My mom sent me this in an email. I thought I would share it. I'm still not able to title anything.

Rules from God for 20071. Wake Up !! Decide to have a good day. "Today is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalms 118:24 2.

Dress Up !! The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance; but the Lord looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7 3.

Shut Up!! Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking. "He who guards his lips guards his soul." Proverbs 13:3 4.

Stand Up!!... For what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.. "Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..." Galatians 6:9-10 5. Look Up !!... To the Lord. "I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 6.

Reach Up !!... For something higher. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, And He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6 7.

Lift Up !!... Your Prayers. "Do not worry about anything; Instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING." Philippians 4:6

God answers Knee-mail

I don't know what is going on with Blogger, but it wont let me publish my posts and it wont let me title the ones I have written. Sorry about the fact that it seems I have not posted in a long time. I hope this problem will correct itself soon.

So today we enjoyed a leisurely lunch at a little Italian restaurant in a nearby town. After that we followed directions to a large furniture store in another nearby town. This evening we went to the movies and filled out the first part of our adoption paperwork. We have had a beautiful weekend. The sun came out and the rain went away. It was cool and sunny and just lovely. I straightened up a little this afternoon and now I have to throw the roses away from my birthday. Alan had given me roses on my birthday. The next day was my day at the clinic and I got another dozen from him. He knew I was having issues with aging and wanted to make my day a little brighter. They have lasted quite a while but now it's time to say good bye too them. Otherwise, I'm gearing up for our trip to the states next month, and fixing to do a mountain of laundry tomorrow. Enjoy the Lord's day friends!

Lazy Days

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. We went furniture shopping and then walked around downtown for a while. Came home and took a nap and then went out to the celebration here on post. It had rained and hailed all day and so the place was a mud pit. We didn't stay too long and then we parked in the chapel parking lot to watch the fireworks. We felt a little bad because our boy Smokey doesn't like fireworks. They scare him. He was hiding under the desk when we got home. Today we are taking it easy. Filling out some paperwork we have put off etc. It's still raining. Praise the Lord! We went to the dfac for lunch. Not too good today. Way too much mayo in the deviled eggs. I love days like this. Lazy lay around days.

Bits and Pieces

Tomorrow is Independence Day back in the States. It's a little weird to celebrate this holiday in a country where they do not. The post will have a day long fair of sorts with booths and food and singers and all ending in a huge fireworks display. Pray it doesn't rain too much. I have to say though, I am still enjoying the rain. It keeps the heat down. Last year at this time I was sitting in this apartment with little furniture and nothing to do and no fan to keep me cool. Today, I don't even need a fan. I LOVE THAT! I don't do well with temperature extremes. Tomorrow we are going furniture shopping. We need to replace our desk and our entertainment center. We are looking for hard wood furniture that doesn't have ply wood or particle board as part of it. All hard wood. Easier to find here in Germany than in the States though. Today I need to get laundry done that didn't get done yesterday. After that I need to swiffer the floors and clean the bathroom. That's a weird thing too. German toilets are built differently than American ones are and you have to clean them a lot more. lol They are also extremely low flow so that adds to it too. After that I need to decide about supper. I have chicken breasts defrosted but I would like to find something new and exciting to do with them. Ambitious I know.

Reservations?

Ok I have something in my eye. My left eye if that matters. I hate that. Anyone have any suggestions for getting something out of your eye? In other news we went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday last night. I hadn't felt like going out on the actual day. So reservations were made at the restaurant we went to last year on my birthday. We got there and (this is a hotel restaurant) and we were told that the dinning room was closed but we could eat over at the bowling alley if we liked. Yeah, like we were dressed in bowling attire and not dining attire. They didn't care that we had made reservations only that the cook had decided he wasn't going to cook for the restaurant but only for the bowling alley. They couldn't seem to understand why we wouldn't want to eat in a smelly, smoke filled, bowling alley on stools at the snack counter. I don't get these people. We wound up at a Greek place that we had been to before but not the one I like the best because it was now last minute on a Friday night. Paycheck Friday at that. We were lucky to get in. And so that was that. I had 2 salads and some spinach pie. I really love Greek salads.

Birthday Bewilderments

Today is my birthday. In exactly 9 hours I will be 28 years old for the 10th year in a row. I figure I can tell people I'm 28. I am and then some. :) My husband got me my favorite roses, Issy Miyake perfume and body lotion, and a trip to Las Vegas to coincide with my 20 year high school reunion in August. It's funny how my birthday used to be my favorite day of the year. I thought it the most beautiful day of the year too. Now not so much. I still like getting presents and I still like eating cake don't get me wrong, but somehow the magic of the day has gone. I no longer enjoy getting older. I never really wanted to be any older than 16 and that was 22 years ago. I often look at myself and wonder how I ever got to be this old. I still feel like a kid. It's rather bewildering. I think my sister feels the same way to an extent. lol I feel that way about her. How can she possibly be that old? She doesn't seem to me to be any older than she ever was. It's like I'm trapped in some bizarre time warp. I imagine this is a combination of the 20 year reunion and my birthday all wrapped up in one. And please don't comment about how I should be grateful I'm getting older considering the alternative. I don't want to hear it. I think that's so dumb. If I were dead I'd get to be with Jesus and the beats the heck out of getting old. I have this one hair on my head that is as thick as a piece of dental floss. I am a natural blonde but this hair has always been black. A few years ago I found it and it was pure white. Of course I pulled the darn thing out. DH thought it was dental floss until I showed him that the first inch or so of it was black. No gradual change. It just one day turned white. Personally, I blame dh's deployment to Iraq for that one. About 2 months ago I got my hair cut. I never told you all because I don't want to post a picture of it. I got about a foot cut off of it and cut in a flip (yes just like Mrs. Wilt but a bit longer) the hairdresser found a gray hair and showed it to me. I couldn't believe it. It wasn't the weird thick one it was a normal hair! Of course I pulled it out by the root. And don't write in about not pulling my hair out because I'll go bald mother, you of all people should know that I have twice the number of hair follicles that normal people have. I'm going to dye my hair today. I'm going for blonde. Mine has turned brownish over the years. I think blonde will make me look younger.
Signed,
Bewildered

Cool Weather and Savings

I have to say that I have been LOVING the weather we've been having. It's been raining off and on for a few days. It's not raining now, but it's still overcast. I love all of this because that keeps it COOL here instead of blistering hot like last summer. It matters so much to me because there is no air conditioning here. None. Not even at the malls. So if it's too hot the only thing you can do is go to the commissary and hang out in frozen foods. Speaking of the commissary, I went yesterday for our monthly shopping and saved $38.44 in coupons alone. It's hard to keep track of how much was saved buying sale items and marked down items but a few great deals i got was corn bread mix 8 boxes for 7 cents each, super stuffer taco shells marked down to 95 cents/box because the box was slightly dented. I got two boxes and then used my $1.10 coupon off 2 so I got them for 40 cents each. Not bad! I also got 3 boxes of 3 packs of Act II popcorn for 65 cents/box. We love popcorn. I got a box of 120 count Downy dryer sheets combining sale and coupon for 3cents/sheet $3.74/box. 4 cans of Spaghettios for 22 cents each, and 2 Red Barron pizza's for $5 with a coupon and then had another coupon that gave me one free 2L bottle of Dr. Pepper free for buying the pizza's. There were other deals etc. but those are the highlights.

