Friends Shout Out!

The past two and a half weeks that Kenny has been gone have been jammed packed with things to do and people to see. This has certainly helped to make the time go by a little faster! So I take this moment to shout out to my friends!

We have the Oak Harbor peeps who entertain, feed, work out with, and love me. On the Oak Harbor team is Beth, Jamie, Whitney, Cat, Stacey, Amy, Candie, Sara and all the other many wives who lift me up!

We have the Far Away friends, Beth, Annie, Austin, Bridgee, Val, Tiggie, Esteel, Molly and all others whom I may have forgotten! You all call, email, and check on your home-girl to make sure I am holding up!

We have the FAMILY: Buchanans, Fosters, Vaughns - all who pick me up and pray for Kenny and me. Thank you especially to my mom who through cleaning out the closet at home has sent me some of the strangest things. Always a good laugh! And a special thanks to Maeve who never ceases to make me giggle when I speak to her on the phone!

So thank you to all who support Kenny and me during these times of separation!

I send the love right back at you!

I got tagged!

My friend, Beth, tagged me to do this, so here we go!

*I am: 24.5 years old, a wife, a sister, a daughter, and a teacher.

* I want: to smile each day.

* I have: a handsome husband, a fabulous family, and amazing friends.

* I dislike: loud sounds like banging of cabinets or those people who rev their engine

* I miss: my husband, and my niece, Maeve.

* I fear: the DARK!

* I feel: blessed and lucky....

* I hear: cars and planes!

* I crave: chocolate and hugs!

* I cry: like a baby when I see things about our troops.

* I usually: don't do the dishes in a timely manner when Kenny is gone.

* I search: the internet constantly

* I wonder: about our future and where we will go next!

* I regret: not going to Europe while I was in college (and mom and dad would pay for it!)

* I love: my husband, my family, and my friends. I've got a lot of love to give!

* I care: about my students and their futures.

* I always: need a soda. one a day.

* I worry: about not giving my best!

* I am not: a true blond... anymore!

* I remember: everything! I have a fabulous memory which does not help those who do silly things in front of me!

* I believe: that through God I can do all things.

* I dance: whenever I hear music. my body just MOVES!

* I sing: as loud as I can in the car. Belt it out!

* I don't always: remember to brush my teeth. Kenny has teased me about this since we started dating!

* I argue: with myself.

* I write: lesson plans a lot and emails to my husband!

* I win: at SCRABBLE! Not all the time, but a lot of the time!

* I wish: for the safety of everyone who is deployed

* I listen: to everyone because I think I have a stamp on my forehead that says, "Stranger, please tell me your story." And I always listen.

* I don't understand: economics, yet I am certified to teach it... now that is scary!

* I can usually be found: with my MAC! or at the gym.

* I need: at least one hug a day. It is like crack for me.

* I forget: people's birthdays. Numbers are the only thing I am terrible at remembering.

* I am happy: because I am surrounded by people who lift me up and care for me, plus I have found tofu chicken nuggets that are FABULOUS!

i don't have three people to tag... but I hope you enjoy my randomness :)

Happy Birthday Christine!

My lovely sister-in-law was born on January 23rd! She is the big sister to my amazing husband, and I am sure that she beat him into shape which I appreciate. And I hear, helped him to gel his hair correctly... thank goodness for that!

Christine at Christmas :)

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINE! We send you warm wishes from the west coast and from the middle of somewhere in the desert! Have a fabulous birthday!

The Vaughns!

Happy Birthday Maeve!

Our little niece/God daughter turns the big 2 today! (the 21st actually, I want it to be posted the moment she is two!) We cannot be more excited to have you in our lives little Maeve! The day you were born was one of the best days of my life and every day that I get to hear your little voice ask, "What's that?" I get the biggest smile! You are such a blessing in our lives! Thanks for bringing sunshine to our family and making me an aunt (and uncle kenny an uncle!)
So from the West Coast (and somewhere in the desert)....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAEVE!

Maeve at 6 days old!Maeve during her first month
Baby Maeve (Gerber baby in the making!)
Meeting Uncle Kenny for the first time at the wedding!
Maeve's first visit to WA was lots of fun!
Auntie Molly comes to visit...
Someone likes to play with socks!
Playing with Doc and auntie Molly's computer! (I do not have two dads... it is a mirror screen!)
So happy birthday little Maeve! We LOVE YOU!

I have a Dream

"I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

- Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963

This speech gives me chills. So celebrate today the dream, the realization of the dream, and the continuation of fighting for the dream!

Alone again....

Well Kenny is off again on his adventures with the Navy (that makes it sound like lots of fun... it is all the in wording!). He "should" be home sometime around late March. So prayers for him are always accepted and appreciated!

I did take some pictures before he left, but since it was early in the morning and we both looked pretty busted, I will refrain from torturing you (and me!). So instead, I will provide you with a picture of Kenny and his buddy (our niece and God daughter) who loves to play with my computer. She has loved doing this since she could sit up. She is kind of our favorite, and anytime Uncle Kenny is not there and he is supposed to be, Maeve notices and says, "Where'd Uncle Kenny go?"
Here is Maeve as a BABY - maybe 7 months old, hanging out and playing with Auntie Molly's Mac. I cannot believe that she will be two in one week! And she will be a big sister in one month!! We love you Maeve!

Christmas Vacation!

Kenny and I made the trek across the country surprisingly with few bumps! We only arrived an hour later than expected and even made it to Christmas Eve services at my home church in Virginia Beach. Though we were pretty tired, it was awesome to celebrate the season with family and friends.
Here are some pictures of Christmas morning at my parents house with our niece Maeve. She was super excited that Santa ate all the cookies and about her ladybug sandbox!

We then made the trek up to Waldorf, MD to spend a couple of days with Kenny's family. Here we all are getting ready to open our stockings. It sure was nice of Santa to find us in two places!

Kenny and I also got a chance to meet up with friends in the DC area. Here I am with a couple of sorority sisters and my second year roomie!
We then drove down to Richmond to spend New Year's with the Foster's. Kenny and Maeve became BFF's.
Finally we made our way to Virginia Beach for the wedding of a good UVA friend and his beautiful bride. Our good friend, Chris Wenzel was part of the sword arch, so here he is with my parents and with us.We hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We thoroughly enjoyed our travels and getting to spend quality time with family and friends, so thank you to all who sheltered, fed, and loved us!