Okay, I guess I’m overdue for an update. Things here are pretty good! Lila is still doing great in school and Cory’s job is going pretty good. It is busy, busy for him which means a lot of early mornings and late nights. We’re adjusting, though and I’ve made some friends with my neighbors which is nice. It looks like we’re all in the same boat as far as the hours our spouses are working. We all stay home with our kids; so on sunny days we are all usually hanging out in our front yards, watching our kids play in the cul-de-sac. Lucky for us, we had almost an entire week of sunshine last week. Unluckily, the rain is back in force this week.
The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. As some of you know, I was asked to co-lead our FRG (Family Readiness Group) and agreed. Luckily for me, the lady that is co-leading with me is turning out to be a good friend and I think we work well together. I’m looking forward to where we are going to take the group and I hope we have a lot of ladies that get involved. I have been a part of some great FRGs in the past that supported me during some very difficult times. I hope that I can give back and we can do that for someone else.
Easter was a busy time for us as well. We had our Battalion Easter Event on Palm Sunday, which required some of us ladies to stuff 200 eggs and our company to supply a game or activity. Luckily, our tailgating/Steeplechase days paid off as we already had a bean bag toss game and ladder golf, as well as folding tables/chairs. We had a great time and the weather was fantastic. Everyone was talking about Lila all day as she climbed a tree in her cowboy boots to get the prize egg. I also hosted the Easter Event at the Fisher House on Good Friday. For those of you not familiar with the Fisher House, it is a place where military families can stay while they or family members are undergoing treatment at a military facility. I became familiar with the Fisher House in It is an awesome organization and I was super-excited to be a part of the Easter Event. The Fisher House really strives to make the families feel at home as much as possible. When I first volunteered to host the event, I had a little freak out moment as I realized how much was involved. Luckily for me, several ladies from our FRG stepped up and helped me out. I can’t explain how much I appreciate their help, especially since I hadn’t even met several of them when they volunteered. We supplied snacks for the families, treat bags for the kids, colored Easter eggs and even had an Easter Egg Hunt. There was only one child staying at the house so we brought our kids with us to hunt eggs with him. It was such a fun and special day. I am looking forward to staying involved with this organization in the future.
My friend Buffy visited with us last week and I loved it. It was so nice to see a familiar face. We stayed up entirely too late at night chatting and laughing hysterically, which made for very tired mornings when that alarm went off. Her brother who lives north of Seattle invited us up for Easter Sunday, so after church we headed up to his house. We had a great time, fantastic food and they had an egg hunt for the kids. I think I might get to see her again this Saturday before she heads back home. She has been sharing her time between our house and her brother’s house.
I guess that is about it for now. We are praying for everyone back home with the thunderstorms and tornados. I hope that y’all stay safe. We love you guys!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Praying on Paper
I’m not comfortable praying out loud. There. I said it. I hear others pray over dinner and family gatherings like our Uncle John and my brother-in-law Brian and I wish that I could be as eloquent at prayers and blessings as them. I’m not. It’s weird for me because public speaking doesn’t bother me at all. I have given speeches in front of huge groups, spoken on TV, performed in plays, given presentations in front of executives at my job, but still, when I try to pray out loud, I clam up. I am sure it is one of those things where practice makes perfect, but I feel inadequate. I know this is ridiculous and there is no such thing as a bad prayer. However, it doesn’t change the way I feel. I don’t even pray out loud when I am by myself.
Instead, I pray on paper. I’ve always been a writer and I do use that term loosely. I love keeping journals, writing stories, even making up stories on demand for my kids. I’ve always like writing things down; jotting down feelings and things that were good about my day. While I have never been a dedicated journal keeper, I do write down my feelings and thoughts, often on scraps of paper that end up getting stuck in a book somewhere or tossed away. This is also how I pray. I write down my prayers…prayers for my family, friends, myself; prayers for people I’ve never met. I’m comfortable there, expressing myself silently on a piece of paper. Someday, I hope I find my voice. I’m working on it.
Instead, I pray on paper. I’ve always been a writer and I do use that term loosely. I love keeping journals, writing stories, even making up stories on demand for my kids. I’ve always like writing things down; jotting down feelings and things that were good about my day. While I have never been a dedicated journal keeper, I do write down my feelings and thoughts, often on scraps of paper that end up getting stuck in a book somewhere or tossed away. This is also how I pray. I write down my prayers…prayers for my family, friends, myself; prayers for people I’ve never met. I’m comfortable there, expressing myself silently on a piece of paper. Someday, I hope I find my voice. I’m working on it.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Playing Catch Up
I guess I am seriously behind in my blogging. It has been a busy time to say the least. We got to Ft. Lewis January 20th and Cory immediately had to sign in to post in order for us to be able to get on post housing. For some of you, I’m sure it is quite the shock that I decided to live on post as it is something I have always been hesitant to do. However, after only one evening of rush hour traffic on I-5, right off post, it was a pretty easy decision. So far, it has been a pretty good one. Lila’s school is only a couple of a block walk and there is a huge lake within walking distance as well which is pretty awesome, or at least it will be when the weather warms up.
