Still Alive

Apparently I have taken a hiatus from blogging.. but not for any reason in particular, I even took pictures on an outing the other day strictly for the purpose of blogging (have not yet uploaded said pictures, but what can you expect, really?)

Anyway, what has been going on in my life.... well, let's see... most importantly the weather here in the SC - GA area is amazing! I have decided I am in love with this place! Although, I think I have said that before about south Texas as well as San Diego and probably even Los Angeles... none-the-less, I am in love with Savannah and SC.

This past Saturday I was able to "intrude" on a family day with my friend Amanda and go on her family's boat out to an island and spend some time. Then we all went downtown Savannah to see the Sidewalk Chalk Art, which was really cool*

*and again I took pictures to upload, but see the note above*

Saturday night Brian came home (again) so that was exciting. We had a great time just relaxing and being together again. With the weather being amazing we were able to spend all day Sunday at the pool / lazy river. It was a fabulous day!!! That night one of the couples in the squadron had everyone over for a cookout and we spent a few hours sitting around a fire just chatting and laughing. It was really fun to have all the boys home again for the weekend and to have everyone together for a little while. We have such a great group of people in the squadron here and I am very thankful for all of them!! Brian had Monday off work and so did I so we were able to spend all day Monday together too, which we were thankful for. We went to lunch with a couple guys and then he and I went to the beach for awhile and that night our lunch group went for sushi dinner -- YUM YUM!!! =)
We are back to work for the week but are planning on heading up to Va Beach tomorrow as soon as I get off work to play with some of our friends for this whole weekend. I am so very excited!!! We will be staying with Cara and her freshly returned husband, seeing BW's best buddy Joe, and of course spending lots of time with our good friend Dave. I am soo excited... did I say that yet? Can't wait!!

PS I am pretty sure I had the SWINE FLU two weeks ago and am very happy to report I am still alive so please don't let the media scare you into staying in your homes!!!

Enjoy your Weekend!!!!

oh, and standby for all of those pictures I need to upload... as well as plenty to come from this weekend!!!

My Easter in Ohio

Even though the drive lasted for 11.5hrs, and I was exhausted, and it was raining, and it was cold and rainy in Ohio while I was there and it was 80 back home in SC/GA... it was a really nice weekend and I am very happy I was able to go home and visit. (oh, and I came home really sick...)

I got into town Friday night and dad and Tressa were waiting for me at the house with Donatos pizza... no better way to be welcomed home! Yum Yum!! Saturday I slept in and boy did I need that after working so much and the long drive. Then I went up to Lori's house for some special time with her and her adorable daughter Olivia. We colored Easter eggs, which is super fun with 2yr olds!! =)

Olivia had lots of fun and did really well coloring eggs...

until she dumped the coloring and was all done! =)

Easter Sunday we all -- me, dad, Tressa, Shawn and Cody -- went to church together and then out to brunch at Cracker Barrel. That evening Dad had been invited to a wedding reception/celebration for some Arabic friends of his.... so off we went. I had no idea what to expect from the reception/celebration but knew that it would be the clashing of two cultures when I sat down at this table...

You can't get the whole experience from this picture, but I think you get the idea...

All-in-all though, the reception was a very neat experience. Tressa and I really enjoyed the beautiful dresses all the women were wearing.

The rest of my trip was spent enjoying my time with my sweet nephew, Cody Lane!

Is he not the sweetest thing you have ever seen??!!

We had lots of fun playing games and building with legos and him chasing Layla... it was a blast and I miss that sweet boy so much. One thing I hate about my faulous life of moving and living in fantastic places is that this sweet boy is so far away. But, we definitely make up for it when I come home to visit and have loads of fun!

Monday night we all went to dinner again before I left the next morning. It was great to get to spend time together with Dad and Tressa and my brother along with, of course, Cody.

Little boys are so much fun =)

always getting beat up at least a little...

It's great to see dad happy!

cleansing his palate after dinner with a lemon... so silly!

I am very thankful for my family and even more-so that they are within driving distance. I love where I live and what I do, and am very happy with my life, but I do miss spending time with my loved ones and it was great to be there over Easter.

Welcome Home!!

I am very excited this weekend for my dear friends -- especially Cara and her dear P and Michelle and Doug and Tiffany and her husband -- who are welcoming home their hubby's and loved ones in Virginia Beach. These HERO'S have been deployed and are now coming home to their anxiously waiting loved ones and I am soo happy for them, not to mention proud of them and thankful for them!
This weekend also makes me think of the upcoming day when it will be me welcoming home BW from his time being deployed. The reality of the deployment is increasing daily and I am already making lots of plans for those months to fill my time! I am so proud of him and what he does and as I have said before, I have long since decided that he (we) is worth the wait...

WELCOME HOME HERO'S!

THANK YOU.

Heading Home

Tonight, I am going to bed and cannot tell you the last time I was sooo excited to go to bed!!! Tomorrow Layla and I will be driving to Ohio for the weekend... doesn't a 10hr car drive sound like fun??? with crazy Layla??? Of course it does... or maybe I am just delusional from being so tired.
I am, however, looking forward to the weekend visit with the family.

