Who needs John Cena when I got.....

#1 on my Island!

Okay soooooo A while back one of my girlfriends told me about her "island". You have this fantasy island and you put the people you could hook up with w/o your spouse being upset. OK the people had to be famous with 0% chance of hooking up with. Well the top of my list is John Cena. He is a wrestler for the WWE! I used to like The Rock but hes kinda outgrown me. So John Cena is my new guy along with Channing Tatum but Cena is DEFINITLY top of my list. Gotta admit not to bad on the eyes.. Nice body, ok face and BIG MUSCLES!! HEHE! My kinda guy... That was until I recieved THIS photo from my husband today...  Who needs John Cena on your island when you got this at home....... HOLLA!!!!


Yeah girls!! ALLLLLL MINE!!! BOOOYA!!!!

Okay so please excuse me while I catch my breath...  After alll this that boy stillllll knows how to well nevermind! Anyways! So along with a few of his buddies over there hes been bustin his butt trying to get into shape and he says hes never felt this "fit" in a while... I mean he loooks goooooooood! <3 Just absolutly hottttt damn! Excuse my language! I wasnt gonna share this picture I was gonna hog it all to myself but hes just to yummy not to brag to the rest of the world about how sexiness my man is!!! And he aint goin NOWHERE!! :o) Anyways on a softer note hheehe, I sent him a lil teddy bear over there. He rides on the dash of the Buffalo. James says they call him "Look Out" and when he falls off the dash they all yell MAN DOWN and grab Look Out and put him back on the dash. Kinda like their little mascot! Its cute. I sent it to James to give him sumthin to snuggle with but hey if it gives him something to do more fun! :o)


My Big Papa and Look Out when Look Out first arrived.





Look Out Chillin! :o)

 Its amazing the things that get these guys through over there. But ya know they are just like us. I love them all for their sacrifice they have made and are making for their families and loved ones! They are my heros. I am lucky to call one of them my husband and my true love! God Speed 1221st. Keep on Kickin it over there Black Sheep and ya'll come on home safe to us!!! We love you!

"Babygirl"

So in light of this evenings events with my beautiful 5 year old daughter I thought I would write a blog about the relationship between my daughter and my husband. First and foremost he is HER DADDY! He is not her biological father and his blood and DNA does not run through her veins, but his love runs through every inch of her being. Heres a little background information so you have a little idea of things. James and I first started dating his sophmore in high school. I was already graduated at the time and in college. I lost a dear friend of mine a year later and could not bear to be in Augusta anymore. My father gave me an opportunity to move and live with him. James and I split and then got back together and got engaged that summer. I was 18 living hundreds of miles away and he was 16 and still in high school, needless to say it didnt work out for selfish reasons on my part. Three months after we split I got involved with a guy and ended up getting pregnant. Tried my hardest to make things work out and it just wasnt working. February 2005 I moved back to Augusta to live with my mom and help me get on my feet. I never dreamt of being a single mom but hey it happens. I had run into James a few times, I admit I hid I was ashamed of what I had done to him, and I wasnt his favorite person. So I had Samantha on August 9th, 2005. I fell in love with the sweetest little face! She was amazing. Well a few months later something had went down with my brother I dont exactly remember what but through a friend I got in touch with James because they were friends and I talked to him about it and told him I was worried and he said he would call me when he got off work. Im really not sure what happened after that I but I do remember we talked all night long like old times and he told me to come by his work so we could talk some more. Ok he worked at Angels. They take Deer and process them and stuff and give the meats back to the rightful owner. Needless to say I pulled up in my bankers attire (I had just got off work) and there he was in his blue jeans, t-shirt (prolly dixie outfitters) boots and tan carhardt jacket. Boots covered in blood along with his hands and his fav pocket knife he used. His friend at the times gf was there and she leaned in and said you guys are gonna get back together.. I laughed  and said uhh yeah right. Anyways we talked a little more and as I went to leave he was walking away from the car and I dont know, just something about that moment didnt feel right so I called him back to the car and he leaned in and kissed me.. Our second first kiss! LoL! I remember going home that night looking at Samantha thinking oh gosh girl what did I get us into.. Im falling back in love with a guy who is STILL in high school and what if he doesnt want US! That was sometime in November well needless to say our parents were NOT happy about us being together at the time. He was still in high school and I had broke his heart and had a kid. Well we didnt listen and continued to see each other. Now, being he was in high school I figured maybe this would be a fling and he would NEVER love Samantha as his own. Boy did he prove me wrong. You would think that a guy, senior in high school, with his whole future in front of him that the LAST thing on his mind would be dating a woman with a child. That didnt stop James. He stuck with me. Went to his prom his senior year while my parents watched Samantha, me and Samantha right there at his high school graduation cheering him on. Most people spend their graduation night going out and celebrating with their friends. James came to my house and celebrated with me and his "babygirl". Samantha is his "babygirl" and he better not call anyone else that. When he calls her Sam she doesnt answer and then gives him this look like thats not my name and he says "babygirl" and she smiles BIG and says SIR!! They are too precious! This is their first picture together.

