YAY!

He is no longer here.

Still SCREAMING with joy.

Soldier son is now back in Hawaii.

The happy dancing has been going on all day and

will continue tonight.

Thank you God!

XOXO

Happy dancing one more time

Let the dancing begin.

Last night I was able to chat with Jeff (big scream)!

The big news is that he may be back in Hawaii in a few months.

I am so thankful he is safe and all is well.

Let the countdown begin....

Thank you God.

 XOXO

What a soldier daddy does while on R&R

First of all, he meets Newbaby 2010 ver4.0 (aka Andrea Jeanne).

That huge grin says it all. That is one happy daddy and daughter.

He needs to keep that Army training going by pushing a stroller.

His troop marches along- hehe.

He takes his troop on a strategic maneuver (to a cabin in WI.).

He takes Jayde and Hailey fishing and Hailey catches her first fish.

He bonds with his precious family.

 

AND......

he spends a whole lotta time with his beautiful wife Dorothy.

As I type this, Jeff is on his way back to his base.

He should be there in a couple of days. OH MY!

GOD SPEED. We love you and we are so proud of you.

Come on through the door...

The celebration is about to begin.

Please help yourself to a glass of bubbly
as we toast the winner of The French Elements giveaway.

While I wish I could send something to each of you lovelies,
hubby said "no". Party pooper.
The winner of the 1st giveaway for 2011 is Miss Tattingchic.

She is the mistress of all things tatted (and a really terrific lady).
I am so glad we reconnected through facebook.
AND I thought I would never get hooked on Facebook. HA!
Congrats to you Tattingchic.
Thanks to each of you that took the time to come by and enter.
I appreciate each of you.

I know I have not been a great blogger but there is so much going on that
blogging has taken a back seat.
I do love all of you though!

Jeff called today and we chatted for a couple of hours.
Made my month.
When I mentioned his surgery in the last post, I was kind of vague.
I really had no idea there was a problem.
He had a small (thumb size) "tumor like" thingy appear
on the side of his head.
It interferred with wearing a helmet and the Army wants
you to wear your helmet when necessary.
The surgeon removed it (BENIGN-THANK YOU GOD)
and all is good.
As usual, he sounded fantastic. Music to this mama's ears.

So, let us lift a glass to Tattingchic on her win.
May there be many more winners.

Have a happy week.

Sending out a little LOVE

I am so thrilled that my little bout of "whatever it was"
is on its way out.
I have even been able to work on some custom orders.
YAY!

I think this calls for a petite giveaway.
My first for 2011 (I still can't believe it is 2011).

The giveaway starts today and the winner will be announced
on Sunday evening, January 23rd.
Now, the important stuff.

The photo above is of a sweet embroidered burlap pillow.
It is the perfect size at 14 inches.
I think it looks springy and cheerful.
The word LOVE is embroidered in Hot pink with pink and white detail.
I love it. I know I am biased-hehe.

Every giveaway I have, includes some Chanel.

I think French, I think Chanel.
The collection of Chanel products will be a little surprise.
I know you'll LOVE them.

If you are interested in entering, just leave a comment.
I will post up the winner on Sunday evening.
Yay!

I have to tell you that I got off the phone with Jeff just a little while ago.
He had surgery today. I didn't know about it before the fact.
That might have been a good thing.
He is fine and sounded just wonderful.
God Bless the Air Force Surgeon.
She ROCKS!

Good luck on winning The French Elements giveaway.
Crossing fingers for you......

big hugs,
Barb

150 minutes, 32 seconds

Time, precious time.

150 minutes, 32 seconds .

It doesn't sound like much time but I have to tell you

that it was time well spent.

I was sitting down with a cup of coffee

this morning when the phone rang.

It was JEFF calling from the Philippines.

There is a 14 hour (I think) time difference

so it was very early Tuesday morning for him.

We had the nicest chat.

It was the best way to start the week.

This Army mom is still floating.

Now, if they could only do something about

the wonky internet service so I could see him.

I'm not complaining, a phone call is a marvelous gift.

Happy Monday!

Calling mom

O.k, you know where this is going.

