I do believe in having faith.

It's been a busy month around here for our family!  Grace celebrated her 7th birthday on the 12th of February and enjoyed a party with a few friends at Sweet 'n Sassy.

Before...

Before...

...and after.

...and after.

In March we (the girls and I) went on a little vacation.  We first spent a couple of days up in the panhandle with my dear friend Tammy.  ...

The girls in front of a Pavelow helicopter at the Hurlburt Field Air Park.

With my friend Stacey and the girls in front of TGI Fridays in Mary Esther, FL.

(and I just realized I never did get a picture with Tammy while we were there!)

...and then continued north to Randy's mom's house for a few days.  The girls always enjoy seeing their Grandma Judy!

Emily, Grandma and Grace out for dinner.

After leaving middle-Tennessee, we drove to Georgia, back to Warner Robins where we used to live.  We enjoyed a great dinner with our former neighbors, as well as Randy's daughter and granddaughter.  It was fun watching some of the little girls (who aren't so little anymore!) together again.

Finally after catching a good night's rest at Katie's, we headed back home.

Emily with her sister Katie.

 Grace with Katie.

Randy told me some awesome news while we were gone...the company he's been working for as a temporary employee (Cubic Defense Applications) decided to hire him on as a full-time and permanent employee!  One of the conditions of employment is that he get his PMP - certification as a Project Manager.  So he spent last week in Bonita Springs, down south of here by Naples, in a boot camp.  He took the class several years ago but since he needs to test again, the company put him through a refresher course.  He spent 4 x 10-hour days in the classroom with an additional 4 hours or so of homework every night.  To say he was completely exhausted by the time he got home on Friday is an understatement.  We're waiting now to find out when he can take his certification test.

This week he's traveled up to Hurlburt Field for just a few days.  The day he returns my folks will be here.  Randy has to leave 3 days later for a week-long conference up in Nashville.  Yes, I miss him terribly when he's gone but I'd never willingly trade him being gone for going back to our year of hell when he was unemployed!

Emily turned 9 on the 19th of March.  We had a get-together with her friends at Busch Gardens this past Saturday.  The girls had a blast and we all got soaked on the water rides.

Emily, Aubrea, Sol and Jaden at the start of our day.

The 4 girls in front of the flamingos...

 ...in front of the butterfly of flowers...

...and after lunch in front of one of many waterfalls in park.

So that's the latest goin's and doin's in the Anderson home.  We're looking forward to our visit from Momo and Poppa.  Emily is especially excited to show momo her new room and bunk beds.  Em has really surprised me since she was moved into her own room again.  She goes to great pains to keep it clean and is finding 'homes' for everything.  She's even taken to making her bed in the morning! 

I do believe in faith.  God provided for us while Randy was out of work and recently took great care of us with Randy's employment status.  He's always provided.  Now if I can only continue that faith that one of these days Grace will take a hint from Emily about her own room!  LOL!

My child just said WHAT?!?!?!?

True conversation last night at the Anderson dining table during homework...

Emily...Mom, I don't think Grace should be friends with ####.

Me...Why's that, Emily?

Emily...Because she's saying things to Grace that are inappropriate.

BIG sigh from me.

Me...What Emily?

Grace...Mom?  What is passion?

Me...Passion?  (Insert audible COUGH!)  What do you mean?

Grace...#### said to me that passion means boys' weiners.

.....

.....

.....

.....

Actually, there were a few more pauses than that while I tried to compose myself and formulate an answer.

.....

.....

I finally got up out of my seat, walked over to her and reminded her gently that she is 7 years old...with a look to Emily and a reminder that she is only 9...and that private parts are private.  I also told them that passion is something for grown ups, much more grown up than their 7 and 9 years.  Not knowing what else to say (I mean for crying out loud!  I should not have to be having this conversation with them at this YOUNG age!!), and grateful that my answer satisfied them, they returned to their homework and I returned to what I was doing.  I was relieved to not have to say anymore.

O.M.G.!  It reminded me of the time when my younger sister Stephanie was somewhere around Grace's age and asked my dad the difference between boys and girls.  My dad was SPEECHLESS until my older sister Leann piped up that 'parts are parts!'

This morning I spoke with Grace's teacher about what had been said.  Another teacher was in the room when I repeated what was said and her response was perfect..."What exactly does that mean???"  LOL!  Thank you Ms. D for the laugh...I sooooo needed that!

