of my moms side due to me thinking I forgot my camera, it wasn't until everyone left that I found it sitting by the front door! I was so upset! I guess that's part of getting old.....not that I am. So I have tons of pictures, but not many of my mom's side. Hopefully I can steal some from my cousins wife soon and I will share them with you then.

I guess you will see how much fun we had in our pictures. I wish I could say that we had a "snow" day, but there wasn't any snow falling in Ohio during our visit, of course. After all the shopping and stuff for "snow" gear and I didn't even get to use any of it! That's the way the weather works in Ohio, you never know what you're going to get.

Enjoy the slide show. Thank you to everyone that made special trips to see us, that made room in their houses for our crew, and to everyone that altered their plans for us. We appreciate it so much and loved seeing each and every one of you. I would like to say we will do it again next year, but I can't say that for sure....sorry.

The "joys" of flying Space Available!

2008-12-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

Here I sit in front of my computer, when I am suppose to be on the plane I hear revving up out on the flight line. The kids and I attempted to leave on a flight this morning to our destination, but the attempt failed. They only had ten seats available, so obviously they had ten people ahead of us. The part I don't like is that we are bumped down a Category, due to flying without my husband. In my eyes, we should be bumped UP a Category while he is away. That just seems fair to me. There were many families that didn't get on this flight, so I know they are going to be back there this evening, along with us, fighting to get on this last flight out.
Please pray that we get on this flight tonight. It broke my heart to hear Jaelyn cry when I told her to head back out to the car. She screamed "I want to go on the airplane and see GRANDMA!!!" It's hard to explain Space Available to a four year old, but I told her that we will try again tonight. It's a bigger plane, so hopefully we have a BIGGER chance of getting on. IF we don't get on this flight out tonight, then I am not sure when we will get out. There aren't any other flights out to our destination the rest of the weekend. I am putting a cut-off day of Tuesday, as my last chance to get out of here. We'll see what happens.
I just pray we get on this one tonight and then I don't have to worry about figuring out the rest. This is the worst part about the traveling and I usually have this really smart and good looking man to help me (my husband) with all of the decisions, but right now, I am alone in this.

I hope the next time I am updating to be in the cold, snowy state of Ohio! Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Patience? What's that?

2008-12-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a part of Steve's birthday present. I had a friend from Church take these for us to send to Steve. I think they turned out pretty good, considering the group! I hope you enjoy.....

This week is all about patience for me. It is going to be an interesting week for me. If you know me at all, then you know that I am not a very patient person. Now, I have TONS of patience with kids, but anything else.....forget it! I have this problem and I think it's called "Impulse control"....lol...if I see something, then I want it or THINK I NEED it now. It's amazing how far I have come over the years, as I progress in age, but I still have a "slight" problem with it every now and then. I am hoping I am able to get through this next week with a lot of patience. I will let you know how I do when it is all over with. There are a couple of things testing my patience this week, one I can't control, but the other one is waiting on the right flight out of here to home. I have my plan all set in place, now I just have to wait and see what flights are going out on those dates. If something comes up any earlier than my scheduled dates. then that is where I will run into trouble with my "impulse control" issue. And you were wondering where Chelsea got it from huh?

Our Christmas musical went great! I am so proud of all my preschoolers at Church. They did so fabulous and I just love each one of them for the great job they did. Each year is very stressful up to the day of the musical, but once it's all over with I just sit back and realize how well it went. This year turned out great and I know next year will be just as wonderful.

I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season. I know I sure am. I love this time of year and I know once it's over with, I am that much closer to seeing my wonderful husband. We are so excited about him coming home and it's all we talk about around our house. Steve received his birthday present and he LOVED it. I was very worried about if he would like the things I got him, but he did.

Well, pray for me this next week or so. I am hoping soon I will have a post full of lots of NEW happening things around here. I can't wait.....

Good Days and Bad Days...

2008-12-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

It seems to be either or lately. I either have a really great day, or I have a really bad day. This week has been full of bad days. Now I say bad days, that doesn't necessarily mean the whole day is bad. It just seems to be very difficult coming off of a four day weekend and getting back into the grove of things. I really enjoyed my time off this past weekend. I made sure to take time for myself, get some much needed deep cleaning done, and spend some quality time with my kids. I am very blessed to be able to spend alot of time with my children on a daily basis. I know it's not always easy for working parents to find alot of time with their children, so I am lucky to be able to work out of my home. Soon enough my time of working out of the home will be over, but raising my children never will be. I am grateful and blessed to have been able to be a stay at home mom. One day I will look back and be ever so grateful for the time I spent with my children. Now don't get me wrong, there are days I just would love to run out of the house screaming and the past two days have been just like that.
Today has been a much better day though and I am so glad. I am getting so excited about our vacation home. Yes, I am calling it a vacation because it's a vacation from my house, work, and life. I get to go home and spend some quality time with family. That is the greatest Christmas present ever (besides if my husband could come home early). I already have my whole trip planned out and am ready to get it started. I have been praying about my trip that it goes well and I don't have too much trouble with traveling alone, and it seems to be working out just perfectly so far. This doesn't mean that it's going to GO perfectly, but so far my planning is...LOL. I have found a base on the east coast that flies here three times a week, and they have flights from here about two to three times a week to that same base. I also found at that base, they have a car rental place right INSIDE the terminal where I will be landing! PRAISE THE LORD! This is an answered prayer! I have been stressing about how I would get to the car rental place, dragging luggage and three kids. Now it seems to be working out. It is looking like I might actually be leaving two weeks from tomorrow. Just knowing it is so close, just has me so anxious to get it started.
I think I have all the needed items for snow. We have borrowed some and purchased most. I am sure I will get there and realize that I have forgot something, so I will probably have to do some shopping while I am home...darn. I do have to finish up some Christmas shopping when I get there because I don't want to drag it on the airplane with me. I will have plenty of family members VERY willing to take my children, so I can go out and finish up my shopping...alone. That will be exciting to get away and not have to worry about leaving my kids. They will be glad to get away from me and spend time with their family.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving as much as we did. We did a whole lot of nothing, but sitting around and munching on food all day long. I baked two pumpkin pies (I don't know what I was thinking) and had to send one to my neighbor next door. Pumpkin pie is a HUGE weakness of mine. There is no way I am going to let a pumpkin pie get the best of me! NO WAY! I ate a couple of pieces and then got rid of the rest. Boy times sure have changed.
I will be updating hopefully this weekend with some new pictures. It will be a busy week this week due to our Christmas musical coming up this Sunday. Our rehearsal is all day Saturday and then the musical is Sunday. The kids have been practicing so hard for this and I can't wait to see the final product on Sunday.
Have a great Hump Day everyone!

Ready for Turkey Day!!!

2008-11-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

I love this picture of my kids just having fun and being care-free. I hope they can look back on this picture one day and remember how simple life was as a child.

I have my menu ready, my ingredients all sitting on the table, and my kids ready to cook, now I just need Thanksgiving to get here! Well actually, I am thinking about doing the cooking today. I figure I don't have anyone to cook for or to be ready at a certain time, so why not? Then I can just sit and relax all day tomorrow. Something I don't get to do hardly ever anymore!

I don't have much to say on here today, but just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I went to the Library yesterday and got three books to read this weekend. I am hoping to get to read a little bit, can you tell? I love to read and I don't think I have got to do much of it at all since I started back to work. I miss it and can't wait to dive into a book. I didn't get anything special to read, just a romance novel this time. Good old Danielle Steel. Don't judge me please!

I hope everyone is as ready for the Holiday's as I am! Tomorrow evening the kids and I are going to put up a tree. I just can't imagine this house going without one during Christmas. It looks like my neighbor is going to take care of Samson while we are gone, so he will be staying here and I want him to have a pretty tree to look at while we are gone. Ok, again, don't judge me. Yes, I love my dog! The kids are excited about putting up the tree. I am not going to go all out and decorate the whole inside or outside this year. It will be very simple. Just the garland from the ledge upstairs and the tree. I have already bought FOUR new Christmas CD's. I know, I am pathetic and yes, we have already been listening to them. I can't help it, I just love Christmas. I can't wait for Santa to visit here this year while we are gone.The kids are going to be so surprised to see all the presents under the tree when we get back.

Yesterday Tyler said that one of his friends in school told him Santa isn't real. He then asked me if he was. Now, I don't like lying to my children and I am doing the same thing with Tyler and Jaelyn that I did with Chelsea. I ask them "what do you think, do YOU think he is real?" and Tyler said yes, so I said then he must be real. I let my children believe until they are ready to NOT believe any longer. Why take that away from them? I feel kids grow up way to fast these days as it is, why not give them a little longer to believe in something so magical. My kids love tracking Santa on the computer every year on Christmas Eve, Even Chelsea watches and smiles as we look to see where Santa has delivered his presents to. It has been a tradition of ours for years now. I can't wait to see the twinkle in Jaelyn's eyes this year as she looks to see where Santa is heading. She is a little older this year and it is so much fun to hear her talk about Santa and how she can't wait for him to come.
I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend, those that get one. I hope I get some relaxing in mine and you take the time to relax too. I am pretty much done with my Christmas shopping, so I will not be doing any shopping this weekend. I am too old for that chaos and can't handle it anymore. I would rather shop online...lol.

Have a Happy TURKEY DAY!

How many times can you wash your hands in a day?

2008-11-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

Until they dry, crack and bleed? That is what happened to my hands this week. Monday I woke up sick, but I toughed it out. I probably washed my hands a thousand times in one day. I am trying my best to sanitize and clean everything, so I don't pass this on to the daycare kids. It only got worse from there and by Tuesday evening I was drugged up on NyQuil and in bed by 745.
It's been a rough week for me this week. I still toughed it out and worked, but barely. I probably should have closed on Wed, but I feel bad having four sets of parents trying to scramble and find alternate care. I am a person driven on guilt, shame on me. I am slowly weaning myself off of DayQuil now. I haven't taken any since Friday morning and I am feeling it. It seems worse in the morning cause it all sits at night. It is in my chest really badly and if I am not better by mid-week this week, I am making myself an appt. I have to be sure to take care of myself, so I can take care of my kids here at home. If I can't take care of them, then I don't have anybody that will, so it's vital for me to be healthy!
I am so glad it's the weekend! I am going to get the much needed rest that my body needs. The kids and I are just going to hang out here all day today and relax and recoup. Next week is a short week for me due to the Holiday's, so I am very excited about getting a FOUR day weekend. I already have our Thanksgiving planned out and can't wait until it gets here. We will be hanging out in style that day...in our PJ's! Yep, all day long! We are all going to cook our Thanksgiving dinner together and just play games or Playstation all day long. Nothing special, but lots of fun. My children getting older has always been a scary thing for me. I can't remember having any kind of life before kids. I had Chelsea when I was 18, so it's all I have ever really known in my adult life. I can say, that it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I LOVE my children and their ages now. We have so much fun together and enjoy each other's company. Life with a teenager isn't always easy, but she is such a great help to me and also has been a joy getting to know as a teenager. Thanksgiving day is going to be a fun day with my kids and Samson and I am going to cherish that day as much as I can. I know deep down inside that there is going to come a day when I won't always have my children here to spend the Holiday's with me and so I am going to soak up every moment I can.
Last night I finished up Steve's birthday/Christmas presents to send out in his box. I am so excited about his box and really hope that he loves his gifts. I wish he was here so I could see his face as he opens them! I have such a hard time keeping surprises to myself, so this has just been killing me! I have been doing good so far. If I keep talking though, I might end up giving up too much information!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! At some point I am going to try and clean my headlights on my van. They have become very very dingy, I think is the word. I had to change my turn signal last night because it blew again! Did I mention that I can't wait to get my NEW car when Steve gets home?? It has been EIGHT years since we have bought me a new car and I think it's time. The poor van is about to fall apart and I can't take it any longer. Although, Steve will be driving it for a little while because I am not letting daycare kids in my brand new car! No way! My own kids will be lucky to get in it! Just kidding.
Have a great weekend and I will hopefully post a little more healthier next week!

The best day ever... almost

2008-11-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wake up in the morning and just think to yourself how blessed you are? Sunday morning I woke up and looked over in my bed and saw a sweet, precious little four year old staring back at me. I looked at the end of my bed and saw a gorgeous, yellow lab wagging his tail waiting for me to get out of bed and feed him. I just smiled. I closed my eyes and said a little prayer of thanks. I had this overwhelming feeling of being the most blessed person in the world. I have three great kids, the best dog in the world, and the most caring husband ever. Although my husband is half a world away, I felt like the luckiest woman in the world to be the one he chose to marry. After almost ten years of marriage, I still feel like I don't deserve this man God gave me. I woke up just so grateful and full of thanks on Sunday morning.

Sunday was the best day ever. It would have been the most "perfect" day had my husband been by my side. We woke up and headed to the Church Sunday morning to practice for our Christmas musical once again. The kids are working so hard and I can't wait to see the final product this year. It's always so good. After church we went to go eat lunch together as a family. It was just me and the kids for once, and it felt great. We chose to eat at In and Out Burger for lunch because we were in a hurry to see our "surprise." The kids had no idea we were going to The Nut Tree. They have only been once and loved every minute of it, of course Jaelyn was too little to enjoy to many of the rides. Well this time she was able to ride EVERYTHING, including the roller coaster! She loved it! We rode the thing four times. I think we would have rode it more, but we had to head back to the Church for our small group. We rode the train twice, the merry go round three times, and the spinny thingy once. Mommy could only handle the spinning thing once.

So here are lots of pictures for you to enjoy. Sorry you know me, I love to post pictures. I hope you enjoy this day through my pictures as much as I did. Try to take time this week and reflect on how blessed we all are.....

This is my favorite picture. I just wish Chelsea was in it.

My three little blessings.

This look says it all.....she did have fun though.

She enjoyed each and every ride.

This is another of my favorites. Who knows what Jaelyn is doing and Chelsea is behind the camera.

Heading out to Church

I love this picture of Chelsea

Jaelyn loves to get her picture taken.

Being silly at the Nut Tree

She takes after her daddy

and so does this one.....

Are we leaving yet for Church?

Do you really have to take my pictture again?

The leader of the pack..

I love this girl more than anything in the world. She is so full of personality, as all of my children are. I wouldn't trade these moments with them for anything in the world.

You Better Watch Out...

2008-11-08T20:59:00.001-08:00

You better not cry, you better not pout, I am telling you why....SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN!
Yes folks, I am talking Christmas! It's everywhere you look, it's all over tv commercials (which I can't stand) and it's all over the stores. I can't believe how quickly Christmas is sneaking up on me. I am usually a last minute shopper, but have been working hard this year to stay ahead of the game. I have done a good job of it too. Today I went out and bought one of Steve's Christmas presents. We usually don't buy for each other and mainly focus on the kids each year, but this year is special. We are not going to be having Christmas together on Christmas Day. If you know me at all I am horrible at keeping secrets, so it is killing me not to tell Steve!

I am also gearing up for our trip home to Ohio. Here in Northern California, our winters are very mild. We don't see snow, but we usually see plenty of rain. It isn't NEAR as cold as it is in Ohio, so needless to say....we don't dress for winters like they do back home. I have been getting warmer clothes for both me and the kids. We are taking a military flight home, so I am not sure where we will land. We could land in New Jersey and have to walk in the snow some. I am really nervous about this trip alone with the kids cause it's not so easy. I won't have tickets with a set date, set destination, or set time. I literally fly by the seat of my pants. When we land we don't have any method of transportation to get to Ohio, so I will be renting a car and driving in snow. I haven't drove in snow in over 5years at least, so I am pretty nervous about it. I think I have discussed this before about my trip to Ohio, but this is my blog and I can talk about things as many times as I want...lol. That's how nervous I am about this whole trip. If it was just me I wouldn't worry too much, but I will be dragging three kids around with me too in the freezing cold.
Today I checked out a kennel to put Samson in while we are away. It's just too difficult during the Holiday's to find anyone willing to stay here with him. I am so upset about putting him in a kennel, but I really don't have any other option. This is another added expense that we have for our "FREE"trip home. Many people think that it's just so easy for to come home cause we can fly for free. Not really the case at all. We have to rent cars, pay someone to watch our dog or kennel him, pay for gas for the car rentals, etc, etc. It really does add up and fast, especially around the Holiday's.
So I am done venting for now. Like I said, I have been torn about being happy about the Holiday's. It just isn't the same without my husband here. This trip would be 100% easier with him by my side, but most things usually are with him.
My weekend is going great. The kids and I are going to the Nut Tree tomorrow to enjoy some rides and spend some quality time together. I feel as though we don't get that very often with me working now. I am ready to enjoy a great day at Church and then some time with my kiddos. I hope you all are able to do the same...

Watching the game...

2008-11-06T17:48:00.001-08:00

Go Browns!!!!

Everyone knows that I LOVE Thursday's and today is NO exception at all. Today was a gorgeous day here in Northern California. We had bright sunshine and a cool breeze. I loved it. This morning I decided to take the kids to McDonald's play land to enjoy some time out of the house. Ms. Brandy gets a little claustrophobic by the end of the week, so off we went.

