Mowin' the Lawn

Well, I'm about 6mo preggo and poor Brian has been working so much that he has not had any real daylight time to mow the lawn in over 2 weeks!!! Can you believe it? He started to this Saturday, and got maybe 1/8th of it done and ran out of gas. So, the lawn looked even worse. The weeds had sprouted up to my knees. I was so embarassed that when it was time to take Brianna to school, I would peek outside to make sure noone was out there and race out with the kids. Just in case someone thought I did not notice that our lawn needed mowed and wanted to remind me...I did not want to hear about it.

Today, I had just had it. I just asked Brian how the stupid thing worked, I added gas and was prepared to butcher the yard as best I could. Well, he forgot to tell me about "priming" it...and so I wore myself out trying to start the thing. I am out there in my slippers, yes slippers....a pullin and a pullin...lookin around to make sure no one is there to witness then a... pullin and....a pullin...This must have gone on for about 5 min, but it felt like a lot more. Finally, I just left that blasted thing sitting right on my front walk. So...at least it would be like a sign or something to the neighborhood "YES!! She is GOING to mow the lawn!!" I called Brian at work and asked him to PLEASE at least just stop by and show me what was wrong with the mower....yep OMF was the problem (operator malfunction). So, I got the kids down for a nap, and ventured out for another try.

Still in my slippers, I mowed that lawn...to death I think. Yes, over the tree roots and rocks and rills.. that thing dragged me. You see, Brian had to get a self propelled lawn mower (make sure you say that with the proper little jingle to your voice...for effect...). And me, being the newbie at having to mow the lawn, could not seem to get the hang of disengaging the "drive train" as Brian called it. So, when the mower got in this spot by some dirt in a corner of the house, I was trying to pull it backwards to avoid this stump of a bush that we have in the yard. Let me just tell you, I don't know WHAT I was doing, but that mower had a mind of its OWN. I'm pulling and it drags itself over that stump chewin and chewin...it's front wheels drivin' and drivin'.. with such a force it was digging up the dirt, sending it back by the blower, and blowing it all over the place, including me!! How in the world? That's what I'd like to know. Anyway, I finally gritted my teeth and yanked that thing back as hard as I could....I'm angry all over just thinking about it.

So, the lawn is mowed. The lawn mower is still alive, and so am I, thank the Lord...Brian really scolded me when he found out I mowed the lawn in my slippers. At least it is dark now, and he can't see the lawn.

Grace

Grace is what the Lord blessed me with yesterday (our Sunday). Whenever we PCS and get into a new church we can always tell that we are in the right place because we are under constant attack! The devil must be really upset that we are in yet another good church because he worked overtime trying to keep us from going. Brian, who has worked alot of weekends since we have been here, actually had this weekend off...that is until someone messed up and put him on duty when he is on a detachment and supposed to be exempt from duty until this operation is over. Some Lt. called yesterday as we were getting ready for Sunday School and told Brian he had to stand 24hr duty. So we have to drop everything and get him ready to go. The girls and I made it for Church services amazingly. I told one of my friends about "somebody" trying to discourage us. So, then, I am on my way to choir practice, and as I am going out the front gate, one of the cones (due to construction going on) was moved out too far and I hit the curb on one side. I did not think I hit it that hard, but somehow, I blew both left tires!! So, here I am, by myself with 3 small children in the turning lane blocking traffic with not one, but two flat tires.
Here is how the Lord provided: the day before, Brian activated our cell phones, which I had mine with me.
-I was about 100meters from the MP hut, not just out in the middle of Okinawa.
-Couples from church kept stopping on their way and asking what they could do to help, which was such a great testimony for the MPs to see.
-One family took my girls to church while I arranged for towing to come through the MPs.
-I usually do not carry much cash with me at all, but had just gone to the ATM 5 min before.
-I was able to get a cab, and make it to church for choir practice...only 20 min late.
-I was provided a ride home, and a ride for Brianna to school today.
-Since Brian had duty last night, he has a flexible schedule today to take care of getting the tires fixed.
-We have money in our savings to take care of the expenses.
I am expecting even more trials...it just seems to be what I call my "time in the trenches" to grow. And, I am praising the Lord as He helps me to not only "get through it" but to be victorious in it. I truly felt a peace throughout the entire ordeal. Praise the Lord as He molds me and shapes me. Please PRAY that the Lord will continue to have victory in my life.
The Apostle Paul knew what it was to rejoice, even in trial....this is NOTHING compared to his trials, but knowing that he was given strength to rejoice in those huge things gives me confidence that I can rejoice in my small things.

