One more day...

Ha! As I should have predicted, hubby's homecoming isn't happening today. His plane broke down in Iceland. lol Poor guy. Now we're rescheduled for Monday at 11am. I'm rolling with the punches, unfortunately however my oldest is being a down right difficult child and I can't help but wonder if it's because of this. He is just lashing out at everyone, and though I understand his frustration and anger, it's not okay that he takes it out on those of us that are home. *sigh* Today is going to be looooooong.

On the bright side, I now have more time to clean up. lol Not to mention play with my "stuff". I posted a card I made today on my other blog, and I really need to get making a good website. I gave out several cards at the craft show yesterday, I need to have a website to support it, but I just so am NOT in the mood to create a website. I have the know how, I just don't have the gumption. I wish there were a lady out there that would trade me a website for a discount on scrapbook items. lol If you are out there, contact me!!

Oh... thought I'd leave with this picture of my daughter, bored at the craft show yesterday.

Finally Home...

Today has been excruciatingly long! But it hasn't always felt that way. The alarm went off bright and early at 6am. Out the door by 6:30. My oldest stayed home with our dog. Last night, my oldest thought it was a grand idea to play keep away with Nahla using one of those small rubber bouncy balls. Well, Nahla got it, and swallowed it whole! So while I'm freaking out Nahla's quite pleased with herself. Thankfully the vet said she should be able to pass it (while she's barely a 5mo old pup, she weighs 40lbs, she's a big girl), he gave me some medicine to give to her to help her poop. So since my oldest was the one to feed her the ball, he got to stay home to take her potty constantly and see if that stupid ball makes it through.

Anyway, I dropped my youngest two off at a friends house, then my oldest daughter and I headed to the craft show. It was pretty easy to set up, I had one table their for me. When the doors opened at 9am the guy that was to my back dumped all of his oils on his six pails of potpurri. While I've always liked potporri, sitting by buckets of it for hours on end isn't good. Come noon my head was pounding, and when 4pm came I couldn't wait to get out of there. Thankfully 3/4 of my stuff sold and it was a super quick pick up. I hope to be able to do the show again next year. With more time to prepare I can make more things and be less stressed about it. I was shocked that three of my cards actually sold for $3 ea and I had several people take a business card and even chatted about my cricut machine with a few!

Anyhow, so now my head is pounding, but it's been a good day. I pick up my kids and as I'm driving towards Pizza Hut to pick up our pasta for dinner (I love their chicken pasta) the phone rings. It's the army. I get to pick up my husband Sunday afternoon!! It's supposed to be COLD tomorrow, and the ceremony is outside, so hopefully it will be quick. The poor guys have been in the desert for the last 15 months, they think 60 is down right cold. We're not even supposed to hit 40* tomorrow, and our off and on snow is supposed to continue tomorrow. What a homecoming it will be!

So, if I'm not around my computer much the next couple days you'll know why. He's supposed to have two days off before he has to go back to work, till the 13th when his block leave starts. So I'm sure I'll get to the computer by the end of the week. But I doubt I'll be around my puter for the next two days or so. :D

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's that day again! The often under appreciated day when we are reminded of all the blessings we have in our life. And I have lots of them! I could easily sit here and type out a list of 100 things I have to be thankful for. The good Lord has given me so many blessings in my life. As I redecorated this blog for Christmas, I hope all my friends, and those who happen to cross my blog somehow will see the Lord's fingerprints in their lives.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A lonnnnnng time...

First, I want to say very publicly, thank you Jenni! For understanding my need to vent despite the fact that I know all of this stuff already. lol And of course my mom... who I called immediately begging for her to come do my craft show for me. lol Thanks for laughing with me through it all.

I'm a military wife of 13 years, this is not the first homecoming I've been through, though this is the longest he's ever been away. He left on the 3rd of Sept. 07. He'll be home just days shy of 15 solid months. I know that it's perfectly 'normal' for the emotions to range from anxiety to pure excitement. There's even resentment, fear, joy, and awkwardness. It's all very usual... but just because it's 'normal' does not mean it's easy.

This morning as I was cleaning up my kitchen, preparing to get my pie started, my mind wandered to the changes that have happened in this house since he's been gone. There's been a lot.

The first one that comes to my attention (probably because I can't take two steps without running into her) is our Nahla.

