While dad's away...

The kids will play!  Well, they play everyday anyways, but we managed to do ok and have some fun while daddy was away.  Even though we missed him.

We went on walks with the neighbors.  1 mile the first night and 1 1/2 the second night.  Miss A walked (nearly) all of it.  The first night she ran.  The second night it was much cooler and she stuck close to me.  Miss F liked the walk too.

All bundled up and ready to go.

Little Miss F was having a hard time getting to sleep.  We Face Timed with daddy and snuggled and then she slept all night in her own bed.  I think she was missing her dad.  She sure loves her people.

Miss A climbed into bed early the first morning and said "more daddy" while signing "more" and then saying "my daddy gone."  As much as she was very clear that she missed him she held up quite nicely.

Miss E had been looking forward to having SO friends over to watch the movie Outbreak for quite a while.  One of her Science Olympiad events the last 2 years has been Disease Detectives (epidemiology).  We had a great group of friends and lots of treats.

I'm thankful that this assignment does not involve too many trips away from home.  When they do happen I'm all the more thankful for the sweet community that God has placed us in.

Memorial Day

Ah, Memorial Day.  Not just an extra Monday off to BBQ and party.  It's a day to remember those that died in service to our nation.  We gathered with friends from a couple of churches for this day of remembrance.

Military Roll was called.  While several past and present Military service men in attendance were able to answer 31 men and women were not present to answer.  They died in defense of our nation, rights and freedoms between last Memorial Day and today.  It can be so easy to take all of this for granted, we must not.  When we remember the lives given we also remember Him that gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Christ not only gave His life, but also suffered the wrath of God to pay our debt so that we may live eternally with Him.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

Ear (burst eardrum) update

I've been thinking it was about time time to post an update on Mr. S's burst eardrum.  Its been quite a while since it happened.  Early testing showed the expected hearing loss because of the hole in the ear drum.  It needed time to heal before anything could be done (if indeed we would need to do anything, there was a good chance it would heal just fine on its own).  Because of the move it took us a while to get more followup here.  Testing last month showed minimal hearing loss (but he was now in the "normal" range).  It was decided that 2 months of natural remedies to clear up remaining fluid would be tried before moving on to steroids or surgery.  The doctor recommended a nettie pot.

Unfortunately a cold last week lead to an ear infection.  I'm thankful we purchased an otoscope after the last episode, one look and it was obvious the ear was infected.  It came on even more suddenly than last time which lead to a late night battle with Tricare to get a referral to an ER to avoid another burst ear drum (since by that time at night there were no Urgent Care facilities open).  It was so hard to watch him rapidly getting worse and be stuck on the phone battling for what we knew he needed.  Eventually Daddy just took him in while I continued on the phone.  I'm thankful for the (3rd) lady I talked to that understood the situation and the need to be seen ASAP.  Between her and her supervisor they were eventually able to put the needed referral in.

 The antibiotics are doing their job and his ear is recovering.  We will need to head into the ENT sooner than later to find out how much this has set back his healing.  I'm in the process of trying to get that appointment scheduled....

Soccer game fun!

One of our neighbors is the Academy Soccer Coach.  We thought we'd head up to show some school/military spirit and enjoy some time with our friends.  I just love the views up there up in  the mountains.

We took our dinner up.  Everyone had fun munching and watching.

The kids had fun playing on the side lines.

Congratulations Lt. Col. Harder!

We celebrated my husband's promotion to Lieutenant Colonel yesterday with a promotion ceremony and a party after.  Though the forecast was for temperatures near 100 and for rain showers (aka, monsoons), the weather turned out to be perfect for the outdoor ceremony.  It was a grey day (no intense sun), it rained for 30+ minutes starting about two hours before the ceremony (giving a cooling effect).  By the time guests were arriving things were mostly dry (but it still felt cooler), the intermittent drizzle and gentle breeze kept the cool feeling while not getting things wet.

One friend that arrived early had very thoughtfully brought some (fairly quiet) games for the kids to play while waiting for the ceremony to begin.  Her thoughtfulness was very much appreciated while we were setting up.

