Happily Ever After-

17th Anniversary this past month!

18 Years together!

Seems like

Yesterday and Always...

I Love and adore

My One and Only

my Forever

Thanks for putting up with me all this time-

dream a little dream of me...Lyrics

Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper "i love you"

Birds singin in the sycamore trees

Dream a little dream of me

Say nighty-night and kiss me

Just hold me tight and tell me youll miss me

While Im alone and blue as can be

Dream a little dream of me

Stars fading but I linger on dear

Still craving your kissIm longin to linger till dawn dear

Just saying this

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me

Stars shining up above you

Night breezes seem to whisper "i love you"

Birds singin in the sycamore trees

Dream a little dream of me

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me

Yes, dream a little dream of me

lil' H

I have come to the conclusion we have a thug for a 2 year old. He likes a heavy beat to dance to, He loves to pack heat around the house- Laser gun- I'm talking tilting it to the side for the 'Kill shot'. Before he starts dancing he likes to say 'o yeah' quite comical. Very entertaining.
A few weeks ago we DVR'ed the movie Hitch beginning at the part where the chubby guy in the movie shows Will Smith his moves. In the movie He named his moves 1) Start the Fire, 2)Make the Pizza 3) qtip 4)throw it away and the best of all 5) and if it doesn't work you hit her with a little of this...He finishes his set of moves with a solid' o no- you cant stop this, cant stop this....' Hayden say each of those things before he proceeds to dance like a thug. I am going to tape it and put it in You tube. We cry because we laugh so hard each time he does it- too cute - the white baby can dance!

Little Pebble Big Ripple

Spring is so inspiring. So many changes on the horizon. So many motivating factors for change. Alas the many motivated people at the beginning of Spring- Or so it seems. It starts with Spring cleaning, a purge of all the excess accumulated throughout the winter months. there is get ready to wear your swimsuit exercise and diet go time- once again getting rid of the excess from the winter months. The children are winding down from the school year- The older ones looking into which Summer jobs and plans are most advantageous to their 'future'. Whether it be in combination with their future academic schedules, their social schedules, or their collegiate interviews to come- these decisions as which route to take don't come easily. Spring Training for Sports. Trying to decide which team to devote your time (and mom and dads money) to. Mom and Dad trying to coordinate their schedules to spend the most time together as a family- Make the most of the time allotted for Memory making... When I lay it out ike this it sounds so exhausting...
But don't you just love Spring?
Over Spring Break the kids and I took a trip out to Lufkin Texas. Doug was working a contract weekend job there and we wanted go have dinner with him. Haven't heard of Lufkin you say? There really is no reason to hear of Lufkin. It is about 20 miles South of Nacogdoches, close to the Louisiana border. Tiny little town. Not a cultural Mecca calling anyone's name. Not an academic Utopia. Not a lot to it.
The drive there was breath taking! It was like we were in a different state. Forests, every shade of green, color all around. Hills and Horses. There were flowers and beauty all around. Dont get me wrong, I think Austin Hill Country is a sight to be seen in Texas, l but there is something about getting a little further off the path most traveled that allures me. There were enormous Mansions neighboring Tiny Shacks. Antique stores, Mom and Pop produce shops..o yes and it is Texas, so every 30 miles or so there was a Walmart for all your fashion essentials. God Bless Miley Cyrus fashion inspirations. We drove through a few ghost towns. It reminded me of the movie Cars. I wondered what wonderful places that those towns probably were at some point of time. Looking at the buildings- thinking at some point of time those businesses were people dreams, their futures that most likely entailed some serious sacrifice. All the abandoned buildings in the downtown area, all the broken windows in between the beautiful columns, It was really quite sad. So much wasted. I wondered if these peoples dreams were fulfilled? Why did this town fail? What happened?
Wouldn't it be great if everyone saw the beauty of these towns. Their potential. People could farm and trade. Become self sufficient. Help and teach each other. O wait, I guess that is only done in places where perverse men marry multiple little girls and have oodles of children all in the name of their God- Too bad- I could see their potential. With so many towns like that why dont we pour money into rebuilding them for welfare reasons-Have people pay back their (private) student loans by working for a year or two in town being rebuilt- fix the houses- Have the people farm or choose a trade to barter pay back their loans. Education/vocational training must be criteria to live there. Wouldn't it be great for people to learn the value of their dreams and education and the power of service for our fellow men...
Spring- I realized once again how much we as Americans discard as excess- The saying one mans trash another's treasure- Maybe these Ghost towns can be someones treasure...

