Good News

I'm sure that most of you already know this already, but we found out where we will be moving in June! Omaha, Nebraska! I'm still not sure how I feel about this but I do know that we are excited to be able to live together as a family again! Only 2.5 more months!! :o)

Today...

I was thinking about my hubby. I think about him everyday really. Today though, someone asked me how I knew he was THE ONE. I didn't know what to say at first other than, "I don't know. I just knew." But that wasn't really true. And for you to understand I should probably tell a bit of the story...

I never really dated anyone before Brady. I went on lots of dates. I even went on multiple dates with the same person. Every night I came home and would say a prayer. Something along the lines of, if this person is someone that I need to have in my life please tell me now. I don't really like wasting time or getting involved in something or with someone that I will have to, painfully, let go unless I am going to get something very important from it. I almost always got a very quick and firm NO. I don't bother doubting the Lord. He is always right, so why waste my time, and His, really. I was never rude to anyone about it. Er, well almost never. We all know there are some people that just can't take the graceful way out. I have had a couple of those...

Anyway, you get the general picture. I wasn't in a hurry. I knew that I wanted to get married one day and have a family, but I didn't want to do that with just anyone. I should also say that I am not really the type of person that falls madly and crazily in love either. That kind of thing makes me really uncomfortable. I'm not terribly dramatic about things. Blunt, yes. Sarcastic, yes. But rivers of drama day in and out are just not my thing. So after about three years of the dating and blind dating I was really tired of it. So I told the Lord I was tired of it. I probably told him just like that too. Blunt, like I mentioned. I also told him that if there was someone I was supposed to meet He was gonna have to bring him to me.

All I gotta say is be very careful what you tell the Lord. He is listening and He KNOWS you.

Five months later my cousin brings Brady over to my house. Well my parents house. It was my birthday. It was also my brothers farewell party. My first thought was that he was really cute. Really. Cute. Really cute guys don't usually go for me so I had already put him on a shelf labeled "Not Happening" and closed the door. But then we (me and a good friend) ended up hanging out with him and my cousin over New Years. Then again the next day. It was nice. He was nice. Then a few days later he called me and asked me out on a double date. I was not expecting this. I am 100% sure that I sounded like an idiot on the phone too. Brady is kind and says he was to nervous to notice. So we go out. Dinner at the Macaroni Grill and then out to the Bellagio to watch the water show. Where we talked about absolutely nothing until almost 1 am and I loved every minute of it. It was the best first date I had ever been on and for the first time in my life I was nervous to say my usual prayer that night before bed. So I didn't say it. Yeah. I'm a coward so I waited until the next morning. To my surprise I didn't get an answer at all. Nothing. So we went out again. And then again. On that third date Brady told me he loved me. Again I am sure I sounded like an idiot. I didn't know if I loved him. So I didn't want to say it. So...I kissed him instead. Yeah. Totally not me. TOTALLY NOT ME!!! Ugg. But it was a great kiss so in the end I guess it worked out.

So that got me to thinking about if I loved him. By our next date I knew. I came to a really important conclusion. When I wasn't with him I missed him terribly. When I was with him I never wanted to leave. Everything was better when he was there. And it has been that way since the first day I met him. I have never had a day where I didn't want him with me. I feel better, stronger, fuller when he is with me. And when he isn't with me I don't feel like my whole self, my best self. I feel like I can do anything with him standing beside me.

Once I realized that, I knew I loved him. And it wasn't crazy, or overwhelming. In fact, it brought me a lot of peace and comfort.

When I finished explaining this to the person who asked, they were looking at me like was crazy. I guess peace and comfort aren't words they would use to describe the love of their life. "What about fireworks and Angels Singing? What about not being able breath without them? What about knowing you would just DIE if they left you?"

Well to be honest I can't imagine that kind of love being enjoyable. Or lasting. Or good for your overall health.

In Brady's defense, I still get butterflies every time he kisses me.

;o)

What touches you?

The other day I was listening music on my iPhone while I pretended to jog on the treadmill. I had put a bunch of new music on and I was thoroughly enjoying most of it. Then a new song came on and my mood was completely changed. The words were beautiful and it was obviously a love song, but oddly enough the images that kept moving through my mind were of my girls. I had to stop my workout, because by the end I was in tears and I knew that I had to do something about it. So I came upstairs, sat down at my computer, and started something. It has taken me several days to pull it all together. It still makes me cry. I can almost never find the right words for what I am feeling most days, but this song...this song puts words to what I feel when I look at my children each day. All the feelings.

