A "Tradition" of Sorts

This blog will make no sense at all unless I give you some background so here goes. After you read this then the pictures will make sense!
My husband had a small cancerous tumor removed from the back of his throat almost 7 years ago this next month. (I may tell the whole story later but for now, this is the gist of it.) With that came the news that he would not be able to preach for quite awhile. Dave does not feel comfortable preaching with a beard so when he found out that he wouldn't be preaching for awhile, he decided to grow a beard. This is not a huge task for him as he can usually grow one in about a week. Well, he shaved it off in stages and Ashley was so excited about it so we took pictures. Well, when Dave had surgery a week and a half ago, he had already quit shaving due to the fact that he had gotten sick the few days leading up to surgery. Since he hadn't been up and about he just didn't worry about shaving - until last night. Ashley was so excited about getting to take these "special" pictures again. It was quite the hoot! I must admit to not necessarily liking this "tradition" these two have and hopefully it won't be repeated too often. Not because I don't like the beard but because both times this has happened, it has been because of Dave having surgery!!
So - this first picture is with the full beard, hat and sunglasses!

Then Ashley had to add her sunglasses!

Then we shaved off half of it!

He looks soooo mean doesn't he?!?! This is the scary look for his children!!

Aren't they just the coolest?!?!

By the time we were finished, Dave was completely wiped out and settled in his chair so I didn't bother with any "after" pictures. This is such a huge deal to my youngest daughter so I am sure she will be thrilled to see that I blogged about it. Of course she had better be happy with me since I did NOT post the one of her sticking her tongue out at me!!

Easter Pictures

This won't be a very long blog - just going to post some pictures from the weekend. It was a good weekend in some ways and a little difficult in others. No details coming just an interesting weekend. I may blog again later but for now - some pictures!
This is me and my girls all ready for church! This is all you get of the family since Dave was not going to church.

My two beautiful girls! I think even on their bad days I will just keep them!!

Carrie and Josh all dressed up for Easter!

See? She has already learned how to get his attention! "Look me in the eyes!!"

This is Carrie's "other" family! This is Josh and his family. Carrie, then Josh, then his Dad, Doug, his Mom, Crystal, Rebecca, Anna and then in front are Esther and Timothy! A great family!!

My Thank You's

These are not necessarily in any order but as I usually do - I will save the best for towards the last!
Thank you Tracy for the "antibacterial" soap. I am sorry - there is simply no explanation here!! Just thanks for being a great back-door neighbor!
Thank you Mom and Sandy for checking in all day Monday!
Thank you Elena and Wendy for the flowers and the card! That made Dave's day!!
Thank you Tara for checking in on me and keeping tabs on me!! You are the best!!
Thank you Christa for texting me and checking in with me all day!! You are the sweetest daughter-in-law-to-be!!
Josh - what can I say?? You are a life-saver in more than one way! Thanks for bringing the girls to the hospital! Thanks for taking Carrie to work and picking her up although I know that was NOT a chore for you!! Thank you for helping us in all the ways you did and still do!! I am pretty sure you are permanently stuck with this family!!! You are the BEST guy in the world for Carrie!!!!!!!!!!!
Ashley - thanks for going WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out of your comfort zone and coming to see Daddy!! That meant a lot to him and to me!!! You are the best youngest daughter in the world!! I am so very proud of you!! I am also VERY proud of the way you are handling a certain situation and think you are the BEST!!!
Thank you Carrie for not wanting to be in class so you could be with me but going to class anyway because it was best for you!! You are the best oldest daughter in the world! I am so very proud of you and the way you are handling everything in your life! It is wonderful to see you sooooooo happy!!!
David - thank you for calling us at the hospital to check in on Dad! You made his day! Thank you for your promises of prayer! THAT was a great thing to hear! We love you and are very proud of you!!!
That's it! I think I am done and it's a good thing - it is LUNCHTIME!!!!

