OK finally I have a minute to sit down and do this! Every time I have tried to sit down and actually say hello to everyone out here in blog land, I am interrupted with someone who needs.

I wanted to share my favorite picture of Christmas with you all! This is my son with his new coat and his new guitar hero game sitting in his bedroom! I thought that this was just the cutest thing ever. Let me explain why: we all grew up in the country and now what it means to be a "country boy/girl" but Nathan has never truly lived in the country, he will go home to spend the summer with my parents but that is it. Family back home call him a "little surfer dude" or a "beach baby" and then our friends at our home call him a little country boy stuck in a beach body. So he has adapted to his surroundings right. Then I go and find him looking like this! Now ladies this is my little boy... Anyway its cute to me!

I hope everyone enjoyed there Christmas, I know we did. Ray's mom came up to visit us for the holiday, so we got to spend Christmas with her. We also had dinner for all the marines that did not go home for Christmas for whatever reason. Yes, I know why the little lady in Pensacola, FL told me that "if you get involved with someone in the military, then you had better get used to being put on the spot and have to entertain them boys." She was right, I found out that we were having company come over the Friday night before Christmas! After the initial freak out I was fine! I did not have enough food for everyone. LOL! Our solution: go buy two ducks and deep fry those things. LOL.. I know that sounds disgusting but oh my goodness were they ever good. And not to mention that I always have turkey for the holiday but this year I had decided to make my first ever ham and it tasted so good! I was very pleased with the dinner. I got rid of my leftovers (for the most part) by giving the marines that came over a big plate full of food to take back to the barracks so that they would have something to eat!

Well I have put it off long enough! I had told a few of you that we might be getting stationed in Hawaii and now it is official We are moving to Hawaii in March!!!! Yep that is right, I am doing another freak out! I have so much to do and not enough time to do it in. We have not told Nathan that we are going and plan on waiting until we have a date so he will not tell my parents who by the way are not happy about the possibility. Since they are on there way to my house now we will wait to tell them so we do not upset our weekend with them. I am happy and sad all at the same time. Let me explain: see we just moved here last March and Nathan really likes this school and I hate to move him again. I love my job, I mean really love my job and the girls I work with. I have never had a set of friends like them and I hate to leave them! So here I am with this exciting move coming up and I can not tell my parents, my son, my job and my friends because they will all be sad and mad and hurt all at the same time!!!! But seriously I am moving to Hawaii how cool is that!!!!

The other down side to that is that I am way out of shape and what used to be muscle has turned into fat! I have managed to make my self sick at the thought so I now have to loose some weight and get into shape. I only need to loose like 10 pounds which won't be hard but oh my goodness my body looks horrible. I am so out of shape. I am so mad at myself for letting myself go and look like this. So for the last 4 days I have been at the gym trying to fix this problem before we leave. Wish me luck, it's not gonna be easy!!!

If I do not get a chance to talk to you all I wish you all a very Happy New years!

Christmas time

I know that I am late on this but this is our Christmas tree, if it looks like the star is drooping to one side well it is.. Our tree is dying on us! Gotta love real trees. But I do not care. I love Christmas, it is my favorite holiday. The other picture is of the buffet in my dinning room. I love the willow tree figures and I only started collecting them last year, so far I have the friendship figure, that my friend bought me last year for Christmas. Ray and Nathan bought me the mother and son figure for mother's day. My friend, Jen, bought me the caring heart figure for Christmas this year (we both work in the cardiology dept.) I bought myself the nativity scene for myself this year and I am not suppose to know but Ray's mom bought me the 3 wise men set. I am so excited!!!!!

I love to decorate for this season our whole house is decorated. Although most of my stuff is still in Florida, we made the best of it and I went and bought some new things... Not so sure what I will do next year when I have both sets of decorations though...

Things are much better here now. I have been very stressed out. We still do not know if we are moving yet or not, we know we will be moving but we do not know when it could be in 2 months or it could be in 7 months. it is very frustrating, which i am sure every military family knows. So you put Christmas and family coming in on top of that and you will know why I have been so stressed out!

I forgot to tell you guys that I finally got the Lasik eye procedure done. I have wanted to do it for so long and last Saturday I did it. I am so happy.. My eye sight is so much better now. I do not have 20/20 vision yet but man is it better. It was not nearly as painful as I thought that it would be. I slept most of Saturday and was fine from there on. I had really dry eyes and then we figured out that I was allergic to the eye drops and after I stopped taking those things have been awesome... So now I am working on getting my last wisdom tooth pulled out. Yes I chickened out on going back to the dentist like 5 years ago, and now it is giving me problems!

If I do not get a chance to see you all before Christmas Merry Christmas!!!!! I have to go watch a movie with Ray and his mom Talk to you soon!

My day

I am so sad today and really do not feel like saying much right now. I will say this; things are not good here and I am not sure what to do about it. Sorry to be a Debbie downer. Talk to you all real soon.

I wish you enough

I received this email this morning and I almost cried while reading it and I wanted to share it with you guys. I am not sure if you have already read it before but I hope you enjoy.

Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, "I love you and I wish you enough". The daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom". They kissed and the daughter left.
The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?".

Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?". "I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral," she said. "When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?". She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone".
She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more. "When we said , 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them". Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
She then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them but then an entire life to forget them.
TAKE TIME TO LIVE.....
To all my friends and loved ones,
I WISH YOU ENOUGH

Updates on Me

Well just let me say if not being able to sign in on my blog for a while was not bad enough, what ever made me think that I could change my look and everything would work out! I do not know because I have changed my look with no problem, but when I tried to add my links, just like I was instructed, they won't show up. So Glo, I know your pain because now I say CHARLA PLEASE HELP ME!!! I love her to death and I would not know what to do without her on this site!
Since I mentioned Charla, I hope she is enjoying Oklahoma. I received a Christmas card in the mail the other day from here and I had to chuckle because I noticed that she did not have a address yet! I only laugh because I know soon, I will be doing the same thing. I am really proud of her, since we came from the same town and pretty much had the same set of friends, I know how scary it is too move. I am really proud of her for taking that step! I always told her that there was so much freedom in moving away from there, do not get me wrong, I miss and love my family very much. But it is good to stand on your own for a little while without the parents there to help out all the time. Or at least that is how I felt, and from what I am hearing from Charla she too understands what I mean. So again I am proud of you and wish you and Steve the best of luck! You never know we might be stationed somewhere close by one day!
Ok, its back to what I have been doing. Let me just start off with this: It is Sunday morning, I am at home alone (with the dog), at there is no noise! There is no "MOM will you come help me with this" or Baby what are you doing?" Nothing, no noise except for the dog cleaning his feet! LOL I am so excited! Ray and Nathan went bike riding today with one of the gunny sgt. They decided to bring Nate along so he could ride the jumps! I am only praying that he does not get hurt! Every time they go do the boy thing, I get scared, the last time they did this it was a paintball excursion. My 10 year old boy with 15 marines in a battle town. Can we say unqualified! He had a blast though! They all took care of him and made sure that he didn't get hurt! Can you imagine my son with a bunch of marines in full gear shooting paintball guns, he came back with some nice bruises. This is with a bullet proof vest! So I hope they have fun!
Work has been crazy. I love it there but it is always so busy! Maybe that is why I like. We see on an average 36 patients a day which may not sound like alot but that is 36 EKG's and 36 ECHO's (ultrasound of the heart). It gets very hectic, plus the phone calls, the refills, prepping charts for the next day and so on. Not to mention all the breaks to sit and chit chat for a few minutes. We all know to keep your sanity you have to have that!
Friday night was our Christmas party and we had such a good time, we had the party at one of the doctor's house we had all of the kids playing in the game room and upstairs while all the adults hung out on the other side of the house. The doc had a shuffle board table, which I love to play and we had soo much fun beating him at that game. I will brag on Nate for a minute, with all the kids at the party it got a little loud with all of the running and so on. But I told Nathan once to stop and he did just that stopped. He ended up playing shuffle board with one of the teenagers most of the night. I was very proud of him!
Nathan and I both had dentist appointments on Friday so I did not send him to school but he did go into to work with me, he has fun when we do that we have 6 doctors in our practice. So he has plenty to keep him busy! I am going to brag on him again. We went and bought 3 little kids Christmas and wrapped them up to give to the lady at the hospital. He had so much fun making sure that those kids would have a good Christmas. It was nice to see that he didn't care that that meant he would not be getting as much because of that! It's little things like that that let me know I must be doing something right!
Well the biggest news that I can give you is we might be getting stationed in Hawaii. We will find out on the 15th if that is where we will be going. We are so excited. After looking at Michell's trip there I want to go even more. It would be a long way away from my family but dang it would be nice to live there for awhile. LOL. So keep that in your prayers please so we will have a smooth transition.
For now I need to go do some work for the office so I will talk to you all soon!