I am so sorry Jenni, you've asked me about her often, and I somehow always forget to snap a pic of her. Even now that I have, it doesn't show her size well, all I can say is when we got her, her head was well below my knees when I sat. Now you can see she's waaaay taller than that. But I just love this picture, she's so.... handsome in it. (Can I use that word to describe a girl dog?) She is beautiful but she is a handful! She's a very large, playful, rambunctious (did I mention large?) puppy. She is however my hubby's favorite breed, so hopefully he'll fall in love with her. Hopefully she won't mind him to much as well. lol I can see the two of them getting along.

Then there's the fact that when he left I was homeschooling the kids. Now they go to the public school, which involves a huge change for them, but also for our schedule. There's dropping off, and picking up, tutoring days to keep straight not to mention homework.

When he left the kids were not in extra activities, now there's Gymnastics, Taekwando, Library Story time, Calvary Kids Club and soon there will be basketball as well.

All of his kids are a year older, half of them have had two birthdays since he's been gone.

I'd have to say one of the biggest differences is me. Quite frankly, I was depressed. I had the joy of the Lord, but being joyful is not the same as being happy. I was depressed, I didn't take care of my self, I didn't put even an ounce of effort into my appearance. And though I still do not wear makeup, and I'm not all about my looks, I have self worth and value now. The Lord has worked on me lots while my husband's been gone.

And you know, I'm sure the biggest changes are those that I don't know about yet. The ones in him. Those that know our story know that there has to have been major changes for him. I mean we faced divorce square in the eye while he was gone. It's weird. Fifteen months is a long time.

Got a phone call

It's not the phone call... As that title is reserved for the worst phone call military families fear. Nope I got the "you can expect your spouse home between this three day window" call. While I'm glad, and it's nice to know he's on his way, I am so worried that he's going to come in on Saturday! I payed a $55 fee just to have a table at this fair, I sunk over $100 worth of stuff into creating my goods for this fair. Now watch, I won't be able to go because I'll have to pick up my husband. Is it wrong for me to pray he won't come in until after six pm on that day? It is isn't it! There's no way I'm NOT going to pick him up. I mean it's the end of a 15 month deployment. But man... it'll hurt to not have the opportunity to recoup the costs... Listen to me I sound horrible!!

Around

Around... that's what I've been. Just not here. Life's busy, I've got the craft show this weekend, throw in Thanksgiving, and trying to mentally/emotionally prepare for the husband's return. His e-mail today told me that they're no longer working, now they just sit around waiting to get flights out. My poor hubby is probably going to be stuck in Kuwait for Thanksgiving. Oh well, it beats being in Iraq.

I'm afraid I don't have a ton to say. I just wanted to check in today, I've had a horrible case of the headaches tormenting me. No amount of tylenol has worked, this is not normal for me. I'm taking a small break tonight to watch Wall-e with the kids. It's a cute movie. I'll probably post on Sunday or Monday telling how my craft show went. Hopefully it'll go well.

The answer to that question is...

You know that ancient question... "Is there such a thing as too much of a 'good' thing?" I have the answer. YES!! There is such a thing. I have been crafting my little heart out whenever I can, and I can tell I'm headed for burn out. I have over 2 dozen different little baggies that are partially done. They're awaiting filling, ribbon and accents. I feel like I'll never get it done!

Of course, in between those I did do a quick goodie bag for a friend of mine from church, and I stayed up to the wee hours of the night last night making a card for my Grandma. It turned out so cute, I was determined to take a picture of it. But this morning when I woke up I forgot all about taking pictures of it. I filled in the inside, and mailed it! lol That's what I get for crafting instead of sleeping.

If this show turns out to be a success, I know I'll want to do it again next year. Just next year I'll have three months to work on it, instead of just three weeks!

What I've learned...

Today has been a busy day filled with ups and downs. It could so easily make a long post of details, much like a checked off "to do" list. But you know, I think at the end of this day, I must stop and reflect on why it was the way it was. What was God trying to whisper in my ear today?

How about the fact that even though you know what's best for your children, they often want to learn their lesson on their own, which means doing it the hard way. The same could be said of those of us who are God's children. He knows what's best for us, and we know He knows what's best for us. But we are determined to give our way a shot, and finding out, often times the hard way, that we really should have tried His way.