The Last of the Gastropoda

Hello my gentle friendly snail
have you come to bid farewell-
two fallen comrades whose deaths you knew
a dear brother perhaps and sister too!
Oh, the grief that you must bear
to know the fate of such a pair
who as they made their slimey way
suddenly were gooey prey
"Of who!?" you ask, we won't mention names
but of this I know, twas not a game
a clumsy sole (yes, a pun intended)
blindly crunched...that's how it ended

A Make-up Lesson

.....for mommy that is. I had promised Brianna a special make-up and dress-up day, and as excited as Brianna was, she was a little unsure about some of the product I use. The very first thing that I got out was the foundation. Brianna said she wanted me to use it on my face first. I think she was only interested in the pretty pinks and purples of the blush and eyeshadow, but was willing to try this foundation stuff if I did it first. Brianna watched intently as I applied some of the foundation to a sponge first and then, as I started to put it on my face, her eyes got wide and she said, "Mommy! Is that stuff going to turn me all brown too?" ...Well, I guess that means it is time to switch out my summer color huh?

Princess Picnic

Here are my little princesses. We had a great time at our picnic!! The girls really enjoyed dressing up and having a little snack. I could not find any doilies, so I just used some cute scrapbooking paper as little place mats. I let them take their ponies to play with them in the roots of the tree pictured behind them. I think the whole thing cost me barely $10, and that was because I bought the potted flowers to use in my kitchen. So much fun. :) I wish I would have started doing these earlier.
My little Lily...snacky-cake princess. This little thing will eat almost anything!!

Princess Picnic

It was really foggy outside when I took this, but here is little Brianna on her very first day of school at Maranatha Acadamy. I miss her so much when she is gone...can't wait to homeschool!!

Brian has to work late so today is going to be theme picnic day!! I decided to have a princess picnic. I like suprising Brianna when I pick her up and have everything in the car ready to go. I am going to bring a princess dress-up outfit for each of them with beads and stuff. I am going to bring a pretty table cloth...even though we are doing this outside and some "fancy cakes" you know the little white cakes from Little Debbie. I figure I will put those on some pretty paper doilies and we can decorate paper crowns. We shall see!! I will post pictures when we get back and everything.

Gave Me Chills

I joke alot about the funny things that Anjolie says, but today, she said something that shocked me. I was looking at the Fox News front page on their web-site and as I was browsing the headlines, Anjolie (2.5 years old) came out of her room from her nap. She was still sleepy eyed and crawled up on my lap as I sat at the computer desk. She saw a small satellite picture (the one you see pictured) of the hurricane Wilma and pointed to it saying, "look mommy, a storm". I was pretty impressed that she had picked that up...I don't know where, but I said, "that's right honey, that's a storm". Then she looked at me, THIS IS THE TRUTH, and said..."when people don't listen to God, the storms come"...I will just leave it at that...You can reason what you want, but I prayed.

Just a note to say that when Anjolie had first pointed the storm, it had just been downgraded to a cat 2, I just flipped back to Fox so that I could post this...it is now a category 5 and reported as the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever. I'm not big into jumping on signs and wonders or reading into things too much, but I am praying for the people in Florida and Mexico. We have fellow Christians there, and souls that need to be saved.......out of the mouth's of babes.

A Time To Sorrow

To our dear Pastor, his family and our beloved Calvary Baptist Church. In sharing your loss.

I cried with you today, not next to you, or even near, but an ocean away. God's love and care for you traveled the miles and touched our hearts. We wept and prayed to take on your pain, to share in your sorrow.

Knowing we can never understand the pain of your loss, our prayers continuously seek our Savior and His comfort for you. May His grace be dealt without measure. May the blessings of an abundantly all sufficiant God surround you and create a hedge about you. May those who have been blessed by you hold you up in continual prayer. May He bind His church close and unbreachable by those who would seek to destroy it. May God be given the glory and praise for the solidity of His children in their faith.

