Henebry Happenings

The Pregnancy That Just Keeps Getting Better

2011-02-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

Could you all stop whatever you're doing right now, and say a prayer for me? Pray for strength and endurance, healing and comfort, wisdom, wisdom and more wisdom. It seems as though the further we get into this baby journey, the more stuff that keeps piling on. This pregnancy has been full of trials, and this week is no exception!

First, a praise: My mom's lump in her breast is BENIGN and her trip is on schedule!!! She and my Dad will be in SeaTac in less than 24 hours! Thank you God!! Thank you for praying with us! WHEW, huge sigh of relief!

Now the fun stuff....so you know how I've been complaining about hip/groin pain all pregnancy long?? Well, this past weekend I was describing to my husband how it feels: I explained that it's like I was sitting in a really great V-Sit, just at a comfortable stretch, and all of a sudden someone grabbed my ankles and shoved them another 2 feet apart and left them like that for 12 hours. Imagine trying to walk after that....fun, right?!? That was HEAVEN compared to the way I feel right now!

So last night I was cooking dinner, and apparently the condensation from the boiling noodles got on the floor un-noticed. I took a step and all of a sudden my body slammed onto the ground right into the splits. I started screaming, and Jordan ran in and brought me my phone to call Doc and have him come right home. A big dramatic scene later, we were headed to triage for a non-stress test. As far as Lucy goes, everything is perfect!! No bleeding, no fluid leakage, no water breaking, nothing! What a huge blessing!!

I, on the other hand, can't move. Literally. I can't get up without help, I can't rollover, and I can't even get into our car! I can't walk at all without Doc being my human "walker". I hold onto his hands, and inch my way along. I can't even lift my leg to put one foot in front of the other. The Dr.'s weren't able to check my hips and groin, since X-Rays and MRI's were out of the question with me being 38 weeks pregnant. It is more than likely my groin muscles, either severe strains or tears, and there's nothing they can do for that anyway.

I know this is a trial, but God is right here with me. God provided a way for Doc to be home with me today, and he will be tomorrow as well! He's been amazing....cooking meals, never complaining about my dependence on him, a really stellar man! He's just wonderful. I also am thankful just for the way the fall took place. I probably fell into the worst possible position that I could have, however, I did so about 5 inches from the stove where a pot of boiling water sat on the very first burner. Thank God my arms didn't flail as I was going down, this could have been much worse.

We're praising in the storm here, and thanking God for his faithfulness. We're praying for a SUPER fast healing so that this baby can make her appearance!! We're feeling more ready for her every day :) Doc and I sat together and folded hundreds of Dreft-smelling onesies, sleepers, socks, hats, pants, jackets, dresses, etc. We have it all put away, and the nursery set up, less a few decorative items :) Once my parents arrive, we'll have our support system in place and we'll be ready for labor day!

Thank you all for reading and praying with us! We love you, and we'll keep you all posted as updates come along for us, and certainly for Lucy :) Have a great week!

Pregnant Lady Complaints & Updates

2011-01-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

Helloooooo friends and family! Before I say a single word I need to say something important. Thank you all so much for just surrounding me with love this last couple weeks! I mean it. These last few weeks have been trying in SO many ways, from preterm contractions, to Cara passing away, my Mom's ongoing health scare, tax drama, and my own pregnancy woes, and you peeps have remained my peeps through it all. I appreciate it SO much! The prayers, the emails, the hugs, I love you all! Thank you!

Doc and I are officially 9 months pregnant! I say "Doc and I" because truly, we are a team in this pregnancy. He is a rock in my life, and I can't begin to express how he has carried me throughout some of the rough times of this pregnancy. I NEVER imagined needing him so much during this. I know that sounds ridiculous. I sailed through pregnancy with Jordan like a champ, to the point that everyone around me was down right shocked and impressed with my demeanor. At 40 and 1/2 weeks along, I was walking through a Super Wal-Mart in Decatur, IL in 3 inch stillhettos doing my biweekly grocery shopping and browsing the baby clearance section. I never took a single day off of work, until the day I called in because something just didn't feel right. I didn't know it at the time, but I was actually in early labor, and gave birth that night. Never had morning sickness. Never had a single ache or pain or contraction until I went into labor. Never complained.

I'm ashamed of myself for this, but I was truly convinced that pregnancy was just what you make of it, and that all whiny, complaining pregnant women were just weak. Sometimes I even said that TO the whiny pregnant women, because I was 22 and knew everything and felt that they needed to know that I was on to their schemes. *WOW*

Ya know, when you pray diligently and ask the Lord for compassion, patience, understanding, wisdom, etc....a funny thing happens.....none of these things just miraculously appear. Trials appear, though. Trials that develop you in ways you could have never expected. I was thinking about this truth earlier this week during a new bible study that I joined. We have been looking at why we are to rejoice in our trials, and the amazing work that takes place in the midst. This pregnancy has been an unbelievably trying time for me. It has changed me in so many ways, and as I sit here and reflect on it, I'm just in awe.

I had a Dr.'s Appt. on Thursday, and it went wonderfully! My Dr. is so awesome, and I'm super thankful for that! My belly is measuring between 36 and 37 weeks (exactly where I am) and after a brief (30 seconds or less) ultrasound we have confirmation that Lucy is head down and ready to go! She's not into the pelvis yet, which is great :) We're hoping she waits until Nanny and Poppy get here on Feb. 9th to make her grand appearance!

Yesterday, we went to a new mall to explore a little bit. One of the most fun things about moving and new places is the exploration of it all, and unfortunately with my hips and groin hurting ALL the time, we haven't had much of a chance to do any of that :( My family understands completely, but the pregnant lady guilt of it all has really been getting to me lately. We went to the mall and walked around very minimally, probably a half a mile at the most. I rested while Jordan played at the playspace, and she had a blast interacting with other kids. By the time we stopped at the grocery store and made it home, I could barely move. Coming up the stairs was a 10 minute adventure, and every single time I found a sleeping position that wasn't terribly unbearable, I started contracting. I'd rollover to try to make that stop (which takes another 5 minutes) and I'd have to pee. Getting out of bed; you guessed it, 5 minute adventure. Go to the bathroom, wash my hands, and start all over. I slept about 20 minutes last night. It feels like I've pulled both sides of my groin and bruised my hips or something, it's awful!

Today I'm typing this blog from my bed, where I'll probably remain for the rest of the day. Doc and Jordan are at church, and I'm excited to hear how it goes! It's only the 2nd Sunday at a new church, so it's all still very new! Can I leave you all with a couple prayer requests?

**My mom. The additional testing that she had done on the the lump in her breast has revealed that it may be a little more serious that they thought. They did a biopsy on Friday, and they told her to go ahead and contact the airline company and find out the procedures to cancel their flights for the 9th, just in case they need to do further treatment. WE ARE PRAYING AGAINST THIS!!! She finds out the results on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, and we're confident in our Healer that this situation has already been resolved. One way or the other, God's there. He knows. He's got this.

**Myself. I very rarely ask for prayers for myself, and I think it's time to suck up my pride and just admit that I'm needing some help right now. Pray that God would bless my husband for all that he's doing to take care of this family, and pray that He would ease the pregnancy woes, give me rest and rejuvenation, and restore my spirit. Pray that He would be with Jordan throughout all this as well. The Mommy-Jordan playdates are dwindling, and I pray that she would still know how important and loved she is.

Thank you, peeps. I love you all! :)

Change

2011-01-24T07:36:00.000-08:00

Nothing in the world excites me more than change! It can be scary, don't get me wrong. But it is SO thrilling for me and that I'm able to embrace it and enjoy the ride! Our recent move has sparked changes in our family, and currently, here's how we're "enjoying the ride"....

This part of the country is totally new for us, and one of the first things we noticed about it is that the people here are all about comfort! There's a strong sense of homey-ness as I like to call it :) It's freezing here, but they definitely are ahead of the game on how to handle it!!

****They layer their clothing. They want to be able to be active, so a bulky coat is out of the question. They make sure they're warm and comfy, but embrace the outdoors regardless of the temperature outside.

****They drink coffee! LOTS of coffee! It's not about the caffeine here, it's about the warmth. It's actually not just coffee. It's hot tea, hot cocoa, etc. Everywhere you go, you see them. These Pacific Northwesterners with their vests and their coffee. They look so comfy!

****EVERYONE has a fireplace. They're standard in most homes here. This is totally new to us. In Illinois, it seemed like a fireplace was a vanity thing, something used for decoration. (Obviously there were none in Hawaii!) Here, it's a warmth generator. It's a means to keep your house warm without making your gas bill hit the roof, and a wonderful cozy spot to snuggle with your family.

So far, we're adjusting well to the Northwest living! It's very different, but we like it! We love to embrace a new culture and see how it is, and so far, this one is pretty good! This weather has inspired us to really focus on our family time at home. In Hawaii, we were busy bodies. Always on the go, always somewhere to be, etc. Here, we're so new that we really don't have alot to do. This can be quite a drag sometimes, but we've embraced it with things like "Saturday Night Family Night!" We all choose a delicious meal to prepare together (always including dessert) and we play games at the table afterwards. Here's some pics from this weekend's family night....featuring homeade meatball subs (made with Mommy's delicious homeade meatballs), Ghiradelli Fudge Brownies with Ice Cream, and Princess Dominoes :)

DEEELISH!!!

He typically does so well embracing the whole "Princess" thing....

We are incredibly thankful for all the prayers surrounding our move!! God has directed this entire process so wonderfully, and we feel so blessed to have had such a smooth time thus far! Thank you peeps for all your love and support! We appreciate it so much! I hope you all are doing well, and please email me if there's anything we can pray about for you!!

3 Months of Bullet-style Updates :)

2011-01-19T14:17:00.000-08:00

WOW! A much needed 3-Month Blog Sabatacle! I apologize for the delaly in posting, but these last 3 months have been FILLED to the brim with stuff to do, and unfortunately, it took every second of my time. We're getting pretty settled now, so here's a quick update of what's new, what changed, how that went, what's been accomplished, what's done, what's not, etc.

1. On November 10th, my birthday, we officially checked out of military housing in Honolulu, and into a hotel on Marine Corps Base Hawaii to finish out our Hawaii journey and prepare for our new Washington one!

No More Forest City = BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!!!

2. On November 15th, we checked out of said hotel and flew into Seattle. 3.5 People, 2 Kittens, 12 Suitcases, and a level of excitement that was through the roof!! We spent a few days with my Father-In-Law and Step-Mother-In-Law as well as Doc's brother and his wife and kids, all in Ellensburg, WA.

3. We flew to Illinois on November 18th, and had an AWESOME 2 week visit back at home for the first time in 3 years! It was wonderful to see our family and friends there, but we were anxious to get back to Washington and start planting some roots!

4. December 2nd: Back to Ellensburg for a few more days with our family there!

5. December 9th: Picked up my Jeep that had been shipped in from Hawaii, and set off on our official "Naval Station Everett" journey!

6. Doc checked in to his new command and began work on December 10th! Things are relaxed here, as I figured they would be, with it being Shore Duty, and all. Not alot of Spouse stuff, which is kind of a bummer because I really enjoyed my volunteer time in K-Bay. It's great to have to time we need to focus on just getting our stuff taken care of for now though! Lucy's coming quickly afterall! Within absolutely no time at this command, Doc has already been put into an Assistant leadership role (A-LPO), then moved up again to LPO. He's anxious, but focused and determined to be a good leader and do right by his Sailors, and I know he will! He would love your prayers for this!

7. After house hunting and praying for God to lead us to the perfect home for almost a week, He did JUST that, and we signed a lease on our new off-base rental in Lake Stevens, WA! We're 30 minutes outside of Seattle, only 15 minutes from Doc's work, and we absolutely love it here so far!

8. Found an OB/GYN that is PRO-VBAC and is seriously the next best thing to a midwife! Thank you Lord!! This was a process!

9. We had an awesome Christmas back in Ellensburg, with the family there as well as John, Doc's brother in Portland who drove up for the holidays!

10. Returned to our home for unpacking frenzy, and am pleased to say we were DONE with it completely (less the boxes in the garage that we're pretending don't exist) by mid-January! That was a huge accomplishment for this pregnant lady! Nesting made it mandatory, God made it possible! We give Him all the glory on that one, for sure! Decor is still not hung, as we're still tossing around the idea of painting, but.....for the most part, we're good!

11. Met with my OB/GYN twice, and both times received an excellent report! I've gained 10 pounds, total thus far. My gestational diabetes test was negative, and I've started taking iron supplements to combat Pregnancy Anemia. They've been incredible in helping pregnant-Tammy get her groove back, let me tell ya!

NOW you're current on everything going on in our lives! Regular blogging shall commence again, and we'll have updates for you all often about Lucy, our quest for a church home here, Doc's work, etc. Can I leave you all with a few prayer requests? I would appreciate you lifting up these things for us:

***My mom, having some tests run on a lump found in her breast.

***The family and friends of my dear best friend, Cara. She passed away a week ago now after a 4 and 1/2 year battle with cancer.

***Our family. Adjusting to a new place, new roles, and preparing for Natural Childbirth. I'm dealing with a lot of fear regarding that right now, and the Lord is restoring me more and more every single day. Please pray that continues!!

Thank you peeps!! Love you all, and talk to you soon!!

It's a Lucy!!!

2010-10-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

A pink blog only seems fitting today!! Doc and I had our 20 week ultra-sound 2 weeks ago, and we found out that we're having another girl!!! Lucy Kay is due to make her grand appearance on February 22nd!! We're super excited!! I'm not gonna lie, there was a bit of dissappointment in Doc's face when the Nurse typed "It's a girl!" onto our ultrasound screen, but he very quickly perked right back up at the thought of having another healthy little lady to giggle all over the house with Miss Jordan :)

Today I had my 22 week check-up! Everything is going fantastic! Thus far, I've gained 3 pounds total. My Dr. is extremelyl pleased with this, as am I, so that was wonderful! If I keep gaining at the rate that I am, I'll only gain about 10 pounds total when I deliver. Did you notice that I said DELIVER??? That's right!!!! Though Jordan was born via C-Section, and there are a billion myths that "Vaginal deliveries after Caesareans are SO dangerous and should never be done" blah blah blah, I am extremely blessed to have a Dr. that believes in looking at the outcome, not the convenience!! The truth of this matter is that the risk associated with a V-Back (Uterus rupture) actually occurs in less than 1% of V-Backs. With the type of incision that I had, the chances are even lower than that! After much research about this subject, Doc and I were praying that I would be able to deliver this baby vaginally, and thank the Lord, that is exactly what we were told today! We are keeping open minds about this for many reasons, the biggest being that God is completely in control of this situation, and if for some reason intervention is needed, we will understand. We are also at the mercy of the Dr. we choose in Washington. The station we are going to doesn't have a military hospital within a reasonable driving distance, so I will be referred out to a civillian hospital. Doc and I will have to work quickly once we arrive to find a midwife, and hopefully a facility that is conducive for natural childbirth! We know we'll have to be in an actual hospital that has an OB/GYN in house as well as an anesthesiologist ready just in case intervention is necessary. We're praying that search will go smoothly!! Will you pray with us?

Our move is in full swing!!! We have dates set for our movers, hotel reservations booked, pet flights ready to reserve, and lots of stuff on the market so that we don't have to move it with us! We're slowly but surely beginning to say "Til next time..." to our awesome friends that have become family here. It's not a fun process, but we're excited for the next chapter!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers throughout this process!!! We know that God is the reason things are going smoothly and we pray that He continue to lead us! We're SO excited to be physically SEEING many of you in the coming months!!! We'll have more updates soon! Until next time....we love you all!

Happy 4th Birthday Jordan Elaine!!!

2010-10-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

I am in disbelief that these pictures were taken 4 years ago!!!

What a beautiful whirlwind life has been ever since....

My precious Jordan Elaine:

4 years ago you blew into your Daddy and I's world like a hurricane! We were scared to death to think that God had chosen us to be parents, thinking there was no way we would ever get the hang of it, nor that it would possibly be something "fitting" for us to do. Little did we know, you were the piece of our hearts that was missing all along!

2 Weeks ago, we celebrated your 4th Birthday! You've grown into such a beautiful little lady, Jordan! Your Daddy and I are so proud of you, and we absolutely LOVE being parents! We love being your parents, Jordy! We want you to know that you are the very best thing that has ever happened to us, for many many reasons! Though it is our hope to teach you all about Jesus, we want you to know that you are the one who led us back to Him! Through your innocence, and your love, your Daddy and I found a greater calling on our lives. We have seen the love of God through the eyes of our beautiful baby girl. We've come to know our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in a way that demands that we give our lives to Him. We see God's divine Will unfolding in our lives, and we're empowered by it!

Loving you makes time go by so quickly! It really seems like yesterday that you were perfectly swaddled (by Daddy, the Master-Swaddler) with a cute pink bow in your hair, and now here you are....4 years old, smart as a whip, beautiful as ever, polite, positive, encouraging, and wonderful in every way. You have a special gift Jordan, and your Daddy and I hope to encourage you and help you develop it over the course of your life. You are a joy to everyone that comes in contact with you, and you can find the good in any situation. You have a heart for prayer, and you use it to pray for every circumstance that you come across. That is a powerful thing, baby.

Jordan, I could keep writing all of the wonderful things about you for days, and still not have enough time to say them all! I want you to know that you have stolen my heart in a way that I never knew was possible. You have given purpose to my life, and I adore you.

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Love,

Mommy

"Honey, we have orders!!!"

2010-10-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

I got the best phonecall bright and early about a week ago! "You better start getting ready for our move.....because we have orders!" In 41 days, we will officially be checked out of this command and on a plane headed to our new duty station: Everett, Washington!! This is great news for us, as this was one of our top choices in orders! Doc and I have been very open with Jordan about our upcoming change and how everything will work, and she has remained completely positive and excited throughout the process so far! Doc's Dad and Stepmother live around 2 hours from Everett, so we'll be able to see them much more often! We also have family in Oregon, and some others in Washington as well! And, of course, my beloved Capistrano's just a short 8-hour drive in Boise, ID!! We already have plans to meet up with them in December, and it definitely cannot come soon enough!!!!

