Is it a full moon??

I woke up this morning thinking that AJ called me in the middle of the night, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember for sure. I woke up looking at my cell phone to see if he really did or if I was just dreaming. Indeed.. I was dreaming. We went through the whole morning routine, and as I was in the shower.. Brayden came running into me saying that his Daddy called. I didn't hear the phone right, but he figured out how to turn on my cell phone. He answered it and said, " Hello.. " AJ asked if it was Brady. He said, "Yes.. Is this my Daddy...??" Too cute. They got to talk to him while I finished my shower. We talked for a few minutes then after. He has been very busy going on missions. He said that he handed out all the spider rings I sent him.He said the kids weren't to sure about them and that he had to show them how to put them on. He said they don't really want the toys and stuff they bring to give them. He says they keep asking for chocolate and footballs(soccer balls).

Work was crazy today. The kids were nuts and the computers were doing crazy things again. It is so funny how all the computers will work really well for a few weeks with little errors, then all of a sudden we have several days of craziness. I also had a Kindergartner pee on one of the chairs and all over the floor. Lovely =) !

Well.. It is 7:20 and I need to get my Indians to bed. I have been working on my Christmas cards tonight as they have been finishing up homework. Looking forward to the end of the week!!!!!

* A Hit In IRAQ Rum Balls*

Here is the recipe! Remember if you are sending these to Iraq.. don't label them Rum Balls!

1 cup of Crushed Vanilla Wafers
1 cup of Powdered sugar
1 cup of chopped nuts
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup rum ( I add a bit more!)

Combine crumbs, sugar, nuts, and cocoa. Add syrup and rum. Mix well. Shape into one inch balls. Roll balls in powdered sugar. Store in can with lid for about one week- better after 2 or 3!

Enjoy!!!!

The start of basketball!

Whoa!!!!!!! It has been a crazy busy week. Yesterday I spent the day at work then had to go to the drill center to make calls about an upcoming conference call that we get to do with our Marines. I got home about 7:30 p.m. Thanks to my Dad, he ran the boys to haircuts and to Brady's counseling appointment. Today was filled with work... computers doing crazy things at work... and then both boys having basketball that overlapped in two different cities. Again, thanks to my Dad for taking Keegan to his and then I went to Brady's and was able to catch the end of Keeg's game. So, that will be my life the next 3 months. I am hoping that we don't have many days like this.. but you never know!

I haven't heard much from AJ in the past week. I do get an Email everyday.. so shouldn't complain. But, no back and forth communication as we normally have had. He has been crazy busy! My rum balls have been a hit in Iraq and have had several Moms ask for the recipe to send more over to their Marines! At least AJ has been sharing.. He is starting to get my Christmas gifts. He got a pillow I sent him with all of us on it and was so excited! He said he can now fall asleep with us each night!

Other then that. I am so ready for bed. I have had my hour of quiet time.. if you call doing laundry, picking up the house, and keeping my Puggle from eating everything in site quiet time.

I was listening to the radio tonight and she was having people call in about what they most wanted for Christmas. She joked that she wanted someone to come clean her house each day for a year. Wouldn't that be nice? Also, she talked about just having some quiet time. I was thinking that besides sleeping by myself, the only quiet time I get is after I get my boys to bed and that seems to be spent trying to get everyone ready for the next day!

Well, I need to get to bed. Luckily the rest of the week should not be so crazy. I get to come home at normal times the rest of the work week. We already have Christmas with AJ's siblings next Sunday and looks like I will be making more cookies!

Great Song!!!!

This is great!

