My Christmas Prayer

I'm saying special prayers for everyone I know tonight. A little Angel told me that Jesus is listening and is sending answers...we only have to open our hearts and our minds to them. May you all be blessed with love and happiness and a fullness in your heart that is like nothing you've ever known. Amen.

Remembering 9/11

I still can't bring myself to turn on the TV today. I'd rather keep it off and not have to listen or see the gruesome events that took place on this day. I know where I was and I think about it and am ever so thankful that my husband was not at the Pentagon that day. I still grieve for the lives that were tragically cut short and for the families who lost loved ones.

Instead of being angry about what happened do something to honor those that are gone. Don't wait for an opportunity to help someone, make one happen! have an elderly neighbor? Mow their lawn, or rake their leaves or even take their trash cans down/up to the curb for them. Know of a single mom on your street that's always busy with the kids and work? You could do the same for her too! What I'm talking about is called "Being Neighborly". Try it, you'll be hooked!

Happy Campers

What do you get when you mix... warm weather, a week long term break from British School, a big backyard and a bunch of teenage boys?


It's Camping out in the backyard in a tent!
We've been blessed with quite the backyard here and if our teen son wants to have a camp out what the heck- go for broke! Our camping equipment is (yes you guessed it) it's stateside in storage-ugh! Our son's friends came over with this large tent trust me when I say that they were quite "happy" with having a place to pitch this tent. If it's the normal crew of guys that our son usually hangs out with, then there's got to be at least 5 or 6 of them in there...now that's got to be crowded! They were up talking and laughing until wee hours but that's okay- they were having fun and that's what counts!

For the most part these teen boys stay in a tight-knit group, not letting others really into "the fold" so to speak. I consider myself to be blessed that they brought our son into this group. He was having such a rough go of it with this move here to the UK. It's not easy moving away from everyone and everything you know- especially the summer before your Senior year of High School. These kids have gone through quite a lot, probably even more so than their military and state department parents realize. They too go through that roller coaster of emotions but feel them more deeply. They quite often leave behind the best friends they've ever known, their first loves and quite frankly we pull this all away from them. This group of young men have helped my son to get over that "painful" part and have opened up a new world of adventures to him. Even at his worst they still came and made him go out- to the Lord I am forever thankful!


There are ways of "surviving it" with your teen and how to get them to love you again. It's not an easy path and there were many times when all I could do was to cry with him when he felt so lonely- but I want to say that they have passed. Our son has racked up the frequent flier miles that's for sure! He's now surpassed his mother in overseas flights! Letting go and trusting your child is the key. Let them vent, and buy them an airline ticket to visit their friends. If possible, arrange for your child's friends to come out for a visit. Between flying 2 of his friends out here to England and then flying him state side a handful of times...I should be able to get a free airline ticket soon, LOL! Andrew flies to SD again this month for his college orientation, he'll be there for 5 days and then it's back here to Bicester until Graduation day or as it's called here "Speech Day". Then he flies back to SD later on in the summer. We've not traveled as much as we would have liked but then again our boy's happiness means more to us than anything. With him back in the USA this Autumn being among his old friends at South Dakota State University, we ALL will embark on a new chapter in our lives.

My military life

It's not easy being a military wife. It's reading my e-mails this morning that have put me in a somber mood. The first was from a dear friend whose husband is deployed to Afghanistan who wrote of her husband called her to tell her that their base was under attack. That they were sustaining heavy fire. he was scared for his life. The other being from another military girlfriend who I've known for nearly 20 years who asked us to pray for a friend of hers- her friends husband was killed in that attack on the same base in Afghanistan. He left behind a wife and 5 children and a new grandchild- of whom he probably never got to see in person. Here is the news story on MSNBC if you care to care it- Insurgents attack Bagram Air Field. My Heart is breaking for both of these families.

