Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for God because without God I wouldn't have any of these other blessings that fill my heart. God has truly been good to me and my family. We have had some rough times but God's grace has pulled us through them and He has also blessed us with plenty of good. I have an amazing life that I owe to God and this Thanksgiving I gave my thanks while spending a quite day with my family here in our home. We did miss those we are dear to us but also enjoyed just spending this holiday with each other.

Yes, a fire extinguisher sat atop my counter all day, ha ha!! With everything that was cooking I felt it was necessary to have it within arms length, ha ha!!

Our Little Man is 9!!!

As always I give Cory a little party with just the 4 of us on his actual birthday. I decorated the house, made a cake and he opened presents from mom & dad, Caiti, Nanny and Grandad and Grandma and Papa. I made his favorite dinner...beef and broccoli then we had cake and ice cream! He enjoyed his special day which made me very happy!

Cory's Birthday Party

This year Cory's party was a little different than most. He even pointed out how different it was. He invited 5 of his friends and thankfully only 1 did not show up. We had a party for him here at the house and he seemed to enjoy himself. I know he wished that some of his best friends could have been there but he was still thankful for the friends he has now. They played a game, jumped on the bounce house, ran wildly through the house, had cake and lots of laughs!! I made his cake this year (I'm sure you can tell, ha ha)...it was a good attempt!! It tasted far better than it looked, LOL!!

Thank you to all those who came and made Cory's day special!!!

All My Life...

November 7, 1999 Jason and I made a promise to each other to love one another faithfully and wholeheartedly. We began our life together as husband and wife... On our 1 year wedding anniversary Jason was deployed to Okinawa. I spent that day with my parents while missing my husband terribly! That evening I was actually in Labor and Delivery at Balboa Naval Medical Center due to a scare in my pregnancy (5 days later I gave birth to our son). Our 2nd anniversary we celebrated along with our son at our home in Camp Pendleton, California. Our 3rd anniversary Jason was in San Diego for Recruiters School and I was living with his mom and Dad in Florida. 4 years had passed and we were living in a quaint little apartment in Orlando, Florida. Our marriage was tested here due to the stresses of Recruiting Duty. We were told if your marriage can make it through Recruiting Duty, it will make it through anything. We just held on tight until the ride was over... We finally hit 5 years, which some say is when your marriage hits it's peak and everything gets easier...who made that up?! ha ha!! We were still in Orlando, Florida trying to survive Recruiting Duty and we were also preparing for the birth of our daughter, Caitlyn. We moved out of our quaint little apartment into a bigger place across town. As we hit 6 years we realized that no matter how long we're married we are going to continue to find things out about each other that drive us crazy but we also learned that those same things that drive us crazy are the things that make us love each other so deeply. We were still living in Orlando but were preparing for yet another move. 7 years finally came and we were living in 29 Palms, Ca. We had survived Recruiting Duty and were ready for whatever else that was due to come our way... We celebrated that anniversary while thinking about Jason's upcoming combat deployment to Iraq. On our 8 year wedding anniversary Jason had just returned home safely from Iraq and I was so thankful to have him home to celebrate another year together. 9 years rolled around and this anniversary was very special because just a few weeks earlier Jay had returned home from a very stressful deployment to Afghanistan. I was so happy to have him home because unfortunately some did not make it back home with their families. I kept thinking about how in one more year we'd be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary!! I think that's all we talked about that day, ha ha! Now here we are no longer talking about it, we are living it...10 years of pure marital bliss!!! Of course our marriage is not perfect, never has been~never will be, but our marriage is a blessing. I was lucky enough to find such an amazing man who turned into an amazing father to our children. We have been through so much and have spent a lot of time apart due to deployments and schools. I truly believe that the times we spent apart are a piece of what has made our marriage so strong. Distance does make the heart grow fonder! We are now living in Stafford, Virginia in a nice house. We have two children who we are very thankful to be spending this day with. We have come a long way over the years. God has been good to us and we will continue to place our marriage and our lives in His hands. He has been the center of everything for us and that is why we are where we are today. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us...

L.O.V.E.

Caiti and I took a nice walk thru a beautiful park today!! We shared a lot of special moments which is always nice. Sometimes Caiti gets lost in the chaos of her brothers busy schedule so I think it's a blessing to be able to share some one on one time. She loves doing things with me and I couldn't be luckier. She is a wonderful girl and a joy to be around. I truly enjoyed spending this day with her. Heaven was smiling down on me today...

A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart.

Heart of Gold

In all the leaves that covered the ground, Caiti discovered this heart shaped leaf. She was so excited and I truly felt as if it were a sign from God. He has a way of showing He is with us wherever we go... She had such a big smile on her face and I just had to capture the moment. She tucked it neatly into her pocket and went on. As the day went on she kept talking about her heart leaf. It was like treasure to her! I plan to take this leaf and put it in a frame to hang in her room. A good reminder of God's love!

Gods Work

I was in awe when I stepped out of my car...I have never seen anything like this! The leaves covered the ground, the leaves were golden and the way the sun came through was absolutely beautiful! I just stood there for a minute and took a deep breath in and felt so warm. I walked through the park with my daughter enjoying every single moment. The beauty that God shares with us is incredible. His work is amazing and I am so thankful to be surrounded by all of it.