Thursday, May 27, 2010

Summer Fun

It's here...summer is upon us. Though not all would agree with that. Some would say that summer does not officially begin until June 21st, but I think many students would beg to differ. To them summer begins as soon as school lets out.

So what do you have planned for this summer? Vacation? Traveling to visit relatives? Kicking back at the pool catching some rays? Moving to Korea? Summer means different things to different people. BUT if you are looking for something to do this summer, check out the links I have posted. I will add more as I find them.

Free or $1.00 Movies

http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx

http://www.cinemark.com/summermovieclubhouse/

http://www.carmike.com/promotions.aspx?id=80

http://www.amcentertainment.com/smc/



Kids Bowl Free

http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/



Bank of America - Museums on Us

http://museums.bankofamerica.com/



Blue Star Museums - For Active Duty Military and their immediate family

http://www.arts.gov/national/bluestarmuseums/index.php

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Move Update

As I looked at the calendar, I realized that two months ago we arrived in Pennsylvania. The first part of our visit was to spend time with family before our big move overseas, but lately we have been occupying ourselves, waiting for our approval to join my husband in Korea. He left on May 1st and he has been busy. Last week he found an apartment and set up a time to sign the lease. The landlord needed an extra week to make sure everything is ready so this is the BIG week. My husband should be meeting on Tuesday to sign the lease, get the keys and move in. Once he has a lease in his hands, he can submit for the family orders to be cut, which will allow us to get our plane tickets and head to Korea. I am praying that our family will be back together within the next two weeks.

I have finished homeschooling the girls and we are trying to do fun things together before we leave the states for the next two years. This past week we went to Gettysburg PA , where we went to the Visitor's Center and toured some of the battlefields. I think the girls had more fun climbing the rocks at Devil's Den then they did at the Visitor's Center.

While I am excited to head to Korea, I am a bit scared at the same time. Living in a different country...adjusting to a new culture...and learning a new language seems overwhelming to me. BUT I know that God is faithful. He has already provided a new friend, who has been helping us over the last few months with information, encouragment and direction. I can't wait to meet her in person and thank her for all of her help :) Sometimes I need to encourage myself with God's Word to get through the things that life throws our way.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Life...it's a precious thing

Today my sister had her 5th child. A little boy named "Lucky". Actually that's not his name...when my 7 year old niece found out her mom was going to have a baby, she became very excited. She thought her mom and dad should name the baby "Lucky" Well of course they weren't going to do that but they still haven't come up with a name yet, so we have all been referring to him as "Lucky" Hopefully they will have a name before they leave the hospital next week.

"Lucky" was born this morning by c-section at 10:01AM. He is beautiful!! He weighs in at 7 lbs 8 oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. The girls and I went by to visit this afternoon and we got to hold him. He is precious! Makes me miss being pregnant, especially after the miscarriage I had two months ago.

In the midst of the wonderful news of new life, my friend called me to tell me that she was going to miscarry. I knew what she was going through! She had gone in for an ultrasound and the pregnancy showed that she was only 5 weeks when in reality, she was further along than that. My heart went out to her and I have been praying for her and her family. I know how hard my children took my miscarriage and I know her children will probably struggle with it too!

Yet in the midst of everything going on today, I will choose to serve Him. I choose to walk by faith and not by sight. I choose to trust the Lord in the good times and the bad. I may not understand why things happen but I do know that God is good and He loves us. He will never leave us and I need to stand on His Word (the Bible) and the promises He has for me.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the women out there who have invested their lives into the lives of a child, whether by birth, adoption, fostering or as a spiritual mother. May God continue to bless you and may your children rise up to called you blessed.

I am asking for prayer for friends of mine from college. They pastor a church in Virignia. On Friday, Kristal gave birth to a baby boy. His name is Levi and he weighs 2 lbs 3 oz. and is 10 inches long. He was not due for another 12 plus weeks, around August 12th. Levi and his family desperately needs your prayers at this time. His red blood cell count is dropping and will need a tranfusion. They will also be checking for bleeding in his brain. Please keep Joel and Kristal and their newborn son Levi in your prayers. We serve a God of miracles!