She had him the moment she called him "daddy"! Ya know it takes one hell of a man to love a woman with kids who arent his but it takes an even more AMAZING man to love her children as his own. She doesnt see her biological father she doesnt need to. James is an amazing man and gives her all the love a daddy will ever give his child. I honestly have to give James daddy some credit in this part. He raised James to be this way. Tugs at my heartstrings to see pics of those two that long ago. And She is Daddys little girl! The day James and I got married, Samantha was one of my flower girls and the whole time she was under neath my dress. Well eventually James picked her up. I will never forget when the preacher asked James if he would take me to be his wife he jumped in and said I do before he could finish. And then when the preacher asked me Samantha said I DO! It was cute and was wonderful to have her approval. James made it a point to add into our ceremony that hes taking me and Samantha into his life. :o) Again hes So AMAZING! Im truly blessed. Here are some pics from their past. I have TONS of these two but these are the ones I can scrap up right now.

  

Well Im sure as you have read in my previous posts that my husband is currently deployed to Afghanistan. And well the inspiration for tonights post is just that my husband and his "babygirl". My son is staying the night with my parents tonight so it was just me and the girls so we made a late run to Zaxbys for dinner (I was still in my PJ's so thank God for drive thru). Zaxbys isnt too far from Ft. Gordon and its a soldier hot spot. So as we were sitting in the drive thru a soldier came out the door with two little kids and he was holding one. Samantha says "look mommy they have their daddy back already". And I said yeah babygirl I see that. And she said I want MY daddy back. And I said hes still working baby. Well their daddy is done working now, why isnt my daddy done working. And I said babygirl daddy is working far away to keep us safe and he will be gone for a while but he will be home before you know it. And she said ok. I hate the sound of dissapointment in her voice when I tell her that. But she understands. 5 years old and she understands that her daddy is gone, and understands that there is a danger where he is. She is so shy when they skype together and will shun away but as sooon as someone asks her about her daddy shes so proud and loves him so much. She tells people in a heartbeat that her daddy is in the Army and he is in Afghanistan. She is so smart, smarter than I give her credit for because shes only 5. And like my friend says she feels so much more than we think she does. My husband is the greatest Man to have ever come into my life besides my dads. He has loved BOTH of us unconditionally and he loves her just like he loves his other two. I am truly blessed to have an amazing man as my husband and the father of my children.

James we love you and your "Babygirl" loves you and misses you so much!!

Its over!!!

This my friends is by far my favorite Christmas picture yet.. It is my celebratory picture that I have survived Christmas without James! And I REFUSE to do it again! LOL! But guess the Army will be deciding factor in that one! But we will take that day when it gets here. I wanna get through THIS deployment first. So I was excited taking down the Christmas decorations. The kids, well not so much! When I pulled out the tree box they thought I was putting up ANOTHER tree... ummmm no! Haha! One is one too many this year much less two! So now my living room is bare but I love it! It looks "normal"! Anyways! So I have officially used almost everything I have gotten for Christmas already! HAHA! Apparently I needed more stuff than I thought! Anyways! Not much else to say. Just wanted to share my excitement as Christmas is NOW OVER and the New Year is ALMOST here.. Ready to get past this year and the next 6 months!! Hope the next 6 fly by like these first 6 have!! HOLLA! Hope all have a great day! God Bless!

Irish Blessing from my heart to yours!