As I was in the kitchen, (cooking my little heart out-hehe)

the phone rang and hubby answered it.

It was JEFF calling to wish us

a Happy Thanksgiving and just to chat.

We talked for an hour!

He sounded great! While they didn't have a traditional
(or even close to it)

Thanksgiving dinner, it sounded like they had

a good, if interesting meal.

This call will have to hold me over for a while.
I am still doing the happy dance.
YAY!


Since it officially is the "season",

I wanted to let you know that I am participating
with other Shabby Cottage Shop members
in a special sale.

Each is a little different and you can visit to check the shops out.

The French Elements is offering a 20% discount on

all purchases through Nov.30th.

Gift wrap with a French twist is available as well.

The coupon code is GIVETHANKS.

And, thanks I am giving.

Hubby, J.W, and I had a lovely Thanksgiving.
I hope yours was just as terrific.

Huge hugs.

A Heartfelt Thank you...

to all of the Veterans

that paved the way.

You made sacrifices that are still being felt today.

Every man and every woman that have stepped

up and put your lives on hold so we can continue

to live in freedom,

May God Bless you and protect you.

We look up to you.

Future generations will call you

their heroes.

Jeff, I salute you.

You are my "special" soldier

and my hero.

You and your comrades are in our thoughts

and prayers daily.

May God continue to Bless you.

I am so proud of you and glad that

you followed your dream.

A super typhoon- OH MY!

When Jeff left for his assignment,

the weather never entered my mind.

Well, earlier this week it did.

Watch this video and you'll know what I am talking about.

When I turned on the TV and saw that a super typhoon

was headed his way.....my stomach just sank.

We have been through a microburst that

did major damage to our house years ago (in AZ of all places),

but we were in the states and I think that made it so much easier.

I was on pins and needles until I found out he and his buddies

were fine.

They are still experiencing some nasty weather but all is good.

This Army mom is a very happy camper.

More gray hairs have been added-hehe.

By the time this year is over, I will probably be all gray!

That is o.k, as long as he is safe.

Yay GOD!

One word.......

THRILLED!

It is official

Last night Jeff called and also sent this picture.

I was mentally prepared for his deployment on Sept. 15th.
The Army pushed it back but now it is the real deal.

He still has a day or so before he reaches the area
where he will be working.

He sounded fantastic!
He is so excited about being with the Special Forces Unit.
I am screaming in my head (hehe) and noticing
more gray hairs.

What I find so sad is the fact that he deployed alone
(I know we are never alone but you know what I mean).

Everyone who left a comment or sent an email.
THANK YOU!
You have no idea how precious they are to me.

I am keeping busy.
J.W is a full time job but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I have been blessed.

I have been working on new items and getting things listed
when I have the chance.

Hubby finds it hysterical that the Christmas category
is up. I thought I better do it sooner than later.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

There are new items here and here.

I will be making my way around to visit all of you
sweeties.
Staying busy will help the year go by so much faster.

Big hugs and a big thank you.

Oh Happy Day

We are starting the week out on a very positive note.

Tommy is doing so much better.

While he will remain on medication, he feels good enough to

look for lizards (his thing).

He even feels good enough to to a doggy happy dance.

Yay oh yay!

As you can see on the sidebar, Andrea is growing like a weed.

I just love that 3 week old picture of her.

A few posts ago I had mentioned that J.W.

had services that were sorely needed cut.

Well, this squeaky wheel got them reinstated.

Big yay. That is a huge load off of our minds.

I was able to talk with JEFF!

He is not where I thought he would be by this time

but is headed there very soon.

I hate being vague.

His brother is calling him "Jack Bauer".

Kind of cute but not really :(

Only 1 year to go until he will be back in Hawaii.

I may have some good news coming up regarding

Dorothy and the ladies.

Lots of prayer going on about that.

With Christmas less than 3 months a way
(screaming in my head),

I have been working on some new goodies.

Below is a little preview of things to come
(that is a little piece of burlap on her skirt).

Some new items will be arriving this week.

I'm so excited!

All in all, today rocks and I am so grateful.

Have a wonderful week.

***DEPLOYMENT***

Many years ago, a friend painted this picture of Jeff.

