Thankful to be at home

Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to be a mama. When asked, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" I would always come up with a different answer. It seemed that I needed to put something down, but none of them really fit. I'd say I wanted to be a dance teacher or a school teacher, maybe a nurse. Maybe I'd try my hand at the business world, though I knew nothing about it and had zero interest..... it seemed like a good response. But I've always wanted to be a mama. Even when I went to college I didn't have a goal in mind. I was certainly working on my Mrs. and switched majors 4+ times in 2.5 years at a junior college. Yeah, I didn't know where I was going with all of those classes. Albert and I started dating after my third semester in college. At that point I was pursuing Elementary Education. It is still something I am interested in. I switched my major one final time to "General." Exciting huh? I could use all of my credits and graduate a semester early. I finished my associates about two weeks after we got married. I finished teaching dance the next semester and headed out to Oklahoma. Since Albert was in training, we both thought a part-time job would be good. So, I worked at 0ld Navy. It was a good pass time. We talked about me staying at home with our kiddos before we were even married. Or maybe it was something that we just always agreed on and never really discussed. I'm not sure. Either way, I really wanted a baby when training was coming to an end. I was five months pregnant when we moved and have been at home ever since. I love this job.

There have been several times that I have felt bad or weird about staying at home. I've been asked, "Do you work? Outside of the home I mean." Or, "What's your degree in?" One friend told me that I could finish my degree on-line through a great program she was doing. I just don't feel like that's for me. I'm not against having a degree and maybe one day I'll go back to school, but at this point it's not on my "Bucket List."

A couple of weeks ago I felt that God was really assuring me that this is where He wants me to be. On a Wednesday night Albert called and asked if I could take care of a friend from the squadron's little boy the next day. I watched him before and knew it would be a bit of a challenge, but how could I say no to a friend in need? The little boy came over and all of the boys had a great time. About lunch time I was waiting for Albert to call (There was a chance we'd get to see him for about 30 minutes) when the doorbell rang. I answered and it was a dear friend who used to live right down the street. They have moved about an hour and a half north and we have not seen them in over a year. What a blessing a surprise to have her and her two little boys visit. We welcomed them in and had a 4 month old little girl and boys ages 1,2,3,4 and 5 play for about a half hour. Albert called right after T and her boys got here and we both decided it would be best to visit with them. We had a great time and tried to catch up as much as you can with all of those little rascals running around, 30 minutes and over a year worth of missed time. It was an awesome day.

None of my cleaning was done and the house looked a bit more like a toy store or daycare center than I'd like, but I feel like we were really able to share the love of Jesus. If I worked away from the home, our family would not have been able to help a friend and I would have missed the opportunity to visit with an old friend. God is really showing me the many ways to be hospitable and use our home for His purposes. What a blessing!

The Movies

I'm sure you all sit around wondering what a day with the Ducks is really like. Ha! Well sometimes, in the middle of a situation a movie line will run through my mind. (I wish I memorized scripture as easily as I do a catchy movie line.) Here are a couple examples. You can think of us when your kiddos watch these movies and you hear the line or see the scene.

"All the animals are going mad!" -Finding Nemo

No, my kids are not animals, but sometimes I alter this line and it applies.

"Honey, it's time to intervene!" -The Incredibles

Ahh, this one runs through my mind ALL THE TIME when Albert is gone. We are not incredible, but a lot of their super powers fit us. I'm not sure what Olivia's personality will be like, so she is Jack Jack. Boaz is our very quiet observer. He likes to think about things and work with his hands, he gets to be Violet. (Only the really cute boy version!) Canon is our little fire ball. He's Dash. Albert can sweep in and save the day, of course he's Mr. Incredible! And I only wish I could be more flexible. If I could just reach out and grab a kid while I'm sitting in the chair nursing, a lot of tears would be spared.

My mind is drawing a blank, hum, this isn't the first time! So, I'll have to share the other sections of movies with you as they come back to mind.