Or how about the first person to volunteer to reprimand, usually isn't the one who should be doing it. Rather it should be the one who is most hesitant to speak. Being less "gung ho" about correcting someone gives you time to pray for the correct words so you can approach the person with love, rather than self righteousness. And when you pray for God's guidance regarding the way in which you should approach someone, He will always provide, if you are the one He wants to use. If you don't hear from Him, then pray some more and keep your mouth shut!

How about the best laid out plans need to be disposable. When God wants to interrupt your daily planner, let Him!

Then there's always the fact that you never know just what an impact you have on someones life. You may not hear from a person, and you think your deeds are unnoticed, or really don't amount to beans. When truthfully you've made a huge impact on their life, and they just don't know how to tell you.

And every now and then, the things your children do that worry you the most, are the exact same things you were guilty of yourself as a kid. And you must ponder... am I lecturing them, or me when I was that age? Let's face it, our kids are "just like us" and it drives us nuts!

To those whom I take for granted, I am sorry. I pray that I will listen closer to God's tiny whisper.

Can't Focus

Today has been the polar opposite of yesterday. Yesterday started out cruddy but quickly transformed into a good day. Today started out fantastic, then quickly transformed into a cruddy day. I let Nahla stay outside last night since the cloud cover was supposed to keep the temps up. So I was able to sleep in till 7:30! Talk about fabulous! But as I woke I realized my whole body ached, and when I tried to talk with my kids, I had no voice! It came back to me as I got up and moving, but I sound like someone who's been smoking for 80 years!

This sinus thing is going around my family. Started with my youngest, has gone full circle up the ranks to me. Unfortunately though it seems my baby picked up another version of it, as she had a fever when she crawled into bed tonight. We just have to get past this this weekend!

I tried to craft today, I really did. When I think that the craft show is only 2 weeks away now, I want to go into panic mode! I have virtually nothing right now. I managed to make about six packets today but then I just quit. I did not like how they were turning out. I just can't concentrate and be creative when my body aches like it does.

The whole day was not wasted though. We got a boatload of laundry done today. And I do say "we". My kids rocked it for me today! They each folded their own, and separated out mine, helped me with the socks. (Have I ever mentioned that I HATE folding socks?) Given we haven't had a truly warm warm day in a while I bit the bullet and put up all the summer clothes so we have enough hangers for the long sleeve shirts. I do feel that today wasn't wasted, it just wasn't spent where I needed it! So now, I am on my way to bed. Unfortunately it's dipping into the mid 20s tonight, so Nahla is inside. Here's hoping she doesn't "retrieve" things out of the trash for me while I'm sleeping. It all leaves me asking, "Why, oh why did I get a dog again?" lol

Oh, I almost forgot. My daily thankful. I did forget yesterday. (I'm slapping my own hand.) Well, yesterday I was very thankful for the fabulous teachers that my kids have. They are fantastic women, and I am so thankful that God has provided an excellent school for my kids.

Today, I am thankful for $1.99 a gallon gas!! Here I thought it would never go below $2 again in my lifetime! Woo-hoo! Just in time for hubby to get home and do his long drives to work. The gas prices before he left was killing us. This will be a little easier to swallow.

A dog sorta day

Today's been a longer, yet relaxed day. Although, it didn't start that way. This morning I woke to sounds of our puppy's paws on the kitchen floor. There was a lot of foot steps for so early in the morning. Little alarm bells went off in my head. So I got out of bed and what did I find? Clothes everywhere!! I have a laundry basket in the living room of clean but unfolded clothes. It's like a pit of socks that I just can't force myself to fold.

Well, at least they used to be, until my dog decided she would spread them out all over the floor. Boy, was I not happy. And boy did she find out. After grabbing a hold of her, spanking her hind quarters and dragging her out to the back yard I forced myself to take stock of the damage. Surprisingly they were wet from dog slobber, but there were no tears or holes. Go figure, she played with them, didn't tear them apart. Labs are listed as retrieving dogs, is that what she was doing?

Now I'll have to decide, do I lock her up in her Kennel where she's guaranteed to wake me up super early, or do I hide the basket of clothes and take my chances with her retrieving something else?