So, when we got to Ft. Lewis we had to stay in guest housing for a little over a week, which basically amounted to living in a one bedroom studio apartment with 4 of us. It was a little crazy to say the least, but we consider ourselves lucky that it was such a short time. We have friends who have spent months living in guest housing or hotel rooms with their families while they waited for on post housing.
Our house on post is pretty nice. It is actually bigger than our old house square footage wise and has a garage which is nice, although I have yet to be able to park in the garage since our belongings were delivered. We’ve been in our house for over a month and unfortunately, the garage has been the overflow space or the “we don’t need that immediately and will get to it later” space. We finally started working on getting it organized this weekend and hopefully, I will actually be able to use it before too much longer. So, while our house is technically bigger than our old one, it is smaller as far as living space because it has TONS of storage. I think I could turn my laundry room into another room if needed. Plus, there is this HUGE storage room off the laundry with shelves all the way up one wall. It is super-nice; along with my walk in closet which I LOVE.
We moved into our house on January 31st and Cory left a week later to go back to Georgia to pick up his truck, the dogs and his Uncle John who made the trip back here with him. It was a long and tiring trip for them, but I think they enjoyed spending so much time with each other. However, I think 4 days in the truck with the stinky dogs may have been a little much for them. I have to put huge thanks out here to our friends Katherine and Keary in Athens who watched our dogs for us until we got settled and Cory got back to get them, which ended up being about a month. It is rare in life to find such wonderful friends who will put up with you, much less your pain in the butt dogs, who pee’ed on everything in their yard repeatedly (I hope they don’t send me a bill for dead plants) and who repeatedly dug under their fence to escape. Kat and Keary, we love you guys and can’t wait to see you this summer when you come visit us.
Since we have been here we have done quite a bit of exploring. After our trip across the country, it doesn’t seem like much to jump in the car for a couple hour jaunt. We have visited Seattle where we visited Pike’s Place Market which attacks your senses as soon as you walk into the place. It is a combination Farmer’s and Fish Market, completed with fish throwing and tons of vendors selling everything from clothing and toys to handmade crafts. It was wild to say the least. We HAD to stop by Beeker’s Handmade Cheese, home of Oprah’s favorite mac and cheese. We didn’t try the mac and cheese, but their Flagship Cheese, is fantastic.
We also visited Portland and made a trip to VooDoo donuts thanks to a recommendation to my very dear (and not forgotten) friend Jennifer. I can honestly say she is the best friend I ever forgot and the donuts were delish. I know that the idea of bacon on a donut may sound weird, but the maple bacon bar was phenomenal. We also visited Powell’s City of Books which is a multiple story bookstore that covers an entire city block. It was spectacular and is full of both new and used books. They have a children’s section that is the size of your average bookstore, so Lila was in heaven. For those of you who know of my fondness for reading, you can only imagine how excited I got…kid in a candy store excited doesn’t even get close to how I felt. We spent several hours perusing books ranging from Ferdinand the Bull to Furniture Building for Dummies. The bookstore is organized just like a library, so everything is easy to find.
There is also Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. It is beautiful and has a beach right on Puget Sound where you can picnic. They also have a 5-mile drive through old growth forest which is beautiful and on Saturday morning they close the road to auto traffic and it is just open for pedestrians and bicyclists. I definitely have it on my to-do list to ride there at sunrise. It’s not a long ride, but gorgeous and I think you can make it longer by driving through other parts of the park. There is also a zoo and aquarium in the park. We are considering getting annual passes for both as they are fairly reasonable.
I have to say that the Pacific Northwest is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, even if it does rain A LOT. We are surrounded by mountains on pretty much all sides and when the sky is clear, you are constantly surprised when suddenly you see these majestic mountain ranges in the distance. The view of Mt. Rainier or Rain-ier is spectacular, especially when the sun is setting. Due to the clouds and distance, it seems to be constantly changing shape and color, depending on the time of day. Lila has been studying it in school and has told us we will be in big trouble if it ever erupts, not from the lava, but from the melting glaciers that will basically flood everything with mud. Good times!!! Apparently, not only do we have to worry about volcanoes (Mt. St. Helens and Rainier), but also earthquakes, although it has been years since either happened. On a good note, we hardly ever have thunderstorms or tornados.
So, I’ve tried to put a lot in one blog, so hopefully I haven’t rambled too much. To all our family and friends, we love and miss you.
