Chill'in With The Anderson's

With Bills upcoming deployment, time has been getting away from me.

February went surpisingly slow. We seemed to savor each other and every activity was blessed with success. We now have updated life insurance and our wills are complete. We began new investments anticipating the additional funds that all families receive for compensation for deployment time away. Rob and I have new passports on the way.

Bill has fixed mended or organized everything that is in his power. I have neard from numerous sources that guys do a lot right before they leave in an attempt to "take care of" their family before the leave.

Of course tons will go wrong when Bill is gone that will require me to use my newly acquired Power of Attorneys.

Although hopefully, we will never need our new guardianship papers for Robby.  We have asked our close friends, Helen and Florio or Angie to be Robs immediate guardians in case I have to go into to hospital while Bills deployed. This is a very important thing to set up before he leaves because I recently learned that if we don't set it up now and I have to go into the hospital or worse while Bill is away, Rob will go automatically into the foster care system. 

Man, this state is messed up in SO many ways. Ugh. I'm tell'in ya, it really ain't paradise when you're dealing with these people in this state...ugh. But..I digress and move on. 

To update this site on us I thought it might be kinda fun to repost posting from my facebook. That would bring it up to date in bite size chunks. :?) So, here goes:

February 23:

I took my first practice, online ACT test in English..........Had a bit of a rocky start, but getting acclimated..............Thank you God. :?)

February 25, 2011

Oh my gosh. Who knew that getting ready to go to a University as a middle aged person would require jumping through so many hoops.......even each hoop is multifaceted. Ugh........

February 25

Bill is at the gym, Rob is making pancakes and I'm off for my walk........three different directions but one mind. Thank you God.

Fenbruary 26

A fabuous lunch in China Town with the Pierres and Bills Mom and Neli...........Thank you God for food, fun and fellowship!

February 27

Our ten flavors of Shaved Ice flavoring is on its way from Amazon.com! Whoo-hoo! Yummo! Shaved Ice and Girl Scout cookies!

February 29

Made Thanksgiving dinner tonight since Bill won't be home for Thanksgiving! He particularly loves my homemade Cranberry Sauce! I LOVE cook'in for that man! :?)

February 29

Making Easter cards and listening to a dramatized audio version of "Little Women". Fun. Thank you God.

March 2

To all my beautiful Godly single girl friends: If it is true that "nice guys finish last".....then slow the heck down down and let them catch up with you! :?)

March 3

Please God, let me live long enough to actually try and do all the really cool things I am pinning on my boards at Pinterest!

March 3

Today is the last day of Bills block leave.............crud. Well, thank you God for the past month. We got TONS of necessary stuff done and spent great time together AND we only wanted to kill each other twice! Whoo-hoo! Thank you God!

March 3

With grateful help from my faithful friend Jen Spears Guncheon, I have now in my possession, books from Barnes and Noble to help me prepare for the upcoming ACT test......Let the studying commence! Thank you God!

March 5

Bill is back at work this week................sigh. But I am grateful to get back to my routine. Glad for the rain so that I can justify staying indoors and catch up on all that I allowed slide in the name of "block leave" last month! ......Chores, here I come....

March 5

What I would give to have a March snowstorm right about now........Gosh, I miss snow!

March 6

Rain rain I hafta say,

It was cool to have rain for a single day.

But I am done with the wet,

And this is it,

If it rains one more day,

I'll have a fit!

By Weird Becky Yankovic

March 7

Hey! Guess what?!?! "Family Night" at the main post chapel starts tonight! Dinner is at 5:30 and plethora of classes start at 6:15 Childcare provided! Classes from kids to adults! I'll be teaching "Christian Parenting With Love and Logic" in room #39. Only 15 slots available! See you there!

