Tribute to My Visitors...

This deployment has gone by fast of course when I look back on it, but when it was happening, every day, every hour and every minute I felt. To help ease the difficulties and to distract me and the boys we had MANY visitors. We went to some and others came to us. From the second week into the deployment to the last month of it we had people around us. We have been so blessed. Thank you to all that spent the money, time, and especially effort helping me out! Some of the best ways that helped me out; which you probably wouldn't think it was, was putting one of the boys in the carseat when we were going somewhere, picking up Austin when he was crying, having conversation with me, letting run an errand without taking the boys or both of them, and all the other little things! I tried to find pictures of everyone we visited, but I realized I didn't have all of you great people. I am going to try and name them all right now...here is my long speech of Thank Yous...."I want to thank (in no particular order) sister Jillian and Uncle Josh, sister Kelly, brother Kevin, Aunt Jenn and cousin Cody, Grandma and Papa, , sister Chandler, Nana and Grandpa, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Markin, Aunt Natalie and Uncle Jim, cousin Emily, Aunt Ann and Uncle Steve, cousin Andy, friends Casey and Joe, Molly, Tom and son Jack, Laura and son Brayden, , Kelly, Chuck and daughters Ruby and Hailey, Alissa, Erin, Jenny, Lindsay, Eryn and son Gabe and daughter Elle, Matt and Michelle, Julie, Jamie and Jacklyn, through Skype we saw Great Grandpa Morris and Gigi, ....now of course if I forget someone I feel horrible...there were so many people that we saw in MN! Serioulsy though, if it weren't for all of you and taking that time to see us, this deployment would have been 100 times harder. May the Lord Bless you all!

I tried to get these pictures in order of the visits...

Auntie Jillian visiting in April

April visit

Entertaining!

Taking my job...

Nana visited in April and we got soooo much done to the house!

Nana and the boys

Stopping by the beach

Casey came up in May to say hi!!!

Aunt Jenn visited in June!

Logan had a blast wtih Cody

So good to see them! It had bee years!

Visiting Nana and Grandpa in MN!

Playing with Auntie Chandler

Fireworks time!

Good quality time

looking at all the toys

Austin meeting Mike's family for the first time!

Austin with Grandma

"rolling" with Papa

Uncle Kevin...this picture says it all!

checking out the cars

Aunt Kelly!

Uncle Kevin and Logan

Mrs Anderson

Uncle Josh

Kevin's girlfriend Amy helped me out sooo much with the boys!!! And she didn't did have to!

The Great Grandparents Markin

Meeting Austin for the first time

Austin making Great Grandma smile!

Just talking outside!

Aunt Natalie and Uncle Jim

Hanging out with Cousin Emily

Hanging out with friends Matt and Michelle

Hey Jack!

Molly in the background, Logan eating with Ruby and Hailey

Ruby and Austin

Julie and Jamie!

Jacklyn loving on Austin (sorry about the red eye)

Julie being a momma! hehehe

Jamie and Jacklyn and us out for a nature walk! So much fun!

Casey...again:-) and her peanut!





Aunt Kelly came to visit in September!





Quality sister time!

Brayden cutie pie! He came to visit with his mommy in October

Us three back together! Casey (for the third time...maybe fourth) and Laura (Brayden's Mommy)

Us at the pumpkin patch

Auntie Jillina's second visit in October!

Getting out and having fun with Jillian and the boys!

THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!

Quick Updates

Some quick updates about the Morris's. Austin will have his cast on for another 2 weeks roughly. We have an appointment on the 3rd of November to possibly get it off. I don't have any dates about when Mike is coming home and I am being completely honest. Once I do get a date I can't share it for security reasons, but you all will find out right before we pick him up or right afterwards. It is getting soon though...if I think of anything else I will let you know!

