Dying Eggs with Jacob and Lani

Saturday afternoon we invited the Walker kids over to dye Easter Eggs. The kids had a great time and really didn't make that much mess at all!

Jared was eating his eggs.

Jadyn's hands were not as green this year.

For some reason Jared thought that he needed plastic gloves.

Clean Carpet!

My new shampooer. I was tired of borrowing one from self help only to find that it didnt work.

Look how clean!

This was the dog hair that I pulled out in clumps from the carpet, YUCK!

Lots more went down the drain with the water.

The kids playing in the livingroom before I started cleaning.

Yes, Jadyn is usually dressed like this at home. She refuses to keep clothes on, lol!

Spiritual Deployments

It seems like God really does have a purpose for Everything! Last deployment was my time. I had to completely rely on God for the safety of my husband. I had to rely on Him to provide for my every need and Sanity! It was a year of growth for me spiritually. I learned to CLAIM scripture as my promise from God. Psalms 91 was my favorite for Jerome's safety. I haven't found the exact verse for this deployment, so I continue to claim this promise today.

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."


This deployment I believe will be for Jared's growth. Well, I hope we all grow, but I can see it in Jared already. He is questioning spiritual things more and more. He knows that Jesus died for us and that as Christians we follow God's laws above man's. He just cant wrap his literal mind around a few of the concepts. For example, he asked the other day how Jesus can actually LIVE in our hearts. I didn't know what to say... then it came to me. DADDY!

I explained to him that Jesus does not actually live in our heart, but its the idea of Jesus and His love that we cherish in our hearts. I told him if he can't see daddy right now, but you know that he loves you and you love him. When you think about daddy you can feel his love in your heart. You know that daddy feels it too when he thinks of you, that's because daddy's LOVE is in your heart. It was like a light went off in his head. He said that Jesus is our "Godly Father" and lives in Heaven, but we love him with our hearts. YEA!!!! I wanted to cry, but they already think I am crazy...I cry all the time. Even now as I type this, lol.

I get asked all the time how we Army wives (and other services) can do this over and over. Yes it is hard, there are days that I struggle not to lock the kids in a closet...just kidding of course. But it is also rewarding- with the correct attitude! Deployments are like a magnifying glass. You can focus on all the bad things and get overwhelmed really quickly, or you can focus on the good and God's GRACE! HE WILL supply all of your needs, and when you focus on these you can see how blessed we really are.

I heard a quote the other day, I think it was from Mary Tyler Moore. I can not quote it exactly... Without struggles and challenges how would we know how strong we really can be. My version is without struggles and challenges how would we know how strong our God really is.

I am blessed to call myself an Army Wife! I am encouraged everyday by other women. I am so proud of my husband and the other men and women who have fought for centuries to make this Nation GREAT!

I love you Jerome! And I miss you more than you can ever know, but by the Grace of God we will survive and grow during this deployment too. Cant wait to see you again.

Kids Playing

This afternoon was beautiful outside, so I sat out with the kids for a little while. It was a bit warmer than usual, I think it was 37, hehe. Notice the short sleeves and light jackets. I guess after you live here for a while 37 is warm!

My broom broke in half the other day when I was using it,

but it is just right for Jadyn.

She and Justin were playing hockey with the broom.

Jadyn and her friends. They were skateboarding down the hill.

Justin was pouting because I wouldn't take him to the movies.

Not with these blue skies!

My yard is starting to thaw out, YEA! It still has a lot more to go. The back yard is still all snow. It doesn't get as much sun. When it does thaw I'm gonna have to pay someone to clean up after Dakota. I almost puked yesterday trying to clean poop!

YUCK!!!!

Jared was in a grumpy mood and I didn't get any pictures of him. He tried to take a nap earlier and got woke up. I think he was just tired.

web cam silliness

This is me messing around with the web cam this morning. I know everything looks blurry. I tried to fix it but it just got worse. I am getting HUGE!!! I am only 18 weeks. But I was pretty big to start with I guess. I haven't really gained any weight. The last appointment I had actually lost. My next appointment and Ultra Sound is April 15Th. Love you all!

Update on Jadyn

Jadyn did a great job during her test. She loved the US and that she got to see inside her belly. That part was easy. The VCUG was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. She did wonderfully. She was so cooperative, and did not cry at all while they did the Catheter. Alicia stayed with her for the Xray part and said that she was a brave little one. She did so good.
Funniest thing is now she can't wait for her boys to get home, so she can tell them about peeing on the table!
We wont know for sure how it went until her follow up appointment on Friday, but the tech said that it all looked good. She might be put on another small round of antibiotics to make sure that it is all cleared up. I will let you all know on Friday after we see the doc. Thanks for all your prayers and concerns. She is doing great!

Ash, Broken Fences, Bruises, and Ultra Sounds

This has been an eventful weekend for us, and I don't think it's over yet. First, Justin went snowboarding with some friends of ours from church on Friday after school. He was having a great time. They were gone for about 4 hours then I got the call from the Hillburg Ski Patrol. They needed permission to evaluate him after a fall. They were not very clear as to what was going on with him, so I was a bit worried. After what seemed like eternity, but was actually just a few minutes, they called back. They don't think he hit his head. Although his head was hurting at first,he said it didn't anymore and he didn't have any head trauma symptoms. They said he was complaining that his back hurt, and they released him to go home. When he got here it was obvious he was pretty beat up. His back was stiff, but I think he was just more scared than hurt. At least that was what he said.