Those that have had their souls saved through your preaching and teaching of God's word, pray for you now, Missionaries and their churches, family and friends around the world lift you up in prayer. God loves the Calvary Baptist family so much He has broken our hearts in our love for you. We remain in fervent prayer for God's will to be done in the lives of all who have been touched in this tragedy. The glorious light of the Lord's work is not dimmed in the lives of our dear Pastor and his family as they continue on in the great commission. The Lord's all sufficiancy and grace to abound in every good work, as the Bible assures us, is the shining testimony of a family passionate for their loving Savior. I am humbled by their example and inspired to press forward in giving my all to the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter the circumstance, who is worthy of our all. God Bless, we love you.

Beach Tongue

Anjolie, as most of you know, has some funny sayings. Well, here is a recent funny reasoning she had. It is funny how 2 year olds think, and it is even funnier when they are able to express it to you.

I was eating a piece of watermelon, and because it was for me, I had put salt on it. I know I am weird. Well, Anjolie came in and asked for it, so I gave the rest of the piece I was eating to her. Anjolie came back into the kitchen a couple of minutes later and told me her watermelon tasted like the beach. She said it came from her tongue from when we had gone to the beach the other day. Logical explanation right? I mean who in the world puts SALT, of all things, on watermelon...it had to have come from... the beach... which must still be left on Anjolies tongue from 4 days ago right? It's ok Anjolie...that completely makes sense.

Fun Time

Since Wednesday was a nightmare, I planned a special day for myself and the kids for Thursday. I found a neat picnic spot near a playground on base so I decided that when I picked up Brianna, we would have a picnic. I loaded the girls bikes and packed a picnic basket. I made little monkey ears for the girls since it was a jungle like setting, brought their binoculars for exploring and bags for collecting. Brianna was so excited when she got in the van and saw everything. I was so glad that I had taken the time away from cleaning the house for a day to plan this special time. We had fun spitting watermelon seeds (yeah I really let loose this day ;) )and hunting for monkeys, exploring, collecting, and just being together. On the way home, we stopped by where Brian is conducting an operation I intended just to show the girls the radar and wave, but his MSgt told us to come on up! Brian showed us some of the things they were working on and we had a perfect view of some F15's taking off. It was a wonderful day!! I think I am going to plan little themed picnics for the girls every week since Brian is not able to be home until late.

Busy Week Blues

Do you ever just get so busy as a mom that you forget to stop and enjoy it? Well, that happened to me this week. With Brian working from dark to dark, I have been exhausted and VERY absent minded. Lily has not been sleeping well, so she has me up about 3 times during the night, and the lack of sleep has really taken a toll on my energy level. One blessing is that I have really held myself accountable for having my daily devotions during Lily and Anjolie's nap time in the morning. I can't hide in the bathroom because I am inevitably interrupted by little piggys and fingers squishing themselves under the door. I can't seem to get up earlier than Anjolie...or Lily for that matter. They get me up around 5:30am most mornings. So...PRAISE THE LORD FOR NAPS!!
Well, that being said, this past Wednesday, was just one of those "off" days. Everything seemed to be off schedule, and I just could not seem to get it back on. Typically, if a day like this is happening, I just stop trying to stay on schedule, and I just get out of the house for the day. I did not do that, and in the chaos and naps being out of sync etc, I failed to have my devotion time. Boy, was that ever a mistake!! My day got worse and worse.
Then, it peaked. I needed to go to the commissary before picking up Brianna, and I left plenty of time so I could take the groceries home and get to the church early. Well, when I went to get into the car, my keys are NOWHERE to be found!! I had 45min to find my keys, get the groceries home and pick-up Brianna. So, I drag Lily and Anjolie back into the commissary and ask if anyone turned in my keys. No keys were turned in. I remembered that Lily had a messy diaper right as we arrived *sigh* maybe I threw it away with that....yes,.... I asked if I could dig through the trash Ok? No dice...I mean keys. Now, I have about 25 min left. I don't have any way to get in contact with Brian, I don't have any yen to get a cab, I am just a sweaty frazzled mess racing around the commissary with two very small kids! As time was winding down, I thought that I should at least call the school and ask my friend who is a teacher if she would mind picking up Brianna. Well, the commissary does not have a phone-book in English (go figure) and the Japanese one they have is from 2001 which would not have the right number in it. Talk about a mess...not even to touch on all the meat and frozen goods I had sitting out in the hot sun. With 15min left, I remember there is an advertisement for our church in the newspaper! We find that, and then I at least get a message to my friend to pick up Brianna. Our pastor was the one who answered the phone, and I was way too embarrassed to tell him the situation so my friend did not even know I might not be at home when she took Brianna. I just was so overwhelmed that I did not even have any worry left to worry about that. And then, at my height of panic...it was like everything stopped. All the noise in the store, Anjolie yanking on my shirt, Lily crying and pulling my hair, my heart racing...everything just stopped, and I could see clear as day what I needed to do. I had exhausted all efforts in the situation, and I needed to 100% give it to God. So, I did. I just told Him that He knew I needed to get home and get Brianna, He alone knew why I had to be in this situation, and I was just going to trust Him to take care of us. A huge weight lifted off instantly, and it was like He was right there next to me with His arm around me, holding me up. He gave me that peace beyond understanding...I just knew it would work out. I then walked back out to my car to look one last time, and here comes a lady walking up to me with my keys. I wanted to jump on her and hug her!! She had found them on the ground next to the van but did not know whether to turn them in to the commissary or to the exchange. So, she was just walking around with my keys!! The Lord must really have had a reason!! When I had nowhere else to look, I looked up, and He arranged it that way. I could not hear His still voice in all my effort and worry! I should have been prayerful from the beginning!

