WOW..... I thought that I could keep up with my blogs while my husband is gone, take care of three kids (sometimes more bc I babysit for a couple of friends on occasion), homeschool, clean house, and keep up with exercise. Well it was the blogs that had to go just so that I could keep up.
I did stay behind at our duty station while my husband went to South Korea for a year. However, there are certain times of the year that are too emotional for me because of the values I place upon these times. They are November-December-January 1st and May-July. The holiday season with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years is very special to us. Growing up it was our family coming over or going to "Honey and Pa's"-my grandparents and everyone spending time together. For Matt and I it's about lots of joy and laughter and time together. May-July holds Mother's Day, my Momma's, Granny's, and Mary's {my Sister (in law)} birthdays, our anniversary, and my birthday. I'm very close with my momma and I would love to live near her so we can spend more time together....same with Granny and Mary. The other holidays don't mean the same without Matt. He always makes these days special. He's my best friend so nothing is the same without him.
So I have taken a couple of extend vacations to Arkansas to be near family during the days that would make me the saddest. My loud little brothers who will act just as silly as when we were kids always keep me happy. Britt and Blake are amazing brothers, even though they are in their 20's and one has kids of his own, they will wrestle and fight and tease like we are little kids again. It gives us a great laugh to act silly....then to watch mom act like she did years ago is even funnier.
My kids LOVE it in Arkansas. Go-carts, 4-wheeler, bikes, trikes, pools, slip-n-slides, hills to climb, trees to attempt to climb, and tall grasses to go exploring through, lots of land to play on, and plenty of adults to watch after them so they can play outside without mom stressing about them getting hurt or taken.
While in Colorado, we have a great support system with our church. A large majority of our youth group uses our house to hang out and to eat at before/after church. Many times some of the girls will drop by to check on me and the kids without warning. One day I was talking on the phone with our Pastor, 2 of the girls stopped by the house. Since I was on the phone I stepped into my room. When I came out, they were in the kitchen cooking breakfast. They are very relaxed at my house. I can call on some of them at all hours and they are there. At one point my daughter was hospitalized for 4 days with pneumonia, I called on a lady friend from our church (whose daughter is in the youth group) because she lived the closest, I knew my children are comfortable with her, and she always told me she would be there for me. Her family took care of my boys while I was staying with my daughter in the hospital. I received many calls and texts from the church to check on my lil princess. THAT IS A CHURCH FAMILY!
On a daily basis, we homeschool, clean house, have park days, and just do random stuff to have fun. The one thing I try to do is once a week or once every other week. I try to do something that will give them a memory they won't forget. We drive in the mountains when I'm sick of the city. We tour military museums. We visit friends we haven't seen in a while. We take turns picking out movies to watch and have popcorn and movie night. It's not always the money that you spend it's the joy you put into making it special for the kids.
Matthew will be home in about 100 days. This is not the true number... I'm keeping that secret for security reasons....
I did stay behind at our duty station while my husband went to South Korea for a year. However, there are certain times of the year that are too emotional for me because of the values I place upon these times. They are November-December-January 1st and May-July. The holiday season with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years is very special to us. Growing up it was our family coming over or going to "Honey and Pa's"-my grandparents and everyone spending time together. For Matt and I it's about lots of joy and laughter and time together. May-July holds Mother's Day, my Momma's, Granny's, and Mary's {my Sister (in law)} birthdays, our anniversary, and my birthday. I'm very close with my momma and I would love to live near her so we can spend more time together....same with Granny and Mary. The other holidays don't mean the same without Matt. He always makes these days special. He's my best friend so nothing is the same without him.
So I have taken a couple of extend vacations to Arkansas to be near family during the days that would make me the saddest. My loud little brothers who will act just as silly as when we were kids always keep me happy. Britt and Blake are amazing brothers, even though they are in their 20's and one has kids of his own, they will wrestle and fight and tease like we are little kids again. It gives us a great laugh to act silly....then to watch mom act like she did years ago is even funnier.
My kids LOVE it in Arkansas. Go-carts, 4-wheeler, bikes, trikes, pools, slip-n-slides, hills to climb, trees to attempt to climb, and tall grasses to go exploring through, lots of land to play on, and plenty of adults to watch after them so they can play outside without mom stressing about them getting hurt or taken.
While in Colorado, we have a great support system with our church. A large majority of our youth group uses our house to hang out and to eat at before/after church. Many times some of the girls will drop by to check on me and the kids without warning. One day I was talking on the phone with our Pastor, 2 of the girls stopped by the house. Since I was on the phone I stepped into my room. When I came out, they were in the kitchen cooking breakfast. They are very relaxed at my house. I can call on some of them at all hours and they are there. At one point my daughter was hospitalized for 4 days with pneumonia, I called on a lady friend from our church (whose daughter is in the youth group) because she lived the closest, I knew my children are comfortable with her, and she always told me she would be there for me. Her family took care of my boys while I was staying with my daughter in the hospital. I received many calls and texts from the church to check on my lil princess. THAT IS A CHURCH FAMILY!
On a daily basis, we homeschool, clean house, have park days, and just do random stuff to have fun. The one thing I try to do is once a week or once every other week. I try to do something that will give them a memory they won't forget. We drive in the mountains when I'm sick of the city. We tour military museums. We visit friends we haven't seen in a while. We take turns picking out movies to watch and have popcorn and movie night. It's not always the money that you spend it's the joy you put into making it special for the kids.
Matthew will be home in about 100 days. This is not the true number... I'm keeping that secret for security reasons....
