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Apr. 14, 2008
My baby turned 6!!

Happy Birthday Lydia!! On April 12th, my baby turned 6. It's so hard to believe. They grow too fast!!

She had a Little Ponies white chocolate birthday cake. Yum!!

For breakfast, Daddy took her on date. They went to The Egg & I restaurant and then went to the library to read books and do puzzles. They had a great time .

This is her new porcelain doll that she had seen in a gift shop a few days prior to her birthday. Her siblings all contributed some of their Christmas money to buy it.  Lydia's very careful with her!!

Christopher and Emily painted pictures to put on the living room wall .

What a beautiful  6-year-old princess!! We love you Lydia!!

 

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Apr. 1, 2008
A trip to FL to meet his family

I just wanted to share a few pics from our daughter's recent visit to FL to visit Scott's family. They had a wonderful time together...as you can see!! We daily pray for wisdom and guidance as their relationship progresses. We all pray that God will be glorified in all!!

 

 

I might be a little biased, but I think they are two beautiful people!!

 

 

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Mar. 17, 2008
A Birthday trip with Dad

Here are a few pics from dh's snowboarding weekend to Leadville, CO, with Jeremy for his 14th birthday. They had so much fun!

This is two years in a row that Jeremy has chosen to spend his birthday having one-on-one time with Dad. Making memories is such an important part of parenting!

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Feb. 23, 2008
The Lord has blessed our family!!

The Lord has blessed our family by bringing a wonderful young man into our daughter's life . Their story can be read here. God is the best author of love stories!
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Dec. 23, 2007
We're back after a LONG absence from blogging!

Let's see if I can sum the last 15 months into a nutshell:

1) While dh was in officer training in Alabama, the rest of us spent 12 wonderful days in Florida including 8 days at the Disney Parks---------we had a blast!

2) I recovered from surgery after a slight complication and need for some resuturing (come to find out I'm allergic to the suture that was used).

3) We moved to Colorado without the family van. It decided that it was a native Texan and died in Dalhart in the Panhandle.

4) Colorado proceeded to have one of its worst winters in years (we had snow on the ground for 8 months!)

5) My oldest daughter started college and is doing quite well, majoring in music. She has the most awesome piano teacher in the world!

6) We had a June camping vacation in Estes Park and found out that northern CO is beautiful!

7) We found a wonderful church (after 5 months of being here). The people and preaching are terrific!

6) Husband is loving his job, and we are loving military life!

Doesn't seem like much, but everyday life is keeping us busy. I'll try to do better on blogging in the future...but no promises!

 

 

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Aug. 16, 2006
Update on everything

Surgery went well according to the doctor and personnel in the room. However, I've been so swollen for the last week that it's almost difficult to notice a difference. She took off 3# of tissue, so I know that eventually I will be happy, but pain has a tendency to distort one's view of everything. The pain has been a lot worse than I expected . In about 5-6 weeks, I'll feel a lot better, and in 6 months I will know the true extent of the changes that the surgery made. All I know for now is that "things" are a lot higher than I'm used to!

Praise the Lord! I am now officially an Air Force Wife ! Gary left for training on Sunday and is safely checked in and doing the AF thing. Meanwhile, I'm busy planning for the movers to come in 5 days. Yikes!!!!!!! Isn't there a military wife's commandment that states "Thou shalt not curse your husband when he is TDY on moving day" ? Well, mine is! I'm scared to death that the movers will pack things that I'm going to need in the next 2 months. I'm having to plan for 5 kids, husband, dog, myself, schoolwork, clothes, vacation, etc.....all when I'm recovering from surgery and can't lift anything above 5 pounds! Not a good thing!

 

One blessing (among many others) is that my dh's sponsor at the hospital has secured us a 3BR house for 30 days for temporary housing in Colorado. That means we can move directly into that house instead of hanging out in a hotel. PTL! It will be fully furnished, so I don't have to keep out things such as pots, pans, sheets, etc.

 

Off I go to start my busy day. My coworkers are hosting a goodbye brunch for me this morning. They are a great group of ladies, and I will truly miss them. However, I'm going to LOVE staying at home being a full-time wife and mom. I only have 2 more shifts to work and then my nursing career is over. Yea!!!!

 

 

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Aug. 5, 2006
Countdown to surgery

In 3 days, I will be having my procedure done. I'm quite excited but a little nervous, mainly because of the 4-5 hours of anesthesia time. I will stay 23 hour observation and come home Wednesday morning. My dh will be home with me for 5 days and then he leaves for training. I'm kind of concerned about being responsible for everything at the house so soon after surgery, but my kids are tremendous and my friends have been great about offering to help! Thank you Lord for friends!