Signs Of Stress

I haven't been posting a lot lately as you no doubt have noticed. There has been a lot of stress in our lives here. Some you know about, others I have chosen not to blog about. I believe that the Lord allows these times for a reason. I'm not completely sure I know what that reason is, but I'm willing to trust Him. My husband, I believe, did not understand how much all of this has affected me until we went to the movies Friday night. As we left the theater, a colleague of Alan's drove up and said he'd been trying to get us on our cell phones (which of course were turned off during the movie) because the "they" (whoever they are) had cleared our apartment building because of fire or something. So we hurried home to see about our boy Smokey who is can't stand the fire alarm. Just as we pulled in it occurred to me that as hubby walked in the door earlier, I had just put a pan of eggs on to boil and had forgotten them. You guessed it. A very burnt pan and egg bits and egg shell all over the kitchen. No damage to the apartment thankfully. We found Smokey locked in the bathroom with his litter box. He was fine not even upset and probably just so grateful that the nasty alarm had been shut off. I spent quite a bit of time scraping egg of everything and I am still trying to salvage the pan. It's a good pan but has a burnt on mess in the bottom of it. Any suggestions will be appreciated. And yes, there were a whole carton of eggs in the pan. lol oh well it could have been much worse. Praise the Lord for keeping our apartment, everyone else's apartments, and our boy safe.

Labor Paine's

Let's all say a prayer for Crystal Paine over at Biblical Womanhood. She is being induced now and the baby should arrive soon. Crystal has had some medical problems including low platelets, so for all you medical types out there like me you know that that can mean dangerous hemorrhaging. Check out Biblical Womanhood for news about the new baby.

Back from Prague

So we spent the 4 day weekend in Prague. It wasn't too hot and we had a good time. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott which had air conditioning (a rarity for European hotels). We went to the Prague castle and visited the Jewish quarter and then got lost in old town where we had the BEST chocolate ice cream that I have ever had. I mean ever. EVER! It was so good that I'd actually consider driving to Prague just to get it. It's at least a 5 hour drive and I'm not a huge ice cream fan. It was that good. Absolutely incredible. So, here for your viewing pleasure (lol) are the pics.

Pics From The Ball-100th Post

And here then are the pics from the Ball a week ago. This also happens to be my 100th Post! Wow!

Toby Kieth Concert

Ok, here are the long awaited pics from the Toby Kieth concert we went to on Memorial Day weekend. You have to look hard to see Toby.

The Lord Giveth And The Lord Taketh Away. Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord!

So, this is the final deal. Alan got off of the deployment thing but the unit will not allow him to take that wonderful new position. We don't understand why all this has happened but we don't need to. We know the Lord works all things for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. Our prayer has always been that we want to be in His perfect will. So though we don't know, He does know and we are willing to accept that. So here we are and here we stay. DH is taking me away for the weekend. We've been through a lot lately and I especially need a break. I am going to go ahead and post this and then work on posting the pics from the ball.

And So On And So Forth

Alan is out of town again so when he comes back I will ask him to post pictures of the ball for you. It's funny that we went to a Greek restaurant on Sunday because today there was a farewell luncheon for the CO's secretary and I had to attend to represent my husband who is away. It was at the other Greek restaurant in town. So, I've had my fill for a while. In other news our allergies have been bad and we have just about decided we are allergic to our boy Smokey. :( It's hot here and there is no air conditioning. Hey Jungle Mom, do y'all have air conditioning where you are? I am getting used to it, but I sure am glad for the fans.

Sunday

Last night was the transformation ball. It was too hot to be so dressed up, but the food was good. We still do not know about Alan's situation. He hasn't been able to talk to the Colonel about it. Holding on to Jesus. It's all we can do. Today we went to church and heard a wonderful sermon about how important it is to keep up your prayer life and not let it fall by the wayside. We need to hear those reminders from time to time to keep us on the straight and narrow. We went out to a new Greek restaurant for lunch today and had a wonderful time. Good food and the restaurant was cool and uncrowded. Now for a lazy Sunday afternoon nap!

Friday

Not much going on right now. Volunteered at the clinic this morning. Had lunch with Alan. Errands this afternoon. Went and saw a movie tonight. Getting ready for the Transformation Ball tomorrow night. Hopefully, I'll be able to post pics this weekend. Trusting the Lord to bring his will to fruition.

Trusting

Satan sure is trying awful hard to derail us. As I remarked down below, DH has been offered a very prestigious position at another Army post. He was able to get off the tasking he was on in order to take it. The hitch now is that the senior advisers to the colonel are trying to talk him out of letting Alan take the new job. This also means that they aren't doing their jobs which is to cut him orders so he can go. They are delaying and trying to keep him. I am so sick and tired of this! This is not the first time that Alan has had a good rapport with the CO and then the XO/senior officers try to hold him back or give him lots of trouble. The thing is if God has purposed this in His heart, NO MAN NOR SATAN can stand against it/Him. I'm still remembering what the Lord said. He said, "Trust me." And I do. It's hard right now not to plan vengeance on those who are standing in his way. It's hard in my anger not to sin. You ladies out there know exactly what I mean. Someone threatens anyone in our family and we're right there planning how to make that person suffer for it. I caught myself doing that very thing last night and had to stop myself, ask for forgiveness and continue to trust in the Lord. I do trust Him. He said He has it all under control and He does. Alan is going to talk to the CO today and tell him what has been going on and find out what is going on.
Boy it never rains but it pours with this stuff. Satan has been threatening friends of ours too. They are in the process of adopting 5 children from Ethiopia. The children are all siblings and this is a large undertaking. The husband just got deployed for 15 months. He wasn't supposed to be deployed at all. Then the other day some new person with the adoption agency called up and told her that she isn't going to allow the adoption to go through. Her worries are that the wife is too young and has no parenting experience and the husband is deployed so she doesn't have him. Very rude to her etc. Also told her they weren't going to give their 40K dollars back. We are praying for the Lord to have His will. Here too. What the Lord has purposed in his heart, NO MAN NOR SATAN can prevent. Isn't wonderful to be a daughter of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! My God can do ANYTHING. So we are praying and trusting and believing.

Honestly though, I do feel like I've been on a roller coaster of sorts lately. So glad I have Jesus to hold on to.

Odds and Ends

Yesterday was such a wonderful day. The weather was just right. The laundry was easy to do. I had lunch with two really good friends. It was one of those days where the house just seemed to clean itself. Yes, I was really doing it but it didn't seem like work somehow. I don't know how to explain it, but I'm quite willing to accept it as a wonderful day. Today promises to be just as good. I'll finish the last load of laundry, clean the kitchen as I always do, swiffer the floors, and make my famous saucy burritos! Alan will be excited when he sees those. One of his favorites. Still haven't heard from Janie. Could be they've gone to Minnesota again. Praying all is well with them.

Can't Find Janie

OK, I'm officially worried now. I haven't heard from Janie in some time. I have checked the blogs that I have known her to frequent and she hasn't made any comments. I have emailed her and received no response. Does anyone know Janie out there? Is she OK? Janie if you're out there I'm praying for you. Please, if anyone knows anything let me know.

My Profile

Ok, I just realized that my profile was gone. You know, the one that said I am a born-again, Spirit filled Christian etc. The one that is up there now. I don't know where it went. I just happened to notice it wasn't the first thing up there and I went looking for it. How bizarre. Anyway it's up there now. I apologize for any confusion that might have created.

Lazy Day

Happy Saturday everyone! DH and I went to a Red Cross function last night. It was an outdoor barbecue type thing and the food was very good. Today is intended to be a lazy hang around the house sort of day. We will be taking my car to the shop for a new part and will likely stop by a German bakery on the way home, but other than that not much in the works. It could be that we will go see Shrek 3 later on as it's playing on post today. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Are You A Feminist?