Needless to say, I wasn't in the bests of moods. Thankfully I got a great e-mail from my friend which boosted my spirits. The morning hours were then spent crafting. Nothing to show for my efforts yet, but I hope to complete them tomorrow. This afternoon I had Parent - Teacher conferences to go to. Thankfully they went well. Johnathan is finally going up a level in reading class. He had started in the higher class, but because of his behavior, they moved him down. Though he still struggles with his behavior, he has improved enough they want to put him back up. I'm worried that the change in teachers and the change in routines is going to stir up some problems, but I'm hopeful that having work that isn't a cakewalk for him will help as well. The boy acts up when he's bored, so this just might help!

My older two have improved a lot since first getting there. They had big adjustments to make from having only been homeschooled to now being in public school. I adore my kids' teachers. They're all fantastic ladies.

This evening we have gymnastics class and Taekwondo. I'm planning on taking the kids out to a new fast food place that just opened up; Freddy's Steakburgers and Frozen Custard. I've never heard of it before, I hear it's just a tad expensive, but they deserve it!

One of those days...

Today is turning out to be one of those days. It seems like nothing I do comes out right. I've wasted so much time today attempting to get things accomplished and yet at the end of it all, absolutely nothing was accomplished. Add to it the fact I'm sick, and some really harsh words spoken by a child, I can't wait to climb in bed. First I have to head out to the church. If I hadn't promised I'd help with the packing of Operation Christmas Child boxes I wouldn't be going. I'm glad I am though. Even when all I want to do is crawl under a rock, getting myself to church around those who love God and love me helps to lift my spirits. Even if there are a bunch of loud kids running around.

My friend has gotten in the habit of posting what she is thankful for everyday. I think I need to start doing this! Force your mind to dwell on the positives and your bound to lift your mood a little. Today I'm so thankful for the years God gave me with my kids at home. Yesterday during Taekwondo, the leader revealed the new weapon that they're going to start training with in January. It's basically a glorified, shiny plastic sword. All the kids oohed and awed over it. Someone asked how much it is... "It's usually $50. But these two weeks it's on sale for $40." My jaw dropped. Holy cow! He then mentioned that you could train with the brown stick instead.

When we got home and I was tucking my kids in for the night, I asked my son what he thought about it. Of course he thought it was really cool. I asked if he had heard how much it costs. He hadn't. When I told him, I followed up with, "If you get that for Christmas, I'm afraid that's going to have to be your main gift." His reply? "Okay, I want the stick then." With no pouty face, no big bottom lip, no hint of sadness in his voice. I was floored. I asked him several times, "Really?" I asked him how he can say that so calmly. "Because I don't care what other people have. I don't want what they have." I was floored. This coming from my seven year old son. I just have to get it for him now. He totally deserves it.

So yeah, I'm thankful for my son, and the time God's given me with them. Here I thought nothing was sinking in!

Organizing

I've decided to split my blog up a little bit. I've created a new one just for showcasing the crafty things I do. I hope in the future I can use this as a means to compliment my business site. Not that I'll be selling things on it, but it'll be more of a "see what I did with this" type of thing. I spent last night moving most of my crafty posts from here over to there. This way folks that are interested in that type of stuff can browse a blog that doesn't have a lot of my personal reflections and stories on it.

I'm still trying to get things organized, it'll be a work in progress. Hope you don't mind Jenni, I like the background on your blog so much I got mine from the same site. I'm such a copy cat!

Anyhow the new one is Cards 'N Things. And I posted the two cards I made yesterday. :)

Happy Veteran's Day

You know, growing up as a kid, I heard about Veteran’s Day. I knew what it was about, but I never really did truly appreciate it. I’m 99% certain that’s true for all kids. It’s just not something you think about in your days of youth. I’m afraid to say that I feel the same is true for a lot of adults in this country too. You can’t truly appreciate what a veteran, or active military member does unless it’s touched your life somehow. I mean, I’m thankful for police and firefighters. I think they are true heroes, often unsung. But I can’t truly appreciate what it is they do. Put their life on the line every day.

The same was true of me, even as a military wife, until this war on terror started. When I married my husband back in ’95, the only war I knowingly lived through was Desert Storm. And that was pretty much short and sweet. I was in high school during that war, I was more concerned about the drama going on with my friends than some war that was in another country. I was more into 90210 than watching the nightly news. The first six years of our marriage was during peace time. There were a couple two or three month exercises in the field. All really no big deal. Then 9-11 happened. That’s the beginning of my getting to truly appreciate Veterans and what they’ve done for us.