Dear Civilian Wife,

You'll never understand the nights I spend alone

You'll never understand the feeling in the pit of your stomach we get a week before our husband deploys

You'll never understand the connection I feel when I meet or see someone from the same unit

You'll never understand how strong you are until they are deployed




I hope you never have to worry if your spouse is alive

I hope you never have to live with your phone on loud wondering if you are going to miss a call

I hope you never have to worry if someone is going to knock on the door

I hope you never have to wait by the computer to get an email to know that he is alive




I don't understand how you can take things for granted with your significant other

I don't understand how you can look at me and wonder why I am doing this

I don't understand how you can look at me and say that what I am going through is easy & will go by fast

I don't understand how you can complain if your significant other's phone doesn't work or they have to work late




I wish that you could see the pride I have for my husband

I wish that you could see how hard it is to watch them walk away

I wish that you could have seen the look on my husband's face when he walked away & how hard it was on him

I wish that you could love someone with everything you have




I would do anything in the world to know that he is safe

I would do anything in the world to bring all of our men & women home

I would do anything to make you understand that they did choose to be over there

I would do anything to help you understand it is ok to support our troops




How do you say that we choose this life

How do you say that our men are less because of what they are doing over there

How do you look at a family with a deployed family member and not feel their pain

How do you look at a military family and not thank them




Love,

Military Wife

Half way point!

The deployment has finally reached the half way point. AJ was activated in May, so that brings us halfway to the end! Yeah!!!!

Relaxed!

My Thanksgiving break is winding down. It seems like we have been off forever! I am not complaining, but I am ready to get back into my work routine. It has been a very productive break. I got a lot of things done that were lingering over my head and stressing me out. I got my room completely cleaned and moved around. The four laundry baskets that were hanging out in there, got put away. All of my summer/spring clothes are put in tubs and in the attic. I think I am just about caught up on all the laundry that seemed to accumulate the past week. I forgot how much more it seems we have with our sweatshirts, pants, and sweaters.

My Dad came out yesterday and took care of my leaves. I stayed in and got my Christmas stuff down. The boys and I hung the tree yesterday afternoon. I decided to keep my Christmas decorations to a minimum. I thought of how pretty everything looked and then got kinda of sad realizing that AJ won't be here to see everything. He did call when we were hanging the tree. He got to hear the kids laugh and... fight.=) Brady kept hanging everything in one spot and kept taking all of the bells off of the tree that I would put on. At one point he was swinging my crystal bell around the living room. Ugh.. thought he outgrew that last year.

I did not venture out to shop this weekend. I have become a holiday online shopper. It is so much easier with the kids and I don't have to hunt someone down to watch them if I want to fight the crowds. I just like that I can compare prices and read reviews all while sitting in bed! I decided to buy a lot of things from Walmart, and then they ship everything to my store for pick up. We will see how that works out. I just couldn't see paying the extra 30.00 for shipping when I could just swing by and get what I purchased. I think I am just about done shopping!!! I got AJ a few things and just had them directly sent to him. We will see how that turns out.

AJ said his Thanksgiving was pretty good. He got to have dinner with his platoon. He said that the Commandant of the Marine Corps was there the other day. He said he got to ask a question. He is about at his point to re-enlist and there is no sign on bonuses for reservists. There is a ton of money for active duty to reenlist with added incentives as choosing duty station, etc. He asked him why there was no bonuses and how are they going to keep their senior staff in the Marine Corps. At this rate, the Marine Corps is going to loose a lot of their experienced Marines. He says it is not about the money.. but it always is nice. Afterwards, the Sgt. Major came over and gave them his card. He said they are working on this issue, and that they should give him a call next week in D.C. I was proud of him! I know after hearing of the 40,000 sign on bonuses the active duty were getting, that made him think twice about switching to active duty. But, I am convinced he will be happy with his one weekend a month gig when he gets back. We will see.

Well, my boys are up and I am going to try to sleep a bit longer. Also, if your reading this blog.. don't forget to leave me a comment. I sometimes feel like I am writing for myself. Which isn't a bad thing... a great stress reliever, but it is always nice to know who is staying in the loop!

A project for AJ

I have been working on this for AJ

One holiday down... 3 more to go!

Yes.. I am grateful that we have one major holiday down and 3 more to go before this deployment is over. I actually knocked out two big things in one week with my birthday! Yeah!! We had a great day at my parents. The boys had a ton of fun showing off and Flat Daddy came with us. Mamaw Grace had a lot of fun with him too. She was trying to get him drunk I think =) We wanted to include him in our celebration and it did seem to make the day go better.

