On to our next stop . . . .

After spending a few days with our friends, the Moitozo's, we were on our way to some new adventures . . . we arrived in Charlotte at Uncle Dave and Aunt Joyce's house and the first thing to do after hugs and hellos . . . is head straight for the vintage Ms. Pacman arcade game! The boys can't get enough of it each time we are visiting, and I'll admit that Katy and Karl and I all take our fair share of turns on the console! :) We love hanging out at the Draxler's, especially when my cousins come to play . . . Abby played Twister with the kids, and Jeremy trapped Joe in a corner, and Rachel brought her adorable puppy "Major" over to play! We all shared a family dinner and hours of catching up . . . I love this family! Also, while we were there was when Karl and I got to go to the Nascar race. Aunt Joyce and Cousin Abby volunteered to hang out with the kids for the day and night so we could enjoy the race with no worries. They went to the park and to Chuck E. Cheese, and to the Dollar Store . . . they had a blast! The boys were especially thrilled when Mr. Matthew (Abby's significant other) showed up at the park to play for awhile. They enjoyed seeing him with hair, for the first time ever! (He's a Marine, so we often see him with little to no hair!) Anyhow, all in all the trip went very well, although, somewhere we picked up a bug, and it traveled through our family as well as the Draxler's family over the next week or so . . . As Uncle Dave said "Thanks for sharing." :) But we'll just say . . . Thanks for helping! We love to be close enough to this part of our family that we can get to know them a bit! Thank you, thank you, thank you! We love you! And, we can't wait to see you again.

NASCAR!!!

Okay, so there are plenty of you out there who have no idea that I am a Nascar fan! I love it! I record it every weekend that it's on . . . the practice and qualifying and all! I usually end up watching (sleeping through) it on Sunday afternoon. I am a Jeff Gordon fan . . .I know, BOO! HISS! Anyhow, and Karl like Jimmie Johnson - teammates. Katy likes Kyle Busch (although for the life of me, I can't figure out why.) Anyhow, we got tickets to go to the Charlotte Motor Speedway race in October . . . it was my first Nascar race, and Karl's first as afan. Itwas spectacular! I'll admit, thecrazies that come out for the races are hilarious and scary and weird and well CRAZY!!! But, I had a blast . . . we were in the 11th row, just about 75 yards past the start/finish line, so the sound was incredible, and jarring, and amazingly powerful! The anticipation, along with the adrenaline and the excitement, all brought me nearly to tears as the cars ROARED past us at the sight of the green flag! I was amazed at the display of power - to think that man could take credit for such a machine (or 43 of such machines) just blows my mind . . . how much mightier is The hand that created the sun and the moon and the stars?!?!?!?

Wow!

As I type this, the final race of the season is set to take place tomorrow,

and while my driver doesn't have a chance at the championship for this year, Karl's does,

so for today and tomorrow . . .

GO Jimmie Johnson!

Monday, I'll be back to my old favorite!

Fun with the Moitozo's!

So, backing up just a bit, we're going to head back in time to October . . . I know, I know . . . Halloween has been and gone, but we (Us Wards) had a hugely eventful October, and so much fun, that I just have to share with all of you!

We went to North Carolina to spend nearly a week with our dear friends, the Moitozo's. Steve (Dad) wasn't there, as he was traveling for work, so Karl, Katy, Hunter, Andrew, Josiah and I headed to Monroe to hang out with Glenda, Steven and Evan. We had a great time! We played outside, visited museums, took a tour of the Wycliffe/Jarrs facilities there in Waxhaw, and I think the highlight of the week was driving up to the Lazy Five Ranch! Some of you may wonder how we got friends in NC, so I'll explain. When we were stationed in Maine, we went to the same church as Steve and Glenda - we quickly became close with their entire family, and have grown to love them. We count them among our closest friend, and as a blessing from God! This spring, following God's calling they'd had for some time, they moved their family to NC, where they serve in missions with Jarrs/Wycliffe Bible Translators! We were so pleased that they moved, as they are closer now, than when they were in Maine, and we will likely be able to see them a couple of times a year still! So praise The Lord for his supplying of friends that uplift and support us in our calling, as we try to do the same for them. Moitozo's, if you read this, just know that - We love you guys!

