Great Waves

The Great Wave off Kanagawa - Hokusai  1832

The past month has been a tumultuous sea of emotions.  My family has felt devastated and happy, and everywhere in between, and at times, both extremes at once. On April 24th, my stepdad unexpectedly passed away.  My husband was out to sea at the time.  As soon as I found out, (on top of emotionally dealing with the news,) I was trying to price plane tickets for the girls and me.  A few days passed and T was able to come home and take emergency leave.  So, thankfully, we were all able to fly home to Texas for about a week and a half.  It was good for me to be with family.  I'm so glad we were able to help my mom out, and I was able to get some closure.  I could literally see God working and providing for all of us every day.  He never fails to amaze me.

After we returned to Virginia, T had to go back out to sea.  I was busy getting the girls back into a routine, then the following Saturday started my mom's visit here.  We had actually planned this visit months back to coincide with C's 5th birthday and her first ballet recital.  Only God knew well in advance how much we would both need that time together.

My mom and I took advantage of every single moment together.  We laughed, we cried, we talked (for hours!,) we played with the kids, took them to the beach, we studied the Bible, we worshiped together, we enjoyed the little things, and the BIG things.  It was so fulfilling.

C turned five this past weekend.  If my mom hadn't been there, I probably would have been an emotional wreck... ok, a BIGGER emotional wreck!  C's birthday fell on the same day as her ballet rehearsal for which she had to get dressed and made up.  I put as little makeup as possible, and yet I cried.  It was so hard to see her looking so grown up.  My emotions were really out of control that day.  Thankfully, C didn't seem to notice too much.

We only had to stay for C's class' dance, so afterward we came home to get ready for her birthday celebration.  My grandparents drove in for the weekend as well.  C felt so special to have everyone in town to celebrate her birthday and recital.  Since I didn't get a chance to plan the birthday party I wanted to give her, we had a small family dinner at the house, opened presents, and had C's requested strawberry cake.  I'm so grateful my family was here.  It really meant so much to C and me.  They all truly made C feel so special.

The next day, after attending church together, we all went to the recital.  C was beyond cute on stage, and I was very proud.  She had a blast.  The afternoon brought goodbyes to my grandparents as they had to go back home.  We enjoyed a Japanese take-out dinner and a family movie at home with my mom.  Then early this morning, we said goodbye to her as well, as she also had to get back home.

And now the house is quiet.

Ha! Who am I kidding?  The kids are as active and energetic as ever.  They are always who keep me focused and busy.  So, this week, we will get caught up around here.  Get back to our normal schedule, and patiently wait for Daddy to get home soon.

What My Life Looks Like Now

Me and My Girls

C's usually doing something crazy while D is constantly looking for food:
Unless of course, her big sister is bothering her... then she's just looking annoyed.

Stolen Pic of J

I stole this from my sister's friend's myspace. This is my nephew, J. I can't wait to meet him. Looks like he is such a character. =)

It's been raining all day....

fitting the mood.

I just found out that my great grandma passed away last night. It was expected. She lived a long life and we were blessed to have her for so many years.

I wish I lived closer. Wish I could have visited more than two or three times in the past 3 years.


Wish I could be there to support my grandma and mom.

But it is not in God's plan. I will be home soon enough, and I know He will take care of everyone and everything.

My accident prone husband.....

Today, I had planned on taking Carlee to a fire demonstration in the other housing complex. They were going to have an empty unit filled with "user friendly smoke," and have the fire fighters and Sparky there to talk to the kids. Then about 15 minutes before I was supposed to leave, I got a call from Tony. "I'm coming home," he said. "I need you to take me to the hospital."

"What!? What happened?!"

"I sliced my ear."

"How did you do that?"

"Playing basketball."

Yeah........ playing basketball. Turns out someone pushed him into a transmitter that was waiting to be demolished. (They have a makeshift basketball court....) Anyway.... long story short, we had to head to the hospital. 10 stitches later.... he's fine. From what I hear, it was really gross, but I told Tony I didn't want to look. =D

Birthday Boy =)

Yesterday was my hubby's birthday. =) Last year he held a halo party, but this year he didn't feel like doing anything but hanging around the house... he's getting old. hehe. When I first met him, he had just turned 17. Yesterday, he turned 26. Goodness. I don't know where the time is going. Anyway here's a few pics of his birthday cake. He chose a Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Look at all those candles!!! He was a little upset that I had to buy 2 boxes of candles LOL This was taken with my Nikon, then the battery died. The other two pics are of lesser quality. =(

The Birthday Boy and his little helper:
Thank goodness the fire alarms didn't go off with all that smoke! LOL
A funny thing was, when we were getting ready to eat the cake, Tony was pulling the candles out and said, "Uh Sheena..... the cake melted the candles."

"What!?" I didn't think the cake was still hot because I got it out fine, and could touch the pan and the cake and everything, I figured it had cooled off enough. Apparently not in the inside. LOL So to eat the cake, we had to scoop out all the little pieces of melted candle wax. It was too funny. I hope he had a good day. =)

I'm an AUNT!!!

This is Jonas! My sister had him yesterday evening (early morning today, my time.) Isn't he soooo freakin cute!?!

Congratulations Britt! I wish I could be there. Welcome to motherhood! :D

Fun Day Even While Sick...

