Just me My Soldier and our 4 little chicks

a thank you to my veteran

i always feel like those 2 little words are so...i don't know. little?

i always struggle to appropriately convey my gratitude.

my gratitude for his willingness to do what i would never be brave (or strong) enough to do.

my gratitude for his selflessness,his honor,his bravery,his leadership.

my gratitude for the fact that he has willingly (and without complaint)missed births, anniversaries,holidays,birthdays,firsts,lasts.

his willingness to say goodbye to four little girls who are his world...

and step on to that plane over and over and over, never knowing if he will come back.

my gratitude for everything. all of those things i couldn't possibly ever put into words.

all of those things that bring me to tears every time i think about them.

thank you, jimmy. thank you for who you are and what you do. what you have done...what you have seen.

thank you to ALL OF YOU past and present who have sacrificed so much, given so much...willingly.

10 years ago I knew I was proud of you. But I never could have imagined the pride I feel today.Thank you for your selflessness&bravery. Thank you for doing what I'm not strong enough to do.Thank you for your service.Thank God for you coming home safe.

I made this layout for the MME blog. If you'd like to see what products I used head over. Also, please go to the blog to see a list of ways you can say "thank you".

 

a joy,an honor,and a privilege

i get a lump in my throat when i try to explain how special our time in savannah was to me.

i start to type and i backspace...and try again. then the same thing happens. type,backspace,try again.

i simply can't verbalize how much i treasured our time here.

type..backspace..try again.

it was a gift. i had the privilege of getting to know (and completely fall in love with) the most amazing group of women i've ever known. smart,beautiful,witty,accomplished,strong as hell. and saying goodbye to them makes my heart ache.

and that's just the women.

not to mention the men...the heroes. the bravest of the brave,strongest of the strong,best of the best.

and the city...oh the city. i will love it as long as i live. savannah has a piece of my heart.

on tuesday i attended jimmy's change of command. it is,quite simply,exactly what it sounds like. he handed over his company to a new commander. it was a day full of tradition,somber moments,funny moments, and speeches.

with that being said...i didn't think it was appropriate to bring the babies. that's why you won't see them in these photos.

it was a joy,an honor,and a privilege to be a ranger wife. and next year i will be a student's wife. and i am ready. ready for a break. ready for us to be together for every day for a year.

but as i left savannah i had tears streaming down my face. because everything about my time in savannah was a blessing.

i thought i'd share some of my photos from the change of command....and i thought it was a beautiful way to say goodbye to the town and the people who won me over.

love to you all-

S

packy packy

that's pretty much my life right now. sort,purge,organize,pack...lather,rinse,and repeat.

i thought i'd share a few photos of how i organize everything for moves!

my favorite "packing essentials"=

a WIDE variety of sterilite boxes from target

Here is how my scrap room looks right now:

i can not stress how crucial large ziplocs are. i put everything in them. thickers,tools,stamps,punches...you name it. it makes it super easy for the packers to just put the bags in boxes.

i also am pretty ruthless with my purging. i filled up several 12x12x12 boxes with goodies and i'm having my friends come over and pick what they want.

so there you have it...how i pack my scrap room!

if you have any questions, just ask in the comments and i'll answer them there!!

xoxo

savannah mile

A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege of running/walking the Savannah Mile as a family.

The Savannah Mile benefits the 200 Club. The 200 club provides financial assistance to the widows and families of policemen and firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty.

We did the Fun Run as a group of Ranger wives. It was such a neat experience.

We got up nice and early (and Lucy apparently understood the importance of carb-loading).

We headed over to Forsyth Park and gathered at the starting line. Love that sea of blue!

It has to be said that Ranger wives have babies like nobody's business. HA!

Surrounded by your favorite ladies and their kiddos...all for a good cause? Nothing better.

We ran up Drayton Street to Broughton. All along the way the streets were blocked off by Savannah's finest.

Okay. I say "we ran"...I had the babies and running is not my strong suit. I ran/walked in intervals. But the bigs? Ran the ENTIRE way. My friend Susan kept having to tell them to slow down!!

At the finish line!
Cheering on the heats after ours...the hard core runners.

As I said...it was a privilege. I love showing my girls the qualities of community,service,and pride.

Have a blessed Wednesday...I'll post the Stuck on You winners later today!

xoxo

i am weak

jimmy gave me this coin the day we got married. he couldn't have possibly known what it would mean to me one day. it is scratched and dull. but i cling to it and believe in what it says with all of my heart.

2 Corinthians 12:

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Okay. Confession time.

I am weak.

I admit it. Right now I am feeling weak. I'm tired, I'm sick, I'm worried, I'm stressed. I'm scared.

I am weak.

But He is strong.

I've had to hand my fear over. Hand my worry over.

I have had to accept that I can't do it all. Sometimes I like to think I can. But I can't.

It's okay that I'm not wanting to make anything. It is okay that I quit Project Life for now (I really don't want to put the past 2 weeks down on paper and I'm giving myself permission not to).

It is okay to say I MISS HIM. That I'm better when he's here.That I don't know what I'd do without him and that I'm terrified that one day I'll find out.

It is okay that I just want to love on my girls. Some days I want to hide from the world. Some days I just have to get out to keep from going nuts. Some days we stay in our pajamas all day.

It's okay.

I am giving myself permission to be sad. I am giving myself permission to cry after the girls are in bed.

I am weak.

But He gives me strength. My faith gives me strength. My children give me strength. The love I have for my husband gives me strength.

The fear will not win. The "what-ifs" will not win. The "could it happens" will not win. The "I wishes"will not win.

Strength and faith and positivity will win.

But for now I revel in my imperfections.It is okay to say that I feel weak.

We are all weak. Flawed. Struggling. Even though not everyone will admit it.