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

Christmas 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Okay so this Christmas wasnt the greatest but it was definitly the best it could be. Christmas Eve I got the kids to bed and cleaned some and had a Skype date with my baby! Ended up lasting quiet a few hours!! Gosh I love that man!! :) Best present this year. Anyways so I wrapped presents and played Santa while he went to the gym and stuff and he came back and we talked some more. It was fun! Made me smile! That boys got something over me!! LOOOOVE BABY! HEHE! I finally got to bed about 5:30 (but it was sooooo worth it)!!

Got up at 6:30 with the kids (UGH I HATE GETTING UP EARLY)! But we layed in the bed and watched Mickey Mouse till my mom called and said they were on their way. They got here and we got their gifts unloaded then let the kids come to the living room and open their presents. They had such a blast opening their presents. The cooooolest part was James got to watch them open their gifts.. It was pretty hard for him but Im so glad he was able to watch it.. ALMOST uninterrupted too! What a blessing that was!! Well it was time for James to go to bed so I took the kids outside to play for a little while!! My parents got me a FASTER computer. Its not a brand new one on the outside but on the inside its ROCKIN! HOOAH! And my mom got me the sweeetest calendar each month has a sweet saying to her "daughter" MEE DUH! 

Then it was off to my inlaws house for dinner and gifts afterwards. Well we had a nice dinner, everyone was there and got to see James on Skype (and we got to see my brother Cliffy too.. he poked his head in James room and waved :oD)! James was sooo excited to see his family. But I think his family was more excited. they all cried, I didnt (at least till later when I just couldnt keep my game face on long enough) Im so glad he could see them on Christmas. Its a very important holiday for them. It almost didn't feel like Christmas. It was weird having someone else do James "work". Someone else helping his dad cut the turkey, throwing rolls at, making people laugh, playing with the kids and eating his turkey leg, on the other hand it was nice to actually have someone there to do that so it wasnt complete emptiness. And it was someone we all appreciate and enjoy being around. Anyways, so we ate and opened gifts. I asked for nothing so I left my inlaws to completely guess what I wanted. They did a GREAT job! :o) Very good listeners! My fav gift is my hairy pillow. <3

All in all it was a good Christmas. Got graet gifts and the kids had a great day. Lots of tears, smiles, cries, and happy faces. It was good. By the time I got home last night I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. So I got the kids to bed and then I went to bed myself! What a long weekend its been. I didnt do much of anything today. Woke up and looked out the window and it was snowing. So I took the kids out for about 10 minutes and then they started complaing it was toooo cold lol so we came inside (typical southern kids)! James got to see the snow and the kids play in it. I skype him for everything! Just trying to make sure he doesnt miss out on much. Hell its not his fault hes gone.Well I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Hardest holiday over with, now its New years and then we will be in the SAME year they come home!! I cant wait! 2011 is gonna be IT people! Gonna be AMAZING! God Bless and Love to you all!

 

OH MUH GOSH!!

HOLY CRAP BATMAN!!! I cant believe its ALREADY three days until Christmas. I am so glad and I am sooooo ready to get the holidays and this year over with. Whew! Have to keep remembering that its gonna be better soon! Nothing much has really gone on. I was able to get all my shopping done. Theres a couple of things I need to pick up but its not at a store! THANK GOD! Ive already got my groceries for dinner on Christmas Eve and my hashbrown casserole for Christmas Day. People REALLY amaze me sometimes.. I just dont understand how you can fall outta someones life for a year or something like that and hurt them during the time and think you can just pick right back up and pretend like nothing ever happened.. like that wound hasnt gone away. When you cut someone deep the scar is still there and they will never forget.

Thats the amazing thing about my husband. He loves unconditionally. :o) Thank goodness because I have a hard time with that. When I try and get turned away after so many times I just say forget it and leave that person alone all together. I try to be the bigger person. But its hard. Guess thats why they call it the bigger person. Its HARDER to be that person so its the BIGGER one! LoL I am not sure. I try to remember like my mama always said heap coals. Proverbs 25:21-22. If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee. VERY HARD TO DO!! They are your "enemy" for a reason! LoL!