Finding the Son on the Cloudy Days

For those of you who know me well, I really don't care for cloudy days. There is just something about the sunshine that awakens my soul. I love having the curtains open and the natural light fill my house. This is very much a metaphor too. These past several weeks and really the past 7 months, life has been cloudy with the sun/Son pouring over my soul. I layed awake last night thinking about what is going to happen in just little over 2 weeks. I realized that the time before deployement starts and the time before it ends is quite the same. You don't want to do much, just leave it till later, you feel like life is on hold and are just waiting to adjust all over again. This deployment has been busy with visitors from all over the country and being with my boys as they grew up. But most of all the Lord has been a constant presence and has taught me more in these 7 months than I would have learned if Mike would have been home. Funny how that happens huh? Some of the verses that have spoke to me during these months have been "Be still, and know that I am God." I have found so much peace and rest in that verse. I did a military spouse bible study by myself and we picked apart that verse. And it grew me in just the right way at just the right time. I had to write my own Amplified version of Psalm 46:10 and this is what I wrote "Be quiet, stop worrying, stop thinking and remember that God is God, who can do all things for us."
Another verse that became my now motto in parenting is Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." As Logan has gotten older he has needed more guidance and I have had to learn what to do on my own (now Mike's support has been there 110%). To be honest I have no idea what I am doing as a parent...but I have learned many ways to guide and teach my sons in love and discipline. It is hard to be consistent when I am the only one saying no and I just want to sit still for 2 minutes instead of teaching a lesson. When I just want to let this one sin slip by so I don't have to deal with a battle. I have seen the benefits however and am so pleased with how Godly my little man is already becoming!
More recently the Proverb 16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." This is an awesome Proverb because it is saying that we just plan, think of, create our idea of what we should do, but the Lord has the final decision, and plants our every move...and all for His Glory, only to benefit and love us. These past several weeks could have gone differently, but I have had to pray more and rely more on others than I thought I would have 4 weeks till Mike coming home. From my stomach virus, then Logan's, then Austin's broken leg, to Logan getting viral croup and now just praying that Austin's fever is just teething, I have had to ask for more help from wonderful friends and pray more than I have probably this whole deployment. I tell ya, there is nothing that tears up your heart more than hearing your little boy lay next to you wheezing in and out, and feeling his hot feverish body through your clothes. That was a miraculous night though. I saw prayer answered quickly, thank you Jesus.

This is becoming a longer post than I was expecting, but I do have a conclusion. I have had great compliments from you all about how I am supermom, brave, "can do it all", and crazy. I appreciate all those sayings, but I can't take any responsibility for them. The Lord holds me up every day, He brings me joy through His Word, peace, seeing my boys smile and laugh, and watching my marriage become stronger and falling more in love with my husband. I also have amazing friends and family that have visited me (through airports while losing luggage, through car drives and skype!) and have let me call them daily just to gain encouragement through all the struggles and also listen to all the great and amazing things that have happened! Just to let you all know, this deployment hasn't been all frowns in any way. There have been more happy phone calls to mike than sad, more laughs and wrestling with the boys, more funny and crazy phone calls and visits with friends than anything else. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, from the bottom of my toes, THANK YOU to all who have prayed and supported us. I love you~

2 NEW POSTS!!!

Austin's Adventure

Well, here's the whole story guys (I am writing this out partially so I will remember it!) Last Tuesday when Auntie Jillian was visiting she was carrying Austin down the stairs as he is carried down the stairs every day. This could have happened to anyone and no one is to blame. I see it as it was going to happen and it just happened to be Jillian carrying him. I know she felt horrible, but she is an awesome Aunt and loves my boys with all her heart. Well, Otis got in the way and she fell backward and somehow his leg got hit or stuck behind her. He cried long and hard and wasn't consolable for a while. After assessing him and calling the doc, we took him to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital because they have a pediatric ortho team there. I truely didn't think he was broken though. No reddness or swelling happened and he slept on the way to the ER. After the nap he was almost his normal self as we waited. He just didn't want to put any weight on it and when I touched the calf part of his leg he cried and winced. So we obviously avoided that until the doc saw us. In the mean time I had to find someone to come and get Jillian so she could get to the airport to catch her flight. God's hand was in all of this because it worked out well. After a couple of x-rays we saw the ER doc who was so nice thankfully. Once he told me it was broken I lost it. I felt bad I cried so hard in front of him and he probably thought I was nuts, but I just felt overwhelmed and frustrated that this couldn't wait 3 weeks until I had my support with me (mike). But I pulled it together and after Logan asked "why you crying" we were good. He has a hairline fracture in his right tibia. Things went pretty quickly after that . The Pediatric Ortho team was great and Austin got the green cast thanks to Logan. We did have to convince Logan that Austin wouldn't want a purple cast which is what Logan had first picked out. HA! He will have the cast on for 2-4 weeks and we see the Doc again this Tuesday, I am kinda hoping we get to get it off sooner than that! Austin hasn't minded the cast at all. A little frustrated in the beginning but he soon figured out how to crawl with it. Instead of doing his bear crawl he has learned to use his knees which will be nice for him once the cast comes off. A funny side note...I went to a friends house the other day to help watch her almost 3 year old and 1.5 year old. The little girl the 3 year old saw Austin and came up to me and says "Did you break your baby?" with the most concerned look on her face. I laughed sooo hard!




Austin chilling and playing!

Coming towards mommy!

Sorry it is blurry...this is the view I get when feeding him!

On the move

I tried to prop it up when he slept...

Austin crawling and talking!

More of Austin crawling