I was not there so I can't completely explain what happened. He said he got too fast and could not stop or turn the board. He hit a boarder pole and broke it with his back and then slammed into the fence line.

He is OK. Yesterday he was pretty sore and didn't move around too much. Today he seems to be feeling much better, but the bruises have appeared. They are under his arm, which seems odd to me, because he says that his neck, shoulders, and arm is what hurts the most.

After a BEAUTIFUL day outside Saturday, the volcano erupted again and again. This time the wind was not in our favor. We started seeing the ash move in across the mountains and within a few minutes it was falling at Ft Richardson. Jared was at his friends house when it started, so he just stayed the night there. We didn't get too much here, just a very good dusting. I tried to take pictures of the accumulation, but it was too dark. I decided to try again this morning, but the wind blew most of it around last night. You can still see traces of it in the snow, and smell it in the air.

We didn't make it to church this morning. I don't know how much of it is in the air still, and I want it to settle before we go out. I would hate for Jared's asthma to flair up now. We have been almost a year with no problems. I'm not willing to risk it coming back again. Maybe if I can wash off the car and get it cleaned up this afternoon we will make it to AWANA. That is if there are no more eruptions. We are suppose to get same snow today, which will be good I guess. It might settle it all down and cover it up.



This was the view from my bedroom window when ash started moving toward us. The big tree is in the way, but you can see the cloud moving over the mountain top. It was a brownish gray sky in the front yard and a clear blue one in the back.

These are pictures from the AVO website of the explosions and ash cloud.

Jadyn has her Ultra Sound of her bladder and the VCUG x-ray tomorrow afternoon. Alicia is going with me so Jadyn will have someone in the x-ray room to comfort her while they do the catheter. Please keep her in your prayers tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and the test results will be good.

I need a volunteer or suggestions

I have found someone to keep Precious (my Shitzu) while I'm in Alabama. However, Dakota needs a home. She is a 1 year old Husky Shepard mix. She is good with kids. Jadyn climbs all over her, but she is very social and active. She loves to play outside and take walks, but she will run if let off the leash or out of the fence. She gets along well with other dogs. She actually LOVES playing with other animals.

If I can't find someone willing to watch her I will have to board her. I have heard that there are some really good inexpensive boarding places around the area, but I don't know anything about them. If you are willing to help or have info about kennels please let me know. Thanks

Volcano!

Well, it finally happened. Mt. Redoubt erupted last night. Thankfully the wind was blowing to the northeast and we didn't have to deal with Ash Fall! YEA!!! I was so worried about having to cover everything electrical, taping up our drafty doors, and wasn't even sure what to do about the suburban parked outside. Then there would be keeping three rowdy kids inside and entertained all day and all the survival bag stuff to go along with that, LOL. God was watching out for all of us with deployed spouses! Jerome would be so much better at all this than me. You can check out this website to see where the ash went: http://community.adn.com/mini_apps/assetDisplay/?ref=http://media.adn.com/smedia/2009/03/23/14/567-24RedoubtAsh-_2_.graphic_large.prod_affiliate.7.jpg&height=958&width=794&pwidth=860&pheight=1100

It has also erupted a few more times since last night, but they were rather small. Hopefully this was the BIG ONE that they predicted and we are in the clear.

Oh, and yes Jared had an MRE for dinner tonight. He has been wanting me to make him up one for weeks. My excuse was always that he needed to save them for when the volcano erupted in case we were not able to cook on stove. We didn't neeed them of course, but now I have no excuses. Thankfully Kyle and Candance were over here and Kyle made it up for him. He didn't eat much of it though. I wonder why?

Summer Fun

I got our COT tickets approved and booked today. (consecutive overseas tour - one time free tickets to home of record) We are going to Alabama May 22 - June 19. Jerome and Jadyn used their tickets back in October, so I will have to buy her ticket. I was planning on using airline miles, but the cost went up to 50,000!! I am still playing with our accounts to see if I can get that many. If I have to buy it will be around $800. That is money that we could use on our trip to the BEACH the first week in June. Pray that we find cheaper tickets or get to use our miles.
I will be 25 weeks preggo by the time we go, so I will look like an albino whale I'm sure. But, I don't care! I cant wait to see everyone and relax in the summer sun. Maybe by the time we get back it will be good and warm here in AK. PLUS, I will only have 9 or ten weeks till baby comes and Jerome gets to come home for RR. Cant wait to see my hunny! (Love you babe.)

Pictures from Jadyn's 3rd and Jermiah's 1st Birthday

Birthday Girl!

Birthday Boy!

Cake!

Candles and Wishes!

Jadyn LOVED the balloon toppers. She used hers like a spoon to eat her icing.

Justin chowing down on some cake.

Jared is afraid of Chuck E., even the mechanical one. He would not go near the one walking around the place, but snuck up on the mechanical one near our table. Then he eventually made it up on stage, but not too close, LOL.

Jadyn and Peyton riding the car.

Giddy Up!

Jared and Luke playing a game.

Get 'em Jacob.

LaiLani and Jadyn trying to play skee ball.

Presents!!!