For Julie....

I am posting a link to my friend Julie Morrison's blog. Julie was the first person that I ever met when I stopped by Koza Baptist to find out times for the church services. She was lovely and sweet and made a wonderful first impression that I will never forget. Julie was in remission from cancer at the time and had very little hair on her head...her cancer has now returned and she and her family have left Okinawa to receive treatment for it. Please take a moment to say a prayer for Julie and her family and also to check out her blog below. We love you Julie...Blessings from Above, Terry & Family

Long Time No Blogging.....

Okay, so I've realized that even though I've had computer problems lately and can't upload and edit photos that I probably still need to continue to blog. :-) Thank you Crystal for encouraging me....I LOVE your blog! You've done a great job setting it up and I hope that you will continue with it as you find the time in your busy day.

This blog will be short because I'm almost certain that Ian will wake from his morning nap and of course there are still tons of things I need to get done in the house before he does! :-)

Since I last blogged....we have purchased our retirement home in the Jacksonville, Florida area near my family (Green Cove Springs to be specific). It is absolutely gorgeous...really a dream home for us all and most definitely an answer to prayer. The boys and I plan to arrive there when school finishes in June and spend the Summer getting unpacked and settled in before the Fall. Ruben will join us sometime in late Summer or early Fall we hope. The separation will be tough...but with my family close by it will make it bearable.

The boys are doing great in school and finishing up the last month of their extra-curricular activities before the big packout and move. They will say goodbye to their karate and swim teachers the end of this month; but, will continue with soccer up until we actually leave Okinawa. Speaking of soccer, Evan & Ayden are on the same team again this year...hopefully I will get my photo editing program going once again and can post some cool game photos of them both in action!

Ian is growing like a weed...he is nearly 10 months old and has 4 teeth and is working on getting a 5th one! He just recently started pulling up on the rails of his crib and can stand for quite a bit unassisted...wow....it's definitely all over now! I told the bigger boys to get those Lego pieces picked up and put in their rooms ASAP! :-)

Well, as I move towards going back to work when we get to Jax (sigh)....I will be starting as a Red Cross Volunteer in the ER at the Naval Hospital this coming Monday. I'm only going to be there 2 days a week for about 4 hours each day....just enough to check it out and see if I really want to take the plunge and go to nursing school at some point. Also, after nearly 8 years as a stay-home-mommy my resume is looking rather sad....I'm hoping to at least put that on there in the hopes of finding a job in this difficult economy.

Okay, sorry to make this so short. Blessings to each of you and your families. As always, please post comments...it really does encourage me to blog more often.

XXOO, Terry

She's Got Jesus

Okay, so as mommies we've all had special women in our lives who we just cherish their advice and encouragement whenever we get it...or at least I hope you've been as blessed as me in this department! Usually, these women are good friends with A WEALTH of "mommy knowledge" and "special insight" that you just don't have. Are you thinking of that special someone in your life? I sure hope so. If so, consider yourself wonderfully blessed from the Lord. I know that I do.

I guess you can sort of call this blog a tribute (sounds corny but, it's true!) to a dear friend. This special friend I'm thinking of is exactly who I would want to be when I grow up...oh...too late for that! Ha! Well, okay, then I'll settle for just being her friend and receiving precious nuggets of advice whenever she sends them my way. My hope is that these nuggets will improve me and my life as a Christian wife and mother to my boys.

One thing my dear friend does is blog and she blogs faithfully about even the little things she does with her family. Someday they will thank her when she stops to put her wonderful blog into print. Yes, she recently sent me this amazing link on how to turn your blog into a book! Ladies that blog faithfully- pay attention! This is awesome! Of course, I will pass this on to you in the hopes that it will encourage you to blog, blog, and blog some more:

http://serv.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html

Another wonderful thing she does is encourage me and uplift me at just the right times....when I need it the most. I've had a tough couple of days with Ruben away and then she sent me this article that brought tears to my eyes when I read it. I hope that it encourages you wherever you are at today like it did me. It definitely helped me to take my eyes off of myself and put them onto to someone else. Here is the link to the article. Please take the time to click and read about it...you'll be blessed for doing it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

So, I want to say "thank you" even though that's not enough to my dear dear friend and mentor mommy, Sabrina Freeland. Sabrina is the wife of our former Pastor Brent Freeland; but, we won't hold that against her! LOL! Just kidding Sabrina! You know I have to harrass Pastor Brent and lighten up this blog a bit! ((smile)) Oh, and please keep my "mommy advice" coming...did I mention that already? And lastly, I'm just thankful that I don't have to ask how you keep it altogether everyday....she's got Jesus....what more does she need?

