Christ and Christmas

Holiday Savior Blocks from: BountifulCrafts@Etsy.com

So it is Christmas and we have quite a few of my husbands siblings and family members assembled for the big day tomorrow. I cannot thank family enough for all they have done to be together for Christmas. It means alot to me because I do not know where my husband will be next year. I really wanted him to have an amazing Christmas this year because next year he may possibly be deployed. It is rough not knowing where the New Year will take us , where the Lord will lead us. The uncertain path we celebrate tomorrow is not mine but that of  a Christ Child, who turned out to be the our one and only Savior. A path was set by God and Christ was the key part of the grand plan for the Salvation of mankind. Please know this year that no matter where you may be, in whatever situation God can use any life for His will and glory. Use this time of the year to help fulfill God's will in your life, for it may just be someones last Christmas, someones last chance for Salvation. Jesus is the Reason for the Season ..... but do you REALLY believe that , and act on it?

Quick questions at 16 Weeks

Photograph by: 25peacestudio@etsy.com

How far along? I will be 16 weeks on Monday.

Total weight gain/loss? I have lost 2 lbs. . . . But will hopefully pick some up this trimester.

Maternity clothes? No not really, just wearing T-Shirts and Skirts if the skirt is not stretchy I use a rubber band to loop around the button giving a little added room.

Stretch marks? Nope nothing is stretching at this point

Sleep: I sleep just fine except for the fact that I do have to get up and pee more often.

Best moment this week: My ultrasound, I saw all kinds of things going on in there, the baby is very active, the tech even had a hard time getting the baby to stay still long enough to catch the heartbeat. Plus I was also given a pretty confident answer to what the baby's gender is. A BOY! Just what I wanted.

Miss Anything? My husband, he is in Army AIT and I just wish he could have seen the last ultrasound, honestly I know he probably won't see any of them and that is a little sad.

Movement: Nope I don't feel anything.... But he does move from one side of my body to the other. He tortures me more sometimes.... because I notice in some positions he makes me have the urge to pee more.

Food cravings: The other day I wanted Peanut Butter..... in fact I want that now!......And I am a big fan of eating lots of mini carrots.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Usually the smell of raw or cooking onions, raw egg smell on a glass plate, or egg yolk left on a plate. But I have always hated the egg smells and yolk.

Have you started to show yet: Not really , I have a hard oblong bump on one side of my abdomen. It feels strange when lying on my stomach and it is harder to button things, but it is not that visible to others.

Gender prediction: Boy! Well that is my wish.... Hoping the Doc is right but will be sure at the 20 weeks point.

Labor Signs:No way! When I do I will probably be a little panicky but that is a ways off.

Wedding rings on or off? On and falling of or flying across the room when I swing my hand.

Happy or Moody most of the time: I suppose half and half..... I am upbeat but sometimes I get in a mood about things that stress me out .

Looking forward to: Moving! My husband and I are going to get a permanent station soon and I can't wait to get moving and into my own house again!

My Heart is in Missouri, But Now I Live in Florida

Print By: hunterandsmile@ Etsy.com

In 17.5 Days I get to see my husband again. The military is being ever so kind and sweet to let me have him for 2 weeks during Christmas. Of course we don't have our own home to spend our Christmas in so we will be spending with our family in Florida. I recently moved to Florida after staying with my parents in New Mexico during my husbands Basic Training and half of his AIT. Since moving here to Florida I have gotten into some really interesting situations with my sister in law Joanna, the kitchen has been set on fire, a wacky stove light bulb has exploded into our food pans on the stove.... sadly we learned that you should always use lids on your pots or you have to throw it out, a squirrel was attacked by the dogs and I helped Joanna rush it to the Vets office down the street,but it didn't make it to the office, and lastly my dog fell off the bed and started screaming in pain and I started screaming out loud in fear "OH NO OH NO OH NO"..... Thankfully Joanna calmed me down palpated my pups leg and we determined he is ok. My pup Remy really is doing fine, I think on impact with the floor he hit his bony elbow really hard, but now he is chasing dogs around the yard with no problems. So four days of living in Florida have gone by quickly, and I hope that the next 17.5 go by even faster because I left my heart in Missouri and I want it to come back to me soon.

