Sunday, March 30, 2008

Fixin' Things

Ben's never really had to be a Mr. Fix it, but he's learning....
He's teaching Ollie his new bathroom sink skills!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Tulips

I love tulips! Tulips and Lilies... I think they're great!
I got these tulips from my in laws for Easter, I have them 'hidden away' in my room for 2 reasons:
1.) Because when I'm not sleeping in my room - I'm at work. I get to see them in the morning when I get up and enjoy them while getting ready for bed :o)
2.) So the cats don't eat them!
My Aunt Cindy told me to mix water with Sprite and add a few pennies to the vase to help them last longer.
I think it's working!!!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Yum!



I don't even really like Oreo's, but these are really yummy!
During tax time occasionally we get sugary goodies from clients, but the office stocks up weekly on every fruit and veggie imaginable, granola bars, trail mix, nuts, etc. (Chris would love it here!) They do also buy us the Rice Crispie Treat package - but at 90 calories, it's still a decent snack.
They take care of us here! I can't even remember the last day I had time to actually take a lunch, so it's nice to know that there's an apple in the kitchen when I need one!
For fun, we can usually get cookies pretty quickly (one of our partners here puts the big blue cookie montser to shame!) Just tell Charlie when you need a sugar high and within 20 minutes a cookie run has been made!
We didn't have any clients in today so I don't know who brought these suckers in, but they certainly don't follow the healthy train...
It's just pure, unadulterated, yummy, calorie filled - goodness!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

He is Risen!

I know Easter was a couple days ago, but He still is risen today so I'm gonna say anyway...
Friday was Van's funeral, sad - but only for ourselves and for Grandma Sally - he was going to spend Easter with Jesus (doesn't get any cooler than that!)

Saturday I worked and then met up with Aubrey at the salon to get our hair done... then to the cheap nail place to get our eyebrows waxed (why pay $20, when you can pay $10???) Saturday night we met Brandon and Aubrey for dinner at Famous Dave's and discovered that it is our favorite BBQ place, but not on weekends! Weekdays when it's less busy the food is better!

Easter morning Ben came home from work with the start of a migraine, but toughed it out and was able to avoid the full blown effects. Had breakfast with my in-laws and then to a very 'interesting' church service. We'd been there before and always enjoyed the service but after Sunday I don't think we'll be going back. I got the message but didn't like how the pastor got there. Having a member of the church on the big screen on a pre-recorded interview about how bad his life was before he accepted Christ is good and all - but far too much detail was used. If we'd had a child at the service, the rest of the day would have been spent explaining what "hits off a bong" and "smoking a bowl" meant, as well as explaining that putting a loaded weapon in your mouth and pulling the trigger WILL kill you regardless of God's absolute love for you!!! Yes, there's no sin too awful that God can't bring you back to Him - but we don't need deatils dude, not at Easter service with lots of little ears around! Another interesting tid bit: No one in, or at the service (other than my Mother in Law, Vicki) said "He is Risen!" Hello? Easter anyone?
We spent the rest of the day making the rounds to visit with family and had a great time Ben missed Aunt Cindy's house when his migraine started to show it's face again, he slept it off and joined me at my Dad's house. My cousin Devin was in town so it was nice to have him with us as well.

As we we're getting ready to leave my Dad's we got word that a Marine in Ben's unit died this weekend. So far they're thinking a possible aneurysm, but we won't know until the autopsy results come back. Ben's unit is activated at the moment and in Africa. Ben and the other guys still 'in', already having deployed to Iraq, didn't go - but the new kids and those that didn't go to Iraq are manning a station for a tour. There's no conflict currently, it's just basically a stationing point. They get time off and get to leave base and go into town, etc... He was 21 years old, and leaves behind a new wife, they were married just before he left. As far as we know now, he was getting ready for work when he passed out and passed away. His body will be flying in on Friday and the funeral is slated for Saturday, I'm not sure if the family's decided to have a full on military service but as a Marine, he is active until turned over to his family - he will be pulled off the plane by his boys in full dress blues. Ben has offered and is awaiting word if he'll be one that gets to welcome him home... 2 deployments to Iraq (including the initial invasion) and no injuries, but 2 weeks in Africa and the unit loses one like this... Definitely not expected!
Not the way we wanted to end our Easter day, but just another reminder of how blessed we are for our time here with loved ones and so thankful for knowing that, because of Jesus, we have eternity awaiting us after we leave this place.

We're still praying for this day shift for Ben, the position closes for applications on Friday so hopefully we'll know something by next week!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Papa Van

This morning, shortly after 5:00, Ben's Great Grandpa - "Papa Van" went home to be with Jesus. He is dearly loved and will be greatly missed; but we know without a doubt he is taking his tour of Heaven right now.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Christian the Lion

Ben found this - of course, the cat man!

A couple guys in London bought a lion cub from a local zoo and raised him until full grown. I've read conflicting stories on whether he got too big and the govn't said they had to get rid of him, or if it was always these guys' intentions to release him into the wild (I haven't exactly spent the time researching it)- but they took him to Africa and released him, where amazingly enough he was actually accepted into a pride. The 2 guys went back a year later to see if they could find their lion - they did and this is the footage.




What a big lover boy! We want him!

