An "anniversary" of sorts

I was reminded of the significance of this day a little while ago and thought I would blog about it while I wait on Dave to get home from work!
Due to some other events going on right now, this will make me all teary-eyed but maybe that is what I need!

These are three of the most precious things in the world to me! Its not exactly the picture I was looking for but it will do! My family is still growing but these are the original three!

One year ago today was the culmination of a very long and stressful 7 months! David Jr had been deployed to Iraq and I think we had all had ENOUGH!!!! We had made our way to North Carolina for homecoming and what a trip that was! I don't think ANYTHING can ever compare to the emotions of that day! When I looked down the street and saw those buses make the turn I thought I would explode! They turned in, stopped and all of a sudden there were Marines EVERYWHERE and family and friends and wives and moms and dads and grandparents and babies were going bananas!!!!!! Ashley screamed "There he is" and finally my family was whole again! I cannot tell you about the variety of emotions that day!
My family is so very important to me and the older I get the more I realize that God is teaching me about trust! Not just any trust but COMPLETE trust in HIM! I spent 7 months trusting in God to protect David and He did, time and time again! The neat thing is that - HE STILL CAN!! I am so thankful that I can trust in an all-knowing God for my children!
I thank God for those who protect my country - especially my wonderful, handsome and most favorite Marine!!!!!!!

The "have no clue" blog

So - it has been too long since I have updated my blog.....or so a whole bunch of people told me at IHC this past week! I am sure that I have had a bunch of things happen in my world since I last blogged but since (as the title says) I have no clue what I am doing, I will just blog randomly today!
First of all, the front end of my poor car got crunched by a Ford Explorer! This is what that looked like:

It has now been properly fixed and looks normal once again!
Now, a little "pre-story" to the next topic of conversation. Dave travels here and there on a frequent basis, Carrie spends more time in the airports at Indy and West Palm Beach than she does anywhere else, Ashley has been to Florida and is always busy and mom, well.....I work - either at work or at home! So, through a series of conversations I figured out that my best friend, Tara, from Florida was going to be about 5 hours from me and I planned a road trip!!!!! I got a couple of books on tape and hit the road around 7am on Saturday and went to meet Tara! It was GREAT!!! I met some of her family, got to see Spencer and Cassidy and Betty (Tara's Mom) and then had a nice LOOOOOOOOONG lunch! See how much fun we had?!?!


That was so much fun and I am so glad I took the time to make that trip!!!
Let's see - what else can I tell you about? Ummm.....went to IHC this past week and that was so nice! I really looked forward to having a few days off work and so enjoyed myself. I went over Tuesday morning with my mother-in-law and Ashley and then Dave and his dad came over on Wednesday! I ran into all kinds of people that I knew and really enjoyed the music! If you think that you need a pick-me-up, go to the website for IHC and watch the Thursday afternoon service! The first guy that spoke was amazing and I was reminded AGAIN how blessed I am!
Now for the family! Dave got to take the trip of a lifetime with his dad back to the country of his birth - Bolivia, South America! He had such a great time and came home with tons of pictures and I will probably try to do a blog about that sometime soon! He has been gone quite a bit but is now home for a few weeks! That makes this wife happy!! David and Christa are doing well and keeping busy with Marine life and married life! Carrie is busy working, flying and planning a wedding! We have in our possession THE wedding dress and that has made us all happy! Things are progressing well! They have their first little home and Josh will be moving there soon! Wow - time is flying! Ashley is busy with the last few weeks of school and working part-time at Taco Bell. She survived ACE competition and a trip to Florida for her spring break! Of course there are other "things" and "people" that take a lot of her time and attention but she still manages a second or two here and there for her mom and dad!! :)) I am working and well.....working! Trees are starting to bloom and flowers are coming up and that means that maybe, just maybe it will start to warm up around here!!
So, that is it for now! I am sure that is a whole lot more I am missing but a Sunday afternoon rest is calling my name!!

Happy Belated Birthday

I would like to take this opportunity to wish LaDonna a happy belated birthday! I know - I should have done this a little while ago but its been a little busy around here!
Happy Birthday LaDonna! I hope you had a fantastic day! I really was going to dig around for pictures but I can't seem to get a handle on which box they are all still in!!! I suppose you could say you are blessed! But then - you really deserve it after those terrible pictures you put up of me! :)) :))
I do hope you had a great day and may I say WELCOME to the 40's?? They aren't all that bad but then we probably already knew that being that wise young people we are!!!!

Happy Anniversary!!

Wow!! Imagine my surprise to read my blog yesterday and find the sweetest thing ever! I have the best husband in the world!!!! I, however, am not posting pictures of us because he did enough damage with that yesterday!! Man, I used to be skinny!!

