Monday, September 29, 2008

My Warrior Is 12... Be Still My Heart!


I can't believe that MY BABY is 12 years old. Time has flown by so fast. But I'm so thankful that God has made it possible for me to be a stay at home mom. Not only that, but that He called us to homeschool. What an AWESOME blessing. I have been able to enjoy my children 24/7. THANK YOU, JESUS! \o/

In honor of my Warrior's 12th birthday, I will share 12 things about him...

* He loves animals. His favorites are cows and dogs... particularly german shepherds. When he grows up his german shepherd is going to be named, Smokey Stewart Stallion Johnson Buddy. LOL!

* He can't stand injustice and will stand up for those that need defending. On different occasions he has stood up for those that have been picked on, by others.

* If it was up to him, he would eat chicken for lunch and dinner. But he's also a lover of hamburgers... plain, nothing on them.

* He loves his sisters dearly and misses them terribly when they aren't home. When they aren't home, he'll say things like, "The house feels so empty when the girls aren't home."

* Gaming runs through his veins. There is no video game he can't master in a couple of days.

* His dad is his hero. He admires him, loves him and is proud that he takes the time to coach his baseball team. Once when a player was complaining about a call my Knight had made (when he was umping), The Warrior stepped up and told the player that, "The upm (his dad) was a fair and just man."

* He's quick witted. There is never a dull moment in our Castello. He keeps us smiling and laughing.

* The military fascinates him. He talks about being a Marine one day. He also wants to be a paratrooper.

* He's a homebody. He would rather be at home, than anywhere else.

* His favorite clothes to wear are... his pajamas. He's in them ALL day long. If we have to go out, he changes clothes to go out. But the minute we get home, he will change back into his pajamas.

* He enjoys photography and video taping. He is often found playing around with my camera taking pictures or video taping those around him.

* He has a HUGE Beanie Baby collection and he plays with them. I've seen him pretend that they are soldiers, ninjas, football players, baseball players and soccer players. He's creative and has an incredibly vivid imagination.

I have no favorites. I love each of my children unconditionally, with ALL of my heart. But I will be the first to say, that he is my favorite (insert his given name here) in the whole world and he knows it cause I've told him. ;o) Just in case I'm misunderstood... my (insert Soaring Amongst The Clouds' given name here) is my favorite (insert her given name here) in the whole world. My (insert Still Waters' given name here) is my favorite (insert her name here) is the whole world. Well, you get the picture. To me, my children are my favorite in the whole world. :o) I hope and pray they know it. I hope and pray that I've shown it.

My Dearest Warrior,

I get all emotional just thinking how fast time has passed. I can't believe that today we are celebrating your 12th birthday. You've grown up in a blink of an eye. What a blessing you have been. You bring joy and happiness to our family. God has a mighty plan for you. I look forward to the coming years. The best is yet to be. I love you Sweetie and don't ever forget it.

I'll love you forever...
I'll love you for always...
As long as I'm living...
My Baby you'll be...

love,
Mom~

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Moving On...

I know that I ended my previous post with the statement, "to be continued...". Well, obedient wife that I am (I hope you didn't spew on your computer!- LOL!), I will do as my Knight has suggested... "let it go, it's not worth your time." I LOVE my man!

God is good... ALL the time. So much has been happening. Some good and some not so good, but in the end, He gets ALL the glory. Cause He... ROCKS!

Where do I begin?! I'll start with the not so good. Not because I'm a pessimist (cause those that know me, know I'm not!) but because I just want to get it out of the way and focus on the good. :o)

Daughter of the King has not been feeling well. My poor Baby Girl has been running a temp (on and off) of 101-104! She's also been having some pain on her right side. First we thought it was stress related. She's not too thrilled about being a student at UCF. She wants to continue her studies in sign language, but taking the prerequisits is not what she wants to be doing right now. Well, the pain was getting worse and we took her in, cause we were thinking, appendicitis or something like that. I'll have to share what happened to my Knight, but I'll leave that for another day. Hope I remember! Anyway, when we got to the doc's office her temp was 96.4 and that concerned him. She was pale and anemic. After "poking" around on her belly he sent us to the hospital to have a pelvic/abdomen ultrasound (stat) and he ordered some lab work too. Praise the Lord it all came back negative. \o/ He asked us to keep an eye on her and he's leaning towards it being colitis. Now stress does not cause colitis, but it does aggravate it. URGH! Please keep our Fair Maiden in your prayers.

