Wow, I can't believe that 2008 will be over in just a few hours. Where has the year gone? This month alone has been a busy one.
We started off the month with a Brigade Ball. This was the first military ball that Angel and I have attended since he graduated from Chaplain School. I'll have to add a picture later, since we took Angel's camera to the ball and I have not seen the pictures we took yet.
The next week was full of Briefs (a meeting to give info), Coffees (basically an officer's wives get together) and a Hail & Farewell (an officer/spouse dinner and meeting welcoming new officers to the unit and saying goodbye to those leaving). On top of that Angel was teaching a Marriage Retreat for about 15 couples from his unit. The retreat was held at Lakeway Resort and Spa on Lake Travis outside of Austin. It was a beautiful place!! Even though I did not attend the entire retreat, I came for the couples dinner and spent the night with the girls.
On that Saturday we headed out from Austin, TX towards Tampa FL. With the approaching deployment, we decided to take a nice family vacation so we were going to Tampa FL to catch a cruise to Grand Caymen and Cozumel. This was not our families first cruise...but our 3rd one!!
Upon our arrival in Tampa, we stopped to visit with some old friends, Rainy and Paul. We went to their house for a short visit since they had sick kids and our kids needed a good nights sleep before boarding the ship the next morning.
On Monday, we met up with my parents (Mom Mom and Pop Pop) and my aunt and uncle who live in Fort Wayne, IN. All of us were cruising together and we had a great time. Just getting away, not worrying about cooking, cleaning, etc was a nice break for me. The girls enjoyed swimming everyday and attending the Children's Camp the cruise line offered. They even were able to participate in the ship's Holiday Show.
After the 5 days were over, we jumped in the car and made a marathon trip from FL to PA. We left Tampa at 12 Noon on Saturday and arrived in Hanover, PA on Sunday morning at 6AM. Thankfully my dad joined us on our drive and we split the driving between three drivers.
I was excited to be back in PA, even if only for a week. I hadn't seen my sister in over a year and it was great to see her and her family when they came over for lunch on Sunday afternoon. Wow, her kids had really grown in the last year. Victoria (almost 4 yrs old) and her cousin, Ilayna (3) got themselves into Mom Mom's makeup (see the picture ) but they had a good time with their cousins.
The week in PA was extremely busy, catching up on the last year, visiting family and friends we hadn't seen in quite some time and taking time to remember the reason for the season. I feel bad that we could not fit everyone into our schedule. Hopefully next year the girls and I will be able to visit again for a longer time. While in PA I got a very nice Christmas present... a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. It is so nice to have a dependable vehicle :) that has a warranty!
Last Saturday we left PA and started our trek back to Texas. When you Mapquest the trip, it is 24 hours of driving and that is without stops. After the marathon trip to PA, we decided to take our time and even stop and stay overnight. We didn't quite have enough time in our schedule to do any sightseeing, but the trip was very managable.
This past week has been busy too, taking care of registering the van in Texas, getting our wills completed and tying up loose ends before the end of the year. I don't know about you but I am ready for a fresh start. I am glad that His mercies are new every morning!
As we enter this new year, expect God to do great things with you...expect God to do great things through you!!
We started off the month with a Brigade Ball. This was the first military ball that Angel and I have attended since he graduated from Chaplain School. I'll have to add a picture later, since we took Angel's camera to the ball and I have not seen the pictures we took yet.
The next week was full of Briefs (a meeting to give info), Coffees (basically an officer's wives get together) and a Hail & Farewell (an officer/spouse dinner and meeting welcoming new officers to the unit and saying goodbye to those leaving). On top of that Angel was teaching a Marriage Retreat for about 15 couples from his unit. The retreat was held at Lakeway Resort and Spa on Lake Travis outside of Austin. It was a beautiful place!! Even though I did not attend the entire retreat, I came for the couples dinner and spent the night with the girls.
On that Saturday we headed out from Austin, TX towards Tampa FL. With the approaching deployment, we decided to take a nice family vacation so we were going to Tampa FL to catch a cruise to Grand Caymen and Cozumel. This was not our families first cruise...but our 3rd one!!
Upon our arrival in Tampa, we stopped to visit with some old friends, Rainy and Paul. We went to their house for a short visit since they had sick kids and our kids needed a good nights sleep before boarding the ship the next morning.
On Monday, we met up with my parents (Mom Mom and Pop Pop) and my aunt and uncle who live in Fort Wayne, IN. All of us were cruising together and we had a great time. Just getting away, not worrying about cooking, cleaning, etc was a nice break for me. The girls enjoyed swimming everyday and attending the Children's Camp the cruise line offered. They even were able to participate in the ship's Holiday Show.
After the 5 days were over, we jumped in the car and made a marathon trip from FL to PA. We left Tampa at 12 Noon on Saturday and arrived in Hanover, PA on Sunday morning at 6AM. Thankfully my dad joined us on our drive and we split the driving between three drivers.
I was excited to be back in PA, even if only for a week. I hadn't seen my sister in over a year and it was great to see her and her family when they came over for lunch on Sunday afternoon. Wow, her kids had really grown in the last year. Victoria (almost 4 yrs old) and her cousin, Ilayna (3) got themselves into Mom Mom's makeup (see the picture ) but they had a good time with their cousins.
The week in PA was extremely busy, catching up on the last year, visiting family and friends we hadn't seen in quite some time and taking time to remember the reason for the season. I feel bad that we could not fit everyone into our schedule. Hopefully next year the girls and I will be able to visit again for a longer time. While in PA I got a very nice Christmas present... a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. It is so nice to have a dependable vehicle :) that has a warranty!
Last Saturday we left PA and started our trek back to Texas. When you Mapquest the trip, it is 24 hours of driving and that is without stops. After the marathon trip to PA, we decided to take our time and even stop and stay overnight. We didn't quite have enough time in our schedule to do any sightseeing, but the trip was very managable.
This past week has been busy too, taking care of registering the van in Texas, getting our wills completed and tying up loose ends before the end of the year. I don't know about you but I am ready for a fresh start. I am glad that His mercies are new every morning!
As we enter this new year, expect God to do great things with you...expect God to do great things through you!!
1 comment:
Thanks for the inspiring words. He makes all the difference in our lives. You are all in our prayers especially with this upcoming deployment. Love to all.
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