Holy Cow it finally let me sign back in.... I was so frustrated I could not get my blog to cooperate.

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to write back. I have no excuse but I just got caught up in my everyday life. I still love my job. I love the people that I work with! Some of the girls have become very close to me.

I hope everyone is doing great and I will try to stop around to see everyone this weekend but for now I am off to the dentist office.

Military Wife

"Military Wife"

The good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared. She said, "Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one."

The Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both father and mother, be a perfect hostess with an hour's notice, run on black coffee, handle emergencies without a manual, and she must be willing to move to a new location ten times in seventeen years."

The Lord continued, "We must give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride in her husband's achievements, sustain the pain of separations, beat soundly when it is overworked and be large enough to say,
'I Love You,' regardless."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his arm, "get some rest. You can finish this tomorrow."

"I can't stop now," said the Lord. "I am so close to creating something unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick, can wave goodbye to her husband from a pier, a runway, or a depot and understand why it's important that he leave."

The angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord's creation. "There's a leak," she announced. "Something is wrong with the construction. You are trying to put too much into this model."

"What you see is not a leak," the Lord said. "It's a tear."

"A tear? What is it there for?" asked the angel.

The Lord replied, "It's for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment, loneliness, pride and a dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear."

"You are a genius!" exclaimed the angel.

The Lord looked puzzled and replied, "I didn't put it there."

-Author unknown




I am sure that you have all read this before but I just wanted to give praise to the military wives whose husband are away protecting our freedom while the wives are at home protecting there families..... I have the upmost respect for each and every one you!

Lovwe you guys.

Hello everyone!! It has been so crazy around here. Its funny how I have never met any one you out there in blog land but I miss you guys! LOL. I am loving my job. It is a field that I have never worked in, so there is so much for me to learn. I feel like a sponge that has been left in the water and can hold no more... It is truly so much information. I work in a pediatric cardiology office (I do not know if I told you that) so these little kids are so very complicated. It really makes you value your life a little more. Things that I take for granted, like walking up stairs, is something that some of these little guys will never be allowed to do. I want another baby. Hopefully I will get another one soon. The girls that I work with are all great. Its so nice to work in an office that feels like a family. Not to mention I am being productive. Yeah me!!!!!

OUCHHHHHHHH

Wow what a week this has been! It has been a week full of orientation and let me tell you that they are making sure we are well informed... They have given us so much information, I am on overload now. I came home one night and Ray tried to show me something and he had to tell me like 4 times before I would get it. It unfortunately had nothing to do with nursing and since it did not I could not get it!!

My job is the one that I have been waiting on. They called me and set up a orientation date well when it happened it felt like it happened so fast. Funny since I applied back in June! I am working in a high risk children's hospital. It seems to be a great hospital, they are very good and caring at what they do. The girls in my office seem sweet. They put a huge vase of flowers in my office and signs are every where in the clinic saying "welcome Michelle, we are so glad that you are finally here!" How funny is that!

Real quick before I leave, the title of my blog today is ouchhhhh. This is because I had to get shots yesterday... I now feel sorry for the little ones that go and get a series of vaccines in one day! I had to get my PPD (TB), MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) because my titer was low and if that was not bad enough they then told me that I had to get another series of the Hep B vaccines because of the same thing (low titer), then I took the Tdap (tetnus, diptheria, and pertusis) Can you believe there is another out break of whooping cough! That is crazy! So I got a total of 4 injections one right after another. The Tdap and MMR really hurt when they get into your system. Of course my body did not react so well to this. By the time I came home I had a temp of 102. Aches everywhere and I had hives yes I am allergic to one of them. Which one I have no idea!!!! I feel alot better today but my arms are so sore!! Yes I am crying like a baby this hurts! I feel sorry for those little guys now! LOL.

Well off to work I go!

I was M.I.A.

Hey girls I am sorry I have not been around but things have been busy here. I started my new job today and so far I like it! I will try to get caught up on all of my blog reading but until then I love you guys and take care!!

I wish you a sandpiper

The Sandpiper
by Robert Peterson

She was six years old when I first met her on the beach near
where I live.

I drive to this beach, a distance of three or four miles,
whenever the world begins to close in on me. She was building a sand castle or
something and looked up, her eyes as blue as the sea.

"Hello," she said.

I answered with a nod, not really in the mood to bother with a small child.

"I'm building," she said.

"I see that. What is it?" I asked, not really caring.

"Oh, I don't know, I just like the feel of sand."

That sounds good, I thought, and slipped off my shoes.

A sandpiper glided by. "That's a joy," the child said.

"It's a what?"

"It's a joy. My mama says sandpipers come to bring us joy."

The bird went gliding down the beach. Good-bye joy, I muttered to myself,
hello pain, and turned to walk on. I was depressed, my life seemed
completely out of balance.

"What's your name?" She wouldn't give up.

"Robert," I answered. "I'm Robert Peterson."

"Mine's Wendy... I'm six."

"Hi, Wendy."

She giggled. "You're funny," she said.

In spite of my gloom, I laughed too and walked on. Her musical giggle followed me.

"Come again, Mr. P," she called. "We'll have another happy day."

The next few days consisted of a group of unruly Boy Scouts, PTA meetings,
and an ailing mother. The sun was shining one morning as I took my hands out
of the dishwater. I need a sandpiper, I said to myself, gathering up my coat.
The ever-changing balm of the seashore awaited me. The breeze was chilly but I strode along, trying to recapture the serenity I needed.

"Hello, Mr. P," she said. "Do you want to play?"

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, with a twinge of annoyance.

"I don't know. You say."

"How about charades?" I asked sarcastically.

The tinkling laughter burst forth again. "I don't know what that is."

"Then let's just walk."

Looking at her, I noticed the delicate fairness of her face. "Where do you live?" I asked.

"Over there." She pointed toward a row of summer cottages.

Strange, I thought, in winter.

"Where do you go to school?"

"I don't go to school. Mommy says we're on vacation."

She chattered little girl talk as we strolled up the beach, but my mind was
on other things. When I left for home, Wendy said it had been a happy day.
Feeling surprisingly better, I smiled at her and agreed.

