Friday, April 29, 2011

{Friday Fun With Military Spouses: 4-29-11}

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

Secrets are so much fun!
It’s time to link up with Wife of a Sailor for a Friday fun session with military spouses.


1. Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you? submitted by When Good People Get Together

We haven’t been put into a situation where we have had to make that decision. 

2. What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse? submitted by Sarah Ruth Today

I take a lot of pride in being a military wife. Top high honor to be able to stand next to my guy in uniform. One of my favorite things about being a MilSpouse is meeting other MilSpouses. They are among the best group of individuals I have ever met. It’s amazing how friends become your family.

3. If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you? submitted by Trust. Love. Believe. Bake.

The military is the reason we have the life that we have. I don’t know where we would be if enlistment didn’t come into play but honestly I don’t ever think about it. This is our life and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

4. What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation? submitted by Army Soldier, Army Wife

Our year separation was 9 years ago. It seems like a lifetime ago. We were young and only had one baby at the time. I was home with my parents while he was away. Everything was different. We were different. I think about that time today and I ask myself how I managed to get through that year. Everything revolved around Bry & I. She was the one who got me through that time. I don’t remember much but I do remember that. Our transition wasn’t hard at that time. We were moving into a new home (where we wanted to be) and we were together again. Life just fit. This deployment seems so much harder. I will let you know how the homecoming goes =)

5. If you have a child(ren) why did you choose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something? submitted by Tiara’s & ACU’s

Gosh we couldn’t agree on names for anything in the world. My Jay has a way of turning everything into some type of joke. Needless to say, any name I came up with had to be put to the joke test. If there was any way, shape, or form that a joke could be made from the name, it was immediately tossed into the trash.

Not many people know this information so this is a pretty big day for sharing secrets.

Rule #1: I wanted names that were different.

Rule #2: I wanted my children to carry a family name.

Rule #3: The beginning letter of the each first name had to be 9 letters apart.

Baby #1

{First Name}

I wanted a name that started with the letter B.

I liked Brooklyn. He didn’t.

I liked Bethany. He didn’t.

I liked Bryanna. So did he =)

{Middle Name}

My mom’s middle name: Colleen

Baby #2

{First Name}

The first name had to start with the letter K.

I loved the name Alyssa so I started writing things down and out came Kalyssa.

He loved it =)

{Middle Name}

My dad’s mother’s name: Santina

Baby #3

{First Name}

In case you missed the trend, there are exactly 9 letters between the first letters of each of our names. So take a guess as to what this name had to start with...

T

I liked Tristan. He said it was a girl’s name.

I liked Travis. He wasn’t crazy about it.

I wrote down Travin. He thought it was perfect.

{Middle Name}

His dad’s middle name: David

J........S........B........K........T

{An extra tiny secret}

~ My lucky numbers are 3 & 9 ~

We have 3 kids.

Our girls were born in the month of March {3}

Our son was born in the month of September {9}




Yup we are a perfect fit!



Don't forget to catch this weeks posts over at The Tervo Times.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

{What's YOUR Song? I Found Mine}

This is my first time ever participating in this super awesome weekly song link up. I have to admit, I have been stalking for awhile (she's a pretty great blogger) and I love it but I never actually played along.


Yesterday, I heard a song on another blog that I love to stalk.


The video that was created made me tear up pretty bad but, the song hit me even harder. I had never heard of the artist Andrew Peterson. If you haven’t heard his stuff, google him he’s pretty great. I found the song from the blog, downloaded it, and now I have it saved as my ringtone for my phone [a little neurotic, probably] =)


Jason’s deployment has left me all over the board. We are close but not close enough. Over the past couple of weeks, things have been a little tough on the emotional side. Somewhere in all of the crazy mess, I have found myself feeling like I was losing my connection to him. But then I heard this song.





It's been harder than I ever imagined missing My Jay this much but, we will continue to sail through the storm until he makes his way back home because I do believe with all of my heart that that's what the promise is for.  

To My Jay,

I can't wait to dance with you again! I love you 4-always & ever!!

{Embrace the Camera: April 28th}



You can’t visit the Mall Family in Louisiana and not expect to taste a little slice of King Cake.

