A great Christmas Day

I sure hope that you are all enjoying an absolutely Wonderful Christmas Day.  We're still enjoying yummy junk food and playing games, but I loaded up a bunch of photos if anyone wants to check them out.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jasejen.jensen/ChristmasTime#

http://picasaweb.google.com/jasejen.jensen/DecemberStuff#

Here are the kids in the "secret projects" I was working on that had them banished from this area of the house....  Cool Aprons -- thankfully they all flipped and were thrilled to get them -- whew.

Wishing all of you

A Very Merry Christmas !!!!!

May you ALL be safe & Well.

 

It's SO much better to be feeling better! (and gotta share a bit of flashback I missed sharing before.)

After spending nearly 11 days dragging around, too medicated to function or in too much pain to swallow, my doctors office finally re-opened.  After a 6 hour wait, a throat culture and blood draw, and a trip to the pharmacy, I happily went home, took my new medicine, and slept with a prayer in my heart this would really help me feel better. 

MUCH to my amazement, I actually started to feel quite a bit better within the next 24 hours.  Yippie YAAHH!! All the moms will know exactly what I mean when I say that feeling better is all it took to motivate me into non-stop motion of house cleaning and running errands that had been neglected.  By bedtime my body was ready to engage my stupidity in a full on knock-down drag-out fight.  Nothing an aleve and a good night sleep (and my next dose of 'kill the strep-throat' meds) couldn't fix.  :o)

With Christmas WAY to close for me to even want to look at a calendar, I'm thrilled to know we have finally . . .

Put up the tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cleared off the table to actually use to -- hold your breath -- EAT AT!

And even FOUND ALL my sewing plugs so I got to set up... MY SEWING AREA!!!!  OHhhh, you have NO idea just how HAPPY this has made me. :o) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At last I was able to pull out all the cute and cool (teenage boys don't want "cute" stuff.) fabric I bought last month for their gifts, and get the edges stitched up so I could was it all without it fraying everywhere.  I have ALL my supplies found and easily accessible, and even the Shoji screen readily available to block visual access to my area while I'm working, in some feeble attempt to keep my projects a surprise till Christmas Day.

I still need to get packages assembled and put into the mail - OH shoot, and Christmas cards.  UGH.  I never do get those out do I?  Best of intentions doesn't help your family and friends know what's up if you don't actually write the family letter and MAIL the darned cards out.  Oh boy.  Okay, I'll add that to my list of what I CAN do with kids around. 

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Since I have moments of serious slacking in taking photos and writing in my journal, and now posting, I need to take a couple flashback moments to share.

Halloween was great.  Here's the kids and a friend of Robbie's.

Now, take a closer look at Robbie.  With all my past experience at '80s hair, I was able to whoop this on in under 5 minutes, death-warmed-over makeup and all. 

Jase and I suddenly realized, this is her in just a couple more years (minus the blood)- yikes are we in BIggg trouble.

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Flash forward - yet still back from today - to Thanksgiving Day.

RANDY was the preparer of the turkey this year. Jase gave the kids and anatomy lesson of the bits stuffed inside the turkey in the baggie, and I sat out of eye shot, squirming at every detail in his description that completely fascinated my children...ewe - touching raw turkey and chicken on the bone gives me the heebie jeebies. Then Jase told Randy what to do, and off he went to work.  It was delicious.

Yummy food, our favorite sparkling cranberry juice, and happy kids.  Best part, I didn't have to cook a thing this year. What more could a mom ask for? he he he... lucky me.

Craigan and Zyzax have lost interest in the wishbone.  Zacky actually checked with me and Jase EVERY day for more then a week to be absolutely CERTAIN he was NOT going to miss out.  Oh what you ask. ...

 

 

Those yummy drumsticks!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eat Up!!

 

 

 

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Okay guys, I just HAVE to tell you this ONE more story, then I'm done for today.

We had a BIG talk with the kids about Christmas, and our desire to make it different this year.  Not just because we are seriously lacking the funds to have a "big" Christmas, but also because everyone seems to be loosing the focus.  So we asked the kids to spend the 2 weeks before Christmas, giving of themselves to the other kids they give to this year.  Curtis has spent HOURS drawing something - what and for whom I'll have to share after it is given.  Randy is working on something for the little boys since he's got them both this year.  Craigan and Zacky, they've helped make beds or hang up coats, put shoes away and such.  Robbie however, has completely shocked us.  Out of nowhere she organized all the cupboards of dishes.  She helped straighten up the upstairs hall closet, and yesterday, she asked Jason to distract all the other kids and keep the downstairs.  She was making ALL the boys beds, cleaning up both their bedrooms, and even sweeping and putting up a little bit of Christmas decorations for them.  Sometimes she can be such a pain, but this effort out of her to do SO much to make all of us more content and provide that for us all --- she got hugged by EVERYONE.  Ya know what, to get hugs from your teenage brothers with OUT mom or dad telling them to, that really says something.

I'm really glad we decided this year needed to FEEL different.  So far so good.  Funny, I don't think anyone is going to miss anything that "could" have been under the tree this year.  They're remembering EACH OTHER, and that's something I hope they remember as they all get older.

May you all relax, not let the craziness at the stores distract you from what this is all really about.  Love each other.  Enjoy each other.  :o).  Thank you my dear friends and family, for being patient with me and my family in our crazy brainlessness these days. 

being sick stinks - big time

Okay, so with 7 of us in the house, there's no real escaping that when one gets sick, at least half will follow.  But can someone please explain to me why it is that when I catch something from the kids, they shake it off in a day, 2 at the most -- but I'm still holding onto all the ick and yuck for a week MINimum? Was'sup with that??!!

So here I am, on my 8th day of this sore throat icky head, whatever it is, YUCK feeling.  I tried to get into the doctor, but the offices here in town are closed till this upcoming week, and the girl I talked to could NOT give me directions to the offices that are 45 minutes away from here.  Uhm, hello dearie, I think I told you that I might have strep throat - and you're telling me you can't give me directions, you aren't asking anyone else there to help me, AND you keep trying to offer to set me up an appointment for Wednesday!??    -- Do I have strep? who knows.  The tonsils have lost alot of their swelling, which has now been traded in for pain each and every time I swallow.  Do you really ever realize just HOW many times you swallow your spit in a given day?  Let me just tell you, I sure do now - OUCH.

Here's the thing -- being sick for a week, when you've eliminated ALL credit cards, have a small income, and the plan is to sew to make things for the kids for Christmas -- I'm in BIG trouble now.  17 sewing days left before I need to have things finished and wrapped up.  The loss of a whole week - heaven help me now - and wish me luck.  I've at least found all my boxes of sewing supplies (I think) and can, hopefully, pull out my machine, my serger, and start to whoop it on and crank these projects out.

So - here's to getting healthy inspite of not getting into the doctors, and crossing fingers I get the 12 items made on my list for Jason and each of the kids so that I don't have to give anyone a box of fabric and the patter - "this is what you'll eventually get because I ran out of time."  I've done that 3 times for Jason, and it's a family joke I'd LOVE to avoid this Christmas.

Happy Christmas preparation to you all.  Stay healthy!!!!!!

