transparancy

Blogger is not letting me post pictures. I've tried for two days. I still haven't come to the point where I'll cuss on this blog, but I thought about it.

What I really wanted to tell you is that I miss my friends. I don't want to have a whiny blog, but, just in case you wondered. . . since I never call and rarely email. I don't call because I still think i shouldn't call long distance just to tell you that Pioneer Woman's Cauliflower soup is really yummy, or Josiah pooped in his underwear twice today, or I bought bedside tables for $10 a piece! And so tonight, after the chapel picnic, I just don't feel like filling you in on all the details, I just want to tell you that Midwestern potlucks aren't quite as good as southern ones. For the record, I DID have pictures of the picnic, but stupid blogger won't let me upload them. There, I'm getting closer to cussing. I better sign off.

As I walked home tonight, tired of meeting new faces and trying to put names with the faces I met yesterday or the day before, I was thinking the words of this Sara Groves song:

don’t want to leave here I don’t want to stay

It feels like pinching to me either way

The places I long for the most Are the places where I’ve been

They are calling after me like a long lost friend

It’s not about losing faith It’s not about trust

It’s all about comfortable When you move so much

The place I was wasn’t perfect But I had found a way to live

It wasn’t milk or honey But then neither is this

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt Leaving out what it lacked

The future seems so hard And I want to go back

But the places that used to fit me Cannot hold the things I"ve learned

And those roads closed off to me While my back was turned

The past is so tangible I know it by heart

Familiar things are never easy to discard

I was dying for some freedom But now I hesitate to go

Caught between the promise And the things I know

So there you have it. This is a great place to live, and we're thankful to be here, but sometimes I want to be back in the familiar, and back among friends.

Engineer Day

We're having an extremely busy week! Monday was engineer day at Fort Pulaski. The fort has been a favorite place for us, but this week was HOT.

We spent our time on the blow-up slides, playing soccer in the field, and just laying on the blanket (ok that was just me). Adeline enjoying a bag of chips.

My view of Addie in her stroller.

She does not like hats. Even adorable strawberry ones.

The kids loved that they could drink as much soda as they liked, as long as they went over to the booth by themselves. Here's Ella returning with her fourth.

Yep, it was hot.

We have an address!

I've always thought the army was an exciting place to be! Our week has been no exception, as we literally RACED to secure our Fort Leavenworth housing. Here's how it all went down:

Months ago, we were told which four neighborhoods we "qualified" for, based on family size and student status. We ranked those neighborhoods by preference, and were assigned our second choice, Infantry Barracks. I have already mentioned that we were anxious about these beautiful old apartments and how our children and dog would adjust to no backyard. My discouragement turned to hope, however, when I discovered that some friends, the Snells, were there! If you know the Snells (either from Wheaton or Fort Riley) you know what a blessing it would be to live nearby! (Ok, I might not want to live under them, or any family with six kids, for that matter, but next door, YES!)

About the same time, we also realized that waiting until we arrive on the 10th to sign our lease was risky. Students were pouring into Leavenworth all summer and, although we had a neighborhood assignment, there was a big difference in the individual homes. For example, we could have a first floor apartment or a second floor one. A busy street or a quiet one. An outer apartment with a chance for a fenced yard or an inner one with only a shared courtyard. Jess buttered up the housing office staff and gathered as much information as he could about what would be available and then. . .

Meredith Snell to the rescue! She and her six kids, armed with our power of attorney, trucked over to the housing office bright and early Monday morning to find a place for us! We had in mind an apartment in her building, but that was not yet available, and, not being a gambler, I didn't want to wait for it and pass up something else. She toured a couple of places and picked out one that I think will be great!!! It is on the first floor, on the quiet street, across from the playground and a few buildings away from the Snells. It is in the middle, BUT it had a fenced in courtyard). The floor plan seems great for our family--lots of storage, she says!

We have always been comforted knowing that God, in his sovereignty, has determined where we should live--it has been so evident each time we move in that this is exactly where we should be. So we are ready and excited for the next adventure and thankful that we have an address!

PS I will email that address out soon.

PSS Please continue to pray that we find a renter for our Georgia house!!!

get ready to squeal and giggle and then say "they grow up so fast."

I found these pictures the other day and fell in love all over again.

They are even more meaningful when I remember that they were taken very soon after Jess redeployed from his 12 months in Iraq. 17month old Ella has barely known her daddy here, but he has won her heart.

Praying for soldiers. . .

I wanted to take a sec and ask y'all to pray for a soldier, Rob Yllescas, who was seriously wounded in Afghanistan this week. I don't know the family, but we have mutual friends from our last post. The reason I mention it here is that Rob's family has started a blog, and besides your prayers, it is encouraging to the family to hear that folks are reading and praying and rooting for them. So when you think of it, pray for this family, and then go to their blog and just let them know you did! And while you're thinking of it, keep my friend Catherine and her husband in your prayers too. They have a long road of recovery ahead as well.

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. . ."

and NOW I'm a super mom

I mowed the yard. I have made it through the whole deployment without mowing the yard so today, while the babies slept and the big kids played in the yard and the weather was AMAZING I decided to go for it. My neighbors have been taking good care of the lawn, but it was getting pretty long. I also kept Josiah in cloth diapers all day. Usually I go back and forth between disposables and cloth with him, but I got these new liners to help with the poop and . . . anyways, i know that's where I should stop. Oh, and I took the whole fam AND dog on a walk/bikeride without losing my temper.

I hope you know I'm kidding about the super mom thing. I know tomorrow I'll have whiny kids and possible a crying soccer player. But everyonce in a while it's good to go to bed feeling like a rockstar.

