8

If there's one thing I can say with certainty about our "post injury" life, it is that we have had a lot of opportunities that we wouldn't have had otherwise.

One of those opportunities came along in October. Our friend Chaz is one of the Marine Officer Instructors at Texas A&M University in College Station. He and his family moved to Texas last summer and even though they are only a couple hours away, we hadn't yet had a chance to visit.

When Chaz called Ryan and invited him to be a Guest Coach for a day at an Aggie football game, we thought that was a pretty good excuse to make the trek. We had no idea what a fun day it would be.

Ryan got a tour of the sports museum, a look at the press box, a special VIP breakfast, amazing seats for the game, and a great view of the Corps of Cadets marching into the stadium as he stood on field! But the best part was hanging out with an old friend.

Chaz and Ryan on the field.

Gig 'em!

One unexpected surprise was meeting former President George H. W. Bush. President Bush was kind enough to meet the guest coaches and take a few pictures before the game started.

The kids and I didn't go to the game, but we probably had more fun hanging out with Allison, Andrew, & Ava back at the house. Not to mention we had lunch at the Hullabaloo Diner and it was fabulous!

We can't wait to visit College Station and our dear friends again soon!

Halloween in Oz

For the third year in a row, we decided to dress in theme. This year was Wizard of Oz.

Our little cowardly lion preferred to trick or treat without his mane.

Okay, so I see Dorothy, the wicked witch, the scare crow, and the lion.

But who is Jaida supposed to be?

Cocktail party Barbie?

No, she's Glinda the good witch. But if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing "Wicked", then you won't recognize her in her "Popular" dress.

We couldn't find a Glinda costume that Jaida liked, so I made one.

Yes, me.

No, I don't really sew.

But I sewed that.

I know Dash doesn't belong in Oz, but this picture of Maya with her best friend Trey was just too cute not to include!

Answered prayers

I noticed something yesterday. And I'm trying to figure out how I didn't notice it sooner.

Ryan was sleeping and I was looking at him. Really looking at him. (How often do you get a chance to look at your sleeping husband?) And I noticed something important.

His eyes.

They were closed.

Completely closed.

From corner to corner. Top lid and bottom lid touching.

Not with effort.

Closed completely in peace.

In June 2007, I started asking people to pray for Ryan's eyes. Specifically that his eyes would be able to close. Ryan has had seven corrective surgeries on his eyelids, most recently August 18, 2009. He gets focused medical massage on his face and eyelids to improve circulation and elasticity. And he's had laser treatments designed to resurface his scars.

But yesterday, was the first time I saw it.

The answer to my prayers.

The answer to your prayers.

And I knew I had to tell you. Because you brought us here. Your prayers and God's power.

So, now I want to ask for another prayer. You've been so faithful to us. I hope you will consider adding another family to your prayer list.

My dear friend Lisa has inoperable brain cancer. She has been valiantly fighting it for a year and a half. A few months ago, they found another tumor. And for all the progress she's made, this new tumor has knocked her back quite a few paces. She is a wife to Sean and a mother to Mia and Ella. She is 27-years-old.

Will you pray for her? For her healing. For her strength. For her peace. For her family.

I only ask you to do this because I know it works. I was reminded of that yesterday.

That's what friends are for

My best friend, Jennie, flew out to see me for a long weekend after Christmas.  And a perfect long weekend it was.  She left the kids with her mom and dad (thank you Grammie and Master Guns!) and Ryan stepped up, BIG TIME, to give Jennie and I lots of "girl time" together.  We enjoyed delicious meals together, saw a movie, saw "Cats" at the Majestic Theatre, and got glorious massages.  And every moment in between was spent talking and just being ourselves together.  It's so easy being friends with Jennie.  It's so hard living so far away.

San Antonio Children's Museum

Everyone in our family had the day off on Monday for Columbus Day, except Jaida.  She was none too pleased and sincerely hoped I would let her skip school that day.  I didn't.  But Maya and I had some fun while Daddy and Noah slept late and had some "guy time".  