So, when we got to Ft. Lewis we had to stay in guest housing for a little over a week, which basically amounted to living in a one bedroom studio apartment with 4 of us. It was a little crazy to say the least, but we consider ourselves lucky that it was such a short time. We have friends who have spent months living in guest housing or hotel rooms with their families while they waited for on post housing.
Our house on post is pretty nice. It is actually bigger than our old house square footage wise and has a garage which is nice, although I have yet to be able to park in the garage since our belongings were delivered. We’ve been in our house for over a month and unfortunately, the garage has been the overflow space or the “we don’t need that immediately and will get to it later” space. We finally started working on getting it organized this weekend and hopefully, I will actually be able to use it before too much longer. So, while our house is technically bigger than our old one, it is smaller as far as living space because it has TONS of storage. I think I could turn my laundry room into another room if needed. Plus, there is this HUGE storage room off the laundry with shelves all the way up one wall. It is super-nice; along with my walk in closet which I LOVE.
We moved into our house on January 31st and Cory left a week later to go back to Georgia to pick up his truck, the dogs and his Uncle John who made the trip back here with him. It was a long and tiring trip for them, but I think they enjoyed spending so much time with each other. However, I think 4 days in the truck with the stinky dogs may have been a little much for them. I have to put huge thanks out here to our friends Katherine and Keary in Athens who watched our dogs for us until we got settled and Cory got back to get them, which ended up being about a month. It is rare in life to find such wonderful friends who will put up with you, much less your pain in the butt dogs, who pee’ed on everything in their yard repeatedly (I hope they don’t send me a bill for dead plants) and who repeatedly dug under their fence to escape. Kat and Keary, we love you guys and can’t wait to see you this summer when you come visit us.
Since we have been here we have done quite a bit of exploring. After our trip across the country, it doesn’t seem like much to jump in the car for a couple hour jaunt. We have visited Seattle where we visited Pike’s Place Market which attacks your senses as soon as you walk into the place. It is a combination Farmer’s and Fish Market, completed with fish throwing and tons of vendors selling everything from clothing and toys to handmade crafts. It was wild to say the least. We HAD to stop by Beeker’s Handmade Cheese, home of Oprah’s favorite mac and cheese. We didn’t try the mac and cheese, but their Flagship Cheese, is fantastic.
We also visited Portland and made a trip to VooDoo donuts thanks to a recommendation to my very dear (and not forgotten) friend Jennifer. I can honestly say she is the best friend I ever forgot and the donuts were delish. I know that the idea of bacon on a donut may sound weird, but the maple bacon bar was phenomenal. We also visited Powell’s City of Books which is a multiple story bookstore that covers an entire city block. It was spectacular and is full of both new and used books. They have a children’s section that is the size of your average bookstore, so Lila was in heaven. For those of you who know of my fondness for reading, you can only imagine how excited I got…kid in a candy store excited doesn’t even get close to how I felt. We spent several hours perusing books ranging from Ferdinand the Bull to Furniture Building for Dummies. The bookstore is organized just like a library, so everything is easy to find.
There is also Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. It is beautiful and has a beach right on Puget Sound where you can picnic. They also have a 5-mile drive through old growth forest which is beautiful and on Saturday morning they close the road to auto traffic and it is just open for pedestrians and bicyclists. I definitely have it on my to-do list to ride there at sunrise. It’s not a long ride, but gorgeous and I think you can make it longer by driving through other parts of the park. There is also a zoo and aquarium in the park. We are considering getting annual passes for both as they are fairly reasonable.
I have to say that the Pacific Northwest is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, even if it does rain A LOT. We are surrounded by mountains on pretty much all sides and when the sky is clear, you are constantly surprised when suddenly you see these majestic mountain ranges in the distance. The view of Mt. Rainier or Rain-ier is spectacular, especially when the sun is setting. Due to the clouds and distance, it seems to be constantly changing shape and color, depending on the time of day. Lila has been studying it in school and has told us we will be in big trouble if it ever erupts, not from the lava, but from the melting glaciers that will basically flood everything with mud. Good times!!! Apparently, not only do we have to worry about volcanoes (Mt. St. Helens and Rainier), but also earthquakes, although it has been years since either happened. On a good note, we hardly ever have thunderstorms or tornados.
So, I’ve tried to put a lot in one blog, so hopefully I haven’t rambled too much. To all our family and friends, we love and miss you.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Day 11, 12 and 13
The last 3 days have been spent driving from San Fran to Ft. Lewis, Washington. Once we started getting close, I found myself getting a little sad. I think this was for two reasons, one being the end of our incredible journey across this fabulous nation of ours, but also because I realized I was in this foreign, gray and dreary place to stay, not just to visit. I am sure I will be very happy once I get settled in, but it makes being away from family and friends real to me.