And now a quiz: Can you guess what this is going to be? I'm taking a bag break to work on this for Ella. Inspired by the cool weather. . .

The Wheaton Connection

Here is Jess with his boss, COL Inch. They are both Wheaton grads! God has blessed Jess with a little camaraderie on the other side of the world.

I get a lot of "super mom" comments. A lot of "I don't know how you do it." These are very sweet comments from very sweet people, but I think this blog, especially, paints a one-sided picture. We naturally blog the good things--the things we want people to see and the things we want to remember. Well, I am NO super-mom. Case in point: I sprayed my children with perfume this morning before church instead of bathe them--and it had been 3 days. I could list more faults, but one, my mom would worry about me, and two, I wanted to get to bed earlier tonight. But take my word for it, I mess up regularly. I reach the end of my rope too fast. I don't accept help very well. I depend on coffee more than I depend on God. God has been so gracious to us through this deployment, and it's obvious as you scroll through this blog. But I just wanted to clarify--our success has been God's grace despite my faults, not because I'm anything special!

Along those lines, since I know most if not all the readers of this blog pray for us, here are some things you can remember.

-That Jess will finish well. That he will be encouraged and strengthened by the chapel services he is able to attend (I know he misses IPC).
-Ella starts pre-k tomorrow! I know she's really excited, but sometimes our drama queen can be unpredictable.
-Sam seems to be experiencing quiet a bit of insecurity lately. He has cried in unexpected places. Pray that I will have wisdom about when to have extra compassion, and when to push him a bit. Pray for him as he begins kindergarden.
-Our trip this weekend to my brother's wedding! Not too long by Curry standards (it's in TN) but I just want us to be a blessing to those around us! And pray for Dave and Esther as they begin their life together!
-Pray that I will not get so busy that forget my purpose is to glorify God. I have been meditating on this verse in Isaiah: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength." God's people were trying to do things their way, and they were failing miserably. It was a good warning for me, and I am trying to work out what this verse looks like in my own busy life.

I know this was a more serious post. Sundays are the days I feel the most stares and hear the most comments about my super-strength (I'm sure there are equal amounts of people out there saying I'm crazy.) I'll be sure to post about school tomorrow. Both kids are sure cute in their uniforms!!!

Wow! I have mentioned the kindness of our Savannah friends before, but let me say again-wow! What do you say when someone shows up at 8:30 in the morning with a lasagna for your freezer. . . and a crock pot roast for the evening. . . and shoos you off to enjoy a day of guilt-free shopping, resting, coffee-drinking, reading, time alone! And then does it all again the next week! Thank you? That just doesn't seem sufficient.

So, besides spending the day remembering what it's like to run errands with an "s" instead of heading out the door an hour later than planned, struggling through errand #1 and then giving up and going home with tired and hungry kids, I've been sewing LOTS of ACU purses and watching the Olympics. Sam even stayed up til midnight with me to watch girlnastics. Oh, and I've been reminiscing. Looking through old pictures for my sister's project, I came across this one: Holy Cow! I don't even remember him having a beard.

then. . . and now.

in which i attempt to be more transparent. . .

my childhood home, from Sunday

"You can't go home again." But I did. . . and it was fun! My parents moved from my childhood home in Memphis to Nashville right after I married. In fact, I remember waiting for out of town wedding guests while sitting in lawn chairs in my front yard as prospective buyers looked at the house (lawn chairs in the front yard-insert redneck joke here). I love Nashville, but it's not really home. That, and moving around with the military, and I don't really feel like there's a place I can go where I have history. No one, besides my family, who has known me for more than a couple of years. And I've wondered what it would feel like to sleep with my children in a room where I slept as a child. Now I know that my experience is far from unique. But it's very different from my husband's experience when he goes home. Marissa, IL was home to J until he left for college. He has known his best friends since elementary school, and the people we see around town were his teachers, coaches, and babysitters.

Anyway, I went to first evan this past weekend and got a little taste of this kind of homecoming. I have been 2 times since I was married in the church 9 years ago. I loved the friends of my parents who would ooh and ahh over my baby and say "Is she your first?" "No, 4th." (with wide eyes)"Ohhhh." And then they would see my oldest. "He looks just like David!"(my brother) I even got to catch up on the latest gossip with an old youth group friend. Nothing that day was a disappointment--I feel blessed to have such happy memories!

It did start me thinking. Our children will not have one specific place to call home either. They will not live in one place for more than a couple of years. There will be people in their lives who we'll keep up with, but they will be scattered all over the globe. I have yet to think of moving around as a negative thing, but then again, my oldest is not yet in kindergarden. I think I will still always try to focus on the postitive aspects of these moves. More friends in more places! More excitement! More adventure! More opportunities! I will also try to make every place we move a comfortable, peaceful, beautiful place to call home. And then there's our large family. I think that's great! The children will have their siblings along everywhere they go.

And I guess it's a reminder that none of us should get too comfortable here in our temporary home on earth. That's what I love about the military. It doesnt allow me to get too comfortable. Cause when I get comfortable, the Lord always stirs things up!

360 Skittles

I put 360 skittles in the jar, 120 each for the 3 big kids. I think I overestimated how many we'd need, so I'll take the red ones out and send the bag to J. I guess it's good to remember that our last deployment would have filled 3 of those jars for three kids and God was so faithful! I thought this blog might be an easy way to keep a Daddy up to date on his kids. and maybe add the grandparents too.
Day 2 & 3 really really stunk. Days 4 & 5 got better. Here are the kiddos this week.

Sweet little mouse:

Big Sis+Lil Sis = Love?

this big brother loves to sleep in a zoo of stuffed animals

the little monster decorated his legs (and the kitchen table) with markers.