Life Keeps Rolling On

1.  My first born, my baby boy, is now a high school graduate.  I blinked, and he grew up.  The day after graduation, he enlisted in the Marine Corps.  His tentative ship date is Nov 4th.  I am so, so proud of the young man he has become.  We did something right in 18 years of parenting...  I'm not sure what or how, but we managed to raise a respectful, intelligent, funny, productive, honest, caring young man.

2.  My second born, my baby girl, will be a high school Junior in the fall.  This year she joined Special Olympics and competed in Basket Ball and in Swimming.  She had fun during practices, but would panic and freeze when it came time for competition.  She'd have a rough start each time, but would rally and come back full force during competition.  She enjoyed it and was proud of herself at the end of the day.  As were we.

3.  Megan was also diagnosed with PCOS last fall.  (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)  She was prescribed a couple of meds, and it seems to have corrected the issue.  Now if we can figure out a way to fix her "teenage hormonal" attitude.  *snort*

4.  My mom, who is fighting breast cancer, is doing really well.  For the past 18 months she's been taking one pill a day, and it keeps the tumors from growing.

5.  My dad was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer.  He started chemo last week, and is feeling good so far.  After his chemo, he will have surgery to remove his bladder and prostate, and will learn to live life with a "bag".  It's been a bit overwhelming learning that BOTH parents have cancer at the same time.  I thank God every single day that I'm here and able to support them as they fight their battles.

6.  Megan will be having oral surgery next week to remove two baby teeth that have fused to her jaw and three adult teeth that are impacted and growing in wonky directions.  All five teeth will be removed, and she will then get a partial denture.

7.  Dave and I are looking forward to going out to San Diego for Christopher's Boot Camp Graduation early next year.  Tentatively, it looks like it will be in February.  I think we'll take a few extra days and spend some time in the SoCal area... maybe go to the San Diego Zoo or DisneyLand.

8.  My beloved van died.  ....so sad....  But I downsized to a car, and now have a 5-speed Hyundai Elantra.... and it gets GREAT gas mileage!  What a nice change.  And it's a super fun little car to drive.

Happy Summer!!

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As time goes by...

Dave is officially eligible to retire today... 20 years of active duty service is on the books.

I seriously can not believe it's been 20 years.

TWENTY.

In that time we got married, had two kids, survived one open-heart surgery, owned 7 cars, been stationed on four different bases (been shuffled back and forth between two of those bases numerous times), driven coast to coast four times, and we've had 11 different addresses. We've learned to celebrate Christmas while wearing shorts and with the A/C running, the kids have grown up playing in both oceans, we've survived a hurricane, an earthquake, and a wildfire.  And then there was 9/11.  We've met a lot of wonderful people, some not-so-wonderful people, and we've made life long friends.  We've celebrated a lot, mourned a lot, laughed a lot, cried a lot, and loved a lot.  We've been so blessed.  It's been an amazing twenty years.

And six months from today is Dave's retirement ceremony.  It's going to be a life changing event... 

I'm nervous, anxious, excited, and scared.  I'm not sure what the future holds for my little family, but I pray the Lord continues to bless us, and that we're able to look back in another 20 years and say it's been even more amazing.

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Nov 11

Today I am thankful for all the men and women who have served and defended this great country of ours... and for those who continue to serve.

We are truly the land of the FREE because of the BRAVE.

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