San Antonio Fun: SeaWorld & The Alamo

We're home from a long weekend/mini-vaca to San Antonio. It was a really good time but it's been a bit chaotic to get back into the swing of things.

Originally, we decided to go because SeaWorld is offering their one day free military passes-which we had used at the Orlando SeaWorld two years ago while we were at Disney. As summer got closer, it became more clear that we were going to run out of weekends so we had to start combining a couple things. Our boy turned FIVE last Sunday and he loved when we went to the Orlando SeaWorld so it was an obvious mash-up. 

We were SO thrilled that some of our son's favorite friends managed to make the trip with us. First, the L family...mom, dad (Air National Guard) and their three boys carpooled with us from Oklahoma. And then, just before the trip, my oldest friend and her family (her hubby and 2 yr old daughter) decided to drive up from Houston. 

We all had a blast at the hotel...swimming, pizza, cake...what could be better?!

(we hadn't even unpacked before they wanted to head to the pool)

The next morning we were up and ready to hit SeaWorld with the L family. We had a great time but if I were entirely honest, I would say we enjoyed SeaWorld in Orlando more. The Orlando park seemed cleaner more themed-but I'm sure having to compete with Universal and Disney have some influence on that.

We saw some shows...

Rode some rides...

Had a dolphin experience...

And got really wet!

(not all of us were thrilled about the getting wet part...this was our princess just after the Shamu show soaked her)

By the end of the day, we were all wiped out! Getting to the hotel, taking showers and getting to bed seemed at the time to be monumental tasks but we did it and we all slept really well that night.

The next morning, the boys went swimming again (our princess isn't much of a fan of the water) while I packed us up. We checked out and headed to our (sort of) last stop...The Alamo.

(on the door to the Shrine)

(a plaque on the ground in front of The Alamo Shrine)

Joshua and I are history nerds and had a great time. For the record, we absolutely recommend stopping by if you get the chance...The Alamo itself is free. You pay for parking and there are paid tour guides or audio tours available but we feel that we got just as much out of just talking to one of the employees (Amelia) than we could have with a tour...plus we had the freedom to move at our own pace...or rather our children's pace.

As I said, The Alamo was supposed to be our last stop but as we headed out of town back toward Oklahoma, we stumbled upon a Tanger Outlet Mall...two hours and more money than I should have spent later, we were officially on the road again. It was a great weekend, a memorable birthday and a fantastic time with good friends.

Emotional Rollercoaster

I've been absent from the blogging world this last week because it's been such an emotional time. I had every intention of writing a small but, at least to me, meaningful Memorial Day post but to be honest, I didn't have it in me. The men Joshua served with who died on his deployment and their families are never forgotten. They're always in my prayers and although I would have liked to pay homage to them again here, I just couldn't.

There's been so much pain. Good friends who are literally picking up the pieces of their lives after the Moore tornado. Also, a fellow former-nanny friend of mine found out the family she used to work for lost their son in an accident. So much overwhelming grief. Please keep them all in your prayers.

But there's also been joy. My step-brother (the one I like the most-shh, don't tell the others) got married on Saturday to a woman he loves with all his heart-what more could a sister (even just a step-sister) ask for?! And thankfully Joshua, whose Guard unit was called up to provide perimeter security for Moore (and in their "down time" chose instead of sleeping like they probably should have, to run supplies back and forth to the affected areas) was able to leave early to join us at the wedding.

(my step-brother Blain, his new bride and my new neices!-I can't wait to spoil them...'S'-the one on the right had to cover her sweet eyes for the kiss)

After the wedding on Saturday, Joshua and I came home and left the kiddos with Grandma and Grandpa. We picked up the kids yesterday and managed to hang out with family friends in town from Houston. It was just was what I needed to recharge. 

Goodbye Deployment

Today is so much more than just St Patrick's Day for us. Today marks the one year anniversary that Joshua has been home from deployment. To say I've been anticipating this date would be an understatement. I've been desperate for it...particularly for our children. Reintegration has been hard, at times as hard as the deployment was. Learning how to be a family of four, discovering our marriage again while also simultaneously helping Joshua adjust to how much our son had grown was difficult-Joshua left for the deployment when the boy was two and a half and was gone for 13 months but to be honest, Joshua really left for training when the boy was a year and a half and was gone 19 out of the next 24 months. It took a toll. I'm in awe of how well our son has done but there are remnants of the pain he felt. 

Last week when we took both the kids to the optometrist (neither needed glasses-more than a small miracle itself!), we were about half way through the 45 minutes route when the boy's eyes got huge and filled with tears. I was almost panicked, watching him struggle to get control of himself to be able to tell us what hurt/what was wrong and then he said it...

"Does this mean Daddy is going far, far away again?" 

