Oh my!

So, after resetting my password - yes - it's almost been a year - I am back!! I didn't realize how quickly time had flown! So much has happened - birthdays, anniversaries, joys, quotes, funnies and celebrations....I really need to do better at keeping up :)

You just never know...

We had a great family weekend! I love it when that happens! You know, those outings where everyone is happy, no one is fighting, no one pees on you, and laughter is all around!! We had two outings like that!!

Let me go back...it all started Friday: ITT was giving out free tickets to a Texas State University game, so we figured what the hey, and picked some up. Saturday night rolls around and we head out. First off, the weather - it was BEAUTIFUL!! We have been in a wretched heat spell of 100+ degree temps and it was actually breezy and coolish - SO NICE!! Our seats were in the second section, and after we persuaded A (I mean me carrying him up the stairs because he was a little freaked out at the height, noise and wind) to get upstairs, we had a blast!! We yelled with the cheerleaders; ate popcorn, hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, cotton candy, snow cones and m&ms; enjoyed the band's halftime show; even had crickets "rain" down on us - the kids couldn't stop squealing and screaming "it's raining crickets - it's raining crickets!!" Then we ended the night with fireworks - too fun! Best quote of the night from A: He looks at us and says "I think I'm really starting to like football - Daddy! Let's wake up early tomorrow and watch football ALL DAY!!" Big grin follows on J's face :)

Labor Day was finally our day to hit the Schlitterbahn! Our realtor gave us free passes three months ago, but we just haven't had the time to go. It is AMAZING!! I highly recommend it to everyone! The park is Bavarian style, covered with trees - the water is fresh from the Comal River (FREEZING!! - which as J pointed out, how in the world can that water be SO cold from a river that flows through smokin' hot San Antonio....interesting!). There are at least 4 kid areas around the grown up areas, so we took turns riding and watching kids. A and Lil L must have gone down the slides 500 times! They played from 10-6pm non-stop!! I got to spend some time with my girl, N, and she kept up on all the scary tube slides!! I quickly realized a string bikini was NOT practical as everytime I went on a ride I was checking to see if things were still in place OR pulling things out of places they shouldn't be!!

All in all, it was a great weekend....God has blessed us with such a great family - thank you Lord for your joy!!

Too long!

So, it's been four months since my last post - yikes!! Life has been wonderfully insane...we passed the summer away at Six Flags, the pool, museums, playing - anything to keep the kids busy and cool in the 100+ degree heat that still isn't gone yet! TOO HOT in TEXAS!! I was telling someone last night that every day was cloudy in Germany and we would beg for the sun...now every day in TX is sunny and we beg for the clouds - too funny!

I started two jobs - one as accompanist for the Traditional service and as accompanist for the Protestant Praise and Worship service. It's great to be working for the Chapel again and God is definitely stretching me as a musician - I'm playing the organ now!! AHHHH!! But every Sunday gets a little easier and the job is perfect for our family.

John is doing great - loving his job and pins on Major this Monday!! Major Decker - thank you Jesus!! What an amazing military career he's had and God's blessing has just been so overwhelming!!

Nicole started 4th grade - loves it! Her teacher is brand new and VERY young - so good to see all her creativity isn't squashed! Kids have it so easy in school these days - never thought I'd say that :) Anson started 1st grade and he says "I think my teacher is the nicest lady I've ever met!" Lil L starts preschool Monday - three days a week in the mornings. She is excited and always leaves the house with her backpack asking if it's a school day for her! Too cute! They are good kids and I"m so proud of them!

Nicole will be baptised Sat in a pool - I love our church :)

Well, that's all for now...I need to do this more often :)

Wow - I haven't blogged in forever!!

I am now sitting in my living room - on my lovely Italian leather couches, on the internet and relaxing from a long day of unpacking boxes...the beauty of that statement is that I'm in OUR house with our stuff - even if it is all in boxes!! We have had a busy month! We spent 5 weeks in the Randolph AFB TLF....VERY thankful not to have to move, but VERY ready to leave our one bedroom arrangement. The kids started school and are loving it! I was very worried about switching them mid-semester, but they have adjusted just fine. Kids are so resilient!

We left for AL and were able to take part in a commissioning ceremony for some dear family friends. I sang the National Anthem and John was part of the Official party and did the Oath of Office - it was so awesome to be a part of such a monumental experience for them! AND having been through the OTS program 9 years ago, it was great to just sit back, relax and enjoy all moving pieces that make up OTS - an awesome experience yet extremely difficult 13 weeks! We hit Destin, FL the end of the week and loved the sunny beach !! We all ended up MAJORLY sunburned and are still peeling - ewwww :)

We closed on the house Monday, had painting done by Tues, then household goods came on Thurs - busy week! Storage from 3 years ago was delivered Fri and we are finally unpacking...it's alot of work moving and always packing/repacking but we love it - we love San Antonio so far and are just enjoying all the sun and new opportunities!

Where's that dern sanity, y'all??