AJ called me this morning. He had his turkey and was heading out on a mission. He said that there was no break for them on Thanksgiving. He was very excited that he got a package from me today. They had Rum Balls in them. He said that his Captain was very excited when he tasted one. So.. those were definitely a hit and he asked for more! Here are a few pictures from the day!

Thanksgiving

Tonight we started the Thanksgiving holiday with my family. We had dinner tonight, because Jamie and Dan are heading to Minnesota tomorrow. Jodi, my other sister, had to work. The boys were not the most well behaved. I had drug them to the drill center for three hours while I got out the Family Readiness Newsletter, so I know that there being good was pretty much over. I am sure that they are missing AJ in the back of their minds. I know that I thought I would be fine, but finding that it really is hard. I am sad that he is missing this, but mostly just want him here. I'm trying to be positive and look at this as just one more thing I can cross of this deployment list. But, I am thinking staying in bed all day tomorrow sounds wonderful =) Tomorrow, we will head back to my parents for an early dinner.

I look back and the most memorable Thanksgivings were with our Marine friends when we were in CA. It was just us and them. But, times I will never forget. Being 20 years old and cooking a whole turkey dinner just like I was used to growing up, and having everything turn out! Sharing our meal with our single Marine friends, who had no families to spend it with.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. Please don't forget to say a special prayer for all of our Marines away from their families and for their families who are patiently waiting to be with them.

My family

65 degrees in November???

The one thing about living in the good Ole' Midwest is you NEVER know what the weather is going to be from day to day in the Fall. One day it will be in the 20's..the next day in the 60's. We are experiencing some unusually warm weather right now. The temperature actually rose after the sun went down. They are calling for thunderstorms and near 70 tomorrow and then possibly snow before Thanksgiving... Ugh....

Anyway.. we had my grandma's memorial service today. We drove to a suburb of Chicago. When we got there, we went and looked for my Grandfather's grave and where my Grandma will be laid to rest. We looked and looked. I am not kidding.. the cemetery is about the size of the town I live in. We finally found the grave after wandering through goose droppings. Did you know that goose droppings kinda look like dog's droppings? I am not kidding they were EVERYWHERE you walked. How dare those geese drop all over those people's graves. Anyway.. our shoes were covered, Brady had it on his pants, and Keeg somehow got it on his face. This was all before the ceremony. So, we walked back to the car.. cleaned up with Kleenex and water bottles.

We went to the chapel and found out my grandma's ashes are still not there. She is somewhere between New Mexico and Chicago. They sent her over a week ago. Don't they have at tracking system??? The priest was very sweet and did the service as if her body was there. He joked that the body is not what is important, and that it is the soul that leaves the body that we pray for. He let Keegan hold the holy water and sprinkle it on her picture. That is when we ALL lost it. He was her first Great Grand Child and I know it would have meant a lot to her.

We then went into the mausoleum where my Mom's Dad is buried. Keegan used to call it Kapaw's castle, because it is very ornate like a castle. We went and introduced Brady to his namesake and he tapped on his grave. I am sure he was chuckling at Brady trying to figure out what we were talking about.

The boys were great. They kept reminding us that they came from Heaven before they were born, and that it was a good place. Brady said he didn't want to ever go back though. They were really good on the ride home.. a bit restless on the ride up. Thanks to Jamie and Dan for driving my van, so I got a bit of a break. Brady was watching an Elmo DVD about deployments on the way up and when he saw the moon today, he said, " Mom.. I can see the Moon and Daddy's in the Moon like Elmo's Daddy.' I think the movie talks about seeing the same Moon wherever you are. Cute =)

Well. I am totally wiped from the day. Only one work day this week! Yeah!!!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Me , My Dad, and my cake! Chocolate, Chocolate with sprinkles =)

Me and My girls! Me and my sis Jamie
Happy Birthday to me!
Katie and my sis-in-law Mic
Katie and me

Me and our friend, Jeff

My soon to be cousin-in-law, Chris

Me and Shan

Yesterday, I entered the last year of my 20's. I was able to spend the day with my boys and the evening with some close friends. I was honestly dreading the whole birthday thing and most of the day was pretty difficult.