I know I've written before about how much Doc and I have enjoyed our time in Hawaii, and now those memories seem even more vivid and dear with the thoughts of our move coming so quickly. We've had a wonderful time here, but we are most definitely ready to move on. Doc's ready for a deployment break, and frankly, so am I. We're use to being seperated for months at a time for training, deployment, etc., and by the grace of God we handle that seperation very well, but that certainly doesn't mean that we enjoy it. The thought of spending 2 solid years with my husband makes me go weak at the knees, and he feels the exact same way. After 3 years of weekend field ops, weeks on the Big Island, months in California, and half a year in the desert on 2 seperate occasions and long work days even when he's "home", he is feeling the strain and ready for some family time as well. We know that this duty station won't be perfect, and we know that there is still the chance that Doc could deploy as an IA or a MAP, but we're excited for the change and hopeful that it will be just the break we're longing for! Hawaii has been a wonderful twisty-turny portion of Doc's and I's life long journey together, and we're ready for the next phase.

Our days now have been filled with PCS Workshops, meetings with JPPSO (our household goods shipping peeps), taking inventory and photos of all of our possessions, and many many more fun moving tasks! There's been some fun thrown in there too, but for the most part, it's all business right now! We're very much ahead of the curve when it comes to our process right now, and we intend to stay that way, God willing!

We've been in prayer every step of the way, and desire to be even more reliant on God now than ever. We ask that you all pray with us for a smooth move, and for God's direction during the transition. We'll keep you updated every step of the way, and we thank you for all the prayer and support during this time!!

I'll write a little more about the fun stuff in the next couple days, but for now I wanted to update you all on the business stuff :) I hope you all are doing well, and we love you all!

Jordan Elaine: Official Letter Writer!

2010-09-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

Today is such an awesome day for us!! Jordan and I decided a few weeks ago that our current Home Pre-Schooling goal would be for her to be able to write all of her upper-case letters before her 4th Birthday! Today, she accomplished it!!! It was SUCH an awesome lesson, in so many ways! Not only was it the obvious lesson in writing her letters, but more so it was a lesson in setting a goal. We talked extensively about what it means to set a goal, and what we have to do to achieve it. Jordan came to me everyday and said, "Mommy! We have to do my goal today!!!" She has worked so hard for the last couple weeks, and I'm so proud of her! We will definitely be celebrating this to beat the band! As if her 4th Birthday party this weekend wasn't enough.....:)

Teaching Jordan has always been very fun for me, and very easy as well. Jordan LOVES to learn! She thrives on learning information, remembering it, and reciting it later to practice. I hope that I am able to continue to challenge her and keep her learning! She's very musical, and has probably 20 different songs memorized. Some children's songs, but some much older for her! "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" is her favorite, and she begs to listen to it everytime we get in the car. She knows all of her letters, writes them, knows every letter's sound, and even sounds out words. She does this to figure out both how to spell a word, and how to read a word that she comes in contact with. We have to help her with putting the sounds together, but she makes the sounds on her own. We're going into the beginning stages of reading, and she's exceeding my expectations constantly! Doc and I started working with her on her counting. She's been able to count to 20 for well over a year now, so we've been working with her on 30, 40, 50, etc. She caught onto that very quickly, and now we've moved on to addition, which she seems to be enjoying as well! I LOVE that learning is so magical at this age, and I love being a part of it! We even work with her on her Spanish, which is super fun for all of us!

Her biblical knowledge is the part that we really try to emphasize the most. She absolutely loves her bible stories, and it is so rewarding as a parent to watch her put that knowledge into action. We can't see an ambulance driving down the road without her saying, "Uh-Oh Mommy, someone must be hurt, let's pray for them right now!!" She'll proceed to ask God to be with the hurt person, and lead the Dr.'s to care of them, and comfort their family. We encourage her in this, chime in with more prayer, and tell her how much Jesus loves her heart for His people. She'll smile, as proud as a peacock, and say, "Yah Mommy! I just made Jesus happy!!!" It is such a beautiful thing to see my child's heart set on Jesus at such a young age, and I pray that God will lead us to encourage her in whatever He calls on her to do!

I am competely aware that this is a shameless proud-Mommy post! And I don't care! :) This little girl has my heart in ways that I didn't even know were possible, and I am so proud of her! I can't believe that she is turning 4 already this weekend, but I am so looking forward to just celebrating her and cherishing every moment!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll update about ours in a few days, and post some pictures from the lovely lady's party :) Until then, I hope all is well!!! Love you guys!

Random Random Random

2010-09-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

1. We're still waiting on orders. Yes, we were suppose to have them a week ago. Please pray. Please? We SO appreciate it! God will totally make this happen and ease our minds, we just have to ask! Will you ask with us?

2. I can officially feel the baby move!!! I LOVE this feeling!! It always seems to take me longer than I think it should, but when it starts, it is just magical!!! I am totally head over heels for this little flutter that I feel inside me. What a blessing!!

3. I no longer have cable :( What a sad day....however, this does 2 things: A) Helps us put even more money in savings!! && B) Gives us less to distract us from getting PCS stuff done! I am already completely ahead of the curve, and I plan to stay that way as long as possible! I know random stuff will come up, at least this way I'll be ready!

4. Inside and out, my husband is THE most handsome man I have ever seen. Hello, fabulous 5th Month of Pregnancy Hormones. How lucky am I to experience you while my husband still has to wear Desert Cami's with the rolled sleeves?? Just awesome, I tell ya!!

5. I have never been flakier in my entire life than I am right now. Something about this pregnancy just makes me a totally ditz!! Doc and I laugh at it constantly! I forget what I'm doing in the middle of it, go to the store and then wonder why I went there in the first place, forget to do simple things like put soap in the dish washer, and the list goes on and on. It's ridiculous, yet hilarious.

6. REALLY random sidenote: I HATE opening Grand's Biscuits!!! Seriously!! It's like the Jack in the Box for adults!!! Especially when you're just peeling the paper and it just POPS!! Really sudden and really loud! What a heart attack! Anyone with me on this?

Happy Tuesday Peeps!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2010-09-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a super low-key weekend around these parts....how about you?? Anything exciting this weekend? Doc and I (thanks to our fabulous neighbor) had a great date night on Friday....it was a much different date night than we've ever had before, but it was so overdue and turned out to be one of our faves!! We're about 6 weeks out from moving right now, and we're trying to hoard every single dime that we can right now. We're determined to pay for this move outright, rather than putting it on credit cards and waiting for the military to reimburse us like most people due. We're Dave Ramsifying, and we don't want to use credit cards at all. That equals out to us throwing several hundred dollars out of every pay check into savings right now and basically spending nothing other than the essentials. (bills, groceries, gas....that's pretty much it!) It certainly doesn't make life fun right now, but the end will be worth the means. It's just a lesson in self-reliance, rather than relying on credit, and it's one that we want to tackle. We're not super credit card oriented, but we do have one and we do use it occasionally rather than saving and waiting to buy something that we want. That's a habit we are determined to break!

Anyway, all this considered, we had already set up childcare for Jordan for Friday night so that we could go out on a date. After much consideration, we decided not to spend the money on a meal out, even though it wouldn't have been much, it would have been completely against our principles in what we're trying to teach ourselves here. But the date WAS needed, so we had one.....at home! Jordan went to Miss Jenn's, and Doc and I hung out in the kitchen, cooked Baked Ziti, Caesar Salad, and Garlic Bread with Mozzarella together, lit the candles, turned down the lights, and had ourselves an absolute blast! We drank our favorite Crystal Lite pink lemonade out of our fanciest stemware, stole kisses as often as possible, and talked about "date night stuff"...the future, each other, child-raising, God, etc. It was awesome! And free!! I think this will become a tradition!

Yesterday we spent the day at a birthday party for some dear friends of ours' children, and we pretty much ended up just chatting with them well into the evening! Today was a great church day, and now we're getting ready to Skype with the Grandparents (and hopefully, fingers crossed, get a sneak peek at our new niece, AnamCara...and her Mommy and Daddy too of course!) Thank God for Sundays...this day of rest is much needed!!!

How was your weekend?? Anything exciting? Fun? Not fun? Anything we can pray for? I hope you all have a great upcoming week! We should (Navy willing) have a big update for you within the next couple days!!! Love you peeps!

Pregnant Lady Obsessions

2010-09-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

Steak. A lean, mean delicious machine. MMMMM!!!

Rainbow Sherbet. Thanks Grandma, for my addiction to this delicious, amazing, low-calorie dessert! I am forever grateful and can't wait to eat some with you in heaven!

Safeway Brand Garlic Caesar Dressing - delicious!!!!

Grande Decaf Well-Stirred Non-Fat Caramel Machiatto. With Whipped.
So incredibly entertaining to hear the Starbuck's lady repeat that at Mach 40.
Thank you Diana Fuller for my addiciton to these!!
PS I have no idea what that chinese writing on the side says!

A big fat baked potato with cheese. Lower in calories than a potato with butter, and higher in calcium too! Brilliant!!

Blah blah blah.

2010-09-12T23:02:00.001-07:00

That's how I feel this evening. Blah. Blah. And more blah. It's one of those pregnant days, where I'm just blah. I hate these days even more than days when I'm sore, or sick, or in pain. My normal personality is the polar opposite of "blah", so I just don't feel like myself when I feel like this, which only makes me more "blah". I have to be honest though.....God is making it very hard for my "blah" to hang around.....we've got a lot to be thankful for right now!!!

1. HUGE blessing on the orders front! We've been waiting patiently (Ok that's a flat out lie. I've been waiting extremely IMpatiently) for God's direction to lead us. We've been waiting during prayer time for some sort of a guidance, searching during our daily bible reading for something, ANYTHING to jump out and tell us what He wants. Begging our families and friends to pray with us. And Friday, finally, we got the "all clear" from the Lord on the plan that He's ordained for us. We've been selected for orders to Everett, Washington!! An hour and a half drive from family that we (my husband included!!!) have literally never even lived on the same side of the country as, let alone a super short drive away! We still need hard copies of these orders before we can call it official, but we should have them sometime this week, hopefully sooner rather than later!

2. We had an ultrasound at Aloha Pregnancy Care on Friday with our dear friend Alana, and it went fantastic!! The baby was measuring one day shy of our exact gestation period, and everything else looked perfect! It was such a huge sigh of relief! Though we never really thought there was a problem, it's always so wonderful to hear that from your Dr.! Or ultrasound tech, in this case! The only little downside to this day was that the baby refused to show us it's gender! We tried everything! We stopped midway through for me to go to the bathroom and jump around a little bit to try to shake things up in there and see if we could get it to move, and still, nothing. Legs politely crossed, arm above it's head (ironically in the EXACT same position I was laying in, so cute) I can already see so many differences in this baby from the way Jordan was. During my 16 week ultrasound with Jordan she had her legs wide open and was waving to us on the machine! Little Miss Personality has not changed a single bit since then! :) This child seems to have my husband's shy, quiet personality. And it's stubborness leads me to believe that it's definitely a boy! Haha :) Our next U/S is October 7th, so hopefully our little babe will be a bit more cooperative that day!

3. We are busy planning our trip to Illinois coming up in November!!! I haven't been home since we moved here 3 years ago, and I am ready to say the absolutely least!!! Neither of us are fond of the place we call home. We love our family, love our friends, and have some good memories there, but it's never a place that we will choose to live again, and certainly not a place we'll choose to raise our kids. However, after being gone for three years it will be great to take a little visit there! If my husband had his way, we would literally never set foot in Illinois again, so this took MUCH finaggling on my part to make this happen. If this trip is miserable, I can promise that it will be his last trip to Illinois. Well, I guess promise is a strong word....you never know what God may have in store for us. We have a million things to do there, and a million people to see, and lots of delicious Midwest food to eat!!! Hopefully it will all go smoothly! Will you pray for that with us?

I hope you all have had a great weekend! We'll keep you posted on the orders situation! Hopefully in just a couple days we'll have a firm copy of orders, and then the REAL craziness will begin!!!! Love you all!

16 Week Dr.'s Appt.

2010-09-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

Does that SERIOUSLY even seem possible? 16 weeks along? Already?? This child isn't even born yet and it's already growing too fast!!! Craziness I say!

Yesterday was my 16 week Dr.'s Appt. with my NEW and IMPROVED Dr!!!! I LOVE her! LOVE LOVE LOVE her would describe it more accurately! She's wonderful! Supportive, sweet, upbeat, encouraging, helpful, I could go on and on. Leaps and bounds from my appt. with the Nurse Practioner 4 weeks ago, and I couldn't be more thankful for these answered prayers! On to the good stuff.....

The baby looks perfect! Yes....I said "looks" perfect! We weren't suppose to have an ultrasound until 20 weeks, but the baby was so active that Dr. Coleman couldn't hear the heartbeat, so she went ahead and did a mini-ultrasound. Jordan was with me, and she was SO excited to get to see her new brother or sister!! The baby was jumping around like crazy! It was adorable! I'm still not feeling the movement yet, but I will soon! Unfortunately, Dr.'s are not really as well-trained on sonography as you may think they are, so she wasn't able to give us a gender :(
HOWEVER......We'll find out the sex on Friday!!! Here's how....

A good friend of mine works at a Christian Counseling Center for pregnant women over in Kaneohe Bay. Pregnant girls who are wanting abortions come to them, and Alana (my fabulous friend) is a counselor there. Her job is to get these girls to choose life for the babies, whether it be adoption or just a little encouragement in their new journey. She has an amazing testimony, and if there is any woman qualified to do this job, believe me, it's her! There's pretty much nothing she hasn't lived through. She's a wonderful woman, and I love her to death! She is in need of pregnant bellies to train her new nursing staff and counselors with, and since I volunteered, they will be ultrasounding me on Friday to determine the sex! HOW AWESOME!!! And what an amazing blessing! And more so, what an awesome opportunity for me to serve God! To volunteer to be a guinea pig for a place that is doing AMAZING work for the Lord?? Just wonderful! Again....what an amazing blessing!

I will be sure to keep you all posted on that, and if for some reason I don't announce it, don't be sad! If they can't say conclusively one way or the other, we may just wait until the 20 week one to confirm!! :) I'll let you know if that happens!

Happy Hump Day all!!!!

Smiling in the Midst

2010-09-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day peeps!!! I hope yours was much less stressful than ours! Pardon my disposition....The truth is, we had a great weekend together, we just have SO much going on!

Doc is taking a precalculus class right now, that thankfully is almost over! I say thankfully for everyone's sake! Doc HATES math, but is extremely curious about it and really wants to know all that there is to know about it. Insane, right?!?! That's my husband for ya! LOL He's very intelligent and very motivated to learn, so he chooses to torture himself with things like calculus that he knows will take over his life and make him miserable. However, his determination is remarkable, and like I've said from the day that I met this man, he can do ANYTHING that he sets his mind to. The Doc Henebry that I dated 6 and 1/2 years ago couldn't do Geometery without my help. The Doc Henebry I'm married to today is doing calculus like a champ! I'm so proud of him!! Only to God be the glory for this, and we are thankful for all that he is doing in our lives!

Doc and I found out on Friday that we have been denied orders to all three of the places that we had put in for. This was disappointing to say the least. None of the places that we put in for were places that we were jumping up and down about, and it wasn't the location we were excited about. It was an answer we were wanting. Where will we be moving in less than 2 months? Where will I be giving birth to this child at? What sort of work environment will my husband have? All important questions, still unanswered.

During the course of the last year, Doc and I have dealt with SO much crap with the Navy. At no fault of his own, doors seem to close more often than they open. Doors to things like the Officer's Package that he's wanted to put in for 2 years now, that no one seems to "have time" to help him with. Doors for Orders. Doors for Shore Duty, that though my husband has been very vocal that after 4 deployments he's ready for a break from the Fleet, he is still being told that wherever we are sent (regardless of the fact that it will be Shore Duty and Non-Deployable) he WILL be deploying. Infantry Corpsman are in extremely high demand right now, and regardless of the fact that we will be in a clinic, he is pretty much guaranteed to get plucked out of it and sent on one if not two deployments with an Infantry Battalion during our 2 year "break" of Shore Duty. And after that, it's right back to the Greenside for more deploying. Switching jobs in the Navy is not an option for Corpsman, because they need them too desperately right now.

We pray over this situation daily, and right now, we're feeling the hand of God lead us to other paths. Nothing in the world scares me more in this economy than NOT having a job. However, if God's Will for us is NOT this, then He will be faithful in making a way for us. We trust Him completely in this. To say that we are not scared would be a complete lie. Two adults. One beautiful almost 4 year old daughter. Baby on the way. 2 Kittens. All our responsibility to take care of. It's kind of one of those things where the saying "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!" comes into play. The fear is there, it just won't stop us from following God's Will for our lives.

We are considering many different options right now, from staying in the Navy, to getting out completely, to switching branches, and so on and so on and so on.....Will you pray with us? Pray that God make's a way for us. Pray that God makes it known to us and opens and shuts doors to show us his path. Pray that our daily bible reading will speak to us *LOUDLY* with God's instructions. And lastly, but certainly not leastly, please pray that neither of us lose our minds in the process! :)

I titled this post "Smiling in the Midst" because that's what I find myself doing daily. This situation can be so overwhelming sometimes, but God is SO much bigger than this, and he reminds me daily, in the most awesome ways! Like today, for example. We barbecued with all of our Ohana (our bible study group is called Ohana, which is Hawaiian for "family"....and they really are just that!) at the beach for a little boy's birthday party, and we felt so incredibly loved and supported by every single one of our friends there. We had dinner on Friday with other friends, and had such a blast playing Catchphrase and laughing. We went to the mall with Jordan this week and spent over an hour at Border's just reading books to her and laughing, and then went downstairs to Motherhood Maternity where my husband INSISTED on buying me a new outfit, just because. He showers me in affection during times like this because HE wants ME to feel secure. This is HIS career on the line, and all he can think about is his family. Now regardless of anything going on with the Navy, how could I not smile at that? He's incredible!

Here are a couple pictures from the last couple weeks! One of our beloved Pastor Rick and his wife Sue that just moved, and the other of the most stylish little lady in the world :) She insists on choosing her own clothes and accessories, and as you can see, she's pretty into it......:)

Monday? Again?

