Thank You

to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Mike and Sherry, Dana and Monte, you are in our thoughts and prayers today.

Home Is Where the Army Sends Us

So.....
last month my husband came home and told me that he had some big news. Turns out, the Army not only wants him to transfer to a new job, it wants him to transfer to his DREAM JOB. He has suffered through 3 long years of commuting (planes, trains, and lots and lots of automobiles!), cubicles (Ft Meade, the Pentagon, Alexandria...), powerpoint (slide after slide after slide) and he is finally bustin' out of this place and getting back to the "real" Army.

He will be taking command of the 24th Press Camp Headquarters, a tactical unit that he will be standing up. He gets officers and soldiers, and a guidon, and will be so happy. He is so great with soldiers--and as one particular General Officer remarked last week to a Captain who was getting ready to transfer to the unit, "Lieutenant Colonel G------ is the Obi Wan of training soldiers."

We've kept this underwraps for a little while because there were, and are, lots of logistics to work out. The Sergeant Majors' board will be meeting soon, though, and soon after all the players will be set. This is one of 4 tactical commands in Dave's field--a huge honor and one he not only deserves, but will excel at. Dave will leave sometime next winter and the kids and I, minus Jarrett and Alyson (gulp!), will follow on the next summer--after Alyson graduates. Of course, that is all dependent upon Nick's health.

But just for your planning purposes, if you want to come visit us, you can pack lightly. No jackets needed-at least not for most of the year. Definitely bring your sunglasses. And a healthy appetite for huevos rancheros. You may see a rattlesnake. And we can walk across a bridge on the Rio Grande to visit Mexico if we feel like it. There's very little humidity and with the good weather, "Every day is a good hair day!" is the word I got from a local.
We'll see you next year at
Fort Bliss in
El Paso, Texas

Photo Round Up

Because I haven't posted photos in a while:

Science Experiment Day

Two Sleeping Boys National Honor Society Induction Ceremony

Cub Scout Pow Wow-our den got to show off our endangered animal posters BIG NEWS for this girl-at the Regional meet she not only qualified for States in the triple jump, but she also broke her own school record with a 35' jump! And earlier in the day she got her driver's license-on the first try!!!

My kids

*I wrote this post a few days ago and saved it, intending to download some cute pictures of everything to go along with the story. I've been thinking, though, and I feel like the "things" the kids got me and did aren't as important as the effort they put into them. This weekend I felt so loved and treasured and it made my tired old heart feel good. So no pictures right now, but imagine a big smile on my face. :) *

Yesterday my children treated my to a wonderful day full of surprises. I am so blessed to have such sweet, considerate children and this week has been so wonderful having all 4 of them here.

Dave stayed with Nick while the rest of us went to church and on the way Alyson treated me to a chai latte from Atlanta Bread Co. (see previous post....)! My Secret Sister at church gave me beautiful hanging basket of petunias--in the same colors I'm using outside already!

After church we came home and had chicken quesadillas for lunch and just enjoyed hanging out together, remembering old stories and laughing.

My sweet Little gave me a ring he made for me at a friend's house. It's perfect.

Nick managed to stay up for a good bit of the afternoon and he even presented me with a card he had made. I will just say that I am have been blessed beyond measure with children, particularly teenagers, who are so capable of touching a mother's heart.

Dinner was take-out chinese (yum!!!), picked up by the big boy and the girl, followed by spice cake with cream cheese frosting made by Alyson. The finished up the evening by giving me a gift card to Atlanta Bread Co. so I can treat myself to chai lattes for a long time!

The only bad part of the day was that Jarrett had to leave to go back to school. He's got a paper to finish and a couple more classes before summer break. It was such a huge help having him here while Dave was gone with Nick sick. I mentioned to a friend that my family tends to "circle the wagons" when tough times come and they really showed that this week. Protective of Nick, considerate, helpful, and cooperative.

Thank you, God, for my children. I am abundantly blessed.

My mom

Every year when Mother's Day comes around I wonder what my children really think of it. They (well, most of them) have outgrown the macaroni necklaces and handprint gifts they used to give. When you're little, Mother's Day is kind of forced upon you by the other adults in your life. Your dad, your Sunday School teachers, etc. But when you get older you actually have to think about what you're saying on Mother's Day. I imagine feelin' the love comes easier some years than others.

I know it did for me. I don't really remember many Mother's Days from my childhood. And even as a teenager, I'm ashamed to say. I hope we treated my mother well. What I do know is that I never, ever really understood what my mom went through for my sister and me. I never understood the depth of her love. I never imagined how glad I would be when someone told me I was "turning into" my mother.

Some of you know my mom. You know her as "Danna." That's because Danna has become her name to just about everyone, ever since Jarrett (the first grandchild) couldn't say Grandma. We stayed with her while Dave was in Operation Desert Storm and "Danna" became the moniker that would stick. She does have a real name. It's Sylvia Diane. Sometimes I call her "Sylvie" just because it's cute--and my aunt does. But most of the time even I call her Danna. Dave calls her Danna. The neighborhood kids call her Danna. All the rest of her grandchildren call her that. One day one of my kids asked who Danna was. They just thought she was this nice lady named Danna who spent a lot of time with us--they never connected Danna to "Grandma."

