Sisters

I ran with Richard again this afternoon.  It's been so long since we've run together I can't even remember exactly ...  Of course we didn't go this morning as planned, but decided to wait until it was nice and sunny and hot.  I felt like someone was blowing a hairdryer on me the entire time!!  Yes, even the "breeze" was hot.  No fun!! But we ran and were together and it that was nice. 

We came home and had dinner and then I was given a rare treat of a shower while everyone else cleaned up.  When I finished and made my way upstairs, this is what I saw.  The older four in Hanson Ellis' room reading together.  

What a sweet, sweet sight.  

Sisters.

I love these girls!

Little Joys ...

Today was Thursday.  Just Thursday.  Kate went to Preschool.  Olivia went to MMO.  Hanson Ellis, Parker and Patterson and I had school here.  Parker and Patterson had tap then Hanson Ellis had tap.  We are home now.  It's been a long, busy day, but a good one.  Dinner is in the oven.  Richard is on his way home from D.C. (and I'm looking forward to having a beer with him on the front porch after the girls are in bed).  The girls are bustling around the house right now ... I'm trying to just let them play and not let the "noise" get to me.  I admit, on longs day like today, it does.  But I love them anyway:).

My morning started around 4 as I couldn't sleep. When I walked into the keeping room to turn on the lights I saw this drawing by Kate from last night.

She later told me that the red girl was her and the blue girl "is my best friend."  Don't you just love how girls always have a "best friend?"  I don't have a son, but I don't think they would ever mention a best friend.  At least not as frequently as a girl would/does.  All the same, Kate has really started drawing lately.  It is so sweet to see her little people here and there.  All of my girls have distinct details in their drawings.  Kate is no different.  He people always have two circles for their eyes.  She gives them "accessories" with little stickers she finds in the school drawer.  She likes to draw red crayon over the lips for "lipstick."  AND they all just seem to look like little Charlie Brown characters.  Which is all too fitting for her.  You should see her dance.  I'm sure Charles Shultz derived his dancing little children from watching a child dance like Kate!  Anyway, seeing this drawing was the first of many of my little joys today.

Olivia had her little birthday celebration at MMO today.  I think she is still trying to figure out all of the hoopla.  I pick her up a little early since I have to then load her up and go through the car line for Kate.  When I got there all of the class was huddled around one of the teachers while she was reading a book.  All except for Olivia who was just standing twirling her birthday crown around.  I wish I knew what her sweet little mind was thinking.  I love little glimpses into their world like that moment brought.

Even after I cut her hair almost an inch she still has those little curls:).  Love it.  Love it.

Another little joy was from today in school.  We had almost finished up for the morning and I got up to finish some dishes.  Hanson Ellis was reading an article on the Monroe Doctrine online, but Parker and Patterson were still with me in the kitchen.  Here was the conversation.

Me  "Girls, hurry and finish up.  We're going to do some Botany in a few minutes."

Parker  "Oh!  I know what that is.  He made some music, I think."

Me (trying not to laugh) "I think you are thinking of either Vivaldi or Bach, Parker.  This is BOTANY.  It is science."  

Parker  "OOOOOH."  

then Patterson chimes in, without missing a beat on the work she's finishing  ...

"Well, Parker, you were close!"  

Needless to say, I.ALMOST.DIED!  It was so funny to me:).  In fact I kept thinking about it over and over and would start chuckling from time to time for several minutes after.  (And yes, they asked what I was laughing about.  Oh, nothing, I would reply.")

After we picked up the two little ones, read to them and put them to nap, I went to take these two to their tap class.  They are a hoot in these outfits!!  My girls.  My crazy girls who wear me out, but I love them anyway.

And finally, if you are not familiar with this blog, you should be.  Sweet blog!  The author just posted this about her new venture.  Check it out!  They are super cute!!

Our Five is Two

Happy Birthday Olivia McCartney!

You are the sweetest, cutest little 2 year old we all know.

Our love for you is bound up in your little curls.

Your two little bottom teeth are just too much!

You bring us absolutely so much joy.

Olivia, God made you, and I am so glad that He did!

Your sisters, your Daddy and I love you to pieces.

Happy Birthday to our sweet little big girl!

May you grow in Christ's grace and be a light shining for Him all the days of your life.

Again, I just want to say "Happy Birthday to you, Olivia.  Happy Birthday my sweet little one."  I love you and as your Daddy always says when we are just sitting watching you, "We are blessed, so blessed to have her (you)."

I Love you so much!!

Momma

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's almost Fall ... what I consider the most wonderful time of the year.  I know that many of you soak up the summer, and I enjoy it, too, but Fall has my heart.  I love the newness of another school year.  Even though we homeschool, I love to hear the sound of school busses driving by our house.  I love cool, crisp mornings.  And I love shorter days that give us so much more time to curl up with the girls and read at night (when it's daylight outside, they want to run and play ... when it's dark they want their jammies and books).  I love falling leaves and the simple lesson learned in my girls raking leaves ... a bit of hard work can lead to great rewards (rake then jump in the pile!).  I love hearing the ESPN College Game Day theme song (and I must admit, it always makes me tear up a bit!!).  And I love the lessons relearned year after year during Thanksgiving and Christmas time.