My kids’ school had an hour long Veteran’s Day ceremony today. I wish the school district I grew up in would have tried to actually teach us the importance of this day. Not that I can guarantee I would have listened if they had, but who knows, maybe I would have. The local VA chapter came to the school, carried the flags and opened the ceremony. Not ten minutes into the thing I had my first opportunity to fight tears. A gentleman placed a black POW cover on an empty chair in the front, the speaker explaining that the gentleman doing so was himself a POW of Vietnam. I lost the fight with the tear that formed in my eye. The things that man and his family had to endure, and all those that never return home. What can I say, it got to me.

The high school’s marching band was there, among other songs they played the theme songs for the five branches of the military. I leaned into my daughters’ ear during the Marine Corps song. “If Daddy were here he’d be singing the words.” She smiled. Her daddy would drive me absolutely nuts walking around the house singing that song. Later I found out they have been teaching the kids those songs. I think my husband has a singing partner in Kirsten now. They both sing off key so it’ll be beautiful.

They asked the students of the school to stand if they have a relative that is serving or has served, I was shocked when somewhere around 90% of the kids stood. Granted, most of those were probably grandkids of military members, but still. A list of names was called out of people that were present who have served, each stood and were applauded. Some that stick out in my memory, one of the last survivors of Perl Harbor, WWII vet, and a nurse who served in the Nurse’s Corp. They called my husband’s name. My kids got to stand up for him. Again, I had to fight the tears.
My husband and I don’t always agree on things, my nose would grow if I said we’ve had more good years together than bad. But I’m ready for him to be home. And I’m proud of him. And I’m proud of my kids. And I pray that I do a better job of teaching my kids how important it is to be truly thankful for those who have served and die for our country, than I was taught as a child. My job may be easy, as their lives have been deeply touched and torn by this war.

Oh, before I forget. Our town ordered some banners to go on the light poles of the town’s main street. There’s only four flags, but on one side they say something like “St. George salutes those who serve our country.” (Not an exact quote, I'm going from memory.) And the other sides have names of people who live here that have served, or are currently serving.



That’s my hubby, second one down. Say what you may about hick town St. George, who’s only businesses in city limits is a bar and a barber shop. I’m proud to live here.

The jury is out...

Last night I awoke to the sounds of my younger son struggling to breathe. There's no hint of a fever, but he's congested so thick it isn't funny. So, he got to stay home today. When my kids stay home sick from school they have to lay down all day. And take a nap. Come lunch time I'll run down to the school and pick up his school work for him to do. I'm just so very thankful that we don't have to go anywhere today!

So, in between pouring drink refills, I've been working on my next craft. I'm not so sure I like the took of this one. There's something that just doesn't do it for me, but I can't think of any other way to finish it. It's supposed to be a paper Christmas Tree.



I swear it's not really that crooked, I just took a tilted picture.

Oh, to answer the question you left in comments Jenni... It's the Cricut Machine by Provo Craft. I have secret hopes for an Expression one day, which uses the same cartridges but can make images twice as big. One day, one day. :)

Sweet Science...

Well, no crafting yet today, instead the kids and I have worked on cleaning up the house (yet AGAIN) and doing their science projects. They've been learning about the scientific process of doing experiments, and they were to come up with their own to do at home.

My daughter (the smart one) decided she would compare lemons and oranges to see which has more juice. Yeah, so it seems like a no brainer, but it's the sort of blonde idea she comes up with.

I was surprised that her arm held up through the juicing of six fruits (3 lemons + 3 oranges). The favorite part for her, was when it was all done...

I found out that you have to add a whole lot of sugar to make lemon juice drinkable!

As for my son... I swear, he can't leave his stomach out of anything! Including science! His project... finding out which has more candies in it, a bag of Skittles or a bag of M&Ms. I know... not very scientific. But he's able to do the scientific process with it, so the teacher said it counts. (I know you're dying to know... over all M&Ms had more, but not by much.)



So yeah, you can bet they're anxious to eat those six bags of goodies!

Before all the "science" activity going on, we were cleaning up the house once again. When I found out that hubby is NOT going to be home for Thanksgiving I felt that there's no reason to celebrate. I mean, it's just me and my kids, why cook a gigantic meal? You cook for hours making a ton of food that takes a whole fifteen minutes to sit and eat then you get the hour plus of cleaning to do. I wanted to just skip Thanksgiving all together.