Then after the kids left, I ran upstairs to throw on my husband's Brady Quinn jersey and my husband's sweat pants. I use to be able to wear them (they were a little baggy before), but now I have to roll them alot just to keep them on my hips. I didn't care though. I was so excited for Brady to be playing tonight. I am sitting here watching the game now and relaxing for the first time this week. I am enjoying knowing that I am watching the same exact thing as my husband too. Yes, he is watching the game right now too. It kind of makes me feel close to him, even if it is something silly as watching the game.

Here are a few pictures of me in the baggy jersey and shirt. I think I will have to get my own, so I don't look like I am wearing a dress. I must say though, I am really comfortable.

Hope you all are enjoying your Thursday evening as much as I am.....

I got MAIL and a BUNCH of pictures...

2008-11-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

These pictures are all out of order, but you should be use to it by now. I am just not a blogger expert....sorry

Here is a picture of me working with the preschoolers at Church, practicing for our Christmas musical. This year we are a part of the BIG Children's Church musical. Now, don't go thinking that I can carry a note or anything, I am just trying to get them to make some kind of noise!
This is a picture from Saturday. Man did it pour down rain and I loved every minute of it. Too bad I can't clear my calendar to sit long enough by the front window to enjoy it this day.

My children did though. Tyler loves to make beds on the floor and he always uses ALL of my cushions from my couches. It drives me insane, but they have fun.

This picture is from Friday at our Harvest Festival at Church. The pictures are taken by Chelsea cause I was busy running around like a mad woman to make sure everything went according to schedule. It was a great time and I am glad there is a whole year until the next one!

Here is my sweet girl Tessie. This is one of the twins, Jaelyn's best friends. They all three had a great time Friday night together. I think between the three of them they ate a dozen cupcakes at the Cupcake walk.

Here is a picture of the twins' dad. Don't let the hair fool ya.

My little Tinkerbell! She was dressed all day in her costume and by the time we got to the Harvest festival the shoes were off and her little crown she had too.

Tess again. She was SUPER GIRL. The cutest little Super Girl I ever did see.

Little Ms. Hannah. I think she was a snow princess, but I could be wrong. I didn't get the official name of her costume that night. She made the perfect Snow princess ever.

A picture of some of the early bird kids. Notice my crazy son. He totally got into part. I am telling you these kids had such a great time. They went home with sooo much candy. I actually had to hide it in my car and plan on throwing it away soon.

Here are a few pictures taken around the house last week. Jaelyn loves to pose for pictures.

Here is Jaelyn building a tall tower during daycare.

Jaelyn at her friend's bowling party a few weeks ago. She loves to bowl and is actually pretty good at it too.

A big "cheese."

Three best friends! They love being together. *I wrote this the other day*

Yesterday was a great day around here. Yes I know it was Monday, but it was chilly, rainy, and just a perfect day with the kids. It got even better when I opened my front door and there sat a BOX! I don't get boxes too often, so I was wondering what it could be. As I opened it, I realized it was from my Aunt Linda in Ohio! I was so excited to tear into it and find a new FUZZY, SOFT, pink robe! It was the perfect day to receive such a fabulous gift! I was so excited for the kids to leave, so I could put my sweats on and cuddle up in my soft fuzzy robe and that's just what I did too! It poured down rain here last night and was pretty cold out. I just sat by my front window watching and listening to the rain tap the window. It was wonderful. You know what would have made it more perfect? My husband by my side! Until he gets home though, Samson is filling in for him and he doesn't mind a bit.

So I started this post yesterday and am just now able to finish it. Life is busy for me. I have moments where I am lucky to grab a bite to eat, or lucky to sit down AT ALL during the whole day, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world right now. I am so blessed to be able to stay at home with my children and watch them grow each moment. I know one day I will look back and miss them so terribly and I don't want to have any regrets. "I" want to be the one to raise my children. "I" want to be the one they run to when they are hurt, or sad, or have a broken heart (Chelsea is a teenager now). I want that to be me, always. I love my children so much that sometimes I can't imagine my house without any of them. I don't want them to grow up and move out and have an adult life. Steve on the other hand is ready to celebrate when it's that time. Not me!

My heart has been torn about the Holiday season approaching. I want it here and I want it here fast, so my husband can hurry up and come home afterwards. I just don't want to think about the Holiday's without him here though. I haven't had to spend a Christmas without my husband in a LONG time...since I was pregnant with Tyler, he is now 7 in case you didn't know that. I am also sad that I am going home for Christmas (let me finish) and I probably won't decorate my house for it since we won't be here. It just doesn't make any sense to do it and then not be here to enjoy it. Oh well, I guess there could be worse things in life right? Like I said, I have been torn about Christmas for a while now, but I will make it through. I feel worse for the kids more than anything, not to have their daddy here on Christmas day. The good thing is that we plan on having a Christmas AFTER Christmas. Since Steve will be home a few weeks after Christmas,I am holding out the kids' presents until daddy comes home. Steve has a few presents waiting here for him too, so it will be a GREAT day when he gets home because we will have Steve back AND get to open more presents.

I better get going. I need to go and jump on the treadmill and clean up my house from the day. I can't get over how quickly this week is going. There just aren't enough hours in they day sometimes.

Did I ever tell you?

2008-10-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

That I NEVER win anything? Well today was my lucky day! I was so shocked to see that I have won something. This doesn't happen to me everyday, so I am thrilled.

Christian passed on an award to me and I just thought that was awesome! I only know her through blog world, but she has been such a great inspiration to me as a fellow military wife!

Go check out her blog if you get the chance.

http://whowouldvethoughtit.blogspot.com/

I am tagging the only other blogs I know! So here it goes.

I am tagging Melissa- she has been a long time blogger buddy. I met her through my sister n law.

http://nuessefamily.blogspot.com/

I am tagging my sister n law Mindy- cause she is a great mom and is the one who turned me onto blogging.

http://theousleyfamily.blogspot.com/

I am tagging Liz- she is Melissa's sister and has a HUGE heart!
http://alandliz.blogspot.com/

I tag Elissa- cause she is my sister and today is her birthday! Happy Birthday Elissa!

http://ourmaloneyfamily.blogspot.com/

I tag Shannon- she is my great friend in real life! I sure do miss her though. Her family retired from the military and they moved up to Washington .

http://chagnon6.blogspot.com/

I tag Kylene- she is one of my FIRST married couple friends! We were all stationed in England together. It's been too long Kylene!

http://nuessefamily.blogspot.com/

I think that's it! I hope you all accept this award and feel as special as I did!
Have a great Halloween everyone! I will be posting pics soon.

Some pictures from my husband!!!

2008-10-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday Steve got to switch his days around and go downtown off the base. He was really excited to put on civilian clothes and get "away" a little bit. From the looks of the pictures he shared and our conversation, it sounds like he had a great time. I am so glad that he got away and felt normal again. He needed it after working 6 days a week, 12 hour shifts. Unfortunately since switching his days around, he now has to work 8 days in a row. I guess there could be worse things huh?
On their trip to town, they ate at TGIF's and passed a Cold Stone Creamery.....YUM...my favorite ice cream in the whole wide world. If you haven't been to a Cold Stone's, find one now! It is a must have! Anyway, Steve did a little shopping while he was there and worked on our Christmas gifts. It's nice that he can help out while so far away! Of course I am doing most of it, but he is helping some.

Things have improved from last week around here. I try to put a smile on my face and be as positive as I can everyday, but I am going to have my tough days too. I just pick myself up and move on, which is exactly what I did. I will be so happy when I can say that it has been six months and my husband is COMING HOME! Won't be too long now, but I still have many days to go.

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I did. I sure do miss my handsome husband! Seeing him in these pictures just puts the biggest smile on my face. I have to say that he has lost some weight while he has been over there. We'll see if he can tough it out and keep it off when he gets back to his wife's good cookin....oh yeah and IN and OUT Burger too!

This is the Mall that they went to, looks very nice!

This is a picture of the city. I believe it's while they were driving. Kind of reminds me of San Fransisco.

Here is Cold Stone! You know you are missing the USA when you take pictures of signs.....lol. We use to do it in England all the time.

Here is the inside of the mall. Steve said he couldn't ever take me shopping here cause it all was VERY expensive.

Here is Steve (on the left) and Mike together at the Mall. Mike has been a family friend of ours pretty much since we got here. He is a great guy and has been a good friend to Steve. He likes to compete with my husband and STILL hasn't learned that my husband always wins. Trust me Mike, I learned a long time ago. It's just easier to admit it and move on....lol.

Another picture of the guys.

Here is my husband sitting in front of some statue of an Oyster. Now the funny part is that my husband would NEVER eat or go near an oyster at a restaurant! Now me on the other hand.....yum!

An outdoor picture of the Mall.

Have a great week everyone!

Why is my air still running?

2008-10-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

So I know you have heard me say that I love Fall right? Well, I am still waiting for it to arrive here in California! We had a couple of days that were a little "chilly", but other than that....nothing. I am so ready for some cold weather, wearing sweaters, drinking hot chocolate, and running my heater. From the sounds of the weather report, I still have a while to wait. They do say that we have some cooling coming in on Tuesday, but that means 70's, nothing too cold. Oh well, I will keep on waiting and hopefully when it comes, it will stay for a while. We are in dire need of rain here and I hope that it comes soon.

It's been a rough road the past few days. I have struggled with some things, so it hasn't been very fun for me. I have held tough this whole deployment and kept a smiling face, but Tuesday that all came to a halt. I had a rough day with my daycare, then ended the night on a bad note too. I ended up letting go of a lot of built up tears. It was a much needed release of emotions and once it started, I couldn't stop it. You know you start crying and can't stop, and every time someone is nice to you and asks you how you are doing, you just break down and cry more.....well that was me. After it was all said and done, I did feel much better. I did my nightly routine, pulled out my husbands cologne and sprayed his pillow, and closed my eyes so I could pretend that he was lying in bed next to me. Now that might send a little corny to some, but until you have spent 3 1/2 months away from your husband, don't judge OK? I fell asleep praying that tomorrow I would wake up and have a much better day, and I did.

Tonight I ask that you all pray for my family. I am not going into details about what or why, but I really would appreciate it if you could just pray for the Lord's Will for us. Thank you so much.

Happy 3rd Birthday!!!

2008-10-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

Samson!! Today is Samson's birthday and we celebrated it in style. Not really, but I did make him a doggie birthday cake and he LOVED it! He was the King of the day today. I bought him some bones, a retrieving toy, and of course his cake with a candle.

Some people might think we are crazy, but we treat Samson just like a family member. He stays inside with us, sleeps in our room (in our bed since Steve is gone), and also is treated like a family member. One of our rules on our fridge even says, "Samson is to be treated like a family member."
It amazes me that we have had Samson for a little under three years already. They have been wonderful years, this dog is the best dog in the entire world. I couldn't imagine NOT having Samson in our lives, he is just that special to us.

I hope that Samson has many many more birthdays and eventually gets to see more of the world. Most of our family back home have met Samson and they love him just as much as we do!

Happy Birthday Samson, we love you very much!

My most favorite day of the week!!

2008-10-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Have I ever told you that I LOVE Thursday's? No? Well, I do! It is the day before Friday, the night Survivor comes on, a day off from running, and a fun evening with my kids! I just love it.
Today has been a busy day though running around and getting a few things done with daycare kids in tow.

So I have a weird question. Everyone knows that I have lost a significant amount of weight. I believe I am at about 48lbs. WOW! Seeing that number on the computer seems HUGE! It's more than Jaelyn weighs. Anyway, my question is....do you think feet shrink too when you lose weight? I know it sounds crazy, but I have always been a size 8 1/2. I went shoe shopping- BOGO and tried on a couple of pairs of shoes. My normal size was too big! I could not figure out what was going on. I ended up buying 8's! So I am wondering if my feet shrunk in the process of the rest of my body shrinking? Crazy, I know, but I am just baffled. I came out with a couple of pairs of shoes though, so who cares what size they were right?

Daycare is picking up. I now have a 6 month old starting on Monday. He is the cutest little guy ever. I can't wait for him to start, so we can play together. I love having babies around, since I am not and can not have anymore. They are nice to take care of and enjoy for the day, but I also like sending them home with their mommy and daddy at the end of the day! I guess I will make a great grandma one day, a very far away day! It is way to early to be thinking about that right now.

I am looking forward to my vacation home so much right now. After three months alone with the kids, it will be great to see all of my family and to have them take my kids off of my hands every now and then. I am in need of a break from parenthood. Steve and I have a great tag team plan that we do while he is home, so when it's just me- I don't have anyone to tag up with and it can be tiresome. Don't get me wrong, I love my children with all of my heart, but there are days when I just want to run out of this house screaming and jump in my car and drive away! Those days are very far and few between, but I still have them. Think about being a single parent to three children, working 50 hours a week, taking care of all the household bills and cleaning, and taking care of the vehicles too. How would you feel after three months of doing that? Pretty tired, well that's how I feel today. I am hoping for a little relief when I get home at Christmas. This year will be an exciting year cause I am going to my Dad's side (Denslow) of the family for Christmas too. Not only will it be another function to fit into my already chaotic schedule, but it will be more family to see and enjoy too! I don't' get to see my dad's side of the family very much, so I am looking forward to seeing them all again. My dad is going with me and my sister is driving up from Kentucky to join us. It will be so much fun.

Well, I have probably bored you with all of my ramblings. I love coming on here and typing away about nothing. It makes me feel like I am actually sitting here and chatting with an adult. I don't get much adult conversation anymore. I have my close friends here, but other than that I don't have many people to talk to. It seems like people just go there own ways and kind of forget about you after a while, which is fine with me.

I will be putting some pictures on here soon. I promise. My poor husband bought me my fabulous new camera and I haven't been great on sending him a lot of pictures. Shame on me! I will find the time to do that this weekend. I send boxes out to him all the time, so he knows I still love him......always.

I want YOU

2008-10-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

To get moving today! I just finished running on my treadmill and I feel GREAT! I wish that more people would take initiative and give exercise a chance. I can't even tell you how great it makes you feel when you are done. You feel like you can accomplish anything. I changed my song (temporarily) to the song that I start my run off to. Talk about motivating! I hope it motivates you as much as it does me....

I don't know what motivated me to get on here and tell you to GET MOVING....but I feel like it's something I should share. There's no easy way around it, get up off that couch, chair, bed...whatever and get motivated. It isn't as grueling as most people think. Just go for a walk with your kids or run around and kick a soccer ball with your kids for an hour or so. It doesn't have to be on a treadmill, or in a gym, just get moving.

The Holiday season is upon us and this is the time of year when most people put on a few extra unwanted pounds. Don't let that be you! Keep busy, and keep moving. You will be amazed by the way it makes you feel and how you will become easily addicted to it in no time.

Can you tell I am in a goofy mood today? I am enjoying my day off and loving having some extra time to get some things done around here. Everyone needs to make sure to be selfish every once in a while and take care of themselves. If you don't do it, who will?

Moving on to the next project...

2008-10-12T18:06:00.000-07:00

I hate to keep repeating myself, but it just seems that I never get a chance to stop. I am wondering how I am going to fit my husband into my busy schedule when he gets home. Just kidding. He will fit in just fine, don't worry.
My next project at Church is our Harvest Festival, along with working on our Children's Musical. Can you say busy? Yes, I will be pretty busy through the end of this deployment. The light at the end of the tunnel is that I get a vacation home (if you call it a vacation) and my husband home soon after I return from home. I was holding onto some hope that my husband could possibly come home at the end of December, but he crushed any hope of that yesterday. He shared with me a tentative date and lets just say that it isn't until January,of course I can't say the exact date. I was not happy with the news, but I held my composure. It has flown by so quickly, so what's a few more days right? At least that's what I keep telling myself.
Today we resumed our small group again. It was great getting together and making a plan for what our future holds for our group. We have decided to move on to a "leaders training" study. I think it's a great idea. The one bad quality about our Church is that there is always the same SMALL amount of people doing everything. I use to be on the sidelines (a few years ago) and let this same group of people do all the work, but now I am right in there with them. It can be very frustrating at times, but always rewarding. I have made such great friends by putting myself in there and plugging myself in a ministry. I love working in the preschool department and enjoy working with the kids, but I feel myself pulling away as a teacher more and more. I think it has started to be more intense since I started daycare back up. Working with kids for 10 hours a day, five days a week is very tiring. Then to turn around and do it again on Sundays, makes it even worse. I don't want to be burnt out with teaching and I want my focus to always be on God and what He wants me to do. It's hard though cause I also have to help provide for my family too. So how do these work together? That is the journey I am on lately. With much prayer and much hard work, I am trying to find a balance here. The problem is that I want to be more involved with Church and furthering his kingdom.
Things are going great around here. Like I said, time is flying by. I wish it would go faster, but as I look back it really is. I am enjoying the kids more and more each day. Today's sermon was living your life as you were dying. That's pretty much how I look at things anyway. I have learned a hard lesson in life, about how short it is and you never know what tomorrow may bring, so I am always sure to let my kids and husband know how much I love them every moment I get. I think I can always do better at this, so my goal this week is to find some kind of activity to do with each of my children individually. It is important for them to know that I am here for them and never too busy for them. Life can get hectic and busy, especially as a single mom right now, and I need to make sure I don't let life fill my time to much.
Today is a cold and windy day here and I just love it. I am sitting here in my sweatpants, T-shirt, and Steve's sweatshirt (which is huge on me) sprayed with his cologne, my big fuzzy socks on, with my fuzzy shoes, just relaxing on the couch. I so badly want to turn on the heat cause I am freezing, but really it's not THAT cold just yet. I think after a while I am going to go and get my fuzzy blanket from Saudi Arabia and snuggle with my big dog, Samson, on the couch. Have I mentioned how much I love Fall?
I guess I have rambled on enough. I just wanted everyone to know that I am still alive and well. I am keeping up with my healthy eating habits, which I believes helps me stay mentally balanced as well. It just doesn't stop amazing me how much and how well I am getting to know my body. I love it. I love the way I feel and I love the way I am happy mentally. It has made such a huge impact on my self-esteem and also how well I have managed this deployment alone.
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving. The kids and I are going to make our own Thanksgiving and hang out here at the house in our Pj's all day long. It sounds like the perfect Thanksgiving to me! I think we will make it a game day and just play games, eat, and watch movies day!

