Counting

Many have asked and I'm sure many have wondered, how are we keeping track of our days?  In the mornings after breakfast the kids get to take one of these

  There are 400 M&Ms in the jar and its really neat to see the kids choose their color for the day.  Its a "sweet" reminder of Daddy for them to start their day.  It just so happens that Daddy loves M&Ms and so do his little kiddos! 

Secondly, I have a very sweet friend, Brittny, who is another military wife and she made these for the kids. She didn't make just one, she made two because she knows just how important it is to the kids.  On a sad note her family will be moving this summer while their daddy is deployed.  But we are thankful they are only going a few hours away.  And the kids and I are going for a visit!

Every night before bed we take one ring off our chain until daddy is home.

Tonight after Josiah and I said our prayers, he looked at me and said, "those look like smiles."  I love how God helped him turn something that could have been overwhelming into smiles.  I am so thankful!

YELLOW!!!

Goodbye orange and hello yellow!

Last week Josiah testing for his yellow belt in Taeknowdo.  I am surprised at how good he is but I know I really shouldn't be.  He takes after his daddy so much in this area.  Josiah has an amazing about of focus and drive when its for something that he wants.

Now for every ones favorite part...

Congratulations to our new yellow belt!

Easter

Easter was a bit laid back here today.  We of course started our morning with the hunt for our Easter baskets.

What do we have here?

Josiah found Makayla's basket first but he was so sweet telling her "hints" on where to find it.

Her basket was a little heavy for her to hold.

Our Easter Bunny is a little sneaky, look at what was in one of their eggs

Makayla does what every girl does when she is given an accessory

She put them on!

After our baskets we ate breakfast and opened our last "Resurrection Egg" they were very excited.  Josiah said "yep its empty! Now we have to go to church."  Makayla replied, "amen amen amen."  I'm not 100% sure where she learned that from but why not? AMEN!!!

Here are a couple of pictures of my cuties all dressed up for chruch.

Happy Easter!

God's Speed

I went to bed dreading the 3 a.m. alarm that would go off.  I tossed and turned most of the night, got up with Makayla and was just tired in general.  But when the alarm sounded we were on our way.  I must say it was a mix bunch of feelings; sadness, relief, anger, fear, love, you name it and I felt all of them in those 30 minutes.

We loaded all the bags and kids in the car and headed to the airport.  There was heavy fog and it seemed like forever as I drove to the airport.  Once inside we waiting for Waco to get all settled with his baggage and then we got the pass for the kids and I to go back with Waco.  I was holding it together pretty well until the sweet lady behind the Delta counter told me "it will be ok" and then the water works were open.

Our friends Megan and Corey meet us at the airport to help with the kids and take a couple of pictures.  Yes we have some sweet friends who would volunteer to get up that early and meet you at the airport.

We all made it through security and got settled in at Waco's gate.  His plane was delayed so again more time to be thankful for.  While waiting the kids played with some of the fun things in his bag...

Our time was up and they were beginning to board when a lady offered to take our picture.  Here is what she took...

I think this picture turned out FANTASTIC!  

Last Day

Here is a glimpse of our last day with Waco...

Getting ready to wash the car.  This was actually quite fun with our 2 little helpers.

Lunch at Five Guys.  I'm pretty sure there is NOT a Five Guys in the "sandbox"

Haircuts for the men.

Helping Daddy pack and trying on his cool stuff!

Six months worth of uniforms, shoes, chapstick, sunscreen, toiletries, some gum and a couple of pictures of the family all sealed inside waterproof bags.  It all fit in these two bags!

A little fun with the kids.

The ladies.

Dinner on the beach.

Dessert!

See you later...

We don't say "goodbye" we say "See you later!"

And that is just what we are heading to the airport to do.

God's Speed on your return to us!!!!  We love and we already miss you!!!



Garden-Update

So far so good!  My garden is growing well and everything looks healthy.  I noticed a little burning on some of my strawberry plants, I think it was caused from some of the leaves having direct contact with some manure.  To fix this problem I spread more top soil all around the base of the plants and created a "safe" layer of dirt. 

So far we have been pretty "weed" and "pest" free, I am hoping to stay that way.  However I am thinking of planting some marigolds around as a natural pest control.  I'll let you know how that works.

I think everything has at least doubled in size and some have tripled!  I think we should we be harvesting our first fruits at the end of May.

Overview of the garden.

Side view of my cuccumbers, squash, and peppers.

Side view of my watermelon and strawberries.

My tomato plants and my grapes are also doing quite well.  I will get some pictures of those soon.

A friend asked for me to share how much we spent on our garden.

Border: 17x $1.01= $17.17

Top Soil: 5 x $1.33= $6.65

Manure: 3 x $2.00= $6.00

Plants: 15 x $2.48= $37.20

Metal fence: 2 x $4.00= $8.00

Grand Total: $75.02

Next year it will not costs quite as much for me to have this garden as long as we are still here.  The investment will be in the plants and some soil.  Let's see if I get a good return for my money.  If not its still fun to grow your own food and Josiah is enjoying watching the plants grow.