2010-08-29T23:07:00.001-07:00

WOW!!! What a fast weekend!!!! We've had a great one, though a little bittersweet! Last night we went to a BBQ/Aloha Show for our Pastor, Rick, and his wife Sue. They are retiring after 46 years in the ministry! What an amazing thing! Today we got to hear Pastor Rick's last sermon, and I have to say, it brought us to tears. For so many reasons....

I know that anytime we have to part ways with someone dear to us it is bound to hurt a little. Last night, after watching a slideshow of Pastor Rick and Sue's time here at Island Family Christian Church, we went up to hug them and tell them how much we would miss them. I thanked them for all they had done for our church, and Pastor Rick turned to me and said, "No, thank YOU for your family's willingness to serve in this church!". Doc and I love being involved in ministries, but I was overwhelmed with emotion when Pastor Rick said that. I wanted so badly (but for the sake of time, couldn't) to tell him that we wouldn't BE serving if it weren't for him! We wouldn't have grown as much as we have in the last 2 years if it weren't for him, and our lives wouldn't have been changed forever for Christ, if it weren't for Pastor Rick. I'm sure it will be hard to part with any Pastor that we have, but I'm not sure that I'll ever be as personally attatched to anyone as I am to Pastor Rick. After all, he did baptize both my husband and I, right here in the beautiful Pacific ocean, and He and his wife were big parts of our wedding here. His sermons taught, developed and encouraged me throughout both of Doc's deployment here, and did the same for Doc as well!! I was able to get a recording of every sermon during both deployments and send them to Doc in his care packages. Those sermons changed his life while he was 10,000 miles away. We're forever grateful to these two, and wish them nothing but the best!

And now it's back to Monday! Ugh. Grocery shopping. laundry, errands, all the fun stuff. Whoohoo! I'll update more early this week! Have a wonderful week peeps!

Weekend Humor

2010-08-22T17:52:00.001-07:00

A Buddhist walks up to a hotdog cart and says...

"Make me one with everything!!!!!"

Happy Weekend Peeps!!!!

Question...What are your thoughts?

2010-08-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Aloha peeps! THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! Anyone else feeling that way today? This weekend is sure to please! Ours will be filled with lots of cooking!! I've really started to love cooking on the weekends! I cook completely different food than I do during the week. Typically on weeknights it's quick, 30 minute meals. On the weekend, we spend at least on hour just on Saturday morning brunch. Doc and I cook together, blaring some worship music, and letting Jordan go back and forth from Saturday-Morning Cartoons to dancing like a crazy person for Jesus. And it doesn't stop there....on the menu this weekend we have a Honey-Glazed Ham, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, Garlic-Sugar Green Beans, lots of fruits and veggies for snacks, and plenty of Crystal Light Pink Lemonade! (Ok ok....as well as Caffeine Free Diet Coke....if I close my eyes for a second it almost tastes as good as regular Diet Coke!) I hope you all have a blessed weekend!

So.....I have a question for you all. I am so lucky to have such a plethora of wise, wonderful people in my life to give me their opinions about things like this. I've already made my decision, but I'm still curious as to how other people view this. Here goes...

While at my Dr.'s appointment last week, the Nurse Practicioner brought up the testing for Down's Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, etc. At Tripler Army Medical Center, these tests are optional. They were mandatory at the hospital where I delivered Jordan, but they are optional here. When she asked if I would like to have the tests, my question to her was this: "Do the results of this test change, in anyway, the delivery process, or provide information for things that need to be done in the delivery room or immediatley after the birth?" Her answer was "No." That was all I needed to know, and I declined the tests. She went on to tell me that she would not take such a hasty answer, and insisted that I think about it more. I asked her what the benefit to these tests would be, and her answer was "Well, for you to knowingly bring a child into this world with something like Cystic Fibrosis you need to KNOW what that means....a child that won't live past 30, that will be in a constant struggle, with mucus filled lungs, and special costly care, etc." Now...this may be my crazy pregnancy hormones, but I took this as her saying that I need to know before I DECIDE to have this baby. I told her again, with gusto, that I would like to decline the testing, and she again refused to write down my answer. She said that technically she doesn't need an answer until my next appointment, and that she insists that I think about this a little more. I don't know if she truly wants me to think about it more, or if she truly just doesn't like my answer.

In my household, abortion is not an option. It's never discussed, because it's simply not an option. It is our sincere belief that God creates babies, and we don't, regardless of the circumstances. We would have this baby regardless of anything that could be wrong with it, because it's God's will. Not because we think it would be easy to raise a child that required special needs, but rather because it is asked of us by our Lord.

That being said, I know plenty of people who feel the exact same way about abortion/creation, but DO think it would be a good idea to go ahead with the tests, just to have a "head's up" of what's to come. For me, I truly don't think I could go through the rest of my pregnancy with the same excitement and joyous wonder if I knew that after the delivery things would be completely different than usual. I feel ashamed for feeling that way. I would certainly not give my praying knees a break if I were to find out something like that, but I would have the advantage of being able to prepare. And that's another thing, how DO you prepare for something like that? We pray for a healthy baby, knowing that it may be God's will for us to have a child with Special Needs. We continue to tell Him our hope, and we continue to say "Your will be done" at the end of each prayer.

How do you feel about this? These tests? Do you think the advantage of knowing is something that everyone should have if they were about to have a child with special needs? Do you think it's crazy to not want to know? Do you think it's crazy to want to know? I don't really think anything of either choice, I just feel what I feel for my personal situation, and I know this is different for everyone. I see up's and down's with each choice. What do you all think?

Thank you for listening to me ramble about this! And thank you in advance for your feedback! I appreciate it! I hope you all have a great weekend!!!!

Confessions of a Happy Pregnant Lady

2010-08-19T13:27:00.001-07:00

DELICIOUS Pink Lemonade!!!!!

Fuji Apples!!!!

LOVE This show :)

MMMM....fastest nausea cure.

Awesome Daily Devotional!!!! Very "Step by Step" and very refreshing!!!

August Mayhem!

2010-08-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

DANG!!!!! It's been a busy few weeks!!!! I apologize for the delay in posts :( Here are some updates on life these last few weeks:

1. I had my first Dr.'s appt for this pregnancy last week!!! It went very well, ish. Every Dr. is different, and I have to keep telling myself that. It's AMAZING how much has changed since I was expecting Jordan. First, my Dr. told me that I would be considered "slightly high risk" this pregnancy because of my C-Section with Jord. I have NEVER heard this before in my life. Ever. But, that is this Dr.'s opinion. She also said that she had "concerns" over Jordan's low birth weight. Jordan weighed 6 lbs and 14 oz, and her pediatrician at birth felt as though her birthweight was healthy as a horse. NEVER did he think it was low, and my gosh, she was almost 7 pounds!!! This Dr. insists that she really could have used a few more ounces, and says "she'll be monitoring me closely". Whatever. We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time, and in the words of my husband it sounded like "a thundering baby boy" :) He's wishful thinking of course :) This "Dr." as I keep calling her was actually only a nurse practicioner, and I will not have to see her again at all. Due to my "semi-high riskness", I will have to see an actual Dr. from here on out. I certainly have no problems with that, and I'm actually a little relieved that I get to switch! The nurse practicioner and I had a little argument over some optional testing that I will go into more details about later......I'm glad that I won't have to deal with that any more!

2. We have been denied the orders that we were hoping for in Washington, and are back in re-negotiation for new ones! The last week around this house has been filled with 3 AM phone calls to Tennessee, praying for wisdom, praying for orders, searching of good civilian jobs just in case God leads us toward that avenue, and more prayer in general. Theses situations of transition make me feel like my neck is going to close up, but it also forces us to lean on God. That's something that we can rejoice in right now! We've turned to his Word, and at this point we feel that He is leading us to stay in. We've put in for orders in a few places in California, and we're waiting to hear back on those. We're still praying for God's direction in this matter. Will you pray with us?? Thank you peeps!!

3. We had a friend from Illinois come to visit this last week! We've been mini-vacationing and living like tourists for the last 9 days, and it has been incredible!! Doc has been on leave, and we've had such a great time together! I think it's safe to say that we're all kind of luau-ed out right now! LOL I'll post a few pics from our outings in another post soon!

4. Just to reiterate what I've already posted in other posts: I FEEL AMAZING!!!!! My morning sickness is completely gone!!!!! I did find out that I more than likely have pregnancy anemia, and that I may need an additional iron supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamin. That is great news, because I've really been wondering what the deal is with the wave of weakness that comes over me for no reason almost constantly all day long. I've been so active during the last week, and though it was pretty difficult at times, I have REALLY enjoyed myself!!!! Thank you for the prayer for these times!!!! God is good!!!! And he has humbled me throughout this entire experience. I will never again look at a barely-pregnant lady and think to myself "Oh please, she's like, 7 weeks along, she really needs to suck it up!!!" I'm ashamed of myself for ever thinking that way, and thankful that God changed my mind! He knew that He needed to!

How are you all doing?? I feel like I've been out of the loop lately! I hope you all are well!!! I'll be posting a little more this week, to include a question that I really want you alls opinion on. It's a bit of an ethical one, and I hope that it doesn't spark a massive brawl (not that I think any of you would do that, but it's an opinion question and you never know what could happen!!! ) Be on the look out for that!! Love you guys!!!!

The Story of Us: Part 2

2010-08-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Doc and I decided to attend church that Sunday at the First Church of the Nazarene in Forsyth, Illinois. Doc had been raised Catholic, but was a little confused about what he actually believed. We both had things about the Catholic religion that we didn't truly believe, so we chose to try a different route. God was guiding us to the best decision we've ever made. First Church became our Illinois church home, and though it was just for a few months, it made such a huge impression on us and set the pace for the rest of our spiritual journey.

Doc left for BUD/S in Coronado, CA, and soon after, we found out we were being transferred to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, for Doc to take over his old job as an Infantry Corpsman with a Battalion that was slated for a deployment just 2 months after our arrival. The comfort that God gave to me at that time is truly amazing. I had just moved 7,000 miles away from anything I was familiar with, to an island with a new culture, to a military base where everyone spoke in acronyms and everything seemed SO weird, and I was sending my husband off to war. This was Doc's 3rd deployment, but his 1st Combat Deployment, and anyone who's ever done both knows that there is a HUGE difference between the two. This was my first deployment to go through with him, and though I was devestated to be without him for 7 months, I was not afraid. I know that sounds crazy, and believe me I thought it was too, but I truly had a complete peace in the situation. I knew that we were where God wanted us to be. I knew my husband was following the calling on his life that God had given him. I knew my family and friends thought I was insane for moving here knowing that he was deploying. But as our Pastor just quoted yesterday, "Who cares who frowns, if God is smiling". The peace I felt with the situation was incredible.

My husband returned home from that deployment untouched by the war. Thank you Lord! During our first night together, his sleep schedule was so messed up that we ended up staying up all night talking. He told me about a book that a friend had given him in Iraq called "One God, One Message". He had told me about it before, but he had never had a chance to tell me what a profound effect it had on him. This book had brought him to the moment where he realized what salvation really is. How AMAZING it is, that though we still mess up and fall short daily of what God wants from us, we are still saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no more "not good enough". No more "Keep working at it, you'll get it right eventually". No more!!! We are SAVED!!! Regardless of anything we've done ourselves, and only by the amazing grace of our Lord! I'll never forget the words Doc said to me that night: "Tammy, as a Catholic I was taught that when you get to the Pearly Gates, your good deeds in life just have to outweigh your bad ones, and I've done so much bad stuff......when I read that all I had to do was believe in Jesus in order to go to heaven it was like an elephant was removed from my chest! I felt so relieved!" I cried and cried that night for joy, and praised the Lord for what he was doing in our lives. While Doc had been in Iraq, I had grown alot spiritually as well thanks to our new church in Hawaii: Island Family Christian Church. I had made the decision to be baptized a few months before, and just 3 weeks after he came home he made the same decision. God had used the deployment that neither of us wanted to happen to seperate us and work on our hearts individually so that together we would be ready to serve Him.

We grew so attatched to IFCC, and we still are to this day! Just 2 months after Doc returned from Iraq, he was already in the field training for another deployment. He left for Afghanistan a few months later. We knew going into this deployment that it would be much more difficult. God had a plan in our lives and we were ready to do His will. We both continued to grow closer to the Lord in the midst of our own seperate challenges. My challenges were the domestic type. Pay issues with the Navy, potty-training a 2 year-old, the balancing act of full-time work, volunteer work and child raising, and the stresses and fears of my husband being in a very active combat zone. The Lord taught me during this deployment that taking on everything WILL take a toll on you. He taught me to ask for help, and he taught me what happens when you refuse to do so and try to push through it on your own. He also taught me to say "No" when something comes up that is too much for your plate. Perseverance, patience and honesty to admit when things are more than you can handle on your own were my biggest lessons, though my biggest lesson of all was to rely on God during these times.

My husband had a spiritual journey of his own in Afghanistan, one that is the defining moment of his life thus far. God brought him to the place where he had absolutely nothing else he could rely on but God. He taught him so many lessons there, ones that will last with him the rest of his life. His stories from Afghanistan are incredible, and I could listen to him talk about it all night long.

Our God is an awesome God!! We have been so blessed on this journey together, and though it has been bumpy and full of twists and turns, it has brought us to a place of such sweet understanding of the Lord. I don't think anyone can fully grasp the grace we are shown, and the love that He has for us. It is SO amazing!!! Until we're with Him, we will praise Him and try our best to follow His will for our lives!!
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Thanks for reading about Doc and I's spiritual journey! We are still a work in progress, but looking back on all the things the Lord has done for us is so incredibly special and leads us to a deeper place of understanding. I hope that this encourages any of you who may be on your own journey in life, of any kind. God has a plan for everything, and if you seek to do the things that He has called you to do, He will take care of every single detail. That's a promise! Not that I made, but that He did!

In other news, we celebrated something special this weekend: Doc has officially been sober for 3 years!!! He made the decision to completely abstain from alcohol in July of 2007, and he has not had one drop since. Thank you for everything that you do for this family, Babe. I know this wasn't an easy decision for you to make, and I know that it hasn't always been easy for you to abstain from. You are so strong, and I admire you so much!

The Story of Us: Part 1

2010-07-30T01:12:00.000-07:00

Today is such a special day for me. On this day in 2004, I drove around my small town home in Illinois with my friends ALL day with butterflies in my stomach. Evening finally came, I took "the shower" (you know which one I mean...the nooks and crannies shower) and then spent at least 2 hours getting ready. I got in the car (with my dear friend Candi right behind me in hers) and headed out. I had a date this particular night, with a particular man, that from the moment I sat next to him in Spanish class a year beforehand, I knew I wanted to know more about. I had no idea at the time that THAT man would one day be my husband!!

At that time, we looked something like this:

It is SO incredible to me to look back and see how God has brought us full-circle together. If you had asked anyone 6 years ago today if the two of us would last, they would have been clinically insane to have said yes. Neither of us were big on the concept of commitment, and for the first 2 years of our relationship we refused to even call it a relationship. Now alcohol on the other hand, THAT was something we were very committed to. I have never been shy with anyone about my past. It is shameful, and I am not proud of it, but it is what it is. And what it REALLY is, is a testament to the remarkable change that God can bring about in 2 people that are ready to live their lives for Him. At that time in Doc and I's lives, we were drinking heavily to the point of intoxication (and then some) at least 5 nights a week. Sometimes more. We were failing classes left and right, and constantly on the prowl for where our next party thrill was going to come from. We were drinking and driving regularly, smoking around 2 packs a day, working dead-end part-time jobs and living about as care-free as you could get. We both had huge dreams and big aspirations, and we knew that we would never see them come true at the rate we were going, but we just kept going anyway. We knew that we had 2 completely different goals in life, and knew that we would have to seperate one day in order to achieve them, but in our selfishness, we lived life as it was regardless. Afterall, at the rate we were going, it didn't exactly look like anyone would be meeting their goals anytime soon! We are on the fast track to no where.

After finding out we were pregnant with Jordan in 2006, we both knew that change had to come. Now, how this all came about I could seriously right a book about! And maybe one day I'll blog about that, but for today, we'll leave it at this: We looked at the way we were living and were disgusted. It's funny how "confident" you can be with your choices, and how smooth you can talk about how "everyone parties....it's totally no big deal at all", and "health wise...I mean come on, not everyone who smokes and drinks gets cancer, I'm young, just let me live my life" and then BAM. You realize what a lie it's been all along. There is absolutely no other word for it then a lie. A complete and utter lie that the devil so easily implanted into our minds and that we fell for hook, line and sinker.

Jordan was about 8 months old when I prayed for the first time in years. She had a stuffy nose, and I decided to ask God to heal it. In the middle of that prayer my body was literally engulfed in shame. I hadn't spoken to God in 4 years, and here I was asking for a favor??!!!?? As a matter of fact, I had pretty much been running as fast as I could to get away from Him! But all the while, He was running after me to bring me back. I started crying uncontrollably, and aplogizing over and over and over again for my selfishness.

When Doc came home for a visit that weekend (he was at Great Lakes Naval Station at the time, waiting to leave for BUD/S) he told me a story of something that had happened to him that week. He had something come up that shook him to his core, and scared him so badly that he hit his knees and prayed, really prayed and meant every word of it, for the first time in years. We were hundreds of miles apart, and yet God was working on us individually to prepare us for His will. It's amazing! That Sunday, we attended church together.

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Tomorrow I will finish this little story....I suppose "bring it up to current" would be a better way to put it, as God continues to work on us throughout this journey. Thanks for reading! Do you have a story like this of your own? I'd love to hear it!

Goodnight peeps!

Week full of nothing!

2010-07-29T01:42:00.000-07:00

Truly. Nothing.

It's been a "nice nothing", unlike the nauseaus, annoying, exhausted nothing that we've done for the last 3 weeks. Major praise report: I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!! I am SO glad!!!! Thank you for all the prayers!!!! God is good, all the time. This is the first week that I've felt better, and I've been taking major advantage of it, cleaning and resting, snuggling and playing, and catching up on life that I feel like I've totally missed out on for the last month. It feels good my friends, it feels good!