Hope all is well with everyone. I feel so out of touch with everyone lately, but just know that I am still here.....

Is it Possible??

2008-10-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

Rain in the forcast?? I surely hope so! I love the way the clouds look in the sky today and took a few pictures, while I had the chance. This was taken with my webcam, so the quality might not be so great. At least you can see my hair cut a little better. I LOVE it!

I am not sure if I heard correctly on the news this morning? I believe they said we are getting....rain...tomorrow night! We haven't seen a good rain since February, yes you heard me right, February. Rain is something we don't see around here for many months during Spring/Summer seasons. I get so excited when I hear that we might get some rain because that means Christmas isn't too far away! I can't wait for Christmas this year. We are going to see something we haven't seen in 5 years.....SNOW! I love the snow (even more now that we don't live in it) and can't wait to build a snowman and make snow angels with my children. I already found a snow suite for Jaelyn! I am slowly stocking up on the things we will need for the snow, things you don't own when you don't live in it. Like, Snow boots, scarves, hats, heavy winter coat, things like that. The last time we went home for Christmas, we landed in a snow storm in Pittsburgh. They opened the back hatch of the C-5 and all we could see was white stuff, everywhere. We didn't even bring winter coats. Luckily Steve's mom and dad were waiting for us at the base terminal with heavy gear for the kids.

So back to the rain, I thought I would take a few picture of the clouds floating around. It truly looks like Fall out there! I love it!

I also attached a few pictures of my daycare. You can see how it has overtaken my house. The only place I don't have daycare things are upstairs. It is against the rules to have kids or daycare things upstairs, which is fine by me. I need to have some place to call my own. Lately I have been retreating to my bedroom when I can. I love my bedroom and feel like it's mine and usually there aren't kids in there....sigh...usually.

I hope you like the pictures. I haven't had much time to take many, so take what you can get when you can get it. The kids and I are planning a trip up to Apple Hill sometime soon. I can't wait. I said last year that it was our last year doing the train museum. It just hasn't been as great the past couple of years. The kids DO love riding the train though, so we will see.

Enjoy the pics!

This is what USE to be my dining room!

More of my dining room....

My handsome son! He did his hair on his own. Don't worry, I fixed it before he went to school.

Chelsea, still in the process of getting ready for school
Don't be fooled by the "angel" face! She has been having some behavioral problems this week. We are working on them though!

The post I have been waiting for....

2008-10-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I have been waiting for this day for two weeks now! Everyone knows that I have been working hard at getting in shape and losing weight, so now I lost the HAIR! I love it too. This isn't the greatest picture cause I was all ready for bed, but at least you can see how short I went. I am so excited about it and love love love it! I am hoping to make my life as simple as possible and I think this will help.
I will take more pictures tomorrow when the sun is out and my face is all fresh and done. Speaking of my face, I think my hormones are changing in my body. I did get a year older this month, so I guess it's bound to come. I feel like a teenager though! My face is breaking out like something horrible. Luckily I have a great friend who sells skin care products, so I am looking to make a purchase!
Things are great around here. Very busy though and I am tired and sluggish lately. I have started the past few nights to stay up late and then 5 AM roles around way too soon! I am hoping to get back into my routine of going to bed early soon. Right now I am working on our Church cookbook and just trying to get it done. We have alot of recipes and so it's alot of typing. I am getting it done and excited to see the final product. Thank goodness for my good friend Heather cause she has helped me so much with this production.
I hope you like my new hair cut. I am thrilled with it and so happy. Not sure if I will go back to long hair again, but time will tell.
Please keep our Church and family in your prayers. The kids and I are doing great and hanging tough during this deployment, but we could use all the prayers we can get. Mostly for strength for me being a single parent during this time. It takes alot of work and alot of energy. My Church is in a financial situation still and we are just hanging on by a thread. We need some kind of miracle to come up with some finances to keep us going. Please pray that we find a way to come up with this money.
Hope everyone is doing well!

"Mommy, your hair looks horrible!"

2008-09-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

Words from my 4 yr old little girl as we are walking out of the Beauty Salon. Tonight I took all three of the kids to get their hair cut at the Beauty Salon. As we were walking out, I told them all how great they look and Jaelyn yells to me through the parking lot- "And Mommy your hair still looks horrible!" I had to laugh. She is so right, so how can I say anything to her? She did eventually tell me that I am still beautiful a few minutes later though. I am glad she isn't judging me from hair. Boy would I be in trouble with her!

Things are flying by here. I can't get over how quickly time is going! My goodness! I feel like I don't get the chance to breath anymore. It makes me happy though cause each day that flies by is another day closer to my husband coming home. I am finishing up my third week of work and I feel like I have already been working months. There is never a dull moment in this house now at all. I am now FULL for the next two weeks! I can only have four other children besides my own and so I now have four extra children running around my house. I am amazed at how quickly I filled up, even though one is temporary. I also found out yesterday that the baby has a slot at the Child Development Center and next Friday will be his last day. When I took him I knew he was temporary, but I will be sad to see him go. I can't wait to see what child will take his slot. That is the exciting part about daycare, you never know what kind of personality is coming next!

My kids are doing great too! They are busy in school and playing with their new friends. Jaelyn and I have been working on school work each day and she is so smart for her age. She cracks me up because she is so excited about doing her "homework." I think it's because she feels older like her big sister and big brother. I still can't get over her going to Kindergarten next year. It will be an interesting time for her because she still tells me everyday that she doesn't want to go to school.

Steve is doing wonderful and working hard. He is busy working out at the gym six days a week and working six days a week too. He definitely enjoys his day off that he gets once a week. Poor guy, I can't wait for him to come back home and enjoy his "normal" job again. As soon as he gets back from over there, he will be testing for Master Sgt. I can remember when he first put on Ssgt and thinking what a wonderful day it will be when he gets to sew on Master and now that day will be here soon. I am so excited about him testing for Master and making it because that opens the door to some opportunities to get out of here!

I am so excited that we are almost half way done with this deployment. I looked on the calendar today and noticed that I am under ONE HUNDRED days now! (I am counting down to the 1st of the year though) How exciting is that? Each month has a milestone and they just keep coming faster and faster! Right now I am working on a Church cookbook and will be selling it as a fundraiser for our Children's Church. This weekend I will be busy typing up TONS of recipes and getting them organized and ready to print, then it will be fun putting them all together and making the cover for it too. After the cookbook, I am working on our Church Harvest Festival. This will be our first HUGE one that we have and I have alot of work cut out for me. Even though I have been keeping busy with work and working at the Church, I have still been growing more and more in the Lord each day. It is only because of HIM that I am able to keep on going each day. There are many days I would love to just crawl back into bed and stay there until my husband comes home, but have learned to lean on God for everything.

I hope everyone's Fall is going good so far! Before you know it, Christmas will be here and I am not even ready yet. Each year I feel like it keeps getting more and more over-rated. I noticed the other day in the BX they already have Christmas trees and decorations out! What? It's only September!!!

Check back soon for some exciting news I have to share! Next Thursday evening I should have a great post!!

Too long....

2008-09-19T07:46:00.001-07:00

Ok. So this is going to be quick. I feel really bad that I have been such a blogger slacker lately! I finally received my license two weeks ago and the roller coaster ride started that day!
The day I went to go and pick up my license, there was a lady on the phone desperate for childcare. If you know me at all, you know I am such a sucker, especially when it comes to kids. I told them to give her my name and number and that is all she wrote. The lady called me an hour later, we set up an interview for the next day (which was Friday), and the kids started on Monday! So I have been back to work and I love every minute of it. It was totally a God thing that the children in need of care fell into my lap, but it wasn't my plan. I am slowly (cause I am a slow learner), learning that God always has a plan for me and it may not always be MY plan. Darn. Ok. I get it God.

My preschool has now turned into a daycare. At this point I believe most people have already found preschool's to put their children in, so I am back to doing daycare. I LOVE it though. I am so happy that I am back into my career field and doing what I love. I have two children at the moment and working on my third. The two children are boys, ages 4mths and 8yrs old! I am teaching Jaelyn throughout the day, so she will be ready for Kindergarten next year.

Other than that, it's just been busy busy around here. It seems I am running kids to different things, working at the Church, going to Deployed Spouses dinner, or running on the treadmill. In the midst of all of this craziness, I can NOT forget to take care of myself! It is vital that I am healthy physically and mentally.

I have a HUGE change coming up soon in a week or so, so be checking back for more on that. I will be updating this weekend with some pictures and more details of what's been going on. In the meantime, I hope that everyone is doing well. I do get on here and check out everyones blogs, but just don't always have the time to comment or blog myself.

Oh by the way, did I tell you how excited I am about Fall? I LOVE IT(if you watch Dragon tails at all, that is how I am singing LOVE IT). In fact I have an Apple Spice candle burning downstairs as we speak! I just can't wait for October. I have many fun events going on that month. Like I said, I will give more details this weekend. Until then, Have a great Friday everyone......

A Spiritual Journey this week

2008-08-28T10:19:00.001-07:00

This has been a busy and crazy week! I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already. Time just keeps slipping away from me. A few times I have got on here and sat and stared at the blank page and think "what should I write?" I come up with so many ideas throughout the day and then when it comes time to put it out here, I go blank! It drives me insane. Maybe that's because I am not a "true" writer? I don't know?

Alot has been weighing on my heart this past week. So many thoughts and ideas going through my head and it seems I am always thinking about something. Where does God want me? What am I doing to please God? I am constantly questioning myself. This can be a good thing because it motivates me to always do better and always try to be pleasing to God, but it can be bad too when you are always questioning yourself.

This week I have been questioning- "Am I doing the right thing opening my preschool?" It just seems like I have had to jump through hurdles and hoops to get to this point, the point of just needing a signature on my license, and now here I am waiting again. It just seems to be dragging and not going at my pace and finishing on MY time. Does this mean that this isn't what God wants me to do? I think not. This is just the devil trying to work me down. Yes, down. The more I connect with God and do things pleasing to Him, the harder the Devil is going to work on me. I use to think this was kind of odd, the devil and God battling it out over people, but it is true. I can see the devil working on me this past week. It can be as simple as sneaking negative thoughts into my head, or having me think that I shouldn't open my preschool cause it's not opening on MY time. I am just so thankful that I know better and can see when the devil is trying to get me down. He doesn't just do this to me though, he does this with everyone. He is a sneaky devil and sometimes when we are caught up in the moment we fail to see him at his best, getting us down.

So today I am standing firm and holding my ground against the devil. How do I do this you might ask? Thank you for asking! I read my Bible as much as possible, do my devotions daily, but most importantly.....I PRAY! Yesterday was a rough morning and as I was wiping the table, I just started praying and telling the devil to GET OFF MY BACK!! There was a dumb song going through my head and it was a bad one too. I had heard it on TV somehow and it just kept going through my head. So I just stood and prayed. I didn't hear that song the rest of the day! Thank you Jesus!

I know this sounds a little off the wall for me and if you had known me about 12 years ago, you would never had heard these words coming out of my mouth, or written on a blog, but I am here to tell you that we need to be more BOLD in our Faith and speak out more often. We need to become stronger and bolder in Faith and learn to be prayer warriors.

So I hope you join me on my Spiritual Journey and read your Bible, do your devotions, and pray cause I can tell you right now you will feel a renewal in your Faith and Spiritual life. I don't claim to be perfect or to know everything. I am by FAR the furthest thing from being perfect, but I am at least trying. Trying to do my best at being a parent,being the best wife possible to my husband, being good to my family members, and being pleasing to God, but I can't do a single one of these things without God in my life. I learned that many years ago and sadly, I am still learning this today.

"God does not expect us to question or change or compromise His commands; He expects us to simply trust Him and obey Him. That's the way to find spiritual blessing and happiness"
- Part of my devotions this morning- "My Time with God"

Back to School Day!!

2008-08-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

Today was back to school day here!! Yeah! I was so happy for the kids to head back to school. They both were looking forward to seeing all their friends again. Tyler came home today and told me that he wants to go to school "everyday"! I hope he continues his joy for school into his Jr.High and High School years.
Here are some pictures. I am off to bed right now, so I won't be blogging much. I am so pooped from today and am ready to crash. I will blog more later....

This look on Chelsea's face says it all...
My boy has to be the most handsome boy!!

Chelsea wasn't thrilled with the pictures I wanted to take cause we were in the front yard. I am sure she was embarrassed by her crazy mother!
I caught Jaelyn playing peek a boo with me.

Some pictures from the other day...

This was me on Sunday, holding a NEWBORN all afternoon during our Bible study. I wasn't paying attention very well at all. It was so awesome to hold a new baby in my arms again cause it has been so long. I must say, Vanessa you make beautiful babies!! This is one of the twins (I won't put their names on here cause I haven't asked permission) that I am holding and she is so tiny.

"The Silent Ranks"

2008-08-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

This poem was shared with me on my message boards this morning and I HAD to share. I hope you all appreciate it as much as I did.

"The Silent Ranks"

I wear no uniforms, no blues or greens.But, I am in the military, in the ranks rarely seen.
I have no rank upon my shoulders. Salutes I do not give.But in the military world is where I live and am rarely seen.
I am not in the chain of command, orders I do not give or get.But my husband is the one who does, this I can not forget.
I am not the one who fires a weapon, Who puts his life on the line.But my job is just as tough, Iʼm the one who is always left behind.
My husband is a patriot, a brave and pride filled man.And the call to serve his country not all can understand.
Behind the lines, I see things needed to keep this country free.My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do my kids and me.
I love the man I married. The military is his life.So I pledge to support my hero and stand among the silent ranks known as THE MILITARY WIFE.

"Smelly house, smelly house, when will you smell better????"

2008-08-18T20:45:00.001-07:00

Friends anyone....smelly cat? Yes, I am a complete Friend's fan! Steve and I started watching the show back in England and haven't stopped yet. Yes, we still watch the re-runs too. I can't believe they ever ended that show. Anyway.....

We are alive and well here! The fire didn't make it to our house, but it was pretty darn close. I am so thankful that we were protected by our fabulous firefighters. I didn't get much sleep on Saturday, due to all the noise outside my bedroom window. All night long, I heard sirens and helicopters flying around. It was pretty hectic, along with Mr. Loudspeaker too. The fire burned down 125 houses. Praise the Lord, they were vacant and due for demolition sometime soon. It just amazes me how quickly a fire can get out of control and so easily here. The fire probably started due to someone throwing a cigarette out the window. The dry conditions around here just make it so easy for something so small to start a HUGE fire. The fire was so close, I could see flames from my bedroom window. My house smells horrible too, did I mention that? It smells like stinky smoke and I am not sure how I can get that smell out. The smell also lingers outside too, so opening the windows and doors isn't an option right now.

Today was a great day with my kids! We packed backpacks and got all their supplies sorted and ready for school. Some supplies stay at home and some go to school. I don't know what it is with my kids, but they always always lose our pencil sharpeners! Every night last year, I was asked where the pencil sharpener was located. This year I stocked up on those bad boys! I have a reserve supply for when the sharpener does it's disappearing act.

Today is also Tootsie's birthday! Happy birthday Tootsie! She is one year old today. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I just wish she acted her age, it's almost like she is stuck in puppy mode. I just don't understand it.

This day has been full of alot of "why"questions from myself. Something like this:

*Why can't my children learn to turn off the lights in the house?
*Why can't Tootsie stop using the restroom in her kennel?
* Why is my face breaking out like I am a teenager again???
* Why do I try so hard to keep our house nice and clean, just to fail?
* Why is my 13 year old daughter growing up so fast?
* Why can't I find time to sit and read like I want?
* Why do I stay up so late knowing I will be tired in the morning?

So you get my drift. This is my verbiage in my head all day long....WHY? It keeps me thinking and on my toes. I guess when you are limited with your adult conversation, you turn to the next best thing....yourself!

I hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer. Ours has pretty much ended this week. I can't wait for Fall. It is my most favorite time of year. Today was a pretty cool day around here and it seems to be getting darker sooner....hooray!

What did you say, loud speaker?

