A first

I was cleaning today and I moved a section of our couch in order to vacuum under it...there were a lot of unidentifiable objects under there. After getting everything clean, Justee came up to me saying, "Nose. Nose, momma." I just assumed she needed a tissue, so I told her to go get one.
She brought me the tissue and as I wiped her nose, she said, "Owie, nose." I took a closer look and discovered she had put something up her nose. This to be exact: I am sure it must be a piece of candy of some kind...not sure about what kind exactly. I grabbed a bobby pin that was near by and had to pry the mystery candy out. She must have found it under the couch.
This is my first experience with a child of mine placing foreign objects in their nose, ear or anywhere else.
I was a little too worried about getting it out, and I didn't want to take the time to take a picture of the candy lodged in her left nostril (that would've been a good one though)...I did however take a pic of the object itself, and Justee was not happy about that. She wanted it back. I was worried that she would try to eat it, but luckily when I told her to throw it away, she did just that.

Curls, Curls, Curls

On Saturday night I put the girls' hair in curlers. They thought it was the funniest thing ever. They kept pointing at each other and laughing. (I wish I had gotten a pic of them with the curlers in.) Poor Justee went first, and she wasn't sure what to make of the other two laughing at her. It didn't take her long to embrace the attention and laugh harder than anyone though.
The next big laugh attack happened in the morning, right after I took the curlers out.
...Silly girls...

3 curly heads heading to church:

**As I was typing this post, Charlee started crying and wailing her signature word, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" I checked to see what happened to Charlee.... It wasn't much...Justee just stabbed her in the back with a fork! I thought it couldn't be as bad as Char was making it sound. I lifted up Char's shirt and the skin was broken...not bleeding but had bled a little. Dang that girl. I told her to tell Charlee she was sorry. Justee said, "Sowee Chawee." in the sweetest little voice and even gave her a hug.

...30 seconds later Char is crying again...Justee threw a fork at her this time and it hit her foot. Are you kidding me?! Before I could even say anything, Justee was saying sorry and hugging Charlee... Something tells me she isn't all that apologetic.

BFF's

Meet the happy couple... Dozer & Cash:

Our "big, mean bulldog" doesn't look so tough with a cat curled up next to him, does he?Whatever it looks like Dozer is doing in this pic...he is merely yawning... Maybe this is what they are calling a "Bromance?"

Storytime with the Chuck

Charlee has always liked being read to and having stories told to her, but lately she has become the storyteller. She likes to make up stories that go something like this:
Char- "Once there was a bootable princess who had a cow...and then guess what happened momma... "
me- "What?"
Char- "Then the cow fell down and he said "OW!"...and then guess what happened momma..."
me- "He broke his leg?"
(When I make actual guesses, Char puts her hand over my mouth and giggles, "No mommy! Let me tell the story")
Char- "Then the cow broke his leg. Then the princess started swimming. She saw lots of fish...and then guess what happened..."
me- "What?"
Char- "Um...The fish swam away really fast...and then guess what happened..."

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Chuck's stories last about 20 mins and I never know what really happened. When she tells me to guess what happens next, I sometimes say, "Everyone lived happily ever after?" and other good endings. It never works, and in fact I think it only makes her lengthen her storyline. As cute as her stories are, I have to admit that I am glad when she finally says "the end." ;) ...but I look forward to the next story she tells...

Pics from Justin

Justin finally sent me a few pics the other day, and then a few more today. I'm going to try to make this an informative post, but I'm not sure how well that will go...
Here is Justin getting ready to head out for a mission:In case you didn't notice...Justin has what he calls a "deployment stache." (I am not a fan of what I call his "pedophile stache.")The Billets...I guess that's what they are called:

Orgun E has one OR and you are looking at it: The flight crews consist of 5 people: a Crew Chief (first guy on the left,) 2 medics (the girl and I guess the other one is taking the pic,) a pilot (Justin,) and a pilot-in-command (the last guy on the right.)The people in the crews change all the time except for the 2 pilots. They keep the two of them together in order to establish a trust and familiarity. The pilot does the flying and the pilot-in-command is in charge of the air craft; ie navigating and all the big decisions. (is that how the whole ie thing works? I don't think I've ever written ie. I'm not sure on the punctuation.) Anyway..moving on to bigger and better...

This is the crapper:It's a beauty isn't it? Justin said it has 2 sinks and 5 toilets.

Justin referred to this as a Jingle Truck... no idea.

So there you have it. Learn anything? If not, I hang my head in shame.

I just hope I didn't give any misinformation. If I did, Justin, set me straight.

What I'm feeling

God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges

that we face.

-Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Ministry of Angels,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 29–31

Posts like this are few and far between, but I felt like I should write some of what I'm feeling.

