Daddy's Home!

Monte got in from the ship on Friday and we were so happy to see him. He was originally supposed to be home Friday, but then it got changed to possibly Saturday or Sunday, so it was a nice surprise to have him back on Friday after all. He was glad to be home as he and all the rest of them are tired of all the training. They just want to get on the ship and get the deployment underway. I kinda agree with them. While I am not looking forward to saying goodbye, I wish that he was already gone so that I can look forward to and start counting down to his return date. All of this constant training and returning home for a few days and going back out for more training takes its toll on everybody.

Monte had to work yesterday and is currently at work again today. The boys attended the Super Hero drawing class at the base library yesterday. They had a great time and I had a wonderful, peaceful time reading in the quiet of the library while they were at the class. Today, we are hanging out waiting for Monte to get home. We're just going to hang out, relax and watch the NASCAR race at Bristol (Tennessee). It just started, so I'm hoping that Monte will be home soon to watch most of the race.

Our Sophie is getting big. I got a cute picture of her waiting at the door for the boys to come from school. She cries when they each leave for school and can't stop wiggling when they each get home. She definitely loves her "brothers"!

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I'm trying out a new pork chop recipe for dinner tonight and I need to take a look at it and begin to make any preparations that might be required.

Take care everyone and have a great week! God Bless! :)

An Old Irish Blessing

May love and laughter light your days,

and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,

wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world,

with joy that long endures.

May all of life's passing seasons,

bring the best to you and yours!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! God Bless! :)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SPARKY!

Today is Monte and my 16th wedding anniversary. He's out on ship right now, but he's with me in my heart and I'm sure we will be celebrating next week after he gets home. I'm not going to be going to water aerobics today as my friend Ann isn't going to be able to go. So, since its my anniversary and Monte's gone, I think I'll go do something that I love to do. I'm going to go hang out at Barnes & Noble. I love being in that store. Being surrounded by the books, the quiet in the store and the smell of coffee from the Starbucks is so calming and soothing to me! When I go there, I find a book, grab a comfy chair somewhere and read for a couple of hours. Its great, did I say it was great? Can you tell that I love Barnes & Noble? Ha Ha

Its supposed to start raining today and continue through Saturday. So, I guess Sophie, the boys and I will be hanging out at home. More than likely we will be watching movies, playing the Wii and taking turns holding and cuddling with Sophie. I took Sophie to the vet on Monday for her first round of shots. We think she is golden retriever and chow and the vet agreed with that and thought she may also have some terrier in her. I'm beginning to believe that she does have some terrier. Her ears look very similar to a terriers and she is getting a darker yellow (the same color as her ears and muzzle) spot at the base of her tail as well as the tip of the tail is turning that darker yellow. It should be interesting to see what she looks like when she finishes growing. I just picture a fuzzy chow, with the coloring of a golden retriever and the spots of a terrier. Sounds interesting doesn't it? We love Sophie so much already though that its not going to matter what she looks like.

Well, I guess I will close this post and get ready to go to Barnes & Noble. Have a great weekend and God Bless! :)

Flowers

The boys went for a walk yesterday and Nate came back with some flowers for me. Aren't they pretty? I've seen daffodils blooming all over the base and Jacksonville and I was worried that he got them out of someones yard. When he was younger, Brady used to pick me flowers and they usually came from the neighbors flowerbeds. I always felt bad, but it was just so cute and sweet to have my little guy bring me flowers. Brady tells me that these were not from somebodies yard though. The path they were walking on runs along some trees and the flowers were growing among the trees.

So I watched American Idol last night and was okay with who went home. I always feel bad when a contestant gets voted off. Just watching the sadness and shock on their faces when their name is called breaks my heart.

Anyway, I better get moving. There's laundry to be folded and put away and I have Zumba class at 11:30 am. Take care and have a great day! God Bless! :)

Good Morning Everyone!

Good Morning Everyone. Its Wednesday, the top of the hump and its all down hill from here....yeah!!!!!! I've been looking forward to the weekend since Monday morning. Not that I've got anything in particular planned, I'm just looking forward to sleeping in. Monte left for another training session yesterday. This is the last one until they deploy in May sometime, so it will be nice to have him home with us for a little while.