2008-08-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

Go into shelter? Is THAT what you said? Do you see this pole here, well it is right behind our fence in our backyard. We here this thing EVERY Friday when they play music at noon and it is VERY LOUD. It also goes off when there is an exercise going on and it tells us what to do, but we don't have to listen when it is just an exercise. The first time I heard it go off it said "Danger! Danger! Imminent Danger, take shelter immediately!" Well this freaked me out just a little cause I wasn't sure where I was suppose to go. I called my husband to find out what was going on and he informed me that it was just an exercise. Whew. Close call on that one! Well, today we had to listen to the loudspeaker, this was NOT an exercise.
It started off normal, we had busy day and evening planned around here. The kids and I woke up and headed out this afternoon to finish up some school shopping. Since we were already out, I stopped by the Church to get some work done. While were there my cellphone rang, it was my neighbor letting me know that there was a HUGE fire on base and that we were told to stay inside and shut all windows and doors, and to shut off our AC. I wasn't worried at first, but then started thinking about my dogs locked in our house. She informed me that it wasn't too far from our house, so I decided to head back to the base.

You could see the smoke before we even got near the base, that's how bad it was. Unfortunately the winds are kicked into high gear and is not helping the fire at all. So far the fire has consumed about 24 houses, which luckily were empty and about to be demolished. I guess this is speeding up that process. When we got home we were getting out of our van to go into our house and a cop was driving by and talking on his loudspeaker telling us all to get inside, so we all ran into the house. No time to be giving the cops any trouble! I turned on the news right away and discovered that it turned into a 8 alarm fire. That's pretty bad right? I would think so since it has consumed so many houses.

They are still working on the fire as we speak and now some of base housing has lost power too. They came across the loudspeaker and informed everyone that it is NOT scheduled to come back on tonight and are not sure when it is due to come back on. They have now opened up a shelter here on base for those people. We have been very fortunate so far and still have power. I do know that the fire is near some gas lines and that could be why they shut down the power to some houses.

I don't plan on evacuating unless they make me at this point. It is pretty tough to find a place that will take four kids and two dogs. Our Pastor called to check on us and offered his house as a place to go to if we need to get out. I am so grateful for our Church family at times like this. I am just praying that they contain the fire and get everything squared away soon. I know they have called in Firefighters from all over Solano county to help out. If it makes it through the vacant houses, it could very well hit our house next. We are right by the fire and if it spreads anymore, it could get very bad. I have noticed tons of fire trucks and cops cruising up and down our street to make sure it doesn't hop over here. With the winds so strong, it very well could happen.

Please pray for the safety of those men and women over there putting their lives on the line to keep our houses safe. From the mouth of Tyler- "those guys are brave." They sure are and I am thankful for that.

I will keep everyone posted tomorrow about how things turned out here. I am sure it will all be fine after they get the fire under control. Here are some pictures (with my new camera of course) to show you what things looked like around here. The pictures don't really get how bad it is around here. There are huge chunks of black ash flying all over my house. You can't even go outside without gagging. It is so bad you can smell it all in the house too.

This was taken in my driveway looking down my street.

Out my back yard...you can see how thick the smoke is.

The hazy sun

Trying to keep up!

2008-08-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Tyler cooling down on our hot day.
Jaelyn loves the heat though....like her mommy.
Heading home, can't take the heat anymore....

I think we might have a model on our hands here. She loves getting her picture taken.
This is not her bike that she rides. We still have this for when little kids come over and she still likes to ride it.

Chelsea rollerblading out front. It had cooled down one evening and we sat outside and enjoyed the nice cool weather.
My other model here. She doesn't like to get her picture taken, but she is so photogenic.

Me practicing taking my own picture with my new camera. I had to crop this picture because Jaelyn decided to moon the camera just behind me. She had just got out of the bath and decided to get her picture too! She is such an Ousley!

My handsome boy just hanging out in the AC.
My other handsome boy! I love this dog so much. He has the best personality EVER!
This picture is my favorite of Jaelyn.

With pictures, laundry, e-mails, and Church! It seems like I can't catch my breath some days, but then when I don't have anything to do (which is hardly ever) I don't know what to do with myself.

So back to this week, the twins came back to our house on Monday. The kids were so excited to be back together again. It was total craziness, but so much fun. No matter how late I let them stay up, they would get up bright and early. I learned early on to put them to bed at a decent time, so I could have some time to myself and get up early with them all. Having the twins here made me really anxious to open my preschool. More on that later. So basically we hung out here all week and just played and enjoyed our last few days before school starts.

This weekend we are finishing up with school shopping. Tonight we are going to the movies here on base and seeing Wall-E. I can't wait. I am not sure who is more excited, me or the kids. Jaelyn keeps asking me what time is it and when are we leaving. Too bad it's only 3 in the afternoon. We still have a couple more hours until we leave. I think I will wear the kids out and walk to the movie theater! Then we can come home and crash!

I have been on the hunt looking for a new book to read. I just can't seem to find anything I like or will hold my interest. I started a sad book, but really don't want to read depressing stuff right now. Not with my emotional state...ha ha. I came across a suggestion- "The Time Travelers Wife" Has anyone read this? Did they find it very interesting or kind of out there? Please leave any feedback. If you have any book suggestions, I will take those too. I love anything with romance, love, Christian authors, and kids. So let me know what you have read!

I have a few pics to share from the past few days. Nothing special, like I said we have just been hanging out here. We went to the park right behind our house yesterday, but only stayed about ten minutes. It was 102 degrees. No thanks, I will wait until Fall gets here!

A little about Steve- things are going great with him. I can't believe it's been 5 weeks already! Time just keeps flying by! He is doing great over there, half way around the world from us, and seems to have gotten into a routine. He works out about 5-6 times a week at the gym, since it's the only thing for him to do besides work. It seems to be the thing to do over there. I have been sending him 1-3 boxes a week. He loves getting mail from home and it makes his day. Today he received his Cleveland Brown's blanket and pillow case I sent him. He is thrilled cause he will actually get to watch the Brown's play (since it's on ESPN) on Monday night! I am so excited for him. I know he hates to miss football season and he is kind of at AFN's mercy with their football schedule. If you have ever been stationed overseas, you know all about AFN. In the Azores we had AFN and it made life simpler cause we only had 5 channels to chose from, one of them was ESPN. Anyway, one month down....FIVE more to go!

Check back soon! I have lots of interesting things about to happen in the next few weeks. I was told today I should have my license by next week for my Preschool, which means I will hopefully stay on schedule to open after Labor Day weekend! Hooray...I see the light at the end of the tunnel finally.

A Great Week!

2008-08-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

What a great week this week! It was nice and relaxing, yet busy and fulfilling. Does that make any sense at all? I stayed very busy this week working at the Church. I am trying to get more organized with the preschool, so things run a little more smoothly. Summer is finally coming to an end and some of the teachers are slowly trickling back in from vacations. I always look forward to the Fall season, it is my favorite time of year. I can't wait for the leaves to start changing and the cooler weather to start rolling in.Usually leaves don't start changing until Oct/Nov for us in California. Although today did feel alot like Fall, so it might get here sooner rather than later. I think the high today was about 72 with winds 25-35 mph. That is a bit chilly for summer I must say, but I LOVE it!

We are getting ready for the kids to head back to school. Tyler and Chelsea are all done shopping for clothes. We just need to get school supplies, shoes, and undergarments. I am looking forward to school starting back up too. The kids are starting to get bored around here and when kids get bored, mom gets annoyed! Tyler can't wait to go to Second grade and Chelsea is thrilled about being in the 8th grade. It is so hard to believe that she will be in HIGH School next year. I don't think I am old enough to have a high schooler.....am I? Jaelyn and I went and checked out a daycare for her. She will be going to preschool here with me Mon-Thurs and then on Friday's she will be going to daycare. I have decided to go and work at the Church all day on Friday's to get more done around there. I am excited about having a break from Jaelyn a bit. Believe me, I will be looking forward to that break after Mon-Thurs with her. Don't get me wrong I will love teaching her, but we all know how it can be with our own child.

So this week I got an early birthday present from my hubby in the mail and I LOVE it! I couldn't believe that he thought of this all by himself. I had mentioned a while ago that I would love one, but didn't think anything about it again. The only reason I got it early was because I had told him that I wanted a laptop for myself for my birthday and he said he already had a gift picked out. Well after chatting a while, he finally told me what he was getting me so I could pick what I wanted. I picked his gift of course! He got me a great new camera and I have been having a blast with it!

I hope you enjoy the pics as much as I do. I have been taking all kinds of crazy pictures just to see what all my new camera can do.

Here is Jaelyn crying because the dogs took her stuffed animal away from her.
Tyler and Jaelyn checking out the frog.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see the frog sitting on Tootsie's back. I snapped the picture as she was turning around to get it off.
My handsome boy! Yes, I mean Samson! He is the best dog in the world.
Here is Tootsie and Samson in action. They are always fighting over some toy, even when there are 10 others lying around.
We named this picture "SuperDOG"

Doesn't this picture make you want a Lab? They have to be the best dogs in the entire world.

Tyler trying to let Jaelyn hold the frog, but he kept jumping away. Run froggy, run!
I love this picture of Tyler looking at the frog.

My Tootsie Roll....she can be such a pain, but I love her!

This is the norm around our house. This is also the stuffed animal Jaelyn is crying about in the first picture.

Chelsea growing up way too fast. I love this picture of her. She always gets so tan in the summer and has a glow about her.

Exhausted...

2008-07-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here is Tyler taking the kids around the park trying to find butterflies. This boy loves nature and enjoys learning as much about it as he can.
Hannah and Jaelyn after they just got out of the fridge. Jaelyn has taught the girls how to put their blankies in the fridge to get "cold". Not sure what that is all about.

Hanging out at Duck pond....without ducks...
"You wanna piece of me?" Acting just like his father.
THE teenager. She is totally a teen now and driving her mother crazy!

Tonight I sit here with children all tucked in their beds and I am just so grateful for so many things right now. It has been a long day and I am glad that it is finally over. This morning started off rough, but as the day wore on it was much better. We all are having a blast this week with the twins staying with us. Monday we went to the Jelly Belly Factory. We didn't do the tour due to a bus getting in line ahead of us by minutes, but OF COURSE we bought some Jelly Belly's. Nothing like some good ole' Jelly Bellys. Yesterday we went to the Duck Pond for a couple of hours. We are going to have to think of a new name for that place I think because there weren't any DUCKS there for us to feed. We were all very puzzled to what happened to all the ducks? I guess we will have to make another trip back there to see what is going on. Today we packed a lunch and ate at the park. It has been so beautiful the past few days here, just perfect weather. Plenty of sunshine and a nice little breeze to prevent from getting too hot.

So back to being grateful. Tonight I am overwhelmed with such a feeling of gratitude. I have to be one of the luckiest women on the face of this earth. Like I said I had a rough morning, but as the day went on I held my head up high and pushed through. Usually when I have a rough day, I have Steve to vent to when he gets home from work and somehow he makes it all better. Not now. Not with him gone and half way across the world. I don't get to feel his arms wrap around me and the have the comfort of knowing that no matter how bad my day was, he is here to make it all better at the end of the day. Even with Steve gone and having a bad day, I still have plenty to be grateful for. Tonight I just want to take the time to list some things that I am grateful for right now:

I am grateful that I have God to turn to when the going gets rough. When my husband isn't here to comfort me, it brings me closer to God and teaches me to lean on GOD more.

I am grateful for being a wife. All my life I knew that I wanted to get married and have children. There were times when I thought this wasn't going to happen. I thought I had made to many wrong choices in life and wasn't going to be the wife I pictured myself being as a child. I am blessed with the best marriage in the world and even with my husband thousands of miles away, I KNOW he loves me and wants only me. I am grateful that I get to talk to him on the phone each and every day and e-mail too. There has never been a doubt in my mind that I am the only woman for my husband. This, I am truly grateful for.

I am grateful for being a mother. There isn't any other job in the world that I would do right now. I love being at home with my children every day. I am grateful that I get to see every milestone in their childhood. I love knowing that I get to be here when they come home from school, or need a bandaide for their boo-boo. I can't even express in words how blessed I am to be the mother to the most loving and caring children.

I am grateful for my life. Things could have been very different had I not made some changes in my life when I met Steve. I cringe at the thought of where I would be right now and what I would be doing. I have always been a good person, but I made horrible choices. Sometimes I think I got delt a horrible hand in life, but I know that I wouldn't be who I am today if I hadn't went through everything I have. I am grateful for the trials and tribulations I have been through in life. I try not to sit and think about where I have been and what I have done, but sometimes we need to see where we have come from, to see how far we have made it. Which leads me to my next reason I am grateful.....

I am grateful for second chances. I was blessed to get a second chance with my life. I am so glad that I chose to turn my life around. If I hadn't by chance met my husband and him inviting me to Church, I can honestly say I don't know where I would be right now. It's a scary thought. I hope that no matter what you are going through right now, whether good or bad, that you don't take life for granted and those around you too. Remember to take time and find what you are grateful for and know that there is always someone that has had it worse than you.

All Done!!

2008-07-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had our Small group over at Heather's house so we could let the kids relax and swim and it was GREAT! The kids love swimming so much and the adults had a nice time too.
Due to so many children being in my VBS pictures, I am not going to show them on here because I don't have all their parents permission. You will just have to take my word for it.....IT WAS A BLAST!

Here is one I found that just has Jaelyn's face in it. I am not sure who she belongs too though with that finger in her nose!!

Isn't that face just so darn cute? She is getting so big and grown up already!
She loves her new bathing suit and had to wear it yesterday.
Mr. Snorkel Tyler. He was snorkeling in the jacuzzi...ha ha.
This picture cracks me up. The "three amigos" were hanging out in their floaters all afternoon just making their way around the pool. It was so cute.

Today is such a day of relaxation! I am so tired from the past two weeks and so glad that it is over. Don't get me wrong I love VBS, but it is very very tiring! The kids did great and had a blast, as did I. It sure has made the time go by very fast and it isn't going to stop from here!

Tonight the twins come over and are staying the week. They leave on Friday for a week to go to their grandma's house, then come back and stay the following week until their mommy comes home. My kids can't wait for them to come and stay here. We have so many fun and exciting things planned to do while they are here. You will have to check back to see what all we are up to for the next few weeks!

This morning I looked at a calendar and realized the kids go back to school three weeks from this Thursday! Oh my! I need to get into gear and get some school shopping done. Tyler is the easy one to shop for cause he has an easy size. Chelsea on the other hand can be a little more difficult due to her small waist and height. It will be fun and I am sure I will find some good deals. I think I will try and go next week while the twins are at their grandparents. It is much easier shopping with fewer children to look after.

So other than VBS we haven't been up to much. I have done some reading, a lot of cleaning, and a lot of driving! I can't get over what a peace I feel this deployment. Every one's prayers are being felt and it gives me such a comfort too. Please don't misunderstand me though, I miss my husband like something crazy, but I am handling this deployment (mentally) very well. Speaking of my husband, he is doing great. He is working hard and hitting the gym pretty hard too. I am sure he is going to come back all buff and tough! I will take him back however I can get him, so it doesn't matter to me. I know it helps pass the time there and he enjoys working out a lot. He also has a good friend from his shop there with him, so they have been working out together. He really enjoys getting mail, so if anyone wants to send him anything in the mail just let me know and I will e-mail you his address (if I know you). He loves e-mails, but there is just something about getting regular mail too, you know?

One last thing! I want to send a shout-out to Vanessa. She is the daughter to my best friend Susan. Susan is the twins' mom. (This might get confusing) ANYWAY, Vanessa had her baby girl twins yesterday!!!! She is now a mommy to two very tiny, but adorable little girls. They were both around 4lbs! Can you imagine a 4lb baby? It makes me want to cry. That is why I will be having the twins, so Susan can go and see her daughter and two newborn grand-daughters. They all are doing well and now Hannah and Tess are proud Aunts too!

Be sure to check back soon......

Doing Well!

2008-07-22T09:42:00.000-07:00

Don't I look like I belong in the pit crew??

It has been a busy week! This one is already even busier! Last week we were at the Church EVERY night decorating for VBS this week. It is an awesome "Cars" theme and turned out really well. This year I am heading up the Preschool part of VBS and enjoying it completely. I love the preschoolers and am so blessed to be working with them. Last night I had 12 preschoolers for 2 1/2 hours! 12 is a good number for a smaller Church like ours. I had lots of helpers and great teachers to help get the job done and am very excited about going back tonight. I do have to say that I was sooooo exhausted after getting home last night. I was crazy and decided to head back to the gym yesterday, so I did the elliptical for an HOUR! I felt so good after I finished. I just love working out and find it very very addicting. Well after working out yesterday and then VBS last night, my body was pooped! I crashed hard last night.

Steve is doing great. He is ready to come home already and I am ready for him to come home too. Too bad we have a long long ways to go. We are very blessed and get to talk twice a day and e-mail as much as we want. He doesn't have Internet in his room yet, but I believe they are working on it. That will make it much better so we can IM each other too. He is working six days a week, 12 hour shifts. I feel bad that he has to work so much, but he actually has some down time during work hours. Yesterday was his day off and he got to check out some shops on the base. Hopefully he is scoping out what he wants to get me for my birthday in September! The best part about him being over there is they have gold for VERY cheap. We will probably do the majority of our Christmas shopping over there this year! How fun!