Epic fun

Today I sat down.

Amazed.

I am 37 years old! I really don't feel it and I am absolutely sure I don't look it. Even harder to believe is the fact that our baby, Hunter, is turning 16 this month!

Hunter is an amazing daughter. I have soo much fun with her. I have great respect for her and her choices. Wise little grasshopper she is. I fear my little partner in fun is getting to that age when it is no longer 'accepted' to want to go shopping with your mom rather than your friends every now and then. Although I know my fashion sense is far superior to any of her buddies, I must accept this new phase in life and embrace watching her tackle the many things that life will throw her way. Lately the after school questions are met with very short answers more so than the conversations I am accustomed to. When I am taking her and her buddies places I am now merely a fly on the wall. That is fine, I will take what I can get.

For those of you who don't 'know' my Hunter let me tell you about her.

She is perfect.

She is an athlete. She is a leader, from the time she was 3 she has been a Pied Piper of people. People want to be near her. She is a scholar. She is a perfectionist. She is very intuitive. She is caring and kind. She is a protector when she feels as if ,she, her friends or her family are being mistreated or disrespected. She believes in treating adults with respect and courtesy. She is incredibly artistic. She is driven and ambitious. She is an overachiever. She believes in winning or getting the highest possible mark- Just finishing a project isn't enough for her- She will have the best project. She is the best big sister a brother or sister could ask for- She does her sisters nails and hair, she reads to all her siblings as much as possible. Her smile lights up the room. Her giggle will make you laugh. Her smiling, crystal, blue eyes draw you in with their beauty. She makes her family and friends feel loved and important. She is Love.

Like many Sophomores in H.S., Hunter is getting letters from schools across the country. Invitations to visit the campus this summer. She is trying to envision where she wants to be and choose which path she will take for her Major. She knows she will be successful at whatever she chooses to pursue. I am heartbroken knowing my baby will be leaving the nest in 2 years. But I cannot wait to watch her soar.

Thankfully she asked to go on a trip with me for her 16th birthday. I am so excited. She is equally excited. A European Adventure (I choose not to call it European Vacation due to the horrors that happened to the Griswolds...dont act like you don't know what movie I am talking about, Classic) awaits us this summer. Having lived in Belgium we were able to travel to many countries and loved taking a breath of the different cultures. Unfortunately we never had the opportunity to visit Italy. So Italy and a few other countries are on our itinerary. O the memories we will make- the pebbles we will take.

I sit down. Reflect. I am so amazed. My beautiful husband was more than encouraging about our adventure. All that he provides. His Love. I look and listen to the world around me. I am humbled and filled with gratitude. I pray my choices in life are compassionate and Christ like. I want to give as I have been given.

I am soo excited for this new chapter in the big ole book of life. The stories we will have to tell of our adventures.

Next month is Rachies Birthday, May is Jordies and Hayden's, October is Cole's...I look forward to many adventures with each of our babies and my hot babe of a husband. Wish us luck! For all of you who have visited Italy... pointers, tips any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Be careful what you pray for...

Wow- once again a lot has happened since I last blogged. Everything is in a constant state of change. I keep waiting for everything to get back to normal after each ordeal in our life... I guess ordeals are what is normal in our household. Nothing major or catastrophic. Just constant change. Our kids are movers and shakers- we are moving three different directions at once. No complaints- Just trying to enjoy the ride as much as possible.
Biggest wow that happened...
You may have heard before that Doug was slated to ship out to Iraq. We had ample time to get ready for this ordeal. Almost a year of preparing, waiting and fretting. I kept on reminding myself what a great duty it is and how thankful I am to have such a wonderful husband that loves his country and the soldiers that fight for our freedoms. Blah blah blah. He was anxious but ready to go. The month before deployment I started to unravel inside. Doug is my best friend. I adore just about everything about him and everything about us. He is such an amazing husband, friend and father. I cant imagine life without him in it. Preparing meant getting ready for the worst to possibly happen. Life insurance, Wills, me taking over the bills. Things I honestly wasn't ready to grasp. I didn't let the kids see me unravel but one night I let it all out with Doug. I was a little more at ease once I let it out. I didn't want him to think I wasn't going to be able to handle it. I know I can, but I also wanted to let him know how much I wasn't looking forward to him not by my side. Thankfully he kinda fell apart with me too. I didn't feel like such a dunce.
The countdown was on. One Sunday night Doug officially signed out of the hospital and into the Unit that he would be attached to in Iraq. That night he came home after a day of PT and paperwork. Late at night he started to complain of a pain in his back. He couldn't lay down comfortably. It sounded like kidney Stones... I suggested we head to the ER. I expected Doug to shoot that idea down. Instead he agreed and we were on our way to the hospital at 1am.
To shorten this Epic saga- Doug spent the next 3 days in the hospital. He had multiple pulmonary embolisms. He is now on an anti coagulant and is non deploy able while he is on it. The say 6 months on the meds and 3 months after for the re evaluation for the deployment.
I looked at Doug in the hospital and apologized for all my prayers. I so didn't want him to go. I prayer for him to be able to return to us safely. I prayed for him to be able to stay- I now know you have to be careful what you pray for...I just wanted some young gun without a wife and kids to go experience this deployment... not my cutie. oops. On the brighter side the doctors cannot attribute the embolisms to anything. Many test have been done and he has a spotlessly clean bill of health. Doug is active- he runs 4 miles a day, swims every other day, he is not a couch potato- No explanations for this. I guess the Lords will was not the Army's. Thank Heavens!

