totally wack yet true.

Ok, so this is a semi-embarrassing story if you're not me. But if you're me its not embarrassing at all ( because its all relative really), so here goes.

In keeping with my english literature background, I found it essential to send my husband a letter lightly scented with my perfume in A-stan ( because I roll with the romantic gestures no matter how cheesy). However, I was immediately faced with non-english literature-real-life-problems....such as, in real life perfume does not actually STICK to paper for 20 some-odd days while it travels across the globe ( or at least this is what I've heard from other army wives). But, I was like, "pppsssssh!" I will not let this stand in my way!
So I sprayed some ( 100% recyclable and yet nice) stationary with my perfume and then put it in a ziplock baggy for a week. I figure, hey, let it sink in! That'll totally work!

So, tonight, I'm all hyped up on caffeine so I figure what better time to "whip out the ol' stationary and see how its doing"....well, to answer that question its doing great. And after writing on one and a half sides of stationary my hands smell quite strongly of...and here comes the really really weird part....

Brett's cologne.

I KNOW. For whatever reason, my perfume combined with recycled paper smells like Brett's cologne. And they aren't even the same brand, or even have remotely the same blend of fragrances....its a MYSTERY!

I just hope he doesnt get my letter and think I've sprayed it with his own cologne, because, yeah...that'd be weird.

did you hear that?

That was the giant denial bubble that I was living in that told me my husband would'nt be in any danger over there in that foreign land popping.

meh.

And then I said, "thank you"

So, today was Thanksgiving. And it fit with your typical picture of gluttony since I ate two thanksgiving dinners back to back ( well, I had about an hour and a half reprieve between them)...but seriously, I didn't know my stomach could accomplish so much.

But, most of all, today was difficult. Not like, "I can't get out of bed because I'm crying too hard." difficult....but it was hard. I missed Brett terribly. I missed him with my own family and then I missed him double time at his mom's house. I miss him especially hard when I see his brother or when I think about "what we did last thanksgiving"....or when his mom serves his favorite cranberry side dish.

It didn't help that I got an email from him last night saying that he'd be out of communication till next Tuesday...I mean, I was prepared for that email since I knew he was headed out on a mission, but it just added to the theme of the day.

However, even though all those thoughts and emotions were bombarding me I didn't cry. Not even once. I didn't even tear up! I was so proud! I just kept on going! Every time a thought would pop in my head that would make me miss Brett, I'd push it right back out again!!! It was like the brain gymnastics...I was constantly having to do backflips of the mind to keep things where they needed to be.

I made it all the way until 9:30pm when I was lying in bed, watching Friends ( because, that's what I do...) and then the phone rang!

It was Brett and I got to talk to him for a whole 15 minutes! I got to hear his voice and hear how he's doing and know some of the things that are on his mind. We got to talk about Faith and we got to talk about Thanksgiving both his ( he got "thanksgiving food"...which I'm assuming is above average) and mine ( everyone missed him!!)....

and then we hung up, because Brett was borrowing a satellite phone to make the call and other guys had people to wish Happy Thanksgiving to as well...

And then I cried....I cried, but not sad tears...I cried thankful tears...thankful tears since God let me talk to Brett even when I hadn't even asked for it, He saw the very desire of my heart and tonight He gave it to me.

I miss my husband terribly, but I truly have so much to be thankful for....we have been so very lucky so far, and I know that I have things so easy! I pray tonight for the many wives who didn't get to talk to their husbands...or who have five small children who they are juggling while missing their husbands all at the same time....there are some amazing women out there who are fighting against crazy odds....my own prayers of thanksgiving are mingled with heartfelt prayers for those less fortunate.

Faaaantabulous

So today I shopped my socks off. In fact, I kept wanting to quit and go home, but I figured, "hey, what else do I have to do?!" and so I pretended like shopping was my "job" and I continued....

And so I got EVERYTHING that I wanted to get for my box to Brett....accept for a power converter. I haven't been able to find one that'll work yet. But, other than that I'm good to go. I'm so excited about some of my finds for Brett! YAY!