February 27, 2012

SO much to update. First things first. The Aloha Run. It took place on Presidents Day last week. Although I signed up for it, I ended up backing out at the last minute (which ordinarily isn’t like me). I just couldn’t hang with the idea of me and my 28,999 closest friends all driving and walking together for 8 long miles! Ugh! The thought of THAT many people sent me into a mild mental panic. Bill, Rob and our friends Beth and Spence along with Spence’s Mom and Dad all did a great job and came in around 3 hours and 4 minutes. That was a great time too considering Beth and Spence brought their little boy Sam and It’s my understanding that almost every port-a-potty was lovingly christened by their boy along the 8 mile route. :?) They had a great time together although getting up at 3 a.m. to go made for an early bed time for them. :?) You can see the “highlights” in our Kodak moments section. :?)

Our deployment adventure continues as we forge ahead and make headway on our “must do before deployment” list. One thing we can check off is setting up a new investment account with USAA. One thing I am heaven bent upon is making the most of the extra funds we’ll be getting from this goofy deployment. I have spent countless hours researching investment plans and talking with learned investment counselors.  We finally decided on the best plan for us. My priorities were to have the ability to add to or take out money at will with low to moderate risk but with a decent return. We found it! Thank you God!

Friday I spent hours on the next thing on our list:

Placing the next stepping stone in preparation for my coming college adventure. The hoops they want me to jump through! In short, I need to take the ACT test in order to get into the University of Louisville. It’s either that or spending the next year-plus taking credits at the local community college and transferring them to the same university. Since time is of the essence, I would rather bust butt for the next month and a half studying for the ACT rather than spend a year and a half schlepping to and from Leeward Community College. Even if I preferred to go the community college route, I couldn’t reasonably start until the Fall because they charge exactly 2 times as much per credit hour to take classes in the summer as they do in the Fall. Ugh. So, as of Friday I'm scheduled to take the ACT on April 19th. I told Rob that all this experience will do us good when he takes the same test in June. :?) What’s an even bigger blessing is my awesome friend Jen who possesses a teaching degree AND knows how all these tests work (and how to prepare for them), has graciously offered to tutor me for the test! Thank you God! Numerous places and online agencies offer prepatory services for varied fees but the best service recommended to me is the FREE DOD (Department of Defense) online prep service for military and military dependants. Thank you God! I took one of timed practice tests available on there and according to the posted standards of the University of Louisville, I need to increase my overall score by 6 points to enter. Bill and Jen encouraged me by stating that I actually did pretty well considering I have not been in school for 26 years and took the test completely cold. I am encouraged because although my Math and Science scores were dismal, I did brilliantly on the critical thinking and reading portions. It’s my understanding that with an ever so slight math and science improvement and the consistency in the areas that I already excel, I will get what I need to enter my University. :?)

After spending the majority of the day registering for the test and talking through our strategy with Jen, we had company over for pizza and games. I thought that I wouldn’t have the energy for socializing after the expulsion of all my mental energy earlier in the day, but it was a great time! Two of our Chaplain friends and their wives had a rousing electronic game of “Catch Phrase” while eating pizza, homemade pop and comsuming an ENORMOUS cookie pizza! It was GREAT fellowship! Thank you God!

Saturday found us at North Shore to feed Robs homeless friends. After he and Bill visited with them and dispersed the apples and oranges they brought, we went to an open air artisans fair and had lunch at a fresh fish Mexican restaurant. :?)

One would think we’re quite social by the fact that Sunday found us with more chaplain friends. Helen (who is from Zambia) and her husband Florio, (who is from Haiti) along with their kids Abigail, Naomi and Priscilla, joined our little family of three, along with Bills Mom, Joan and her friend Neli. We were priviledged to dine at the only Chinese restaurant in China Town that does not use MSG. This is a priority as little Prissy is highly allergic to all food enhancers. The restaurant serves everything family style so it was quite a fun experience tasting everyone’s culinary preferences. We had Lettuce Wraps, Pineapple & Shrimp Fried Rice, Beef and Broccoli, Tofu and Mushrooms, Egg Fu Yung with Gravy, hot tea and Pecan & Spinach salad. (My addition) After lunch we explored China Town and purchased culinary delights including fresh Saur Sop and Dragon fruit smoothies, a HUGE stalk of Sugar cane and almost 2 pounds of Rambutans.

