Rain, rain go away.....

May Day has arrived and to my demise so has the horrible rain. I thought it was April showers that bring May flowers but all I see are gray clouds. I'm not much for the color gray, I absolutely prefer blue. Last update, rain through Monday, May 4th. I'm pretty sure I woke up in California today but maybe not. Almost feels like growing up in Oregon where liquid sunshine is a normal day. UGH! I took my kids to an astronomy field trip at an outdoor park today only to have it start raining on us. It's really hard to see the spots on the sun when the cloud cover is thick. Oh well, I guess we'll have to look through our own telescope and find life on Mars. Until then, I'm going to snuggle up in a blanket and read a good book and hope tomorrow is a much brighter day!

Relaxing after Tulsa

Why is it we go to conference to wear ourselves out, stay up late and then take a really EARLY flight home so we can say we didn't waste a Saturday? Especially after you forgot to take FLATS with you. Lugging luggage through an airport in high heels is always irritating. However, after such an incredible conference with incredible preaching, sore feet is worth it.

Carlos and I had the opportunity to go to Apostolic Summit without our kids. My parents came down from Oregon to stay with them so we could take a relaxing vacation to "tornado alley" (ok we did not get any tornados but we did get some really crazy wind). I had the opportunity to attend the Ministers Wives luncheon where I met many wonderful new friends and was reacquainted with many others.

Now it's time to get back to the grind and get back to work (at least for Carlos:P) The kids only have a couple of weeks left of school, however we are heading to DC next week and need to finish as much school before we leave as possible. Just the same, the laundry has to be finished, the house cleaned and the chickens fed. Of I go again. Maybe after DC I'll get a vacation, or not.

Home on the Range

WOW~March is a blurrrrrrr :D Since my last post was over a month ago, let me recap what has happened in the last 45 days and I'll do it like my husband would do it~

Here we go...sold the house, finished seminary, No Limits conference (that was just the first week), looked for a place to move, found a place, packed, got keys, moved a little bit, went on a camping/dirtbike riding vacation, move a little more, had Carlos' brother and his wife out from Florida, received full endorsement for chaplaincy, moved more, cleaned old house, and closed escrow ~ all in a matter of 30 days :D Was that fast enough! Now it's figuring out what to do with all our "stuff".

We sold our beautiful 2800 sq. ft. 5 bedroom 3 bath 3 car garage home and are renting a cozy 1200 sq ft 2 bedroom, 2 bath farm house that sits on the corner of 40 ACRES (yes I said 40) We technically rent only 2 but since the owners don't live around here and don't do anything with the other it will soon become our dirtbike track :D The house is smack dab in the middle of farm land. No sooner than we moved in did the kids want chickens, so we got them 12 baby chicks. They are the cutest little girls around (yes, they are supposed to be all hens). In about a month they will move their little selves out to the hen coup that is already set up for them.
Carlos bought himself his dream toy the very first week, a riding lawn mower. Since we have been married he has wanted a lawn to mow with a riding lawn mower and now he has one.

Bo is in doggy heaven. Every day I see his hind end up in the air as he is digging away at some unknown creature that lives underground. He has already helped us dispose of one very lowly mouse outside and if he could catch the snakes before they run away they would be in trouble too. He has all the open space to dig and run and act like a free dog. We already bought him a plastic pool and I will see him run back to it, drink a little and step in and cool off. Not quite the same as the old pool but it will do for this summer.
The kids, well what can I say. It was the kids we rented this house for in the first place. Monday they got up, did school, played with the chicks, put on their gear and rode their dirtbikes. What a wonderful life. Not sure they will want to live on post housing when the time comes.

The million dollar question is still the same. What's next? Well, As we enjoy a bit of breathing room before we finish up the process of accessioning to Active Duty, we are enjoying each other. It's been a long time since we spent a Saturday doing not much at all, or a Thursday night playing games and laughing together. We need this for now. Carlos will finish his process fully within the next couple of months and sometime in the fall we should know where we are headed. We're not in a hurry to push God. He has impeccable timing. He knows what we need at every turn. We can look back now and see his fingerprints on every aspect of our lives. Makes me excited about our future!

IT IS FINISHED!

No I'm not talking about Faith's outfits for No Limits, but I am talking about SEMINARY! Just minutes ago Carlos took his LAST quiz for Seminary. Within about a week his grades for his last 2 classes will be posted and they will confer his second masters degree ~ Master of Divinity. I can't quite explain how it feels to know he is FINALLY finished with 90 credits in just over 2 1/2 years. Wow, and I feel like such a slacker taking only 4 credits this semester :D What will he do now? Probably get a lot more sleep over the weekends and play LOTS of computer and Wii games. Maybe he'll even get back into his workout routine on a regular basis. But first, he has to start packing.....