AJ got me an IPOD Nano. He had it wrapped with a card and engraved. He never does stuff like that.. so I was totally surprised! I woke up with some text messages from friends, and and E-mail with pictures from AJ. He has been working out very hard.. and I can't believe the body he has!

Brady didn't feel good yesterday, so in dealing with his whining and Keegan debating me.. the day just didn't start out right. I was feeling pretty done with this whole deployment thing and was missing AJ terribly.

My Mom and Dad took my kids around 2 and I was able to come home and get ready for my evening out. My friend Katie came down from Chicago, and then we met some of my other girlfriends for dinner. We then headed downtown to meet some more friends for drinks and concluded the night at a dance club that our friend was working at..trying to win a blackberry. Needless to say, we didn't last until the drawing. We were all pretty tired. I had gotten sick the night before and was a bit cautious I didn't have too much to drink or eat something that might not agree with me. AJ called to check on me at 12:30 and I was in bed by 2. So, I feel like I was able to get some good sleep and sleep in a bit today.

Today I met my Dad and Keeg at church and we went back to my parents for a brunch and cake. It was fun and the boys were good! Tomorrow we head to Chicago for my grandma's service.

All in all, I am excited about being 29. I have lived a lot for a 29 year old. During my 20's I became a Mom twice. I moved across country to be back closer to my family. I went through 5 deployments. I put myself through college and have worked full time while raising my boys. I have some of the best friends a girl could ask for and a great supportive family and husband. I feel like I finally know who I am and what is important in life. I look forward to what the next ten years has in store with me.

The Ziegel Family

I have blogged about Ty Ziegel before and introducing my sons to him. I wanted to share this story of his battle with the VA system. This family is the most amazing family I have ever met. They continue to inspire me and give me strength everytime I see them.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/11/15/wounded.marine/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

Something to share...

I had to share this article I found today. It seems as if the holidays are much closer together then they were when I was a kid. I had to laugh hard at this article, because just yesterday I was taking down my ceramic pumpkins and have no desire to unpack the Turkey stuff I have.. to just put it away the next day when the Christmas stuff comes down! Ugh!!!

Thanksgiving?!? What happened to summer?
Ok. I’m having a hard time with Thanksgiving coming this soon. What happened to summer, fall and Halloween? Did I sleep through it? I cannot believe another year is almost over and another one is about to begin. I cannot keep up. I went into the store (ok, the NEX) TEN days before Halloween to buy some last minute pumpkin stuff. IT WAS ALL GONE-except for two pumpkins on sale for 75% off! And, in its place, stood Christmas trees, stockings, blinky lights and those goofy snow-globes. I have no idea why, but my 2.5 year old turns bright red and screams at the top of his lungs whenever we see one. Where the heck did time go??? Did Father Time sneak back into my house and secretly speed things up when I wasn’t looking? I’m not ready for Thanksgiving this year. I have no idea what I’m going to serve and I’m seriously thinking of going to Honey Baked Ham and buying dinner in advance this year.
My kids came home today from school with turkey decorations made from their cute little hands and pilgrims made out of construction paper and it hit me. Oh my…Thanksgiving is in ONE week!!!! I don’t even have my decorations out for Thanksgiving…I confess I still have my electric pumpkins (the ones I bought at the NEX trip mentioned above) still sitting on my glider swing out back. Worse, they are still plugged in and ON!
My dinner blessing this year? Thank you, Lord, for giving me such a wonderful life that is so full of blessings that I have no time to even decorate for the season. Do you think anyone will notice if I leave the pumpkins plugged in year-round?
This entry was written by Babette, posted on November 15, 2007 at 4:28 pm,

Wednesday.. Already!!

