Merry Christmas!

Wow! It's almost Christmas. I can't believe it. We've had a wild month here. D had an emergency appendectomy early in the month. He really wasn't really hurting that bad, but by the time he got in, his appendix was on the verge of rupturing. They took him into emergency surgery at 5:00 am, and at 5:45 am, the doctor came out and said everything was fine! I think it's so amazing what modern medicine can do these days.

As some of you know, we are finishing our basement. As it turns out, it's taking a little longer than it should. One night, we had really high winds, and our fence blew down, hitting the outside hose hookup, breaking the line, causing a flood in our basement. The water was 2 - 3 inches before we realized it. We were all asleep, and oblivious to the fact that our basement was turning into a giant swimming pool. Luckily, our amazing basement guy did the framing in steel, and we weren't to the drywall point yet, so there was no damage! Amazing!

So, we had a temporary little fence thingy put up, because the ground is too frozen to put the real fence back up properly, and apparently some misguided deer tripped into it, knocking it down. When we let the dog out in the morning, not knowing that, she was gone. She really doesn't run away, she just saw some people walking down the street with their two dogs, and decided, hey, that looks fun, maybe I'll go. When we realized she was gone, I jumped in the car, and just then a neighbor drove up with Brandee in the back seat. I was nearly in tears, and I apologized repeatedly for being so emotional, but come on, that's my dog! So, another amazing moment! She said her husband said, hey, when I was out running, it looked like our neighbor's dog was following a couple with two dogs taking a walk. So, she went out to get her for us! If she wouldn't have, I'm just not sure what would have happened!

The boys had their orchestra and band concerts this week, and I was so proud! Theron plays the voilin, and Shane plays the guitar in orchestra. It's funny, because when people find out they're brothers, they're shocked, since they look nothing alike. Then, the next two nights we had Theron playing percussion in band, and Shane playing the trombone. I was such a proud mom!

Now, they're off school, and we're going to make our traditional cut out cookies tomorrow. Maybe I'll take some pictures and post them.

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, and a safe and Happy New Year!

Great Song!

With Christmas coming up, I feel compelled to post this video. It is a song loaded with things we need to hear.

Snapshot of Military Life

You know your child is a military kid when...

It was wear your school t-shirt backwards day. We're waiting at the bus stop. I glance around, and Collin has on a different shirt than anybody else. I didn't even notice when he was getting dressed!!!!! I say, um, Collin, I think you have the wrong shirt on. He TRIES to look at his back to see what's on it, but can't! Then it hits him, oh yea, I don't go to that school anymore.

We run back home, and I drive him to school, receiving a tardy. But, it was worth it. Wearing the wrong shirt...that's just bad community relations!

She thinks she's human!!!

I'm just glad that's D's side, not mine! The blue pillow is a long story...

The Axe has fallen...

Yesterday, I spent $35 at the grocery store for varioius Axe self grooming products for two teenage boys. I mean, seriously, what happened? Just months ago, they hated girls, and never wanted to get married. Did some light switch go on? Because those were the good ole' days my friends. They have to smell good now. The shower gel matches the deoderant, which in turn has to match the body spray. I seriously hope that the teenage girls don't have allergy induced asthma people, because if they do, we might be in some serious trouble!

Fall

I just love fall. I'll say this every year if I have to. I love getting out and seeing the fall colors and taking my pictures. I got to do a little of this last weekend. It was great.

Having grown up in the area I did, we just didn't have fall. It just turned from summer to spring really. The trees just didn't change colors as much as they do in other parts of the country. I don't know if that's why I love fall so much, but I do. We can just be driving down the road, and I'll say, look boys, fall, and point to a tree. They laugh.

