Our Summer Vacation - Week 1

Our Summer Vacation officially began last week... it started off with a bang, or maybe I should say a BREAK! Yes, as you saw in my last post Stephen Broke a few bones! We were supposed to leave for Italy the NEXT DAY!! Well, as God would have it.... WE did leave! Just not ThursDAY, we left Friday morning at 2 am to begin our LONG trek to Italy!

No we didnt Walk! If we had we might have gotten their faster! We flew Space-A aka Space Available a.k.a. A Hop aka A MAC flight. All of this to say.... We drove to Charleston, South Carolina to "hop" a "space-a" flight to Ramstein, Germany. We tried to catch one of Friday, and then we hung out in Charleston on Saturday and Sunday...

I love the stained glass windows in the churches!

This is Alyssa and Cassandra. We met her at the terminal on base and hung out with her while we were waiting on available flights.

Me and Stephen on the FREE TROLLY!!

We went to the Waterfront Park and watched to boats! It was VERY breezy!

All of Charleston was really pretty. I cant wait to come back and visit with Detto!

Then we went back to the terminal to wait... 

and wait...

then we got a flight!! YIPPY!!

We took a C-17 to....

Don't our seats look comfy??

Good thing we only had to sit in them for 30-45 mins during take off and landing!

Then we slept...
 

We slept next to the cargo!

We stopped in Gander, Newfoundland for fuel..

Thankfully, we were able to lay down on our sleeping bags and sleep the rest of the way to Germany!

It was VERY loud and there were NONE of the "regular" comforts. No drink cart, only one bathroom w/ no sink, only two windows on the plane (up towards the ceiling), etc.

But we made it safe and sound.

As soon as we went through customs we jumped on a flight to Aviano, Italy.

This flight was more "typical"... Except there were only aprox 20 civilians on the plane of 275 people. It was short and cramped. On the military flights we dont have to abide by the "regular" FAA rules. Uniformed personell have weapons on them and we are all allowed to bring food and drinks. Drinks are "discouraged", but Stephen had 2 16oz water bottles in his backpack and they said, "No big deal, he's a kid. He can keep his water."

So...

We are now in Italy and LOVING visiting with the Durrett family! My neices and nephew are so BIG! They are all so cute and the kids are loving spending time playing! 

 I can't wait to see Sam & Anaia! For now we are resting and trying to get over jet lag.

There is a 6 hour time difference so we are all messed up!

STEPHEN Update

Its summer time and my kids love playing outside. Stephen is constantly on something with wheels!  But, Alyssa is running, playing, or riding! Well, today started with the light streaming in my window and my first born asking me if he could go play outside.... at 6am! I told him to eat first and wait until at least 7am! I go back to sleep and back to dreamland..... THEN THE PHONE IS RINGING!! It's 8am and Stephen is calling to tell me he is hurt... I need to come and get him! I jump in the truck (in my pj's) to find Stephen! Detto text's me saying "I'm going to the Medic, my hamstring is killing me. I hope you have an interesting day! Love ya!" Well...

Stephen broke his collar bone and his sholder blade.

Detto pulled his hamstring.

Please pray for a quick recovery for both of my guys!

QUILTING UPDATE

I haven't been doing much quilting when Detto was home, but since all of that has changed.....

Lisa and I had our first SEWING NIGHT in a LONG time!

I has been months since we have gotten together to sew.

Here is what we made....

Luggage Tags

And a small travel wallet! 

You know what that means?? Travel is right around the corner!!!  

Also...

Here is a Quilt Top that I finished. It had been cut and waiting for me to sew it all together! Finally finished!

Now I'm working on the backing!

Mini DQ for Lisa!

And the Backing!

Psalms 91 - Total Peace is Possible

 

Psalm 91

 ¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
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 say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
   and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake 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 on the lion and the cobra;
   you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

 ¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.”

I know I have talked about this Chapter alot lately, but I felt lead to post it so those of you who haven't gone and read it right away will have the chance.

I am loving Verse 14 right now. I have been praying that for John. I KNOW John will come home safe from Afghanistan because verse 14 says that God will protect him. I know that both Detto and John will be fine because of the promises here.