I've decided that, effective Monday, Jordan and I will submit to a schedule. Though we really don't have to do this, I've decided that it's the only way to keep things routine. I hate not being on the same schedule as Doc. He and I wake up literally 4 hours apart, which makes things so much more difficult all day long. Doc eats lunch 2 to 3 hours before we do while he's at work, so he's hungry for dinner at least 2 hours before us, and after getting up at 4:15 AM, he's definitely ready for bed at least an hour or so before I am. He's always told me that he doesn't ever sleep soundly until I come to bed, so for the last few weeks I've been laying down with him at 9:30. We read our bibles, hit the lights, and settle in, but I toss and turn for what seems like HOURS. Which makes me more exhausted the next day. I hate it! It's such a battle, and bless his heart, the man works really hard for us, and I feel like this is the least I can do to help better support him. I'll update you on how it goes!

I just finished a WONDERFUL book last night! It's called "Men Read Newspapers, Not Minds", by Sandra P. Aldrich. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a litle marital humor as well as Christian guidance. Doc and I have been extremely blessed with a great marriage, tried and true. Reading books like this and monthly date nights (alone) are something that we both look at as "marital maintenance". Life gets pretty crazy sometimes and our home life is not something we're willing to sacrifice. Looking at the way God wants our marriage to be has completely changed our way of doing things, and seriously folks, just when we thought it couldn't get any better, along has come the best year of marriage we've had to date! We're thankful to serve a God that blesses us immensely when we do things His way.

Doc and I have a fun weekend coming up....which I'll write more about tomorrow! For now, I'm FINALLY feeling tired enough to join the hubby for some Zzzz's! Goodnight all!!

Remnants of Deployment

2010-07-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Having the leftover emotions of deployment LONG after it ends is a very normal thing for military spouses, and of course servicemembers as well. It's not something that troubles me, or my husband, and I've always thought of it as a great thing....you know, the ability to process through all of those emotions. Typically it's when you ignore them that there becomes a problem. It's something that anyone who's been through a deployment can relate to. Something that we all just feel, everytime we drive past a parking lot lined with sea bags and white busses, whether it's our husbands getting on them or not. It's intense, it's painful, and it stings your eyes to the point of tears instantly. It takes you right back to the days that you've told your loved one goodbye....and prayed that it was really "Until next time". It didn't make it easier, but all of this I was prepared for.....this I was not:

First thing this morning:

Mommy: Good Morning Jordy!!!

Jordy: Hi Mommy!! I have some good news and some not so good news......

Mommy: Oh goodness, what is your news?

Jordy: Well, the bad news is that Buzz Lightyear (her imaginary friend) has to deploy to Afghanistan today. He's gonna be gone for a really long time. He'll be working over there. We'll have to pray for him.

Mommy: *stunned* Wow Jordan, well what's the good news?

Jordy: The good news is that after a long time is over, we get to go pick him up!!!! And it's gonna be SO fun and we'll get to bring him home!!!!

What do you say to that??? On one REALLY big hand, I am SO thankful that she is processing these emotions. On another hand, I'm completely heartbroken that she has to deal with this. We all understand that this is hard on children. We all prepare for that in our own ways, and I'm so thankful that as my husband continues his career in the military our daughter has been able to get a decent understanding for how this all works. She has taken away the main things that my husband and I made our priority to convey to her:

1. Deployment is a long time. It won't be over tomorrow, and we have to understand that in order to cope and maintain order in this house while he's gone.

2. Prayer!!! If there is anything we want from the Lord, we MUST ask for it! While Daddy is deployed we need to be in prayer for him as much as possible. Jordan said the same prayer 4 times a day while Doc was in Afghanistan: "Dear Jesus, Thank you for this wonderful day, Please protect Daddy, Poppy (who was having health problems), and Pastor Rick (who was on a mission trip), in your precious name I pray, Amen." If she took only this from these experiences, I would die happy.

3. We will live our lives with faith in our hearts that he WILL be coming home.

And I love that the thought of Homecoming is something refreshing for her as well. :) It IS the best part of deployment. It's the only thing that keeps you going sometimes, and moments like this only come once in a lifetime:

Daddy Woes....

2010-07-19T12:09:00.001-07:00

Look at this face......does it say ANYTHING other than "innocent"?

Oh how I LOVE the stories my husband comes home from outings with Jordan and tells me.....yesterday was no different! You see, children have this uncanny ability, even at the ripe old age of 3, to distinguish very clearly the differences between their two parents. They know each parent's priorities, each parent's weaknesses, and how to use all of this to their advantage. For example, Jordan NEVER asks me for ice cream. Only Daddy. Daddy has a sweet tooth, and Mommy doesn't. Typically when she asks Daddy for ice cream it reminds HIM of how delicious that would be, and off they go for an ice cream cone. She knows that when she asks me I say No and offer to share a banana with her. She NEVER stops thinking, that darn Jordan.....

Yesterday our whole house was napping, and Doc woke up a little before I did. Jordan woke up at the same time, and the two of them set off for the commissary while I slept a little longer! Much needed!!! When they returned a couple hours later (I'm guessing they stopped for ice cream) Doc looked at me upon walking through the door and said, "Why don't you ask YOUR daughter what she did at the Exchange today......" Uh-oh. He went on to tell this story.

Apparently they were leaving the NEX and headed downstairs to the commissary. Doc was walking ahead, and Jordan was right behind him. Jordan LOVES escalators and never hesitates to get on them with me. She actually looks forward to it when we're at the NEX and starts talking about it the minute we get to the parking lot. Doc got on the escalator, assuming she was behind him. About 5 seconds later he started hearing this death scream, "DAAAAAADDY!!!!!! DADDY WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!" He turned around, and in his words was expecting to see no less than masked armed gunmen snatching Jordan and running. But rather, there she stood at the top of the escalator. Just looking at him and sobbing. He, in his giant flip flops, turned around and starting running up the escalator to her. He got to the top and asked her what the problem was, to which she replied, "I don't know.....I just got scared to get on the escalator....."

Remember what I said about kids playing on their parents emotions? Daddy THRIVES on the ability to chase monsters out of the closet, pray with Jordan over things that scare her, take her to the window at night to show her that the scary shadow is just a tree branch, etc. etc. He's the protector, and when she's wanting a little extra attention from him, she knows when to get "scared".

Doc hates a scene, he hates to be the center of attention, and more than anything, he hates awkward public situations, so as you can imagine, he was mortified by this. I, on the other hand, laughed hysterically! I still chuckle when I think about it! He finally laughed about it, too, it just took him a while longer!! Kids do the darndest things!!

Weekend Ramblins

2010-07-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

So far, this weekend in the Henebry house is going awesome!!! I woke up this morning to the sounds of Sanctus Real and the smell of bacon! Breakfast was delicious and so very thoughtful of my husband to make, and I think it set the whole weekend off on the right foot! He is such a peach!!

Today we did some shopping, ordered pizza, went to the gymnastics center for open gym (Jordan loves showing Daddy her sweet gymnastics moves that she learns at gymnastics class) and now we're ready to put in some movies!

On a happy note: I can count on ONE hand the number of times that I felt nauseaus today!!! It's amazing! I'm hoping that this is a sign that my morning sickness phase is about to pass! I did, however, get SO sore from walking around the mall today. I get so upset over things like that, because it's so opposite of my normal personality. I'm typically the one that's rarin' to go, always positive no matter what the situation, and never gets tired. Today my hips starting hurting within 5 minutes of walking around and I felt completely exhausted. I pushed on, but not without a good share of complaining and feeling frustrated. I never experienced this during my pregnancy with Jordan, and I was hoping I wouldn't this time either. I'm rejoicing in the lessons God is teaching me through this, and praying that it passes soon!

I have to say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to a dear friend on the mainland who just gave birth to her 3rd beautiful and healthy babe!! Congrats Larson family!!!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend! PLEASE say a little prayer for us on Monday morning! We'll be trying to get in touch with our detailer once again to talk about orders!! We'll keep you all posted on that process!!! Until then, sleep, church and snuggling are calling my name! Have a blessed weekend friends!

Back to Blogging....

2010-07-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

WOW! The last time I updated this blog was exactly a year ago!!!!

My my my, how life has changed since then!!! My intentions with this blog have always been to both keep our families informed of what's happening around here, and also to give myself an outlet to express my thoughts, feelings, concerns, praises, prayer requests, etc. As you know, I'm quite the communicator :) During this time last year, I was going through the most stressful time of my entire life. Doc was in Afghanistan, barely having time to call once every 2 or 3 weeks. Our battallion was suffering casualty after casualty, and Doc's platoon was hitting IED's weekly. The Navy had just sent us notification of a HUGE error that had resulted in us owing them over $10,000. (which by the way, that FINALLY got worked out in March of 2010...so it was only 10 months of worry adn strife we'll never get back....thanks alot Navy!) Jordan was, well, 2. Enough said. My friends were all going through their own crazy situations, and I don't think I could have possibly felt more overwhelmed than I did right then. Hence, my blog writing kinda took a back burner! :)

Now, our family is heading into big changes, and I want to be able to keep in touch with our families near and far, and also have peeps to talk about life with! My hope is to be able to encourage each other and talk about the work God is doing in our lives!

Here's the skinny on what's going on here:

1. WE'RE EXPECTING!!!! Due in February, and SO SO EXCITED!!!

God is SOOOOO good!

2. We're currently awaiting order's to leave Hawaii :( It is SO incredibly

sad to me to think about leaving the place where Doc and I got

engaged, got married (twice! LOL) survived 2 deployments

and both of us were baptized into the Lord in the

beautiful Pacific Ocean. Our church family

here is everything to us, and we are

praying that God takes us

wherever He needs

us!!!

3. I am having a ridiculous amount of morning sickness. In comparison

to my pregnancy with Jordan, in which I had NO sickness or soreness,

this pregnancy is SO not fun thus far! I'm praying and clinging to the

promise that this too shall pass.....until then, will you pray with me?

I believe that is all for our updates right now!!! I look forward to sharing much more with you all and hopefully will be updating every few days or so!!! Happy Thursday peeps!

2 Months Later....

2009-07-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

Wow! Time has certainly been flying here lately, and here we are with 2 months worth of updates!! Good grief! I apologize for not getting these up sooner, but I currently have no working computer in my house. (one GIANT pain in the butt!!) Of course, my computer started acting funny THE DAY after Doc deployed. Funny how the electronics work perfectly until the man of the house leaves for 7 months, eh!?! We actually have a 2nd one also, but it's in need of new recovery disks that I just frankly haven't made time to order yet. Hopefully it will be up and running soon!

Well, here we are, 2 months down of deployment #2. These last 2 months have gone by so fast, but SO SLOW at times as well. I pulled an all-nighter the day before Mother's Day to see him off, and it's been crazy busy ever since. Note the word "crazy". This deployment is the exact opposite of the last deployment to Iraq. I was a stay-at-home mom then, to a 1 year old who had no comprehension of what was going on, I had great friends who had mellow, laidback lives, Doc was bored in Iraq with hardly any action whatsoever, we had NO issues come up at all during that 7 months, and I had a beautiful wedding to plan to keep me busy! This deployment I'm a full-time working mother, to a potty-training 2 year-old who knows EXACTLY whats going on and hates the fact that her Daddy is gone, we have a cat, a dog, some fish, and a roommate, my friends have TONS of things going in their lives, Doc's unit is having an extremely bloody deployment already, and I swear the day after he left EVERYTHING just decided to start going wrong here on the homefront!

Just a couple weeks after Doc left, we had Cara come to visit for 2 weeks! It had been over a year since we had seen her, and we were SO happy to have her here!! Unfortunately for her, she came during the craziest couple of weeks we've had so far, so it was very eventful for her! What a blessing it was to have her here to be with us during everything! It was wonderful, and we did find time to have a little fun through it all! :) We went to a luau, did some window shopping, ate some yummy food, and of course, enjoyed watching all of our shows together in person, rather than on the phone the next day! :) We were able to celebrate Cara's 1-Year Anniversary of being cancer free!!!! What an awesome thing to celebrate!!! Please still be in prayer for her kidneys, as they still have not started functioning again from all the treatments!

Just a week after Cara left, Nanny and Poppy (my parents) arrived!! They spent the last two weeks with us, and went home late last night! It has been SO AWESOME to have them here!! We miss them so much when they're at home in Illinois, so it was great to get to wake up to them in our home every day for 2 whole weeks! Jordan didn't go to Miss Jenny's at all during their visit. Nanny and Poppy wanted to keep her at home with them :) We all had a lot of fun together, going to the luau, cooking dinner together, playing Yahtzee, the usual! It was so nice to have the company of my parents during the 4th of July. This is the 3rd year in a row that I have given my husband to Uncle Sam for the 4th, and in lieu of Doc's recent events, it was very emotional for us.

On a random side note, I have been embracing my inner country girl lately! On the 4th, after Jordan went to bed, my parents were tired and went to bed, and Christy and I went to a Country Bar!! Christy and I have been dancing together (clogging, line dancing, 2-stepping, waltzing, cha-cha'ing, you name it!) since we were wee little kids, and I cannot tell you how awesome it was to dance with her again! We will, for sure, have to start doing this more often! We each had 1 beer, and then switched to water, and I have to say, dancing is SO much more enjoyable sober! Those few years that I wasted being wasted in college are such a blur to me, and I have been feeling so much regret about that time here lately. The pure joy that I get from dancing, enjoying my friends, and knowing that I'm still able to hear God if he should want to use me at that time is so much better than anything I ever thought I could get from Jager and Smirnoff. I have been trying to sort through those years in my head for quite some time now, and the only thing I have concluded is that I am incredibly thankful for a God who will give you unlimited amounts of support and help when you decide to make a seemingly impossible change in life. Even more, I am thankful for the Grace that has saved my life! It makes me ill to think about where I would be without it. Thank you Lord!

All in all, things HAVE started getting better, I can feel it! I feel so much more comforted than I did in the beginning of all this. I have had to make some extremely hard decisions regarding taking things out of the picture and realizing that I have to say no if it's more than I can handle. Things are certainly more calm around my house, and though I'm sad to not have visitors anymore, I am anxious to start re-organizing, cleaning, and getting things back in order :) This will surely illeviate some stress all by itself! :) I am fully confident and sure that this "calmness" is NEEDED, and NOT a time to take on anything new until we've had a long enough chance to fully recoop from the last few weeks. Thank you all so much for the prayers, please keep them coming!!! While you're praying, please keep my friend Monique in your prayers as well! Her husband is deployed with Doc, her daughter Kamryn turned 2 last week, and she just gave birth to twins last night! One boy and one girl, Kody and Kelli are their names! Kody has fluid on his lungs and is currently in NICU, and Kelli so far is doing well!! Unfortunately until this work week is over I won't have time to PHYSICALLY see them, but I hope to soon!!! Have a good week everyone, and God Bless you all :)

Sigh of relief for vacation....

2009-04-24T01:47:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to report that Doc made it home safe and sound from training :) He was gone for 6 weeks, and as always, we were SO happy to get him home! Right now he is on leave, and so am I :) My husband will have all this week off, and I will be off through next Wednesday as well!! It feels so amazing! It's been a long time since we've had nothing to do, so we're basking in the glow of it all as we speak. As a matter of fact, we didn't even leave the house today! LOL We indulged in hot dogs, french fries, frozen pizza, and my fantastic cupcakes, and just enjoyed each other's company. So far this week we've also spent a nice day in Kailua, bought a surfboard (<--- for sure, the highlight of my husband's week!!!) and read a million books with Jordan. It's been wonderful to say the very least! Tomorrow we head downtown for the weekend to celebrate Doc's 30th birthday in Waikiki! I know I've written about our plans for that before, and we're excited for it to start! We are also being told that Doc will be here a few days longer before he deploys than we orignally were told, so we are praising God heavily for that!!!

Jordan has been SO funny this week! Right before Doc came home, we were playing in the living room one day, when all of a sudden she put on all of her dress-up clothes, her fanciest high heels and all of her accessories, grabbed her baby doll stroller and her purse and said, "Ok mom, I have to go to training!!" I said "What? You're going to training? Where are you going Jordy?" She then replied by telling me that she's going to training in California, but that she'd come back for me, and then we would spend time together, but after that she would have to go to work far away for a very long time. On one hand it broke my heart, but on another hand I was SO thankful to hear her little voice recite to me everything that we have been explaining to her for months now. She's 2 years old, and she completely understands what is about to happen. She understands that her Daddy has to train to get ready to go to work, and she understands that his work will take a long time. I know that she doesn't get the bigger concepts of what Daddy does, and frankly I'm glad for that, but it is so comforting to know that she really is grasping the plan, ya know?

Well I'm so sorry to cut this one so short, but I am totally ready for bed, and ready to wake-up to a wonderful weekend tomorrow! There are so many more things that I can't wait to write about, but right now, my bed is calling my name :) You all have a fabulous weekend, and I'll be sure to let you know all about mine on Monday! Goodnight!! :)

Centipedes! EWW!!!

2009-04-09T00:57:00.000-07:00

There is a centipede in my house! Have I mentioned lately that there are actually things about Hawaii that I hate??? The list is not very long, but here it is:

1. CENTIPEDES!!!

2. Gecko's that come into my house as if they own it (rarely every happens, but for some reason they irritate the crap out of me!)

3. MAJOR increase in prices from the mainland

4. Crappy customer service. The "laid-back" "hang loose" thing isn't so cute when you've been waiting for your food for an hour and a half and the server looks at you like YOU'RE the crazy one for not "hanging loose"

Like I said, the list is short. I don't think this blog site has the memory space to hold all the things I love about living here, so all in all, the cenitpede isn't such a big deal I suppose.