Three weeks later, I rushed to my beach in a state of near panic. I was in no
mood to even greet Wendy. I thought I saw her mother on the porch and felt
like demanding she keep her child at home.

"Look, if you don't mind," I said crossly when Wendy caught up with me, "I'd
rather be alone today." She seemed unusually pale and out of breath.

"Why?" she asked.

I turned to her and shouted, "Because my mother died!" and thought, My God, why was I saying this to a little child?

"Oh," she said quietly, "then this is a bad day."

"Yes," I said, "and yesterday and the day before and -- oh, go away!"

"Did it hurt?" she inquired.

"Did what hurt?" I was exasperated with her, with myself.

"When she died?"

"Of course it hurt!" I snapped, misunderstanding, wrapped up in myself. I strode off.

A month or so after that, when I next went to the beach, she
wasn't there. Feeling guilty, ashamed, and admitting to myself I missed her,
I went up to the cottage after my walk and knocked at the door. A drawn
looking young woman with honey-colored hair opened the door.

"Hello," I said, "I'm Robert Peterson. I missed your little girl today and wondered where she was."

"Oh yes, Mr. Peterson, please come in. Wendy spoke of you so much. I'm afraid I allowed her to bother you. If she was a nuisance, please, accept my apologies."

"Not at all -- she's a delightful child." I said, suddenly realizing that I meant what I had just said.

"Wendy died last week, Mr. Peterson. She had leukemia. Maybe she didn't tell you."

Struck dumb, I groped for a chair. I had to catch my breath.

"She loved this beach, so when she asked to come, we couldn't say no. She seemed so much better here and had a lot of what she called happy days.

But the last few weeks, she declined rapidly..." Her voice faltered, "She left
something for you, if only I can find it. Could you wait a moment while I look?"

I nodded stupidly, my mind racing for something to say to this lovely young
woman. She handed me a smeared envelope with "MR. P" printed in bold
childish letters. Inside was a drawing in bright crayon hues-- a yellow beach, a blue sea, and a brown bird. Underneath was carefully printed:

A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and a heart that had almost forgotten to love
opened wide. I took Wendy's mother in my arms. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,
I'm so sorry," I uttered over and over, and we wept together.

The precious little picture is framed now and hangs in my study. Six
words -- one for each year of her life -- that speak to me of harmony, courage, and
undemanding love.

A gift from a child with sea blue eyes and hair the color of sand -- who taught me the gift of love.


----------------------------------------------------------------------


NOTE: This is a true story sent out by Robert Peterson. It
happened over 20 years ago and the incident changed his life forever. It
serves as a reminder to all of us that we need to take time to enjoy living and
life and each other.

The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less.
Life is so complicated, the hustle and bustle of everyday traumas
can make us lose focus about what is truly important or what is only a
momentary setback or crisis.

This week, be sure to give your loved ones an extra hug, and by all means,
take a moment... even if it is only ten seconds, to stop and smell the roses.
This comes from someone's heart, and is read with many and now I share it with you...
May God bless everyone who receives this! There are NO coincidences!

Everything that happens to us happens for a reason. Never brush aside
anyone as insignificant. Who knows what they can teach us?

What A Relaxing Weekend

Wow it is amazing how much better you feel after a relaxing weekend! We had such a good time this weekend, nothing major happened. We just got to enjoy each others company and it can't get much better than that! Did I ever tell you guys how Ray told me he loved me? We were only a few months into our relationship when he told me he loved me and before we knew it, we were moving in with each other only 4 months into it. Awww I know. LOL. This is will not be an exciting post today.

Friday night Ray and I simply made dinner at home and watched a movie, which is always a nice way to unwind. I sat and listened to him go on and on about the stresses of his week. Which he does a lot. We talked about it and I gave him the objective opinions that I am so good at, you know like well do you think maybe he is harder on you because he knows and expects better from you so when you give him something that is not right or messed up for whatever reason, you get a negative response and the other guy he just over looks (which is his normal). Your boss is always telling you how neat and how he likes how you have changed everythig right? I usually get a look followed with ok I can give him that! But it is very important to listen, this I am learning. Being able to put your stress aside and listen to his and make sure he knows that they matter is not something that always comes natural to women. We for the most part see them as the rock in the relationship if you will, and its easy to forget that men have stress and when they will actually talk about it you have to let them!!!! Hope that made sense! But anyhoo take that as free advice!!!

Saturday we simply woke up, he made me breakfast which is normal for us. I cook all week and he makes breakfast on the weekends. It works for us, but of course I don't work. We went to see Talladega Nights, the Nascar movie. I am not really a Nascar fan. I was out numbered so I had to get used to it. The movie was one of those stupid funny kind of movies. I was definitely a movie I wanted to see but I just do not think I would want to see it twice! We then came home jumped on the motorcycle and went for a ride, he drove, we went to an outdoor store yes most men's paradise!!! I think we spent two hours in that store! Me bored out of my mind. It was complete with an aquarium and rock climbing wall and more. We did a quick dinner and a restaurant near by, then home to grab the dog, and the car and off to the beach we go... There is just something about walking on the beach late at night! It is so relaxing, I love living by the water. We had so much fun with the dog out there. He did such a good job. I was so proud of him. Bo, is his dog. He played with his Frisbee and completely ignored all the other dogs and for a Pitt that is good and almost unheard of! We then came home and attempted to put Bo in the house and he noticed that I did not get out of the car so he stood by the door waiting for me. It was so cute! So when Ray tried to put him in his kennel he shot out the door and jumped in the car and got in the back seat and sat there so pretty. We tried to call him and he would turn his head and look away from us like I do not hear you!! The dog won he got to go get ice cream with us! What a spoiled dog!!!

Sunday was simply I cleaned house, as usual, and he fixed 4-wheeler! We did go to the craft store and I bought stuff to make candles. I am so excited so tomorrow look for pictures of the candles!!

I warned you nothing exciting in this post

This what I found on the refrigerator Sunday evening! Isn't he sweet!!!

What a weird day

Well I am short on time today but I just wanted to give a real quick update on the job interview today: I went and the position is for a clinic and they said that I could work on some nights until 10:30. That is a long day for a doctor's office, I think. Plus you would work weekends. Call me crazy but dang!!!! So we will see. I have decided that I will wait until Monday and if I do not hear back from the human resource department then I will call back on Tuesday and see if I can go and get the packet on my own. What do you think is that being to pushy or am I ok with doing that? Please be honest with me....

You know how some people are blessed with grace to deal with situations and you just look at them and say how did you do that and be so nice and caring about it? I do not think I could do that,kind of situation. Well I had one of those today and it kind of surprised myself. Still not sure what to think about it! Let me explain.

A little while back Ray received a phone call from a girl in his past, she was crying to him about her problems, (yes she is a ex's of his!) He of course tells me about the phone call and my response was why is she calling you? That is not your place anymore. He said I know that and I told her that same thing. I trust him and all that so we were ok. But I'm not wrong in thinking that is not ok. As he is telling me about her little problem I say well if she calls again let me talk to her and I will help her, but he knows I always do this kind of thing. So now with saying that--today Ray comes home from lunch and says while he is holding his phone, remember when you said bla bla bla, well meet my ex!!!! He then hands me the phone and I say hello and hear this girl crying on the other end. I say "honey what is wrong?" She spills her guts to me about her situation. I at this point am really dumb founded at all this. She is a single mother of a small daughter and is involved in a nasty relationship and does not know how to let go of this man even though she knows she needs to. I talk to her for 45 minutes then tell her that I need to go and she asks me if I would please call her back, I said ummmmmmm I guess I can if you need me to, I take her number and tell her goodbye.

