Graduation

Showing support for her soldier brother!

Proud Army Sister and her gear to prove it

He did it! Ryan graduated today! Today would have been my Grandpa's 89th birthday. He served our country in WWII and would have been so proud to see Ryan graduate. We thought it was pretty amazing that Ryan graduated on my Grandpa's birthday.

Jeff was not feeling great but was able to make it...thank you so much for praying.

We got to the stadium almost two hours early so that we could get decent seats. Poor Jeff was having a hard time staying in his seat because we could see the troops out at one end of the field. I asked him how he was doing and he said it was so hard to know that Ryan was a few hundred yards away but he couldn't just go down and see him.

Promptly at 10AM, the ceremony started. There was a band today playing patriotic music and of course yesterday's and today's events were started with the National Anthem. Hearing it never ceases to give me chills.

I was frantically trying to find Ryan in the view finder of my camera to no avail. It frustrated me to no end. After loading the photos onto my computer tonight, I eventually found him.

And there he is...front row, guy in the middle

After the ceremony, (and yes, we jumped over all the seats again to get out of there) we went out to find Ryan. We searched and searched. We found his platoon and got momentarily distracted by a large group circled around a young couple. It was a guy in Ryan's platoon, down on one knee in front of his girlfriend. Oh my goodness...it was so touching. A bunch of the guys in the platoon were standing around with their cell phones raised, taking pictures. As the sobbing girlfriend nodded yes, the soldier slipped a ring on her finger and the crowd was whooping and hollering. It was so cool.

I wasn't quick enough to catch the proposal, but here is the happy couple.

We still needed to find Ryan. I finally decided to go look in the spot where we had found him the day before. Sure enough...there he was, visiting with some sweet friends from Mass. who had come to see him graduate. I told him that his dad was dying to see him, so we headed back to the group. I saw Jeff suddenly see Ryan. He handed everything he was holding to the person next to him and started to run toward Ryan. I'll let the next series of photos speak for themselves.

"You look good, son."

A father's love

Oh great...now I have a big ol' lump in my throat again. I think it is going to stay for awhile.

Ryan finally got to leave the base after 10 weeks. He said it felt weird--in a good way. :) We took him to lunch for a big burger and then tonight we went to dinner at a place where he could have a steak.

Time always passes too quickly and soon it was time to take him back to the barracks. Jeff was able to go inside and see Ryan's bunk. My mom had volunteered to take all the kids back to the hotel so that Jeff and I could go with Ryan. It was so nice to have him to ourselves for a little while!

The phones, where the infamous and precious phone calls are made

Friends from church in Mass.

My aunt and uncle - who are always a huge hit with our kids

We love you, Ryan!

Amazing Day...

Thank you all SO MUCH for your prayers. Jeff did not make it to Family Day and is still sick. His fever broke around 6PM, though, so we are hopeful that he will be able to make it tomorrow for Graduation. I am heartsick for him that he missed today's events. We tried to take pictures and video--but of course it's not the same as seeing your son.

I had trouble sleeping last night--SO excited!! Would I be able to see him? Would I recognize him? They all look the same from far away. Would he be different? So many things I was wondering about...but mostly I just wanted to get my arms around him.

We arrived 90 minutes early for the opening ceremony. There was a looong line of traffic trying to get in. We eventually arrived at the field where the festivities were to start. My heart was pounding--not only from excitement, but from the stress of getting everyone dressed, ready, fed, and to the base. ha. I am SO thankful that my parents and my aunt and uncle are here and they pitched in and helped. The day would have been much more challenging without them!

Ryan had called the night before and told us where to sit so that we could see him. We filed in and found seats. There was some rousing patriotic music to get everyone even more pumped. Tension was in the air as we anxiously waited for the moment when we would see our soldiers.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion and we saw various colors of smoke rising from the ground. More and more grenades were thrown, colors looking very cool. And then....out of the smoke, the first figures of our soldiers started to appear. Everyone in the stands was on their feet, clapping and yelling wildly as we strained for a glimpse of our beloved family members.