I talked to Doc today, and he sounds terrific!! For those of you who don't know, he's been in Twentynine Palms, California, training for a little over a month now. He'll be home in a couple weeks, but only for a few days, and then he'll be leaving for Afghanistan. We have alot planned for those few days though, and we fully intend on making the most of it! We're having some new family portraits done on the beach, which we are all super excited for! Our last ones are so outdated, it's time for an update! I am taking a week or so off of work to spend with him before he goes. For 2 nights, Doc and I are staying downtown in Waikiki at the Hale Koa resort, just for a little mini-get-away! We're both VERY much so looking forward to it! Of course we have TONS of family stuff planned, and Jordan is super excited to have a little more time with Daddy before he "goes to work far away for a long time" as she says. We're having Doc's 30th birthday party during that time also! We are having a catered party at Dave'N'Buster's, in a private room, so that should be a blast! I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as possible!

My job is going great! I love the work that I do, though I have to say that it certainly comes with challenges. The actual work couldn't be easier. There's a lot to learn, but I've caught on to it rather quickly! There are things that I feel challenge me morally though, and for that I ask that you please keep my job and myself in your prayers! I have complete trust in God's plan, and I know He will guide me in the right direction.

Jordan is my absolute saving-grace most days. I cannot express enough how rewarding it is to be her mother. I plan to write much more about that next time, but for now it's off to bed for me! We are busy busy busy in this house, as always, and I'll update you all again soon! Love and prayers to you all! :)

Sorry for the delay...I was busy WORKING!!!!!

2009-01-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

THAT'S RIGHT!!!! This is Tammy Henebry, Marketing Assistant for Marine Corps Community Services writing you today!!! I applied for this job in NOVEMBER, and interviewed for it just a couple weeks after that. (Right before Thanksgiving) Well, I had COMPLETELY put it out of my mind and figured that I hadn't got the job since they hadn't called me in the last 2 months! Apparently it's just a Marine Corps thing to make you wait and wait and wait before they reach a decision, because last week I got a phone call wanting me to start the next day!!! I, of course, accepted the job....and then told them they were crazy because I could not possibly go from "Stay-at-home mom" to "Working 9-5" with just a 21 hour notice!! They told me just to let them know when I had everything figured out for Jordan, and etc. I pretty much went into Super-woman mode, and got Jordan's physical record, TB test, registration for CYTP, interviewed babysitters, found a fill-in for the next week, and signed a contract with another permanent sitter to start on the 26th!! <---All within 2 days! It was aboslutley KILLING ME that Doc was at training and I couldn't call him and tell him, as I knew he would be SO SO excited for me!!

I had prayed before this interview back in November, and God was so faithful in bringing me this job! I didn't see it then, but his timing, as always was perfect! I was able to go to Oregon for Christmas, come home and unpack, and spend time with my husband before he left for training. I got the phone call about the job just 2 days later!!! My first day was Tuesday (with Monday being MLK day, the office was closed!). I absolutely LOVE my job so far! It is only a temporary position, and I am filling in for a girl when she takes her maternity leave. That being said, the office has already said that they want to keep me on through September to help with Bayfest this summer, even after Aylisha comes back in May! So that is fantastic!! Also, with jobs like this, you usually tend to get into other internal positions once you have a foot in the door, so yay for that!!!

Doc is doing well in his training! He isn't able to call very often at all, which stinks! His phone doesn't get reception there, so he calls me about once every 3 or 4 days from a buddy's phone. He has been so sweet during our calls though, so I really can't complain! He keeps telling me how proud of me he is, and how much he misses us. I got a voicemail from him 2 days ago apologizing over and over again for not being able to call to wish me good luck on my first day. What a thoughtful husband I have!!!! I would never expect something like that from him when he's at training! Given the fact that the guys have NO control over when they're going to be able to call home, I don't know how anyone could expect that! My husband always tries his hardest though, and I appreciate it VERY much!!!

Jordan is doing really well!!! She had a blast hanging out with Aunt Victoria (Aunt Victoa, as Jord calls her) this week! I paid Victoria a good amount of money to watch Jord, and I'm pretty sure she spent half of it buying Jordan new toys and taking her out while she was there! LOL :) And we all wonder why she's spoiled!!! Jordan will be starting a new home daycare on Monday, Miss Jenny's Angels. Jenny is the absolutely sweetest woman I have ever met, and she has re-done her entire garage into a daycare room! She has professional level things in there, and it is all neat as a pin and absolutely adorable!! Another lady in my office takes her daughter there, and RAVES about her. Also, another friend of mine works as the trainer for all the homecare providers on base, and she said that Jenny is by far the best! So that's great! She's expensive, but SO SO SO SO SO worth it! She does field trips with the kids, walks them to the park, does picnics, etc. She's awesome! I'll keep you all posted!

Well, now that I'm a working woman these weekends are more and more valuable, so it's time for me to get productive!!! I'm taking Jordan to Chinatown today for the Chinese New Year celebration!!! I'm very excited! They're having a parade, complete with a 150 ft. dragon!!! I can't wait to see this culturaly event, and I'll update you all on it soon! Love and prayers to you all, talk to you soon!!

Welcome Home! Ok, See ya later!!

2009-01-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

Aloha all!!! I have been slacking SO SO badly at this blog, and I am very very sorry! I will try to get back into the swing of things here!!

Doc and Jordan and I got back from our trip to Oregon just a little over a week ago!! We had SO SO SO much fun!!! Grandma Jan flew out to Oregon to see us while we were there (and with any luck get a job and an apartment so she can move there, but that's a whole other story! lol) and Papa Tim also drove down from Washington to see us!! We had such a great visit with everyone! Oregon had the biggest snowstorm in 40 years 2 days before we got there, so we had a white-out Christmas! :) It was great though, it forced us to stay in for a couple days, and do nothing but eat cookies and muffins and enjoy each other! Brenda made the most delicious turkey I have ever tasted for Christmas (I'm pretty sure I ate 7 pieces of it!!! and I HATE turkey!!!) and we had a great meal and time with family! Jordan made out like a bandit with her presents!! She is a very very lucky little girl to have all these people in the world that care about her so much, and she was so appreciative of all of it! She was just soaking it all in, and loving every moment!

While we were there, we had a chance to do a little date night with John and Brenda while Grandma Jan watched Jordy, so that was nice! It's been a long time since we've had a date! Jordan also got to go tubing down the mountain with Uncle John, Daddy, and Papa Tim, and she loved that. Brenda and I went shopping and hit some major deals!! We had a blast!! John and Brenda remind me so much of Doc and I, the way the pick on each other and compliment each other!

We didn't get to drive to Washington though :( Once we got there, and SAW the snow and the weather forecast, we all collectively realized that it wasn't a good idea. Pam, my sister-in-law in Washington and one of the people we were going up there to see, ended up getting very very sick, and they weren't sure if she was contagious or not, so we wouldn't have been able to take Jordan to her house. It was very dissappointing to say the least to not get to see everyone, but the trip was definitely better off not being taken. God was speaking to us loud and clear when we went to Him in prayer, and we heard Him and obeyed. I'm glad we did, but we still would love to see our family in Washington sometime soon!

So here we are, just a little over a week later, and Doc is already gone to training. This one is only three weeks, which isn't a big deal at all. It's just long enough for me to get the house cleaned the way I want it without his gear strung everywhere, but just short enough for him to come home and mess it all up again! LOL So TRUE!!! Jordy and I are very excited for American Idol to start tonight!!! Primetime TV has, once again, become my only entertainment in the evenings! Other than Jordy, of course!!

Speaking of Jordy, this kid is amazing!!! We've been working on her letters and numbers and colors some more, and she is now counting backwards from 10 and knows all of her ABC's. She sings the song almost perfectly, and is doing a great job recognizing the letters in her books. She's actually singing every song in the world right now! If you're having a bad day, call me and I will have Jordan sing you Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She knows every word, gets the tune right, and I guarantee you it is the cutest thing you will ever hear!! Absolutely precious! She has about 10 other songs that she sings too, including a few off the radio!! She LOVES "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz :) She has also started "wanting a turn" at prayer. Usually Mommy prays one night, and Daddy prays the next night when we're putting her to bed. Now she says, "No! It's my turn to pray!" We let her do it, and it's adorable she says "Dear Jesus!! Thank you for.....Dora!! and Thank you for....Care Bears!" And if I'm lucky, she thanks Him for Daddy and I, but usually Dora comes first! LOL

Well, speaking of that little girl, I need to get some good playing in before lunch!!! I'll post some pictures of our trip a little later!!! We love you all, and we're always thinking of you! You guys have a great week!!

Getting into the holiday spirit....

2008-11-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

Hello there! I hope you all are having a great week so far!! We have been busy, busy, and again, busy!!! My husband is going crazy with no downtime, and I think I'm starting to catch it too! Luckily this last weekend we had some time to just hang out!

Last Monday was my birthday! We had a great time! Since my birthday is the same day as the Marine Corps' Birthday, the guys all had the day off so we had a huge group celebrating!!! We started with lunch at this little restaurant on base that I LOVE!! We had some great food, and Ashley and Mike brought me a cake :) It was delicious, probably the best ice cream cake I've ever had!!! Joel and Victoria brought me balloons, and I loved them! Jordan loved them too! Then we had about 20 people that came out to the beach at Bellow's and just hung out all day! It was fabulous!!! The guys had their man-time in tihe water with their boogie boards, and Doc showed his buddies how to body surf. Meanwhile the girls had fun having girl talk and getting some great rays!! Jordan and Kamryn played and had a blast. We all were out there for about 3 or 4 hours!! The waves were VICIOUS!!! The girls and I tried to boogie board, and it was downright comical! We could barely even stand up because of the waves!! We're all strong swimmers, so we braved it for a while, and then finally we just quit! LOL Mike McDaniel and I figured out that day that we had a common favorite movie (The Cowboy Way) so he and Ashley and the Silva's came down that night and we ordered pizza and watched the movie! It was the perfect birthday, and I am so thankful for everyone who came to celebrate!! Doc hid a card on my pillow, hoping to surprise me when we went to bed that night, but I found it early :) It was adorable though, and I loved it!!

I am finding myself really longing for some Illinois fall weather right!! Yesterday it was about 68 degrees, and SUPER windy, so it felt ALMOST chilly! It was amazing!! I took Roxy for a super long walk and just enjoyed the weather!! It got me into the holiday spirit!!! I've been going through all of my Christmas decor and trying to decide how I want to decorate!! I don't think I'm EVER going to find glasses to go in my sconce in my entryway, so I think I'll take it down and do stockings there!! Since Doc and I are going to be gone for Christmas, I had originally thought that I didn't want to decorate, but I was so wrong!!! We are still going to do a holiday party, which I am super excited for!!! The girls and I are doing a cookie decorating party of the afternoon while the guys frolic, and then we're doing appetizers for dinner and a couple's board game night of the evening. I'm very excited to have this party!! I had planned on hosting most of my friends for Christmas this year, but when the opportunity to spend it with our family came up, we jumped on it!! We're so excited to see them!!!

Doc and I had a very scary experience on Friday night. He had just gotten home from a field op on the Big Island, and Jord and I were on our way home from the battalion's family day. We got home and saw that Daddy had already eaten, so we were heading back out to the car to hit the McDonald's drive through. I decided to take Roxy with us, since she loves car rides. I stuck Roxy in the car and shut the door REALLY fast so that she couldn't jump back out. When I did, I looked down, and Jordan's fingers were latched shut in the car door! I opened the door REALLY fast, and she started bawling!! I felt like the worst mother in America!!! This is a happy story though, because God was right there with her, and she wasn't injured at all! It definitely hurt, and it was red, but no broken bones, no bruises, minor swelling that was gone by the end of the night, and NOTHING else!!! It was incredible!!! We have always been praying for her protection, and God was right there with her!! We are so thankful!!! He truly is awesome and faithful in every way! My husband had a feeling we should take her to the hospital just in case, and though all x-rays came back fine, I'm glad that we did. Acting on those intuitions is something he and I are working on very heavily. It is our firm belief that THAT is how God leads us, and we need to not be prideful and fight it, but rather listen to Him and go with it!

So as I type this, I am completely and udderly in amazement at my daughters development. Last weekend she sat down and read Doc and I an entire book!!!! She's not actually reading it, it's just memorization, but still!!! She remembers EVERYTHING!!! She's such an intelligent child, and I find myself SO concerned with doing whatever I can to keep it going and keep inspiring her to learn more!!! She sings songs with me in the car alot now! Her favorite is "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Callait. (my favorite too!) She can count to 20 in English, and to 7 in Spanish. She is still doing her signing, but not as much now that she is speaking in full sentences. She knows almost the whole alphabet, though she gets a little turned around sometimes. She is in the new phase where she repeats everything like a dramatic newscaster! She says "Do you see it Mommy? Do you SEE it????" It's so funny, and so adorable!! While we were at the ER on Friday night she stood up very boldly, stuck out her pointer finger and said, "Oh my gosh!!! There's a puzzle Mommy!!!" I laughed so hard at her!!! Doc, however, was not so thrilled. He says that "Oh my gosh" is a gateway saying and that we need to break her of it. I guess that means that I will have to stop saying it too...

Well, I hope you all are having a fabulous November. I will update again soon, and we love you all :)

BEST GIFT EVER!!!!!

2008-11-10T00:46:00.000-08:00

Aloha!!! I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend so far! We are having a great one! So far we have had a blast!! AND, we still have 2 days to go! WHOOHOO!!! We sure love those 96's! :)

I have had SO much on my mind this week! After all, it has been a pretty huge week! We have a new president, President Elect Barack Obama. Living on a military base, I see ALOT of disappointed Republicans right now! I'm not one to debate politics, and I surely wouldn't call myself an expert on the subject, but I am excited for the change that I think he will bring! I do not vote party, I vote candidate, and I almost always would consider myself a Republican until t his election. I understand the concerns that our more conservative friends have for our country, as I myself don't agree with everything he stands for. But I do think that, as in any election, the things he stands for that create debate were very VERY stretched and exaggerated during all the campaigning. The one that sticks out to me the most (that I actually posted on myspace and believed until I did my research on it! OOPS!) was the video of a nurse talking about his support of partial-birth abortions. They make the man out to be a homicidal lunatic, ready to begin his 4-year baby killing rampage in January, and that is SO far from the truth! His thoughts on the war were another one that got blown out of proportion. The Conservative media made it sound like he wants to pull completely out and surrender. The debate that I listened to talked about pulling out of Iraq within a year and a half (far long enough to wrap up) and then shift focus to Afghanistan, ya know, the country we ACTUALLY went to war with in the first place!!! I'm so glad we got Sadam, but I would be pretty dang excited if we could catch Bin Laden!!! I'm glad that this will be a priority now! I am very excited about his urgency to find another energy source and do away with our rewardless oil dependency. The relatively immediate future of this planet depends on our ability to stop polluting it, and I thank God that we didn't put someone in office who's answer to everything is to keep drilling. Please, don't get me wrong, I'm far from an earth-muffin. I'm just a mom who wants to see her children be able to grow up and have children of their own without climate change interfering. I have always felt as though his thoughts on healthcare are far more conducive to accomplishing the goal of a well-insured America, and I am excited to see him take action with both of those issues. Our pastor today talked about the election, and with a completely unbiased opinion, he reminded our congregation that regardless of how we feel about our new president, we all have a responsibility to pray for him and all of our leaders. With the shape of our war and our economy, whoever was to be elected would be extremely needy of all of our prayers. I will pray for President Elect Obama everyday, and for the task he has at hand, and the decisions that he makes. God is still sovereign over all of creation, and that alone is enough for me to have faith in our future!

Doc, Jordan, and I have enjoyed a very quiet weekend so far! We went to a cookout on Saturday with all of the Corpsman that Doc works with. It was a nice opportunity to meet people, since most of my friends are Marine Corps wives :) I got to meet alot of Doc's, and a couple wives, and Jordan had a blast with all that guys! She was the only child there, and her big bright eyes and charming smile had won over everyone by the time we left! All by herself she started calling one of Doc's friends "Uncle", and then she sweet talked another into giving her a chip buffet, as well as emptying her tippy cup of water and refilling it with soda! LOL Man she is growing SO SO fast!! I really thought that we were in for a terrible day yesterday when I saw 16 single men show up and not one person with other children, but Jordan quickly became the life of the party and we had a great time :)

Tomorrow is my birthday, and a big group of us are going out to lunch and then to Bellow's to the beach all day! I'm super excited for a nice low key celebration :) I think this next weekend Doc and I are going to try to do a date night, and have our own little celebration then! It should be lots of fun!

Also this week, Doc and I received the most awesome gift, and we are SO SO SO SO SO excited for it!!!! For a wedding gift, my Father-in-Law and Step-Mother-In-Law, as well as Brother-in-Law and Sister-In-Law bought us 3 plane tickets to come to Oregon for Christmas!!!! We will finally get to spend the holidays with Doc's Dad's side of the family out west, as well as with John and Brenda (Doc's brother and his wife). There are no words to explain how much this means to us! I will finally get to meet some people that I have been emailing for years and never gotten the chance to meet face to face, and we will be able to have a Christmas with our family!!! WOW! We have never been able to spend a holiday out west, so this is just awesome! AND, the best part is that it will be COLD there!!!! You wouldn't believe how much you actually miss that! I can't wait to go shopping for jeans and sweaters!! (and surprisingly enough, they actually sell them here! the locals like to pretend like they have a winter....they're a little nutty!!) Hopefully we'll see snow, and get to take Jordan tubing! SO exciting! We are set to fly out on Dec 23rd, and come home on the 1st! Anyway, we'll keep you all posted on that!

Well, I hope you all have a great week this week! Have a wonderful Veteran's Day!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE thank a Veteran if you see one!!! As a matter of fact, THANK THEM ALL!!!! They all deserve our most sincere appreciation, and as a daughter of a Veteran, I can personally tell you that it means the world to them to know that someone remembers their sacrifice! Thank you to all of my friends who have or are currently serving our country, and thank you to all of their families! You're all heroes, and your courage and bravery has made this country what it is today! One Nation. Under God. Indivisible. With Liberty And Justice For All! Have a great week!

It's been a long time!!

2008-11-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

WOW! It's been a LONG time since my last blog! So much has changed and I have so many updates and so many praises and blessings to tell you about!! I can't believe I neglected this thing for so long, and I am so sorry, but it has been crazy busy around here with Homecoming, Jordan's Birthday, the wedding, out-of-towners, Marine Corps Ball, my birthday right around the corner, and now work-up for the next deployment already! However, I will brief you on all of that!

