We Are SO Very Thankful...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Our Thanksgiving started a little early this year with a dinner for all of the families in Donnie's unit, served by his commanding officers... it doesn't get much better than that! =) Donnie's unit actually has professional chefs, who teach cooking classes while they are away, so the dinner was quite yummy!!


Sky tends to draw in a crowd everywhere we go with his Rubik's Cube skills, he had just about the entire hall watching him solve it in under a minute. When he was finished they all started cheering and shaking his hand. The look on Sky's face made me wish I had brought our camera!! =)

Thursday, November 27, 2008

'Families are where our nation finds hope, where dreams grow wings.'

We have SO many things to be thankful for... a warm home, a secure job, education opportunities, our health, amazing friends, our church, our extended families. But most importantly, we are thankful for each other.


We spent Thanksgiving with some of our best friends, the Potocki's. For the last five years, we have been together for every holiday when we are both in town... and we have yet to miss a Thanksgiving!


Koreen and I always come up with the menu, and split who makes each entree. Whoever hosts, bakes the turkey... this year it was Koreen's turn. Considering we had to feed three grown men (Koreen's oldest son will be 19 in January), two teenage boys and two growing little boys... we managed to make quite a bit of food, there were even some leftovers. =)


This is Sky and his best friend for many years, Ty. (Yes, we have a Skyler & Tyler and a Kaden & Braydon to keep straight!! =) Joe & Koreen were being just a LITTLE silly in the background... as ALWAYS!! =)

Koreen & I made four different desserts, and they were SO good we had to sample them all!!

We couldn't believe how gorgeous it was outside today... in the mid 70's and sunny!!! PERFECT weather! If it would just stay like that year 'round!! So, we were some of the lucky ones who were able to eat their Thanksgiving dinner outside on the patio!! =)

Friday, November 28, 2008

We had plans to leave for Chattanooga, TN, this morning, to celebrate another Thanksgiving dinner and stay overnight at my cousin's with him, his wife, their children and my aunt & uncle. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it because Kaleb still isn't feeling 100% better. We didn't think it was fair to put him in the car for six hours over just two days, and take the chance of getting my cousin's children sick. Michael, Chrissy, Abby, Nathan, Sarah, Aunt Janice & Uncle Don, we hope you all had a great Thanksgiving dinner together... thank you SO much for inviting us, we wish we could've been there!!

It was really dreary and rainy outside today, one of those days you want to snuggle up and drink hot cocoa in bed while reading a good book. So we thought it would be a great day to get comfy on the sectional and have a Christmas movie marathon while eating Thanksgiving leftovers. Yummy! =)




Saturday, November 29, 2008

It rained again today, so we took the boys to the on-post recreation center's indoor pool. It wasn't crowded when we got there, but everyone else had the same idea... so it got pretty crowded by the time we left. The indoor pool has a nice family area with a gradual pool and a large mushroom fountain. It also has all kinds of fun water toys and kickboards for anyone to use. On the other side, there are swimming lanes and a high dive.


Sky has been scared of the water since he was two and fell in the deep end, without any floaties on. Swimming is the only badge he needs to complete his 'second class' in boy scouts. So we were pretty shocked to see him jump off the high dive! And we didn't even ask him to!!! =) Way to go, Sky!!!!

The younger two boys had so much fun kicking all over the pool using the kickboards. At first, Kaleb couldn't go anywhere... so I had to pull him around after Kaden. But after a little practicing, he was swimming all over... even to the deeper end. And he even forgot about the little cotton balls I had to put in his ears to keep them dry. =)


After about three hours of swimming, we got pretty hungry. So we went out for yummy steaks and went to go see 'Bolt.' Doesn't Donnie look cute in those GIGANTIC 3D glasses??



We hope you all had a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING weekend!!!!!

Banner Day

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What do you get when you take about 350 men from a military unit, who are crazy strong and athletically competitive?? You get... Banner Day. It is a full day of sporting events that follow the yearly Change of Command, where the companies compete in a series of competitions, such as football, basketball, soccer, a shooting event, a 5 mile run, tug of war and a mystery challenge. At the end of all the events, the winning company is awarded with an enormous trophy to proudly display until next year. If you are looking to observe some pure male testosterone... you are guaranteed to find it here!


