Fall Fun

I have not blogged in it seems about forever, yet I guess I have a burr or something because I feel it is time for another. So first I am going to play catch up, then present and then future.
Clint got home from his last deployment in July. We were so happy to see hime. I cannot express how hard that year apart was. It seems the more separations and deployments we go through the harder it is for our family. Nonetheless i do feel that we did a good job. We made it through that year with the least amount of bruising. We all learned so much and grew to know what love really truly is and how it will endure. Anyways enough of that. Since Clint got back in July we were able to take a month of block leave. We went out of town to the Adirondacks, which are amazing in the summer. Our favorite camping place is Adirondack Camping Village in Lake George New York. So that is where we were. We enjoyed camping, shopping swimming, water cruises, and Six Flags. What memories we made.
Summer ended quickly. Septemebr began and the boys started school. Steven who turns twelve this December went on to Middle School. This year he settled on joining the band. He is playing the tuba, and quite well i might add. The big change for him this year is the amount of homework he has each day. On average he does about four hours. Sometimes it seems undaunting to him, but of course he does it and really quite well. The other big change that will be occuring but has not yet for him is this is his last year in Primary. His birthday is the 10th of December and then he will be off to Young men's. They sure grow up fast.
Timothy also had many changes with the start of this school year. he went on to the fifth grade. Now he is one of the big kids. This is his last year at the Intermediate School, but he seems to be handling the pressure fairly well.
Clint went back to work at his current company. He did however get promoted in December, so it is better for him and for our family, even though i know he gets super tired, as he says it is just because some people are just tiring to deal with all the time. Clint is in the Elder's Quorum Presidency in our ward again, and that is also a very daunting task. With so many of the Elder's deployed Clint and the other memebres of the presidency are in charge of 216 members of the Elder's quorum and their families. Quite a task considering there is only Clint and one other man to fulfill it.
I try to keep myself busy. I moved our family off post in May of this year. I was feeling cramped in our little apartment and was ready to spread my wings and have some space. We currently are living in Philadelphia, New york. I have had lots of time to decorate and make this house a home. I also am going back to school. I am registered and if the DOD could find the records that prove that I have the educational benefits that Clint gave me I would be starting school. Hopefully it will work itself out. I am currently serving as the first counsellor in our Primary Presidency at Church. It takes up a lot of time, but those kids are so worth it. I just started a scrapbooking group. Today will be our first, well kind of second time getting together to get some beautiful memories set for history. :) My house stays pretty clean and I am a pretty fulfilled person.
Our family continues to grow in leaps and bounds. This fall we will be in our home enjoying activities such as dipping carmel apples, and making sugar cookies. Thanksgiving is coming and we will be having many friends visiting our home. Excited for that time. I like feeling so grateful for the things that I have and the feelings that our in me. Not too long and it will be Christmas. So excited for that time. Which is my absolute favorite. Does my heart good thinking about it. I love my family. I love watching Steven grow into a man. I like watching Tim being so happy. I am so very proud to be an Army wife to Clint. Life is wonderful even though at some times we are are certainly tested. I am so grateful for the trial we have been through and the blessings I now recognize because of those trials. I am grateful for the growth of my testimony. I am grateful to know who I am and where I am going. I hope that next year only gets better. Anyways that is the end of my feelings for today. Stay tuned!

Funny Boys

So Tim and Steven have decided something i just had to share. Okay so Clint comes home for his R and R pretty quick. The boys know this because I am just so excited I cannot contain myself. Last night at bedtime Tim did not want to g to bed. I really felt like he was tired but needed some mom time. So I asked both boys to come get in my bed for a minute. They did. I thien had a little talk with them. This is where the funny comes in. I asked Tim why he did not want to go to bed and his logical little brain was working overtime and he proceeded to tell me that if he stayed awake then time would go faster and he would see Dad faster. Seems logical when I am writing it. I told him that no matter what it would still be the same amount of time so we might as wll go to bed so we would not be grumpy and we would be happy. This way when Dad finally did get home we would enjoy it more plus a month is still a long time. Well, that really did not cut it but his logical brain took over again and he said, " I really think it would be fater if I just stay awake, but i know that you are old mom, and you need your sleep so i will go to bed I guess!" I had to laugh and then I hugged him and he went to sleep. He is such a good boy.
K so that was the first funny. Second funny was I got the boys a little treat last night. Steven's favorite candy bar is a Kit Kat and Tim's is a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. When it was time for their little snack i got them out of the freezer and handed them to them. Then i said," so are you going to share?" This is how grous these boys really are. Now no giggling til the end. Steven peeled of a shaving with his finger nail and said," Here Mom." And Tim bit one of his cups, spit it in his hand and said, " Here is a bite." "No Thanks Guys! " I had to laugh. So funny. Tim had an explanation for his biting the cup for me. He said," My bites are a lot smaler then yours so I woud get more. " Again ya can't say they are not logical boys. Anyways i hope you enjoyed my little funny moents.