Anyway. I hope that you enjoy it. I'm gonna go get some tissues. I'm gonna need them. Again.

Brady's Graduation

I have come to the conclusion that airport experiences involving small children are either really good or horribly bad. I have to say that both my experiences fall into the really good category (which is some kind of miracle in and of itself), but that is really only because my children were very well behaved both going there and coming back. What always amazes me is how people treat you when you are traveling with little kids. Again it is a hot/cold thing. Either they are extremely helpful and understanding or they are rude and pushy. We ran into both of course. My favorite though was the newly married couple that was in line to board behind me on our flight home. For the record my kids are excellent travelers. Cadence will watch a movie on my phone with her headphones on or doodle on her Aqua Doodle travel. Both my girls love to look out the windows and see everything. Rory usually falls asleep in the first ten to twenty minutes of a flight or car drive. They aren't loud or annoying unless they are sick or something is very wrong. So this newly married couple behind me either thought I was deaf or just plain didn't care that I have ears. They kept going on and on about how they didn't want to sit near me since I had a baby with me and how this flight was going to be horrible with the baby crying the whole time. What would they do if I sat at the front of the plane and how horrible it would be if I did. That there should be some kind of law that people with kids should sit in the back of the plane, etc. I decided that ignoring them would be the best course of action since Rory was behaving herself and pointing out the window and saying "plane" over and over again. She was even waving at the annoying couple and saying "hi" to them while they continued to despair the thought of us sharing the same flight with them. Of course Rory went to sleep after a total of 15 minutes on the plane. We sat near the front and the crazy couple was only a few rows behind us. Cadence even slept most of the flight home. It was peaceful and went without a hitch. I'm sure the couple thought it was just a fluke though. :o)

Our trip was awesome. I didn't take a ton of pictures. I was to busy juggling kids and enjoying my time with my husband to take more than a few while we were out and about. Brady looked so good! He is much skinnier and way more toned than he was when he left us. The first day we saw him he wasn't allowed off the base so we bowled and checked out the BX (Base Exchange) and just plain basked in having Daddy back even if it was just for a little while. Rory wasn't so sure about him when we first got to see him, but by they time we got to bowling she was playing and kissing him like normal. Cadence had a small cry when Brady had to explain that he wasn't coming home yet. She was so excited to have him come home, and it was really hard to explain that daddy was going to be gone for several more months at school.

Friday we watched him march in the Parade. It was pretty neat to see. After that we got to see his dorm. It was crazy to see and hear all about his experience. After some pictures taken with his Flight he got to leave the base with us. We made our way down to the River Walk and Alamo. The Alamo was really neat, and MUCH smaller than I thought it would be. We then made our way down to the River Walk and had some ice cream. Brady's mom and my parents then watched the kids so Brady and I could go to a hockey game Friday night. Neither of us are really that into hockey, but if we went to the game then Brady didn't have to be back on the base by 8pm. He could stay out with me longer. So we went and watched some Rampage Hockey. It was really cold in the stadium. We were feeling really bad for the cheerleader/dance team since they were wearing next to nothing in all that cold.

Saturday we got him all day off base! We went to the zoo where the girls had a really good time checking out all the animals. That afternoon we got to visit Brady's older brother, Colin, who was at Fort Sam waiting to start his training as a Combat Medic. It was nice to see him since it was unlikely we will for a long while once we get stationed and move away. After the visit we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner followed by some frozen custard for dessert. It was SOOO good. Then we had to get Brady back to the base. We said our good nights and then tried to get some much needed sleep since church started at 7am the next morning!