Thankfulness isn't a Turkey sidedish

Wood Block Painting by: bubblewrappd@Etsy.com

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thess 5:18

Today alot of people will fall out of the everyday slump of forgetting to be thankful for all the Lord has given us. But after this day will they still continue to look at the gifts that we are given daily. I have to admit I am guilty of not always being grateful, and in fact being pretty selfish. I don't think people in our country , me included realized how blessed we are on a day to day basis. So yes, be thankful today, but after today try to fulfill God's will and give thanks in EVERY thing. Today my greatest thanks is that I am able to be with my husband for Thanksgiving. I miss my family , I of course miss the food, who doesn't miss the food! But being here with my husband eases that , and makes me thankful to have that kind of love.

Bright Eyes It's Your Birthday!!

Marshbud Sculpture by: Faithfuldesignstudio @ Etsy.com

11/9/1620 The pilgrims on the Mayflower sight land at Cape Cod.

11/9/1967 NASA launches the Apollo 4 test space craft.

11/9/2004 Video Game Halo 2 is first released on X Box.

Although X Box's release of Halo 2 ranks super awesomeness as a historical moment on this day I can think of one better.

11/9/1979 My husband Bright Eyes was born, and the world is so much better for it, my life is so much better for it. I am so thankful to the Lord for giving him life. I am grateful to his Mother for being the vessel that brought him into the world. I am grateful to both of his parents who raised him to be a good, caring and God fearing man. I love his siblings who have been there for him when I was not yet there to hold his hand and to comfort him in hard times. I am thankful because he is here , today he is mine to care for, and I Love him more than I could ever express on this blog. Happy Birthday Bright Eyes, I Love You So Very Much.

Where's the thump thump?

Canvas Art by: Graceforgrace @ Etsy.com

Where is the thump thump? The ultrasound technician very kindly pointed out a flutter on the screen and showed me your little baby heart. And it was awesome! And then she one upped the customer satisfaction and punched up the volume so I could hear your thump thump. Your heart may have just started a few weeks ago but you are already putting it to some serious use, at 170 beats per minute you are using it twice as fast as a grownup. As I walked out of the doctors office I wondered why on earth you would need to be pumping so fast, but I suppose God knows why, just like He knows how many heartbeats you will have in a lifetime and the exact moment of your last and final heartbeat. The greatest thing your heart will give you is life, life to love your family , and I pray one day to love your Savior and your Creator. You are pretty awesome baby, but God put you there and that is amazing!

First Visit to the Doctor

Sign by: signsoflife9457 Etsy.com

So yesterday I had my first visit to the doctor for the baby. It was quite an enlightening visit. And I made many, many mistakes throughout the day. Apparently you are required to deposit a urine sample at the beginning of every visit , this posed a bit of a problem for me. I walk into the bathroom , I see the cups check, I see the marker check, check, but where are they hiding the lids for the cups? So I casually duck out of the bathroom with my empty cup and ask very nicely were the lids are? The response given was there are no lids! As I walked back to the bathroom I thought "No Lids! NO LIDS!, What am I suppose to do with my sample, just leave it for all to spill!!". This was disturbing to me because shortly after I had a sample but no clue what to do with it, until I noticed a little metal door in the wall. AHA!! It was like an Alice in Wonderland tiny magical door. With a magical voice of a nurse behind it inquiring of where my sample was. Ok, so at this point I figured it out and waited for the nurse to close her side of the door and then quickly slipped in my cup. This is not the worst of my mistakes, yeah go ahead laugh it up, I sure did. Then when in the exam room the nurse asks her customary 100 questions and one of them was "Is there any history of mental illness in your family or the Father's side of the family?" to which I started giggling, then the nurse started giggiling and said "I mean diagnosed!", and of course I said no, since the family members in question have probably never seen a shrink. And now for my last mistake of the day. I had to fill a prescription at Walmart after leaving the doctors office. I had to update my insurance with the pharmacy and I thought I gave them my husbands social, because in the military the Active Military spouses social is the insurance member number, well it turns out that my prescription was delayed for about 40 minutes because I gave them my husbands phone number instead! Forgive me all of humanity, for I have lost my mind completely.