Things are coming together for my preschool. I should be licensed by the end of next week! I can't believe it! I will be a working gal again. That is so exciting for me. Especially to be back in my career field. I have the curriculum already to go and I also found a list of requirements for children starting Kindergarten. I will make sure all the children in my program reach each requirement. I already have my first child enrolled! My neighbor's little girl will be in my class! I can't wait to get started. This will also keep me very busy and pass the time quickly. We all know how Christmas sneaks up on us, so I am looking forward to that this year!

The kids are so excited to be going home for Christmas this year. We haven't seen snow in many many years. I haven't drove in snow in almost TEN years! I am a little nervous I must say. We will probably hop into Delaware or New Jersey and then drive home as we usually do, so I will be praying that there won't be much snow on the ground then! I will just have to wait and see. I also will have to buy the kids some winter gear. We don't have much use for that around here. It will be fun planning for our trip that's for sure!

I will update more after VBS is over. I will post pictures of the whole week there. My kids are having a blast there and love going every night!

He made it safely!

2008-07-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

Our Pastor taking time out of the service to pray for Steve. I had to ferociously chew my gum and blow bubbles to keep from having a melt down!

Well, Steve finally called me today and he made it safely to his final destination! You don't know the relief that flooded me when I finally picked up the phone and heard his voice on the other end. I worry, and I worry alot. He is very tired and jet lagged, but doing well. He got there at early Thursday morning and had to report to work Thursday night! Poor guy, there wasn't time at all to get adjusted.

He said he was unpacking a bit this morning and found a letter from Tyler in his bag. It was hard for him to read it because he misses us so much already. Tyler told him in the letter to let him know if he sees any bears over there. That boy is so funny. He doesn't understand where the heck his daddy is going, but by golly he wants to hear about any bears!

We found out that we will be able to communicate pretty well and frequent while he is there. YEAH! That is good news! I am hoping that will help the time to go by faster.

Just wanted to update and let everyone know he is there safe and sound. All your prayers are very much appreciated! Now just pray for the next six months to fly by and without any problems too!

The waiting game...

2008-07-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to head to the airport at 4 AM! Yes, we both are VERY tired.

I woke up this morning to my phone ringing and I was super excited cause Steve should be calling me anytime to let me know that he made it there safely, but it was my mom. I was happy to talk to my mom, but was hoping that Steve would call me to let me know he made it.

That is going to be my life for the next six months! Waiting, waiting, and more waiting. My cellphone will be glued to me for the next six months when I am not by my home phone. You never know when they might get the chance to call, so you are always ready. Yes, I will even carry the home phone with me to the bathroom, in the laundry room, and outside when I go out back! The thing you look forward to the most while they are gone is that phone call and when it comes....you don't want to miss it. I can't tell you how depressing it is when you realize you missed a call from your husband. All the trouble he has to go through to get to the phone, wait in line, and the ten million numbers he has to dial, then he gets nothing out of it, just breaks my heart. With that said, I will be home all day today waiting for the phone call that he made it there safely!

Things are going great here. I don't even have time to sit and relax or anything since Steve left! The kids and I have been at the Church every night this week helping decorate for VBS. We haven't been getting out of there until around ten every night, so we have been sleeping in a little in the mornings now. Yesterday I had another one of my inspections for my license. This time Public Health came to inspect my house to be sure we are clean and sanitized. I passed with flying colors and she LOVED my bathroom. I am so glad I decided to paint it and make it so cozy and cute. My kids totally love it and enjoy the green soap in there!

Not much else to talk about. I held a bake sale on Sunday at the church for a fundraiser for VBS. We did great and now have some extra money to make our VBS fabulous! Our Pastor's wife goes ALL out for our VBS and Christmas musicals and she does such a great job! It is amazing the amount of work this woman does in a day and she NEVER complains about a thing. She is such a great person to look up to in life and you know she truly loves the Lord with all she has.

Time is flying by so fast lately. I can't believe that the kids will be going back to school soon! Tyler is so excited about going to 2nd grade. I have some news about my schooling too! I will be going back to school next fall (2009) FULL-TIME! I can't wait. If we are still here, I will be transferring to Sac State. We found out some information about Steve's GI bill and I am just thrilled. Jaelyn will be starting kindergarten, so that means that I will only have to pay part-time care for her and I am free to go to school! I will talk more on that later though. Plus, with the military, things ALWAYS change, so we might not even be here next year and I will have to find a new school to go to.

Enjoy what's left of your summer. I know we have more hot days to come....

Heat Wave anyone?

2008-07-09T16:39:00.001-07:00

So today is our third day of our heatwave we are having and boy is it HOT! It's times like these that I appreciate having an AC. Ours has been running 24/7 the past three days. Today our temps are topping around 110 degrees. Needless to say we haven't been doing much outside the past few days.

Last night we had a group of people over from Steve's work to play "Call of Duty" on PlayStation 3. It was a fun time with pizza, drinks and fun. Steve wanted to hang out with some guys before he goes. I ended up joining in the fun and playing a different game with the guys, but sucked at it. These guys are professionals on there let me tell ya! Oh well, sometimes we do anything to be with our husbands huh?

Well, I only have five more days with my hubby and we have been scrambling to get last minute things done around here. It's the little things you don't really think about until you don't have anyone to help you with them. Moving the washer and dryer to clean behind it, showing your wife how to change the filter in the AC unit, moving the dining room table to make room for the Pre-school table, just little things like that have been going on in our home. Now don't get me wrong these are all things I can do myself, but it is much easier when you have someone to help you do it. Steve is so funny when he gets deployed because he leaves me a list on the computer of what to do if "this" happens. Like "Here's what to do if the Internet quits working", things like that. It really is sweet and does come in handy while he's away. I am almost positive something will break down or die on me while he is away, so I am already mentally prepared for that. About two months into our last deployment both vehicles batteries were dead when I tried to go to Church. It was a very frustrating thing, but it is to be expected.

I just wanted to check in for the week. I won't be on here until Monday night again. We are enjoying our last few days the best we can. Steve officially got orders today, so the realization is setting in for me. I have still been in denial, but it is slowly wearing off today. I have to get up really early Monday morning to get Steve to the airport and then rush back here to get ready for the ocean. To take our minds off of Steve leaving, the kids and I are heading to the ocean with the twins and Susan. Then we are coming back here and watching some chic flicks and hanging out for a while. It will be a fun time and my girlfriend Susan knows how to keep a smile on my face. I am very blessed to have a great friend.

Please remember Steve on Monday as he travels. He will be traveling Monday to the east coast and then leaves out from there and will be traveling two whole days straight to his base. I hate that he has to fly so much, but it is REALLY far away. I was looking at my globe the other day and he was LITERALLY be about HALF way across the world from us! He will be 11 hours ahead of us....a whole day practically. Anyways, just keep him in your prayers please. I know he will appreciate it!

Hope all is well with everyone! Enjoy your summer, it's almost half way over!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

2008-07-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

What a busy day we had yesterday! I woke up at 6:30 AM (because of big mouth tootsie) and got busy making cupcakes. I had to hurry up and get them done because I needed my ribs to go in the oven, so I was rushing to get them done. After finally getting the ribs in the oven, I made a cream cheese american flag spread. It was so cute and pretty yummy. I didn't eat much of it though because I was saving room for my banana split cake I made! After spending the morning baking and cooking, we finally headed over to our friends house to spend the day. We had such a great time with all of our friends! We hung out by their pool ALL DAY long. The kids had a blast and so did the adults. All we did was eat and swim all day. Finally about 8:00 we packed up wagons and kids and walked over to the park (in Dixon) to wait for the fireworks. The kids played games and threw balls around, while the adults relaxed. It was a very nice and relaxing day once I got done with all of the preprations!

It was nice to spend the day as a family and just not have any worries at all. We truly have great friends here and enjoy spending time with them.

Today was even better though! We all slept in as a family and for the first time in I don't know how long, Steve and I got to hang out in bed this morning and relax! The kids were so tired from the busy day yesterday and slept in later than us. That is amazing! After finally getting out of bed, we just finished up last minute touches on the house for my inspections next week. I have three of them to get through and it is alot of work getting ready for them. Hopefully by next Tuesday I will be ready for the board to get my license. I will be doing drop-in care until I open next month. I can't believe how close it is to the kids going back to school! This summer is just flying by!

I hope you enjoy all the pictures. We had such a great time yesterday and with Steve leaving, I wanted to get as many pictures as I could. I might be MIA this week due to a hectic schedule and preparing for Steve to leave, but I will be back soon.....

Getting ready to go!

A random picture of Jaelyn last Sunday
A day by the pool during the 4th of July

Chelsea and Daddy
Hanging out by the pool....trying to keep cool.
Tyler not getting out of the pool all day long..

He was like a little fish in the water.
Does this look like a normal teenage look or what?
Waiting patiently for my food!
My crazy, drowing husband. He wanted to be like the kids!
Jaelyn eating some ice cream

Mr. Lifeguard....
Jaelyn loves swimming now too. She just floated around all day long.
Chelsea and Jaelyn
What?
Waiting for the fireworks to start.

Are you talking to me? Now you see where Chelsea gets it from.....
Jaelyn and mommy freezing and waiting....

My cute little handsome boy!
Chelsea and Tessie...
Jaelyn and Tessie.....
The future Mr. and Mrs. Ousley...
Jaelyn and Daddy
The Peet's. These guys are our good friends and we had a blast at their house today!
The Ousley's.
Me and my hubby. Boy am I gonna miss this guy!

A little change...

2008-07-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

I have decided to change my blog today, since Steve will be leaving in less than two weeks. I have now decided to blog about life during a deployment and hope that people can kind of relate to what I am going through. Most likely you won't, but at least it will give you an idea of what goes on with families left behind.

It still hasn't clicked that my husband will be leaving for six months in less than two weeks, but I am trying to tell myself in my head that it IS going to happen. It is so hard to fathom Steve being gone for six months out of my life. Being stationed here in California we are 3000 miles away from all of our family, so Steve is my ONLY family I have here besides our kids. He is my best friend, my comedian, my cheerleader, and my confidant. I don't know what I am going to do without him. It's kind of like my dog Samson. He follows me around the house all day long. When I go to bed, he goes to bed. He knows that at any given moment I might turn around and talk to him, pet him, or even feed him. If I go into my bedroom and shut my door and an hour later open it, he will be sitting there waiting. That will be me while Steve is gone. I will be like Samson sitting on the other side of the door waiting for it to be opened again, so I can see him. I will be lost without Steve here and will be looking forward to the day we are reunited again.

The last time Steve left I went into a depression and actually started taking anti-depressants while he was gone. Not too many people know that fact about me, but I thought I would put it out there. This time I have vowed that it is going to be different. I am a strong woman and can overcome anything, in fact I already have overcome more than most people do in a lifetime. I want to be strong and confident for my children this time. I want them to know that life is going to be the same while daddy is away. They need this stability to make it through the deployment themselves. We all know children are resilient, but I have seen how my children are while their daddy is away. Tyler is an internalizes everything. He keeps it all inside and acts out in anger over minor things. He knows his dad is gone, but doesn't understand the "why" yet. He knows his dad is coming back, but doesn't understand the exact "when" yet. This is hard on him, so he gets angry and acts out some. Chelsea is my emotional child. She is on an emotional roller coaster while her dad is away. She understands too much and knows the dangers that can pose a threat to her dad. Jaelyn was too young the last time, so it's hard to say how she will act this time. I am hoping she will do well, but she is a true daddy's girl.

So today I will go on with my day and cherish every moment I have with my husband, even though I don't "feel" like he is going anywhere. One moment I will be sad and thinking about him leaving, and the next I am treating him like he isn't go anywhere. It's just as hard on him and I know that. I try to make the best of it and ease his pain the best I can. It's just a lose-lose situation at this point. Nobody really gets through this deployment happily.

Coming home early!

2008-06-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we got a call from Chelsea's camp counselor and she said their is an opportunity for Chelsea (and the other girls) to stay at camp six more days. At first I was worried because she wouldn't get back until the 9th and Steve leaves a few days after that, but Steve said that she would have more fun up there than here with us...so I let her stay. Well then we got a call tonight and they are all coming home tomorrow..... EARLY! There are a bunch of fires up there right now and the air quality is really poor and making it really difficult for them to do any of their activities. This makes me sad because according to Chelsea's counselor, she is having a BLAST!
So tomorrow we will make the early trip down to Richmond, to pick up our teenager. We have missed Chelsea so much around here. I don't always give her enough credit for all she does for me. She can be such a big help with Jaelyn and Tyler (especially now that she is babysitting age) and she also enjoys helping me out around the house too.

Chelsea took it the hardest when we got news that G was leaving. She got the closest to him and they kind of related to each other in a unique way. I feel bad for Chelsea that she had to lose a good friend and brother, but I know she is slowly getting over the loss. I was hoping that camp would help her to see that life goes on and that G is doing his best to enjoy his new home because he has too.
G is doing great in his new home. He is now with two other boys close to his age and he loves it. Each weekend they go to his foster moms sister's place and work. He earns money each time he works there. I think that is the best thing for him. It is good for him to learn to work at his age. Sadly it won't be long and he will be emancipated and living on his own.

My preschool is coming along nice. I actually am thrilled to say that I got a GREAT deal at a garage sale yesterday morning! It is a provider that does care off base for many, many years now and she was downsizing her stuff. I got a water/sand table, kitchen set. table and chairs (kid size) grocery cart, and a bunch of puzzles for only $15.00! It is in great shape too! It makes a huge difference in my dramatic play area and my outside. I am so excited to open, but still have over a month to wait. I will be doing drop-in care and temporary full-time care if needed, so that should help tie me over. My package goes in front of the board the 3rd Tuesday of July, so it won't be long!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. Things are obviously busy around here. The smoke has slowed us down some, but not much. This week is Steve's last week at work (he is only working 1/2 days) so we are going to try and find as much fun stuff as we can to do before he leaves.

Yes! He's still here.

2008-06-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

As I peaked out of my eyes bright and early this morning, I rolled over to look at Steve's side of the bed and my heart lept for joy as I saw him sleeping soundly. I must of had a dream that he had already left for his deployment because for some reason I thought he was gone. My heart did sink though as I remembered how short of a time we have left together as a family. I am not sure what is going on with me emotionally, but my heart feels like he isn't going anywhere...even though my brain tells me otherwise. I haven't been really sad or depressed yet, which is weird for me because he leaves in two weeks. TWO WEEKS and my husband will be away from his family and friends for a whole six months. Again we are going to miss my favorite time of the year together, Fall. All of the Holiday's will once again be spent apart not only from my family, but away from Steve too. I of course will put my big girl panties (not so big anymore though) on and march on with our life as we know it. It is best for the kids if our lives don't get too crazy and hectic. Too much change is not good for them, so I want to keep things as normal as possible. The kids adore their daddy and it will be a tough day to get through that first day after he leaves. I found out that we will be taking him to the airport and dropping him off first thing in the morning. I am sure he will have me drop him off at the curb, since he doesn't like goodbyes. I know it sounds harsh to drop off at the curb, but it really makes it quick and easy to say goodbye. We will do all of our BIG goodbyes the night before.

Deployments aren't easy for anyone and there is so much controversy over who has it the worst, the deployed member or their families left behind. I would say the men and women fighting for our freedom over there right now have it the worst. I have a nice warm bed to sleep in and a clean shower to wash in whenever my little heart desires. Most don't have that over there at all and most of them are lucky to have a cot to call their own. Since we have been in the Air Force the deployments keep getting longer and longer, they are now up to six months for the Air Force. I am lucky though because I know people in the Army who haven't seen their spouse in 18 months! I couldn't imagine at all.

Well, there isn't anything I can do at this point to change the deployment. Like I said, I just have to suck it up and be tough. As I sit here today and prepare my home for the opening of my preschool in August, I realize that I have a tough, but busy road ahead. I am trying to focus on the positive things such as, VBS in three weeks, the preschool at Church, opening my preschool here at home, and also going home to Ohio for Christmas. These things and my children keep me from hiding in my bed all day long, sulking about being all alone. I am a tough, strong, independent mommy and I with God, I can do ANYTHING.

Here are TONS of pictures and ALL out of order of course. We have been busy the past few weeks around here. I can't wait to share pictures of my transformed house into a preschool in the next couple of weeks. Besides my upstairs, I kept the living room as ours. The rest....well preschool kind of took over. The kids are downstairs enjoying all the new toys and games and dress up clothes I brought home today. I am praying that these fires let up some and we can have clean air again to enjoy the outside. The kids and I have been stuck in the house ALL WEEK due to the unhealthy air, with Tyler's asthma I can't take any chances. I promise I will update soon on everything else. I am trying to enjoy all the time I can with my husband and family.

My little girl all grown up now! She is officially a teenager now. She was so excited about going to Camp for the first time. I was so nervous for her because she is going to be gone for 9 day! We all miss her so much around here. I know she is having a blast though!

Chelsea getting ready to board the bus.
This is the sun this morning. We have so much smoke here we can't even go outside. The air quality is so poor here for the past week or so. I am hoping it will clear up soon. The kids being stuck in the house is driving me crazy.
While Steve and the kids were home, the guys took the boys to a Cleveland Indian's game. The boys night out. This was Tyler's first baseball game ever. I was so excited for him and made Steve take a ton of pictures.