Donnie participated by playing on the soccer team, even with a torn calf muscle. Of course, he was the captain =) ... here he is, on the far left, talking to the team. It was REALLY fun to watch them play!!

Here's my baby... in the goal, wearing the red shirt. If his mom saw the way he dove after those shots, she would've been proud!! =)


And here's me, playing a VERY important role... part of the cheering section. =) Haha, Donnie insisted on taking this pic of me all bundled up (the wind was CHILLY out there).

It was a pretty exciting day, I'm glad I went to go watch part of it. These men are SO passionate about what they do... even when it comes to their sports!

Give ME This Mountain...

I have had the opportunity to meet Anne Bradshaw through blogspot. She is an LDS author that recently published 'Please, No Zits!', a book of inspiring fictional short stories for youth, and she gave me permission to post this story. I plan to buy this book for Sky, possibly for Christmas. This really moved me, so I wanted to share it... I, too, hope someday I will be on Luke's 'level'. Enjoy...

Mountain Nearing

(Manchester, England)

We all did it—all except for Jordan, that is. It seemed the cool thing. I mean, it felt good—seeing the funny side, being quick and clever with words.

Jordan thought I went too far.

“Aaron Veasey, you’re such a hypocrite,” she said to me this morning at school. “How can you sit in church on Sunday, giving all the right answers, then act like a sarcastic creep today?”

Most of the time I liked Jordan. She’d been around for twelve of my fourteen years, and was small and fiery, with big eyes the color of stormy skies. Her desk stood in front of mine.

I flicked her ponytail around with my ruler. “I don’t see the connection. Church stuff and school stuff? They’re different.”

She had a way of wrinkling her nose when she disagreed, and she wrinkled it right then. She looked kind of pretty when she did that. But she wasn’t telling me what to do.

“I’ll tell you the connection,” she said. “It hurts. That’s what.”

“Making people laugh hurts?”

“What about the one being laughed at? Just because you don’t see hurt, doesn’t mean it’s not there.” She sniffed.

Now when Jordan sniffed like that, it meant she’d found a cause. She called them her mountains, because a Sunday school teacher once quoted Caleb in the Old Testament where he says, “Give me this mountain.” She’d watched for them ever since. And that was okay with me, as long as she was the one doing the climbing. But as soon as she hooked into my comfort zone . . . no deal!

“What about that little kid on the bus this morning?” I said. “He was laughing with the rest of us.”

“At first.” She shook her head. “You didn’t see his eyes tear up when he realized you made him look stupid.”

“Well he was stupid—saying his name was Walk.”

“It was logical. He said people call a fly a Fly because it flies. Therefore today he wants to be called Walk because he walks. Makes sense to a five year old.” She sniffed again, nose in the air. “You didn’t need to add, ‘You should be called Dumbo because you’re dumb.’”

Before I could have the last word, in came our geography teacher. But it was a waste of time hoping Jordan would forget her cause.

“I suppose you’re sitting there dreaming up more sarcasm,” she threw at me next day, first lesson.

I jumped. I couldn’t admit I’d been gazing out at the misty morning, looking at a spider’s web strung between two posts. The rain and wind played with the strands, ballooning and sucking them in all directions. But the spider had worked hard, and the wind couldn’t undo that work.

“Of course.” I grinned, straightening in my chair. “And if you weren’t so tough, I’d throw some your way.”

She laughed. “Wouldn’t do you much good.” She set her backpack on the floor. “I’m getting expert at forgiving.”

“Wahoo for you, Miss Perfect. Want a halo?” I was about to add, “Let me know if it slips, and I’ll send for mountain rescue,” but Registration began, so I just poked her in the back instead.