Random Photo Dump

Here are a bunch of random photos from my phone.

My neice Bethany laughing in up

Bethany in a fresh out of the dryer blanket, smiling like a ham.

My sister Rose was not named Rose for nothing, she grows beautiful flowers.

Remington, he probably thinks I have food.

Very hansome soldier, aka Bright Eyes

My brother Mike was sent to the store to get diaper he got camo ones.

One word: Awesome!!

Support the Troops Baby!

 

              Bright Eyes..... smiley and oooh so happy.
                                             

   Bethany sleeping next to one of my sister Rose's roses.

Be as strong as you can be

The above picture was taken by a sweet woman named Pam Nelson a very kind woman. Pam's son also graduated Army Basic Training on the same day that my husband did. She happened to snap the picture above when I was returning my husband to Fort Sill on graduation day. It was so hard to give him back at the end of two days together. I remember just after kissing him goodbye as pictured above, he just looked at me and gradually took two steps back while saying "Ok then, ok bye" stepping back again "Ok I Love you bye"  all the while trying to hold back his emotions. I told him I loved him and I was proud of him , I promised myself not to cry in front of him because that would only make it harder for him. The exact moment we both turned around and started walking in opposite directions, I lost it. I completely fell apart for total of about two minutes. I cried until I reached my car and then I sat in my car still crying, until a tap on the window drew me out of it. Pam Nelson proud army mom and Kaylyn her sweet daughter were two caring souls that helped put me back together. I got out of the car and Pam said she snapped a picture of us saying goodbye and promised to post it on facebook for me. Then Pam and Kaylyn hugged me and assured me that it was ok to fall apart because they have too at some point during the two days with their soldier. I cannot thank these two ladies enough for being there when I needed someone to understand, someone to care, someone to love me when I couldn't hold out any longer. Thank you ladies you are true blessings to me. Because in the end even though we are all trying to be as strong as we can be, we still may need a little or a lot of help.

Wow That Was Quick!

Print by: Lacyadaire @ Etsy.com

When my lovely friend Tiffany Hansen said "Wow that was quick!" she was right. A couple posts ago I commented on our desire to start a family and asked for your prayers. We want to thank your for your prayers and give God all the glory because we got just what we wanted. We are going to be parents in the new year! I will spare you the ever so classy pics of the tests (only my husband gets sent digital pics of those) and tell you that for absolutely sure, symptom wise and test wise there will be a new Byerly in 2012. I have always had major big ideas and plans on how to tell my husband about our first child, but being that he is miles and miles away most of those plans won't work. So I did what any modern young mom to be would do and I texted him pictures of proof. To which he called back saying "That's Awesome".... "I am Happy"..... "Awesome". During our one hour phone conversation he would interject "Awesome" every couple minutes. The Byerly's are known for construction and do it yourself projects. This is perhaps the biggest DIY project that Bright Eyes and I have ever started. With alot of prayer it think it may just come out pretty good. And Baby, even though you are so very tiny, you have no idea how your Dad and I already love you so very much, more than we can ever express.

Q. and A. About Us

Photograph by: Littlebrownpen Etsy.com

I am filling out a quick questionnaire about Bright Eyes and me. Most of you know these things but I thought it might be fun to answer a few so I could remember, or reminisce shall I say.


1: When and how did you meet?

Bright Eyes and I met on E-Harmony the Internet dating site. I had been on there for about 5   months and he had just started his 1st months subscription. I had deemed the 5th month my last and decided that I was done with it. But then along came Bright Eyes (For a week I actually thought he was a paid dude who was trying to get me to stay on E-Harmony).... Yup that's how perfect he is.