Tyler and Percy at the game.
I can see you! My goofy boy!
My crazy son and his crazy daddy.
And now he is passed out on the way home.
My sweet 13 year old daughter. I can't believe she is now a teenager! Time flies by too quickly. In just a few short year, I will have a driving daughter. That is SOOOOOO scary!

Steve and my cousin's son Nick.
Here is some of my family hanging out at Grandma Johnson's house. Steve went over for a BBQ and hung out with my side of the family for a while. They had a great time. See my cousin Danny in the red shirt? Him and his dad and my other cousin, Jeff are so tall! Jeff is 6'7" and Danny is 6'5". Now can you see where Chelsea gets her height from?
Jaelyn and Victoria again. Not sure why this is blurry?
The two musicians...they both have a passion for music. Steve bragged about how good Annie is when it comes to playing the piano and creating songs. This girl has a talent and I know she is going to put it to good use!
Tyler floating around one of the many times they went swimming.

Jaelyn and Maggie enjoying the water.
Everyone swimming at Kristi's house.
Grandpa and Jaelyn eating breakfast at McDonald's playland. This is Jaelyn's favorite place in the whole wide world.
Grandma with her kids! Yes, Chelsea is missing from this picture. I am assuming she is at Grandma Johnson's. Amazingly she was there only one night this visit. That is a record for Cheslea.
Tyler and Percy all dressed for Church.

The Ousley gang! This is everyone all ready to go to Church.
Here is the sweetest little face! Steve kept going on and on how cute she is!
Here is my cutie nephew Alec! Isn't he adorable. Sorry the pictures aren't that great, but I had to leave that to my husband since I wasn't there!
Grandma and Grandpa threw the kids a birthday bash while they were home.
Jaelyn and Victoria became best buds during their visit. Jaelyn LOVES chatting on the phone with Victoria.

Jaelyn looking cute as ever! She loves smiling for the pictures. This is before they went to Ohio.
Mommy and Jaelyn hanging out at home. This is before they left for Ohio.
Mrs. Santini and Tyler on his last day of school. Can I just say I LOVE this teacher! She is the most organized, caring, and passionate teacher I have ever met. You can truly see how much she cares for these children in her work. We are really going to miss having Mrs. Santini next year.
Me and Steve at the terminal here on base. We are waiting for the bus to take them out to the plane. Don't mind how horrible I look! I was heading for the gym after they boarded the plane. Anything to keep my mind off of being all alone.
They didn't get to Grandma and Grandpa's house until 5am the next morning. After only a few hours of sleep, this is the first place Jaelyn went to of course.

Tyler enjoying one of Aunt Pam's little doggies.
Jaelyn and Tyler in Grandma's bathtub!

What was that?

2008-06-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

This is my worst fear...that a huge earthquake hits and destroys everything. This is a picture of the San Francisco City Hall after the 1906 Earthquake. Pretty sad isn't it?

That was an earthquake! Last night as Steve,me, Chelsea and G were sitting in the living room watching tv, we felt the whole EARTH move!! Yes, we experienced our FIRST and hopefully ONLY earthquake last night at 7:29 pm. It was in Green Valley, Ca, which is the next town over!

I was sitting on the couch and felt the whole thing move. It kind of takes you by surprise at first cause your not sure if you are imagining things or if it is real. It's such a surreal feeling. It was a 3.9 on the Richter scale, which isn't that big, but big enough to me. My complete fear since being here in California is that a huge earthquake will happen.

On other news, G is leaving us next week to go to a new home. I have mixed feelings about this because although I know it's best for him, I am going to miss him very much around here. I know my kids are heartbroken too. He is actually very excited and can't wait to leave, but I am sure (or hoping) it's just a coping mechanism. He is going to miss more around here than he realizes and I just hope that he had a good experience while he was here. So, G is leaving for the weekend to get to know his new family and my husband and kids are leaving this weekend to go and see family back home. That leaves me ALL ALONE! I am not happy about this, but I am going to make the best of it. I am going to get alot done around the house preparing for preschool and get all the exercise in I can. Who knows, I might live at the gym while they are gone?

It's also the end of the year again. I am happy to see my kids finish up another school year, but sad that they are moving up to another grade. That means they are getting closer to graduating. Chelsea will be going into the 8th grade next year, Tyler in 2nd grade, and Jaelyn in my preschool. Where has the time gone? The older I get the faster it goes and it makes me so sad because these are the years I want to be enjoying the most.

Be looking for me to be posting lots next week due to having NOTHING else to do around here. I haven't been alone, by myself for a week in years. I am not even sure what to do with myself. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave them in my comment box...Lol. Please pray that we don't have anymore earthquakes while I am all alone!

Running out of Time

2008-05-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wish you could just stop time? Just stay in the very moment for as long as you wish? That is how I have been feeling lately. I just want to stop time, so my husband can stay here with his family and we can be together always. Well, we all know that stopping time isn't possible, so I guess that means my husband will be leaving shortly. I am down to six weeks with Steve here and it just seems to be like a roller coaster ride..it keeps getting faster and faster and I don't know where the brake is.

When you think of six months, do you think "oh that's not that long" or do you think " boy that is HALF of a year?" So much can change in a month let alone six months. Alot has been going through my head lately of the upcoming deployment. Different feelings like being excited about starting my pre-school, sad about "G" leaving, even more sad about parenting three kids alone without my husband by my side. When I say alone, I mean alone too. It's not like I have either sets of parents in the same town to get a break when I need one, or even a few hours away. I am all the way across the country from any family whatsoever. I am alone. In a way it can be very depressing, but lately I have been trying to stay focused on all the postitives of being alone. There are some believe it or not. I would much rather have my husband here than the positive things, but I'll take what I can get. Technically I am not all alone, I do have God to turn to whenever I am in need, I have great and wonderful friends around me that are just a phone call away, and I have my kids by my side.

I can't even fathom what Steve goes through over there by himself. I am lucky to have my church, my friends, but most of all my kids. Can you imagine going six months without seeing your children? Not being able to give them a hug or kiss, or to just hold them when they are tired or sad? I couldn't imgaine it at all. I hate thinking about Steve being over there alone, but he is like me and makes the best of any situation. He misses his children terribly, but makes up for it by webcams, letters, gifts, and phone calls. It isn't the same as having him here, but we do what we have to do. That is what our whole military career has been, just doing what we have to do.

I don't regret Steve's decision to join the military one bit. Am I sad that he has to leave me? Yes. Am I sad that we are far away from family? Yes. Taking a look at the economy right now I can honestly say that I am so happy that we are where we are in Steve's career. Not only the medical benefits, but also housing, food, and just having a family oriented neighborhood helps too. I believe with ALL MY HEART that the military life has made my marriage stronger than ever, has made me appreciate my family and Steve's family way more than if I lived close by, and also has made me a better parent to my children. I have had to be both the mother and father to my children for extended periods of time and it has made me a better parent. It isn't always easy, but what is easy in life?

Saying all of this, I overheard my amazing husband chatting away with his brother on the phone the other day and it just dawned on me...he needs to go home and see his family. You all know that we had a major set-back with our vehicle on the way back from Texas and that canceled our trip home to Ohio this summer. But as I heard my husband talk to his brother about wishing they could go golfing together, I knew deep in my heart that we had to get him home one way or the other. He hung up from his phone conversation and I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck and said "You need to go home." I could see the dollar bill signs chinging in his eyes and the look of "we can't afford it" and I just told him that nothing is more important than family. So after some major talking and a phone call or two, we have decided that Steve and the kids are going to hop home for a week! Yes, you heard me right- Steve and the kids. I will be hanging behind because I can't get approval for "G" that soon and find a place for my dogs to go. They will be leaving in 9 days and that just isn't enough time to get the arrangements made, plus I have my licensing class that week for my preschool. It is the only time they can come due to Chelsea going to summer school, so that is that. I am so excited for them to go home and my husband to be able to see all of his family before he takes off for six months. Six months is such a long time and his grandparents aren't getting any younger and I would hate for him to go over there and something happen and him have to live with that regret. I know very much what it's like to live with regret and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.Ever.

"G" is doing great. He is being a normal teenager. We are having more and more anger issues with him right now and are working on those things. I see a big change in Chelsea that I don't like with "G" here. The two of them together just don't go well. "G" court hearing is in July, around the time that Steve leaves, and it isn't looking like he is going back with his mom. It breaks my heart badly to see this family torn apart all because of drugs, but this isn't the first time I have seen this in family's. In fact, it happened to my dad and my stepmom. So "G" will be going into permenant care and leaving our home. We knew from the start that adoption wasn't an option for us. "G" doesn't understand the military life at all and when Steve was gone for the six weeks he just couldn't comprehend making any sacrafices on his part. It looks like "G" will be leaving the first week of July or sooner. They are working on a place for him to go and hopefully it will be with his brother and sister. They all so desperatly want to be together. I will keep you posted on "G" and when he actually leaves. My heart is heavy for him, but I just have to look at the positive and hope and pray that I have taught him some skills that he can use out in the real world one day. I know the one I am hoping he carries with him the most and that is his relationship with God.

Boy I had a lot to say! I just felt like I had to get so much off of my chest. I have been battling being bummed, being sick (think it's allergies/Sinus), and working on getting my house ready for pre-school...AND my heart ready for "G" to leave. It hasn't been an easy past month or so and the more time that goes by, the more I get upset about my husband leaving. This is how dingy I am- I just realized a week ago that my husband won't be here for Christmas. I don't know why I was thinking July - December was six months. Nope. It's only five. I have to make it all the way to January! Duh! But I will find the positive in it and work on that. Just give me time.

Oh. One more thing. I am still doing great on Weight Watchers. I am down 35lbs now! WOW! I am done losing weight and just trying to figure out how to maintain now. This week was my first week trying to maintain and I lost 2.5lbs. Not sure what is going on, but I will figure it out soon enough. I am very happy with my self image right now, but bummed cause I HAVE NO CLOTHES! Soon, I will have to do some shopping! Darn.

Guess who is FOUR today??

2008-05-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

Daddy's Little girl....
The big sister

The big brother
Mommy's gang...
What a little peanut

One of our first photo sessions...ha ha...don't you love my outfit?

I was 36 weeks pregnant here...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Today was Jaelyn's birthday and it was a such a great and fun day for us. We started it off by singing Happy Birthday to her. The poor girl is so confused due to us having her actual party last Saturday. She now thinks she has two birthdays a year or something!

We then started our day off by making her birthday cake together, then headed to Subway to pick up some lunch for us and headed to Duck pond once again. We ate lunch with her best friends Hannah and Tess and of course her daddy! Daddy joined us during his lunch to share her special day.

We ended Jaeyln's special day with a pizza dinner and we ordered "Alvin and The Chipmunks" for us to watch as a family. Of course there was cake involved and some singing too. Make sure you watch the video on the scrapbook. She is turning into such a character....

I remember so clearly four years ago today heading to the hospital and getting ready to have Jaelyn. I was prepared for a scheduled C-section the very next day, but Jaelyn had to make her appearance now! She was the cutest little baby girl born with tons of hair. I tried to soak in everything I could when she was born because I knew that she was going to be my last one. It was very bittersweet, but I don't regret my decision one bit. Jaelyn has been a blessing in my life just like my other children are too. I have learned through foster care though that they don't have to be born from your body to be born into your heart.

Thank you Jesus for my precious little baby girl that you have blessed us with and trusted us with. She is such a beautiful girl and has such a sweet spirit and love for you Lord and I am just the proudest mommy in the world. Please protect her in her journey in life and watch over her as she grows into a young woman. Thank you for all that you have done in my life and all that you are going to do.

In Jesus' name we pray...
Amen

2008-05-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while since I have posted on here. It has been crazy busy around here and I have lots to talk about, but I am just going to post this slideshow for now. Most of the pics you have already seen, but thought I would post them anyways!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Spring like me! I have been doing TONS of spring cleaning around my house the past few weeks. It looks great now and it makes me feel so much better.

I have now lost 31lbs and still going. I have about five to seven more pounds to lose and I will then go to maintaining stage. That is the hardest stage of all! I am running now for 30 min and walking for 20 at least four times a week. I haven't felt this great in years. I am actually considering signing up for a marathon in the Fall. I think it would be a blast.

So about the news I was going to share a few weeks ago, I am opening a pre-school in my home in August! I debated getting a job out in the real world, but couldn't imagine being a single, WORKING mother, so I decided to do what is best for Jaelyn anyways and open my own pre-school. I am so excited about it and have been working on getting my house ready for inspection..hence the Spring cleaning. I will keep Jaelyn at home for pre-school due to lack of pre-schools on base. This also helped me make my decision to open a pre-school. There is only one other pre-school on base and it has 78 children on the wait list! Jaelyn wouldn't get in until 1st grade!!

So there you have it, the past few weeks wrapped up in a nut shell. Actually there is more going on, but I will share that in the next few weeks. There has been a new develpment with G and I am going to dedicate a whole post talking about it, when I get time! I just have trouble sitting on here long enough to type a few paragraphs.

Thank you Jesus for the beautiful Spring day here in California. I give you all the praise and Glory for all things. I want to thank You in advance for what you are going to do in my life and my family's life. Please watch over my children as they leave for school for the day. I pray a hedge of protection around them as they go out into this crazy society we have. In Jesus' name we pray..

Amen

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Yes, We are back....

2008-04-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

About 7 Hours into our trip, we had to change vehicles. This is what we drove the rest of the way home with our Rodeo trailing behind. We broke down about 28 miles out of El Paso, Texas. We waited an hour for a tow truck to take us to El Paso to Pep boys. There they gave us the news that our engine was blown, so we had to find a way to get our Car back here to California and this is what we managed to come up with! It was an interesting trip let me tell you and yes, I drove too.

I wouldn't trade this trip for anything in the world. We had a great time. I am sad that we are down to one car right now, but I am so thankful that Steve and I made it home safely and that we are blessed to have Steve's motorcycle as a backup. Sadly, it doesn't haul FOUR children on it, but it works. We are actually having people look into it and it looks like it might not be the whole engine. It might be a much easier fix than what Pep Boys told us. They quoted us 5000.00 to fix it and I know our jaws hit the floor. Hopefully it might only be about 500.00- 1000.00 fix. We aren't sure yet. As of now, our trip to Ohio in June is put on hold. It isn't looking like we will make it home before Steve takes off in July.

So now onto the good stuff. My trip was awesome! I wish I had taken more pictures while I was there, but we were on a tight schedule. We did hit the Riverwalk in the downtown area and shopped at the Mall. It was nice to just stroll and not worry about the kids at all. I haven't felt that carefree in YEARS let me tell you!

Here is a picture of little Stevie and I almost ELEVEN years ago! We look like babies and yes, my eyes are red from crying. We were dropping him back off after watching him graduate from Boot camp. It was a great weekend and I was sad to leave him so soon. This was in Sept of 1997 and he didn't come home for leave until Christmas!!

Almost ELEVEN YEARS LATER......awe...we have grown so much and have more meat on our bones now! At least this time we are smiling!!

So the whole reason I went to Texas was to watch Steve graduate from NCO Academy. We got all dressed up and had a great time. I am so proud of my husband, he won Distinguished Graduate Award. He was in the top 10% of his class! I was so stinkin proud of him, as I always am! I knew he was smart, but now he has the award to prove it.

Here we are at the Graduation.
This was me on our way out.... I still have some work to do on my body, but I am getting there!

Chelsea and I before I left. I wanted to be sure to get pictures with the kids before I left.

Mommy, Jaelyn and Tyler trying to squeeze in the picture.
Anxious to get going!!

Even Samson was a little sad to see me go....

Mommy and Jaelyn getting ready to leave for the airport!
Mommy and Tyler...getting ready to go...

So I have LOTS to talk about this coming week! I have some exciting news to share with everyone! I can't wait to talk about it! I am so grateful to have had three days ALONE with my husband. We so needed it and it was much deserved. We don't get much time away alone since we have had kids. I am hoping to do this more often....hopefully!

Hope everyone is having a great week! Be looking for more updates on here this week!

Lord, I just want to take this time to Thank You for getting Steve and I back here safely. Who knows what you prevented by us having engine problem! No matter what happens in our life, I want to always give you

the Glory YOU deserve! Thank you for Susan taking the time out of her busy schedule to take care of my children while I was gone. Lord, I am so grateful for her friendship and I pray many blessing upon her and her family.

I also want to thank you in advance for these next three months ahead with Steve. I pray that they are three AWESOME months and not a day goes by that we don't appreciate what we have now. I know you have a plan for our life Lord and I want to honor that plan.

I want to give you ALL the praise and glory. Please watch over our Men and woman serving our Country here and abroad.
In YOUR name I pray....

Amen

Happy Easter!!!