An Update

It is almost 10:00 Monday night and if you know me, you know that my brain and body both shut down well before now on most nights! Want to know why I am still up? Well, the morning dawned bright and clear at 6:00 with getting the girls up and out the door. Then Dave and I headed off to the hospital for a "quick" outpatient surgery! Yea right!! The very short version is that he is spending the night after determining that he and anesthesia do NOT like each other very well at all! The surgery itself was successful but then he was very dizzy and very nauseated which of course his wife was very unhappy about!!!! (Thanks for telling everyone, Mom!!! HeeHee!!!) Anyway, they finally decided around 5:00 to find him a more permanent location other than the recovery room in outpatient surgery so they located him a room on the third floor. It just took them another 3 hours to figure out how to work the elevator and the gurney!!!!!! So - I left him around 9:15 in the capable hands of nurses who were cracking up at his jokes and came home to get some rest before heading back early in the morning!
I don't have a lot of time for I really am quite tired but I must tell you about my day Sunday! Of course, this will be the short and sweetened condensed version! The day started off in a grand way when I realized that I was able to wear a dress to church that I have not worn in over 2 years! That was so very cool! Then we were sitting in the living room after dinner watching a movie on the computer when an IM message from yahoo popped up. It was David, Jr and so we were all pretty excited about that! THEN....... I clicked on a button and what to my wondering eyes did appear but HIS FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He has a webcam on his computer now and I screamed and freaked out the rest of the family!! We unplugged the internet from the big computer and plugged into the laptop and so he was able to see us! We were so excited!!!!!!!!!!!! So that is my news and with that I am off!! See ya!!

My "outloud" Prayer - Make Sure you Read it ALL!

Thank you Lord that Carrie did not throw up at all through the night and that she slept all night! Thank you that she has a nice, clean, germ-free bed to sleep in!! Thank you for giving her a loving and caring boyfriend who is not afraid of germs!! His mom may be but he isn't!! (Just kidding, Crystal!!!) :)
Thank you Lord that Ashley's fever stayed down for 24 hours and she could go to school today! Which reminds me - thank you for a great school for her to attend and good friends who get her assignments and other good friends who deliver them to the door!!
Thank you for a washer and dryer that works and works well so that my two girls can have a clean, hopefully germ-free bed!! Thank you also for a dishwasher that gets water really hot and helps kill germs!
Thank you, Lord that so far Dave has managed to keep all the different "sickies" at bay although turning down a hug to Ashley was NOT easy to do!!
Thank you for a job that provides insurance so that we can go to the doctor if for nothing else than a Mom's peace of mind!!
Thank you Lord for a WONDERFUL son who was able to Instant Message his dad and I yesterday! Thank you for protecting him and for him acknowledging that!! Thank you for allowing him to remind me how important it is that we pray for him! Thank you for helping him to "see" You in real ways each day!! Thank you for providing him with the RIGHT fiancee and one that supports him 100%!!
And now, Lord, leaving the best for last - thank you for allowing me to share the last 21 years with my amazing husband! Thank you for helping us prove more than one person wrong! So many believed that we would never make it but look what YOUR grace has accomplished! Thank you for giving me a husband that is patient, kind, loving, understanding, and most of all, desires to live his life pleasing to You! Thank you for his leadership with our family! Thank you for his desire to live close to you! Thank you that he LOVES to laugh! Thank you for the smiles he brings in my life! Thank you for helping him to be the most amazing Dad in the world! What more can I say? YOU have given me the best in the world and I am amazed that YOU loved me that much!!
Happy anniversary, David! You are the best and I love you very much!!!

Yes - I am Whining!

Yes I am going to whine and no, you do not have to read further if you don't want! It's really just for me!
Guess what? Ashley is still sick and so Dave is taking her to the doctor this afternoon. How thrilling! The fever will not stay down and this is the fourth day and I am frustrated! She is NOT a happy camper and that is putting it mildly! She is to play in a volleyball tournament on Friday night and so there is no way she can practice and let's just say she is EXTREMELY unhappy about that!
Then - oh yes, there is more!!!!! At 2:30 this morning, our lovely oldest daughter woke us up with "I just threw up". I am not joking! So, she proceeded to do that at about 30 minute intervals through the night and according to her sister, it's an ongoing problem! Now Carrie is a very unhappy girl!! She missed a whole week of school and work due to the flu and now this! She only has so many cuts with her college classes and the "homecoming" is not too far away and she just knows she won't have enough cuts and her frustration is literally "spilling" over into the bucket!!!!
So - the whining, yes, that is what I am doing!! I know - deal with it, right? I am - at least I am working on it!!! It's just NOT what I think needs to be going on right now! Since the Scripture teaches us to "bless the Lord at all times", I am trying to find things to be thankful for! 1) David called and he is doing well and enjoying a short R & R trip and is looking forward to homecoming! 2) Dave hasn't gotten sick yet!!!!! 3) I haven't thrown up and trust me, THAT is something to praise God for! 4) We have insurance and that is a blessing!! 5) I am thanking God for Diet Dew because without it today, I would be half dead!
See? I am still praising!!!!