Hope you have a wonderful Easter celebrating HIS life!!

It's been so long...

Apparently my life as been void of anything worth sharing... I just realized it has been since shortly after St Patrick's Day that I posted anything. What in the world have I been doing with myself??? I just don't know...

BW was home for a SHORT time, but it was great to have him back. We really didn't do much as we were both working all week while he was here. We spent some time together on the weekend and now he is gone again for awhile.

Work has been busy... which must be all that I have been doing!! Looking at my calendar I have realized that I am working 7 out of the past 8 nights... wow, that does not sound like a very good idea at all... but, I do know I am enjoying those paychecks =)

I have been able to spend some time relaxing in the sun... one lovely afternoon was spent in a hammock in the backyard and another Saturday afternoon was spent on the beach. Love living where the sun shines and it is warm more often than cold! And have spent some fun time with new friends down here.

I have also recently been reminded of my love for... eBay. (kinda makes those extra shifts pretty important!) But, I have bought some fabulous things recently, to reward myself for working so hard of course! And am very happy about my purchases and more importantly am super excited to say that my purchases were made for 50% of their retail prices!!!

This weekend I will be heading up to Ohio to see the family for Easter weekend. I am looking forward to visiting and being with them.. just not looking forward to the drive or that nasty Ohio weather!

So, it seems I have been busy... I am sure your lives are much more fulfilled now, knowing what I have been up to! =) Hope you have a wonderful weekend celebrating Easter!

Other Blogs

Since starting to blog I have found interest in reading other blogs. I will read my friends' blogs and then randomly click on links on their blogs to other blogs and so on and so on. I have read some amazing stories of strength and courage and faith from these bloggers. I obviously gravitate to the blogs in which people are facing the hardships of having babies in the NICU and recently in the PICU. It has brought a whole new perspective for me for not only what I do and how I care for these babies, but how I care for their parents as well. It is amazing for me to learn about the parent's views and thoughts while their baby's are going through these difficult times.
I learned a whole new perspective myself when I went through my mom's illness and can vividly remember the emotions that changed hourly, if not more often sometimes! And will never forget the day I wanted to punch a nurse, had to walk downstairs and call BW, cry and stare at the fish tank for over an hour before I was ready to be back on the floor where mom was. It's not that I didn't realize these parents face some of the same feelings I did, its just that sometimes I become so focused on caring for the infant that I tend to neglect the care and support that I should give the parents as well.
Anyway, the main point of this blog was to request your prayers for a special little guy and especially his momma who are going through some really difficult times. Another benefit of randomly reading these blogs, being able to lift those in need in prayer as I know so many did for my family while we were going through our hard times. Something I can never be thankful enough for.
So, pray for Stellan and his momma and their entire family today. God, may Your peace pour over them all today. Wrap them in Your loving arms and hold them tight.

St Patty's Day and a Spring Weekend

This being my first year in Savannah for St Patrick's Day I was very excited. After going to see the green fountain...

I was very excited for the fun the city had to offer. Unfortunately St Patrick's Day fell in the middle of the week, which meant I worked Monday night... So Tuesday morning I left worked, went home and put on my green and headed downtown for the parade and beginning of the festivities!! Yes, you can now call me Rock star =)

I did not understand how excited this city really does get for the parade, however driving along the parade route Tuesday morning at 8am and seeing the bleachers set up, along with the tents and the PEOPLE who were out waiting for the parade I started to become impressed and even more excited. (side-note... the parade started at 10:15am!) Met up with Amanda and we had breakfast and headed down to the site our (her) friends had set up.

It was great, the weather was gorgeous and the parade was lots of fun. Who knew people made banners and walked in a parade just because their family had Irish background, hilarious! The parade lasted almost 4hrs I think!!

Wow, my ADD kicked in for sure but I still had a great time and am glad to say "I have been to the parade!" We spent the rest of the day walking around City Market and enjoying the live music and chaos with the other million people who were apparently not working either. It was a great day and lots of fun! Can't wait to do it again next year... maybe with a little more sleep the night before, but I still made it into the night!

Amanda, me and Candice

Worked Wednesday and Thursday (and let me just say I enjoyed my week of only working 3 nights since I have picked up an OT shift every week the past 4!) and then BW came home (again) on Friday so we have spent the weekend together enjoying the beautiful weather. Saturday we went to Hilton Head Island for the wing fest which was loads of fun... although, any festival celebrating food is something I am guaranteed to enjoy =) Sunday BW and I took the bikes and headed back out to the Island to spend some more time enjoying the weather. We went on a nice bike ride around Jarvis Creek Park.

The park was beautiful; we saw birds (that aunt Lil would be able to identify, I just know them as "birds"), an alligator, and some turtles all out enjoying the day as well.

We then headed over to the Tiki Hut on the beach and spent some time

...just relaxing together.

Then we came back home and took Layla on a bike ride...

girl needs to burn some energy!

And BW went fishing =)

**might I just say it is a good thing we were not relying on his skills for dinner!**

What a wonderful week and weekend! I just love being down here and am so happy and thankful for the way everything worked out for me to have this job and be living here.

Hope you have a great week!