This should be the new name of our family blog! We made it to San Antonio, TX!!! YAY!! We drove up to Frankfurt the day before leaving to stay close and not have to get up at 3am the day of flight. True to my husband, the Sheraton Hotel was FABULOUS and we took full advantage of our Executive level lounge ;) We all had a good nights' rest, packed up, then walked over to the terminal. We were on the plane and leaving by 1030, saying goodbye to Europe - this time a one way ticket. The kids did AWESOME!! Our flight lasted 11 hours to Dallas, so we each had our own screen/remote. That helped!! I actually watched 4 movies, we all ate, napped, and the time flew by. We had a long wait for luggage/customs in Dallas, just making it to our connecting flight when they began to board. 45 mins later we landed in San Antonio!! It was so amazing to be back "home." Our dear friends from IL met us (they live here now) and we had a great time of reconnecting! Almost 24 hours later, we were finally in our TLF and settled - WHEW!! We couldn't have asked for a better trip :)

Almost two weeks later, we have now bought a house! We looked at renting, but buying new was amazingly cheaper and better economically! We found one that we loved, was 30 days from completion, had complete peace, and just waited for God's will to be done....and was it ever!! We have a house payment below our montly cap, tax benefits, a brand new house full of bells and whistles (including a sprinkler system and 25 cubicft stainless steel fridge my husband played hard ball to get), a great school bordering the neighborhood, AND loan approval - it's just more than we could have hoped for!! Thank you GOD! We should be able to move in the first week of April...all this was confirmed on my 33rd birthday - what a great day!!

The other great news is that J is now a Major Select and has been given a school slot. This means he should pin on sometime in the Fall and in two years he will go to a type of Command School, place TBD - I am SO proud of him!! It was a great birthday! We went out for lunch and dinner - commercial overload for us, but we love all the shopping, eating and just conveniences you take for granted until you live overseas.

Lil L turned 3 on Saturday! Wow!! She is almost fully potty trained - that helped SOOOOOOOOO much with the trip!! She is sassier than ever and holds her own with her brother - and man do they go at it!! I didn't think it was possible for any person to be louder than A, but she is close :) We took her to Peter Piper's Pizza - they had fun playing games...then we let her take a loooooong nap before having cake - birthday girl was a little grumpy :)

I'll try to do more updates now that we are halfway settled - it's just so great to be "home!"

Moving...

We have now moved nine times - that's counting all the moves in-between moves! I don't think it ever gets easier! And now that there is nothing left in our house but mattresses, I can't wait to see my stuff once it gets off the boat...which will probably be 2 months. Although, this is the most prepared we've been - we've gotten rid of so much junk - no more baby stuff to lug around! Moving every couple of years affords you that luxury...I told J "some people live all their lives in one place, one house even, and don't get the joys of moving around and cleaning out the house every two years!" We love it, though. We enjoy the adventure of a new assignment....and as the packers are boxing and crating, I reminisce of our time in Germany and our house and just think how good God has been to us, how much fun we've had traveling the world, how much fun we've had as a family, and how ready we are to be back in the states. It's snowed the last two days and is frigid cold - HELLO TEXAS SUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lost teeth, the tooth fairy, cats and lists

The day has finally arrived...A lost his first tooth Sunday morning! It has been loose about 2 weeks now, but my beautiful big tenderhearted boy who loves swords and lightsabers and ricochet's around the house as a ninja, was too terrified to touch it or let us wiggle it out! So, having lost our teeth ourselves and watched his older sister loose hers, we knew it was only a matter of time and left it alone :) He proudly walks in our bedroom and says "LOOK!!!" Then tosses me the tooth and leaves to play. One down, lots more to go! So, at bedtime he is asking for the tooth and a ziplock baggie. From watching N, he knows that we put the tooth in the baggie under the pillow, then in the morning there is money. He asks about the tooth fairy...then proceeds to say that there is no such thing as fairies and it is Dad and Mom who come into the room and take the tooth and leave the money - smart boy! He then asks to have a quarter for his tooth. J says "how about a dollar?" A pauses, grins super big and says "that would be SO cool!!!" We are all on the same page now about the tooth fairy....Lil L will just get a deposit in her bank account by the time she starts loosing teeth.

So, N has allergies...LOTS of allergies. Even on two daily allergy meds, she retains her allergy "shiners." The Doc finally suggests allergy testing so we can pinpoint the allergens. She did so good...quiet as always, but very brave. They have a ten sample mix of the most common allergens and then they do more comprehensive testing based of those results. They mark two rows of five, then with a tiny needle containing the sample, they pricked her skin and we waited 15 minutes for her skin to have a "mosquito bite-like" reaction. The verdict? Cats....she only showed a strong allergy to cats. Which is odd because we have never had a cat....my guess was surely mold, grass, weeds, trees...it was interesting. Then I'm thinking....what IS she allergic to then?? So, no cats for us - which isn't a problem because J and I are allergic as well. Of course, we are praying the allergies go away completely and the move to TX will hopefully help!

Speaking of the move....it's here now and we will be packing out the next two weeks! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I've been compiling a mental list of all the things I will/won't miss about Europe and Germany. For example:

Number 1 thing I won't miss: the toilets....they flush by a panel on the wall and there is always very little water AND what my friend likes to refer to as the "poop shelf"