He's 18 today!!! Happy Birthday :o)

Jason's oldest son, Kyle, lives in England with his mother.  Over the years we lived in Okinawa, we were told he was becoming more and more like Jason the older he got.  My wish would be that they could spend time together, somehow, someway, to really get to know one another.  Someday, maybe, someday.

But today, even though we don't know if they even get our letters or emails anymore, it doesn't mean we ever forget.  No, there's no way to take away from our hearts what today is.  Kyle is 18 today!!  He's a man.  His whole future ahead of him.  Years missed out on, never to be reclaimed, but never a day gone by where he hasn't been missed by his dad.  This I can promise him.  Whatever he got to do to celebrate today, I hope it was truly a wonderful birthday. We miss hearing from them and knowing how he and his sister (well, all his sisters, he's got 2 more little sisters on his Mum's side.) are doing.

Happy

Birthday,

Kyle.  

 

We do love you, SO very much.

A night full of Laughter and a beautiful Thanksgiving morning

We've been blessed enough to have the weather warm up a bit and the winds die down a tad, so gazillions of neighborhood kids have been out since what sounded like sunrise, to play and laugh and enjoy their day off of school. My kids -- they did that outdoor stuff a ton and are now THRILLED with the opportunity for free for all time on the Playstation! They worked hard to get chores done yesterday, and they found some great deals at GameStop. It's wonderful to find a game for only $4 that we can all sit and play together and laugh and have fun.

Last night we tried out a new bowling game. I was a tad skeptical, I've got to admit, that they would find it fun after getting to "bowl" on a WII this summer. Let me just say, OH was I wrong. (did ya hear that kids, MOM was WRONG! *gasp!) he he he. We enjoyed a LOT of fun, trading off bowlers (only up to 5 at a time so we split 4 and 3 per game). We all have discovered that Craigan's brain REALLY gets the purpose to using correct angles, speed, and spin for the ball. He whooped our bee-hinds in the first game .. 4 strikes if I do remember correctly. But THEN Dad figured out the trick to the strikes, and he earned a turkey before we all made him laugh so hard he missed the chance for a 4th strike IN A ROW. TO say the least, he killed in that game. We loved just laughing and enjoying a great night together, no stress, no fighting! (how the heck did THAT happen?? Yeah on YEAH for NO FIGHTING!!!! :o).

While "the others" were bowling, he had I started to have what we call "spider fights".  Your fingers are the "spider" and you basically wrestle, only we keep it funny, no real strength is allowed, only finger power.

 

Zacky makes ALL sorts of "hi-yahhh" noises and the sound effects of goin' down, and flying kicks and such. We did this on and off all night.  He loves to kung-foo fight. "Wooaaahhhh-yaaaaaHHH!"

As we were winding down the game time, Jason sat on the couch and started to Kung-Foo Panda fight with Zacky.  Oh MY GOSH was that hysterical!  We were laughin' our butts off and Zac kept taking little pause moments to catch his breath, and then he'd shake out his hands to 'prepare his weapons to attack'.  As in, shake out his hands to make either two fingers stab forward to attack, or shake again to get the whole hand flat to karate chop you.  THEN - he starts in with "And if Dad had hair....."  Jase and I laughed SO hard we missed the rest of what he was saying.  IF he had hair??  20 minutes before we were all saying how funny it is to see Dad with hair since we haven't cut it off in about 2 weeks now, and it seems to be growing in REALLY dark this time.  So, "If Dad had hair" then Zacky would wrap it around this things, and make him "kung foo fly" across the room, to land on top of this thing, to fight the bad guy....etc, etc, etc.  Zacky was crackin' himself up.  Trying to unwind to prepare for bedtime was looking hopeless as we ALL started cracking jokes and laughing more and more. 

FINALLY we tried to calm ourselves to prepare for a family prayer and start heading off to bed.  Jason said something, which most of the kids missed the point and looked at him confused for all of half a second before moving onto their own silliness.  Jason did the traditional Peanut (from Jeff Dunham's show) zip your hand over your head 'sszzzziiiiirrrmmmm'. 

THEN, they noticed it - the stray white piece of yarn on the floor from when I was crocheting earlier.  Jason tossed in on his head and stated "there, now I have hair." and we all giggled.  He then tossed it onto Craigan, how was sitting between me and Jason, and some jokes were cracked about it being a worm or something.  I laughed and said we might get reverend for prayers by midnight if we were lucky, and everyone tried desperately to stifle their laughter...just making us all giggle more.  I could HELP MYSELF - I just HAD to do it!  I grabbed the yarn and quickly set it in the edge of my nose just as they all started to lift their heads to catch a breath - and just the sight of it made 2 of the kids turn to their backs to laugh, and Jason about died.  :o)!  Hey, if we need to get the giggles out to eventually get ready for prayer, then dang it, I'M Gonna be funny TOO! he he he. 

We did manage to catch our breath, control the laughing, and get reverent so we could say a family prayer.  On the overall, we all got a good night sleep and woke up in very good moods this morning.  I'm going to soak in all the fun and giggles I can, for tomorrow - I work. bummer.

May you ALL have a truly WONDERFUL Thanksgiving Day.  Be thankful for your family, your friends, and your blessings.  I wish we could be with friends or extended family today, but even having the opportunity to have ALL of my family together here, and to have Jason home with us for the holiday - we KNOW what a blessing that is, and I'm just going to enjoy this beautiful day.

Lots of love to you ALL. :o)  Happy Thanksgiving.

Another quiet evening.

Well, guess I should have titled it 'Another quiet Night', since it's nearly midnight.  I've been thoroughly enjoying relaxing and crocheting and watching movies on the Hallmark channel.  Everyone went to bed tonight with smiles and only one "goodnight".  For Craigan and Zyzax to get to bed and actually stay there the first time, that's one of those mini-miracle moments a Mom just LOVES.

My week has been absolutely nutty, and even though I feel like I did a LOT, I sort of also feel like I barely did anything, other then drive here and there and all over again.  Jason's been having more trouble with his short term memory, so I am working hard to keep close track of changes to what's up with his doctor appointments and such.  Luckily, thanks to his new blackberry (I still can't believe we actually got one of those.) he just adds everything to his calendar, and no matter where he is (or will be before hand) he sets his reminder alarm to go off giving him 5-15 minutes to get ready and leave ontime.  Le'me Tell ya, that thing is Saving MY life not needing to keep on him or keep track. 

They've got Jason in with so many medical things now.  They're trying to sort out exactly what has happened to his brain from the impact of the IED's he was effected by.  (His convoy was hit more then once, and other details I'm not good at remembering because he tells me in the car driving here and there.  By the time we get home I'm as forgetful as he is. - great, there's no hope for the poor kids. lol)  Anyway, so apparently the brain injuries, to whatever degree they "officially" state it all to be, have effected Jason's balance, and he's now in physical therapy to work on retraining his brain and body to work together. 

I hate that he's struggling with all of this, and he is getting SO frustrated because with ALL he tries to do as he's told in hopes of getting better, he feels like they just keep discovering more and more and more that's been damaged.  It totally sucks to not be able, literally, to DO anything to MAKE this any better.  I can help ease the stress or strains, or even keep him focused so he doesn't loose his train of thought when talking about something.  Still the same, while my love and support helps him get thru, it doesn't make him better.  I can't take this away, and there's no time limit - which is a frustration for him I can't alleviate.  I'm really thankful we believe in Eternal Families, because I joke alot that it's easy to get thru him while he's nutty and forgetful, because this'll be the easy part  - just get ready for the eternal part where there are NO physical body ailments to get in the way.  I may not have the resources to steal the family away from life and take a long vacation to catch our breaths for a while, but we all still have our faith, our family, and our sense of humor.  Gotta keep that humor intact or you're a major sinking ship in this battle.

