Be Thankful-14

Day 14- six amazing years

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary. I can't believe we have been married that long, but it has been amazing to say the least.

Due to Mark entering the Army and then his 1st deployment, we didn't even live together until we had been married 14 months. Then he was home for 359 days and was gone another year. Then he was home 2.5 years, and now gone another year.

But they say, "absence makes the heart grow stronger". I believe this with all my heart.

Over the past 6 years Mark and I have learned who each other is. I know that he does not like any beans, other than green ones, and those need to be french style. He will not use gel toothpaste and he drinks milk like its water..and he puts ice in it. He loves everything single thing that has to do with his car and could spend his whole day washing it, or just staring at it:) His favorite movie is Pulp Fiction and swears that Samuel L. Jackson is the greatest actor of all time. He believes that his grey hair is a sign of wisdom and is content if our house looks "lived in" verses being spotless (thank God!). He hopes our girls will be BMW enthusiasts just like him, and also hopes that for me...but I'm not thinking that's gonna happen;)

He makes me smile more than I would alone, he makes me laugh more and he wants me to relax more...I'm just not sure how to do that.

He never yells, is very calm about life, pretty patient and typically finds the best in everything. These sound like great things, but when you are crazy psycho screamer, inpatient, pessimistic person like myself...it could make you just wanna puke.

I am so thankful that Mark is the packer of the diaper bag, cleaner of middle of the night potty or throw-up accidents, and so thankful that he realizes who really wears the pants in this marriage, ahem.

Mark is my love and I could not be more thankful for what he means to me in my life.

For all of these wonderful things that our Marriage and my husband means to me, and so much more, I am thankful.

I love and miss you honey!

Happy Anniversary

Be Thankful-13

Day 13-A New Year

I am extremely thankful for a new year. I know this year will bring many changes, all good ones thus far.

- our new leader and what he has planned for our country.

- Mark to come home on R&R and hopefully make it for Emma's 1st Birthday.

- Girls Trip '09 with my Colorado Girls in May.

-my mom feeling better

- putting my whole self into school these next two semesters so I can prepare for student teaching in the Fall.

I can NOT wait for Mark's return in early Fall...that will be a wonderful day!

- Jillian to turn 4 in August...hopefully these tantrums will disappear with 3. (although I am sure they won't:)

-soaking up the time I have at home with my parents, siblings and kids...I am so blessed

-Mark finally saying good bye to the Army. We pray for this to happen, but we know God is in control. We know things do not always happen the way we 'plan' them therefore we will just pray and wait.

- celebrating the holidays this year with my husband.

- keeping my three resolutions of "cash only",tithing, and being as frugal as possible.

- challenges that I will face.

- happy moments that will surely outnumber the not so happy ones.

- watching my girls grow and learn more on a daily basis.

- the day their daddy returns.

- Emma wearing a bow in her hair and Jillian learning to write her name.

-knowing that I can do this, it is hard, it sucks, but I am strong and I can do this

-Monday Night Supper Clubs and 8a.m. classes.

I look for a new year. Things that will change. Things that will not change. Learning to not sweat the small stuff so much and just enjoy life.

I am so glad 2009 is finally here.

For a New Year and all it has to offer, I am thankful

Be Thankful-12

Day 12-Remembering

When Mark proposed to me on Oct 14, 2002, I began thinking about what our wedding would be like. We weren't sure when it would take place since the church was already pretty booked for the following summer when Mark would be home from AIT after basic training. But we planned it anyway, for June 19, 2003.

For the next couple of months we discussed wedding details and Mark's quickly approaching departure for Basic Training. After some discussion, we decided that we would get married at the court house before Mark left. This would be more of a technicality, seeing as though we had a wedding scheduled for June.

We married on January 3, 2003 and Mark left 10 days later.

I didn't change my name, didn't wear my wedding ring....nothing changed about our relationship, it was all a technicality.

A few weeks later the church was reserved, the dress was bought and we were discussing invitations and bridesmaid dresses.

Mark graduated from Basic Training on March 19, 2003 (the day the war in Iraq started). We traveled to see him for the 23 hours he had off and then he was off to Virginia for a couple of months of job training.

The day after we returned for Fort Knox I picked up the wedding invitations. On the way home I received a call from Mark and he said "I don't think we can have the wedding, I think I have to go to Iraq."

So needless to say the wedding was off. The dress was stored away. The invitations were never used.

At least we were already married.

Fast forward a few months.

Mark finishes AIT, moves to Colorado, and then travels to Texas to get me. We arrived hand in hand in Colorado Springs on June 19....the day we were supposed to be married.

Mark deployed on July 2, 2oo3.