I finally started watching American Idol last night. I didn't watch any of the audition stuff this time as it has really gotten old. I think they should just do away with airing that part all together. It would be great if they could cut down on the judges interaction and comments too. It takes up too much of the show and I never really cared what any of them said anyway. I just want to see the singers. My favorite singer this season is Alexis Grace. I wasn't that crazy about the Michael Jackson theme last night, but she did great with what she had to work with. She was awesome when she was competing to be part of the top 12. I don't remember what she sang, but it was a bluesy song and her performance was amazing! Most of the other contestants are great too and it should be a pretty good season. Thank God there isn't another Sanjaya (is that how you spell his name?) this year. Don't get me wrong, he seemed to be a really nice person, he just could not sing that well at all! He never should have been in the top 12, let alone gone as far as he did. Anyway, enough about that. I'm cheering for Alexis this season and hope that she goes all the way.

Well, I guess I better sign off and get something done this morning. The boys are now at school and I have water aerobics at 11:30 am today. Have a great day everyone and God Bless! :)

Chuck Norris Facts

Brady has been obsessed with Chuck Norris facts. He quotes us a few everyday and even makes up his own. Last night, he and Monte were fooling around on the Internet and looked up some more facts. I decided I needed to post some of my favorites as they made me laugh my head off.

Chuck Norris Facts:

1. Chuck Norris got a perfect score on his SAT's, simply by writing Chuck Norris for every answer.

2. Chuck Norris was what Willis was talkin' about.

3. Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.

4. CNN was originally created as the "Chuck Norris Network" to update Americans with on-the-spot ass kicking in real-time.

5. Using his trademark roundhouse kick, Chuck Norris once made a field goal in RJ Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida from the 50 yard line of Qualcomm Stadium (or the Murph) in San Diego, California.

6. Chuck Norris shot the sheriff, but he roundhouse kicked the deputy.

7. Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

8. Chuck Norris once kicked a horse in the chin. Its descendants are known today as giraffes.

9. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but a Chuck Norris glare will liquefy your kidneys.

10. They were going to release a Chuck Norris edition of the game Clue, but the answer always turns out to be "Chuck Norris, In the Library, with a Roundhouse kick".

11. Chuck Norris' favorite cereal is Kellogg's Nails 'N' Gravel.

12. Chuck Norris can kick through all six degrees of separation, hitting anyone, anywhere, in the face, at any time.

13. The best part of waking up, is not Folger's in your cup, but knowing that Chuck Norris didn't kill you in your sleep.

14. Chuck Norris can jump-start a car using jumper cables attached to his nipples.

15. Chuck Norris was once a knight in King Arthur's court. He was known as Sir Beatdown.

16. Scientists believe the world began with the "Big Bang". Chuck Norris shrugs it off as a "bad case of gas".

I hope these give you all a chuckle or two. God Bless! :)

Saturday Road Trip

Just another Smith Family Adventure and this time we went to Havelock, North Carolina to Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station. Its only about an hours drive from Camp Lejeune and Monte wanted to check out the skeet range there. It was good to get out of the house and we found a nice little fishing pond there. It was so cute watching Sophie chase the boys around and she was temped on a couple occasions to go into the water. There was a small slope down to the water though and every time she decided to check it out, she would slide and just stop at the edge. I guess that was as close as she wanted to get as she would always turn around and run back up the hill to chase the boys again. She was so wore out from all the running around, that she slept the rest of the trip and once we got home, she passed out again on Monte's boots (as always, just too cute not to take a picture). We are all having such a great time with Sophie. She has been a great addition to our family and Monte and I feel like we were meant to find her and bring her home.

Today we are taking it easy. Monte and I braved the commissary on a payday weekend this morning and got in and out ahead of all of the crowd. If you've seen a commissary on a payday weekend, you know that that is definitely something to be thankful for. We had the usual grocery list, but we also needed a couple items for Nate's science project. He's doing an erupting volcano and we needed some baking soda and dish soap for that. We made the volcano after lunch and are waiting for it to finish drying so he can paint it. Then, once the paint is dry, he's going to start practicing his presentation. He's been so excited to do this and it should be really cute to watch him present the experiment.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I've been putting away groceries, helping Nate with the Volcano and getting a roast into the oven for dinner. So now, its my turn to sit down and relax. Have a great week everyone and God Bless! :)