There's are tons of pictures below, and I don't want to take (nor do I have) the time to caption each of them, so here's a list, in no particular order of the pictures below.

Cat caught in live trap, albino elk, Karl feeding a cow elk, scottish highland cattle, karl with a giraffe, Luther the rhino, zebra, watusi cattle, tortoise, on the ranch, Joe in the corn bin, pumpkin slingshot (super fun!), three-wheeler fun, Katy playing mommy/doctor to Evan after a spill, and a few group shots. Hope that helps!

No, no, I haven't forgotten that I have a blog. But, as usually happens when I start something . . . I let life get in the way . . . so this week, I am going to TRY to get one or two posted. It will be all old news to most of you, as I talk to my friends and family more than I blog these days, but just in case . . . expect some posts of Our trip to Charlotte, My first NASCAR race, Hunting update, Journey, Starbase, kitchen and home update, Andrew and water, Hunter and guns, Eggs, and Halloween . . . in no particular order, with no promises expressed or implied!

Minivan, hunting and school???

There are many things to write about these days . . . we are so busy! We just bought our first minivan (I know, sad day.) She is a pretty dark blue/green color, a Honda, and has all the bells and whistles. She won't be able to enjoy the easy life for long, as we have a road trip planned for next week! :) She fit right into the budget we had planned (once the dealership decided they wanted to sell a car,) and into the miles range that we wanted as well. The bells and whistles all ding and toot like they should, and the kids are thrilled that 1) we have a minivan, like all the other families at church (well almost all of them.) 2) that we bought the car from a salesman named Aladdin 3) that "all the bells and whistles" means that we again have a DVD player for them to watch on road trips! (I'll admit, that is a perk for more than just the kiddos!) Karl and I wrestled with the idea of being a minivan family for quite awhile before breaking down and just doing it. We have always been a truck or Suburban kind of family more than anything else . . . four wheel drive has been the name of the game for us (and no, all wheel drive isn't the same.) Okay, so that's enough of that . . . moving on . . .

Deer season for bow is in full swing, and I have been enjoying my first season, minus the 50 plus mosquito bites I got in one afternoon hunting outing. I enjoy holding Karl's hand in the dark while we hike to/from our stand or ground location. What I don't enjoy about hunting is the waiting. I have been out a couple of times now, and not one deer has been seen on any of those times! :( It's so frustrating! Karl has seen deer on every other hunting outing. Last night he actually shot two! He only recovered one, as the other ran onto some private property adjoining the land we hunt. :( So, while it was an exciting hunt, it was a bummer only to recover one. But, on the flip side, I now know that there really are deer out there! :)

School has been going pretty well this year, and the fact that we are 2 months in . . . is reason enough for us to have a day off today! :) No, really, today is a day off! :) The boys are loving learning about the Roman Empire and all it's "larger than life" heroes. Katy just likes to read and seeks to please. Kindergarten is so easy for Joe, that I am having to find things for him to do that are extra-curricular - art projects, flashcards, chores, etc . . . to keep him occupied for at least some of the day. Oh well, I guess it's a good thing that he already knows most of what it says I should be teaching! :)

Well, I guess that's about it for now. We are enjoying the cooler weather. I wish we had enough time to slow down and have a fire in the evening, but "life" has again taken over our schedules, and there are few (if any) nights that we are home before the kids' bedtime! Anyhow, I am off to waste the day away! Trusting everyone is well!

