Last Post of 2006

Tonight at midnight marks the beginning of a new year and before I jump ahead to what 2007 holds, I feel the need to reflect on all that 2006 has brought. I must say, it has been a good year! 2006 was the first year Albert traveled since we'd been married, and I have to say I am quite proud of myself! He was gone for a month in Feb, a week in Oct, and another month in Dec, and I held myself together quite nicely! haha =) I feel like God has been slowly preparing me for his deployment, and when he does go overseas I will be equipped to handle it! 2006 has also brought new joys, such as my ever-increasing love of my job and the wonderful friends I work with! I have become very close with my co-workers and they have become my "family" in Fort Leonard Wood! I feel very much at home in Fort Leonard Wood, and very content with where we are, I like it there now. =) 2006 also marked the year that Albert and I started trying to have a family, obviously 2006 was not our year, but we are praying 2007 will be! =) Lastly, 2006 brought my family even closer together as we stood with my dad as he was diagnosed with cancer, and rejoiced when God used doctors and a successful surgery to heal him! All in all, 2006 was good, but I am excited to see all that God has planned for 2007! It's gonna be fabulous! =)

In Christ,
Katie

Merry Christmas!

We hope this Christmas day brings joy to all of your lives, that you remember and reflect on the awesome gift God gave to us on this day, and that you rejoice in all you do! Our hearts are especially with our friends who are deployed overseas to Iraq and Afganistan- we are praying for you! We love you all so much and hope your Christmas is a wonderful one!

Excerpt from Max

You have a ticket to heaven no thief can take,

an eternal home no divorce can break.

Every sin of your life has been cast to the sea.

Every mistake you've made is nailed to the tree.

You're blood-bought and heaven-made.

A child of God--forever saved.

So be grateful, joyful--for isn't it true?

What you don't have is much less than you do.

by Max Lucado, from "A Love Worth Giving"

One Week Until Christmas!

So I just looked at the calendar and realized there is only one week until Christmas!! I am so excited!!!! =) This is my favorite week of school, we only have 2 and 1/2 days and they are all going to be fun and easy! Tomorrow we are going caroling at one of the nursing homes in town, so we will be gone half of the day, and then Weds the kids get out at 12:30 and we have our staff Christmas party! And then Thursday Albert comes home...YEY!! =) This is going to be a fantastic week!

In Christ,
Katie

House of Roses

I am sure many of you are familiar with the film Bed of Roses (yes, so very romantic), well right now I feel like I am living in a scene straight out of that movie (no, not the sad parts, the flower part) because today I came home to 100 roses!!! 75 of them are purple (my fav!) and 25 of them are white! They are AMAZING! They smell sooooooo good and are sooooooooooo pretty! I don't even know what to do with all of them, LOL! I've made three arrangements so far, but I still have almost half of them left, lol! =) Here are some pictures of what I have done:

I have the best and sweetest husband ever! =)

Top 5 Things I Miss About Albert

Albert has been gone since Nov 25th and over these past 19 days or so I have tried to stay focused on the positives on him being gone (less laundry, less dishes, I can watch whatever I want to watch on TV, etc etc) but I felt the need to write about all the things I miss when he is gone, so I compiled a quick list of the Top 5 Things I Miss. =)

5. I miss sharing my new discoveries with him. Like discovering the fabulousness of Lost, or my new Enchilada Bake recipe.

4. I miss his touch. You really take for granted having someone there to hold your hand or give you a hug when you need one.

3. I miss his sense of humor. He is silly about 95% of the day, and it is refreshing and entertaining.

2. I miss his volume (did I just say that??). The house is so quiet when he is gone! I miss hearing him talking, laughing, singing, or watching TV. It makes the house seem full of excitement.

1. I miss having my best friend around all the time to talk to and laugh with. When I walk through the hall and trip on the rug there's no one here to laugh at/with me, or when I get home from work and want to talk about the funny things my kids did he's not here to listen.

Although I do have the best family/friends a girl could ask for, and ya'll do a wonderful job of filling the void while he's gone, I'm so glad there's only 8 days left! I look forward to having my best friend back! =)

My Dad's surgery

I wanted to write a quick note to let ya'll know that my dad's surgery today went really well, praise God! The doctor checked his lymph nodes and they look great, so no worries there and he removed the prostate without any problems! My mom, my sister and I got to talk to my dad after surgery and he was soooo groggy and out of it, but he was already crackin' jokes and being silly, so it made us feel much more at ease. He will stay at the hospital overnight and then we can bring him home tomorrow late afternoon. Thank you all for your prayers and support! Praise God!

The 6 Days of No School

On the first day of no school my district gave to me, a lot of time with Sallie!

On the second day of no school my district gave to me, cleaning my house and a lot of time with Sallie!

On the third day of no schoool my district gave to me, extra time on MySpace, cleaning my house, and a lot of time with Sallie!

On the fourth day of no school my district gave to me, an excuse for baking, extra time on MySpace, cleaning my house, and a lot of time with Sallie!

On the fifth day of no school my district gave to me...TIME TO GO SHOPPING! An excuse for baking, extra time on MySpace, cleaning my house, and a lot of time with Sallie!

On the sixth day of no school my district gave to me, extreme and utter boredom, time to go shopping, an excuse for baking, extra time on MySpace, cleaning my house, and A LOT of time with Sallie! =)

The First Snow of 2006

Sallie LOVES playing in the snow!

Pretty icicles on the big oak tree in front of our house!

The front of the house (duh) =)