(from Richard's homecoming November 09)

I also usually love this time of year because this has always been the time of year that Richard returns to us after a deployment.  This time of year usually brings the busyness of a start of a new school year and all the preparations of that, along with renewed strength because "Daddy will be home in November."   Richard has managed to defer several deployments since his return last November, and one just fell through based on the host country.  So we have been blessed to have him home for almost a year now, and home for an entire summer.  As I think about that, I am reminded of moving here and all of the adjustments that came with that.  It has been such a different move, and I've had so many questions posed to me about it.  Even just yesterday I had a conversation with a girl from church about it.  It has been tough across the board, and I've not handled everything perfectly and hindsight has definitely proved 20/20.  I will say that I am finally starting to feel a bit settled (about 6 months longer than usual) and I am going to miss so much about this place when we move.  I knew our time here would be short, but still hoped for about a year longer than we are getting, and I've tried very hard to just dive into where God has placed us.  It's been hard to be the outsider.  And I know that many have moved frequently that are not military.  I get that.  I didn't grow up military and we moved quite a bit.  So I don't consider my life unique in that way. But I will say, there is a degree of difficulty in moving to a new place, a HUGE area, a place that you are truly in the one percentile, having five children ... one approaching the teen years, one potty training and one not even crawling yet ... having your first home and learning how to manage that along with the gift of freedom from socialized medicine (a gift, but really something to get used to and not the easiest thing to figure out when you're used to everything being "assigned" to you) ... having a completely new kind of homeschooling environment to figure out (I would have never thought this would have been so tricky), not to mention having to adjust to a drastic increase in your cost of living expenses and then having your husband deploy and your mom almost die ... I'll just stop there.

So, I get the "you're not the only one who has ever moved before" statements.  I really do.  But honestly, the moving has been the easy part.  The other crazy issues and zero escape and complete isolation (other than from fb, which is pathetically sad, I know) has been the hard part.  Trying to "fit in" here, trying to not highlight "I'm an Army Wife" (because I DO know that other people move and have issues, too ... not just Army Wives), yet that is what I am and I both treasure it and am honored to be it.  It is so sad to me that I've been so misunderstood and that many have thought that my friendship isn't real here and that when I move I won't care about them.  It has been such a struggle and one that has just worn my already exhausted spirit out.  I have felt so much competition, when I am probably the least competitive person I know.  I've never been comfortable in situation where I am the primary source of interest, and I've failed miserably at handling that here.

Looking back on the year, I see how sin separates.  My sin and other's sin.  It is sad how when someone has a need, many times our first response is to have a comparable need that shifts the focus back to us rather than keeping it on the one who is in need, or basically tell people to "suck it up" because we've all been there.  I am as guilty of this as anyone.  And as I prepare for another school year and our last year here at 57, I am torn with emotions of excitement of getting pumpkins where we bought them last year, and putting our wreaths up on our windows like we did last year, while also having emotions of this is our last year to get pumpkins at such and such a place and I wish we could stay in this house forever and just keep building memories here.  There are plenty imperfections at our church (and I would probably be more surprised if there weren't), but my girls love it there and Richard and I have met so many people that we are going to miss seeing on Sunday (and I have so many that I am truly going to miss throwing my arms around).  So, yes, this year will be bittersweet indeed, but I'd rather it be bittersweet than me just be ready to move on.  I wish more here could see that bittersweetness, rather than just thinking that I will move forward and never look back.  I don't think any Army Wife can do that.  We put roots down whether we want to or not and even when we don't try, and we find they are there when we feel the pains of them being ripped up when the moving truck pulls away.

I am thankful for the lessons learned the past 18 months.  Yes, thankful ... even for the hard ones.  Well, maybe especially thankful for the hard ones.  It is tough to grow, but if we didn't grow we'd die.  I am thankful for a God who cares for my life.  I pray that I would be a better listener, a better encourager, a better wife, a better mom, a better daughter, a better sister and a better friend.  I'm thankful for the past 18 months here at 57 and look forward to the 9-10 months that remain.  (and who knows, if we don't sell our house the girls and I just might get our "wish" to stay here a bit longer, and while that would be nice, it really is our top choice to move with Richard:)!!)

Thank you to all of you who love me and my family unconditionally.
Thank you Kristin and Sheila for holding me accountable and being tremendous examples of godly women!  I am absolutely spoiled to have you in my life.

I hope all of you are growing in your walk daily and giving thanks to God for providing for all of your needs ... even when what you think you need doesn't exactly line up with what He knows you need.

Blessings to you all and To God be the Glory.

"Green light GO!"

When Airborne Soldiers are on a jump, they have a Jump Master who makes sure they are suited up correctly with their chutes, and who let them know when they are above the drop zone and need to jump.  When the Jump Master sees the light change from red to green, he yells, "Green light GO!" 