During the announcements, Miss Gale, our class teacher, produced a letter. “We’ve been given a different assignment for our winter service project this year.” She smiled. “There’s a special school close to Manchester. The children are spastic and range in age from five to eighteen. They’d like as many volunteers as possible—one young man and woman to a pair—for an hour after school, once a week. So I’m sending around a sign-up sheet.”

I groaned, switching off while she read more details. I was scared of handicapped people. I liked to feel comfortable, on the same wavelength as those around me. That wasn’t difficult when you were on the same level—but what level were they on? Besides, it meant missing my favorite TV show.

Jordan joined me at the bus stop after school. “Have you signed up for the service project then, Aaron?” She gave me a sweet smile, head to one side.

“Oh sure! I’ve booked for each day of the week.” I glared down at her. “Not!”

She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“Those people are on a different planet,” I said. “You won’t catch me pushing wheelchairs and wiping noses.”

“How about you do the pushing, and me the wiping?” Her smile grew wider. With her eyebrows raised like that, she could charm the plaque off your teeth.

But she wouldn’t get me this time. I firmed up my voice. “By the time we’ve traveled there and back, and spent an hour at the school, Lost will have ended on TV. Besides, I’ll be starving. Then homework on top of all that? You’ve got to be joking.”

“You know what?” She glanced quickly at me, then down at the toe of her shoe tracing circles in the mud. “I was going to suggest my mum tapes Lost, and I make some of those thick chocolate brownies to eat on the bus.” She moved away. “Don’t worry. I’ll find someone else . . . chocolate cake, too, would be—”

“Wait!” I grasped her arm. “I didn’t exactly say no, did I?” Jordan Grundy’s mum makes the most mouth-watering brownies. “I’ll . . . think about it. Maybe it won’t be so bad. A week’s trial might work.”

* * *

I spent seven bad days wishing I’d never agreed to tackle this particular mountain of Jordan’s. If it hadn’t been for the brownie craving, I might still have backed out.

Friday crawled nearer.

It finally came, and we walked to the main bus stop. Jordan saved half the brownies for the return journey. How did she guess I might eat and run? When I saw all those youngsters in wheelchairs, I very nearly did run—forget the brownies.

An older looking nurse with crinkled gray hair and a fixed smile introduced Jordan and me to a blond-haired boy. “This is Luke. He’s fourteen.” She handed us a pack of paper towels.
“He’s a permanent resident and loves to draw.” The nurse marched on, matching more patients with students.

I gulped. Draw?

Luke’s arms and legs were thrashing all over. How could he keep still long enough to draw? And it wasn’t his nose that needed wiping—it was his mouth. Dribbles dropped down his chin and neck.

I looked away.

“Here.” Jordan leaned forward, gently mopping up the mess.

“Take it easy, Luke. We won’t disappear.” She smiled at him, making eye contact, leaning close. “I’m Jordan, and this is Aaron. Talk slowly. What would you like us to do?”

Luke—one of his big blue eyes drooping and twitching—spoke awkwardly. “Thanks. I’m not embarrassed, if you’re not.” His smile was lopsided. “Come on. Let’s draw.”

My jaw dropped.

Luke wheeled his chair at high speed toward the table in the middle of the room . . . and missed. He shot past, laughing and waving. I ran, grabbed the handles, and spun him around so fast he nearly toppled out.

He shouted, slurring the words with excitement. “That was great. Let’s do it again!”

By then I was laughing, too. “Um . . . let’s not. Here, get this pencil between your fingers.”

With me holding one of his arms, and Jordan restraining the other so his hand could still move, Luke guided that pencil over the paper.

He was almost on our level in an odd sort of way.

Now, next to being the Master of Sarcasm—and therefore brilliant with words—art was my favorite subject. Words and art went together. Some of those old poets—like Wordsworth—knew what they were doing when they lived in wild and scenic places. I watched Luke outline trees, flowers, mountains, and meadows with sweeping strokes, and knew I was seeing something unreal.

Jordan looked awestruck, too. “How do you know all this, Luke?”

