Time is coming closer and closer.......

OK....you are all probably going to get sick of hearing about it, but time just keeps getting closer and closer until my HUBBY GETS HOME, FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow...any deployment is tough, whether it is 3, 6, 9, 12....but 15??????? I mean, c'mmon...it feels like 3 years!!!!! So, we are ALL looking so forward to integrating back into our little family again.....we are just jumpin out of our skins....I AM SOMEWHAT in a panic, however, due to the fact that I have a running list (in my head) of things that I need to get done before he arrives and I just CANNOT SEE, with having the flu, homeschooling, etc...HOW ON EARTH IS IT ALL GONNA GET DONE????? LOL....I know.....stress....not good......but, it's a happy stress and it will all work out in the end....we are sooo nervous/excited about our upcoming move, but planning our trip before we arrive in El Paso....we're going to be VERY busy....We are going to have our Van shipped to St. Louis, and drive about an hour to see our friend, Leticia in Springfield, Missouri, then off to Clarksville, TN to see Kiki and bill for a couple of days (or lunch, because they're getting ready to move to Germany!!! ), then off to Ohio and WV to visit with our families for a week or so, then travel down the East Coast (or what we call over here in Hawaii, THE UGLY COAST, and make several stops with friends along the way.....stop in Myrtle Beach, SC (where we were married) for just a couple or 3 days, and then to friends in Savannah, (shout out to Jessica and Crystal), and then Crystal and Jeromy Mcgee are going to travel with us to DISNEY for our BANGARANG fun in Florida, and then we will head across the Deep South visiting more friends along the way and making another stop in Dallas (GOTTA GO TO THE NEW COWBOYZ STADIUM, OF COURSE), then onto San Antonio to Sea World, making that our last stop before checking in at El Paso for the next 3 years!........WOW, THAT WAS THE LONGEST RUN ON SENTENCE IN HISTORY!!!!! LOLOLOLOL Can you tell that I'm excited????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great new week everyone!!!! Love to all,

2 NEW HOMECOMINGS

Well, guys, I guess there COULD be something to the old wive's tale (joke), but Death does very often come to people in 3's......we started off losing Debbie Deraps last Wednesday evening and now I have just learned in a 3 hour time frame, 2 BEAUTIFUL and WONDERFUL women were needed to organize affairs by our Heavenly Father as well......I'll tell you what....by the time the rest of get to Heaven, things should be totally ready for each and every one of us......Both women had Long, Wonderful lives.....I will start off by telling you about Christian's dear Grandmother, Connie Gates.....she was a fantastic mother of 5 children and many, many grand children and great grandchildren! She lived a full life and although she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 12 years ago, that is not what took her in the end......3 of her arteries were completely clogged and 2 more 80% clogged....the Dr's gave her the option in December of whether to operate or leave things alone....her chances of surviving the surgery were not good, so, she opted to let go, and let God do his thing....I've been told that the Dr's were completely baffled, because her system shut down a long time ago, she's gone many days with total kidney failure and other systems had totally shut down....the Dr's said there was NO SCIENTIFIC reason for her to still be here as long as what she was....they have no idea how she held on.....so, for whatever reason, now the suffering is all over and she, like many, many others have had more important things to do, and she is now in the PRESENCE of our Lord.....Praise God!!!!! Just like the song goes...."I CAN ONLY IMAGINE".....

Also, another precious, beautiful, and remarkable sister in Christ, Irene Richards.....she is somehow distantly related to me, so, I suppose, a distant cousin, but she, like Great Grandma Gates lived a full, and happy life.....she was such a tower of strength in the Church that I grew up in.....as a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, my Mother said she would have not accepted Christ and grew in the Lord if it were not for this Lady, leading and guiding her thru the years....I've had the pleasure of knowing her all my life and yet again, ANOTHER EXCITING homecoming to rejoice over.......Wow, when the rest of us catch up, what a party we will have!!!! So, 1 Corinthians 15:55 says it all, and for those of us who have been born again and accepted Christ as our personal savior....."O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory"....PRAISE BE TO GOD........