There was a fairly brief presentation and FINALLY they excused us to 'go find your soldier!' OK--I wanted to run. However, we were in a line that was not moving. At all. After about five minutes of frustration, my dad and I looked down the bleachers and pretty much had the same thought at the same time. I said, "Let's go for it...climb down these babies and get to a part of the line that is actually moving, for cryin' out loud." So we each scooped up a little kid and down we went. We finally burst out of the stands and started searching. And searching. We couldn't find him! I tried to call him on my cell but the call wouldn't go through. So, we just started walking and then all of a sudden I heard, "MOM!" I whirled around and there he was. I threw my arms around him. Boy...did he feel good there. I didn't want to let go and neither did he.

He looks amazing.

Even without hair.

Even in his regular fatigues, he looks quite dashing in his black beret.

We spent the day seeing where he has slept the past 10 weeks, where he ate, etc. We went to the main PX (where the lowly guys in boot camp were not allowed to go) and tried to eat. There is a food court there and I haven't seen that many people crowded into a small space since we were in China. Seriously. I couldn't breathe. We finally went outside to an outdoor tent that was selling hot dogs, thinking that we could buzz through that line. It was already 12:30, so the kids were tired and hungry. (Did I mention that we arrived at our hotel at 10:30 and they had to get up at 7AM? Put toddlers in: hot sun, long line, no food, no drinks, and what do you get? Yeah...imagine it. Oh...and don't forget that they also had to go potty.) They actually weathered it fairly well. 90 minutes later...yes....90 minutes!!!, we ordered. We planned to get hot dogs.

They were out.

The only food they had left were these HUGE kielbasa things which looked like heartburn on a plate. But what could we do? We had already waited in line for 90 minutes while the sloooow workers painstakingly made. each. kielbasa.in.slow.motion. We ordered five and they made each one separately rather than putting five together and then putting the condiments on them all at the same time. It was excruciating to watch them. Seriously.

Well that was fun.

Most of the day was just spent hanging out with Ryan. We found a less crowded place for dinner and then went to church. There was a short program with the same singer who had performed at the opening ceremony. He is very talented and used to sing with Lee Greenwood. Very touching, patriotic songs for soldiers and their families. He ended with "I'm Proud to Be An American" and I think there were a lot of wet eyes in the pews. At the very end the chaplain called the soldiers and families to the front to lay hands on and pray a blessing over them. It was so cool. I think what blessed me the most was looking over and noticing that Chloe had stood on the pew behind Ryan and had placed her little hand on his shoulder. So precious. One very sweet thing about soldiers is that they learn to allow their mom's to put their arms around them. Since everyone is being treated that way, none of the guys seem to mind.

Speaking of sweet...Ryan handed me a card today that he bought--thanking me for raising him and for all I've done for him. Oh my goodness....it took my breath away. Some of the card was already printed, but he had added his own personal thank you. Wah...... I love that boy!

Now I know you all just really want to see pictures, so I will go through them now and attach some to this post. I'm not going to do any post-processing, so they are just straight out of the camera and might not be all that great. Just sayin'....

Can't wait to see our soldier!

Anyone? Anyone?

"Come on! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Ooohhhh...what was that LOUD BANG?"

Cool.....

Here they come!!!! (Now that just gets your heart pumping, doesn't it?)

Do you see Ryan?! Me, either.... :)

Ensuing bedlam after families are told they can go find their soldiers

Jake salutes Ryan...badly..as in placing his hand in the middle of his forehead...

...which totally cracked Ryan up

I need more hugs...

Molly gets her hug

Hugs for Grandma

Chloe finally gets to see her Ryan. The bear is Bobo, which used to be Ryan's. Chloe has been faithfully babysitting it.

Posing with Grandma and Grandpa

Ryan and Nick (some of you wrote to Nick)

Letters from HOME

Sweet moments

Gotta have the T-shirt

*Urgent Prayer Needed*

Hello, everyone.
This is Karin's friend, Lori.

