There are no words to describe...

What statred out an amazingly wonderful week, turned out to be a horrible one.

Steve and I went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on Saturday June 15th and returned at 2:00 am on Thursday, June 2oth. We had a really great time. We got some much needed rest away from work and home. We stayed at a fabulous resort hotel, went deep sea fishing (Steve caught a 150 pound Marlin) , on a Hummer tour through the desert, laid by the pool, walked on the beach, got massages at the spa, and ate some terrific food with some new and old friends.

And then Steve got a phone call from a girl at one of the doctor's offices he calls on. Her name is Dana, and Steve went to her wedding about four months ago. I was not able to attend, so I did not have the pleasure of meeting her or the groom. Her new husband, Staff Sgt. Darren Hubbell, was deployed to Iraq shortly after the wedding. She found out Thursday morning he had been killed while on patrol in Iraq. She called Steve to let him know. The poor girl is devastated. They each have children from previous marriages. And he has a 19-year-old son who is also deployed to Iraq. They were so happy and in love. That night Steve and I prayed and cried for them. We also prayed for our other friends and family who are over there.

Then on Friday morning, I got an email about a dear friend of ours. Army Major Sid Brookshire was also killed on Thursday in Iraq. He and his wife Karin and their two daughters, Faith Ann (5), and Bethany (3), attend our church as well as our homegroup that we host in our home on Sunday nights. Karin is one of my closest friends. Their girls are some of my girls' best friends, and Sid and Steve were becoming good friends before he was deployed about two months ago.

We found out on Tuesday evening that these two men were together in the same vehicle. For some reason, that has made this harder to deal with.

Steve and I are having a hard time dealing with this. We are hurting and we are angry. Most of all, our hearts ache for Karin and those beautiful little girls. This is so not fair! Sid was a great guy. He loved the Lord and his family with all of his heart. He was smart and funny and brave. He was a man others looked up to and aspired to be like. This is a huge loss, and for now we just mourn and pray. We pray for his loved ones to find comfort and peace. And we pray for all of our other men and women over there for their safety and encouragement. Mostly, I pray for this terrible war to be over with and for the Lord to return soon.

I'll leave you with a few words that Sid wrote himself and Karin emailed to us on May 18th. Rest in peace, our dear friend...

Sid Wrote: " What I want you to know and tell our friends and family is that no one is here with their head down kicking a can. Everyone here understands that the job is hard, but not hopeless, and everyone committed to it's accomplishment has their head in the game. When you find someone running their mouth about moral apathy or hopelessness, chances are they have nothing to do with mission accomplishment, nor are they associated with those who do. They tend to be retired to some comfy corner to fester in their own pity or draw power or attention to themselves. That's not us. There is always the pain of loss, and exhaustion which can lead to words of discouragement, fear, anger, frustration etc. and that is normal. But when it passes, what's left is resolve, not surrender. Sometimes talking to folks about the deployment I would tend to get a lot of words of sympathy & fear, to which I would not really add, except to try and give comfort that we know how to take care of ourselves. I hope you know that I believe in this mission for as long as it is mine to accomplish. I hope my folks know that too."

My Girls

Words cannot express just how much I love my little girls! For about two weeks before Mother's Day, and all this week, Abigail and Olivia have been presenting me with various items they have made, exclaiming, "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!" with the most pure, loving expressions. They continue to melt my heart every time.

On Thursday Abigail made a picture for me that had five hearts drawn on it. In each heart was a different sentence she wrote to me. They said things like, "You make me smile." and "I love when you hug me." But my very favorite was "I like you the way you are." And she really meant it. There is no way she could have known just how much I needed to hear that today. God is so good! He blessed me with two wonderful kids.

Handwriting Lessons

So I am sitting here practicing my handwriting. Why? Because someone in Georgia decided it would be a good idea for Kindergarten students to learn the D'Nealian style of handwriting! Apparently they feel it is easier to transition to cursive writing when they learn to print this way. And since I cannot expect my 5-year-old to practice something that cannot do, here I am. Practicing. On a handwriting tablet! I feel a bit foolish. Oh and by the way, the lower-case "k" is cursive.