Our realtor called on Monday to let us know that our lender has accepted the latest offer on our home. With this is mind, it looks like we will be out of our house some time in April (preferably at the end as we are headed to Tulsa April 21). But no matter when, we'll be ready. Please keep us in your prayers in the next few weeks as our realtor and lender work with the lender of our 2nd to compromise on a payout. We are determined that God is in control and we know that if it is His will, it will be done. We will still show our house to others and accept back up offers until the deal is complete, but I'd rather not have to show it at all now and just start packing. Hopefully we can find a place with land, where the kids can ride their dirtbikes daily and Bo can run free (rather than sleep all day on his dog bed in the house LOL). But we'll worry about that next week after we finish our No Limits Conference at church this weekend.

For those of you wondering, Carlos will most likely accession in July or August. This will give him a little extra time to just hang out and go to church and go to work and VEG. We plan on having some GREAT family time between now and then. We are headed to Virginia in May for Carlos' graduation ceremonies at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, and then a weeks vacation in Williamsburg and DC. He deserves every relaxing moment he gets between now and Active Duty. He has definitely missed a lot of relaxation due to school deadlines, and family obligations.

We (Faith, Caleb and I) are extremely grateful for Carlos' sacrifices throughout Seminary. Carlos has never forced us to sacrifice our time to make sure he got his school work finished. In fact, it was totally the opposite, with Carlos sometimes getting 2-3 hours of sleep on vacations just so that we could have fun as a family. This includes in places such as Charleston, S.C. where he got 2 hours of sleep in order to turn in a 15 page paper after he was in the field for 4 days with minimal sleep, yet never once complaining of how tired he was (he did catch a snooze on the boat to and from Ft. Sumter). Places like Maui, Hawaii, where diving 3 days and trying to study for his dive certification, yet completing his school work and tests with extra slow internet connections (and never complaining about his exhaustion). The most recent one is while I spent 4 days with him in Virginia in February, where he stayed up 2 nights in a row with 2 hours of sleep a night, never once complaining (oh I forgot, he did complain he was mad at himself for not having his paper done before I got there, even though he was working as a chaplain getting up at 4 am for PT, climbing into bed at 1 am during the week) yet he managed to take me out to dinner twice and even make me dinner one night and take me shopping. Carlos (or daddy to our kids) is the greatest man alive. He is Faith & Caleb's hero. The man Faith finds for her husband is going to be hard to compare to her daddy. Caleb knows what a man should be like. They both know what determination is and a never quit attitude takes. As for me, I'm the proud wife of a an Apostolic Man of God, a United States Soldier, and the Smartest Man in the World :D

Although this is finality in this chapter of our lives, there is so much in the future we can't quite grasp yet. But we know, if we keep holding to God's unchanging hand we have nothing to worry about! And if you need advice on how to keep on keepin' on, Carlos has all the time in the world (except when were all out playin').

In honor of my husband, "Pro Deo Et Patria" FOR GOD AND COUNTRY! Can I get a Hooah!

Humor in the Home

As I sit here typing on my laptop, I am hilariously enjoying an evening with my family (it's ok, I'm multi-tasking :D) Carlos arrived home from Virginia on Saturday after a very stressful prior evening with cancelled flights due to a Midwest snow storm. But through his persistence, United was glad to accommodate the good Lieutenant (some people still support the troops) and change him to US Airways, arriving approximately the same original time as his United flight. On my way to pick him up I was able to drop my serger at Meissners, rush to Trinity Baptist Church to watch my kids compete in a drama competition and drive like a maniac to the airport where he was right on time. Apparently he had an aisle seat and enjoyed the courtesy of being bumped by every passenger and flight attendant that passed him while he snoozed. On our way out of the airport I asked him if we could detour and make a quick surprise at In & Out burger on Madison Ave. where my kids were having lunch. When we walked in they were definitely surprised. Who wouldn't be to see their absolute FAVORITE person in the world after 7 weeks. Our visit was brief but they were happy. The kids completed their day of drama training as Carlos took a snooze at home (and I played on the wii fit). When we picked them up from the church that night we did exactly what their dad had promised them we would do when he got home, we went out for sushi!

Sunday morning it was SO nice to have my husband sit next to me in church. After all these years, I will never get used to having my husband gone from me for extended periods of time. Unfortunately it was short lived as he had homework to complete Sunday night and wasn't able to attend again until Tuesday.

Monday, back to the grind for Carlos. The dreaded 1 1/2 hour commute was back in full swing, where he was greeted by his ever happy employees. Since there is no Monday night prayer at church this week due to the upcoming No Limits Conference, we had an evening home together where Faith, Caleb and I had the enjoyment of getting Carlos on the Wii Fit. I won't post his Wii Fit age that came up that night, but watching him on the hula hoop had us rolling on the ground.

Last night we were again blessed to have Carlos in service with us. School has been such a burden to our time together. He was able to watch the kids perform the drama they did at One Way Street on Saturday. He also had the opportunity to speak to the congregation. What he had to say was powerful and I was sitting in my pew in awe. Wow, God is powerful.