In unrelated news, I had a mouse in my mini van! Yes, people, you heard me correct, a mouse. How did he get in? I don't know!!!! How did he get out? I don't know!!!! He left evidence of his existance there, though. We found the hole that he's coming through in the garage, and put bait right in front of it. Later that night, D went out to the garage, and turned on the light, and there he was, chomping on the bait, just looking back at D. If he wouldn't have gotten into my mini van and had a fun little night, I'd almost feel sorry for him. I mean honestly ya'll, how did he get in there? I am possibly quite a neurotic person about things being clean. I mean, I get behind in my housework from time to time, but I like things to be clean. After work that day, I spent 4 hours cleaning out my van. I vacuumed, I wiped down every surface and sanitized it. I shampooed the entirety of the carpet. I shampooed every seat. I really want a new van now, but D says just a mouse in the van once is not a reason to buy a new one. Sniff...sniff. He's so unreasonable.

So, the very next day, I was going on base to get blood work done. Nothing wrong, just getting old, and they want to check everything. Obviously I'm on my way out and everything seeing as I'm so old. Anyway, back on track, I get to the base, and I whip out my trusty military ID card, and the guy at the gate says, "Um...ma'am (geez, enough with the old references) I'm going to have to "confiscate" your ID, it's expired. First of all, confiscate? That sounds like I'm a criminal! And second, do you really have to do that, I've been fasting for 12 hours, and I need to go get my blood taken out so that I can go pop open a Diet Dr Pepper and get on with my day! So, he tells me he has to take it, and to go get a new one. So, I go to the ID place, I get called back, sit down, and tell the nice young man that I need a new ID, and he asks me if my husband is there, because he needs to sign a whatcha ma gigger form, blah blah blah. So, I get up, say, no, he's not here, he's gone. As I'm walking away, he says gone like in deployed? No, I say over my shoulder, just at a conference. Luckily enough, they had pity on my starving soul and took my blood without my ID. That my friends was the highlight of my week.

Post Fireproof

D and I went out for our date night to go see Fireproof. We both really liked the movie. We enjoyed seeing a movie that we knew didn't have anything bad in it. We enjoyed seeing a movie with humor (it's quite funny at times), action (it has firefighting scenes), and a positive message.

When the movie finished, the entire theatre enthusiastically applauded!

Go see it. Do it. Then come back here and tell me what you thought.

Fireproof

Hey everybody! There's a new movie coming out this Friday that I'm really pumped about. No, it's not a major crime drama, or a summer blockbuster. It's a movie about marriage, and God. I think if every married person in America could see this movie, maybe we'd be better off.

I'm going to go out on a limb here because it's my blog, and I can say what I want. If you and your spouse don't have Jesus Christ at the center of your marriage, I urge you to go see this movie. I don't even know if anybody is going to read this post. But, I do know, if you happened on my blog by accident and are reading this post, it's not an accident. I've been married 16 years, and through those 16 years, we've been through a lot. We would not be married today if it weren't for the saving grace of Jesus Christ. He has saved us time and time again. Marriage is hard! It takes work! So, even if you think your marriage is fine, I think this movie would be great for you to go to. I already sent an e-mail inviting my husband to go see this movie with me on Saturday night. He was so excited when he got the e-mail. I was actually upstairs in the bedroom. He came running up, and said, can I RSVP now? We're going on Saturday night, and yes, it took us planning it over a week in advance to make it work.

There's also a devotional book that is featured in the movie that you can buy at your local Christan bookstore. It's a 40 day devotional that can be used by you as a couple after you see the movie. After we see the movie, I'm going to give the book to D as a surprise. Some of you reading might be thinking I'm a dork. You're right. I've been a dork all my life. Oh, and by the way, my husband is a dork too. And I love him.

So, if anyone reads this post, I dare you to go see the movie with your spouse. If you have any friends you think would benefit from this movie, send them over here to read the post and watch the trailer. I would love to hear back from someone! Then I would know there's someone out there reading my posts!

Check out the trailer here:

Random

I just started the new Beth Moore Study - the Psalms of Ascent tonight. I am so pumped. That lady really can relate to people. I haven't been in one of her studies for over a year. I'm so excited! I hope I don't fall behind in my homework, though!

