just meaningless mumble...

so, kids are in bed...yes, late tonight....we ran soooo many errands this morning that i guess it just wore them out! so their nap ran way late this afternoon. no biggie, really...i mean, they do great; it's just me who doesn't get to have the evening "off". all in all, it really isn't bad. they like staying up late on occassion. it's just putting them to bed is like a 2 edged-sword! i hear all this "talk" about how bedtime is just supposed to be like, reading a book, and singing a song, and then watching your sweet child fall into dreamland while you're rocking them methodically back and forth in their dimly lit bedroom. haha...good for you....whoever you are "supermom", but in this household, it's like..."isaac! come brush your teeth....noah, pull your pants up!!" "noah, stop drinking water!"; "isaac, you'd better stop playing around and listen to me! it is bedtime!"....so after all that...they are finally in bed...now i'm feeling guilty cause we have to say our prayers and i've so not been a good testimony for them, but i proceed and then i get from both boys..."i gotta go potty!!!" i'm like..."you just WENT potty!!!!" OK!, you'd better push something out or you're gonna be in trouble!!" hurry!!"....haha...(i'm all bark and no bite when it's this late at night!)....anyways....then noah starts crying cause i'm rushing them....isaac starts getting a second wind....ugh...we get them back in bed and say our prayers...then its..."i need another hug and kiss!! (keep in mind, i've already given them 3 or 4 already)....ok, so here's round 5! then its..."i need a drinky!!"....for real!?!

anyways....i could go on and on but i think you get the picture...lol...i mean...yes, i'll chuckle now about it...but man, in those moments i'm just thinking, "GOOOO TOOOO BEDDDD!!!" haha....idk if any of you experience this, but everything i read in the magazines seems to soooo far off from what i experience. maybe it's me, but if i let up for 1 second then it'll be 10pm before they get into bed!!! it's a 2 edged sword for me....

we are going on the 1 month mark for jay being gone! he's doing well. we don't get much time to talk, but he's healthy and enjoying himself! i just want him back here though....i'm glad he's happy. i'm not used to him being gone, but....i just am not constantly thinking about it anymore...so i guess that's a good thing!

ok...i'm off to write to jay a letter and then go to bed!!

i just really miss him....

let me just start by saying, i don't want this to be a sappy, country love song type of post; however, i'm afraid that's what it will turn into! so, just bare with me. i'm not even a fraction of the way thru this whole ordeal with my husband being gone, and it seems like he's been gone for a whole year instead of the 2 weeks in reality. i can see myself filling up any spare moment with probably meaningless tasks just so i don't get a chance to sit down and think about him.

5 1/2 years ago, Jesus sent a guy across my path and i never have been the same. I've been stretched as a person, love has been put thru the fire, and trust has never been stronger with anyone else in the world. He keeps me on my toes, puts me in my place when needed, loves me unconditionally, takes pride in my accomplishments, encourages me to see Christ thru a child's eyes, and, what else can i say? He's my best friend, my love, my heart, my hope. and now he is thousands of miles away. i don't trust anyone like i trust Jay. i have so many things i can't wait to share with him when does finally return. i look at my kids and just see him in their faces.

i'm so proud to be with someone like jay. if any of you knew the kind of person i was before i met him...then you can understand why I am proud to be with HIM. i was throwing my life away left and right, so for me to end up with jay can only be described in 1 word...Mercy. jason was my "saving grace", if you will. God sent him to bring me out of the pit i had dug for myself. Now, i hope the title of this post makes sense. it's more than just "oh yeah, my husband is away and it's hard raising 3 kids by myself"....oddly enough, i can get over that...what's hard is having the other half of me gone....my best friend, my love, my life, my hope.

i love you jay...come home safely! we are ok here...but we ARE not whole without you!

hot hot hot!

wow!! it is sooo hot in florida right now! we have had the first full week with jay being gone, and we are fairing well! he was allowed to call me for 5 minutes on sunday! wow...i've always thought that even 1 minute is a lot longer than we all think...but now i feel differently! 5 minutes talking to jay(which basically sounded like, "hey babe! i love you! i miss you!" and jay.."i love you to. ok i have to go now!") to be honest, we got to say a little more than that, but not too much.

the kids are doing pretty well, but they are now starting to cry extra hard when they get in trouble or get hurt. and without fail it always ends with, "i miss my daddy!". so, with the idea from another friend, i have gotten a jar full of hershey kisses (1 for everyday that jay is gone). We eat 1 every night before bed..."chocolate kisses fromm daddy!" (thank you deanna for the idea!) we also made chore charts yesterday so that the kids can earn stickers every day for their certain chores and then at the end of the week they will get paid for .50 cents for every sticker they have on theire chart for the week! so they will both have the chance to get $3 a week...cause i'm on ly mkaing them do Mon thru Fri. chores. we will see how it works out!

overall, we are blessed. can't wait to find a place of our own! that's the next order of business!!