Stubborn as I am to actually go to a doctor or anyone for ME, thanks to the services available thru the Wounded Warriors, even I am now finally under medical care to help me cope with all the changes and stresses.  They've done the whatever somethin'or'other testing to see where I'm at mentally (so, do YOU ever feel like YOU leave your body? Do you sometimes think you are an animal?)  Luckily, there were more "normal" questions too... do you feel depressed? Do you love you mother/father? Do you enjoy Any of the hobbies you used to?  Do you sleep fitfully?  Okay, those questions I didn't giggle at.  Moving on... yesterday I got to meet with the medical doctor to find out about IF I needed any sorts of meds to help me cope, or could I continue my insanely stubborn streak of insisting that I can NOT be medicated at the same time my husband is.  My kids need me clear minded.  Well, then I realized I'm so exhausted many times from not being able to get my brain to turn off at night, that I didn't sleep well, so I wasn't even kinda sorta clear minded.  Maybe I needed to hear the doctor out.

Grumble, hufff, and fluff and stuff - guess no matter how hard I tried and tried to be strong for my family and no matter HOW determined I was to NOT let this get me. . . I realized that even though I know FULL well things like Okinawa with 5 kids and hardly a husband home with no family around, along with ALL Jason's going thru, DID break my spirits.  I've admitted that before.  But I was SO sure if I just stuck it out I KNEW I'd get thru okay on my own.  WHY?  If there's help out there, why in the world should I - yet again - struggle thru something without help?  That's just foolish, don't ya think?  After nearly an hour discussions about this medicine, and that, and the good and the bad to each, and the purpose to them, and what I should expect, I got a prescription for sleeping pills (though he knows I refuse to take them very often - for now anyway.) as well as a prescription for Zoloft.  I thought I was fine with the decision, till I had to take that first pill this morning.  Took me staring at it reminding myself of the potential for some more peaceful feelings to reside within me, not so much worry creeping in at all hours. 

So friends, hopefully I'll see some good results in 6-8 weeks, and cross your fingers and say a prayer I don't get any nasty side affects.  Say a prayer for Jason that he will begin to SEE and FEEL the positive results of ALL his different therapies and training for coping with stress, so that he can ENJOY more in life again.  And we attended the Marine Corps Ball last weekend, so If I haven't posted a picture by next week, someone remind me please. (Thinking for me AND Jason, AND all the kids 'cause they don't want to bother...whew that gets exhausting, and my memory takes a hike - why can't it just take a NAP?)

OH, a nap, doesn't that sound just lovely?  Now that I'm up past midnight I'm thinking bed is exactly what I need to enjoy the rest of this night.  Along with a BIG, LONG, Comfy sleep IN.  Ahh, yeah, that sounds relaxing.

A London Visitor?

So I have the tracker that shows where people stopped in from. Then I got a couple visits from someone that's shown up as logging in from London. It makes me wonder, Is this Jason's ex, or his kids logging on? One can only hope. The last year's worth of contact has practically vanished, and I hate that it has. SO, I suppose that's why I'd like folks to say "Hey there" once in a while. If Your New to visit, that's all good. But if you already know me, say something K? :o).

TO my London visitor, if you're family, please leave a comment, k?

Don't Ya just LOVE a good sleep in? :o)

Some people have moved often. Others find moving a very rare event in their lives. We not only are ones that can't stay put, we tend to move alot, and it's usually last minute. We found out about this move, and had a month to prepare ONLY because we needed to give our rental agency notice if we wanted our deposit back. (That house cost us plenty of money, getting our deposit back was a MUST.)
So, most every day for a month, I was sorting something, washing something, or running around like a crazy woman. No matter how late I went to bed, my internal clock kicked me up out of bed somewhere between 5:30 and 6am (thanks to being well trained to drive Randy to seminary.) This is not exactly enjoyable on Weekends where I didn't need to get up early. In the last 10 days? I guess it's been since we moved in, I've actually gotten to sleep in!! Rolling out of bed at 9am has been SO enjoyable. The trick was to actually sleep more than 3 hours without waking up to ensure Jason was sleeping okay, and the house was quiet.

Last night - I have NO idea what did it, but I actually slept GOOD. I only woke up only 3 times AND only woke up at 9am because a kid needed me. (Can ya feel the love?) I feel more rested and relaxed today then I have in so long I can't remember. Granted, my memory's been struggling lately - so it could've been a couple of months and I wouldn't remember if I didn't write it down - did I write it?

Anyway, Jason is still peacefully asleep, and I know it didn't take as long for his meds to get him to sleep last night as it has this week, so I'm very thankful the kids are all behaving and trying to let me enjoy an "argument free" Sunday.

SO next weekend, or on your next day off, I hope for each of you to enjoy yourselves a good old sleep in. I forgot how GOOD they felt. :o)

(New ward to go to at church today. We get to enjoy the afternoon time slot for a whole month & a half!)

All Moved In

Okay, so we FINALLY have email access after getting my computer packed up an unexpected 4 days early. We are completely out of our old house, finished the inspection and everything. We're unpacked enough here at the house on base to have full use of bedrooms, living room, the table to eat at, and the kitchen (though with some things YOUR guess is as good as ours where some of the stuff ended up at. Maybe still in the garage??) We at least know ALL items ended up at this house. We followed the movers from one house, to the scales, to this house.

Anyway, I see lots of people stopped by to see the blog. But there's not a single comment waiting to be moderated. What's up people? If you're gonna stop by, at least say HELLO would ya?!

Oh, and I'm not real sure what direction to take this lovely little blog o mine. I started with the intent of making a book -- like Andrea did. Boo hooo, I went to the blurb site to get started on one, only to find out they NO LONGER support blogger. Can I just CRY now. Anyway, so I may just us this to brag, or rant, or blather on and on. I dunno. But I'm still here to share, that's the point, right? :o).

SO, say Hello if you're stopping in. I'd like to know who's visiting. I've got more unpacking to do and have a couple more days of work this week. Kids'll start school back up soon - yeah, and Jason has a gazillion doctor appointments. Wish me luck, I think I'm gonna need it.

WOW is it quiet around here

My brain is working in slow motion after ALL sorts of fun and Craziness!!  Hey, would you expect any less with all THESE guys around... :o)

There is NOTHING better than a good dose of FAMILY TIME!!  Cousins are thee greatest, and we totally love that Uncle Steve got to come bring all his mini-me's and come for a great little visit. 

We already miss you guys!  

Thanks for Coming and we'll see you again soon, right?! :o)   BIG ol' hugs all 'round , and Steve, I leave it to you to say it in a real good southern th'ang (not to sure it's a drawl, but it SURE made us all laugh.)

LOVE YA GUYS!!! xOOOOOxx 

(and little E: Uncle Jase'll be sure to 'play the drums & organ' next time you come.) 

Ahhhh, and we'll see if we can find an elevator to practice dancing in , he he he.

