until we meet again

Christmas 2012

On Thursday afternoon January 16th, my brother in-law lost his battle with cancer.

Our family has a hole.

He was a great lover of God, his family, & corny jokes.

He will be greatly missed.

He'll never be forgotten.

Rest in peace dear brother in-law.

 

My Grandpa

My grandpa went to be with Jesus yesterday afternoon and is feeling no more pain. I'm so thankful I was able to say goodbye at Christmastime. I miss you, Grandpa!

Every time I make oatmeal on the stove, every Christmas I make peanut brittle, every dessert I make...I think of my grandpa. I miss who he was, was sad about how his physical ailments deteriorated him, but am so happy he has a new body, is pain free, & is enjoying being in the presence of Jesus. And if I know him...he's eating his fill of sweets! =)

 My Dad with his parents.

 Grandpa with his great granddaughter, my niece, Emma.

Grandpa (Army vet) with my husband (active duty Air Force). (2009)

 Grandpa talking on the phone to his son, my uncle Karl. (Christmas 2012)

 My wedding 2004.

My grandpa's smile...can't wait to see it again in heaven!

My grandparents (photo from end of 2007) 

They just celebrated 62 yrs of marriage on New Year's 2013. 

Today was a good day!

Congratulations to my husband who made Staff Sgt his first time testing! Yay!!! I'm so proud! Can you tell?!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I have the best mom in the world! I wish I could be spending this day with her, but will have to settle for seeing her at the end of June when my parents come to visit. I can't wait! =)

My waiting has paid off!

I just ordered this vacuum from Home Depot! I've been wanting a Dyson for a long time, but they are sooo expensive. It was still expensive, but was on sale when I searched today...plus I was able to get a military discount too saving me an additional $33! Also, standard shipping was free! If you are military, you can get your discount by (1) placing your order, (2) waiting 20-30 minutes, (3) calling 1-800-430-3376 and having them apply it to your order. So easy! I canNOT wait til it arrives!!! 

I don't claim to be perfect...

I'm far from perfect, but I try my best to speak/write correctly. I just wish everyone else would try to do the same...especially if they blog!

My silly doggy!

Oscars...

Well, I didn't watch the Oscars, but I did look through pictures of the dresses.  Just let me say there's not much to see (well, there's plenty of skin, but that's not what I meant!) I do have a few favorites though.

 Glenn Close

Not a fan of the train, but she looks pretty good for being nearly 65 and the color looks good on her. 

 Octavia Spencer

This dress is very flattering on her and her updo completes the look.

Penelope Cruz

I just like how floaty this dress is and I love the color too. Not a huge fan of her hair, but then I can't see it very well either.

He's baaaaack!!!

1st sighting!

Happy to be back!

Waited 6 1/2 months for this hug!

I ♥ him!!!

Flowers ♥ ♥ ♥

♥ ♥ ♥Gorgeous flowers from my favorite.♥ ♥ ♥

I received these last week, but didn't think to post a photo. Oops! I truly do have the best husband ever! =)

New Vehicle!

Our new-to-us SUV! So far I like it! =)

*******

I know I haven't blogged in forever, but I really haven't had much to blog about. This deployment is winding down so I'm excited for that and am starting to think about all the stuff I have to do in preparation to go home again. I'm gonna be sad to leave my family and Kansas again, but I figure the excitement of seeing my husband again after so many months will overshadow any sadness I might experience. Also we're planning to come back and visit for 2-3 weeks sometime after he gets back stateside. I currently have a part-time temporary job so that provides a little extra money. I'm hoping to find a job when I get back home...gotta support my shopping habit somehow! Hahaha! =) I really miss decorating my house for Christmas. :'( At least I get to help my parents decorate their house. It's just sad knowing that Trav won't be with me on our favorite holiday! We celebrated our 7th anniversary (Nov. 5) with 7,000+ miles between us...that was kinda sad, but we survived. Lately it's been hard for me to imagine actually living with my husband again. It's been 5 1/2 months since I saw him in person. I know, I know....there are ppl that have it waay worse, but still it's a long time to go without seeing your spouse and it's not over yet either. I am thankful that my husband joined the Air Force and that they seem to have shorter deployments than some of the other branches of the military. I am also thankful that my husband has access to the internet and we can email and chat pretty much every day...and he can call me fairly often too. Don't know what I would've done otherwise...possibly go insane?!! =)  Dare I say it?...I am thankful for this deployment. Well, thankful for the extra pay it has provided us. It came at the perfect time...I've had several unexpected expenses, but have been able to deal with them because of the extra pay. I KNOW God worked all that out and I didn't even know to pray for it. It's so amazing how a lot of things have worked out like that. I am also very thankful for my parents letting me live with them while my husband's deployed. It has eased my husband's mind knowing I'm with family and not all alone. Well, that's a little insight into what I've been up to lately. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! And in case I don't blog again before Christmas...Merry Christmas!!! =)

Pause. Remember. Pray.

