The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:3

Ceremony Tuesday a.m. I will do my best to post some pictures later in the day during naptime ;)

Thank you for your prayers. We appreciate them all!

there is no one like our God...

so we did all kinds of things to prepare for Brad's arrival... and then found out he would be delayed. Not for too long. Not extended, just delayed. My neighbor joked that it was because I had put the banner out too early. So, quite stubbornly, I vowed to leave it out there. But, the wind kept picking up tonight. So I asked Wilson what he thought, and he was certain that I should take it down. We were watching the Next Food Network Star so I waited until the commercial break. When Walker and I went outside, I immediately turned around to grab the camera... What a beautiful reminder of His promises.

A bit over-the-top in regard to size... I think it was THE biggest rainbow I had ever seen, and it was double almost all the way. I was across the street, but still couldn't get it all in the frame of the camera.

Yep, I do believe my Daddy spoils me. He knew this would be a treasure for all of us.

"...Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me thus far? ...There is no one like you, O Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears."

I Chronicles 17:16b, 20

keepin' busy...

I sorta tried pretty hard throughout this deployment to not "just keep busy." You know, I didn't want to get in the habit of constantly being on the go, just so I wouldn't have to spend quiet time alone. I knew I would miss something if I tried to fill every second. Besides that, the boys and I would've been completely worn out. HOWEVER, this weekend, we've been keeping busy, more or less for the sake of keeping busy. It was either that or twiddle our thumbs. So, Barbie graciously invited a bunch (I mean a BUNCH!) of kiddos over for swimming on Friday. She made lunch and we moms just sat around and chatted while the kids played hard. It was great...

But in the meantime, there was some baby bird drama unfolding at our house. If you are on FB, you might've seen a post on Brad's wall about this little nest. I was trying to knock it down before Brad got home. But I failed to check and see if there were babies in it, so they flew (by flew, I mean they were flung) out of the nest and crashed to their little-bitty deaths right on my front patio. (While Muskoka was watching.) Well, actually only two died immediately, I put the other three back in the nest while we went swimming... certain the momma bird would come back. Unfortunately, when we got home from the swimfest, the birds were all strewn about on the patio and only one was still alive. Wilson was on the verge of tears as I put the little thing back in the nest and he said quietly, "Now he doesn't have any brothers..."

And he was so, so sad. We watched carefully for a good hour to see if the mom would return - while Wilson asked me all sorts of questions approximately every 3 seconds regarding how the other two could've died, and when the mom would come back, and if the baby was hungry, and do baby birds have daddies, and when would the mom come back, and should we find a worm, and does it need water, and when would the mom come back... So I googled some stuff and discovered I could mix a bit of dog food with hot water and make some mush to feed this thing. Honestly, I am not really the type of person that would try to save a baby bird's life (that sounds a little heartless, but its just not really my nature). However, Wilson's big, teary, brown eyes kept motivating me to do everything I could to save his life (we figure he is a he, don't ask why). Long story short, miraculously Baby Bird made it through the night and we were able to take him to a wildlife rehabilitator this morning. On the way there, Wilson got choked up again when he said, "I feel bad for his momma now."Thankfully we had something else to fill up our day - something much more lighthearted than the baby bird massacre... A FREE carnival on post. Complete with bbq sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans, popcorn, snow cones... and my favorite --cotton candy! They had bounce houses, the climbing wall, pony rides, and this crazy little "train." Walker's hat blew off while they were riding, so Wilson had to be sure to tell me all about it before it even stopped. (We did recover the hat. Thankfully.)

And we came home to supervise Curry finishing up on the final touches of the Welcome Home banner. Its a few days early, but who waits until Christmas Day to put up their tree????

This evening Barbie and I washed up the ol' Aztec while Logan watched the boys. Then I got my nails done. They better hold out until the big day...

Things are coming together. We appreciate your prayers for us, and for all the families that will soon be reunited.

just some pictures... and what not...