Thank you again Sabrina for keeping our mommy connection alive all these years later. I've "stolen" (that's kind of a strong word but sort of true) a picture of Sabrina and her beautiful family from her blog (where else?) and posted it here for you all to see. :-)

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. NIV

Ignoring THE BLOG!

Well, I think for months now I have put off blogging for one reason or another and well...I've realized that at this point with 3 kids in the house there never is going to be a good time to blog so you just have to sitdown and do it. Currently, our desktop computer isn't working and so I'm borrowing one of Ruben's work laptop computers...so pictures won't be added to this addition...sorry!

Well, to catch everyone up to speed...my trip home with Baby Ian was really nice and also really tough. It was awesome to spend time with my family after being away for 2 years....but, tough to take a baby to a 14 hour time zone difference! Yikes! On top of that, I trecked him all over town looking out houses to buy! And then, if that wasn't enough confusion, I made a quick trip out to San Diego from Florida and spent 7 days in another time zone. Ugh! What a mess I made of his schedule! Also, everywhere we went (literally) everyone was sick! God was amazing and kept Ian and I completely healthy...really it was only the hand of The Lord that did it. It wasn't until we got all the way home that the vomitting and diaherea started for both of us and then went from person to person in our family. Ugh!

Well, we found the perfect home...but...can't seem to get financing! Apparently, the banks don't like to lend to folks like us who live by cash and don't use credit cards. That is a story I will save for another day...maybe once we get the final word on this 2nd lender we are hoping to get approval from any day now. Please keep us in your prayers as you can that this lender will come through.

So, back to my travels....Ian and I arrived home literally days before Christmas due to missing not one but two connecting flights with overnight delays in both Washington D.C. and Tokyo! LOL! It is actually funny now looking back on our crazy 4 day trip back to Okinawa....not very funny at the time. But, we were definitely blessed to be upgraded to business class for the loooong D.C. to Tokyo flight both going there AND coming back. That was the very best part! Otherwise, traveling with Ian on my lap for literally 20+ hours was much like holding onto a small baby alligator unless he was sleeping he was flipping and grabbing EVERYTHING! LOL!

Soon after Christmas ended and the sickness was leaving our house...we got word that Ruben's dad was not well and during our planning to get Ruben home quickly, his father passed away on 12/30. Armando was 94 years old. As I type this to you, Ruben is still in NY with his mother and sister. We're very thankful to the Navy for paying for his very expensive plane ticket home as we are in financial limbo waiting on this mortgage loan to go through....or not.

Okay, I think I will end this for now as it is very late here in Japan and the kids will all be up early tomorrow. Sabrina, I will do my best to continue my blogging again very soon....I thank you in advance for giving me a nudge to do so every so often. I really do appreciate that about you and it does encourage me. :-)

Blessings to everyone for a safe and healthy 2009!

Baby Dayz

I actually snapped these pics a couple of days ago...but...as usual....haven't had a chance to get on here and post them for you all to see. Yes, the little man is actually sucking his toes! LOL! Of course it's only cute to see a little baby do this! So, I think I'm okay posting these! Also, I don't think that E & A did this at this age. Or maybe it's been too long since we had baby days with them...not sure. I've also included a photo of "the famous lip". We've decided hands down that Ian is definitely the cutest baby in the world when he does "the lip". Stay tuned....school photos of the big boys will be posted next. Rumor has it that they're in!

Getting Ready for Halloween!

Well, just a few more days and Halloween will be here. Our church is having a "trunk or treat" that I think we're going to go check out after walking around the base we live on....all of us in our Star Wars costumes (of course!). Here is a photo of the jack-o-lantern that Ruben carved today with the boys. We decided to make him a happy pumpkin and E & A named him "One Tooth" since that's all the teeth Daddy gave him! LOL! Sounds like a pirate name to me! After that, the Blanchongs came over and we shared a yummy prime rib dinner together. The boys challenged "Mr. Ruben" to a light sabor fight after dinner and he surprised them all by putting on his Darth Vader costume! LOL! I think "someone" is just a little bit excited about his Halloween costume this year! Baby Ian is doing great with his solid foods and sitting in his high chair. Such a good baby, so far he has eaten everything we've offered him. I snapped this pic of him this evening with his face all messy- I couldn't resist! Ruben leaves town again this Saturday - this time he is headed back to Thailand. More later on.....

Ruben's Back in Oki!

Well, my hubby made it home safe and sound today! Yeah! All is right in the world when we're together as a family. This single mommy gig is for the birds! LOL! I've posted a pic of what he looks like right now....hmmm....what a surprise! Not! Of course the pic is a few months old and Baby Ian is actually in his own crib as I type this...but you get the idea! All I'm hearing is "zzzzzzz" as he cuts down Sherwood Forest! Ha! I think I'll be doing the same after I finish this up. Nighty-night! More tomorrow....God willing. :-)