Homecoming

Hello everyone.....

Well, I'm signing in to continue my New Year's Resolution....I'm really gonna TRY very hard to keep you all updated at least once a week....so far, so good! Today, I want to tell you all about a new friend that I had the EXTREME PLEASURE of knowing, even though in a very, very short time, she touched so many, so quickly.....Her name was Debbie...She was such a blessing to be around....Always upbeat, always optimistic, such a JOY...what made Debbie's attitude so special was all the while, she has been batteling ovarian cancer....she had such a strong and beautiful disposition and she was just one of those people that EVERYONE gravitated to...you had NO choice....her personality drew you in....I only had the pleasure of enjoying her friendship for a little more than a month....She is leaving behind 2 young Children....Megan-age 4, and Brody--age 2....and her Loving husband, Shawn.....Debbie's parents were flying in this morning when she passed....she passed away at 9:21 a.m. local time...she held out as long as she could.....I wasn't able to be with her, but, those who were present said that she died peacefully and that it was the most Glorious thing that they had ever witnessed....she drew in her last breath, with a smile on her face....Praise the Lord...she is no longer struggling, she is no longer hurting, she is FINALLY cancer free......I will never forget our final conversation.....she only wanted God's will for her life....she said that if it was his will to perform a miracle and heal her completely, then, praise the Lord, and If it were His time to call her home, then she was ready....as she pointed at me and said, "I'm going to beat you there!"...with a chuckle in her voice....My last words were, "if you DO make it there before me, then I need you to make sure that I am assigned a house on YOUR street, because I just didn't have enough time with her down here on Earth"....She's just another person to go on before me, to make me long for the day when I get to hear those precious words from my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, "Well Done"....and that sums up my interpretation of Debbie.......WELL DONE DEBBIE.........WELCOME HOME......

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!!

Ok.....I know, what a terrible, terrible blogging wannabe....LOL.....well, I have discovered my problem with blogging.....it's an 8 letter word that I am addicted to......FACEBOOK!!!! LOL.....Well, my new year's resolution is to blog at LEAST once per week and keep up with it.....It truly is the best way to let everyone in on what's happening in our little corner of the World......Ok....I have lots to talk about! For Starters, my Hubby will be home in about a month....we do not have the exact day, but about a month from now....I cannot WAIT!!!! It has been a very long deployment this time, but we thank God that it looks like about 14 months instead of 15 months (if all goes as planned).....THEN, in June we leave for our next destination, FORT BLISS, TEXAS!!!!!! We are really excited for the change.....We have been stationed here at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii now for 8 years and I had the normal military wife's 3 year itch to move after the 1st nine months!!! LOL...so, we have been too far away for far too long!!!! It has been a true joy and blessing to have had the opportunity to experience Hawaii, with all of it's beauty, but now, it is time to move on...We are sooooo excited and although we've been told that Fort Bliss is ANYTHING BUT blissful, home is where the Army sends us, and we will make the best out of wherever we are and whatever we do.....We had a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS SEASON and so much has happened I cannot begin to tell you all, but, once again, we are truly blessed, we will miss Hawaii terribly (lanakila especially), but we are truly looking forward to a new start in a new place....New Beginnings.....EXCITEMENT........

WAIT......DON'T FAINT!!!!!

