She shoots...She SCORES!!

I love hockey - Buffalo Sabres hockey in particular - but I love it when our announcer, Rick Jeneret shouts (as only he can): "He shoots, he SCOOOORES."
It's my turn to say that...about Laurie. She got the unofficial (but for sure) word on Monday that the program she's worked so hard to be accepted into, well, accepted her. It will be posted soon but they have to shake things out, decide who goes when and details like that before they can officially notify her. She called me at work and told me and I, like the mother that I am, sat there and bawled like a baby. I am one for happy tears - I feel things like that very deeply - not because of pride so much (but you KNOW I am fiercely proud of all my children's accomplishments), but out of happiness to see my child get what she worked so long and hard to achieve. It was a long shot because so many are interested in the program and they accept so few. Because I am not only fiercely proud, but extremely careful in what I post about my soldiers, (it is, after all, the cyber world and anyone can read this) I am not going to say what it is that she will be training for. Soon enough I will spill it :).
When Laurie was promoted to SGT. , we were at the ceremony and I pinned her stripes on - they use sticky tape for those ceremonies - I was so nervous because the Colonel was there and I put it on upside down...comic relief in an otherwise very emotional moment. Poor Laurie - I started crying as soon as the NCOs came into the room with all the brass. She had her class A's on and LOOKED like a SGT...and like our daughter. Her eyes always smiling even when she is supposed to be dignified. She just can't lose the smile in her eyes. (I love that about her). THIS was our preemie baby girl?
Later, at dinner, we gave her our gift. I wanted to give her something that would commemorate the occasion without question...so that years later she could look at it and remember when we gave it to her. And so, I bought her a silver trinket box for her special jewelry - heart shaped and of course I had it engraved...it said simply:
To Laurie: An Army of One, with the date.
Like anything connected with the military, this won't be all fun and games. It will take all the strength we all have and a lot of special care of Kasey since he will be living with us for awhile while Laurie does her training. But God gave Laurie this opportunity and I am sure it will work. Once we sell the house and buy our RV, we'll travel to where Laurie will be and then Kasey can see her once or twice a week and realize that mommy is close by.
And so, my army of one just keeps the roller coaster going. Up and down, down and up...funny how you get used to something, isn't it?
Dear Laurie - you GO GIRL! We love you.
Thanks for letting me make tonight's post about Laurie...but somehow, I know you share our joy.
God bless our troops...and those of us who love them.

NOW we're getting someplace! (and drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweed).

Well, it's been a good day. Slept in a little bit, but not too late. Got up and made coffee and caught up on my emails a bit. Then the day began. Of course The Binker is here this weekend so that means my to do list is not always done in the order of importance because there's always...
"can I have some juice, Nana? I want berry juice please." Or "Is it lunch time Nana? I want baloney and pickles and some grapes and oranges..." (mandarin oranges - she loves them and Ron puts a black V on the top of the can with a Sharpie so she thinks they are made just for her).
So, today being my friend's birthday, I needed to make her cake. This is my friend who lives next door...we've been making birthday treats for each other for 28 years...since the first year we moved in....I took her over some cuppies that year (a family phrase for cupcakes from way back) and we've been exchanging ever since. Not always a cake...last year I made her my specialty..lemon chiffon pie with fresh whipped cream on top. This year it was my grandma's recipe: Bridge Surprise Cake...it's a wonderful recipe my grandma made up for the ladies in her bridge club on Thursday afternoons. It's a family recipe, about 80 years old...sorry, can't share. Teehee.
Anyway, I made a potato salad this morning too - we haven't had one all summer so I thought it would be good for the weekend since Ron is grilling out tonight and tomorrow. Once that went into the fridge, I went down in the basement to see where to start. We are doing the basement first and then "working up" through the rest of the house. I got lots into the garbage today - showed no mercy, so to speak....got rid of alot. Tomorrow will be the tough part...going through all the stuff I have saved over the years...and trying to see if it's all "necessary." Men think differently and so Ron isn't sure that I "need" to keep all these things. We'll see tomorrow. But we ARE getting someplace with the "stuff."
What's with the tumbleweed you may ask? Well, one year when we were on our way home from visiting the kids, Ron decided he needed to pick up some of that tumbleweed that you see drifting along the highway in the plains states. A cowboy movie fan from way back, he had to have some of it. And so, it's gone back and forth from our tool shed in the back of the garage, to the basement train room where the intention was to use it as trees and bushes along the highways of his model railroad. So I saw it lying on the floor of the train room and asked him what we were going to do with it (half expecting him to say we were going to keep it and take it with us in the RV). He said, with a sheepish grin, that he couldn't just throw it out, but wanted to "set it free" along the highway somewhere. Hmmm, brings an old cowboy song to mind...oh and by the way, I believe that we picked up the tumbleweed on the same trip that we listened to a tape of cowboy music. This year's trip we listened to Roy Orbison and Fleetwood Mack (thank God :).
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweed here...thanks for stopping in pard'ners.