He was 3 years old.

The ladies always laugh when they see this picture

because daddy is in a skirt.

They don't understand the "kilt" thing.

This is one of my treasures that someday

will be passed down.

When this photo was taken last year at Jeff's graduation from basic

training at Fort Jackson, this Army mom was so proud.

Proud of him and all the other soldiers that made it through.

This photo says it all.

I had been crying. My eyes are closed but I was so happy to see him.

Tomorrow he leaves for a ONE YEAR deployment (unless the Army changes their mind).

Due to his job, I have to be vague and that kills me.

I can tell you that I am heart sick!

He hasn't met his new daughter yet.

Yesterday, she was 2 weeks old.

My heart breaks for Dorothy and the ladies.

They are strong but it is difficult.

I know that many of you have been praying for him.
Please keep the prayers coming for the brave men and women that
serve our country.
Please say an "extra" prayer for Jeff.
We appreciate every single one!

OOPS! I just hit the publish post by accident.
I'm not known for long posts but... I'm not finished-hehe.

I will be back later tonight with the winner of my little giveaway.
See you later.

Big hugs from a very sad but proud Army mom.

A walk back in time

I grew up with the music of Motown (like many of us).
Living in the Detroit area, Motown music was played everywhere (sometimes even at church).

When Jeff was a little guy, he liked to dance.
He wanted to be able to move like Michael (or really anyone-hehe).
Be happy I didn't post the picture of you and your glove, honey.
When he heard the music, he just lit up.
Boy, could he move!

When the filming of the Pepsi commercial took place, we were living in the L.A. area.
We were given tickets to attend the filming which was very interesting.
Not something we would see on a regular basis.
The other day I came across these tickets in a box of "stuff".
I had kind of forgotten about the commercial.
Yesterday I saw the shoot for the first time on the Today Show.
It certainly brought back some memories of a talented young man that had the world in front of him and of the little boy that just wanted to dance.

A good time was had by all

I trust everyone had a marvelous weekend.
Could you hear the screams of joy around here?

Dorothy was able to surprise the ladies with Jeff's arrival.
They thought they were going to the airport to watch the planes take off and land (something they enjoy doing).
She was able to capture the moment on video and of course I cried when I watched it.

Everyone was so excited to see him, you would have thought he had been gone for years!
His brother was so thrilled that he was home even for a short time.
J.W. did end up in the hospital overnight on Sunday but was released on Monday morning so we are thankful.

Jeff flew out on Monday evening and his classes start tomorrow.
Does anyone out there speak Indonesian? Please give a heads up on the difficulty factor.
Maybe I'll try and learn it-NOT!

This is a preview of some goodies that I will be adding when I have the chance.
Many more to come.

I am off and running but truly hope to be able to visit blogland.
I really do miss everyone.

Some big changes around here

The picture above is of Jeff (and D. Duck) when he was 14 months old.

This was his favorite thing to wear and it was difficult to pry him out of it.

This was a photo taken on Halloween in 1981 (check out the wires in the background).

Again, this became his favorite thing to wear.

Well, now he is wearing it for real and mom is kind of weepy.

I won't bore you with the entire story but here is the short version.

He has talked about going into the Army since he was a kid. He has always been very patriotic. When he and Dorothy got married,

it still came up occasionally. After 3 children, it still came up occasionally.

Last year he got laid off from a pretty terrific job. After months of looking and finding nothing, "the Army talk" came up again. He talked, I cried.

And cried and cried.

It was something that the kids had talked and prayed about and felt certain that this was the right time. Even my precious little ladies, believed that this was where God wanted him to be.

He enlisted. Last month he was to leave but it was delayed. There was another delay but yesterday was the day he left Phoenix for Fort Jackson, SC.

He will be there for Boot Camp. Can you tell I am a little weepy as I type this?

I am very proud of him for following his calling.

He is excited about the opportunity that lies ahead and the chance to serve his country.

His brother is having a difficult time with the decision.

All I can do is pray. He is watching over them.

I also wanted to wish everyone a blessed Passover and Easter.

We are so lucky to live in a country where we can celebrate our faith.