Wow! It sure is crazy that it is Wednesday already! I guess that what happens when you have Monday off. The week seems to creep right up on you!! Honestly, I don't really like it. All day today, I was totally messed up on what day it was! I couldn't keep straight what classes came to me, and almost forgot to take our neighbor boy home from school. Oh well!

The weeks are going faster and faster these days. I think it is just because I have a billion things going on. I really feel like I am spinning at times. Work has been very busy with the launch of a portable computer lab. We have a moving lab with 30 laptops now in addition to my lab. So, just more work and craziness! We are getting ready to start work on a new report card program, lunch and attendance program, and electronic grade book. We are working with the programmer and her is going to use our school as the pilot program. The good thing is I get to have a lot of say in the features we want!!

Keegan started basketball games yesterday. Brady started skills and drills last Saturday. So, two nights out of the week starting in December will be dedicated to basketball!

Oh well. I need to get going. I need to clean my house before my friend Katie comes on Saturday. The whole cleaning thing completely overwhelms me. I have thought I would hire someone to clean while AJ was gone.. but always talk myself out of it and using the money on something fun!

Marine Corps Ball '07

Mr. and Mrs. Haney (Our Co's Mom and Dad) Captain Justin Miller (Inspector Instructor for the Peoria Drill center and Gunny Howard)
Me, Becky Weber, and Shannon Bristol (My Rock!)

Gunny being a goof!
Me, Shannon, and Gunny's wife Teri.
AJ's best friend SSgt. Mike Wagner
Mike, his date, Shanna, and me

I have to say that I had an awesome time at the ball. I was very excited to get all dressed up and to get to hang out with the Marines and their families. After the ceremony, which usually lasts an hour.. but not this year!... I began to have a panic attack. I felt like the walls were closing in and I had to get up and get some air. A few people asked me if I was o.k. right before that happened.. and I really though I was. For some reason, I just got completely overwhelmed and had to remove myself. I got some fresh air, and was able to get through a purple heart presentation and bronze start presentation. I about lost it when this Hero, said he would trade all three of these awards, if he could be back in the Marine Corps. Ughh...

Then the dancing started. I had a beer cup in one hand and my cell phone in the other. AJ had told me he would call at 9 p.m. Everyone was laughing at me with my hands full dancing =) About 9:15 he called! I was so excited.. but couldn't find his best friend or anyone else that I knew he wanted to talk to. I sent three people to search for them while I got to talk. I was good talking to him, until his best friend Mike got on the phone. Mike and AJ had made a pact that if one went on deployment, the other one would go to. This time, Mike couldn't join AJ and it has been miserable for both of them. They miss each other so much. Mike was getting teary- eyed and I of course lost it!! I got through him talking to Gunny Howard, and a few other Marines, but then the tears came again. We always enjoy getting dressed up and dancing the night away with the other Marines. It is the BEST party you will ever be at! I just really wanted him there in that moment.

The night ended at 3 a.m. for me. All the Marines and other guests all went a few blocks over to a dance club. Amazing the look on peoples faces when a big group of Marines in dress blues walk in! My feet were KILLING me by the time we left. WE all went dressed up, and there was no way to take our shoes off on that dance floor. Anyway.. I didn' t get much sleep.. but it was a fun night. Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the boys and letting me be with my Marine Corps family. =)

This is a big week for me.. my last week of being 28. I am looking forward to 29 and leaving the 20's behind. I feel like the 20's have been a huge bunch of years and that I really now know who I am now.

Well, I better get something done!!!! Happy Veteran's Day to all of my favorite Veterans.

Where did the week go?