He gave another shaky grin—and more dribbles. The words came slowly. “Books. TV. Videos. One day, I’ll find all this . . . this p . . . paradise.” He tugged the pencil upward. “Know what? Trees and flowers are like me. Solid inside. No control outside. I know how it feels.” He aimed the pencil at his chest. “They hurt in here when someone’s mean.”

With each passing week I knew I couldn’t stop visiting Luke. I got used to the dribbles, though I always let Jordan use the Kleenex tissue. The odd thing was I could never bring myself to be sarcastic in front of him. Perhaps it was the strange way he had of pure thinking. It was like this boy’s body got windblown in all directions, ballooning out where it wasn’t expected. Yet his mind stayed in place, holding onto life and making it shine. He was anchored on the inside.

And pretty soon when others at school told spastic jokes, it made me clench my fists. I wanted to strike out and protect someone, even though there was no one around who needed protecting.

Then one visit, I forgot I wasn’t with school friends. Luke had been ill. He was on tablets for almost everything. Chest infections hit him worse than most of us.

Cicely, the gray-haired nurse, showed us to his room with her usual wide smile, then hurried away.

“Old Sickly looked pleased to see us,” I joked, bouncing onto Luke’s bed. “Doesn’t she ever switch off that ridiculous grin? Maybe her false teeth are too big for her mouth.” I roared with laughter, rolling over to clutch Luke’s legs, which were thrashing in all directions under the cover.

One glance at Luke’s face stopped me, mid-roll.

Jordan looked distressed. Her whisper was fierce. “Oh, shut up, Aaron. Can’t you see he’s not well?”

Luke spoke, dribbling like mad. “I . . . I’m okay.” His head swung from side to side. “You . . . you never made me cry inside before . . . and it . . . hurts.”

I felt like he’d hit me right in the stomach. I reached for a tissue and dabbed at his froth. “I’m sorry. I . . . didn’t think.”

Jordan shook her head, glaring at the ceiling. “Do you ever?”

Luke’s limbs slowed. “I’d be dead by now, if Cicely hadn’t helped me through all the bad stuff.” He gasped, struggling to get the words out. “The only way I know about love is through her . . . and . . .” His voice went quiet. “And you two.”

Jordan and I traveled home in silence. I couldn’t even eat the brownies. I had this squirming going on inside—like I wanted to start the past hour all over again.

By our next visit, Luke had forgotten my mistake. He was like that—never dwelling on things. But as the winter months dragged on, we watched his health get worse until I could hardly bear to visit. I guessed what was coming.

When he died in December, a week before Christmas, the miserable feeling deep inside me wouldn’t let go.

Jordan helped me recover. We talked it through one Sunday after church.

“He found his paradise, Aaron.”

“With mountains?”

“Oh yes, I hope so. He was climbing mountains all his life. Tougher ones than we’ll ever face.”

I sighed. “Yeah. I guess he really lived on a higher level than the rest of us.”

Jordan stared at me, eyes dancing. “You mean one without sarcasm? A different planet?”

I swiped at her, and she dodged, laughing.

Perhaps she was right. Maybe wave lengths didn’t have to be the same to be comfortable. Jordan’s next words brought me up sharp.

“Do you think Luke’s watching out for us? You know—keeping an eye on us to see what we make of our lives?”

I didn’t answer, but I made up my mind about something as we walked down the road that day. I was going to find a better way to be cool. When I met Luke again, I wanted to be on his level.

For information on this book, visit Anne's page by clicking here and visiting... Not Entirely British

God Bless Fort Benning 5k

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Today was the God Bless Fort Benning festival. It started with a 5k and 10k run. The last one I did was in April and I haven't been running much, but thought it'd be fun to do it with Donnie... even though it was only 19 degrees this morning!

Unfortunately, Kaleb had a fever yesterday. I took him to the doctor and found out he has ear infections in both ears. When he woke up this morning, his fever was back up and he threw up all over the kitchen floor. So Donnie had to bare the cold this morning without me.

And it turns out... he didn't do too shabby, getting 1st place in his age group with a time of 18:45!!!! Not too bad with all of the weight lifting he has been doing lately! Wahoo... way to go, babe!!