Crikey!

I found out this morning that Steve Irwin, best known as The Crocodile Hunter, died yesterday in a freak accident with a stingray. How sad. I will miss seeing him wave his arms about and exclaim enthusiastically while wrestling crocs, capturing snakes, rescuing kangaroos, and getting up close and personal with just about every deadly creature imaginable. He was quite a character. Even more importantly, he was a conservationist and an environmentalist whose life's mission was to save the world's endangered species. His passion has raised awareness and inspired so many. And so to pay homage to Steve, I'll close with some of my favorite Crocodile Hunter quotes:
Crikey!
Isn't she a beauty? Gorgeous!
You're alright, mate!
You don't want to muck with this one.
That was a close one!
I put my life on the line to save animals...

Run Forrest, Run!

Steve and I finally chose our marathon dates! We are running the Jacksonville Marine Corp Half Marathon (13.1 miles) on October 7 - my 30th birthday. I kept trying to decide what to do for the big b-day, and I decided a big run was just the thing to celebrate the 30 wonderful years God has blessed me with. Plus, as a gift to me, Steve will slow down and actually run the whole thing with me!

Then, January 7, 2007, we will run the Walt Disney World Marathon (26.2 miles). I am so excited about this one!!! There will be 16,000 participants, and we'll run through all four of the Disney theme parks. At one point, we run right through Cinderella's castle. Since this is my first marathon, I'm glad it will be at one of my favorite places.

So, if I don't blog very often, it's because I am out there trainning. I'll be running and running... and maybe some biking to give the knees a rest. I am almost 30.

Our trip to Disney World 2006

We had a great time at Disney! It is so much fun to watch the wonder in the eyes of our children! After spending a lovely day at Mom and Dad Blanda's, we went to our Disney hotel, Allstar Movies, and checked in. We spent the rest of the evening at the hotel pool. It was great fun. The next morning we made our way to the front gates of the Magic Kingdom to meet our good friends, the Millwoods, donning our rain ponchos and umbrella. Yes, it poured! We were not about to let that small detail stop us. After a few calls to our friends, we found out they were delayed, so we made our way to Fantasy Land.

By the time we got there the rain had died down to a drizzle. For once, the rain was a blessing. We went on most of the rides in Fantasy Land in 40 minutes. The rain had stopped all together by now. We found our friends, who have two girls as well. The four of them were adorable little stair steps, ages 5,4,3, and 2, and were immediately best of friends. (Kids are so cool that way. Why can't grown-ups be the same?)

Steve got the girls some autograph books and Mickey pens and we spent the rest of the day riding rides, getting autographs - I counted 20, and soaking in all of the magic. We had a character lunch at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends. That was so worth it! The food and service was excellent and the best part was the personal attention the girls got from the characters. We ended our evening with the fireworks. I didn't watch much of them because I was too busy watching the expression on the girls' faces. Priceless! We said good bye to the Millwoods and left for the hotel for a good night's rest.

The next morning we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom. We had a character breakfast with Mickey and friends. (More autographs.) Then headed for Everest, the new roller coaster. Abigail rode it twice, once with me and once with Steve! She is so brave! We went on a safari and on several kid-friendly rides before it got scorching hot. That is when we headed for the river rapids. Twice. We ended the day with a great place on the parade route. The side we were on had a big space right before us where no crowd could stand, so our girls were the first kids the characters saw after a little break. Almost all of them came and hugged or high-fived Abigail and Olivia. They were in awe. And then we went home and crashed!

School Pictures and Random Update

~ Here are the girls' Spring school pictures.

