Kids are home!

So after may delays, my kids are home! Yay, sort of. :) No just kiddingg, its a Yay. On the plus side - my lawn finally got cut and my garden weeded. On the down side - I actually had to go to the grocery store again. Silly kids - actually insisted on having breakfast stuff, and not liking living off of a pot of soup for 3 days. However, they were also there to carry it all in, so there is that. I only had to yell at them once yesterday for not picking up while I was at work, but then they cleaned up right away and Josh and I made dinner. We made rice with a vegetable mix and sliced teriyaki pork. Yum! Even with having to compete for the TV again, its oddly comforting to have other people in the house. Dont get me wrong-it was cool to know I could drag out my craft table with my fabric everywhere and know no one would mess with it, but it was really nice when I went to sleep knowing my kids were home. The house felt.....right. :)

Now...just waiting eagerly for my husband to fill in the rest of the gaps. :)

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th everyone! Did you have an awesome holiday? I did. I had a crazy fabulous weekend! Ok, not crazy but still fabulous. I went to Charleston to visit my sister (and baby-sit for her anniversary). It was great fun. My nephews were silly and we got to play and hang out and fall asleep to Wall-E. Then Sunday I got to Skype with my husband! Yay! I haven't been able to that for a couple of months. Phone calls are great but man I love being able to see his face. I cant wait until he gets to come home for R&R! I asked him if they were doing anything for the 4th over there and he paused for a minute and said,

"We don't really do fireworks in Afghanistan honey. Usually rockets and booms here are not a good thing. We will just do cake".

Huh. Well that makes sense. And then I felt like a total idiot. :)

We had a lovely lazy Sunday at my sisters. Adrian BBQ'd and all I had to do was enjoy. Those are the best kinds of meals don't you think? Someone else cooks and cleans and all you have to do is say please pass the grilled corn. Seriously now - there is just no better way to eat corn I think. Sweet corn grilled in the husk is just awesome. Both Adrian and I had to work Monday so we skipped the fireworks since it's a 2 1/2 hour drive home to Ft. Stewart.

I was mad at first when I was told I had to work on the 4th but then I realized I got paid double time for it. Yay! If I have to be there I might as well get a bonus out of it. Instead of being the receptionist for the day though we went on post and volunteered at a lunch for soldiers and their family. Nissan had teamed up with a BBQ place and we wrapped and passed out 4000 pulled pork sandwhiches. It was crazy! I worked my butt off! I was ever so grateful for the shade tent we were working under though. I tend to lobster pretty quickly in Georgia's sun. I was exhausted after - but I felt pretty good about having done it. It was nice to volunteer and feel like I was helping.

They had a Zach Brown concert that night but I was too worn out from heat and stuff so I stayed in. For some reason that was the first time during the weekend that I really started thinking about the 4th, partly because I was watching 1776 (which I really truly love). It's different now, kind of like listening to things like America the Beautiful, or the Star Spangled Banner. I always loved them but.....I think I never really thought about all the people who served and sacrificed to make it all possible. Them, and their families. When your loved one is serving - is away fighting - it is just different now. More. So I watched 1776 and cried. I looked at my flag on the computer and cried. I don't think they were sad tears, just.....feeling tears. Thank you - to all those who serve, those who ever have, and those who will. And thank you to their families, their friends, and all who support them. Thank you to all who support me as an Army wife, who listen to me when I am afraid, who put up with me when I am lonely, and laugh with me when I call them crazy happy because I got a phone call that day. :)

America is my home. Faults and all. She is not perfect and her government can sometimes be a bunch of cantankerous squabbling chickens. She also has some beautiful vistas and her people can pull together in an amazing show of love and solidarity in times of crisis. She is part of me, part of my life and I am forever grateful to be born here, in this country where I am free to become whoever I choose to be. I don't have to be frightened of bombs, guerilla fighters, and ethnic cleansing or a host of other problems in the world today.

No - she isn't perfect, but I am proud to be an American. Happy Birthday!