2: How long have you been together?

We started our friendship in May of 2008 and we were married 8 months later on January 3rd 2008. It was a bit if a quick romance , but when God is telling you it is right, then don't question it! So we have been together for a little over three years now.

3: Did you kiss on your first date?

No! In fact Bright Eyes was not even interested in holding my hand until we were engaged. The first time we kissed was at the altar. No pressure right?

4: What attracted you to your spouse?

He is honest, he is not afraid to be himself, he loves the Lord with all of his heart, he is truly a selfless person, and he is an amazingly fun person to spend time with. Physically I like his arms, he also has a great behind, but lastly he has the clearest light blue eyes that could stop your heart mid beat. Actually the list is longer but I don't have that much time.

5: What is the sweetest thing your spouse has ever done for you?

That one is a tough one, especially when he is always so sweet. I must say that his sweetness is a daily thing. He has never once given up on trying to support his family, he takes it upon himself daily to make sure that I am happy regardless of his own feeling or wants. That love is something that is too sweet for words. But a specific moment would probably be the time he tried to make me dinner. It was spaghetti. And most of you know that Bright Eyes does not cook unless it can be nuked for a few minutes, so this was a big deal. I was tired from work and he did his best, that was really truly sweet.

6: Where is the farthest from home that you and your spouse have been?

Honestly I don't know where home is. We started out in Arizona and traveled through so many states since then that I lost count of them. We have been everywhere! I pretty much say our theme song is  "I've Been Everywhere" a classic by Johnny Cash. And I suppose the Army will add to our list of places we have been.

7: What is the last thing your spouse bought you?

Funny thing is that I don't let him buy things for me. I prefer to save money than to spend it. But I would say recently we bought a roundtrip train ticket to go see him during his Army AIT Thanksgiving break. And that ticket is worth gold to me because I miss him so much.

8: What is one of your favorite memories with your spouse? (I will give you a few actually)

1st memory: We went toad hunting two nights after we met each other right then we knew we were a perfect fit.

2nd memory: My husband (then fiance) graduated the US Border Patrol Academy in 2008, I am still proud of that.

3rd memory: We were married on January 3rd 2008, and I had my very first kiss.

4th memory: We lived for the Lord, we loved, and we worked hard our first year of marriage.

5th memory: We both wound up jobless on the same exact day. So Bright Eyes took me in his arms and said "God will take care of us", and I believed him, and we trusted God together.

6th memory: Bright Eyes and I realized our desire to witness to US Military Service Members, and shortly after he joined the United States Army.

7th memory: Bright Eyes graduated Army Basic Training in September of 2011. I have never been prouder of him. My heart changed forever, my respect for him will never dim.

Phasing into the Military Life

Photograph By: TheGinghamOwl Etsy.com

Here are some things that I noticed are already becoming a part of our life, now that my husband has joined the military. And also some things I can totally see happening in the future. So you know you are a military family or your husband is a soldier if:

1: All your possessions are military issue
2: Your Kids pull fireguard
3: Your son fails the third grade, but tells everyone he was a "phase three recycle".
4: When your kids are too noisy, you yell "at ease!"
5: You keep a box of MREs at home and in the trunk of your car in case of emergencies.
6: Your husband convinces you that all ten of your guns are necessary for home protection.... or 20
7: No one understands the stories you tell because of all the acronyms.
8: You haven't  unpacked the good china for twenty years.
9: Your husband feels compelled to get a haircut every three days.
10:Your first impressions of civilians are that they all need haircuts.
11:All of your husbands underwear is colored OD Green, Brown, or White.(Sadly Yes)
12:Civilians exercise and you conduct PT.
13:Your kids categorize other kids as either military brats or civilian slugs. (Oh dear!)
14:Your kids call their mother "Household 6." ..... (I am hoping this is daddy's position no matter   
where he is)
15:Your kids salute their grandparents.(Not such a bad Idea)
16:If your kids can recite their General Orders.
17:If your kids know how to build a fighting position in the sandbox.
18:If you tell your kids, Drop and give me 20 when they act up.(Jeff plans on this)
19:You show your ID card when entering WALMART.
20:You hold open ranks inspection on your kids before church.
21:Your husband introduces his best friend to you and then suddenly realizes that he has no idea  
 what his friends first name is. (This is so true so very very true)
22:Your husband can’t set up your TV remote, but know how to break down and reassemble your weapon in the dark.
23:You always have a camelback with you at all times.
24:When in civilian clothes and wearing a baseball cap, if your husband takes his hat off outdoors for any reason, he has this sinking feeling someone's going to yell at him to "give me 50."
25:When handing out Christmas presents, you start out with, "Attention to orders!"