I get off the phone thank Ray while laughing and say thanks for the warning! LOL. He said I knew you would know just what to say to her, your really good at that kind of stuff and they really listen to you when you talk to them that's why i love you so much. Thank you baby!

So after my job interview I get back in my car and I start to pray about this and he simply tells me "If I hadn't sent someone to you in your time of need what would of happened to you?" After I stopped crying and said but God this is too weird for me that is his ex girlfriend. I got over myself and found love for this girl who needed someone. I called her back as I promised and got her address so I could send her some CD's that really helped me in my past and talked to her for an hour, this girl is not saved and I got her the name and address of a church she is gonna go to, and then she tells me "You know when I called Ray today something told me that I was gonna talk to you and that you had something that I needed, I could feel it, and I just wanted to thank you for talking to me!"

Now is that grace or what!

I am so frustrated

Have you ever felt like your whole day was wasted? That you ran around and got absolutely nothing accomplished? Well that was me today! I recently got my mail from the move, the post office kind of lost some of it and it finally came to me today! Yeah right NOOO because it had 2 payroll checks and a deposit check in it that no one will cash for me here!!! It is too old. The checks were dated 4 months ago! So that is wasted money that I will never see! That is ok! I can get over that. But I told you all that I got that job that I had wanted, well now I just need to get them to tell me when I can start!!! So frustrating! I really need to start this job soon! Cash funds are really low and we all know how that feels.

So I would like some feedback on this please! (But first realize I know that God has this all under control and that maybe while I am telling you all this I will get the answer that I need!) Silly I know but it is nice to have someone to throw it out there to and just be like NOW thanks I feel better!
So here goes:
I applied for this job back in June. On June 14th they asked me to come in for an interview, so I did. It went well and she said that they needed to get with the head doctor and set up a time for the applicants to meet with the nurses and the doctors. She asked me to give her a week and then she would give me a call. Ok fine I understand and that is reasonable, right.
One week goes by and I hear nothing, so I figured since I did not get the job since I really was not qualified for the position and I new that. Two weeks went by and they asked me to come in on July 7th for another interview and I said yes. I was very excited and then we get called to go home because of Ray's grandpa. So I called them and explained to them the situation and she told me not to worry and we rescheduled the appointment. The interview went very well again and I thought that I had gotten the position and yet I walked away not knowing anything.
I waited and then the following week I call them back and I was told that she thought that I did get the position but she would call me back with more information. The following day they ask me to come in for another interview with the office manager. Which I did and by the way that was a waste of my time, she honestly just wanted to meet me! No joke that is what she told me!! She then told me that they needed to fill the position as soon as possible and she would call me in two days to let me know either way. I said great! That's when I found out that I got the job, which was last Wednesday. She said she would call Friday with more details. I get a call from there human resource department with the hospital on Thursday and I faxed her the appropriate paperwork, then nothing. No call on Friday no call on Monday, remember they were the ones who said they need to fill this position like now, yet they don't seem to be doing this!
I called them and asked what was up (in a very professional way) and she told me that they have a salary for me and we talked about that and then she tells me I need to wait for human resources to call me again!!!!
I could not be wrong but it does not sound like this office is run very well. But in the mean time I have another interview with another doctor's office on Thursday just in case! LOL.

So is this God shutting that door and opening up another one or is He just having fun watching me freak out and not letting go of the control and letting him deal with it?!? I know I am mess. PLEASE CLARITY WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! Or if you would just like to laugh at me and say poor little girl, she is just so precious! Stroke my hair and hug me! That would be ok too!!!!

Update on my boo boo's I am doing much better. I am not as sore as I was and here is a picture of the only open wound that I still have the rest of them have dried up!!!!

Ok blogger is up to its old tricks and it will not let me download the picture so I will try again later. Sorry

Make them go away please

Real quick does anyone remember how to get on the list so that they (telemarketers)can't call you anymore? Wasn't it called the "no call list"? I am so tired of the constant calls that I am getting GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!! LOL

I did it this time

First Things First

I have been meaning to send a special thanks to my friend, Shionge, in Singapore for the lovely gifts that she sent us! We love them and the magnet is placed on the refrigerator with all of the others! So again Thank you. Here is a picture of the gifts! My son is so excited to see the candy!


Ok I meant to tell you all this Saturday evening but I just did not have it in me! LOL. I wrecked Ray's motorcycle Saturday!!! We are ok. I got road burn on my left shoulder, forearm, hip, knee and ankle! Yes I slid across the road. Ray went over my head and landed in the grass. Don't worry I caught the bike with my leg. I now know what the weight of the bike feels like. LOL. Personal note: riding his bike is what we were fighting over the other day! See I told you it was silly. I want to learn how to ride the bike but I am afraid of it at the same time. I get scared when I turn the bike because it feels like it is falling and I can not keep the bike upright, which is what happened when we wrecked. I was turning onto the main road and that happened and I freaked out the clutch popped and we well we wrecked. I was so scared! Not to mention how bad it hurt! I felt my skin tear away from my arm. Can we say ouch!!!!!!! I did not cry but I did feel like I was going to get very sick. I did not but wow it was bad for awhile. We were about an hour from the house so I had no choice but to get back on the back of the bike so we could go home.
Ray was good about it! He was not mad, just glad I was OK. But the bike,which is only 6 months old, has the following damage: broken mirror on the left side, bent handle bars, messed up gas tank, and a little body damage on the side and I somehow broke his foot peg!!!!!
This is the worst part of the day: On the way home I was talking to God and it hit me like a ton of bricks, I always pray for safety, grace and mercy, and for Him to send angels of protection to be with us! This time I forgot to do so!!!! Yep the one time I forgot and I wrecked!!!!!!
Tonight when Ray gets home from work I will take pictures of the bike and of me so you can see my BOO Boos!


On a brighter note I am on day 38 without Nathan and he calls me three to four times a day to talk to me. He now says: "mommy are you ok? How is your arm? Is your knee ok?" He is so worried about me! It is so cute. But then it follows with something like what happened last night! "Ok good, mom we were all talking and Sami, his cousin, and Aunt Diane, and Punkin said that it would be ok after Sami spends two weeks here with me that I can go to Cleveland, Ohio to spend a week with them! Then come back to grandma's and spend like three days with them then I can come home, so can I please go spend time with them. Aunt Diane says she will take good care of me and you can call her if you want to!!! PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSE mom I really want to do this!" A little background on the family is that my Aunt Diane just lost her husband to cancer, they had been together since she was 14 years old. She is now in her mid 40's. She has 2 daughters and 4 granddaughters who love to go to my parents house to play! I know she would take good care of Nathan and believe it or not they all think that I am over protective of him and will not let him go! Which is true, he can stay at my parents but I freak if it is anywhere else. LOL. My mom says "it would mean a lot to them if you would let him go up there, they already have everything planned out" So yes he is going to Cleveland for a week!!!!!!!
I am going absolutely crazy here. I miss my son but at the same time I am glad he is having so much fun! I keep telling myself if he was here we would be paying 300.00 for one week of camp! yep, ouch that is outrageous I know... And he is having so much more fun there and its free. I will be honest and say that it has been very nice to have all of this alone time with Ray. When Nathan is here we do not spend any time without him so with that in mind I have fallen in love with Ray all over again this summer!

I love flowers!

