Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Military Wife


Each one may look different and each one is wonderfully unique, but this they have in common:
Lots of MOVING, MOVING, MOVING, MOVING far from home, MOVING two cars, four kids, and one dog---all riding with her of course. MOVING sofas to basements because they don't fit in THIS house, MOVING curtains that wont fit, MOVING jobs and certifications and development hours, MOVING away from old friends, MOVING towards new friends, MOVING her most important luggage, her trunk full of memories.
Often WAITING, WAITING, WAITING, WAITING for housing, WAITING for orders, WAITING for deployments, WAITING for phone calls, WAITING for reunions, WAITING for the new curtains to arrive, WAITING for him to get home for dinner, again.
They call her the military dependant, but she knows better: She is fiercely IN-dependant, She can balance the checkbook, handle the yard work, fix a noisy toilet, bury the family pet... She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts, She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move---all with ONE power of attorney. She welcomes neighbors who don't welcome her. She re-invents her career with every PCS (permanent change of station)Locates a house in the desert, the Arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all "home"
Military wives are somewhat hasty, they leap into: decorating, leadership, volunteering, churches, careen alternatives, and friendships. They don't have 15 years to get to know people. Their roots are short but flexible. They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military wives quickly learn to value each other. They connect over lunch, rely on the spouse network, accept offers of friendship and favors, record address in pencil...
Military wives have a common bond, the military wife has a husband unlike other husbands, his commitment is unique He doesn't have a JOB, He has a MISSION that he can't just decide to quit, He's on call for his country 24/7. But for her he's the most unreliable guy in town. His language is foreign: PCS, TDY, OPR, BDU, ACU, TAD, and so his wife is a translator for his family and hers. She is the long distance link to keep them informed; the glue that holds them together.
A military wife has her moments: she wants to dye his uniform pink, wring his neck and refuse to move to Siberia, but she pulls herself together, give her a few days, a hot bath, a travel brochure, a pledge to the flag, a wedding picture, and she goes. She packs, She moves, She follows.
Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man who puts duty first, longs to deploy, salutes the flag, and whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her military husband, She will remain his military wife.
I love my MILITARY MAN!

Monday, November 17, 2008

LICE...

yes, i said lice. SO nasty. Why on earth would Heavenly Father create such a nasty beast. I got a letter from the school a couple weeks ago saying that a child in Tys class had Lice and that everyone in the class should be on the watch for it. Wouldnt ya know it....Ty got lice. makes my head itch just thinking about it. needless to say i spent the better part of yesterday stripping and cleaning beds, doing laundry,vacuuming...over and over and over and treating EVERYONE...yes i mean everyone...with the stinky bug spray shampoo...and then shaving the boys heads...after a thorough check of all the kids heads and Jeffs and mine as well, seems that Ty was the only one graced with the presence of the disgusting little mites. funny thing...when we were kids we used to joke about having "piojos" never knew what that really was until i opened up the "lice treatment kit" to the spanish side....got a good laugh anyway.... anyway...we are lepers for the next couple of days...weeks if you ask my neighbor! I wish you all a great few hours of itching now from reading this! heheheh

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Our little artist!







This is what happens at our house when markers get left out....what pretty pictures! you can see she caught on to the tracing around her hand that i was showing her on paper a few days ago, and her happy faces are coming along quite nicely.

Sleeping beauty


She is so stinkin' cute...she was playing dress up one night after her bath and insisted on wearing this Christmas dress, this is where she ended up!

Fall fun....


I was out raking leaves last weekend and the kids decided they wanted to "help".
Help consisted of piling up all the leaves so they could jump in them! They took turns burying each other, it was a lot of fun....alot of work for me but fun for the kids!

Spoiled


This is Sadie...for those of you that haven't met her yet...she is rotten. She is spoiled....a big (huge) baby...and we love her.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

SCary nights...


We had fun decorating this year (since we didnt get to do it in Germany) We went a little crazy, lots of pumpkins, a fog machine, creepy music , luminarios, even a fire pit...and of course the trusty Tiki torches to keep the mosquitos away. We sat out front with the fire and made smores while we handed out candy. It was a great night....Alli is the bumble bee....

Carving pumpkins











We had lots of fun carving pumkins yesterday....the kids each did their own (except alli) we set up a table outside and some of our neighbors and their kids joined us. We made a lovely mess and we have lots of pumkin seeds almost ready to toast!