One More Day...

Well it's Thursday night... late, and I only have one more day with my hubby. :-( He leaves early Saturday morning and we probably will just stay up all Friday night since Sam hasn't even packed yet. Although he really doesn't have to pack much, he can't take any "extras" at this time so I'll have to bring the rest of it when I see him at Christmas. Speaking of that, I bought round trip tickets to Huntsville for only $405! It came out to $480 with taxes, but still a great deal considering I'm flying through the holiday seasons! I'm glad because it is one less thing to worry about. I can honestly say that through all of this mess, God has been showing himself good in our lives. I was really struggling with the whole situation, but Sunday was a turning point for me. Our Pastor preached two messages that I know were meant for me. If you are going through hard times, I highly recommend listening to these two messages; "Earthquakes in our life" and "Are You In A Spiritual Drought?"
All that to say, Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls, and support, and I look forward to sharing how God uses these circumstances in both of our lives. Love you all!

An EARLY Christmas Gift

I have such a sweet husband! Sam went to the Build-a-Bear workshop and made me a teddy bear to have while he is away. He picked out the bear and his uniform, made his own special voice recording, and named him Sammy! I am so blessed to have a man who is trying to make this deployment as easy for me as possible, and who understands my impractical sensitive side. :-) What makes this even more special is Sam took time out of his busy schedule and made the time to do this for me. I better stop before I get all emotional. :-) So this is Sammy, my little Iraqi bear!

Sammy, wearing Sam's dogtags

Doesn't he kinda look like Sam?

Shhh! Don't tell Sam!

Just a quick Update

Well, we have been leading a very hectic life these past couple of days. We have been running around trying to get all these last minute things done. Sam leaves in 5 days, he actually leaves early, early Saturday morning. I had a rough day yesterday, because it was his last Sunday at Church and a lot of people were saying good-bye to him...ANYWAY I will be fine. Ok, we are off to another appointment, so bye for now.

Awesome Video

A friend of mine, who's husband is in Iraq, sent me this awesome video. I actually made it through the whole thing without crying! It's a miracle! :-) It's a little lengthy, so make sure you have the time to watch it all.

EARTHQUAKE!

So Sam and I were awoken at 7:08 on Sunday morning, not by the sound of our alarm clock but by our bed shaking violently. We both just looked at each other and were like, "Is this an earthquake?" Well, it stopped shaking and we went back to bed! Hey, I'm not very bright in the mornings! Well, then we experienced another one, and this time Sam got up and went outside to investigate, and when he returned inside the power went out. So we just kinda sat there and I got up and started making some calls. I was supposed to sing that morning, so I wanted to know if we were still having Church. Ok how ironic is this... the song that I picked out 2 weeks ago was Till the Storm Passes Over. I kid you not! Anyway, we found out that we were still going to have Church, despite the lack of power, so I started to "get ready". Do you know how hard it is to tame curly, poofy hair with no electrical products! So I opted to a headband, and threw the rest of it up. I figured, Hey the power's out, no one will really see me. :-) By this time it was raining tons, and we make it to Church fine even with no working traffic lights. So, we had church, both morning and evening services, by flashlight and candle light. Sounds fun huh... well it would have been if it wasn't so incredibly HOT and MUGGY! I don't think anyone read the bulletin; they were just used as fans! Now I know some of you have to deal with snow already, well we had the opposite. Extreme heat, and no AC! Anyway we survived, nothing of ours was damaged, and we finally got power, and AC (PTL!), at 3AM! Needless to say I did not sleep well, I'm a snuggler (with the blankets!) and that was totally out of the question last night. :-) I know some of you tried to call, but all the phone lines were packed and it was hard for people to get through, so I'm letting you know we're ok! I got some pictures for our local newspaper, and I thought you guys might want to see them. Enjoy!

"THE 6.6-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE RATTLED HAWAII JUST BEFORE 7:08 A.M. YESTERDAY, FOLLOWED BY A SECOND, 5.8 TEMBLOR AND DOZENS OF AFTERSHOCKS. THIS SEISMOGRAM WAS TAKEN AT THE "STEAM CRACKS" SEISMOMETER AT HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK"

~The Honolulu Star Bulletin

Some of the major damage included a 10- by 30-foot section of a highway that collapsed

And combined with all the rain, it also caused some land slides

All About Us... It's about time we had some fun!

Here are several things you've probably never wondered about me, but can find out anyway--I got this from a friends blog. If you'd like to play along, cut and paste the following list to your blog and bold the things you've done. It's a lot of fun - I've laughed and laughed thinking about all the fun I've had!! If you join in, please leave a comment letting me know I should visit your blog and view your list. Just so you know. If it's something I did it will be in Red, Sam's will be in Blue, and if it's something we both did it will be in Green... got that all? :-)

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

02. Swam with wild dolphins

03. Climbed a mountain

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive

05. Been inside the Great Pyramid

06. Held a tarantula

07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

08. Said “I love you” and meant it

09. Hugged a tree

10. Bungee jumped

11. Visited Paris

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise

14. Seen the Northern Lights

15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars

20. Changed a baby’s diaper

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Gotten drunk on champagne

24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment – who hasn’t?