The End and The Beginning

Just yesterday I arrived back home from my husband's Army Basic Training Graduation. I enjoyed every moment of Family Day and the Graduation Ceremonies. The events awarded me with two days to spend with my husband. Bright Eyes looked so happy to be finished with his training. I am proud to see him accomplish something that he worked so hard for. Bright Eyes also looked amazing as well, let's just say the army did his body some good..... some very good. I honestly have never seen my husband in that kind of shape before. I have seen him skinny, too skinny and I have seen him with a bit more around the hips and thighs than he would like, but this was mostly solid and kinda strange, but a good strange. He did seem a bit guarded at times ,but I prepared myself for that. After 9 weeks of precise training and following orders you not exactly " At Ease" right away. I can assure you however that he is still my Bright Eyes, he may have added a few new characteristics during the last 9 weeks, but overall he is still underneath. We are excited for the next leg of the journey. AIT (Advanced Individualized Training) will start on Tuesday and will last about 16 weeks. He will learn the necessary skills for his MOS (Military Occupation Specialty). Bright Eyes' MOS is 12T Technical Engineer. He will be training to work with the Army Corp of Engineers. He was told that he we should get orders for his first station in about 6 weeks . So in 6 weeks we should know where our first duty station will be. We both thank everyone for their prayers during Basic Training and for continued prayers during AIT.

PS. Forgive me for all of the army abbreviations, but I realized the military world talks in abbreviations, and acronyms and it's just easier for me to do so as well. If I forget to explain one please leave me a comment.

Jeff goofing around during serious picture taking time.

Jeff in his ACU'S (Army Combat Uniform)

Jeff and I after his Graduation Ceremony

One Plus One Can Equal Three..... Sooner or Later

Print By: Happydeliveries Etsy.com

So let's be clear here, I am NOT announcing a new Byerly baby just yet. I am just expressing what Bright Eyes and I wish to bring to you in the New Year. The adorable husband and I have been discussing expanding our family for quite some time now, in fact for about a year. We had plans last year in April to start on our little addition but due to a major job loss we were unable to. Last year we were both crushed, all we wanted in the world was to have a token of our love to share with our family, but the timing was not right. With Bright Eyes in the military and attending so many months of training , and possibilities of deployments it seems as if the right time will never present itself. So we have decided to allow God the right time. I am asking for your prayers, I covet them actually, I ask that you pray for God's blessing on our endeavors to start a new life, a new little Byerly very soon. I am sure you know that we will be apart for the next four months and I am aware that  this will make this process difficult, but if God wants it to happen it will. I Love You all and thank you for your prayers.

Where is your Faith?

Photo by: Autumnraincreations Etsy.com
There is always a Rainbow hidden in God's plan.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. ( 1 Corinthians 10:13) 


It is hard to believe that 10 years ago our busy world was stopped in it's tracks by an attack on our country. We cannot know the number of lives that were changed forever because of that day on September 11th 2001. The Lord is the only one who knew the outcome of that day, the families that would lose loved ones, and the path that it has and will take us on. Since my husband joined the US Army I have been asked a very common question many times "What if your husband is killed during deployment?". My answer to that question is this , "What if your husband is killed at work or coming home from work tomorrow?". "What if it was God's plan for your husband to die this week?". Would you have faith that His plan is what is right for you? Would you be able to let go of the person you loved the most because you know it is part of God's plan and it will further His kingdom in some way? Would you be able to use your trial as a witness to those around you? The Bible says in (1 Corinthians 10:13) that we will not be tempted above what we can handle. The Lord will not test our faith further than what He knows we can overcome. Many have been able to overcome 9/11 and many have not . My question to you my loved one is this: Where is your Faith? Are you ready to trust the Lord's plan through the most heartbreaking trials in life?

