House is Sold!!

Just needed to make a quick post .... we closed on our house yesterday! What a fantastic Christmas present to Mark and I to have that off our to-do list! Now let the real savings plan begin once again! I am so thankful!

What's Next??

What do these two items have in common?

Answer: Max! Today Max discovered that indeed he could put a lego part up his nose! Of course this happened while I was at the gym but he quickly came downstairs to tell Grandma that he had put something up his nose .... Grandma then called Grandpa down ... and together after a couple of sneezes and a pair of tweezers .... successfully retrieved the lego part!

So, now we have covered putting toys in our mouth ... with the magnetic ball going down the hatch all the way this past January. A lego part going up his right nostril .... and today we clearly defined that NO TOYS or any objects go in our EARS! Hopefully we will miss the ear adventure!

Another Close Call

Last week at the beginning of Max's LAST swim class for Level II part A .... we were waiting for the class to begin and after the kids change and go through the shower, I let him sit and play on the stairs in the pool. I would wait there with Max until the teacher comes - fully dressed, holding the purse, towel, Max's change of clothes, shoes, etc. Well, as Max was playing and jumping on the stairs, he drifted off the stairs and was now to the point where he could not touch the bottom of the pool or the stairs. In less than 5 seconds, I watched him go under the water twice with wide eyes and the look of I can't reach, I can't breathe, HELP ME MOM! Me, scared to death, drop everything I am holding and jump in the pool fully clothed! I scooped him up and as he came up out of the water he was coughing, choking, spewing water everywhere. My heart at this point had stopped ... who would the life guard need to rescue? Then, I quickly realized ... oh my, I am now fully drenched, but who cares, my son is now breathing. The life guard is now over to the side of the pool to help me as I sit Max up on the side and tell him not to move until his teacher comes. The life guard talks to him for a few minutes and then decides to spend most of the lesson down by the little kids vs. watching the swim teams practice! I was a total mess. I came out of the pool and spent the entire lesson sitting along side the pool - called home to have dad bring me a new set of clothes but the remainder of that night along with the next few days, I must of said a hundred times... it was so close as tears came to my eyes. If I had turned my back or gone to put my things down with the other moms, I don't know what would have happened. I'm so thankful that Max is OK. The other good news is that he did continue to have the rest of the lesson and it did not scare him to the point where he did not want to go back in. We have decided to put swim off again until next spring when he can get more arm control. I am proud of our little fish and Max loves the water!

School Supplies Arrived

This morning when I spoke to Mark, he was happy that he had received 4 packages in the mail today! Three of the boxes were the school supplies that I sent and the 4th package I had sent clear back on October 19th ... so I was so happy when everything arrived.

Mark is going to have one of the women on base speak with the Head Mistress at the school to speak to her about the supplies. Mark can NOT speak directly to her so, he is hoping that he will be able to go with them to deliver and get some pictures. I wish I could be there to see the kids faces!

Mark will be arriving in Las Vegas (if all goes well) on December 19th! He will start leaving to come home on the 16th but, it will take several days to make the commute. Justin will be joining us on the 23rd. I think I am starting the countdown already!

Just Me ....

So a year ago this week, Mark lost his job with Triad Engineering due to the economy. It is no secret that this past year has been one of the hardest years of my life and our marriage. But, thankfully things are looking up with Mark now employed by the Federal Government and working for the Army Corps of Engineers, we have a wonderful support system of family and friends, for the most part we are healthy and we have the gospel in our lives that we strive to live faithfully each day.

For the record .... we are still homeowners in Winchester, Virginia. We are still working with the banks, buyers, title companies, realtors and fax paperwork on just about a daily basis to someone. The time that it takes to monitor and keep going with our daily tasks can sometimes where me out! That is for sure. We are truly praying that we will be done with our home sale by the end of the month. Truly that would be the best Christmas present to us ... perhaps I need to sit on Santa's lap and clue him in!

Max has been sick for the past 5 or 6 days. I kept him home from school and swim lessons a couple of days last week and it really through our schedule off. We had some tough days with no naps and more than usual crankiness and a few more "nos" thrown in to my day. But, today we are back to schedule and he is currently napping, yeah!

My brother-in-law Steven has been in the hospital with emergency surgery this past week on his intestine and colon. He has an uphill battle to face with his health for the next couple of months as he will need to go through chemotherapy. Our prayers are with Steven, Jenn & their family.

I started working out at a gym called Anytime Fitness this past week. Tomorrow it will have been a week since I started. I worked out with a trainer for 2 days and enjoyed it very much. I'm tempted to have him work with me once a week or so just so I can stay on track and see some results that I am working towards. With the exception of Sunday, I've been in the gym for an hour to hour n' half each day. I have enjoyed it and definitely plan on keeping it up! Eating right and working to get healthier is a goal I have and there is no better time than right now.

I'm thankful for all that I have ... it is easy to complain and see the negative but, generally it is much better to look at the positive. I hope everyone has a great week!

Weekend Laugh ....

School Supplies for Afghanistan

Here are some of the pictures of the kids receiving supplies from Mark and or some of the men in on his base. So cute!

This is Shaw one of the interpreters holding a little girl with a new pair of shoes in hand.

Paper & Crayons ... the most basic!

These kids just received new shoes. Hard to see but some are giving a thumbs up!

Ring around the Rosie at the local girls school.

Since Mark has been in Afghanistan, I have been hearing about the children and the schools that he has been working on. In an effort to help the children and keep me busy, I have started collecting basic school supplies to send to Mark to distribute to the two local schools. The childrens schools are segregated and Mark has worked on each one. So far most of the supplies have been donated by us but, this past week while purchasing some of the supplies at a Dollar Tree, the lady behind me checking out asked me what I was doing. She then proceeded to hand me a $5 bill and said please put this towards the shipping. Another lady from our ward was also in the store and saw what I was doing. A few days later, she had gathered up several supplies of notebooks, pencils, pens and some candy and brought them by for me to send. This week I sent three boxes to Mark that include pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers, filler paper, large notebooks and some paper folders. As I get the word out about how easy it is to send the packages, I am hoping that others will catch the spirit of service and charity and help to donate items to the children who have so little. Another wife, of one of Mark's co-workers, send shoes over to the children. I am including some of the pictures that Mark sent out this week of the kids and of him. If anyone is interested in donating or sending letters to the military men and women, please let me know. They would be thrilled to get your kids letters or pictures.