Exercise is bad for you

First thing on the agenda when Jay leaves is to lose weight and get in shape so that I will look good when he comes home. He does the same thing with usually awesome results. I do this every time with pretty good success and then he comes home and we eat out a bunch to celebrate and it all goes down hill again. So I am taking the moderation idea this time. I am cutting back on fast food BIG TIME. And I am going to start walking. Yesterday with all good intentions I put the baby down for a nap and began a leisurely stroll on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Nothing to hard right. Remember that I was out of commission for three months with leg problems. Only problem with this is that I didn't really have any good walking shoes so I used an old pair that should have been retired long ago. Last night my knee blew up like a balloon. Don't worry I am doing some better today and in a few days I hope to be ready to try again.
I bought new shoes today, but I do think exercise is just bad for you.

Bye, Bye Daddy

Jay is gone now. We had to take him to the airport and ship him off to his ship. Already you might say, that is what we said too. We thought that we were going to have 6 weeks with him, but it ran down to 3 1/2. Don't worry, we are going to be okay. Nathan was fine when I showed him that I had Doritos. They are like a drug to him. The boys were like me resolute. We have done this so much that it isn't easy, but we know it must be done. Sarah was a basket case. She is finally asleep, but it was rough getting there.
Jay will be gone until mid fall. I would love to say where he is and what he is doing but that wouldn't be safe. I can say that his ship is the USS Oak Hill (LSD 51). He will be the Officer in charge of Operations.
We had the BEST time while he was home. There is nothing like having the family all together.

Gratitude Weekly - Music

Music is on my mind this week. Today was the last day for our Primary Chorister who will be moving soon. She has really made the effort and succeeded in teaching the Primary children at church. She has worked on helping them sing better, to hear the notes better, to follow and lead music, to know the behavior that goes along with singing, she taught them to sing in other languages, and many more things that I am sure that I am forgetting. I have never experienced such a music leader for children this age. She only sees them for 20 minutes a week basically and yet has taught them so very much in this time. Her work with them will last them a lifetime. One big example to me of her influence is that Sarah used to not be willing to sing at church and now she sings at church and she sings her primary songs that Sister Johnson taught her all the time. On a side note this wonderful sister taught both Alex and Spencer piano this year and for that I will always be in her debt.
Alex was called up in Primary today as the spotlight child and one of his questions was what makes you unique. He said that he loves music. If the same question had been asked of me I would have replied with the same answer. He had his end of the year band concert this week. He plays the clarinet and he plays it very well. He hopes to add the French Horn to his list of musical interests this summer.
I personally love music and I love to sing. I love hearing my children sing and play, especially the piano. They wouldn't know how much I love hearing them play with the number of times that I make them use headphones, but I love hearing them play. I love that they sit down at the piano so much during the day just for a few minutes of playing time if that is all they have. Undoubtedly I am thankful for music in my life.

Gratitude Weekly - Local Church Leaders

Today at church the wards were rearranged. Ours was only affected minimally and our bishopric stayed the same. While we were sitting there in the gym in uncomfortable chairs and chaos all around I noticed that I had an unobstructed view of the Stake President. The stake president is someone we know well seeing that he used to be our bishop when we lived here before and his son Nathan used to babysit for us too. When he was called a few years ago to be Stake President I was very disappointed that we were moving and wouldn't be able to watch the stake grow under his leadership. As I watched him today I was overwhelmed with how glad I am that he is our local leader. He is a truly good man, he really tells it like it is and expects us listen and then go forth and make our lives better and work harder for the Lord.
The bishops from all the wards and branches spoke and bore their testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel. As they spoke I was thrilled to realize that all of their messages were unique and that I would be glad to have ANY of them as my bishop. They all said things that needed to be said. Things that were thought provoking and inspirational. I believe that anyone listening in our meeting today couldn't leave there without feeling like improving themselves and sharing that improvement with those that surround them.
Here in Virginia we are certainly being lead by some great men and I am grateful to all of them for their service on our behalf and for the Lord.

Best Possible Match

Last Thursday I found out that I am "the best possible match for a recipient in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant".
I joined the Dept. of Defense Marrow Donor Program back in August of 2006. An author that I really enjoy was having a book signing on a book about Navy SEALs. She had joined with the DOD to add people to their bone marrow registry at each of her signings. At the time one of the active duty Navy SEALs from Virginia Beach was looking for a match. I had always wanted to be on the national list for Bone Marrow Donors so I managed to register at her book signing.
Back in March I was contacted that I was a possible match for someone. The next step in the process was that I went to a lab and gave them some more blood. I was contacted on Thursday May 8th and told that I am now the best possible match and would I proceed. YES. They sent me a DVD and book to read followed by a phone interview in which the details for donation were discussed. I was asked if I would proceed. YES. Next week I head up to Georgetown University for a Physical with the doctors who will be performing the surgery. Then we wait for about a week for two doctors and the DOD coordinator to sign off saying that I am okay for donation. At current time I am scheduled to donate on June 19th.
All I know about the person that I am donating for is that she is a 41 year old female with prolymphocytic leukemia.
When I signed up for the Donor program it was an abstract thought that I might be able to help save a life. I feel kind of like I have won the lottery.
There are still some hurdles to cross, but we are on our way.

Gratitude Weekly - It's Crazy, but it is true

I hate to say what I am truly thankful for this week. It sounds crazy. I am going to have to say that I am thankful for what I gained from the separation from Jay. Everyday that he is here I am so grateful for him. I appreciate him so much more for having been apart. I can't bring myself to say that I am glad that we were apart, but I am going to say that I have learned from our trials. He walks in the door and I can't believe how happy I am to see him. The level of stress that I feel on my shoulders feels like it has been lifted with helium and is almost lifting me off my feet. Life feels easy. WOW!!

JAY'S HOME! JAY'S HOME! JAY'S HOME!

Jay dropped us off and left us(Spencer's words to his teacher) in Virgina on June 2, 2006 to head for training in South Carolina before heading to Iraq. He returned from Iraq on June 20, 2007. During our summer we traveled and summered with him in Rhode Island. Starting Labor Day we began the pattern of weekends with Dad. He worked all week in Rhode Island and flew home on weekends. It wasn't ideal, but it was a wonderful blessing every week and for the most part no one complained, we were just glad to see him.
Last night, May 2, 2008 Jay finally moved home. I flew up to Rhode Island and helped him pack up his life there and move home to live with us in our little green house. Now he gets to spend all of his at home nights in his own bed with his own family. We are so glad to have him back.

Weekly Gratitude - Good Friends

I am so thankful for my good friends. I am up in Rhode Island today and the reason I am here is because I have a wonderful friend who came up from North Carolina to take care of the children for me to come up here. She was really brave to take this on considering we had no idea if Nathan would let someone else take care of him.

Tomorrow we will say good-bye to Rhode Island and Jay and I will drive home together. But I will be grateful for that next week.