I'm Stacy - an Army wife, and a stay at home mom to my 7 year old Lovebug. I spend my days homeschooling, doing at-home OT, gluten-free cooking, taking photos, reading, blogging, doing fun science projects, going on field trips & managing the home. I also enjoy sewing, scrapbooking & crocheting and need to make more time for those.
I'm passionate about my faith, my family, my friends, foster parenting, adoption (one day!), advocating for special needs, nature, the beach, and CHOCOLATE!
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Today Hubby and I celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss! An entire decade! Just 4 more decades to go till our Golden Anniversary! As I look back over the years, I am truly amazed at God’s glory. We have been through some TOUGH times in our 10 years together, some really tough times. Yet as I look back at our journey, it is so obvious that God was with us every step of the way.
Sometimes I just sit in awe as I look back at all we’ve gone through.
The year before we got married was actually one of the hardest. 6 months before our wedding my dad passed away. The same day, Hubby’s grandfather had a life-altering stroke. We literally drove from the funeral home after my dad’s funeral to the hospital to see his grandfather. It was a very hard day. That year we also dealt with months of unemployment due to companies shutting down, 9-11, and my aunt died a month before the wedding.
Needless to say, we were ready to say goodbye to 2001, and hello to 2002!
The trials didn’t stop though. We went through much more in the past 10 years.
More death of family.Divorces of both family & friends.Illnesses. Unemployment. Major surgery. Infertility. Building a house.A miracle baby!A child with special needs.Serious financial struggles. Lots of Ramen & beans. More major surgery. Early Menopause (& a very patient hubby!). Foster Parenting.Adoption promises broken. A car totaled. Being separated for 4 months while Hubby worked in another country.More unemployment. New jobs. New dreams. Lost dreams. Hearing a huge, crazy call from the Lord –and answering it.Becoming a military family.Deployment.
I know many couples whose marriage has ended after dealing with just one of the things we’ve experienced, yet not once has our marriage been threatened (just our sanity!). Not once have we ever discussed divorce, or even fought hard enough to consider it. There has been no infidelity of any sort, and I can honestly say that I have not once been tempted in that area.
This is not our own doing! I am human. I am weak. I am sinful. I do not boast of my own strength, but of the amazing strength of Jesus Christ! I shudder to think about where we would be if Hubby and I had not been leaning on the Lord for the duration of our marriage.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Cor 12:9)
Right after we got married, we started attending a Sunday School class at our church. The name of the class was called “3 Strands Woven”. That class was a true God-send in many ways. We made friends in that class that are to this day some of our dearest and closest friends. Men who have walked with my husband through our life, strengthening his faith and encouraging him as he leads our family. Women who have helped me to grow as a wife, a mom, a disciple of Christ and a leader of women.
The theme of the class was modeled after a verse in the book of Ecclesiastes.
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecc 4:12)
God is that 3rd strand in our marriage and we have made that a priority since the day we said our vows. He is the one that holds us together. Some days we are in a circle, each holding each others’ hands. Other days, God has me in one hand and Hubby in the other just holding on to us and keeping us from falling until we can reach each other again.
It hasn’t all been easy, but I wouldn’t trade a single moment of it for anything. We’ve learned a lot along the way, we have grown as individuals and as a couple through each and every trial and celebration that we’ve been through. When those hard times come – and they will – you can choose to let them tear you down or you can let them refine you into something stronger. Even pure silver first has to go through the fire in order to remove the impurities, but it’s so worth it!
Just look at how far we’ve come!
2002-2003
2004-2005
2006-2007
2008-2009
2010-2011
I am so blessed to be walking through this journey of life hand in hand with my best friend & the love of my life! Where will we go from here? Only God knows. We can only say, “Here we are, Lord!”.
Several months ago, Lovebug came to me with a joke she had written and wanted to submit to Highlights, a magazine for children.
We mailed it off and then today, almost 10 months later, we received this in the mail:
Sure enough, on page 38, her joke was published! Look at #7!
So proud of my girl!
Handwriting has always been her hardest subject due to fine motor skills and her perfectionism, so this is HUGE! She did this all on her own & actually had FUN writing! It makes my heart happy!