A Prayer Request

It has been one of those interesting weekends and so I thought I would share a prayer request that will take some explaining.
Thursday and Friday, Ashley was gone to Jacksonville for competition and so we pretty much decided to just relax for most of Saturday. I did make my daughters clean their rooms which they did quite well actually but other than that and laundry, we just sort of lazed around. Well, Sunday morning dawned with Ashley having a cough! Oh yea rah!! By the early afternoon, she was feeling pretty miserable. I decided that her and I would stay home from church so Carrie went alone since the choir had to sing and then she had nursery duty. Finally at about 6:30, I thought that Ashley felt pretty warm and so imagine my shock when I took her temperature to find it sitting at 104!!! I thought I would croak!! I called my wonderful sister for direction which was funny in and of itself I got some Tylenol down her, took it again an hour later and it had dropped greatly to 103.8! This was not causing me to bless the Lord at all times!! I gave her some Advil and took it at 8:30 and it had come down to 103.2. I still was feeling somewhat anxious but put her to bed and continued my "fervent" praying! Finally I took it again before I went to bed at 11 and it had dropped to 99 so I was finally feeling better about that! This morning when I got ready to leave, I woke her up and took her temp and it was still at 99 although since then it has climbed back up to 102 or so. I wonder if I have mentioned the fact that I don't like this flu bug?!?!
So - here is the prayer request (I know - get to the point, right?)!! Would you all please help me pray that Dave does NOT catch this bug? He will be returning home this evening from his revival in Kansas and has surgery scheduled for next Monday. With the schedule he has over the next 6 weeks and the big homecoming events going on, in my eyes, it would simply not do for him to get sick! The surgery is quite necessary and him getting sick would really complicate things! So - that is my request! Pray that he does not get sick! Pray that I have the smarts to get rid of the germs that seem stuck in my house! Pray that no one has a relapse since I have no desire to repeat this stuff!!! Thanks!

Just News

Good morning all! I am so far behind on blogging and reading blogs but I may try to catch up today. I went home Tuesday evening and promptly got the "flu bug" which literally wiped me out! I was home from work all day Wednesday and Thursday. I managed to shower and dress to take Christa to the airport on Thursday evening. Yes - I was out driving in the torrential downpour!! THAT was an experience!! I did get up and go to work this morning but I still feel like I have been hit by a freight train!
Let's see - what else can I tell you?! We had a GREAT time having Christa here and I was very sorry to see her leave last night! She is so cheery and upbeat and we had a great time with her!! I kept telling her that the next time we see her will be for homecoming and THAT is so COOL!!!! Only 6 more weeks (give or take a few days) and my little "burger" will be home!!!!!!
Ashley headed off to competition early Thursday morning, had a flat tire on the way and still managed to pull off SECOND place in Bible Quizzing! I was very proud of her!! The rest of the competition is ongoing today! All I know at this point is that the ensemble has sung and I know nothing else!
I had the most uninteresting companions along on my trip to the airport. I can't believe that Josh and Carrie wanted to talk to each other more than me! I mean - isn't that just wrong?!?! Not really - we had fun...minus the tense moments of going 30 miles an hour on 95 through sheets of driving rain! We had a nice meal at Chilis (even with a poor waiter) and made it home in time for me to drop into bed by 9:30.
Dave is in Kansas this week for a revival and I think he is not all that happy about the weather change. I mean last week - he was in the Islands and it was warm and beautiful and this week he is freezing in Kansas!! Such a hard life!! NOT!!! I am quite ready for him to come home! I think I deserve to be babied!! (Just kidding!)
Well - enough jabbering! Have a good day! I am off for a nap!! (NOT - just wishful thinking!)