Justin has been gone for 90 days (not counting the weeks of training before his actual activation, but also not counting the few days he was home for Thanksgiving.) We get to talk and IM and email, but not everyday, and some days it is only for a short time. Yesterday we talked on the phone for an hour and a half! It was really nice, but it also reminded me of what the hardest part of him being gone is...I don't get to have my best friend by my side. I don't get to share my daily events and feelings with him, the good or the bad. When I watch a show that makes me laugh, it makes me sad at the same time because I know Justin would be laughing even harder.
I know that this trial is temporary and once it is over I will have learned a lot about myself and become stronger (lets hope anyway) but sometimes I just want to complain and feel sorry for myself.
I know I have it WAY better than a lot of people. Some people are without their spouse for the rest of their lives. The day of their reunion is undetermined. At least I only have to go through this for a year...plus I still get to talk to him. I feel blessed for those reasons.

My brother-in-law directed me to this talk the other day, and I'm glad he did (thanks Jake.) The words contained in it are so true, and I know this from experience. I have felt the love and comfort of angels in my life, both kinds of angels Elder Holland talks about. Though far from perfect, I have dealt with stress and my own impatience far better than I ever thought possible; and I know that the strength did not come from me. I am so grateful for that, so grateful for the wonderful family and friends that I have. I know that I would be having a MUCH harder time getting through this year if it wasn't for all the service, messages, phone calls, and everything else my angels do for me. Thank you everyone.

This is one of my favorite excerpts from Elder Holland's talk:
I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He “would fight [our] battles, [our] children’s battles, and [the battles of our] children’s children.” And what do we do to merit such a defense? We are to “search diligently, pray always, and be believing[. Then] all things shall work together for [our] good, if [we] walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.” The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing and remember our covenants.

I have adopted a couple of...well, mottos I guess you could say. They are "This too shall pass." and "Time marches on."
-some days time marches a little slower than others. ;)

Char is a Sunbeam

Today was Charlee's first official day as a Sunbeam, because we were out of town the first Sunday of the year. I thought the transition from nursery to Primary would be hard for Char, since she is always telling me about what treats she had and what toys she played with at church, during our drive home.
She surprised me and was actually excited about going to her new class. She was especially excited about getting to see Sydnee during Sharing time.
Sydnee held an interview with Char on the way to church. She held up a fake microphone and asked Char questions (in a journalistic voice) like, "So Charlee, are you excited for you first day in Sunbeams?" and "Are you going to be brave when you go to class?"

Now Justee is alone in nursery, but she doesn't seem to care one bit. :)

Gifts from Afghanistan and Princess Dozer

Today was quite the eventful day...the kind of day in which nothing productive gets done.

It started off kind of rough with Syndee refusing to get dressed for school. I had just bought her a new outfit and she didn't like the pants because they were grey. "Grey and pink do not match!" That was her argument. After I told her that if she didn't wear the pants, I was going to return the whole outfit (including the shoes) to the store, she got dressed.

Not a fun way to start the day. At least it got better.

After she got home she told me she was sorry for acting that way and that she liked her new clothes.

While Sydnee was at school, Charlee played dress-up...with Dozer. Charlee came running up to me yelling, "Look at Doedoe mommy!" This is what I saw:

Poor dog bowed his head in shame...then he headed for the door, as if to say, "Get me out of here."I finally got him to look at the camera:Char wanted a pic with him. He was obviously still mad at her.I guess he decided he was defeated and held still.

If Dozer thought the crown was bad...he was in for a surprise...

Not long after the crown incident, Char came running again. "Now look at Doedoe mommy!"

This is what I saw:

This is Dozer running at me like he was pleading for help.

Chuck thought Dozer made a beautiful princess, and Justee kept saying, "Doedoe cute!"

Here is Char taking the dress off. Dozer was very cooperative. :)

The biggest hit of the day was the presents from Justin. After opening the package, I decided to wrap the gifts for each girl. Once Syd got home from school, I let them open them.

Unwrapping:
Yay! Jewelry boxes!

...and necklaces!

Sydnee helping Justee:In true Justee fashion, Justee insisted on having what Charlee had. Char was nice enough to share...for a little while.Justee with her and Char's boxes:Justin sent me a stone vase. It is really pretty and very heavy. I'm not sure what kind of stone it is. I asked Justin for details, so hopefully I will get those soon.

Thank you Baby for the gifts! The girls and I loved them.

Grandpa Mayes

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Justin's Grandpa passed away just before Christmas. His funeral was in Lovell on Sat. Dec. 20, 2008. I was glad that I could make it up in time to attend. I know Justin would have loved to be able to be there, so I felt good knowing that I could represent him. A lot of family came from out of town, and most of them had terrible roads on the way. It is always nice to see the sacrifices families make for one another. It was a very cold day which made the part of the service at the cemetery very short. I braved the cold just long enough to snap a few fast family pics after the dedication of the grave. I thought Justin would appreciate some pics since he couldn't be there in person.

All of Effie and Onder's children:

Brett, Therill, Aletha (Justin's mom), Anita, Joe, Gary, and Paula. Onder will be missed, but I'm sure he is happy being reunited with his wife.

New Homes

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