Grateful

When Isaac told me at the end of May that he was being deployed in June, I was mad. We had him here with us, but we didn't get to spend a lot of time together because he was upgrading. That means a lot of flying and studying. The silver lining was that he wouldn't leave until Oct. So, much for three whole months of him being ours unless there was a TDY or two.

However, since he's left my attitude has changed. There are positives. He only had to go for  4 months, since he got to go later. We'll be together for the holidays, and surprisingly this deployment is flying by so far.

Here are some things I am grateful for in no particular order...

An AWESOME support system...

*friends that ask me to lunch or randomly bring me dinner

*friends that watch my kids so I can go to Dr. appointments or get my nails done

* Friends that invite us to playdates

*A wonderful school for Isaac. Seriously, who gets an email from the grammar school principal telling your they are praying for your family everyday during deployment!?

*A church family that gets together to send my husband a care package

  

 Why Hello Romance!

* So, as sad as it is, Isaac is the romantic one. I am so grateful for him. I hate to admit it but when he is here I take him for granite. All the little things he does. Mowing the yard (that is friggin hard work), playing with the boys (such an amazing Dad), the talks, that he listens to my silly stories (yes, even my rants about reality tv shows), his hugs and kisses.

I know he is busy flying, I am grateful that he takes the time out of his busy schedule to pop a sweet letter in the mail every week, to send me flower and chocolates, to skype or face time on the days he doesn't fly, the emails he sends to remind me he is thinking about me, and the ring that is arriving in the mail in the next few weeks because I might have sent him an email with a direct link to a jewelery store and my ring size ha ha. He makes me feel so loved. I am so blessed to be his wife.

Family

How many families do you know say, "bring your two rambunctious boys and your dog and stay with us!" I can honestly say my sisters, bro, parents, in laws, and Aunts. They know they'll have to put up with my craziness that comes from me being extremely introverted but they still invite me and put up with me when I show up. Thank you guys!

 Quality time

I get to spend everyday with my boys. Yes, some days are hard but I wouldn't trade it for the world. The fact that Israel won't be without me for more than an hour makes me think he really loves me ;)

 Skype and Face Time

 Seriously, wish I could thank the people that created these in person. It's so great to be able to hear and see Isaac's face everyday. To know that even though he couldn't be here for our Birthday's, he could still be watching, listening, and interacting. Not missing our kids faces when they blow out their candles or open a present.

I'm sure I'll think of much more when I push the button to publish this blog. But I am truly grateful for everyone and everything!

Israel

Relly Baby,
         I swear I blinked and you became two. Where did this last year go!? You went from a crawling baby to a climbing, screaming, running two year old. You make everyday an adventure. From the time you open your eyes to the time you close them, I have to keep a very close eye on you. If I don't you might be on a counter, covered in mud or paint, running 1/2 way down the aisle in a store :) You keep me on my toes! I can't picture my life without you. It would be much much less adventurous. And since you have a mom whose motto has always been, "better safe than sorry" I need someone to make me realize it's ok to take risk! Just don't scare me too much this next year, and make sure I'm around to get you off of the things you climb up on when I turn my back for 10 sec. I love you little dinosaur!

                                                                                                                           Love,
                                                                                                                           Mom

Aunt Caroline

An amazing woman

I've mentioned before how much my family moved around while we grew up. However, during holidays and sometimes randomly we would go home to Texas. My Dad always told us stories of how him and my Aunts would get in trouble growing up. So, even though we moved around a lot it is like we knew these family members. Aunt Caroline always welcomed us with hugs and laughter. She went to my graduation, wedding shower, wedding, and baby shower. She had awesome advice. She was an amazing friend, Aunt, Mother, Grandma. She was one of the strongest women I had ever met. I can't picture family reunions without her and am happy that someday I will see her at a reunion in heaven. Today, I would like to think she chose to go and spend Mother's Day with two other Great women and mothers. My Memmaw and Aunt Linda. I know they are having a fantastic Mother's Day full of laughter in heaven right now. Can't wait to get another amazing love filled hug from them someday!