Health Update

So, here's just a quick update on my health . . . I had been having liver pain since July, and after tons of blood work, appointments with various doctors, an ultrasound, CT and an endoscopy . . . the doctor who originally told me "You don't have liver pain, because the liver can't feel pain." Has finally agreed that I have liver pain! So, I'm not crazy! Well, at least not about this. Anyhow, he came up with three possible causes, and went over the treatment plans for each. There's no test for any of them, so we picked one (the one that seemed most likely the cause to Karl and I - the doctor did not agree it was most likely, but what does he know???) Seeing as how the meds he gave me for this treatment have me pain free, my next appointment should lead to a diagnosis of something that has a big name that means nothing to anyone unless they have a medical degree . . . but the long and short is that my liver was spasming constantly, therefore - pain. Duh! Me put me on an anti-spasmotic (?spelling?) / smooth muscle relaxant. The most major of the side effects is that it gives me dry mouth and throat, so I have been drinking way more water (not a bad thing) - but it also limits how much singing I can do. I know, I know, the world is a better place for less Trinette singing, but I love it, so I miss being able to sing as much as I would like. But will happily stay on the meds for the two month trial to be pain free! Anyhow, that's about all for now . . . we are enjoying some much needed rainy days this week. I'm looking forward to getting some things done around the house, but I may need to pull out my galoshes and/or webbed feet for a little (or maybe, some serious) puddle jumping! Puddle jumping is a subject that brings two specific friends to mind. Miranda and Jessica. They were my puddle jumping pals in junior high and high school! Such sweet memories, from a simpler time, when happiness could be found in a mud puddle. It may be time to introduce my kids to the fine art of puddle jumping. There will be smiles all around if I manage to work up the courage to do such a thing for them! I promise that if I do . . . pictures will follow! :)

Just another random blog post.

So, in order to ward off the impending text begging of my sweet cousin Abby, I figure I had better write a blog. Now . . . what to write about??? I have no idea! We've been extremely busy, but nothing much to report . . .

I am in a slight panic in these days heading up to Katy's 12th birthday! Yikes! Where has the time gone??? She is growing up way too fast. She's in middle school this year, and she is gorgeous - so the shotguns have been cleaned a lot lately! ;) Just kidding . . . but I'm sure they will be soon!

Homeschooling is in full swing, and we have brought in all the subjects for the year. I chose to add some of them in one at a time, so we could "ease" into things this year, and I think it helped. We had our first Homeschool Fellowship day yesterday, and that went really well . . . the kids are excited to be back into seeing their friends multiple times a week. Today, Josiah and I started into our regular school schedule (it was an introductory section for the first couple of weeks.) And, we already have "lost" his math book. :( Ugh . . . it's a never-ending battle when we get "cool" books that are supposed to be for school . . . they randomly disappear from the school area. Frustrating to say the least, so Joe is on a hunt today to find the lost book! :)

Yesterday, Karl and I, for the first time ever, voted at a polling station! Well, I think I voted . . . We have always voted absentee in Oregon, as that is our home of record, but this year we decided we should vote here. So, we registered (or so we thought) and even double checked our registrations (as Karl got his card, and I did not.) So, the long and short is that we both had to fill out provisional ballots. Karl's will count, as he was in the system, but I was nowhere to be found! So, if my ballot doesn't count for this primary, I will at least, be all set for the general.

Oh, and we also picked up a Freecycle treasure! For those of you who may not know about freecycle.org, you should! It's a website/group, kind of a classifieds where everything listed is free, or you can post a "Wanted" ad. It's a great resource! We picked up about 7 linear feet of National Geographic Magazines! We have great plans for this treasure trove! We'll be using them for reports and collages and all sorts of fun projects! I can't wait to rip into them! :) teeheehee!

Hunting season opened up for Bow today . . . no, we are not hunting today, or tomorrow, but Friday, Karl will be, and Saturday - we'll see . . . after this week, things should settle down a bit and more hunting time should open up. ("Should" being the key word!)