Random Pics I "Stole" From Ashley's Camera!!

This is a poor picture but I couldn't find one that wasn't too blurry! I bought this at Cracker Barrel on Saturday - it was 40% off. Being as it's a soldier, I simply couldn't pass it up!!

This is Christa all ready for church Sunday night!! She's a blast!!

This is what you would have found in my house on Sunday afternoon! First, we have Ashley....

...then Anna...

...then Christa...

...then Rebecca. It was apparently a tired bunch! I think that Josh, Carrie and I were boring them!!

Ashley had to do one of the famous "Mrs. Wright English Project" and we came up with the idea of a Marine Snowman so we took the outfit off the Marine bear and dressed up the Styrofoam and this was the end result!!

I am pretty sure when this is spotted I will be dead but if you are related to Christa, please give me a guess as to who her hair looks like, ok?!?!?!?

This is Josh and Carrie just before they left for their Valentine's Dinner!! Aren't they cute?!?! (and a collective "awwwwwwwww...." was heard 'round the world!!)

This is Ashley and her bestest friend Briana!! I just love this girl!! These two seem to be as opposite as night and day but they have been the bestest friends for a really long time!!!

This is the group of us at lunch with our Marine "family" in Vero this past Saturday!! We had a blast!!!!

Just a brief update in pictures since I don't do that very often!! Now I need to go see what I am wearing to my funeral since I may very well be dead when my kids see this!!!!

My Weekend

I came to work this morning without the pictures on Ashley's camera from the weekend but I am in the mood so am going to type a blog up anyway. If I get the energy (and remember to) I will post the pictures later.
I left work on Friday and went home with a list a page long of things to do at the house. Ashley went to the courts for school activities and Carrie went on a "triple" date. I, well...., I set off acleanin'!! I do mean cleaning too!! With working full time and keeping up with everything, sometimes cleaning kind of takes a backseat on my daily or weekly chore list. So I cleaned my entire house, except the kitchen before the kids all returned around 11. Sent Josh to his other home :) and sent the rest of us off to bed. I had the privilege of waking my girls up bright and early on a Saturday morning, dropped them off to start cleaning an office while I ran an errand and then back to help them finish cleaning the office. We made a stop at the bank and then the gas station for - no, not gas - pop and then headed off to the airport to get Christa!!!! Then we made a stop into David's Bridal which I am sure did not help my cause of keeping my girls at home a little longer. We stopped at another store, left there only to turn the wrong way so after a quick u-turn (and I do mean QUICK) we headed north on 95 to go to Vero Beach. We were to meet our Marine "family" at the Cracker Barrel by the Vero Beach Outlet Mall which will now NEVER be the same!! We had a wonderful lunch and then hit the stores for what is probably termed "power" shopping! Too many dollars and shopping bags later, we ended up back at the house shortly after 5. Since Josh had "Carrie withdrawals" going on, he showed up for a bit and I left for the grocery store. The kids all went to the Piano Concert and I put groceries away, cleaned my kitchen, cooked food for Sunday dinner and did laundry. Finally, got everyone where they belonged and went to bed shortly before midnight!
Sunday morning service was exactly what I needed and I am thankful for the quiet whisperings of the Holy Spirit just when we need them!! We had the Klines to our house for dinner and trust me, that was NOT a dull affair! We pretty much laid around all afternoon and headed back to church Sunday night. After church was pretty quiet and I managed to go to bed a little before 11 which is simply too late for me!!
Today is a great day because MY HUSBAND IS HOME!!!! Well, he will be till early tomorrow morning anyway! If you think about it, please pray for him. It was so dry in the Islands that his voice is quite raspy and he begins a revival tomorrow night in Kansas! I am getting off work at 3 today and cannot wait to go home!!! I must admit that it's killing me to sit here which is probably why I am chattering aimlessly to pass the time til I leave!!! I hope you all have a wonderful day!!