Hello, Goodbye.

Goodbye Old House

Hello, New (temporary) House


I am about two months late writing this, but we have moved! We put our house on the market in late February, and by the middle of April we were in our new house. God truly was in all the details of the sale. We received a full price offer from the second people who looked at the house, and everything else went as smooth as possible. We feel truly blessed to have such a quick and easy sell, especially in this housing market. God is good!

We are now living in Base Housing until Keith retires from the military. This is by far the nicest base housing we have ever been in. It is a brand new 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath two story home with huge windows and more closets than I know what to do with. =) It is a beautiful house, and we are thankful for it, but it is not "home" for us. We don't know how long we'll be here, but no more than a year. We have hung a few pictures and a few curtains, but that is it. I plan to spend our time here cleaning, organizing, and purging what we do have and getting ready for our next *big* move.

Over the course of our marriage, we have lived in one room "apartments", tiny houses, big houses, really old houses, and brand new houses. None of those things really matter though. As long as we have the Lord and each other, we have all we need.

9 months

Dear Cole,

You are 9 months old now. 9 months!!! I cannot believe it will be your first birthday before we know it. Time has certainly flown by since you were born. Seems like just yesterday when I was calling Daddy telling him to "Come home now!" But look at you now. You are fun, energetic, and full of life! You keep me on my toes like your brothers never did. You are a black-belt crawler, a wanna-be walker, cabinet door slammer, toilet bowl player, big brother wrestler, and world's worst napper. You weigh 21 pounds, wear size 3 diapers, 12 month clothes, are continue our family history of gigantic feet. You think baby food is for sissies, and that Coke must surely be from heaven. You have a skill for mess making that rivals a tornado. We all love you so very, very much and are so thankful you are part of our family. Happy 9 months, Little Bit.

Love, Mommy

Homeschool Half-time Report

We are now halfway through our first official year of homeschooling. Praise the Lord! Things are going pretty well, and we are right on track, despite several interruptions already. Tyler is in Kindergarten this year, and Jackson is doing preschool. We are using the ABeka curriculum, because it was the only one I felt comfortable starting with, and so far it has worked out really well for Tyler. For Jackson, I am just using books picked up from ChinaMart and T@rget along with some Leap Frog videos.

Half way through Kindergarten, Tyler can:
identify all numbers through 100
read one syllable words and recognize several sight words
recognize blends within words
count by 10's
recognizes coins and value
recite most books of the Bible
identify a few states and countries on map


Halfway through K3, Jackson can:
identify colors and most shapes
recognize letters and sounds
identify right and left
count to 10
recite Old Testament books
aggravate his older brother =)

Praise the Lord for getting us through this far. There have been a few tears shed, a few days I wanted to set them on the curb for the bus to take, and a few laughs along the way. We have also enjoyed a few field trips with our church group along the way.

I know there are lots of mixed feelings about homeschool: love, hate, confusion, and everything in between. I also know that some of our biggest challenges will come from within our own families. That's okay though. We feel we are doing what God has called our family to, empowered by Him, and owe no explanation or apology to anyone else. If God be for us, who can be against us? Maybe that should be the motto of our little basement school.

I'll leave you with this short video clip of Voddie Baucham about homeschool. While I don't know much about this man or his ministry, I like what he says here.

Birthday Fun, Part II

Present time with Gramms and Papa

Mater and Lightnin Pillow Pets

Coley got in on the fun too

Checking out the new toys

It looks like a toy store exploded in the living room =)

Daddy--still a kid at heart

Oh yeah, Daddy got a new toy too. Most Mothers-In-Law only want to shoot their Son-In-Law. His actually bought him a gun. He is over the moon excited!!

My Future Song Leader

Jackson singing "Sound the Battle Cry." One of his favorites. =)

Worth Mentioning

Life seems to have kicked into high gear for us lately. I guess warmer weather is to thank for that. We have been on the go almost non stop for almost the past 3 weeks. Most of it isn't worth mentioning, but here is the part that is:

- Jack fell outside (while picking me flowers) and busted his chin, which required 7 stitches. Poor little man!

- We had a fairly major scare with a tornado last week. We were driving to a neighboring town when we heard the sirens going off and had to quickly take shelter in a church basement until it passed. The tornado ended up destroying several homes and businesses. It was a little scary, but I am so thankful that the Lord gave us shelter from the storm.

- We are almost done with our home renovations. We decided to hire somebody to finish most of the work that needed to be done. There was just no way we were going to be able to finish it with a new baby and Keith's work schedule. When he is done, we will be about 90% complete and the rest will be things we can finish as we get the time. Soooo glad to be wrapping up this chapter of our lives.

