December pics, Getting ready for Christmas!






















Starting with the kids Christmas party on Dec 1, it's been a busy, busy month. Julia had her annual picture with Mama and Santa as she still won't go to Santa, though she did give him a good bye hug..so maybe next year. And then it's been Christmas carols, she's quite good at "Jingle Bells" at this point, shopping, shopping and did we mention shopping?? She cried yesterday when we came home because we only went to one store. Think she may have gotten a too little into the shopping. And the boxes that have been showing up here... she gets all excited to open them, until we tell her "not til Christmas"... she'll repeat "not til Christmas!" sigh and walk away... though she did try and peek at some from Aunt Kim and Uncle Joe... guess that wrapping paper was too much of a temptation. So they are back under the tree and I have plans to spend the rest of today wrapping everything else. I think it would have been too much excitement to stand for her to have to look at them all wrapped all month anyways, so this will work. ;) (I hope!)

Guess I better get to it, until Christmas then!

****Florida in May****

Well, it's happened. The Air Force has seen fit to have us move on again. So while I'll admit to being nervous about the fact that Ray will be Red Horse (which for those non-AF translate that into he'll be gone A LOT) we are both still super excited about our new assignment. At least today. I'm sure reality will sink in soon and then the nerves will really hit. lol.

So come May we are heading to Florida. I think what scares me most,is this is the third time since coming back to Active Duty in 2000 that we have gotten the base we wanted.... scary huh?? So I don't know what the Lord has planned for us in Florida, but I trust that it's where we are supposed to be.

After all, South Carolina brought me to Jean and Debra and Scherri, Penny and Tara and Aldersgate where I found some of the truest friends I've ever had the privilege of calling friends, and opened our hearts to adoption and to the children in China. Texas gave us a stable home life for the last 4 years, no deployments and the opportunity to follow up on that seed planted in SC and led us to Julia and more people we are honored to call friends. People that were a tremendous support while we waited for that picture of Julia and to hold her in our arms that first time and bring her home. People we will miss, just as much as we miss those we left behind in SC. So what will FL bring?? Whatever it brings we know God has a plan for us somewhere there. It will be interesting to see what that is.

So wish us luck. In May we're heading east! :)

We've been Elfed!

Courtesy of my brother, guess that means he was thinking of us. Always a good thing;) Julia didn't know quite what to think of it. Check it out here and you decide. LOL.

We've had a busy week and Julia did have a good time at the kids Christmas party last weekend. She even deigned to give Santa a good bye hug, that's the best he was going to get. I still had to go up with her to get her gift and she sat on my lap, not his, but a hug is big progress from last year. I'll try to have those pictures on later this weekend. Not today, but maybe tomorrow. In the meantime here are a few photos from our holiday photo shoot and a couple more from our Thanksgiving trip to Ohio. I have no idea what her and Tyler were doing, but they seem to know and understand each other and at least they were having fun!

Home again, home again jiggety jog


Playing peek a boo with Allie


Julia enjoyed Tyler's rocking horse :)


You would think she knew just what she was doing with the Leapster... not really, but she enjoyed watching it all the same LOL


Julia, Ray and Allie


Riding in the car....












We found that when riding in the car Julia prefers to get completely comfortable... for example: hair down, shoes and socks off, movie on and pass the snacks Mama. lol. That pretty much sums up our trip up to Ohio and back. It seemed to go so much faster on the way up, maybe because we all just wanted to get there and coming back was something we just weren't looking forward to as much. I suppose that must have been it.

We had a great time as always and Julia really had fun with her cousins. Our camera was not working properly after being left in the car the first night there, so we don't have nearly as many pictures as we would normally take, but we did manage to get a few. I can no longer guarantee any ones safety around Julia. Tyler taught her how to wrestle and she was tackling him and taking him down by the end of the week. So watch out. We have tried to impress upon her that it is only okay to play that way with Tyler but she's only 2 so we'll see. The two of them are very hard to say "no" to when their play is accompanied by gales of laughter and squeals. And they are both so darn cute and they each know it too. I think we are all in trouble when it comes to these two. LOL

Julia was equally happy to see Ashley and Allie as evidenced in a few of the pictures. She was watching me load them onto the PC and exclaiming "that's Ashley.. that's Allie"... etc.. I think they all made an impression this year. :)