...meanwhile as I pull myself together after wiping away the tears I remember my duty to the airmen and women living in our dorms at the base. Tonight is Dorm Dinner night, where we have a big sit down meal with the single members of our military community and show them how much we appreciate their service to our great country and that we truly do care about them. As I sit here peeling what seems to be an enormous amount of apples I think about how happy this meal will make them, those that are so far away from home- some for the very first time. It's important to get to know those around you, to show them kindness and let them know that they're aren't alone. I did this last night with the spouses function. Sure it was pottery bingo- but we had a handful of new to our base spouses come to their first ever base spouses group function. It's important to give a warm welcome to those ladies (and men) who stand here on the sidelines waiting for their loved ones to come back to them after being "down range". Many of these military spouses are new to this strange world of acronyms and uniforms not to mention having their husbands or wives working such long or strange hours. Many of our spouses are the farthest away from home as they've ever been, and they feel lonely. I'm here and with the help from a terrific group of ladies to help them through that lonely transition time. We do this through getting out and becoming active in things like dorm dinners, lunch bunch, crafting groups, walking groups and more. If you read my bio you know how truly dedicated I am to the military spouse support system. No military spouse has it easy but we can help to ease their burden by showing that we care.


Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.
Mother Teresa

Every Day!

Every new place leaves me with something to do- always. Everyday is a blessing, Everyday is an adventure, Everyday something new will happen...Everyday is a Blessing!

Kindness, love, compassion- this can be shown and expressed in so many ways.

You know that you have the best kind of friends when they phone to tell you that they've been praying about something that involves you. With that...I am now a board member on our Parish Advisory Council. I truly feel Blessed! First for having friends think that I would be good at this and secondly for having friends that see what I've done as far as military community relations are concerned. We may be a small parish, but we do so much more than any other church I've ever been a member of these past 20 years! Being here at Croughton has had it's ups and downs but most of all I feel that it certainly is a blessing!

My Lenten Challenge

I've found my Lenten challenge, it's something that I actually spoke about recently at a spouses meeting. I was reflecting upon what I had said, really thinking about what I was asking the other spouses to do. It's not as if I hadn't done this kind of thing before but this time around I'm going to step it up a notch. I'm calling it - Practice what you Preach.

God's Plan

God's plan isn't just about "us" it's about a community of people coming together, praying together and supporting one another. His plan is different for each and every one of us. It's to remind us that although we might not be here forever- it's the good things that we do while we are here and the love we share with one another that will live on long after we are gone.

I wrote those words to a friend whose husband is terminally ill with cancer. The cancer has now spread to his brain and it's simply breaking my heart.

In Gods Hands

Yesterday I learned that friends of ours from a past assignment have been going through some truly hard times. You see, Mike has cancer it's in it's last stage and it's just a matter of time until he leaves us and goes to be with our Heavenly Father. Here's their blog In His Hand and Holding On Tightly. we never really know what God's plan for us is, maybe it's to spread the word that we aren't alone, that there is love and compassion in strangers. We've lost a few Air Force friends to cancer over the years and it doesn't get any easier as the years go on. All have been in the prime of life and have fought valiantly but in the end the Lord called them home to be with him. Please say a prayer for our military families.

Christian Fellowship

Small gatherings with friends are simply the best! Our church congregation had a potluck brunch after Mass today. I loved how we're all involved in this- all of the parishioners take an active roll in helping out in church. Our congregation may be small, but it's one that is a close knit family welcoming new members with open arms with everyone helping one another out where they can.

I feel truly blessed to be a member of this small yet warm and loving Christian community. I thank the Lord for bringing my family here to England and to RAF Croughton and for the friendships that I am making here.

Moving Day #2

Here we are at day #2 of the move.

This morning I'll be taking my beloved kitty to her 2nd to last appointment with her veterinarian. Today is for her health certificate that gets sent over night to the USDA and back again the same way. I love the place where we go, my kitty's appointment is at 7am, perfect! It gets me in and out of there first thing so the vet's off can get the paper work shipped out first thing and I can also get back before the packing folks arrive for round #2 of packing up everything we own.

To say I'm tired and overwhelmed is an understatement. I try to be as organized as I most possibly can but that doesn't prepare you for the wave of emotions that sweeps over you when you see everything you own being packed up into boxes, hoping that everything makes it there in one piece. I have doubts about the big screen TV being in one piece when we get back State side in 3 years, but that's not really at the top of my concern list right now.

Crate #1- all of the things I'll need but really won't be able to get until some time in August. Can you say pack everything in my Kitchen? Pack everything in my closet? Pack everything in my husband and children's closets? I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with it all. I'm sure the feeling will pass as soon as the moving guys step into the house. It's just that I'm full of second guessing myself right now, trying to figure out what items we'll need and when we'll need them. It's especially hard when you don't know how to predict the weather, especially when we're moving so many thousands of miles away and to another country too! I figure that we'll all need to buy ourselves some lightweight jackets after we get there.