1/2 Marathon Mommy, 13.1 Miles of Peace & Quiet

I did it! 13.1 miles. After 4 months of training I finally did my first 1/2 marathon. Here's a recap...

The night before I went to a Carb party with some of my fantastic and inspiring Girls In Training ladies. My goal was to be in bed by 8pm but I made it by 9pm. It usually takes me a while to fall asleep but the minute my head hit the pillow I was out. Woke up at 4am feeling refreshed and nervous. My friend Shelly picked me up and some other friends around 5am and off we went to the race. Man was it busy! People were everywhere. We got a parking spot, stretched, prayed together.

Down to the corral we went. It was so crowded that all of us from G.I.T. couldn't find one another. 168 sec of silence for those lost in the bombing. It was very emotional and reflective. The national anthem. That one always gets me, probably because Isaac is in the military. Then it was time. The gun went off. We walked to the line for 6 min, then we were off. My stomach had all sorts of knots and butterflies and there were so many people to run with and around, plus there was the roar of the people cheering. It was very motivating.

For about 1/2 a mile I could see Shelly and then I lost her in the crowd. Shelly is my running partner and my motivator. It was up to me now. I had set three goals for myself.

1.Don't ever stop running

2.Don't stop to use the bathroom

3. To make it on time to see little Isaac run the kids marathon

I try to find a good pace but it's hard with such a big crowd to run in. Speed up to get past people. Slow down because you can't find a hole to maneuver through. Which is how I hurt my foot around mile 3. I sped up to pass someone and saw another runner do the same. To avoid hitting the other runner I took a side step and almost ate the asphalt. My first thought was, "wow, that was so embarrassing. Thank you Jesus for not letting me fall". My second thought was, "my foot kinda hurts". I ignore the pain and keep running. I was feeling great. Even the hills were not that bad. At mile 6 my foot started to throb. I kept ignoring it. My only thought was, " Isaac is counting on you. Don't you dare let him down". I actually do Gorilla hill without even knowing I did till I get to the top. Miles 7-10 I still feel great, minus my foot. At mile 11 I wanted to quit and walk. I thought about Little Isaac and picked up the pace the best I could. Mile 12 seemed like forever. People were beginning to pass me and I look far a head and see the finish line. I pick up the pace a little more. The last 100 yards I sprint as fast as I can. I was done! I was so relieved, happy, and proud. I grab my medal and ask where the kids marathon is and start to run as fast as I can through the crowd. I hear a man say, "Dang, look at her, she's still running". I make it to where they told me it would be and I don't see any kids. I ask a lady about it and she says, "The finish line is a block up but the race is all ready over." My heart fell into my stomach and the feeling of disappointment washed over me. Disappointment that I miss the race. Disappointment that I didn't push myself harder. I call Isaac and begin the walk back 2 blocks. It felt longer and harder than the whole 13 miles. I see little Isaac in the distance and I start to tear up. However, when I walk up he excitedly says, " Look mom! Look at my medal! Hey! You have a medal too! Way to go mom!". All is right in the world again. It's drizzling and we decide to head home. Then it hits me. I am so thirsty and my foot is killing me.

Isaac went and got the car and picked Israel and myself up. Not before I snapped at him a few times on the phone because I had to bring Israel in a nasty port a potty with me. Poor guy. He is an amazingly patient husband and fantastic father. He ran the 1.2 mile with Israel in the back pack carrier and took pictures just for me. I am so blessed to have him. Anywhoo, he tried to take me to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate but I was  so sick I just want to go home. About an hr later I took myself to the ER hoping they would give me an IV but they said I was not dehydrated enough. They did ask about my foot though and checked it out. Turns out I had a sprain so I got some meds for that.

All in all it was a great experience. I want to do another but this time I won't schedule a run for anyone else in the family but myself :)

My Results

OKC 1/2 Marathon
3,868/8,138- Over all
386/851-age division (25-29)
1834/4985-out of the females
2:23:50-my time



10min after the race holding my little inspirations. Wish I would have moved my cell phone so that the medal would be showing.

 Don't know what I would do without my guys!

SO PROUD OF MY BOY!

Meet Scooter!