Yup, it really was a GREAT weekend!!!!!!!!

continued...Great Day

So, I need to finish telling about Saturday and why I had a great day. 

First off, did I mention that it was the first Saturday, not including 3 separate occasions when I was out of town, that I've had OFF with the family!  And it's just the start of a whole bunch of Saturdays to come.  Yippie Yeah!

I was great to wake up with the family, and get our day all going together.  WE got some house stuff tended to, and I realized Robbie and Zacky really cold NOT drag out the wearing of a few pair of jeans any longer.  Robbie's were far too tight, and Zacky's had holes in the knees or were flying high above his ankles.  We used to do shopping trips all together as a family ALL the time, but haven't done so very often over the last year.  So I figured we'd head out.  It was a relaxed shopping trip because there was not ONE thing we had to hurry home to get to.  The older kids got to try out the new Rock Band because they had it set up in the men's clothing department at Walmart.  THAT was cool.  Randy is so good on the guitar, that some other teenagers that were waiting to play, asked him to stay and play a couple songs with them.  He had a great time!  Zac and Robbie loved the chance to get some NEW clothes, and Curtis and Craigan were actually perfectly content with the fact that they and Randy were just along for the ride (and to get groceries with Dad.)

For the month of October, we've made Friday's dinner "Halloween Friday".  One dinner that was a hit was the "Corny Sloppy Joe Pizza."  (little tip, it's easiest to 'cut' your face using a toothpick.)

Then we made dessert one weekend of "Globlins" (well, the kids did.  we saved it for Saturday when we had the missionaries for dinner. :o)

Here are their works of art (they opted out of green):

Since I was sick Friday, Saturday was our FUN night.  We decided it was going to be a Movie/Game/Halloween night!  We watched  "Mad Monster Party."  (clips are available on youtube if you want to see what it's like.)

 

 

 

We enjoyed some Very Yummy Tarantula Tacos.  

 

As soon as Craigan and Zacky were happily settled into bed, thanks to a full and tiring day, Jase and I sat down with the older kids and enjoyed a game of the new Harry Potter Clue.  Let me just say this - VERY fun game.  It's got some extra twists to it, so even if you have never seen Harry Potter, the game itself is still very fun.  And it's not just the "Harry Potter" version of the original Clue game, so we all really liked the added changes!  The funniest part is that I was so completely brain fried, I was NOT keeping very good track of who was possibly showing someone something, and so I had VERY few clues marked off to figure out "who dun-it?"  The kids were super giggly, the result of too much snacking and not even Starting until after they're usually IN bed.  Suddenly, it's my turn, and I get this bright Idea, being totally silly to play off the funny stuff the kids were doing, and picked stuff they'd either ALWAYS guessed as well as one they NEVER guessed.  Suddenly, my lack of ability to hold a game face killed my chance to win - SO I thought.  The kids NEVER caught it...but Jason did, with that little smirk on his face.  He he he.  Well, Curtis went - nothin'. Randy - Nothin'.  Robbie heads into the room I'm in, and Jason HANDS her the same pieces to guess what I had.  OH, I am SO sorry to say, she was giggling SO much that she made NO connection to the pieces and the fact None of us could prove her wrong.  LOL.  Silly girl.  So, Jase is up next, and - OH, important to note that he's been drawing in his sketch book thee entire game, yet still staying plenty involved.  The kids thought he'd never win because he 'wasn't paying attention.'  LITTLE did THEY know.  IN to the center he goes, and TA-DA, he blows the kids out of the water.  He and I cracked up when we realized they STILL hadn't realized that I, ME, MOM was the one that figured it all OUT!  LOL.  That's okay, they can enjoy dad's multi-tasking skills and be completely impressed. :o).

It's the Simple things in life we need to take time to enjoy.  I haven't taken enough time to focus on the basic things I love about my family, and I only hope to do better.  I've never been one of those Mom's that does the cute notes in lunches, or cut their sandwiches into shapes with cookie cutters.  The whole Halloween Friday came about thanks to a checkout cookbook by Pillsbury.  None of the meals take more time (so far) they they would minus the Halloween-ie twist, but it's FUN. 

Thank you, Jason.  Thank you, Kids.  It really was a wonderful weekend. 

OH - speaking of wonderful weekends... we are SO excited for THIS upcoming weekend.  Steve is coming with his kids to visit!!  His boys and Curtis were attached to each other SO much during our reunion this summer, and ALL the kids just adore their Uncle Steve.  We love all his kids, and the short weekend will never be enough time to cram in a ton of fun, but it SURE will be great while it lasts :o) !!! 

Our little Guardian

Here's what I woke up to this morning when I opened the front door. There she is, staring back at me thru the storm door.  (better then the other day when she left us a bird on the front porch, thanks for the gift kitty.  Or the 2 squirrels the days before.  She REALLY likes us.)

Well, good morning to You too, Kitty.  *sigh, what are we gonna do about her?

Eventually, the kids went out to pet her...she really is sweet.

 

 

 

I'm going to end up with a new cat along with a new house, aren't I?

What a Great Day :o)

Although my stomach isn't close to being all the way over the nastiness it's been thru over the past 4 days now, I'm still thrilled to be feeling well enough to be up and getting things accomplished instead of locked away in my bedroom barely able to get out of bed.  Yessss, this is MUCH better.

Before the rains rolled in last night, Randy went out and cut the grass...

Jason rotated a bunch of laundry while I was sick, and this is what I found yesterday morning ...

So I left it ... letting the kids fold, hang and put ALL of it away when they got home from school.  And you'd think, with those 5 loads done, there wouldn't be too much left.  NOPE.  I do believe the kids had been hiding their clothes under beds, in closets, and who knows where else.  They managed to use EVERY single towel we own our of the kitchen AND the linen closet.  So in spite Jason's efforts to help me, there was still SO much left. 

I am ecstatic to say that as of about 15 minutes ago, THIS is what my laundry area looks like... Empty Bins, only the stuff finished since the kids went to bed still waiting to be put away. 

 

 

I KNOW I had ALL the laundry from the WHOLE house (before the bedtime change over.)  So I was psyched to put that LAST load into the washer tonight.  Then... I turned around to leave the room, and saw this...

 

SHOOT!  Where did that all come from?  Ahhhh /smack the forehead/ it's that darned cat that wants to be ours.  You see, we have apparently gotten on the good side of an adorable black cat that we believe is a stray in the neighborhood.  She looks JUST like Pez, a male cat we had back in 2001 till he left one day and never came home (but mysteriously within the next year, there were ALOT of new kittens that started showing up that looked an AWFUL lot like mini-Pez's.) We think a neighbor kept him inside long enough for him to consider THAT home.

Anyway, so this cat has white in the same places on the belly, but no white on her paws.  She started showing up nearly 2 months ago, and is, without fail, always here when we all leave to go to school and work.  Don't know where she goes, but she'll show up JUST in time to wait with me for the kids to get off the bus.  She doesn't leave the general yard area until everyone has safely returned home.  Our little protector.  Over the last week, she'll show up out of who knows where, no matter WHAT time Jason gets home from work, to greet him and wrap around his legs in and out till he'll stop and cuddle her awhile.  We believe she's here for him in a HUGE way.  Cat's calm Jason tons and tons, and she's his little keeper. 