1. HOMECOMING!!!

It was perfect! Absolutely perfect! We spotted the plane in the sky, and as it circled back to land, we couldln't see it, but we could hear it. Ya know what sound I'm talking about? The sound of plane landing.....I will never forget it for the rest of my life! Then as it got louder and louder, it finally touched down about 20 yards from our faces!!! It taxi'd for what seemed like FOREVER, finally came back, the Marine Corps Band started playing, and finally the door to the plane opened! The guys started pouring out, and they all looked exactly the same. Until, Doc came out. I spotted him within seconds of his feet hitting the pavement, and he spotted us too! It was amazing, he couldn't get to us fast enough! We were running, he was running, it was amazing! Jordan wasn't scared of him AT ALL!!! She went right to him, and said "It's my Daddy!!!!" The rest is history.....He loved his surprises though, so I will remember that for next deployment.

2. Jordan's Birthday!

My baby is 2!!!! She had a great birthday party! We had about 20 people over, and we grilled hot dogs and brats (on our new grill!!) and enjoyed the outdoors! (with our new patio set!!!) We laughed at what a Dora-freak this child is, because EVERY SINGLE GIFT was Dora themed!!! Except for one, and I'm pretty sure it was still in a Dora bag!! LOL We are so thankful for our friends here that have become family! Our friends here love Jordan and care about her so much, and it is just such a blessing!!

3. Just in other news:

On September 28, my husband was baptized in the ocean!!! Doc was raised Catholic his entire life, and had been going to a Nazarene church with me before he left for BUD/S, and before we moved out here. He was baptized as a baby, as all Catholics do. While he was in Iraq, he started reading "One God, One Message" (an awesome book, by the way). I haven't finished the book yet, so I can't speak for entire thing, but I know that it changed my husband's life!!! He converted to Christianity and accepted Jesus as his Savior in Fallujah, Iraq, and came home eager to go to our new church and get involved in ministries! We attended a new members class, where he expressed the interest to be baptized! The following Sunday, we were blessed that my parents and my lifelong best friend Jenny (from Illinois) and her boyfriend were able to join us at Sand Island State Beach here in the ocean and witness my husband's public confession of faith!!! WHAT AN AMAZING THING!!!! My husband was in the most stressful, dirty, dangerous conditions for 7 months, and yet look at this AMAZING blessing that came from it!!!! I am so proud of you Doc, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us as we continue to serve Him! We are just getting settled back into our church (after a couple weeks off for wedding stuff) and we are eager to start giving ourselves to the ministries where we can be of service! I'll keep you all posted!!!

4. Now for the one I know you all want to know about: THE WEDDING!!!!

It was absolutely amazing!!! We had such a fabulous time with our family and friends, and we were so blessed to have them here with us!!! Staying in our home we had my parents, Jenny and Dave, Doc's Mom, and Christy! That was interesting, but we made it work and it was great to have them all! Doc's brother John and his wife Brenda, Doc's Father and Stepmother, and one of my best friends Dana and her boyfriend Stuart all stayed downtown in Waikiki. We had a BBQ for everyone on Wednesday, which was a blast. On Thursday Doc and I took our wedding party to Bellow's for some good bonding time at the beach! Friday started the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We did both at Germaine's Luau. We rehearsed on the beach, and then went into the luau at check-in. We had a great time! The girls and I all went on stage to learn to hula, the guys learned the proper way to give a hone hone (kiss on the cheek), and we had SUCH a great time!!! Doc went to stay with the Gambles that night (one of our groomsmen and his wife), and Saturday was the fun day! We started early with mani's, pedi's, and hair downtown at the salon that I usually go to. Our stylists had put together an awesome champagne breakfast for us, and we had muffins, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, champagne, juice, and sparkling cider for the mom's and I. We had a fantastic morning of girl talk and bonding, and I couldn't be more thankful!!! My best friend here (Ashley) got to meet all my best friends from back home, and all of our family had such a great time getting to know everyone! The girls went home to get ready, and I went to MAC to get my make-up done. I finally made it home, got into my gown, and the limo came to pick up us girls at 5PM. We headed to base. All the way there I couldn't stop asking Jenny if she had the vows, and asking Ashley if she had the ring! I had to be driving them nuts, but I couldn't help it! The limo pulled right up onto the golf course, and drove us all the way back to the hole for our Hollywood entrance! The 16th hole is about 10 yards from the shore of the beach, so we were able to have our beach wedding on grass! A perfect compromise. My Dad (in tears, as well as I) walked me down the isle, as our Ushers (my friends' husbands in USMC dress blues) fluffed my dress. Doc and I wrote our own vows, and I'm so glad. Doc's were amazing, poetic, romantic, and everything I could have ever wanted them to be. Mine were funny and serious, but very honest and romantic. The Chaplain of Doc's unit did our ceremony, but we also opted to have our Pastor from our church do a prayer and scripture reading so that he could be a part of the ceremony! We had a perfect 70 degree day, with a perfect sunset, and everything went off without a hitch!!!!

After the wedding, we hopped in the limo and headed to the Officer's Club for the reception. We ate some delicious chicken and shrimp scampi, listened to some beautiful speeches by Jenny and John, and got ready to dance! My Dad and I danced to "I Loved Her First", and then he turned me over to Doc :) Our first dance was to "Love Me Tender", by Norah Jones. We cut the cake, ate it, and danced for a couple more hours. I feel like the whole thing is just a blur. I hate that, but I knew it would happen. We went to a hotel that night, since we had people at our house!! We actually stayed 2 nights in the hotel, but ended up coming home during the day to be with our friends and family that were visiting. A week later, our house was empty :( It was so sad to see everyone go, but we were ready to get settled in. It was actually the first time SINCE HOMECOMING that we didn't have houseguests. We felt like kids who's parents has just went out of town! LOL It was awesome! We had our friends here over for dinner alot, spent time with each other, and had a really great time enjoying the rest of Doc's post-deployment leave. And thank God we did.....which brings me to our next exciting piece of news...

5. Deployment #2

We have begun work-up for our second deployment already. Doc is set to leave in March. Yes, that is less than 4 months from now. That's insane. What's even more insane (if I may gripe about the Marine Corps for a moment) is that some GENIUS decided that it would be better "for morale" if they give the guys their pre-deployment leave over Christmas, and then send them to CAX in Twentynine Palms the first part of February, and deploy them straight from there, which would pretty much tack on an extra month of deployment. There is loose talk about them not leaving until May, so with any luck, that will be the case! We also found out recently that this deployment will not be to Iraq, but to Afghanistan instead. That absolutely scares the bejesus out of me. When Doc left for Iraq a little over 9 months ago, I was very sad that I wouldn't be able to see him for the next 7 months, but I never doubted that he wouldn't come home. I always knew that he would come home to me, and I had a feeling of security and comfort the entire time he was there. I prayed for it, and I was given it. Thank God for his faithfulness! This deployment feels different. I know this sounds insane, but I actually feel comfortable with Iraq. I feel like I know the terrain, I'm familiar with the places and the cities and camps, and that it is totally safe there. (I know that is far from true, but it's how I feel) Afghanistan is different, hostile, and scary. I know that I need to get it together for my husband. I know that I don't have time to be afraid, and that I don't have time for a pity party. I need that security back, and I'm praying for it daily. I know God will see us through this!!! I just know it! I ask for your prayers over this situation!

Well, I believe that is all for our updates!!! There is so much more I would love to say about our family and friends visiting, and I know I'll never have time to tell them just how much we appreciated seeing them!!!! We had an absolute blast with you all, and we love you so much!!!! Thank you for being here with us, and we will cherish these memories forever! Thank you all for the prayers over homecoming, the wedding, and our lives in general. We are constantly praying for you all as well, and we hope the best for everyone. Well, back to my housewife duties I go! Doc is already back to working 12-14 hour days and hits the field again next week! For THAT grouchy of a man, only a Tammy's Famous Quesadilla will help, and I have chicken to thaw.....Love you all!!!! :)

PS Here are some pics from the Marine Corps Ball this last weekend! It was awesome!! Before another grueling training cycle, it was exactly what I needed to restore my pride in my husband's work and sacrifices! Again....we love you all!!!

Ain't No Sunshine When He's Gone....

2008-08-18T02:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been dreaming about these next couple weeks for months and months now. I dreamed about how happy I would be, and how perfect I would feel. I didn't dream of the anxiety that would make me toss and turn for hours each night, or the nasuea that comes with thinking about whether or not he's even going to enjoy the things I have planned for him when he comes home. It's been over 200 days since I've seen this man I love. He's not in some air-conditioned hotel room, preparing for a "super stressful" business lunch followed by an "exhausting" 18 holes and martini's. Not at all. When my husband goes on a business trip it's not good news. It's 7 months of hell followed by a welcome home to a wife and child that he barely even recognizes. He's been in the most stressful of conditions for over half a year, and the sole responsibility of making his homecoming perfect falls on one person. Me. WOW.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade this homecoming for absolutely anything in the world, and I am EXCITED AS HECK to see Doc!! Nothing could ever change that. I guess I just assumed that this would be the LEAST stressful of times, with my stressful days of maintaining a household alone almost over. Yet somehow these days seem MORE stressful. I'm starting to become more aware of the fact that I have changed alot in 7 seven months, and I know Doc has, too. I just have all these fears....what if he doesn't like some of the surprises I have for him? What if Jordan freaks out and gets scared to be around him? How will that make him feel, and how will I comfort him if that happens? What if he doesn't like the church I have chosen for us? What if he's dissappointed in some of my wedding choices? (Actually I really don't care about that one...it was his choice to let me do everything and he has never once responded to my questions asking for his input, so PINK AND YELLOW it is buddy! LOL) What if my outfit isn't very cute to him? (I don't know how that could happen either, I got the most fabulous little black dress and some smashing red peep-toed stillhetto heels!) but still, what if all of a sudden that's not what he likes anymore? Come to think of it he's really not fond of stillhetto's, because he says they look dangerous, like a womanly weapon. No wait, that's just what he says about pointed toed shoes. WOW A D D, My mind is running about 100 MPH these days! ANYWAY, it can be really overwhelming at times. I do think that in the end he will be happy, because I am doing absolutely everything I can to get us all ready for him!!! Doc is a very laid back man. A nice lasagna and a glass of milk (that has been put in the freezer for about 3 minutes before drinking it) will pretty much get you anything you want with him :)

This homecoming is more than just a "return from 7-month deployment" for us. After 6 months of dating, Doc and I lived together for 2 and 1/2 years. Yet for the last year and half we have lived under the same roof for 2 months. And 1 month and 1/2 of that was in a hotel. He did 4 months of Great Lakes transitioning, seeing each other about twice a month, followed by 4 months in BUD/S at Coronado by himself. He left there to come to Hawaii and get everything ready for us, and a month later we finally got here. 7 weeks later he left for Iraq. This homecoming is the start of getting a somewhat normal (as normal as a military wive's life can be anyway) routine back. Even though he deploys again in a year, our cup is DEFINITELY half full! We will have a FULL YEAR to enjoy each other! (minus a couple months of training, but still, WAY better than before!!!!) I feel like it is my job to get this new routine set-up and running for us, and I can't help but wonder if I will do a good job or not. The whole military life is still relatively new to me. Seperations I am a professional at, but having him here in a military setting is completely new. AND EXCITING, but stressful none the less. I'm sure to anyone who has never been through this I have to sound like a complete rambling lunatic. Thanks for listening anyway! :)

This will definitely be our last blog until Doc gets home! I will not be able to tell anyone even when I do get the date for his arrival, so just know that I will let you know very soon after he arrives! I will post pictures on my different pages, and I'll make sure everyone is updated in a timely fashion!! Now back to my obsessive cleaning, nit-picking, re-arranging, and tossing and turning! AHHH this will all be over soon! :) Please keep my dangling sanity in your prayers LOL :) But really, keep us in your prayers, as we will you as well! Have a great week, and we'll talk to you soon! Love to you all! :)

So close to Homecoming!!!

2008-08-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Daddy is coming home THIS MONTH!!!!! We no longer have to count months, we can count weeks....and those are so few, we can count days!!!! We have our window of time for him to come home, and we'll find out more about the exact date when we get closer to time :) Words cannot express our excitement!!! We are just about to jump out of our skin waiting for Daddy!!! We're keeping very busy though! We have been painting banners, welcoming new comers to the island, and getting the house in perfect condition for Daddy to come home!! It's about dang time!

My parents are also planning their trip out to the island! They want to be here for Doc's homecoming, and they are coming 3 weeks from today :) They are staying clear through to the time of the wedding to help me with Jordan and be there with me for wedding appointments and etc. We are very excited to have them, and blessed that they are in a position to be able to come and visit for extended lengths of time like they do!

Speaking of wedding planning, everything is really starting to come together wonderfully! I am working hard to keep us on budget, and ready for another wedding dress fitting! I wanted to let everyone know that though gifts are COMPLETELY unnecessary, I did set-up a bridal registry at Wal-Mart. I have had a lot of people asking for a registry, and I will send out an email about it as well :) I can't believe how close we are to having all of our friends and family here!! We absolutely can't wait! Our wedding is only 60 days away, and we are SOOOO ready!

Jordan is growing like a dandelion! She's now saying pretty much everything. It's incredible. There isn't a thing I can throw at her that she can't repeat right back to me. Her favorite is "hippopotomus". I said it to her thinking that she wouldn't be able to repeat it. Wrong. It came right out. She's putting together sentences, and songs! She's almost singing her ABC's and she does a great version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star :) She has been telling me that she has to go "pee pee potty" or "poopy potty" for quite some time now. I decided that though it's fairly early, I would go ahead and start potty training. I bought her a fantastic talking potty, and told her we were going to Potty like rockstars :) At this time, she loves to be in the bathroom with mommy, and will hug and kiss her potty, but is scared to death to sit on it! LOL We are working through it, and she's getting closer everyday, so that's good! Her favorite thing to do right now is read. We read about 50 books a day, if not more. We go over and over and over all of her favorites, plus our bible story every night. She LOVES to pray, which is the sweetest thing I could ever hope to see. We will pray before a meal, and sometimes she will stop me in the middle of the meal and demand that we pray again! I will pray with her as many times as she wants, and I hope her love for talking to the Lord stays with her!

We have had some great friends move to the base this week! One of Doc's first friends when he arrived here was a guy named Rob. We offered to let him store some stuff in our garage while he was deployed and he mentioned to me that he was married and that his wife would be moving out right before the guys came back. I gave him my phone number and email address and asked him to give it to her so that we could keep in touch throughout deployment, and I had an email from her just a couple days later! We have been talking for the last 6 months, and have become great friends! She just moved out here on the 31st, and we let her stay with us until she moved into her base housing. She has been SUCH a joy to have around! She's Italian, and her mother came with her from Rhode Island to help her settle! They have the cutest accents, are so fiesty, and so hilarious to be around! We've been helping them get settled and get everything done for their move. After moving here and seeing how hard it can be, I will absolutely jump on the chance to help someone else with their move, and in the process I am making some REALLY great friends! I am so thankful that God has led these people here to the island, and I am so blessed to have them be a part of our lives here! The best part of all (well, maybe not the BEST, but right up there!) is that to thank me they cooked me a homeade made-from-scratch Italian meal!!! OH MY GOSH!!! DELICIOUS!!! Thank God for those left-overs!!

Well, that's about all for us!! We will try to update you again before Doc comes home, but if we don't get a chance to, we'll update as quickly after homecoming as we can!!! Love you all :)

UGH!

2008-07-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm not even going to try to sugar-coat these last couple of weeks! Just a few days after the holiday weekend I got sick, and it has NOT been fun! I have giardia, and for any of you who have ever had it, you know how unpleasant it can be! Apparently it is really common in Hawaii, with hygiene not being a number one priority for most people, and my doctor said that he has had it twice just since moving here! I'm not going to go into detail of the disgusting symptoms of this fabulous infection, just please be advised: if anyone tells you they have it, STAY AWAY FROM THEM!!!! Believe me! YOU DON'T WANT IT!!!

Poor Jordy has been coming over to me and saying, "You OK Mommy?" It's so sweet, but it breaks my heart at the same time! This is one of the times where deployment just stinks!! I'm the only one here to interact with Jord, and I feel like she has to pay the price for Mommy being sick. It makes me feel so guilty, but also makes me get creative, so that's a plus.

I spoke to Mike a little over a week ago, and he is still sounding very homesick. He stressed the way Jordan's pictures make her look so grown up, and how he can't wait to come home! He is working alot now, and he's really happy about that. I think when he first got here, no one knew him or his work ability, so they were hasty with giving him tasks to do. This deployment has really given him a time to shine, and he hasn't hesitated to do so. Now he's up for promotion already this fall, and studying everyday for his test so that he can embrace his new position! I'm so very proud of him! He is also going before a board for a medal, which he is very hopeful to receive! God has really blessed us since we came back into this military lifestyle, a I'm so thankful to know that we are in exactly the place that He needs us to be!

My friends that just moved here (Chris and Jordan and family) have been going to church with us every Sunday. They are such a blessing to us, and I don't know what I would do without them! Chris and Mike couldn't be more alike, and neither could Jordan and I! She is in almost the exact same place that I am spiritually, and she, just like me also, is so eager to develop a stronger relationship with God. Most of the people I meet at church are so much more spiritually mature than I am, and they are great GREAT people, but it can be kind of intimidating in a learning environment. I feel like Jordan and I are at the same place spiritually, and we will have alot of fun learning and growing together!! That is SO VERY important to me, and I am so thankful to God for bringing them to us! Now if only Chris wasn't deploying just days after Doc gets home!!!

Well, I am going to go try to play with Miss Jordan! You all have a great day and a great weekend! We love you all! :) And by the way, we ARE SO excited that our wedding is only a couple months away and we will be seeing you all soon!!!! :)

Let Freedom RING!!!