2008-03-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter....yes, I know I am a day late! I am just now sitting down for a minute after a long day, so that is why this is late!
I hope that everyone had a great Easter yesterday. We were blessed with a gorgeous day and I mean gorgeous! The kids and I got up at 5:00 AM in the morning, did the Easter basket thing (it's what got Jaelyn out of bed), headed to Church for the Sunrise Service...which was fabulous. I don't know if anyone has ever been to a Sunrise service, but there is nothing like standing outside with your head turned up towards Heaven and arms open wide and just praising the Lord....as the Sun comes up. There is something about feeling the heat from the Sun on your face as it rises up and just standing there in awe of God's awesome creation and Jesus' sacrafice for you and me. If you ever get a chance to go to one...I HIGHLY recommend it. People ask me "How do you do it? How do you get your kids up and ready at that hour?" My response is "It's the least I can do, since Jesus DID die a horrible death on the cross for me and my sins."

I have tons of pictures totally out of order, but I know you already knew that right? I have another busy day tomorrow as I am getting ready to head to Texas on Wed. It is an exciting time around here right now. Jaelyn is actually ok with me leaving and it actually doesn't make it anymore easier! I thought it would!
I will update soon maybe even from Texas, but if not I will when I get back home.....WITH MY HUSBAND!!!

This morning at 6:30 Am! Our praise and worship team! Boy was it awesome, but very chilly!!My Easter Outfit. Please don't mind my messy bathroom. It's one of the last places I get to clean!! I have a hard time keeping up with this place! Also, I am NOT sticking my chest out in this picture. That is how the outfit is cut out! I PROMISE!

Jaelyn at our Easter Egg Hunt today with the Johnson's! It was a blast and the food was yummy!

Jaelyn finding some more eggs. We needed more candy like we needed a hole in our head!!
My handsome boy! He has the sweetest smile in the entire world!
Jaelyn's Easter Basket she got from her Adopted Grandma! (The twins' grandma)
This is Jaelyn trying not to freeze to death this morning at 6:30 AM!!!
Tyler in his uniform! He loves playing baseball and is sooo good! I am keeping my fingers crossed that he plays for the Cleveland Indian's one day!

Chelsea Renee' at Church today! She might look a little rough cause we got up so early!

Chelsea at the Easter Egg Hunt our Church put on yesterday. She did so great helping out with the hunt. She was a little sad that she wasn't able to participate anymore. That's part of growing up though!

Jaelyn Kaye Ousley at our Easter Egg Hunt yesterday. She had the best time. They had bouncy houses, egg hunt, face painting, crafts, and snacks. It was a blast!

Her bunny face!! Isn't this the cutest thing you ever did see? We have talented people at our Church.....I am not one of them!

Please come to our Easter Egg hunt!!! We promise we won't get all the eggs!!!
Tyler went simple! He liked his egg on his face!

Basket full of Eggs! They made out with the candy, too much so.
The wait is killing me! Can't you see?
This girl is something else. She takes the best pictures and I just love this sweet face.

Jaelyn's basket full of Eggs.
Jaelyn ran so fast to get these eggs that I could hardly get a good picture of her!

Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for me and my sins. I want to thank You for giving me freedom, life, and peace. I couldn't imagine what You went through as You were about to die a horrible death on the cross that day, but just know that I am grateful each and every day for what you did.
Please watch over my kids Lord as I leave them with our dear sweet friend Susan. I pray that you give her SANITY and a good frame of mind to take care of that many kids for that time frame. I also want to pray traveling mercies on me as I fly to Texas and also on Steve and I as we drive the long drive back.

Once again, I thank You for the sacrafice that you made for me. I know that I am not deserving and only hope to live up to what you have planned for me. I give you all the Glory, Honor, and Praise...

In YOUR name I pray...

Amen

I think I am a little crazy....

2008-03-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yes. I am a little crazy right now. The kids and I decided to throw a Pizza party tonight at our house because they have all got good grades. They have been looking forward to it all week long. Now, I am wondering if I was crazy when I planned this...just kidding. Right now I have FOUR 3 year olds running around my house, Tyler, Chelsea and her friend, and G! Our house is FULL! I am loving every minute of it though. Thank goodness we have the garage as a Play room because the little ones are all out there right now playing. My poor neighbors!
Last week report cards all came home and ALL of the kids did great! Even Chelsea. All of her grades have came up! I was thrilled. It is excited for all of my kids to be doing well in school now. Homework seems to be getting easier for Chelsea and she is able to get it all done too.
Tomorrow is Tyler's first baseball game and he is exited. I will post pictures tomorrow night of tonight and tomorrow. We have a busy weekend planned and I am excited. I am hoping the time passes quickly this way. All I can think about now is my trip to see Steve in Texas.
Sadly, I found out that G is not able to stay with my friend because she doesn't have enough time to be fingerprinted and have a background check,so he will be going into Respite Care. I was hoping he could go to his brother and sister's foster home, but they are with a different agency and they don't allow that at all. Doesn't make sense to me though. I talked it over with G and he is ok with it. It isn't what he wants to do, but he is a good sport. It will be nice for him to get a little "vacation" too. I promised him that I would pick him up as soon as Steve and I get into town, so he won't have to be there very long at all.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I had a great time shopping and have a few selections now to chose from on my attire for the evening. Steve sent me the invitation and it say's "After Five Dress"....ok and that means? So after talking to people and looking it up, I should probably go cocktail dress or a formal. I am looking more towards wearing a formal dress! I am excited to get dressed up....wait I am sure I already said that. That's how excited I am!
Have a great weekend everyone!

GUESS WHERE I AM GOING??????

2008-03-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

TO TEXAS!!!! Yep, I just got done purchasing my ticket. Steve briefly, as a joke, mentioned something about it last night for his graduation and so today I couldn't stop thinking...."what if?" It would be sooo great! So I talked it over in detail with my girlfriend Susan (My bestest friend in the whole world!!!) and she actually volunteered (crazy woman) to come here and stay with my kids while I go. I will fly one-way down there, go to Steve's graduation ceremony, and then drive home with him. I can't stop smiling! Do you want to know why I can't stop smiling???
Cause:
1. I am going to see my husband in TWO WEEKS from tonight.
2. Steve and I NEVER had a honeymoon. The most we have been away from children EVER has been overnight! This will be our FIRST time EVER being away from children for THREE WHOLE DAYS!!! I know driving in a car doesn't sound like fun to most people, but this is something I will enjoy soo much. Just me and Steve sitting and talking for hours....he might not be thinking the same thing LOL!!!
3. I am getting a MINI-vacation!!!

So tomorrow I am going out and shopping for a formal dress. His graduation is semi-formal and I don't have a lot of dresses in my wardrobe. My neighbor and I are heading out on an adventure tomorrow with THREE kids to see if we can find me a perfect dress. I have lost five pounds more since Steve seen me last and I want to KNOCK HIS SOCKS off when I see him again! Of course after six weeks, he won't care what I look like...really.

We have been super busy around here the past week or so. Kids are keeping me busy all the time with something they have to do. I feel like a taxi cab most days it seems. Tyler's first baseball game is this Saturday and I am so excited for it! This weekend I took him to the field and we practiced batting and catching. I am not the best person to be teaching him these things (not very athletic) but being a mom AND dad, it's something I have to do. We had a great time though and Tyler could care less that his mommy isn't very coordinated! He loves me just the way I am!

I will post pictures sometime this weekend. I haven't been on the computer a whole lot this past week. I have been really focusing on working out and watching "Lost." That darn show, I am so addicted to it now!

Dear Heavenly Father,
I just want to thank you for this wonderful "blessing" you have given me, a chance to go and spend some much needed time with my husband. Trust me Lord, I don't take these for granted one bit. I know how precious our time is together and I will cherish every moment. Please Lord, Help me to calm down and trust in You that everything will be ok with my children and with Steve and I traveling back home together. I need to let go of my worries and lift them up to You.
Thank you for my wonderful family. I don't know what I would do without each and every one of them. I know that I am the luckiest mom/wife in the entire world. I want to lift G up to you Lord. You know what is going on with him right now Lord and I just pray for Your Will in his life, whatever that may be. He is in such a tough place right now and I just pray for You to give him the wisdom to make the tough choices.
I have so many prayer requests Lord right now, but I am not going to sit here and name them. You know our needs and I just give them up to you right now. Thank you for all that You have done in my life and all that You are going to do. I pray that you use me for YOUR glory at all times Lord.
In Jesus' name we pray.....
Amen..... with a big smile on my face.

Boy Am I on a Roll!

2008-03-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

I have been keeping really busy since Steve has been gone. We are going on week 3 out of 6! Hooray, almost half way over.
The kids are doing wonderful and I am really happy with their behavior. It is usually rough the first few days, but we really got into a groove once everyone got over being sick. Everyone is healthy now and feeling better, which means everyone is back to school! That is a good thing, trust me!
So what have I been up to since Steve has left you ask? Well, where do I even start. I first started on the Laundry room, which is one of the worst areas in our house. Things just pile high in that room for some reason and we just shut the door, so that was first on my list. Then I headed to our lovely garage, boy was that a task. It is not in perfect shape, but looks so much better. I am not embarrassed to open the garage door now. Then on Saturday I mowed the backyard and worked on the front yard. I have a little area under my front window that had weeds growing in, so I dug them all up (one of the weeds is a huge bush) and I am going to plant some pretty flowers there now. I will take pictures when I am done. Now this is a big task for me because I am not the gardening type at all, that is my sisters department.
Well last week I was going through the gate and the guard told me one of my headlights was out. I said "of course, my husband is gone!" and drove off. He probably thought I was a loon! Also my back tire has a slow leak and I am having to put air in it every few days, so tomorrow I am taking it to see if they can plug it or I need a new tire. As for my headlight....well I replaced that ALL BY MYSELF! It was not a simple task either. I am sooo stinkin proud of myself for doing it! Now I can replace the headlights if they ever go out again! Just one more man job to add to my list of things I can do! It is something you learn how to do when your husband is away. I didn't say I enjoy it though.
Tyler started coach pitch baseball last week. He was so excited to go to practice last week. One of his best friends just a couple of houses down is on his team. I can't wait for the games to actually start up next week. It will be nice to pass the time going to his games. Today I was going to take him to the field and pitch to him so he could practice hitting, but it was soo windy here today. We woke up to super high winds and it is a cold wind too because it is coming down from the North.
Here are a bunch of pictures all out of order of course. The other night Jaelyn, Tyler and I made some choc chip muffins together, so I took some pics. I am doing great on WW still and seem to be in a routine. I actually passed up Girl Scout cookies on the table the other night at our small group.
Steve is doing great. He is ready to come home though. He misses his kids and wife. He is doing good in his class and seems to have alot of homework each night. Saturday he volunteered to work with Habitats for Humanity and had a great time. He said it was an awesome experience. I hope one day that we can do that together. I have always wanted to do something like that.
I hope you enjoy the pics. I have been taking alot lately because Steve loves to look at what we have been up too. I sure do miss my husband. I can't wait for him to get home to us....soon.
Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you for these past couple of weeks with my children. It has been a much better experience this time around. I am much stronger than the last time and I owe that all to You. I have Faith that You are there for me no matter what happens. I want to Thank You for my wonderful group of friends that have been a great support to me. Thank Thank You for Susan Lord, I don't know what I would do without her here to help me. I want to lift Steve up to You tonight Lord. He is homesick and misses us like crazy. I pray that You be with Him, while he is away from us and bring him back home soon. Thank You for the many blessings in my Life, especially my wonderful husband and great kids. Thank you in advance for what you are going to do in my life.
In Jesus' name we pray..
Amen

* Just a quick update on my grandma. She is doing fine. She actually got her cast off on Thursday. My cousins wife took her to the mall after her appt to get her nails done over in Mansfield and as she was walking into the Mall up the ramp, she tripped and fell and bent her finger completly backwards and broke it! She is on a roll, let me tell you. So there is no more talk about her possibly coming out here. We both agree that it probably isn't a good idea right now, that and the prices of tickets have went up. So please continue to pray for my grandma. She has a brace on her knee and a splint on her finger now. Thanks

Isn't this just the cutest face?

And this one too!

Steve Jr. here getting ready to hit the ball!
Making some muffins! Yummy!
Jaelyn going for a swim in the tub! She got a new bathing suit and wanted to try it out. How could I resist?

Chelsea in her usual spot! This girl is always doing homework it seems! Guess what though? She has brought up all of her grades except Math! Progress reports came home Friday and I was SOOOO happy with the results. She has worked very hard to bring up all her grades. We are proud of you Chelsea~

Mommy and Jaely working hard during the day.....

Jaelyn's new Dora bathing suit. She picked it out...

A little about my girl....Chelsea..

2008-02-21T08:19:00.000-08:00

Chelsea Renee' Ousley.....

Sorry it's taking me so long to do this post. I have been thinking about it alot and wasn't sure what all I wanted to make public on here. There are just some things that are a little private. I do want to share about Chelsea though, but might leave some things out.....

I knew when Chelsea was born that she was going to have a mind of her own. I was in labor with Chelsea for a while and had dialated to 8cm, when I was checked by a nurse (the doctor didn't figure it out) and she thought she felt a bottom instead of a head! I was in such shock and so scared (I was only EIGHTEEN by the way) about what was going to happen next. They did an ultrasound and sure enough, Chelsea was bottom first! Now even though I was only eighteen, I had spent the past nine months reading "What to expect when Expecting." I read the WHOLE book from cover to cover, BUT had skipped the C-section part cause I knew that didn't apply to me! I was devasted at first when I learned I had to have a C-section and terrified all at the same time. But the moment I saw Chelsea and heard her cry her first cry, I completly forgot about how I had her and focused on how beautiful she was.

Chelsea was great as an infant and was a good baby, but her strong-willed personality didn't take long to shine through. Her toddler years came along and sure enough it wasn't not a fun time for me. You have to understand that before Chelsea even turned two I went through a traumatic event. I am not going into details, but this affected the way I parented Chelsea for a year or so. It wasn't easy during Chelsea's toddler years for me for many reasons, I wasn't even grown up myself, I was still in a selfish mode, and I also went through a depression. I regret how I handled the traumatic event with Chelsea and feel that sometimes I might have neglected her emotionally. These are regrets I will have to live with for the rest of my life. I have had some counseling for the past six months or so to deal with alot of things and have learned that no matter how much I feel like I messed up during those toddler years, we can still recover from it.

I knew from the moment Chelsea started daycare that she was a little different then the rest of the kids. Don't get me wrong I didn't think she was mentally disabled or anything, but I knew she wasn't exactly like the other children. Chelsea started school in England, they start at the age of FOUR there. This is when things progressed to get worse. At the age of four, I had to have a one on one relationship with her teacher because she couldn't behave at all. She couldn't control herself in class and did what she wanted, when she wanted. It continued from there and by the fourth grade it moved over into her academics. She not only struggled behaviorally, but academically too. Steve and I were so frustrated and confused as to what to do. I remember one time we resorted to wiping out her WHOLE room (I never said we were perfect parents ok) no toys, tv, no stuffed animals, barbies, NOTHING! It was all wiped out and gone. We told her at the end of each week, if she behaved, she could get one thing back. Do you think that girl got one item back? Nope. She could care less, once it was out of sight it was out of mind.

Fast forward to the sixth grade...just last year. Chelsea struggled mostly academically, but still had behavior problems at home too. She was improving some in her behavior that I thought AND PRAYED that she was growing out of this phase that she had been in HER WHOLE LIFE. I couldn't figure out if she struggled with her academics due to laziness or just because she didn't get it. I want you to understand that I think our society is so overly-medicated. Don't take offense to this if you are on medicine because I have had to resort to anti-depressents once when Steve was gone for six months. It truly helped me and I don't put anyone down that is on meds. It's just that I think children are so overly diagnosed these days and the doctors are so quick to throw them on meds for a quick fix. In the back of my mind I had this feeling that Chelsea needed to be on some type of medication though.To me it seemed there wasn't any reason that a 11 or 12 year old should be throwing temper tantrums like a TWO year old. It was pretty bad at times and I mostly blamed her behavior on her missing Steve while he was deployed.

Now learning more about ADD and how it affects a person's impulse control, I can see that this it wasn't just the deployment her her being lazy. I sometimes thought it stemmed back to her toddler years when I wasn't a great mother. It could have a little to do with it, but not too much. Anyways, last year in the sixth grade Chelsea passed to the 7th grade. I was baffled. I couldn't believe after all the horrible grades I saw all year that they passed her to the next grade. I was hoping that a teacher would speak up about Chelsea and possibly tell me to take her to get her tested. Why I was in such a denial, I am not sure. I just was so focused on making sure my child was not medicated and I think I overlooked alot of things...I was in denial.

So we all know how hard 7th grade can be. All I heard when Chelsea was in 6th grade was how rough and miserable Middle School is for the child and parents. I was not looking forward to this year at all. I knew it was going to be a struggle from the start and sure enough Chelsea proved me right. Her first report card she got all F's. Yes, F's.Steve and I were so unhappy with her and didn't think we could go through another year of this again. In fact we had decided, we weren't going to. I met with Chelsea's teachers to start a daily contact with each of them to be sure that Chelsea was doing her work each day and turning it in. After that meeting, things still didn't improve liked I had hoped, so I made her an appt at the Hospital to see our PCM. Dr. Kearny was so wonderful and put so many of my fears to rest. They gave us survey's to give each teacher and one for the parents to fill out. It was questions about Chelsea's focus, impulsivness (sp) and academics. I knew as soon as I filled out the survey that they were going to diagnose her with ADD. I was heartbroken, but in a way relieved. Finally. I had an answer. Then I was so upset with myself that I had waited so long to take this first step. How horrible of me to put Chelsea through this all these years, but I couldn't focus on all those negative feelings and had to start focusing on how Steve and I were going to make it better. They sent her to the Child Psychologist at the hospital here on base and talked to Chelsea and I about ADD. He explained to Chelsea in a way so she understood what we were talking about. He actually compared it to needing glasses, which I thought was brilliant. So he confirmed the Doctor's diagnosis and they prescribed her medicine.... that horrible word I had been dreading.