- We took a little day trip to Missouri Town 1855 last week. It was a really neat place, and we all enjoyed it. Unfortunately it is all outdoors and it was cold and raining. I would like to go back and visit again when the weather is nicer.

- I had a major scare with my neighbor on Monday. To make a really long story short, she fell and broke her leg in 3 places and completely tore the ligament in her other knee. I had to rush over there with all 3 littles in tow and try to help her. Scary!

- The boys now have a trampoline. They love it! I am praying that no serious injuries come as a result.

- Cole is very, very colicky. Bless his heart (and mine too)! He screams every night starting between 7 and 8 and lasts for anywhere from 1 to 5 hours. I am desperate to find something to help. I feel like I have tried pretty much everything at this point. Colic is very heartbreaking and frustrating. I feel like I am being sanctified via a crying baby. =)

Well, I guess that's about it. At least that's all I can think of right now. I will have lots of pictures to share soon. =)

9 Years

8 Vehicles

7 TDY's

6 Deaths

5 Computers

4 Houses

3 Sons

2 Duty stations

1 Amazing Love

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

He's Here!!

Our 3rd blessing arrived at 3:02 p.m. today after a very fast and intense labor. He weighed 8 lbs 11 oz and is 21 inches long.

He is perfect and we are trying to get some rest. Will update more later.

God is so good!!

Christmas 2010

Another Christmas has come and gone. We had a great time here with my dad and step-mom. The boys loved all the extra attention, and of course the gifts.

 After a big breakfast on Christmas morning, I suggested we all go over to the State Park by our house for a walk. What was I thinking?? There was more than a person of two complaining by the end of it. But, I had fun and felt better when it was over.

Overall it was a great day! We all got some wonderful gifts, but I am most thankful for the biggest gift of all...the gift of Salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, there would be no CHRISTmas.

The Greatest Story Ever Told

The Days Are Long, But The Years Are Short

Well, it seems as though the end of another year is upon us once again. I suppose I, like most people, have begun to reflect on all that has happened the past year. This has been an interesting year for us, to say the least. But looking back on it, it is amazing to see the hand of God in it all.

Here is a little summary of our 2010:

-January was spent preparing for Keith's upcoming deployment, as well as finishing up some renovation projects before he left.

-February-the Hubby left for Guam. I'm pretty sure most of the rest of the month was a blur. I did start my own remodeling projects to help pass the time.

-March- I was in full renovation mode. I tore out our master bathroom fixtures and began a major remodel.

-April- Had a yard sale and then took a little trip back to the mother land (TN) to visit my family. It was good for all of us to get away for a while.

-May-back to reality, back to work. This month was spent choosing tile, carpet, paint colors, etc. I had to rush to get all my projects wrapped up before Hubby's return.

-June-New carpet goes in. Tile goes in. Painting is done. And at the end of the month, Hubby was home.

-July-was filled with Daddy's return, a quick trip to Paducah to visit with family, and saying goodbye to a dear family in our church who moved away. Oh yeah, and we were blessed with baby #3 this month.

-August-Normal summer business. Another yard sale, Lots of gardening, and playing. I got my usual first trimester sickness around the first of August and that was about it for me for the rest of the month.

-September-for Hubby's birthday he requested a trip to Branson, so that is what we did. For the rest of the month I was too sick to do anything...except check myself into the hospital for a few days. =( We also had to say goodbye to another great set of friends.

-October-both boys had their birthdays and I was too sick to do anything about it. It was another hard month. Hubby was out of town for a week, also.

-November-the sickness fog began to lift...Praise the Lord! Hubby had a very busy month at work. We were able to make another trip to TN to visit our families. It was a great, but hard, trip. The boys loved every second of it and were truly heart-broken when we had to leave.

-December-Well, this seems to be the month where a whole year's worth of activity is crammed into a few weeks. Is it like that for everybody? We are having a revival at church all this week. Next week, one of the missionary families from our church are returning for furlough. We also, have a celebration dinner at church on Friday night. Oh, and the Hubby takes his promotion test next week. The week of Christmas, Hubby has his PT (physical fitness) test. We are hosting a going away dinner at our house for another family in our church. (This seems to be the year of goodbye's.) And then there is Christmas...I have done nothing to prepare this year. I see it being another year without a single present around here. I am fine with that. We are so blessed, and need nothing. But, you certainly do get a lot of strange looks when you tell people that your kids didn't get anything for Christmas.

So, there we are. It has been a busy year, but a good one. God has certainly sustained us, and we are looking forward to what 2011 has in store.