 

This past week my husband and I enjoyed a night away at a wonderfully romantic Bed & Breakfast in Brenham, Texas...Mariposa Ranch. It was a nice time of refreshing for our marriage and to just be together before my surgery and before he leaves for a month. Getaways are highly recommended when they can be worked out. Thank you to our friends who watched the kids for us! (They already have 10 kids...what's adding 5 more ? LOL)

 

One little prayer request...the lady that we had scheduled to rent out our house to at the end of the month will not be coming. She has decided to buy instead of rent.  It's probably better for her, but it really puts us in a pressure situation to list our house for rent by the end of this month. Please pray that I will be able to give it all to the Lord and He will provide the perfect renter. We still do not know how housing will work out for us in Colorado, but that does not seem as big a stressor as handling our house here. Pray for peace and wisdom .

 

That's it for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and blessed Sunday!

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Jul. 23, 2006
Counting down...

So many changes are coming in our lives in the next couple of months...

 

     1) Gary's last day at work is this Friday. He's been in the OR setting for 19 years and truly loves this environment. He's also gained much respect as a surgical technician and is very good at what he does. Once in the Air Force he will be in another area of nursing (not in the OR), so this is truly the end of an era

 

     2) On August 8th I will be having "reduction" surgery. I've wanted and needed to have this done for a very long time, but now is the time, and insurance is paying . My surgeon is WONDERFUL! Gary has worked with her for years and calls her an "artist". She's meticulous at what she does and takes her time (that's a good thing when your cutting on me ). I'm so excited about this procedure and cannot wait to see the changes that it will facilitate in my life (exercise, clothing, self-esteem, modesty, etc.).

 

    3) The week after my surgery, Gary leaves for Commissioned Officer Training. It's a month long, and we will miss him !

 

    4) After tonight's shift is over (I'm at work right now), I will have exactly 9 shifts left at work. It is in my heart to be a SAHM, but the Lord called me to work over the last few years to help my husband finish school. I can't wait to "come home" again, but a part of me will miss my job. I truly love delivering babies and taking care of new moms/babies. I especially enjoy helping the moms that want "natural" childbirth. It's very rewarding to give patients a "midwife" experience in a hospital setting .

 

There are more things to come, but this is getting a little long, and I'm getting tired. Staring at the computer at 4:30 in the morning is not a good thing!

Hope that everyone has a great week!

 

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Jul. 11, 2006
Visiting Houston's Museum District

Last week, Jeremy attended a 2-day "Shark Camp" at the Museum of Health and Medical Science where he was able to dissect a shark and travel to Galveston's Moody Gardens to learn more about marine life. He thought it was very interesting. For my 12yo son, the highlight of our summer is cutting up a fish and analyzing it! He said his friend got nauseous when they cut open the esophagus and found a partially digested fish. Jeremy just thought it was "cool"....thus the difference with a homeschooled child!

The museum is great and really caters to the homeschool community during the school year by offering numerous classes, many of which include dissections. I wish we would have been able to take advantage of more of the opportunities.

While Jeremy was at his camp, I took the 3 "little" kids to the Children's Museum and to the Museum of Health and Medical Science. The latter has free admission from 2-5pm on Thursdays---perfect!

Here are some pictures from our day:

At some interactive exhibits

Playing at the Mexican cobbler's shop

Playing house in the Mexican casa

Lydia relaxing on the big teeth display

Emily in the red blood cell pit

Christopher by the big brain display

 

Overall, it was a very fun day!

 

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Jun. 25, 2006
Back from vacation!

We got home on June 10th from a two-week vacation to Pennsylvania and Vermont. We left Memorial Day weekend and flew to Philadelphia and spent a week in Lancaster County. It was wonderful and so relaxing! We met a precious young lady named Lisa who has become friends with my daughter. Alyssa was able to spend the afternoon with her in her home and even went to Wednesday Bible study with her. Lisa is Beachy Amish and attends an Amish Mennonite Church.

 

The Sunday before Memorial Day we all drove to the Washington, DC area to visit a Navy friend of my husband that we had not seen since the day after our wedding 16 1/2 years ago. He was an usher in the wedding and Gary's best friend. He has since been married 10 years and has 2 precious children. It was great seeing him again and meeting his family!

 

We spend Memorial Day at Gettysburg and watched their parade and services in the Gettysburg National Cemetery. For anyone who hasn't gone there, please make every effort to go sometime. Driving through the battlefield is very powerful, emotional, and not to mention...educational!

 

After sending Gary back on a plane to Texas so he could work (an important thing), the kids and I finished our week in Pennsylvania and then drove up to Vermont. We didn't really have a reason except that I've always wanted to go, and it seemed so close!

