Reunited again!!

Kevin's ship returned this morning. Unfortunately Kevin had watch, so after everyone else was off the ship, I took Kevin a home cooked meal. So glad to have my hubby back!! :)

Military Wife

I wear no uniforms, no blues or greens.
But, I am in the military, in the ranks rarely seen.
I have no rank upon my shoulders. Salutes I do not give.

But in the military world is where I live.
I am not in the chain of command, orders I do not give or get.
But my husband is the one who does, this I can not forget.
I am not the one who fires a weapon, Who puts his life on the line.
But my job is just as tough, I’m the one who is always left behind.
My husband is a patriot, a brave and pride filled man.
And the call to serve his country not all can understand.
Behind the lines, I see things needed to keep this country free.
My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do my kids (someday) and me.
I love the man I married. The military is his life.
So I pledge to support my hero and stand among the silent ranks known as THE MILITARY WIFE

The X Factor

I don't know if you all watch it or not. I do sometimes, but this is a great clip!! I love when people have great talent & prove the judges wrong, especially Simon Cowell.

Enough said

No truer words

It's been a little while....

Over the Labor Day weekend, my parents came to visit.

Mom & Mei-Ling


We celebrated Dad's Birthday

In Daytona Beach @ Cruising Cafe
We "sat in" the DuPont car. We thought it was appropriate.

Before heading back to my place we played some mini golf.

 Check out the sweet shades I found!

Other than that, not much has been going on. This little two & a half month "deployment" has felt worse than the 7 month deployment. Knowing your spouse is stateside & can't see them for two & a half months, STINKS!!!!! I've just felt so blah & have decided that my life is boring by myself. Kinda wish I had spent the last two & a half months back home. Luckily we are in the "teens" for the countdown for when he returns!!

Kevin's ship

I found this link today, on Kevin's ship & what they're currently doing. Check it out if you're interested:

http://www.freep.com/article/20120822/NEWS01/120822072

Happy Birthday to my amazing Mother!!

It's hard to believe that one year ago today, Kevin left for a 7 month deployment.

Unfortunately he is currently out for a few more months. I think the loneliness is worse this time than during the 7 months. Knowing he's not half way around the world & can't be here with me, stinks, I'm not going to lie. I can't wait til he comes back!!

Tonight Mom, Dad & I took Jeff & Holly to the airport. They're officially on their way, to the other side of the world to do wonderful things!

Grandmom W. & Holly & Jeff

All the suitcases fit

Last picture, before they went through security

4th of July

Kevin had a 24 hour watch on the 4th, so I spent the day with 2 co-workers. We went out to breakfast, went to the Zoo, hung out by the pool then went downtown to watch fireworks.
Here are a few pictures from the zoo.

4th of July

Looking back 1  year ago, it's hard to believe that Florida was so dry & had a bunch of wild fires, and the air was smokey just about everyday.

No that's not fog, it's smoke. There was a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not there would be any fireworks last year. However this year, thankfully we haven't had this problem. We've had plenty of rain from Tropical Storm/Depression Beryl & Debbie. I'm looking forward to seeing fireworks tomorrow!


Today I was scheduled to bring snack for my Bible Study, so I made this festive 4th of July cake

Hope you all have a safe & happy 4th of July!!

3 Years Ago Today

Tropical Storm Debby

The owner of my shop was nice enough to close the shop 2 hours early today due to all the rain, because cars were getting stuck in the flooded roads. Thankfully I did not. However I saw a lot of roads that will probably flood overnight. Once I got home, I noticed 2 more leaks. Both leaks around windows. The one in the laundry room is the worst out of the two. I'm pretty sure the wall isn't suppose to look like this.....

Lately....

Thanks to Tropical Storm Debby, we have been getting A LOT of rain lately, which is good because we definitely needed it. However now our roof & porch have leaks. The leak in the roof is conveniently right next to my side of the bed. 

 The water is coming in on the porch from the windows and going down the walls, and laying on the floor. I put towels down last night, and they were soaked this morning. Guess I'll be putting down more towels tonight. The water has left brown streaks down the wall.....see?





A few cat toys had to be thrown away due to the water on the floor. The maintenance men came this morning and confirmed that there is indeed a leak in the roof, so he will be handing this over to his supervisor and he's suppose to get in contact with me to set up a day for the roofers to come fix it.


