Holding Pattern

Well, emotionally I have been preparing for Craig's deployment to be eminent. Now, I am in a holding pattern. Craig got word to today he is not leaving this weekend. It could be another week, three weeks........ who knows when! I guess they are only allowed to have so many of our guys/gals in Afghanistan at a time and at this time they need more infantry then people who are sitting around with their thumbs up their butt. Unfortunately, Craig will be sitting around hopefully not with the thumb up the wha-toosie. I am sure they will find him some corner in the tent to work on stuff and eventually he will be busy. Right now though, they have no clue what he will be doing.

So although emotionally I feel like I am on a Yo-Yo (such is the life of a military spouse) I am thankful for whatever more time I have with my husband. It is a gift. Wouldn't it be awesome if this keeps up for several months? HA! I was told that his departure time does not affect his return time. So at this point his deployment gets shorter the longer he stays home. I pray this is true.

I have some more pics to share of our progress in the yard along with some great art the girls have done. I will post those later................

Applications

It occurred to me today that for the most part I hate applications. Usually they are way too long and require too much information. Many times they mean the end product will be an extra bill in the mail or basically money out of your pocket. Sometimes it means a new job which in turn can be gut churning. I mean lets get serious- who likes applying for jobs? In the end it seems to be about who you know or don't. Being judged on paper is never fun. Being judged in the flesh is not either but paper is not fair.

Then today came.............

I filled out my application for graduation and all that previous negative melodrama went out the door. I did not mind the information I had to pull out of the recesses of my mind. Those are very cavernous, very dark, with lots of cobwebs and dust. I would not recommend going in there, it is a very scary place. I managed to do it though!

Today I have decided that I do not mind that my student loans now are no longer on deferment. So I guess I do not dread all applications. This one is by far so sweet! Who would have thought?

I love all the paperwork that goes with it- ordering my hood, all that grand regalia. Oh, and lets not forget my announcements. That was a fun application too. So for now, I think I will look back on today whenever I am filling out the applications for all the other stuff in life and give the poor guys a break. Not all are bad!

SWEET VICTORY!

~Soundtrack To My Life~

It is about time.............I finally got my iPod Nano loaded with all my music. I am now seriously enjoying myself while I bop around mi casa. Craig was a sweetheart and sat for hours downloading all my albums to our external hard drive. It took me over three hours to decide which songs I wanted once everything was downloaded. Some of my CD's were so old. High school old! I was cracking up listening to songs I had not heard in so long. It brought back great memories of being young and seriously stupid. No worries, no real pressure.....just enjoying life and listening to music- those were the days. It is like listening to the soundtrack of my life. I wish I could share it on my blog. What would your soundtrack be? Have you ever thought about it?















We have been tackling our "To-Do-List". More painting and organizing. Today I got our dormer organized, cleaned the girls bathroom, (bleached and scrubbed the grout). Yesterday, I went on a cleaning binge cleaned the kitchen. Not that you would want to, but it is now clean enough that you can lick all the cabinets and floor.











I am hoping to get to my side yards tomorrow. We still have to plant plants, lay down barrier cloth, and put down mulch. ARG! I pray for a cool day!


This is my new (well not new, more like..........been waiting to hang for a year) Welcome sign. Craig attached it to one of our posts on the front porch. I saw the flag blowing in the breeze, the sun was shining, and my newly painted white post, and thought I need to share this moment. The Welcome sign was the crowning glory of it all. We still have a laundry list of projects to do. It makes me sick.

The days are getting fewer until Craig leaves. My anxiety is in high gear. Deployments are bad enough but ones to war zones are extra scary. He will leave exactly 10 months to the day he arrived home from his last deployment. Did I forget to mention....THIS SUCKS!

So please keep us in your prayers, especially Craig! I promised him I would do better at blogging. Now that I will not be in school I will have time to be more creative and hopefully journal this next 7 month adventure. Also, I plan to get my butt into some serious shape. Setting some dates to participate in a few local mini marathons is my new goal. A lot to do. I need to fill up my schedule to keep time flying.

One More To Go!

It is hard to believe I am coming to the end of another journey. Looking back where I was this moment last year has me feeling a mixture of emotions. Mostly though, I feel thrilled. Last year of was having second thoughts and questioning my own personal abilities. This year I know my limits and yet I know that I have endless opportunities and a bright future in front of me.

