And Now She Is Two....

I am trying, I am really trying not to say how quickly the time has passed, and how two years of childhood have just disappeared before my eyes, but the fact is....

Finley James has passed the two year marker and that means that three is right around the corner....BIG SIGH!

This dark haired newborn is a strawberry blond who is still hanging on to her blue eyes.  

Her precious smile is usually some version of cheese with a totally wrinkled up nose....and cute written all over it!

Finley moved from a placid, content baby to a toddler with a vocabulary that developed about 150 new words in a week.

When she decided to get up and go, she got up and went with a vengeance.

A long trip in the car is very entertaining as she practices all of her new words on you while you are in a confined space!!!!!

It is even more fun when Brooklynn has joined us on our trip because then they recite new words in harmony...harmony that can be heard at the stop light five miles down the road,  This all causes huge giggles and nothing makes me happier than kids truly laughing!!!!!

These two little girls giggle and laugh together, and then turn around and push and pull until they have a toy in their possession that they thought they wanted.  It takes about two seconds of tears before one of them with tears in her eyes turns around and hugs the other and says "I SORRY".

Ahhhh...it is a girl thing!!

They are best of friends.....

right now they are my best friends and nothing makes me happier to have them near.

Sorry Luna Lunch Group, there are days that Chick Fil A with these precious girls  just sounds a whole lot better than the Cheesecake Factory with adults.  See you all next month!!!!

Happy Birthday Finley James!

It's Been Awhile...

It has indeed been awhile.  I cannot even think of an excuse for lack of creativity.  It surely is not because I have done anything.  Quite the opposite.  I have avoided every project on my list for the last week.

What I have accomplished is watching three hours of Season 4 of Downton Abbey.  Due to the fact that circumstances did not allow me to give it my undivided attention at original air time, I resorted to the DVR and watching at a later date.  I felt that Mary needed my support as she and I grieved Matthew together.  I was surely glad to see she had her feet back on the ground and is going to excert her rights as 50% owner of the estate.  Concern over this is the reason that my attentions have not been on my blog.

Then there is the matter of cheese.  With the shortage of Velvetta I have also been in mourning mode...wishing there was a shortage of pears or peaches instead.  What is a Sunday dinner without queso?  I am down to one box in the refrigerator and it is hidden under the lettuce.  I am sure that no one will think to look there.  Until I find more, I know we at least can make it another week or two without panic.

Last...lazy is at the top of my list.  I think it is the after Christmas doldrums.  The pure hectic nature of the holidays gives way to doing nothing the entire month of January.  I am justified!

And I will end with this.....

Because regardless of what month it is...silly is how we play!

Where to Start?.....

It is put up...finally!  

Every year I seem to put the final remnants  of Christmas in the attic just a little bit later.  There are always segments of decor that seem to linger...the parts in rooms we do not use.  So what if the presents remain under the tree until January 5th?

  I really think the problem is, where to go with everything?  We keep accumulating and not purging.  It is always in with the new and never out with the old.  So, with the New Year comes the great clean out, and I promise you that when I took a look around my house I felt the need to hyperventilate in a brown paper sack.

Under the sink...ugly.  

I got a new dishwasher for Christmas.  It was a surprise, and for a girl who was ecstatic over a new weed eater one year, please know I took no offense to the fact that it was not BLING.  I would much rather have a dishwasher that did not leak than sparkly earrings!  But, what installation revealed under my sink was at least nine types of shampoo, five bug sprays and amounts of stuff I do not want to list here for public viewing.  Why, because I never dare to go more than one row deep when I clean.  So I purged...a garbage bag full of bottles and spray cans.

And then there are magazines....

and magazines....

and magazines....

and magazines

and more magazines.  

I have no reasonable explanation for the amount of magazines that are piled in my house. 

I do not read them.  I just order them.  Honestly, when they offer you a years subscription for $4.50  (a savings of 90% per issue), how can you refuse?  I apparently do not!

So, why do I have so many?   I do not ever read magazines any of the magazines. 

But, I save them because when I ride in the car I need something to do!

I know...I need therapy.

What I really need is to PURGE and rethink my need to either buy and/or collect anything that is on sale.

