Harvest season snack mix

A fun find that I can't wait to try.

• Bugles represent a cornucopia, or a horn of plenty.
• Pretzels represent arms folded in thanks & prayers.
• Dried fruits represent the celebration of the harvest, when the pilgrims finally had enough to eat.
• Sunflower seeds represent next seasons harvest.
• Candy corn represents maize. During the first year of settlement, many pilgrims died because food was so scarce. Native Americans shared corn with them & taught them how to plant this new crop.

Directions: In a large bowl, mix even amounts of Bugles, pretzels, dried fruit & sunflower seeds. Then sprinkle in some candy corn. While your children pour & stir, take time to discuss the meaning behind each ingredient. Teach your children the importance of sharing blessings with friends and family. Scoop individual servings of your snack mix into small bags and distribute to loved ones with a friendly message: "We're thankful for you every season of the year."

2 down. 5 to go.

Tomorrow officially marks the end of the 2nd month of Charlie's deployment. My how time flies & creeps by all at the same time. The anticipation of all the exciting things to come during this time is slowly wearing off. Girlfriends who haven't gone home already for the deployment are packing up to spend the holiday season with family. It's a whole new season of trust, character building & walking out faith exercises. And maybe time for a strawberry margarita.

MOPS to the Fire Station

This past week we went on a field trip to our local Fire Station with MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers). The kids loved it. They watched a video circa 1992 on fire safety, saw fireman slide down the pole, see what the fireman wear & even walk through the fire truck. Nathan in his all boy-ness climbed into the truck, turned to the fireman & said "where's my seat?" He was convinced he was going on a ride & was quite disappointed that this was not the case. Somehow though some of the fire safety got lost in translation because now Emma will tell you that if someone has a fire & comes to use the phone at our house we are to lock them out. So I guess you had better not try our house first! Some how she translated don't go back into the burning house into locking them out. The kids are already looking forward to a repeat performance of this field trip.

1.2.3.

Until Emma's birthday next week I can say I have a 1 year old, a 2 year old & a 3 year old. But no sanity. I think it's a more than worthwhile trade!

Our Peanut

I just received the cd of amazing pictures my girlfriend Kelli took at Maggie's birthday party. I thought it would be nice to post one or two. Except if you had seen this cd you would see why I had to force myself to only pick 8. Kelli is an amazing photographer with an unbelievable eye but I secretly think it's in part to the great subject she was capturing on this particular day!

My hero

Bites of fall

We are finally getting back into our normal routine & this morning began our first homeschooling session since our vacation. One of our projects this morning was to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Oh my, they are sinfully good & most importantly the kids had tons of fun baking. They dumped ingredients, mixed, learned about why we use certain ingredients & measuring. They then followed up class with an indulgence in these very yummy cookies. Below you will find the recipe if you would like to try them too.

Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 can pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. oil
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 - 12 oz. bag of Chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together as listed. Let the children stir by turns between each addition. Drop spoonfuls on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on waxed paper.

I used milk chocolate chips this time, which were delicious. Since I am such a huge fan of dark chocolate I think I'll try that next go around. The cookies are almost pumpkin bread like, not at all hard & crunchy. With the mix of pumpkin & cinnamon it was like eating a bite of fall.

I heart my daddy

When dad's away

When dad's away, Mom's the Commanding Officer.
When dad's home, Mom's the executive officer, coordinating and executing actions for the Command Team. Keeping track of the kids, she's the S-1. Collecting the neighborhood news for Dad, she's the S-2. Making plans for the family & training the kids, she's the S-3. Stocking food & supplies for the family, she's the S-4. She answers all family correspondence & makes appointments for Dad; that makes her the adjutant. Worrying about the family budget makes the the Comptroller. Paying bills & accounting to Dad for paychecks makes her Finance & Accounting Officer. Looking for a place to live when we move, she's a Billeting Officer. Assigning chores, getting us fed, bathed & to bed she's the 1St Sgt. Serving the food & doing dishes, she's on mess duty. Carrying small children, she's an Ammunition Tech. Driving the family to appointments, she's a duty driver. Cleaning house & making beds, she's an orderly. Looking like a queen when she goes out with Dad, she's a Marine's lady. Doing all things well, all the time, she's a true "Warrior!" Gosh, Mom's a whole darned Marine Corps!

Author Unknown

The Difference

To all my sisters, A handout I picked up somewhere along the way . . .

Over the years, I've talked a lot about military spouses. How special they are & the price they pay for freedom too. They funny thing about it, is most military spouses don't consider themselves different from other spouses. They do what they have to do, bound together not by blood or merely friendship, but with a shared spirit whose origin is in the very essence of what love truly is. Is there truly a difference. I think there is. You have to decide for yourself.