Anyways enough of that. I got the kids so much stuff for Christmas. Went a little crazy on them but thats ok! I dont think their daddy would mind! :o) I went to my massage on tuesday! OH it was amazing. I had a hard time getting relaxed but once I did I was having a hard time staying awake. And I wanted to nap but I wanted to enjoy my massage! I havent had a massage in like 5 years. So it was nice. Not to mention the last time I had one I was pregnant with Samantha. My neice was really sick at the beginning of the week. I was worried about her. Doc said she had strep but also had scarlet fever. Shes doing better now from what I understand. Thank goodness.. that can be yucky if it gets out of hand.

I have been such a bum this week. Slowly getting the house cleaned and getting stuff done around here. Gonna start wrapping tonight and finish up tomorrow night. Bubba, Sam and I are gonna bake cookies for Santa tomorrow! :o) Daddy has requested that we mail him some (even though he said no sweet stuff), but I guess these are "special". Hehe! Well anyways! Im gonna get off here. Figured it has been a few days so I would update! Have a blessed day!!

Parenting in My Eyes!

So many people have different ideas on parenting. Good thing about James and I is we have had both. Ive had the REALLY strict listen to what I say and you wont have to learn the hard way parents and James had the best way to learn is the hard way parents. (Granted they werent like that all the time but you catch the drift). Both of our parents were very different in how they raised us! We have had plenty of time to talk about it and discuss how we are going to raise and punish our children and what not. Ive even read a book that my mom gave me that taught me alot that I didnt learn growing up. Like you dont raise your children to be adults to live with you forever. You raise them to be adults to move out into the world and be self sufficient, not depend on you for everything.

When I was very little my mom was a stay at home mom and my dad worked. She took care of the house and cooked him dinner and did the housewife stuff. I think I was 8 when they got divorced (My RULE #1, NO DIVORCE) My whole life changed when my parents split. My mom was no longer the housewife/home-maker. She had a full time job and worked. My dad worked and I got to see him once a year (I was in school and could only see him during the summer because he lived in California). As I got older I was given chores to learn responsibilities and if I did them without being instructed I was given an incentive (ususally another responsibility that was a priveledge). Granted I still did stuff to get in trouble.. I always said I "hated" my moms rules growing up and that she was so strict, now I can look back and laugh and tell my mom thank you for being so strict. (Especially after watching those 16 and pregnant shows UGH!).

I was 16 before I got my first cell phone, the cell phone was only supposed to be used in emergencies. The ONLY reason I got one was because I was driving and in case of an accident. I was not allowed to "date" until I was 16. I had little "boyfriends" (in all actuality they were friends who were boys) and everything but didnt "date" till I was 16. And I dated a football/baseball player so I still really didnt DATE! Our dates consisted of practice/game and then kiss goodnight and then home. I did have the occasional weekend dinner and movie but not very often. When I was 16 I also had a job. I worked every chance I could get so I could put gas in my car. Ahhh my first car. A 1985 Toyota Corolla that my mom and dad bought right before I was born! HAH! Yep! Thats right... a 16 year old car for a 16 year old. It was wrecked a couple years before so it had hood pins in the hood and blacked out windows and it was a manual. YES PEOPLE! No automatic for this girl. I learned how to drive a manual car when I was like 11 on the dirt roads in Valdosta Georgia. It wasnt any of this "new" car when I was 16. And I STILL had to earn my right to drive it.

So I was allowed to go out with my friends but ALWAYS ALWAYS had to tell my mom where I was going, who I was going with, what time I was going to be there and be home. And I didnt dare be late. My senior year in high school was not full of parties and fun like alot of kids. Granted I had fun but not partying. I played basketball in high school, ran track, ROTC, Drill Team, Color Guard, Manager for football team, Mat girl for a little while and worked between 20-30 hours a week. I made decent grades. When I was in middle school I made REALLY good grades but got a lil distracted by a boy in high school. Its all good I still graduated with college prep with distinction. (still not HONOR ROLL like my mom would have liked) Yes mom I could have better. Her favorite question when I brought home all A's and 2 B's. "Could you have done better?" I have a sneaky suspicion I am going to be alot like my mom.

