Monday, October 15, 2012

Glade Expressions

So, since I started doing BzzAgent again I have been getting all kinds of cool stuff in the mail. Well, we did this Glade Expressions Campaign and I have to say I was really impressed. The Glade Expressions scents are really nice and I like how strong the spray is. I didn't enjoy the strong-ness of the Oil Diffuser but then I moved it to a bigger room and it was way better! The scents I picked were really nice. My favorite scent was the Cotton & Italian Mandarin. I also have the Fuji Apple & Cardamom Spice and Lavender & Juniper Berry. I like the Lavender but it needs to be a big room. I am going to refill it with the Fuji Apple so I'm excited about that for the Holiday seasons. Overall I am loving the whole line of products. The coupons were really good ones too. I would definitely recommend this line of products and also becoming a BzzAgent!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

It's been awhile........

Life has been quite the journey these past few months. Phil made it to Afghanistan, my parents came for a visit, we started school, and just learning to adjust to life without Daddy. It truly has been an amazing experience already. I am learning a lot! One of the biggest things I have learned is that I MUST rely on the LORD for all things. I don't think we realize how much we rely on our husbands and not on the LORD. The LORD gave us a man to help and take care of but so often we love them MORE than we love the LORD. At least, that is what the story is in my life. I know I still have a long way to go though. Trusting the LORD and having faith is easy when life is going good. Not that my life is going bad, but you definitely have to trust more when your husband is in a war zone than when he's at home with you. The biggest thing I have learned is patience. I can't will tomorrow here any faster and honestly I don't want to. I have goals I would like to accomplish while Phil is gone. I want to enjoy my sons while I still have them. I want to serve the LORD here as best as I can. I want to show my boys what being a godly person is really about. Being patient with the boys is one of the biggest things and hardest sometimes. It is easy to lose your cool when their is someone else to step in and take over but when you are by yourself with them ALL the time you have to learn to be more even tempered. NOT something I'm good at! Another thing I have learned is to appreciate the here and now. Life is so full of surprises! Life really is a vapor that is here for just a moment and then vanishes away. I certainly am learning to appreciate all the little things. You take for granted the things you have while they're here. I know that I sure do appreciate Phil A LOT more than I did when he was home. I have a feeling things will be different when he gets back! We are doing well here though. Staying busy! I am making quilts for everybody in the house so I am working on Reuben's right now. They are going to be cute if I can actually do a half way decent job sewing them!We will see. I am also on my weightloss/eating healthy journey. I am trying to lose those last 10 pounds and get fit. It sure is getting hard too! I run at least five days a week but I am trying to add some weight lifting back in too! Anyways, I just thought I would write a little blurb about us here! I really am going to try to start blogging more but facebook is so much easier and faster!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Gearing Up!!!!

Well, we are getting ready for the big day! There are lots of ceremonies, breakfasts, and just relaxing family time! We are trying to enjoy every second we get with the big daddy. We are definitely enjoying him too. Life will definitely be different and thankfully the LORD has helped me to get over my major emotional breakdown I was having weeks ago. The funny thing is now it doesn't seem all that bad. It will be different but we're looking forward to what the LORD does this next year. In our life here at home and Phil's in Afghanistan. He has been extremely sweet. He has a list of things we are trying to accomplish before he takes off. He is having pictures printed of him with each individual boy and putting them in their own frames for them. They will love it. He is also taking each one on a special walk and talking to them about the deployment. We are so thankful and blessed that we got to spend so much time with him! So, for now that's it but I promise after he leaves things will settle down and I will keep you updated more! Hugs from Washington!!!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tuesday Letter....

Dear Boys, You will be the death of me if today is anything like yesterday. Please, be good!!!!! Dear Body, please stop hurting and get better soon!!! Dear Bek and Jeremy, I sincerely apologize before you get here for anything my boys may teach your girls. It's their Dad's fault! I also apologize for the little house we will all be crammed into.....it will be fun though. Dear Clinic, Please call me back saying my prescription for antibiotics is ready!!!! I feel like I have double pneumonia my back and chest hurt so bad! Dear Self, QUIT whining already!!!!! I'm annoying myself. Dear Husband, I am sorry for not being more sympathetic to your growing arm disease. It's yucky!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Softball

So Phil started playing on a Softball Team here a couple times a week to spend some more time with some of the guys. They won the game last night by one point but they are pretty good over all. Here are some pictures I took!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Tuesday Letter

Dear Jonathan, What would I do without you? You are my go to guy! Dear David, Someday you can go to a professional to get your haircut but until then thank you for not caring what your hair looks like! Dear Jesse, I appreciate you wanting to help pack but you just caused me a lot more work today. At least the room will be nice and clean for Bek and Jeremy! Dear Reuben, How I long for the day when you are past the fit throwing! You are wearing me out Goob! Dear Housing Office, Thank you for clearing everything up and getting me a house in two working days! Dear Husband, You might want to stop spoiling me before I start getting used to it! I have to say I'm lovin it! Dear Lord, Thank you for showing me how to be better used by you through your word and the amazing man you've given me!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Long time no post!