Please take a moment to remember those that lost their lives 10 years ago in the horrific terrorist attacks and say a prayer for the ones continuing the fight for our freedom. 

Hiatus

hi·a·tus

   [hahy-ey-tuhs]  Show IPA

–noun, plural -tus·es, -tus.

1.

a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series,action, etc.

2.

a missing part; gap or lacuna: Scholars attempted toaccount for the hiatus in the medieval manuscript.

3.

any gap or opening.

It's been 2+ months since I posted. Why?? Well, my husband left for his deployment and I moved (temporarily) back to Kansas. I've been trying to get used to and enjoy life without him....just not happening. It was bad enough when he was at BMT and tech school, but at least I could visit him every few months...6 months without seeing him??? Are you kidding me?! Ugh! To get through this I refuse to dwell on the negative  aspects though. (Well, I refuse to constantly dwell on the negative...sometimes it's therapeutic to grumble a little bit! Holidays are gonna totally suck this year without him.) I am very lucky to get to FB chat with my husband every day and I get to talk to him on the phone occasionally. I know there are other military spouses that have it way worse! I am also very lucky to be married to such an awesome guy! =)

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I found (& baked) the most amazing (& probably the most fattening!) red velvet cupcake recipe! Boxed red velvet cake mix can't even compare! =)

Paula Deen’s Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used light tasting (NOT virgin!) olive oil)
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature  **see below**
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (imitation works fine)

(**If you don't have buttermilk: pour 1 Tb. lemon juice into 1 c. measuring cup, then pour milk to the top and let set til it reaches room temp. I did it this way and the cupcakes turned out just fine!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting (This make a lot of frosting! If you don't go crazy with it, I think it would frost twice as many cupcakes!)
1 pound cream cheese, softened (I used the 1/3 less fat and it worked fine.)
2 sticks butter, softened (I don't know if you can use margarine or not. I used real butter...1 stick unsalted and 1 stick salted.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (again, imitation worked fine)
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (I don't have a sifter so I just placed it in a bowl and stirred it around with a fork before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.)
Chopped pecans, fresh raspberries, strawberries, or sprinkles for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Garnish with chopped pecans, fresh raspberries, strawberries, or sprinkles.

As of today, I am now the proud wife of a Senior Airman! =) Woohoo!!! (Hurray for promotions and more pay!!!) Congratulations, Travis!!! 

I saw this on Facebook. Interesting comparison, huh?! =)

A Royal Wedding and a Funeral?!

I thought the Royal Wedding was truly beautiful! Kate's (Princess Catherine...and whatever else her formal title is!) dress was gorgeous! Very stunning! (I wasn't able to stay up and watch it live, but I watched it later the same day.) Although it was a very formal wedding, it didn't totally  feel stiff and starchy. I thought it was really sweet when she arrived at the front of the church and he told her that she looked beautiful. ♥♥♥ Both bride and groom were radiating happiness. I hope they have a very long and happy marriage!

********** 

I'm still finding it a little hard to believe that Osama Bin Laden is actually dead. I'm sure someone has already taken his place...I just hope this doesn't mean an even bigger problem. Like someone else said "I hope the terrorists don't ramp up their attacks." I'm not usually a big worrier, but it makes me worry even more since my husband is getting deployed. I just have to keep reminding myself that God has it all under control!

Hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend! I bet not many others could top this one! =)  

Tornadoes....here?!

Someone on base took this video of the tornado that briefly touched down on base. (He uses some bad language so you can mute it if you'd like.) Even though sirens were going off, I wasn't freaked out because I didn't expect it to be all that serious. I'm from tornado alley after all! (Guess next time I hear sirens going off on base, I should be a  little more concerned!) Fortunately no one was hurt and the neighborhood I live in had no damage that I'm aware of! Thank God! My husband and I were at the church on base at the time so I didn't know what I'd find when I got home...I was hoping my dog was ok! Driving home, we saw a lot of tree damage and a few outdoor kids toys and a trashcan strewn around. The power was out for about 6 hrs. last night. They restored it pretty quickly considering all the branches that were down and probably resting on power lines. I'm glad it got restored when it did because it was getting pretty hot in our house...and it was decently warm outside too. I know I really have nothing to complain about considering the heavy losses down south. I feel so badly for them. My thoughts and prayers are with them! I'm from Kansas so I expect to see tornadoes there, but here and down south?!? I had no idea!

Here's a picture someone took not far from base. Looks pretty scary!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! So thankful He died and rose again for me! =)