Church was great! My mom and I sang a special musical number and it was just great to sit in a pew with my husband next to me again. After church Brady had base liberty again so we took the kids bowling (Cady's favorite thing) and then had a good lunch. Then we headed to the library to use a computer to check in for our flights and print passes. They had a whole little kids area set up and we stayed and read books and let the kids work off some energy. Our time was coming to and end though and we fed Brady one last time and then had to say our goodbyes. Again. This time was much easier for me. It was nice to know that we can talk a lot more now. That he can video chat with us in the evenings. Brady left us again and flew to Mississippi Monday morning to get settled in and find out what would happen with tech school. The girls and I made it home in one piece and got to talk to him again last night. It is looking like tech school could be longer than we thought since everything depends on when they are offering the classes that he needs. He will know more as things get going, but as of right now we are looking at 3 more months of him being away from us. We will be praying that classes open up when he needs them so that we can get through this quickly and live like a normal family again. :o)

So that was our trip in a nut shell. It was wonderful and I am so glad that we got to see him so much! Our family felt whole again for a little while and it was a nice recharge of my parenting batteries.

The River Walk...The girls liked the colorful umbrellas.

The Alamo

Our little family at the Alamo

Ugg...

Ever have one of those days where you just want to crawl back into bed and never come out? I'm having one of those today. Getting ready for this trip next week is starting to stress me out. I have a list for everyone in the house (including the dog!!) and I am really starting to hope that I don't forget anything important. This is my first time flying with both girls and thankfully my parents and Brady's mom are all on the same flight with me or it would be insane. Can you imagine checking three bags, two car seats, and lugging two kids in strollers without help?!?!? That and one of the bags is for Brady. :o) So the girls stuff has to go in one bag. Ugg. Insane.

It will all be worth it to see Brady.

Update time

The last couple of weeks have been really busy for us. I have been singing in a women's group that preformed at our Stake Women's Conference this past Saturday and the rehearsals were pretty intense there at the end! The conference was awesome though and totally worth the work. School has started to pick up and I am really busy keeping things going at home and keeping up with my homework. The girls are both finally free of the cold/flu that has been making the rounds. Rory, however, is back to the bad diarrhea and rashes. I really wish I knew what the problem was so that I could really help her. For now though it is back to the Dr to see if they can tell us anything new. We also finally made it down to Nellis AFB to get my Military ID and get the kids and I signed up for Tricare. We will get full coverage starting March 1st. We won't be paying a DIME for health insurance anymore! The down side is that we have to drive all the way out to the base hospital to be seen by the Dr they assigned us. I figure that we had better get used to it now since we will be starting over in a completely new place in a few months anyway.

Brady is doing very well in Basic. This past week they had some tests, obstacle courses, and the gas chamber (tear gas). As always, Brady did very well on the tests, said the obstacle courses were "fun" and that the gas chamber sucked but he did just fine. So far he hasn't been sick, which is a huge blessing. If you get sick and they tell you that you have to miss training days you run the risk of missing something mandatory which you will then have to make up by adding time on to your basic training stay. Essentially you get recycled and would graduate later. Brady has been healthy so he is on track for his graduation. The last two weeks he has sounded like himself on the phone, which was nice. I get the feeling that he has settled in and can handle everything they are giving him to do. We still miss him like crazy, but the weeks are going by much faster than I anticipated and I am very grateful for that!

Yesterday afternoon, my friend Wendhy and I took the kids to Floyd Lamb Park to see the birds and for Wendhy and I to take some pictures in a more relaxed setting. Seems like I go from shoot to shoot, or assignment to assignment these days and I don't get to shoot for fun. Wendhy was feeling the same way so we let the kids loose and had some fun. The weather was amazing! I wish it was like this for more of the year. The girls had a good time and we all enjoyed the fresh air. Sadly this morning I am feeling sick. I had been hoping that I would get lucky and this nasty cold would pass me by, but it isn't looking that way. I was feeling pretty rough last Tuesday, but it was better by Wednesday. This time I think it is here to stay. :o(

Anyway, here are some pictures of the girls we took at the park. I will post some more on my photo blog since there is a TON of them. Enjoy!

The Mountain of the Lord

I finished this slideshow today. A group of us are preforming this song at a Women's Conference this Saturday and I have totally fallen in love with it. The song is called "The Mountain of the Lord" and is preformed by Jenny Jordan Frogley. She does all the parts herself and it is a cappella (which we are finding is harder to do than it seems!!). I hope that you enjoy this as much as I did putting it together! Sorry you will have to copy and paste since blogger is giving me issues when I embed today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncrdD9pzJdY