A very Small Update

We still do not know much more than we did yesterday. My husband did talk to Legal and has an appointment with JAG on Wednesday. The only thing we learned is that his packet went to the branching board and no one took it. This raises HUGE questions on our part like
1. Why were we NEVER informed this was taking place?
2. Did anyone present his package?
3. Was anyone advocating for us?
You can imagine the line of thinking. We are hoping to get answers from JAG and there is still room here for God to work a miracle. Please keep praying whenever you think of us!

Revelation

The Hippie came up to me the other day and said, "Mommy, I think I know why Clifford the big red dog is called Clifford the big red dog." I asked her why. She said, "Well because he is very red and he is a dog and he is the BIGGEST dog I have ever seen, so that must be why." And to think it only took her 5 years to figure that out! =)

The Hardest Thing

Until today THIS was the hardest post I had ever written. I am not sure if the following post will be harder but it is bad and one of the worst things I have had to write about.
Our journey in the Army has been interesting...to say the least. We have shared the trials with some of you and others we have just kinda skimmed over. Basically, about 18 months ago my husband re-enlisted because he wanted to serve our country and yes, even be deployed, if nothing else than to give another daddy a year home with his kids and to leave a legacy for ours. He started in March 2008 with OCS and passed with flying colors. Onto BOLC II at Ft. Sill, sailed on through. He came to Knox for Armor BOLC III and for 3 1/2 months did well but did not make the grade on his last 10 days. They signed us up for another try and again, he did good-great during the 3 1/2 months but got a "no-go" on the last 10 days. Since then we were told we were being given a branch transfer. We were real excited because we both felt he would be great in a non-combat arms branch. Yesterday the army sent our world crashing down around us. My husband went into an office and was told "We are kicking you out." Yep. As in we will soon be unemployed, with kids, with debt and no prospects of income. As if that is not bad enough, he just texted and said we may only have 2 weeks. What do we do? How do we deal with this? How do we fight the government? I am not sure we even have any options. Neither of us slept well and we just feel so sick. We never saw this coming and we are in trouble. People keep telling me God has a plan, He will work this for good, but to be totally honest that is a little hard to see from where I am sitting. We are trying to be strong for each other and I must admit I feel a SMALL tingle of excitement to see where we end up but mostly I am petrified. Please keep us in your prayers.

Wordless Wednesday

Giveaway!

The Patriotic Peacock is hosting yet another incredible giveaway! You can enter up FOUR times!!!! Make sure you go check it out!
Meanwhile here is a photo for your viewing pleasure. =)

The Test of a TRUE Princess

Our girls were SO excited today because we went to not one, but two fall festivals! They finally got to get all decked out in their Halloween costumes (which cost about $10 per kid)! At our church festival the Hippie was MEGA excited because she won the cake walk! She picked a "cute, absolutely great cake with candy corns and punkins and sumtin plastic on top that ya can't eat but Mommy said maybe I can play with" cake. The Genius won second place out of all the kids for her costume! They said she was "beautiful"! She was BEYOND ecstatic to win a ribbon!
I think my favorite part was when the girls started doing the monkey bars and a lady said, "Now THAT is the test of a true princess..." LOVE it!

Festival Fun with Friends!

Guess what I won?????

I am SO excited! I have seen blog awards floating around out there, but this is my first to receive! I received my award from Cathy! Thanks again!!!!! Make sure you check out her blog. She is new to the blogosphere!
Here are the rules for getting this award.....
The Best Blog Award rules are:
1) To accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 5 other blogs that you have recently discovered and think are great!
Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Now, the fun begins! Here are the blogs I feel deserve an award for being extra special.....
First off, I must give one to my cousin Allison! I mean, seriously, who does NOT want to read a blog about a family of 11 who serves in the military and home-school??? Yep, she gets an award for sure! Plus her blog is SO funny! I promise you will not stop laughing when you read it and you will have to go back and read all the old posts. Go visit her HERE.
My second two awards are also going to home-schooling mama's! Both blogs are inspirational to me and always either lift me up, make me smile or make feel convicted that I need to step up my spiritual walk with God. So, here is an award to Miranda and Kristan. Miranda is a friend who lives close but I NEVER see (hint, hint) and Kristan is a wonderful friend who lives far away and I never see. Kristan is always there and I am so lucky that I can count her as a true friend.
I can't give all my awards to home-schooling mom's so here is an award to one of my closest friends in the world! She has a great blog! It is such a great mix of family and crafts and pictures. She inspires me because she is a wonderful friend, mommy and crafter! Go visit Kathlyn's blog and her etsy shop...then feel free to buy something too =).
Now, my last award winner has to be Belinda.. Now, she does not blog as much as I would like her to, but who can resist her funny stories about life with 4 boys (and another baby on the way!!!) And, I must say, her boys are some of the most handsome you will ever see and at least one of them is reserved for one of our girls! =) Belinda is a great friend and when I say, "I don't know what I would do without her." I mean it. Miss you B!!!!


That was tons of fun!!! I hope I win another someday!