I have had MANY people ask me if I am worried about my brother and husband fighting in foreign countries and I can say with TOTAL PEACE OF GOD - "Nope! I'm not worried at ALL!" God PROMISES to protect them many times in this Psalms. I also LOVE verse 10 -12!

The whole Psalms is amazing and I thank God for Peace in the storm and for his Protection over my family!

Independence Day / Deployment

This year the 4th of July was very different for us... We still got together with friends and family, we still ate junk food, we still watched the fireworks....

The only difference was we did it while saying goodbye!

It was very hard to say goodbye...

He will be gone for a very long time. Over a year! That is a LONG time! I didn't want to celebrate Independence Day this way. I would rather sit around with the family AT HOME...

 Not in some military unit parking lot and watch the plane take off just 100 yds away. Knowing it is taking my hubby to another country. A WAR ZONE! A place where he will have to fight for his life and the lives of the men and women with him. A place where they are not very "happy" the Army has come to "help"! A place that had a high today of 117 degrees F and 15-20 mph winds blowing sand all over everything.

I thank God for his protection over my hubby and my family during this difficult time. I have been blessed to have a Bible and the promises given in Psalms 91.

Today I was reading Psalms 91: (God's Shield of Protection by Peggy Joyce Ruth) and I was struck by a quote...

"Many people think of the gospel as an insurance policy, securing only their eternity and their comfort after disaster strikes... God's Word is MORE than merely an escape from hell; it is a handbook for living a victorious life in the world."

I am so inspired by this quote. I can live VICTORIOUS over fear and worry. I have been claiming the promises of Psalms 91 for Detto and the entire unit! I am so blessed to have a faithful saviour!

This is Detto and his friend David. They have gone through EVERYTHING together - MEPS, Bootcamp, AIT, Training, and now a Deployment!

Lord, Bless and Protect our Soldiers!

God Bless the USA!

Sea World with Nana

For Christmas we promised Ora that we would take her to Sea World! With Detto gone so much it hasn't happened, until Tuesday....

We went to Sea World as a treat for Nana, but I think it was more of a Treat for me than for her! She proved us all WRONG... She said that she LOVED roller coasters. I must admit, I didnt believe her. I thought maybe she was talking about kiddie-coasters! But she was talking about THE REAL THING!

SHE RODE EVERY SINGLE ONE! When we were all done, she was wanting MORE! I was shocked!

We had a Wonderful Day! We rode every ride at Sea World and watched every show except three of them! We had a FULL day! The lines were not too bad. I have definately seen MUCH worse!

I was thrilled to be able to buy her ticket at PUBLIX of all places for $20 less than the gate price and... they still gave her the extra day free! I was SHOCKED and very happy!

I love looking at the animals and it was nice to have someone else who enjoyed them as much as I did! We even went through the shark tank TWICE! Just me and Nana!

For Dinner we went to the 2 Story McDonalds on I-Drive!!



Fun as a FAMILY!

We have really been enjoying our time with DETTO!!

We have had tons of great QUALITY family time! I have not done ANY sewing since he has been home! Isn't that AMAZING???

We only have a few more days together, but I have been reading a great book that I think has helped me ALOT... Psalms 91~ God's Shield of Protection ~ Military Edition By Peggy Joyce Ruth! It takes Psalms 91 and goes verse by verse to explain and encourage! I have been reading it out loud to Detto! We have both been REALLY benefiting from it!

We have been doing soooo much stuff as a family ~ playing board games (almost EVERY night) & video games, Watching movies, going out to eat, going to Fun Spot, Busch Gardens, Sea World & the Clearwater Aquarium!!

Here are some pics of some of our GREAT Adventures together...

This is Winter the Dolphin at the Clearwater Aquarium. She lost her tail in an accident, but she can still swim. Check out her story here!

The kids holding a SEA URCHIN!!! YIKES

We LOVED Busch Gardens!

And Fun Spot was LOTS OF FUN!!

We had a BLAST on the go-carts! We are just too competitive though.... Detto bumped me and made me spin out! I almost got crashed into by 4 other drivers! Crazy Detto!

Life has been REALLY GREAT with our family together!

I am thankful for this time of fun and blessings!