Well ladies I told you that Ray was very good at getting "the little things", well yesterday was very hard for me. I was faced with a something that just knocked me over and I panicked. I emailed him to let him know what was going on while he was at work and then I did my crying and praying, which I do not believe God responds very well too! LOL. I see Him saying "you do your little temper tantrum and when you calm down I will talk to you!" I hate/love that! LOL. So anyway five hours later Ray comes home from work, he did his normal routine, take off his helmet, say hello to Bo, the dog, then give me a kiss, I was on the verge of tears again so I do what I do when I get like that I get busy! I went into the bedroom to fold the laundry and he followed me and when I turned around he had a dozen of roses waiting for me!
Here they are!
Aren't they pretty! I do not know if you can see it or not but I like to collect the willow tree figures and that is the mother and son that I got for easter thanks to Ray!
The flowers may not of made the problem go away but it sure put a smile on my face!!!

Buy the way the problem was solved today God is so good! I needed to just breathe and relax and know that God was taking care of me. He just needed me to butt out!

Its been a long day

I really do not know how I got the rest of this blog to be underlined so sorry for the mess up!

I went to bed last night in the arms of the man that I love and was very happy then this morning I awoke to the worst headache you could ever imagine! LOL. Ladies I have had a sinus migraine all day long, It hurts to touch the right side of my head and not to mention the fact if I try to focus on anything for too long then I start to see like 4 of the image!!! It has been such a long day! I have tried medicine, food, sleep, Ray bless his heart, even rubbed my head for me for an hour today while he was here on his lunch break. He says he loves me and only me. He is so sweet, I am really lucky I have one of those guys who gets the small things he is so good at that kind of stuff. He even sends me love text messages all the time. I then found out that I do not have any hot water. Our landlord has not paid the oil bill so we do not get hot water until sometime tomorrow, hopefully!
Ray is on duty tonight so I have the house to myself. I have tried to relax as much as possible. I took Ray his dinner and spent some time with him in the barricks. I do not know if I will ever get used to the military life. LOL.
I wanted to thank you all for the words of encouragement! I spoke with the office manager of the job position that I applied for and she told me that they were very interested and that she would call me by Friday to let me know. Again I really want this job! And since I am counting I am on day 33 without Nathan...
I wanted to talk a little bit about what God has been teaching me lately. He is stretching me! He has once again taken me out of my little comfort zone and placed me somewhere that I am uncomfortable. Two years ago I hated this place and now I love this place, this is when He shows you so much. You not only learn how much you have changed but you see things in you that you did not know where there. Prime example: the disagreement with Ray, granted this is two sided but this is what I have learned about myself because you truly can not look at what this did for him (Ray) you have to be willing to take every situation in life and see if and how it applies to you. Did that make sense? See there was this person in my past who I cared a great deal about and we had this one argument all the time, over his motorcycle. Stupid I know but work with here. I had promised myself that I would never let anyone make me feel like he did with that situation ever again. I never thought that Ray would do that to me and I let my guard down and was putting all my trust in him (depending on him etc.) That night when we were out on his bike Ray asked me something and when I told him no his remark was the same that my past had said! Ray had no idea at the time of this situation, and I just froze, I couldn't breathe. My past had confronted my present! Not good for me! LOL. I could not breath, I felt myself shutting down, I did not want him to touch me nor did I want to talk to him! It was the worst feeling ever, now in the past I would of just left that and put it on a shelf and just ignore it but now God doesn't let me. I felt like I had no choice I had to deal with this. STRETCHING!!!!!!!!!! It hurt so much, but as I prayed and I spoke the words to a friend I said to her am I blaming Ray for what happened in my past? Or do I have a right to be upset with him? Or is it both? And if so how do I get past this I see my past every time I look at him? Crazy right!!! No we do this all time and most of us do not even realize what is happening! After I spilled my guts to my friend she just laughed at me and said UHMMM did you need me? Because you just had a whole conversation without me and I think you got your answer! Its funny how that works. So I had to talk to God one more time and asked Him for grace to tell this to Ray and not take it out on him. I did have that talk with Ray and God gave me the words to tell Ray my story and the funny thing is when I was finished I felt whole and I knew God healed me while talking to Ray!

God is so cool!!

I'm alive!!!!!!

I'm alive! It has been crazy here! I have been busy doing absolutely nothing and I can't stand that! I am sure we all know what that feels like! I am a little frustrated right now in so many areas of my life, especially in my relationship and I need to vent so please disregard most of what I am about to say!

First thing: Ray and I have been arguing over something totally stupid so for the last couple of days there has been silence in this house.... I know this will pass and everyone goes through this but this is the stupidest argument ever!!! I know that is sad right! LOL By the way there is peace in the house now!) He's finally stopped argueing with me.

Second thing: I am on day 32 without my son and he doesn't want to come home yet!!! He does want me to bring the dog up to my parents for him but doesn't want to come home! GRRRRR!!!!! I know that I am his mom and we could just go and get him but he is having such a good time with my dad, my dad has just retired and he finally gets to spend his time with Nate and my dad is loving this. So not only do I cheat Nathan out of spending time with all the family but my dad misses out too! I try to remember that when I was a kid we had so much fun there and I listen to his stories and he is doing the same things that I did when I was his age which is good and if he was here he could not do any of that. Not to mention the fact that we live right dab in the middle of a big city and well our yard is ok fine we do not have one!!!!!LOL How can I blame him for not wanting to come back right now. But I do know that he misses me and he tells me that he loves us every night before he goes to bed!

Third thing: I do not have a church here and I can not seem to find one that I like, meaning somewhere that feels like home. Which means that I do not have any friends that I can touch and relate to on a daily basis. If that makes any sense to any of you!

Fourth thing: I still do not have a job! This is so frustrating and sometimes nice! I went on my third interview today with the office that I had told you about last month, the one that I liked but was not qualified for. They still have not filled the position, and today she told me that she would contact me by Friday to let me know one way or the other! Please pray about this I really want this job!

Fifth thing: This is the last one I promise! I have a friend back in Florida who I love dearly but she does not like Ray for several reason of her own, her ex was a marine, so she has a bad taste to start with and the big one Ray believes in God but does not go to church all the time! So when we started dating and I was not there all the time for my friend she started to resent our relationship even more. It came down to her asking me to choose between the two of them. Which I told her I would not do that to her and was amazed that she would even ask bla bla bla bla do we see where this is going? Now that I have moved this is even worse! Do I just stop contact with this person or what? So confused am I!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok Now that I have spilled my guts and sound like such a baby! Please understand that I know that God has this all under control and trust me we have had a few "arguments" over all of this too and He just loves me and laughs and says "SHE'S SO PRECIOUS"..... lol. Ray and I fell in love fast, within the first few months of us seeing each other, and that is what is going to make us last.

I'm back!

Hello everyone! We made it back home safely after a very extended emergency leave. I do not know if you all know this yet but Ray's grandpa passed away on July 09,2006.
He was saved and we now know that he is sitting up above enjoying the view very much! I can honestly say that I did not know that man very well at all. We both had a wonderful time considering everything that happened.

By the way I am now going on day 27 without my son and I miss him so much and he still does not want to come home! How can I compete with the woods and playing with the boys! LOL

Disregard previous post!

Hello all! Ray's grandpa just told the family he does not want to continue his kidney dialysis he is finished. The doctor's have given him only 10 days to live so we are rushing to Florida to be with him! Please keep there family in your prayers as I know you will!

Love you guys! Talk to you as soon as I can

Enjoy your holiday weekend

God Bless

Its the start of the 96!!

