Busy Days

I'm ready for a vacation!  Life has been too fast-paced lately and I just need it to slow down.  A little relaxation and family time is just what the doctor ordered.  Too bad it's not in the cards for a few more months.

The Marine Corps doesn't care when you have a longing for down time and QT with the fam.  They have Jason stretched pretty thin these days.  Last week was rifle range, and as I've shown in previous posts, Jason is always beat during range week.  Getting up at 3:30, and then to make it worse, he would have to have it the week the heat wave settled in on us.  Thankfully that's over, so now he's back to having duty every 3rd day until September.  We will get a small window in the middle of August to go home and be with our family, however.  Very small.  We get to go home on a Saturday and come back on Monday, and that's just because he got somebody to cover his duty an extra day so we can go home to see Alaina sing for her first Sunday morning church service!  She's going to blow everybody away:)  Plus, he's in college every other weekend all day for both days.  At least this class is business management so it's one I can help with.  I've already been "voluntold" that I will be writing a 5 page paper.

Illness has rocked Jason's world this week as well.  We found out that his grandmother, the one he is very close to, and who had a big hand in raising him, was diagnosed with lung cancer.  We don't know how bad or if it's spread yet, so we're hoping and praying it will be in the early stages and that she will fight it, and that this will convince his dad to stop smoking.

Last Monday was a scare for me.  A pain like I've never felt before hit in the middle of the day in my lower left back.  Growing up with diabetes, it is pounded in your head, that back pain in the lower portion on the sides is more than likely kidney issues.  So of course I went into panic mode, and couldn't make rational decisions, so my wonderful mom walked me through what I needed to do via phone.  I couldn't reach Jason on the range, so I called my neighbor who drove me to the ER and stayed with me until sweet hubby could get there (which was about 45 minutes later).  8 hours later, my diagnosis was "renal colic".  A painful spasming of the kidney(s) b/c of kidney stones.  After a rough week, I'm pretty sure I passed the stone late Friday/early Saturday.  Not something I wish on anyone!

We are still having smoke problems from the wildfires here, but they have it somewhat contained now.  It's still pretty stinky here though, especially with the really hot temps.

We are finally starting on some indoor house projects!  First one was the guest bath, we are right in the middle of it, and are learning a lot!  Pictures to come soon!

We met some possible new neighbors on Sunday.  Quite the different couple, but I think they would be good neighbors.  He's 25, and she's 45.  He's a marine, and I think he and Jason would get along well.  She is from Guam.  After meeting them, Jason informed me that she must be "Guamanese".  I burst out laughing and said "no, I'm pretty sure that's not right!"  So his next guess was "ok, well she must be a Guamian."  When the laughing subsided, I had to look it up, they are actually called "Chamorro".  Who woulda known!?

As much as I hate giving Kojak haircuts, he is miserable in this heat, and I'm finding fuzz balls the size of chihuahuas all over my carpet!

I can't believe it's almost August! 

I think my new catch phrase for my stories on Jason will be "Hunny Funnies".  Here's another Hunny Funny...last night I was laying in bed, not sleeping, yet Jason was sacked out.  All of the sudden he pushes up on his elbows, looks at me, giggles (yes, GIGGLES), and says "lincoln logs".  Lays back down and closes his eyes.  If I could only see inside his dreams!

Alaina taught Kojak to play dead when you point your finger gun at him and yell "BANG!".  It's hilarious.  He lays down and rolls over on his side.  Here recently for whatever reason, he has started (on his own) putting his paw over his face.  It cracks me  up!  When Alaina tried to teach this trick to Lola, she ran away and got in her bed.  She is smarter than we give her credit for, she runs from the gun, Kojak just lets you kill him!

Ok, well, the bathroom isn't painting itself unfortunately.  So, I'm dragging myself off the computer now.  59 days until FALL!!!

My 27th (for the 3rd time) Birthday

I was very blessed this year to have my family come to our house to celebrate with me! Jason was even able to work it out with work to be off and he skipped class that day, so I had everyone with me! My birthday was on Saturday, but Ash, Matt, and Austin came in the Monday before and spent the entire week with us, then Daddy, Momma, and Laina came in on Friday. Saturday, we all swam and hung out, enjoying each other's company, relaxing, talking, watching movies, and of course, there was a Walmart run at some point for Matt and Jason. Then we had my birthday dinner. The food...exceptional, as always! Can't beat southern cooks! 

