Wednesday October 25, 2006
HAPPY (Belated) BIRTHDAY TO ABBY and JEREMY
So I'm not as on the ball as I would like, please bear with me. Sunday we celebrated our baby's 3rd birthday. How she got that old that fast is totally beyond me. We had a wonderful day! Grandpa Jonathan, Grandma Karen, Steve, Valerie, Nathan, Ashley and of course Grandma and Papa were all here to celebrate. We had a delicious taco lunch and enough cupcakes to make a horse sick...although 4 of 'em didn't seem to phase the Birthday girl! The kids had a blast playing inside and outside and inside and then outside again! Boy, they were a bit hard to keep track of, but they seemed to have a lot of fun! No naps were had by any of them, and surprisingly, they all held together pretty well! Most of us took a nice walk after presents and enjoyed the Indian Summer weather we've been having--although it is starting to cool down now! Abby got many nice gifts--and they ALL happened to be dress-up items (HOW FUN!). She got a fairy costume, a horse costume, a tigger, pooh, veteranarian and doctor costume (see photo album). A good time was had by all! Abby was officially moved into her big girl bed that we purchased the day before and she looks SO big and so cute in it. I'll have to take pictures of that very soon. She also now has a big girl carseat so she can wear a regular seatbelt, which is very fun because she can unbuckle (and hopefully soon BUCKLE) herself! Papa tried hard to convince her that big 3 year olds don't suck on pacifiers, but she's not ready and frankly, neither am I, to give that up yet. That time will come.
It was a bit of a bummer to not be able to celebrate Jeremy's birthday with him. We did send him a package, and hopefully he'll get it soon, but we sent him an email and wished him a Happy Birthday, there wasn't a whole lot more we could do. Today the girls and I went to BSF and afterwards went to Round Table Pizza for some fun with the other kids (and moms) that we have BSF with. They had a really nice, big play area there and the kids had a blast! Boy were they worn out after all of that hard play! Then tonight we had AWANA and it was "Noah Night" where the children come dressed up as an animal from the Ark. Both of the girls were Cats, and they were SOOOO cute!! Again, see photo album.
Well that's all I have to say for now. I'm beat. It's late and I should be in bed! I hope everyone who is reading this is still enjoying the fruits of my labor...and it never hurts to send me an email (come on, I can't make it any easier than that!!) to let me know you're still checking this out, or just to say hello! You could also always drop Jeremy a line if you like. TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!
Thursday October 19, 2006
NEWS FROM JEREMY
Okay, it's not directly from Jeremy because I'm never sure what I'm at liberty to share, but here's an email his captain sent out to family and friends, so I'm guessing it's safe for me to share:
Good Morning Friends & Family of CGC MUNRO,
It's been a busy couple of weeks since I wrote last from San Diego. We sailed north encountering some really nice weather given the time of year and arrived in Prince Rupert, Canada for a port visit. Great little town, people were friendly, some neat shops, good food, and the crew seemed to enjoy it. As we prepared to leave, the weather in the Gulf of Alaska turned ugly - at best. Rather than punch through what would be called a hurricane down south, we delayed our departure for a day then transited up the Inside Pass - seeing quite a large pod of Orcas and a bunch of Humpback whales as well. The scenery was impressive as always. For those moving with us to Kodiak next year, I strongly recommend you take the Alaska State Ferry and get your reservations a couple of months before you plan on traveling so you can get a cabin. It's not quite a cruise ship with gourmet meals but all the scenery and wild life is the same.
After we crossed the Gulf of Alaska, we arrived in Kodiak for fish school. Due to the incredible amount of regulations and importance of safety gear which we inspect when we do boardings, each time we come to north to patrol, about 1/4 of the crew attends fish school for the first time or for a refresher. Plus, the Integrated Support Command (or base), arranged tours for people to see the very nice housing, barracks, schools, etc. and brought lots of info to the ship about Kodiak. The Officers Spouse Club brought down boxes of homemade cookies the day before we sailed and the weather was beautiful just about the whole time we were there though a little cooler than Alameda. The three days of sunshine was great but not really normal. Some of the crew went fishing and did well, others enjoyed the nicest gym in the Coast Guard with a huge indoor pool, while still more just checked out town (which doesn't take all that long).
We left Kodiak earlier this week and struck out for the Bering Sea which normally takes about 2 days. The first day was nice. The second day we hit a fast moving low pressure system with winds up around 55 knots and seas 20-30 feet. Munro is built to handle those conditions but it wasn't comfortable for anyone and I try to avoid the storms rather than push through them. One small 58 foot fishing boat was about 45 miles from us and capsized yesterday morning. Since then, we have been working that case as the On Scene Commander coordinating the helicopter and fixed wing Coast Guard assets along with searching for one more missing crewman. Click HERE for the article. Of the four men on board, one was recovered alive so far and two were recovered but had succumbed to the cold waters. We were able to locate the debris field and spent the afternoon yesterday recovering gear including survival suits and a life ring. From the reports we've heard, the boat sank rather quickly. If there are no further sightings, I expect we will be released later today from searching and proceed into the Bering Sea to start work with the crab fisherman and the fisherman targeting other types of fish.
