Happy "Belated" Anniversary

Steven and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on Monday, July 26th. I have been so busy since, that I forgot to post anything about it that day. I was very glad that we could spend this anniversary together...we usually get 1 or 2 anniversaries together out of every 4. We have been celebrating our anniversary since his homecoming on July 3rd. We were very lucky to have several weeks with just the two of us to spend lots of quality time together. It has been a crazy ride for the last 13 years, but I wouldn't get off for the world. I plan on hanging on tight for another many more years ahead.

Blessed

What an amazing week it has been!!! Steven and I drove to TN early last week and spent a few days visiting with his family before driving another 6 hours to crash the church youth trip in Myrtle Beach. It was so awesome because the girls were not expecting us at the beach and so they were so surprised to see their daddy for the first time since his return home from Iraq. I am most positive that everyone in the room that witnessed the reunion shed at least a few tears. The girls absolutely love their daddy so much and I count myself so blessed and fortunate that my kids have such a great father.

After spending 2 days at the beach, we experienced our first long drive since being all together again. It didn't take very long before the girls reminded their daddy of what girlie arguments sound like. After nearly 8 hours (approximately 2 hours longer than it took us to get there) we were back in the comfort of TN.

Today it was so nice to be in church at Zion. I miss it more every time I visit. The girls sang tonight and did a great job. Tempia, Andy, and I sang "Child of the King" also. It is one of the church's favorites and probably my most requested song ever. Tempia sounded like an angel and sang with such sencerity that it was hard for me to keep my composure. I think the second best thing to my own salvation is knowing that 2 of my very own children have also accepted Jesus into their hearts. I fail them every day and fall very short from any parent of the year awards, but one thing that I know that I have done well is to teach my children about the Love of God and the importance of allowing him to Lead in their lives. Though pride can be a sinful thing, I am very proud that I have been blessed with such beautiful kids (inside and out).

After church, we came home to yet another opportunity to make memories. Megan, Brittany, and Marsha had the brilliant idea of creating a chocolate syrup slip and slide. Who would imagine that a large piece of plastic, 10 bottles of chocolate syrup, and 5 containers of cool whip could be so fun? The girls LOVED every minute of slipping and sliding. I don't think a day at an amusement park could have been anymore fun than they had in the front yard tonight.

So, now that I have reminisced the last week, hopefully I can try, AGAIN...to keep more updated with this blog. This is something that I really want my family to do together...so look for articles from the kids and maybe Steven in the near future.

Woes of a weary dieter

On June 25th, I started another attempt to lose weight and get healthy. As usual, I began with loads of enthusiasm and energy only to find myself a few days later depressed and angry. Weight and healthy well-being have been a life long struggle for me. For some reason, my body and mind cannot be at peace with one another. I have attempted multiple times with different approaches and have almost been successful a few. But ultimately, every single effort ends in failure. I want this time to be different. I want to successfully shed the pounds that threaten me with diabetes and heart disease. But at the same time, I also want to be at peace with where I am right now. I do not want food or exercise to rule my life like it has in the last 2 weeks. Is there a happy medium??? I have made myself miserable by reading food labels like legal documents and exercising to the point of vomiting on several occasions. I am afraid that I have reached a point that my ideas of attaining health have become very unhealthy and maybe even a bit unrealistic.

I feel so selfish and superficial to even get all worked up about such a matter. I mean, seriously, I have so much to be so very thankful for. I am Blessed beyond measure, and instead of living victoriously, I attach a heavy ball and chain to my ankles and whine about being fluffy. But it is my health I'm talking about and here is where it gets tricky for me. I am afraid that if I accept that it is ok to be just like I am today then I am giving up on the hope that I could be better tomorrow. Does that make any sense at all? I get trapped in this conception that I either gotta embrace my fluffiness and be happy, or bust my rear into high gear and lose massive weight NOW!!! At this point I am blinded and I don't see a way that I can have the best of both worlds despite what Hannah Montana may say.

God is Good

I must say that I have had a marvelous and memorable 4th of July weekend. Maybe my best ever. I welcomed my husband home on Saturday from a year long deployment in Iraq and I can't say that the timing could have been any better. I was so happy to finally see him and have him home. Earlier that day I spoke with another army spouse regarding how deployments can actually benefit your marriage. I think that this is something that only military wives will ever be able to totally comprehend and understand. But I believe that it is true. Now I am not suggesting that I like deployments, but I am saying that I am a firm believer in the statement that "absence makes the heart grow fonder". Over the last 12 months, I have remembered and missed all the wonderful things about my husband. I have re-discovered the things that make me love him and even with thousands of miles between us, he managed to sweep me off my feet and I fell in love with him all over again. Yes, deployments are hard...but it is important for us military wives to sometimes put all the negatives of deployments in the trash and appreciate the positive things that it brings to our lives and our marriages. I know that another layer of strength has been added to my relationship with my husband, my kids, my God, and myself. I am thankful that God allowed us to grow closer together over this last year and I am especially thankful that God found it within His will to bring my husband home healthy and unharmed. God is good....even during deployments!!!

Humble Beginnings

This is my very first blog and it has taken me nearly all day to get this going. I am not the most computer literate person, and I definately have alot to learn in the world of blogging. So here is my very humble beginning. I am hoping to add and change things as I learn.

So, you may ask why I would even want to create a blog. The answer to that question is, "Why not"!!! I wanted an easy way (besides facebook) to keep my family and friends abreast of our travels, thoughts, and photos. This seemed like a great idea since we are soon to PCS (army lingo for "move") to Grafenwoehr, Germany. I also wanted a place that we could sort of "record" or journal our life as well as just ramble when needed about daily happenings and such. While I am not the best writer in the world, Blogging seemed the most appropriate and fun route.

I would like to see this grow to the point that my children can also blog on occasion. I think that it would provide a fun and creative way to get them to practice writing. I think that I could put links to their blogs on my page. I will first have to learn how to do that though.

So, I have spent several hours just on the design of my page and am open to any nice suggestions for improvement that you may have.