Rob provided each of our kids with a pack of tic-tacks and passed them out just before the ceremony.  I appreciated his strategic gift to the kids, our little kids were so quiet during the ceremony despite their lack of naps.  Thanks Hun!

After the singing of the national anthem Rob's boss went through the highlights of his career and many awards and accomplishments he had achieved in the last 15 years.  It is always nice to be reminded of what a great, smart man I'm married to (he does not boast of his work accomplishments at home, so even though I know he is wonderful, it is great to hear from others!) and to see him recognized for all of his hard work.

 

The oldest three kids pinned on his new rank for him.  The boys did his jacket while Miss E did his cover (hat).

Next came the oath of office.  I always love hearing it, and being reminded of the duty my husband has sworn to fulfill.

Rob very thoughtfully thanked me and presented me with a beautiful bouquet.

Next came the good stuff we had all been waiting for.  The party!  We had On The Border cater, yum!  In an effort to distract the kids from the food we knew they didn't really care much for anyways; we had a whole table full of candy and cookies.  It worked splendidly.  At the end of the party kids (not ours) were encouraged to fill their pockets so that we would not have to take much candy home.  They did a GREAT job accomplishing this assignment. ;)

We are so thankful to our many friends that turned out for this event.  These promotion parties are usually mostly fellow military members.  This time the civilians outnumbered the military (so much so that it was commented on during the ceremony).  We are so very thankful for our church family here that provides so much love, support, and fellowship (and for the many friends from past assignments who have done the same and always have a special place in our hearts!).

 

I think kids may have outnumbered adults.  They had a great time playing in the open field (until being called in because of lightning in the area).

Some special "Thank Yous"

*Thank you to our Pastor who gave the invocation.  God has led and guided Rob through his whole career granting him wisdom, strength and favor.  We appreciated our pastor's effort to be there, and to proclaim the name of Jesus.

*Thank you to everyone in Rob's office who worked so hard to prepare for this event and did so much during the celebration to make it all go off without a hitch.  Someone even ended up with bathroom shuttle duty.  With so many kids, and a restricted access building, this was a big job!

*Thank you to my friend "F" who took the lead in the clean-up effort.  She has such a servant's heart; I'm so blessed by her and the wonderful example she sets.

* A HUGE THANK YOU to our incredible babysitter (who goes way beyond the call of duty as a baby sitter in general) for spending the entire day with us.  She helped get the daily chores done, allowed me to run an errand with only one child, bathed kids, dressed kids, did hair, helped the boys load the van, helped with set up.....OH MY she did it all!  My hugely pregnant body was just not up for all of this work today.  I'm so grateful to her.  Because of all of her hard work I was able to relax and enjoy this celebration far more then I otherwise would have been able to!  (oh, and she took pictures too!).  Thank you J for your servant's heart and for what a blessing you are to our family in so many ways.

Air Force event (steampunk outfit/Ken Kinetic jewelry)

This past week the 12th Air Force celebrated it's 70th birthday.  70 is a big birthday, and all the more so since the 12th is actually older than the Air Force!  We've been looking forward to this big event since finding out about it this past winter.  It was one of our few chances to dress up in formal atire!

I knew I would need to make my outfit since I was wanting a formal look, but cotton because of the heat here.  As I thought about it and the necklace I wanted to wear with it I realized I was going for a bit of a steampunk look.  My mom and I went shopping for the fabric when I was visiting this spring.  As I was showing my stepmom the fabric and describing the look we both realized that some of the jewelry my dad had made would look fabulous with it and really help pull off the steampunk look.

I've been working on this off and on for a few months with it really coming together the last few weeks.

 

The event called for Rob to wear his Mess dress (the military version of the tuxedo), the kids call it his "messy dress."  He looked quite hansom, and I think we made a nice looking pair.

We enjoyed the evening including learning more about the history of the AirForce in general, but also of the 12th Air Force.  With many generals (both active and retired), a congressman, a former Hanoi Hilton POW, and many other special guests it was a wonderful evening of not only celebrating a birthday, but also remembering the great sacrifices that have been paid to afford us such great freedom, and that we too must be ready and willing to continue the fight with our own sacrifices to keep that freedom.