So, it turned out that I was able to pick-up Brianna anyway and none of my meat spoiled, and I was safe from whatever the Lord was protecting me from. What a loving Father we have. At least HIS schedule is always perfect. Psalm 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. I am so glad that my problems are not too small to be noticed by a loving Savior; that the same peace, strength and mercy that was given to the Great King David, a man after God's own heart, is available for little ole me.

Frogs and Snails and what next?

Hopefully not puppydog tails. At least for Brian's sake. I don't think his poor conscience can handle much more guilt over the carnage! Oh, the blood, the guts and all at the...uh hands?... of those thick lead feet!
We have always joked that Brian has Fred Flinstone feet and I think it is because they are so thick and square looking. Maybe he will let me post a picture of his weapon of choice, but I doubt it. Well, I might as well just come out with it...my husband has murdered two giant snails. You might recall the frog incident of 2001. If you don't, here is a recap. Brian had a little frog buddy that lived by our door in the brush on Camp Pendleton. Every time he came home (I only saw him on the weekends since he was already in 29 Palms) he would look for his little froggy buddy and pet him and hold him...I mean it was pretty cute. I would always tease him because his affinity for animals outweighed mine by a ton. He is the type that would catch a roach and set it free outside...ok maybe not a roach, but definitely a spider or a fly. So anyway his relationship with the frog was going well, they were both very fond of one another until that fated night. It was late, and we were walking from the driveway...up the sidewalk...al..most...there...and CRUNCH!! (pause for effect) I knew immediately what had happened. I quickly crammed the sweatshirt I was holding into my mouth to keep him from hearing my laughter (I know, I'm cruel..sorry). Brian's poor dark sillouette hunched over; he sighed and said, "I know your laughing Heather" I composed my voice enough to say "Oh, honey..." Brian said, "I could see you shaking and holding your mouth..." Brian picked up the foot with the squished carcass on it and flung the remains into the yard. I sympathetically covered the late friend with a leaf to spare Brian from seeing the massacre in the morning (see, I have some compassion). I mean, if I had stepped on it, I would have felt HORRIBLE, honestly, but there was just something about Brian just clunking up to the house with those thick loud feet that just...anyway, you get the picture.
So anyway, about the snails. We have snails her in Okinawa that are huge, I mean the shells of some are like 4 inches long! The girls and I found 2 that would hang around the house and in the mornings we would look for them to see how far they had traveled overnight. We also have tons of little snails everywhere too. Brianna got upset because she stepped on a little tiny one and I assured her it was unavoidable because they are as numerous as ants practically.
One recent weekend, Brian bought his very first lawn-mower, so I went out to the yard to see how Brian was doing and I see him and Brianna standing side by side in the grass. The birds were chirping, the breeze was nice, and it was just a really nice day. But Brian and Brianna looked out of place in the scene. They were both looking down at the grass pathetically. Brianna reached up to Brians lower back and gave him a pat "It's ok daddy, *sigh* I've done it too". Of course, I was already trying to hold back a knowing smile (I CAN'T HELP IT...IT'S FUNNY) "What happened?", I tried to sound as concerned as possible. Brian looked up almost smiling because he knows I know. "I found one of the giant snails"..."Yep" Brianna chimed in "Daddy stepped on it" she pursed her lips, obviously ashamed of the trait she and her daddy shared. The trait that causes ones feet to be drawn to crunch and kill unsuspecting little critters. I had asked what happened just to find out HOW in the world could he have clunked those feet on top of a giant snail in broad daylight! He said that he was just walking along and heard a big crunch.
I think I would have been laughing if I would have SEEN it happen, but since I was only hearing about it, and Brianna was present, the situation was not quite as...funny. I just shook my head and went back inside the house. Brian continued his yard work and came back in the house about 20 minutes later..."You are never going to believe it,.... I 'found' the other one too". Poor Brian...beware small creatures.