Today, the weather is cold, and rainy and beautifully wintry.  Great for me, not great for kitty.  We had the sliding doors to the back deck open part way, and she heard us in the kitchen.  Guess she wanted to come in because she went to the screen, dug in her claws, and pulled  till it came out of the frame and she had a big enough hole she could fit thru.  Craigan started yelling for us when he saw her doing this, but we didn't get there till she'd helped herself to coming in.  I wouldn't let her stay in the house (we can't have pets, AND I have no idea what bugs she might be carrying. I'm not trying to be mean or heartless..she's a sweet cat.) The kids got a bunch of towels, put them in a box on the covered front porch, used a hand towel to cuddle her and dry her off -- so after she left, I got the extra laundry.  Ya know what, it's really worth a few dirty towels to know she was cozy for a while.  I get the feeling she's going to be very upset when we move.  (or work her way into moving with us, hmm???)

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Darn it, I'll have to finish later... I wanted to keep these more interesting to us pictures whenever I can, but I can't find something I was looking for, and I'm not looking for it at 11 at night.  So, I guess today's Great Day stories will have to be continued...

I spoke too soon....me and my big mouth

Jase and I joke alot about the fact he cant say too much, because he tends to jinx things.  Well, for work stuff anyway.  He was on ship, returning from - Thailand I think it was, or maybe the Phillipeens?  Anyway, the seas had been pretty calm, and the last 24 hours or so before they were due in, Jase says "Wow, we've really gotten to enjoy some pretty calm seas.  This ride hasn't been bad at all."  Then, yup, anyone that knows us knows what happened next.... a seriouse storm and the boat tossed about till nearly everyone tossed their cookies.  yuck.  So he tries really hard to watch his words.

When it comes to yard work, I've learned to watch what I say.  With OUT Fail, if I say - Oh, I'm SO glad I've got tomorrow off, I can get the bushes trimmed, or the lawn mowed -- It will RAIN.  Seeing we were in sever droubt conditions when we arrived, lots of people wished I'd said that more the fall we arrived here.  Anyway, So I now just wait on each day and run out to do yard work when I can sneak it in.

So I said I needed the fun to begin.  Yeah - I've been experiencing the WRONG kind of "FUN".  I got Randy off to seminary yesterday morning, and about 30 seconds after he got out of the car, I felt a killer wave of nausa.  Within minutes I was fighting off the watery mouth that let me know, no matter how hard I fight it, I was NOT about to win the battle of being VERY very sick, VERY very quickly.  I made it in the house, to the bathroom, and the past 30 hours have been a big blur.  I feel like I've done a million situps AND have given birth.  Sorry guys, you'll not have a clue how much I'm REALLY saying my body hurts...lucky you actually.

So, I know Randy, Curtis, and Robbie have been sick - they're all home due to the manditory -- 24 hours after throwing up, rule.  I know I had to bring Craigan home about 20 minutes after he got to school yesterday, but he only threw up right after I got him home, so we fudged our way thru the rule.  Zacky had been sick over the weekend and poped back to normal within a few hours.  The big kids are loving having time to play video games, and yet ME.... I never can have the quick bug the rest of them get, can I?  We all got sick with this about 2 months ago, and I got it HUGE then too.  And got it TWICE, on it's way in AND out, sheesh.  So, just sitting at the computer for the last half hour has me working up a sweat (we thought the fever was gone, dang it).  I have to say, if any ONE of us in the family HAS to get sick THIS bad, I"m sure glad it's me...and that it happened with my long streak of days off. 

I had wanted one of Jase's nieces to come here to visit for a few weeks to get her in a neutral environment, and to enjoy some extended family time.  I really wish she were here to help on a day like today.  (I'd day I want my Mom, but I wouldn't wish her to fight off this sick...yucky!)

I love my husband, poor guy took the couch and did NOT take his sleep meds so he could tend to the sick family.  He's soooo tired today.  If it weren't for his therapy appointment he'd still be asleep for a nap now that I've dragged my butt out of bed.

Okay everyone, take your vitamins, eat your fruits and veggies, and STAY HEALTHY. :o)   (and say a prayer I can get my house sorted in time for our move....oh boy do I need it if this doesn't go away soon.)

Let the FUN begin

(I tried to post this night before last...crappy internet connection...ugh.)

In my attempts to get the kids to focus on what few chores I needed them to do over the long weekend, I wrote them out a list.  I try to ask things that shouldn't take too  much time out of their day, so that they can have MORE then ample time to play and draw and what not.  I was working all day, 4 days out of the last 5, while Jason was home a large majority of the time.  So the list was also to help him not go completely batty trying to remember what the heck the kids were Suppose to be doing.

May no good intention (with long list or short) go unpunished in this family.  I honestly doesn't matter what you promise, threaten, or blatantly bribe my kids with, they will still MINDlessly carry on with play time or steal away time on the t.v. during that time after I've left for work, but before Jason rouses from his sleep meds, or vanish to a quiet spot to draw the hours away.  None of these are BAD things, just irritating as crap after happening SO many times I'd like to remove ALL drawing supplies, toys, and unplug the tv's. 

Needless to say, they got in plenty of play time -- till I got home from work.  Poor Jason, thought they were doing at least SOME degree of work that would let us all hang out and enjoy the new Clue game we went and got.  I went into Robbie's room to put away some clothes I'd hung up from the dryer, and opened her closet door -- Oh NO she did NOT!  I SO wish I'd taken a picture.  She honest to GOODNESS has her walk in closet SO full it was up to MY KNEE, right against the door!  Sheesh...... *sigh....this too shall pass, and OH do I need to carry my camera.  If for no other reason, to show her what HER version of getting her room "all squared away" meant when SHE has kids and is upset over their version of cleaning up. 

OH WELL.  They've done what they've done, they've left the rest, and I was 100% determined not to torment them for ignoring me and "THE LIST". 

So, this is the FUN I have ahead of me....

1.) Packing up all my sewing supplies into neat and accessable boxes.

2.) Finish tending to current laundry piles, starting with the 4 loads of clean stuff sitting in the corner of the family room waiting to be hung/folded/put away.

3.) Sort thru, empty out, and eliminate ALL I possibly can from the kids room, and then ours. 

I've got 4 full days, and then Sunday to rest.  I WAS going to start in the garage, till we found out we need to have the house ready for people to do walk thrus.

OH, yeah, the owner of this crappy house decided to put the house on the market instead of trying to rent it out.  I SO wish I could tell potential buyers all the stuff that needs to be fixed so they could use that info to get a super deal on this place.  IF ONLY the repairs were made, I'd SO stay here till time to transfer.

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I can't keep my train of thought -- Jason found ALL of Terry Pratchett's books' audio versions, and is listening to one.  Okay, these books are so funny he'll be reading them and just burst out in VERY loud laughter.  NOW -- we're experiencing the thrill of listening to someone other then Jason, with that wonderful British accent, reading the stories, and OH is it funny.  You just can't have a British story read by a girl with an American accent.  I've tried to read it outloud to the kids --- ugh, nooo, let's NOT do that again.  I think I'll be listening to Jason and Randy yuck it up for the next hour till I have to kick them off to bed :o).

