Snow in Fayetteville!

I'm sure the cheers of students all over Cumberland County could be heard when the call went out that school had been cancelled on January 20. We received about 4 inches of snow early that morning -- the most I've seen in all our years (over seven in total) here in North Carolina. School was also cancelled the next day -- another big cheer!

Hannah got up early (notice it is still dark) to greet the snow and she took this picture. She was SOOO excited!

The back yard (and the dogs checking it all out)

This white stuff looks vaguely familiar...

Trying to catch snowflakes on the tongue!

Most of the snow was gone by the end of the following day... but we still have some in our freezer!

It's About Time.... (con'd)

December 2008:
The advantage of attending a year-round school is a nice long Christmas break. We took advantage of some of the kids' time off and traveled to Tucson, AZ, to visit Joe's parents for Christmas.

We decided to take in a ski weekend while we were in Arizona, traveling up to Sunrise Ski Resort in Northeastern Arizona. This is the place where Joe learned to ski, and it's also where Joe first took me skiing. Since Nathan and Hannah had never skiied before, we though ski school was a GREAT idea for them. Much to their dismay, it was a lot harder than it looked!

Nathan ready to pack it up and go back to the lodge...

Hannah still smiling after a long day...


Another trip-within-a-trip Joe and I took was to Las Vegas for three days and nights; we met my brother and his wife there to join us in the fun. It was cold in Vegas, but we had a blast! We stayed at Treasure Island this time, but spent a lot of time traveling up and down the strip (thank goodness for the Deuce!) and enjoyed the ambience at the different hotels.

This is us acting goofy at the Luxor...

Us in front of the Eiffel Tower at Paris (not a good pic of me--yuk!)

Between the skiing, Christmas, and our trip to Vegas, it seemed we didn't spend that much time actually in Tucson! Traveling is always fun, but it's also always nice to come back home!

It's About Time...

Okay... I know, I know. It's only been forever since I've updated my blog. I'm ashamed to say it's been five months since I've posted anything. It's been nagging at me, and I've been meaning to post something, and then finally a friend called me out on it (MV!) so now I'm faced with the daunting task of trying to get the blog up to date... so here goes.... (My last update was in August 2008, so I'll try to go month-by-month.)

September 2008: The kids were off school for a couple of weeks, so we traveled back to Missouri to visit family. Had lots of fun, catching up with family and friends. One of the highlights was a trip to Busch Stadium to take in a Cards game with all the cousins; this was Nathan & Hannah's first time in the new stadium.

October 2008: At long last, Joe returned from Iraq on October 5!! It was a day we had been waiting for for SOOO long (15 months, to be exact). We were anticipating a 2:30 pm return, and of course, we got there early, and ended up waiting for hours... the guys didn't arrive until almost 5 pm. But, after 15 months, a couple of hours was worth the wait. I took my camera, but in all the excitement, I only managed to snap a few pics:

Joe is in the very center of the photo, in the front row. This was snapped as the soldiers were marching into the gymnasium, welcomed by lots of cheers and applause by lots of friends and family. The bleachers were packed! It still gives me goosebumps to think about it. Words still don't adequately describe what it's like to actually lay eyes on your soldier after such a long time!

Joe enjoyed several weeks of time at home, and he wasted no time jumping back into some projects around the house. The first major one was to tear up the walkway to the house that had buckled due to what we suspected was a tree root. Our suspicions were confirmed:

Fun with a jackhammer...




That's one big root!

In October, we also had the opportunity to attend a McCain rally here in Fayetteville. The kids had taken an interest in the upcoming election and all the political goings-on (it was hard to escape any of it unless you lived in a bubble) so we decided to take the kids to the rally -- something none of us had ever done before. It was very exciting.

Here is a video of the Straight Talk Express driving directly into the coliseum:

Here's Hank Williams, Jr., warming up the crowd:

Cindy McCain introducing her husband:

The McCains waving to the crowd as they left:

Overall, it was a very interesting experience. The attendees at the rally ranged from the more reserved to the more boisterous. The kids still talk about the woman sitting next to us who kept screaming "NOBAMA!!" at the top of her lungs, which got very annoying.

November 2008: Joe was invited by VFW Post 10630 to speak at the annual Veteran's Day Wreath-Laying Ceremony in Hope Mills. It was a beautiful day, and Joe did a great job!