But as I took stock of how things are, this morning I decided to stop being a party pooper and I brought out my fall decorations. I'm glad I did. Sitting in a cluttered house really does put a damper on your spirit. With the pretty fall items around me I'm in the mood to cook and just accomplish general household stuff. Let's see if that hold's out till Thanksgiving. For some reason I highly doubt it!

On my way to bed...

Oye... I am one tired mommy. This morning was spent at the bank and out to a few stores. Besides the necessities for feeding four kids I was looking for things to get my craft show making self in gear. By time we got home it was after lunch time, so I took care of my kiddos and got to work.

My mindset is I want to make a variety of things, but it all has to come back to my Cricut machine. That way if someone asks how I do it, I'll have the crack in the door to stick my foot through. Not to mention the stalls have electricity, so I'll probably bring my machine with me. That way I can work on things when I sit and am bored, but also it wouldn't hurt to have it out in the open.

Anyway, I decided to start with something simple and easy. This show is all about homemade holidays, so I'm focusing on inexpensive gifts and home decor. That way whatever doesn't sell will make nice little gifts for teachers and what have you. The Christmas Clips posted by Teza over at Christmas Cards All Year 'Round seemed like the perfect little simple thing to get myself started.

Ha ha... was I fooled. While the project itself is really super simple, I had to open a brand new Christmas Cartridge for my cricut and it took me a while to figure that thing out. Not that it gave me problems, but that I was making one of something in several sizes to get the right fit! That's okay though, because I'm collecting the extras I made and they'll be put to good use later.

Anyhow, I'm going to market these as photo holders. For the show I'll actually print out a picture from Christmas past... but for this, I just grabbed the first photo I could find.



I absolutely love these little snowflakes. I'm definitely going to have to play around with them to see what works of art I can create. Here's a close up, just because I want to. :)



I did a few in the more traditional color schemes of Green and Red. Man... getting all those itty pieces of snow (white paper) on their right took a lot of time. I am just so thankful that I have nails, or it would have been impossible. I have sticky fingertips from that!



And last but not least, some pointsettas. These were the very first ones I did. I'm not entirely happy with all of them. As you can see I ran out of ribbon and I will need to get some more!



Anyhow, so these will most likely be my simplest items. I'm hoping to get a paper tree made tomorrow. After I spend the morning on chores and getting all the kids school work done, and I HAVE to find the Sunday School book. I can't find it, and I need to teach on Sunday! Oye... I'm in trouble. lol

Jenni... I so totally owe you an e-mail, as long as to a few other as well. I will be working on that in the morning. For now it is after 11pm. I'm going to take the dog out to pee and then I'm crawling in bed!

Out of my mind

Yup, I must be out of my mind! I found out there is a craft show three weeks from Saturday in Manhattan. While I can't sell my products, I could sell items I make from my products. It's a good potential opportunity to get my business name out there. The only down side is I now have a ton of crafting to do. By time December comes I will be all crafted out!

I forsee lots of pictures will hit this blog in the coming weeks. Part of me wants to start tonight, but I am so tired, I can barely keep my eyes open. I just might be going to bed the same time as my kids do!

Tearing people apart

Have you seen the new sprint commercial where firefighters are in charge of the government? If not, check it out here. It really is a great commerical.

If only life was that simple eh? I had told myself the best idea when it came to politics and my blog was to keep them separate! Everywhere I look I see politics causing problems between people. It seems like politics and religion are the two topics that are guaranteed to cause problems. While I will speak openly about my beliefs and my faith, I'm not so quick to do so when it comes to politics. Why? Cause I believe my faith is the truth. The truth that has the power to save people from hell. I know there are many in this world that would call me closed minded, old fashioned but I don't care what they think of me. The world rejected my Savior, why would I expect to be treated any differently?

But when it comes to politics and who is the best person for various jobs, I do not think there is a "truth". I have my opinions, my neighbors have theirs, the media has their own. Politics is something that I've always taken the "agree to disagree" high road. And I don't want to descend from that in this post. But as I'm up late tonight, thanks to my poor baby girl having a fever, I'm watching the news, and I'm just troubled. Since I haven't been able to talk with my husband for some time, I have no one to discuss it with. So, I'm turning to this. It's my only option other than keeping it all bottled up in myself.