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So, I got "tagged" by Austin.  I'm not exactly UP with the whole blogging thing, but what exactly does that mean?  Am I supposed to check my face book?  my internet connection is sickeningly slow, so I've not checked that in a while.

Ah, dang it --I still need to introduce the kids.....AH too much to do.  But it'll all be over soon - right?  So long as our move is I'm good.

A funny bedtime story

Okay, one thing Jase & I have found necessary in our lives is that even when something very unpleasant is put into your life to deal with, you have GOT to have a good sense of humor to handle it all.  Find the funny perspective... it makes sleep more possible.

I'd like to say, there was an extremely UNpleasant nighttime experience Jase had 2 months and 2 days ago.  Ever since, we have had to focus more-so on how he reacts to his medicines and what his sleep is like. Enjoyable, not stressful stories MUST be enjoyed so we know, it'll all be fine.

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Last night, Jase waited until I returned from driving the kids to their youth activities at church before he took his sleeping pills and such. For me, that was the first time I'd stopped moving all day, so I wasn't exactly watching the clock.  This is something we've become rather used to needing to do, because the new pill combo tends to kick in rather quickly, and getting to Jase to bed can be, well, rather humorous as he bounces off the walls refusing me to help him keep his balance... or even crawling because he can't stand up and stay standing (that's the big one we try to avoid).

So - I found this something I absolutely NEEDed to keep a memory of, so for the kids, I'll put here what I entered in my journal.

"Jason and I were watching random stuff on T.V., when I realized it was 9:20, and WAYYY too much time had past since he had taken his bedtime pills.  NOT a good thing since the longer he waits, the less his ability to WALK.  I made sure he got to the bedroom, and he went in to use the bathroom.  I turned on the lamp by his bed - a blue light so it's not so harsh on sleepy eyes - and folded down the covers, so he wouldn't get tangled and end up untucking them ALL, leaving me NONE.  Then I went back to the living room.  He's been FINE for weeks now, at settling into bed.  It never crossed my mind to check on him.  I watched a part of an interview, and some stuff on TLC (just LOVE Jon & Kate plus 8), then got distracted catching up on blogs.  (our phone & internet were OUT for most of 3 days -- all better now :o).

I came in, about 10 minutes before sitting to write this (remember, this was my journal entry last night.)

---- Uhm, uh-oh.  Gosh, where the HECK is Jason???  Back in the bathroom maybe? You see, I saw the blue light STILL on.  Okay, maybe he was SO tired he didn't think to turn it off.  That's when I realized -The covers are the SAME way I left them.  . . . Did he fall asleep in the bathroom? maybe?  I turned on my bedside lamp so I could actually see, but it's not as bright as the overhead light so as not to scare the crap out of Jason, when & WHERE ever I managed to find him.  I walked into the changing area that leads to our bathroom or walk-in closet. THAT is when I saw Jason's fleece blanket on the floor poking out from the doorway of the closet.  I did NOT see Jason in the bathroom, so I turned on THAT light for additional indirect light. 

Low and behold - WHAT do I see, but Jason all comfy and content, curled up sleeping on the close floor. 

(this is our re-enactment photo so as to let you all get a better feel for what it is I saw...only with WAY less lighting)

I don't know WHY, but I do know that the pillow and blanket had been in the corner of the bedroom - by the bed - earlier.  Why get them and then go BACK to go to sleep on the closet floor?

(as is now habit, I approached with caution, not knowing if this is his safe zone, or occurred out of wacky weird dreams.)

When I was getting Jason to wake up enough to go to BED, I asked him what he was doing in the closet.  He said, "I was doing what you told me.  Didn't you put me to bed in the closet?"  "No, dear."  "Oh, well, why am I here then?"  "I dunno Jason.  Let's get you to bed.  It's much more comfy."  he grunted, sort of nodded his head, and easily complied.

:o)  I love him SO much, and we've had a good laugh about the closet.  Truthfully, I won't be shocked to find him there again sometime.  Once he gained some degree of alertness today, we figured possibilities why it was a comfy spot.  First, many times in Iraq, he slept on floors in peoples homes.  Also he just LOVES cold sheets and the air straight out of the air vent.  You see, the closet has wonderfully cool wooden floors, and his pillow was planted RIGHT on top of the air vent on the closet floor, maintaining that comfort zone.  He was all curled up in the fleece blanket I made for him that he always uses to relax when he's feeling exceptionally stressed, AND there wasn't a cricket to be heard in there (one of thee MOST irritating sounds to him is that lone chirp in the quiet night.)  So really, it WAS the perfect spot to sleep.  And we're just happy it was a funny kind of odd thing, not a scary combat zone thing. (I've had enough of those bedtime events to last me a while.)

Again -- enjoy a healthy sense of humor, or any and everything will be a struggle and a worry.  I've got enough going on, I don't need horrid wrinkles to top it all off. 

Quick nickname clarification

Okay, as Andrea pointed out, many people thought I hated being called Jenny.  Actually, I wasn't ALLOWED to be called Jenny.  Mom never really gave me a reason that made sense, just told me that they had named me Jennifer, so that's what they wanted people to call me.  I'd argue 'Jen was shorter, so why not Jenny' ...."NOPE - just make SURE people don't call you Jenny.  It isn't OK."  ... grrr - Fine then. Got it. I shall comply.

It drove my mom absolutely Bonkers when I was a teenager, and the Sissons moved in. (wonderful family) They just LOVED to call me Jenny, and didn't matter HOW many times I told them my Mom didn't like it, they said it just suited me, and they carried on.  :O)  Sorry Mom, but I liked that they just did it anyway. 

Well, finally, about the age of 24, after YEARS of both my ex- AND Jase BOTH calling me Jenny, and mom actually finding it very Sweet to hear it out of Jason :O)... she tells me that when I was born there was one of the many secretaries at my Dad's work that was named Jenny, and she didn't want there to be any possible reminder of her when they talked to Me. --Huh?  Was she serious?  Okay, well, Dad was there when she told me this, and he looked up and made a funny face and said "there Was?  I don't remember any Jenny.  Then again, I don't remember many of the people from there."  LOL...how funny. Something that didn't mean a DARNED thing to my Dad, yet I ALLways had to make the effort to BAN the "Jenny".

I welcome the nicknames!  Call me what you will, just please keep it nice, and I'm still just ME.  Our kids have TWO middle names each, and we've told'em... shake life up and use ANY of your names, mix'em up if you want to, just be sure to still be YOU.

WWB

Just an update on Jase and his work.  Things have moved alot faster then we thought, and yesterday Jase was transferred from Combat Camera to the Wounded Warrior Battalion. We're both feeling really positive about this opportunity for Jase to focus on his healing from the PTSD.  We know he'll never be "all better", but any better would be a relief, and now, that is what his job is -- healing some of the fractures in his mind.

A Bit about . . . Jase & Jennifer

Okay, time to include a bit of something about each family member. Where better to start then the nut heads that head this little clan?

This is Jase. I've always known him as Jason, but he prefers Jase . Actually, he was dubbed Crash by some friends long ago, and that one stuck pretty well. So, Whatever you call him, he's my best friend, my husband, and a great dad to our nutty bunch of kids. :o)

He's the 3rd of 6 kids, though now only stakes claim to his only sister and her family, and occasionally one of the brothers. It's a long story for a different day. Before we got together, Jase worked in restaurants in management as well as being a chef. Yup, it's good to marry a man that cooks (and I follow it up with dish duty.) He loves martial arts, although isn't currently involved unless he gets to thru work. He also has loved art (drawing, painting, etc.) for pretty much his entire life.