2008-07-05T00:57:00.000-07:00

What a fabulous holiday! This year I feel as though my passions for this holiday are so intense that it consumes me, and all I can hope is that each and every one of my friends and family feel the pride for their freedom, their protection from enemies, and their country in general that I do! I pray that for just a moment today we can stop focusing on the negative things that the news reports, and realize how VERY MUCH good there is in the world today!!! The news needs a story, and nobody enjoys an uplifting story nearly as much as a tragedy, but great things are happening everyday!!! Let's think about those things. Let's stop thinking about Democrats vs. Republicans and start thinking about how very blessed we are to be living in the UNITED States of America. Let's honor those who have given their lives so that we can enjoy our freedoms, but let's also remember the MAJOR positive accomplishments we have had and continue to have in Operation Enduring Iraqi Freedom. Let's stop griping about gas prices, and start thanking God for the fact that we have a vehicle, and running water, and electricity, and a government that, say what you will about them, has successfully brought us 232 years of pride in calling ourselves American's. That's what I'm doing, and I'm tellin' ya, it's the way to go! :)

Our times have been a bit trying these last couple weeks. Doc's unit has experienced their first casualties for this deployment. The emotions that come with that our breath-taking. A part of you feels helpless, sympathetic for the families, and all-over grief-stricken. Another part of you feels thankful that it didn't happen to you. The guilt that comes with that feeling is powerful, however, I feel as though I have no other way to be. I will be in regular prayer for those families who have lost a husband, father, or son, but I will also be praising God for the answer to my prayers for Doc's safety. I know God's plan is hard to understand, and it's really not meant for us to understand. It is meant for us to trust, and that is what I am doing. I am relying on my faith to lead me. I wasn't close with the men who lost their lives. They were the top commanding officer's of the unit, as well as one of their guards. I didn't know their wives that well, but we had chatted a few times over bunco club or command-sponsored events. That being said, I wasn't expecting a huge emotional reaction from myself after this, but it definitely impacted me. I really didn't think anything like this was possible, given the relatively smooth deployment we've had thus far. It reminds us that it is a crafty folk we are fighting, and that we need to be in prayer for our troops regularly.

Well, after that fun paragraph, let's return to some upbeat conversation, shall we?!?! We helped welcome some of our friends to the island recently! We have been having a great time spending time with them and helping them with their PCS. (Permanent Change of Station, for those non-military who may be reading this! LOL It's a fancy term for move) We have also been enjoying our 4th of July weekend thus far! I will put up some pictures from our journeys to see concerts and enjoy the scenery :) Jordan has been finding great joy in going to the pool, playing with her friends, putting on her new hot pink patent-leather rain boots (first thing she does most mornings! LOL) and reading her new books from Nanny and Poppy. We are busy busy busy, and loving how fast time is going by!!! We can't wait to get that man home, and he will be here before we know it!!! AHHH we're so close! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, and please keep Doc and his unit in your prayers as they undergo a time of change and continued efforts moving forward! :) Love you all!

Summer fun!

2008-06-23T00:30:00.001-07:00

Aloha!

Summer is now completely upon us! It's funny how summer is still really exciting here on the island, even though the weather is no different than any other time! The kids go to school year round, so it's not like this is there only break. But still, there's something about summer that just get's our mojo's going!

Jordan and I have started our summer off very nicely! We have been eating some healthy food, hitting the gym when we can, and wedding planning wedding planning wedding planning! I actually just hosted a girls-night-in on Friday, that was a fantastic time, and we did my wedding cake tasting that night. Unfortunately the cake was not such a good time. It was awful!!! I'm so glad we tasted it first! It definitely happened for a reason though, and God has led us to another woman who is just fantastic!!! We will be doing a tasting with her, and I'm certain that she will be the one! She is a military wife, located at MCBH, gives almost HALF OFF to military families, and her cakes are FABULOUS!! I don't know if any of you remember that cake I had made for Doc when he left for SEAL training, but her work is that good!! And she is just the sweetest thing!

We are getting so excited for homecoming!!! We just have a couple months to go! We're at the point where we can't send out any more packages, and Doc will actually be sending alot of stuff home to us! OH we can't wait to see him!!!

Jordan is growing so SMART!!! She has been getting really into her signing, and she can sign about 20 things! She is talking really well, and putting together sentences! I'm doing everything I can to promote a good learning environment. It's very important to me that we keep her zest for learning and reading alive! She is doing great though, just great! I am trying to stimulate her brain as much as possible, and she keeps right up with whatever I throw at her!

We have a pretty exciting week coming up! We have friends moving to the island, a meeting with our new wedding cake designer, a trip to the zoo for Honolulu's Military Appreciation Day, and a book club meeting! Next weekend we are going to TONS of concerts for the 4th of July! The military bases have a lot of great entertainment for the families planned for the 4th! On the 4th we are going to Schofield Barracks to see Billy Ray Cyrus perform (I was totally in love with him in 3rd grade, this is going to be awesome!), then that night we are seeing Little Big Town and Rodney Atkins at the Marine Corps Base! The next night we have 3 Doors Down, Everclear, and Live also at MCBH! It's gonna be a great weekend! In 2 days the number of concerts I have attended in my whole life will triple! How fun! :)

I will try to update you all later this week as to the wedding plans, and etc.! Just know that we are so excited to see each and every one of you, and we are praying for you all! :) Love you guys, and you have a great week!

Summer fun!

2008-06-23T00:30:00.000-07:00

Aloha!

Sorry it's been a while....

2008-06-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

You can thank my wedding for the absence of my blog for the last couple weeks! Wedding plans are really starting to keep me busy! GOODNESS! Between invitations, flowers, catering details, centerpieces, favors, addresses, groomsmen who NEVER email me back on time (I still love them though), and much, much, more, I am one busy lady!!

There is this excitement in the air! It's the feeling that we've already been through more days of deployment than we have yet to go through! It's the fact that last night was our LAST deployed spouses meeting: from here on out it's Return and Reunion Briefs!!! It's in Doc's voice when he tells me he misses me, and he can't wait to come home! IT'S HOMECOMING!!! And it's coming in a little over 2 months!!!! WHOOHOO!!!! I know it's still a ways off, and I'm trying not to get too excited about it. (it makes the time go slower) But secretly, I'm ready to jump out of my skin!! I'm so happy!

We have a lot of fun things happening this summer! On June 26th, an old buddy of mine and his wife and 2 kids are moving here! He is a Marine, and they are getting stationed here! I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to see a familiar face! I've been talking alot with his wife about getting their move set-up, and I plan on being their one-man welcoming committee so that they feel comfortable with their move here! I can't wait for them to get here! Then at the end of July a buddy of Doc's that he is deployed with has his wife coming out! She is staying with me for a couple weeks untill her house is ready to move into! I will be helping her with her move too! I figure, I would have LOVED to have had someone here that we knew or that was willing to help us when we moved. I'm really looking forward to being "that person" for someone else.

Jordy has started testing me. It used to be that when she did something wrong, I would say "Jordan Elaine! NO!" and she would stop and look very sorry. Now she keeps going and smiles, waiting to see what my next move is going to be. I'm just trying to be consistent in my disciplinning, and hope for the best. We're using the time-out method, along with discussions about what she did that was wrong. I realize that she is 1 and may not understand what I am saying, but when I take her back to the scene of the incident she looks at me with sympathy in her eyes for what she did wrong. She looks ashamed and humiliated. I think she does understand. I am sticking to the "no-spanking" thing. I can always change my course of action if necessary. I am also learning alot about "active listening". I heard a speaker about it last night, and I am going to buy a book about it. I think it is so important in parenting, and I am eager to learn more. I already practice it with Jordan. Even though she babbles and says off the wall random things, I always respond back to her with a word or two or a gesture so that she knows that I am listening. We'll see how this all goes!

I hope that all is well for all of you out there! Jordan and I think about you often! We love you all very much, and hope to talk with you soon! :)

Today is the day that the Lord hath made!

2008-05-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

Man, there is something about Sunday that just get's me all fired up! I LOVE IT! I love my church, I love the worship team, I love the sermons, I love spending time with Jordan all day just the two of us, and I LOVE SUNDAY! I'm so ready to have Doc here for our Sundays! Cookouts, beach trips, the zoo, it's all so much better with him! Either way, Sundays are so blessed and full of joy, and I hope you all are having a FABULOUS one!

Tonight is a most-special night for me. I am going to be baptized tonight! Until about 5 years ago I was under the impression that I had already been baptized as a baby. I had seen pictures of it and etc. Come to find out, I was actually only dedicated. I'm very glad for that, because it is my firm belief that baptism should be a personal decision. It is a decision that I have made! I am ready to publicly commit my life to the most-perfect will of God, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for us. I give all the thanks and glory to Him for all the things he has blessed me with in my life, and especially for the ultimate sacrifice he made in giving his Son so that we may be shown grace and mercy. I am going to be baptized at Sand Island Park, in the ocean. I think that is such an amazing concept, to be submerged in the body of water that God made, and be reborn to him at his hand. It is something I am really looking forward to! I wish my family could be here, and I really wish Doc could be here. However, this is something God is calling me to do now, and I know that everyone else is excited about it!

This week has been excellent! Last Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day with our friend Amy and her son James. We went to Waikiki for seafood, and spent the day just enjoying each other. Doc called that morning to wish me a happy Mother's Day :) It was so thoughtful of him to do! He said that everything is going good for him, and that he's absolutely ready to come home! That makes me happy. I know it sounds crazy, but these men train day in and day out for deployments. The time that they are deployed is the only time they feel as though they are ACTUALLY doing their job, so they look forward to it. It's good to know that home is still where his heart is :) (There never really was much doubt) :)

Today the island has been invaded by the falsely self-righteous idiots of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. They are holding protests at all military installations, including the Marine Corps base where we are stationed, and Pearl Harbor/Pearl Harbor War Memorial sites about 3 blocks from our house. They carry signs that say "Thank God for Dead Soldiers!" and "D-Day: You Finally Got What You Deserved!" I have to say it's disheartening to see. However, the thrive of these people's very existence is attention, and for that I will pay them no bother.

Jordan and I are going to the gym everyday now, and getting back to the focus of my weight-loss goal! It's going to make for a very busy 4 months, and for that we are EXCITED! We will keep you all updated often! We love you all!! :)

Preparing for a long couple of months...

2008-05-05T16:31:00.001-07:00

Wow! It's hard to believe my parent's visit has come and gone so fast! It seems like they were only here for a day or two! I can't believe it's over, but we had SUCH a wonderful time! I will post some pictures of it at the end of this entry!

I had a deployed spouses meeting on Thursday, and they said that the 4th and 5th month of deployment are the worst. Today, I definitely understand why. I've had so many visitors and fun times in the last month, and now I have absolutely nothing going on for 4 months untill homecoming! WOW! We're not even half done yet. WOW AGAIN! Today is feeling a little gloomy. I slept like crap on Saturday, tossing and turning and convincing myself something was making noise in my house. I ended up getting a migraine yesterday because of it. After a long, nauseaus day yesterday I finally went to bed and slept pretty good. I felt a little woozy this morning, which is pretty normal the day after a migraine. I wanted to go to the gym today but Doc had emailed me last night to say that he was going to try to call today. But he didn't. Yesterday's email was the first communication in over 2 weeks. I know he's ok, and I trust God to take care of him, but it never gets any easier to hit the 2-week mark without contact. I figured that since I was home this morning I would make the most of it and do some wedding stuff. I called and booked our chair covers, and set up a cake tasting. (that was more for my own benefit) I'm so thankful to have wedding planning to help fill my time! It really makes things go by a little faster!

My dress lady REALLY ticked me off today. She did something careless that has cost me a lot of money that I wasn't suppose to owe for another month. I'm contemplating what to do about it. She has the best prices in town, and she's a really sweet lady. I know she didn't mean to do it, but when I asked her to refund me the money she pulled out that "sweet little old lady voice" and munipulated me into just letting it be. I HATE to feel munipulated, so I may need to re-think some things.

Well, here are some pictures of my parents visit! I will update more later on! :)

Exciting times are near!!!

2008-04-14T23:20:00.001-07:00

Well, I am SO excited to say that my parents will be here in less than 48 hours!!!! We have missed them so much!!! It's amazing to think how much has happened since we got stationed here! Jordan does a million more things then she did in Illinois, my Dad's foot has made a MIRACULOUS (thank you to God and all of you who prayed with us for that, by the way) FULL RECOVERY, my goodness my own mother hasn't even seen my beautiful engagement ring yet! It's just insane I tell you!!! But the craziness stops in 2 days, and Jordan and I cannot wait to have them! I am so happy for my parents that they have the opportunity to come here! They haven't been on vacation since the last time they were in Hawaii, in 1972 when my Dad was on R&R from Vietnam, almost 40 years ago! I already have a sitter lined up for 2 different days while they are here so that I can take them to an authentic Hawaiian Luau, and then also to go out to dinner for my Dad's birthday that I missed back in March. I can't wait to show them the base, take them to the beach, and just spend time together! OH it can't come soon enough!

This weekend I found a GREAT place to take Jordan! At Hickam Air Force Base they have ALL kinds of little-kid-friendly stuff! I've learned that there is a major difference between "kid-friendly" and "little-kid-friendly" and Hickam is definitely LKF, as I call it for short! I figure if the military can use acronyms for everything, I can too! LOL Anyway, they have a kiddie pool there where the water only comes up to Jordan's little knees, and its perfect to introduce her to the idea of a pool and swimming. The ocean is far too powerful for me to just let her run on her own near it, but this place is great! I walk around with her in the pool and I'm only a couple feet from her if she falls down and gets scared, but for the most part she can be independent in it! I am starting her in Mommy-and-Me swim lessons next month, so I figure that this will be a great introduction to that!

Speaking of Jordy, we had her 18-Month check-up today! She is doing fabulous! They said she's growing well, and her development is right on target! I am always so happy to hear that! She had a lot of fun and wasn't even too scared this time! She did, however, throw up IN MY EAR in the waiting room! MAN you're not a mom untill you've been through that, let me tell you!!! I guess I picked her up too fast or squeezed her too tight or something, because she wasn't sick, it was almost like a "wet burp". Disgusting is what it was! The pediatrician, however, found it QUITE amusing! LOL

Well I may not be able to update you all for a couple weeks while my parents are here, but I will have pictures of their arrival and visit as soon as I can!! I hope you all have a great week!

UGH!

2008-04-07T15:22:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days where you just need to stop, evaluate yourself, and then quite possibly just get back in bed and try again? Thats my day today! I'm just so annoyed!

I haven't been to the gym in a couple weeks, and I really think that ultimately that's what's bothering me. The first couple days that I didn't go I was running around like crazy to get things ready for Cara and Anna's visit, and then the rest of the time they were here. Last week I had a ton of stuff to do on base and my friend Monique came home from a long visit to the mainland, so we hung out alot. Today I was so excited to go, but Doc emailed me last night and said he was going to call our home phone today, so I waited for that. He didn't call, and needless to say I waited for too long and kind of missed my golden opportunity to hit the gym. (childcare purposes) When you incorporate strength training into your workout and you don't SEE massive results you really have to be persistent, and I feel so dissappointed in myself that I haven't been able to go. Running the household by yourself is hard, but I've always managed so well, and I just feel like this is my first defeat. I understand that no one can be perfect and have the perfect schedule and be able to do everything, but I really hate defeat. This motivates me to hit the gym hard tomorrow though...given that I don't wait by the phone all day. I just think that if Doc were here he would be so dissappointed in me :(

Jordan has went into an AWESOME new phase (totally sarcastic) of throwing fits. Now when I tell her "no" she growls and screams. Sometimes she even cries for a second or two. I knew this was coming, but I was hoping it could wait untill Doc got home! LOL She only does it about once every couple days, but I hate it! I want her to remain my sweet little girl that only wants to please her Mommy! For the most part she still is that girl, but GOODNESS when she is mad it is a whole 'nother story!

I've been getting kind of annoyed by alot of other random things, too. Its mainly nothing, just a lot of stupid things, like the way people say things, and etc. I think I just need a break from Jordan and my friends and everyone for just a little bit. So, I've prescribed myself a much-needed day of tranquility: More like 3 hours, but still! I made an appointment for Jordan on Thursday to go to the Hourly Childcare Center on base and use some of my "deployed spouses" coupons. I'm going to run a couple quick errands, and then go to the beach. By myself. And just lay there, and not think about one single thing for 3 long hours. I hope it does the trick! I'm sure it will! It just takes ALOT for me to be in a bad mood, and they never last long, I just hate it because its so abnormal for me! I need to nip it in the butt, NOW!

AND, I've also noticed that this blog is really helping me out more than I realized! As I read back through it, it looks like I have one of these "bad days" every month....so I'm not as stressed out about today because I see that its perfectly normal! That's something to be positive about, right? At least if I'm going to be in a bad mood I can be justified in it! LOL I will talk to you all later! :)

Great Visit!

2008-03-27T01:35:00.000-07:00

Well, sadly enough Cara and Anna's visit had to end today :( They left for the airport at 5:30 AM this morning! Jordan has been asking about Aunt WeeWee since they left! Its so funny to hear her! I don't understand how she gets "Wee Wee" out of the word "Cara" but thats what she calls her! We had a wonderful time! We went to a Luau, spent a few lazy days on the beach, did some shopping in Waikiki, went whale watching, and were fortunate enough to celebrate Easter together, along with some of my friends from here!

Jordan is HILARIOUS right now!! She repeats EVERYTHING I say! When I was picking up the girls from the airport I was getting a little annoyed by the traffic and right as a guy cut me off I yelled "Duuuuude!!!" Not 2 seconds later Jordy's little voice from the back seat said "Duuuude!". It was too funny! She says it EXACTLY like I do, accentuates the same syllables and everything. She also started saying "cookie" (which comes out as Coo-coo, and is funny as heck), "bye bye", "night night", "yay", "whoohoo", "bite", "beach" (which comes out "bee"), Ashley (comes out "Ally"), and she now calls Spongebob "bubba"! She is learning SO fast! She is trying to say everything that she hears, and she has this amazing zest for learning! We work on the ABC's and the 123's all the time now, and its coming along very nicely!

