Summertime

 I am really enjoying having my container garden this year!  Almost every year we've lived her I tried growing tomatoes and I am hopeful that this year I will have success!  There are these big green caterpillars (I think they are called cutworms) that love to eat my tomatoes.  I haven't found too many of them on it this year and I've been trying to keep up on picking them off.  I have a ton of grape tomatoes on there, now they just need to get ripe!  I also have sugar snap peas, jalapenos, strawberries, lettuce and some herbs.

 Estelle loves eating sand playing at the beach!

A couple weeks ago we headed up to Julian for the day.  We walked up to Washington Mine to check it out.  It was fun day, until Estelle screamed much of the way home :)  She's doesn't love the car.  Funny girl.  Lane loved exploring the mine, he just soaks things like that up!

Giant Bubbles

 A few weeks ago we decided to construct a giant bubble wand to use this summer.  I found instructions on the Tatertots and Jello blog .  Lane and I had fun constructing it and mixing up the solution.  The bubble solution calls for glycerin.  I found it at Rite Aid, I just had to ask someone who worked there and they found it for me.  I think they also have it at Michaels.  The bubbles that we were getting were really big but the problem was that they were popping before they came off the wand.  Then Reese came home... and the first time he tried it he was getting giant bubbles.  Of course, that guy is good at everything he does!

The bubbles will be a fun addition to our door play time this summer.  We have already had a crowd of neighborhood kids running around and popping them.  And it's totally addictive, once you get a good bubble you want to do it again and again!

It's been a hard couple weeks.  As I said before I went to see a cardiologist about my heart.  He decided to do an echocardiogram.  It came back "mildly abnormal."  So the next step is to wear a holter monitor for 24 hours and MRI of my heart.  The MRI isn't until July so this is just a lot of waiting.  I am concerned and worried, after all my mom died at 45 from a heart disease.  But I am trying to not get ahead of myself and just trust.  I know God has a plan for us, and it's a good one, even if it's not easy or what I want.  I am feeling so thankful that Reese is home for all of this.  His command has been wonderful throughout all of our trials the last few years.  I know not all military families have that, so I am grateful!

18 months +

 Estelle turned 18 months in May.  I finally got her to her well baby appointment the other day.  She weighed about 26 lbs and is 33 inches tall.  She is starting to slim out now.  When the doctor asked me if she said seven clear words, I was like umm.... we are getting there.  Her talking cracks me up.  She really jabbers and although I know a lot of the words she is saying, other people would not understand them clearly.  She loves being outside, riding her bike, watching bubbles, and sitting on my lap :)  Some days when she is really crabby I just have to sit down with her for a little while and it usually makes everything better again.  Estelle is quite emotional.  Sometimes I love it because she gets so excited about things and she is so happy and loving towards us.  And then there are days when it drives me up a wall, she gets mad about everything and screams when I can't hold her or if we are doing something she doesn't like.  I guess that's a toddler for you.  She is so much fun, I love her sugar and spice!

 

Major Awards

Lane received some major awards in the last couple weeks :)  We joke that they are "major awards" like the leg lamp on A Christmas Story.  We are so proud of him and what a great kids he is.  First grade has been a great year!

Lane has been during AWANA this year and has really had fun.  He finished two books this year.  They had an awards ceremony a couple weeks ago.

On Memorial day we had a end of the season baseball BBQ and pool party.  Lane got his baseball trophy there and his coach said a couple things about each kid.  The things he said about Lane is that he swung as hard as he good every time (whether it was a good pitch or not it didn't matter, the kids just swung!) and that he would throw the ball as far as he could from the outfield.  Those were things that his coach thought were unique to Lane and they certainly were :)

Then last Saturday we went to the closing ceremonies for baseball and they had another awards ceremony.  Each CAPS team (the league Lane is in) chose one player from each team to get a Character Award and Lane was chosen.  His coach told us that Lane had great sportsmanship and worked hard every time and that is why he chose him.  Reese got to be here for this one too.  He is home for a little bit.  I had a couple of trips to the ER last week.  My left side of my face and my arm went tingly and the second time I had burning in my chest (not heartburn :).  Given my family history with heart problems I am seeing a cardiologist to get it all checked out.  So they sent Reese home so we can get it figured out.  The ER doctors told me that it is probably stress (and a possible pinched nerve).  But we don't want to take any chances (since my mom was told it was stress for quite a while before she was diagnosed) and I will get some tests done.  So prayers are appreciated.  The good thing is that I don't have any of the symptoms she had like a racing heart or dizziness.