Sunset Beach

This is the East China Sea. The water is a perfect swimming temperature
Okinawa has such beautiful sunsets. The clouds blocked a picture perfect sunset, but it was still beautiful.
We even got to see a rainbow!
This beach has a roped off area for swimming which is really nice for small children. Here, Lily got her first taste of the beach...literally that is, she would not stop eating the sand!

White Beach

Brian has been working a pretty heavy schedule since we got here, but yesterday (our Saturday) we took the girls to one of the many beautiful beaches. Brianna and Anjolie loved it...can you see the ship in the background? The water here was so blue!!
Here is little Lily in one of her favorite two spots -Daddy's arms. Can you guess what the number one spot is? Yep, I actually have a "Mommy's girl".
Daddy and two of his little princesses. It sure was hot! I think all of us got a little sun even though we were not out long...about 2 hours later it was downpouring!

There are so many beautiful shells, but we learned that we have to make sure they aren't someone's home before we take them home! I have never seen so many Hermit crabs!! The snails are huge as well, we have found some giant ones in our yard. Which, I WOULD have a picture of them, but you know, Brian has the worst luck when it comes to little unsuspecting frogs...and now snails. But that is a separate story...

Our Arrival

This was one of the other islands near Okinawa. You can take a ferry or fly to some of them. I hear they are beautiful.
The girls did exceptionally well on the plane ride. It was strange how we left at night, and it was night almost our whole entire trip. The flight attendants were serving us lunch at one point, and it was still dark outside. It took us almost two weeks to get rid of the jet-lag.
Anjolie is happy that we are about to land. Our entire trip, to include lay-overs in Washington and Korea was about 20 hours. A commercial flight is much better...so I don't want to scare any family that have plans for travel.
This is our first glimpse of Okinawa. I was so relieved I wanted to just cry. We still had to go through customs, meet our sponsors, and get settled into our hotel, but the hard part of the trip was finally over.
I think that the rest of our trip home will just be burned onto a cd for our families so that I can record our daily doings here.

Nemo's Paci

Please enjoy this original piece by Jamie-inspired by the post below :)

