A sad goodbye

Playgroup was at my house today and I had a chance to say an early good bye to my very good friends, Lauren and Kris. They are both leaving while I'll be in HI.

Lauren was the first person that I met here on Guam. She was so friendly and introduced herself while we were moving in. From that moment I thought..."I want to be just like her!". She's very outgoing and approachable. She is such a go-getter where I'm the type to hem and haw over things before I do them. She has been such a support for me, a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. She has a spirited child like my Logan so she's also a good person to go to for advice.

I met Kris in August of last year. She was selling Pampered Chef at a party for my friend, Theresa. I soon learned that I would be moving just a few houses down from her. We've grown very close and have shared so many laughs. She definitely has got the same wit and sense of humor as I do. I don't find that often so if I meet someone that isn't afraid to laugh out loud, I call that person friend!!

I will miss these ladies very much. They have each added a different dynamic to my life that will be hard to replace. I hope to see them again but I'm sure that we will be life long friends.

Lauren, Kris, and me with our "babies", Haven, Kate and Ryland (they really are friends even though they don't look like it here!!)

Happy Birthday Deb!

Marines in Berkeley

My brother-in-law, Robb is a Marine and just about to start recruiting duty. He's going to TN and I'm sure he won't come against protesters like these but if he does at least his job will be humorous!

Creature Preacher

Last night I was asking Logan if he wanted to be a Preacher when he grew up. Of course it was right after a commercial for the Marines and he said, "No, I wanna do that!". Then I said, "Come on, don't you want to be a fisher of men?" and he said, " Okay, okay I'll be a Preacher." To which Tyler said, "I want to be a creature too!".

Logan's Science Project

We completed Logan's science project today. Let's just say that it was never my best subject, in fact the thought of it brings back memories of report cards with "D's" on it. I enlisted the help of Chris's stepmom, Shirley, who had a wonderful idea of getting 3 aquariums and putting an equal amount of shrimp then taping different colored paper to each one and monitoring their activity level. It's a great idea but I would end up spending a fortune on the aquariums since Dollar General is nowhere on Guam! *sigh* I miss that place.

Anyhow, we settled for something much more economically friendly...bubble gum! Logan is a big fan of it so I followed Shirley's advice and made it fun for him. I did the artwork (something I'm A LOT more comfortable with) and Chris did the computer stuff plus did the bubble blowing.

Hard at work on his very first science project!

Finished!
I'll update the blog after the Science fair on Friday.

7 months and counting...

Last week Ryland turned 7 months old. He's been crawling, or what he calls crawling, it's more of a dragging himself around kinda crawling. He also said MAMA but I'm not sure if he was deliberately saying it. I've tried to get him to say it for awhile now since the other two boys both said DADA first. Once he started pulling himself up in the crib he started to realize that he can do it in other places as well. I walked out of the room for a second and came in to find this...

Last night we went to Denny's. Ryland was not enjoying his time in the high chair and wanted to be with us.
And finally...I couldn't miss my opportunity to blog about this place. From what we hear the Guam govt has requested that the owner stop building because it's started to affect the air traffic! He keeps going up and up! You should see this house at Christmastime...lights everywhere! If you look closely by the cars you can catch a glimpse of Elvis. If it looks like this on the outside I would LOVE to see what it looks like on the inside! Very eccentric, I bet!

Wednesday

Ryland had his first Biter biscuit today. Think he liked it?

Last night I went out for appetizers and desserts with three of my dear friends that are all leaving the island. I'm very sad about it but happy for each of them because they are moving on to new adventures. Each one has been a shoulder to cry on and I'm very thankful that our path's have crossed even if it is for such a short time.

Lauren, Theresa, me and Kris

My friend Nicole took me to a secret place that the locals go to fish. It's probably not that secret just secret to the newcomers. It was absolutely beautiful but very high up and I'm a big chicken. I tried to walk down to the bottom but stopped not even half way and came back up. It was pretty steep. I think once my ears are fixed I'll go down to the bottom but right now my equilibrium is off....I know excuses, excuses.
Chris is finally back. I don't have any pictures of him yet but there are some to come. It was a long two weeks for the boys and they are so happy to have daddy home. Thank you all for the prayers and support. It is much appreciated!

