Grace...

I had to run up to the grocery store tonight to pick up some blueberries and french fries. The french fries were for supper tonight, the blueberries for making muffins with Emily in the morning. Anyway, Emily went with me and Grace stayed home with daddy. Later in the evening Randy told me about a conversation he had with Grace that went something like this...

"Daddy, I can fight like a boy," said Grace with her arms up by her shoulders in a boxing stance."

"You can?" asked daddy while Grace tried taking a few jabs at daddy. He put his hand on her head, keeping her an arm's distance away and let her swing until her little heart's content.

"Yeah daddy, see?"

"Well bug (a shortened version of our nickname for her, Bugaboo), daddy doesn't want you fighting at all. Mommy and daddy don't want you hitting anyone."

"But daddy, if someone gets up in my face," she replied with the flat side of her hand right in front of her face, "I'm gonna knock the shit out of him!"

"Bug," said daddy, trying as hard as possible to keep a straight face and not burst out laughing in front of her, "what did you say?"

"If someone gets in my face, I'm gonna knock the shit out of him!"

Of course Randy addressed the inappropriate language, still trying to keep from laughing! The funny thing was, less than an hour later after Emily and I came home, Emily got in her face and Grace calmly grabbed the plastic caddy she was playing with and hit Em in the chin with it.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my 7-year anniversary! To say I've reached a milestone would be an understatement. I married the love of my life on Tuesday, January 29, 2002, at the courthouse in Shalimar, Florida. Randy was in the middle of 'Chiefs Week' on Hurlburt Field, a mandatory requirement after making Chief Master Sergeant. We wanted to get married before he deployed to Afghanistan and since I was leaving the following weekend for a pain management course in San Antonio, Texas, that was the only time we could do it. We didn't tell anyone except Keri MacDonald and Mike Mahowald, who went with us. Randy left during the middle of a golf tournament, met us at the courthouse, and returned two holes later, never telling anyone why he'd left. The next day I drove to Tennessee to pick up his mom for the Chief's Induction ceremony at the end of the week, we never told her. We did tell my mom though and she sent a gorgeous arrangement of fresh-cut flowers. It wasn't until after I returned from Texas (Randy had already deployed) that everyone we worked with started figuring things out - after all, my name had changed!

It's been 7 wonderful years, of which I have so much to be thankful for. Baby, you've given me two wonderful, beautiful daughters. You are my soulmate, my sounding board, my voice of reason, the go-to for everything! I rarely do anything without your input. You've taught me how to see more than one side to every situation and we make a pretty good team when it comes to figuring things out. You've been there for me when my illness has made me an extremely difficult person to be with, you've called me on the carpet when I've been wrong, you see the person I try to be when many others only see the person I am perceived to be. I cannot imagine my life without you. You are my everything.

So Happy Anniversary baby! Here's to many, many more!

I love you!

We're getting settled in...

I know it's been a while since I've updated here...but I think I've had an excuse!! ;) We're getting settled in, although it's still slow going. Emily is adjusting well to her school and was even selected for Student of the Week last week! Most mornings we don't make it to the bus in time so I end up taking her and then Grace and I are there every afternoon when she gets off the bus. Then we walk back home, have our afternoon snack and do homework. Yep, that's right, Emily has homework almost EVERY day! Sometimes it's elaborate, sometimes it's as easy as counting and writing by 5s from 0 to 20. I'd been told when I got here that Georgia schools are more advanced than Florida's but I think whoever told me that was mistaken. Emily is already reading! She struggles with math, like her dad, but seems to have a very creative streak in her (also like her dad)!

Grace is doing ok, although her strong-willed personality is certainly coming out! I thought Emily was bad but Grace is proving to be even more so!!! She's got a mouth on her, something neither her daddy nor I are happy about and are trying everything we can to change. She's very stubborn and VERY much routine-oriented. She doesn't like anything out of place, except when it comes to her room which for the life of me, I cannot get her to keep clean! Emily, on the other hand, has learned quickly that with a clean room she gets to keep her TV...quite the incentive for an almost-6-year-old!

Randy is doing well with work. He's been busy on proposals, trying to get new business for the company. He had to go back to Warner Robins the week after we moved down here and a couple weeks ago had to go to Valdosta, GA. Next week he'll be in Charleston, SC for several days.

We had our first houseguest last week. My great friend Tammy came down from Fort Walton Beach for several days and we had a wonderful visit! She definitely lives too far away. Mom didn't make it for New Year's due to blowing out two tires on her car in Indianapolis and being stuck there for a few days waiting on it to be fixed. Leann ended up having to pick her up and take her back home with Stephanie taking her back the following week to pick it up. This spring mom and pops are planning on flying down, Stephanie is planning on bringing the boys (and Tom too if he can get off work!), and Leann is coming in April.

Katie and Liliana will be here on the 11th of February! Efren is trying to get the time off work so he can come too. I MISS, MISS, MISS that little girl! Of course I miss them all but I miss hearing Lily say 'love you nana!' While they are here Randy and I are going to the Daytona 500. It's our anniversary and Valentine's gift to each other. It's actually kind of funny since we've never really done gifts for either occasion for each other! Our anniversary is Thursday, the 29th. I can't believe it's been 7 years, the time does fly.

I'm busy with the house, of course. I'm getting boxes unpacked, one by one, and slowly I'm starting to see the floors. I've actually hung pictures on the two big walls in the living room, created a 'family' wall in the family room, as well as decorated both girls' rooms. My incentive to get done is that Randy has said when I'm finished, we can get a dog! I want one really bad, it's been over 5 years since we had to find Andrew a new and just under 5 since we had to put Mack down. I miss having a furry little animal in our house. We're looking at getting a yellow lab so it won't be a little dog, but I'm excited!!! I've been checking out rescues around here with the help of my older sister Leann and her rescue contacts through her own rescue.

Well, I'd better close and get back to unpacking some more. I just started a pot of fresh green beans with bacon on the stove and am going to fry chicken for supper. At least that's a meal I know the girls will eat! More later on my latest venture...helping plan my 20th high school reunion!!!