Ok Ok I'm Back!! Did You Miss Me??

Well we all know how I feel about posting just words without some pics to show for what I'm rambling on about but in this case I just had to post to say the church Halloween party is OVER!! I couldn't be happier until a month and 1 week from now when the Christmas party is...so I get a LITTLE break and then it's back to the grindstone....of course there's no pics because I had Chris occupied with his camera taking pictures of families at the party in our Halloween photo shoot set-up complete with a spooky park bench, light poles, and cobwebs...it was great and I got rave reviews from the games I had planned and everything. So when we can afford another small point and shoot camera I will go hog wild but until then you'll have to wait 'til Thursday when we found out there's a "Trick or Treat" parade down the main street of our town here so we'll definitely be sure to get our wonderfully creative family costumes in photo and then print when I show you here!! So hold on to your seats just until then!! ;)

An Interesting Encounter...

I don't usually just post to say I'm doing something..because if I'm gonna say something I want to have pics to prove what I'm doing was fun but last night's late night visitor deserves a post on here. It is 10:15 pm and Chris and I had just finished sharpening 12 pencils...with a knife...oh yeah because the Dollar Tree didn't have pencil sharpeners....oh yes we're THAT cheap these days :) Anyway, so the doorbell rings and with a very disapproving look we both turn to the door wondering who on earth could be here at this hour...so I open the door,with Chris directly behind me with a machete..you just never know this late, right?? (Just kidding) and there sounds about a 20 year old guy with no hands (from elbow down) and one prosthetic leg (the other leg was intact and normal) and the first thing he says is "Please don't be scared, and was this a bad time??" Well if you must know, yes 10 o'clock at night is NEVER a good time to start soliciting (no matter the cause) but just for the record I never said that...we said that it was fine and listened to his story about how he and about 40 other "disabled" persons were traveling with a company named "Editor and Chief in Review Inc." and what they were trying to accomplish was getting prosthetic arms for themselves if they could raise enough "points." How do they get these points, you might ask?? Well the age ol' magazine subscription, that's how. Anyway, so we continue to listen while perusing the magazines offered and then he asked if we had any questions...so we ask how much a few of them are and here's where the incredible part started...he retrieved a huge booklet from his back pocket, (reminder:no hands just elbow up) bent down on my concrete porch stairs (which is when I noticed the missing leg) and began to look through his book to find the prices we had asked, and while looking for that asked up if he could send us a survey in the mail from his company asking how he was with us..respectful,rude, etc. We said sure and then he began to WRITE our names,address,etc. (Forgot to mention before that on one arm he had a very malformed little finger, and that he used that and his chin to write all these things) but the amazing thing to me was that his handwriting was SO much better than mine!! Anyway, we invited him in to at least use our table to press on to finish what he was writing...We decided to help him out as much as we could, maybe partly out of pity and partly because they actually had a magazine that I love...so then he continues writing even more things about our order and before he left I just had to ask (big mouth me!!) if this was an accident later in his life or what and he told me he was born like this and that he was 19....probably sensing my disbelief, as I certainly haven't been around that many seriously disabled people, I probably didn't hide my expression very well, he said: "You just gotta keep on keeping on, don't let anything keep you down." Now the point of this whole NOVEL I've written here that probably everybody other than my mom dropped out half a page ago is that we have SO very much to be grateful for and yet SO many of us take for granted our bodies (no matter what shape they come in) and many other things for that matter...so my and your thought for today is to try and have a better attitude on life. We have so many things to be ABLE to take for granted and I sure have a loving Father in Heaven to think for that!! End of Novel!! ;)

If What I've Done Isn't Enough...

Well I've emailed all the ladies from church about this, AND I've put it on my FB page, so why not exploit some more people by putting it on my blog as well...hey there's some variation on who reads what, right?? Anyway, Dalin and Destinee are selling Yankee candles and all their yummy counterparts for a school fundraiser...now most fundraisers for a school are lame and you end up knocking doors with your kid just hoping and praying that somebody will buy SOMETHING just so your kid doesn't feel like a complete failure out there.....BUT with that said I think this is a great product and I use it frequently so I hope/guess other people will too!! Anyway, you can view the catalog on-line for those "out-of-towners" (i.e. Mom and Diana esp!!:) at www.yankeefundraising.com and you can click on the fall/winter catalog (at least I think that's what it says) and tell me through email or a comment if you see anything that suits your fancy and I will gladly ship it to you in the end....Well happy looking!!

ADIDAS...do you know what it stands for??