Hey Everyone! Wait, don't faint! I am alive and doing well (for the most part), and time is just DRAGGIN' on and on and the closer my husband is to returning from Iraq, the slower the time seems to creep along......UGH!!!! Well, let's see...what's new this past month??? Well, we still don't know where we are going to be stationed at next.....hopefully that will be coming soon! We've all been down sick here for a few weeks, much better now though!.....First I had double pneumonia, and then took a week off from being diagnosed with that and then 2 of my 3 kids and I ended up with Strep Throat!.....so, we are getting back to normal now....back into a regular routine and started exersizing over the last month also (after sicknesses)....I bought that Jillian Michaels workout on theWii and WOW......she's a killer!.....but it is fun and my children absolutely have a blast with it too......HUMMMMM let's see now.....did I say yet how much I miss my husband????? Well, I do.....this is our 2nd Christmas apart and the kids are really sad too....:( He is a little down also and I would like for all you prayer warriors out there to please lift his name up in prayer....His name is Christian......Well, I suppose that's all for today!.....Make sure you visit me......I am going to TRY to get back into doing this!!!!! Love to all!

IS ANYBODY OUT THERE IN BLOG WORLD???

Well, First of all I am sincerely sorry for my lack of blogging....It has been the CRAZIEST couple of weeks....First Nikki was struck with her Gallbladder surgery and then one by one, everyone I knew started getting ill, and NOW my entire crew is down and out with none other than.........STREP THROAT!!!!!!!!! YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If something is out there floating around in the air, I get it....and I get it bad.....so, my children and I are officially in hiberation AT LEAST till Next Monday....We will go NOWHERE, we will do NOTHING...and thank Goodness for my dear friends who are willing to help out with some grocery errands.....I will need bread, fruit and milks! LOL....Isn't that always the case?????? So, all of you out there (if anyone is listening) please say a prayer for our Foster Clan that we can get to feeling better soon and rejoin the human race!!!!

Love to all and have a wonderful day!!!!!!

WHERE DO I BEGIN???????????

Wow.....alot can happen in 5 days, I guess.....I hope this finds everyone doing well out there in cyberspace! We are doing ok here in Hawaii....I think that I may have pneumonia, again, (not a shock)...for those of you who know me....I get this every year Oct, Nov, Dec.....last year I was very fortunate however, and did not get it for the first time in, seriously folks, probaby 12 years.....I've always been succeptible to it....even all thru childhood.....so, nothing new....But it is frustrating when the military doctors say,, "well, your lungs sound clear to me and you don't have a high fever, so, it's not pneumonia, "...then a couple weeks go by and I'm so bad that they end up having to hospitalize me...I've already let it go (I know Nikki), for a week already, so, I'm gonna try to get an appointment tomorrow....but, it will be a fight to get an xray and meds....but, maybe I'll get lucky and actually get to see MY regular dr, who knows that I KNOW MY BODY and he'll give me the meds...!!!!!! Ok...now onto more news.....My hubby called me finally yesterday to tell me that he has been in contact with his Branch Manager and we should know where our next duty station is maybe by the end of this month....PLEASE, above all else, pray for God's will.....He'll get HIS way no matter what, but our options are 1) Ft. Belvoir, VA 2) Ft. Benning, GA, or 3) Ft. Polk (PUKE), LA......can you tell what MY WILL IS??????? hahahaha....well, VA would be the best, because not only is it only 5 hours from home, Christian will get to keep his job that he is doing now, which he ABSOLUTELY LOVES AND THRIVES AT....he's doing so good at his job and he loves what he is doing and I would hate for that to have to change for him.......also, we would more than likely be there until we retire.....then if we get GA, he will be a drill instructor (which he does NOT wanna do at all)....and for those of you who know him, that is just NOT his nature....He CAN do it, but does not want to.....and at Ft. Puke, he would be in a classroom instructor position, which he prefers to the Drill Instructor, but he knows that LA would be location wise a terrible place for our family because of health issues, mostly.......so, everyone, just pray that I can learn to be "content" no matter where HE chooses for us to be as a family....I know he has great things in store for us no matter, so, I'm excited and very sad at the same time...We've been here in Hawaii for 8 years and I have made the BEST FRIENDS OF MY LIFE HERE (of course some of you have already moved on from here), and I don't wanna leave my church home and family!...:(........Have a great week everyone!!! Love to all!