I'm going back to bed for an hour...then to start my day for real this time.

Every Day is a Gift

To quote a character from one of my all time favorite movies "It's a Wonderful Life"... "One life touches so many others. Don't you see George? You've been given a real gift". Now, who knows who said those lines? Give up? It's Clarence of course!

All of us at some point in time have experienced moments of sadness, thought that no one cares about them. There may even be some that think the world may be without hope- as for myself, I don't believe that for one minute! One life can touch so many others, I really believe that with all my heart! I didn't have the easiest of childhoods nor were my teen years what I would consider to be the best years of my life, LOL! But my life experiences have made me the person that I am today. I hope that by leading by example that I can show my children how to be compassionate and giving of themselves, tolerant and understanding, frugal yet generous, loving and kind to all things. We all have a gift, God made sure of it!

Throughout the years no matter where the Air Force has sent us, I've made it my personal mission to plant the seeds of kindness and to reap the flowers of friendship. To make friends from all walks of life, to gain knowledge and (to borrow a quote from Mary Engelbreit) To Bloom Where I am Planted! My next stop on this journey will take me many thousands of miles (and an ocean) away from my friends here in America. But they will all be just one click away from my computer key board! In this modern era one never has to leave friends behind, especially when we've got the internet and a fantastic long distance calling plan!

I've planted the seeds and have started cultivating new friendships in the UK. I can't begin to tell you how much I look forward to seeing all of the wonderful ladies in person!

Will you be mine?

As we're in church our Priest ends his homily with a surprise...he has all of the married couples stand up and then he talks about Valentines Day coming up on Saturday, the that's when he announced that he's going to preform a ceremony- a renewal of our marriage vows. I thought that this was going to be a special mass on Saturday and I was suddenly bummed that we wouldn't be able to make it because we would be in MA. But wait, he's doing it right there and now! This was so fantastic! It was something to behold, to be able to around at all of the other couples in the church, all holding hands looking at one another. The room was silent with exception of the Priest reciting what we are to say and then us saying it quietly to our partners. Looking into my husbands eyes while he's saying the marriage vows to me, I could see that same look in his eyes when said those same words to me 18½ years ago. It was a great way to end a Mass!

my morning coffee

There's nothing more satisfying than having my morning coffee, reading the news on line and my cat on the computer desk trying to get me to pet her. But alas, my kitty is sleeping in today, LOL! So it's me, a mug of my favorite coffee (Dunkin Donuts) and the news.

As you know one of my goals for the year is to take classes to gain knowledge in a craft or to participate in workshops. Today I'm going to a card making marathon workshop. Our goal is for each person participating to make 25 different birthday cards. I'm bringing my camera and will be taking pictures throughout the event. I anticipate all of us having a blast and laughing our socks off!

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Last night I went to church to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I know that it's today but our church celebrated it a day early). Our new priest Father José did a wonderful job with his homily, he put his own twist to it and really brought it into perspective for all of us. I enjoy his fresh approach to things and find myself being able to relate to what he says in his homilies. Our parish is blessed to have a man such as Father José as our Priest- it was worth the wait to be able to have a Priest like him lead us, a little flock on the prairie:-)

What's your talent?

Today's quote is about creativity. I'm a firm believer in that God has given EVERYONE a special and unique talent. That it's putting that talent (or talents) to good use and sharing it with others that makes it a "gift". Don't believe me? Check out my bio over to the right :-) I say this over and over again to my friends and children- God has a hand in everything that we do!

It wasn't until after I was married and while we were stationed at Loring AFB, Maine that I started to get into crafting on any real level. My husband was deployed for the initial war in the gulf, no place was hiring -especially any of us military spouses. So I decided to take a counted cross stitching class at a little shop named "Rainbow Books, Crafts and Gifts" in Caribou Maine. I was in heaven! Oh by the way, I checked and it's still there :-)

Looking back, I see now that I had to slow down and get used to a slower pace in my life in order to be able to bring out my creative side. When I was working all of the time (before marriage and children) I didn't make time to truly relax. I've learned a lot over the years, and I've found what truly gives me inner peace and joy. I'm a busy person, there's no doubt about that one- some things will never change, but I also make time to do things that relax me. By letting my creative side take over once in a while I've found a sense of relaxation and joy that is beyond anything else.

the OSC Scholarship Banquet

Today's quote has "me" written all over it! It's something that I believe in with my whole heart.