Today is the day that we honor the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. – a man who stood up for his beliefs and wanted better for the world around him. He dared to dream of something better – a world where people would love each other for the people they were, not judge each other by the color of their skin. He dreamed of people treating each other with respect, kindness, and equality.
I wonder, if he were around today, how he would think we were doing? Have things gotten better since his lifetime? I think we can do more.
This week, I encourage you to spread kindness and love to others. Reach out to someone and make an effort to get to know them from the inside out, instead of the outside in.
I love this conversation that took place between a dear friend of mine and her daughter:
Mom: Do you know why you have off (school) on Monday? Daughter: Because it’s Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. Mom: Do you know who he is? Daughter: He’s the guy who made it ok for me and Nadia to be friends.
What a perfect way to sum it up!
If you can, take some time (17 minutes) today and listen to MLK Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech below.
One of Lovebug’s favorite knock-knock jokes goes like this:
Knock-Knock
Who’s there?
Ketchup
Ketchup who?
Ketchup or you’ll be late!
I am so behind on my writing and I definitely need to “ketchup”! I have so many posts just waiting to be written and posted, and I do apologize for the delay. Hopefully all of my readers have not gone the way of the DoDo bird!
I’ve just been busy soaking up every minute I can with my Hubby now that he’s home – he’s been working half-days so we’ve had lots of time! I’ve also been trying to get Lovebug and me back into a household/homeschool routine now that the holidays are over.
Today Lovebug and Hubby played the Star Wars Lego Wii game that Hubby got for Christmas, we all watched a hockey game together, and then we played a board game. Good times!
I’ll be back soon – with pictures, even – so don’t go too far!
So I had this post ready to post yesterday, but got busy and forgot to post it You’ll understand why.
Aug. 31, 2010 – Rob was sworn into the Army (again), and left to begin his training as a “prior service” soldier first going to WTC (Warrior Transition Course), and then to AIT (Advanced Individual Training).
He was gone for 5 months. I saw him for a couple weekends during that time.
January 28, 2011 – We moved our family to Fort Bragg, NC
February, 2011 – We spent the month together! Hubby worked ‘normal’ hours.
March 1, 2011 – Hubby left to attend pre-deployment training at JRTC for one month.
April, 2011 – We spent the month together! Hubby worked for 2 weeks, and was off for 2 weeks.
May 17, 2011 – Hubby left for his deployment to Iraq
TODAY – December 22, 2011(also the 11th anniversary of the day he proposed to me!)……
The U.S. troops have exited Iraq and crossed into Kuwait. Watch the video if you haven’t seen it. It’s awesome to see that gate close. The next step is HOME! I am so ready for my husband to be home again. Today marks the 219th day since I have seen him, and the closer we get to him being home, the harder it is to wait! I had prepared myself for a much longer deployment as we were originally told, but ever since Obama announced that they are coming home “by the end of the year” – I have been on pins and needles!
Every time the song “All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth” comes on, Lovebug sings,
“All I want for Christmas is my Daddy!” with a huge smile on her face! She is just giddy with excitement, as am I!
Tonight I told her that the only present I want for Christmas is Daddy, and she replied “That’s one present you can’t unwrap!”.
I had to laugh! Oh, the joys she will one day learn about marriage!
In the meantime, we are keeping busy as we count down the days till his arrival.
Clean house – check.
Welcome home sign made – check.
Laundry done – check.
Groceries purchased for his favorite meal – check.
Clean house again because we’ve lived since the first time – well, not quite ready to check that off, but we are getting there.
Yesterday a good friend of mine had a miscarriage. Recently, Michelle Duggar also had a miscarriage. I know this happens to so many women and it is one thing that as a mere human, I struggle with understanding. I am anti-abortion, but I can grasp that God gives us free will to make choices and deal with the consequences. Infertility is a pain and a heartache I know all too well, but I can even see how God uses that to lead people to adoption, or to other plans He has for them.
I just can’t wrap my head around why a woman would have to find out she is carrying a child, only to lose it before they ever have a chance to meet.
I guess I never will, at least not this side of Heaven.
