Veterans Day

Thinking of all the veterans today! We would sure live in a scary world if it asn't for them. (You just think it is scary now...)

If you see a vet today...tell them just how much they are appreciated!

Here are some pics of my dear hubby while he was serving. He sure was handsome in that uniform! Thankyou hun! :)




Ft. Polk, LA.













Sending them off to Iraq again after R&R- DFW Airport




Tour in Iraq





There are plenty more where those came form that i'd love to share, but it is next to impossible with two little boys fighting over my lap at the moment. Maybe another day!

Prayers for Ft. Hood

It is times like this that you realize how quickly life can be taken from you. It is so sad sitting here watching the news and thinking how the families of these soldiers must feel.

My family, very recently, called Ft. Hood "home". We were stationed at Ft. Hood and my husband just got a medical chapter this past August. He was not supposed to be out until Februaury of next year. My husband worked where the shootings took place. He would have been in that general area if he were still there. What would I have felt like? How easliy we could have been in that situation.

The families of these soldiers were probably consumed with fear and sadness due to the upcoming deployment looming in the near future but instead, right there at home in the blink of an eye, they were killed. I can't begin to imagine the hurt they must be going through and soon, anger.

It is also sad to think that the people who should be like "brothers" took their own. If it wasn't for these guys...where would we be? I know first hand how it feels to send a loved one off to war and have our kids to take care of back home. Nights of hoping and praying that they come home safe. Staying awake when it is quiet crying and waiting for the phone to ring. Soldiers and thier families give alot for our country and I think it may be easily forgotten. When something like this happens...it should be a wake up call. A reminder...

Our soldiers are exhausted and in a whole different mindset than we can imagine. They spend endless months in a war-torn country with hardly any down time. They spend so much time being wound up so tight. What must be going through their minds when they return and are expected to adjust back to "civilian life"? My husband was only deployed once and I could tell the toll it took on him. There are men and women who have been back and forth for years and need care when they return. It doesn't just end because they are home. There is alot more to it than that. It truly breaks my heart. These men and women put thier lives on the line for everyone of us to give us our freedoms that are so easily taken advantage of. When we were at Ft. Hood, I would watch wounded soldiers and think to myself how unselfish these people are....and they do it for me? For us? I have nothing but great appreciation for these guys. Its hard not to. And for something like this to happen...where it isn't at all expected...is heart-wrenching.

I will keep the families of the lost and wounded in my prayers. How sad it is that this took place.

"Reach For The Sky"

"One hand up!
Reach for the sky...
Lay 'em in your lap so we can pray.
Tell God thankyou for tha food we eat.
Amen!"

Those are the words my three year old, Dakota, yells before we eat. (Well, all day long for that matter.) He learned this at his preschool and is so proud of himself. Everytime we sit down to eat...he sings this tune at the top of his lungs. We all get a kick out of this!

Anyhow, I was trying to come up with a name for my blog and as I was sitting at the computer..with Dakota at my side..he starts singing as loud as he can..."One hand up...Reach for tha sky...!!!" So there ya have it...my blog name, and the name for everything attatched to it! Thankyou Dakota. ;)

This signifies,to me, a time in my family's life, where we are trying to come together and make it work. It as been a bit of an adjustment period for all of us in this household. Having a third child, whom we love and cherish, my husband getting out of the Army, moving back into our house, husbands new job, and still trying to get in the groove of being at home all day with a three year old and a one year old. A three year old who is more active than you can imagine and a one year old who has been going through that "clingy" stage. Is there ever any time to sit and take a deep breath? Does the chaos ever end? Not to mention, still recovering from being a "single parent" most of the time my husband was in the Army. I think, not only the soldier, but the wife and kids come out of a deployment having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well. Man...that can take its toll on anyone. I still can't believe we survived that one! But we did.

We are all trying to find our "role" in this household. Trying to get into a routine and bring it all together. We are having our ups and downs, good times and bad. There are times when I wonder.."How in the world do I manage?" But its the times like when we are all sitting together at the table and laughing at Dakota singing his prayer that you realize..."This is good...It will be alright." Being together is most important.

In all of life's chaos...appreciate the little things...the good things. It really will be alright.