My Daddy, the grill master!

 Fried squash, zucchini, and green tomatoes from the garden.

Ash's to-die-for homemade mac 'n cheese.



Plus, we had all the fixins, and my birthday cake, well, I'm sure you can all guess...Momma's homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and assorted Breyer's ice creams:)  It was a meal for a princess!

Then came gift time!  My family spoils me, I tell ya!  A few of my treasures...Austin gave me a recordable book, where he reads to me, called "All The Ways I Love You".  I cried, it was so very precious!  My parents got me the most comfy sleep shirt I've ever had, with, of course, Tinkerbell on the front and some wired American flags that I wove through the grapevine on my mantel.  Alaina got me this cute metal cow with a flower pot that I plan on putting some rosemary in. Ash and Matt got me the bird's nest photography prop a few months back so I could start using it for photoshoots, and it has proven to be a super cute prop!  And Jason got me a whole array of things, a bag full of goodies from nail polish to Tinkerbell bandaids to shimmering suntan lotion, and a Jeep hoodie and license plate, a shirt from AE..just to name a few!  So, needless to say, I was a happy girl:)



And to end a wonderful day, once it got dark, we built a campfire and roasted marshmallows and made smores.  I'll share a few pictures from the campfire, everyone was there, but there were a few camera shyers. 

The beautiful blaze.



My little sunburnt sis.



I think it's hilarious that Matt has marshmallow in his goatee, he looks full and happy!

Poor Jason was worn out, he had duty the night before in order to be home on my birthday.

The best parents in the whole universe!

The weekend visits are always too short, but I enjoy every second of them and look forward to the next one!  The rest of the week, Alaina and Austin stayed down with us, as did Ash and Matt (until Thursday), and on Saturday, the rest of us hit the road to go back to the cabin.  We could only stay until Sunday night, but we crammed everything we could fit into that day and a half.  Saturday night, we went downtown to a classic car show and street festival.  Super fun, but my husband is now determined to own a classic car now.  (Rolling eyes)  As if his Jeep doesn't keep him busy enough!  Sunday morning, Jason was in the 4th of July program at the church I grew up in.  He wore his blues, and represented the Marines proudly.  After church, we finally got to eat at the oh-so-talked-about Dairi-O, and I must say, it definately lives up to the hype!  Delish!  And to finish off the afternoon, I squeezed in a photoshoot of sweet baby Clara, who was an absolute doll (except when she got hungry of course!).  Once all was said and done, we hit the road at about 7:00 pm.  What a weekend!  Jason's schedule will be better come September, as he will go back to not having duty every 3rd day and we can actually take leave again, so until then, I guess we have to get used to this busy way of life!  That's the military for ya!



Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Please take time to enjoy your freedoms today, and thank those who make that possible!  I love you and am so proud of you, sweetie.  Thank you for your sacrifices!



**Pictures from church and the 4th of July program yesterday.  Jason was the respresentative for the Marines.  He was so handsome!  This girl was full of pride for her husband yesterday (and everyday;o))!

My College Man

Jason started back his college courses last weekend, he's only about 3 semesters away from having his bachelor's in Electronic Engineering.  SIU (Southern Illinois University) comes down here every other weekend to teach, so his degree will actually be from there, which is pretty cool considering he has done all the work here in good ole NC!  I am so proud of you, babe!  Keep up the good work, you are so much smarter than you give yourself credit for!!!

I Think We're Covered!

New swim trunks - ü
Kite for flying at the beach - ü
Water Cannons for the water war that will surely ensue once in the pool - ü
Splash Football - ü
Beach Ball - ü
Blow Up Pool Baseball - ü
All the ingredients to make a certain boy's fave chocolate chip cookies (with his help of course!) - ü
An Aunt and Uncle ready for their nephew to visit next week - üü

Our sweet nephew (along with his Mommy and Daddy) is coming to visit next week, to be followed by the rest of the family on Friday for my birthday:)  I have the best family ever!  I love y'all and can't wait to see each one of you next week!