God bless our troops.

Knowing when to give thanks.

The last week or so, since I got back to work, I have continued the daily tradition of sending Laurie an email at work. Her Army address and her Army Reserve address of course is a staple in both email accounts I have - Yahoo, and my work address. I need only type in the first two letters of her first name and it comes up first on my stored address lists. Her replies always give me reason to smile. Kasey's grumpy mornings, or their taking breakfast and coffee to Stephen because he has to leave the house by 5 and everyone else is still sleeping. These are days to be grateful for - days they can be together as a family before Stephen leaves. I am so thankful they have them.

I am normally a very positive person - glass half full; heck, overflowing most of the time. But lately - as I think more like a mom and about the upcoming deployment - the cup isn't so full. And it depletes the spirit. Not the Holy Spirit, for He is always with me, but the human spirit you could say.

Today, I am feeling more like my old self. It was a good day at work and although I did bring work home, it's a voluntary thing...whatever I get done will just be a bonus for my day. Know what I mean? And when you have a good day, you know that it's more important to give thanks for the blessings rather than brood on what you can't do anything about.

So I smile at the good things that are happening for our little family so far away. There will be time enough to fret when they are separated, but for now, I just thank our God for His keeping them together in these days before the sand.

Thank you Father...truly, thank You.

And thanks for stopping by, my friends.

God bless our troops - each of them a reason to give thanks.

Permission.


It never fails. I wear my two star pin, and people ask if I have a son serving. No, I say, I have a daughter and a son serving. Now of course people also don't always understand why I say a son, when Stephen is technically our son-in-law. And I say that I consider him our 2nd son, not our son-in-law, because that's how much we love him.
I went to a baby shower today for a high school friend of Laurie's. It was large - 70 people. Of course I sat at a table with people I had never met and first they asked me how I know the mom to be. I told them that Laurie and Melissa are good friends...eventually, when they asked me why Laurie wasn't there, I said because she and her husband are in the military. "I hope," the one lady said, "that they are stationed in the states and not over there." I told her that Stephen is about to deploy for the third time.
BANG! Every woman at the table started talking about President Bush, the war, the things wrong with this and that and how awful it is that the military have to serve in "these wars."
I sat with my fork in hand, finishing my dinner, and waited until they were all done, then continued drinking my coffee and eating my dessert. When the last one to speak said how proud she is of all those boys, I said "and women...and you can believe that I am proud of them all...and believe in their mission."
Does hearing a mom say she has a child(ren)in the military give someone permission to berate the President, the war, etc., etc.? Do they stop and think how the mom must feel...maybe she doesn't want to hear it again...for some moms they are all too aware of the cost and the fears.
And so I just said, gently, but to end the discussion, "and that's where faith and prayer and trust come into the picture. I just believe that Stephen will come home safely."
It's their right as an American to voice their opinion. And my right as an American military mom to voice my pride and my belief in what they are doing. I'm not a hawk...just a believer in God's perfect will. Human nature tells me I should be afraid of what this year will bring, but I trust that His Spirit will keep me on a path of Faith.

Praise Him who gives us that faith.

And God bless those who keep us free to practice our faith. I love them all.

Fine Things.


What is it that we all consider "fine things?" The best that money can buy? Or a soft cashmere sweater adorned by a set of cultured pearls? A home with everything you could possibly want or need?
For me, I am learning quickly the fine things in life. When we went out to see the kids, I took with me the keepsake box with some of the things I wanted to give Laurie - trinkets her grandma used to wear; and others which were not tangible, but were the stories that went with the things I took to Laurie. There was the sapphire and diamond engagement ring that Ron's mom got from her second husband...mom was so funny about that...saying that she wished she would have gotten a new ring from him instead of a "used" ring. Mom kind of lost the idea behind the heirloom that Eddie had slipped on her finger when he proposed. Laurie and I enjoyed a good chuckle over that, remembering how mom could be sometimes. And then there were the earrings that mom wore on our wedding day. I thought Laurie should have them. She proably won't wear them since they are a little outdated and they are clip ons, but it's something of grandma's and something from our wedding day that she can hold on to.
There were a few of my things in that keepsake box as well - my first birthstone ring for example. Aquamarine. Laurie can wear that...her fingers are so tiny.
So tonight, I was in the basement trying to hoe things out and get some things up for this weekend's garage sale. But I kept finding all these priceless things that I just put back in the cabinet down there.
What are fine things? A mug that says #1 Mom with the handle broken off and stains in it from the paints the kids used for their crafts. A few tears with that one - I'm hopeless that way. There was the plant holder - blue, with the words BABY BOY on it - this from the dish garden I received when I gave birth to Scott 33 years ago. I kept that too...yeah, more tears.
I guess what I am saying is that fine things are what you treasure. Things from the past - not that I want to go back to the past...but I never want to forget it either. SO many memories.
When I look Two Star Banner in our front window, I'm reminded of the little girl who first picked that #1 Mom mug out in a gift shop for Mother's day one year, and then used it for rinsing her brush in as she worked with water colors. I see a little boy's handmade cards and the awkward, funny shaped letters that spelled out "I love you Mom."
Fine things...they may not be lavish or expensive...but to me, they are priceless.
God bless our troops...they are treasures, and priceless.
Hugs,
Sue

From the mountains...to the prairies.

