"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things be says will be done, he will have whatever he says, Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them"   Mark 11:23-24

Early memories

                                                                                

The scent of cinnamon rolls woke me up.  Making my way downstairs I remember going around the corner and seeing my sister sitting at the bar stool and mom standing in the kitchen in her maroon robe.  She was boiling soup on the stove to place in a thermos for my lunch.  I remember getting dressed and heading out to the bus stop but not before mom buttoned, zipped and tied my coat and made sure my hat was snug on my head.  Every morning she would kneel down and button, zip, tie.  Every morning.  She never complained about helping me and she was truly concerned about keeping me warm outside.  She would send me on my way out the door to the bus stop which was right in front of our home.  I would be standing on the curb when I looked up at my house and I saw my mom looking out the upstairs window.  She watched from the upstairs window until the bus came down the street.  As I stepped on the bus we would wave to each other and that's how it went everyday.  After school I would head straight inside where mom would have a snack waiting and the Cosby show turned on.  In the evenings after she put me to bed she would go wash her face.  I listened to running water from her bathroom sink and I would fall asleep to the sound of that every night.  Looking back on those memories they are comforting.  During that time in my life I felt loved, warm, protected, safe. 

People talk about comfort food and what foods take them back to their childhood.  I don't really have a comfort food, I have comfort memories.  It breaks my heart to think of children whose mom's don't feed them, clothe them, care for them, love and nurture them.  It makes me that much more thankful for the life I grew up in and thankful for how my mom and dad raised me. 

My mom was my best friend and still holds that title to this day.  I have never been one to have a lot of friends. I had my close circle of 1-2 friends during the school years and that was it. I never wanted to go to the movies or the mall, I never wanted to go to sleepovers or go play volleyball. I wanted to stay home and see my mom.  She created such a peaceful environment that I didn't want to be away from that.  

One day A&E will have memories of their childhood and I can only hope that they look back on it with the same love for me as I have for you.  I love you Mom with my entire heart.   

Keith Urbans "For you"

All I saw was smoke and fire; I didn't feel a thing,
but suddenly I was rising higher.
And I felt like I'd just made the biggest mistake
when I though about my unborn child;

when I thought about my wife.
And the answer rang out clear
from somewhere up above:
No greater gift has man, but to lay down his life for love.

And I wonder, would I give my life?
Could I make that sacrifice?
If it came down to it, could I take the bullet, I would.
Yes I would for you.

Maybe you don't understand
I don't understand it all myself.
But there's a brother on my left and another on my right.
And in his pocket just like mine, he's got a photograph.
And they're waiting for him back home.

And it's weighing on my mind.
I'm not trying to be a hero;
I don't wanna die.
But right now in this moment, you don't think twice.

I wonder, would I give my life?
Could I make that sacrifice?
If it came down to it, could I take the bullet, I would.
Yes I would.

You don't think about right; you don't think about wrong.
You just do what you gotta do to defend your own.
And I'd do the same for you -
Yes I would.

I would give my life.
I would make that sacrifice.
'Cause if it came down to it, could I take the bullet, I would.
Yes I would do it for you.
I'd do it for you.

Brought to you courtesy of the red white and blue

Yesterday I took a few hours out of my day to bake some cookies for a gentleman who is overseas.  He specifically asked for cookies and I enjoyed making him 5 dozen. Also in his goodie box that he requested and needed: Door-knob because there is not one on his room door, Frisbee and two containers of Mio liquid to flavor his water bottles. My total for shipping the box was $33 and my total for the entire box was $45.  

Goodie boxes are important to the troops.  They lift their spirits and it's a little reminder of "back home."  If you have never shipped anything overseas I urge you to please do it at least once.  Even if all you do is write them a Thank you card or have your kids draw them pictures.  The men and woman over there appreciate anything. Items to consider for your goodie box are chapstick, baby wipes, beef jerky, packaged or homemade cookies,  phone cards, Itunes gift cards, razors, toothpaste, eye drops, drink mix singles to place inside their water bottles, popcorn, nuts, shoe insole's, cotton balls, feminine hygiene products, cough drops, vitamins, board games, hand held games, batteries, Nerf football... the list is endless.  If you need any names of people to send your box too I know some names or you could go through Blue Star Mothers.