Holding Him In Our Hearts Until We Can One Day Hold Him In Our Arms

I've been reflecting a lot lately.  I've been at a loss for words, but the time seemed right tonight.  The past month has been a blur, it's been one of the most emotional months of my entire life.  I went through the most horrendous loss with my sweet little sister.  Her second baby, another baby boy, named Landon James, went to be with Jesus before he got his time on earth.  They say he was sick, too small.  So, these past few weeks, I've been clinging to the fact that my precious nephew is in the arms of our Savior, and that He is holding him for us until we will meet him one day in Heaven, and that he is not sick now, but perfectly healthy and happy, and that he is up there playing with our grandfathers, along with all our loved ones that have gone before.  I still have moments where the emotions are overwhelming, and I miss little Landon so extremely much.  I didn't ever get to meet him here on earth, but the connection had already formed, and the fact that we all wanted him so much made us all fall in love immediately.  My darling Ashley is one of the strongest women I know, she is a wonderful mother, and I have no doubt that her Landon knew his mommy and how much both of his parents loved him (along with his big brother, grandparents, aunts and uncle!)  But he will be waiting on us all in Heaven, and I think he will be one of the first ones to greet us when we get there!  I love you, my beautiful nephew, and will miss you everyday.  Until we meet in heaven...

Tutus!!!

After looking around on the internet, and finding tutu after tutu ranging from 25.00 all the way up to the 50 dollar mark, I decided that that was insane, and that with the help of youtube that I could do this own my own!  I was wanting several different colors for photoshoot props, and to fit babies.  Can you believe a baby tutu costs 50 dollars!?  There was no way I was going to pay 150.00 for 3 tutus!  So, I watched how to videos, made my list, and headed to Hancock Fabrics to stock up on tulle!  I made three for about 30.00, including the tulle, ribbon, elastic, and thread.  I was a happy girl.  Then I got to it!  These are my finished products:

Green (like Tinkerbell!):

They called this one "Woodland Fairy" on the internet sites:

And my pink/black one:

I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself!  Renea, let me know if you want to use them in Carly's pictures:)

FINALLY MOMMA!!!! Just for you:o)

Our new shed, complete with flower bed, flower box, and hand painted window with daisies done by my beautiful Momma:

The well cover that Daddy and Jason built and that I painted:

Our little birdhouse that I painted to match the house:

New flower beds that Jason built and filled with pineneedles:

Other side:

View of it all from the road:

A little closer up (you can see our little pink dogwood in the bottom right of this one):

Spiritual Sunday

I think this says it all...

Luke 21:10-11 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. Jesus says for behold I come quickly."

Tinkering Tuesday

I decided that my front door wreath needed some sprucing up.  It was looking a little sad and faded.  So, a trip to Walmart for flowers, a glue gun, and some ribbon was in order!

 Before:

After:

Much better, if I do say so myself!

Monday Memories

This picture really isn't my memory, but it represents the memory of growing up with parents who have been together since high school, and who are still together (going on 32 years of marriage!), and who are still in love.  I never had to worry about divorcing parents growing up, when so many of my friends were thrown into custody battles and only seeing one parent at a time.  So, I feel extremely blessed and thankful to have been born to the two most wonderful parents anywhere, parents that have held up their promises to each other, to God, and to their family!  I love you Daddy and Momma!

Aren't they cute!?  This was one of their high school proms:)

Savory Saturday

It's grillin' weather here in coastal NC, for a few days, at least!  Veggie, Chicken, and Shrimp Kabobs, roasted asparagus, and grilled Texas Toast!  YUM!!!

Even a grilled dessert!  Grilled pineapple with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup, OHHH soo good!!!

Friday Funnies

This is ingenious!  I should have been wearing this all winter!  Perfect for a hypochondriac like me!

Thankful Thursday

Ok, so I know I've missed a few days on my daily blogging, but being today is Thankful Thursday, I figured it was a good day to pick back up:)  Today, I'm so extremely thankful for the BEAUTIFUL weather!  Today's high is 68, and tomorrow is 75!  The rest of the week will be mid to upper 60's.  Yep, I already have the windows open and I'm letting the fresh air in!  It smells heavenly, like grass and ocean water:)  The fresh air is sweeping through the house, hopefully taking with it any sicky germs left in here (after I had the flu and Jason's sick now with a sinus infection).  I have been lysol queen (or princess, since my mom is THE lysol queen;o)), so there shouldn't been any active germs in here, but just in case, it's another good reason to have the house opened up!  So, I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful weather, and I'm hoping it's here to stay:)

Happy Hearts Day!