Tuesday 6-24-08
I had rested all day, feeling good enough to want to do something, but not good enough to actually be able to do anything. heh. We ended up having to drive to base anyway, so that I could make it to the Homeschooling Group's meeting, and then we ended up eating dinner at a restaurant across from base with a few friends. By the time I got home and put Carlee to bed, that is what I looked like.... not too good. haha. I was miserable. I even got 2 stamp orders in, one from Stampin up, and the other from Joann.com and I couldn't even get excited about it because I felt so awful. :(

Wednesday 6-25-08
Today, Tony had to work at base, so Carlee and I caught the lunch time bus to base as well. We ran errands, printed out MOMS Club newsletters, bought a baby shower present for a friend, and a bathing suit for me. When Tony was off of work, he came and picked us up and we headed to the pool! I was still sounding horrible, (especially after having to continually strain my voice to get onto Carlee the entire time while shopping!) but I felt a lot better. Carlee had a blast! Then we enjoyed dinner at Applebee's with a friend that we ran into. It was so nice to do something fun today, after being in the house for a few days straight. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day always means so much to me every year. In my whole life, the one thing that remained constant and that I knew I could 100% count on being there, was and still is my mom. Through fun times and hard times, my mom, my sister, and I were always happy because we had each other. My mom taught me the most important lessons in life. Besides, my mom, there were also a few other main female role models in my life. My maternal grandma was always (and still is) very active in our lives. Then there are my two great grandmothers who were very active in my life growing up as well (my mom's maternal and paternal grandma.) As you can see, women were a strong influence on me, and what I perceived as the glue that held families together. They were/are strong, caring, and loved unconditionally. They've all helped me become the woman I am today, and I credit it all to them and to God for His placing me in this family. They are exactly who I needed in life, and I was blessed to have all of them.

I hope all of them have a wonderful Mother's Day, and all you mothers out there as well! Enjoy the day, and know that you have a profound impact on your children's and so many other people's lives as a mother and grandmother. You are a blessing to many, I'm sure.

The incredible women of my life:

My mom, Martha, while pregnant with me, and my grandma, Janie, behind her (1984.)

My great grandma Martha, who passed away almost 3 years ago. For some time, we lived in a house that was right next to her's. We loved that. :)

My great grandma, Eugenia, with Carlee (2007.)

... and the woman they helped create: me.
My first day as a mom (2005.)

My Husband's Other Life

I hardly ever blog about our life as a navy family. It's our life, it's just seems so normal to me, because it's what we deal with day in and day out. I hear a lot about how my husband deals at work, and what he deals with, and then there's a lot I don't hear, because I'm not allowed to, and I'm fine with that. We're looking at starting to choose orders in August, and we're looking into where we want to be when Tony goes on his next deployment. It really is a big decision, especially now that we'll have another little baby.

Anyway, we recently heard of a new show called CARRIER that just started showing on AFN. I think it's been showing for a while in the states on PBS. We watched the first episode on the PBS site today (since we missed the first one aired here,) and Tony said, "Yep, that's what it's like." I'm looking foward to watching the rest of the season with him, and seeing what life is like on the ship when he's deployed or underway, since I really only get to hear snippets from him. By the time he gets home from a deployment or being underway, the last thing he wants to do is think about being at sea. So, if you want to check it out, the PBS site has almost all the shows online, and I think the season finale will be airing soon in the states.

first unexpected preggo comment and red rice

I was walking to the store with Carlee to get some rice for a project, and a lady that I know saw me and waved. I waved back, and when I reached her, she bluntly said, "You look pregnant."

hunh. All I could think was... "Wow. You're so lucky I actually am."

LOL

As for the rice project... This week I'm working with Carlee on the letter R. She picked the letter. :) I made her some red colored rice (instructions here) to use to glue on letter Rs that I cut out for her. She loved the project, and then continued to play with the left over rice by "cooking" it at her little kitchen set that she begged for me to bring downstairs. :D

As soon as Tony walked in the door, I had to warn him, "Don't be mad," I said.

"Yeah, don't be mad, Daddy," said Carlee.

Tony looked around cautiously, "Uh, why?" I showed him what I made for Carlee, and he shrugged it off. It was not until right before dinner time, while he was sweeping up rice for the 6th time since he got home, that he admitted, "Ugh, that rice is an OCDer's nightmare."

I couldn't help but laugh.
:)

Sneaky Viruses....

About two weeks ago, Carlee came down with this cough. She wasn't acting sick or anything, so I assumed it was just allergies, as she usually does come down with them around this time and in the fall here. Anyway, about a week ago, Tony came down with the same cough, but over the course of yesterday and last night, it got really bad. For some reason he got hit by this bug a lot harder than Carlee did.

So he called me this morning and tells me he's coming home early from work in order to go to the doctors. The appointment took forever, and I knew that wasn't a good sign. He finally came out, looking all pale, and said, "It's a viral strain of pneumonia."

great.

Which means, he probably got it from Carlee, since she had the cough first. He asked if we should take Carlee in, but the doctor said to not even bother as long as she was acting normal, eating, and drinking, because there's nothing they could give her. She has to fight it off. Tony asked if they were contagious, and the doctor said, "Well, you were around a week or two ago. Two to three days before you start having symptoms is when you're contagious."

sneaky sneaky viruses.