These prickly red oddities taste most like a sweet peeled grape with a larger seed in the center. They are very easy to peel but you must maneuver the slippery sweet flesh away  determined seed. The seed itself strongly resembles an alomd. I think they’re worth the trouble am looking forward to getting them again. This time I’ll but them at the commissary. :?)

Tomorrow we have an appointment at the passport office so Rob and I can go to Canada this summer while Bills gone. That may end up consuming most of our morning. As I hope to go to the tanning bed and walking my 4 miles or so, that may be our day in its entirety………….:?) We’ll see. :?)

My brain has been saturated and squeezed all day long! As a part of Bills deployment procedures we have to get our "Wills" made, guardianship needed to be set up for Rob in case something happens to me while Bill is gone, and a TON of different Power of attorneys needed to be made out. Ugh. So much has changed since the war started in 2001. A single Power or Attorney would have sufficed back then. But now, you need "special" Powers of Attorney for everything under the sun. (Did I mention "ugh"?) While we had a 2 and 1/2 hour break between appointments, we decided to make the most of out day by visiting the education center on post to find out more about choosing a school for me to get my degree in Elementary Education. My brain has been saturated and squeezed all day long today! As a part of Bills deployment procedures we have to get our "Wills" made, guardianship set up for Rob in case something happens to me while Bill is gone, and a TON of different Power of attorneys to be made out. Ugh. So much has changed since the war started in 2001. A single Power of Attorney would have sufficed back then. But now, you need "special" Powers of Attorney for everything from selling a car to selling a stock. And a "general" power of attorney doesn't cut it anymore. (Did I mention "ugh"?) While we had a 2 and 1/2 hour break between appointments, we decided to make the most of our day by visiting the education center on post to find out more about choosing a school for me to get my degree in Elementary Education. After "interviewing" 2 more schools, I beleive I will go with the University of Louisville. They have a wonderful "Adult Work" program and offer exatly the degree I need to become a certified teacher. It includes getting a Masters in Education. I'm excited. I need to take the ACT test and unfortuantely I missed the nearest registration date by only a week. The next one won't be until mid-April. On the "up" side, I have the time needed to bone up on the test itself and can utilize the on post resources for ACT pretests! The Army offers the best opportunities for soldiers and their spouses. :?) So, say and prayer for me to the God of Abraham and Jacob and ask that He bless my efforts as I say good-bye to my comfort zone and answer His call for me to "go higher"! 

So what does the Anderson family do for Valentine’s Day? Usually, we make a heart shaped cake, hand-made cards and prepare pink food. :?) But, with Bill’s impending deployment in March our lives have been preoccupied with thoughts of life insurance, living wills, regular wills, Powers of Attorney forms, guardianship paperwork, guest room preparation, out of town guests etc. All I had managed to do for the boys was purchase a large tin of King Size Reese’s Cups, and I surmised that they hadn’t had any more time to make me a card or buy me a gift than I had for them. I was contentedly resigned not to make a big deal out of Valentine’s day this year and simply enjoy the fact that we were together and leave it at that. :?) And so it seemed that yesterday would be a day like any other aside from our customary morning greetings of “Happy Valentines Day” etc. So when I went and ran my errands to the PX, teacher supply store, and the thrift shop, and returned to an empty house devoid of boys or a note as to their whereabouts, I was kind of ticked. “Where had they gone? Why didn’t they leave me a note?! I always leave them notes when I go somewhere!” I thought. I decided however, not to get short when I called them so as to not ruin the days theme of Love in any case. I’m so glad that I made that decision, for they were at Costco buying me a bouquet of flowers, a HUGE pink Orchid AND cards. :?)

I had every intention of making dinner as well. I loathe the crowds and the huge lines at restaurants on days like this. In the end however, I decided that going out to eat would be nice. I knew however that “nicer” places like, Assiagos (a very expensive Italian place), Chillis, Ruby Tuesdays and the like, were going to have really long wait times. I told the boys that I was really very happy with McDonalds if that’s where we ended up. Instead however we opted for one of our favorite places, the local A&W Root Beer stand! Surprisingly, we were only one of two families in there. :?) Valentine’s day is not about where you go, it’s about who you’re with………….and I was with my boys. Thank you God for Bill and Robby.

