I Want it Wednesday! (R & R)

Yes that's right...I want R & R to be here now!

Well it's coming soon and I just can't wait. I have some special things planned for us and then the rest of the time we will just have some fun and spend time with his family. I'm really excited! I haven't been able to post this week because all I want to talk about on here is him coming home! AHHH!!! I'm so excited. It feels so unreal that it's getting so close. So don't be surprised if I go MIA (again...I know!) for a while. But, I will try to post some pictures and stuff when possible. For now, I will just have to find SOMEthing to blog about. :-)

Such a Beautiful Place!

I haven't had a chance to really sit and post yet since we got back from my brother's graduation last weekend at Notre Dame. So here I am looking at pictures from the weekend. It is such a gorgeous campus and I feel like anybody who gets a chance to visit should take the opportunity. (and if you can go and make it to a football game you would be NUTS not to go...cuz that's an absolute blast!)

Here are some outdoor photos of the campus:

(The Grotto~ You can light candles for people and pray.)

(Above is Our Lady of Lourdes and below (just beyond the fence) you can see Bernadette looking up at her)

(The Golden Dome atop the main building on campus)


(The Basilica)

(The top of the Basilica)

WOW~ It is just such a gorgeous campus and a beautiful place to walk around. I will post pictures of the inside of the Basilica later. It is quite the site to see.

Military Wives

This pretty much sums it all up so I thought I would share...Nope I'm not a military wife (yet, at least!) but I definitely can relate to all of it. Hope you enjoy! And to all of you out there who are moving or waiting, or for that matter...doing both, good luck and remember that you are NEVER alone!

Military Wives

Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house;
Moving curtains that won't fit;
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!
They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...

She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move...
.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS;
Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands;
his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed;
the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has a HEART and a love for her husband,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband,
She will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way

Congratulations are in Order!

...to my brother!

Congratulations on completing your MBA at Notre Dame! I am so proud of you and look forward to seeing what the future has in store for you.

Along with congrats, good luck! In your endeavors this summer as you travel through Europe for a month, and then in your new job which you start in August! You are going to do great. Keep up the good work.

(Pictures of this beautiful campus and the graduation to come later!)

Getting Back into Blogging

Well it's been WAY to long since I posted and caught up with everybody's blogs. I'm sorry if you felt like I fell off the face of the planet (I kind of did~HAHA!). School is done for the semester so now I feel like I can breath again. It's great. Such a good feeling to have everything turned in and not have any assignments and due dates to worry about right now.

I received an award from Star at Star Spangled Stockings. Thanks for the award! I love it. And what better way to get back into the swing of blogging than an award. So here's the Sweet Blog Award. (How cute!)
So now to pass on this award to 10 other bloggers:

1. Carmen at We See the Same Stars
2. Miss Jody at Miss Fancy Pants
3. Jenn at Mrs Army Wife
4. Meg at Harrison Clark
5. Expat Girl at The Sand is Different Here
6. LMC at 'Cause I Don't Know How it Gets Better Than This
7. Whitney at Everything Happens for a Reason
8. Steph at Watching Airplanes
9. JG at Me and My SoldierMan
10. Lisa at Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right

If any of you have already received this award, I'm sorry, but it just means that you have an extra sweet blog! :-) Enjoy!

SOOOO excited to get back into being able to really enjoy blogging again.

Happy Mother's Day!

To My Mommy ~
Today is your day. Thanks for all you have done for me throughout the past 25 years and for what I know you will do for me in the future. You have always been a wonderful mom and I'm glad that we have become so close over the years.

To All the Other Moms Out There (Especially You Military Moms) ~
Thanks for raising your children and being there for them. Just remember that your military brats love you and need you more than most moms. When daddy is gone you are mommy and daddy for them. Of course daddy is always there, but you take on a larger roll. May God bless you for what you are doing and help you along your journey of Motherhood.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

What Do You Think?

If you were to see this in the sky...what would you think it was?! And I mean...like from the distance. HAHA!!!

Cuz one of my friends and I were driving home tonight from the outlets (so it was dark) and we saw a shiny "star-like" thing which was changing colors, moving, flashing and just looked strange. She said it was a UFO and I said it was a comet which was coming to end the world as we know it. HAHA! Yes~ We let our minds run and had a good time with it. Needless to say though, we had to "follow" it to figure out what it was and once we got there we eventually realized that it was a blimp. It was pretty awesome. As we got closer and closer the story of what it was kept changing. It was a light with a pole attached (she could have sworn she saw a pole). It was a parachute and then just a balloon. Then we realized what it was. It was just strange because for some reason we forgot about a HUGE event in our city which would cause such a thing to be in the sky. But it was pretty perfect and made us laugh HYSTERICALLY after a very LONG day. So, it was great! Hope you've all had a fabulous day because all in all...I know I have!