Ok, I couldn't resist this one. Take the Feminism Quiz to see how much of a feminist you are.
This is my result:

You Are 58% Feminist
You aren't a total traditionalist when it comes to gender roles. But you're no feminist either.You generally think that women should be treated as equals, but you're not convinced the world should be gender neutral.

I suppose I'm higher than a lot of you might be but I do strongly believe that women should be educated and that women should be able to take care of themselves even if married, because one never knows when that husband isn't going to be there anymore. I also had to agree with the holding men and women to the same standards question (question number 3) because though I found the situation morally repugnant, Biblically speaking sin is sin whether you are a man or a woman. I give you as example the woman caught in adultery. In the very act. Where was the man? If it was adultery for her it was for him. I'm interested to hear other opinions or viewpoints.

The Gardacil Vaccination

A Biblical Home has posted this about the new Gardacil vaccine. At this time, so far as I know, it is only mandatory in Texas. I was going to comment on her blog, but I felt the need to address some issues people are having in more detail. Some of the concerns I am hearing among parents and out there in the blog world have to do with giving our daughters permission to be promiscuous. This is BUNK! I do not feel that protecting your daughter against the HPV virus is giving her permission to sleep around. The HPV virus is the most common precursor of cervical cancer. And yes it is a sexually transmitted disease. Cervical cancer is a nightmare that often causes women to have hysterectomies and therefore limits their ability to give birth to children. The reason I post is this. It's not about promiscuity. It's about protection. A girl could be a virgin on her wedding night and still end up with it. HPV is often symptomless in men and most men who have it do not know they have it. So, if a virgin marries a man who is not he may have it and unknowingly give it to her. A girl can, unfortunately, be raped. What I'm saying is the only ways to be certain you will never get this horrific disease is to never have sex (where the rape problem is still out of your control) or to be a virgin and marry a virgin and both of you remain faithful and if your husband dies you can only remarry a virgin and then still remain faithful and never get raped. Ladies, you don't know who your daughter may fall in love with. It may be a man who came to Christ after he lost his virginity. It may be a man who had been married before. It may be a man who has been a Christian for years and never married but made a mistake and fell. We are not perfect. We are human. I don't believe that sex outside of marriage is right for any reason. It is sin. I'm saying we have an opportunity here with this vaccine to protect our daughters from a fertility and sometimes life threatening disease that they may acquire through no fault of their own. In 49 states it is still optional. I am against Texas making it mandatory. It is a decision for families and young women to make not for the government. Inform yourselves. Get the facts. Ask a Christian doctor or nurse practitioner from your church to give an informative seminar at your church for parents to attend.
Now, as far as the side effects and reactions are concerned, we know that there is risk with any vaccination. Discuss those risks with your health care practitioner. I am not here to promote the vaccine. It is new, and I suspect all the side-effects/risks are yet unknown. The purpose of this post is to debunk the myth that having your daughter get the vaccine = giving her permission to be promiscuous.

Now, I must also take issue with the commenter on the Biblical Home blog who stated, "I do feel like some of the newer vaccines like the Hep. A/B and the HPV are basically vaccines that allow young adults to live immoral lives without the fear of suffering some of the physical consequences."
I have received both of these vaccines. I am not living an immoral life nor have I been given permission to by the vaccine. I got the Hep B vaccine because I am a nurse. I could get it from an accidental needle stick. The Hepatitis B virus can be transmitted sexually. " It can also be transmitted through blood transfusion, cuts or abrasions in the skin, and absorption by mucosal surfaces. Direct contact with infected body fluids, such as tears, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, gastric juices, pleural fluid, semen and urine may pass the infection. Hepatitis B can survive on inanimate objects for up to 1 week. Hepatitis B virus can be found in maternal vaginal secretions, blood, amniotic fluid, saliva and breast milk." (ref.Pathophysiology: The biologic basis for disease in adults and children/Kathryn L. McCance, Sue E. Huether.-3rd ed. Mosby-Year Book, Inc.) Obviously this can also be acquired in the community.
Hepatitis A is also a community acquired disease. It is most often spread by people who do not wash their hands after using the bathroom. It can be acquired sexually but most often it is through more casual contact. I got the vaccine because I don't want hepatitis A and I could most likely get it through some food service worker who has poor hygiene. Have you ever eaten food from a street vendor? Lots of them don't have a place for the worker to wash his hands, and even if they did most of them don't wash between handling the money and your food and wiping their sweaty brows, scratching their heads etc.

So the overall point here today is that vaccines do not give you permission to live an immoral life, but they can protect you from those who do and from other circumstances beyond your control.

Bits and Pieces

Sorry I've been away so long. I spent Sunday night to yesterday taking care of a sick friend who's husband is deployed. My husband is so good to me. While I was gone he completely finished the spring cleaning. There is nothing left to do. lol No, he's not weird, but when he is anxious and has something on his mind he gets it worked out by cleaning. It could be a lot worse. There are many worse things he could do, and no I'm not sending him to your place next time he's thinking something out. lol. Last Friday we went to a Toby Kieth concert. He gives these free concerts for the soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. He made one stop in Germany. We were glad it wasn't too far. It was hot and I got sunburned. You ought to see my farmers tan/burn! Oh well, we had a good time.

Monday, Our computer crashed. Alan had to wipe it clean and he has been trying to reload the programs we need on it. I'd post the pictures I took at the concert but the program has to be downloaded and I don't know from where so it will have to wait until hubby can get around to it.

Other than that, I have errands to run today and some shopping to do.

There Is None Like Him

OK, so this is the news we've been waiting 3+ weeks for. Back in April we found out that there was a big change in store for us. We knew it would be one of 2 things. My husband was either going to be deployed with a special task force or he would be taking a command in Kaiserslautern. We both really wanted him to get the command for 2 reasons. One, obviously, I don't want him deployed. Yes, I know that it's a part of being an Army wife, but he has been deployed before and nearly died because of it. That, however, is another story for another day. The second reason is that it would be commanding a medical transition unit. This unit comprises a lot of men and women who have been injured. This is something my husband is passionate about. He knows the ins and outs of the military medical system, and he truly cares about his soldiers. There are a lot of other reasons he would be perfect for it. We both really felt the Lord's leading here. We felt that perhaps this was one of the reasons that Alan nearly died 3 years ago. So as you all read in past posts, we were anxiously awaiting. If he didn't get the command he would be deployed. The decision was supposed to be made more than 4 weeks ago. The date came and went. A week later we heard that it would take more time as a certain General wished to weigh in on the decision. That was understandable in light of the Walter Reed scandal. Still it was hard to wait. Then a week or so later we learned that the person to make the decision had changed yet again, but Alan had made the first cut. So off we went again to interview with the new decision maker. Another week went by. I may be biased but I really didn't see how they could possibly choose anyone else. Last Wednesday, my husband came home and told me the news. "I didn't get the position." which also meant he would be deployed. I can tell you that was a real blow. We were really quite hurt and disappointed over it. Our prayer the whole time we were waiting had been "Lord, If this isn't your will, please don't let him get it." Whatever else happens we always want to be right in the middle of His will. Even if that meant Alan being so far away and in less than ideal surroundings. When something we didn't want to happen has happened the Lord has shown us so many times that we must trust Him because He knows the future that we don't. And He knows what's best and wants what's best for us. The whole time we were waiting for this decision the message came through loud and clear. "Trust me." In many different ways and through different people "Trust me." When you hear the still small voice, you know. And so when we got the news we truly didn't expect to hear I still heard "Trust me." We talked about our feelings and then chose to thank Jesus for having His will in the situation. The Bible tells us to give thanks in all things not just the seeimingly good ones. So that is what we did even though we didn't understand. That day and the next was hard for me. I had to attend a function (still sick) and had to tell people. But, when I told them I also said we wanted the Lord's will and we have it. He has never let us down before and so we trust Him that He knows even though we don't. I recounted to some people the Hawaii incident. Privately I told the Lord how disappointed I was. I knew I wanted His will but I also wanted His will to be my will. I wondered how I could have been so wrong about the Lord's leading. I had felt so strongly that we were to go to Kaiserslautern but now I was staying here and Alan was deploying. Nothing felt right and I was very uncomfortable about it. Well, Alan came home Thursday. His Colonel had asked him into the office to talk to him about it. I will mention here that his colonel is wonderful. He is kind, doesn't think he's all that, and he is deeply concerned about the people who serve under him. Add to that the fact that he is a true Christian. He had personally given his recommendation for Alan to get this job. In fact, the day we found out Alan didn't get it, he'd spoken to the decision maker in person and frankly asked him why Alan didn't get the job. :) It turns out that the decision maker has asked for Alan to take a different position. A position as executive officer overseeing the wounded warrior program at Landstuhl effectively supervising the position he applied for! Not only is this a compliment to him but the job of battalion XO is reserved for officers at least one rank higher than he is and he isn't anywhere near promotion. It's a very great honor. So, now you know. Isn't the Lord good! He said, "Trust me." I had just told a lady the evening before that I may not know what the future holds but I know who holds the future. I was so disappointed and I didn't understand but I told my sister." How can I not trust Him? He has brought us through so much. How can I Not trust Him." I'm so glad I/we did.