I am learning so much about this island! I am so much better at getting around now, and I can't wait for Doc to come home so that I can show him everything! When we were at the Luau the other night the performers did this "Dance of Love" and dedicated it to all the couples in the audience who were in love. Cute idea, if Doc were here. It was, of course, the longest routine they did. This deployment is coming right along though, and we are nearly 2 months into it already! We will get our chance to enjoy this romantic place when he comes home! The saying "Distance makes the heart grow fonder" is so true! I find myself SO passionately in love with this man everyday. As much as I think about him you would think that he were right here next to me! God is working so hard in our relationship to strengthen us and keep us close during this deployment, and we are so blessed by Him that it humbles me to my knees!

Well, I better get to bed! I joined the social committee for the Key Volunteer's of Doc's unit, and we have our first meeting tomorrow! My friend Ashley joined with me, and we are so excited! I am attatching some pictures of my fabulous friends from here on the island, as well as our visit with Cara and Anna and Easter! Love and may God bless you this week and always :)

We Found a Church!!! YAY!!!

2008-03-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

What a fabulous week we are having!!! SO much to be thankful for! We had an A-MAZ-ING weekend!!! We had our Saturday "Beach Day" tradition with the girls (minus Monique :( who is visiting family in Louisiana). That evening my neighbor's daughter Faith babysat Jordan and I went to a Deployed Spouses Outing. We played Bunco and had YUMMY pupu's <--- Hawaiian for appetizers :) It was a lot of fun.

Sunday Jordan and I were up early and rarin' to go!!! We did our breakfast joint, and then tried out a new church!! We went to Island Family Christian Church, a non-denominational worship service. They have outgrown their sanctuary, so they hold their services at a middle school about 45 seconds from our house! As soon as we arrived there, we were greeted by a very friendly lady who showed us around and took me to see their childcare area. The people there were very nice, and Jordan went right to them to play with the other kids! Meanwhile, Mommy got some un-interrupted worship time!! The second song they sang was "Beautiful One" by Jeremy Camp, my all time favorite worship song. I have been listening to it alot lately, but I had yet to hear it at a church here on the island untill then! God was speaking to me LOUD AND CLEAR, letting me know I was in the right place!! And how fulfilling is that!!!!! If the church I am meant to be in is here, then obviously I am MEANT to be right where I am! The pastor preached several very moving segments about the brutality of the cross and why it is so important for us to remember it. He closed with "And surely I will be with you always, untill the very end of age. Mathew 28:20". That is one of my favorite bible verses, I have a picture frame with that on it on my entertainment center. I have NEVER heard that verse used in a sermon untill Sunday. I am SO happy that we have found our church!!! Thank God for leading us there!

Our friends spent Sunday evening with us, and that was great! I cooked dinner and we watched our shows :) Our friends are amazing, and I am so thankful for them!!

Today is a day of ANXIOUS AWAITMENT!!! CARA WILL BE HERE TOMORROW!!!!! YAY!!!!! We cannot wait!!! We will be picking her up at the airport at 8:30, and she will be ours for a whole week!!!! We are so excited!! Please keep Cara and Anna in your prayers as they travel!! We are so glad to spend Easter with them! I will be cooking dinner here at our house, and our friends will be joining us as well!!! I probably will not be able to update for a while, but I do hope that you all have a fabulous Easter, spending time with family and remember what this holiday is for!! I love you all :)

Great day, good night!

2008-03-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

My day today started out on the VERY right foot! Doc called!!! YAY! I have started making lists of everything I have to tell him, so that I don't forget anything! Its very efficient! He still sounds wonderful :) He does say that he's getting a little bored, though. He's not losing focus of his mission at all, he is just missing all the exciting stuff there is to do in his off-time when he's at home! Jordan was able to talk to him again today, and she was just the happiest little thing!! She was smiling and giggling all the way through her conversation, and she got to tell him Hi, Daddy, Moooooooo, throw him a kiss, and say bye bye! He was ecstatic! It was just adorable! I cannot get enough of his voice!!! It STILL makes me giddy, like it did when we first started dating almost 4 years ago! I turn into this little school girl, nervous to say the right things, and laughing flirtatiously at everything he says. I don't know what I did to deserve this love that consumes me to the depths of my soul, but I thank God for it!!!

Speaking of love, the other love of my life, Miss Jordan Elaine, has been pretty amazing lately as well! She has started adding the "EEEE" sound at the end of things! Instead of calling me Mama, she now calls me Mommy! Talk about LOVE...that is the most precious thing I have ever heard! I realize more and more everyday that Jordan, at the very old age of 18 months, is truly my best friend! I talk to her about everything, Lord knows she gabs my ear off, too! She cheers me up when I'm down, and I love nothing more than returning the favor! She trusts me and counts on me to be there for her, and I hope she knows that it will be one of my ultimate goals for the rest of my life to never let her down. Tonight before we went up stairs for me to tuck her in, I just held her in the cradle position and rocked her and sang to her for a while. Now, the only reason she allowed this is because she was VERY tired! Normally Little Miss Independent would have been kicking for me to put her down! LOL It was such a great moment though.

Today we went to lunch with our friend Amy that we met on a military wives website! I'm normally not one for making internet buddies, but when you're dumped on a island about 6 weeks before your man leaves for war, you have to make friends somehow!! LOL We had a fabulous time!!! She has a 2 year old son, and he and Jordan quickly became partners in crime! Amy is so down-to-earth, young, and refreshing! We had a great time. Tonight we hung out with our fabulous foursome for dinner before Monique heads home for 2 weeks. We are going to miss her very much!!!

It has been so long since I've been in "making new friends mode". I guess that the last few years in Illinois have really spoiled me, being around my childhood best friends everyday. I feel like I'm a little rusty at this. I still, at times, in conversation find that I'm struggling to find the right words to say, or to make my thoughts come out right. I know its because I'm nervous, but sometimes I feel like it makes me come across as desperate or "trying to hard". It's weird, because I'm really neither of those things. Tonight I got the drift that I was coming across that way. I figured it would be best to just cut the night short and come home. I love my friends, and they love me, so I don't know why I feel so nervous around them. I couldn't be LESS shy, however I do think that these feelings are a direct product of being removed from your comfort zone! The feelings are going away more and more everyday, so I know I'm getting back into the swing of things! I LOVE new places, and I LOVE new people. Its just been a while since I was able to experience it!! LOL Its just crazy, being the new girl, ya know?

Anyway that was just me kind of rambling a bit! (shocking, right) I think I'm gonna go watch some Friends and curl up on the couch!! For those of you who are jealous of the horrendous amount of excitement I have going on a Friday night, you're pathetic! LOL Love you all, have a great weekend! :)

I HATE chicken fat!!! WOW!

2008-03-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well today has been VERY productive!! Healthy breakfast, GREAT workout, healthy lunch, healthy snack, and now a very healthy blog! Jordan and I are both doing wonderful :) We had a great weekend, including a beach trip on Saturday (which is slowly but surely becoming a tradition!!) and our "unhealthy day" on Sunday! Denny's for breakfast and KFC for dinner :) Sunday is always my "cheater day" where I let myself eat what I want. I LOVE breakfast, so out breakfast is always delicious, but at dinner I think I got a little more than I bargained for. It was almost like a greasy food epiphany. I ordered our food through the drive-thru, and brought it home. I fixed my plate: a chicken leg, a chicken thigh, mashed potatoes, and a biscuit! My mouth was watering, let me tell ya!! I ate my chicken leg, and it was great. I started to bite into the chicken thigh, and I was seriously nausiated! I couldn't eat the skin! "What the hell is wrong with me???" I thought, as the crispy delicious skin has ALWAYS been the best part!! I had to take the skin off to eat the rest of it! I think this "healthy lifestyle change" of mine has started taking effect!! It was great! The grease was too much for me (in more ways than one) and I was able to NOT eat it! I felt so victorious! Now don't get me wrong, the first piece was GREAT! BUT...I can tell that all the hard work I've been doing to promote healthy eating habits is working! Nothing is bad for you in MODERATION, and thats exactly the lesson that I learned!

My workout today was great! I went to a circuit class, and it was SO much fun! I have always wanted to try one, and I just loved it! They have all these eliptical machines, treadmills, nautillus equipment, and basic stuff like exercise balls and mats for crunches and pushups. They break it up into 30 "stations" and you rotate around them. You give your all to each station for 60 seconds then take 30 seconds to move on and get ready to start again at the new station. It incorporates all the fundamentals of a great workout: strength training, cardio, and intervals! PERFECT! Anyway I loved it, and I will be doing it every Monday and Wednesday for sure!

Doc emailed me this week with a HILARIOUS story!!! He apparently had a little company in his sleeping bag the other night (a mouse) and had a pretty good scare! The way he words things just kills me, it totally made my day!!

My friends and I are getting so much closer everyday, and I just love them! They are just everything that I needed right now! I don't know what I would do without them! Their husbands are officially stalking Doc! They are in Iraq too, and my friends keep telling them to go find Doc and get to know him so that we can all be friends when they get home! LOL Doc is apparently quite the popular man over there :)

Well, I suppose my housework isn't going to stop calling me untill I do it, so I'm off! I hope you all have a great week! We will talk to you soon! PS In just TEN short days Cara will be here!!!! YAY!!!!! And her sister Anna too!! YAY!!!!!

1/7 Of The Way Done!!

2008-03-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

YAY!!! We are 1/7 of the way done with this deployment!!! 11 paychecks to go! WHOOHOO!!! I'm feeling pretty victorious about how far we've come! Now we just have to keep on keepin' on, and we'll make it to homecoming in no time!

Jordan is such a busy girl these days! She has more of an agenda then she ever has. Its so fun to watch her run around and play as if she has it all planned out! She says Poppy, bye, bite, mmmmmmmmm (when something tastes good), and RAHHHH to scare me! These are all things she started doing just last week. She is so smart, and such a fast learner!

I am feeling so thankful this week! I have been praying for God to lead me to great friends, and for the last couple months I have to say, I'm not really sure what he was doing! HAHA However, I am so happy to report that I have found my group of friends that I have been longing for!! They are so fabulous, and I am so thankful to have them! They are diverse, positive, and a breath of fresh air! They're husbands are all deployed as well, their first deployment, and their first duty station, just like me! I'm finally starting to feel like I'm meeting people, and I'm lovin' it! I just wish that Doc were here to enjoy it with me! I know he will love my friends!! And I know they will love him!

Speaking of Doc......its amazing how he can be 13 timezones away and still give me butterflies! I think about him all the time, and I dream about him every night. I read his emails, and its like he's sitting right next to me. His emails have been so positive, and even a little funny this last week! He doesn't have alot of free time to call, and I can just tell that he's trying to go the extra mile in his emails to keep our communication strong! He's doing a great job!!

Well, its time to make lunch for Jordy and I! Today is my last day off from my workout, and I think my arm is healing very nicely! I'm ready to hit it hard tomorrow, and I will definitely keep you all updated on how it goes! Have a great week!

Bummed Arm

2008-02-29T12:23:00.000-08:00

Well hello Friday! Jordan and I are having a pretty busy week. Doc called me on Wednesday morning! It was wonderful...he says that all is well, and is ready for me to start sending him things! Thats great to hear, I feel like it means that he's getting settled in a little more! I worked out with my trainer on Wednesday and it went really well! She's challenging me more and more each session, and I love it! I'm really dissappointed by my shin splint! Its pretty much refusing to let me do anything on a treadmill. Its an old injury, and it basically hates running, power walking, anything like that. There's nothing you can do for it but stretch it out, and it will never go away. Its really annoying me because everything that I read says that running is the only way to get rid of belly fat and excess weight. I think that maybe once I have lost more it will hurt less though. Its an "impact injury", so the less weight I have impacting it, the easier it will be! (or at least thats what I have convinced myself anyway) :) On my way home from the gym I was reaching around on the backseat trying to find Jordan's MP3 player that she had dropped, and I came across the Valentine's Day card that Doc had bought for me but lost! I'm so glad that he lost it, it was unexpected and made my day! It was the sweetest card he's every bought me! Other than the fact that it made me bawl my eyes out while driving on the freeway, it was just the best thing ever!

Yesterday I wasn't able to go to the gym. I babysat a little 11-month old boy for a friend of mine who was in a jam for a sitter. Today I cannot go to the gym because my arm is killing me! You know that feeling you get after you've slept on your elbow wrong, where you can't even extend your arm all the way? Thats what I have...I'm thinking about getting an ace bandage or something for it! I HATE NOT GOING TO THE GYM!!! I am going to do some leg lifts and lunges and ab stuf here, but still, I HATE not going to the gym!!!

I have made a new grocery list to help my healthy lifestyle! I'm not a big veggie eater, and I don't like salad, so its challenging. But I can do it! I'm going to go on the hunt for a salad dressing that I like, because so far I don't like any :(. I KNOW, I'm a picky eater. I need to find one that low in calories and tastes like McDonalds Sweet N Sour sauce...I'm sure I would like it on a salad then! :) I'm getting lots of fresh fruit, poultry, fresh carrots, I'm even going to try to remix some broccoli and see if I can like it! The truth is that Doc makes a really great point when it comes to me not liking things. (I really hope he doesn't read this, I would hate for him to know that this actually sunk in! LOL) He tells me all the time, "Tammy, do you think I like broccoli? HECK NO I don't! But I eat it anyway....just eat it!!". I know you shouldn't force things down your throat all the time during diets because you will get discouraged, but broccoli isn't THAT bad, and it has millions of benefits. So I'm going to take his advice and just do it. Eventually I'll get used to it, and it will get easier to eat it more often. I'm also taking his advice about the rowing machine, it really is great cardio workout to substitute for the treadmill. MAN I hope he doesn't read this! :)

Now I'm off to the base to get some paperwork stuff taken care of! OH the joys of paperwork, it seems I get to enjoy them at least once a week for something or another! Hopefully Doc will call soon so that I will be able to ask him what to do for my arm...maybe I'll just take his advice about that too! :) Have a great weekend ya'll! :)

Hello week...

2008-02-26T11:33:00.000-08:00

Wow! Monday is already over? I'm just amazed at how fast the time is going by! We are almost through our first MONTH of this crap-o deployment! WHOOHOO!!!! I pray and pray for the time to fly, and God is hearing me loud and clear!

Doc emailed last night. It was his typical, 20 word maximum email! He is a man of few words, but I cherish every single one of them. He's been very busy, and hasn't had time to call in a week or so now. Hopefully we'll get to talk soon! He had taken some pictures Iraq and I was glad to see this place that he will be in for another 6 months. From the pictures I definitely think he may have exaggerated JUST a tad about how "fancy" his living quarters were! :) I'm sure its leaps and bounds from how it use to be though! He only tells me things like that to help me sleep at night anyway. :)

Well, Jordan and I are off to the YMCA for our daily workout! I have my personal trainer (Madeline is her name) working with me tomorrow, so I need to make the most of today....who knows how I'll feel Thursday!! HA! Once again I would like to give a HUGE shoutout to primetime television....without American Idol and the new Law & Order SVU on tonight, I just wouldn't look forward to Tuesday at all! :)

I think I just had my first bad day...

2008-02-25T01:11:00.001-08:00

It really wasn't that bad. I'm just whining. It was the first day during this whole deployment that I woke up in a really bad mood. I made it 3 long weeks, so I knew it was soon to come.

It started at 4AM on Thursday night (technically I guess it would be Friday morning). I woke up to cramps, the kind where you pull your knees to your chest and rock in the fetal position and it still just throbs. I went downstairs and took an Aleve, and 30 minutes later they were still there. So I went back downstairs at 5AM and took a second one, finally by 5:3o I felt sweet relief! I don't know why some women get them TERRIBLY and others don't get them at all but MAN those things suck! Doc hadn't called in 3 days, and he usually calls on Friday mornings around 6AM, so I contemplated just getting up for the day...but I decided that I wanted more sleep, even if it was only 30 minutes! I would still wake up in a better mood because I would wake up to that voice that makes my hearts skip a beat.....but I didn't. He didn't call. He STILL hasn't called. I'm sure he's busy, I just made the mistake of gettting myself all psyched out for something that wasn't even guaranteed to happen. Either way, it sucked.

I got out of bed at 7:30 AM when Jordan woke up, and thats when the cramps hit me. Not menstral cramps, the Aleve took care of that. Body cramps. Every muscle in my body felt like death. I had started meeting with a personal trainer just the day before, so I kind of figured this was coming! She's basically a female version of the Terminator. She's awesome though! I mustered up the energy to go get Jordan and SLOWLY walk downstairs to make breakfast. While I was scrambling our eggs I checked my email, thinking maybe Doc had emailed. He, of course, hadn't. And neither had my babysitter....I had a Dr.'s appt. that day and she had confirmed with me weeks ago that she would be there. I had emailed her as a final reminder a couple days before, and she still hadn't responded. This worried me, as the last couple times this happened she didn't show up! We ate our breakfast, and with only a couple hours until my appt. I called the babysitter. No answer. I could clearly see where this was going. "You've got to be KIDDING me" I thought!!! An hour later I called her from my home phone and she finally answered. She was having an emergency and wasn't going to be able to make it. She had a great reason to not be there, but seriously, could this day get any worse?

I decided that God's plan for Friday was simple. He was saying, "Tammy, clear your schedule because today you're going to lay on the couch and watch Law & Order SVU and relax". Like a good servant, I abided His plan to the fullest! Jordan and I stayed in our pijama's all day and played and giggled the day away. Jordan fed me her goldfish crackers while I laid on the couch, and her and I cuddled a few times. I love her innocence. At a couple different points I just broke down and bawled my eyes out, and I guess she just didn't know what to think of that, but she laughed uncontollably at me! I guess she thought I was trying to be funny! I cried harder, she laughed harder! Eventually we were both laughing!! It was exactly what I needed. She is so amazing :)

When I woke up on Saturday I was still feeling a little down, but there was a social on base for spouses and families of those deployed, and a couple of my new friends were going! I decided that sitting around feeling sorry for yourself doesn't really help, so we went to the social. We had a blast, and I have been back to my normal bubbly self ever since! Now I'm ready to get some rest and wake up fresh tomorrow to go back to the Terminator and my workout! Please keep my muscles in your prayers! :)

The old blog died :(

2008-02-25T01:03:00.001-08:00

Welcome to my new blog! I think the old one died...I don't really know what happened, just randomly the site doesn't exist anymore? Oh well! Here we go with a fresh blog!