And that's fitting. Technically she IS a grandma. But, as I have repeatedly heard, she is not like a normal grandma. I mean, she rides horses, for pete's sake! What is more un-grandma-like than that?! She went for a walk with Alyson in Germany and they came back 3 1/2 hours later. Turns out they got lost and had to "hike" up a huge cliff so they could see where they were. That remains one of Alyson's favorite memories. She went down the water slide at the Y in North Carolina--maybe not one of her favorite times, but I know she was proud of herself! She gives rides to anyone in the neighborhood who needs a ride to school.

She volunteered as a Bluebirds leader and a Girls in Action leader when we were little. She worked with special needs children then too and has recently begun working as a helper to a little boy with Down's Syndrome who is attending mainstream classes at her local school. She loves those kids--including all the rest of the kids in the class. And they love her. She goes out of her way to be kind to others and everyone she comes in contact with is left feeling like they are important.

My mom is cool.

But the thing that strikes me most every Mother's Day is that all those years when I was ignoring, rebelling against, avoiding my mom, I was learning. I was learning patience and grace and humility and faith. My mom was left to figure out how to support her two children on a paltry salary and child support. She worked and saved and scrimped and rebuilt her life.We didn't help her at all. I lived completely in the "me" world and hopped back and forth to whomever could give me what I thought I wanted. Then I got out of there. My mom never stopped loving me or welcoming me back. She never failed to give me another chance. She forgave me over and over again and she trusted God with her every step.

I am still turning to her to learn. She is the first person I call when I want to share good family news or bad news or even no news. It's just nice to hear her voice. There is something about calling my mom that makes everything feel better. She commented the other day that the way we deal with things is just to have a cry if we need to, then buckle down and start working. She's right. We don't sit around wailing and feeling sorry for ourselves. We trust God has the situation in His hands and do what we can to prepare our fields for rain. I'm like her in that.

My mom leaves long, rambling voice mails when she calls. I'm like her in that. (just ask Alyson....who is showing that dominant gene I might add) My mom loves her horses--they are her calming influence in her life. Where she wants to be when she needs a pick me up. I'm like her in that (except for me, it's my chai teas at Atlanta Bread Co. Hey, it's a stretch but still similar....)

I miss her a lot. I wish we weren't so far away. I wish she could come sit on my couch and drink coffee and fold clothes and take little naps. She can't right now and I know that. And so, for now, I imagine what she would say to me, or I call her and hear what she'll say to me, and I console myself with the idea that I really am turning into my mother. I hope that when my children are grown and moved away I am like Danna to them. I think that I fully understand now what a mother's love really is. It's one of those things that can't be taught--it has to be lived. And now that I am a mother and have experienced many of the stages of motherhood from infancy to adulthood, I think I really get it.

I love you, mom.

Happy Mother's Day

Boy News

As most of you know, we met with a pediatric cardiologist at Johns Hopkins yesterday to discuss Nick's illness. We got some good news but still face an uphill battle getting Nick back to full health.
The best part of the report was that we found out Nick does not have any heart disease or damage. There is some disagreement over the results of some of the tests but we feel very confident in the answers we got yesterday. The cardiac issues he has stem from a disorder in his nervous system. It is an illness that encompasses many system groups in his body and affects his neurologic, cardiac, and endocrine systems.
We have a treatment plan and are praying that Nick's case will be an acute case and will resolve itself in a few months. We have medicine and a strict activity and dietery regimen to help ease some of his symptoms and hopefully speed along his recovery. At this time, he is still unable to function at his normal level and is under strict orders to not let his heart rate go above 120 bpm. That's not an easy thing to do, given that he has no control over that and his heart rate can jump to 160 or higher while he is just sitting down. We're keeping a good eye on him, though. :)

That's our latest update. We're thankful to so many who have prayed for and emailed/called Nick and helped out while Dave was gone. We are beyond blessed.

Girl News

This girl (who is in the process of getting her fastest 100m hurdle time ever)

found out yesterday that she will be inducted into the National Honor Society! We are so excited for her. She received the invitation to apply and the process was very long and involved. One of the requirements was to have one teacher send in a sealed letter of recommendation and she chose her AP Statistics teacher, who is a retired Colonel and has a reputation for his......serious....personality. She has a good grade in his class and I believe he appreciates hard work and diligence and the effort she puts into her school work.

There will be a ceremony and a dinner to honor the new inductees soon. Congratulations Alyson!

And another fun bit of news is that in the mail today there was an acceptance letter to one of Alyson's top 5 college choices! She hasn't actually applied there yet but had her SAT scores and academic record sent to them and they offered her guaranteed admission based on those "outstanding" (their words) results!

Today she had her fastest hurdle time and her best long and triple jumps of the season. It's a good day!