Still Waters is enjoying this semester. Well, kind of. Her university is undergoing some construction. Which means that the students have to find different routes to their classes and park in... ah.... Egypt. My poor Baby Girl has to tote a backpack that weighs 5 times her weight. Those that know her, know she doesn't even weigh 105 soaked and wet! Aside from all that, things are looking great for her.

Soaring Amongst The Clouds is staying pretty busy. She looking into taking a trip with a group of students to North Carolina. They will be kayaking, whitewater rafting, horseback riding and hiking. Exactly what she (and her siblings) loves to do. What can I say, our children are thrill seekers! Ok, now for this part of the news, you better sit down. Starting tonight she'll be taking swing dancing lessons. YEAH BABY! I KNOW she's going to love it. She's stepping out of her comfort zone, but I know she's enjoy learning these dances. YOU GO GIRL!

G.I. Joe's soccer team won yesterday, 4-2. He scored his first goal too! I'm sure they must of heard me in the next county... "YEAH BABY... WAY TO GO BABY!!!" What can I say, I couldn't help myself! The photographer got some good picutres. I'll post them as soon as I get them. :o)

Last week after the soccer game, the team and the families stopped at a fast food place to eat dinner. While we were in line, a teammate went up to G.I. Joe and told him he should go on a date with Country Girl. Apparently she likes him. Did I mention that she's 16 and G.I. Joe is 14? Well, now you know. G.I. Joe told his teammate that he's not allowed to date, cause we don't believe in dating. The teammate didn't believe him. So G.I. Joe told him, "Ask my parents." We were not even two feet away. The teammate came over and asked if G.I. Joe could take Country Girl out on a date. We smiled and told him, "We don't believe in dating." The look on his face expressed disbelief and confusion. He had never heard of people not dating. We talked briefly about what we believe and he was very surprised. I later talked to G.I. Joe about it and he told me he felt a little relieved. Boundaries are good. Too much pressure is put on the young to date and be a "couple". Things would be so much better, if they just hung out and do things as a group... supervised of course. ;o)

Fall Ball has started and The Warrior is thrilled that his daddy is coaching his team. Not only that, but his best friend Bro is also on his team. I know they will have a great time. My Knight is a wonderful coach. To him it's all about the children learning and at the same time having a little fun too... perfect balance.

Homeschooling is going well. At first we had some adjusting to do. We've been use to getting school done before our sport practice (be it baseball or football). Practices were usually at 6p or later. Well soccer practice is at 3p. Games are usually at 4p or 6p. That's one of the reasons why I love homeschooling... flexibility. After changing some of our routine, we are now able to get what we need to get done, done. Granted, there are still times when my Knight has to help G.I. Joe with a subject. But it's all coming along nicely.

So, all in all, things are moving along nicely. Life is good...

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

My Knight Was Right...

Let it be known that my Knight is seldom wrong. I'm not saying that sarcastically. I'm just stating it as fact. :o) I love my man... I really do.

Airman G and Soaring Amongst The Clouds are no longer courting. Being a cadet at the academy, school work, distance and working on a relationship has proven to be a little too much for Airman G. It's good that this was realized now and not when too much had been invested in their relationship.

Now you must be wondering, what does my title have have to do with what I just shared above. Well let me tell you. During Airman G's summer break visit, my Knight told Soaring Amongst The Clouds, that it seemed to him, that Airman G had lost interest. But that he just didn't quite know how to end the courtship.

When she went to visit him with his family last week in Colorado, once again things were "different". Soaring Amongst The Clouds wondered and asked, but nothing was said. But actions spoke louder than words. When she got home she knew, but waited until they had a chance to "talk". Then he spoke the words that went along with the actions he had been showing since summer.

First off, I want to say that God is good... ALL the time. He always has a way of working things out for the best. I see a change in my Fair Maiden. She has matured. I know this can't be easy. But I see God's grace, mercy, love, peace washing over her. I have seen her smile more in the past couple of days than I have since her summer break.

I haven't seen him or spoken to him. But I'm sure he feel less stressed out. I know that it wasn't easy for him to balancing a relationship, family, friend, school and work. He'll now have the time to focus on being a college student. I know he will apply himself and do a great job.

