Monday Morning

Good morning,
We had a good weekend. It was relaxing. We were able to pack two of Tony's bags so that he can send them ahead of him. It was bittersweet, but we got it done.
We have all kind of things planned this week....... we have meetings with other families in Tony's unit, we have doctor appointments, will appointments, and hopefully we will get to go swimming later this week.
The kids are doing well. They are really enjoying having daddy home! He brings such life to our lives! I love having him home too!
We had a great time with Grandma here!!!!! She helped us so much!!! We have new curtains and all kinds of decorations. She got pictures hung and things organized. We love her so much. She is always so supportive. She even made Dimitri's birthday cake.....SUPERMAN!!!! He is so excited, but his favorite part was Grandma's teeth and tongue turning colors when she ate the frosting.
Well it was 102 degrees here yesterday....some places close by got up to 108! I am re-thinking my dislike of Idaho's cold winters......not trying to be wishy-washy, but this hot stuff is crazy......guess I won't be happy until we move to San Diego.....the weather is always perfect there. ...... or so I have been told....
Hope you have a blessed and happy week!

It has been a little while

Hello everyone,
Yes, we are still here! Sorry it has been so long. Grandma Adams came down to visit and we were so busy that I forgot to do the blog. We have all kinds of stories to tell, so I will update soon.
Thank you for all your prayers..... Tony made it back safely. He will only be here a short time before he has to leave again. So we are planning on enjoying every minute with him!

Tony

Thank you for your prayers......Tony arrived safely to his destination in the Middle East. He will be there for several days checking things out. We have been BLESSED to have been able to talk to him several times on this trip.......he is such a good man to call whenever he can. He has been using calling cards.......so those will be something that we will put on his wish list for people that want to send things over to him!
Let's all lift Tony up over the next few days so that he might find the strength and encouragement to make it until he gets home!
We miss him so much, but I am sure that he is just as lonely.

What a yucky 2 days!

Here is a list of things that I would like and enjoy MORE than having my husband on the other side of the globe and not with me:

-my toenails ripped off and my feet dipped in salt water
-the M&M factory to report they are bankrupt and for all production to stop
-waking up with a tarantula on my face
-having only lima beans to eat for a week
-having to go skiing at Bogus during a blizzard
-changing 5,000 poopy, runny, disgusting diapers
-being told that mashed potatoes are illegal
-having Salmon go extinct
-having to go on a relaxing vacation to Alaska (the real snowy cold part of that state)
-allowing my brothera to alter and set off 100 fireworks right next to our house
-having to clean bathrooms for the rest of my life

......guess you get the picture huh....

On a more serious note, this has been truly horrible, gut wrenching, and miserable....and it has only been TWO days....God will get me through, I belive that, but that doesn't mean that this awful pain in my chest and heaviness on my heart will go away.
Last night was the first night, since our first date, that I went to bed without hearing Tony tell me goodnight, either over the phone or in person!!!!!
I wish I could take a sleeping pill that would let me rest peacefully until next year and then wake up like Sleeping Beauty when her prince kissed her! ahhhh, how nice.
I love my husband more than words can express. I did not really understand the uncertainty in his voice when he asked me the question " are you sure you are willing to do this Army life with me?" back when we were dating. How could anyone really understand this pain and anguish? You can't until you experience it. I read several books about being an Army wife, and thought that I was all prepared. I listened to stories about other woman who were going through it and thought I was prepared, but NO WAY was I prepared for this.
It just plain stinks!!!!!!

God is real and He is awesome

So yesterday around 4 pm I started to get a really bad headache. By the time the TOny got home around 7 pm it was full blown. I was so upset because I had so many things that I wanted to help Tony with to get him ready for his trip. I cried and prayed and yelled a little, and prayed......
Tony came to bed around 10:20pm once he was done packing everything. My heart was really crushed because all I had wanted to do was be strong for my husband, and there I was laying in bed, not able to talk or move.
I prayed some more....I prayed that God would have mercy on me and that He would simply take the headache away. There was no way that I was going to make Tony take me to the ER last night when he so much to do today.
I woke up around midnight and my headache was almost completely gone!!!!!!! HE TOOK IT AWAY!!! I have never had a headache that bad that went away without going to the ER. God really took it away.
I was so thrilled. It was so amazing to me. Tony was asleep, but I was able to stay up all night and hug him and rub his back, and pray over him.
This morning I was able to drop him off and be there to give him a hug.
GOD DID ALL THAT!!!!!!
Please praise Him with me today. It has been a really hard day because of the circumstances, but I am doing all that I can to PRAISE GOD at every possible moment.

Do you know why....

I have grown up with people always praying for my family and me. It seems natural to me, but at times I feel selfish for asking others to pray. Well, I was listening to an online sermon by Jonh Piper and he explained it very well.......here is my atempt to paraphrase him:
Basically the idea is that the more people you share your need for prayer with, the more people you will then have praying about a situtaion. The end goal is that when God works and the people can see the ways that God has answered all the prayers......by having a large group praying for you, it allows God to be glorified ten-fold. Instead of just you praising and thanking God for what He has done, there can be 10 or 20 people praising Him! I thought it was a great way to look at it.
I will try to figure out how to put the link in here so that you can listen to it as well.

Please pray with us this week:
1. For Tony's safety
2. For God to help Tony in dealing with stress
3. For the children to choose to behave and listen to mom, in dad's absence
4. For Brittanny to be strong for Tony and for the kids

Looking forward to praising Him with you!

You know it is hot when.....

Ok, so before we moved to Texas I often told the kids that it was going to be really hot in Texas, but someone needed to be telling me that! My goodness is it ever hot here!!!!! Below are some things that have really convinced me that it is hot.....

You Know It Is Hot When......

-your daughter stands at the window and frowns, saying "I sure wish it was colder outside so that we could go swimming, cause I will get too hot in that pool today!"

-you need to instal those little windshield wipers on your sunglasses to keep the sweat off

-the weatherman gets excited that it has "currently dropped all the way down to 95 degrees" on the 10 o'clock news

-the salmon you had in the back of your car during your drive back from Austin is now cooked to the recommended 145 degrees......and it was never put in the oven

-your son asks why the sun won't just go to bed

-the crayons on the table....inside the house.....have all melted together

To be continued......

I love this man

Tony is such a great man. I love him so much! We are so lucky to be blessed with having him in our lives. We had so much fun being with him today!

FIREWORK Hair!

Here is Denaiza's 4th of July hair-do. We think it looks like fireworks. Her hair has grown soooo much!

Getting ready for a day with Daddy!

Well, there are three of us in our house that are very excited about today. Even though today is considered a work day for Daddy, we get to be with him! His unit is having a family fun day - officially called an Organizational Day (for those of you learning Army terms). I got up real early to get everything ready. The kids got up early too. They can hardly wait to get out of the house. I think the three of us are just excited to be getting out of the house to go somewhere besides Walmart....our typical outing of choice. (It is pretty bad when your kids can tell you the aisle numbers that different foods are on!)

Here are some pictures of the kids. We are praying that our day in the sun will result in sun tans and no other adverse effects.

Have a great Thursday!

So it is Wednesday already....

Here is a short update of things that we asked for prayer for:
1. Tony had two soldiers admitted to the hospital for serious issues and he was able to be there with the soldiers and their families. He showed strength and compassion to them.
2. Denaiza had a wonderful birthday!
3. Bryan is healing well, according to his reports.
Thank you for your prayers!