A Little Boring

I am happy to announce that the dog has left us alone and Albert's t-shirt quilt has consumed the last several days. I am sending it off to be professionally quilted this week and will post some pictures once I get it back. We have really just been filling time until Albert gets back. I have had a couple of thoughts bouncing around in my brain though. Hopefully I'll fill you in on those tomorrow.

Romeo and Juliet

I've posting quite a bit about the dogs around this joint, and this post will continue that exciting side of our lives! I know, you've been waiting for another post about my crazy dogs. Well, look no further, it is here!

On Wednesday my neighbor came over and informed me that there was a brown dog in my yard. I had not noticed the dog, so I quickly ran to the back window. Piper is in heat, so I do not want other dogs around her, especially not male, fully in-tact dogs! So, I went out back and tried to see his tag and get him out of the yard. He ran off quickly. It did not take us long to learn that this dog can climb fences and create a gap under the fence without digging a hole. Yes, this is a problem! So, we never could get the dog to come close enough for long enough to see his tag and call his owner, and eventually he wondered off. Only after marking his territory, my backyard!

Friday, the boys and I are sitting at the table eating breakfast, when Canon informs me that Piper is in Emma's yard. Emma is our neighbor's dog. Piper only goes over there when the gate is open, and we always keep it shut and locked, unless we are outside playing with our neighbors. Again, I rush to the back door to figure out what's going on. The gate was open, or so I thought, but I couldn't see the actual gate. What it perfectly in-line with the fence post? I was confused. So, I went outside to investigate. The gate had been lifted completely off it's hinges and was laying in my neighbor's yard! After further investigation I realized that an animal squeezed through the gate, going under the mesh fencing and over the frame. It must have gotten a little stuck and lifted it's back end up. The gate was about 10 ft. into my neighbor's yard.

Today, I am visiting with neighbors who live on the street behind us when the base police come by. After a couple of minutes, I see the dog run behind their backyard. Then the police come by a couple more times. Eventually they stop and ask us if we've seen the dog. I told him that we had and that they would not be able to bait him in. He likes my dogs, but he doesn't like people. While walking home (with my dogs in-tow) I find the dog again. By this point I am angry. I do not want to have to worry about this dog. We have not spade Piper yet because I'd like her to have one litter of puppies with a specific dog in Pensacola. I do NOT want her to have puppies with this mutt! Granted, they would be cute, he's looking at me through my back door right now and he has a very sweet face, but who wants a 65 lb. mutt??? I think I'd have a hard time giving those puppies away and I just don't want to deal with it. Plus, I should be able to let my own dog in my own back yard without having to worry about someone else's dog harassing her. I get a little frustrated just typing this out. I just don't want to worry about this dog. I don't want him to go to the pound and be put down and I don't want him to get my dog pregnant. I really wish his owners would have kept him on a lead in the yard. Do they even know or care that he's missing? He had a tag and collar last week when we first met him, but he has lost it since then. He has now been in or around my yard for the last 3 hours. I called the police after chasing him out of the yard once and him coming back. They came out and saw him. My neighbor was in the process of running him out of the yard when the police showed up, but he ran off. Rather, he ran just out of sight. It's easy for him to hide in the dark. He is back now. I have the porch light on and he keeps asking to get in. He seems very friendly, but shows aggression when my neighbor and I tell him that he's not getting what he wants. Ugh, I don't know what to do. We're going to hang out in the backyard most of the day tomorrow and give the police a call if/when he comes around. Maybe I'll lose the rest of my baby weight by spending the day in 100+ temps. HA! 

I told Albert that they are like Romeo and Juliet, the forbidden love. Piper would be happy to entertain his ideas, but I can assure you that will NOT be happening! Until she is done being "available" I will have to go outside and supervise the yard every time she is out. Doesn't that sound like fun? Please, please tell me if you have any other suggestions. I'd really like to spare this dogs life, and I'm hoping he's micro-chipped, but I can't have an aggressive dog hanging around two houses that have 3 dogs and 7 kids between them!

**Edited to add: I tried to take a picture of the dog looking through the door. Of course the flash caused some trouble. After three shots the guilty party thought he did not want to be photographed and he went out of the yard, under the fence. Maybe he won't come back.....