28. Bet on a winning horse

29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can

32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse

34. Ridden a roller coaster

35. Hit a home run

36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day

38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment

39. Had two hard drives for your computer

40. Visited all 50 states

41. Taken care of someone who was drunk

42. Had amazing friends

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

44. Watched wild whales

45. Stolen a sign

46. Backpacked in Europe

47. Taken a road-trip

48. Gone rock climbing

49. Midnight walk on the beach

50. Gone sky diving

51. Visited Ireland

52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love

53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them

54. Visited Japan

55. Milked a cow

56. Alphabetized your CDs

57. Pretended to be a superhero

58. Sung karaoke

59. Lounged around in bed all day

60. Played Touch Football

61. Gone scuba diving

62. Kissed in the rain

63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain

65. Gone to a drive-in theater

66. Visited the Great Wall of China

67. Started a business

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken

69. Toured ancient sites

70. Taken a martial arts class

71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight

72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie

74. Crashed a party

75. Gotten divorced

76. Gone without food for 5 days

77. Made cookies from scratch

78. Won first prize in a costume contest

79. Ridden a gondola in Venice

80. Gotten a tattoo

81. Rafted the Snake River

82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”

83. Got flowers for no reason

84. Performed on stage

85. Been to Las Vegas

86. Recorded music

87. Eaten shark

88. Kissed on the first date

89. Gone to Thailand

90. Bought a house

91. Been in a combat zone

92. Buried one/both of your parents

93. Been on a cruise ship

94. Spoken more than one language fluently

95. Performed in Rocky Horror

96. Raised children

97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country

100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking

103. Had plastic surgery

104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived

105. Wrote articles for a large publication

106. Lost over 100 pounds

107. Held someone while they were having a flashback

108. Piloted an airplane

109. Touched a stingray

110. Broken someone’s heart

111. Helped an animal give birth

112. Won money on a T.V. game show

113. Broken a bone

114. Gone on an African photo safari

115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears

116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol

117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild

118. Ridden a horse

119. Had major surgery

120. Had a snake as a pet

121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states

124. Visited all 7 continents

125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat

127. Eaten sushi

128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about

130. Gone back to school

131. Parasailed

132. Touched a cockroach

133. Eaten fried green tomatoes

134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey

135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

139. Been elected to public office

140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

143. Built your own PC from parts

144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you

145. Had a booth at a street fair

146. Dyed your hair

147. Been a DJ

148. Shaved your head

149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone’s life.

Who knew we had so much in common :-)

Decision Made!

Well, Sam and I have finally come to a decision. (with two weeks to spare!) I am going to stay in Hawaii, while he is in Iraq. There were a lot of things that we had to consider, but basically it came down to my health problems and all the time and money we have spent to "fix" me. :-) It would be hard to pick up and go and have to start all over in a year. Also, if I moved to Alabama I would have my family, but no friends. Here I have a group of military wives who know, and have experienced what I will be going through. Plus I think my mom and sisters will come stay with me during the summer. :-) There are also other factors that may have influenced our decision...

Hello! Move to the mainland during winter or stay in sunny Hawaii.... hmmm...tough decision :-)

My comfy living room and red couches!

We also finally got our dinning room set up... I guess it was just a bunch of little things, and not really having peace about moving. So there you have it. We will be in Hawaii for the next three years... feel free to plan a visit! I could use the company! :-) Thank you all for your prayers and comments. I have such wonderful friends all around the world and I am blessed. Sam leaves in 2 weeks and 2 days, and we found out his job is going to be more dangerous than we thought. I'm not sure if I should share more over the internet, but just keep him in your prayers. His training is going to be pretty intense. It's funny, because Sam basically is going through Army boot camp, and has to learn all their core values and beliefs... it's like he'll be in two branches of the Military. :-) Anyway, I'll keep you all updated!

I know God is trying to strengthen both me and Sam during this process, and even though this was a surprise to us, it wasn't to God.

Sudden Changes

Well, here is the news. We just found out that Sam has to go to Iraq for over a year. He leaves the end of October for 2 months of training. He only gets a couple of days off for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then he leaves in January. So I've spent the whole afternoon in denial and crying, of course. It also doesn't help that Sam had duty today and I found out over the phone, and won't actually see him until tomorrow. So I know it sounds like I'm complaining... and I probably am. I guess with Sam being in the Navy and on shore duty, I never prepared myself for him having to go. I would love your prayers, not only for his safety but for my attitude as well. I know in my head that God had a plan and His timing is prefect, but I am having a difficult time truly accepting that. I know I am not the first wife to have her husband sent to Iraq on such short notice, but it's like all I can think about is me... so selfish huh. Just one more thing to work on. Grrrrr! Alright folks I am going to end my pitty part now, hopefully by the time of my next post I will be in a better attitude. G'night...