As for the title of my post... I do, I see politics tearing friends apart. I found myself correcting people. Obama is not a Muslim, Obama is not the anti-christ. And the fact that people scoffed at me over stating the facts is telling. Why were people so scared of him that they resorted to making lies to attack him? All that does is make the other side look cowardly, devious and desperate. It does more harm to them than to the candidate they were hoping to damage.

I will say upfront that last night CNN was my channel of choice for election coverage. I see NBC as far too left, and Fox as a bit right. I do think that CNN tilts to the left, but overall they're fair. Their fancy hologram reporting was a bit over the top for me, the money spent on all that fancy show off technology could have been used for far better causes, but ehh, what ya gonna do about that?

I was intrigued last night, as they broke down the information they gathered from exit polls. Since I can't seem to find it on the CNN website today, I'll do my best to pull it from memory. Over 60% of the people that said race was a major factor in their choice voted for Obama. I think that is wrong. Just like the near 50% of people that voted against him because of his race is wrong. I am by no means a racist, four years ago I wished that Collin Powell would put his bid in for the presidency. But to vote for or against someone because of the color of their skin. That's just wrong. I understand and agree that a major turning point happened in this country, and quite frankly I'm glad that it did happen. I just wish no part of it would have been based on such superficial reasons.

On the flip side, a lot of people voted against McCain because of his age. While I don't agree with that, I think it is legitimate. I mean, lets face the facts, I think John McCain is a hero of this country, I feel his image was drug through the mud and distorted, both by the other side, and his own campaign. But he is no spring chicken, and having Palin as the president in waiting... that just doesn't jive. While I admire Palin and all she stands for. Every person is made to fullfill a role in this world, I just don't think the President is one she was created for at this time of her journey, she just didn't have the knowledge or experience for it.

I admit, as I watched John McCain give his speech last night, I was deeply moved. He is a man of integrity all the way. When his supporters booed Obama, he stopped them. The clincher of the night was when he blamed the failure of his campaign on himself. That was sad to me. I don't want him to ever see himself as a failure. No, he's not perfect, no one on this planet is, but that man has given more to this country than most people can even dream of.

So now that Obama is our president elect, I'm worried for him. So many people have put him on this pedestal that is ridiculously high. He has been handed one of the worst situations our country has ever been in, and a ton of people are looking to him to solve all of our problems. To the best of my knowledge, there is not a president in recent history that has kept many of the promises they made while running for the office. Many people really believe he is different, they expect him to deliver. For that, I have to say good luck. Good luck Obama, you're going to need it!

I saw a video clip where a preacher was basically calling Obama the messiah for today. A different person compared him to Jesus, at the same time comparing Palin to Pilate. Never have I heard Obama put himself there, but others have. Others are looking to him to save this country. That's a very large task for anyone. Even though he has a majority of the house and the senate on his side, which is guaranteed to make things a bit easier on him, the problems this country currently faces have no easy fix.

I'm curious, once he gets all those super secret briefings, will his stance on speedy withdrawal from Iraq change? Or is he going to stay true to his promises of withdrawing all troops sometime in 2010? Will he still dump a ton of money into health care, and schools while not increasing taxes? Where's that money going to come from? I just don't see how he can keep all those promises. And honestly why should we expect him to? All other presidents in our life time have not kept their promises, why should he? Because his followers believe whole heartily that he is the answer to all of our problems.

I will be interested to see how it is received if he can not deliver all he promised. Will the media kindly forget the promises, as they did when he said he would not accept public funding but then did anyway? Or will they tear him apart over every little weakness as they do President Bush? I have my own opinion, but I will wait to see.

Now I will do as my Father has commanded. Romans 13:1 "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." There's a reason why Obama is having his moment to shine. No one can look at his journey to the White House and call it ordinary. The world is watching, we shall see what he does.

So now that I've unloaded all that was on my chest, I don't plan on posting anymore political blurbs. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, that was definitely not my intentions. I just needed to share some of my thoughts. I promise, once my hubby is home (some time around Dec. 10th I've learned tonight) ya'll won't be subjected to it as much. :)

Out of breath...