I even found some heels that fit ( I now wear a size 3.5 little girls...this is so so lame.) so I now have shoes to wear to the FOUR events I have coming up in the next few weeks, since I still don't have any of my clothes that are currently living in a car in Kansas. This is a load off my mind. I also bought a dress ( because, yes, I also didn't have anything to wear to said events...) and its pretty cute and didn't totally break the bank ( which was important at this point-since I just couldn't justify spending money on a dress I really didn't need once I'm back in my own closet again...)

I also bought wedding presents ( some of the said events I was talking about ;-) hehehe!) which is always fun....

so all in all it was a busy morning for this non-shopper. In other news, I wish I hadn't told my sister I'd go running this afternoon.I feel like I'm over achieving....oh wait....I'm eating two thanksgiving dinners tomorrow....nevermind.

time tested.

I turned 25 on Saturday. Not sure if you notice or not. For the first time ever I did not count down on my blog or remind you day in and day out that my birthday was coming. I would say its because I'm "more mature and grown up..." but we all know this isn't why at all...

Anyway, this monumental occasion brought me to my usual activity of "archive perusing"...the age old activity of "looking back" and taking stock ( via my handy-dandy blog).

so, tonight I looked back a few years and I delighted in the growth in some and cried out in the withering of others. Why do some Seeds seem to fall short of the good soil?! How will I ever know how to keep you away from this, my dear friends? When will I realize that that is not my job to do? When will I stop standing here with my hands out in despair wondering what went wrong? I will never ever give up, though. I really won't. I've prayed too many prayers with you, for you...
But, I'm tired. I'm tired of this happening.
And I've come to tremble at the verse, "few will enter".

fa la la la

So, as many of you know one of my favorite things of all times is Handel's Messiah...and unlike most of the western world, I do not just pull it out during the holiday season. Instead, I listen to it year around ( best at top volume) and I consider it one of the greatest pieces of worship music EVER.
I have it on good authority that the angels in heaven sound a lot like that.

Incidentally, I also found it helpful to play parts of the Messiah at top volume on Sunday mornings after a particularly rough night of dealing with annoyingly loud drunken residents when I was an RA back in the day....believe me its the perfect payback to hungover 18 year-olds.

But, I digress....last year, Brett gave me tickets to the Messiah with the Seattle Symphony for my christmas present and it was glorious! And this year I'm getting to do something a little different....I'm getting to actually sing with the community choir at the college in my hometown! How totally fabulous! Especially since last year it was pretty hard not to sing along with the professionals at the seattle symphony. ;-)

What fun!

Staying put.

It gave me a cold chill as I read it. In some ways I was reading it for the first time-even though the story of David and Bathsheba is one I'd heard ( quite literally) a thousand times...

Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.


Oh SNAP! I thought....there it was the key to the whole thing ( lust, affair, murder...) right there in the first verse...a verse I'd probably grazed over to get to the "good stuff" many times.

"But David stayed at Jerusalem."

And it turns out, that verse is repeated verbatim again in 1 Chron. 20-which I just read tonight and it reminded me once again what it means to "stay in Jerusalem" when we know we shouldn't....

~~
I know lots of people think that Brett and I are crazy...he's crazy for being in the army, I'm crazy for being an army wife...but we've discussed many times how grateful we are that we have this "Force" in our lives that literally keeps us on our toes! For the most part I don't have to worry about being complacent! The army doesn't let it happen! And now, now that Brett is deployed I'm learning even MORE how danger it is to be complacent...I can't afford to not read the Word...I can't afford not to take time to pray and try and listen to God....because, honestly, if I don't I'd probably fall apart. Its a life application being lived out continually! And, to be honest, when Brett was around more it was MUCH easier to slip...to "get too busy" to do other things....and it took longer for the repercussions and the consequences to reveal themselves ( but, believe me they did!!). So, I'm actually grateful, in a way, for this time in which I'm *up to here* already and therefore I can see my great need a lot quicker!