~This past weekend mom and dad Blanda came for a visit. We had a great time. They got to see the girls play soccer. Well, Abigail anyway... Olivia got hit in the head with a ball and wouldn't play after that. I tried to tell her all the good soccer players hit the ball with their heads, but it didn't work! We drove around a cute neighborhood and looked at model homes (one of my fave pastimes),ate (of coarse) and played Rumikub a couple of nights. Dad and I share a love of Sudoku and he gave me a few pointers - thanks dad! I solved a difficult puzzle today in half the time I used to! I am really blessed to have such wonderful in-laws!

~My sister is probably moving to California (sniff sniff). Her boyfriend is out there interviewing for jobs right now. He's the #1 pick of 3 or 4 different companies, so it's pretty much going to happen. I am happy for them, but am sad for myself and my girls. We really like having Lindsey close by. I have really grown close to her and am afraid we'd almost never see them after they move. I'm going to miss my running partner and one of my best friends. (sniffle, sob).

~School is almost out for the year. Just over two weeks left! I'm not sure how the girls will take the change - being off for the whole summer. I can't believe Abigail will be in Kindergarten next year! Time flies by so fast!

~Abigail has a dance recital this weekend. She is very excited! Her ballet costume is so beautiful and her tap is adorable- it's a frog! The girls dance at a Christian dance studio. The theme this year is creation. Each class is a different animal for the tap, and each ballet dance and costume represents another aspect of creation. Abigail's is Earth. I'll try to get some pics of it up next week.

~We will be headed for Florida on Sunday, and then to Disney on Monday night. We'll visit the Magic Kingdom on Tues. and Animal Kingdom on Wed.! We are so excited! Again, I'll post pics when we get back!


Well, that's all for tonight. Buh-Bye!

I got Tagged! (Which is much better than being Punk'd)

OK Sue tagged me so here goes...

4 jobs I've had:
1. Chuck-E-Cheese! This was my first real job. I was a party hostess, and I WAS Chuckie! It was so much fun Chuckin' it! I used to play all kinds of fun games while in costume, and I got to stand on the tables and dance, and my friends and I used to have shopping cart races down a hill in the parking lot while in costume! Then I got punched in the face (Chuckie's face) by a VERY muscular man (really painful!) and that was pretty much the end of my stint as the Chuckmiester.
2. Admin. Assistant/receptionist for a Christian attorney and good friend. I definitely don't want to be a lawyer when I grow up!
3. Villa Rosa - a fancy linen and giftshop close to our home in Tampa. I learned a lot about linens and store displays (my fave part!).
4. Best job ever... Mom to two beautiful daughters and wife to a great man! (No, I don't get paid, but it can be hard work!)

4 movies I'd watch over and over again:
1. Anne of Green Gables
2. Lord of the Rings trilogy
3. Shawshank Redemption
4. Sleepless in Seattle

4 places I've lived:
1. Virginia Beach, VA (birth thru 18 mos) (can't remember 18 mos thru 4 years)
2. Valdosta, GA (ages 4-8)
3. Brandon/Tampa, FL (ages 8-26)
4. Richmond Hill, GA (current)

4 places I've loved to vacation:
1. Virgin Islands (honeymoon)
2. France (Paris, Normandy, Giverny)
3. New Zealand
4. Disney World (I'm just a kid at heart)

4 concerts I was glad I went to:
1. Billy Joel and Elton John (1995)
2. Audio Adrenaline/ Five Iron Frenzy
3. O.C. Supertones
4. Delirious

4 dishes I love to eat:
1. Moe's Close Talker with red beans, tofu, and extra cilantro (bueno)!
2. My lasagne
3. Anything at my new fave place: A Taste of India
4. Sushi (especially the tuna)

4 sites I visit daily: (not always daily...)
1. My blog buddies
2. My Space (yes, I caved in to that too)
3. My email
4. jessiegoodman.com (my best friend)

4 places I'd rather be right now:
1. Disney World with my hubby and kids (we're going in a week!)
2. New Zealand
3. Starbucks with Jessie
4. Anywhere with family

4 blog buddies I'm tagging: (seems like everyone else has already been tagged)
1. Bob (bro-in-law-in-law?) I saw Sue's, now post Bob's answers!
2. Elizabeth V.
3. My man, Steve (do you have what it takes?)
4. I need more blog buddies!