Here's a link to some more pictures and coverage of the ceremony:

http://www.rollingthunder-nc1.com/veterans_day_ceremony-08.htm

"The Big Guy" & Joe

Another photo from Iraq... you should recognize "The Big Guy" (as Joe refers to him). He visited Joe's unit last week.

Down to 39 days (give or take a few...) until redeployment!!

1st Day of School!

Last Wednesday was our first day of school!! The kids are both going to the same school, a 6-12 year-round classical school. When we first discussed sending the kids to this school, Hannah protested, saying she didn't want to go to school every day of the year. We had to explain that they don't attend school more days than those on a traditional schedule, but they have a shorter summer break, and have 2-3 weeks off at the end of each quarter. Christmas break ends up being quite a bit longer, too, and it gives us more opportunities to travel at off-peak times. The school is essentially a college-prep school, too, focusing on academics. We felt it was just the best choice for Nathan and Hannah, since they were both going to attend new schools anyway, with Hannah beginning middle school, and Nathan starting high school... yes, a freshman in high school! Amazing!!

Joe & Gary

Joe just got back from Ramadi, where he ran into Gary (actor Gary Sinise) in the mess hall. Joe was very impressed -- most celebrities will "pop in" and spend an hour or so shaking hands and posing for pictures; Gary was spending three days there! Thanks, Lt. Dan!!

Adventures in Wallpaper Removal

For some reason, I thought that while each of the kids was at summer camp, it would be a great idea to re-do their rooms. Nathan went to boy scout camp last week, and I managed to get it all finished a few hours before he arrived home. This included scraping off the old wallpaper, patching the walls, putting a coat of primer on the walls, and then putting the paint on. (Not to mention the cleaning, sorting, and re-arranging of furniture.) My knees hurt from all the up and down on the stepstool and my fingers ached from scraping the wallpaper. But I did it! Nathan got home on Saturday, and then Hannah left the following day. In her room, I have managed to get all of the wallpaper down and the walls are ready for the primer, but I'm pooped! Hannah gets home tomorrow and there's no way I'll be done before she returns, so I guess she'll be sleeping with me and the dogs!

I was telling Joe on the phone yesterday that I could start my own wallpaper-removal business... but I don't think I enjoy enough to do that. Maybe it's more fun if you do it in somebody else's house??

The good news is that in the house there are two less rooms with wallpaper; only seven more to go!

A few pictures...

Here's Nathan all dressed up for the big end-of-the-year 8th grade dance. No, no date, but that was by choice, according to him. He and his buddies decided not to take "dates" (I use that term loosely at this age) because then they'd have to dance with the same girl all night. Sounds like "man-logic" to me!

Here's me with my 100+ pound lap dog. Rocky decided he was initially going to sit between me and the arm of the couch (a 10-inch space, maybe), and when he decided it was too small, he flopped down on top of me. I think I could still feel my legs at this point...

Catchin' Up

It's hard to believe that Joe left a little over three weeks ago to return to Iraq. We quickly readjusted to him being gone, almost as easily as we readjusted to him being home. I'm not sure to what I should attribute that, but it was wonderful how it all seemed to flow together. There was some anxiety as we knew his departure date was growing closer; having to say good-bye again was not easy!

Looking back on the almost three weeks that he was home, it was truly wonderful! We decided not to travel anywhere while he was here, and just stay at home, and RELAX!! Too many of our friends make big, elaborate travel plans during R&R and just end up exhausted from all the commotion. We were determined to make this a restful, low-key time for Joe, and we definitely accomplished our goal. When he left, he was well-rested and refreshed, ready to tackle the last five months of the deployment. Having only five months left also made it easier when he left, too. Five is such a small number -- the number of fingers on one hand! We can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. We know it's there!

Thought I'd share a few photos...

This was taken at the Dogwood Festival here in Fayetteville. The sea lion show was a big draw, and, of course, you could stand in a long line in the hot sun, pay a ridiculous amount of money, and get your photo taken with them. The sea lions were very well-trained; the trainers plopped a big piece of stinky fish into their mouths, and then they promptly plopped their heads on your shoulder or on top of your head. They were stinky, but very cute! (Nathan couldn't be dragged out of bed that day, so he's not in the photo!)

This was taken the morning Joe left to go back to Iraq. We were all sad to have to say good-bye yet again, but it was hard to be sad knowing what a great time we had while he was home, and knowing that it wouldn't be much longer until he was home for good!

(Nathan's kind of leaning in this photo, so you can't really tell how tall he is... 5'6"!! Joe was so amazed at how tall he was, we had to drag out the tape measure and put a number to his growth.)

