Our Sensational Summer

During Chase's stay at home last summer, we decided to take a trip down to the Big Easy or New Orleans for those of you who aren't from the south. I took the day off of work and we headed down on a Friday to walk the French Quarter. There are always so many sights to behold while in the wonderful city of New Orleans.

First would be some of the beautiful architecture. I marvel every trip I take to New Orleans at the old buildings, the balconies, and scroll work of the iron railings.

and then there is of course, the majestic and mighty Mississippi River . . . rolling, rolling, rolling down the river!

To stroll down the streets of New Orleans and the French Quarter is a site to revel in. Remember the book "Oh the Places You'll Go"? We should write "Oh the Sites You'll See"!

From a good ole southern jazz band.

To . . . yes, your eyes are not deceiving you . . . Santa Claus in the middle of the French Quarter! This man says he vacations in South Louisiana during the off season. He even showed us his I.D. stating his name as Kris Kringle!

And then there is the beautiful Jackson Square

and the lines and lines of horse-drawn carriages.

This baby was tap dancing for change.

Of the unfortunate things you will see in New Orleans are the voo doo stores.

I love the music - I was listening to some jazz CDs!

Mallory and I playing around with the feather boas!

We stopped for lunch at Pierre Maspero's . . . cest' bon!

The French Quarter is full of art and shopping.

But no day in the French Quarter would be complete without a stop at Cafe' Du Mond for coffee and beignets!!

Looking forward to our next trip to the Quarter. Hopefully when Chase comes home this summer! I'd like to visit the World War II Museum next trip.

Until next time . . .

Life is too short

Where do we get our worth? Are we worthy?

Today I have been contemplating these questions. The best place to go when contemplating any kind of question is to God's word:

Luke 12:7 (NIV) says:
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Philippians 1:27 (NIV)
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.

Colossians 1:10 (NIV)
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

2 Thessalonians 1:5 (NIV)
All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

2 Thessalonians 1:11
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.

1 Timothy 3:8
Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.

1 Timothy 3:11
In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

1 Peter 1:7
These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 3:4
Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

The bottom line is that we could never be worthy of what Jesus did for us at the cross. Thank God for his grace and His mercy. We can pray, study His word, and live our lives for Him, but as this next verse says, there is only one who is truly worthy!

Revelation 5:12
In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"

Lord, Help me to be more like you everyday!!

AMEN!

One year away from R-Day

One year ago today, our family showed up at Ike Hall at West Point at 6:30 a.m. for R-Day so that my oldest son, Chase, could begin in-processing. We waited in line for what seemed like hours, only to file into an auditorium for a short presentation and then the announcement that we had 90 seconds to say our goodbyes.As we walked around post that day thinking about what Chase was going through, I dreaded the approach of the time when the new cadets would march to trophy point and take their oath because I knew that would mean I had to turn around and leave to come home without him.

I have never cried so much in my entire life as I did on that trip back home.

As I sit here writing this, I thank God for his faithfulness! I thank my husband, Randall, for standing by my side, even on days (and there were lots of them) when I cried for no reason at all. I thank my youngest son, Cameron, for making me laugh, when I didn't think I would laugh again. I thank my family and friends for always calling to check on me and asking how Chase was doing. And I want to thank Chase, for working so hard and making me so proud this year!

As the Class of 2013 parents are sitting in their hotels or on their way home this evening after experiencing the extreme emotions of R-Day today, I have to say that this side of Plebe year is very sweet!

Even after the ups and downs of figuring out the Thayer method, learning how to manage a FULL class load with homework, gymnastics practice, an almost season ending injury, worrying about your child travelling alone for the first time (in New York no less) . . . I could go on and on. But we have all grown so much from this experience in our own ways and I truly am one of those people who believes that growth is good.

I have made so many new friends -- mostly other West Point moms and am blessed every day for the interaction that we have with one another and the way that we can share things that maybe no one else in the world can understand. I am also becoming a part of the West Point Field Force to help with the admissions process in my State.

So hold on tight all of you mommas of the class of 2013! I hope you like rollercoasters, cause you're in for one heck of a ride.

I sit here today so proud to be the Momma of a Soldier of West Point's Class of 2012 and considering how fast this year went by, I'll be watching my son throw his white hat in the air before you know it and pinning his 2nd Lieutenant bar on his uniform!

Summer Fun

This summer has been so busy! It has been great though. On May 23rd, we left for Pensacola Beach for a full week of fun-in-the-sun!! We flew Chase from West Point to Pensacola to meet us for our wonderful "family" vacation. You see, when you have a child who is away -- really far away for college the term "family" takes on a whole new meaning. This year has been challenging, but very rewarding for all of us. I think we have all grown from our experience as the family of a Plebe at West Point and I think it has been a positive growth.

So this year, our usual vacation buddies "The Smiths" went on a cruise for their son's senior trip, and I don't blame them, mind you, I'd have picked a cruise over the beach too, but they were definitely missed as they have become permanent fixtures on our vacations year after year - LOL! Our families have so much fun together and our kids have grown up together since infancy, so maybe next year we'll get back to our routine with The Smiths!

This year we allowed the boys to each invite a friend to come with us on vacation and they did. Cameron brought his best friend, Josh, to hang out with and Chase invited his "friend," Mallory. We met up with some other friends there, The Graffeos, and The Harris family who also joined us at the Portofino Resort. Our condo had an amazing view of the Gulf to the left and Pensacola Bay to the right.

The Gulf view from our balcony & the Bay view from our balcony. It was awesome!

We are the ultimate "beach bums" and I could totally retire and live at the beach. We stayed from Saturday to Saturday, and I was still not ready to come home. We spend the whole day on the beach, just chilling, riding the waves, catching rays, throwing footballs or frisbies, playing in the sand, looking for shells, catching crabs, reading . . . oh the list goes on and on! Here are just a few pics . . .

Picking Chase up from the airport at 11 p.m.

Mallory, Chase, Cameron and Josh out in the Gulf.

My hubby, Randall, chillin' at the beach -- he is the ultimate Beach Bum!

Cameron and Josh hangin' at the beach.

Chase and Mallory at the beach

Me and my boys :)

After being at the beach for 5 days, we were ready for a little break from the sun, so the kids and I loaded up the car and drove down to Destin f0r some shopping. We hit Destin Commons first for lunch and some browsing. I bought the cutest "spoon watch" (it's a watch that has a band made out of two old demitasse silver spoons) at my favorite store there called "The Zoo"!

It is a funky little shop that has lots and lots of interesting stuff . . . they say it's a "hip-hop happening" shop on the Gulf coast. They carry unique jewelry, art, knick-knacks, cards and t-shirts . . . it's simply amazing! You can visit their website at http://www.thezoogallery.com/! I LOVE IT!!

We then headed to the Silver Sands Factory outlet mall! FUN!! Don't you just love an outlet mall??!!??

We took some fun pics while perusing the stores there. . .

Chase and Mallory at kiddie land - LOL

And then the infamous handstand . . .

On Friday, after spending several hours on the beach, the kids took some time out for fun at the resort's Adventure Cove. It's basically some slides and trampolines in the water. Fun was definitely had, but they were absolutely worn out when they were done.

And then Saturday morning we got up, packed and went to the beach for our traditional family photo-op:

We had a wonderful vacation! I find it so neat that even though Chase has been gone for a year, the second he steps off the plane, it's like he never left at all. That's how families are supposed to be. We have so much fun together, and we all love each other so much!


More to write soon . . .