We are already looking forward to October when we have a trip planned to visit friends and family in North Cackalacka (as Karl would say.) Then come the holidays! I can't wait . . . Christmas music may make it's debut around here very soon! The Amish market up the road will soon begin selling many more candies and breads and pies, and not so many vegetables and plants. I'm looking forward to the peanut butter balls and the peppermint patties . . . YUMMY! Until then . . . I'll stick to the eggplant, squash, still abundant tomoatoes, as well as the wonderful people we get to see there when we visit the market! Oh, and speaking of Amish . . . we'll hopefully soon be picking up a couple new little pigs to raise here at the house!

A good Navy day . . .

So, there are many days that I could write a list (or book) of complaints about the life I live as a Navy Wife. Being a Navy Wife is not usually convenient. Weeks and months of being a single parent, sleeping alone (if can sleep at all,) worrying about all things house and home, being mommy and daddy to the kiddos, not having friends or a church family when we first move, and so much more. Something always seems to go terribly wrong when my sailor Chief is away. Sometimes the Navy is there to help, support, and fill in the gaps, but often not. Today though, the Navy pulled through for us! We had a situation arise, and felt a strong desire for Karl to go home to Oregon for a bit to offer support. He called his boss at 11 pm last night and by the time they were off the phone Karl had purchased a plane ticket with his bosses assurance that his leave would be approved. This morning we all treked to the office and by about 9, the leave was already approved. I love that for this short time in Karl's career, we are able to have bosses that care about not just us, but our families. Also that his job here provides so much flexibility in his schedule. The hardest part of military life is being so far away from all of our family. So, when we can be "there", literally, it is a huge blessing.

On a side note . . . I am so blessed to be married to the most handsome-est (yes, that is a word . . . because I said so!) Chief in the entire United States Navy! He's the only Chief I'll ever love, and I love that he desires to support his friends and family spiritually, emotionally, verbally and even physically when need be.

So today, is a good Navy day.

What's catch up?

So, those of you who know Us Wards, know that our youngest, Josiah, is a sweet and silly little man. He has gorgeous eyes that smile all the time, and a heart that could melt an ice burg! He didn't talk until he was 3, and hasn't stopped since that day! It has been obvious to Karl and I that he has been developing and refining his personality over the past year or so, as he goes from toddler to child. We can't believe he is school aged! KINDERGARTEN! Yikes.

So, Jojo (as he is most commonly referred to) had a couple of appointments on Monday, so I got a sitter for the other kids and we made a little mommy-date out of the time. We went for his well child doctor visit... He is well. But he had to get a couple shots. He didn't think that was a very good idea, but he survived. Then we had a bit of time, so we scooted over to Taco Bell, (his favorite place to eat,) before his next appointment. He LOVED the fact that we got to go sit inside! He just thought he was super cool. It was so cute! He was watching the lunchtime rush of miscellaneous people filter through, and was just fascinated. We sat and ate for awhile, then I decided to ask him a question. "What's your favorite thing about school?" I asked, and Jojo says "Um, pro'ly my ABC pennies chart." So, as any probing mom would do . . . I asked "What's your least favorite thing about school?" He thought for a good long time, and I was about to ask the question again when he said "Nothing." Great, I thought to myself . . . I am doing great with this whole kindergarten thing! I haven't made him hate school yet! But then . . . he spoke again, and said "Ak-chlly, I don't like it when we don't do school." Uh-Oh! That's all my fault. I'll be honest and admit that adding a new grade level into the mix this year hasn't been easy, and some days are more miss than hit for getting kindergarten done. Well, we'll get it figured out, and this week, minus Monday (because of his appointments) has been all "hit".

Fast forward to yesterday . . . I was setting out his stuff for school onto the table and announced to Joe, that "Today, we are going to play catch up!" He looked up at me with those very seriously questioning eyes and asked "What's catch up?" I couldn't resist, so I replied "You know... red, tomato based dip." :) He thought for a quick second and then asked "Can we play ranch instead?" - It's official! We may have the funniest five year old around! I still can't stop smiling about it! I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt!

Our first egg?