Anyway, back to the staying in Jerusalem business....so yes, the army does in a way go ahead and do the hard part for us, we don't have to look for ways to get stretched and taken out of our comfort zones or step out in faith-its pretty much handed to us on a silver platter!
BUT, I think I forgot about the day to day decisions of whether or not I'll "stay in Jerusalem" or not...
Here was David all lordly and successful. In fact, things were going sooo well that he was 'satisfied' and in his 'satisfaction' he decided to laze around in Jerusalem while his general was out fighting his battles....and what befalls him?!
Temptation.

And what comes after that?!

All kinds of trouble!

How often do I, for whatever reason, get lazy and decide to stay put...to hang back....to let someone run off ahead ( and fight the good fight)....how often do I think, "Geez! I'm always at church! I'm always doing "Godly" things! It's time for a Break!"

Yes, more than I'd like to admit. So, turns out that while the Army helps us out with the Big Picture part of our lives, I'm in charge of the Details and the Day to Day.... and I've got a choice whether I'm going to stay put or not...

As for tonight, I've decided to go out and fight....

A Whirl of Gaiety

Last night I had desert with the Kinnaird and Fam at my sister's house. Today I went Holiday Shopping ( at Holiday in the Pines-a Nacogdoches "event") with my sweet mother-in-law Mary, followed by a lovely Abt Family dinner where I received my Birthday present from Brett ( which was a subscription to Vanity Fair-which I'm excited about) that my sister had helped him put together....and all in all everything was terribly above and beyond lovely.

So, why exactly do I feel teary?

I think its the whirl of gaiety. It lulls me into complacency. And complacency is that place where sudden moments of intense "homesickness" for ones spouse comes into play. Boy, do I miss Brett more than anything in the world!

But, just because all of my readers are probably gonna get tired of whiny Brett and Abigail stories here's something new ( but not off topic) to share:

So, today two women who I didn't even KNOW, after finding out that my husband was in Afghanistan totally started crying ( not hardcore crying, but enough tears to take notice). Ummm...ok. I don't know how cool I am with that! I mean, I'm not crying! Should you really cry?! Is it a good idea to one-up the wife as far as emotion goes? I mean, SURE I'm not "super emotional" especially out in public where I try to put on my Awesome Army Wife face....but still. I feel like its common knowledge that you shouldn't bring out the tears in a public place when its obvious the wife has brought her Awesome Army Wife face with her....anyway, from this brief encounter with relative strangers I've come up with a....

Little Life Lesson:
So, in the future if you meet someone who's going through something hard, and they put on a Super Awesome Face-then instead of turning on some ( very authentic) sympathy tears-offer the person some chocolate or maybe a cookie ( if you have one handy)...or just say that you're saying a prayer for them ( even better than empty calories!), but do not counteract their Brave Awesome Face with tears. Its a no-no.
The End.

Facts I realized.

I have a friend who writes just like she was a standup comedian. Honestly, that's how she writes. Awesome.
I have a friend who writes normal every day emails that sound just like a children's book. Honestly she writes like that. Fabulous.
I have a friend who writes emails about normal every day events and makes them sound interesting. Wonderful.

I'm not sure how I got so lucky, but now I realize that Brett is lucky too. My darling friends have bestowed their talents of entertainment onto him! Its almost like God KNEW we were going to get married and he gave me the perfect friends in preparation! ( or something like that...)

In other news, I'm getting my haircut tomorrow and its gonna be drastic. As long as it grows out by the time Brett gets back we'll be fine! hehehe

Postal Service for Dummies

So, Brett finally has an address in which we can reach him in A-stan...and if you haven't already received an email with the new address, comment and I'll get it to you as soon as possible!

And since we've now got a solid address ( at least for now! hahaha!), I'll go forward with a helpful question that I got over the weekend of suggestions of nice things to send Brett:

Postage for letters is the same as it would be to send any letter within the US, and you can buy the set-rate boxes for $10.95 ( that's total shipping! That's awesome!) -sadly I don't know what its like in NZ...it might be a bit different...