Well in case you didn't it's "All Day I Dream of Soccer" so that brings us to this post....Dalin's first game was today and how about those uniforms...we didn't even get them 'til 10 minutes before the game...awesome colors!! Anyway, I'm sure you can figure out what all the pics are but the first huddle is what happens when a teammate gets hurt..I thought the team huddle was very good sportsmanship, and then the next huddle is in response to "Who wants to play goalie??" and as you can see there are quite a few hands....and then there is Dalin playing goalie...he actually did pretty well for his first time ever playing since everybody else on his team has played before...I wish I'd gotten a pic of him diving on top of the balls to stop them but hey it stopped 'em and it gave everybody a kick!! ;) Then there's a happy, cute, sporty boy ready to play again!! ;)

Air Force Ball Preface

These pics were part of the AF Ball as well just like the post underneath this one but I thought it deserved its own post and explanation, I love the way that in the military there are so many things that mean more than what meets the eye...and this is one of my favorites. This is the POW-MIA table...*

Moderator:

As you entered the banquet hall this evening, you may have noticed a small table in a place of honor. It is set for one. This table is our way
of symbolizing the fact that members of our profession of arms are missing from our midst. They are commonly called POWs or MIAs,
we call them "Brothers." They are unable to be with us this evening and so we remember them.

This Table set for one is small -- Symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner alone against his oppressors. Remember! (ring bell)

The Tablecloth is white -- Symbolizing the purity of their intentions to respond to their country's call to arms. Remember! (ring bell)

The single Red Rose displayed in a vase reminds us of the families and loved ones of our comrades-in-arms
who keep the faith awaiting their return. Remember! (ring bell)

The Red Ribbon tied so prominently on the vase is reminiscent of the red ribbon worn upon the lapel and breasts of thousands who bear
witness to their unyielding determination to demand a proper accounting of our missing. Remember! (ring bell)

The Candle, the candle is lit -- Symbolizing the upward reach of their unconquerable spirit. Remember! (ring bell)

A Slice of Lemon is on the bread plate to remind us of their bitter fate. Remember! (ring bell)

There is Salt upon the bread plate -- Symbolic of the families tears as they wait. Remember! (ring bell)

The Glass is inverted -- They cannot toast with us this night. Remember! (ring bell)

The Chair -- The chair is empty. They are not here. Remember! (ring bell)

Remember! -- All of you who served with them and called them comrades, who depended upon their might and aid, and
relied upon them, for surely, they have not forsaken you. Remember! (ring bell)

Remember! -- Until the day they come home, Remember! (ring bell)

*I know it's a long post, and I was lucky enough to find the whole ceremony off of Google so this is actually how it goes and I love the sentiment of the whole thing, so please take the time to read!!*

Air Force Ball 2009

Well Chris and I figured out with college ROTC included that this was our 8th AF Ball, when so many other ladies that I know have never even been to one because their husband's don't like to dance, or don't like all the formalities (pulling the chair out for your spouse and all that stuff that they don't usually do, but really should,right??) so what a good hubby I have that he would take me to so many...this is the best picture that we have of us right side up (the airman taking our pic wasn't the brightest crayon in the bunch I guess) Thanks so much to Clarissa for the jacket and jewelry..it was a big hit. And the hair pic is just to show off my handiwork, maybe all that hair doing on Destinee is paying off to where I can do my own without even being able to see it!!
The other two pics are of the AF's "Strolling Strings" from Bolling AFB here in DC and they were truly a wonderful sight to hear and see...they actually "strolled" among the crowd too. And the last pic, or rather the first in this line-up I guess is the display that Chris's squadron set up for a competition to determine who best "captured" the past and present years of the AF...His squadron's truly was the best so we're all glad it won. So that pretty much wraps up the AF Ball for this year, see you next year...same time, same channel!! ;)

Animals and Amateurs...

Now the animal part of this post is pretty obvious, but the amateur part refers to what Chris calls himself in the photography dept. but I just love doing photo shoots where I'm the "poser/designer" so to say and where he is the "deliverer of such designs!!" So we get a pass to the Washington Zoo (did anybody else know that the zoo part is free, you just have to pay for parking...who know?? Oh yeah obviously not me) and spent the last day of my mom's visit here with us in MD visiting the zoo.....much better than what we usually do when she visits..(i.e. have wonderful ideas and plans of things to show and do that never materialize) and these are just a few of Chris's pics..the chameleon on top is sideways but I couldn't figure out how to turn him but if you blow it up (by just clicking on it I think) the detail is amazing.