Bits and Pieces

Last night we went to a volunteer appreciation banquet. I had not especially wanted to go, but oddly my husband pushed for it and besides it would be a free meal right. Well as it turns out he had Intel that I did not and I was awarded one of the Distinguished Community Volunteer Awards. The award was a very nice certificate presented by the general and his wife and the garrison commander, a nice duffel bag and a present inside of that which turned out to be a beautiful crystal bowl! (Rebecca LOVES crystal!) So all in all it turned out to be alright even if I was still sick. Tonight is the unit coffee and I imagine I'll really have to go to that.

I was so proud of myself yesterday. Sick as I am I still managed to get quite a bit done. I made the bed, emptied and reloaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen and set up the coffee maker, got most of my coupons cut out, and cleaned out my computer of all the junk that was slowing it down. Pictures and things I wanted to keep went on a flash disk and everything else to the recycle bin and then deleted from that. Defraged and ran the ad aware and it's amazing how fast the computer runs now.

Today I plan to finish cutting out the coupons, and get my coupon organizer put back together and ready to go. It fell apart when I dropped it. Yes I know, coupons everywhere. I was so upset. I need to go to the commissary and to the PX and get something ready for Alan's dinner while I am gone to the coffee. I am not considered to be contagious anymore since I have been on antibiotics for 48 hours so I'm not worried that I'll spread anything. I also need to go to the mp station and report my ID as missing. So, off to a busy day. I hope you all have a good one!

Update and Smokey news

OK, so I did manage to see the doctor today. I had to wait several hours but at least I got in. She said I was the fourth patient she'd seen today that had this. I got a shot, a breathing treatment, and like 3 prescriptions. So, I'm rather knocked out by all the drugs. I managed to change the linens on our bed today, but that has completely wiped me out. Just sitting up and typing is exhausting. So nothing new to tell today. Thank all of you for your prayer. I appreciate them more than I can say. Oh there is one thing to mention. Smokey our cat fell again today. He was jumping up to the window ledge in our bedroom. He likes to look out that window and watch all the activity. The ledge is smooth and not wood (I don't know what it's made of) and he can't always get a good grip. Today he tried a different approach. I store some of my shoes on this ledge. It's a big ledge and he tried to jump up on my shoes for better traction but the shoe flipped up and hit him and he fell. So I have brought over one of our dining room chairs that normally sits in another part of the room so he can have a foot stool as it were. Now we just have to get him to try it. He's scared he'll fall again. Thank the Lord he wasn't hurt.

Celebration!

According to my site meter I had my 1000th visitor today! WooHoo! I thank all of you for your support. :)

Sickness

Here I am at 0321 and I can't sleep. I have a nasty bronchitis. I woke up with it Saturday morning. I can't lay down because I feel like I'm drowning. Monday sure seems far off. I have to wait until then to try to see a doctor. And to make it worse my back is so painful I have trouble in any position. I finally got to talk to my sister though. Three am my time is a good time to get people in the States. Wow, I guess I talked to her quite a while. Now it's 0442 good thing we have that flat rate plan.

Fund Raising Friday

3 days in a row of substitute teaching and I'm glad I'm done for a while. My hat is off to teachers everywhere. I could not do that as a regular thing. Tonight we went to an FRG fund raiser. We played BINGO and won prizes and everyone had a good time. Alan and I are so looking forward to a quiet weekend.

Health? Education? Warning not for younger readers.

I have been subbing the past 2 days. Yesterday, one of the girls was telling me about her health class and told how the teacher asked the boys if they carry a condom in their wallets. Not all of the boys raised their hands and she chastised them that they should be carrying them and said that that goes for the girls too. There you have it ladies and gentlemen. Your tax dollars at work. The girl went on to say that she told the teacher she isn't that kind of girl and the teacher said that it will happen so she'd better be prepared. Absolutely shocking. Even if I didn't find this morally repugnant (and I do) does she not know that a condom carried for very long in a boy's wallet will break down due to the heat which will make it much more likely to break? I mean really. What's next? How to sessions for extra credit? Don't think I didn't make it perfectly clear to the girls ( thankfully there were only girls in that class and it wasn't the health class) that the condoms can be rendered useless that way and that I was proud of them for standing up for their beliefs and also that they would be thankful, on their wedding night, that they had waited. I don't know of any girl who has regretted saving herself for her husband and I also don't know any girl who didn't and doesn't regret it.

Scholarship Day

Today was the end of the school year awards ceremony at the high school here on post. As the chairperson of the BSCC, I had the pleasure of announcing and handing out the BSCC scholarships for this year. It was so great to see these young people getting awards in math and science and it was especially satisfying to award scholarships to such deserving military kids. You see I believe that school is a bit harder on military kids. They move every couple of years if not more often. A new school with new rules and "politics", new students and teachers to get used to, often different requirements for graduation or advancement, and especially now with the constant threat and reality of having a parent deployed to a war zone, it takes special dedication and resolve to do well. I applaud these students and cheer them on in their future endeavors. Whatever they choose to do they have outstanding potential to make wonderful contributions to our world.

So that's what I did today. Other than that DH is out of town on business of course and I have been asked to substitute teach the rest of the week. I have requested that they call the others first and only call me as a last resort mainly because I prefer to be home taking care of things so I know that they really need me. Anyway it will only make 3.5 days of work this month. Not too shabby and it's nice to have a little extra spending money. DH's birthday is coming up. The big 40! Not till July though.

We're Back

We're back. We left late Friday afternoon for Kaiserslautern, Germany. There, On Saturday, we attended an adoption symposium for Americans living overseas who are looking to adopt overseas. We are so glad we went! There are so many children out there that need good homes and we are going to start the paper work to get at least one if not 2 of them. lol I'll see if I can talk hubby into more he he! It was a very informative day and we got lots of information to take with us and review.