Northern California with the coastal redwoods and ocean and then Oregon was breathtaking. The journey through the Redwoods was spiritual. It was as if it put me in touch with my Native American ancestors. It gave me some feeling of how/why they may have worshipped the earth and nature. Being surrounded by that beauty and entire sensory experience, I was aware of something so much greater than myself. For me, that is God.The grandeur is something that can never be captured in a picture because it impacts all of your senses, bombards them. In the middle of the forests, the trees cover you in a canopy, the light just barely filtering through the branches. The air smells of damp earth and is so clean. The air is damp and a gentle mist constantly falls. There is a deep silence...and the burls feel like velvet, they are so soft. It is something I cannot properly describe in words
The drive up the coast was beautiful as well. Hwy 101 curved back and forth between the forest/mountains and the wild Pacific Ocean. You would be riding through deep trees when suddenly the view would open up and you would be driving along a cliff above the raging ocean. The waves were huge. We stopped in one place to take pictures of a lighthouse on a cliff and when we looked down the cliff to the ocean below, there were hundreds of sea lions on the rocks. They were so unexpected and you could here their barking and growling faintly over the crashing waves. I have also determined that people in Oregon are the nicest people i have ever met. They were so sweet, giving us ideas for which routes to take and even giving us weather updates. The people at the hotel this morning even made the kids cups of snacks to go for the road. Small I know, but still such a kind gesture. Oregon also completely changed my mind about Best Western Hotels as I spent the past two nights in two of the nicest Best Westerns I have ever seen.
A funny thing happened on this trip. On our first or second day of our trip, I got a small chip and resulting crack in my windshield. It was at the very bottom of my windshield on the driver's side and probably 7 inches long when we first noticed it. It took us a while because it was too low to be visible from inside the car. With each stop, it got a little bigger and by the time we stopped last night it was a little over half way across the window. By the end of the day today, it has almost completely made it across the windshield.I expect that by morning, it will be completely across. I guess for a lot of people, it would be a major bummer to have a cracked windshield and I have to admit I was a little bummed when it first happened, but now I have a strange kinship with my crack. I look at the twists and turns it makes across my windshield and it is much like the twisting journey we took across the country. I look at each change in direction and known what city we were in when it happened. I think it only fitting that the crack finish it's journey as we complete ours, or at least this leg of it. A new part of our journey begins tomorrow...
I apologize for all my spelling and grammar mistakes. Typing on the iPad is torture. Can't wait to find my laptop cord. I love you and miss you all.
Northern California with the coastal redwoods and ocean and then Oregon was breathtaking. The journey through the Redwoods was spiritual. It was as if it put me in touch with my Native American ancestors. It gave me some feeling of how/why they may have worshipped the earth and nature. Being surrounded by that beauty and entire sensory experience, I was aware of something so much greater than myself. For me, that is God.The grandeur is something that can never be captured in a picture because it impacts all of your senses, bombards them. In the middle of the forests, the trees cover you in a canopy, the light just barely filtering through the branches. The air smells of damp earth and is so clean. The air is damp and a gentle mist constantly falls. There is a deep silence...and the burls feel like velvet, they are so soft. It is something I cannot properly describe in words
The drive up the coast was beautiful as well. Hwy 101 curved back and forth between the forest/mountains and the wild Pacific Ocean. You would be riding through deep trees when suddenly the view would open up and you would be driving along a cliff above the raging ocean. The waves were huge. We stopped in one place to take pictures of a lighthouse on a cliff and when we looked down the cliff to the ocean below, there were hundreds of sea lions on the rocks. They were so unexpected and you could here their barking and growling faintly over the crashing waves. I have also determined that people in Oregon are the nicest people i have ever met. They were so sweet, giving us ideas for which routes to take and even giving us weather updates. The people at the hotel this morning even made the kids cups of snacks to go for the road. Small I know, but still such a kind gesture. Oregon also completely changed my mind about Best Western Hotels as I spent the past two nights in two of the nicest Best Westerns I have ever seen.
A funny thing happened on this trip. On our first or second day of our trip, I got a small chip and resulting crack in my windshield. It was at the very bottom of my windshield on the driver's side and probably 7 inches long when we first noticed it. It took us a while because it was too low to be visible from inside the car. With each stop, it got a little bigger and by the time we stopped last night it was a little over half way across the window. By the end of the day today, it has almost completely made it across the windshield.I expect that by morning, it will be completely across. I guess for a lot of people, it would be a major bummer to have a cracked windshield and I have to admit I was a little bummed when it first happened, but now I have a strange kinship with my crack. I look at the twists and turns it makes across my windshield and it is much like the twisting journey we took across the country. I look at each change in direction and known what city we were in when it happened. I think it only fitting that the crack finish it's journey as we complete ours, or at least this leg of it. A new part of our journey begins tomorrow...
I apologize for all my spelling and grammar mistakes. Typing on the iPad is torture. Can't wait to find my laptop cord. I love you and miss you all.
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