Military Life...Military Wife??!!

ok...i have not blogged in awhile, but that comes with good reason. My husband joined the army and just shipped off for 20 weeks yesterday!! so...the last month was spent with him and the kids trying to squeeze in every little activity we could!! such activities included...going to the beach...enjoying and full day at Sea World...doing some mindless "shopping" (with Zippo dollars in the bank)...and we ate out occasionally (again with Zippo dollars in the bank!)...hah!

my goal is to blog daily while Jason is away. now as reality sets in...i'm gonna be happy with blogging 1 time a week! i mean, come on!...i'm a mom of 3 VERY active babies and i do a TON of cakes every week! anyways...i will try my best no matter what. This blog will be my best friend for 5 months! lol:) so either enjoy or...don't read! :)

so, like i have mentioned, my husband is off to basic training and then A.I.T school to be Military Police. now, let me just explain how "funny" God is. the only 2 people i said i would NEVER marry (when i was younger) was someone in the military and someone who is a cop! hmm...God has jokes, people...big funny jokes! How interesting and utterly ridiculous it is for us to sit here and think that "we" are controlling our lives! God, in His unique and sovereign way, is up in heaven...planning and orchestrating every single second of our lives! He allows so many different trials to come into our lives...He never causes them, but he does allow them for some reason. Most of the time, it's to bring us back to Him. i completely bow down before Him right now and give Him all the glory and honor. He is so powerful and loving, simultaneously! I am nothing without Him! Thank you Lord, for caring enough about me and my family to guide us and direct us even when we act "so human".

i'm not entirely positive that reality has set in yet. I'm a military wife...what the heck does that even mean?? i feel as though jay is only on a business trip and will return in a few days. (it's called denial...i know that). my kids are clueless to where "daddy" went...but when it does set in that daddy isn't coming back for awhile....i wonder how they will take it. i'm grateful for the opportunity God has given our family...and i'm looking forward to where he will lead us from here. i miss my husband...it's only gonna get harder as the weeks pass, but i know that this will all be worth it in the end!

HOT HOT HOT!!!

oh my word! haha...how ironic is it, that when it's 50 degrees in florida during the month of april, people are complaining (ok ok...i was totally complaining to)...and now that it's 100 degrees like it's supposed to be in florida, people are STILL complaining!! ha! i can say that i'm NOT complaining! i'd rather be hot than cold ANY day!! i guess it helps that we have a pool in the backyard, but still, i'm so LOVING reading people's FB status'!! it totally proves that we as humans, can NEVER be satisfied! i'm so including myself in that statement as well!

on a lighter note, my son, isaac and i started making a papier-maiche or "pinata" to most people! ;) we'll finish it tomorrow if we did it correctly! it's drying now! we just blew up a balloon and then started gluing the newspaper to it! i'm so excited! isaac loved it because his hands were all gooey and slimy from dipping the paper! he thought it was the best! we are making it for father's day! yes! i bought candy and all!! and YES! jay will be blindfolded and try to hit it and break it! haha, i'm planning some fun relay games for father's day that we all can enjoy! instead of buying a few gifts that we can't afford anyways, i am thinking that this year we will just spend the afternoon playing games as a family! and not just board games; i'm talking relay games like we all used to play when we were young! how exciting!! (at least i think so!!)

wishing it didn't have to end...

we are having such a blessed weekend! we found out that jay passed his ASVAB test to get into the military! :) yay...here comes a job!! woo woo!! and he'll be sworn in sometime this coming week. what an experience this will be! my husband has on the the MILITARY channel right now and it is showing how the people in bagdad blew up a US army truck. :( i mean, we are pretty much guaranteed that he will have to serve at least 1 tour even though he is only doing the RESERVE right now. BUT, we know this is the way that we are supposed to go and other families have it worse than we will. we are thankful...very thankful for the opportunity to make some money and have a job. as of now, he will be shpped off to basic training August 25 and he'll go straight to A.I.T school for a total of 29 weeks gone :( again, most families have it worse than we will. and we also know, from other military friends, that the military always changes so this info is based on what they have told us now. anyways, praise the lord for this opportunity!!

last night we had a fabulous time hosting the high school youth group at the house for a luau!!! limbo, tiki torches, leis, s'mores....ahh...what else could be more fun?! NOTHING!! haha...it was fun watching the kids do a hula relay and play "feed the monkey"! we laughed, and screamed, and just enjoyed life! we spent all day cleaning and setting up and about an hour before guests were to arrive, an ominous cloud gathered in the sky and drenched everything! lol, we don't know why these things happen, but it didn't stop us at all! we did all the games in the rain and the kids jumped in the pool (yes, even in the rain and thunder)! to be honest, i think the luau was a much better hit in the rain! it was hilarious! the night ended with all of us sitting in a circle playing catch phrase!!

this morning, one of isaac's friends had a birthday party! they played "pirates" filled with a treasure map, a plank, and pirate hats! he had a blast! now, we are off for a game night with friends! our kids are getting ready to be tucked into bed as we slip out for the evening! hence why the title is "wishing it didn't have to end..." what a hysterical and wonderful weekend!

SLOW DOWN!!!

ok! so i know i haven't written a single thing in like...i don't know...let's just say FOREVER! obviously, we all know that it hasn't been that long, and i only started this blog a few weeks ago; but it has somehow become therapy for me! lol...(a lot cheaper than getting professional help!) i don't even know how to use this blog to it's fullest capacity; however, it's not like that for me. i guess i'm not even worried if anyone even reads these short incriptions into my soul. my days are so jam packed with "stuff" that i just can't seem to take 5 minutes to write even a little something daily!

Now, this week, was pure MAYHEM...(spell check??) i had 3 cakes due for 1 graduation party this past saturday! but all was successful!! very excited and proud of myself, and now i can feel that i'm not 21 anymore this week!! haha...i'm dragging! i know all the moms out there will understand when i say, "im kinda glad my kids have colds and ear aches! lol...they just want to lie in bed and watch Scooby Doo!" which in turn, gives me opportunity to just have a 'chill' day!

we went to the lake house yesterday and it was so wonderful to see isaac and noah baiting their hooks and catching little fish by themselves!! even I baited my own hook and caught a few;) woo-woo!! go me!! :):) i've become such a pansy since motherhood! lol...but i'm working on discovering myself again!! all in all, this week that i've missed writing about turned out to be pretty rewarding and special! yes, very cumbersome and tiresome at the same time, but the good seems to always outweigh the bad!