Life here in Washington has been BUSY! We had Ty and Shannon here for almost a week and then the next week a surprise visit from my parents! We are gearing up for Phil heading out and we are getting closer and closer to that happening. School is done for the boys this week and I am just as excited as they are to have some time off! We are expecting Bek and Jeremy next month (if they ever buy the tickets)!!! HINT HINT! I know they will be here but I'm a little anxious for it to be set in stone!!! THAT will be a blast! I have still been having a bible study once a week with two different ladies from the neighborhood. We are done until after Phil leaves. Then we are going to start up again with a new study. I am really excited about it too. We are going to do the ABC's of Christian Growth which I haven't done in a long time so it will be nice to do them again! I am also doing a study with my Mom long distance which will be good for both of us. I am trying to get the boys enrolled in sports this Fall. I know it would be a good distraction for them. We will be starting school up again in August and this year Jonny will be in 5th. grade, David will be in 3rd. grade, and Jesse will be in Kindergarten. It is shocking that I have three kids in school! It will be nice to be busy though so we are hoping to start wrestling then too. Jesse is going to be baptized soon and we are all looking forward to that. We are looking for a place to do the baptism and I will definitely post pictures. I have been terrible about taking any this Summer. We are on the waiting list for a bigger house on North Fort Lewis. We are tenth on the list and our lease is up on our current house the end of this month. If you could all pray we get a newer and bigger house before Phil leaves it would be MUCH appreciated! We definitely need some more space! I am planning on posting more regularly every week. I am working on doing the weekly letter, a Friday post, and probably one other day. It is difficult some days to have the time to post a long update but I think it will be good for me! Anyways, just thought I would update on our life since it's been forever since I was one here. You know it's bad when your sister-in-law tells you she doesn't even look anymore since you never post! I've been there for awhile now. Trying to snap out of it!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Been awhile....

Hello world!!! We have been one busy little family! We had the stomach flu for about two and a half weeks. Now we've moved into the regular flu. Phil seems to be the only one suffering from it right now, but let's give it a week and see what happens. He has training all this week and he leaves Monday for CAST training at Fort Carson, Colorado. He will be gone for about 5 days. When he comes home we have a week before he has to teach a Strong Bond's Retreat at the Great Wolf Lodge. We are excited about that one since it is held at an indoor water park. The boys are SUPER excited. I am in the process of getting the boys re-enrolled in Columbia Virtual Academy. We have to take Jesse in to the Doctor for a physical and have them sign his waiver for vaccinations. I am switching all the boys to my doctor since she is the sweetest thing ever. I saw her last week and really like her. Plus, she is at the clinic and not the hospital which makes going there a WHOLE lot easier. The hospital here is GIGANTIC!!!! They say if you walked all the corridors it would be 15 miles. The parking is horrendous there......especially when you drive the biggest truck in Washington! I'm joking! Anyways, we are gearing up for Jonny's birthday on Saturday. He is kind of excited but is having a hard time adjusting in some ways. I knew it would be the hardest on him. Phil is going to take Jonny and Davy to a Mariners game on his birthday as a surprise. He doesn't know about it yet so don't say anything to him if you call!!!!! Phil is going to the airport on Sunday morning to pick up Allen and hang out for about 6 hours. He is like a little kid.....SO excited! It's great! Let's see....anything I'm forgetting?! I'm sure there is. I guess that will give me a reason to post again! I just figured you would like an update!