Brief Interlude

I interrupt this recap of our trip to share something funny that recently happened to my dear husband and Anjolie. After church some dear friends of ours, that we have known since 29 Palms days, invited us to go to eat with them at the Officers Club. It is really a nice place, and we are all in our Sunday best having a wonderful time catching up and all. Well, Anjolie, who has been doing a great job finishing her potty training, told us she needed to go. Brian graciously offered to take her. About 10 minutes later a very red-eyed Anjolie and a VERY red, sweaty faced Brian arrived back at the table. We all noticed that SOMETHING had gone terribly wrong. I pulled Anjolie who was still choking back sobs onto my lap and quietly tried to ask what happened. Of course EVERYONE wants to know, so it is silent while she bursts out in the most pitiful cry that I have ever heard, "DADDY..choke choke... FLUSHED MY PACI!!" with that she broke down and sobbed as if her best friend had been flushed (pretty close to the truth). I looked over at Brian wide-eyed, and everyone else is smothering full out laughter. Brian did not find it so funny and proceeded to irritably explain the bathroom drama that had taken place. He had taken her in to the bathroom, but apparently, Anjolie did not make it all the way. Already flustered, he plops her on the potty to finish up. As she is looking to check her progress (sorry) her paci (as we call it) fell into the potty. A VERY angry, at this point, Brian who hates any type of "messy" situation gets Anjolie cleaned up and feeling he had no other choice, flushes the beloved paci. He said they both stood and watched as paci swirled away to the next chapter in its existence...the ocean...at least that is what I told Anjolie. I assured her that her dear paci was with Nemo. Ok, now TEARS are not only rolling down Anjolie's pathetic little red face, but they were rolling down ours as well as we are ALL almost suffocating with laughter. The big question from Brian's buddy was, "Why didn't you just get it man?" HA HA HA...he must not know Brian very well.

Ohio State Fair

When we went to the state fair, there was so much to do you could not possibly see and do everything in a day, or two, for that matter. Brianna and Anjolie loved riding these ponies.
Soon Lily will be able to join the girls on these rides.
I thought this ride was just adorable! My little punkins in a pumpkin.
Ok, this shocked all of us. As we were about to leave the fair to go home, we saw all these kids, BIG kids that is, jumping on these Bunjies. Brianna said she wanted to go on, which we took seriously, but when Anjolie said that SHE wanted to go on, we let her stand in line with Brianna, but we did not honestly think she would do it. Well, let me just tell you this little 2 year old was launched at least 15 to 20 feet in the air, enjoying the whole thing!! We were shocked!! Brianna enjoyed it too, but not near as much as Anjolie did. Crazy little thing.
Anjolie loves her milk...we thought we'd let her try it fresh, straight from the udder. Just kidding, this is a fake cow that was set up...I think it is pretty obvious, but you could milk it.

On With the Journey

It was so nice to be surrounded by grass and trees!! Spending almost 11 years in the desert has helped me to appreciate the plush green of the east coast.
One of the first things we enjoyed in Ohio was the parade. The girls, and others :) had lots of fun scrambling to get candy. It was just as much fun watching everyone get candy as it was the parade!
This was taken at the Polaris mall. I just love outdoor malls when the weather is nice. Here are my mom and Lily enjoying some shade while the girls have a splash in the fountain.
We had lots of fun and stayed very busy. Here is Dad and Anjolie at the parade in Pickerington. The girls loved getting all the candy that was thrown. At one point the street was almost covered in candy!
I love this picture of my mom and dad. This was taken at a park just down the street from their house. In the background you can see there is a fair getting set up. We had fun going to that as well.
This is my brother Ryan holding Anjolie. Can you see the resemblence? Ryan is an excellent artist, and Brianna keeps telling me she is going to be an artist just like her uncle Ryan :)

It is Hard to Say GoodBye

"See you soon!" Is much better, or as Brian's Grandmom Lottie B would say- "Toodloo!" or "See you around the Mulberry bush!" This might be an awfully big Mulberry bush, but we will get around it one way or another.

Good times With Grandmom and Pop-Pop

Lily enjoyed hangin' out at Grandmom and Pop-pops pool. Here she is with her daddy.
Pop-pop takes a dip with his girls...they sure love swimming with their pop-pop.

Before we left for Okinawa, Brian took leave and we visited as much family as we could. Our first stop was Brian's parents house in Lake Havasu, Arizona. We had a wonderful time. We sure will miss Grandmom's famous BBQ! Thank goodness I have the recipe or we would have to find a way to freeze dry it and have her ship it :)

Our Great Adventure

Ok, This is the beginning of the madness. This is the night before the movers are going to take our express shipment. Brian and I stayed up until after midnight trying to get everything staged for the movers. I don't know why I bothered doing all that, when it arrived in Okinawa, they just dumped it all out in huge piles all over the place. The girls had a great time, we set up Brian's old tent, and Brianna and Anjolie watched movies and played while we packed and cleaned.