As a special treat before Grampy & Grammy head back home to California, we decided to celebrate by eating that ever so famous Mardi Gras traditional goodness.






We have been spoiled and showered with extra hugs and kisses ever since Grampy & Grammy walked off the plane. Grampy stayed extremely busy with things like laundry, dishes, and yard work. Grammy kept the house smelling good with all of her special home cooked treats. We painted, we cleaned, and we tagged teamed kid activities. We ventured to some new places and we even tried a few new places to eat. We celebrated some special occasions and survived our first good ol’ southern spring weather conditions (rain, thunder, lightning, and just a little tornado activity).

After all of the excitement of the south, I think Grampy & Grammy are ready to head back home before the humidity and the heat really set in.

Thank You For Visiting With Us!
Thank You For All Of Your Help & Support!

 

We love you both so very much!!!

 






Sunday, April 24, 2011

{Easter 2011}

~Easter 2011~

{Coloring Eggs}


{The Easter Bunny Found His Way To Our House}


{First One Out Of Bed}


 {Patiently Waiting}


 The Easter Puppy Was Impatient
&
Woke Her Up
(with a little coaxing from a little brother)


The Easter Puppy Woke Her Up Too


 {Basket Full Of Smiles}


 {Happy Easter Morning}


 {Easter Smiles}




{Time To Hunt Down Those Easter Eggs}







{Happy Easter Daddy}






Easter Blessings


From The Bayou State
& The Deserts Of Afghanistan



Saturday, April 23, 2011

{Bryanna's First Holy Communion}

Before I begin, I will warn you that there are A LOT of pictures! It was hard to pick and choose. Bryanna was beaming in every single picture. I will admit that I was a little camera happy. I think part of me felt like I had to capture every single moment for daddy.

Holy Thursday

April 21, 2011

Over the past several weeks Bryanna has been attending religious education classes in order to prepare for her First Holy Communion. First Communion is considered to be one of the holiest and most important occasions in a Roman Catholic's life. It means that a person has received the Sacrament of the Eucharist which represents the body and blood of Jesus Christ.


It has been truly amazing to watch Bryanna grow spiritually. I have been able to be by her side every step of the way. She has been completely dedicated to her classes and to herself. Being even a minute late for class was completely unacceptable =) Travin and Kalyssa didn't agree with our Sunday morning routine but, Monsignor made it a little easier with donuts for two siblings and coffee for one mommy (of course Bryanna always had a donut waiting for her after class too).

As a Catholic, I believe that one of the most amazing rituals during mass is being able to receive the body and blood of Christ. It is a mystery in itself but it is a very powerful one. I think most kids want to experience that for the first time simply because all of the “grownups” get to do it and because they are just curious as to what it’s all about. I will mention that Bryanna has been extremely excited to be able to participate in this portion of the mass because up until Holy Thursday, she patiently walked through the communion line and received her blessing along with her sister and her brother.

She took a big step as a practicing Catholic. By completing this sacrament, she now gets to receive the body and blood and Christ every week. Although, she did mention that she probably won't be drinking the wine again, she wasn't too keen on the taste =) 

The church held a traditional mass. I have to admit, I have never attended mass on Holy Thursday. The service was dedicated to all of the children who were making their First Holy Communion. Along with that, they got to be a part of a beautiful ceremony. The kids got to watch as 12 parishioner’s stepped in representing the 12 Apostles. The priest blessed them and washed their feet. They also got to participate as Monsignor led the procession to the tomb. The Alter was stripped and Jesus was placed in the tomb in preparation for his rising. It was absolutely beautiful. I have never witnessed anything like that in my life. I think this is something that Bryanna will always treasure. She will always be able to look back on her First Holy Communion and say that she got to be a part of something that many will never get to experience.

If you were able to log onto the church website, you probably saw our little family sitting towards the end of the first communion pews. At the very last minute, they decided to move us so that on the off chance that Jason did have a good internet connection, he would have a perfect view of his little girl in her white dress.
















 Bryanna dedicated her prayer to her daddy. She wanted to make him a part of her day.
 "Keep my dad safe who is deployed and also my whole family
We pray to the Lord" 
















We celebrated by having dinner and eating...

What's her favorite dish again???

Spaghetti!










Congratulations Bryanna!!!

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