Benevolence by Dream Big Designs

I am happy to say I got another double page layout done!  I was so motivated with these photos and I wasn't sure I chose the right photos but after I got started, I think that I could have used any photos with this kit and it would have still be perfect but these photos really made this kit flow together for me!  So run over to Cheris store at Scrapable and grab it for $2.00.  Take a peak at the kit and what I did with it:

Super Stuntman

Two done in Two weeks!  I have been able to move onto a kit designed by the fabulous Melissa Daniels called Super Stuntman! 

Look how cute and perfect it was for my Universal Studios photos!  If you go over to her blog or even at her store at PDP you can see all the great pages and inspiration that the rest of the CT came up with for it and some of them had nothing to do with stunts or cars!!!  It feels so great to be getting some photos scrapped from our trip to disneyland last April.  I have so many more to go, but I am excepting the fact that I just don't have the time that I used to have to make as many pages.  Being the only one at home I have little time in the evening to sit and work on the computer to come up with some pages.  So glad that I got these done though and I think they turned out AWESOME!!

Girls Just Wanna Have fun Collab kit

I have somehow managed to balance time again!  Woot Woot!  I was able to work with one kit so far since hubby has been away!  I have just celebrated my 30th Birthday with some very dear friends of mine and what better kit to use than this ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE collab kit by Dream Big Designs and Rebecca B.  Run over to Cheris blog or her store at My Life and Scrap to grab it!  Right now it is 50% off!  You can get this gigantic kit for only $2.50!!!!!!! 

I made 4 layouts with it and before you go checking out my pages, let me first say that the man standing in his tighty shorts was so far out of my element for me to even be taking photos with, however, it was very much a part of my birthday extravaganza and we had soooooooooo many stinkin laughs.  The night started with sushi at my favorite sushi bar in Portland then off to a FABULOUS female impersonator show at Darcelle IV in downtown portland.  Just as you could imagine straight out of a movie!   It was so fantastic!!!  My girlfriend I will just call her T had blisters all over her feet, bruises on her toenails as well and I had blisters too! We walked and walked and danced and laughed all night!  My 30th Birthday could not have been any better!  Thank you to my fantastic friends who were able to come help me and my twin sister L celebrate our big day!!!  My friends are soooooo funny and I am not going to begin to try to explain it here on my blog but it was such a fantastic night!  I wonder what my 30's have to bring to the table.  I hope that this year will fly by and my hubby will be home to share the rest of it with!  We miss him so much!

The first week has past

I have had great intentions yet again of keeping friends and family all updated of Keith and how he is doing while he is away, however this week has over taken me with unexpected happenings that has totally allowed to time for me to sit and type. 

So lets begin at the beginning.  Sunday May 2 we said our goodbyes and Faith said the HARDEST goodbye she will ever have to say.  As she and I stood in the airport and watched her daddy disappear behind the walkway door we held each other.  She was crying and I was tearful hopeful and curious.  Curious to what the next year holds for all of us.  How much will they grow?  Will Hudson remember his daddy?  How Faith will change in 12 months.  How many teeth will she loose?  Will Hudson be potty trained when he gets home?  I had a wealth of questions that seemed to float around me.  Now that the hardest part was over...or was the hardest part yet to come.  I guess at that point that was the hardest point or so we thought...

Of course I had no idea what the upcoming week had to hold for me.  As with the beginning of anything there is always kinks to work out, papers to finalize, and tears to wipe away. 

Both Faith and Hudson said good bye to their daddy while they were super sick.  I ended up having to take Hudson into the Dr on Monday morning and they placed him on another inhaler.  I ended up finally coming down with the bug I have held onto trying to get sick as well. 

We have battled insurances not talking to me and dental insurance coverage.  I joke with my mom about writing a book about what the other books don't cover about deployment readiness.  There are all the check lists, but those checklists don't go into detail.  Granted with every deployment comes different needs and necesities, but for the most part, they are all the same.  Unbeknownst to us, dental coverage was not included in our military coverage and required a different enrollment process and payment.  So that was never taken care, but established at a very inconvenient time standing at the dentist office trying to be seen after a tooth broke the previous night!  Also tricare can never be easy because you are never dealing with just tricare.  You will always have problems with being in DEERS when your activation always begins.  Of course I had to discover that standing in line at the pharmacy trying to fill a prescription for Hudson and myself but was unable to....GRRRRRR.

I've lost my temper and I've probably not been the worlds best mom this week.  But what I do know is that I am not perfect and I am trying.  I am trying to provide what my kids need.  What is necessary for them to go on today...right here right now.  Hudson will not get into the car without asking for dada.  Hudson will not pull into the drive way with out asking for dada.  Faith always wants to call him and tell him everything still.  All makes me very happy that they both remember and talk about him, but are a constant reminder of that one thing that is actively missing in our lives.  Hudson loves to hug and kiss flat daddy and even hugged and kissed his hug a hero doll that we had printed with daddy's picture on it.  Faith loves me to spray his cologne on her hero doll, and she really loves to skype with him though we have only managed to do that one time so far.  I am hoping when our schedule calms down from so many activities this week, we might be able to see him a couple times on the computer next week.

I have leaned on my friends and asked for help.   They have babysat and been there for me to lean on and complain about that glass of water I dumped down the front of my shirt that I had put back in the cupboard full, and the chicken I burned on the grill and the squash I forgot about in the oven, and the pile of laundry I can't seem to get to, or the dishes that are piling in the sink.  They have said they would help me when I needed it.  They have been that rock that I have needed.  Thank you friends!!!!!

I am looking forward to a weekend with them all to help me celebrate my 30th birthday next week.  I am going to try to get a massage a week to pamper myself...I deserve it.  And for tonight, lets just hope I can kick this cold in the rear. 

Keith has been busy with processing through medical getting shots, filling out papers, standing in lines, going from  one part of the bast to another.  I haven't had a lot of time to talk to him.  He has managed to provide me with paper work and answers to questions that I have.  I am thankful for having him somewhat accessable to reach in the event that I need to have something done that I can't do.  There are a few problems that have arose that we are not able to deal with while he is away, but I can't talk about those here.  Fortunately we can wait to deal with them until he gets home. 

We appreciate all the prayers and support that we have recieved.  I will continue to update as we go!