Friday's Feeling Good Post

So there is so much to post about, and I really have not posted for quite a while. This unfortunately will be more of a rambling then of an ubdate, bu it makes me feel better to talk so I will. read or not that is up to you. December- the boys and I travelled to Idaho for Christmas. It was such a treat to see our wonderful family and friends that we have not seen in such a long long time. I went snow-boarding for the first time, although John, my brother would tell you it was more like snow falling, lol!! Christmas was a great time spent with our family, but I so missed my Clint. Everything we did made me think of him and thoush i continued to try to be happy I so wished he wa by my side- laughing and playing with our family.
So we returned to New York on the 30January. It was so cold here in New York when we returned. As we drove back from he airport I swore we were driving into a Icy wasteland. The weather was so yucky. The next day I was New Year's Eve. It was so cold but at least the roads were clear. The boys and I decided we would have a little New Year's Party with our friends, The Beniots. As a mom I wanted my kids to have a few more snacks and goodies then we had i the house already so I loaded the boys in the car for a shpette run. I was trying to do something good, although only bad came of it. On the way home as we were crossing a very busy intersection we were struck on the passenger rear side of the car. We were hit so hard that we spun around and hit a hydrant and ended up stopping about 45 years from original impact. The car was totalled. There was glass all over my boys. The bumper lay on the street and we were at a rest on top of a hydrant, which thankfully did ot spurt water. That would have been a funny sight. I hit the steering wheel that night and had whiplash and a bruies going from te top of my hip to below my knee. An abulance came that day and we went to the emergency room the next day. The MP which was not a nice man came to my house latr where he issued me a ticket because he said that because I was in the intersection on a red that I must have ran the light. I fought that one. It was dismissed. yet, I am still fighting the insurance to pay my deductibel. The other fellow that hit us had three suspensions on his licence. He was driving a rented car that he did not rent and he was delivering food. This case will likely end up in arbitration. It ticks me off. The one good thing about it is at least the boys and I were not seriously injured.
Februaray was a good month for us. The boys had mid-winter break. This was a much needed vacation and although we did not do much we enjoyed being a family, sleeping in, and doing the things we take for granted on a daily bases when the boys are in school. For Valentine's Day this year the boys were given cute bears picked out and bought by Dad who is deployed. Wht a nice surprise for them.
March has awned bright and cheery. I ave started to count down garbage days until I will see Clint again. We currently have four. Clint will be home at the end of the first week of April for R and R. When I count garbage days instead of regular days the goal seems in sight. I cannot wait to see Cint again. My thoughts always are with him and I can't help but drift to those happy times when our famly is complete and whole together. I know that this life is just a glimpse of our eternity but I am so grateful to have this glimpse of happiness.
The boys are doing so well here. I am so proud of all they have been able to accomplish and do. Steven is so smart. He has been on the Honor Roll since he started school, and fifth grade which they say is a big transitionaly period is no exception. He has straight As and prides himself with his school work. This year he has worked so hard with his musical and artistic ability. It is amazing watching him grow and change into the man he is supposed to becaome. I am glad to be his mom. Timothy is my sweet child. He is such a boy. He loves his video games and can be find in corners of the house playing his DS or reading about codes to finish a video game. He is also a smart cookie. He continues to develop and stays on the credit roll here which is at least all As and a B. I am proud of him. Even when school is so hard and things seem in surmountable he puts one foot inside of the other and you can just see his determination. Heis an amazing force and will be whatever he wants and a force to be reconned with in this life. I am so proud of his accomplishments and his gentle sweetness that I hope never goes away.
I am grateful for all the things I have and all the trials I have gone through to get where I am. I love my family and the friends I have made and kept in this life. I wake up each morning and say a prayer to encounter things with the right spirit and react in a manner that is right. I will be better about posting now, but if I do not, know there will be a rambling or two when I finally do decide to post.
Have a blessed Friday and remember to smile, because even when you are sad on the inside if you smile your outside makes others happy and soon you will be too.