Logan came with us to the spray park yesterday... she was so great running around with the boys! Walker loved having her with him! Wilson was thrilled that they "fixed the big gun."

He and Gavin had a blast being silly...

And today this guy... is having some sort of hive-like reaction... Ugh!

tiny spots all over; larger-hive-like-welts on his face and arms.

And these pictures were taken AFTER benadryl. I don't know if it is the hypoallergenic sunblock, the antibiotic he just finished, or a combination of other environmental factors. Poor baby!

joy

A few months before Brad deployed, I read the blog of a stranger that had a deployed husband, and two boys. I read it a few times, but one day stands out. She posted about how the joy had left their home, how when she looked at her boys' faces she couldn't see any joy. I bawled. The post bothered me for a few days. It was just so devastating to read those words, knowing we were ready to begin a deployment. And sometime probably before Brad left, but possibly after... I prayed that I would always see the joy in my days. I asked God to reveal it to me, and to keep me faithful in looking for it. I prayed that I would be able to share the joy with my boys, and with Brad when possible.

And God has been faithful. No, not everyday has been sunshine and roses. This has been a hard, long journey. But there has been joy. Unmistakably. The kind of joy that comforts your soul, and reminds you that this is but a slice of things to come. I hope you have caught glimpses of the joy in our days here. Often times, I was most reminded of it when the boys were doing something silly. Even yesterday, they hatched a plan that involved a "tow truck driver" while riding their bikes. I love it when they work as a team!

Getting that front wheel just right, is so important.

And he is off to the repair shop.

And for good measure, Wilson tried out the tiny trike. Big man on a little bike =)

God is good, all the time. And His faithfulness is unending.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16

just in case you are wondering...

...I won't be posting an arrival date for Brad on this here blog. Or on Facebook. For Operational Security (OPSEC) purposes.

Apparently, even though Obama is president, people still hate Americans. (I know so many people thought it was just because of Pres. Bush...for real...) And those people that hate Americans - they still want to harm us. And although Brad's deployment was one of relative safety; those haters would LOVE to bring down a plane full of troops. From anywhere. So mum's the word.

Oh, and I don't know exactly yet myself, so I couldn't tell you a date even if I wanted to. Or at least not an official one. Just rumors at this point.

God has blessed me with a great attitude about it, and I am patiently* waiting. And at this point, I am not sure if anyone could rain on my parade. I would prefer if nobody tried to though. Just sayin.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I have a list of things to do, the boys are pitching in like champs. Brad could care less what the house looks like, but I am taking full advantage of the patient* energy and giving every room in our house the Clean Sweep treatment. I think its a different kind of nesting. Yippee!

*patiently (and/or patient) may not be the right word.

"But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more. My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, of Your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim Your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim Your righteousness, yours alone." Psalm 71:14-16

fun days

A glimpse of VBS on Friday. Logan was an excellent helper in my class... and the little girls loved her, as you can see! We had the VBS performance Friday night at the church. The preschoolers did three songs. Wilson said he wasn't even going to have stage fright because he had sung in front of a lot of people before!

****new day****

Today on post, the police officers had a fun day for the kids... complete with rides in police cars!

and a fire truck, of course! Walker cried when we had to get out of it... I asked them if they do birthday parties, (he would be thrilled!) But, sadly, they don't. I guess they have better things to do with their time - you know, like putting out fires and stuff...
Next up was the climbing wall, they were nice enough to let Walker give it a try...

(I may have retouched that photo a bit to give the effect that he actually tried to climb the wall!)

Wilson was excited to give it a try, because we didn't make it to the climbing wall at the block party last weekend. I think he was a bit intimidated when he got up there...

Then, after naps/rest time, we went to a banner-making party. We asked Wilson what the kids' banner should say. I told him that it couldn't say welcome home, because we already had one that said that... So he thought a second and said, "Daddy is my hero." Oh that boy! Here are the kids painting that banner...

Here is another one we made... It's about DANG time....
I'll say.

30!

We love you and we are thinking of you today. Can't wait to celebrate together!

all aboard!