Here is a special photo Robby took of Bill and I that I will place in my "My Valentine" scrapbook page I made the other day. :?) 

Robbys flowers for me.......

Bills orchid for me....................Since it's pink I'll put it in my Craft room. :?)

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Block leave has begun, but where's the fun?

 I'm not positive how other Army families spend their husbands block leave time together. "Block leave", for those of you who are not familiar with the term, is a period of vacation time, usually a month long in which the soldier gets off of work to spend with their family before a deployment. I've heard of families using the time to go on special vacations etc to create memories before their soldier leaves for 9 months +.

We may end uo doing a bit of that, but, our first week has been spent doing stuff like...........tax preparation. Ugh! BUT, on the "up" side, it paid off today when our tax preparer told us how much we were getting back from Uncle Sam! Whoo-hoo! Thank you God!

Yesterday I had intended on rearranging my craft room, instead we ran a lot of errands for the whole day. We got the dog groomed....

I sent some packages via UPS and got 100 stamps...

we went to the Arts and Crafts shop on post and got the print we gave Rob for Christmas framed. I bought it prematted with a double mat. It's by Thomas Blackshear called, "Coat of Many Colors". It isn't Jospeh as you might guess, but of Jesus.  

Description:

Thomas Blackshear beautifully represents Jesus Christ as the risen Lord of all peoples of the world. His coat is adorned with flags of the nations and fabrics of the cultures of the world.

Artists Notes:

"According to the Word of God, Jesus was born into the Jewish race. Jesus Christ is now the Risen Lord. We can have no concept of how He actually looks; therefore, I have not clearly indicated His features in Coat of Many Colors, Lord of All. Because He is Lord, He represents all the people of the world. On His coat are flags of the nations and fabrics of the cultures of the world. All the colors of the coat represent the sin that He took on Himself on our behalf. The white robe under the coat represents His pureness, His being totally without sin. The golden sash is referred to in Scripture as being worn by royalty. He is truly Lord of All!"

It's a special order frame so we won't see it for another 4 weeks........Anyway, after that adventure (as it took us a good 45 minutes to choose the frame) we then went to the NEX to get a refill cartridge for our SodaStream system. Yes. We still love our new SodaStram system! Diet Root Beer is the only flavor that we can't get on the island, so I ordered 2 bottles from Amazon.com. Each bottle makes 33 12 ounce cans, so it should last us a little while. Diet root beer is a staple in the Anderson household. :?)

The main reason for our trip to the NEX was for a new camera for Rob. He's been in the market for one for many months as he accidentally left his on the plane when he went to Iowa with Bill for a family wedding. After much cost and model comparisons etc here is what he bought: a Red Olympus TG-310.

 One of the features he felt was essential was for it to be "waterproof". He does quite a bit of snorkling and thought that it would be good feature to have. Hawaii is a great place to buy waterproof cameras since you have SO many choices that you probably wouldn't have on the mainland. This one is water proof to 10 feet and can take movies as well as pictures and has 16 mega-pixels. That's as much as other cameras costing twice that, so I think he did pretty good. :?) He did spend a fair amount of dough though, but hey, it's his to spend and he did the research and asked a lot of questions, so I feel good about his decision. :?) I just hope he doesn't lose this one too........whoops. Did I say that out loud? (wink).........

One of the fun things to do at the NEX is utilize the fantastic food court! I mean it when I say you can get pretty much whatever you want! I am a sushimi and kimchee fan.  Bill and Rob range from Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, and Subway to the Famiglia Pizzeria! There is a plethora of other places to go to as well. Another favorite of mine is the "Yummy Korean Bar-B-Q". Yesterday I tried a Sushi place and got what is commonly referred to here as a "Bento Box". I got the "Tempura Bento Box". Cool looking huh?