My Apology

Hello dear friends. I'm so sorry that I have not been able to be around lately. May is the month in the military family world when everything happens. The activity season is ending and the PCS season is beginning. So this is when everything happens. PWOC end of season activities, BSCC end of season activities, people are beginning to pack up and leave or arrive and then all the regular stuff too. So, I have gone nuts. I have also decided that next year (which begins in late August)I will not take on so much. It hasn't been so bad but this month has been too much. Anyway, after next week most of the rush rush will be over and depending on whether or not we move I can settle into a more calm routine. Tomorrow, before we leave for 5 days of travel and important meetings, I will fill you all in on what has been going on. Blessings to all!

Jumble

I am so tired. Just physically and emotionally spent. DH and I spent the day resting. Just being together, watching movies, went to the thrift store. No decisive news yet. It's frustrating to not be able to plan for the future. I saved $36.10 at the commissary for this month. There weren't very good sales this time, but still I'd rather have the 36 bucks than give it away. Church pot-luck tomorrow. Spanish theme. I'm bringing burritos enchilada style. lol I'm considering investing in the Tums company. Hubby is going through them like crazy. I wish I could put my thoughts together better but right now I can't. It seems that all I can do is keep on keepin on. I'm just going through the motions. I'm sorry. I hope to be myself again soon.

Insanity

Hi. Just to let you know I'm running a little crazy right now. Several unexpected things have come up and I'll be back hopefully Saturday. Still no news on the other.

Tuesday

I have run crazy today. So many things to do. Not enough time to do them. It works out very nicely that my husband is in the field this week so, that I can really concentrate on these other things and have them done before he gets back. So everything that I had to do today and then I fell up the stairs on the way in and hurt myself. lol I sure wished Alan was home to comfort me. Well, still waiting on the other news. We did hear that we will be hearing soon. How reassuring.

Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart

Trust. We sing about it, "Trust and Obey" "Do I trust you Lord?" "Standing on the Promises" I do love that one. But, when it comes right down to it do we really trust Him? I have dealt with that concept this weekend. We were supposed to know about our "Big Change" by Friday. No news. (For those of you who thought so, no I'm not pregnant. At least not as far as I know! and that wasn't what the big change was about) It is so hard for me to be patient sometimes. It would be easy for me to blame it on this generation of instant gratification, but the fact is I'm inpatient. Me, Rebecca. (I heard you say AMEN mother, all the way over here in Germany) So the past 2 weeks were an exercise in patience for me. I did well. Friday was a bit nerve racking but all in all I feel I passed the test. Our very sincere prayer was and is "If this is not your will Lord, please don't let it happen." So now here we are 3 days after we should have known. Patience is no longer an issue. Now it's trust vs fear. The Lord has impressed on my heart that we have been praying that prayer and meaning it but then as soon as I didn't hear what I wanted to hear when I thought I was entitled to hear it, I assumed the worst. Worst being defined as what I don't want to happen happening whether it's God's will or not. This morning I'm choosing to lay it at His feet. And leave it there. He has taken me through deeper waters than this. There is nothing I can do to make the decision one way or the other so I will trust Him. He knows what is best for us. In times like this, I think it really helps to remember what He has done for us in the past. A year ago we were told we were coming here. We had hoped for a Hawaii assignment. We had been fairly certain that we'd get it. Our prayer then was the same as now. We didn't get the assignment. We chose though, to thank God even though it didn't work out because the Bible says to thank God in ALL things. So we thanked Him because He had a plan and though we didn't understand we knew it was for our best. Turned out the guy who got Hawaii deployed to Iraq immediately after getting there. The day I was told my husband had a fatal illness and would likely be dead within a year. After I had cried my heart I heard His still, small voice and he said I'm here. I am the Lord who healeth thee. The time I prayed for Him to send me a husband. The time I asked to be allowed to get home in time to be with my dad a little before he died. All of the guidance during those challenging Jersey years. Do I trust Him? You bet I do. Those are only some of the highlights but they serve to remind me of how His hand has been over my life right from the start. Neither of my parents ever intended to have me and yet here I am. God knows what He's doing. I'll leave it with Him. And yes, as soon as I know anything you'll know as well.

Connie From Texas

Does anyone know Connie? Her husband got on her blog and said she'd been in pain in her leg and he took her to the doctor and she couldn't blog for a while. I'm just concerned. It's the nurse in me. I'm currently reminding myself that she belongs to Jesus and He knows all about it. Why is it so hard not to worry? What's up with that?

Anticipation

Remember that old Heinz Ketchup commercial? Anticipation, Anticipation is making me wait. And therefore it's making you wait. We still don't know. I didn't end up subbing after all. I got there and was looking for the sub instructions and in came the real teacher. Oh well, they have to pay me for half the day anyway so time wasn't completely wasted. Nothing much to blog about today. Maybe tomorrow.

Today

Today then is a bit slower. We had to take my car into the shop early this morning. It makes a squeaking squealing noise whenever it has been driven about 45 min and is going between 80 and 100. That's kilometers per hour. So, I'm catching up on blogging and then some house work. Then off to the BSCC luncheon where our featured speaker will be my dear friend Pat Burr. Pat is some kind of counselor here on post. I say some kind because there are different positions with people of the same education and I'm not sure what her exact title is. She will be speaking on learning to de-stress and enjoy life. After that I expect to be able to go pick my car up, if it is ready. Otherwise I have nothing else scheduled but making dinner. I am thinking of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and some kind of vegetable. Should be green beans but I'm more in the mood for corn. I know, I know, too much starch. We'll also have some kind of fruit for desert.

Tomorrow, I'm substitute teaching again and then it is the day we are supposed to find out whether or not there is going to be a big change in our lives. I'll tell you as soon as we know for sure!

Blessings to all!

It Never Rains But It Pours

Ok, this is where I've been the past 2 days. Tuesday morning I had an emergency dentist appointment. A crown had fallen out and I really needed it put back in. Also, it was my first visit to this dentist and you know how that always takes more time. It was a German dentist and he was really quite wonderful. Then, I had lunch with a friend at the DFAC. The funniest thing happened. A man in uniform came by and said hello to us. They all look alike to me. I looked up and smiled. I heard Kim, my friend, say oh hello sir. She used her formal army wife voice. Turns out it was a visiting general. lol I was so glad my name wasn't pasted on my shirt or anything. Not that I was rude, but I rarely notice someone's rank and typically, this time, I paid no attention and merely smiled and went on with the current conversation. Also, at while we were having lunch, the dissenter from last weeks PWOC came by. I invited her to have lunch with us. My heart has been so burdened for her soul, and I longed for the opportunity to show her Christ's love regardless of her disbelief in my Jesus. Anyway, that is why I paid little attention to the general. I was busy in a conversation with her. As a side note, this was the last week of our Habakkuk Bible study. The last lesson taught me that it is not my responsibility to make her accept Christ. It is my responsibility to model Christ and share Him, but it is her responsibility to accept Him or to choose not to. That was really good to know. I tend to beat myself up a lot, and I had worried this week that maybe I had not said the right things or maybe I had been to (I don't know stringent?)in my presentation of Christ. So, upon reading that, my heart was lifted, and I felt that she had heard what she was meant to hear. Ok so after that I spent the afternoon doing Red Cross work. Then home to make dinner for us and clean up a bit.