First I just wanted to let you know I got Nathan's pictures to post! So Yeah you can now see his little clothes! By the way the blanket that they are on was the blanket my mom brought me home from the hospital in! So scroll on down and look at how tiny he was!

Update on Nathan and his fighting cousin! LOL. They of course are fine and have forgotten all about the fight! Kids! Oh by the way my nephew loves me and I am still his favorite aunt. (I am his only one by the way!)

Well if you are military you understand the "96". Ray has the next few days off and does not have to be until the 6th so we are making another trip! I am sad to say it is without Nathan But Ray and I need a little time too! We are making a trip to Georgia to see his sister, his dad and others are coming up for the week as well! Pray for me that this will go over easy. Ray and his sister are fighting nonstop lately and to be honest I am not looking forward to this trip! I suggested that we stay in a cabin or camp so that they will have some space between each other, but he wants to use that as leverage (I think I spelled that wrong). Why is it that when you fight with your siblings you instantly start fighting as if you were kids again? Bottom line the whole situation is stressin' me out!!!!! I will keep you posted on this! That drained me just to write that! LOL...

But on a brighter note I will be spending time out on the boat, water skiing and knee boarding and going to Smoke Mountain and so on! There are so many things I am looking forward to doing! So keep positive right! Not to mention the fire works! I love the fireworks

I miss my son

Ok we are working on day 6 without Nathan and I miss him terribly! I try to be strong and let him stay at my parents as long as he wants. He doesn't get to see our family very often. This is his time to spend time with our some 150 family members, and that is no joke there is really that many of us! We are a huge family!!!!

BUT I MISS HIM AND WANT HIM HOME Or is this me I am not sure but I am not having a good morning with this! LOL

I'm sure that it helps when he called me last night and says,

Nate: "Mommy will you come and get me please, I do not want to be here!

Me: Why is that buddy what's wrong?

Nate: Erik is always telling me what to do and I am tried of it! I can't take it anymore and Grandma believes him and not me! I do not want to be here anymore!

Me: Nathan! Erik is your cousin and you need to try to figure out a way to get along with him! He loves you and you know that

Nate: "I really do not care! and if he is gonna be that mean to me all the time then he doesn't deserve my love!"

After I tried to pick my mouth up off the floor! I had to tell an already crushed little boy to get rid of the attitude he was having and to let me talk to his grandmother.

It ended up being that the boys were fighting over bubble gum with the neighbor boys! My nephew is older than Nathan and he tries to make sure everyone knows this so there is no confusion and that creates alot of trouble and no fun for my parents! I convinced Nathan to go for a ride with my dad on the 4-wheeler so they could spend some time alone and then things would ease over! I feel sorry for my parents because they do not diffuse these situations very well, which leaves me trying to do it from the phone! Yes my parents are push overs, and they have no intentions on changing! And of course that leaves me being the mean mommy and Aunt in the kids eyes! If I could only count the times I have heard from Erik "gosh Aunt Shelle can be so mean, I'm glad she's not my mom!" LOL. But who does he call when he needs help his mean old aunt! LOL.....

I am sure that this helped me last night too. Remember I had told you that I went through some old stuff at my parents house when I was up there! Well I found Nathan's old baby stuff that I wanted to keep! Now that he is 10 years old and seeing all of his stuff I want another baby so bad! But I have some pictures to share with you! They are of 2 outfits that he used to wear, they are only sleepers but they were so cute on him!


Nathan only weighed 3lbs and was 15 inches long when he was born, so nothing fit him! I do mean nothing! This is actually a cabbage patch kid outfit, remember those! It had so much pink in it but it was the only thing I could find that would not swallow him whole!



The next picture is what he wore when he was 5 months old... That is still a 0-3 month outfit that you are looking at!

And of course this is Nathan now! You would never believe that he started out so small would you!!

Ok I give up on these pictures! I am trying to download them and for some reason it will not let me is anyone else having this problem today or is it just me?

I will try to post the pictures later!

Update

Thank you all for the prayers and comments! I went to the job interview and they hired me on the spot. I couldn't believe it. Then while driving I got a call for another job interview and since I was in the area they asked me to stop in and I did and now I have two jobs. LOL. Then when I got home I had two messages from doctor's offices and I have two interviews for next week as well..... I talked to Ray last night about the decisons I needed to make and my choices are stay with one that I already have or go for the doctor's office position, which is what I want, but the down side is if I take this position then we can not go anywhere for Christmas, and to my surprise he was ok with it. So I am trying for the doctor's office next week!!!! I know it sounds sad but this was a true conversation!!!!! LOL...



Seriously I will tell our story later on but for now I think you get the picture!!!!!

Prayer Request

I need a vacation from my vacation

Hello everyone! I know that it has been a while sense I last wrote but I was at my parents house and you may not believe this but they do not have a computer! I know it is hard to believe that there is still a house without one but it is true! LOL. I love my parents...
A little background on me is I moved away from my family 4 years ago to start over just my son and I. It wasn't easy but I had been talking to God about this and I knew this was something I needed to do. I thought that I would learn to stand on my own and it would show me that I was a strong person no matter what anyone else said.. Well I learned that and so much more! I grew mentally, physically, and spiritually as well. I tell you that so that I can tell you this. Every time I come home and I drive through those mountains God shows me just how much I have changed!
You know God has changed you and that you are moving forward and not backwards, then you go home and you truly see how you have changed! Those of you who are laughing right now know exactly what I am saying! Its not easy and its not funny at the time but man the reward is so worth everything that you walked through.
Over the years I have grown to love the time I spend in the mountains which is what I thought I was getting away from. God has such a funny sense of humor sometimes... This is the view on my trip!
I had a very good visit with friends and family. I spent some time with my dad going through my stuff in the building, good for them bad for me, now I need to find some where to put it here! LOL. I went to lunch with my mom and her friend who is like a aunt to me. And as you know I spent some well needed time with my good friend Charla. We took our kids to her families camp and then to Audra Park. This is the first time I have gotten Nathan to swim in a river since he visited Louisanna and was introduced to alligators in rivers! Yep you do the math, he was terrified of swimming in rivers after that. So 7 years later he tries again. LOL. Here are some of those pictures!!

Tackled IT!!!!!

I did it finally! I got my picture to appear so now you know what I look like! Courtney had asked Charla what I had looked like then I got to explain to Charla that my picture was not up because I could not figure it out! LOL. I know that is sad right! But she talked me through it. So Yeah! Here is the worst possible picture of Ray and I but it is the only one that I have on the computer as of now. I must tell you that Nathan took this picture of us from a chair, I think that is why I look like I have chubby cheeks! So he's not the best looking man that I've been with but that's my Marine.
This was taken after hours of us being outside on the slopes in Snow Shoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia. We had so much fun, we took Nathan up there for the weekend for a birthday present. He had been dying to go snow boarding. Since neither one of us had been skiing/snowboarding in such a long time we decided to let him try it and he LOVED IT. So yep you guessed it next year we will be making another trip up that way to go! LOL. What did I start? I will share more pictures of the trip at a later time.



Ok last week I had attempted to get Ray's CO2 tank filled and get the adapter that he needed for my tackle it Tuesday, well I got to drop it off and then they had to order the piece he needed. This is the completed project, so this weekend we are off to play with the paintball guns..... But first I must tell you that I am on my way to my parents house today! My son likes to go spend the summers out in the country with my parents so I try to make sure that happens every summer! He tells everyone that he is spending the whole summer with them, which ends up being a couple of weeks before he is crying to come home! LOL. God I love that boy! I am excited to see my parents, but the most exciting part is I am from the same town as Charla which means I will get to see my friend and we decided to go see our new friend Courtney who does not live that far away from our home town! So it is official we are starting a blogger reunion!!!!! Can't wait to see you girls!
And with that I will say I gotta go so I can hit the road!