Bill and Rob got pretty neat looking meals too............Here was Robby's. A typical fare for a growing teen.......

Bill tried to be healthy by doing a salad but made up for it with his Lasagna:

Today (Friday) we spent the entire morning preparing for our tax appointment at 1:30 but really, that 4 hours REALLY paid off.......

As soon as we left there, I begged Bill to walk with me down to the tanning bed place that opened a couple of months ago. I know, I know, "Why go to a tanning bed when you live in Hawaii?"  Well really, time is a HUGE factor, driving time, etc. You have to remember that we are not here on a vacation. We live here and have the same hectic schedule that you each have. The fact that I really dislike the beach doesn't help. Our pathetically tiny (but pretty) back yard has no "sun area" either..................So, there you go.........(quote from my Big Fat Greek Wedding) :?) It's right across the street within walking distance of the house, and is called: SunTime Indoor Tanning. www.suntimeIndoorTanning.com . In addition to a tanning package I bought some pretty cool lotion/bronzer. It  has a lot of glitter in it too, and I LOVE that! 

Okay............tomorrow, the craft room..................... :?)   

We had a wonderful time over at the Pierres house watching the SuperBowl! Helen is from Zambia, Florio is from Haiti. He is a Chaplainin the Army. It funny to see them SO enthusiastic about football.

I was SO impressed with the modest costumes of Madonna and her entourage! She is, afterall, over 50 and must think about covering up more right? Bill surmises that the Indiana cold weather helped decide the conservative choices!

 I fell asleep well into the game but awoke just in time to see the last 58 seconds of the game! (That typically lasts 20 minutes!) Ugh! Florio and my mother stated that this was one of the best SuperBowl games ever! I don't know about that, but it was nice to eat good food and fellowship with fun friends! Thank you God!

Well, we had a wonderful homecoming when Bill got back yesterday. My friend Beth and I had planned on going to pick up the guys together in her SUV but I found out that Bills flight came in later than Spence so we couldn'r pick them up together after all. So much for those well laid plans.

Last night Bill was jet lagging pretty bad but he was all into watching a movie with us, so we watched, "Penelope". Really really cute movie too! I fell asleep twice at the end so we had to remind it a couple times for Bill and I. :?) 

We slept in rather late today until around 8:30. Bill and Rob went to the gym and then Bill and I went walking. Seriously, aren't we the cutest couple!?

After that Bill and Rob then went to a local pancake house with Robs friend and his dad called the "KOA Pancake House" in downtown Wahiawa.

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur for me. I cleaned the kitchen inlcuding re-organizing the cabinets, pantry etc. Believe it or not, I had a great time. I had been meaning to do it for a while. Got rid of a lot too.....much to Bills dismay. He HATES getting rid of stuff! :?)

Bill and Rob then went up to North Shore to do Robs ministry of bringing food every Saturday to the homeless people he knows up there. He usually brings PB and J sandwiches but today opted for fresh oranges instead.  They appreciated them a lot!

Then they came home and washed both the cars JUST in time for it to rain!

All and all it was a great first day back!

Tomorrow we're going to go back up to North Shoe to see the whales! Cool! Thank you God for a great day with my boys!

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God has been telling me a lot lately. I'm thrilled He notices me much less takes the time to tell me stuff. :?) One thing He has revealed to me is that He has given me permission to take a hiatus from ministry and has given me permission to minister to myself and Bill and Rob by scrapbooking the last 20 years of our lives together over the next year or so. One way God confirmed my desire to do this is by having a few friends from PWOC ask me to come scrapbooking with them once a month on Thursday with Ms Tiffany. It's a pretty neat deal she has going. For $10 she brings premade/precut supplies for 2 different pages. Last night we made a Valentines Day page and a page that supposed to say, "Girls Night Out", I decided that mine will say instead, "Scrapp'in Pals". Here are my Scrapp'in Pals: Beth, Elva and Pam.

Here is my "Valentines Day" page:

And my "Srapp'in Pals" page:

Both, I believe need "buttons and bling", but I'll add that today after I finish my chores.