So then yesterday I had PWOC in the morning. A meeting with Therese after that. Then BSCC board meeting from noon to one. After that I had another afternoon of Red Cross work. Home to make dinner for Alan and clean up a bit and then out to a wives coffee group from 1800 - 2130. For those of you who don't know, the coffee group consists of the spouses of the senior NCO's and officers of a battalion or brigade headquarters company. It's a social group for friendship and support and generally meets on a monthly basis. They also do the planning of some activities for the support of the unit.

So, the reason I say it never rains but it pours is that of these things but the PWOC were last minute notice. Yes, I could have said no to the Red Cross thing, but they asked at the end of last week and I had already said yes before all the other stuff (like my crown falling out) happened. lol see? It never rains but it pours. Now I'm super busy the next 2 weeks and then I have 2 weeks of nothing scheduled.

Manic Monday

Today felt just manic. I had so much to do! 4 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and ironed. Changed bed linens and put out fresh towels. Made doctor, dentist, and vet appointments. Met with the clinic chief nurse to work out a new schedule. Picked up scholarship applications at the school. (I'm the chair of the spouses club scholarship committee) Mailed two rather large packages. Went to the ATM and then to the shoppette to get drinks for the FRG bar-b-que tonight. Yes, they were having a sale. Baked and decorated 2 pans of cookies. Made a dozen deviled eggs, went to the German market for fresh ground beef and mixed it with spices for hamburgers for said barbque. Sliced up tomato and onion for hamburgers. Carted all of that and hubby to barbque, cooked hamburgers while serving hot dogs to others. Finally had a chance to eat. (It was soooooo goood) Gathered my things and went home. Now finally a chance to blog and read email. I'm going to bed now. lol My back hurts. It's nice to have a busy day. I was wishing my mom was here today. This is the first time I've made her deviled eggs and I could have used a taste tester. Oh well. Mom, if you're reading this they must have been good. They went quickly. Good night all.

Springtime and Smokey

We have had the most beautiful weather this past week. Sun shining, few clouds, warm temps. Long walks in the evenings. Spring is such a wonderful time for lighthearted romance and fun! Yesterday was spent washing both cars. In the evening I took our boy Smokey out on his leash for the first time since we have been here. He was very nervous, but I think he really enjoyed going to the park. The kids all liked him and wanted to pet him and be with him. The only thing is that he just hates wearing the harness and being on the leash. I hate that it must be so, but they don't allow pets to be off leash here on post. Smokey misses being allowed to roam free, but I hope he will enjoy getting to go out regardless. He has been so restless and now he seems more content so... What is everyone else doing to enjoy the spring weather?

Frugal Friday

Ok, so now my back hurts from all that scrubbing yesterday. lol. Oh well, I learned my lesson. I'm a little annoyed that I wasted my money on that mop-n-glo though. So, on to Frugal Friday.

My husband and I travel quite a bit. Additionally my husband travels for work at least monthly. We save all of those things you get from hotels. Soap, shampoo, mouthwash, toothpaste, shower caps, conditioner, lotion, mending kits, shoeshine kits, plastic laundry bags, sample size deodorant, emery boards and body wash. All of those things we get from hotels. Now not every hotel we go to supplies the room with deodorant or toothpaste. The one my husband uses on business does. The thing is we use this stuff. We use it in the hotel and we take the remainder home and use it there. I used to worry about this until several friends who work at hotels told me that they expect you to take these things. NOT THE TOWELS! And, no we have never taken the towels. I include all this in Frugal Friday because I honestly haven't bought a bar of soap in months. In fact, I donated a bunch of those soap bars a few weeks ago when my PWOC group was putting together packages for Polish orphans. (I would have donated a bunch of the rest of it too but we couldn't send anything liquid) We get enough of all of that stuff that I only buy when things will cost me about 50 cents or less. When I combine coupons with sales to get hair products it's mostly just conditioner and I get it because I use a LOT of conditioner, it's one of the hotel toiletries we get least often, and I like to save them to take on trips. With the new toiletry travel restrictions on airplanes they are nice to have. So that's my tip today. Use those hotel toiletries! After all, you paid for them when you paid for the room.

Abortion Wrongs

Sorry I just don't believe in abortion rights. I wish to publicly applaud the supreme court for its landmark ruling prohibiting partial birth abortion. I don't care what anyone says. That is down right murder. Pulling a viable fetus out of its mothers womb and killing it is murder! Don't try to give me malarkey about doing it to save a mother's life either because that is crap! The fact is that there is NO WAY that it could even maybe save a mother's life. If a mother is that bad off then deliver/c-section the baby and save her life. Pulling a baby part way out and killing it will not save her life. The baby will have to deliver anyway. Dead or alive what went in must come out. C-sections can be done in as little as 60 seconds and can be done with spinal block type medication. There can be NO justification for it and I'm glad it's now outlawed. Keep in mind people that though I'm not addressing it here, I am against any form of abortion.

Read The Label

I got up this morning and went about my normal daily routine. I made the bed, wiped down the bathroom, cleaned up the kitchen, got my husband's coffee ready for tomorrow, and set my robo maid to cleaning the floors. Well, I chose to do more. I swept and mopped the bathroom floor. Then I swept and mopped the kitchen floor, and that is where it all began. Sweeping was no problem. It's the mopping that got me. I mopped the floor as usual using my swiffer wet-jet and mop-n-glo. ( I don't necessarily HAVE to use the swiffer floor solution) The problem with mopping the floor is that since we have been in this apartment (10 months) the floor has seemed to get dirtier and dirtier. (It's a white floor) It seems to be in the areas we walk and not so much under the microwave table etc. This has been extremely frustrating to me. So, today after I mopped the floor I noticed that I got the spots up ( like spilled coffee etc.) but it seemed to be dirtier than when I started. It was like I was grinding the dirt in with the mop. I couldn't figure. Well I decided to get after it. I put on my rubber shoes and got out a scrubber thing and taped it to my wet-jet. Then I removed everything I could from the kitchen floor. After that, I mixed up hot water and some Mr. Clean and poured it all over the floor. Made puddles of it. I began to scrubber the floor. Some stuff came up and I put a new scrubber on. Finally that grunge seemed to be coming up, but the scrubber just wasn't doing what I needed it to. I pulled it off and looked at it. There was a buildup on it. Well it turns out that it was the mop-n-glo. I guess that product puts down a waxy type of substance for the "glow" part. And it was trapping dirt on my floor. So when I discovered this, I had been at it for a while and I had dirty mop water all over my floor. I mopped it up and mixed up new hot water and Mr. Clean, got out a scrub brush, got out my 2 pillows that are cased in plastic, and got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed liked my aunt used to. That did it. It's coming up. I say coming because I have a decent sized kitchen and I'm not through. I'm doing a section at a time. I'm not used to that and I have knee problems so I do part and then rest a bit and do some more. But that is taking care of the dirt! Had I only read the mop-n-glo label, I would have known that it is not to be used on this type of floor. It didn't harm the floor, just made it nasty. The funny part is that the more I mopped the worse it got. So I got rid of the little that was left and I will stick with Mr. Clean or the Swiffer wet-jet solution from now on. You'd think at my age I'd know these things!