Today the girls played their first soccer games! How fun!

I had to divide my attention between 2 games that took place simultaneously. Olivia is pretty timid, and I therefore spent much more time with her, nudging her back on the field and encouraging her to kick the ball instead of just running around chasing the group of kids who were kicking it. The Hawks have 3 boys and Olivia on the team. I was so proud of her! There was a little boy who kept crying because the other team kept taking the ball away. (If we had taken score, they would have won for sure!) There were several children crying today across the park. And on the other team, a girl picked a flower, and was running around looking at it the whole time! I thought for sure Olivia would be a flower-picker or a crier, but she did pretty well. She looked so cute running so hard after the ball with a look of pure determination. After she got to throw the ball in one time, she was sure that was the equivalent of scoring a goal! And I won't let on any differently, though her big sister keeps trying to tell her it was not a goal!

Abigail's team was pretty fierce. There are 4 on a team. Her team consists of two 6-year old boys who have each played 3 seasons of soccer, and two 5-year old girls who have never played before. Abigail is the youngest, TALLEST member of the Bears. The Bears pretty much dominated the game. We don't keep score in YMCA soccer, but at Steve's count it was our team- 12 the other team -0. Abigail scored the last goal! I actually got to see that. I think she did very well for her first game. The coach has been teaching her team how to work together, and it showed today. We were blessed with a really good coach. He told Abigail that she has improved a lot since starting a few weeks ago and that he is proud of her. Big smile! Abigail keeps asking me when she'll play in a "real" game like her cousin, Becca. I told her this was a real game, and that Becca started out the same way. And I told her one day she may play college soccer as well, only for University of Florida! :0)

Aunt Lindsey and Bryan (her boyfriend) and their puppy, Bailey came to watch the games. The girls were very excited to have fans! Next week, Grandma and Grandpa Blanda are coming to see their games. They can't wait.

We took lots of video and pictures and I hope that Steve will help me to get some on the site to share! I can't wait until next week!

My baby has to have surgery!

Olivia has been a snorer since early infancy. She also had a lot of ear infections, so we took her to an ENT and she had tubes put in at about 18 months. At that time, he noticed she was a mouth breather, recommended she be put on allergy meds., and told me to let him know if I wanted her tonsils and/or adenoids out. I told him I would like to see if time or allergy meds. would correct the problem.

Fast forward over a year and a half... a few months ago I noticed that Olivia would stop breathing briefly while she slept, and then gasp a bit and return to snoring. I suspected sleep apnea. A trip to cyberspace told me I was probably correct in my assumption and that it is not that common in small children.

So, we finally went back to the ENT yesterday, and with out hesitation, he was scheduling her for surgery to take out both tonsils and adenoids. The surgery will be on the morning of Tues., May 16th. I am not looking forward to it, but I know she'll be so much better off after she recovers. Poor Livie-Pooh!

Deep Thoughts

I was driving down the road today, listening to some tunes on Air-1 (alternative Christian music station), and I began to ponder as I so often do...


I started thinking about how Christian music has come a long way and how there are so many choices out there that are relevant to today's culture. I know there are some old-school-types out there who think Christian music should show "reverence". To these people reverent music may mean old hymns, southern gospel, or what some would call "high-church" or liturgical-type music. I could not disagree more. Webster defines reverence as "honor or respect felt or shown; profound adoring; awed respect". For me, to revere my God is to let Him know how awesome He is and how much I love Him, regardless of how I do it. Sometimes that happens to be to a sweet guitar rift and a kickin' drum beat. And sometimes, it's Amazing Grace accapella-style.