This is me...Jennifer. Most of my family call me Jen, and I also go by Jenny, have used JLynne, and Jase dubbed me Domino a very long time ago. So that's how we get the blog name. I'm the 5th of 8 kids, and 6 of those are brothers. I've always loved kids; "granny hobbies" like sewing, cross-stitch, knitting, etc; and helping others. I have spent most of my life identifying myself as someone's daughter, sister, or mother... and I think I've been most accepting of the label of "so & so's Mom." (though I'll always love my folks and siblings and being identified by them, on occasion, still).

Jase & I have been married for nearly 13 years (in December!!) and this is a second marriage for both of us. Jase lived in England for nearly 9 years, and after the end of his first marriage, and being denied access to his oldest 2 children for over a year, he was living in a very lonely state of hell. He came home to get a little family support, and little is what it was he got. He returned to the states determined to NEVER get married again NOR to have any more kids. Ha ha ha. Funny in hind sight.

Anyway, Jase decided to join the United States Marine Corps to calm his life down (and yes, this IS him calm...though lots of Marines don't want to believe me. ;o) When he was preparing to leave for bootcamp, he decided leaving me and my boys behind wasn't a thought he liked, so he proposed. Well, now Jase has been in the Corps for 13 years, he's adopted my oldest 2 sons (and looking at them and knowing them, you'd never guess they weren't 100% his.) We've had 3 more children, and we will never give up on the hope that someday we'll get to have face to face time with his oldest 2 kids.

Jase has served in the infantry as an anti-tank assault man, and then a range coach, teaching recruits in San Diego how to properly fire their weapons (-- yeah for Mr. Hat.). That was followed up with the last 9 years as a Combat Graphic Artist! In this job he has filled many positions. For a while he worked for the Recruit Depot, and got to design truck wraps, the buses for the Marine Corps Band, the Marine Corps Motorcycle, and even the Marine Corps Race Car one year. Lots of t-shirt and poster designs, tons of coins, and just lots of really neat stuff to be able to always let the kids know their daddy did. I absolutely LOVE driving down the road and seeing his stuff plastered all over the buses, or seeing Marines out in one of his shirt designs, or walking into a building and seeing one of his posters hanging on the wall. I just want to point and yell - MY husband did that :o)!!!!!

Jase has also served as a Photographer in this job, and was stationed in Iraq in '06-'07 with his primary job as photographer, and he still did his graphics work (assembling images and info into daily briefs for higher ups when THEY are briefed on what has happened here and there so they can decide where to go from there. Someone puts all that info together, and my husband is one of those behind the scenes guys.)

Moving on . . . I've enjoyed working, and not, and working, and not over all these years. I've been assistant managers at restaurants, and a movie store, and am currently totally enjoying NOT being management and the peace and comfort of getting to be "only" a sales associate (and the less stressful, more family friendly schedule that goes with it0). I'm at a fabric store, and love that each day, I get to help at least one person learn and know something to help THEM enjoy, just a little more, the sewing or crochet project they are trying to work on (or learn, or want to get UN-stuck on). I've gotten to spend ALOT more time sewing since living here, and it's been fun. I still long to only ( ha ha ha, only...) be a stay at home Wife and Mother, because then I can keep my focus where I like it. :o).

We have lived lots of places, and most recently lived in Okinawa Japan from '04 thru '07. We've been here in North Carolina for 13 months, and every last one of us would love to go back to Okinawa. This is the 11th place we have lived in the last 13 years, and I'm gonna bet we'll be moving again around Christmas time (that's when they think we'll be getting base housing.)

Currently Jason is being treated for PTSD. It is actually compound Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to more then Just Iraq putting strain on the brain. A whole lot has been going on there, but his treatment is preparing to change, so I hope the next 6 months will show healthy progress. His struggles take a toll on me, and we both hate our struggle with our weight, --hey, at least he gets workouts as part of his work day...I'm just an exhausted woman that's stuck in they cycle of 'too tired, although I know I'll feel better if I just... maybe tomorrow.' So, eventually I'll be thinner again -- let me get my husband a little more sane again so I can sleep fully thru the night, then we'll talk. Until then, I'll still get into photos and share them, because this is the me that I am today. However, I can appropriately share my favorite photos of our early days...

Jen & Jase, then Jase a few days before he left for bootcamp.

09-1995

then, the picture of Jase in bootcamp, only 4 weeks after....where'd my rebel go? Cleaned up good, don't ya think?!

Our wedding, a couple hours after bootcamp graduation. 12-1995

Our new little family --

...Since they were in England, it was a little tough to get Erica & Kyle into a photo with us. Here they were, way back then, the way cutie-pies that rounded out the numbers.

So, hopefully that's good basics to use for launching off. Kid intro's shall follow...eventually (sooner then later if I can keep my mind focused. Wish me luck.)

What to say, what to say???

Ever had one of those times where you just KNOW you need to call someone, or write to them, but when you sit down and hold that phone in your hand, or are staring at the paper, playing with the pen in your hand, (yes, some of us still use REAL mail :o), though not as often as I would like to.) . . . you just aren't really sure what the heck you're supose to say? 

So, I started 3 different letters, and 2 blog entries, and then packed it in for the weekend and just said screw it.  The only time anything thoughtful came to mind, was around 11:30pm, when I was attempting to ignore all the thoughts zipping thru my head, trying to get completely exhausted so I could sleep.

One thing I realized, is that I still need to properly introduce my family.  Jason and I chatted, and understanding that protecting the family is thee most important, and then weighing what info to actually include, we'll include all the kids names.  We've been thru nutty "safety experiences", like my ex harassing us and using his second wife's mother's money to try to threaten us and the boys...and that was all a bunch of crap.    We've experienced being in a foreign country where we, as a military family, were big targets - and we were followed by 3 middle-eastern Men, who turned in a fairly deserted part of a shopping plaza, to follow us --TAKING OUR PICTURES all the while!  We left, and went along the sidewalk, thru an alley, and into another store before they finally stopped with the cameras and went away.  THAT was freaky!!! (especially since this was October of '04...and we had been warned of recent threats to US military in our area at the time)...so it was a higher freak out factor for us.  But all was well, we soon thereafter learned to relax our safety measures back to a healthy level that allowed us to ENJOY our lives.

NOW, my goal is to remember our lives so I can share it with the kids down the road, while also sharing with our family and friends.  Knowing which kid I'm talking about, withOUT confusion, is pretty important.  Except for Zacky, I can't say "R" or "C" did this, since I've got R-C-R-C-Z. 

With that said, I will take a day or two to dwell on how the heck to pick up with us in the middle of an ongoing life with many, so you feel like you aren't completely Lost in the Sauce (though it's a really tasty place to be.)  Got any specific info you want me to be sure to include, just ask.  You'll either get an interesting answer, or a little "eh-hem, I choose not to answer" answer.  Either way, I'll try not to ignore anything specific.