Friday, March 14, 2008

He's Back!

Ben made it home safely last night from Spokane, with a little more info about that transfer. Apparently there's been a few other guys interested, but no one has applied yet. It sounds like they're going to work it like an 'eligibility list' so everyone that applies will go to coffee with the traffic captain and sargents and 'interview' based on this interview they'll be ranked on a list. They'll use this list to start filling these traffic car positions when they come available... I'm hoping that no one else puts in their applications until after Ben :o)
I'm feeling a little better about the area, he has worked it before - at night even!

Ben made a pit stop in Moses Lake on the way home to see Aubrey, Brandon, Lorelai, Reagan and Brady (Makenna and Lexi are over here with grandparents)
Ben came home with cute kid stories from his quick visit... I so wish I could've gone!! Thankfully Aubrey took pictures! They're so cute! Thank you to my dear friend for feeding my husband too!
I missed dinner trying to get things picked up last night, ya know before he got home with all his gear to drop everywhere again. He was raving about his yummy food as I was pilfering through the cabinets late last night starving... Tonight's mission: The grocery store!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Mean, Mean Man!

My husband is not nice! ...Well in the sense that he just dangled a very tasty possibility in front of me with no odds to accompany the potential of whether or not it will happen!
He just got a call from his buddy who works a contract city and there's a day shift opening up over there as traffic... Meaning a slick top (no light bar, sneaky) so Ben's really excited. Other than the fact that he'll have to give up his 2008 Explorer that he got due to the fact that he's out playing in the sticks and snow every night. It's not only a day shift, it's a flex shift - which apparently means as long as he works a rush hour he can pick his schedule day to day, and can even go 4-10's if he wanted. Oh and set days off instead of this rotating junk!
Do ya'll see why I'm drooling? I would love to not have to sleep alone and hear every crick and crack all night, and get to actually make plans and not have a sleepy husband for everything becasue he has NO sleep schedule! Oh and maybe finally find a church that we can really get involved in without worrying about him needing to sleep a little longer or leave early...
All I want to do is pray that he gets it... But the flip side is, it's not as safe of an area as where he is now, so how can I ask God to put him there??
I'm confused!

WHAT??

I logged onto Comcast to get a break from work and scan the daily headlines. I'll bet you can't guess why this one"popped" out at me... Or should I say "Pooped"?

You'll get it when you read
this article... People never cease to amaze me!!!!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Nick the Baseball Boy!

Sunday we went down to Auburn to watch day 2 of Nick's Jamboree. He's such a good little ball player! Chris has his stats listed on her page... but in short - he did awesome! We saw a couple RBI's, a triple, and watched him pitch 2 great innings - striking out 2! It was so nice to get outside and watch him play! And I got to try out my new lens!

It was another stressful week/end, and quite emotional with 2 of Ben's grandparents in the hospital... well at one point there were 3, but only 2 were ever admitted. Of course a full day of work on Saturday for me, and then a sick day yesterday :o(

Ben left at 2:45 this morning to head to Spokane for a 3 day training seminar - the drive for him wasn't great, but he made it without falling asleep! It's all class/workshop type training, I think he likes the hands on stuff better, but he was pretty excited for all the classes he was going to be able to get in on.


Dad and his team

Nick about to hit his triple

Rounding second base (triple)

Nick at 3rd

Nice face pitcher!

Hanging out in the outfield.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Happy 25th Birthday Ben!!!!

I love you!

Monday, March 3, 2008

I typically wouldn't do this...

... but it was too good! (Thanks Vicki for sending it to me!)

Edited 3/4... I had to make the picture smaller... It was freaking me out :o)




(A PAID POLITICAL ANNOUNCEMENT BY SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D- ILL) and I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE... )


My fellow Identity-Americans:

As your future President I want to thank my supporters, for their ... well, support.

Your mindless support of me, despite my complete lack of any legislative achievement,
my pastor's relations with Louis Farrakhan and Libyan dictator Moammar Quadafi, or my
blatantly leftist voting record while I present myself as some sort of bi-partisan agent of change.

I also like how my supporters claim my youthful drug use and criminal behavior somehow
qualifies me for the Presidency after 8 years of claiming Bush's youthful drinking disqualifies
him. Your hypocrisy is a beacon of hope shining over a sea of political posing.

I would also like to thank the Kennedys for coming out in support of me. There's a lot of
glamour behind the Kennedy name, even though JFK started the Vietnam War, his brother
Robert illegally wiretapped Martin Luther King, Jr. and Teddy killed a female employee he was
having an extra-marital affair with who was pregnant with his child. And I'm not going anywhere near the cousins, both literally and figuratively.

And I'd like to thank Oprah Winfrey for her support. Her love of meaningless empty platitudes
will be the force that propels me to the White House.

Americans should vote for me, not because of my lack of experience or achievement, but because I make people feel good. Voting for me causes some white folk to feel relieved of their imagined,
racist guilt. I say things that sound meaningful, but don't really mean anything because Americans are tired of things having meaning. If things have meaning, then that means you have to think about them. Americans are tired of thinking. It's time to shut down the brain, and open up the heart.

So when you go to vote in the primaries, remember don't think, just do... And do it for me.

Thank You,
Barack