Lord, help the mister...

i know i say all of the time... where did the time go? but, man-o-man... where did the time go? i just took the top picture a few days ago, and it reminded me so much of this earlier picture of the girls. maybe it's their cheeks all squished together in that sweet sisterly love. maybe it's their snuggly smiling faces. maybe it's just me... but it feels like yesterday... but in fact, almost five years to the day separate these two precious pictures.

it must be sort of what it feels like to be stan. i know it's only been 7 months since he took off on deployment, but it seems like they just grow up that fast. i've been thinking a lot lately about all of the things that have changed since he left, and trying to imagine what it must be like to take that all in. the girls and i have our trials living without our big brawny man, but everything else around us stays stable. stan lives half a world away, in a tent, with skype and airplanes as his company. he is a very strong hearted man.

just a little something i've been thinking about as we are so close to his homecoming, and the transition back into "normal" family life... the normal'ish part being that we're all in the same country at the same time. :)

along with thinking about and prepping for homecoming, i've been snapping away on my 365 shots. i got this accidental favorite in the rain the other day. i took several shots of emma out in the rain with her umbrella. i got this shot quite by accident, lucky me. 

speaking of photos... if you're looking for some great photography tips & challenges, head over to ella publishing's blog every friday for the next several weeks to get your fill. the fabulous moon ko and i are putting together some fun thoughts, ideas and helpful hints... oh and there just may be some prizes, too! the first challenge is already up here.

and if you happen to be interested in the rest of the rainy day shots, you can see those here.

this past weekend i was blessed to enjoy some time with a few friends i hadn't seen in a long time. it's wonderful to have friends that you can pick up right where you left off with. we're all 15 years older, and lots of kids wiser... we laughed and talked and were thankful for enduring friendships and family.

monday, memorial day, i took the girls to a local cemetery to spend some time reflecting on how thankful we are for all of those who have served our great country, and for those who gave all for her. we shot up a few prayers for the families who have lost those that they love, and for safe returns for those who served... especially for the one nearest to our heart.

thank you so much to those so willing to give so much to keep us safe. God bless you & God bless America!

{so thankful}

it's memorial day, and my thoughts of course, wander toward my husband who is overseas (but getting quite close to coming home). but more than that, memorial day is about all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this great country. those that didn't come home. i've been spending countless hours this week going through the pictures of military homecomings over at pioneer woman. the images are powerful, heart breaking and so much more. it has renewed my perspective and thankfulness for our previous five homecomings, and the one coming up in less than two weeks... they were the homecomings where we got to hug and hold stan at the end. not the kind where we were handed a flag by a graveside.

i am so so thankful for the men and women who give so much, and are willing to give everything for this great country. and today i'm praying especially for the families who have lost the ones they've loved along the way. may God fill your heart today.

God bless our troops & God bless America!

homecoming 2006

homecoming 2008

homecoming 2008

happy memorial day

{remember}

to those who have served, to those who have given their lives, to those who have loved those that gave all... thank you. thank you for being one that gave up your freedom so we could enjoy that very freedom here at home. thank you.

wow, it's been a crazy weekend. charity tea, baby shower, yard work, camping and some remembrance of fallen heros. it was go, go, go. funny how those busy weekends lead into busy weeks. guess it's just that time of year, or maybe it's just this time of life. lol.

but i did get a chance to make a diaper cake for a shower this weekend. and i think the mommy really enjoyed it, so that made me happy. i'm glad i was too busy to notice that the whole thing is a little cockeyed and leaning to the left. oops. guess that's what you get when you use a chopstick to support the top layer. :)

the rest of our veggies were planted in the garden this weekend. and while working on pulling back some ivy stan stumbled upon a duck nest. the mama's been hanging out in the pond a lot lately, so we weren't really surprised. but we were quite excited at the prospect of baby duckies in a few weeks. now we're just trying to figure out if she's eating our goldfish or not. the girls and i fed her some bread the other day. she keeps her distance from us, but comes back to the pond after we're gone. so this was as good as i could get on a close up shot of mama duck.

emma *mastered* a new jump roping skill this last week. she can now crisscross the rope in front of her while jumping. and hey! i thought that was pretty sweet. way to go sis! but since my computer is only feeling like uploading this jump rope picture... you get the non-crisscross jumping picture. :)