So some of you may know that this spring, we got some day old chicks to raise for eggs . . . this was back in March. We bought 12, assuming that some may die from shock, stress, etc. Well, two did. Oh well, I guess we figured that well seeing as we wanted 10 chickens! We bought straight run chicks, which for those of you who don't know, means that the chicks weren't sexed - we didn't know if they'd turn out as hens or roosters. Knowing that we didn't need or want roosters, this was a bit of a risk, but we lucked out in the end, and got all hens! We built a pretty (really) makeshift coop, and let the kids go to town painting it with leftover cans of paint from years of projects and various room paintings (it's quite the picture - speaking of, I should take a good picture of it and post that!)Then, after a couple weeks of living in the garage, set the chickens out in the pen and coop. We have been, for 5 months now, anxiously awaiting our "first" egg. The kids and/or us parents check every day (sometimes multiple times a day) for our "first" egg. We knew it was due anytime now, but it just didn't show up. I think the kids were growing tired of looking and not finding anything, and the chickens must have sensed this, because where this morning there were none, this afternoon, there were FOUR!!! Yup . . . We didn't get a "first" egg, we got a bunch! The kids were and are still so excited, that I don't think we'll have any problem getting them to check for eggs! (At least for a few days!) Oh and don't ask me why we decided on 10 chickens . . . we were thinking that we might get up to 7 eggs a day, but to get 4 on day one . . . we may just be up to our ears in eggs in the very near future! Now, it's time to hurry up and wait for our first "double-yoker"!!!

These weeks . . .

So there I was, minding my own business, when I got a text... From my cousin Abby... demanding a new blogpost! So, I guess it's that time. I don't have any picture to post, so I'll do my best to draw a picture with words.

(Don't get your hopes up. I am no great writer.)

So, since I last chatted into the blogosphere, we have sold a dog (Cowboy - went to a big farm where he can run free!) and gotten a new dog "Tasha", a 5 yr old chocolate lab, that is kinda like Mary Poppins . . . Practically perfect in every way! She doesn't chew, jump on furniture, she is housebroken, and she doesn't run off from the house! She's lazy and loving and sweet, and did I mention she is housebroken?!?!?! It's fantastic! She's fantastic! She is also extremely overweight! She is the fattest lab I've ever seen! But she is getting tons of exercise here with the kids, and we have been rationing her food intake. I think she has already lost a couple pounds! Anyhow, we'll get her in tip top shape here real' soon.

Bacon, is now officially bacon! Actually, we pick him up from the butcher this coming Friday, so we are all excited for our first homegrown meat meal! When we took Bacon to the farm that was doing the slaughtering, they showed us their feeder pigs, and let me tell you . . . they are the cutest little pigs ever! There are pink ones and black ones and red ones and my personal favorites, the spotted ones! I think we'll be headed back to the farm to pick one (or maybe two) up in a couple weeks! It's fun to have a pig, and as much as I am looking forward to eating "Bacon", I miss going out there and watching the silly "dances" he did for attention and food! :)

Our guineas have decided that one of the four isn't allowed in the group anymore. Actually, we see the lone guinea every now and again, only once or twice a day, but we hear her all day in the woods behind the house, so we are thinking that instead of having been excommunicated from the group, we now think she may be sitting on a nest! Wouldn't that be fun! I guess it's time to google how long guineas brood. At any rate, we may just have some little ones running around the place before too long!

School! Yup, school is back in session. For the public schools in our area, today is the first day. For our kids, it was last Monday! We've been in school for over a week now, and while the first day left me wondering if there was still time to get them into the public schools, the last few have been pretty smooth sailing. We have our moments, but all in all, it's going well. We are studying Rome through the Reformation this year and the boys are eating up all the wars and heroes and whatnot, so that is great. Our main curriculum is called My Father's World. Same thing we've used the last two years, and we really enjoy it. We changed up our math curriculum this year to Teaching Textbooks. It is the best thing ever! All three of the older kids can do their math on the computer, and it grades itself! Less work for me, and they love it! Katy is 6th grade this year! Junior High! I can hardly believe it! Yikes, where has the time gone??? Hunter is in 5th grade, and I can't believe that in one more year, he'll be in junior high as well! Andrew is in the 3rd grade. He is in a growth spurt right now - eating like a monster! And then there is Josiah . . . my baby boy is in KINDERGARTEN!!! I can not even believe it! He is such a big boy, and loves school. We are currently studying the days of creation, and he loves being read to from the Bible, coloring, and singing. The hymn for the year for his curriculum is "This is My Father's World". And, you guessed it! We are using the My Father's World kindergarten curriculum as well.
The kids are excited for our homeschool fellowship to get back started up, and I am too. I love the support and friendship I get from all the moms there.