Now we are back and getting into the full blown Christmas spirit with the squadron kids party kicking things off this Saturday, then our Adult party the following Saturday and somewhere in there we have to finish our Christmas shopping, get things mailed and with luck even manage to decorate the house sometime this week. So we'll be busy around here for a bit. Nothing new about that, it seems we always have a few irons in the fire at the same time. We'll have to see what else we fit in for Ms. Julia this Christmas season. Lots of lights and holiday spirit for sure, and reminding her and us of the reason for the season as well. :)

Trick or Treat













We got home just in time for the Halloween fun! As you can see our princess was dressed as just that a Princess. She was Cinderella for all of you that aren't Disney pros. ;) She just loved putting on her costume. We started with a Halloween party at the squadron the Friday before, she didn't so well there. It was a little dark and scary for her taste. But when we went to the Mall to trick or treat on Halloween night.... she more than made up for it! She got into the whole thing there and had a great time getting candy! She checked her basket frequently to see what they were putting in it that she might like, I think if she had her way she'd like it all! LOL. She even passed the older kids we were trick or treating with, since they were interested in playing around and she was all about the candy!

As always there are more pictures at dropshots from our trip to Maine, and a few more from Halloween along with videos. Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!

Some random pictures to catch up a little :)



Julia and some of her friends playing with her kitchen that she got for her birthday! She really does like it Nai-nai and Papa!




Playing dress up!



Helping Grammie Hall with her birthday cake! Yes, she has discovered her sweet tooth, we'll have to be careful now!
















We had a wonderful time in Maine, Julia did so good with all of the traveling but we are also very glad to be home and settled back in, at least until our drive to Ohio that we are still seriously considering making later this month for Thanksgiving:) Yes, we just might be gluttons for punishment, but we both do love our families and so want Julia to at least recognize who everyone is and especially play some with her cousins while they are still young enough to play!

In Maine









We've had an unexpected trip to Maine this fall so that would be why you haven't seen anything new on the blog lately. My brother's colon burst and he has been a very sick guy so we came up here to be with him and family. I can't put any pictures on of our little miss as my camera is apparently not compatible with my Mom's PC, but when we do finally get home, likely this week or next, I will have some to post. Several of Julia pouting I believe. LOL. She does just fine when Daddy or I say "no" and goes right on ignoring us, but when one of her uncle's tell her that, it's like the end of the world.

For the most part she has the bright spot in an otherwise sad situation and I have to give her credit. Through all of the dragging her around, and I mean that literally we have been from one end of the state to the other with my brother, she has taken it all in stride. And especially the lack of attention from Mama while I've been at the hospital so much. Thank goodness Daddy came too.

My brother still has a ways to go to get better but he IS getting better. So I do feel like we'll be able to leave soon, at the moment I'm thinking that Julia and I will come back up to see him in January when he's a bit better while Daddy is at the Academy. We'll see.

Anyways. Just wanted to give a little update. I'll be back on with pics when we finally get home. :)

Just being silly :)
















Apparently Julia liked Mama's shoes from Saturday night as well. This was Sunday afternoon :) And yes unless I put her hair up or use hair spray or sometimes both, her hair falls in face at the moment. Most of the time it is up for this reason. lol.

Anyways. Just thought you'd like to share our silly moment, there's a video of this at dropshots, I was going to put it here, but can't seem to get it working at the moment. She was definitely having fun clomping around the kitchen.

Julia is getting really into playing pretend lately. It's very cute to watch her sitting her toys up to her table and cooking for them or telling them to make a picture. She certainly is not lacking imagination this one.

***A Night Out at the AF Ball***



Christi, Candy and I




All dressed up




The Hangar transformed.










On that rare occasion we will actually get a sitter and take an evening off. :) This was an even rarer occasion where we dressed up to go out and celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the US Air Force. It was a night to remember. With Food Network taping for Dinner Impossible (that I'm told will air sometime in January), the memorabilia dating back to World War II was humbling to say the least,the decorations every where the eye turned, the red carpet to walk in, we got there early and so bypassed walking in under the swords (they weren't quite ready yet) but they were there too. Every where you looked were reminders of all the Air Force has accomplished and become in the last 60 years and where it may be headed in the future. Oh sure we may gripe sometimes when things are hard or not going the way we expected or hoped for, but there is no denying that it is a strong and special heritage that we are proud to be a part of.

Just some random pictures


Love this cute outfit Gram but she wasn't being really cooperative for a photo, but what can I say, even when she's not cooperating, she's cute about it.