Maya and I went to the San Antonio Children's Museum with her best friend Trey and his mommy.  We had a blast enjoying all the exhibits and spending time together.  We got there just after it opened and it was nice and quiet, but it got much more crowded by lunchtime.  So we walked across the street to have burgers at the Buckhorn Saloon.  By the time we headed home, everyone was ready for a nap!

Trey and Maya play with magnetic bolts in Da Vinci's Workshop.

The Bubble Room and Water Table were definitely favorites.

Maya and Trey took turns driving the Holt Front End Loader and dumping loads of gravel.

Milking a cow is hard work!

Maya shows off her pipe creation.  

Reason #973 Why I Have the Best Husband in the World

So, one day I was sitting around missing my friends. And I told my husband, "I miss my friends, I wish I could go see them." He said, "You should go." I said, "You're crazy. You're about to have hand surgery and I need to be here." He said, "I'll be fine. You go. You deserve it." So, just six days after he had hand surgery, I boarded a plane for North Carolina and went. I brought Noah, because he's the neediest, and Ryan stayed home with the girls. All my friends' husbands are deployed, so it was very much like it was when we were all surviving the last deployment together. No men, just women and babies. Lots of babies. Lots of talking. Lots of laughing. A little bit of crying. I'm so glad I went. And I'm so glad I have a husband who encourages me to do what I need to do and is willing to manage the house while I am gone.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

If you would like a copy of one of the slideshow pictures, email me!

Thanksgiving in August

Last month when I asked Ryan what he wanted to do for his 28th birthday (besides surgery!) I was pretty surprised when he said he wanted a full Thanksgiving dinner the night before surgery.  Before any procedure, Ryan has to fast after midnight so he wanted a really big meal to tide him over until he could eat again.  How could I say no to Ryan's only birthday request?  

So, sure enough, we did it!  Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, the whole nine yards.  And Ryan couldn't be happier!  We invited our good friends, Dan and Teal, over and had the unique fortune that Teal's mom, Diane, was in town.  She was so excited she demanded to be allowed to help cook.  And I was all too willing to let her!  She made a DELICIOUS stuffing, sweet potato souffle, and green bean casserole.  I cheated by ordering a fully cooked turkey from a BBQ place in town, and I don't feel even a little bit bad about it.  It was yummy and I didn't have to cook it!  Everything came together perfectly and we had a great day.  Ryan ate more food than I thought possible and all in all enjoyed his birthday!

Gathered around the table for Ryan's birthday feast

Ryan blew out his birthday candle in a piece of pumpkin pie.

(Please pay no attention to my naked daughter!  She stripped down after getting soaked playing with the water hose in the backyard.)

The kids let their meal settle by jumping on the trampoline!

Back from South Bend

Ryan, Jaida and I just returned from a quick weekend trip to South Bend, Indiana. We were there for the wedding of our good friends Tim & Kristin and were fortunate to spend time with so many wonderful people that we know from our time in Twentynine Palms. The wedding was beautiful and took place on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. What a campus! The Basilica of the Sacred Heart was amazing! And we were just thrilled to be in such a beautiful place witnessing such a beautiful event. We flew in and out of Chicago so we made a little time to check out Navy Pier. The weekend went by too fast, but we're so glad we went.

Maya and Noah had to stay home this time, but they got to stay with my sister, Angie. Angie is one of those aunts that never stops spoiling the babies and they loved every second of it. Between letting Maya share her bed at night and holding Noah constantly, I'm sure I'll have some work on my hands getting them back to our routine. But that's what aunts are for I guess, and a little spoiling never killed anyone. Besides she took some really cute pictures of my kids this weekend. Check them out!

I have other things I've been meaning to post about, but all the traveling from the last three days has left me pretty tired. I'll try to catch up soon. Until then... Love, Pam