First grade teachers...not something you'd think they'd have to deal with but they did...and are...and I'm hoping for a reprieve of anymore of these conversations in the near, near future!  But to be honest I'm scared...what on this good green earth am I going to do, how am I going to answer when the BIG questions come???

I love my life!

Days like today are why I love living in Florida.  It is February 24th, it is 81 degrees out, there are a few light clouds in the sky, a wonderful breeze is blowing through the trees and the girls just rode their bikes down the street to play at a friend's house.  It is absolutely glorious!  And yes, remind me I have said all of this come July when the temps reach 100+ degrees!

It seems like it's been forever since I last posted (and no, I didn't look).  It has been a busy couple of weeks in the Anderson home.  We seem to be getting into the swing of the new semester at the girls' school, both doing extremely well I might add...PROUDLY!  Now if we could only improve their organizational skills!  LOL!  I laugh because I know they get what they have now from me!!  I had a setback last week with some oral surgery that is taking me longer to recover from than I had expected, but slow progress is better than no progress as all.

Randy is staying beyond busy with work.  He's still a temporary, part-time employee but his hours have really increased.  He's traveling here and there - several days up in the panhandle of Florida in our old stomping ground last month as well as an overnight up to Fort Bragg.  Last month he spent the good part of a day here one-on-one with a former United States Special Operations Command 4-star general.  (Gen Holland is also a former commander of Air Force Special Operations Command - AFSOC - where Randy and I both worked.)  Shortly after that visit, Randy was contacted by the vice president of the Air Commando Association (ACA), a retired colonel from AFSOC, who asked him if he will write the nomination package for Gen Holland into the ACA Hall of Fame.  What an honor!

Speaking of his writing...apparently TTB is a HIT!!!  For anyone who does not know, TTB is Trailer Trash Barbie.  A couple of years ago, Randy started posting as his facebook status about the girls' Barbies.  He'd find them laying around in various positions and 'scenarios,' find the humor in them and post to his wall.  He began to develop a following.  But think about the irony in it...here you have an almost-27-year veteran of the USAF, served more than 22 years serving as a combat operator...a warrior to the core.  And now he's dealing with Barbie dolls and a 3-1/2-foot Barbie house 5 feet from his desk.  LOL!  Then came TTB.   Randy's creative juices started flowing and he began writing The Barbie Chronicles, a name dubbed by his following.  The first storyline surrounds Ken after perching himself on Randy's desk one night for a chat...Randy directed Sgt Joe to 're-school' Ken and the story begins with Ken being picked up at the airport by TTB after his training has ended. 

Some of the stuff that comes out of Randy's mind absolutely amazes me.  He truly is creative and gifted in being able to take that mental creativity and commit it to paper.  I hope one day he actually does take everyone up on their suggestions and urgings to have The Chronicles published.  This past week we took the storyline off his facebook personal wall to a facebook public page.  House of the Pink Bows (again, think the irony) is up and running with new LIKES every day.  As friends are liking the page, we are adding them to a private group where you can read the entire saga of TTB from start to present, as well as read installments as they are added.  If interested, send me a message so you'll be added.

The 5-little girls sleepover...

I'm not sure what possessed me earlier in the week, but I decided to contact the moms of a couple of the girls friends about having a sleepover at our house tonight.  Emily has two friends here and Grace has one.  Of the five, 3 are seasoned veterans at the sleepover thing and 2 are newbies.  So far, so good.

We started off with pizza, which the girls all scarfed down.  Then they all did Valentine's Day crafts.  After that, daddy grabbed a couple sets of tongs out of the drawer and started chasing the five of them around the house.  Oh my goodness, it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen...and then he put a bright blue colander on his head!  The girls howled!!!  I can't remember the last time  I laughed so hard.  I know my girls are now almost 7 and 9, but when they were running through the house I could almost hear the pitter patter of their feet from when they were so little.

Grace and her friend Alyssa

Emily with Aubrea and Jaden

Right now the little ones are playing Donkey Kong on the Wii while the older ones make jewelry in the other room.   In the background I can hear the game and quite frequently I hear one of the many eek out a little giggle.  I love it.

We still have fingers and toes to paint with little stickers to put on them and then maybe I'll make them go to bed.  At the request of Emily, I'm going to make abilskevers for breakfast with fresh blueberries...or beignets...or cold cereal if they don't like either!  LOL!

Hello???