The VBS theme is "Boomerang Express" which takes the kids through the Australian Outback - and all the Bible stories are about Peter and Jesus. Not sure about the connection between the two, but the kids seem to be enjoying it nonetheless. Last night I pulled out my scrap fabric and made some smocks to go with the Aussie Animal masks that we had in our classroom - of course, Wil and Walker had to try them out this morning...And here are a few of the kiddos from our class during "Centers." Such cuties! By the way, the theme song has a line in it that Walker repeats, and seriously, it is so adorable! "You might hear a didgeridoo." He kept singing that on Monday in this itty-bitty-angel voice, and it was priceless!

boomerang express!

We had our VBS kick-off today. It was so fun! We had 29 kids in our completed pre-K class! Wow! Thank goodness we have a lot of workers =)I had to take advantage of the photo-op with our boys too. Such cuties!Then this afternoon while dinner cooked in the crock-pot, the boys played in the sprinkler... ...then jumped in the mud puddles...

...and were a filthy mess.

So, we opted for showers/bath BEFORE dinner. And those boys were tired out tonight!

Hoping for a great day #2 tomorrow!

Memorial Day

We met some friends at a park on post, and on the way we passed the cemetery. All the flags and flowers were so striking. I thought I should stop on the way home and walk through with the boys. I've been to Arlington Cemetery a number of times; but this one on post is tiny, and I felt a little awkward walking around. Then trying to explain Memorial Day to the boys was even a bit more awkward... But Wilson was intrigued, and they were both respectful. I am glad we stopped.

I had no idea that there were "unknown soldier" graves at our little cemetery. And I felt compelled to snap a picture of this grave marker. I don't know a lot of the military stuff (sometimes I like to pretend to, Hooah), but I do know that the Medal of Honor is a very high honor. I found a link to Col. Treadwell's citation, you can read it here if you like...

We had a good day. We are tired, and we are ready for Daddy to be home. But even in my weariness, today I was reminded about all of the other families that have given so much more than we have for the cause of freedom.

almost VBS time...

...the boys pitched in to help prep the classroom. Apparently, Wilson did not want his helpfulness documented. Don't you love the "sky" that Walker is coloring? The boys came with me to church this afternoon to set up the classroom. Nicole & Faith were also there, so we tied up loose ends... with a deadline because the church was hosting a neighborhood block party tonight! They sent flyers home to every elementary student in Lawton.

Here they are in the fire truck. They do this every chance they get. Walker would've probably been content to sit in it for quite some time - and then he would want to explore all the buttons...

And the pony rides... all of Wil's pictures were blurry for some reason.

***side note*** I guess enough people have said, "Walker Texas Ranger" to Walker when they find out his name that now he knows there is something else that sort of goes with his name. But he's just not sure what the words are - yesterday while he was playing, I heard him call himself "Walker Danger." Oh boy!

Anyone want to venture a guess as to what unspeakable mess happened in the bathroom sink? I discovered it after the boys were asleep, but I sure can't wait to get the details tomorrow a.m.

another milestone...

...I am still processing the fact that Wilson is no longer a kindergartner. My baby. Here he is with Ms. Frost... she was everything I could've hoped for in a K teacher. She definitely cultivated a love of learning in this little man...

...just a flashback from Day one. Nervous, but ready.

And here he is with his buddy, A.

To celebrate this milestone, we went out for ice cream. We went to Braum's for hand-dipped cones. You can see it was a big hit...Those boys are so unpredictable. Obviously they didn't quite finish their cones, so they had to wait for me. Maybe right after school isn't the best time for ice cream. This morning started on a high note because Daddy emailed the combination to the lock on his box. Seriously, this was the biggest treat for them... They went through it last night, but got right back into it this morning as soon as they got up. So adorable!

And randomly today, this was parked in the commissary parking lot. So we got a picture with it. Its the National Guard Chopper as constructed by Orange County Choppers.

When we were walking away from it, Walker muttered, "I'm going to get a bike like that..." Super.