* Other spouses get married & look forward to building equity in a home & putting down family roots. Military spouses get married & know they'll live in base housing or rent, & their roots but be short so they can be transplanted frequently.
* Other spouses decorate a home with flair & personality that will last a lifetime. Military spouses decorate a home with flare tempered with the knowledge that no to base houses have the same size windows & same size rooms. Curtains have to be flexible & multiple sets are a plus. Furniture must fit like puzzle pieces.
* Military spouses have immaculate living room/dining room combos. The coffee table got a scratch or two moving from Germany, but it still looks pretty good.
* Other spouses say good-bye to their spouses for a business trip & know they won't see them for a week. They are lonely, but can survive. Military spouses say good-bye to their deploying spouse & know they won't see them for months, or for a remote, a year. They are lonely, but will survive.
* Other spouses when a washer hose blows off, cal Maytag & then write a check out for getting the hose reconnected. Military spouses will cut the water off then fix it themselves.
* Other spouses get used to saying "hello" to friends they see all the time. Military spouses get used to saying "good-bye" to friends made in the last two years.
* Other spouses worry about whether their child will be class president next year. Military spouses worry about whether their child will be accepted in yet another new school next year and whether that school will be the worst one in the city . . . again.
* Other spouses can count on spouse participation in special events . . . birthdays, anniversaries, concerts, football games, graduation, and even the birth of a child. Military spouses only count on each other: because they realize that the Flag has to come first if freedom is to survive. It has to be that way.
* Other spouses put up yellow ribbons when the troops are imperiled across a globe & take them down when the troops come home. Military spouses wear yellow ribbons around their hearts & they never go away.
* Other spouses worry about being late for mom's Thanksgiving dinner. Military spouses worry about getting back from Japan in time for Dad's funeral.
* Other spouses are touched by the tv program showing an elderly lady putting a card down in front of a long, black wall that has names on it. The card simply says "Happy Birthday, sweetheart." You would have been sixty today." A military spouse is the lady with the card. And the wall is the Vietnam Memorial.

I would never say military spouses are better or worse than other spouses are. But I will say there is a difference. And I will say that our country ask more of military spouses than is asked of other spouses. And I will say, without hesitation, that military spouses pay just as high a price for freedom as do their active duty husbands or wives. Perhaps the price they pay is higher. Dying in service to our country isn't near as hard as loving someone who has died in service to our country, and having to live without them. God Bless our military spouses for all they freely give. And God Bless America.

Colonel Steven Arrington
17th Training Wing Vice Commander
Goodfellow AFB
San Angelo, Texas
(From the Goodfellow Monitor 11 May 01)

Thank-you Aunt Dotty

This trip wouldn't have been at all possible if it weren't for you & Uncle Jim. Thank you for all that you did but more importantly for loving us so much. It's been a great 3 weeks. See you at Christmas!

Happy Birthday Maggie!

Today at exactly 7:15 a.m. our little peanut turned 1! A year already? Where has the time gone to? We celebrated her birthday on Thursday with a play date at the park. Thank you to everyone who came, we had such a great time. I actually was persuaded by many to make this a low-key affair, quite the challenge for myself. But I gave in & actually enjoyed the simplicity of store bought invites (even if I almost couldn't make a decision as to which ones) & picking up a store-bought cake. What delight I had in just getting to chat with other moms & actually watch the kids play instead of busying around with the party.




My dear friend Kelli took some more pictures which you can view here.

Family & Friends

Last but certainly not least, all the family & friends we got to see during our trip . . .

Miss 'Chelle

My big "little" brother, David

Great-grandma Wright

Nana & Papa

Mr. Don & Mrs. Eva

My youngest brother Kenny & his kids Brianna & Brandon

Pop Century

I realize by now I probably sound like a sales pitch for Disney but I HAD to post pictures of our hotel, I thought it was pretty amazing too. We stayed on-site in their "economy" hotel. It didn't seem very economy to me, we all really enjoyed it. It's called Pop Century & each section of the hotel is decorated outside in decade themes. We stayed in the 1950's but it went all the way through to the 90's. It was nice being on site so that all we had to do was hop on a bus & be driven over to the park we were going to for the day.

A view from our hotel room.

A 50's inspired stair case.
The bowling pin swimming pool to match the stair case.

Lady, from Lady & the Tramp, a movie released in the 50's.

A 60's inspired yo-yo staircase.

MGM

Following Animal Kingdom we spent a great day at MGM/Hollywood Studios. It's the home of Pixar so right away I knew we would a terrific time. First thing we did was enjoy a little Disney Playhouse with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Handy Manny & Little Einsteins. I felt ridiculous singing along seeing as the words to all these songs are forever engrained in my head. Until I stopped singing & realized all the other parents were singing too. The kids loved it & were delighted to see all of their favorite characters on stage.

To infinity & beyond!

There's a snake in my boot.

Emma waiting for Beauty & the Beast to start enjoying a rare treat of gum.

I think I was just as enchanted as Emma was by the costumes, music & performance in Beauty & the Beast.

Front row of the sidwalk during the afternoon parade.

In addition to all that we did displayed in the pictures, we got to enjoy a Muppets 3-D adventure, the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground & a Toy Story ride (twice! Fast Passes are a blessing!). We also got to meet Elastagirl from the Incredibles & Sorcerer Mickey. After 3 days of no naps we climbed back into the van & headed back to Dotty's ending our fun at Disney.

To be continued . . .

It's almost 11 pm & I'm finally getting around to eating dinner. Be on the look out for more pictures being posted within the next few days.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom was absolutely unbelievable. We watched The Lion King show & the Finding Nemo show, both of which were amazing. When Nemo (who happens to be Nathan's favorite) appeared on stage he excitedly announced "look Nemo came out of the movie!" We met characters, saw animals, went on a safari ride & the kids watched their first parade.

I think I was more excited than the kids were when they were chosen to be a part of the show. Emma panicked though & said she wouldn't do it if I didn't go up there with her. So I put my pride aside & joined the kids in dancing around the theatre & loved every minute of it!

You would think an almost one year old would have been terrified of the loud shows & huge characters but she wasn't. She was the most expressive of all the kids. She clapped right along during the shows, would grin & wave to the cast members (or really anyone who she could make eye contact with) & adored the characters.