First of all, letters:
I think more than anything you could send Brett...letters would be at the top of his list. In fact, I don't just think, I KNOW! Because I asked him and that's what he asked for! So, write the boy a letter. And if you're not the letter writing type let me give you a few suggestions:
-tell Brett about your day...including what you ate for dinner ( this is a question my father always asks and its a funny one and always gets "the party started" conversation wise. ;-)
-tell him about movies you've seen, books you've read, friends you've met, what you've gotten in your quiet time recently ( this is one of my favorite things to email people!), and all about sermons or lectures you've heard recently. ( hey! By the end of this deployment Brett's going to be smarter than all the rest of us with all this shared knowledge!)
-Send pictures. Pictures are ALWAYS a good idea...if you've got kids send pictures of them, if you've got pets, send pictures of them...if you have neither than take a nice self portrait of you brushing your teeth in the bathroom mirror and send that....I'm sure you get the picture that pictures are a good idea ;-) ( *ahem*)

Packages:
From what I've been told if you'd like a package to get to Brett before Christmas than the deadline in Dec. 4th. Although, please do not let this stop you, because Brett's birthday is Jan. 26th ( its his GOLDEN birthday! He's turning 26!!!!!!) and so even if a package is late it'll be nice to make January a fun month for him too!
As far as what to put in a package here are some suggestions...hopefully I'll be able to add more to this list soon, once I know what his new surrounds are like and things he might need...but for now we'll just stick with the fun stuff!
-Magazines, Newspapers ( clippings of an article you thought was extra good...that kinda thing).
-Books ( Brett is a sucker for a good book...especially in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy department...but he's really not picky!) to make it even more fun, send him something that you've read that YOU'VE really liked! I know Brett will enjoy getting to know you better through your choices!
-Candy, Brett is not super picky on his favorites...but he DOES like M&Ms ( peanut are his favorite but peanut butter are yummy too...hey! they're all good!). But, once again-stick with you're own favorites and he'll enjoy it I'm sure!
-Cookies. You can send store-bought or homemade cookies-but make sure they are wrapped securely and bare in mind that the softer the cookie the more likely it will arrive in a large pile of crumbs!
-Sunscreen, lip balm, lotion, baby wipes...all of these things are nice extras that I know he will need in the next year so they will probably never go wrong!
-DVDs and AT&T international phone cards are both things that are kinda expensive but if you feel like you'd like to send something like that, well, that'd be fabulous! Of course, I'm always finding DVDs on sale for $5 these days so if you see something you think Brett might like ( or even just laugh at!) those are also a plus...I know the guys over there do a TON of movie watching, so SOMEONE will enjoy it!
*In fact, with all of these items its nice to know that even if Brett is not in need of something or its candy or food that he doesn't like...there are a bunch of other guys that he can share with, nice to know that these boxes can NEVER go wrong!! :-)
-Coffee....really, I hate to say this, but this request is mostly just for people in Nacogdoches. Brett is an avid fan of Java Jacks coffee....so any dark roast, full bean ( not grounded) coffee will always be accepted with delight hehehe...in fact, I'm going to be sending him a french press and a grinder in the mail as soon as I can! That boy does love his coffee!
-Last of all, be creative! Art work you're kids made, decorations for his room... From what I can tell, the sky is the limit of what you can send, but make sure its something that if, in the off chance, that it got lost you wouldnt be totally devastated...
Also, I've been told its best to be as "vague" as possible on the customs slip and just "round down" on the money cost...that always helps things get through a little easier ;-)

But, I'm just going to go ahead and repeat that most of all Brett just wants to hear from you, even if its just an email to say "Hi"....to know that you love him and are supporting him during this year means more than anything! We are already so grateful for your emails of support to him and to myself! We are terribly lucky!

Life in the fast lane.