It is times like this, where I just keep asking “WHY?” that I have to surrender my thoughts to the Lord. I have to choose to trust and believe that He has a better plan and a bigger understanding than I could ever have. I have to rely on my faith.
Isaiah 55:8-9 says,
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
It’s more than just surrendering my understanding to the Lord though. When trials come in our life and we can’t see the plan through the pain, again we must go back to His word.
Romans 5:1-5 says,
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
Rejoice in our suffering? That is hard to comprehend, but indeed God wants us to rejoice – not that we must be excited about our pain, but rather because in our suffering we grow closer to God and we learn to lean on Him which develops our character and refines us so that we can be more like Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says,
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Rejoice when? ALWAYS. Give thanks in ALL circumstances, not just the ones we like. We give thanks because we serve a God that is holy and righteous and GOOD. We rejoice because our Savior Jesus Christ died for our sins so that we can live for all eternity in Heaven with Him.
Life on Earth is complicated and often painful, but it is also temporary. There is something bigger and better awaiting us.
This makes me think of one of my new favorite songs. I heard this a few months ago as I was really struggling with issues of my own. I hope this song speaks to you as strongly as it did to me.
The topic for Day 2 was my “Favorite Christmas Dessert”, and we were supposed to share the recipe. I don’t have a specific recipe, but I do have a dessert tradition that is definitely my favorite to share with you all! Every year at Christmas, we make a “Happy Birthday” cake for Jesus and sing Happy Birthday to Him. Every year we choose a different flavor or shape to keep it interesting. One year was a chocolate cake, another year was a white-chocolate layer cake with fruit, and a few times we’ve used a fun tree-shaped pan I have. I think we need to try a brownie or cookie cake, or maybe this popcorn cake! Doesn’t that look fun?
Lovebug and any other kids that are around get the job of decorating the cake. We use icing, and then an assortment of decorations – sprinkles, chocolate chips, candy coated chocolate candies, coconut – all fun for little hands!
Here is our tree-shaped cake from a couple years ago!
It’s a special tradition and something we all look forward to every year. I love watching my daughter get so excited as she helps me plan and prepare for the most important birthday party of the year!
This week Wives of Faith is hosting a Christmas Blog Carnival! I loved participating in this last year and am excited to do it again because it’s a great way to meet other wives through their blogs.
Today’s topic is: Favorite Christmas Movie
It’s so hard to pick just one favorite, so I’ll have to give you my top 3.
I love to watch this old classic movie every year with my husband! It’s a great story about a man who thought the world would be better off without him, but he was shown how untrue that was. He realizes that even though his dreams for himself didn’t come true, he truly had a wonderful life!
This is just a great classic that I love watching with my daughter. I love the story behind the misfits and the lesson of loving each other for who they are. Plus, it has Burl Ives singing!
This is a fairly new movie, but I love it! It shares the story of the real Saint Nicholas without telling kids that there is no Santa, so it doesn’t “ruin it” for those that still believe. My daughter doesn’t believe in Santa – she just asked so many questions that she learned very early that he wasn’t real, but we love the real story of Saint Nicholas and how the modern Santa is a way for people to carry on Nicholas’ tradition of giving gifts to others anonymously.
December is upon us (did that seem to sneak up on anyone else?), and we are now in the season of Advent. Advent is the time of waiting and preparing to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, on Christmas Day. In order to count down this period of time, our family uses a wooden calendar with little doors that are opened one at a time each day leading up to and including Christmas Day. It was a gift from my parents years ago and one that we treasure still.
We’ve hidden all sorts of things behind the doors – candy, ornaments, pieces of paper with activities to do, pieces of a LEGO set to put together on the last day – all great fun! This year each box holds a mini ornament for Lovebug’s Christmas tree in her room and a piece of paper with a scripture for us to read from her Bible. A few of the days might hold a candy or activity surprise, too!
Lovebug opening door #1 on December 1st:
If you haven’t already started an Advent calendar, it’s not too late! If you don’t have one, you could even make one with envelopes in a basket, each numbered with the dates remaining till Christmas.
If you are interested, here is our list of Bible verses that we are reading each day:
