My Life Lately

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind with Jordan and Seth in and out of our house.  I miss my daughter a lot.  I'm so thankful for I phones.  It was kind of fun watching her pack and get ready for her departure.

Gotta love the shine!  Who would have thought my girly girl would wear combat boots?

She has not been too busy in Hawaii lately because her first week there was Thanksgiving week.  She met some new friends has been out and about teasing me with pictures from her phone.

 Marine base.

Some ugly beach she went to....

Seth came home for Thanksgiving and gave Eva some camo face paint.  What an honor to actually have her face all smeared with green, black, and brown stuff.  She was quite happy about her new treasure.

My niece, Violet, got the first paint job by her big cousin, Seth.

Seth stayed busy with friends and family, and Mike took him back to base on Sunday.  He has to apply for an updated p@ssport.  It is funny to see how the boy has grown up in the last seven years.  He's still got that same militaristic look about him, doesn't he?  If you notice...he was wearing green then, as well as green now.

And this morning, I decided to torture Joy with a nutritious breakfast.  She was not too happy about it at all.  She managed to down 80% of her meal, though, which is great!

It's 9:23, and I need to get started with some school.  At the age of 6, it takes Joy an hour to brush her teeth, make up the bed, and get dressed.  The word "quickly" is not in her vocabulary.  I need to encourage her to get moving.  Have a great day!

Her Departure, His Arrival

Jordan's two weeks home flew by way too quickly.  It was so good to have her home, staying in her room, hearing her footsteps coming up the stairs, hearing her say "Mom" every single day.  We took her to the airport this morning.  Right now she is on her last leg of her destination.  She is looking forward to starting her new job, learning about a new place, meeting new people.  I can't wait to hear from her once she gets all settled in.

Last week, we dropped her car off so it can be shipped to Hawaii.  Then, we all headed to Seth's graduation from infantry training in North Carolina.  We were all together once again after six months.  It was so amazing to look inside our vehicle and see all six of our children.

The Christmas decorations were already up at the windy beach.

These were the scenes in our hotel room after we picked up Seth.  He had a few hours of liberty on Thursday evening before graduation the following morning.

 My son is somewhere in this crowd of Marines.

  Jordan and Seth after graduation.

This was Seth's home for the last two months.  He was very glad to be moving to a new place to learn his new job.  We found out that Seth will be home for Thanksgiving!  But, I'm sad I won't have my daughter home to share brussell sprouts with next week.

Eating Habits

She won't eat PBJ and apples for lunch....

...but for some reason Joy has no problem downing cooked cabbage for breakfast!  I love her.

Oops

I gave Jordan the job of cutting Jack's hair while I was vacuuming.  Jack likes his hair cut on #1 of the clippers.  She was doing fine, so she says, when she came and asked me to finish up around his ears.  So, I grabbed the clippers and started shaving his head.  Apparently, Jordan had already taken off the #1 and, it was not set with any attachments at all!  I thought something seemed amiss when I started cutting.

He wasn't too upset about my our mistake.  By Sunday his hair will have grown enough to not see his scalp.  I'm not a fan of the look, though.  Jack is not much into the latest hairstyles; it's a good thing considering we butchered him.

On another note...I found out tonight that Joy named her cat Lucifer.  It's a stuffed animal, but still.  Before you think we are demon worshipers around here, I figured out why she did that.  Any guesses?  Cinderella, of course.

We're talking about a new name for her stuffed cat.

Something Is Missing

With a little help from her dad...

...her top tooth finally came out.  Eva has been holding out in hopes that her front tooth would fall out on its own.  I think she looks too cute!

When did she get old enough to loose top teeth?

My Life Lately

A few posts back, I told you how obsessed I had become with checking the news regarding all of the election coverage.  It was so bad, that I went on a news fast.  I am happy to say that I did not read, watch, or listen to any news coverage until election day.  To be honest, all of the lies, twisting of truths, and deceit I read about frustrated me.  I am glad the election is over, although very sad with the demise of our values as a nation.  We are not the country we were twenty-five or even fifty years ago when it comes to our character, morals, and patriotism.  It saddens me for my children and what they will have to face in their future.  I am disappointed half the nation chose a controlling government over constitutional freedoms and rights.  Tuesday, I took the girls with me to vote.

 Given Eva's usual attire, she received many salutes while at the voting polls.

We've been having a grand time with Jordan, hanging around doing pretty much nothing!  She made a few requests for dinner.  It's definitely more fun to cook when everyone helps out!

 Cooking up the Cordon-blue!  With lots of gravy!!

 Waiting on dinner.

Earlier this week, Jack had a birthday. 

 And, earlier last month, Ivy had a birthday.  This picture was taken with my phone.  Not great quality, but she was super excited to be double digits! 

Jordan bought Jack this t-shirt.  I'm not a fan of skulls on shirt, but this particular shirt signifies her job responsibilities.  Jack thought it was cool.  I can't believe I actually got a smile from my son.  Jordan was behind me teasing him.

Today the girls had their closing program at their co-op.  It was cute watching all the little kids doing their thing.  Ivy's class played the bells.

Eva and Joy sang their Nifty Fifty states song while dressed up as Indians.  This semester they learned about the Boston Tea Party.  They even had a revolutionary battle where the kids brought in their "guns" and had "war" on the playground.  I don't think that would be allowed anywhere in the public school system.

Joy enjoyed being up on stage.  Eva....not so much.  I could see the tears and pouty face starting.  By the time she was finished, her armpits were wet and she cried once she sat next to us.  She was embarrassed.  No acting in her future!

Jordan has been enjoying hanging out with her sisters and Jack.  It has been good having her home, but the time is speeding by!  Soon, she'll be on a plane, speeding across the globe!

We Couldn't Wait For Saturday!

I woke up with much anticipation on Saturday.  It was going to be a fun, exciting day.  Or should I say a day full of anticipation for Saturday evening.  Fortunately, Jack, Ivy, and Eva had a soccer banquet to attend earlier in the afternoon.

This was Ivy's first soccer season, and she had a great time!

After our banquet, we headed off to the airport!  I stopped by the store and picked up some red, white, and blue balloons.  Poor Joy was so absorbed in keeping an eye on the balloons, that she missed the step to the sidewalk and fell flat on her tummy.  She was a sight to behold.  She continued to carry her frustrations into the airport as we awaited the arrival of her sister.

Then we saw the lights of the plane.  We waited.  And waited.

 And waited some more.  Until we finally saw her.  Jordan.

 

And Joy finally got to hold the balloons.

We spent the evening sharing stories.  Today, Jordan made my house messy.  But, I can handle the mess for a couple of weeks.  It is worth it.

Needless to say, Eva is enjoying all the uniforms...