Friday, March 30, 2012

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
~SouleMama~ There is supposed to be a picture here!! I am SO sick of this blogger I could scream!! I am SERIOUSLY thinking about switching to a different blogging web page. This is so frustrating. Anyways, I had a cute picture of the boys playing Playmobil together! It's on Facebook if anyone wants to see it. They are all doing MUCH better!!!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Tuesday Letter

Dear Husband, I know you just left, but I hope that you have a great trip and come home soon! Dear Reuben, I desperately need you to be potty trained BEFORE you turn four! Dear Jesse, I am sorry I don't have as much time for you since I am schooling the older boys and constantly dealing with Reuben....you are doomed with the middle child syndrome. Dear David, There are no words to describe you other than you are DEFINITELY a combination of Josh, Ang, and Ty (what could be scarier?). Dear Jonathan, You are going to be the man of the house for about a year so could you PLEASE start being nicer to everyone?! Dear Dollar Tree, We are excited about our visit this week! We love you! I just hope you carry the items that I need. Dear Workout and Diet, I think you two need to get along more, the constant inconsistency in your relationship is killing me! Dear Self, you do not NEED chocolate, you do not LOVE chocolate, you need to end your love affair with CHOCOLATE! Mmmmmm....my heart melts thinking about you!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Tuesday Letter.....

Dear Snow, why must you insist on falling in March?! I moved to Washington to get away from the snow! Dear Bed, I don't understand why you won't give us a good night's sleep anymore. Dear Jonny and Davy, don't worry about those stupid test scores.....it's just showing us what we need to improve on. Dear Hubby, thank you for helping with the schooling, spending time with the boys and me, and still doing everything else you have to do! You're Amazing! Dear Reuben, I would really appreciate it if you would stop soaking the bed, even with a pull up on! I thought we were past this! Dear Jesse, I don't appreciate the monkey powers in the house...please save them for outside! Dear Chewy, Don't EVER chew the blinds again or we will be finding you a new home! Dear Workouts, we need to start getting together again!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Tuesday Letter.....

Dearest Husband, what if I drink water for weeks and the headaches don't go away? Will I get my coffee and soda back?! Dear David, are you EVER going to sit still and do your school?! It is fairly exhausting to deal with every day. Dear Reuben, THANK you for for finally getting potty trained. Mommy loves sleeping the whole night through! Dear Jesse, I'm sorry you had to throw your Army bear away. Dear Jonny, Thank you for all your hard work this week.....you are by the way NOT the family outcast! Dear Chewy, if you go to the bathroom in the house again I will be forced to get rid of you!!!! Dear Peanut M&M's, please quit calling my name from the refrigerator. I will eat you all!!! Mwahahahahahaha!!!!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Update on life......

Things around here are busy and getting busier. The Army life is good but it does keep us moving. We are getting ready to start the pre-deployment training. Phil is going to be gone a lot in the next couple of months for different training sessions. One is in Fort Carson, one is in Georgia, and then he will be doing a lot of things around here to get ready for his deployment in August. It will be here before we know it. We are trying not to focus all of our attention on that one event but it is proving difficult for us.

The boys are adjusting to life very well and have been making friends which is always a good thing. I have made several new friends and they are sweet hearts. I am starting to get together with some of them here and there so that is nice. One of them is a married girl Phil works with named Chasity. She is definitely a sweet heart and loves our kids. I think she is going to watch them this weekend for us for awhile. Crystal is another Mom I met at the Strong Bonds Retreat this weekend. Her husband, Chris, works at EOD with Phil. They have three little girls Natalie 9, Riley 5, and Madeline 4. THey are SUCH cuties. We are planning on getting together soon.

Crystal is good at photography and she is going to take some pre-deployment pictures of Phil and I. I am pretty excited about that. It will be nice to have pictures together before he leaves. We are getting some ideas together for how to deal with Daddy being gone for a year. I am starting to understand why Army wives' are the way they are. It is a sacrifice we all give for God and Country. I am beginning to have a deeper appreciation for my Country and a great Patriotism than I have ever had before. Funny how that happens when you have to personally sacrifice.

You will be hearing a lot about deployment from me.

School has a new schedule and it is working out VERY well for us. We start at 8:30 before Phil leaves for work with memorization of a verse, prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and the Bible. It is helping morale among the troops! haha. Anyways, they are both doing extremely well. Jesse will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall and that will be interesting since I will be full time homeschooling three kids. That will be a challenge for me! I am sure it will go well!

We are going shopping this weekend to get some new things for Phil. He has ran out of clothes after wearing uniforms for the past five years. He hardly has any regular clothes. We are also going to pick up a few things we've been wanting. We have been saving money for quite a while now and thought we would treat ourselves. It has been several years since we bought some new things we've needed or just wanted.

Umm.....I don't really have too much esle to say. We are pretty scheduled in our daily lives. We go to bed by 10:00 and get up at 6:00 at the latest. Phil goes running every morning and as soon as he gets home I leave for my run. We shower and then all start our daily at about 8:30 for school and work. It is really nice and normal. Our weekends are sometimes not weekends...just more workdays but that's okay. We have a four day weekend this week and that is SUPER nice. I try to enjoy the time that I do get with my hubby. You tend to appreciate them more when you know they will be gone for a year! sad...but true! So , just a glipse of our lives these days!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Tuesday Letter!