 

We had a rainy but relaxing week in Smuggler's Notch, Vermont. I think we drove all over the entire state. That seems funny to say when you are raised in Texas, and you can drive all day and still be in Texas! Vermont was beautiful, and on Sunday we visited a church where we met a lovely family (Peter and Robin). They welcomed us into their home for an evening of food and fellowship, and the kids and I had a terrific time! We've kept in contact, and Alyssa is building friendships not only with their daughter but also the mom! Robin has told us that we were placed in their lives at the perfect time that they so desperately needed encouragement. They are a conservative, Christian, homeschooling family in the middle of a very liberal state with no homeschooling support. She said that the nearest homeschooling convention is in Massachusetts! We felt blessed to meet them, and if the Lord used our family in any way, then Praise Him!

 

Life is now getting back to "normal". Gary now is officially a Registered Nurse and is working as much as possible. We, also, are spending a lot of time together and had not realized how the last 2 years in school had strained our relationship. With the Lord's help, we are rekindling the flames and recommitting to each other. I love my husband so much!

 

Hope you enjoyed reading of our month's escapades. The vacation had been planned for a long time, but I decided to post after we returned instead of before we left...I think everyone understands :)

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May. 23, 2006
Tag....I'm it!

I've been tagged by Butterfly4Him to list 6 things about myself, so here goes...

 

1.  I was very athletic as a child, participating in softball, running, competitive rollerskating, etc. It's hard to believe this considering that I hate exercise now and am 60 pounds overweight to show it .

 

2. I met my dh in high school American History class. He had transferred to our school from Aviano, Italy (AF dad), and was really cute! We dated for about a week, but he wanted to "play the field". A year after he graduated, he was in the Navy, and I found his parents' address via the Navy recruiter. I began writing him, and the rest is history.....

 

3. In 1999, I was halfway through graduate school to get my degree as a nurse practitioner when I realized that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom more than anything else in the world.  I quit my program with straight A's but do not regret the decision. My daughter Emily was conceived the next month .

 

4. We've lost 4 babies to early miscarriages in 2001, 2 in 2003, and 2004. The doctors think that it was related to my endometriosis. I have since had a hysterectomy, but we are praying that God will add to our family by adoption. We are hoping to adopt 2 children from Ethiopia in a few years  .

 

5. In 2004, I found my husband's paternal grandmother that had been separated from her son (my FIL) since he was 18 months old (over 58 years). Her ex-husband (my dh's grandfather) had taken him and fled. Nana never knew what happened to him. She got on with her life but never had any other children. I used my FIL's birth certificate to begin the search, spent 20 hours on the internet, made a few phone calls, and found her living in New Orleans. She was living in a rundown apartment at the age of 76 and suffered from a chronic lung disease. 3 months later, Nana moved in with us and reunited with her son, but her health continued to decline. She died February 16, 2005 .

 

6. I love to travel although I've lived in the state of Texas for 31 of my 37 years. We moved here when I was 5 (my daddy retired Navy), and I lived in Florida for 1 year when we got married. We take a lot of vacations, and the more places we see and the more people we meet, it only intensifies my desire to "see the world". The Lord has created such a masterpiece, and I want to see as much as possible. I guess that this is a good desire considering that we are joining the Air Force and our adventure is only beginning!

 

Well, this is a little more about me. I'll tag a few others soon!

 

 

 

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May. 8, 2006
On to the next challenge....

My dh had a wonderful graduation!!!! It's hard to believe he's finished, although he's still having to study for nursing boards. For those of you that are not familiar with this, someone has to first graduate from nursing school, but then has to pass a national exam (known as the NCLEX) in order to actually become an RN. He will probably take it next week or the one after.

 

Now, we need to concentrate on selling our house. There are so many things that we need to do to it, and things that I need to organize and still throw away. Please pray for peace in the home and for patience. We've only sold one house in our married lives, and it was a horrible experience. Also, the preliminary market analysis of our current house, shows that we won't make any money. This is the beginning of another challenge in our lives, but it is all leading up to to biggest transition in our lives. It will be worth it as we join the Air Force and move to Colorado!

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Apr. 29, 2006
One more week!

It's hard to believe that our family is counting down the last week of my husband's college career! He graduates next Friday, May 5th, at 7:30pm.  He still has 2 finals to take, but that's it. Life's a little crazy at the moment, but the end is near. I pray for calm this week as he studies and takes his exams. I have to work the nights before both exams in order to be off for the ceremonies, but I was able to send 4 out of 5 of the children to grandparents' houses for a few days. So, it should be a little quieter. The oldest will be at home to manage things when I'm not.

 

Recommendation to all men: don't wait until you're 36 with 5 kids to go back to college full-time!

