Sweet Sunday

For the joy of the Lord is your strength
(Nehemiah 8:10)

May your day be filled with joy.

Ticket overpriced, the experience- PRICELESS

Well, graduation is over and I am so grateful I was able to attend.
This was an experience I will always treasure. My respect for anyone moving in this direction has grown tremendously (this is coming from a little hippie in H.S.).
I took many pictures but I'm just posting a few.

The picture above is where family day and graduation took place (Hilton Field)

Addressing the crowd on Family day.

This gave me chills. Smoke grenades went off and the Color Guard marched out of the woods
onto the field.

Then the troops marched out of the woods. The cheering was deafening.
I think hubby could hear me back in AZ.

The heat and humidity - overwhelming. The uniforms are so heavy.
I swear I will never complain about being hot again.

Jeff's group. I couldn't spot him but I was so excited knowing he was in there somewhere.
Dorothy had a camcorder so she was able to really zoom in and spot him.

Once all the troops were on the field, we were allowed to try to find our soldiers.

YAY, double YAY!
I had been crying (of course) but I was just so happy to see him.

Jeff and Dorothy. Can you see all the smiling faces in the background?

Love them to pieces.

The Army Band

I thought they were fab. Actually, I thought everything was fab.

This shot is from graduation.
It was so hot and humid.

Quite a few soldiers passed out from the heat and most likely nerves.
My heart went out to them and their families.

Jeff's group getting ready to march around the field.
I will get the lingo down eventually.

Finally off base and into civilian clothes.
The "ladies" picked out this shirt for daddy.

Since I had a flight out that left around the same time as Jeff, the Army was kind enough to let us take him to the airport.

Saying goodbye

This is Kaylen, she drove with Dorothy to South Carolina.
I think of her as my second daughter.

This lovely lady is Carolynn.
She is one of Dorothy and Kaylen's best friends.
She and her husband Eric, volunteered to watch the ladies so Dorothy could attend the graduation. This photo was taken at her wedding last year.
Jayde is right behind her and Hailey is to the right.


Now that graduation is over, a new life begins for Jeff.
He is in California at DLI, Department of the Army Defense Language Institute.
He is in Military Intelligence and will be learning Indonesian.
I guess those few years at the Lycee helped him. Indonesian though... I can't imagine it would be an easy language to learn.
He will be in California for a year.

I can't wait until we can visit him there.

Well my friends, I have rambled on long enough.

I want you to know that I truly appreciate your comments and emails.
You all ROCK!

GO ARMY

S.C. here I come

Very early in the morning (shuttle pickup at 3:30 am)
I leave for Fort Jackson.

My sweet one's are driving. What a long drive.
I wish I could have driven with them but those pesky "little issues"
kept me from that.
My son still doesn't know that I will be there for family day and graduation.

I am so proud of him and all the very brave young men and women that have decided to serve in the military. Very courageous.

I haven't really visited blogs recently. Just not feeling up to it.
Honestly, I'm not feeling much like posting either.
Just tuckered out- hehe. Maybe some humidity will help!

Have a fantastic rest of the week.

XOXO

Another Year Older

Although the date on the photo is November, I am actually a June baby.

55 today and still counting!

I feel very fortunate to still be counting the birthdays.

Now I actually qualify for the senior discount at the grocery stores. Yay.

Happy Birthday to all those June babies out there.
May we all have many more.

Early celebration

Good news! I am doing the happy dance and it is difficult to type as I dance.

The Ct scan was o.k. YAY! More testing to come but that is not a problem.
Army mom is leaving Phoenix for Fort Jackson on June 17th.
I am over the moon.

Thank you so much for your lovely comments and emails. There is power in prayer and I am so grateful that things are looking up.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

XOXO

French- with an American twist

Ooh la la.

I love sweets and I love anything French so these French sweets are right at the top of my all time favorites.

Madeleines are delicious but these are a close second.
Very easy and the kids or grandchildren will love helping you.
I've had my molds forever it seems, and have put them to good use over the years.

My local market was having a sale on Betty Crocker cake mixes so I stocked up.
How easy is that?

This version was spice cake with fluffy white frosting.

Carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting is amazing.
My favorite is chocolate fudge with double chocolate frosting.
Yum!
A dusting of powered sugar is nice but nothing beats a generous dab of frosting.

Trying to put some weight on....

I can tell you these did not last long.

I may have to do a little baking later on-hehe.

Happy Wednesday to all!