Idaho Christmas Vacation

So for Christmas Vacation this year the boys and I went to Idaho to be with our family. It has been a long time since we got to be with our family, but this year is diferent. We got here on the thirteenth. Since then we havae gone snowboarding, but more appropriatelycalled snow falling, haha!! That was fun and great exercise. I was so sore afterwards. Also we have celebrated Tim's Birthday today and just been with our families too. It is always Ideal to be with our full families, including our husbands, lol but if you can't then this is the second best thing. I am glad to have people who care about me and my boys. I am grateful to have the means to come and enjoy the visits and the love that come with Christmas time. I hope that we all remember the true meaning of Christmas and carry it in your hearts. Clint I hope that you stay safe this holiday season so that next Christmas we might be together and enjoy our family once more on the same continet. Have a Merry Christmas Everyone and a Happy New Year Too!!!

December update For 2009

Life is good! At times life pulls us in all different directions. If we go one way we will be fine, but may miss the turn in the road that says adventure awaits this way. It seems at the time to be the harder more difficult road, so we ignore it and go in the totally opposite direction. I think that is what happened ine my life. This year as we review our times in 2009 I feel so blessed. I feel as if the life I have had has been what was needed for my growth and also for my family and their growth, but at first would not have been the route I would take. This year there have been bumps and hills and slides and smooth road. Each has been just what are family needed. The year begin here in New york which was new for us. It was a cold winter last year ant the winter here presented challenges we were not all together ready to handle. Yes, we are from Idaho. Yes we have had snow, but lake effect snow is crazy. I have never seen such snow and had a love/ hate relationship of this kind before. The kids this year went to schools we were not prepared for. Here in New York they separate the schools. They have K-3rd grade together in what is called a primary school, and 4th and 5th together in an Intermediate School. This is what the boys went into and alone. It was a difficult process, but both have excelled and continue to amaze Clint and I as the transition to the upper grades and on into preteen years.
We had a vacation this year on Clint's block leave. It was wonderful. We completely focused on our family. We camped in the Adirondack Mountains, and discovered history in historic battlelands. These memories are vivid in our minds now as Clint deployed to Iraq in August of this year. We know our family is strong and happy and that we will make it through the next nine months in tact and grow so much because of it. This deployment has brought the heartcahe of once again our family having to be separate as well as something wonderful. Clint was able to be promoted. on the 1st of December Clint finally made SSG and E6. This has been a long time coming for our family. His job specialty is a hard one to promote in. We are so proud of Clint. At home the boys and I continue to stay busy. Tim enjoyed the basketball season this year at the intermediate school and continues to improve as the little athlete he hopes to become. Both boys recieved straight As and just continue to excell that way. I continue to fulfill my calling at church and try to stay active in all the activities our little Carthage Ward tries to hold. Currently I am the first councellor in the primary presidency. I love the kids and continue to learn from them. I am so glad that I have the opportunity to feel their sweet spirits. We look forward to many more fun times here in Northern New York. Love Each Other! Enjoy the rest of December. I know we will as we celebrate Steven's eleventh birthday, Tim's tenth birthday and Clint and I's twelfth anniversary. Well I think that is a good update. Have a Merry Christmas, and If I do not get to this before then a Very Happy and wonderful New Year filled with much growth and togetherness.

Clint and His Promotion

For those who know us they know we have been in the Army for a long time. CLint joined the National Guard two years before we got married. He stayed in that for another year and a half or so. When we found out we were pregnant with our Tim we decided that the choice to make would be to go Active Duty so we would have a steady paycheck and good medical coverage. ;) So we did that. At that time Clint was an E4. We entered Ft hood, Texas June of 1999. In December we had Tim. We were at Fort hood for the next five and a half years. In December of 2005 We reported to Baumholder Germany. Upon arriving we learned Clint was on the list for e-5. That was fantastic news. For three years we stayed in Germany. Diring that time while Clint was deplyed in 2005 he went to the E6 board. He has been promotable ever since. We are admin you see so you have to have the maximum ammount of points to get promoted. When we arrived here in New York part of the plan was to do an exchange of military experience to college credits so that Clint could finally get promoted. It is about $250 to do this. Well Clint deployed again in August and the first of September turned in his stuff to NCI. He got it back and would earn more then enough credits to max out the points for E6. he did the point evaluation last month. So now the big unvailing. On the first of December Clint will be pinned a SSG and E6. I am so proud of him. I am so proud of all his accomplishments. i appreciate his dedication and the way he tries so hard for our family. I just wanted to share this with you. Enjoy your weeks and remember to let love fill your lives always!