We're back in the groove of things, now. Kids have only ten days of school left, and then we're into summer camps for several weeks. Their first day of school will be July 16, so it will be a short summer. With the kids beginning year-round school, it will make the summer go quickly, and by the time they finish their 1st quarter and have their first intercession (break), it will be time for Joe to be home!! Yay!!

Enjoying R&R!

Joe made it home last Thursday!! It has been wonderful, to say the least, to have him home. After being on our own for nine months, it has been so nice to have another pair of hands to help out around the house. He's taken on a few small projects, like fixing a couple of screens on the back porch, adjusting the feet on the washing machine so it doesn't "walk" out of the laundry room when it's on spin cycle, and doing a few maintenance items on my car. To my surprise, we discovered that the registration on the vehicles expired at the end of February. Oops! I never received the renewal notices, and it never occurred to me that I should check to see when they expire. Silly me!

His being home has been restful and relaxing for all of us. It's funny how things quickly fell back into feeling normal, especially when I thought I was getting used to being alone. Even the dogs surprised us, welcoming Joe at the door with happy barks and wagging tails. We were a little concerned that they would not recognize him and attempt to protect their territory, but they acted like he'd never been gone.

Joe's working through the kids' list of activities they had for him, including going to the movies and playing laser tag. From the parenting perspective, it's nice to have someone else that's "got my back," so to say. I don't have to be the lone bad guy, when it comes to reminding them about their chores, homework, etc.

We've got another week and a half of Joe being home, and we plan to make the most of every minute! I'll try to post a few pics later on....

Only Six More Days...

Well, maybe six; could be as little as five, and as many as seven or eight.... days until Joe comes home for R&R!!! I am getting very excited. Hannah asked me a few days ago when her Dad was coming home, and when I told her it would be next week, she was very excited as well!! We are all looking forward to some much-needed family time!

Hannah has been pestering me about letting her skip school so she can go to the airport with me to pick up Joe. I explained that I may not get much of an advance notice before he arrives, so he may come in the morning, afternoon, or evening. She went on to explain that in her mind, she has this vision of her rushing into her daddy's arms as soon as they see each other in the airport, and she really wants it to play out in real life. It's very sweet, but I have the same vision!

Now to accomplish all the to-do's on my list; I seem to add more than I cross off. My type-A personality really starts to kick in at times like these. I have a picture in my head of how I want things to be, but all I really end up doing is putting a lot of pressure on myself. Then when I don't get it all accomplished, I feel like I failed. It really is ridiculous -- I am my own worst enemy at times. Lord, help me to focus on that which is really important!

Back to School

Just got the kids off to school, following a week off for Spring Break. I was glad to hear Hannah say this morning that she had a good time during Spring Break, and that it didn't seem to go by too quickly. Mind you, anything we did this year would be an improvement over last year, which was MOVING!!

I decided to take the kids to Williamsburg, VA, for a couple of days. We mixed a little educational history with fun, taking in the sites at Jamestown, and then going to Busch Gardens. (Yay to Anheuser-Busch for providing free tickets to military families... check out www.herosalute.com!)

Some of the photos from the trip are uploaded to my Facebook account... I think this link may work:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1795&l=0c193&id=1083068726

National Jr. Beta Club induction

Hannah was inducted into the National Jr. Beta Club on Thursday; we're very proud of her -- of course!!

Too much free time on my hands?

That can't possibly be the case, yet I've just spent the past hour online setting up my Facebook account. Surely there's something else I should be doing....

Yay, Hannah!

Hannah's "Battle of the Books" team placed second in their cluster yesterday, which qualifies them for the final competition in March!! Yay, Hannah -- way to go!!

(Battle of the Books is a competition where teams from elementary schools compete in a quiz-bowl type competition against other schools; they are given a list at the beginning of the school year of a list of books that they will be quizzed over.)

Whew....

