The half-way point

Well, it is now half-way through the deployment, based on 210 days. Of course that could change a bit, but not by much. It's hard to believe he's been gone for 3 1/2 months already!

Things were going by pretty fast when the kids were here, but they've been gone for 3 weeks now. It's been awfully quiet and boring around here so I got myself a puppy :-) The kids and I went to visit her before they left (needed to make sure she'd be good with the kids) and we liked her, so I picked her up the Friday after the kids left. Her name is Penny, she's about 6 months old, was already house broken, came with food, bed & a kennel, and - she was free! (Pictures down below!) I found her on Lejeune Yard Sales, which I have become a little almost addicted to. Luckily for my bank account, I just mostly look!

Also, today, after some talking and debating with Brian (which, as he's deployed, has taken longer than I anticipated), we have finally come to a decision to home school the children this year. This is such an answer to prayer for me, as it's something I have thought about since I got out of the Marine Corps, but have felt especially drawn to do within the past year. We will be using the ACE cirriculum - I thought it best to break Brian in gently :-)

So far this summer, since the kids have been gone, I have found myself not doing as much as I had planned on. It's a little hard to get myself motivated with no one around to see. (I usually do better under pressure, anyways). Over the next couple of weeks I plan on really delving into the garage. The goal is to have a massive garage sale to get rid of stuff so I can actually use the garage to park the truck in. What a concept! :-)


Also, my sister will be here from July 23-30, and that will be fun. It's been a couple of years since I've seen her, and she gets to visit a new place, too. We are both looking forward to the visit!



Just a few pics to share ....



Here are the kids at Books-A-Million, where we had gone for Vincent's birthday(June 21). We also later that day went to a Toys R Us grand opening, and walmart, where the boys got to spend their birthday money. This is the last day they were all together. Left to right, oldest to youngest, Karah - 9, Brian Lee - 8, and Vincent - 7. They grow up way too quick!






Here are Karah & Vincent having some fun when we were at the airport in Raleigh. We had gotten there in plenty of time, and then a plane blew a tire when it was landing, causing the airport to shut down for a bit. Originally we were to have an almost 2 hr layover in San Antonio, but because of the delays our would be plane took off just minutes after we landed. Thankfully, we were able to make the next flight a couple of hours later.

Karah & Vincent playing "I spy" at the airport

Here's Penny! She's a shepherd/lab mix and very loveable!

I just love this picture of her!