Well, a lot of you know that my very wonderful friend Wendy recently moved away! Sniff...Sniff! But, my God is so good to me. One of my other wonderful friends just arrived this week. It's really a small world in the Air Force. This is our third base together. I love their family like they were my family.

OK, so you don't feel jipped...here's some "Weekly Wisdom with Collin"...

Collin: Mommy, John McCain must be really busy.

Me: Well, I'm sure he is. Why do you say that?

Collin: He's been approving a lot of messages

Oh my goodness, I love that little rascal!

I need to update with some pictures soon! I need to get on that.

More Wisdom from Collin than a stranger needed

Sitting at a Boy Scout Court of Honor:


Collin to a lady sitting next to him that he doesn't know: How old are you?


Nice lady: Let me give you a hint, never ask a girl that.


Collin: My mom's 38.


Later, during the dinner portion:


Nice lady: You better eat that brownie before I eat it for you.


Collin: I know, I know. Women and their chocolate. Women have to have their chocolate.


Nice Lady: Now you know two things about women. You know never to ask their age, and you know they like chocolate.


Collin: Yea, and they don't have a weiner!

You just can't make that stuff up, people!

Check out this dude!

Since it's my blog, I can say whatever I want. Can I just say here today for the record, Zach and Cody have got nothing on this kid! It should totally be called the "Suite Life of Shane Thomas" He just started middle school too! The girls are gonna go crazy for this cool dude. There, I've said it. It's my blog, and I can brag about my kids if I want to.

Renovations!

Well, the reason I was absent from blogging for so long was because we bought a house and moved. This is a big deal for us, as we have never owned a house before. We have never been able to stay in one place for long enough, and we usually lived on base. But, we found a place, and we love it, and we're fixing it up. The look just needed a little updating. We're having a lot of fun doing it. I'll be posting before and after pictures to shock and amaze you. My husband, not to brag or anything, but he can do just about anything around the house. While the older boys were at summer camp, we renovated their bathroom. It was terrible before, really outdated looking and had pink flowers on the linoleum. Take a look...

Ewww, look at the pink countertop...

Not manly at all...

OK, here's the result of all our hard work after one week...

Thanks daddy! It looks much better!

I know that you've missed Collin's Wisdom

The older boys are at summer camp, and D and I are seriously doting on Collin. We're doing some home improvements, and today we went to the pool because Collin is bored without his brothers. I'll post pictures of the pool outing tomorrow. But, more importantly, we let him pick the restaurant he wanted to go to for dinner, knowing full well his choice would be Red Robin...Yum. He loves his "Cheesy Mac-N-Cheesy". The boy loves his cheese. So, there the three of us are eating dinner.

Setting the stage: Collin has cheese all over his mouth and chin, and well, his cheeks.

D: Collin, napkin please.

C: Well, that would be a waste of cheese!

You just can't debate the wisdom of Collin.

All right, so I never did it

OK, so I never did the going private thing. I wasn't sure if I could figure it out! I was talking to my mom today, and everytime we talk, she says I should blog! She's missing the pictures! So, here are a few!

Here are the boys with mohawks at our church VBS! Like, rock on, dude! D took the week off from work to be a crew leader at our VBS. That's just the kind of guy he is. He was so great with the kids. He had a crew full of girls, which was cute. They were lovin' it! I have a picture of them, but I don't want to post it, seeing as they're not my kids and all...

So, Collin turned 7. Wow, where did that time go? My youngest baby is 7. Here we are at Collin's favorite restaurant for his birthday. I love Shane holding up seven fingers. Oh, and by the way, they have ALL gotten hair cuts since this. They got to grow the hair out during the summer, but it got really long!

Here is Collin being dropped off at summer camp. That was tough for me to leave, but he apparently isn't having any trouble with it! Sorry about the bad picture. I don't have enough time to edit the pics tonight, but I figured it had already been so long since I blogged...

Yes, surprisingly so, I left my baby boy with two camp counselors named Moptop and Turbo. I'm not sure what Collin is doing. Deer antlers? Just not sure there.