Last Saturday we went & visited Kevin's parents, sister & her kids. Earleen is pregnant, so we'll be getting another niece in August. Here's a few pictures from our visit:

We celebrated McKenzie's 2nd Birthday

We sang this song in Church on Sunday & can't get it out of my head (not that that's a bad thing)


                                 

If faith can move the mountains
Let the mountains move
We come with expectation
Waiting here for You, waiting here for You

You're the Lord of all creation
And still You know my heart
The Author of salvation
You've loved us from the start

Waiting here for You
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's You we adore
Singing: alleluia

You are everything You've promised
Your faithfulness is true
We're desperate for Your presence
All we need is You

We will wait for You, Lord
In step with You, Lord
We will sing alleluia

Singing: alleluia; alleluia
Singing: alleluia; alleluia

Saturday

Saturday, I had the day off so Kevin & I hit up a few garage sales then went to the farmers market downtown. I also took Kevin to Memorial Park. We took some pictures....







Back on May 24, after dinner Kevin took me to a Preserve and we walked around a bit. While we were walking we saw a SUV with a Delaware license plate. We saw a woman on the dock, fishing. So we walked down, started talking to her and found out that she's from Wilmington!!! She had recently moved to FL. As we were talking this beautiful sunset was happening....

Memorial Day Eve

 Kevin was home for a week, then left again last Friday. Saturday morning I was watching the news about the topical storm Beryl, that had formed in the Carolina's then was heading south west, directly at us!! As I was watching tv, there was a loud knock at the door. I started thinking "Who the heck is that?!" The maintenance staff is off on weekends. Then I saw Kevin peeking in the window on the door.
I said,"Short trip, huh?" He responded,"Something on the ship broke, so we had to come back." I asked,"How long are you home for?" He responded,"For the weekend."  YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!
It's not a bad thing to thank God that something broke on the ship, right? Especially since they weren't too far from land.

Sunday I had the day off from work, and planned to go see the in-law's because Cyle (Kevin's cousin, best man in our wedding) & Laurel were coming to visit, from Delaware. Now that Kevin was home, he could come too. He was pretty bummed earlier because as far as he knew, he was suppose to be out at sea. So Sunday morning we headed to see Kevin's family at his parents place, here in Florida. They live about 2-2 & a half hours away. They took us to the springs, and we cooked out, had some hot dogs & hamburgers and enjoyed some swimming. The springs were beautiful. The water was clear and a little chilly, but in Florida that's a good thing, with how hot it gets.






Kevin doing a cannon ball, but it looks like he's sitting on water


    Kevin & Dante (ring bearer from our wedding)





Left to Right: Mr. Manz, Riley, Kevin, Cyle, Laurel & Mrs. Manz

24

On my birthday I had Kevin drive me to work, worked from 11-7, went to a sushi restaurant for dinner, went to Kohl's and did some shopping, then finally went to Bruster's & had birthday ice cream.

                                 

my station at work

Update

Well Kevin returned from deployment in March. He was home for 1 month then went back out to sea for 3 weeks, was home for 1 week (thankfully was home for my birthday), then went back out. He will be returning later this week for a few days then going back out again. I sure thought the 7 month deployment was hard, but this whole coming and going deal is REALLY not fun. It's a tease!! I miss actually being a wife & spoiling my husband. But when the government owns you, well there's not much you can do about it. So I continue to keep myself busy with work, my women's Bible Study on Tuesdays & hanging out with friends. Just last night I started scrap booking again. I forgot how much I use to enjoy doing it. I have a lot to catch up on, which is good!! :)

Did you know that May is Lupus Awareness Month? Maybe you've heard of it & don't know what it is, click on the link to learn about it: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lupus/DS00115
My sweet Bible Study Teacher, Debbie has Lupus. She has & continues to endure many tests & treatments etc., due to lupus. May 18th (or all month long), is Put On Purple Day for lupus awareness!!!!!

Have you hear the song "I Am" by Mark Scholtz? No? Take a listen!

How about the song "Alive" by Natalie Grant? No? Take a listen!


"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26 NIV

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and  the body more important than clothes?" Matthew 6:25 NIV

"The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are live." John 6:63 NIV

Jeff & Holly's visit

Jeff & Holly visited us last Thursday afternoon - Friday night. Thursday after Kevin & I got off work we went out to eat before Jeff & Holly went to a "Over The Rhine" concert in Ponte Vedra. Friday I had to drive Kevin to the ship and drop him off bright & early. He is out to sea for another month. Around 9AM Jeff & Holly came over. I took them to the base and showed them Kevin's ship (Kevin had to be on the ship real early but the ship didn't leave until noon, doesn't make any sense to me, that's the military for ya), showed them the beach, then we went to St. Augustine. We had some seafood for lunch and did a lot of walking around. We also stopped at a gourmet popsicle shop. Jeff & I had the strawberry basil one and Holly had a spicy strawberry one. She said it wasn't too spicy though. Here we are in St. Augustine

On our way back from St. Augustine we stopped at Jacksonville Beach and went to the Blues Festival that was going on that weekend. We grabbed a bite to eat, walked around a bit & listened to some music. Afterwards we headed back to my place. We played Ticket to Ride (I think that's what it was called).