Well, its been quite the crazy week...and its only Tuesday! Its amazing how Brett's life-while so far away-still affects my own so very much! After finding out that he was being transferred to one of the other teams going to the northern region of A-stan its been a bit of an "up in the air" kind of feeling for me. On the one hand more than ever I feel that God is putting Brett exactly where He wants him to be, and on the other hand I worry about Brett and how he's feeling about all the changes that have entered his life in the past, oooh, two weeks. He's been on quite the roller coaster! But, of course, he's handled everything so well. I can't tell you how proud I am of him, of his faith, his strength, his humility ( although sometimes I think he's too humble!), his integrity and his desire to serve those around him. I'm bursting with pride that he's my husband!

Ultimately I've had much to be grateful for:
1. I've gotten to talk to Brett twice and enjoy one long informative email that gave me all the details that I craved-mostly just how Brett was feeling....the thing I miss most about not having him around is not having the luxury of grilling him on all that enters his mind :-)

2. My lovely family..both related and not. Texas, while its no longer "home" has many of the aspects of home that I most crave-people with like heart and mind and all those oddly comforting familiar things that a town you've grown up in has to offer.

3. My birthday countdown. Oh yes, friends! This year I've been amiss! How could I forget to start the countdown on November 1st to remind you that my birthday is fast approaching!??! Obviously I thought I had "more important things" going on in my life...but now I'm seeing the error of my ways! I turn 25 on Saturday and I feel like you should all be prepared to acknowledge that fact in prose or verse. Which ever.

4. Friends. I'm now well into the first season. I watch it in the late night hours when normal people are in bed and when I need the comfort of "friends" to put me to sleep so that I don't stay up worrying....lucky for me, my sister owns all ten seasons too...this way I didnt have to bring mine from home ;-)

5. The love of Christ, which I know is helping me. I've already felt like a failure at this whole "army deployed" wife business several times and I haven't even been doing it for very long! Yet, I pray continually for the grace of God that I might do this honorably. Its harder than I thought it would be! But, He's faithful to forgive...and I have a fresh start each day!

hold the phone ( or mail)

I missed a call from Brett this morning because I turned my phone off while I was in church. Its literally the only time I EVER have my phone off...and of course, that's when he called.

Its these kind of things that make me the most upset.

However, in his message I have learned that Brett will no longer be at the COIN academy...he's not sure where he'll be now, but I think he's relatively happy about the possible change, since he was never that excited about the prospects there anyway....nevertheless, and this is the important part.

PLEASE DISREGARD the address that I posted for Brett a few days ago, it will no longer be valid and I'm just praying that he'll get the package that I've already sent ( or anything that you lovely people sent him)...I'm sure he will eventually get his mail, but for now we all have to hold off on sending him mail.

It's difficult to stay positive with the events of today, but I know that the Lord is guiding Brett's path and He will put him exactly where He wants Brett to be, and that's ultimately the most important thing about today....

love/hate

I have a love hate relationship with Washington.
I love things like the Indian food, good shopping and other oddities that I couldn't find in Kansas....
I hate the traffic.

Seriously, the traffic on I-5 is enough to drive a women insane.


But, all in all, I am happy with the decision to move back here in a few months, of course, today when Papa and I put Kansas stuff in with the rest of Brett and my belongings in storage I was struck by how TOTALLY awful its going to be moving without Brett! I mean, honestly....boys are SO useful to have around! I'm going to have to search around for those verses in the bible about taking care of the widows and show it to the navigator guys as an example of why they're going to need to fill in with some serious "boy" duties....things like lifting heavy objects and putting together furniture-not abigail tasks.

Luckily this is almost two months away....we'll revisit this subject at a later date...for now I'm going to bed-I'm heading to Texas tomorrow!

Home is where the heart is

I'm terribly homesick for Brett tonight. There is no one I'd rather talk to or cry to or get a hug from right now. I can't tell you how many times a day I want to email him!
But right now, if all went according to plan, he is leaving from K-stan for A-stan....so all my emails would/are just going to pile up in his inbox and look needed...something army wives should try not to be. So I blog... A fourteen and a half hour drive in a day makes me weepy.

OBVIOUSLY

When you've packed up all your belongs, belongings that incidentally fit into TWO cars the first time around and now must fit into ONE...and you've eyed them nervously as they sit piled up against your living room wall....the only thing to do in a situation like this is to....

go shopping.