Some, or maybe all of you know that I had an endoscopy last week for abdominal pain that I've been having since early July. I just heard from the Doc this morning, and there is nothing wrong with my stomach. Which is good news, except for the fact that I still have the pain, and I have developed new pain since the procedure. He's going to reorder some labs just to double check, and put me on a new med to see if it will help/eliminate the pain. So, we're in a holding pattern for now. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me, and continues to pray for me.

Again, some of you may have heard that Karl hurt his back about 2 1/2 weeks ago . . . he has been in an insane amount of pain, and the meds they have given him hadn't seemed to help. He FINALLY had an MRI last Friday, and it seems he may have bulging disks from his L4 down. Not great news. They gave him some new meds (yesterday) that seem to be helping, but he can't take them and drive, so he is limited to the evening time to take them.

We have been extremely busy, and kindof broken the past couple of weeks, but hopefully, we'll be on the mend very soon! For anyone who reads this, please keep us in your prayers, and we will you.

Heat Wave

So, we've spent the summer largely in the house, which is unfortunate. We have had such hot and humid weather, that even the kids don't want to be outside for very long at all. :( So, we've had to find some interesting ways to occupy our time, so this puzzle is something that Katy drug our of the closet . . . Our friend Lucy had given it to us before we moved away from Maine, and we had yet to finish it . . . that is, until yesterday!!! All the kids worked on it, and I think Karl may have placed a couple of pieces too. I worked for hours on it, using the techniques (and teaching them to the kids) that my grandmother taught me years ago. She was amazing at puzzles . . . well, lots of things really, but puzzles was for sure on that list!

All the heat that has been hard on us humans, has been great for the garden! Our tomatoes are HUGE!!! We only planted 3 large tomato plants and 2 cherry tomato plants. (We didn't want to be over-run by them.) And yesterday, this is what Katy and I picked from our cherry tomato plants (2) 64 cherry tomatoes! I couldn't believe it! We have had an abundance, and they have over-run the garden, but we don't mind. Neither does Bacon, or the chickens, as they get all the rotting or bug eaten ones. :) So what did I do with all those cherry tomatoes you ask??? Well, I made pasta salad, with tomatoes and green peppers from our garden, and homemade Italian dressing (and a few more things too, but olives from a can aren't nearly as impressive as tomatoes from the garden.)

Josiah's Birthday!

I can't believe my baby is 5!!! Yikes! The time has flown! We had planned a busy day which included swimming and bowling and then "partying" until it was time to go work at the farm. BUT... Karl hurt his back the day before, so we laid low for the day (as Karl was still swimming out of the liquid brain pool the ER had put him in the night before - great meds. ) Swimming went on as planned, but bowling was off the schedule, and we partied after Katy, Hunter, Andrew and I worked at the farm. Karl and Joe hung out and watched a movie while we were away. It all worked out in the end, and in the end, we came home from the farm with ice cream treats for the whole crew, courtesy of our dear friends Ms. Chris and Mr. Herb (from the farm.) All in all, it was a great day, and No! I didn't freak out too bad that my "baby" is 5!

The more the merrier, right?!?!?!

The more the merrier, right?!?!?! Well, for those of you who are tired of butterflies, just hit the back button, and resume your previously scheduled web surfing. I am just loving the butterflies we are having this summer . . . they are magnificent and beautiful and amazing, and I can't help but to post pictures of them. :) Enjoy!