Karin emailed me early this morning and asked me to post
an urgent prayer request.

Jeff woke up this morning with the stomach flu
and won't be able to see Ryan today.

PLEASE join me in praying that he will feel better right away so he
can attend Ryan's graduation tomorrow.

I will keep you updated as I hear from Karin.

Thanks you guys!
I know there are some mighty prayer warriors out there!

Comfortable Christian

Comfortable Christian.

This should be an oxymoron.

But here in America, I think we have it a bit mixed up. We think that the evidence of God's blessing is that we are comfortable.

Hmmmm....

Jesus never modeled comfort for us. In fact, He basically said that to follow Him was an invitation to come and die.

Well, that doesn't sound too appealing. How do you get followers when that is your tagline?

He even said strange-sounding things like, "...whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:39)

What does that mean? I read an illustration this morning that explained it perfectly. A horse trainer was describing the 'breaking' of a horse. "Until horses are broken they are only consumers. When they are broken they are not less alive, they are more alive. It's as if they have found their purpose, what they were made for. There is such a unity then between horse and master. Wild horses might seem spectacular as they race across a canon, but they are of no use to anyone but themselves. A horse that has been broken with love and respect is an animal in rhythm with it's destiny." (Gifts For Your Soul, pg. 129)

There is a popular brand of Christianity right now that is teaching that life is all about feeling good, being entertained and staying comfortable.

Really?

In my personal experience, I only feel alive when I am bowing to the will of the Master...the One who created me...the only One who knows what makes me tick and what will make me live in exhilaration and freedom. Yes, freedom. It is a perplexing paradox to come and die so that you can be free. But try it my friend, and you will experience it. Die to your own desires, die to your longing to be comfortable..and let's face it--we all love comfort.

And how does one do that?

It's not easy. Another paradox is that we KNOW what we should do, but we often don't do it.

Sigh....

It's a constant struggle with our selfishness. But God will help us if we ask Him.

So ask...

Come and die...

And be free to live a life of purpose, meaning and excitement. I promise you, you will not regret it. There is emptiness in our own comfort. There is fulfillment in following Christ.

Two More Sleeps....

...until we leave on our trip to South Carolina to see Ryan! Four more sleeps until we get to see him! I am so excited!! And then I get to do this again....

Except this time, he won't have any hair.

He called Saturday night.

We missed it.

Argh.

Jeff and I had gone out to dinner. Taylor was home babysitting and since Ryan was able to talk for quite awhile, he talked to all the kids. Ryan had a list of things he wanted us to bring for him, which Taylor didn't write down because "I can remember everything. I think." Hmmmm....

As of two days ago, there were 67 soldiers who were not graduating because they had not passed their Physical Test. Thankfully, yesterday they were given another opportunity and all but 13 passed. We are still amazed that God gave Ryan the strength to pass his while recovering from pneumonia.

My dad sent me this and it has probably been circulating the internet, but I wanted to post it. I don't know the author...just know that I didn't write it. :)

The Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read, perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.

'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.

'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan .'

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time..

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.'

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill.

'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. 'This is your thanks.'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it.. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said, 'I want to shake your hand.'

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand.

With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch.. It was an act of kindness I never forgot..' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base.. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You...'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.

It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to ' United States ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'

~Freedom Isn't Free Somebody Paid~

Parent-Teacher Conferences

It's that time of year again...parent-teacher conferences. The three oldest girls' conferences went as anticipated but then it came time for SaraGrace's.

Since Jake's escapades have usurped SaraGrace's of late, those of you who are newer to the blog may not know that she was just as much of a stinker that Jake is.

So it was with a smothered smile and a bit of trepidation that I entered her classroom tonight.

I was not disappointed.

She cracks her teacher up.

Daily.

SaraGrace is our resident drama queen. She is actually quite talented and if she develops the self-confidence she might become quite an actress someday. She loves to draw and is far more interested in drawing than in any form of school work.

She has a reading teacher that gives her some additional help. Her comment was, "SaraGrace is the most hilarious five year old I've ever met in my life."