Friday, May 7, 2010

What's Cookin'!

Wives of Faith is hosting a Mil Spouses Rock! Blog Carnival and today's topic is What's Cookin'

I would love to share a recipe from my collection of favorites but unfortunately we are in the middle of an overseas PCS to Korea and all of our belongings are in storage waiting to be sent overseas. So I am going to raid my mom's recipe box and share a recipe that my mom used to make for dessert.

Cream Puffs

Dough:
1 c. water
1 stick of oleo
bring to a boil and add 1 cup flour and 4 eggs.
Drop onto a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool.

Cream:
8 Tbs. cornstarch
1/3 to 1/2 c. sugar
1 quart of milk
4 eggs
2 tsp of vanilla
1 stick of butter

Mix cornstarch and sugar together. Add the remaining ingredients and cook slowly until thick. Cool. Cut/break open the puffs and add cream to the inside. Eat them and enjoy!

Head over to Wives of Faith.org and see what recipes the other ladies are sharing.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Next Step

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. My husband finished his outprocessing in Texas and flew into BWI Airport. The next day we hopped on a bus bound for New York City. Our plan was to spend 5 days with his mom and to visit his sister and her family and some old friends. We had a great time even though Angel's mom got sick and ended up in the Emergency Room one night and at the clinic another. The week went by fast and before you knew it, we were back on the bus and headed to Maryland. The next stop was my parents' house, where the girls and I had already been staying for the past 4 weeks.

My mom graciously offered to keep the girls so Angel and I could get away by ourselves. We decided to head east to Lancaster County. We had a great time together, where we were able to talk without interruption ;) We went to see Joseph at Sight and Sound Theatre, which by the way was fabulous. If you ever visit Lancaster PA, you need to save some extra money (the show costs about the same price as a show in NYC) and time (the show began at 4:15PM and we left the theatre around 7PM) and check it out. They always put on an outstanding performance.

By the time we arrived back at my parents', the list of things to be done were stacking up and time was running short. It was Wednesday afternoon and Angel was due to leave on Saturday. We crammed in time with family, time with friends and time to take care of issues that arose (such as going to Carlisle Army Barracks to get a Power of Attorney, a priceless piece of paper which allows me to take care of things in Angel's absence).

Well the day finally came....the day for Angel to leave, without us. After his mid tour break from Iraq last year, we learned that taking the girls to the airport to see their dad off was not a wise decision. We had fussy, crying kids that we had to drag out of the airport and it was not an easy task. This time Angel said his goodbyes to the girls at my sister's house and they stayed to play with thier cousins while I took him to the airport.

His flight was going to be crazy. Baltimore to Chicago, with a short layover there, then on to Seattle, where he would sit and wait until 4AM, when they loaded the charter flight to Korea. They left Seattle by 5AM(local time) on Sunday morning and headed to Japan, where they had another short layover before moving on to South Korea. The flight alone from the US to Korea is over 12 hours. The flight was suppose to arrive in Korea on Monday afternoon. I guess everything went as planned because early this morning (EST) my husband called from Yongsan, South Korea to let me know he made it safely. It was 7PM his time and he hadn't had a full nights sleep yet.

My prayer for him is that his body adjusts to the time change quickly and his inprocessing goes smoothly. By the end of the week he should be at his "Camp" and can hopefully start looking for a house for our family. Once he gets things all set up, the girls and I will be able to join him in Korea. I must say, I am not looking forward to doing all the flying with the girls by myself, but I know that people are praying and that God's grace is sufficient.

So as we are taking this next step in our lives, I am thankful for the support of friends and family. I am blessed to have fellow beleivers praying for us and I am glad that I serve a living God, who loves me and cares about me. My faith is what gets me through the tough times. Without Christ, I don't know where I would be today. So if you are embarking upon a journey of unknowns or facing hard things that this life has thrown at you, don't forget there this is a God who loves you. The Bible says that He will never leave you nor forsake you, so trust Him today. Trust Him tomorrow. Trust Him always!