Prayer Request

HI.

Our trip to Washington, D.C.

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all the comments We had so much fun.. I am so tired from the hours of walking.. But all worth the adventure! So let me tell you that we started off by leaving at 10 A.M. only to sit in traffic for 90 minutes and we only traveled 30 miles... Can you say frustrating!!! LOL. Ray has a little tolerance for traffic jams when there is no reason for one. So I spent that 90 minutes rubbing his neck just to relax him! LOL. I know that is sad, you can tell me that!! But we got there and we had such a wonderful time. Here are some of the pictures: This is by far my favorite view in the city. This is standing at the top of the Lincoln Memorial. I love this place, for some reason in the mist of the crowds, there is so much peace with him sitting behind you There he is, sitting so proud overlooking the city! I have no idea why I like this statue so much but I do.
I had told you early this week that Ray was going back out to the field, but that had changed for like the 15th time. The guys in his company that did go were all running around in groups, we caught up with one of his "paintball buddies" while we were there and finished the rest of the day with him! Sometimes it is hard to find people in the military that you want around your kids and I have been blessed with this person, he is such a good friend to Ray and is so good with Nathan. Nathan thinks that Mike is his own personal play gym...LOL This is the picture of all three of the boys looking to see if there were any of there family members on the Wall. They looked thru this book forever! LOL. It is funny to watch them with Nathan, he somehow becomes "one of the boys" and sometimes that scares me! While walking thru the park on our way back to our car we stopped to looked at a squirrel! Yep you heard me I said squirrel, I am from the mountains and I have seen all kinds of squirrels, white ones, brown ones, gray ones, but not a full black one! The park is full of them, we were so amazed by this. The little squirrel was trying to get food out of a baggy, and it was so funny to watch him try. At one point he had the bad stuck on top of his head and the little guy just freaked out! It was so funny! I know that sounds absolutely stupid to some but it was so cute!
This is his annoyed look, with "will you please leave me alone, I am trying to do something here" look!!!!!!

We honestly had so much fun. I did not know this but the very first marine Corp. building was in Washington D.C. it is called 8th and I. Because it was on the corner of 8th street and I street. Go figure! We looked for this building and trust me it is there but we could not find the dang building! We gave up! It was so funny! Maybe next time we will find it! LOL.

We are going!

Hey everyone after weeks of trying we are now leaving to go to Washington, D.C. I am so excited. I will share pictures when I get back. Have a great weekend

It won't stop raining

Most of you do not know this but my son and I used to live in Florida, right in the panhandle. Which is hurricane capital of the south. LOL. I can say that because I was there. We were there for Ivan, Dennis, Katrina and many more in between those. That is where I met Ray. Since living there it has changed my thoughts on hurricanes, it is now a little bit more personal if you can understand that. When I started hearing about the very first named storm of the season appearing after only 9 days into the season, I got a little worried. Then I found myself going over the plan in my head: I need to go to the store and get some water and snacks and do I have batteries here? Then I laughed at myself because even tho we are still by the water we are now 15 hours away from that storm. Old habbits die hard I guess. Then later on that night we were watching the news and I saw that same look in his eyes that I had earlier today. After I few giggles from me I said to him. "Your thinking about the list aren't you?" It made it so funny when all he could say was "it feels wierd doesn't it!" But now I know what I hated about the little storms, is all the rain that comes after them. GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! It has rained all day long and not just rain but its gonna flood kind of rain. Its so depressing.

Anyway on a lighter note, I had planned to do this for my tackle it tuesday post but it has not been completed yet so I decided to show what I have gotten done so far.. I have to go get the O2 tank filled and get it fixed. We have someone how got involved with a group of people who like to paintball fight. Which is kind of fun.. It kind of hurts too. LOL.. But the boys were putting so much money into the supplies that Ray decided to go to ebay and get his own tank then just fill up all the little tanks, It really works out to be cheaper in the long run. I hope so anyway!

So here is a picture of the tank before now I would like to tell you that I have completed this task but since it is now Wednesday, you have guessed right, it has not been completed. The part is now in but since it is raining so hard they can not do anything with it because they have to do everything outside. So I am now waiting for them to call me back. I will keep you posted... Now just in case you are wondering, the big tub behind the tank is all of the guns and paintballs, then the air freshner can is there so I can get rid of the smell when they bring them inside. It smells so bad, its a mix between dirty marines and wet paint! LOL.

I thought that I would give you an update on Nathan. he is still grounded and it is killing him. (Today is the last day) But Ray just found out that he has to go back to the field on Friday for another week! (i'm not complaining, its only a week) But then the guys get liberty for the weekend because of the parade that is going on in D.C. this weekend. So yep you guessed it, I am drivign up Friday evening to get Ray then we are heading for D.C. for the weekend. So now we get to stay there the whole weekend plus see a parade. See God has a way of rewarding us! Even if it feels like punishment at first! Just thought I would share that with you all!

My Life

This is something that I found while looking through some of the ladies blogs. I unfortunately do not know who it was that did this first... So for that I am sorry!!! It was kind of fun and to be honest with you it was right on target! It was really easy and fast to do. All it is a list of maybe 25 questions and then it tells you what your scores mean... I scored high in the love category, which made Ray happy to know. LOL. Then I struggled with the finance department, but then again who doesn't that apply too. Hope you have fun with it!!

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.4
Mind:	6.7
Body:	8
Spirit:	7.9
Friends/Family:	6
Love:	9.2
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All in good timing

I have read some wonderful stories from some of the ladies in our family of bloggers and I am so sorry to tell you that the computer will not let me reply so when Satan steps in and tries to stop us we just step around him and move forward... So here goes.

Courtney---- I love your daughter's little story. I think you are doing an amazing job with your kids. I can not imagine what it must feel like to have your husband so far away from you. I admire what you have done and I only hope I can be half the woman you have been for your husband. I know that soon Ray will be leaving as well and I think listening to your stories has given me a dose of reality of what is to come for me. You truly are an inspiration.


Morning Glory---- I truly needed to hear your message this morning! You had me in tears complete with "Jesus bumps". God definitely has a way of getting our attention. Thank you, you have been a blessing.

I know that I am missing someone and I will think of it later I promise...

I know that I had told you all about my weekend plans and thankfully I am still learning how to deal with change and it is getting easier, which made this weekend so much easier for me.

The races were of course rained out, so we went to plan B. We took Nate out to dinner and then to see the new movie CARS. Which by the way is a must. It was so good.. We had a great time at the movies. It was really late when we got home and the trouble started at dinner, when I told my son, who I love very much do something and he chose to start with the back talking. This traveled with him for the rest of the evening. He tried to be in charge. You gotta love when they do this... His directions when we got home were to go brush his teeth and to get into bed, his remark to both of us was simply this, "NO I am gonna go watch that movie with you guys then I will go to bed!" I came unglued at this point. Lets just say he went to bed crying Friday night. (No hands were laid on him! LOL) He just chose not to let it go at that, he decided that he would get up out of bed and come and tell us one story or another on why he did not need to stay in bed.

Long story short we did not go to D.C. (you can not reward bad behavior with something fun no matter how bad you wanted to go) Instead Nate sat in his room all day on of course you got it the bed he would not stay in the night before!