Wow! This week flew by! It seems that I have been so busy with the boys and with work... that blogging took a backseat this week. I also have been fighting an infection, so I have been in bed by 9 each night. Crazy for me.. because I never have been in bed before 11 in weeks past. We are all doing well. I pretty much have a four day weekend this weekend. I will be attending the Marine Corps ball with my friend Shannon on Saturday night. Always a great time and fun to get dressed up! Tomorrow night we will head over to the hotel to get it decorated. Other then that.. just sailing through. AJ is good. Haven't heard a lot from him. It sounds like they have been busy too! I had the boy's parent teacher conferences tonight. They are both doing well. Keegan scored above average on his standardized tests and is in an accelerated Math program. Great because.. he wants to be a pilot someday! Brady is doing well too. He also shows a strength in Math. We need to work more on his prereading skills and fine motor. Not surprising because of his early sight problems and depth perception problems. So.. all in all. I am very proud of them. Well.. I am exhausted from my long day. I will post pictures from the ball later this weekend!

A sad day...

We got news this morning that my Dad's Mom, my grandmother passed away this morning. She had been diagnosed with a brain tumor a few months ago. They did do surgery on it, but said that it was the kind that would come back. It did come back and quickly. She had lost consciousness, so she passed peacefully. She was in New Mexico, so I think we will have a Memorial service a few days before Thanksgiving in Chicago, her hometown and where my grandfather is buried.

Please keep my Dad and his sisters in your prayers. They all have lost the only parent they have had for the past 30 years when my grandfather died. He is doing great, but know it has to be hard. I am ready for things to brighten up for him. He has had a rough year and half with losing his job and trying to start over and now this.

We thought of you with love today,But that is nothing new.We thought about yesterday,And days before that too.We think of you in silence,We often speak your name;All we have now are memories,And your picture in a frame.Your memory is our keepsake,With which we will never part;GOD has you in his keep,We have you in our heart.It broke our heart to lose you.But you didn't go alone,For a part of us went with you...The day GOD took you home.~Author Unknown~

A date with my Marine..

I am sure you all are wondering what I am talking about. But, I got to spend the whole evening with AJ. He had just gotten back from a mission and caught me online. Well, I caught an Email from him and we just kept responding to each other for 3 hours! He said he couldn't sleep. So, we just kept chatting away. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday evening at home! After our chat, he was ready to hit the sack.. I think it is now 9 a.m. there. Well, I am off to bed myself. I am looking forward to the added hour of sleep!!!!!!!!!

Palm Reading...

Last night, a couple of my Marine Wife friends were over. We were talking about palm reading. I did my own palm reading online and this is what it said. It is very interesting and pretty right on!

First let's take a look at your Life Line. You have the best kind of Life Line,long and clearly marked. This shows that you will possess good health, vitalityand a very nice life expectancy. The wide swooping motion of your Life Lineindicates strength, enthusiasm and an improved love life. The break in yourLife Line may be an indicator of an accident or serious illness. This break isan indication of a sudden change in your life situation.Now let's see what your Head Line had to say. Your Head Line is deep, long andstraight, stretching across the palm. This indicates a logical and direct wayof thinking. The straighter the line, the more realistic the thinking, and thedeeper the line, the better the memory. If your Head Line is forked near themiddle of your palm, it shows an important new interest. If it is forked at theend, it shows a descent into second childhood. Having your Head Line and HeartLine separated shows a love for adventure and an enthusiasm for life.The last line we'll look at is your Heart Line. A normal and content love lifeis represented when the Heart Line starts under the Index Finger as it does onyour hand. A long Heart Line like yours, running almost all the way across thepalm, represents an idealist in love. In love you tend to look for those whosestatus rises above your own, and you have a great respect for them. The smalllines you may see extending upward from your Heart Line are a good sign, as theyillustrate happiness in love. You posses a pointed hand. This is the hand of someone who appreciates thefiner things in life. You like to be surrounded with art and beauty, and youtend to avoid manual labor. You are interested in psychic matters, and may evenposses a heightened sense of perception. Many people who poses this type ofhand become involved in the cosmetic or hair styling industry. The mixed handis a sign of versatility. You have a mixed hand which means that you are morelikely to be a generalist, instead of a specialist. You combine creativity andpracticality in equal parts. As far as careers are concerned for the owners ofthe mixed hand, don't be surprised if you end up as a teacher, a journalist oreven on the business side of the creative arts.