 

Recommendation to all unmarried women: Make sure your beloved is finished with his education and/or established with his profession before getting married.

 

Recommendation to all married women: Support your husband in pursuing his dream even if it means sacrificing some of yourself. When he started school in the fall of 2004, I was only working 1-2 times a week. We were still able to homeschool effectively, and life was OK. When my dh asked me to increase my hours and pick up the insurance, I fought him. Then, a wise friend gently reminded me of my need to submit. I willingly changed my status, and Gary's stress level immediately decreased. He openly tells people that he couldn't have done this without me. After we move, I'll be able to stay-at-home. PTL!

 

This entire pursuit has taught our kids to work together as a team. Everyone has supported Daddy during this time, and everyone will be rewarded by his new career and by having a full-time mom again. Our schooling was minimized to the basics of education and LOTS of life lessons! That's usually the best!

 

Please keep us in your prayers this week.

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Apr. 19, 2006
Spring cleaning

At the present time, life is full of hours of spring cleaning, organizing, throwing away, giving away, and putting away 16 years worth of accumulated STUFF! Our pending move to Colorado and entrance into military life will provide a fresh start to our lives in more ways than one. To sum me up, I'm a disorganized organizer . I'm not a packrat because I throw lots of stuff away, but it seems like what's left just reproduces in the meantime! I have enough homeschool curriculum to teach 20 kids, all different learning methods, and we have more clothes than we could ever wear! God has blessed us abundantly. I am truly thankful, but I have to battle the task of organizing all of the blessings.

 

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Tonight we moved our oldest daughter (15) into the room with the younger girls because her room was constantly a PIG STY! She's a wonderful, godly young lady, but she's a slob, and I don't know how else to teach her orderliness. So, we've minimized her stuff to her bed (clothes remain in the old room). Now I can attack her stuff and throw away or organize it as I feel necessary. This will be fun---NOT! Depending on room sizes, all of the girls will probably share a room in Colorado. I feel that it teaches many good character qualities: tolerance, helpfulness, unconditional love just to name a few. After I'm a SAHM once again, I hope to be more diligent on monitoring their cleaning. For now, it's easier just to close the door .

 

Tomorrow, we battle another monster load (really 6) of laundry and continue the neverending job of cleaning out the garage. Just a question...are cars really supposed to fit in there?

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Apr. 5, 2006
Texas bluebonnets

Below are my children enjoying our annual Texas bluebonnets:

 

Alyssa (15), Jeremy (12), Christopher (7), Emily (5), and Lydia (4 in 1 week)

 

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Apr. 5, 2006
The Busyness of Life

As I think about how crazy our life is right now and how little time I seem to have for deep spiritual study or sometimes even daily prayer life, I keep thinking of an email that my daughter recently sent me that hit so close to home. We, as a society, are so BUSY. That's not a good thing. Lord, change me and make me not too BUSY for my family or for You!

 

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.

In his opening address he said,


"We can't keep Christians from going to church."

"We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth."

"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour."

"Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.."


"This is what I want you to do," said the devil:


"Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"


"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.


"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.

"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."

"Keep them from spending time with their children."

"As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their ! minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."

"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive." To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly."

"This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers."

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."

"Invade their driving moments with billboards."

"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. "

"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."
!
"Give them headaches too! "

"If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere."

"That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas."

"Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."

"Have them return from their recreation exhausted."

"Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences."

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus."

"Soon they will be work! ing in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work!"

"It will work!"


It was quite a plan!


The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.

Having little time for their God or their families.

Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.


I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?


You be the judge!!!!!

Does "BUSY" mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

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Apr. 2, 2006
My first blog!

After months of watching my kids on their blogs, I figured it was time for me to "grow up" a little in the world of computers. It will take me a while to figure out all the "bells and whistles", but it will come in time .

 

Our family is in the final stretch of Gary's college education. He took his first college-level class in January 1992 and is now preparing for graduation from The University of Texas School of Nursing with his Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree on May 5th, 2006! We got the graduation invitations the other day; it's getting so exciting! It almost seems real! He got his college ring a couple of weeks ago. It looks so good! I am so proud of all of his accomplishments. He's done so well in school, and I haven't helped him at all.

 

For the time, my life is centered around preparing our house to move in a few months. WE HAVE SO MUCH STUFF!! I've been throwing away, giving away, selling, etc., and it barely seems as though we've made a dent. Jeremy (age 12) is the encourager. He's always telling me how he can really tell a difference in the garage! I know the day will come when we clear out of the house with only the essentials, but that day seems so far off!

 

I'd better get back to work. Babies are coming into the world today! I truly enjoy my job, but it will surely be nice when I can dedicate my every minute to be a keeper-at-home to my husband and children. I now have less that 5 months before I "retire"!