I want to be just like Mama and sleep in the big bed and read at night. She snagged my book before I could get it and stayed this way long enough for me to find the camera. We can manage to keep her hair out of her eyes during the day now, but at night it seems hopeless.



What a STICKY MESS! Mama let me have waffles for breakfast and when I was done, I decided to rub the crumbs in my hair! She's never done that before, I'm sure it won't be the last time as she got a bath out of the deal!

As you can see Julia continues to grow and remember that declaration of Independance we spoke of a while back?? She's definitely beginning to make herself known and heard more lately. She's full blown into the 2's I'd say. We've had a couple of successes with the potty, not there yet, but the idea is beginning to grow. Just what we want right now.

Over all we're doing well:)

Julia got this nightgown for her birthday. She sure thinks she's something when she puts it on. Checking it out in the mirror and even asking to have her picture taken! No kidding. As for the wild hair, keep in mind we were getting ready for bed. LOL.

I'd write more, but as she got just a short nap on our walk today, I think we are going to call it an early night. Just thought you would enjoy the pics and yes, she was playing peek-a-boo in the curtain.

First Blogging Award





Kim at Born in My Heart was sweet enough to nominate me for this award. I'm not quite sure what to say. Kim has certainly been there for me through a lot and I hope that I've that I've always been there for her as well. I'm supposed to nominate others for this award, but as I really only have 2 blogging buddies *Kim being one of them! and I would certainly turn right around and give it back to her any day! And I will certainly be nominating my dear friend Jen in a moment. Since I don't have or know that many others in the blogging world (yes, even here I can be shy and not reach out unless reached out to first.. what can I say?) I'd like to take a moment and instead give it to those that IF they blogged, I would nominate. Sound fair??

Here is what it says about this award..

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

As mentioned, first my friend Jennifer who does blog at Good Fruit We traveled to China together and that certainly has created a bond, but I like to think we would have been friends no matter how we met. Jen is always encouraging, thoughtful and just one of the sweetest people I know.

As for the others, I'll start with my brother Joe. Some may find this a funny and even odd choice for this award as he can be the most sarcastic and sometimes even negative brother that I have, but not to me. He has ALWAYS been there for me and was the first person I ever told about wanting to adopt from China and he never batted an eye or once asked me "why China?".. he simply said "I think it's a wonderful idea" and was there every step of the way. yes, I love my brother, get over it. :)

Next I would have to say Angie. One of my closest friends that has always been supportive, nice and positive. She can always put a smile on my face :)

I couldn't mention Angie and not mention Sheree. We were so much a part of each other for so long, I'm talking since we were 5 people. While our life paths have taken us in very different directions, we always have pictures to share, a quiet lunch together when I go back home and secrets that NO one else will ever know. And I can always count on her for a quick email come back with a smile and encouragement if that's what I need that day.

Debra, my baby's Godmother. I don't think "No" is in her vocabulary most days. And I don't know anyone else that would drive 2 days to get here to stay 3 and turn around and drive 2 more days to get home. If you have a problem, she'll listen, and if she's got a suggestion it's usually worth hearing :)


Okay so that's not even 7 people still, but it's where I have to end this. I think it's better to say that my life has been surrounded by "nice" people and that I wouldn't be who I am without them.

So thank you again Kim, I'm touched that you thought of me.

Just couldn't quite make it




Julia has a habit of falling asleep in her high chair around lunch time. Just had to share this picture I got today.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!







Julia loves the pool!


Trying to be just like Mama.

Playing in the big float with Daddy.










August is such a busy month for us! Starts off with Julia's bday, in the middle of the month is our anniversary and at the end we celebrate Daddy's birthday. Hectic but it's all good. :)

We started off this morning by taking Ray out to breakfast as we were certain that if waited for dinner it wouldn't happen. Good thing we did, at 6 the phone rang and he's off to work again. So I guess we played that right. The rest of the day we had a pretty lazy day and as you can see spent some time in the pool. Julia didn't want her float anymore, she wanted mine! When we let her have it, under very close supervision of course, it almost worked like a small pool for her in the big pool. She was loving it. As you can probably tell.

We then made a quick run to Walmart (what a nightmare! it was packed!) for some water and what not, came home, got dinner and were just cutting cake when the service call came in. All in all not a bad day though and hopefully he won't have to work too late.