High School Soccer

Friday, November 21, 2008

Sky had soccer tryouts yesterday at school. Our freshman found out today he made the varsity team!! The season doesn't start until February, so they'll be conditioning until then. Donnie & I bundled up the younger two boys this evening (yes, it IS a little chilly here at night, down in the 30's... but still pretty warm & sunny during the day, in the upper 50's and low 60's), grabbed one of our soccer balls, and watched Sky's practice while kicking the ball around to stay warm. Sky's excited to be on the team... he's even made a few new friends.

Go RCHS Warriors!!!

Weekend In Stone Mountain

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Donnie's unit has put together some amazing marriage retreats... and this weekend was definitely one!! We stayed in Stone Mountain, GA, which is a little more than 10 miles east of Atlanta. Stone Mountain was originally home to the Creek and Cherokee Indians and is the world's largest exposed granite. The Confederate Memorial Carving is a picture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson. We stayed at the Marriott... we felt so spoiled sleeping in these big, white, down-feather beds with down-feather pillows! We had a gorgeous view overlooking a little lake. It was so funny... the french doors going out to the balcony were so clean, Kaleb actually walked into it!! I guess he's used to seeing little handprints! =)


After Saturday morning's large group session with the chaplain and visiting with friends, we had plenty of family time to enjoy the little village. It was decorated for Christmas with lights, trees and wreaths everywhere. They even had Christmas music playing in the background... talk about getting you excited for all of the holidays coming up!!!

There was a train that went around the village, lots of little shops, a glass blowing demonstration, Christmas plays, storytime with Mrs. Claus, and a parade. It was SO beautiful, I loved just walking around and taking everything in!

There was a 4D Theater showing 'Polar Express,' which was a 3D movie with special effects. Snow fell, wind blew, and we were even sprayed with water a few times! The boys loved it, especially Kaleb... he kept reaching his hand out, thinking he could actually touch objects in the movie!! It was SO funny!

On Snowflake Lane, the trees were decorated with snowflakes and had tinsel and lights hanging off them. The boys thought it was really cool when we drove back through later that night.

I was driving when we saw this giant tree where there was a fork in the road. Donnie thought I was crazy for taking this picture real quick, as you can see, it's a bit blurry. I LOVE this time of year... it's still so magical to me!!!


That night was date night. Donnie and I were SO excited because it was our first date night since he got home. We decided to eat dinner at the nice restaurant in the hotel before heading back over to the village for the night time festivities. Just as we sat down and ordered something to drink, the fire alarms in the hotel went off!!! We couldn't believe it!! So we hurried over to the rooms where the childcare was, and got the boys... Kaleb was a bit scared! We decided to spend the evening together as a family and took the boys for some hot chocolate and watched the laser show on the side of the mountain. There was Christmas music playing to the show... we had so much fun singing along and being silly! Afterwards, we went back to our room, ordered room service... a couple wood-fired pizzas and cheesecake with chocolate-dipped strawberries, yummy... and all of us snuggled in one of the beds and watched a movie together. We didn't get our date night, but we had SO much fun with the boys!!


Sunday, November 16, 2008


After the worship service and our last session, we took off to hike up the side of Stone Mountain. It is only 1 1/2 miles up, but we took our time and stopped for lots of pictures... as we got closer to the top, the walk got steeper and the wind blew harder, and the younger two got tired. But they were SO proud of themselves when we made it all the way to the top!!



In the background, you can see the village. There is a skyride that takes you to the top of the mountain... but we had so much fun walking up, it was definitely our favorite part of the weekend.


This picture was taken on the other side of the mountain. If you look closely at the skyline, you can see Atlanta. The view was SO gorgeous!!! Especially this time of year, when all the trees are changing colors!