During the deployment we discussed the wedding we may eventually get to have. After all, I did have a wedding dress to wear.

Fast forward a few more months.

On Dec 26, Mark and I finally had the opportunity to have our "wedding" that we had longed for. It was more of a renewing of vows rather than an actual wedding considering we had been married just shy of 2 years at the time.

And we had just found out we were expecting our first child.

It was so nice to have 45 of our closest friends and family there to share in our joy, witness our commitment, and to wear to my wedding dress.

It was a wonderful day. I will always remember, that although it may not have been what I imagined, in the end, it was absolutely perfect.

For remembering so many memories of our life, and so much more, I am incredibly thankful.

Be Thankful-11

Day 11-Christmas Day

This year I have not been looking forward to Christmas. Just not been up to doing this without Mark. But overall I am extremely grateful for what Christmas really means, and I look forward to many more Christmas' with my girls

Be Thankful-10

Day 10-Giving Back

I am either really sappy or emotional lately. Not sure which, but thanks to all these radio stations providing so many wonderful things for families in need this year, I have been crying a lot.

This was the story today.

A husband and father of three girls was on the receiving end of the giving this year. His wife has recently had several medical issues and is now pretty much disabled. Because of the economy, his company shut their doors so not only did he loose his job, he also lost his health insurance that was helping to take care of his wife. He has started painting numbers on curbs to make rent for his family. He was given an eviction notice just a few days ago.

His girls have asked about Christmas this year and the only thing he has for them is to pay the rent so that at least they can all stay together.

The radio station is paying the rent for his family this month, and the past months in which he has not had the money. They gave him $1000 for Christmas for his girls. Filled their pantry with $500 worth of groceries.

It was very emotional to listen to a grown man cry knowing that his family is being provided for. But the best part was his reaction:

"Thank you so much for everything, what can I do for you?"

Really!!??

This man has nothing. He is now being given a huge gift and the only thing he wants to do is give back.

How wonderful is that?!

Needless to say I was bawling by the end of the broadcast. I am so thankful that this family is being provided for.

This is exactly what I want to teach my girls about..giving back. That's what it is all about.

For giving back and so much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful-9

Day 9-School

I always had a "plan" or timeline as to how things were supposed to go in my life. At this age I wanted this, at that age I wanted this.

I have now been out of High School nearly 6 years and have yet to graduate from college. I often find myself a little disappointed that I don't have my degree and my "career" yet. That sounds horrible I am sure, considering instead I have 2 adorable little girls and have put our lives (and school) on hold during the last 2 deployments.

I have been a college student for pretty much 5 years, gone to 5 different schools, have student loans adding up and still have a year to go. Because I am me, and a little high strung (I know, suprising:), this can be frustrating. But instead, today, as I attended class during my Christmas break, on scholarship, I am thankful that I am able to even attend school. I feel blessed to have a husband who has for the most part been able to support our family enough for me to go to school nearly as long as we have been married. I am thankful that I can still go to school while raising our girls. I am thankful that soon enough I will graduate and will be the teacher I have wanted to be. I am thankful for school and look forward to one day receiving that bachelor's degree I have worked so hard for.

For school and so much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful-8

Day 8-Phone Calls

During deployments my phone becomes my best friend. It is always with me. I check it constantly. I am always worried that I might miss a call from him. During this particular deployment Mark and I have had some weeks where we are able to talk often, which is wonderful. Then there are some weeks when he is working tons and lets me know he will probably not be calling for a while. Of course those are the weeks that I have a thousand things going on, I have questions for him, I want to tell him something exciting, Jillian asks 100 times to "call daddy", or there is a big news story about something happening "over there". This week has been one of those weeks. And on top of that, he called on Wednesday, 3 times, and I missed it:(

So today as I attempted to enjoy some "window shopping" 2 weeks before Christmas (I know, I know, what was I thinking?!), 2 crazy screaming kids and 5,000 other "window shoppers", he decides to call. Of course the signal was horrible so I avoided the lines (after I drove a whole hour for this particular store), and headed to the car. The signal never got better and both girls were ready to be home....oh and my phone started going dead.

In the midst of chaos, I was so thankful to finally hear from my love. We spent over an hour discussing tuna fish, robots, Gert & Lillie's and car washs. Oh how I love and miss this man.

At least I have these wonderful phone calls to look forward to.

For phone calls from the desert and so much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful 7

Day 7-Homemade gifts

Today I spent a good portion of my day working on Christmas gifts. Last year I decided that for now on we would only do homemade gifts for everybody. I want to really focus on spending good quality time together, doing things for other people rather than worrying about buying things...what the season is all about. So for the past several months I have been saving Emma's formula cans knowing that around Christmas I might come up with something to do with them. Today I cleaned, cut, taped and glued many a formula can. I still have some goodies to make to put into the cans, but overall they are mostly done.