When you open the door.........

Be extremely careful who you let in. I learned my lesson yesterday regarding this crucial tip. I opened the back door to my parent's house to let my Remydog outside so that he may play with my sister Rose's dog Suzie. Quite absentmindedly I opened the back door to usher Remydog to a land of joyful play with Suzie or aka. ( Hammy the squirrel in dog form). In doing so I accidentally let in my mothers cat Bonnie aka. (Mistress and ruler of the yard, and all animals residing therin). Bonnie as it turns out has some wicked amazing skills in the art of dancing. Once I opened said back door , Bonnie after meeting face to face with Remydog , decided that it would be ideal to Salsa dance on my Remydog's head for at least a good 5 seconds. I , being stunned to silence and apparently stupidity took the matter into my own hands and opened the back door even wider so that one of them could escape the situation. Here was my fatal error, I forgot that Suzie is a devout lover of cats. Suzie will beat other dogs to a bloody pulp if they touch one of her precious felines. Suzie has a love for cats that no other dog has, in fact it is more of a passion. She caught a glimpse of the theatrics and assumed that Remydog was attacking her precious Bonnie Sue. Suzie stormed in , hurricane style whipping around Remydog and Bonnie interrupting their torrid dance. It happened quick but here is how it went:

Me: (Opening the door) Go on out Rem.... Oh AHHHH Remy NOOOOOOO!!! Bonnie It's okay!

Cat: Mreow.....HISS....HISS....HISS...MREOW.....

Remydog: Wine.....Squeal.....Whine

Me: (Stupidly opening door wider) Oh NOOOO! Suzie!!! Stop!

Suzie: BARK BARK BARK BARK GROWL BARK!

My Sister Rose: (Torn between Running into the kitchen to stop Suzie from killing Remydog or snatching up my baby niece Bethany before the dogs reach the living room to smash her) NO! NO! NO! Suzie!

My Mom: (Whacking Suzie and Remy with a spoon used to stir a macaroni dish for dinner..... macaroni at this point  is flying everywhere!)    

Remy: (Stops tusseling and mentally thinks "Oooooh Macaroni!" and starts eating flying macaroni's)

Cat: (Takes this moment to run for her life..... smacking into moms piano bench and searching out a bed to hide under)

Suzie: (Calm and docile now that her precious feline is free of danger......But covered in macaroni)

Mom, Rose and I: ("Laughing" ........... cleanup begins)

My Dad: (Clutching my baby niece Bethany to his chest and saying" I saved the Baby they were going to trample her!" ) 



This recounts the Macaroni Massacre of 2011 , This is why you must be cautious when you open the door.

       

Bonnie Sue- Dance Dance Revolution Champ

Suzie- I heart kitty kitties .... Look in my eyes, see that... I really do.

Remydog- He has a few scratches due to the Salsa dance on his nose and forehead.

Handsome Red Head

This is my handsome red haired dog. My husband loves this dog just as much as I do ..... I think. But what we love most about him is his red hair and freckles. My husband secretly hopes that having a red haired dog will thwart the red hair gene in our family, therefore stopping any redheaded children from being born to us. After all you should only have one red head in each household.

By the way ......This is my best side

How bout a profile pic..... Wait my tounge is out!! Oooh Mom!

Oh, who me?

Oh Hi mom ..... Wazz Up

Is this casual enough for ya?

Last one ok..... You promised!