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Ona different note: Bill comes home today from his 3 week long TDY (Temporary Duty Assignment) trip to South Carolina and Boston, Mass today! Whoo-hoo thank you God! He arrives with his whole unit around 7 p.m. so my friend Beth (whose husband is also in Bills unit) and I will go and pick the guys up from the drop off point. Bill will then be on, what is referred to as, "Block Leave" for the month of February to spend time with Rob and I before he deploys in latter March for 9 months. Below is a picture of what is called, "The Deployment Cycle". Wifes lovingly refer to it as the "Vicious Cycle".  You can guess why...........

Bills Biological Mom and Aunt are visiting again from Canada. Aunt Margaret has been here with her friend Betty for this past month and have been staying in a nice hotel in downtown Waikiki. His mom Joan arrived last night with her firend Hetty and is staying in the same hotel, but we haven't spoken with her yet so I guess I'll talk to her today. They are a VERY interesting group of ladies and VERY Canadian!

Everything you have heard about people talking "funny" in Canada is absolutely TRUE! It's so fun to hear then talk! Have you ever wanted to "talk" Canadian for fun! You can! Here is a link so that you can get the "low down" on how to talk and be Canadian.

http://northof45.livejournal.com/13709.html

Last week was an absolute blur as I spent the majority of each day preparing for the "Seaside Escape" retreat I and a team put on for about 30+ ladies on Saturday. I will post photos later today.

Today I will spend the majority of the day balancing the checkbook, doing my bible study, cleaning, and baking something fun for Bill and Rob for dessert tonight . I think it's a cool way to spend the day.........

Busy and slow. That’s how this week has gone. It seems like Bill has been gone way longer than a week. He concurred his same feeling in our conversation earlier today, but the weeks sluggishness certainly can’t be attributed to the lack of events this week. We’ve certainly had enough going on….

Monday Rob had his second official piano lesson from Ms Brianna. Rob says he really likes her teaching style because she is a compilation of cool and classical teaching. She’s focusing a lot on counting and rhythm in order to further Robs skills to accomplish the more complicated pieces he wishes to play.

Tuesday I had PWOC. I am taking the study; “Discerning the Voice of God”, By Priscilla Shirer. It’s a six week study and has been a huge blessing already and I have only accomplished 3 of the first 5 days thus far.

From the 10 studies offered I knew this one was for me as we are facing a myriad or huge decisions in the next month or so and although I have been faithfully praying with my Prayer journal and my praying in color journal, I have yet to hear a clear message from God as to what He wants us to do. The questions we have posed to God and are asking His guidance on are:

1. Should Bill go for “full bird” Colonel or retire after he gets back from deployment

2. Should we ride out being a Lt Colonel for a few more years and be stationed a few more places first, or retire when Bill gets back from deployment

3. Should we stay here in Hawaii or PCS when Bill returns from deployment

4. Should we become foster parents and if so what ages of children should we foster

5. Should we adopt a child or children and if so what ages

6. What college should I attend to get my education degree

7. Where should we retire to…………

As you can see, these are some BIG decisions, and we don’t want what we want. We want what God wants for us. Because we know that it is better to have what His will is for us rather than have what WE want and it be out of His will. Being in His will is the key to contentment.

Wednesday I had my 2 hour Retreats Board meeting. I have an awesome team of 12 ladies committed to making the upcoming retreat called, “Seaside Escape” a great one. But there are still many details to be worked out prior to the January 28th date. Yikes! .

Thursday was my Pacific Region Board meeting where I had the priviledge of being in charge of centerpieces, decorations and making 35 book marks for our regions 5 sets of executive board members.

Friday I made a diaper cake with an Hawaiian “Aloha” theme for an evening baby shower. It was fun but it didn’t end until almost 10 p.m. and I was beat. Then I didn’t sleep well, so maybe that’s why I ‘m so tired today.

Today I got to go shopping with my friend Jen.