Yep...that's our girl!

She doesn't really mean to be funny. She is accidentally funny. She says the most outlandish things and let's just say that tact is a completely foreign concept to her.

She has dreams of becoming a fashion designer. She might need to rethink that idea... Her unique style is well-known as she parades around the neighborhood in her 'get-ups.' Her older sisters have had some moments of deep mortification when SaraGrace shows up at the bus stop to greet them wearing one of the following... (she only goes half-days, so she goes to the bus stop in the afternoon to meet her sisters)

I can't remember for sure, but I think I did draw the line on her wearing this one out of the yard. Or maybe not...

Tales from the Shoe

Until we leave to go see Ryan!! Eight more days until we see him!

A few sickies here--but nothing too horrible. It's not a virulent stomach flu, thankfully. Jake did manage to 'barp' in his bed for easy clean-up.

Jake: Mom...can you thange my theets?
Me: Why do you want me to change your sheets?
Jake: Dey stinky.
Me: Why are they stinky?
Jake: I barped.
Me: You barfed?
Jake: Yes. (proudly) I barped. (then he turns and yells to his siblings...) Hey guys...I BARPED!

They all seem to have a new zest for life this week, despite the sickness, because it has been in the 50's and sunny every day. It's supposed to rain all weekend, so we are trying to enjoy it while we can.

Jake has been on a roll lately saying amusing things. Last night he snuggled up to me on the couch as I was leafing through a magazine on how to get organized. No snide comments...hee. He commented on each page as if it were a catalog.

Jake: I want dat for my birfday.
Me: You want golf clubs for your birthday? He doesn't even know what they are.
Jake: I want you to buy me a baby.
Me: You can't buy babies, Jakie.
Jake: Well, I dike dem. I want you to buy me one. A boy one.
Me: Um...no. Sorry. You will have to choose a different birthday present.

Later Jillian sat down beside me. She and Molly were watching a TLC show about a family adopting a little boy. She said, 'I want you to adopt a baby girl. '

ACK!

'Babies are a lot of work, Jillian.
"I know but I would help you. I REALLY want to buy those cute little clothes to dress her in."

Oh...so that is the real reason. I think we should start avoiding those cute baby clothes at Target that seem to always be strategically placed where everyone has to walk past them.

Just so you know...there are NO PLANS to adopt any babies. And to take your mind off that possibility, here are some photos from yesterday to distract you.


Is there anything cuter than a little boy playing with this trains?

I want to remember what their little hands looked like, so I'm trying to get photos of their hands, doing the things they like best.

The big girls had a half-day of school, so big sister Jillian played indoors with Jake part of the day.


Zoey wanted to try roller skates. Despite a 3 inch difference in her leg and a foot that turns sideways, she pulled it off.

"I okay, Mom!"

Not sure how the guitar/tennis racket fits in, but whatever...



Big sister, Molly, organized a little ride for the two who were feeling a bit under the weather. They briefly forgot they were sick.


Miss Katie-bug had a bit of baby butt crack goin' on.


Miss Chloe doing her thing

Sooo glad he can pump now... :)


Zoey is learning to pump, too.


Sometimes the big kids like to swing, too.

A Little Plug for a Friend

A sweet friend of mine is adopting two little girls with Downs Syndrome. They have worked hard to save and fundraise the fees to rescue these two precious children. They are having an online auction to try to raise the remaining $3,000 they need to travel. Please check out their site and see if there is anything you would like to purchase.

Their blog is No Greater Joy if you want to read their story. If you want to go directly to the auction, here is the link: Hailey and Harper Ebay Store

Countdown...

more days until we leave for South Carolina to see Ryan!!!

He is in the final stage of his training right now...a week-long field op called Victory Forge. I had no idea what Victory Forge was until another s*ldier's family member posted this on F*cebook.