Dear Valentine's Day, I absolutely love the colors! It is so cute to see what different husband's get their wives. Dear Boys, thank you for the Valentine's Day cards.....I think you're missing the point when you give them and then take them back! Dearest Hubby, Thank you for my Valentine's Day gift. I loved you before but now you have extra brownie points for being the best! Pictures to come later! Dear cookie dough, Please quit calling my name!!!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Tuesday Letter

Dear cold, you are killing me!! I just wanted to have one good week of working out and you had to change my plans for me! Dear Davy, I'm sorry to tell you that you look even more hilarious without your front tooth! Dear Chewy, I promise to get you an appointment to have your haircut....you really do look like Chewbacca! Dear Soliciters, PLEASE quit calling! I am going to get pretty mean soon! Dear Reuben and Jesse, YOU MUST learn to get along and stop trying to rip each others' eyes out constantly. Dear Weather, I LOVE you! Spring is in the air!!! Dear Hubby, thank you for letting me sleep in the last couple of days....you're the bestest!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Thursday Letter....

Dear Jesse, I know you're sick but PLEASE quit wiping your nose on things that AREN'T a kleenex.....gross! Dear Reuben, Thank you for not having an accident for quite a while now....we are so close to being fully potty trained. Dear Jonny, Math isn't going to kill you even though you think it will. Dear Davy, I'm sorry but you look even more HILARIOUS without your front tooth. WOW. Dear Chewy, please quit chewing your blanket to pieces, you will not be getting a new one. Dear Husband, Thank you for the new dry erase board shaped as a word bubble...too cool! Dear Refridgerator, When will you stop consuming all the food so I don't have to go shopping anymore? Dear Morning runs, I enjoy you but you are going to be the death of me...I know it!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

I know I know.....

It's been FOREVER since I updated this blog! Things have been crazy and so have I! Life is somewhat nuts these days. Here is what our schedule looks like for the next two weeks!

Thursday- Me, School with the boys, the normal
Phil, All day at training and some sort of meeting in the evening.

Friday- Me, School with the boys, the normal
Phil, Work all day

Saturday- Me, Coffee at eleven thirty with Chaplain's wives
Phil, babysit the kiddos ( YES!)

Sunday- All of us....Chapel at 8:30(this is Phil's week to preach), Sunday school at 9:45 ( I am starting to teach...yikes), and then Phil has to preach another service at 11:00.

Monday- Normal

Tuesday- Normal

Wedensday- Phil and I are going to a company ski party at Crystal Mountain.
The only friends we have are watching the boys at our house for us!
Thursday- Normal
Friday- Work in the morning and then head to Phil's Strong Bond's Retreat in Seattle for 3 days!

So, it may not look that crazy to everyone else but you put in all the other little things that come up during the week and it's crazy! We are finally getting caught up a little on school which is nice. I am hoping to be done by the first of May. We are doing really well all things told. I am dealing with some issues with the kids but "What else is new?".

I am still running 5 times a week sometimes 6. I am not losing any weight but I am figuring out what does work. When I workout....I have to eat more....including carbs. When I diet and don't workout....I have to eat less. When I am working out and trying to diet.....it doesn't seem to work at all. Of course, everyone has their opinions about that. I assure you I hear them. So, maybe someday I will get to where I want to be, but for now running consistently and eating less is pretty much what I'm doing.

Phil is a workout machine! He does amazing. He runs EVERY morning...no matter what time he has to get up. He does his push-ups and sit-ups and at least once a week goes to workout with the unit. I think that is going to become more and more of a normal thing several times a week. You have to drive awhile to get there from where we live on Post but he is amazing!

He has several of his commanding officers coming to his Strong Bond's Retreat already. He is excited and nervous at the same time. We are really hoping to build a repoir with the troops so that they will be willing to have a personal bible study.

We are also debating whether or not to move to North Fort Lewis ( where Phil works) or McChord ( where the chapel is). Both of those places are closer to where we need to be. Where we live now is nice but it is a farther drive to the Exchange, Commisary, Chapel, and Phil's work. We are weighing the options on that. The housing is nicer in those areas and there is more room. We would move from a 3 bedroom to a 4 bedroom. Phil will be gone for an enitre year so that really isn't a big deal. We might just stay where we're at for the time being. I am sure at the next Post we will put in more time and wait longer if we have to to get a nicer place and find out all of these details before hand. It is good to learn these things though so you don't make the same mistakes again.