Weird News Wednesday

Boy Inflates 213 Balloons _ With His Nose

(04-14) 20:39 PDT Blaine, Wash. (AP) --

A 13-year-old boy hopes to win a balloon-blowing record by a nose.

Blowing through one nostril at a time, Andrew Dahl inflated 213 balloons within an hour Friday — a feat that has been submitted for review by Guinness World Records.

His father, Doug Dahl, measured the balloons to make sure each was at least 20 centimeters, the minimum diameter, and his mother, Wendy Dahl, kept the tally.

At one point he asked, "Does this count as practicing my trumpet?" His mother replied, "Only if you can play that with your nose."

Andrew's first attempt — 184 balloons in February — was rejected because his father tied the balloons. This time he tied them off himself.

My New Favorite Lunch

I've wanted to tell some of you about this recipe that I've found. I LOVE it and eat it a lot...probably too much considering I want to lose weight!

Chicken Feta Salad

1 cup Chicken, cooked & cubed
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 Tbs Mayo
2 Tbs Sour Cream
2-3 Tbs crumbled Feta cheese
Season salt & pepper, to taste

Combine and serve on two slices of bread for a yummy sandwich...OR if you want to eat a healthier version use fat free mayo, sour cream and feta cheese and serve it on a lettuce leaf. YUMMMM!

Weird News Wednesday(well Sunday actually)

Ok so it isn't Wednesday and who knows if I will have the time or even remember to do it on Wednesday so I'm posting it now. I, personally, don't believe in the whole evolution theory but check THIS out....
Excerpt by MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer:

"A frog has been found in a remote part of Indonesia that has no lungs and breathes through its skin, a discovery that researchers said Thursday could provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species."

Click below for this article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/10/international/i032439D79.DTL

Praying him through

I'm all sentimental tonight. Chris is coming home tomorrow and I can't wait! As of right now, he's been on the plane for two hours with many, many more to go. A long plane ride is always hard on a person but Chris has a bad back so it's particularly painful for him. I pray that he has a safe and uneventful flight. I keep singing that song "Somebody's Praying Me Through" by Allen Asbury. I just hope that when Chris starts feeling the pain he knows that "somebody's praying him through".

This is Life Changing

My friend, Lauren just introduced me to this. It's about the star of Bethlehem and the myth behind it. It actually takes a scientific look at the star by using astronomers software AND backs it up with biblical text. I can't even begin to explain this. It has really left me speechless and I have not stopped thinking of it. Whenever I looked up into the sky before I thought how beautiful the stars were and thought that God just put them up there to light the night sky. Now it's different, he actually put each star in it's place AND for a purpose. You've GOT to see this video. You can get it from the website, Amazon.com or possibly your local Christian book store. I'm sure it will change your life like it has mine.

Music Map

www.music-map.com

I have got to give a shot out to my friend, Theresa! She told me about the coolest website for music lovers. You type in the artist that you like and it comes up with several artists that are similar to it. It's so neat! Or in my best NH accent..."It's WICKED COOL!"

Look what I can do!!

I had to put him down so I could put the laundry in the dryer. I was gone for 5 minutes and he screamed the whole time! This I what I saw when I came back....
I guess we have to move this crib before he gets into the blinds!

One week down...

Chris has been gone for a week now. Life has been chaotic at times therefor blogging is out of the question. I don't have much time for it which is bummer because it's sort of my creative outlet at the moment. If you know me, I've gotta have something creative to do at all times!

On Wednesday we went to the mall to celebrate Benji's 4th birthday. It was the best party...no clean up! The kids had a blast riding on the rides (there is an indoor amusement park...or Guam's version of one!).

On Thursday we had playgroup. That was a lot of fun. I really look forward to Thursdays now because I've really come to love the ladies. Here's Ryland with his buddy, Tristan.

On Friday (CRAZY DAY) I ran around doing errands. My friend, Jaime came over for dinner with her two boys. They had great fun playing dress up.