So there you have it. My guy is home! We have a full house. On the downside- all the things this little mouse was going to do while the cat was gone are out the door now. Months of planning...

Command what you Demand

Okay I have to go there-

State of the Union last night-

WOW! AMAZING!

Surprised I said that?

I am utterly amazed and in awe of the idiocy, self righteousness, and disillusionment our commander and Chief.

Just finished watching the DVR of the spectacle. I wanted to see it for myself before reading others feeling and comments. Cant wait to see if people got what I did out of it. I was hoping for him to change the tides with learned wisdom and insight into picking up the pieces of this mess rather than scattering them further away from reach.

EMPTY RHETORIC.

It seems to me that the President of our great nation was on the defensive all night. Trying to convince the masses why he is holding onto disastrous ideas (mainly health care). Why and who (DUH it's always the darn Republicans) is to blame for his inability to make progress on any of his promises. Mr. President showed blatant disrespect for anything that wasn't his platform. He threw a few Supreme court Justices under the bus and publicly received (once again) discord at a public address- At least they didn't flat out call him a liar this time.


The press is going to go to town on this again. 'How disrespectful, How horrible and Wrong that Someone publicly disagree with our Puppet President- Whatever. He has done NOTHING to command any respect. He is going against the majority that elected him, playing the blame game, constantly referring to the garish tactics of the Republicans campaigning talking smack about the Flavor of the Election while his entire brigade participate fully (and still) with vigor and vim in the smack down.

I look how he carries himself. Tyring to be 'one of us' Trying to relate with the average man. Who wants that? We want someone that is respectful of others - someone that everyone will hold great respect towards.

Not happening.

He wears far too casual clothes in public and in the oval office. 'Disrespect to you and you family'. The Obama's seem far to involved in the celebrity of the office. The Oprah factor...I will bottle that disgust for now...They seem to want to be on the cover of People magazine or at Chicago's campaign for the Olympics with celebrity rather than working on relevant Foreign policy.

I saw Mr Obama's need to convince and explain last night as a need for the cheerleaders to bust out a cheer for him- 'O yes our eyes have been opened again- why o why did we loose sight of the great Mr. O's tunnel vision. Yes...o yes We walk in your light...Please lead us blindly down this mudslide...but wait it is okay, those darn Republicans provided the mudslide.

Once he begins acting with the Authority and Elegance that the President of the United States should exude, perhaps then those in the public forums will respect the forum and wait until they are out of ear or eye shot to disagree with the President during a speech.

-Talk of a 'Budget Commission'- joke-
He has spent more than any other president right off the starting blocks.

-His Lobbyist lecture..again-
Hypocritical

The 'speech' wasn't inspiring or insightful. It seemed to be a lecture of a self righteous wanna be leader. Self Justification, a lack of passion and grace were evident in this spectacle. I was not proud of my elected officials after watching this. MR. O's choices of battle seem to be incoherent, unpopular, and economically devastating.

On the plus side of the speech-

-a minute nod towards capital gain decrease for small businesses,- passionless baby steps by the government in the right direction

-an utterance that opened the door for off shore drilling and clean Nuclear Power Plants in the US.

And Michelle Obama wore sleeves!