Enjoy your families~ Support our troops~

Happy 35th Anniversary to my parents!  I continue to be in awe of their love for each other.  What a fantastic example they are.  I love you mom and dad~

First official family vacation

The girls were excited for their first airplane ride.  Me, not so much because the idea of doing it alone scared me.  I was in charge of waking them in the morning, getting to the airport, checking the bags, going through security and finding the gate.  A little tidbit about me, I am horrible with directions.  I am horrible with N-S-E-W and I am horrible with landing at a different airport and trying to find the next gate that we are taking off from.  Doing that with a 6 and 4 year old was causing me some anxiety plus add in my not so love of flying, I was a ball of nerves. 

Joe was in San Antonio for tech school and 4 weeks into his trip the girls and I decided to fly to Texas and reunite as a family.  The girls did great and once I was in the plane, belted in, I was able to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment with my daughters.  They had a great time staring out the window and were wide-eyed looking at their different surroundings.  
Daddy left in the mornings for school and would come back to the hotel for lunch. Need ideas on how to keep a 6yr old and 4 yr old entertained in a hotel for 2 weeks?  I'm your girl.  In the mornings, we enjoyed free breakfast downstairs (I enjoyed the not having to cook breakfast part) and the girls picked flowers outside. Some mornings we either got a basketball from the front desk and bounced the ball or we drew with sidewalk chalk.  The Residence Inn was very friendly and let us draw all over their sidewalks.  We swam every afternoon and went bowling on occasion, played with play-doh and the girls got creative in the hotel room.  I unplugged the hotel phones, sanitized them of course and let the girls play "office" with them.  They also took turns riding the roller ottoman and having daily craft time.  Since daddy was off on the weekend we kept busy on the River Walk and at the Alamo.  

While on the River Walk, we ate at the most delicious restaurant, Casa Rio.  We took a boat ride, ate sno-cones, walked around the outside of the Alamo (didn't tour inside-- it was too hot to wait in the very long line) and just enjoyed the all around atmosphere of the River Walk.  The next weekend we went to SeaWorld.  SeaWorld is great to military families and our admission was free.  If you are in the military and was not aware of that amazing deal just click here for all the details.  Take your family to SeaWorld, it was worth it.  We loved the shows, Elmo's water park for kids, feeding the dolphins, roller coasters and the log ride.  We rode the log ride a grand total of 7 times.  If you do plan on visiting SeaWorld may I suggest a few tips:

A) wear your bathing suit
B) wear flip flops
C) take a washcloth with you and put it inside a Ziploc bag with ice.  You can stop and get more ice throughout the day as needed but that will cool you off and help keep your kids cooled off.
D) if you have two children invest in the $18 double stroller.  That was the best $18 ever spent and it kept the girls from having to walk around the entire park.  That right there took their "cranky meter" down to a 1. 

Once daddy was all done with his school we traveled to Corpus and spent a couple days on the beach. It just so happens that Miss Emma's birthday was that weekend so she got to spend her 4th birthday in the ocean. This was the girls first time at a beach and we all had a great time. Ava enjoyed jumping the waves and Emma enjoyed burying her mermaid barbie in the sand. I can not wait until next summer and we enjoy another family vacation. I love starting traditions and carrying through with them.

Have a great weekend and remember...support our troops! 

Enjoy your family~

Go Ahead, Make my day

I just mailed my Grandma and Grandpa pictures with a hand-written letter to go along with them.  They miss my hand written letters and I'm sure they will love reading it again and again... Hope it makes their day!  Have you done anything today to "make someones day?"

