Joplin Tornado

Wow, how a moment can change so much. We know it, but usually it's "somebody else" this happens to, maybe someone related to someone we know, someone we sort of knew, you know, but not someone we really know! Because this, this was close, so very close, close to family and friends, people we know, people we really know, people who are more then just a face. This is J-town. The town we went to in high school to see the latest movie, to pick up the latest releases in music, to go shopping for back to school clothes, to go to dinner, it was THE town!

So last night as the graduation party was winding down and the news of the devastating storm started trickling in we went home and prayed and we were glued to the TV coverage of the storm. The ravaged town that we know so well has been hit hard We are praying for those who have suffered such huge losses...we are giving and participating in the supply gathering efforts around town and still waiting to hear that some are okay. It's tragic; it's terribly close to home.

Praying for you JOMO...as you are near to our hearts!

She did it!

My beautiful, smart, extremely talented niece graduated today! We are all soooo very proud!

The celebration was awesome, so fun with bright colors and lots of family and friends of all ages to celebrate with her. The cake was YUMMERS, the food was delicious, chicken anyone, we had PLENTY! Loved the cheesy taters! Orange salad was great too, oh my, who am I kidding it was all fabulous! So thrilled I was able to be there!

Showing off her new VERA bag that LilBlue picked out for her! She got several cute things and some nice financial contributions towards her future :)

Thursday Thoughts!

I'm knee deep in graduation season...what a great time to be able to be with family, graduating from high school was an awesome time in my life, you are so eager, young and excited about the next step in life. It is also a time of transition as you move into adulthood. Most of us "go off to college" and it's not easy, I know for me I was pretty homesick. I also started to realize my parents were a lot smarter then I had originally thought!!! I know I never had a really rebellious period in my teen years, and I stayed out of trouble, but I'm sure there were moments when I wasn't pleasant to live with. I know I thought my parents did not have a clue as to my life and what was important to me and what I wanted to do. Somewhere in my college years though things really clicked and I thought, wow, my folks are pretty smart! So I think that makes this an exciting time for families. What I am also loving is that I think LilBlue is at this stage...I love it, she is maturing and growing into such a lovely young adult, she has taken on responsibility like a champ, she is still learning and she is still growing into this world of adulthood, but she is doing great so far and I know she will continue to plug on and do her best. It is nice to see, observe her maturity at this stage. I like it way better then the mid-teen years and am thankful we made it through them and they are over!!!!!! PTL

Thoughts:

• There is no Aldi in LA :(
• There is Hobby Lobby though!
• Church choices appear to be plentiful!
• Double feature at the movies last night
• I'm pretty much ready to be in my own house again!

Hope you are having a good week. Since it's been so unseasonably cool here, I'm wondering if we will see any Spring at all; we may go straight into summer! In fact it's been cool enough here that the heat has  kicked on the last two mornings. Somehow that seems wrong for mid-May!

One of those kind of days...

Wow, very seldom do I have "one of those kind of days" but today IS one of those...I will say little, but think much. What I am thinking is that I am a little disappointed in "the system" that I believe so much in, I am somewhat disturbed by choices of others and I am a wee bit disillusioned with life in the blue today...but no worries, tomorrow will be a new day and I will be back to my usual self and it will all be good!

Whew, that's better, I just had to get that out. I want to shout out a whole lot more, but I won't/can't/shouldn't/wouldn't so that's it, have a good day, I will but it will have to be tomorrow!

As "Official" as it will be...

So the assignment has been re-determined...are you ready for it?

I am and I am still thinking, "This is the Air Force and my life, so don't get too used to it yet, cause ya know it could change before you actually get there!" 

HOWEVER, as of TODAY, we will be at...drum roll please...

Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, LUUEZEEEANA, or for you non phonetic types that is plain ole Louisiana, our 18th state. Yes, I know that because whenever we are going somewhere new I try to become somewhat smart on the area and scour the internet for any and all things in the area! This is just how I operate! The 2nd Bomb Wing will be our new home. This is a wing full of history and a lot of air muscle, we are excited to join this mission.

So sometime in July I should be back in a house with my MiB surrounded by lots of boxes of things I haven't seen in over a year! We will make our home in the south once again. We will be 8 hours from our family, only 3 hours from Dallas, and a long way from any surf; which saddens MiB but we will still plan to make the best of it as always and we will make several trips to the coast area while there I'm sure! We also have wonderful friends in TX and plan to connect with them as soon as we can! Not to mention many other things I am sure we will discover while we are there as we always do :)

So if you have a desire to visit this area plan to come and you will have a place to stay! I have been told we will be in "historical housing" which will be a huge change from the brand new housing we had in FL. I think it will be awesome no matter! Looking forward to being a "bomber" LOL

Y'all come see us ya hear :)

Thursday Thoughts!

What a wonderful week I have had...but of course the WONDERFUL has left me. I enjoyed having LilBlue here but I knew our time together would come to an end, it did and now she is safely back to the BIG O and will be starting summer classes next week. I'm so proud of her for taking on a summer schedule. She will take two classes from 16 May til 24 June. She will be done just in time for MiB return's and then we will reunite for a time.

BTW WE ARE NO LONGER GOING NORTH...kinda thought it would change, it did, so Alaska is no longer our new destination. At this point I hesitate to mention anything but think south...cause unless someone with stars makes a decision about MiB we are headed south. I like the south, but really I am not sure this location truly qualifies for that designation! Of course, this information is subject to change depending on the stars :)

THOUGHTS

•  Loving the sunshine :)
• Ice cream for 5 days straight...
• Days are going by so fast, yet not!
• My little girl is a lovely young woman!

Think I will stop there, hope your Thursday is full of thoughts! Remember to make the days count, NOT just count the days!

Cuteness

SOOO I know it's been a day or two since Mother's Day but I wanted to put a picture of our drink cups up. Aunt Turtle, my oldest second sister, is super talented and she took the time to decorate our cups for the day!
These are LilBlue's and mine and I thought they were too neat not to share! Everyone had a cup that was tailor made just for them!

That's all...carry on!