I have my one major assignment left. It is basically a senior project required for graduation. Within the past few months I have systematically plugged away at it. Now comes the daunting task of pulling it together. Staring at endless pages of references is rather scary to me at this moment. Somehow, I need to get over it and just pull it together. Once I have this completed and submitted then I can participate in my evaluations...............then I am done. DONE! I cannot wait to say it out loud and actually mean it. What I look forward to more is actually getting that piece of paper in my hand then running it down to be professionally framed. I know...I am ridiculous right? When Craig graduated I took his diploma to a local framer and had it matted and framed. It is beautiful. Very soon I will have mine next to his on the wall of achievements. I am thrilled to be on it finally!

I am also looking forward to a mental break............I think I will start practicing that right now............................................................Ahhhh feels good!

4th of July Celebration

Last night we went to Parris Island for their annual 4th of July fireworks display. The girls were somewhat disappointed as the bouncies were not up for that long by the time we got there. Craig waited in line for them to get their faces painted and the line closed while they were in it too. Not nice!
Once it got dark and the fireworks started things were dandy again. For a while there were some pouty faces and whining. Not fun for Mom and Dad.






As usual the fireworks were awesome. Lots of "EWWWWs" and "AWWWWs" to be heard and a grand finale.

Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July. Happy 233rd birthday U.S.A.!

Hope yours was safe and filled with lasting wonderful memories! All our prayers go out to our men and women and their families who fight for our freedom and military and civilian!

Two Out-a Four Ain't Bad....That is 50%!

Today we packed up the little ones and headed to Charleston. We needed to run a few errands and thought we would make a day of it. First on the list was to get copies made of Mackenzie's written medical records from MUSC and also a CD made of her CT. We got there and they closed a few minutes prior. Luckily the lady felt sorry for us and made copies however, the CD was a no go. Guess the radiology department had their 4th of July plans and headed out early. After that my plan was to head across the street to the MUSC book store and purchase an alumni sticker

for my car, a T-shirt, some thank-you notes, etc. They were closed as well. So at this point we were 1 for three. Guess I will be making another trip for the copy of the CT results.

After our MUSC adventure we headed to the Aquarium where we have our family membership. So worth it. It pays for itself in two- three visits. Even though it is small, the girls love it and it is always breezy (about 10-15 degrees cooler that where we live) and an opportunity to get away. At least they were open.

I got some great pictures and we created some sweet memories.

These girls sure do love their daddy. I forgot to mention that the girls and I got our summer short-do's. They didn't want it at first but then were so happy once it was done.

Craig and the girls. The Ashley River Bridge in the Background.

My new toothless wonder ....Madison. She so loves to drop that lower lip when she smiles now. Quite proud of herself. She is getting so big. It is hard to believe how fast time is flying.

Little miss Madi has quite the tan skin going on, like her daddy. Kenzie tans as well but nothing like Madi. Kenzie is more like her momma. Sorry girl. At one time white and pasty was in. What happened to those days. Gosh....talk about inconvenient. Hopefully I will age better because of it.

On our way home I asked Craig if we could stop at the Cherry Cider Company. They have the most wonderful preserves, dips, salsas, pies, and ciders. We got peach cider and an apple pie. What is more American than a homemade apple pie on the 4th of July? The peach cider will be combined with ice tea. YUMMY!

All their smiles and giggles were worth it!

My/Our Porch Swing

I love my porch swing. Have I said that before?

You know....I read a study about porch swings. After all the research was gathered, and evaluated, the researchers concluded that couples who swing together (and get your mind out of the gutter if you are going to that nasty place) stay together. I guess it has to do with being in rhythm with your partner. So I love my porch swing. Love Love Love!


Only problem is, I cannot find another porch swing pad that fits the darned thing. So I have to make slip covers so that you cannot see the real cushion that lies beneath. I swear the thing looks like it has hepatitis or some other horrible communicable disease. If I recall correctly, I made one, two summers ago. At least it lasted me two years. I already have my fall/winter one planned out for this year too.








So back in March I got this fabric at the same store I purchased the girls drape fabric from. I couldn't resist. It looked to cheery and perfect for spring/summer. However, I just now got around to sewing it. Oh well!





So here is another finished project. I am on a roll. Only problem is? Once I took the picture I noticed how filthy the porch swing looked. And this was after Craig power-washed it. Can you believe that? So after I took the picture I got out my bleach spray bottle and went to town. I will need to power-wash it again tomorrow. Gotta love bleach..........especially in the South!
I think she needs some pillows? What do you think?