"Victory Forge ends at night, and the soldiers gather around a forge. Flames spew from the top as the battalion commander puts the soldiers' experiences into perspective. He holds up a rod of iron and likens it to them when they arrived at Fort Jackson -- metal with a lot of potential but unshaped. But then, he says, they went through the fires of Victory Forge. And as he speaks, he reaches into the forge and pulls out a sword. Then the drill sergeants go down the line and congratulate the soldiers. "When the drill sergeants walk down the line and tell [the soldiers] they've 'done good,' many of them break down," Van Alstyne said. "They are being told this by someone they really respect. It means a lot to them."

I am excited for Ryan and the others to get to this point and finally be told, "Well, done!" There are many spiritual parallels here, but at the moment, I am two days behind and need to get off the computer. I just cannot WAIT to see Ryan and hug his neck!!

I'm baaaack...

UGH.

After posting about being alone with God, I was able to try it out.

Sort of.

As in, having the stomach flu and removing myself from the rest of the family, in hopes that no one else will get it. I did spend a lot of time praying, which was nice. However, I prefer not to be sick,' cause, well...I hate being sick!

We leave for South Carolina in nine days to see Ryan. We can't be sick.

My sweet little Jordan had to wait a day to have his birthday so that Mommy could watch him blow out his candles and open his presents.

Jillian decided to handle baking the cake and wrapping the presents, until she, too, started to feel crummy. (What a girl!) She and I are on the mend and hoping that no one else gets it.

Here is our sweet little man, turning five.

Baby birds and butterflies

I'll get to the baby birds and butterflies, but first some things that have been floating around in my mind the past few days. Ryan sent us a very heart-wrenching letter (when he was sick) that made me want to jump in the car, drive down and get him and bring him home. Part of me knew this was a bad idea and another part of me didn't care! I wanted to fix things for him...make them better. I didn't like watching helplessly as he struggled.

Yesterday, I came across a quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (imprisoned for his Christian faith and eventually executed by the Naz*'s).

"Let him who cannot be alone beware of community."

I found it to be a very thought-provoking statement. As I pondered it, I thought of those I know who cannot stand to be alone. Ever. And they want others to free them from ever having to experience loneliness.

I remember reading once that when you are enduring a trial, your friends can be with you for comfort, but ultimately, they have to go home to their own families and you will be alone. Even within our own families, there will be a point when we have to struggle with our own thoughts and feelings apart from them. God is the only one who will be standing with us. Jesus modeled this for us in the garden of Gethsemane when he left his three closest friends and went apart from them a ways to be alone with God.

We need to learn to do this. It's called maturity. God is the sustenance we need. He is our only true source of strength and help. He will often send friends along to help, but ultimately, it is our responsibility to develop a relationship with Him that will sustain us in the worst of moments. God knows we desperately need this and sometimes He will force us to this point so that we learn to depend on Him.

Here is the baby bird and butterfly part...
Baby birds struggle to break out of their eggs and butterflies do the same to get out of their cocoons. If they could talk, I'm sure they would be begging every passerby for help. And who could turn away from so pitiful a sight? There have certainly been well-meaning people who tried to help, and in doing so, doomed those little creatures to certain death. The struggle makes them into the creature they were created to be. Without the struggle, they will never reach their potential and life expectancy.

It is so very hard to watch a friend or family member struggle. If you love your friend, come alongside but keep pointing them to Christ...their only true source of help and strength. Your friendship is not a substitute for their own relationship with God.

On the flip side, there are many who prefer to be helped beyond what is good for them.

Constantly.

Sheila Walsh, well-known speaker is quoted as saying:

"Those who cannot be alone with themselves expect others to be their lives, and no one can do that for another human being.
There are so many weak, malnourished believers who have never grown in Christ. What happens when they are in community? You have a room full of needy children who are expecting someone else to help them make it through this life, who have no skills to enable them to resolve conflict and nothing to give to others... We are all called to stand up and be who we are in Christ."

Let's not be dead weight. Let's spend the time we need to with God, developing our relationship with Him so that when the tough times come, we will be able to stand tall, strength flowing from the One who is the source of all Strength.