I know.

I am not even entirely sure what made my car drive over there to the mall where they were having the, and I quote, "biggest sale ever"...and just because those three( horribly bulky) sweaters and ( large) ugg boots cost the same as what normally just one pair of boots would cost...well, STILL! I blame the fact that I've been left alone for too many days in a row.

Besides, I'm pretty sure all the stuff isnt going to fit in the car anyway, and four more items of clothing arent going to make it WORSE.

*ahem*

Annnyway, I'll get back to you tomorrow about whether or not everything fits into the car. I'm praying that tonight God would go ahead and turn the car into the car version of Mary Poppin's carpet bag. I'm also praying that God would make it NOT rain while I'm dragging all my stuff out to the car.

And these are the times you miss having boys around. Well, actually I miss Brett all the time....but this is just a bit of added missing.

So, here's the plan-for those of you who are dying to know: My darling Papa is arriving in Kansas tomorrow and he and I are going to be trekking across the country to Washington, where I will be depositing my belongings and my car and heading back to Texas for a month of partying. I've never done a long drive alone with my papa before, but I can't imagine it being anything but interesting. So I'm looking forward to telling you all about it after its all said and done.
I can't tell you how glad I will be to be in Texas. I need some much needed family/friend soaking up.

Totally Fine.

The silence is over!
I felt so much better after talking to Brett on the phone last night. But, I realized that I was actually doing quite a bit better when he called anyway...yes, I have my needy moments but God has been SO good so far in revealing Himself in this situation.

So, Brett's in some country starting with a "K" and ending in "stan" ( too lazy to look it up!) and he'll be there for a couple more days before going to Afghanistan. I think he felt a bit "stuck in the middle" when I talked to him, but God has already blessed him with some fellowship as well as closeness to Himself, and that encourages me greatly! I got online because Carmi emailed me saying Brett was online ( I check my email on my phone pretty much constantly, but I can't tell who's on chat or not) so I immediately jumped online and apparently Brett's currently writing a "mass email" to send out. I also know on good authority that he'll be blogging again soon, so I'll let you know more about that when it happens...BUT, if you'd like to be on his mass email list and you don't think Brett has your email address feel free to contact me ( or Brett if you have his email address) and we'll get on that! I know we both appreciate all the prayers that have been lifted up on his behalf over the past few days...they are definitely being felt!

Today, I went to a church down the road from where I am living, Faith Baptist Church. Brett and I had both noticed it during frequent drives between home and Fort Riley because its one of the few church signs that actually puts up Bible verses! I can't tell you how wonderful I think this is!!! I mean, you have this free "advertising" why WOULDN'T you take advantage of that and put up the actual Word of God?! Something that has actual Power? Anyway, this particular church has two verses up every week and I had been blessed by it so I decided to attend. It was a very tiny church, but everyone was very friendly and the word of God was preached, and I was able to thank them for their great sign! All in all a nice Sunday morning.
I spent the day packing and watching bad reality TV. I don't have too much packing left to do, so hopefully I can spend most of tomorrow cleaning and making the place sparkle for my housemate. Its the LEAST I can do for her since she blessed Brett and I both soooo much for giving us such a lovely place to live the past few months!

Friends

Thank goodness for Friends! I somehow made it to 5pm today because of them....I'm sure none of you really know how important it is to me to talk to you these days.. whether its a text message, phonecall or facebook message....they're getting me through one at a time.
Especially since I still havent gotten the one email/phonecall that I'd REALLY like....

Of course, the other Friends helped too...disc one of season one. Luckily I own all ten seasons. ;-) That's a good forty days of self-medication right there! :-P

one day?