Random

* Dog poop is easier to scoop when it has been over 100 degrees for a couple of days in a row. It was so hot earlier that our temperature gage just had dash marks (--) instead of a temp and it's in the shade!

*Boaz is officially considering riding the potty training train. He pottied in the toilet 3 times yesterday and we celebrated with an official "Potty Party". Well, it's not that official, but I did call Canon in to cheer with me!

*I just looked at the pics of my kiddos on the side of my blog. I think I need to update these. They made me sweat just looking at them. It's a little too hot for pictures of kids in winter coats and lined pants.

We can survive

Several weeks ago the fam and I loaded in the van and headed slightly south to buy me a new pair of walking/running shoes. Since Albert was with us, I didn't bother to bring my cell phone. He is the one who calls me the most and I'd rather not be on the phone with someone else when he is around. Our time together is short, so I try to stay focused. So, I Googled the store a day or two before we went, checked out the map and knew the general idea of where we were going. Once we got down there, we could not seem to find the place. We drove down the road to the left of the interstate until we reached housing developments. Then, we turned around and headed down the right side of the interstate. We drove around a couple of shopping centers. I started wondering if I'd gotten the street right. I asked Albert for his phone and thought I could at least look up the address and possibly call the place to find out where they were. Only, his battery was dead! I sort of panicked. We don't have a phone, we don't know where we're going, there aren't pay phones and phone books on the corner of any of these gas stations. Will we ever find the place??? Finally I asked Albert to pull over and I would run into the H@allmark store and ask to borrow their phone book and phone. He put the van in park and I grabbed the handle of the van to find a phone book in our van! I started laughing immediately. I quickly searched and found that our little shop was listed. The street signs around here have the block number listed on them, so we were able to find our way. The shop was tucked back in the one part of the strip mall that we did not drive by. I was so excited that we were still able to find our way though our phones were out of commission. 

Then......

On Sunday I put my phone on silent and brought it into church with me. I almost NEVER put my phone on silent or bring it into church. But, my watch battery has been dead for a long time and no one will help me take the back off to replace the battery and I knew Olivia would need to eat and I wanted to know what time it was when I fed her...... So, I put the phone on silent and brought it in. After Sunday School I loaded everyone into the van and dropped my wallet and phone over the seat. I heard my phone hit something hard and knew it was not in the seat. I finished buckling everyone in and got in myself. I didn't see the phone. I backed out of the parking spot and saw that it was not on the ground. It had to be in the van somewhere. So, I headed home. I quickly brought the kiddos inside and got them down for their naps, then headed back out to look for my phone. I couldn't find it. So, I came in and did a little reading and headed out again. I repeated this process at least five times. Each time I was hoping to have a fresh perspective and look in that one spot that I had not looked the time before. No success. After a few hours I messaged one of the college kids from church and asked him to swing by the church to make sure it wasn't in the parking lot. It wasn't. I prayed and prayed that I would find my phone. Since it was on silent, I knew I wouldn't hear it even if it did ring and I searched everywhere. I considered going for a drive and driving up and down hills hoping it would slide out from wherever it was hiding. Thankfully my SS teacher, the college kids mom, suggested calling the phone. I could have done this, but we don't have a land line. I thought about asking a neighbor to call, but I'd have to walk over with all three kids, ask them to call blah blah blah. It would take a bit of work. Thankfully my SS teacher was willing to call. I messaged her son on facebook and we set up a time. I quickly ran out to the van and heard the phone vibrating! I was so relieved to find it! The phone dropped into the pocket on the side of the door and was leaning just perfectly so that I could not see it. It was totally a God thing for me to have found it. The phone was in the pocket with the ice scraper that I had taken out to drop over the seat and see how the phone might have bounced. I know I looked almost exactly where the phone was.

I think God intended this to be a lesson in humility for me. I have a very hard time asking for help and admitting that I need help. Relying on others is not enjoyable for me. I am thankful that I was forced into this situation and my dear friends were able and willing to help. God is so good and I'm back in touch!