Latest Project

 

This school thing is a new thing for me and for the organized person I am, it has brought on a new problem for me.  What am I to do with all of those cute school papers that I just can't bare to part with?!  To this point, they'd just been in a neat little pile in my closet - that wasn't going to stay that way long.  The other day, I finally decided to google ideas because Luke's few papers were soon going to exponentially explode to having stuff for each of my trio.  This is what I found.    Hers are by far cuter than mine, but I was going for economical (since there are three of them!) and organization. So, off I went to our local stuff mart.  They had these perfect hanging file containers.  So each child now has a container of their own and a hanging file for each grade.  I can't keep every single paper they ever do.  That would just be a nightmare.  I do keep those special ones, though, along with all their report cards in its appropriate file.  She even suggested including a picture of the child for that grade.  So there you have it.  In theory, I think it sounds wonderful.  We'll see how it plays out as the years pass by...

 

 Just a couple of inside pictures of the final project (just as a side note, Luke will eventually have all green folders.  It's just going to bother me to have two different colors in his box!)

Little Cowboy Adventure

 This morning was the annual cattle drive through base.  We love to go each year simply because where else can you go to an Air Force base and watch them drive cattle through the base.  So Andrew was eager to go, but I did have one eye on the sky....there was rain in the area that was not moving quickly and it looked like it was aimed for us.  As it turns out, it did rain at our house, but not at the base.  So, I was glad that I had headed on over to the base so Andrew and I could check out the festivities.  Cowboy Andrew was excited, but Hannah wasn't so much.  She wasn't fond of them last year and she wasn't thrilled about the idea this time around, but she didn't know I was watching her until the very end.  She even petted the nose of a horse without any prompting and without Mom and Dad.  I was proud of her! 

 

Cowboy Andrew ready to go!  (He didn't wear the hat or glasses at the base, but did take the gun - thankfully, it was red.  He informed me that he shot cows and horses)

 

 Driving the cattle down one of the roads on base

 Just a little rest stop for the cows.  Let's just say we were close, very close, probably too close at one point (no pun intended).  I did not have the zoom lens on the camera.

 See that nice silver van on the end....yes, that's our van.  Those cows were closer than they appear in the picture.  It's very likely that they could have been touching it...with their horns or some part of their head.  I didn't see any scratches, though  - thankfully!

 Headed to drive the cattle by the school kids

 Ready and waiting.  If you look, you can see Luke's head right below the lady in the blue shirt and pink headband (his teacher)

 Hannah's class petting the horse.  Her teacher did a great job of not letting the kids get chaotic.  She got them quickly under control after the initial rush.  Hannah is in the back - white shirt and pink headband.

 Luke's class heading back inside... time for lunch!

 Hannah's class headed back inside.  (Notice Hannah's socks....she's decided that she is ok with wearing socks and this is her preferred way to wear them :)  Nice!)

First Day of School

 Today was the day that I sent Luke to 1st grade and Hannah went to Kindergarten.  They had a good day - actually a very good day.  Luke's very first words to me as he got in the van were, "Mrs. Abernathy is so FUN!"  He doesn't get overly excited about much (unless maybe Legos) so this was a very big deal.   Hannah also had a good day.  She gave me the run down of the school tour and a few of the bathroom rules (only 3 people in the bathroom, only 1 pump of the soap, etc) They both enjoyed seeing friends that aren't in their classes at recess and lunch.   When I asked what they thought about going back tomorrow, they both wanted to.  So, I guess we're off and running for the 2012-2013 school year and it should be a good one!

Luke - 1st grade

 Hannah - Kindergarten

 Ahh...

 Future schoolkid, but for now, still home with Mommy (yeah!)

 Our trio!

If You....

Buy a new van.

You will need a place to park it in the garage.

This will require you to clean a space large enough to fit the van.

While cleaning, throwing things away and rearranging, you discover a black widow spider.

This will make your mind race as to how to get rid of said, poisonous spider.

You don't want to hit it because you might miss (at least I would).

So you google it and google says to spray it.

So you head to the park for a playdate and stop at the store on the way home to buy spray and traps.

When you arrive at home, you spray the spider like crazy and set the traps.

Tummies are hungry from all the play and work, so you wash hands and then go fix lunch for your trio.

Your mind is still racing to make sure all black widows are gone, so you google how to get rid of any potential black widow egg sacks.

A nap is now quite necessary..

Decide that even though your to-do list is not nearly finished that you must drag out the shop vac to vacuum out as much of the garage as you can in the middle of the afternoon in 100 degree weather.

Since it's not a good idea to leave potential black widow egg sacks inside the shop vac, you empty the shop vac.

Finally, there is now enough room (barely) in your newly cleansed garage to fit your new van.

Thankful for the van, but I couldn't do this too many times so I'm hoping for a long relationship with it and no. more. black. widow. or. any. other. poisonous. anythings. in. my. home!

 

So Long....

 Today, we said good-bye to our van (2001 Dodge Grand Caravan) that served us well for over six years.  It was nearly 12 years old and boasted of seeing 163,000+ miles across our great nation.  It made every move we've made with the Air Force except our very first one from Indianapolis to Enid.  It's gone camping and been used quite roughly by our little ones ( ice cream spills, more cheerios than you could count, melted crayons, etc).  However, it had fared well.   It was hard to know when to say farewell, but it just seemed like it was time to bid farewell.  We are so very thankful that God blessed us with its service for so long.