My Two Friends who left me in 2010

Hubby working on painting the front door

The new carpet



My Biggest Little Man feeding the ducks



Ice Cream Date with Mom

Summertime Fun

Back Yard Camping with Daddy

4th of July fun with friends

Sweet Little Man

Me and the Bub

The Boys and Papaw checking out the view in Paducah



Little Fishermen



Somebody got a little clipper happy =)

May you all have a very happy Christmas season filled with the love of the Saviour!

You May Have Noticed...

I haven't quite been myself here lately. For those of you who only know me through my blog, you may have noticed the lack of meaningful posts, or just my absence from posting in general. For those of you who are my friend on Facebook, you may have noticed I haven't had much to say on there either. If you know me in real life, you may have noticed I'm a little quieter than usual.

I still look the same...

except for this.

Can you tell what's different??

And no, I'm not (only) fat! =)

I'm A Little Behind

I have been meaning to post these pictures since Monday, but I have been a little lazy in my blogging responsibilities. (ha!)

Last weekend we met my Dad in Paducah for a quick visit. Paducah is pretty close to the half way point between here and TN, and it is a really nice area that we are pretty familiar with, so it makes a nice place for a weekend visit every once in a while.



Paducah has a really nice park and riverwalk area. That is where we spent most of our time, with a little shopping thrown in as well. It was too hot to be outside all day!

Nana and the boys feeding the ducks


The Boys throwing rocks in the water

4 of my favorite guys

When Papaw and Nana are around Mommy doesn't get to do anything, including push the stroller

Tyler, our budding photographer, wanted to take pictures. I think he did a pretty good job!

Tyler's "Best Buddy". (I'm pretty fond of him too)

My sleepy little man

Checking out the view...We had a really nice one. =)


Tyler was rubbing Jack's feet after a long day. We thought it was sweet. =)

Papaw and his men at the park.

I'm so glad we were able to meet my dad. I know my kids, Tyler especially, are crazy about him. I want to encourage that as much as possible. While we certainly can't have weekends like this every month, it is nice to be able to see our family every once in a while without either of us having to drive the entire way.

I am hoping to one day live closer to our families so that our kids can spend more time with their relatives. Keith and I both come from close families, and even though we are a military family, we still want our kids to experience as much of that as possible. Lord willing, one day we will be able to make that happen. For now we are just thankful for the times that we do have together.

Random Acts of Kindness

Let me start by saying this--I am by nature a selfish person. It is not my nature to be friendly with strangers, and I generally do not put the feelings of others before my own. I realize that about myself, so I am working on changing. I am starting a new "program" for myself called Random Acts of Kindness Day.

About a month ago, I really had a lady on my mind. She was somebody that we met about 3 years ago, not too long after we moved here. I would see her occasionally out in town and say hello, but that was really about it. Anyway, I just could not get her off my mind. For about a week I thought about her every day. Finally I decided to do something about it. I went bought her some flowers and a card and delivered them to her office. I had no idea if she would be there or not, but she was. We talked for about 10 minutes and she seemed genuinely happy that somebody thought of her.

After I left, I started thinking of some of the unexpected blessings I have received along the way. There are a couple of instances that still stick out in my mind. One was when I was working my first "grown-up" job and somebody called my boss and told him what a wonderful employee I was. I remember that one well, because I probably wasn't the best employee. I remember thinking that I always needed to be kind to people, because they really do notice. Another time, somebody paid for our meal anonymously. There have been many other blessings along the way, and it always makes you feel special.

I have decided I want to be on the giving end as well. It makes you feel good when you do something nice for somebody else. It also helps cheer you up if you are feeling down. I am not sure how often I will do these Random Acts of Kindness Days. Originally I thought maybe once a week, but we will see. But, I do want to make it a point to do something regularly, whether it be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

Yesterday I chose 3 offices/businesses that I have dealt with recently, and just took them some snacks with a simple Thank You note attached. It was good to make people who are often under appreciated smile.

I found some RAK ideas here. Some cost nothing at all but a little time. =)

Does anybody have a good Random Act of Kindness story or idea? Anybody want to join in and start being a blessing to others??

Mommy's First "Bouquet"

Yesterday afternoon, my sweet boy picked his mommy a bouquet of "flowers". He spent about 5 minutes gathering as many as he could, then he took great care in making them pretty before giving them to me. He said they were my "getting married flowers" and that we (he and I) were going to get married. =)

It was a real melt your heart moment, and just when I needed it too. God has been so good to give me such sweet little boys. I'm thankful that even though I mess up and often don't deserve their love, they still love me enough to want to "marry" me.

When we came inside, he asked me if I would "put them in a bucket" and keep them. How could I refuse? They will stay there on my counter as a sweet reminder of my little boy's love for his mommy until they wither up.

You Are Gone

I Am Here

It Doesn't Matter

'Cause I Still Love You, Dear

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY!!