Sugar and Spice and Everything nice in a Mixing Bowl

Over the weekend I did a little long overdue photo shoot involving my niece Bethany and my mom's mixing bowl. The mixing bowl has been part of our family since my parents were married. It was a wedding gift and when it was received both of my parents laughed and figured they would never use a bowl that big. My parents were wrong! The bowl has been used for large batches of cookies , a masa mixing bowl for Tamale prep, and now a photo shoot prop. We meant to get little Bethy into the bowl when she was smaller but we lagged in doing so. I realized my time widow was closing so I squeezed her in and she held on for a whirlwind photo shoot. Our plans are to photograph each grand baby in the bowl .

Baby Hawk

My niece today is rockin a totally awesome Baby Hawk. I think she got cereal in her hair this morning and grandma wiped it off with a baby wipe therefore styling her baby wisps into a  golden brown Baby Hawk.

Baby Wipe + Baby Head = Baby Mohawk

Oh wait...... hey is that a camera?

Look guys i'm on all fours!!

Oh my Cupie doll!!!

Whirlwind Trip

I just returned from a fast and fun trip to Pennsylvania. I visited to see my sister the former Jennifer Byerly and now Jennifer Byerly Tackeberry get married. It was a hectic , fun, and crazy week leading up to the wedding. Here are a few pictures mixing in a little crazy and a little sweet. Enjoy.

Two beautiful sisters and Bridesmaids

The lovely bride on the day of setup.

My brother and sister make good  french fry models don't ya think?

The bride and her gorgeous maid of honor and stunning bridesmaids.
<3 All these Girls

Me and yes I am hiding in the shade because I don't like pictures!

The Bride and her adorable flowergirl.

Precious.

OPSEC and PERSEC

I have recently educated myself on Operation Security. I felt that it was important to know what I should and should not post on my blog regarding my husbands military career. OPSEC is known as operation security , Operation Security is not only the soldiers job but the spouses and family members as well. OPSEC is simply being careful not to give away deployment details and military work and such. Those of you who are civilian blogger's already use PERSEC and that is know as guarding your personal information from people lurking on the Internet. The whole point to this post is we never know who is reading our comments on facebook, or our blog posts or even listening in on our conversation at the grocery store. You can read more about OPSEC and PERSEC if you click the OPSEC button on my sidebar.

Some military wives go as far as not giving out their names, spouses names, children's names and such so that they cannot be identified easily. I will be nicknaming my husband for his security and would please ask that no one use his name in any of the blog comments. He will be nicknamed "Bright Eyes" why "Bright Eyes" you ask? If you have ever seen Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes then you would know that he has the most amazing blue eyes in the movie and one of the Apes calls him "Bright Eyes". And if you know my husband you would know that his eyes are ethereally blue, hence "Bright Eyes". I will still be "Laura" and my dog will still be "Remy Dog" and when we have children they will get nicknames of some sort. Some of you may think I am a bit paranoid but understand that this is necessary for my husbands, and many other soldier's safety.

Retro Refurbishing

My mother had an old 60's vintage Petersen Metal High Chair in her attic. We recently drug it out because my niece is now in need of a high chair. It was not in the greatest condition . The high chair had been attacked by mice. The 60's yellow , green, and orange flower power vinyl on the cushions was chewed up and so was the plastic feeding tray. So we refurbished it and it only cost us $10.00 and a little bit of time. I still wanted it to have a vintage feel so I went with an Owl fabric that had some retro colors in it. Plus it can be used for a boy baby or a girl. My Brother mike was able to make a tray out of wood and paint it white, then he secured a place mat on top so that we can wipe off the tray easily.

The owl fabric I picked out.... I LOVE BIRDS!

                                                  

TADA!! Cushions done with the help of my Dad and a staple gun!
We also covered them in clear vinyl to protect from food spillage.

Debut of the new wood tray, my brother Mike took the fittings off of the
old tray and affixed them to the new wooden one...Thanks Mike!

Baby Bethy trying out the new seating arrangements.

MMMMMM....Abuela is shoving Apple Bannana Oatmeal into me!