I look at kids today and im apalled at how they are acting, talking back to their parents, cell phones at 10 and 11 years old, on social websites, being "in relationships" with others. Im like when I was 10 I wasnt thinking about being in a relationship and stuff like that. I just wanted to make good grades so I could talk to my friends on the HOUSE phone! LoL! Its crazy what society has done to youth today. I can look at it from both aspects now. The child and the parent. I think back to when I was in my preteens/early teens. I wasnt thinkin bout kissing and all that stuff.. Course I wasnt a girly girl either. I played football with the guys. I dont know. Im very thankful my mom was strict. I avoided ALOT of things when I was younger because I had rules. I can honestly say I have never done any kid of drugs, definitly didnt get pregnant when I was 16, and didnt get into any major trouble. Again people parent differently. Alot of things my mom instilled on me growing up I will do the same to my kids, just as James will his. All I can say is if James teaches his son like his daddy taught him my son is gonna be one hell of a man and daddy! "The best thing a man can do for his children is love their mommy". (Quote I heard somewhere)

I PRAY that my kids grow up to be amazing adults who dont take anything for granted and know they have to WORK for the extras in life. That everything wont be handed to them. Do I hope my daughters are like me? Sure if they want to be stay at home moms I would be proud, if they want to go off to college and make bunches of money as doctors and take care of their mama Im ok with that too! I hope James and I can learn from what our parents taught us growing up to help us guide our children to be good adults, husband & wives and good parents. I want them to learn to be kind to others but stand your ground. Dont let others walk on you and tell you something cannot be done. I want them to achieve their goals. And in order to do that I need to GUIDE them in the right direction and hope they listen to me. I wish for my children the same happiness I have in my heart and in my life. That they ALWAYS know that their mommy and daddy love them and each other very much. I wish what every parent wishes for their child. Love, Happiness and Success.

Some Quotes on Parenting I like:::
"Parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have children who tread on their toes". -- Chinese Proverb
"If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders." ~ Abigail Van Buren
"If you have never been hated by your child you have never been a parent."  ~Bette Davis
"We never know the love of our parents for us until we have become parents."-- Henry Ward Beecher
"When you have children yourself, you begin to understand what you owe your parents."-- Japanese Proverb

THE GRINCH!!

Ok so I totally went into this Christmas deal with def a pessimistic outlook on the whole deal!! Granted Im STILL not UBER excited about it (except the getting it over with part). I have done a couple things to try and get into the spirit. Had a friend over to do her kiddos Christmas pics and she took some of me and mine! So I got Christmas pics done, and then went to lights of the south that night. It was fun! Went with my friend Mrs.Marine and her daughter, my parents, my inlaws and my neice, my stepsister and her son, and of course my babes! It was fun! The kids loooooved the lights! And peeking at Santa!

The next day we went to a Christmas dinner at BigPapas armory! It was nice! GREAT FOOD and SANTA was there!! AGAIN! LoL! The drive there sucked.. Kids kept asking if we were gonna see Daddy and Uncle Cliff. I had to tell them no because they are working. FINALLY they stopped asking about them. There we alot of other kids there. It was REALLY cold and windy so not alot of people showed up. But the ones I cared to be there were there! :o) It was nice seeing my Army wife friends!

Thursday I did some maternity pics of one of the purdiest mommies Ive ever known! My sister is just glowing.. And her husband is sooo sweet! You can still he thinks shes a sexxxy mama! Will post pics on my photography blog soon enough! Then thursday night I had dinner with a couple of my fav besties! (BIG thanks to my mama for watching the kiddos). It was awesomeness! Good food, good conversation and GREAT people! Friday I FINISHED my shopping, thanks to Bal (Have I mentioned how GREAT she is??). She watched the kids for me so I could knock it all out in one shot! And I did! YEAY! Didnt get much for other people but went crazy on the kids like their daddy asked me to! They should have a great Christmas..

Now we are down to 7 days till Christmas and Im still not 100% into it. I got my Christmas present from BigPapa early. He wanted to tell me on Skype so he could see my face! He got me a 2 hour relaxation massage, a facial and an herbal body wrap at Serenity Day spa! Boy do I need it! So Tuesday I will be chillaxing. I just hope I can stay awake to actually enjoy it! LoL. Ugh unfortunatly there was some unneccesary drama in the midst of the previous week which kinda put a damper on the "normal" events but Ive adjusted that. Im over it. On a better note my sister in law has found someone who makes her smile! Its so great to see her REALLY smiling again.. Been too long for that girl!! Praying for the best for them.