Why am I sharing all this? Well, I know some will roll their eyes, but that's all right. :o) Parents do know best. Parents really have their children's best interest at heart. Did I mention that my mom knew that my Knight was the one for me? Well she did. She told me so when we were in high school. This is what she said, "Lady G, he is the one for you." Did I listen? No. But God knew even though I wasn't walking with Him, He knew. He brought us together after we graduated. I have often wondered what my life would of been like had I listened to my mom in high school. At least, I came to my senses. LOL! But even so, my life with my Knight has been a dream come true.

Now, The Boss Lady (my sister) was in a relationship with a young man. He was loved by the family and things were looking promising. Along came an old friend from high school and declared himself to her. My parents didn't think he was suitable, but her heart told her different. She ended her relationship and got married to her high school friend. They are now divorced. It's not an amicable divorce either. My poor niece and nephew are stuck right in the middle. My heart goes out to them. I sometimes wonder if things would of been different for her had she headed our parents advice.

I'm not saying that parents should run and live their children's lives. There comes a time when we have to leave and cleave to the one we are going to marry. What I'm saying is parents do know best. We should seek their counsel. We should remember everything they've taught us and make wise choices. Most important of all, we should ask our Father. After all, remember that, Father knows best...

to be continued...

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Soaring Amongst The Clouds Is Back!

She went to Colorado to visit Airman G. It was family weekend at the Air Force Academy. Airman G had asked her to go visit him with his family. They left last Wednesday and they got back late Tuesday night.

We missed her terribly. Yep, even her siblings missed her. What can I say, we are one close and loving family. :o)



This picture was taken by KT, she's Airman G's younger sister. Well she's his one and only sister. :) She's taking a photography class in college. So she was busy practicing while they were in Colorado. Out of all the pictures that were taken and they've shared with me, this one is one of my favorite pictures of Soaring Amongst The Clouds. She loves being outdoors. She looks so at home.



This is my other favorite one. They are both smiling and look happy. She was happy to be able to see Airman G.

My Knight and I have been to Colorado twice, to ski. We spent one week at Breckenridge. Then another time we spent one week in Winter Park. We fell in love with Colorado. Well, hearing her talk about Colorado, made us want to go back. So our next ski trip just might be to Colorado. :o)

Welcome back Sweetie, we are so glad your home. We missed you.

Monday, September 01, 2008

The Gift Of Good Intentions

Those that know me, know that I have the gift of good intentions. Today, I'd say it's more like the curse of good intentions.

My Knight was outside putting up a net as a backdrop for our Squires to practice their hitting .


The Squires help dad built it. But I was only able to take pictures of this after it was done. Cause while they were busy doing that, I was "trying to help" out my Knight. With all the rain we've had our grass has really grown. So I thought, I'd mow the grass. I really do enjoy doing that. I'd rather do that than clean the Castello! NO KIDDING!!! Well, my intentions were good but...



... while trying to turn on the lawn mower, I apparently broke the hand lever that lowers the cutting blades. Who knew I was superwoman with super strength?! URGH!!! Can you say... chaching $$$!!! Well, since the blades were already lowered, I figured, "ok, might as well cut the grass." Right? Wrong... cause next thing I did was...



... run over the sewer system clean out thingy. Yep...



... pieces went flying everywhere! That did it. I LOST it! I was physically shaking from all the damage I had done. I was scared to tell my Knight what I had done. He already knew about the lawn mower. This was not going to go well. When I showed him, he didn't say a word. He just walked away. He needed to be alone and believe me. I wasn't going to go near him. He knew I hadn't don't it on purpose, that I had "good intentions". But I was beside myself. Did I mention that this was not the first time I had done this? Well, it's not. I've done this before.

A little while later, my Knight came over, hugged me, kissed me and said "I'm sorry Babe, please forgive me." I started crying and told him he had nothing to apologize for. I was the one that messed up... again. He just kissed me and told me, "Don't worry about it, it's ok. You're just my brunette, Lucy." Referring to redheaded , Lucille Ball from I Love Lucy.

His comment got me thinking. I use to watch that ALL the time when I was younger. Hmmmm... if it were up to the experts they would all say that the wacky things I do now are because of what I watched on tv while I was growing up. AWESOME!!! I can blame it all on Lucy...