So Much To Say

I have so much to say today! First of all, thank you to those of you praying with me. It seems like with things like this it never rains but it pours.
Next topic,
Today we had a dissenter come into our PWOC class. It was a weird thing all together. First off, there were only 2 of us there. Events conspired (God lead I'm sure) so that it was only myself and another very strong Christian. Not that the others are not strong, but you'll see. One girl is off getting married in the States. She is already married but they are having the ceremony. Another is on vacation with her family. A third just had a baby. And the other regular had been there earlier but had to leave to take her daughter to some sort of appointment. None of the irregulars were there. Today's topic had to do with Christians and alcohol. It comes from the woe to drunkards found in Habakkuk. Anyway, we were about 10 minutes into our discussion, and a woman I had never seen before today came in saying she wanted to sit in on our study. I had no problem with this. I told her what today's topic was and brought her up to date on what we had discussed. Well, to make a long story short, this lady in response to all we discussed began to spout very wrong, anti-Christian rhetoric. She said (paraphrasing) how research proves that homosexuals are born that way and that they don't have a choice. She said that parts of the Bible may be inspired but men have chosen to change it and take things out and put things in. She said that we are not compassionate because we call homosexuality, drunkenness, etc. sin and we don't understand. She said that there are millions of spiritual people all over the world who love their religions and truly believe and we can't say that they are wrong. Then said that Jesus is not the only way to heaven. She said that Jesus was a very compassionate and tolerant man. I had to strongly disagree with that. Jesus was compassionate to be sure, but He did not and does not tolerate sin and cited examples of that. She said that evolution has been proven. All of these things and more. Be sure that the 2 of us responded appropriately. In love and kindness we were able to refute her claims. I sorrowed that she could not accept that you must believe all of the Bible or none of it. I explained that you cannot tell Jesus that you agree with Love your neighbor as yourself but not that sex outside of marriage thing and expect to get to go to heaven. All the time we were praying silently that the Lord would lead us and guide us, give us words, to answer her. She left before the study was over stating that she wished to look in on the other studies. I checked around afterwards and found that she did not in fact go to any of the other studies.
Praise the Lord! First, because He lead her to my study. Not that I'm so great but that there were only 2 of us there. Therefore, her false claims could not be heard by many people and especially because we have ladies who are new Christians and some who are still searching. The 2 of us who were there, are not going to be shaken by her ideas. Praise the Lord! Because the seeds of the truth were planted in her heart. She has now heard the Truth. Praise the Lord, because she left and no one else was subjected to her. Pray. As soon as she left we both just stopped the study and prayed. and prayed and prayed. I have such a burden for her soul! We prayed that the Lord would put Christians in her path, that she could not escape the Word. My heart remains heavy for her and I continue to pray. Pray also because this woman is a family life therapist. She only has 10 days left on post and my prayer is that people who need Godly advice be directed to a different therapist. We have a Godly counselor on post.

Then the last thing that I had to say is that as I am helping to prepare for our upcoming 20 year high school reunion, sad things have come to light. 10 people that we know from our class have died. Some I knew about and some I didn't. It's hard to believe that they're gone. So sad.

In the Eye of the Hurricane

So much to pray about today. A friend's husband rushed into emergency surgery. Massacre at a college in Virginia. Children at school. Persecuted. Hurting. Dear friends in turmoil with agonizing decisions to make. A crossroad in our life. Uncertainty. Holding on to Jesus, though tossed by the sea. So much pain in my heart today. I ask you all to pray with me. Learning to trust. On old levels. On new ones. It's so good to know, that it's all in the Master's hands. "Though strong winds may blow, they can't change what I know. When I hold to the rock, that the wind can't erode." (Trace Balin)

Day Trippin'

We went on a wonderful day trip yesterday. We started out with breakfast at the DFAC (that's dining facility or mess hall you all you non-military peeps) then got in the car and headed for the Czech Republic. It was such a beautiful day. At least 70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. A bright sunshiny day. The trip through Bavaria is always a scenic one. We went to Karlovy Vary, CZ. It is a town known for its spa's and shopping. The dollar stands up well to the Krone as $1 = 20+ Krone. We didn't buy much, but really enjoyed seeing the different architectural styles and shopping. I always get a kick out of going to a former eastern block country and finding McDonald's. Anyway, we got back home around 1900 and walked a couple blocks down the straBe to a favorite Italian restaurant. The waitress got such a kick out of us trying to use our broken German that she gave us a free appetizer! lol We enjoyed it very much. This morning we are getting ready for church. After that hubby is planning on taking the cars to be washed. We believe in having a day of rest just not on Sunday. Only because with going to church and then having to get ready for the week ahead, it rarely feels like a day of rest. So, generally speaking, we have ours on Saturday when the Lord had His. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Wednesday Super Values

Wednesday I went to do my monthly grocery shopping at our local commissary. Now I do go more often than that but only for perishables, and most of those I prefer to get from the German stores. There were lots of sales so I will just post the best:

- 2 Banquet frozen fried chicken dinners for $0.75 each.
- A HUGE box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes for $1.50
-Airwick spray - $0.79 each. I had 3 coupons for buy one get one free so I got 6. (my husband is a big fan of spray.)
- Kotex overnight maxi's $0.29 with my coupon
- Vaseline Intensive Care lotion $0.99 with my coupon. I got 3 of them. Both of us have very dry skin.
- Pantene conditioner (I need lots of it for my waist long frizzy hair) $0.59 with my coupon. I got 2 of them.
- Purell hand sanitizer purse size - I got $0.46 back with my coupon. I bought a second one for $0.54 cents with a lesser coupon so in all I got 2 for $0.08 or 4 cents each.
- Rice-a-Roni 2 boxes $0.25 each
- 6 pouches of blueberry muffin mix $0.33 each
- 9 cans of Dole tropical fruit salad (my favorite) $0.35 each
- 3 boxes of garlic potato flakes $0.40 each (each box contains 2 pouches so that makes 6 20-cent side dishes.
- 8 boxes of Martha White corn muffin mix $0.07 each
- 3 packages of Pillsbury refrigerated Easter cookies (the kind where you just place them on the cookie sheet, bake, frost, and put some weird edible paper decoration on it) $0.95 each on clearance. I had 3 coupons for $1 off so, they paid me 15cents to take them home. (I throw the paper decoration out. The concept of eating paper, edible or not, bothers me immensely.)

So. the super value savings in all were $47.77 savings in coupons and at least $14 savings in sales. For a grand total of at least $61.77 which is 52.36% of my bill.

The Honeymoon

Ok. So, Alan's orders had changed and we weren't going to be able to go on our trip to Disney World. New plan. We were living in southern Missouri and only had from Saturday after the wedding to Tuesday when we had to start back. We chose to go to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Eureka Springs has long been known as a wedding/honeymoon location. We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast called Evening Shade. Now, for those of you familiar with the Ozarks, you know that it is a very conservative region and interracial marriage is often still looked at in less than a positive light. We had a bit of concern that it might be an issue, but decided to go anyway. Well, well, well. We got there and honestly in the glow of our very new marriage we didn't notice much. What we did notice was that we seemed to be treated with exceptional favor. Even by those who didn't know we were newly-weds. The other thing we noticed was men holding hands in public. We saw this, there, not once but twice. In fact, we noticed several female couples also. My husband, who is from New York City, said,"I thought you said this place was Conservative?" As it turned out it was some kind of gay and lesbian weekend and we seemed to be the only heterosexual couple around. LOL We've had a lot of fun telling this story over the years. The funniest part is that last year Alan surprised me with a return trip to our same honeymoon lodge. You guessed it. Gay and lesbian weekend again. Apparently it a group that goes there once or twice a year. We didn't plan it that way. It just happened. Oh well, we had a good time, a good laugh and wonderful memories.