As many of you know, Chris is quite the researcher.  So you probably won't be surprised when I say that he'd been researching vehicles for months (ok, probably a few years).  We were thankful for each day our Dodge kept going, but we knew we would one day need to replace it so Chris had been researching, watching various options and prices.  I really liked this one and Chris gave it his stamp of approval, it's a 2012 Toyota Sienna.  I think we will really get a lot of use out of it and I hope we can use it to serve others if the opportunity arises.  I'm thankful.... now if I could just get over my fear of driving it :) 

Spider!

When we first moved to the plains, these spiders, wolf spiders, were some of the first critters to greet us.  The first time I saw one, I jumped up on the coffee table and screamed.  They can generally be larger than your average spider and can move like you wouldn't believe!  I was later told that they are "good" spiders.  However, I must admit that I do kill them in my house because they do look quite menacing and I do not like to be surprised by them.

All of that to say, the other night, Chris was trying to get some work done when this guy surprised him.  He didn't scream, but it did catch him quite off guard.  He couldn't believe how big it was and wondered where it had been growing.  Good question, but I'm not sure I want to know where it grew to be nearly 3 inches long!

Meet the Teacher

 Hannah ready for the first day!

Luke taking it all in - 1st grade is a big deal!

Well, I guess that it is that time of year once again.  Time to head back to school.  It was with great anticipation that we waited for this past Friday to arrive.  It wasn't a real school day.  In lieu of an open house, they have a meet the teacher day before school begins.  I love the idea.  It gives the kids a chance to meet their teachers, to find their way to their classrooms and for me not to feel like I'm dropping off my precious little ones with complete strangers.

Our first stop was to go to Hannah's room and to see Ms Cota.  She already knew her because she was Luke's teacher last year.  I think she will be a good fit for Hannah and I already know her.  She did a wonderful job getting Luke to read and write and I'm sure she'll do the same with Hannah.

The next stop was to meet Luke's teacher, Mrs. Abernathy.  I have to admit that I got a bit choked up (but did hold it together) when I saw he was going to have her.  I had heard rave reviews about her in advance. 

We also made stops to meet the gym teacher and music teachers.  Oh my....  I have to tell you that I was impressed with them last year and heard good things as well about them.  Their gym teacher couldn't be more laid back, but yet he gets the kids to do just what he wants and they adore him.  One day last year, I dropped Luke off and he was going into the building with a kid hanging off his arm and another off his leg.  I was also amazed as to what the kids learn in music.  The stuff she teaches them I didn't learn until I was blowing on my recorder in 4th grade.  Luke will also get to use the piano lab on occasion this year. 

I'm looking forward to the year, but I do believe Luke and Hannah are way more excited than I am!

D&SNGR

 Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

The other "big" thing we did on our trip was to take the 50 mile trip north of Durango to Silverton by train.  I loved it.  Yes, it was long - 3 1/2 hours up and 3 1/2 hours back.  Yes, it was dirty.  We rode on one of the open gondolas, which I would recommend, but be warned that everything gets covered in soot.  Yes, the soot does get in your eyes, but a pair of sunglasses works pretty well to keep most of it out.  It was all worth it, though.  Every turn, every time I looked up, God's majestically, artistic hand was so evident.  I loaded so many pictures of that trip on here, but they still can't capture the majesty and complete beauty of the area.  

 Loved the flowers in Silverton.  Everything at home that I've planted is dead.  I'm sure that 75 degrees is much better for them than the 113 degrees we had at home this week.

Colorado or Bust!

 For our anniversary, Chris and I were blessed to take a week, just the two of us, to Durango, Colorado.  A special thanks to my parents who came to spend a week with our trio.  We had a really good time.  If you were to ask Chris, the best part was that the temps were so much cooler.  Generally, the highs in Colorado were the nighttime lows at home.  It just felt wonderful!

Our first stop in the area was Mesa Verde National Park.  I had been there when I was around 11 years old.  I remembered bits and pieces, but it was good to go back and experience it with Chris.  The first stop was Balcony House.  I'm pretty sure Chris wasn't sure if I'd make it.  I'm not the biggest fan of high places nor the family risk taker and this tour required climbing a 32 foot ladder to get in the cliff dwelling.  The exit required something just short of rock climbing to get out.  I did it, though.

We had a good time stopping at park overviews, going on the cliff dwelling tours, being together and enjoying God's beauty all around.

View out of the Balcony House tour

 Scaling the wall as we exit Balcony House

 Cliff Palace

 Just  fun picture of Chris

 I just really like this one

One of the beautiful overlooks.  We could see somewhere from 60-90 miles and over 4 states (Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah)

10 Years!

"... I look forward to sharing my life with you, whatever the future holds, and I will comfort you, confide in you, and journey with you from this day forth, whatever the conditions of our lives or of the world around us...."

a portion from our wedding vows 8/3/2002

10 years!  Chris and I celebrated our 10th anniversary last Friday.  So much has happened in those ten years.  When we spoke our vows, I never would have dreamed about what significance the words "journey" would have in the years to come.  However, I can not think of a more appropriate word to summarize the last decade.  Here are a few of the major incidents in a nutshell...

• worked civilian jobs...Chris as a software engineer and myself as a high school math teacher
• left the world as we knew it and entered Air Force military life
• met many dear, life-long friends
• welcomed our trio into our lives, our family and our hearts
• moved at least 4 times 
• lived in 4 states  
• endured and grew in our faith through 7 deployments
• bought 1 car
• visited several of the western National Parks
• too many TDYs to count (temporary assignments)

As I look at that list, I wouldn't change any of it.  Sure, there are items on that list that I would rather not have to do again, but probably will. However, God has used each of these items and so many others to impact our lives, to draw us closer to Him.  

I'm so thankful to have Chris in my life.  I'm so thankful that he asked me on Good Friday of 2002 to share this journey with him.  I am blessed!