Good Question

As we were out delivering desserts today the Hippie asked me, "Aren't jokes kinda like telling lies?". I said, "Well, no." She said, "Well what if you say 'Hey look! It's a yummy cookie!' but really it is a stick. Isn't that a lie and not a joke?" Food for thought...from a 5 year old!

Sparkly

I have been working with the girls on being able to run a mile. It is super easy for me because I run so slow for them! I love running with them! The Genius and Hippie both have reward charts and when we hit 20 miles they each get something. The Hippie wants a jogging outfit! The Genius originally wanted a pair of running shoes. Then we were in a running store and we saw a necklace that said "Run". Now, she is not sure which she will want. The necklace or the shoes. She said, "Well, I will have to see what shoes I could get and then go look at the necklace. I will pick whichever is more sparkly." So, if by chance you are shopping for young girls. Remember this wise advice if it sparkles, it is good. If it sparkles a LOT, buy it!

Start Your Week Off By Winning!!!!

Once again, my friend, is hosting a really cool blog giveaway! This time, it is a hand embellished onesie for a baby (you can choose boyish or girlish). So, if you know someone who is preggo, or you are preggo, then slip on over to her blog and read about it and then enter! She is so cool she even gives you FOUR chances to win!!!!

Here ya go!! Good luck!

Tired Girls

Wow! I look back at these pics from the last 3 days and it is no wonder why we are all so tired tonight! Enjoy!

3D

Yesterday my husband and I both had a first together! We saw a 3D movie!!!! We went with our friends and their two boys and we took them all to see the double feature of "Toy Story". It was in 3D! I thought it was pretty cool....a tad nauseating but cool! The kids were all so well behaved! Maybe it was the candy that helped =). It was such a great day! The girls started off at MOKI for 3 hours. My husband and I got some coffee and a new battery for the van. Then we picked up the girls, picked up his race day packet and then met our friends at the movie. When the movie was over it was already late. We drove through Chick-Fil-A and picked up some dinner. We ate it in our hotel room. When the girls crawled into their bed it was almost 9 (for the second night in a row). They fell asleep almost instantly. Sadly, we were all up early because my husband was getting ready for his race. So now I am hanging out with two cranky kids counting down till we go pick him up and head home! I am hopeful that there is a nap in my future but really doubting it!

My husband ROCKS

My friend over here does this thing on facebook of reasons why she loves her husband. I feel compelled to follow along and blog about one of the MANY reasons why I love MY husband and why he is the BEST! Because of his early morning PT he goes to bed earlier than me. Last night as I came to bed I heard a noise. I sat up. I heard it again and I realized that it was the dog across the street. He has never barked that late before. He is usually inside by then, but it scared me. I woke him up (out of a sound sleep) and he got right up, checked the girls, windows and went out to look around. He never even made fun of me! I love that he protects us all so much and never complained about being woke up! He is just the best!!!!!!

Think before you act

The movie "Where the Wild Things Are" is coming out tomorrow. We have the book and we love it! But, AGAIN, I am seriously disappointed by the rating and review. It says "not for younger viewers", um, isn't this a KIDS book? I think it should be a movie for kids of all ages. Instead there are several curse words and the Lord's name taken in vain. This is one family who will not be supporting the movie in any way, shape or form. Here is where you can read the review and decide for yourselves.

Bumping and Cleaning

The cutest thing happened today! I told the girls that when I was all done paying bills that I would teach them to clean their own bathroom. The Hippie said, "Even the toilet?" I said, "Yep." She says, "Even the inside of the toilet?" You should've heard them when I said yes. They were squealing with excitement!!!! They did get to clean their own bathroom and they loved doing it! The Hippie really liked cleaning the outside basin of the potty and the Genius was real into the inside. It was pretty fun! Then we moved onto vacuuming and they liked that too!
When I was coming out of my room today I heard the Hippie say, "Take two fingers and put them here and you will feel something bumping around." I heard the Genius ask her some questions and the Hippie said, "Do ya feel it? Our teacher at those classes yesterday said everyone has the bumping and it gets blood everywhere inside us from our hearts." Can you figure it out yet? They were discovering their pulses! I helped them and let them find mine. The Hippie said, "Wow Mommy! Yours is bumping all over the place!" I love watching them learn!

It's a Match

The Genius can be so darn cute! As she was eating her vitamin last night we asked her what animal it was. The Hippie had a dog or something. The Genius said, "I will give you hint. It is the only animal whose ear matches its state (by state she meant continent)." Any guesses? Think about it...... an elephant! Africa does kinda resemble an elephants ear! We got such a kick out of it!
Tonight my husband and I watched "Marley and Me", you know, the comedy? Yeah right, we were both bawling like babies. Such a sad movie!
I finished it up by watching "18 and Counting" It was such a special episode. Now I am crying over that! I better get to bed before something else sappy draws me in...I am running out of kleenex! Good night!

Better and Better

We took the Genius back to her plastic surgeon today for a check up. He said her first laser surgery looked like it was healing right on track! He gave us our date for her next surgery! They took some more pictures (like they have at every visit) and as we were leaving they gave us a big picture with photos from her first visit up til todays visit. It shocked me to see it again. 3 1/2 months ago she had 1/3 of her nose gone. It is amazing! We celebrated with the good news by eating lunch out at one of our favorite place, Longhorn Steakhouse! After we got home my husband kept the girls and I went grocery shopping. We had dinner and finished out the night with a fire outside! It was a wonderful way to celebrate Columbus Day!!!!