I have begun.  It is only a start.  It was not on my resolution list and it is a good thing, because just the word resolution means FAIL IMMEDIATELY to me.

I am determined and steadfast in my resolve to remove clutter.  I may be in the kitchen awhile, because while I am here I have a lot of magazines to read.

Since You Asked....

I have had so many inquiries about Tim.  How he is doing, and how things are in his new African home?

Well here you go!

Tim arrived in his new home in Djibouti on or about the 18th of December.  

We have only talked to him a couple of times, but he reports that it took about 32 hours to travel from Virginia to  Camp Lemonnier.  Obviously they did not travel on the Concord!  If I tell you that he enthusiastically unpacked his bags in the quarters he was assigned I would totally be lying!

I am not sure who bequeathed him the nice set of blue sheets with dinosaurs and horseshoes, but I would be willing to bet that he will pass them on the the next resident when his new sheets arrive.   As you can tell space is tight in his new four star residence.  Biggest drawback...lack of a bathroom, or even a sink in the space.  It is a 30 yard treck, towels in hand to shower or use the other facilities.
His dreams probably include phrases like, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home!"

This is an upfront and personal picture of his front door.  He has not had time to do any landscaping, but I am sure some geraniums and other potted plants will improve that curb appeal and make it feel much more like home.  Please feel free to make any recommendations you have for updating or improving the view!

Street view....really wondering how long you have to stay to get one of the better lawn chairs, or maybe that first hut belongs to the base commander.

Question asked by Sara....."Have you seen any camels?"

Response..."No, but I saw a man riding his bicycle down the street with his goat on his back".

In other news...not related to Tim's living quarters, things have been extremely busy.  With the unrest in Sudan, work has been seven days a week from 11 pm until 7 am.  Not much time to fit in any sightseeing (other than catching everyday sights like the man with his goat on a bicycle). Reports are that he is 40 days down with only another 320 to go.  That is a positive!

 Thanks to all for all the prayers and inquiries.  It is an adventure..on both sides of the globe.  

Notes of encouragement (or ideas for home improvements) can be sent to:

LCDR Tim Shubzda

PSC 831 Box 0008

FPO AE 09363-0008

Hello 2014!!!......

Welcome New Year!

If you asked me how my year has gone so far, I would have to respond with "just fabulous"!

Not my usual kind of verbiage, but a phrase my brother used quite often, and for some strange reason he was on my mind this morning.

It is 9:00 am in the morning and I have rummaged through the paper, enjoyed a cup of coffee and some yogurt, and am thinking about cup #2 before I rise.  Yes, all of this completed from my bed, propped up with pillows, and still in my jammies.  My husband has headed to the grocery store to get the black eyed peas which I forgot, along with various other items that I missed when I was in Walmart yesterday.  Quite frankly I am surprised I even got out of Walmart with a shred of sanity left...but that is another story.  What a nice man he is....and I am thinking I will return the favor by doing the dishes for him today....MAYBE!

New Years Eve was simple.  No hot pants, party hats, and glittery make up (ahhh, 70's I do remember you).  We enjoyed dinner with Sara at a great mexican food restaurant.  Home again, we got comfy and enjoyed watching the Aggies play Duke....what a game!!!  Worth being up until 10:30 pm for!!!  It was probably the only complete football game I watched all year, but it was the best!  No, we did not stay up until midnight to greet 2014.  We simply woke up this morning to the fact that we are staring at a fresh calendar!

Now I am sitting here thinking ahead because yesterday was my day to look back.  It is a clean slate and what I want to write on it is "happy".  It is our choice everyday.  

When I think about the "happy" things I want to accomplish this year it is not much different than what I aim for each year.

My "happy" list includes....

Friends...some that have been too long forgotten.

Books piled next to my bed that I am going to read.

Family that is my reason for getting up each day.

Fabric, there is nothing that cotton and a sewing machine cannot cure!

"PAUSE" which brought me to a new mindset last year.

Jesus, who has guided me back to a place that fills me with such peace.

Pinterest...kind of random, but where I find creative inspiration.

Home...always makes my heart happy.

Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right!

Another Goodbye......

It is here. 

The end of 2013.  