I am a bit out of breath. Literally. Today has been a whirlwind, and I am definitely looking forward to a smoother tomorrow. My day started off badly, I couldn't find the dog's shot records, so as I looked for it I was wishing my mom a happy birthday. Head off to the vet's, drop the dog off back home and head out to a friends house to brief him and the pastor so he can take over the admin stuff at church. Come home for half an hour before getting my youngest from school, help him with his homework, go back and get my other two. Head out to Pizza Hut so they could use their book it coupons, drive through a huge storm out to base to deliver a title, then head to trainin on base. Get home, it's already 9pm. I feel like today was so packed full of stuff, if it weren't for my headache I'd fall asleep instantly. Thankfully tomorrow's highlights are dishes, laundry, prepping my Sunday School lesson and eating lunch with my kids at school. I am looking forward to it!

The meeting on base tonight was interesting. I am struggling to not be so selfish. My hubby will be one of the last ones home since he's training their replacements. They're expecting the majority of hubby's company home no later than the 15th of this month. The rear d shared that they'll have 5 days of reintergration stuff, after that they're pretty much going to have nothing to do until their block leave. So here, my husband isn't coming home till after the 6th of December, he misses a tiny bit of block leave. It just feels that those leaving now are getting an extra month of leave. I should be happy for them, but I'm jealous! I know envy is a sin, but it's so hard to not feel like you're getting the short end of the stick.

I was surprised to hear that the guys that came back about three weeks ago, they've already had a drunk driving arrest, sexual assault and something else. To sit and listen to other wives share their frustrations and how they pretty much don't want their husband's home. It's just sad. These are real people, real lives, and they're so screwed up. I'm so thankful I know Jesus. He's the only reason I'm okay, and I don't know how people do it without him!

Everyone is doin it...

Well, at least everyone should be doin it. Voting that is. I headed down this morning, it was my first time to ever actually stand in line. In the past I always voted via absentee ballot thanks to being part of the military. This year though when going through my separation that I was sure was going to happen, I decided to become a Kansas Resident, so this year I got to stand in line. Thankfully our town is small, and even with all the surrounding area having the same polling place I was in and out in just under an hour. Not too shabby. I do have to say I'm glad it's done. This year is unlike any other, and I really feel that this election fits into the end of times. I love this country, but I believe it's passed it's golden days. Things are happening, times are changing, and my Savior is coming back soon.

The older gentleman next to me in line said he feels this is going to be a waste of his time. He's sure his man isn't going to win. I shared my philosophy on voting. If you vote, and your man does not win, then you have the right to complain in the future. If you didn't vote, then you have no right to complain. I remember four years ago, it seemed the whole world was certain Bush wasn't going to get a second term. However he did. I felt then, those that hated him, but didn't bother to actually vote, they couldn't complain. They had their chance and didn't take it.

I have a feeling though, this time around, I'll be the one who bought her free to complain card. lol Either way my God is big and I place my trust in my God, not my president.

A-OK

Wow... it's been near a week since my last post. I swear I'm not hiding! Things have just been busy, busy, busy. I'm trying to get ready to pass along the administrative duties to someone else. In doing so Pastor asked for me to make some changes and it's all just kind of spiraled out of control. Things are a mess, and I hate to pass on a mess, but I just can't keep this up!

Today I selfishly spent the day creating. Unfortunately I can't post pictures of any of what I created even though I'm absolutely tickled pink over them. The baby announcements for my friend turned out great, I hope you love them Jenni! Made a birthday card for my mom, and a card to go in my friend's package. I want all of them to be a surprise to their recipients and they each visit my blog, so no pics are to be posted.

We spent last night at the mall. Johnathan participated in the yearly "Board Breaks for a Cure". The ATA classes try to raise donations for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation by breaking 1000 boards in under an hour. This year they did it in less than 40 minutes. I took some video and wanted to post it, but I can't get Windows Movie Maker to work correctly. I'll keep working on it, eventually something has to go right for me! Johnathan enjoyed it, and if anyone doubted the boards were real, there were enough "Oww!!"s proclaimed and bags of ice being passed around to prove they were real. lol It was a good time though.

I'm afraid I'm still gonna be a little hard to get a hold of till the end of this week. Monday I'm dedicating to the church books. Tuesday is the usual taking Caitlin to class, but also need to go wait in line to vote. Wednesday I'll be with the pastor and the guy who's taking over my admin duties. Thursday will be busy with errands, hopefully Friday I'll be able to breathe!

At least staying busy helps the days to fly by. I just hate feeling like I'm never caught up.