We went to Flora Dec where I bought ribbon and paper and findings, oh my! :?) We also went to the NEX (the Navy Exchange) where I stocked up on my favorite make up from the Benefit line and even got a new set of Pj’s I’ve been looking to find for some time.

Rob went with our close family friend Anthony to feed the homeless up at North Shore. This is his weekly ministry he began a few months ago. He has been diligent and it has paid off by the families getting to know him and beginning to trust him now. Robs been hanging in there while Bills been gone by helping me, baby sitting for kids in the neighborhood, doing school, doing swim team, Bible study, chores, and even helped my set up my new toy, my Ipod touch. :?) I hadn’t intended on getting such a advanced piece of technology. I was only looking to get an MP3 player that was capable of housing my vast collection of audio books. Instead I walked out of the PX with and I-touch. Go figure.

So see? We have not been sitting back on our laurels doing nothing . Life is just incredibly lack luster without our awesome Dad and husband Mr Bill. This week is looking as busy as this past one……..yikes.

Tomorrow Rob will help in Children’s church and I’ll play in the praise band as well as deliver a five minute children’s sermon. I also am teaching the middle school and high school Sunday School class for about 12 kids. After church our same faithful family friend and brother in christ Anthony will help get our Christmas lights down (fianlly) . In turn, I'll sew on a few Army patches for him and then he’s offered to make a pasta dinner with his famous “gravy” for Rob and I.

Go go go go! I can with Gods help ya know?!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me......

Here he goes again......but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Saturday began with Rob coming home from a sleepover bright and early at 6:30 a.m. (okay so he came home early, but not so brightly)  He had spent the night with his friend Trey, but had made a deal with Bill that he would be home early to go with him to the mens ministry meeting. Rob did have proper motivationto go  though, as a large breakfast at the meeting was promised. My kids love language is FOOD!

Rob left the meeting early however, to hook up with his youth group to go to Bellows Beach for the day.

When Bill arrived home from the meeting, we decided to go for a 3 mile walk through our housing area. As we began our walk, I was reminded that there was a quarterly yard sale event that day. Whoo-hoo! We "looked" while we walked and "bought" on our way back. I found treasures.......I found a bag of Game Boy Color games for $1 that I was excited about. I inherited the now considered "antiquated" system from Robby when he moved onto other more advanced systems. Amongst other less interesting games, I was particularly interested in the "Tetris" game.  I used to be quite good at that game some years ago. I played it last night and I can state that I haven't "lost my touch"!

Another "treasure" Bill found. A game called "Constructionary" that, from what we can see, is a compilation of Charades and Legos. We're Lego game people and this one looks pretty neat!

I am a lamp junkie. I much prefer lamp light to overhead light. I am a particular fan of Black rod iron anything, but I haven't found too much that is justifiable in that style until now. I found one for $4. It needed a new lamp shade but I stole one from another lamp that is easy enough to find another for. Rob walked in and saw the lamp and asked, Isn't that the kind of lamp you put a greenery inside? Isn't he great? It sure is Rob! And I plan to do just that! This is a GREAT lamp! I would love to post a photo of it but out internet is not cooperating for me to upload a photo and I can't find on online that looks like it. Crud.

My last "treasure is pictured below. An ice shaver. Shaved ice is a very very very popular thing here. So to have one at home is pretty cool. We got a bunch of very cool accessories and stuf to go with it as well. The machine itself retails for $34.99 and I got the whole system for $14 AND she threw in the lamp for $1! Whoo-hoo! Rob and I tested it last night and it works great. Other than a lack of interest I cant imagine why they got rid of it.

Okay, back to the beginning of this posting. My friend Olivia writes songs and she wrote one and performed it at church yesterday called, "There he goes again". It speaks of all the military deployments and how the wives deal with it. Bill left yesterday for 3 weeks for some pre-deployment training. He will then be on what is referred to as "block leave" for the month of February and then he'll leave in March for his deployment to Kuwait. He visited there for 2 weeks in December and got a ton of great photos of where he'll live etc. He needs to get the "okay" to post them on here, but as soon as he does, I will post them for you to see. 

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