I looked back over the previous end of the year posts I have written and it seems we have always ended on a pretty good note.... grateful for many blessings.

It is no different this year.  I just finished delivering my final Meals on Wheels of the year and if nothing jolts you into the gifts you have in your life, I promise dropping off dinners on the route I have will bring you back to the reality of all that is good in a hurry.

It was a good year, blessed with having family close, a wedding, and good health for all.

As I do a little "soul searching" I know that I am grateful for some lessons learned. 

 I am painfully aware that I don't always make the best decisions or respond to situations in the most appropriate manner....well, surprise on that one!  It might be my type A, impulsive, need a filter on my mouth personality that causes me to want to go back and redo so many situations.  It is my hope to be a little more compassionate, more reflective, and a whole lot more patient this next year.   There will forever be room for improvement in so many areas,  but recognizing weaknesses is not something I always do too well.  I move through things like the energizer bunny and only look back after the fact. 

We are only about eleven hours away from putting this year into park (as noted by a good friend).

Seems so strange that we never seem to re-evaluate in June or August, but only on December 31st. I am all too aware of so many lessons that painfully hit me right in the face this past year,  and hopeful that what I learned from a laundry list of mistakes will stick with me in 2014.  For me some lessons learned are much to quickly forgotten.

The Other Things.....

It seems I have posted a barrage (another word for bunch) of Christmas pics lately.  My mind lacks the clarity to develop anything noteworthy at this point in time...so it is another BUNCH of pictures that bring back memories of a Christmas season already over.

Disney on Ice!!!  The minute I saw it in the paper I knew we had to go.  So I corralled all the females in the family to join me.  What could bring more excitement than Mickey and Minnie skating around the ice in red and gold sequins singing 

M I C K E Y!!!! 

 I was transported to the days of Annette, Darlene, and Cubby in mouse ears!

It was 50's TV at it's finest!

Stringing candy canes. 

 Just the beginning of another generation of homemade ornaments!

 I thought I was growing into the adult tree I always wanted...and then came grandkids...and I realized the homemade mismatched kind are really much better.

Making time to get to Mr. Joel's backyard train.  Wow, this man set up this enormous display in his back yard 13 years ago to entertain the neighborhood kids.  This is the year he calls it a day.  At 81 it is becoming too expensive and time consuming to operate, but the joy on this gentleman's face as he drives you around the tracks is better than any Santa Claus.  He truly is the face of Christmas.

Tradition....the gingerbread house.  Someday it will be a masterpiece!!!!

Pins and needles...and so much fun!!!  Brooklynn is going to be a seamstress...HAPPY Gramma!

She pinned and sewed her daddy-o pajama pants for his trip to Africa because we all know that the military personnel overseas want to see some lieutenant commander make his way to the shower in Scooby Doo wear!

An after the holidays trip to run through the amazing Christmas village hosted  by the city of Richardson.  We had to send scouts ahead of us to make sure all of the characters were out of sight before Brooklynn would enter the space (refer back to the fact that she will not go near anything that is dressed up in a costume).  After sufficient proof that the coast was clear, we ran and explored and took way to many pics...

And SNAP it is over....but the craziness of it all was perfect, because it was Christmas and that is how it should be.

Christmas Part II

I would love to report on the joy and merriment of watching children open Christmas presents and sit in wonder of the gifts that were placed under the tree, but guess what, it was Christmas!!

If you are a child at Christmas then it is the same all over the world.

Get that paper off one and move on to the next!!

I have been there.  Thirty eight holidays with my own children and it does not change...and I do not suspect it will any time soon!!!

I am not sure it would be fun any other way!

So...my pictures were not great this year.  I was too busy watching activity all over the room.  I can however, remember the kids at this age when I look back and be ever so thankful that they were here to share the day with us.  Some families are separated by distance that does not allow them to be together.  We were together and that is the best gift anyway!

I am not really sad that this Christmas is over.  Some years I am.  I am already looking forward to next year when Tim will be back and things will be as they should be.  I know it was much harder for him than us.  Harder for his wife and girls than it was for us.  That is the price that our military pays and I am forever thankful that there are families who accept the assignment courageously and protect us from places much too far away.