Chelsea has been on her meds now for over a month. Let me tell you what a difference this has made. Her grades are moving UP! Yes, UP! Finally! She is able to sit at the table and get her homework done in a reasonable time instead of sitting there all night long. Her behavior has improved so much at home and at school too. She is able to get her planner signed by EACH of her teachers without me having to remind her on a daily basis. These things may seem minor to most parents, but not us! This morning I was awaken by Chelsea standing at my door trying to get Samson out of my room. I looked at my clock and it was 5:15 in the morning. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was done sleeping and was ready to get up for the day. I told her to wake G up at 6:45 to get ready for school and I would be down later. I woke up again about 6:50 and heard water running downstairs. I came down and there was Chelsea in the kitchen all ready for school, doing the dishes for me! She had reorganized the cupboard with all the dishes and had the kitchen cleaned. She then told me that she had taken G's and Tyler's temperature and told me what it was! I was in such shock that I just hugged her! I couldn't believe what a difference there was in her. Now don't get me wrong, things aren't perfect with Chelsea. This medicine doesn't have some kind of magical powers to transform her into the perfect child, but it has improved her in so many ways and I am just thankful.

Sorry this was such a long post. I have been wanting to get this off of my chest for a while. Chelsea has grown into such a beautiful young lady right before my eyes. It makes me sad and long for that little girl again, but I am also looking forward to our wonderful friendship that we will have as adults.

Three down, one to go....

2008-02-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, that is how many sick kids I have right now! Tyler started the whole thing, so I will blame him! Just kidding! I kept Tyler home from school today cause he woke up with a fever once again. I sent G and Chelsea on to school and sure enough I got a phone call from G's school saying he is running a fever. Arghhh....of course! I kind of expected it, but secretly sat with all my fingers and toes crossed hoping it wouldn't happen. That's what I get!
Tyler is on the couch and Jaelyn is lounging in the chair, and poor G is up in his bed. At least he has a tv to watch while he just lays there. Poor kids.
I am just PRAYING (not crossing my fingers and toes anymore) that I don't get whatever this is they have. It will be very bad if I do get it.
I am hoping our house is sick-free by the end of this week, but I won't hold my breath. So far, Chelsea doesn't show any signs of being sick thank goodness.
I will have to post pictures when the kids all get better! Have a great week everyone!

Hmmmm...Where is my daddy?

2008-02-18T15:00:00.001-08:00

I wonder where my daddy might be....hmmm...
We all are doing fine here. Steve made it to Texas yesterday about 2:00 in the afternoon. He is glad to be done driving for six weeks! It was a long trip and he claims that he will make it back in TWO days. I believe he can do that, but want him to be safe.

Jaelyn has been asking for her daddy the past few days. It really makes me sad cause she just doesn't understand what "He's in Texas" means at all or "he'll be home in six weeks" either. Today she did get to see him on the web camera. Steve took his to Texas and we have ours here, so we hooked them up and said "hi" to each other. Jaelyn was so happy to see Steve on the monitor. She kept bringing stuff to show him from around the house, it was so cute.

Well, the weekend is over and the kids head back to school tomorrow. Hooray! It was a fun weekend and went way better than what I had thought it would. The kids have actually been on their best behavior, which makes me happy.

Hope everyone had a great weekend too!

Lord, I just ask that you give Jaelyn a peace about her daddy. I know that she can't understand at all where he is right now, but I pray for you to give her that understanding. Thank you for getting Steve to Texas safely. I pray these next six weeks go smoothly for him and his class. I just ask you to please bring him home as quickly and safely as possible! Thank you for all you have done and the many blessings in my life. In Jesus' name we pray..
Amen

A Birthday Bash!

2008-02-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

What a day today! I am so pooped just sitting here typing. Today we had G's birthday party and went very well! We had such a good time at Scandia Family Fun Center! The place was packed due to the wonderful California weather we had today. I think the temp reached 75 today!
G's friends showed up and they headed off to play video games, then we had pizza, then cake and ice cream. After the cake and ice cream we headed over to do the go-carts! Oh my goodness, let me just tell you how much fun this is! I was secretly meant to be a race car driver. We jumped in the cars, Tyler and I were together since he couldn't drive and we were off....poor Tyler! I think I might have traumatized my poor, sweet boy! During one of our laps around the track as I was whooping and hollering cause I was having so much fun, Tyler says "Mommy, please don't crash us!!!" I promised him I wouldn't crash and I kept my promise. My poor boy! We then decided to pass up the putt-putt part due to the crowd and made our way home. We had picked up G's brother and sister to bring them to the party, so we took them back home first. They had a great time. They are the sweetest kids and it just breaks my heart even more.
When we got home, Tyler started acting really really sick. I checked his temp and he is running a fever of 103.8. I feel so bad for my poor little man. He wants so badly to get up and play with the other kids, but can't. G has a friend spending the night tonight and he wants to hang with the boys, but I won't let him cause I don't want everyone getting sick. He is bunking with me tonight so the boys can have the bedroom, so hopefully I don't get sick too! He needs as much "mommy" attention as he can get right now...
I thought I would mention how my weight loss is going! It is going great! I love weight watchers so much. I don't feel deprived at all. My goal starting Monday is to elliminate Mt Dew for good! I think I can do it! I HOPE I can do it! I went almost two weeks without it and then made the mistake of drinking one, that just ruined it all for me right there! I need to stay away from it completly! I am currently down 15.8lbs! I have a goal of about 15 more to go and I will be content, after that it will be all about maintaining it. I think that is the hard part.
The biggest thing about what I am doing is just having a healthier eating habit, that means portion control and adding more fruits and veggies to my diet. I feel so much better about myself not only physically, but emotionally too! It makes a difference all around. I don't feel as tired as I usually do either, which is nice for once.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I just got off the phone with Steve and he is in New Mexico! He has made great progress today and should be at his base in Texas by tomorrow evening. I will be happy when he gets there. I just hope these next six weeks fly by for me! Thanks for all your prayers, keep them coming!
Lord, Thank you for your traveling mercies for Steve today. I know it's hard for him to ride in a car that long distance and You are giving him the endurance to continue this journey. I pray a hedge of protection around him tomorrow as he travels to Texas. Thank you for my wonderful children and giving me the means to provide a wonderful house and family life for G. He is such a good kid and it just melted my heart today to see him laugh and carry on with his friends today at his birthday party! It was just great seeing him be a kid again Lord. So far, this has been the best reward about being a Foster parent...today! I would much rather give then receive anyday. I lift G's family up to you Lord. After spending the day with G and his siblings, I know they should be back together again. I pray for G's mom, that she is able to get her plan done so they can be reunited once again. I pray for wisdom during these next six weeks to make the right choices and decisions as Steve is away. Thank you for all the support we have here in California. I felt it today more than I ever have. I also want to thank you for my sweet friend Susan! She is such a blessing Lord and I just love her and her family like our own family!
I want to always give you the glory and praise that you deserve. Thank you most of all for dying on the cross for me. In Jesus' name we pray...
Amen!

* I just have to add a big THANKS to Susan today! She was such a blessing to me by helping me out with Jaelyn during G's birthday party. Also tonight she offered to drive over here and bring soup and Sprite for my sweet sick boy. Thank you so much Susan for what your family does for my family. I also want to thank you for sharing your wonderful girls with my family! We love you Hannah and Tess!!

Saying Goodbye....

2008-02-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

It is amazing, no matter how many times I see my husband off, whether it's at the airport, putting him on a bus, or just watching him drive away...it never gets easy.
Today was a good day. Steve hung out with us this morning and got some last minute things done around here for me. He is the best husband in the world and worries about us more than he lets on. He made sure my van had fluids, got some trash together that needed to go out the curb, changed the air filter in the A/C unit, and all kinds of stuff! Along with getting his own stuff done. I love this man so much.
As I stood in the driveway and watched Steve drive away today, many things went through my head. "How will I ever make it six weeks as a single mom again?" "What will go wrong this time?"....all kinds of things, but I felt a peace and a comfort beyond anything I can describe. It is almost an odd feeling, not being so worried and scared. You see that is usually how I feel when I am alone, I worry about everything and I am scared of what will go wrong while Steve is away, not this time. I just know that I am stronger in my faith and have more confidence in my parenting style, more than I have ever had before. This is a comfort to me in many ways. I know that no matter what I go through, I will come out a better and stronger person.
Thank you all for your many prayers. Steve made it to Edwards AFB in southern California. His brother Kris was actually stationed there years ago. He said it seems like a big base, but can't tell much cause it is dark out. He has another full day of driving ahead of him tomorrow and then again on Sunday. I am leaving him in God's hands as he drives the many miles further and further away from his family.
Tonight again I am asking you for your prayers. The first night alone is usually the hardest. I lie there wondering what Steve is doing (sleeping) and missing him so much. Missing having the comfort of him sleeping beside me, knowing that he will protect us from all the bad things that could happen. Samson usually crawls in bed with me, but it is never the same as Steve.
Lord, I just lift Steve up to you tonight. I pray he gets a good night's sleep, so he can drive safely tomorrow. I want to thank you for the comfort I feel as I am left alone with my children to take care of them. I know that I can do all things through You Lord. Be with Steve as he travels all day tomorrow and keep him safe. I just want to give you all the praise and the Glory Lord no matter what is going on in my life. Please make these next six weeks go by quickly, so I can be together with my husband again and the kids can have their daddy back too.....
In Jesus' name...
Amen
Me and Steve right before he took off.....
A close-up of us....
Ms. Pre-teen Chelsea. It's hard to believe that she is going to be 13 in June!!

My little man...he has the biggest heart ever!
My ray of sunshine!! Steve and I joke now and say that if we had Jaelyn first....there wouldn't be any other children in our home!!
Steve and the girls..

Steve and the kids!
Ms. Jaelyn climbing like a monkey.

This is totally a Steve Jr! He has now lost that crooked tooth and as you can see the adult tooth was pushing it out. This was his third picture because he kept blinking, so this is how he kept his eyes open...so Steve!
Another of Chelsea...

OK....some pictures finally!!!!

2008-02-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

* Make sure you check out both posts from today...boy am I on a roll!!!*

Ooops! I added these twice...sorry you will have to enjoy them twice!
~ So this is so funny of my son! He has lost two front teeth, but has one in the middle that is crooked because the new adult tooth is pushing it out, but it won't fall out! So he looks like he belongs in Kentuck (sorry to offend anyone...ha ha Elissa) but it just cracks me up!!!

My sweet little girl! Look at those big eyes! She has been really good these past few weeks and I pray that she doesn't give me too hard of a time while daddy is away!!
Repeat....

Thank you Steve! He finally fixed my problem with my computer and now I can put some pictures on here. It seems I haven't taken many pictures since I knew I couldn't post them on here...hmmm...I will take care of that now!

Here is a picture of me and Melissa! It was so much fun to meet her! Probably a little awkward at first, but after the first few minutes we hit it off. It was funny knowing so much about a person, but not knowing what they were like in real life...if that makes any sense?

Anyways, I am hoping to make this an annual thing and hopefully Melissa and I can do shopping or something together next year!

A close-up!
These pics are all out of order, but that is to be expected with me! This is what we drove through on the way home...another storm system. We drove through a horrible one on the way down and then of course one on the way home too! We had to take the long way both ways because I-5 was closed in the mountains, so this was the scenic route! We stopped in Santa Barbara at the pier and was brave enough to get out! You can see the wind was blowing pretty good, so I was a little worried about driving out onto the pier!
Here is the pier! Funny how my pics are all out of order...
Heather, my ONE and ONLY jeweler (also one of my best friends too) and I out on our balcony at our Hotel. Let me tell you, this was an awesome hotel! I wasn't ready to come home yet...well I did miss my husband and kids though!

This is Heather and I meeting Andy. He is the founder of the wonderful Company I represent! I love this company and couldn't ask for a job to be able to stay at home with my children.
This is Joan, Andy's wife, they work together and make such a cute couple!

This is our night time view from our hotel. It was raining this night...I think...so it's kind of blurry.

Heather and I in the convention...we learned alot of great new ideas!!
me standing on the balcony of our hotel room. It was very very tiny balcony.....but hey, it was a balcony!

Been gone too long....

2008-02-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

Ok...so no pictures once again! My computer is still not right and Steve has it on his to-do list before he leaves in two day!
Where do I even start? It has been crazy since I last posted. My grandma is out of the hospital and doing pretty good. I talk to her pretty much everyday to check in on her. They had to take her knee cap out, so she no longer has one of those, but should still be able to walk pretty normal after she heals. She is one tough cookie and is working hard to heal so she can still come out here!
I have now dropped all of my classes. I was hanging on to the Math class, but my schedule while Steve is gone is just crazy! I haven't had a moment to rest and relax since dropping my classes and he is still here. Tuesday's are crazy busy because G has a two hour visitation with his mom which is about 25 min away, so I will drop him off on Tuesday's right after he gets out of school, run back here to base and grab Chelsea, then go pick up G and drive the opposite direction (about 20 min away) to the Church for them to make it to Youth Group by 6:30. Somewhere in there, I have to find time to feed the kids! Then I wait for an hour and a half while they are at Youth Group! Sounds like fun huh?? So that will be my Tuesday's! G is doing great by the way. We celebrated his 13th birthday yesterday! He had a great day! He was able to celebrate with his mom, grandma, uncle, aunt, and his brother and sister yesterday! It made his day! I know he misses his family so much. Most kids after a visit can act out because they are angry, well not G, he actually is in such a better mood when he comes back. It just confirms that he needs to be with his family.
Since the last time I posted, I also lost Jaelyn's daycare provider. About two weeks ago she gave me notice. I knew she was moving, but thought it was March or so, well it's next week!! I just lost track of time! They are moving to Nevada and I am now out of a daycare provider! I am so sad! So I had to inform Tyler's teacher that I can no longer help out in his class until I find somewhere else to take Jaelyn! When it rains it pours, let me tell ya!
My final and last update is...Steve got tasked. Yes, he will be leaving me this summer. Due to security reasons I can't give alot of details, but he will leave this summer and it will be for six months. He has a date that he has to be "in place" by. The BIG "Praise the Lord" is that he will be going to a much safer zone than his last deployment! They don't even have to take weapons, that's how safe it is! I am so happy for this, you just don't even know! It looks most likely that he will not be home for Christmas this year, but I already was counting on that. It's just that now we have official word about the deployment. I am finding myself through this whole thing though. I know that sounds really unusual and weird, but I have really been evaluating myself and realizing that I am much stronger than I ever thought I was or could ever be. I know the rest of this year is going to be rough. Do I want my husband to leave?No. But I know that I will come out of this a better mother and for sure a better wife. You learn very much to appreciate very very small things about your husband while he is away. It definitley makes the heart grow founder, that is so true. I know my husband is in the Lord's hands, as well as me and the kids. I don't have to worry, in fact, the Bible tells me NOT to worry! I should leave that all up to the Lord! So that is what I am going to do. I am going to enjoy every moment with my husband that I can, and while he is away, I will focus on me and taking care of myself and the kids. It isn't easy being the mommy AND the daddy, there will be moments that I will cry myself to sleep wondering how I will ever make it through another day without my husband, but those will be the moments that I turn my face to God and know that he will be there with me and help me get through those moments. I will find strength in Him to get through that next day of taking care of the children all alone.
Once upon a time, I told my husband (well he was my boyfriend back then) that I would wait for him, this is as he was debating on leaving for the Air Force back in July of 1997. I can remember the day so clearly. We were out in my back yard standing by the trampoline. It was the first time I ever saw Steve so upset. He didn't want to leave me and was actually thinking about NOT joining the Air Force, his long-time dream. I promised him that I would be waiting for him when he returned from Boot camp, and I still mean that to this day. I will wait for him.....no matter how long it is...I meant it then and I still mean it now.....it's a promise.

Lord I just want to thank you for these last few days with Steve. I pray Lord that You watch over him and give him traveling mercy's as he drives for three days to Texas Lord. I know that You will be with him as he is away from his family these next six weeks. I pray for strength, patience, and endurance for myself these next six weeks. I know that I can do anything with You on my side. I want to thank You in advance for all that you are going to do, and I thank You for my four beautiful children. I am so blessed Lord and there isn't a day that doesn't go by, that I don't stop and give You praise for my life.....Thank You...

* Just one last thing, I forgot to mention that Steve leave Friday afternoon to drive to Texas. He has to be there by Monday afternoon and I just am asking for you to pray for him as he travels for three days on the road by himself. He doesn't enjoy driving and so I know it will be tough for him to drive 11 hours at a time. Please keep him in your prayers this weekend.
I promise I won't take too long to update next time. Next post...is dedicated to Chelsea. There has been some updates with her!