Wait and See

With David's career, I constantly find myself in a "wait and see mode." I can't even imagine what it'd be like to be a military wife. Thank GOODNESS David was in the Navy many years before we met and got that over with! In fact, when David enlisted in 1996 I was only 12 :) Anyway, in a previous entry I was lamenting the upcoming shift-change. To my delight, David actually remained on the day shift. So he works 6AM-6PM and with any luck is home by 6:45 or so. I look forward to the day he works M-F 8-5 again, but for now we are so thankful to be gainfully employed and I am SO GRATEFUL that he's home with us every night.

We have been having so much fun getting settled into our new house. Even though we haven't bought it yet and are renting, we definitely feel like we've put down some roots. We spent two months taking down wallpaper, painting, ripping up and replacing carpet. Phase 2 is almost complete. I had the bright idea to invite friends over for a little house-warming get together. One of the reasons David sold me on this house is the possibilities for entertaining friends and family. The large living room and spacious backyard are ideal for having people over. This Saturday we're expecting ~25 friends to come over for fajitas. I'm excited! I'm also happy w/my plan because we've finally gotten things hung on the walls, and we've been working in the yard. After the kids go to bed David and I go outside and continue working. I definitely enjoy it more than David but I know he likes how it looks. We raked up 6 months worth of leaves and dead grass, put down fertilizer and I've planted an array of plants, flowers and even a few fruits and vegetables. I'm having a great time with it and find it to be great exercising and a peaceful way to wind-down at the end of the day.

If there's any growth to report as far as the veggies, I'll definitely post pictures but I'm not getting my hopes up. Emma and I cleared out a bed in the backyard and planted two types of green beans (our family favorite veggie), cucumbers, tomatos, cilantro (my go-to herb in mexican food), and strawberries. I also have zennias to plant and have already planted, daylilies, hydrangeas, salvias and one other which name escapes me. It's been really, really hard work. We have 9 lawn and leaf bags at the curb today for pick up and David's entire truck bed was filled with palm branches that we trimmed. We've been watering religiously for a few weeks now so fingers crossed that the "rough patches" fill in soon! I think the backyard is especially looking nice. The grass back there is so lush and green, and everything looks so nice w/the freshly-stained picnic table and playscape. I need some sort of lounge chair so I can lay out while the kids are playing. Emma wants to go outstide every night which is great! If we don't have errands after work/school, the four of us all go out and play. The weather has been so beautiful!

Last week my great-aunt passed away. Margie Christie, AKA Aunt Sissy, is my mom's Aunt and Granny's sister. Many on her side of the family live in the Caldwell/Bryan area and it's just a shame we don't see them more often. I am thankful for Aunt Sissy's sweet welcoming nature and am thankful she is with our Lord and no longer suffering. I continue to pray for her daughters, grandchildren and great-granddaughters. A couple of weeks ago we traveled to Roswell, NM for David's grandmother's funeral. I have had enough funerals for a while :( I have trained myself over the last three years to not think about how dangerous David's job is. How with every answer of the radio, every alarm call, every traffic enforcement he is putting himself in harm's way. I couldn't live without David. I would do my best to take care of our children, but I've told him before that if anything ever happened there's no way I'd re-marry. David is truly the man God intended for me and nothing and no one could come close to what we have. But I have to trust him. I know that he's very good at what he does; he has a good head on his shoulders and makes good decisions. I also believe (and he's always told me) that all he has on his mind everyday is coming home to us.