We've had two dogs, since Isaac's been two years old. We couldn't keep Malaya because she would jump our fence with ease  (it's well over 6ft) and got out multiple times a day. Then in Dec. we had to give away Thor because he tried to bite little Isaac twice and was being way to aggressive. If a 140lb dog even nipped our 48lb son it would be a bad, bad deal. We were tired of breaking our kids hearts and getting attached to a dog and then having to give them away ( I hate to admit it but I cried and gave Thor the beast a hug and kiss and thanked him for making me feel safe while Isaac was deployed when his new owner picked him up). So we told the boys, "no more dogs until our next duty station! And it has to be a rescue dog". We meant the dogs that are all ready trained and the Air Force can no longer use. I think Little Isaac has asked for a dog every week since Thor had to go. Saturday I wanted to go garage sales. There were no garage sales so I decided to go to Ross. Pet Smart happens to be in the same shopping center. The Animal shelters were there seeing if people would adopt dogs. I had zero intentions of getting one and told Little Isaac we were just looking. Then I saw Scooter. The only dog who was not barking, his blanket was still nice and neat, and his water bowl was not spilled. I went to pet him and he licked my hand. I asked if we could see him out of the kennel and he loved Isaac and Isaac loved him back. Dang it. Took a picture of him (above) and went home to show Isaac. So, back we go to "look" at Scooter. We looked at his description. House broken, check. Good with kids, check, neutered and has all shots, check. Sits, stays, plays fetch, check, check, check. They take him out and Israel hugs his neck. We come home with Scooter. He's a wonderful dog. Plays so nice with the boys and even sleeps on the rug in their room. Barely sheds. Doesn't jump on us. Puts up with Israel hanging all over him and he even went on a decent run with me. We took him for a walk yesterday and Little Isaac was standing next to Scooter. A guy tried pet him and extended his hand towards Scooter but it looked like he was going for little Isaac. Scooter growled and snapped. Good Scooter. Glad he's part of our family :)

Mother of the year award *insert sarcasm*

Today I woke up early and went for a run. When I came home I asked little Isaac what he wanted for breakfast and he really wanted pancakes. He also wanted lifesavers (yes, the candy). Of course I told him he would have to wait. Meanwhile, Israel is playing with the door to the laundry room. He does this everyday and it keeps him really entertained. A few minutes later he walks back into  the kitchen jibber jabbering and chewing on something crunchy. I assumed little Isaac gave him a lifesaver and was about to lecture him until Israel handed his Dad something. The something was a piece of glass. Of course we rinsed his mouth out right away and the shards of glass that were falling in the sink were not making us happy. They were actually making me very panicky but I had to hold it together because Isaac had to leave asap for a flight, which left me in charge of our little glass eater. I get the kids dressed and head to the ER. Long story short. Israel is ok and he didn't even cut his mouth. They were more worried that he ate the new type of light bulbs because they contain mercury in them. Lucky for us he didn't eat enough glass. They also told me that they don't usually worry when a kid eats something sharp because it will pass right through their system. Instead they worry when they swallow something small and heavy (like a BB) because it will get stuck in the appendix. Hmmmm interesting. I would be less panicky about a BB.
*By the way we have a very small trash can in the laundry room. It is meant only for lint but when we left for TX a few weeks ago Isaac accidentally broke some light bulbs, quickly swept up the pieces and headed out. We totally forgot when we came back. That won't ever happen again!

priceless



Before I was a mom I would see ladies with a beautiful outfit, cute heels, sparkly diamond earrings, and a macaroni necklace? Really? I got that they loved their kids and all that but you have to draw the line somewhere. Then I became a mom. Tonight we went out to dinner. Little Isaac ran out of my room with the necklace he had made me for Valentine's Day, " Here's a beautiful necklace mommy! You look so pretty when you wear it!" It wasn't even a question in my head if I would wear it or not. I wore my scribbled, paper heart, red straw necklace, proudly. How can I not when it was made and given with so much love? Through the eyes of a mother I can honestly say that my paper necklace is just as valuable (if not more valuable) to me as my ruby, diamond, gold, and pearl necklaces, it hangs with them in my jewelry box because that's where it belongs :)