Beware of the dog

 I don't want you to think that all my life consists of is kittens and flowers because that's not the case. Now, that doesn't mean I don't love my life, my family, my blessings because I do and I am thankful for my life BUT I want to be honest on this blog and not everyday am I in a good mood, not everyday is everything 'perfect'.  Different blogs I read the writer conveys through their words that they have an awesome life, nothing ever goes wrong, they have perfect obedient kids, they never tiff with their husbands/wives, they never struggle, Which is a lie GREAT but everyone has a bad day or a bad week. Sometimes my life contains (hypothetical) Pit Bulls and Rottwielers chasing down and attacking my kittens and destroying my flowers and I have to remember who is in control and that He will never fail me.

And the Oscar goes to

Ava is my girly girl.  Ava is my drama queen.  Ava is my future Oscar winner who when the Hollywood director yells "Ava's crying scene, take 1" will be able to nail that scene in a single take.  She's got it... She's got the tears and she knows how to use them.  For Ava's 6th birthday she wanted to get her ears pierced.  Joe and I agreed and after school one day we took her to get them pierced.   She did great with the actual piercing part.  She was very brave throughout the entire process. 

Fast forward 5 months and several ear hole infections later.  We've cleaned, sanitized and even went to the doctor one time to get an antibiotic, nothing has helped.  Every few weeks one or both holes are infected.  Tonight, I noticed it was time to once again clean out her ear.  I took her earring out when I noticed something not right.  Something was stuck inside her ear lobe.  Huh?  What in the world was inside her ear lobe?  When she noticed me inspecting it closer **Que the crying** Now, not only do I have an unidentified object stuck in her ear but I also have Ms. Hollywood starting up her hollywood rendition of Ron Burgandy (Anchorman) when the motorcycle guy (played by Jack Black) kicked his beloved dog Baxter off a bridge and into water below. Ava was becoming hysterical so what would any mom do?

I called Daddy in for backup.  He told me he thought it was the back of Ava's earring stuck in her ear.  Wha...?? Um, how is that even possible?  How did the back of an earring get inside my childs ear hole?  Who knows, but it did and we had to get it out.  Ava was not happy about that and you wanna know what the difference is between a man and a woman- a mom and a dad and the way they think?  Being the manly man that Joe is he immediately thought of pliers to yank it out and me being the sensible mom that I am... I thought of a little invention called tweezers, which is way less invasive than pliers. Sweet Ava was shaking, scared and kept saying that she didn't want to go to the hospital.  My mind immediately went to when I was a child and I had accidentally swallowed warm salt water.  My throat closed up and I remember running into my mom's closet grabbing my throat doing the 'choking sign' being incredibly scared. My mom immediately grabbed me and started praying for me and within seconds I started burping (sorry I'm talking about burping on a blog) the more she prayed the more I burped and my symptoms were being relieved.  My throat opened back up and I was fine.  So, what did this momma do?  I prayed.  I took Ava's hands and we prayed. After Ava had calmed down I pulled the earring back out and my sweet little Oscar winner survived.

Even on days like today when the girl hormones are running wild, I still love my Ava.  Drama and all.   

I smell bacon in the air...

Look out your window. 

 Are pigs flying? I said I would never start a blog and look at me now. I read on a deployment/spouse blog that it was good to A) "pick up a hobby" during deployments and B) "stay busy" Well, since we know that B will likely never happen because of my home body tendicies, I decided to start a blog. Its going to be my new hobby. With this deployment creeping up I decided to get a head start. Most of you know me but for those who do not here is a glimpse inside.
 I am married to a great man and have been for 7 years.  Together we have two perfectly sassy, stubborn, hard headed, strong willed, caring, compassionate, thoughtful, God-loving, barbie playing, dress-up wearing girls.  My precious Ava(6) and my Emma (4)
I am a simple girl, not hard to please, not picky.  I do have some OCD germaphobe qualities which I am sure I will discuss later on.  Staying home with my girls is the best decision I ever will make.  My husband works hard to support us and for that I am thankful.   He is in the military (if you couldnt already figure that out) and has been for 17 years.  The love he has for his country amazes me.  Together as a family we are very patriotic and supportive of the troops.  This blog is going to help us document his deployment journey, our life, our girls, the things we love and everything in between.