That's about all the news for now. We are still scheduled to return around 6 December and we have a port call scheduled near the end of the month.
Things here with me are good. My belly has grown and I'm starting to feel more tired...and really missing having Jeremy here, but my parents have been helping out a lot and that's been wonderful. This weekend our sweet baby girl turns 3!! I can't believe it. We'll be having a bit of a party here with some family members, so look forward to photos galore! Last weekend we went back up to Apple Hill. The weather didn't cooperate, so we didn't do as much as we would have liked, but we still had fun (I'll post photos soon!).
I can't think of much news to report, it's naptime, perhaps I'll feel more inspired later. Until then...
Wednesday October 11, 2006
GOD IS SO GOOD!!
The other day, something of a minor miracle occured. God revealed, yet again, what a caring and awesome God He is, and it was kinda cool, because my children got to experience it too--hopefully they recognized it as such.
Okay, so we were shopping. I had just checked out, put the groceries in the car and got the girls situated in their seats. I'm not the type to leave my shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot, but sometimes when you've got small children, they don't give you much of a choice. As I was getting to ditch my cart, the guy who gathers the carts said, "I've got it!" and took it from me (how nice! I love it when that happens!). I told him Thank You and he took my cart and some others to the front of the store...I SAW him do it. So we left and my car was on EMPTY, like the red light was on and I NEEDED gas. I got almost home and stopped at the gas station. I went to reach for my wallet and it was not there. Panic set in...all the scenerios went through my mind...what with Jeremy not being here, HOW IN THE WORLD would I get money...let alone GAS, which I needed NOW!?!?! I told the girls we had to go back to Safeway to see if we could find my wallet, and we needed to pray NOW. I fully believe in having children pray with and for you because their faith is so strong, it's amazing. So we prayed. We returned to Safeway (probably about 5 miles away, which made me nervous being that the red gas light was on). As I pulled in to the parking lot, and returned to the area we had been parked in (just in case I left it on the roof of my car and it fell off or something) I saw a cart sitting there, in the spot we had been parked in. I saw something, parked the car and told the girls to hold tight, I'd be right back. I ran over to the cart and in the child seat part of the cart was my wallet. It was totally untouched. PRAISE GOD!! The question is: If the guy brought my cart back to the store, how in the WORLD did it end up back there??? I even saw the guy and he was dumbfounded. He assured me he brought the cart back to the store, and had he seen my wallet, he would have brought it to lost and found. And another question, how did I SEE my wallet sitting in the cart as we pulled back in??? All I can say is PRAISE GOD!! He is so good! He cares about those things...my sanity for one, not having to go through replacing EVERYTHING...including Social Security cards for the girls which (I KNOW) you're not supposed to carry in your wallet, Military ID, Drivers License, Insurance cards, etc. And He also cares about showing His power to us, and our children! What a blessing. What a relief!!
I'll end this for the day with something new and funny Savannah said...actually she said two very funny things. First she said that we should surprise daddy by painting his truck rainbow colors, covering it with stickers and hiding Easter Eggs inside of it! Hahaha...I'm sure that's just what he wants to come home to!!!
I told Savannah we have AWANA tonight and she replied, "I can't go to AWANA, I have short-term memory loss"!!! That girl, she is too much!!!
When I asked Abby what she wants for a birthday present she simply replied, "Ummm...a purple one! No, a blue one, because that's my favorite color!" She's so helpful!! :)
Okay, one more thing. Jeremy emails me regularly, and I'm hoping to get him to log in here and write some stuff about his adventures thus far on good ol' CGC Munro, but he's been pretty busy, and doesn't have the greatest bandwith, but he's doing well, heading to Kodiak through some VERY rough seas. He told me the other day they saw a whole bunch of killer whales and it's simply GORGEOUS up there...cold, but gorgeous. I'm not at liberty to share many details, so hopefully he'll write something soon that I can share.
Friday October 6, 2006
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, HONEY!!
Okay, it's official! I've got the sweetest husband, ever!! Today is our 5th anniversary! Since Jeremy has already been gone for a whole month (praise God), I had long since resigned myself to the fact that he won't be here for our anniversary. It actually isn't too big of a deal...I know we'll be so thrilled to see eachother in 2 months that it won't matter anyway. I was thinking that perhaps the girls and I could go out and celebrate since we all love daddy so much, but today I got a bit of a surprise!! A friend came over and right after she got here, there was a loud knock at the door. I thought, "SHEESH, be quiet!! It's nap time!", but when I opened the door, there was a man, holding a dozen of the most beautiful red roses I've ever seen! Jeremy has NEVER sent me flowers before! It was completely unexpected!! And I have to say, the sweetest thing he's ever done for me. There was a wonderful note included and I tell you, it made my day to say the least! THANK YOU, HONEY!!!! Here's to 50 more years (at least)!!