I am weak but He makes me strong.

S

 

 

clinging to this

clinging to the moments when we get to talk to him...or even better SEE him.

comforted by his voice, his handsome face...his familiar mannerisms. that clearing-his-throat-thing? that he does here? that drives me NUTS??? is music to my ears. his smile is a life preserver.

and the looks on those sweet little faces?

those are the things that get me through another day.

we've been very technilogically blessed this time. 2 skype dates (NEVER done those before this time), a few phone calls,and one gchat.

when harper typed "i wont too b wif u" during the gchat i had to go hide so i could cry. but she saw anyway and typed "mome is cryng!". hahaha!

thanking the Lord for technology. what a sweet gift it is.

xoxo

With Great Sadness

*note* this is an updated post. the previous post had an incorrect link. :)

With great sadness and a heavy heart...I introduce you to Tanner Higgins. Tanner was 23 and he was a Ranger. He was one of Jimmy's brothers in arms.He was killed Saturday.

This is a link to the story. The previous link went to a random video, do not go to that link unless you feel like listening to Tupac. :)

This is my friend Shelby. She was married to Tanner for six months. I can tell you that she is one of the sweetest, kindest, most innocent,most faithful women I've ever met.

I believe in the power of prayer. Will you please pray? Pray for Shelby. Pray for Tanner's mother Patti and his brothers Dillon and Noah.

Please pray for all of the men still overseas who still have a job to do. Please pray for all of the wives,girlfriends,and families who are home waiting and praying.

Thank you-

S

month of the military child

April is the Month of the Military Child. It is the month that we celebrate the bravest, most resilient children I know.

Here's a few things that make my "military kids" different from other kids.

 

✷ One was born without her daddy here.

✷ They yell "DADDY!!!" when a helicopter flies over.

✷ They say things like this: "Can I throw grenades and flip tires in skinny jeans?".

✷ They have answers like this:

✷ They move every 1-2 years.

✷ The four of them were born in three different places.

✷ Since Harper has been born, her daddy has been gone for over 25 months.

✷ They are pros at making "welcome home" signs.

✷ They can tell you what RLTW means

✷ They sleep with daddy dolls, build a bears with their daddy's voice inside,and posters of their daddy on the wall.

✷ When you ask them what their daddy's job is, they say "keeping us safe".

✷ They know big words like "Afghanistan" and "deployed".

✷ They know to say "I love you" and "I am proud of you" and "Be careful,Daddy" every chance they get.

✷ They can plan and pack a mean care package.

✷ Among Sadie's first words was "work". As in...where is daddy? "uk".

✷ They have a HUGE family. Not just sisters and mommy and daddy and grandparents...they have an extended "ranger family". Friends that are like siblings. Women who are like second mommies, who love them and admonish them gently.

✷ They make countdown paper chains several times a year.

They

are

amazing.

Brave, strong,vulnerable, honest. They shoulder more worries and fear than children should have to. I think of the fear,anxiety,and sadness that I have in my heart sometimes. Then I imagine those emotions in the body and heart of a child, and it kills me.

Here's to the month of the military child. And to my military children. The strongest of the strong.

xo

s

nine.

today makes nine years.

nine years of wearing his ring.

of missing him.

of loving him,of worrying about him.

nine years of thinking he is the most handsome man alive

nine years of putting away his boots and pts (physical training clothes) while holding my nose.

four babies

four (about to be five!) states

seven homes

eight deployments.

nine years of knowing his social security number better than mine.

nine years of knowing a zillion acronyms that i never knew before.

nine years worth of fights over how i get mad and stew and when he asks "what's wrong?" i say "NOTHING.".

nine years of disagreements over how when i finally tell him what is wrong, he tries to fix it. i don't want him to fix it. i want him to listen and say he's sorry! :)

nine years of laughing at him until i fall on the floor with tears streaming.

nine years worth of movies while we snuggle on the couch.

nine years of my trying to cook something and then messing it up horribly.

nine years of him saying "oh babe this is GOOD!" with a grimace, and nine years of knowing that he's the cook in the family.

five years of being together

four years of being halfway across the world from each other.

nine years of him making that mortified face when i dance.

six years of being parents to one.

four years of being parents to two.

one year of being parents to four.

nine years of happiness,love,respect,friendship and knowing that no matter what the apart/together numbers might look like...it's worth it.

jimmy,if you are reading this i love you so much. i respect you so much. i am so proud of you and what you represent. you are my best friend and the love of my life. thank you for asking me to marry you and for giving me four beautiful little girls.I miss you! happy anniversary!

s

this is what you should see on the news.

I'm here! Yes, I am...feeling very blah and a bit uninspired to blog,but I am most definitely  here.

I wanted to share some photos today, and talk a little more about the valorous unit awards ceremony i attended a while back.

These photos have a special place in my heart as i NEVER have photos of J in uniform. I never really get to see him in uniform! He leaves and comes home in civilian clothes!

And am I allowed to say that I have ALWAYS had a thing for a man in uniform?

Many of you have mentioned that my blog is your only connection to the military, as most of you don't have family members or friends that are serving.

Here is a little bit on what he does and why it is different than guys that have been to ranger school.

And if you really really want to know what these guys go through? Read this link. This is why i was at the ceremony.

To be honest, part of me wishes I didn't know things like that. It breaks my heart and terrifies me. But I have to say that I believe these men are real life heroes.

I have no interest seeing Lindsay Lohan or Whitney Houston or self-absorbed politicians all over the news nonstop.It actually makes me sick.

THESE ARE REAL LIFE HEROES.The real deal. They don't ask for any recognition but in my opinion they deserve it.

And we don't hear much about them.

RLTW- Rangers lead the way.

So proud of my guy.

xo

s