------- Can I just toss out a disclaimer now that occasionally my spelling is crap (yeah for spell checker, which I seem to need more and more each year.)  Also -- if I ever seem to vanish, feel free to drop me a line to snatch me back to cyber space reality.  I need a slap-slap wake up call on occasion these days.

Soon to follow (I hope) -- Family intro... grease the gears so the brain is ticking.

Just a bit of a Video Test :o)

Okay, so when I replaced my camera AND my computer a year and a half ago (*sigh*...I hate damaged electronics - I lost my favorites), I never took the time to figure out how to get my video clips compatible with my Picasa albums.  So, I was kinda happy this morning when I noticed there was an msn site sorta like U-tube.  I'm not really ready to put up a U-tube anything of my kids, so I like this option --- lets see if it worked. . .

I took a little video clip of Zacky when he was "protecting" his ears from our noise when we were watching the Gold Medal match of the Women's Beach Volleyball. 

Here it is...

http://video.msn.com/?user=4088642633545475762

How do you all do it?

I absolutely love to hop around seeing what my friends and family have written on their blogs, yet I can't ever seem to manage to take or MAKE the time to write the things I want to on my OWN blog.  It's most certainly NOT for a lack of things going on around here.  No, quite the opposite.  There are plenty of funny or interesting or at least memory saving worthy things happening around here all the time.   

No, mostly it's a lack of brain cells.  I know I've got them, and I know they work for me when it matters, but for the most part, when I sit down at the computer I no longer have the ability to write and stay on point.  I run off on tangents, I start to vent without meaning to get SO emotional, or I'm just SO completely exhausted a large majority of the time that I can't put words together into a though anyone could Possibly follow, let alone actually get my fingers to cooperate to get those thoughts from my poor, sleepy little brain, out ON to the computer via this lovely keyboard in front of me. 

I've got lots to share, and I think what's hardest is when I really need to share something, but don't want it to top the blog for days (or weeks the way I'm keeping up on this), so I just don't write, and a million things carry on instead.  All unaccounted for a lost in the crazy chaos of my non-functioning mind.

I guess it's also hard because, even with adding the little tracker to my side bar to see if anyone besides the 3 I'm aware of actually stopping by to read this, I figured noone really WAS stopping by.  I warned friends that moving last year would cause me to disconnect for awhile, but didn't realize that meant all email communications would STOP unless largely initiated by me.  So, I rarely expect anything in my email these days, and we, as a family, in general, could care less if we stay where we are currently, so I just carry on thru each day forgetting I used to love journaling about each day.  My poor journal hasn't hardly been touched, to the point I actually wiped dust off of it - how sad.

I guess I need to remind myself this morning, that I had decided I wanted to write this blog as a way to let friends and family IN on what's up, but more so I think I just want to make this a family journal of sorts that I can get printed for them to have for their memories a long time from now. 

May my children look back at all the things I take time to write about, and either remember in fondness, or learn from the pains our family has endured, and remember that we ALWAYS come thru EVERYTHING, every beautiful and ugly moment, TOGETHER!

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7 years ago this morning I had sent the 3 older kids off to school and Craigan was still sleeping, so I hopped back into bed to watch the "Today Show" on NBC.  (used to love to do that, so long ago.)  I was thinking about what I needed to get done that day to prepare.... you see, we lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the time, and Jason worked in Quantico.  He had won and art award or 2, and his unit was Actually sending him this time TO go and GET his awards when they were to be presented.  So Jason was due to head off to California, out of D.C., the very next morning.  (had you asked me 3 years ago I still could have told you time, airline, and flight #).

Next thing I know, on that beautiful day, the news breaks about an accident involving a plane crashing into one of the twin towers.  And we all know how the world changed forever for us all.  But how many of you NOT on the east coast, or who did not loose a loved one that day, honestly carry the events of that day, and all the days to follow, burned in your memories like it just happened yesterday?  I do.  I couldn't call my husband on base - the lines were all tied up, and being a military spouse for SO long, I knew not to try, but to wait till he called me.  Once the Pentagon was hit, I knew anything I had planned for our future or our childrens, would never be the same.

I worked at Movie Gallery at the time.  One of my co-workers was full time Military, and was IN the Pentagon at the time.  He was injured by a fireball, and watched friends and co-workers die.  I'm telling you now, although he looked liked he'd aged a decade, there was no greater sight for all of us at work, then the day he got to come in and tell us he was back and okay. 

My husband finally came home from base, a couple days later, and shortly thereafter headed up to the Naval Annex.  This building is up the hill from the side of the Pentagon that was hit, and we as a family had to drop him off and pick him up every weekend so he could be home with us.  I have to say, being a graphic artist in the Marine Corps has it's fun moments, but it also is filled with jobs none of us would like to be a part of.  He would take all the information gathered, and photos and what not, and assemble it together for the daily briefings to the military higher-ups.  Post terrorist attack info (and warzone as well) is filled with sights and such I wish I could erase from my husbands mind forever.  I was never allowed to know details - obviously - but I knew the days/weeks when Jason had had to work on projects that were pretty ugly.  And here's what people need to know -  He was THANKFUL to have the job he did.  He knew he could handle the info and the sights, and still come home and be a good husband and father.  He was thankful to do his part, and do a job he knew was keeping someone else from having to do.

I will never forget the day planes were able to fly out of the DC area again.  I will never forget it because we were driving on the beltway, and my children yelled out so scared their daddy was going to be hurt.

But I will forever be thankful that my children have had those memories washed from their minds.  Over this past year, as others were discussing this day in history, and I asked them what they remember - bracing myself to have to be strong, and they honestly had VERY little memories of that day.  They knew the facts and information, mostly from school. They actually started to reflect on the fact that they remembered more the lockdown at school from the sniper shootings in our area MORE then 9-11.  Yup, my lucky kids - we lived in the area, and shopped at the places, where Malvo went on his lovely shooting spree.

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One year later, I was VERY pregnant, knew that life moves on, and was thrilled for the future of my family.  Zacky was born 2 days later (we can't wait to celebrate his 6th birthday).  And I will forever want to wish a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all those who were born on September 11th of ANY year, for this event will NOT take away ALL the good of this day, all the wonderful, loving people in our lives.  Like one of my lovely Nieces :o).

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I love my family.  I love my husband more then anyone will ever understand.  I am thankful for our family's opportunity to be be a military family.  I am thankful for the fact that when I hear the national anthem, it MEANS something to me and I can't help but cry.  I am thankful that my children are aware of the importance of placing your hand on your heart when you see a flag and hear the national anthem. 

You look around...even military families and when you are on base...it is sad to see HOW many Americans do NOT place their hands on their heart.  We were at a parade, ON base, and the flag went by.  Although many stopped talking, and some stood at attention, or at least stood, in our section of observers, we and our children were the only ones to salute the flag until the children of those around us followed suit.  Sadly their parents, couldn't be bothered.

Salute your flags! 

Love your country! 

Love your families ALL you can! 

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I need to go to work soon, so I need to go put away my memories and carry on, back to my good mood.  I just want my children to know, I am truly thankful they currently do not have to carry with them the memories of that time in our lives.  I hope they read this and know that their Father is a truly wonderful man that has sacrificed SO much, willingly and lovingly, because he wants to fill a much needed place, so no one else's son or father has to do so.  I love him for ALL he his and ALL he does.  We are so lucky to have him in our lives.  Remember this always.