We have been busy!

So sorry it has taken me so long to update. The last month as been pretty stressful. Joe's orders ended on January 31st and then he had about 2 weeks off and then he started temporary orders with the same unit (the one we don't really like) and we were on a mad search for new orders. We found out this week that we got some new orders for a year, stationed here in Pendleton, but a little further down (more in Oceanside) which will be more of a commute for him. They are non-deploying orders, so no worry of Iraq or Afghanistan! :) We are happy and blessed to get these orders. I wasn't ready to move, we are comfortable here!

I have been busy with Alex and school, and with the mom's and tot's group I am involved in. School is going well, just have to manage my time in order to stay ahead of the game instead of behind, it can be challenging, but Joe is great at helping out with Alex so I can get things done.

Alex is growing, growing, growing of course, he is starting to say a lot more words. He is so much fun, but it definitely starting with his stubborn, tantrum stage. He says mama and mom, dada, puppy, ear, ball, he tries to say balloon, "ah man" is one of his favorite phrases, and he said "good girl" and "stay" to our dog Libby. hehe. I think I missed a few but those are his most common ones. :) Its so cool see him learn things and he LOVES reading books, that is what he wants to do 90% of the time. He has a Thomas the Train book that says "Go Go Go!" and he runs around saying that, he loves that book, I am pretty sure Joe and I can recite that book without reading it, we read it like 5-10 times a day! ha. I got him a Mr. Potato Head, the other day, and he loves it! We also got him some number and letter puzzles and he likes playing with those, we try to go over those, even though he really isnt interested, but repetition will help!


**Prayers for my Mom, she has a scan coming up this Monday and we would really like to see some good results.
**Prayers for Kate, she was able to go home for a week or so with her parents, which is awesome! Now she is going back in to start her 4th round of chemo, pray that it goes smoothly and fast. Prayers for Krystal and Todd, they are about to welcome their 2nd baby into the world. Hope that goes smoothly! :)
**Prayers for friends that are having a hard time with a job situation, might have another job opportunity, hopefull everything happens for the best.
**Prayers for our friends family going through a really rough time and prayers that he recovers successfully and fast. Prayers that she can forgive and find strength.
**Prayers for all our friends that are over seas right now. May they be safe and come home to their families.
**Prayers for our friend and her kids, just moved and is having a rough time with family.
**Of course prayers for everyone -- stay healthy, stay safe, stay strong.

Here are some pictures! :)

Alex playing "If your happy and you know it!"


being shy-- almost 18 months


at the super bowl party with Aiden, his favorite big kid friend :)


promise to update soon!

Disneyland!

Alex had his first trip to Disneyland last week. He had a fun time! It was very tiring for him though. He slept very good after that! ha



Jedi school-- i took this picture for my nerd husband! ha


downtown disney


Me, AJ, Julie, and Jake!


a castle in the storytime ride


argh! a pirate ship.


my big boy, Alexander.

:)

Pictures from Christmas with my Mom.

I wanted to share some pictures from Christmas. My mom came into town and we had a great time!

Nana and AJ, but the christmas tree. :)


Alex- it had been raining and we went to the park when it stopped to get some air. :)


my big boy.. running around as usual. :)

Embrace it!

So I have been watching Oprah's "Best Life" week. I usually don't watch Oprah, but I just happened to come upon in on Monday and realized she was doing a "better yourself this year" thing for the week and was interested. Today though I go get sick of the whole "The Secret" I feel like its been over done a little. She had some spiritual leaders on today, and a few people stood out to me.
One woman said she was a stay at home mom and sometimes had the feelings of, "When is it my turn?" Her husband worked full time and also went to law school, so she was very much the only person at home with her kids most of the time, with very little time to have a break. I very much feel this way at times. I think all moms feel like this at times, especially stay at home moms that are with their kids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I understood that she loved being home with them and also hated it. She talked about how she no longer feels like herself, but feels like "mom." I often feel like "mom" not "Megan." I really like what they said about it. They said, why not embrace being "Mom"? Why not make the best of it, go on play dates, get out there and feel alive while being a mom. Do small things for yourself through out the day that makes you feel like "Megan" and not "Mom." Communicate with your partner and make sure you have some off time, which I already knew. But what I liked, was just those words... EMBRACE IT and also "when is it my turn?" you should make it "Its now my turn?"

Another woman, said she lost a lot of faith in God, has been angry and has been grieving about her mom being diagnosed with cancer. Of course I know exactly what she feels like. In 2006, when my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I was in a rage. I lost a ton of faith and mourned for a few months. I was totally dumb founded but most of all I was so angry, not at my mom but with God and with the world. After a few months I realized I was wasting a lot of energy on being mad and mourning. I was mourning someone that was still alive. And that anger was wasted energy. They said stop being mad and spend time with you mom, take advantage of what you have now. Its hard to get over it, and you will always feel angry at times, but remember that that person is still here and you are still here to love them and support them.

Okay I am done rambling for now.

Princess House!

I am starting to do Princess House. If you are interested in having a party and getting lots of free amazing merchandise let me know!! Or if you ever want to order something. :)

www.princesshouse.com

Megan

It saves my life.

This keeps me sane.
It keeps my house manageable and presentable. No more "crisis cleaning" and when someone stops by without notice I don't have to worry about my house being a mess.

If you have kids and feel like your house is a wreck, I recommend this.
http://www.flylady.net/index.asp

needing some prayers

It seems like right when you think you have a hold on things, something else comes to knock you on your ass, right? Well, we have been patiently waiting to hear from the good ol' Marine Corps about Joe's active duty orders. Still no word, and his current orders will end the 31st of this month. So no word from them yet. Last night Carlos (if you did not know, Joe's best friend has been living with us, to help us both with money and he is supposed to move to New York in June and didnt want to get on a lease of his own) tells us when he gets home from work that his boss that doesn't like him, is transferring him to New York, at the end of this month, or basically he risks losing his job if he stays. Is it legal, probably not, does Carlos want to fight this guy, yes, but do you risk losing a good job? So we both feel completely unprepared. Carlos said if he goes he will help with a few months rent to make sure we are okay. But oh my God! What if Joe doesn't get the orders and Carlos is gone. We will be on the street.. ok that wouldnt happen, but we would be in trouble.

Please pray that Joe finds out he very soon about getting on Active Duty orders and gets placed somewhere here, he is in the works with another non-deploying unit that has a perfect position open for him. Pray that he gets this. We would be fine staying here in Laguna Hills if Joe gets these hours, we would have to really budget ourselves, but I am going to be starting Princess House soon and would hope that would help with some bills. If he doesnt get the orders, I have a feeling we will be moving, and probably out of state. :(

Its stressful, there are a lot of things to pray for..

Some more things to pray for:
Our little precious friend Katelyn Ashley Devermann.
My mom.
My Grandma.

Though this is a set back, I believe that 2009 is going to be a good year. Things will be okay.