I had my monthly prenatal appointment today and I brought the girls with me. I thought it'd be fun for them to hear the baby's heartbeat and all, and meet the doctor. They were on excellent behavior and did get to hear the heartbeat which they thought was pretty cool. But baby kept wiggling and kicking, so it wasn't the strongest sound in the world, but I sure could feel baby wiggling which was pretty cool!! I have my "big" ultrasound scheduled for the 10th of November, then hopefully we'll know the sex of this baby!
Funny thing Savannah said the other day: "Mommy, am I the first born?" to which I said, "Yes." and she replied, "I want my birth right!"
Sunday October 1, 2006
Happy October!
Wow, I cannot believe that it's October already! I just LOVE this time of year. I've already started decorating for "Harvest". I'm not sure what to decorate for, really. I don't want to really emphasize Halloween, even though I'm not totally anti-Halloween, but I do prefer to celebrate "Harvest Season"! I've been working on our yard (our 5'x5' square)--you would not believe how hard it is to maintain!! We've got lots of weeds (lovely crab grass) and gophers to boot. I'm getting ready to plant my bulbs (tulips and daffodils) and some lovely mums. I've got 2 big pumpkins up on the front porch, ready to have mums planted inside of them, and just got a really cute "Happy Harvest" wreath for my front door today (50% off at Jo-Ann--I LOVE that store!).
Speaking of stores...I had an entire day all to myself today. I had debated whether I should do that, or spend the say with my parents and precious little ones. The girls wanted to go to the Zoo SO badly, and of course, what are grandparents for?? Doing all of those wonderful things we mommies don't have the time or energy for! I really wanted to go, because I truly enjoy spending time with my parents...and of course with my little girls. But I had to consider the fact that I'm not getting the opportunity for much "me" time these days. So they left at around 10 am, and I went out and went shopping...I had lunch at Olive Garden (alone, yes, but hey...when you're a mom of small kids, sometimes alone is a VERY good thing!). I had plenty of time to read my BSF lesson as I ate alone. Then I went to the movies to see The Guardian. It's a movie about the Coast Guard and a lot of it takes place in the Bering Sea (just where Jeremy's going). I really enjoyed the movie and I'd recommend it. It makes me very proud of my honey, and all the hard work HE does in the U.s. Coast Guard!
Something funny Savannah said the other day...we were in bathroom at Target and I asked Savannah to hold something for me. Abby said, "What can I hold" and Savannah replies, "Hold your breath!" and "Hold your horses!". Little smart alec!!
Abby asked who the ship that daddy is on belonged to and I said, "The Coast Guard" and she said, "Oh that's cool!"..."who is in charge of the ship?" and I said, "Captain Lloyd" and she replied, "Oh, that's a cute name!". Hahaha...I love the things they come up with!
Friday September 29, 2006
Hello and welcome to our website. It's been a long time coming (yeah, like 4 years or so), but I've finally gotten the ambition to sit down and do something with this domain! You know, since I have absolutely nothing going on in my life now :). You know what they say; if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. Yes, I've been SUPER busy lately. Jeremy was deployed on the 9th of September and will not return until the 6th of December. They needed someone to go on a patrol on one of the 378-foot cutters and he was the lucky guy! He's heading up to Prince Rupert, B.C. on Sunday and will arrive there on our anniversary, October 6th (Happy 5th, my love!). I've also taken a job. You know, I didn't know what to do with all this free time without Jeremy here. I'm working 3 hours one week and 6 hours every other week doing child care at a local church. It's a great job...I take care of the little babies and my girls get to come and be with me and play with other kids for 3 hours. We're also doing BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and studying Romans. The girls LOVE their "Bible School" and really did NOT want to leave this week. They also both go to AWANA this year and both love it. Abby got her very own "Cubby Vest" and book and was SO excited and proud of herself!! It was very cute!
I'm currently 15.5 weeks pregnant with baby #3. I honestly thought this would be the pregnancy Jeremy would be around for...but I should have known better. I think he likes it this way, but I've been trying to remind him that he left at the WRONG time...this is the GOOD trimester! I think he was trying to be nice to ME this time though. I appreciate that, honey!! :) I'm feeling really good at this point. I'm able to maintain our normal lives without feeling dead at the end of the day. We've had a few little gliches since Jeremy left (like our MASSIVE flea problem!), but things are working out fine (thanks to good friends and family--Thanks Katy and Erik!).
The girls are doing great. Abby will be 3 on the 22nd of October and is very adamant about being a "big girl". Savannah has gotten so independent and so helpful! She really helps me out and always is sure to remind me that if there is anything I can't do, she can help!
Well that's it for now. I'll continue to update this as often as I can. There will be more photos added shortly, but bear with me. I'm a single working mom right now and there's only so much I can do! ;) Hopefully this "project" will keep me accountable...so if you're reading this, email me and let me know so I know I'm doing this for more than just myself!! :)