 I want my children to have a wonderful Christmas with Happy people and FAMILY. Im looking forward to being with them this year. Still hurts like hell that their daddy cant be here but Im taking lots of pics and keeping him as involved as possible. I miss him like crazy and my heart is hurting for him. Well on that note I will close. It had been a while so I figured I would update! Hope everyone has a wonderful 7 days till Christmas! I will be updating my thankful list too!! :D
P.S. Did you know that deployment makes you crazy?? Proof?? Just check out my latest pic!! HAHA!

"The Ugly Truth"

Okay so this blog is inspired by a movie I watched the other night.. cute movie and it pretty much backs what my great grandmother has told me growing up! Men want two totally different things in a woman just like day & night. Dont get me wrong I know some WOMEN are the SAME way! According to the movie "The Ugly Truth" there are certain rules that women should follow to be the woman a man wants.

Rule #1 NEVER criticize (he admits men are incapable of growth, change, or progress For men, self-improvement ends at toilet training.)

Rule #2 Laugh at whatever he says even if it isnt funny! Fake it if you must. A fake laugh is like a fake orgasm. A fake orgasm is better than no orgasm at all.

Rule #3 You have to change your look. Men are very visual.  Length of your dress is very important. We need short enough to see some thigh, but not so short to see your well you know. Jeans are all about the curvature of the rear.

Rule #4 Dont talk about your problems, Men dont really listen or care. Some men pretend to care.
Rule #5 Men like hair longer because they need something to grab onto other than your butt.

You have to be two people: the saint and the sinner. The librarian and the stripper. On the one hand, you have to push the guy away with a cold indifference… on the other, you have to be a sexually teasing tornado.



A Lady By Day!!

 


And a Sex Kitten by Night!

Knight in Shining Armour

BAD BOY!!!

The last part I agree with. My great grandmother always told me that to keep your man happy (im rephrasing this of course into a version we younger generation use) You gotta be a lady in the streets but a freak in the sheets. He wants to be able to take you home to mama and know that she will approve but when mama aint around he wants you to do things that would make his mama blush. I do believe that a man wants a woman who does her daily duties, whether she is a home maker or a worker, cook him dinner and speak in an eloquent manner. But at Night he wants you to let all of your inhibitions go and just be in the moment. I dunno I may be the same way.. I want my man to be a knight in shining armour during the day and the bad boy at night. I think that other than that we are all looking for the same thing. Honesty, faithfulness, happiness, comfort, humor, stability and things like that! I do believe that all in all both sexes want the same thing. Someone to have a serious relationship with during the day and someone to play with at night. Its hard to switch gears from one to the other but ya know Ive learned that sometimes even when your tired and dont feel like it you gotta make sure the other person is taken care of. Its hard to let the stresses of the day go and focus on what is right in front of your face. So men and women be that "lady" or "knight in shining armour" during the day but at night let it all go! =D Keep em happy!





Christmas is Coming!



Okay so I have to explain why Im kind of BAH HUMBUG about Christmas... I never remember Christmas being a HUGE deal growing up. My mom would ALWAYS remind me what Christmas was REALLY about. It wasnt about the decorations, the gifts, food, and shopping, it was to celebrate the birth of Christ. Also 75% of the time my parents had to work on Christmas so we either opened gifts Christmas Eve or Christmas night. I do remember a couple of Christmases before my mother and father divorced. Once was in the apartment we lived in California my brother and I woke up and went downstairs and seen all the presents! Ahh Back when I really thought there was a Santa Clause! Another Christmas I remember back then was when we gave my dad his puppy Sugar Baby! She was sooo tiny she could fit inside his shoe!! Our dog we had before her had been hit by a car and my dad found her on his way to work (NOT A GOOD DAY) so my mom got him another cute lil puppy! It was a sweet moment back then. And it was also hard to have a HUGE family gatherins as we were always living so far from extended family so it was ususally just the 4 of us. And as far as decorations we had a tree.. thats about it lol. =D BigPapas family were ALWAYS big on Christmas. They go ALL out. Decorating the outside of the house and the inside and do family things alot! Most of his family lives here in Augusta with a couple of exceptions. They even had a kind of schedule. Christmas morning open presents at his parents, go next door to grammas and open gifts then go home and get ready for dinner then to end the day have dinner and help clean. VOILA Every year THAT was how they did things.