I guess there's no way I can put into words the wonder of all that we saw on this vacation. Hiking snowcapped mountain paths, and walking along the continental divide. Other times we saw the wheat and other crops growing row upon row, mile after mile. Green grass for as far as the eye could see and lakes and creeks running under bridges - bridges of steel and cement with cars whizzing by and trucks roaring past, sometimes with their air brakes whooshing; or small wooden bridges that you could only walk over. There were bridges made of split logs that we walked over to get to the other side of a stream - balancing so that we didn't slip off and get a "hot foot." Seeing elk and deer, old couples, young couples, teenagers just far enough enough ahead of their parents to make them feel independent (yet when they got to the gift shops they crowded around their parents to request money); and young children riding on their daddy's shoulders or in a stroller laden with diaper bag, juice boxes with those little straws sticking up, and mom and dad's water bottles.
There were marathon games of Rummikub with Laurie and Stephen - Kasey "helping" with the tiles as we concentrated on who was adding what numbers to the groupings on the table. Coffee and beer, water and juice, sometimes Jim Beam showed up...mostly just bottled water was the drink of choice. I think the best part of the whole week was watching my children and their son enjoy being a family. Laurie and Stephen are very disciplined with Kasey - but the love is over flowing and Kasey returns the adoration and love his parents have for him. I could watch them forever and not tire of this sight.
Saturday night, when I knew the hours were winding down and the time was drawing near to say goodnight, Ron and I called the kids and Kasey into the basement where their bedroom was and we said our thank yous for a wonderful week...and tried to express in words just how much we love them. I tried to tell Stephen everything I needed to tell him, but couldn't. The words couldn't get past the lump in my throat. Somehow, I think that he knows what I was trying to say. And so I just hugged him.
How is Kasey about his daddy's upcoming deployment? Well, one day when we were looking at RVs and speedboats, Kasey announced that he was going to buy his daddy a speedboat.
"But first," he said, "daddy has to go get the bad guys. Then when he comes home, I'll buy his boat." These words from the lips of a 3 year old boy.
From time to time I may mention this trip - it was peaceful and blessed. God was everywhere in the beauty of everything - and in the love shared by our family.
Back to work tomorrow - the mountains and the prairies will end up as wall paper on my computer as a backdrop for the one picture out of hundreds that best captures the memories of the week. No doubt it will be one of the kids with Kasey with their ever present smiles reflecting their love and happiness as a family.
Ron and I are so blessed...and we had all the time together on the road as well.
God bless America - she holds many wonders. Including the troops who protect her.
Dear God, bless them.

An End...and a Beginning.

Yesterday morning - before the sun was up - we hugged and kissed Laurie, Stephen, and Kasey and started the long drive home. Words cannot express what it meant to this mom's heart to leave them all, so although many of you can understand where I am at, you might have to read between the lines a little bit. It begins a new year of sorts as Stephen prepares for deployment.
I will begin by telling you that we had a wonderful time - and although I will fill you in on some of the best times (well really they all were the best but I will be kind to you and give you the highlights) tomorrow when the eyes are a little more rested and I have digested the fact that we are home again. Don't get me wrong - it's always a blessing to come home...it's just hard to leave the kids.
Last night as I tried to get to sleep in the motel room from he double L, (it was like something out of a Stephen King movie...details to follow in a day or two), I thought about the fact that so much will be happening in the coming year for our family. Good, bad, scary times. And yet, I know there will be blessings as well. I was a bit weary yet had a million thoughts racing through my head so sleep did not come easily. But after awhile - when the tears of missing the kids were shed quietly - I began to take stock. I ended the tossing and turning and fell asleep after thanking God for the blessings He had bestowed upon our family in the past 11 days. A mom needs to remember to give thanks instead of being needy...know what I mean?
This blog was two years old on Sunday - thanks for coming along with me and being such good friends for all of this time. I am hunkering down for the long haul - for a year of uncertainty, of prayer, and of trust in our Father. Because I know that He is holding us in His strong and loving hands. All of us.
Be blessed my friends - it's good to be home again with you.
God bless our troops and all of us who love them.