Last night's OSC Scholarship Banquet was small but nice (about 75 attendees). As it was also 2 of the local High Schools Scholarship and Awards nights. I really enjoyed our 3 speaks, Col. VanderHamm really hit home when he spoke of what the Officers Spouses Club is about and how we give to our local community. Kim Greenlee spoke so eloquently of how we (OSC) strive to make the world a better place through our community service. And Kristi Hullings brought it all home when she spoke of how we (OSC) made these scholarships possible by having an yearly auction- one where we brought in our community to help us not only through their generous donations buy also in purchasing many of our items at the auction. Last and certainly not least Kristi thanked everyone who worked on auction committee, had those who worked on the auction to stand up and be recognized. I wish that Cindy and Dannie could have been there because they were both spoke very highly of and it was said many times that we could not be giving away these funds without those two wonderful ladies (and their husbands) putting in countless hours into making our auction the huge success that it was. I actually had a family come over to me to shake my hand and to thank me personally for all of the work I have done through OSC, that was a very nice thing they did (and it made me feel special). Being on Auction and Scholarship committee is the best part of OSC, having a way to give to your community through such an organization make me feel good inside.

By the way, we were able to give out a little over $16,000 in scholarships to dependants of military members due funds raised at our OSC Auction Last November.

Military Spouse Day

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Military spouses embody the courage, nobility of duty, and love of country that inspire every American. On Military Spouse Day, we pay tribute to the husbands and wives who support their spouses in America's Armed Forces during times of war and peace.
The legacy of military spouses began when colonial Americans were fighting for independence. Martha Washington boosted the morale of her husband's troops by visiting battlefields and tending to the wounded.
Since then, members of our Armed Forces have served our Nation accompanied by the steadfast love and support of their spouses and families.
While our men and women in uniform are protecting our country's founding ideals of liberty, democracy, and justice, their spouses live with uncommon challenges, endure sleepless nights, and spend long periods raising children alone. Many military spouses are also committed volunteers, serving other military families and local communities. Our Nation benefits from the sacrifices of our military families, and we are inspired by their courage, strength, and leadership.
On Military Spouse Day and throughout the year, we honor the commitment spouses have made to freedom's cause. To learn about ways to support our troops and their spouses and families, I encourage all Americans to visit www.americasupportsyou.mil.


NOW, THEREFORE, I,
GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 9, 2008, as Military Spouse Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities and by expressing their gratitude to the husbands and wives of those serving in the United States Armed Forces.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.
GEORGE W. BUSH

AFJROTC Rocks!

I find that children can amaze you, especially when you least expect it :-)

That was very true of our son last night at the AFJROTC banquet. He looked so sharp in his uniform (reminded me of his dad). He was on color guard duty and the group of 4 teenagers truly took this "duty" to heart- they preformed their duties as well as many adults I've seen do color guard. The biggest surprise of the night for us was when he was awarded the Scottish Rite's award for Scholastic Excellence and American Patriotism- WOW! Any parent could not be more proud of their child than at that ceremony. You got to hear about all of the community service that this group of 63 teenagers preformed, which came out to an average of 150 hours per JROTC student, now that's really saying something! From canned food drives, to coat drives and clothing drives, these kids excelled in everything they did. Our son walked away with several awards and has even earned his "letter" for a Letterman jacket :-) Way to go Andrew!

Blog Challenge - List 5 things you are thankful for today

Please post a link to your blog when replying

* The Lord- for I truly feel blessed each and every day!

*My husband- he is a such a treasure!

*The Air Force- yes I'm still thankful for my husband having chosen a career in the Air Force. Because of him and his career choice, I've been able to meet and make many wonderful friends out here in South Dakota.

*Quilting- I've found another creative outlet that has me singing songs of praise! And the other thing... the wonderful ladies that I've met through quilting- I can't say enough nice things about them!

* Flowers- I'm planning my flower garden and I've bought several plants for it. The blossoms are in every color I could find :-) When I'm done it'll be a rainbow of color in flowers! I can hardly wait for the scent of the Gardenias and Lilacs when they are in bloom!

Life as It Is

I came across a blog today that made me think about life...and how precious and fragile it really is. Please take a moment to read it Life as It Is and leave some words of encouragement for this mother (and her daughter) and courageous battle this little girl is fighting with cancer.