So I'm lame. I'm totally over this being "fine" Business. It's been less than two days and all I want in all the world is for Brett to call me. I don't even know where in the world he IS!! How do people do this?! I have a headache and I really really don't want to pack ( which is what I told myself to do today ). I need help

The rainbow

I came across this hymn today in my time with the Lord, and this particular verse describes Brett's leaving yesterday so well...
O joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee,
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not in vain,
That morn shall tearless be....
- George Matheson

When the day is done

Well, we did it. Brett left, and I let him go. In fact, here it is 7pm and I have yet to cry. I just feel a giant hole in my chest, or maybe pressure on my heart....either way this definitely hurts! But, that's really no surprise is it? What is worth mentioning is that I woke up with the praise song "I am Free" ( which if you haven't heard the live recording of this... You need to- I get goosebumps every time! Anyway, that's how I started the day,oddly enough, and praise definitely was the theme from then on... I can only be grateful for how smoothly the past week has gone- and even today and yesterday which were most definitely the hardest, I can still say they were filled with beautiful memories with Brett...and on the drive home after saying goodbye...all I could do was praise God for His provisions.
I am heartbroken, but at the same time I am assured that the Lord who made me free from sin also holds the hearts of my marriage.Brett's path is already paved...and so is mine. Today we took the first steps onto a new, granted very bumpy, road!

lack of balance

Well, good morning folks!

This morning I woke up to the knowledge that this would be Brett's last day with me. ( or so they say) before he leaves for a year of duty in Afghanistan.

Let's just say that my earlier "good" morning was a bit of a stretch. ;-)

However, since Brett is at work today doing all his last minute preparations (or whatever they do there). I took this opportunity to send a card to my cousin Emily and her family...she is still in critical condition and my heart cries out for her constantly. Anyway, I was looking through Amy Carmichael's Mountain Breezes, to find some encouraging words to send to them and ended up being buoyed myself.
Words of Truth never fail to bring us back to the REAL balance of life!
You cannot afford to miss a day with your King.

I also found facebook annoying today...everyone all riled up over politics. Stop whining and go read Psalms 27.

don't forget!!

Don't forget my blog!!!!
I've always been afraid that if I stopped blogging for too long that everyone would stop reading it, and that's pretty much on par with having people not listen to your awesome stories while at a party. or something else equally bad.

Anyway, lately I've not wanted to take the time to blog because I have this intense feeling of needing to BE in every single moment. a.k.a. I wanted to make sure I spent as much time with Brett as possible. Thus the no blog posts.

But currently Brett is uploading songs to his ipod ( which takes years if you have a lot of music-which we do.) so I'm taking this time to update you on our lives in the past few days....

Things we've done to make us happy before Brett leaves for the Middle East:

1. We've gained weight. I'm not exactly sure how much, but I'm doubting the giant and terrible-for-you meals we've been eating haven't been without consequence. But, we've gained weight at places like: Chipotle, Cracker Barrel, Cheesecake Factory, Chili's....WHOA. I had no idea how they all started with "C" but that is AWESOME!

2. We've watched happy movies and TV shows...mostly "Pushing Daisies: Season One" ( which totally reminds me of the movie Big Fish, in that it looks just like a fairy tale should..)oh, and we've watched lots of kid movies such as Cars and Toy Story 2 and Kung Fu Panda ( which we saw in a hotel room, and we were extra excited about since it doesnt come out on DVD till after Brett leaves and he was sad...)

3. We've read books. And bought books. Two of our favorite things, I don't think Brett and I will ever stop enjoying these two activities.

4. We played hangman. ( man, iphones are great...)

5. We went to a lake/dam. We took dam pictures and had a fun filled dam day.

6. We took care of important, last minute tasks that needed to be done before Brett leaves, and I'm proud to say that we've, so far, been able to leave the "stressed out" feeling at the door...this has been a major answer to prayer for me!!!

7. We went for a random drive and looked at people's houses...and wondered what they did.

8. We talked about the future. And then laughed.

9. Brett bet me that a table of girls at a restaurant would know the name of the car from Knight Rider. He lost.

10. I bet Brett that any random person that we called on the phone would know who Emily Post was. I lost.

11. We've talked our dreams and about God. They kinda go hand in hand.

12. We've talked about books we've read, and books we'd like to write.

13. We've slept in.

14. We've stayed up late.

15. We've been thankful for every second.