When Nate was little he was very sick and I almost lost him 3 times, seriously the doctors told me to plan my son's funeral because he would not make it! But when he came through it, by the grace of God no doubt one of the doctor's told me that he has never seen a child with such a strong will to overcome. He is going to do great things when he gets older. I walked away with pride. What he did not tell me that when your child is strong willed that it follows into every aspect of his life. LOL.. Sometimes I think God looks down on me and just laughs when He sees Nathan acting out! LOL! I'm sure it goes something like na na na boo boo!!!!!

But look for the positive right! I got alot done around the house, Ray and I built a stand for our grill. Which was an adventure all in itself. I took some wood and made blocks for my bed, so it would be up higher. (Too hide more stuff) Then found out when we went to bed that they would slide out from under the frame. LOL.. Fixed that on Sunday! LOL. That was so funny by the way. Don't worry no one was hurt.

So Nathan is still grounded but not to worry we are trying the D.C. trip next weekend. And I am not telling him until we leave so then maybe he won't act out! LOL.. I love my son.

I Passed the test

Hello to all. I have an update on the job interviews that I went on Thursday. For me it will be a big fat no... Let me explain. You go into an interview with confidence, for the most part. I went into this building not even knowing what kind of position I was applying for, remember they called me. After I fill out the appropriate paperwork I find out that I am applying for a nursing position in a OB/GYN research center. First red flag for me. I love babies but hate working in the OB/GYN field. I have tried that once before and hated it.. I was already there and thought I would at least complete the interview. By the time I was sitting in the conference room and talking to the human resource lady I was so sick to stomach and just felt so uncomfortable. Some will understand this completely but when God is trying to get your attention about something, He will do it in such a profound way and this was mine! LOL. I almost felt dirty sitting in that room. I later found out that they deal with abortions and some stem cell research as well as alot of other problems. Now I will not judge for someone else decisions or beliefs but for me this was just something I knew I could not be a part of.

I walked out of that building and by the time I got to my car I was almost in tears, I truly felt that uncomfortable. I started talking to God while I was driving down the road, which is normal for me. I asked Him simply why? His remark was "you said it was in My hands I just wanted to see if you would listen!" OUCH! Good thing is I passed... He showed me that even tho I do not see a job in my near future, which is stressing me out big time, He is still in control and with Him by my side how can I fail and not be protected. It was a very humbling experience.

Just so you know, yes I do look like a fool going down the street hitting my steering wheel crying and just talking away to God. I tell people that we get into fights all the time in my car He just always wins.. LOL... You know what I mean by that too, "Why me God why" I try to do what is right and she doesn't and she always gets what I want" "I just don't understand" type of fight....

On a lighter note it is Friday and we are off the dirt track races tonight if weather permits and then Saturday we are going to take a road trip to D.C. for the day of adventure. Nate hasn't seen D.C. in 6 years so he has forgotten a lot of what it is like and Ray has never been there so it will be fun for me to watch them be shocked and amazed. I hope you guys have a great weekend and I will post pictures of our adventures soon...

Please pass this along

Hey everyone. Ray has not actually read my blog or any of them for that matter. He just laughs and says its funny because this is so not something that you would normally see me doing. So you can imagine my surprise when I got this email from him today....

The note attached was simply this: Hey baby send this to all of your "military girls"! I think he is a little more curious than he wants me to think he is or maybe he goes to work and looks it up there maybe we will never know. LOL...

The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either.

[Image removed]
He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student,
pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old beater and has
a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to
be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and
roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155mm howizzitor. He is 10 or
15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working
or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.

He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and
use either one effectively if he must. He digs fightingholes and latrines and can
apply first aid like a professional or sleeps in a 3X8 coffin rack with 80 other Individuals. He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.

[Image removed]
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without
spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of
fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens
full and his feet dry. He sometimes doesn't have time to brush his teeth, but
never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own
clothes, and fix his own wounds. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water
with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition
with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He will sacrifice his life to see his friend survive on.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like
they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that
is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the
pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering
and death then he should have in his short lifetime.


He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat
and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate
through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning
desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand,
remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out,
far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.

Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying
the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the
American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
[Image removed]
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration
with his blood. And now we even have woman over there in danger,
doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls
us to do so. As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot.. A short lull,
a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.......




Prayer wheel for our military... please don't break it. Please send this on after a short prayer.

Prayer Wheel

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."


When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer
for our ground troops in Afghanistan, Sailors on Ships, and airmen in the air,
and for those in Iraq. There is nothing attached.... This can be very powerful.......
Of all the gifts you could give a US Sailor, Soldier, Coastguardsman, Marine
or Airman, prayer is the very best one.
This is a ribbon for soldiers fighting in Middle East.

I've been tagged!!!

Seven things to do before I die:

1. Get married.
2. Have another child.
3. Go back to college.
4. Own a motorcycle that I can ride.
5. Visit Germany, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Sweden.
6. See my kids have kids.
7. Own a home by the beach, and one in the woods.

Seven things I cannot do:

1. Roll my tongue.
2. Whistle.
3. Make fun of other for my personal gain.
4. Drive a standard.
5. Speak another lanuage.
6. Trust God to handle things without my input!
7. Trust fully without a guard being put up.

Seven things that attracted me to my "husband":
(we aren't married)
1. His smile when he looks at me.
2. His eyes. I knew I was in trouble as soon as I saw them.
3. He is so caring.
4. He loves my son.
5. He takes care of me.
6. He is my best friend.
7. His daily sacrifices.

Seven things I say most often:

1. Baby....
2. Bo what did you do?
3. I said No how hard is that?
4. Awwwwww snap!!
5. Dang it!
6. Bo gotta go pee? Go to the door!
7. I love you too but I said no!

Seven Books I love:

1. How can you conquer what you will not confront, by Paula White
2. Any of Max Lucado's books
3. Or Joyce Myers
4. Love, Sex and Lasting Relationships by cannot remember!
5. Bible
6. Battlefields of the mind
7. Sorry completely blank right now

Seven movies you could watch over and over again:

1. Hope floats
2. Return to me
3. Dirty Dancing
4. Pretty Woman
5. Major Payne
6. Annie
7. Fox and the Hound

Seven people I would like to tag:
1. I do not know any one else they've all been tagged......

GRRRRRRR! I can't stand computers

Well I will start with explaining the title. I finished my blog and pushed all the appropriate buttons then BAM it was gone! Just like that. All of my pictures and all of my hard work it was gone. LOL.. so now here is my second attempt:

I was looking at some of the blogs this morning and I was enjoying all of there "tackle it tuesday's" and I delcided to join in. So here is my tackle it tuesday!!!

yep you guessed it I have to bathe his dog!

This is after I told Bo that he was going to get the bath! He hates bath time.. He actually got up from his toy and ran from me.

Now you can't see this but he was running around acting all crazy, not to mention all the shaking he normally does! So instead this is him trying to lick off his puppy cologne. He hates that stuff

So now that I have finished that I am off to do the laundry and mop the floors. Like always. I never get any help.

Here is an update on the job interview: I went this morning and met with the office manager and she and I had a good interview even tho I am not fully qualified for the position she liked me and I am one of the top applicants. Now she has to present them to the head doctor for the team and then he will sit down with only two of us, so I did my part and now it is up to God. I did get another call while I was gone and I now have another interview set up for Thursday for another office. I am leaving the position in God's hands I know He will provide all I need to do is step back and let him