I will try to update the blog a bit more often.  I feel like life is really getting in the way of doing the fun stuff like blogging (as well as other things).  But... my classes are over (until I start the next one on June 18) and I got all A's!  I am looking forward to summertime when there isn't a whole lot going on.

Man versus Wild

I am so overdue for a post on here, I just haven't had the time recently.  It is finals week for me and I am so excited to be done with these classes I am taking.  I enjoyed the Intro to Theatre class, but let me tell you Marine Ecology and History of the Middle East... PAINFUL!  I can see an end in sight though.  I am almost done!

A couple of weeks ago Bear Grylls came to the base here and showed a little video to the kids and let them ask him questions.  Lane used to love watching his show Man vs. Wild.  If I remember right, he called it "the crazy guy show."  So Lane was pumped to see him in person, I was excited to have another celebrity sighting and Estelle was excited to go somewhere because she is such a little social butterfly!

 After his talk with the kids, they did a raffle drawing for some Bear Gyrlls products.  Lane won one of them, I was so excited for him!!  The above picture is Lane shaking his hand.  As he was handing Lane the Gerber tool (which is a tool with all sorts of different tools on it, including a knife), Bear was looking for his parent to make sure he was allowed to have a sharp tool :)  I waved at him and gave him the thumbs up, we pretty much had a conversation. Haha!

Lane proudly displaying the tool he won.  I haven't let him open it yet.  For now it will be a little collectors item that stays in the package ;)

Baseball and a Birthday!

Lane scoring a run!  He is having fun with baseball this year.

Lane is a strong hitter.  It took a little practice with the pitching machine this year but he is doing well now!

Always in the "ready" stance!

I also celebrated my 30th birthday over the weekend!  I had a couple friends over to celebrate that night and I also got to go see a play and have dinner with a few of my friends the next day.

My friend Kelly brought the balloons, my necklace and some party hats.  Lane wanted to try them on :)

And... my friend Susan made a delicious Lemon Cake from scratch!  She did a wonderful job and it was the perfect ending to a delicious night :)  I was sad that Reese had to miss it, but it was so great to spend an evening with some fun ladies and great friends.

Kind a feels weird to be thirty.  I am excited to begin another decade in my life.  I look back on my twenties and am blown away by all that's happened in those 10 years.  I am praying that the next ten years will bring many blessings, growth and happiness!

It Is Well With My Soul

There has been so much sadness recently.  Yesterday I went to bible study feeling frustrated in my current situation, only to be completely humbled by listening to a few people's prayer requests.  Stories of stage 3 throat cancer found in a young Navy officer with a wife and young kids, a local boy who has been fighting cancer and is now in his last days, the list went on.  I left bible study thankful that my problems seem to be small at this moment.  This week a couple from my home town had to say goodbye to their baby girl who lived less than a month. And today I got news that a girlfriend from high school and her six year old daughter died in a car accident early this morning.  And I can't get the picture out of my head of the cemetery where Case is buried, so many new little ones buried next to him in just two years.  It hits you hard, it put things into perspective again.  Because although through my own sufferings, I would have hoped to gain the perspective to live in the moment and enjoy every second, I forget to do that sometimes.

At this point, what do we do.  When our world is so full of sadness, it seems so hopeless at times.  I was reminded of the hymn, It Is Well With My Soul.  I was told the story of how this hymn was written after Case died.  I thought it fitting for a night like tonight.  I found the history written out on a website:






This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. You might think to write a worship song titled,
'It is well with my soul', you would indeed have to be a rich, successful Chicago lawyer. But the words,
"When sorrows like sea billows roll ... It is well with my soul”, were not written during the happiest period of 
Spafford's life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy.

Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in 1860’s Chicago. And this was not just because
of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors. The Spaffords were also prominent supporters and close 
friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords' only 
son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio 
had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871, every one of these holdings was 
wiped out by the great Chicago Fire.

Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four 
daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest -- DL Moody needed the help. He was 
traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in 
late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French 
steamer 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic. Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development 
forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned. 
He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed East to Europe while Spafford 
returned West to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read: 
"Saved alone."

On November 2nd 1873, the 'Ville de Havre' had collided with 'The Lochearn', an English vessel. It sank in only 
12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people. Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters 
Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being 
torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a 
plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had 
been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, 
"You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful 
and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved 
wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father's 
voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and
I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio 
then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.

The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite 
woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told "her soul is vexed within her", she still 
maintains that 'It is well." And Spafford's song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers 
was.

It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those 
experienced by the Spaffords. But we do know that the God who sustained them would also be with us.

No matter what circumstances overtake us may we be able to say with Horatio Spafford...







When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.