Then I started to relate the same line of thinking to types of Christian churches. Too often I have heard well meaning saints try to explain why their style of "church" is the better one. There are some that feel like church services should consist of 3 fast and 2 slow songs, followed by announcements, 20 minutes of teaching, and an altar invitation. Others think you should let the Spirit guide you in worship for as long as you "feel" Him, and then maybe there is preaching or maybe not. Still others think it should all be done with tradition and repetition, following and exact scripted order. Some churches raise hands, some clap, some stand, sit, and kneel, and some do as they feel (rhyme not intended). I have met some who insist that you must wear a coat and tie or a dress to honor God. I've also been to churches where you can wear a coat and tie, jeans and a T-shirt, or anything in between. (I have personally come to the conclusion that as long as you are clean, modest, and not wearing anything profane, and you are dressed in the robes of righteousness and wearing the garment of praise, then you are fit to enter in to the presence of the King of Kings, no matter where you are.)


My point is, that none of these types of churches are correct without a relationship with Jesus. A relationship with Jesus is key no matter where you go to church or how you worship. A relationship is personal. Relationships differ based on the individuals involved. While God never changes, each one of us He has a relationship with changes greatly. So shouldn't that mean our walk with Him as well as the way in which we revere Him should also differ greatly from others who believe? If I try to force my style of prayer, worship, etc. on someone, is that really their relationship with God, or merely that person trying to walk my walk - which is a place only I can go?


Some might argue, "Well the So-and-So Church down the street believes yada yada, which has no Biblical foundation." While that may be true, arguing rarely turns causes a person to change their view. Though it may make them all the more stubborn. If someone has a REAL relationship with Jesus, and they are truly seeking His face, His will, His direction... then I think God can change their mind for them. He did for me! That is not to say that you cannot try to gently correct them and/or pray for them to find the truth. There have been times I have found that neither they nor I were 100% correct in our thinking.

...And that is all I have to say about that!

Help!

Can anyone tell me how to add a list of friends on my blog so I don't have to search each time I want to read one of their blogs? I've tried the help button, but have not found anything as of yet...

Thanks!

Why Olivia felt sorry for Jesus

The other day I took Olivia for a walk in the jogger stroller down the main road in our town. There is a catholic church that has a cross in the ground out front made of 4 x 4 posts, and it is draped with the purple or white swag of cloth, depending on the time of year. So as we walk past, Olivia says, "Mommy, is that the cross Jesus died for us on?". And I say, "No sweetie, His cross was much bigger and very far away, but this one is supposed to remind us of what He did for us." In a very worried tone Olivia cries, "But Mommy, Jesus left His blankie on the cross!!!"

It's Official

Yes, I have reached that milestone of motherhood where I can officially call myself a "soccer mom". Abigail and Olivia both had their very first soccer practice this morning. How did this happen? I guess it must have started when I sold out to my younger, cooler self and purchased a minivan. Mind you, this is one of the "sporty" looking ones- an MPV with the spoiler, ground effects, and back windows that roll down that (I think) make it look like more of an SUV. (who am I kidding here?) I guess the only logical next step is to put one of those magnetic soccer balls on the back of the MPV, sign up for snack rotation, and sport T-shirts that say "I'm Abigail's and Olivia's mom."
Steve walked up to me after we got home from practice and kissed me. Then he said, "I've always wanted to know what it was like to kiss a soccer mom!".

But seriously, I am very excited to have my two girls out there "kickin' it". I can't wait to see if they develop into star soccer players like my awesome Lady Razorback niece, Becca (She's their hero!). I love my little girls, and am so blessed to be a "soccer mom", and a ballet mom, and whatever else they may do in life. I really don't mind that my life is all about caring for my kids (and hubby) and rooting them on. It's what God designed me for, it's my ministry and an awesome responsibility. I would not find joy doing anything less right now. What an honor and a privilege! Besides, I know my Heavenly Father is watching me right now and rooting me on. And as proud as I am of my daughters, He's infinitely more proud of His.

Here I am!

Hey, I finally did it! I have a blog.

I am not very techno-savvy, but I am trying!

Being a busy wife and mommy, we'll see how often I'll be able to post...
Who knows, maybe I'll awaken the creative side of me?