Huh.....I don't know if I am missing anything. I am sure I am but oh well. I am working to save money to buy a laptop for me and the kids. All of my efforts thus far have failed. We NEED one for school and so I might just buy a net book. I tried setting up the desk top but the place we could set it up is WAY too far from the router so we couldn't get internet on it. Kind of useless without it. So, we will see how that goes.

I am going to stop boring you all with our life story. Just thought maybe some of our family would like to know what is going on in more detail than they usually get! We love and miss you all and are enjoying the work the LORD has set before us. We appreciate your prayers!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tuesday Letter.....

Dear Husband, PLEASE stop beating me in Boggle!!! It makes me so angry! Dear Jonny and Davy, I think we have finally come to the point where I can't understand half of what you are learning and therefore don't know how we can continue our teacher/student relationship. Dear Jesse, when will you stop saying your r's as awwww instead of arrrr?!! Dear Reuben, PLEASE let me sleep one night completely through without having to get up three times to take you potty!!! Dear self, why in the world did you agree to an 8 week challenge when you can barely make it through a day without sugar?! Dear mailman, thank you for all the packages this week....mail makes me happy. :0) Dear ARMY, thank you for taking such good care of your Troops! Unfortunately, you are taking my husband away for a year because nine months will throw off the balane of the entire ARMY deployment cycle! For that I don't know how I feel about you right now!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Tuesday Letter......STOLEN from Bek!

Dear Jonathan, must you always get a teenage attitude when I ask you take the dog out?! Dear David, the nose sniffing is REALLY getting annoying. Dear Jesse, when will the screaming end so I don't have to spend my days breaking up fights? Dear Reuben, you are going to be the death of me with the potty training. I don't know how many more nights I can get up two or three times and take you potty! Dearest Husband, I still refuse to believe I was the one who ruined your laptop. I can't help it that everything breaks when I touch it. Dear Credit people......HOW IN THE WORLD did MY social security number get all messed up?!!! Will it ever be good again?! How long must I run to and fro getting copies from the Social Security Office proving I am who I say I am. On a side note, how cool to be two different people with an alias! I could totally do the spy thing. Dear Chewy, could you please quit waking me up in the early morning hours with your barking to go out?! Dear Chocolate, I miss you and don't know how to live without you! I believe today is an eat lunch and go to the park day. I will post pictures later!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Before and After

So, here are some pictures of the new house. Just a few of the new things we've gotten. I will take more pictures as we get things put together. It isn't all that fancy right now and I probably won't hang anything on the walls. We will have to patch all the holes and stuff if we do that. I don't want to have to deal with that. So, I am going to decorate on tables and such with candles. Maybe the more places we live the more decorating I will do but I'm just not sure yet! Enjoy!













Monday, January 2, 2012

WOW......It's been awhile!

I am sure most of you know that we are moved now! We are getting settled into a house on post. I am enjoying it! It has it's down falls too but for the most part I am happy we have a place to call home. We are still working on getting beds. We were blessed to meet our new neighbors who let us borrow a queen size air mattress. WAY better than sleeping on the floor.

I am working towards getting paperwork done for the kids school, the dog has to be registered and micro chipped, and we have a few more papers to take to the housing office. The little neighborhood we live in is quiet and there are lots of other kids for the boys to play with. LOTS of women I've met in passing are curious about homeschooling and want to talk to me more about it. The schools down here are terrible.

We went to Phil's bosses house for lunch the other day and met his lovely wife. She is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. The LORD didn't give them any children so she spends her time blessing people in ways that I never could. They are a wonderful couple and also Independent Baptist. It was a blessing to spend the afternoon with them and my boys are absolutely in love with them. I think Russ and Sheryl when Josh and I were little!

I have learned how to get from our house to the Commissary and Exchange. We found the Library which we will be taking full advantage of at some point. I drove on the Interstate once and it was about all my heart could take. That was when we bought Phil's sporty little car. WHICH I AM IN LOVE WITH!

I am thinking about joining a running group down here that is a nation wide group called Running to Remember! They run to remember the fallen men and women who died protecting our freedom! I have been praying about it. They help you train for different things like marathons which I have always wanted to do. The Seattle Marathon is in July and I would really like to run it!

So, there is an update of sorts. Things are definitely different in some ways and it will take some more adjusting. I am sure though that our life here is going to be wonderful as long as we keep our focus on the LORD and his work!