So - 22 years ago this evening and yes, on a Friday the 13th, I married my very best friend!! Babe, we were young and not too bright but when I look at where we were and where we could have been and where we are now, I KNOW beyond all doubts that there is a God who loves us both!! I am amazed at all we have been through and yet, our love grows stronger with each day! I am so thankful that we have chosen the life we have and that through our many ups and downs, we have worked them all out together! You have been the best husband in the world and I would not trade you for anything! Thanks so much for making God the priority in our lives and for leading me in a closer relationship with God! You are my hero! You are the one I look up to the most and the one who is my very best friend! Thank you for sticking with me through all the bad spots, for making me laugh, for making me look hard at my inner self, for loving our family, for just being you and there is absolutely nothing in the world I would change about you!!! NOTHING!!! I love you!!!

Happy anniversary to you and I look forward to the next 100 years with you!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Happy Anniversary!!

This is Dave and I have momentarily taken over my wife’s blog. I guess you could say that I have hijacked it and am about to try something I have never done before. That is to blog. The pictures that you see at the top of the page are pictures of us 23 years ago and 1 year ago. Boy have we changed! But that is ok I still think she is the prettiest girl in the whole world!!! Now you know that Leah is an old pro at this but I am less than a beginner novice at this so please do not judge her great blogging skill by this pathetic blog. I am in a revival in Michigan and will not get to be with her on our anniversary so hope this will help to make it up to her.
I wanted to say Happy Anniversary to my wonderful wife of 22 years. I know that it has been hard some times but we have always made it through. We have shared laughter and tears, heartache and cheers, sickness and health, poverty and wealth, but through it all we have had each other and that is what makes this marriage work. I know that there are times you would like to throw me off of a cliff for the stupid things I did but you have stuck with me. I also know that there are other times I have made you so happy that you cannot even express it. No we do not have a perfect marriage but we do have a perfect God that helps us to keep it together. I want you to know love, that I would never trade you in for 10 million years. I could never get someone else that would stand by me the way you have. I know that there is no one else in this whole wide world that loves me the way that you do. I am so glad that God has sent you into my life and that He is the center of our lives. I could never live without you and never want to try. We have come through 22 years of learning how to love each other and I am looking forward to another 100 years of learning to love you even more. I love you with all my heart Leah.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

Our Weekend

This has been a very full and busy weekend! First of all, we got company on Friday!

Crystal came to see us - well.....she came to see Carrie and go dress shopping with us! It has been so nice to have her here! Carrie is blessed with a wonderful future mother-in-law!!!
Then Friday night, we met Christa for dinner. She came for her grandfather's funeral so we met her for supper! It was great to see her!! Made me miss David but at least we got to see her!

Then on Saturday, bright and early, this wonderful group headed out for the dress shopping adventure!! My fantastic sister, Sandy, Carrie, myself, Crystal and Ashley! We had so much fun!

So we went to the first place and we tried on this dress......

....and then we tried on this dress...

....but this place was NOT all it was cracked up to be so we left and went here....

Now THIS was the place to be! The girl there was so helpful to Carrie and we probably wore her out!! And so Carrie found THE dress and so here it is.........






wait a minute - you really did not think I would post that picture here did you?!?!?!?!?!?!? Ok - so that was the really bad ornery part of me showing!! So, this is the future bride signing that all important receipt for the purchase of THE dress!

One small step for Carrie towards her big day and one gigantic leap into the world of debt!!!

A Rather Long Overdue Post

It has been on my mind to do this blog for awhile but I just have not taken the time to do it. I am used to running behind so I might as well blog "behind" also!! This picture is a little old but its the only one I could get my hands on for now!

I have the best husband! See - the first three months of the year are pretty full with "celebrations" around our house. My birthday and his birthday are both in January. We have Valentine's Day and the anniversary of our first date in February and our anniversary is in March. We don't always get to do expensive and elaborate things but we celebrate anyway. So this blog is for my sweetheart!

Dave, happy belated birthday, happy belated Valentine's Day and a small, early happy anniversary!! My life just would not be complete without you! You continually amaze me every single day! First of all, thank you for being sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives! I appreciate your willingness to do the "right" thing even when it is not the "popular" thing! Thank you for allowing God to use you! Thank you for being the spiritual leader of our home!

Thank you for loving our children and accepting each one of them for who they are! Thank you for teaching them to laugh and have fun! Thank you for being the spiritual leader for them! Thank you so much for leading them by example! They look up to you so much and I am so thankful that they have you!

As for me, I could not ask for a better husband! You are my best friend! I have no one that I can talk to like I do you! I am so glad that I have spent the last 22 years with you! I am simply amazed at what God has done for us! I am so thankful for a husband who loves me enough to pray for me and gently guide me into a closer relationship with God! I cannot believe some of the things we have done in our lives and I cannot believe the laughs we have shared!! We have laughed at ourselves more than anything and I would not trade those laughs for anything!! Thanks for loving me and being my very best friend in the world!!!

I hope that you had a fantastic birthday, a wonderful Valentine's Day and I know that I get the privilege of doing another blog about you in a few weeks for our anniversary!!! I love you!!!