If you look closely in this picture, you'll see Kaleb's little walking stick... both he & Kaden HAD to have one... although, Kaleb's looked more like a twig. =)


I'm not sure if you can tell in this picture, but Donnie had the cute idea for us to sit in this large heart that was carved into the stone. It reminded me of a video we were shown earlier today talking about the three Hebrew forms of love mentioned in the Bible... the love for a best friend, the longstanding love of commitment and the passionate love of physical affection. The video said these different loves burn like little flames... but if we burn all three flames together, we will forever have an eternal flame.

What a beautiful way to look at marriage!! How lucky I am to have married MY best friend!!!!! I really enjoyed the marriage retreat... and can't wait to go on another one!! We received three different books... I'll be sure to report back after we read them.

'The Five Love Languages' by Gary Chapman
'The Power of A Praying Wife' by Stormie Omartian
'Tender Warrior' by Stu Weber

Are You A Human???

Thursday, November 13, 2008

One of my favorite parts of being a mom is hearing all the funny things that come out of children's mouths. Sometimes I wish I still saw the world as I did at four!!

Today, while Kaleb & I were driving home after I picked him up from Pre-K, he asked me if his dad is a human (a new word he must've learned at school). I told him yes, and he informed me that he is a human too. Then he asked if Skyler and Kaden were humans too. I told him we're all humans. And he said, 'no, not girls... girls are womans... boys are humans.' Haha!! Sometimes we DO act like we are a different species, don't we?? =)

Did You Remember To Thank A Veteran?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Please light a candle for ALL veterans... past & present.

The end of January will be six years since Donnie felt the strong need to join the military after 9/11. I will say, the time went very quickly, and the memories are ones that will never be forgotten.

My family has had a generation in the military going back to the Civil War, ever since we emigrated here... my dad's family from Sweden & Norway, my mom's from England & Ireland. My Granddad served for 30 years in the Air Force, my Grandpa served in the Navy, my dad was drafted into the Army during Vietnam, my uncle Don served in the Navy for 20 years, and my brother, Greg, served in the Air Force. It gives me so much pride to know my husband continues to carry on this brave family tradition.

I always say that 'we' are in the military... because even though I do not deploy, I do go through missions of my own while my husband is away. Being a military wife is definitely more than I have ever bargained for... but it is a life I wouldn't trade for anything. It takes a good amount of strength, you truly do learn what exactly it is that you are made of. There is nothing more in this world that can break your heart quicker than holding your child as they cry because they miss their Daddy. Or to get a phone call to hear that one of our men was lost. I have wiped many tears... my boys' and my own. Being a military wife, I know I have become a better person... I know even more now what it means to serve others, to be thankful, to grieve, and to feel pride in our country.

These last six years my emotions have become deeper than ever. But this is because I have learned the depths of true friendship. I have had ladies step up for me in moments of real crisis... and they never left my side. I'm sure many of you have heard, people in the military develop friendships fast and strong... at times, it is a form of survival. But in the end, you are left having the most loyal people surrounding you... friendships that last a lifetime.

I am so proud of our men and women in uniform, and am so thankful for all that they do. I know what it means to put in a hard day's work... they work harder and longer than most. I know how hard it is to kiss your children & spouse and tell them goodbye... I have seen the tears and understood the agony over lost memories of watching their children grow. I know what it means to believe in a cause and to have duty... they do their jobs quietly, without the need for public attention and reward. And through it all, their hearts are swollen with love... love for this country and love for you & me.

God Bless The Military... And Thank You!!!!!!

Ward Luau

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Today was our Ward Luau. There were games outside and really yummy food... we even had real Hawaiian belly dancers!! It was a lot of fun to spend the afternoon with our friends!

Laura, me and Erin... half of our 'mommy posse'. Lucky Laura is moving to Hawaii after Christmas. We're going to miss her, but may just have to go for a visit to experience a REAL luau!! =)

Kaden and his friend, Lydia... who swears she's going to marry him one day. =)

The boys had SO much fun watching the dancers.

We even won a pineapple!

After being inside for a while, the younger ones were ready to run around outside for a while... it was SO warm outside! They managed to find the leftover firewood from the Halloween party and thought it was just too much fun to walk across.

I love getting together with our ward, we always have such a good time!!