Want something free?

If you want to win something cool then check out my friends site!!!
She is hosting a giveaway of some really cool business cards! Take some time, visit her site, and win!

Like Christmas Every day

Our girls LOVE my parents. They call them Nana and Gampy. I think they would choose seeing Nana and Gampy over Disney and maybe even over Christmas! LOL! On Christmas morning they usually wake up around 7, maybe 6:45. Yesterday we were taking the girls to my parents for the weekend. We were meeting up with my parents around lunchtime. But, at 5:05 a.m. we were woken up. Why? Because the girls had gotten up, dressed and were waiting to leave. We sent them back to bed and 30 minutes later they told us we were forgetting to leave. =) It was actually pretty cute! I think it must be flattering for my parents as well. When the girls stay with my parents, we tell them. "Do NOT get out of bed until the first number is a 6". I don't think they ever listen! They wake up and all they can think about is how much fun they are going to have with Nana and Gampy! I believe they usually crawl into bed with them about 5 a.m. and the fun begins! It starts out sweet, kinda snuggling with Nana. Then Gampy starts "snoring" and saying goofy things like, "Me want to eat cat litter." Eventually they turns into the Hippie bouncing around on top of everyone. They get out bed and get milk and cartoons. Get dressed and walk to the local bakery. They are allowed doughnuts and diet coke. Then they walk back home and usually hit a park. They go feed ducks, play in the church gym and then eat lunch etc.... Our girls cannot get enough of their Nana and Gampy and we appreciate my parents because they cannot get enough of our girls! Thanks mom and dad!!!!

One Year

One year ago at this time the girls were just starting their therapy for Selective Mutism. We have been going once a week ever since. 88 miles round trip. I get pretty tired of it. At times I would give anything not to go. But then I think back to where we were one year ago.
Then - Our girls would not play in a playland.
Now - They play in a playland and MOST of the time will talk to at least 1 other child. Sometimes the Genius will even get bossy.
Then - Would not make eye contact with strangers.
Now- Will usually make eye contact but still not speak.
Then - Would NEVER speak in front of strangers.
Now - Almost always talks in front of strangers just not to them.
Then - Could not play with the trains in a Barnes and Nobles if there was other kids.
Now - Will play with the trains and will complain (to me at least) if there are not enough trains for them.
Then - Had never spoken to a waiter.
Now - Have actually asked for refills and crackers on their own.
Then - Would make weird looking facial contortions every time they were spoken to in public.
Now- That happens VERY rarely. Maybe 3 times in the past 6 months.
Now- They sometimes "forget" their anxiety and answer a question from a stranger.
Now- They show their ages with their fingers.
So, here's to one year and 4576 miles traveled!

Touching Story

Do you remember this blog from the other day? Here you can read the whole story. I knew it would make its way to the newspaper eventually. It is so worth clicking my link and taking 2 minutes to read it. If you are a fast reader, maybe 1 minute! =) Have a great day!

Do you know what this means?

This is going to be a hard post to put into words. In case you do not know, both of our daughters have Selective Mutism. It causes so many challenges in their day to day life and especially when making new friends. Recently, we met another military couple that we really get along with. They have two boys who are exactly the same ages as our girls. Their oldest is about 2 months older than the Genius and the youngest is 2 months younger than the Hippie. They came over tonight so we could make smores at our fire pit. Tonight, the kids played. The Genius played like she has not played in well over a year. One of my closest friends has 4 boys and our girls PLAYED with her boys. That is how it was tonight. Our yard was filled with games of freeze tag, made up racing games and laughter and squeals and screams! My husband and I kept poking each other and just being in awe of the girls. They were THEMSELVES again in a way that we honestly have not seen since we left our friends at our old small group at our old church. It did my heart so good to see and watch and hear. It made me feel like this place is home. Like I said, this is a hard post to put into words, but it was an incredible night here. I was still glowing as I was walking the girls up to put them to bed. The Genius looked back at me with her cheeks all rosy from the night air and said, "Mommy, do you know what this means? We have friends." Need I say more?

Taking a stand for America

First off you need to take 3 minutes and read this story. Then take 2 minutes and the follow up. I think that is pretty cool!
Another cool story took place about 300 meters from our house. Remember those photos where I showed how close we are to a city park? This city park is used for a lot of sporting events. Soccer, softball, cheerleading.... My husband was at a promotion ceremony yesterday and a 2 star general shared this story. Evidently there was a soccer game there a few nights ago. It was the county team vs. the kids from the base high school. They were trying to start the game but could not locate the national anthem sound track. The announcer said, "Ok. We cannot find so we will start the game now." The county kids ran out to the field ready to take on the kids from base. Then the audience noticed all the kids from base were standing still, hands over their hearts, facing the flag. All at once, THEY started singing the national anthem. The rest of the audience rose to their feet and joined them. If that does not give you a great feeling, then I don't know what will.
Happy Friday!