His four year old mind had linked the one other time he remembered being at the optometrist with his Daddy being gone as it was shortly before Joshua had returned. 

It's not the first time he had asked it...when we were on our way to Disney last September, he had remembered the year before's R&R trip and had a small breakdown thinking we were all going to Florida but that his Daddy wouldn't be coming back with us.

I've been so ready for this day to come. To be able to say a year ago today my husband was home (or at least not being shot at) is a blessing that I treasure. The deployment taught me many lessons but one of the biggest was patience and what long-suffering love really is. It took long-suffering love to get through the deployment but it's also taken a long-suffering love to get through reintegration. We've made it to a year. We're still married...and I'm sad to say that isn't the case for everyone we've walked this journey with. Our children are healthy and happy and we've found our new normal. With Joshua still in the military, I don't take his being home for granted. I recognize and accept we may go through this same cycle again but today, we celebrate the time we've had together.

Maybe it's providential that this anniversary falls on St Patrick's Day. Many mistakenly assume he brought Christianity to Ireland (or miraculously rid it of snakes-although that would certainly be something to celebrate) but what he really did, according to Jon Sweeny who wrote a book about St Patrick, was organize, inspire and expand Christianity within Ireland but he didn't even do that right away. He spent six years as a slave-which is where he discovered his faith and then decades studying before he returned to Ireland. 

Regardless of what the future may hold...what deployments, training separations or anything else we may face, St Patrick's Day will always stand as a personal reminder to "rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope."

Time Flies

Hello blogging world...you may (or may not) have noticed my total desertion of this page for the last month (and a half). To be honest, nothing major really happened to drive me away. I just needed a break. I needed to focus on my family and myself. 

Here's a (hopefully) quick breakdown to catch you up...

We cracked down on homeschooling and have officially decided to go with Classical Conversations next year and are super excited about it. 

We had a snow-pocalypse that was a ton of fun...

I got a new .22 rifle for Valentine's Day and we took some good friends shooting... (the boy and one of his best friends had a blast)

I escaped. I took a long weekend and flew down to El Paso (thereby leaving the children alone with Joshua for the first time ever!) to visit this awesome lady...

(cell phone pic...eh, sorry)

Joshua and I had a weekend away...hotel, theater tickets (Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan-I highly recommend seeing it!-that woman is in better shape at 60 than I am today!), dinner out...the basics

In related news, the boy also got to see Peter Pan as his first broadway show with his Grandma. He LOVED it!...he wasn't so much a fan of the pics I insisted we take before he left but I couldn't resist. I love my bow-tie-lovin', suspender-wearing little man!

Also, I've been on a sewing kick...big time. I made a couple new dresses for the girl...

(she was less than thrilled to do pics at that particular moment)

(I got the hat from Halo Heaven)

And finally, the biggest news (for me at least) was that I finally got my much coveted Brother PE-770 Embroidery Machine!!! I'm in love! This was the first thing I made...

So that's what we've been up to...kind of a crazy busy season for us but a good one. 

Daddy's Girl

With the chaos of the holidays, Joshua's birthday and the "crud" making it's way through our home, a not-so-small milestone has passed. 

Joshua has officially been home with our princess longer than he was away after she was born.

It's a big deal to all of us because missing her birth was one of the hardest parts of the deployment. No matter how prepared I was, I can still close my eyes and feel the heartache of his absence that day a year and a half ago.

When he returned, we were lucky in that she didn't show fear or anxiety around him and they bonded quickly. Of course it helped that she had a big brother to take her cues from but she and Joshua have a relationship all their own. Now, when he comes home in the evening, she throws her hands up and yells "Da" as she runs to his arms. I'm pretty sure in that moment, if she the ability to ask him for anything in the world, she'd get it.

Reintegration hasn't been a cake walk but milestones like this make it that much easier.

PS>I didn't do a full Christmas post but I have to post a couple obnoxious obligatory Mom pics from Christmas...it was a great year.

Don't Wait

I know that by now there are dozens, hundreds-maybe even thousands, of posts about the nightmare that happened in Connecticut last Friday.

I'm not going to write about gun control, school safety or mental health issues...I've seen and said enough on all those topics on Twitter and Facebook. Right now, I just want to take a minute and remind all the parents out there that as unimaginable as it may be, we are not promised a lifetime with our children. 

I have friends who say we'll do XYZ with Timmy or Jane when (fill in the bank). They wait to do sports. They wait to go on vacation. They wait to teach their children to bake or to shoot or to play an instrument. And I understand why they wait...they want their children to be old enough, they want to pay off this bill or remodel that room, they're too busy right now but the bottom line is that they always think there's time. Tragically, there's not always time.

Twenty sets of parents discovered that on Friday in the most horrific way I can imagine. Don't let time slip away or heaven forbid end before you act. Whatever the XYZ is for you and your family, do it today. Don't wait.