I felt really good making these not so glamrous gifts today for the many special people in our lives. I really enjoyed thinking individually about that people that these cans would go to, what they mean to our family, and hoping I don't burn the goodies:)

For homemade gifts and so much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful-6

Day 6-sappy music

I have metioned before that I love listening to music that seems to apply to where I am in my life. Today I heard some country song that was talking about "if I had one more wish it would be to have one more day with you". I have heard this song a million times before, but yesterday it made me think of my wonderful husband. As confident as I am that this man will be coming home to me next year, it still makes me terribly sad that he is not here now. He is my heart. All I wish is for one more day with him.

For sappy music and constant reminders of my love for my husband, and so much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful-5

Day 5- Jilli Bean

Tonight Jillian and I were reading a bed time story ,New York City A-Z, and saying our prayers. I was telling her about Jesus and how he died on the cross for us, although she thought I meant across, as in across a bridge:) Anyway I told her that now Jesus lives in her heart and her response was, "will Jesus break my heart?". (Now I am sure she now has a vision of some little Jesus figurine living inside her heart and thinks that maybe he can break her heart and come out.) Either way, I assured her that Jesus would never break her heart and loves her always.

As a parent I look forward to the day that she understands His love completely and knows that He is the only one who will not break her heart.

For my Jilli Bean and her precious young heart, and some much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful-4

Day 4-Me Time

I am not much of a loner. I love having people around, but I really love some time by myself too. Not tons, just a little. When Mark was home, after the girls went to bed we had our time. Typically he would play video games, I would be on the computer or we would watch T.V. together. I really looked forward to putting "mommy" to rest for the evening and just being "wife" and "friend". But with Mark's job, he is gone often. Not just because of deployment, but "field training", 24-hour duty, National Training Center in California, etc. So nearly every month I would get 1 or 2 nights all alone. The girls would go to bed, I would turn off the t.v., drink a can dr. pepper, eat m&m's and read my people magazine...my guilty pleasure:)

Now with Mark being gone for a year I like to stay busy, helps time to go by quicker, or at least I like to think it does. Between school, the girls, my own personal commitments, bills..yada yada, I don't make enough time for myself. I am not saying I don't get help with the girls and get to have dinner with friends often. Instead I mean I don't spend time by myself enough. I don't allow my brain to stop working and just enjoy the peace and quite and some "Paige" time.

So today as I was running errands by myself I treated myself to some can dr. peppers, m&m's, and my people magazine. Time for "Paige" time.

For Me Time and so much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful-3

Day 3-Cold Weather

Now let me just start off by saying that I pretty much HATE cold weather. I despise even the thought of being cold, especially my feet. I really wonder how I ever survived winters in Colorado. Needless to say I am a total wimp when it comes to cold weather.

But with that said, I love what cold weather means. Cold weather to me means fun times in the house with family, caramel apple cider from starbucks, tomato soup, warm blankets, flannel pj's and fires in the fireplace. I am not much of an outdoors person, so when it is cold, it gives me an excuse to stay inside:)

For cold weather and much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful-2

Day 2- Good Food

Today I am thankful for good food. I personally love to eat. I rarely miss a meal, especially a good home cooked meal. I am not that great of a cook, but I do enjoy cooking for others. I should do it more. Most every woman in my life is a wonderful cook and thanks to them, I don't go hungry. But today I had one great meal, cooked by a man, imagine that:) It was definatly one of my most favorite meals of all times.

Food is comfort and typically it brings people together, which I love.

For good food and much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful-1

Well I have tried this once, maybe this time I will actually stick with it:)
30 whole days of Thankfulness comin' at ya!

Day 1-Friends
I am completely exhausted. At this point tired is a complete understatement. But I am so grateful for this because today that means I have wonderful friends who keep me out late, keep me laughing, smiling and eating.
I have always felt that I am a good friend, at least I hope so. I tend to make friends easily and have many very special friendships. When we lived in Colorado we made several really great friends, young couples with young kids, seemed just right for our life. When I was preparing to move back home, for good, I was very sad to (physically) leave those friendships. These particular friends were part of our everyday lives. We went to the Y together, shared pregnancies, watched our children grown together, shared many a late night playing Rock Band. It was very hard to leave that knowing full well I did not have those same friendships in Texas. Instead I was welcomed back home with arms and hearts open wide from people whom all along were my friends, but just different friends. These friends are just the people I need in my life now, on a regular basis. We enjoy Monday Night Supper Club, midnight movie premieres, and breakfast at IHOP...at 10pm. I never would have thought that different times in my life would call for different kinds of relationships.
For all of my wonderful friendships and much more, I am thankful.

