Leap Year

   So this year has to be leap year with one extra day in February. I could do without it if it would bring my hubby home one day sooner. Hopefully within the month he'll be home. Now if the days would just stop dragging. At least I know the boys and work will keep me busy. There is always plenty of things to do, it's just finding the motivation to do it.

One Year

   Today marks one year since our family has been apart. In the last year we have been together twenty five days. Thankfully this will all soon be over. I spent the day busy with work and home stuff.

Being Intentional

   So I got a Valentine's card from my hubby yesterday. He wrote it on Valentines and it finally arrived here yesterday. It was very sweet and unexpected. It made me smile and think of him.
   Okay so the point of this post is that I've learned to be very intentional with my time. My job of being a therapist at an elementary school being a mother to my two boys, as well as being an army wife makes me realize just have much I have vying for my attention and time. I've learned that if I can get it done now instead of waiting until another day to just do it and get it done with, such as paying a bill that just came in the mail. I've also learned to try and schedule one fun thing for the weekend but to keep the rest of it guarded for family time and the weekly task of getting my house in order. I've also learned through being intentional with my time, just how much I really have on my plate and am once again looking at ways to cut back on my time commitments so I can be more effective in what I do give my time and talents in, anyways just wanted to share what I'm currently learning and trying to walk in. Hope everyone has a good week.

Little Boys Want to Be Like Their Daddy

   So my youngest son is all into the army thing right now. He is five and is in prekindergarten. I gave him a choice of two shirts to wear today and he wanted the army shirt (which wasn't even an option to start with). I let him wear it, no big deal. Then on the way home he says "I'm going to be an army man". Him and his brother have talked about what they want to be when they grow up quite a bit in the last several months. My oldest thinks he wants to be a teacher and has been pretty consistent in that. However, my younger son has changed his mind several times. First, he wanted to be a police officer, then an army man, and then a counselor. Now he's decided he wants to be an army man and be a counselor the rest of the time when he's not being an army man.
   I've not made it a big secret that I do not want my sons to be in the military. I feel like they and our family have given enough and that they don't need to be involved in the military world personally as they get older. I fully support my husband in his decision to be in the military but there is just something about thinking about my babies growing up and joining the army, or any branch of the military that does not sit well with me. Now I hope that I will be big enough to support my sons in whatever they decide to do career wise and more importantly with their life as they continue to grow. After all it's my job to help shape them, but then I have to let go of control, and let them go. Thankfully for me, the army thing, even if it happens is a long ways off so I'll cross my fingers that my son changes his mind once more.

Put on the Spot

  I had my yearly work evaluation today. It went well but it made me a little bit anxious. I do not like to be put on the spot. My thing is finding the balance in being humble but also being aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I'm glad that's over for another year.

Hurtful Words

   Words really are powerful. People have said some very encouraging things to me during this deployment!
"I'm praying for you."
 "I'll watch the boys for you if you need a night off".
 "How are you hanging in there?"
Then there are the other words that are just plain hurtful, whether it's intended or not.
"You knew what you were getting into when you married an army guy."
"Just think more positively."
"A national guard wife is a guard wife, not an army wife."
Words can either help lift people up or tear them down. Think before you speak, I've been known to speak without thinking but I can tell you as an army wife there has been a lot of thought that has gone into our lifestyle choice. However, that doesn't make it easy, there are some huge sacrifices that come with it. I know I also have a choice on how to react to these words that are spoken into my life I just wish sometimes that people would adhere to the wise old adage of "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

Four Day Weekend

   Today was church and then I took the boys to the park for a little bit. It was just to nice not to spend some time outside. Glad to have four days off and enjoying it.