Moving along in 2008

We are already going into the 2nd week of a new year and time is just flying now that the holidays are behind us...I just can't wait until I can see Robert again and I can take that deep breath of RELIEF. We missed having him with us this year but he was doing his job and that makes the rest of us safe over here and able to enjoy the holiday season and for that we are grateful to him.

I checked in on Let's Bring Em Home to see how they did and this is what I saw posted on the site and it just made me so happy and grin like an idiot. This year we raised over $70,000 and helped 135 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines go home for Christmas. Our sincere thanks to everyone who donated this year.

If you are one of my friends/family members who gave for this great cause and you know who you are...you should be proud of yourselves...even if you gave $1 or $5 you are part of that $70 grand that helped bring those 135 very deserving young men and women home to see their families for Christmas.

Today I bought my birthday present, an 8MP camera with printer dock...yippeee!! I have really wanted to upgrade to a higher MP camera for a while now and this upcoming trip to Hawaii is the perfect excuse...not to mention the fact that my hobby is something that I need a good camera for, wouldn't you agree? I also got a refill pack for the printer dock so I have enough ink and paper to print out 170 photos...that should hold me over for a while. I will probably still use a service like snapfish or something cheaper when I have tons of photos to print like after Christmas or a big vacation but I think the printer dock will be awesome to have when I need to print a picture in a pinch to complete a scrapbook page as soon as the inspiration hits me.

I wish that I could say we are all going to Hawaii but to answer your question, Jessi...no....our oldest will not be able to join us because he's in college and it would be too many days for him to miss so he will have to wait until his brother comes home on leave to see him which is what he did the last time he came back from deployment. I know that Jesse wishes he could go with us but it's just not possible for him and that's ok, it will be fine.

Well, I better get to bed since I have to work in 12 hours....hahahaha!

Modern technology

I love the internet...I really do!! Why? Because it let's me see my son in Iraq and know that when I see that smile, he's ok. I've been able to 'see' him a few times in the past couple of weeks and it makes me feel great to know that he sees us, too and we can make him laugh and smile. There is no audio but we type our messages and we can chat and see each other in real time.Today I thought I would have a little fun when both Jim and I got to see and chat with Robert so when he said something to me in the chat window I wrote something on a pad and held it up to the camera and this is the reaction I got from him below...I love that I was able to make him laugh like that...it was awesome!! I also got to 'meet' and see one of the other guys in his squad that I have been sending packages to so that was really nice for me to see his face and he thanked me for everything.
Ahhhhhh, is it time to head to Hawaii yet? I need to hug a Marine and SOON!!!

Happy 2008!!

Wow, it's hard to believe that another year has passed us by and we are looking forward to 2008 with so much promise and positivity. My word for this year is simply...RELIEF! I chose this word because Robert will be back from deployment and having done 2 tours and being 'short' when he comes back he won't have to go back again! It will also be the year that he is finishing up with his 4 years of service and will come home for good and begin to build his future. Yes, RELIEF is a good word for what I will feel this year...when I am standing in the hangar at Kaneohe Bay in a few short weeks and see my son walking toward me with that smile on his face that I miss so much.

I've done a few scrapbook pages lately and just haven't had the time to post since coming home from Florida, between going back to work and just trying to get caught up on life and things around the house.

Christmas In Florida

Does it get any better than this??? Enough said!

Music is in our blood

So last night I was privileged to attend a concert at the CW Post Great Hall and see Angela (Robert's girlfriend) perform with her string ensemble. I just had to share this video that I was able to capture...we were in a mansion in the 'great room' sort of and there was a 2nd level loft and Alex went up there to watch from above and I caught him doing this...what a hoot!! Think he's got a future in conducting?

Ahhh, got some scrappin' done last night

Yay!! I feel like I have less time lately with work and everything else piling up on me but I managed to grab a little time last night and did these 2 pages. Looking at some of these older photos really makes me realize how fast time passes us by...Jesse is 23 now and Robert is 20 and in these pictures they are so small...now they both tower over me.

Thanksgiving and another round of packages on the way...

I enjoyed doing this 2 page layout at my friend Laurie's house recently and I was happy to be able to have a nice picture of Jim and I together that was taken on Thanksgiving Day and of course some silly pictures of Jesse and Alex. We missed having Robert with us but we prayed for him before we shared our meal as a family. Isn't my paper pieced turkey so cute? :)
This week I had to get my christmas packages ready and in the mail for my Marines , I had finished all of my cookies and treats and everything was in the freezer ready to be packaged and mailed out. I printed some labels to put on each of the cookie tins with a little note letting them know who the cookies are from and that we are praying for them. I added some candy canes in each tin to make them colorful and pretty. Each box got a tin of cookies and then I had to fill in the extra space so of course I had to put a book in each of the boxes...because well I hope that they have some time to read a book once in a while...Robert says that he told them all that his mom is a librarian so they better all read. hahaha!! He's too funny! So after I got all of the packages filled in with books and some ramen noodles I taped everything shut and added my shipping labels to the boxes...right about now I was really wishing that I had my helper but since he was in school I had to manage all of these boxes by myself!! Yikes!!
To my surprise when I got to the post office they told me that I could come around the back and put all the packages in a wheeled container on the loading dock so that I didn't have to carry them all in by myself, that was awesome!! I left them my check and went back later in the afternoon to pick up my receipt and the copies of my customs forms...how cool was that? My post office clerks are the best there is, that's for sure. So now all of my goodies are on their way and I feel great that I sent some holiday joy to my boys.

I've been working so many shifts lately but I am surely looking forward to some vacation time over the Christmas break especially since we're going to Florida and Disneyworld.