Be Thankful

Today I am thankful for my husband, my Marky Mark. I love him so much! I know without a doubt that he is the man God prepared for me. I prayed to meet a kind, loving, passionate, man of God, man, and that's exactly who Mark is. He is a wonderful husband who always knows how to make me smile. He loves to sing to me and dance with me in the kitchen while I burn dinner:) He watches chick flicks with me and puts the sprinkles on the cookies after I bake them. He passes out extra food to our neighbors when I try a new recipe and have way to much left over. He irons clothes. He loves to shop and dress the girls. He curls Jillian's hair. He eats whatever I cook, and lets me know if it is good enough to try again. He loves ice cream, flaming hot cheetos, and BMW's, especially his own. He loves to drive, fast. He enjoys soccer, video games, and diet wild cherry pepsi. He despises talking on the phone, mushrooms, and most chores.
Mark is the greatest father. Our two girls love him so much, I can't wait to see their faces when he comes home. He has always been the one to do the fun stuff with Jillian, like showing her how to ride her scooter, make sand necklaces and taking her to his BMW meets. He can't wait for both girls to be BMW enthusists like him;)
Mark is definetly the man I always hoped to meet and marry. He is my heart and I love him. Today I am thankful for my husband and all that he is to me.

Be Thankful

Today I am thankful for our two beautiful girls. Jillian has a contagious laugh and Emma's smile can't help but make you like up too. I love to watch them grow, learn new things, bring out the kid in me, and even in the hardest times and toughest days...these little girls are what keep me going.

Here are some pictures I took of them in their Christmas dresses for my very amateur attempt at "cheap" Christmas pictures:)

Be Thankful

So I am not as good at this daily blog as my inspiration, I will work on it.
Today I am thankful for email. Yes I realize it is pretty lame, but really I am so thankful for it. During deployment #1, Mark never had email access until two weeks before his return. The email simply said "I will see you in about 2 weeks!". That was the best email I had ever received. During deployment #2, we had discovered the Yahoo Messenger and were able communicate often, almost daily sometimes. This was so nice, especially as my belly grew and then as Jillian grew. Now, during Deployment #3, we have SKYPE (a type of messenger) and email. If Mark calls, he calls right through the computer which is pretty neat. But we also have email. I have not really learned to appreciate until the last couple of days. Just a little side note here, my husband is not the best communicator. I love him to pieces, but he can be the most frustrating person to speak to sometimes (i love you dear:). If you have ever heard the term, "talking to a brick wall", well meet Mark, he is the brick wall:). On to my point: since we don't get tons of time to talk to each other on the phone and he writes much better than he speaks anyway, a friend suggested we start an email game. Here are the rules: ask up to 3 questions per email, ask anything you want, but be creative, and be honest with your answers. We have just been playing for a few days now and I am already learning tons about my lovely soul-mate....I thought I would share my favorite so far: (hope you don't mind honey:)

3. When did you know that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me?
3. I don't think that there was a specific moment that I realized I wanted to marry you. It was more of a culmination of things. In fact, I think when I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you was when I would think of what my life would be like without you. When we were dating, I looked forward to seeing you everyday. When there were days that I didn't see you, I would be even more anxious to see you. Of course the thought of never seeing you or spending time with you ever again would make me upset. Even now, sometimes I have thoughts of losing you and it actually brings a tear to my eyes to think about losing the most important person in my life.

I love him:)

And if you think I am being mean to my husband about his communcation skills, read it for yourself:
2.If there is one thing that you could change about yourself what would it be and why?
2. If I could change one thing about myself I guess it would be better communication skills (especially with you). As you well know, it is very difficult for me to verbally express what I am feeling. I wish I could be like those guys in the Soap Opera's and say all the right things, because God knows that I think them. I just need the power to move the thoughts from my brain to my mouth.

he makes me smile:)

So anyway, I am very thankful for email, especially at this juncture in my life. I love being able to communicate with my husband in a different way.

Be Thankful

This week a friend started a month-long blog on Thankfulness and I think it is great idea. So, sorry Denyse, I am stealing your idea:)

Today I am most thankful for good friends. I have several of them. I have some who live here, some who live there, some I see often, some not so much. Some are military, some are Texans, some are moms, some are dads, and some are kids. (I am so blessed!) I am thankful for a friend knowing more than I do about myself and being there for me when I didn't really know I needed it. I am thankful for the selfless acts of friends, thankful for the precious times we have, thankful for the good food we share, and mostly, thankful for the "honesty";).