The Story of Us

How did we come to be? Honestly I think it was meant to be. At times he was at Fort Leonard Wood (4 different times) and I was in Springfield. When he was in New York, so was I. When he was in Richmond, I was in Fredericksburg. I had dated on and off for years never finding anyone right. I had decided that it just wasn't God's will for my life to marry. So, I bought a house and chose to concentrate on my career and living a full life as a single instead of waiting for my life to begin with a man. I took nice vacations, spent time with friends, made new friends and found a church where single women had a place and weren't perceived as strange or sad. Then, one day I received an email from a man who said he had read my profile and seen my picture. In the email he told me about himself. His story was compelling, and since he had revealed that he was in the Army, he could be researched somewhat. I chose to respond, rather cautiously, to his email. We emailed for a few weeks and then spoke on the phone a few times. We had so much in common. From our backgrounds to our goals and aspirations it was amazing. Eventually we decided to meet. We went to a movie and then spent hours talking. Just getting to know each other. We are both MASH fans. Not just that we like the show but we both knew a lot of trivia and details the average fan doesn't know. We both drove the same kind of car. We came from the same kind of homes and had similar experiences in our young adult lives that had lead both of us to be extremely frugal in our current lives. Well, I was living in Springfield, and he lived at Ft. Leonard Wood about 90 min northeast. So we mostly only saw each other on the weekends. We just fit. We were both at the point in our lives where we knew what we wanted and what we didn't want. The pieces were just falling into place. We talked about getting married and what married life in the Army would be like. Two days before Christmas I was admitted to the hospital in severe pain. They had to give me a lot of pain medicine to get on top of the pain. Alan was with me and left about midnight. After he left I fell asleep and stopped breathing. When they found me my O2 sat was 35% and I wasn't breathing. I almost died. Alan was stunned to see me the next day in a different room on oxygen. On Christmas Eve, we had a record snow storm. I was still in the hospital and watching the TV as 2 feet of snow came down in about 4 hours. Cars were off the road everywhere. Alan called to say that he was on his way. He was to spend Christmas with my family. I worried about him making it. 4 hours later he came in, in uniform. He climbed into my hospital bed with me and asked me to marry him. I said yes, and he pulled out a box with my engagement ring. Later he asked again to make sure it wasn't the drugs talking. lol. The rest you know.

The Mickey and Minnie Mouse cake topper is for 2 reasons. All the cake toppers with 2 people were either 2 black people or 2 while people. Not one of each. Mickey is my favorite cartoon character. I have an extensive collection of Mickey things. Also, we had originally planned to go to Disney World for our honeymoon. Not that that ended up happening, but our honeymoon is a story for another day.

Disclaimer, I refer to my husband as black and not African American for 2 reasons. 1. We're not interested in being politically correct. 2. My husband is not African. He is part French, part Haitian and part Polynesian. Someday I may do a post about my opinions about political correctness.

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Christ the Lord is Risen Today - Click here to hear and sing this beautiful hymn.

My heart sings with joy on this glorious Resurrection Morning!

Smokey

Smokey our cat is assumed to be at least 16 years old. He came to us a few months after we got married. He just wandered up to our back door and meowed so loud we had to see what was up. We fed him (both of us are cat lovers) and he stayed on living in our yard and on our patio. At that time we lived on an old dairy farm near Ft. Sill. Just before Alan deployed to Iraq, he told Smokey that he needed to be the man of the house while papa was gone. After Alan left, every day there would be a new dead something on my back door step. A dead mouse, shrew, bird, rabbit, etc. After he left me a dead rabbit with fur all over the patio and only the head, one leg and the intestines left, I cleaned it up and got down to his level. I looked him right in the eye and said,"No more." He never left another one. Smokey is very loving and kind. He is very good with children and even babies. We believe that he was dumped by another family. Unfortunately, that is happening more and more in the military. We are glad to have him. He has been a most welcome addition to our family. Tomorrow, since you all want to know, I'll tell you how Alan and I came to be.

4 Years

Four years ago today I married the love of my life. I often laugh as I remember our wedding day. The various goofs and mistakes, the joy that we had. We hadn't planned on getting married when we did. We were kicking around some time in August when Alan got new orders. The war in Iraq was just starting and he was being transferred to a new unit in a different state. We decided to get married and go together. We had exactly 6 weeks. So with both of us working more than full-time, Alan brought all his stuff to my house and lived on the bare necessities. Fortunately he was in government quarters and so most of the furniture wasn't his anyway. His things had to be moved to my place because the army will only pick up at one residence to do a move. So in that time we had all of both of our household goods and furniture picked up and moved, we sold the house that I owned, continued working right up until a few days before we got married, and had a full wedding. Invitations, dress, attendants clothes, flowers, cake etc. Nothing was left out. Except for perhaps sleep. It was a busy and crazy time. One day when it was rather slow at work the girls were helping me make up the "rice" bags. The wedding went off with the only hitch being that the sound guy didn't play the recessional as we walked back up the isle at the end and the flower guy forgot to leave most of the flowers and I had to call them. They had the nerve to ask if I could just do without! Good thing they were on the phone when they said that. lol! So here I have posted some pics of our special day to share with you.

Bye Bye Grandma

Early this morning I took my mom to the airport to send her home after spending nearly a month with us. I was a bit sad to see her go. She teared up but held up bravely. Our boy Smokey was very sad to see grandma go. So today after PWOC, running errands and cleaning house, I spent some time resting. I'm still trying to recover from that bronchitis or whatever it was I had while in Ireland. It seems to just keep hanging on. My husband has put our pics from Ireland to music and is going to try to put a link to it here on the blog. If we are successful you will have to let me know what you think. Have a wonderful day all.

My Ancestors

When we were in Ireland, we were able to go to county Laois (pronounced county leash) to the town of Stradbally where my grandfather was born and raised. His father (my great grandfather) was the rector of the parish there and was a chancellor of the church of Ireland. He pastored St. Patricks church in Stradbally. The church still stands today and the graves of my great grandparents and one of their daughters, who died as a child, are there in the Church cemetery. My husband found the number and called the current rector, the Reverend Cannon Nancy Gillespie. She was so kind as to come out and open the church for us. We went in and it is just as it was when my great grandfather, Robert Armstrong, pastored there. There are a few changes of course but the pew, altar, and podium are the very ones he used. It was so wonderful to be able to see where he ministered and touch the past as it were. This was a life long dream for my mother. I'm so glad we were able to go. Our family has a strong history of serving in the church. After my great grandfather, my grandfather became a missionary. They were unable to go though because my grandmother became pregnant and at that time (1920's) they wouldn't allow them to go because of it. However, they remained active in the church their whole lives. My mother then was a minister to the deaf until her marriage and has always been active in the church. As for us kids, one of my brothers serves as a deacon in his church and a Royal Ranger leader. Royal Rangers is like a Christian version of boy scouts. I also served as a children's pastor and tent maker in a home missions project in the New York metro area and my husband and I are active in the church today. We are not special. We are not perfect. In fact there is a lot of dysfunction in our family, but it goes to show that the Lord can use anyone in any circumstance if they are a willing vessel. I am honored to have the heritage of Godly service in my family. Those who have gone before us light our way reflecting the light of the Lord. OK so now on to the pictures.

The first one is St. Patrick's in Stradbally where my great grandfather pastored. The next is me and my mom on either side of my great grandparents grave. My great aunt Caroline's grave is on the other side of me. The third is my mother standing at her grandfather's pulpit, and the last is inside the sanctuary and it's mom and the current rector the Reverend Cannon Nancy Gillespie.

Although we no longer are affiliated with the Anglican church, the most important thing is to be part of the family of God. God doesn't care what denomination you attend so much as where your heart is and if you are following the Bible.