Well, I will post again when I get pictures of his homecoming, cause that'll be great. I pick him up tomorrow!!!!! Yippeee!!!!!

To all my blogging friends, I've missed you! Now, I better go call my mom and tell her I have posted, or she'll never believe I've done it!

Wow, it's been a long time again

I have been so busy, and I have meant to post, but haven't. I can't believe it's almost been a year since I started the blog. Almost a year since D got home. It's absolutely flown by! We had a little scare a few weeks ago. D got a call that he was going to be deployed again, and we were bummed. However, when it came down to it, the deployment office said he couldn't be deployed because he hadn't been back a year. Phew! We dodged that bullet. However, seems I can't avoid it, he'll be going back again. Bummer. His career field is deployed all the time! Sucks!

I am going to go private with my blog as soon as I get everyone's e-mail's squared away. There's a few I need to get. I might do it tomorrow, I don't know. I have the day off tomorrow, woo hoo. I have a new job that I'll talk about once I go private. I love it!

I've had a very emotional roller coaster of a week. We've gone through some tough times. Keep us in your prayers. We're making it through though. We're blessed with a house, and three beautiful boys and a dog, so we're doing fine.

I was just reading Susie's blog, and she has had a few snow days recently. We've had a few, but this winter is so mild compared to last winter for us. Everytime it snows, it seems to be melted in a few days. The boys are always praying for snow days, though!

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. D and I went out to eat, and went to go see Fool's Gold. We enjoyed it. It's a pretty cute movie.

More updates soon...

More Wisdom from Collin

Me: OK, Collin, we need to leave at 8:10 today, so make sure you have all your stuff.

Collin: That means we have 15 minutes.

Me: You're so smart.

Collin: Uh, Yeah, what do you think, I'm loco???? It's 5 minutes till 8, then 10 more, that makes 15. That's why I'm in advanced math.

Me: Yeah, and you're in advanced reading too.

Collin: Yeah!

Me: But you're not in advanced handwriting...

Collin: Some people are late bloomers! I'm a late bloomer in handwriting@!

Following suit...

Wow, so has it been since New Year's Day that I posted? At least I didn't wait until Valentine's Day, right Susie?

I have so, so many exciting things happening in my life right now, but alas, I don't feel I can blog about any of them on this public forum. I am following suit and going private. I will probably do it sometime next week.

So, if you still want to read my blog, and if I don't have your e-mail yet, (Stacy, I don't have yours) send me a comment with your e-mail. I won't publish the comment with your e-mail in it.

After I go private, I'll update everyone on all the things happening! Don't worry mom, I'll work you through this whole thing. You'll just have to sign in with your e-mail and a password to look at my blog.

I've been busted..

I've been busted. I haven't posted in OVER a month. Sorry. Please forgive me.

What have I been doing with my time? Well, before school was out, we went to band concerts, and even a concert that the first grade put on. That was a lot of fun. Collin did such a great job. Too bad the battery on my camcorder went dead. Bummer.

Our December took an unexpected turn when D's grandfather passed away. We took an unexpected trip to Texas and then to Illinois, then back home again! Phew! Even though the circumstances weren't great, we were able to see family. D's grandfather was 90. He lived such a full life. He was married for 62 years! We'll miss him dearly. He had such a great Christmas though, I'm sure of it!

So, we got home for Christmas, and we've been busy ever since. I've been working over 40 hours a week.

For New Year's Eve, we stayed up to watch the ball drop. Then we had poppers that we popped all around the house and made a mess everywhere. I had to work today, so the boys all had to clean it up today. We had an apple cider toast, and went to bed.

So, here's the pics I know you've been waiting for...

Here's crazy Shane

We went to Wendy's house for Christmas Day. Thank you Wendy, it was great. Santa showed up. Thirteen year olds accept gifts, but they DO NOT sit on his lap. Fathers however, have no problem fixing his hat.

A little closer, but still, NOT sitting on the lap!

This six year old still loves him!

I might be in trouble for this one...

It's a party on the dog's back!

It's a party on the six year old's head!

Happy New Year everyone!