And so here I am tonight, sitting in the recliner, once again spending time with my family. I'm laughing as my husband again plays on the wii fit. Ok, today his age is 30 :D. After 27 minutes, he's broken a sweat and has decided to do his push ups, sit ups and run on the treadmill. Of course, his mini-me's are right there working out with him (notice, I'm still typing on the computer, I can't multi-task that much).

As for the rest of this week, well let's just say, it's hard to believe it's almost over. What you ask? I'll fill you in later this week......

A Thought For Today

Ft. Belvoir in the Winter

What a beautiful day we had here in the DC area. Yesterday we finally ventured out after Carlos finished his last paper for his next to last class at 5:00 pm to find a Kinko's to print a mailing label to send his paper to his instructor, which he reminded me many times how antiquated that was. Gotta love a techy. Nevertheless, we were able to send out his 12 page research paper on Romans and head out to dinner where we dined at Outback Steakhouse. As we stepped in to the building, we were once again reminded that Virginia still allows smoking and non-smoking sections of restaurants, and no matter how hard you try, smoke does not stay on it's own side of the restaurant. After an under-cooked blooming onion, 3 full glasses of sweet tea and steak and shrimp, I was utterly stuffed. Unfortunately I have a head cold and felt miserable so we headed back to the hotel where we talked until the wee hours and then, since Carlos had only had 2 hours of sleep, we went to bed. However, I am still on PST and I believe it was around 4:30 EST when I finally fell asleep. Today we went to Ft. Belvoir and saw where Carlos has been doing his practicum. The Post, unlike an Air Force Base, is densely populated with TREES. However, in the winter in this area the trees are bare and the ground is brown (even peoples lawns are brown). As we drove around and looked at the sites on post, I realized I was rather warm. The thermometer in the car said 68. WOW! And like all southern states, it was humid. The houses on Post are all designed in colonial style. It is rather elegant.

This one was calling my name!Even the lower enlisted houses are beautiful. The Colonel and General row leads up to the Officers Club and the back of their houses face the Potomac River through forest. What a childs dream backyard. I felt like I could be in a Tom Sawyer book. Here is a picture of the Officers Club:

I expected Rhet Butler to walk out at any minute. What a beautiful building and had we thought about it earlier we would have dined there this morning for brunch. We toured through all of the Post and ended up back at one of the most important places, Starbucks. Of course there is one right on post where the buildings look colonial too. While there, Carlos engaged in a conversation with a little girl who was enjoying her cookie. Her mother was expecting their second child and the little girl was 2 and her name was Ellie. The mom was concerned that Ellie would be mean to the baby since the mother had an older brother that used to pick on her growing up. As Carlos encouraged the woman to involve Ellie in the new baby as much as possible, I couldn't help but smile about my own two wonderful children. Yes, aren't all our children wonderful because they are created by God, but I'm their mother and I think they are extra special. I told the lady that we had a girl 13 y/0 and a boy almost 11 y/o and how close they are not only in age but in love. Carlos shared with her how Faith, from the birth of Caleb, has been his bestfriend and playmate and we attribute that to encouraging her that the baby was hers too. The woman asked us to keep her in our prayers and we said we would. As I walked out of Starbucks, I got a glimpse of myself in the reflection on the door. These are the women my heart is burdened for. I have been blessed with a family who loves me and a spiritual family who loves me. Who would have thought that our life would be turning in the path that it is. As we drove through the Post a bit more, Carlos said, "I sometimes regret that I didn't do this earlier so that the kids would have known this life earlier, however, we've been blessed because our children have had the opportunity to grow spiritually in an environment that has nurtured and trained them." I can only pray that it will sustain them in the environment they are about to embark on. Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go;even when he is old he will not depart from it." I can only pray that their training will take them far beyond their own ability. I have to believe that no matter what, God will be our supplier. I stand on his word. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:9.

A field outside the post with Canadian Geese in it:
Just past this field on Highway 1 is Highway 267 Mount Vernon Highway where George Washingtons home is. We drove on past, as I promised my children we would not site see on this trip but would stop there on our next trip to DC. So we did the next best thing, we headed to the mall, where I was disappointed (Carlos said if you've seen one mall, you've seen them all). Since my body is tired and I am achy tonight, I guess we'll just stay in and watch church online. Carlos needs to finish up a discussion board post for his last class along with a test for this week. He also needs to do his laundry for the week and get ready for an 0400 wake up call tomorrow. Although my trip has been rather dull in comparison to most of my vacations, being with my bestfriend for a few days and talking about the future and reminiscing about the past has been enjoyable. We both miss our kids and I look forward to seeing them at the airport tomorrow night. We've talked often with them while separated but mama rarely leaves her babies and it has been refreshing but I can't wait to be home with them tomorrow night. I'll leave Carlos tomorrow in the morning to catch the metro back to the bus to Baltimore Airport. He has offered to drive me to the airport but it's 45 miles one way. I want him to be available for the soldiers if needed tomorrow. That is what he is called to do. His time here is short, he'll be home in less than 2 weeks. Until then, I want God to use him for His purpose as much as possible. For God's glory.