Opening Day

Yesterday was Opening Day for our little league. We are playing off base this year at Zia Little League and they have a BIG opening ceremony. All the teams are out on the field along with 2 police cars and 4 mounted police. They also brought in Orbit, the mascot from the Albuquerque Isotopes, the manager of the Isotopes and the baseball coach and some players from University of New Mexico. The kids thought it was pretty cool! Later in the day we had our first game. Abigail and Joshua both did a great job hitting and fielding. Joshua was so excited because he got to be the catcher first. He loves wearing the gear! Abigail started at first base and was always ready to field the ball. It should be a great season, especially because Daddy will be home for the rest of the games! And lest you thought we forgot...there's another Opening Day tomorrow. The Tigers home opener against the Royals. We'll have our own belated opening day when daddy gets home. :) Since the Tigers biggest fan will be in the country this year we are expecting them to deliver a fabulous season! PLAY BALL!

So much going on...

It's been spring break here and we've been busy little bees. We had a wonderful Easter weekend. We were blessed by our Good Friday church service, had fun on an Easter Egg Hunt here on base, had a wonderful Easter Sunday church service and finally enjoyed dinner at Luke and Katie's house with several other friends from church.
On Monday the kids had dentist appointments and we are so happy to announce that everyone continues to be in the "No Cavity Club"! YIPPIE. Tuesday we enjoyed lunch at The Golden Corral with our Hearts Apart group (a support group for families with a deployed member) and later some old neighbors from Wright-Patt stopped by for the evening as they were passing through ABQ. The kids had a fabulous time playing with their friends. It's amazing how they just pick up right where they left off. Yesterday we stopped into Barnes and Noble for storytime and had play dates in the afternoon, followed by t-ball practice in the evening. And today was zoo day with our friends from church. It's been a good week! And we're all happy that it has gone by so quickly because each day that passes means that we are one day closer to having daddy home!

This is the cake I made for our shared Easter dinner...so cute, so easy and oh so yummy!

The Amazing Josiah

Just a few days ago I posted that my baby could pedal a trike. Well today he hopped on the big boy bike and started riding! Daddy will be so proud! He rode around and around the cul-de-sac this afternoon and cried and cried when it was time to go in for dinner. There's no holding this little guy back!
PS - I hate hearing my own voice...do I always sound like that?

For Chuck

Happy St. Patty's Day to my Irish friend!

We all wish we could be with your family today to enjoy Kathy's awesome dinner and a viewing of "The Quiet Man". We miss you all!

Interesting Reading

During his deployment Bob has recommended several books for me to read that would help me have a better understanding of the culture he has been surrounded by these many months. I have gotten through two of the books he suggested "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortensen and "The Bookseller of Kabul" by Asene Seirstad, both true stories.
"Three Cups of Tea" is about an American mountain climber who develops a heart for the children of Pakistan and vows to build schools for them, especially for girls. It is quite an amazing story.
I personally found "The Bookseller of Kabul" to be even more interesting. It is the true story of an Afghan family written by a Western journalist who lived with them for a time. I just can't imagine the realities of the daily life of an Afghan woman. Not only do they live in a time of political unrest and war they also deal with the oppression of the tradition of their culture. It's a sad story but eye opening.
I would definitely recommend both of these books to anyone who would like a new perspective on life in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Say it ain't so!

I am so disappointed about what happened last night on LOST! Jin, one of my favorite characters died. Well, actually he's shown to be dead in a flash forward. I hope that there's some crazy twist so that they can change the future and have him stay alive because I really like him. Even more so after last night's episode. Oh and what's up with Hurley showing up to see Sun and the baby? Hurley was put in a mental institution in the previous flash forwards. So is this supposed to happen before he goes on the wild police chase? Oh the tangled web these survivors weave!

Never say never

We've been battling little 24 hour flu bugs here the last few days. Abigail, Chloe and Josiah have all had little bouts with the bug. Chloe and Josiah are still trying to kick the cough. But I just told someone the other day that I never get sick. This afternoon we came home and I started feeling a headache coming on, body aches and nausea. Of course this mean little bug is just trying to put me in my place...how dare I say it couldn't get me. I'm still hoping it will be short lived. There's been tons of junk going around here and I don't want to be passing yucky sickness back and forth right before Bob gets home. BLAH.

It's an honor

After over 30 years of service to his country, my dad has finally retired from the army. At his retirement ceremony he received the Legion of Merit Award. Which is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. Dad doesn't like for people to make a fuss about him but it's important for him to know that we are so proud of all his accomplishments and that he has blessed people all over the world with the work that he has done as a Chaplin and Pastor, most importantly, his work to bring the Gospel to the men and women who fight to keep our country safe.

As a kid I remember looking at pictures of my dad in Vietnam. When I was a bit older he was called away for Desert Storm. I remember the Sunday he returned home, he was a Pastor and reserve Chaplin at the time, he came walking into the sanctuary in his uniform and said that he had an announcement to make. It was a surprise to everyone and it was a fabulous homecoming. When I was a freshman in college he returned to active duty and he and mom started moving around again. I remember when they had to move out to California. He was the installation Chaplin at Ft Hunter-Liggett. It was a challenge for him but he and mom created a wonderful ministry for the families that were stationed there. In recent years it seems that he was constantly traveling to do marriage retreats and retreats and seminars for folks who had just returned from a deployment. His has been a career of service and so I just wanted to say thank you, dad. Thank you for your service to our country and for being such a wonderful example for everyone you come in contact with. I'm so proud to have you as my dad! Now I hope you enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation!!! I love you dad!

Can it be....

In case you hadn't noticed...Bob will be home in less than a month!
Can anyone say YIPPIE YAHOO!!!


Only a few weeks and he'll be able to trade that gun for a bat and ball!

Something old...SomePLACE new

So I've never been good at thrift shopping and garage sales. My friend Tracy is an awesome garage saler...she always finds good stuff for great prices, specifically kids clothes. I on the other hand don't get into it as much. I guess there's just this snobby or lazy side of me that thinks it's just easier to go to Target. Well today I think I've turned a new leaf! Mrs. Polkadot and Baby Blue Bicycle met me at a second hand store called Savers. The store was new to myself and Baby Blue but Mrs. Polkadot has been there tons of times. I was pleasantly surprised with the organization and especially the 20% discount on Wednesdays for military! Fabulous! I took $30 with me and spent it on several items for Abigail and Joshua. Next time I'll be looking for me. I just might be hooked. I'll definitely give it another try. Tracy will be so proud!

Good things

Let me see...my baby boy can all of a sudden pedal his trike. Chloe didn't pedal until she was 3 years old so I'm thinking he's just trying to keep pace with big brother. Speaking of Chloe, she's very interested in writing her letters and has been working in our Kumon books on her upper case letters. She's so proud of herself. And then there's Joshua who is now in reading group at school and has completed the first two books. Miss Abigail has mastered jump roping and our new fun after school activity is counting how many jumps she can do in a row.
I'm so thankful for good things!