If any of you have ever experienced your husband going through Jump Master School, you know this all too well.  There was a time when I could have probably recited the "Five Points of Performance" better than my Jump Master in Training himself!  It's been years, though, since Richard became a Jump Master, and my mind is now filled with too many other things to have space to remember everything Richard repeated to me over and over again while going through the school. But I have not forgotten the "Green light GO!" and I have my own little version of it, "GO! GO! GO!," that I like to say mostly when loading and unloading the mini-van.  It lightens things up a bit and there are times that it just seems all too appropriate to not use.  

Richard has his first leave of the summer this week.  The timing could not have been better.

Lately, I have felt like every moment of our day has been a "GO! GO! GO!" moment.  I must admit, I have been very close to a "failure to hook up" many times and have nearly jumped out of the aircraft to my death except for my JM squaring me away.    

I've got a lot to update you on, but for now, this is an old video that I came across that I didn't even know I had.  When I saw it, all I could think of was, "This is why Daddys are important.  This is what is missed when they are away serving our Country."

I'll be hopefully updating you on the many goings on here at 57 soon.

For now, I'm still trying to survive, be productive and soak in every moment.

Date night on the couch in about five minutes (and with the past 10 days I've had, I'm sure I'll be out in 10).
7 mile run in the morning.  My first and I'm still without Richard by my side.  He did say that he thought about bringing a chair and some speakers and playing the Rocky Soundtrack as I ran passed him.  If ONLY you could have heard his karaoke version of Eye of the Tiger!!  I'm sure that song will be in my mind when I wake up:).
A visit from Richard's Mom in the afternoon.
And just 13 days until The Davenport School is back in session.

To God be the Glory,
Goodnight!

Joy in the Trenches

My eyes hurt.  

They've hurt all week.  

It's just been one of those weeks. 

Yes, I'm still learning, growing and adjusting.  

Yet ...

I am so blessed.  

Every day this week I've had someone unexpected check in and say something that was just what I needed to keep my chin up.  

For instance, a comment by this person (who I admire more than she knows) ... just a random comment was all I needed one day this week when I seriously thought nothing I did was right and that I should just , well, as Richard would say "be France."   

This person also made a difference in my life, too, with a very kind gesture (and I'll be getting to that tomorrow ... sorry I've not as of yet!!)

And then there have been several others, too, who have just sort of "popped up" just at the right time.  Coincidence?  No.  I don't believe that for a minute.  

The girls and I have been listening to the Hymns for a Kid's Heart, volume two in the mornings while I clean up the kitchen and get things situated for the day.  

The first song is "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty."   

...

Praise to the Lord
Who o'er all things so wonderfully reigneth
Shelters thee under His wings
Yea, so gladly sustaineth
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth

Praise to the Lord
Who doth prosper they work and defend thee
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
If with His love He befriend thee

...

This song has been in my head all week.  

I am sheltered under God's wings ... my desires are granted in Him ... He prospers my work and defends me and His goodness and mercy are present daily.

Yes there have been so many times this week, for whatever reason, that I've just felt DONE.  I've wanted to "be France," to quit.  God knows this and He is providing for all my needs.  I have been reminded this week that He surely does always provide and I am never tempted beyond that which I can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

SO now for a glimpse of joy in the trenches from today ... 

I promised Kate last night that today we'd have a tea party.  It was good for her to have that to look forward to. Kate really thrives on having things to look forward to.  It was cute to see her at the breakfast table talking to Hanson Ellis, who she said "is a nice friend," about the tea party.  "Maybe we can have it after lunch," she said, "that is a good idea!" (Kate also likes to have "good ideas") I enjoyed seeing her pick her outfit out and get things set up.  I brought the food up (and we were hurting for appropriate tea party food, but that's okay, Kate really didn't notice) and I let Kate put it on the plates.  Can you tell which was her plate and which was Olivia's?  

I think we need to work on "doing to others as you'd have them do unto you" a tad bit more. Thankfully, Olivia is a good team player and didn't notice.  

She was just happy she got invited.  

Our Morale Booster

It was nice outside tonight.  Not so humid and I know I felt a coolness in some of the breezes.  The girls played on the swing set and rolled down the hills over and over and over and over again.  How good for my soul to hear them giggling.  How absolutely good!

Richard took up the watering for me so that I could just enjoy them for a minute.  Olivia detected water was on in the front and decided to make contact.  I just had to grab my camera.  Children are great at reminding us to seek out joy and not hesitate to embrace it.  Children are great morale boosters:).

(oh and the lack of green in the grass ... that's another post I'm working on, so just excuse for now)

and my little lu ... I'm so glad you're still one ...

even if it is just for a little while longer

(linking up again for another sweet shot tuesday)

Another Thursday

Some days I'm glad, really glad I have a camera.
I'm not the best at using mine.
I have yet to find the time to learn it.
And I know I don't have a lot of "wow" images ... but I have five daughters and one simple, but wonderful life that goes by all too quickly.
I'm glad I have a camera to counter my forgetfulness.

As I've stated before, Thursdays are family days where my husbands is stationed.  He comes home early and spends an extra hour or so with us.  Seems simple enough, and it is.  Yet, it is amazing how special that time is to the girls.  They look forward to it ... you'd think he had the entire day off!

We enjoy always.
We enjoyed it today.