Anyways thats then and this is now. When BigPapa and I got together I was ALWAYS included in Christmas events with his family. It was a nice breath of fresh air but I always went back to what my mom taught me. Well over the years BigPapa has gotten me to let go a little and do a little above and beyond the "norm" and I began to decorate a little more than just having a tree. BigPapa has been my Christmas "spirit" since we got together. His parents bought us a tree to put up when the first Christmas we lived together. Well since we got together and have children their "schedule" had to change. Trust me it wasnt easy. Empty Nest set in with his mom, waking up Christmas mornin and your babies arent there as they used to be. So James told her he has a family and we are gonna do things his way! LoL! OOOKAY! Basically the same schedule now except presents are at his parents house AFTER dinner and Christmas morning with our kids is at OUR house, naturally. Its been a couple years of this schedule and everyones pretty used to it now! =D It was so cute one Christmas BigPapa got up REALLY early in the morning and (with his dad in on it) went to his parents house and woke his mama up! She was tickled to death (yeah she cried, hes so sweet)!!

Well this year is going to be WAAAY different for ALL of us. If youve been reading my blog you know that BigPapa is in Afghanistan this year. Ive been having the hardest time getting into the Christmas spirit. And I am not shy to admit it. Ive been really BLAH about Christmas this year. Others in his family are definitly having a hard time getting into the spirit and thats understandable. There were certain things BigPapa did for others and now they are having to figure out how to get it done without BigPapa being here. BigPapa ususally put the lights on his parents and grandparents house, his dad has bad hips and his Pop has earned the right to make BigPapa do them, not to mention neither of them have any business on a roof anyways! I REALLY didnt wanna even put up a tree as I have mentioned in the blogs before but I did and I said that was it.. well today I decided to put up the rest of my Christmas stuff in my house! Nothing big and everything is nice and neat! Hopefully it will HELP get me into the spirit. We shall see. This Christmas is definitly going to be difficult but ya know its almost here and has gotten here so fast! It will be over before we know it and he will be home soon!

I complain about him not being here and its so selfish... Hes in Afghanistan with no family. I mean besides the guys in the unit but its not the same really. Hes not going to be here when his babies wake up on Christmas morning and thats hard for him... I know it is. Just a little piece of advice please try not to ask me what I want for Christmas when you already know, and if you happen to ask please understand if I tear up and give me a moment to bring my thoughts back from Afghanistan. Theres only one thing in the whole world I would love under my tree right now and thats my husband, but he has a job to do. Protecting our freedom so that families can continue their traditions. YES of course we are going to miss each other alot this Christmas but Its put our lives together in a whole different light. Nothing is better than the love and life that we share. And THAT my friends has been the greatest gift I have EVER recieved from anyone. God has blessed me with the most amazing husband and father for my children.

Writing!

Okay please bear with me as it has been a while since I have written anything besides letters to my husband and the blogs I write in here so please excuse my scatterbrained tendencies.. but I was sitting here and a thought came to me as I was looking at the rose for my facebook profile picture and I began to pen a poem or well whatever. It doesnt really fit as a poem so Im not sure what you would call it. So heres the picture and the thing I wrote after it!

Wilted Without You

My life is a rose in this colorful garden on earth.

Thorny and jagged along the path to the end,

but beautiful, soft, and full of color at the bloom.

Far away practically free from imperfections.

But as you lean into smell the sweet aroma

take a closer look at my bright appealing petals  

Notice that I am far from perfect.

I am tattered and dicolored around the edges

Dark spots appear on the soft velvet exterior

I have begun to break down and wilt.

My Life isnt as beautiful as it once was.

Something has gone missing from my environment.

Something I need to go on, a main nutrient in my life

The apparent beauty of my life has begun to fade

just as a rose would begin to wilt.

Without YOU to give me strength and nourishment

eventually I will begin to fade, my imperfections shown.

As I begin to give up, darkness begins to surround me

and my petals have wilted an fallen away

My core becomes bare and my soul is revealed

You will see that without you my life is empty

No beauty, no softness, nothing to help me grow

You are my nourishment in this life ive grown into

My life is just as the rose it needs nourishment

It needs YOU.