Well, I just made it through my first day of fasting for Lent. Prior to the beginning of Lent, I contemplated what I could realistically give up... and that which I would have to acknowledge I am either unwilling or unable to give up. For a Lenten discipline to be meaningful, whatever you're giving up has to be something you truly value. One of my friends from church gave up ketchup one year... Another has given up buying fabric... It all depends on what you hold dear. Well, I (briefly) considered giving up coffee, but decided it wouldn't be fair to Nathan and Hannah who would have to deal with me in the morning. I almost gave myself an "out" for choosing a Lenten discipline by reasoning that with Joe gone, I had given up him for Lent, ha ha. (Okay, sorry Lord, that I even considered that one!) So I decided to really challenge myself this year by choosing to fast one day a week. And, well, I did choose the day of the week that I thought would be the easiest to fast; a day where I knew I didn't have anything food-oriented likely to tempt me. Tuesdays looked to be the perfect day. And honestly, I have never fasted before, out of choice. Oh sure, I've fasted before having blood tests, and there are the few cases of stomach flu or intestinal distress that just calls for abstaining from eating. Pastor Dan has mentioned fasting several times during his sermons, and I honestly never really considered doing it.

But I made it -- with God's help! When I found myself struggling (looking at the pan of peanut butter fudge on the counter... looking at the bag of Doritos in the pantry... reading the signs on McDonalds... yes--it was a day-long struggle), I found myself praying for strength and more determination to see this through. If Jesus could give his life on the cross for me -- a very undeserving, sinful, weak person, then by golly, I could go without food for one measly day. Thank you, Lord, for seeing me through this challenge!

Ooops!!

Yikes--has it really been so long since I last posted?? What have I been doing?? Well, eating, sleeping, breathing... other than that, it doesn't feel like I've been particularly productive this year, thus far.



One thing I have accomplished is applying to our school system's "Choice" program, to select Nathan's high school and Hannah's middle school for the 2008-09 school year. After wading through our options (which in our minds were few), we've settled on on a year-round classical school. This is a total choice school, meaning everyone that goes there has to apply to attend. Grades 6-12 attend the same school, so Nathan and Hannah will be on the same schedule. The year-round calendar, though sounding initially ominous, is really not that bad. I had to explain to Hannah that students at the year-round actually attend the same number of days as those attending a traditional school, but they just get longer breaks throughout the year. She thought they actually went every day throughtout the year, but when she saw how long the Christmas break was, she was sold! Nathan was a harder sell, on the other hand. All of his friends at his middle school would probably be going on to the local high school, but since he was attending a school out of his attendance area, it was going to be hard to get him into that high school. And, we weren't convinced that it would be a good school for him. But, alas, one of his friends will be going to this school, so he decided it may not be so bad after all.


After a lot of research, and definitely a lot of prayer, we feel like we've made the right decision. Now to convince the kids of that when they have to start school in mid-July!!

Will work for kids' clothes.... and shoes....

If you see me in the median on Skibo Rd. (the busiest road in Fayetteville for you non-locals), holding a sign saying "Growing kids need new clothes & shoes" just throw a couple of bucks my way, and drive on... LOL!! Oh, nevermind... I just saw in this morning's paper where the city is putting the hammer down on panhandling. Nathan's been complaining for weeks about his pants being too tight around the waist. My response was, "quit eating so much." Yet to actually get him to the store to try pants on is another issue... it's just as painful for me as it is for him.

So anyway, I managed to get him to Target this weekend, under the guise of spending his Christmas money, and conjoled him into trying on some pants while we were there. We scoured the racks in the boys' section, and quickly realized that we wouldn't find anything there. So we headed to the men's section. Men's sizes are so much more complicated than boys'.... waist sizes, inseams.... what happened to just having a single number? The most complicated it got was looking at regular vs. slim sizes.

Anyway, Nathan grabbed a few pairs of khakis (khaki or navy pants are allowed at school), and headed for the dressing room. I sat outside the dressing room and waited; long gone are the days where I can actually go in with him. (OK--he is 13 and a half; I will concede that to him.... ) Nathan emerged a few minutes later, tossed a pair at me, said "These fit" and then headed to the electronics section. I protested, asking why I wasn't allowed to see them on, to ensure that they did indeed fit. "Mom--I'm old enough to decide whether they fit or not." Yikes -- another assertion of independence! I looked at the label on the pants: 30x32. Another step forward into young manhood!

Later that evening, I got Hannah to go into the shoe store, to look at new shoes. We bought a pair that is a full size larger than what we bought at the beginning of the school year, a mere five months ago.

Sigh.... Nathan informed me yesterday that his coat is getting too small, holding his arms up to show me the coat sleeves inching up on his arms. I think I can actually hear him growing, and I wouldn't have it any other way!! Joe and I are truly blessed with two healthy, growing kids!

Outtakes....

These were the photos that didn't quite make the cut for the Christmas card.... go figure.

The "official" photo for the Christmas card this year.