May all those affected by the shooting at Sandy Hook find Peace.

Happy Hanukkah

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah (sometimes spelled Chanukah because there is no direct translation).

In America, Hanukkah is often considered the Jewish version of Christmas with gifts given and games played but the real reason for the holiday is a celebration of God's miracle.

Hanukkah begins every year on the 25th day of Kislev (the 9th month of the Hebrew Calendar) and because the Hebrew Calendar is lunisolar, Hanukkah can occur anywhere from late November to late December in the Gregorian Calendar.

Hanukkah began around 167 BC when the Jewish Holy Land was controlled by the Syrian-Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes who had criminalized Judaism. The tyrant outlawed circumcision, shabbat (Sabbath) services and made even just the possession of the Torah (aka the Old Testament to Christians) a capitol offense. Worse, he defiled the Temple by sacrificing pigs and placing Roman gods inside the Holy of Holies. A small group of Jewish rebels, the Maccabees, fought against the Hellenization and managed to drive out the much larger army. 

When the triumphant Jews entered the Temple and found it in ruins, they took some time to mourn and began the process to rededicate it. It took 8 days to rededicate the Temple but there was only enough oil for the Menorah for one day. God made the oil last all eight days and that miracle is what is celebrated every year on Hanukkah.

*Side note: the Temple Menorah had/has seven branches as described in Exodus 25:31-40 whereas the Hanukkah Menorah has nine branches...one for each day and one called the shamash (the "servant" or "helper") which is used to light the others.

On the first night of Hanukkah, only the shamash and one candle is placed on the Menorah. The shamash is lit and then used to light the first candle (the farthest right of the person lighting) and with it the traditional blessing is usually sung. Each subsequent night an additional candle is added and blessing given. 

Whether or not you're Jewish, Hanukkah can be a great reminder of the many miracles that God has given all His people. I think it's interesting to note that although Hanukkah began when the Maccabees regained the temple, the fight for independence was far from over, It is, in many ways, reflective of our own struggles. Miracles can and do happen in the midst of our most hard fought battles.

For all our friends and family who celebrate, we hope you have a Happy Hanukkah.

*****

My husband would be disappointed if I didn't add a little Adam Sandler to my Hanukkah post...enjoy...

Hanukkah Song 3rd edition 

(I tried repeatedly to find videos I could embed but none of the good quality ones would work so here's a link to the official version of the 3rd edition)

Happy Halloween!

I love holidays...especially ones that are photographed endlessly and allow us to look back and see how the family has grown.

2008

2009

 2010

 2011

2012

We hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween! 

Still Alive

You may have noticed my totally unannounced hiatus. To be honest, I didn't even know I was going to take a break from the blogging/online world. A few days before our most recent trip to Disney we got swamped and a couple weeks later when we returned, our home internet was down because we had our roof replaced while we were on vacation. 

Good news: we now have a class 4 "hail-proof" roof...yeah, we'll see how hail-proof it is when it experiences an Oklahoma spring but I digress.

Once it was fixed and I could have hopped right back into the online swing of things but after a year of having my phone essentially sewn to my hand and my laptop rarely more than four feet from me (not a small thing since I had to get the extra large laptop so I could see pictures better), having some freedom from all the inter-connectedness was really nice. That said, I'm back because I missed reading the blogs and catching up with everyone...and also, I really missed writing about Disney. I love to help people plan their trips so I'm back. Disney, kids, Army and all. 

Speaking of Disney...here's some necessary picture highlights from this last trip (which we have decided was the best trip yet). 

Our son hit that ever-important 40" mark (check out all the Disney height restrictions HERE) and the first time he got on a "real" roller coaster, he put his hands straight up and never put them down...

Our dinosaur...it's a tradition to get him a dino face paint every trip.

Our princess...tell me a one year old doesn't pose.

The Pirate's League was a BIG hit again... 

Our Peter and Tink had a blast...

Who says a one year doesn't have fun at Disney World?!...

He didn't need a stroller seat of his own but at the end of the day, he appreciated it...

The boy vs Darth Vader...

The girl. Traumatized...

The boy was made a Jr Bell Hop at Tower of Terror. It was the most magical moment for him...before he was iffy on Tower of Terror. It's now his favorite ride...

The ONLY character our Princess wasn't scared of (and she actually was all smiles to see). Meeting Marie...

GG was able to make it again this year...the Princess loves her Great-Grandma

At the Ticket and Transportation Center after leaving Magic Kingdom for the last time this trip, the boy realizes that we're really going home and not just leaving the park for the day. Sad moment.

We had a great time as usual and I enjoyed my little internet hiatus but I'm glad to be back and look forward to posting more.