SHOW ME THE MONEY!  Oops, wait, this is not a Tom Cruise movie, so...SHOW ME THE LOVE!

Please do me a favor...if you read my blog, comment and let me know you're reading it.  I'd love to hear your feedback!

Why the name?

Several people have asked me how I came up with the title for my blog.  Yes, they think it's pretty cool but where did it come from?

Well, I'm just a tad, wee little bit anal retentive about certain things...including the behavior and actions of my children.  I've also been known to be just a little short-tempered at times.  Yeah, I know some of you are laughing your butts off right now, just bear with me.  When I started blogging again, I found my former blog was no longer available so I had to try for a new one.  I tried every variation of my name that I could think of but you know, Anderson is quite common, as is Mary, and believe it or not, the combination of those two with Kelly left nothing available.  So I had to get creative.

While I was sitting at my laptop pondering my choices, the time a little past 8:00pm (the girls' bedtime which is STRICTLY enforced), I soon found myself face-to-face with our almost-7-year-old.  "I didn't get my drink of water, I didn't go potty, I didn't brush my teeth, I'm hungry, Emily hit me, Emily keeps talking and I can't go to sleep."  I raised my voice, which I seldom do (insert coffee-spraying-through-your-nose laugh here), and told her to get her skinny-little-butt back in bed (ok, now it's snot coming out your nose accompanied by a strong laugh, but no, you're right, I didn't say skinny).

So I'm back to this blog and pondering a name.  And that's when it hit me...getting upset with Grace was not worth it, and it certainly would not mean anything ten years from now.  So, the name was born.

Most times I do not end up writing about things that won't matter in ten years, but instead will mean as much (if not more) as they do now.  It's like the blog about Tommy, that will absolutely mean everything ten years from now.  "Manners" is a timeless writing of thoughts, and "Happy Anniversary, babe" was about ten years AGO, but truly I hope to be the same if not better ten years from now...but it certainly will matter!

I love my family and I love my life and while a lot of times I write about things that absolutely WILL matter ten years from now, just seeing the title every time I log on here, I'm reminded that in the daily day-to-day, the few times I get upset (I know...BWAHAHAHA) will not matter in ten years.

Happy Anniversary, babe!

I know I'm a little early but I'm truly excited...date night Saturday night!  Woo hoo!  LOL!  The hubs and I are headed out to Rick's on the River to celebrate our 10-year anniversary by doing what we did on our first date...eating oysters on the half-shell and drinking cold beer.

Wow...10 years.  So many felt in the beginning that it would never last.  True, we've had our moments and I am surprised at myself that I finally settled down.  I wouldn't trade any of it for the world though, not one bit.

My dear lovely and I started off working down the hall from each other when I was still active duty Air Force.  Our paths rarely crossed except for the occasional trip out to the smoke pit.  We actually knew each other though for about a year before we went on our first date to Sandestin.  We had no place in mind to go so ended up going into an oyster bar.  We each had a bottle of beer (him Miller Lite, me Bud Light) but that's where the differences ended.  He asked me if I liked oysters and I said yes so we sat there with a dozen between us.  We both have detailed methods to eating raw oysters...and found out they are the same!  Saltine cracker with an oyster on top, squeeze some lemon juice on it and sprinkle with salt and pepper, top with a dallop of horseradish and a couple drops of Tobasco...VOILA!  Yes, involved but exactly the same...yet one of many signs that it was meant to be.

We had talked a little here and there about maybe getting married but did not finalize any plans.  Then the tragedy of 9/11 occurred.  Shortly after Randy found out that he had made Chief Master Sergeant.  In January 2002 he had Chief's week, a week of events sponsored by the major command combining classes with other activities such as a visit to the Enlisted Widows Home and a golf tournament.  The week culminates with a formal induction ceremony.

We knew that Randy would be deploying to Afghanistan early-2002, his mom was coming to visit for his Chief's Induction, I was going to San Antonio for a month and would not be back until after he had left...that left us with the week of his activities to find a quick moment to go to the courthouse.  Problem was?  The week was so jam-packed there were no free minutes, even their lunches were catered in.  But we did find one time in the schedule when he might be able to get away...

We had decided ahead of time to limit the people we told.  I told Keri (Jordan) McDonald and he told Michael Mahowald and they met us at the courthouse on Tuesday afternoon.  Randy was in the middle of a golf tournament at the golf course on Hurlburt Field and left his foursome on the 7th hole, met the three of us at the courthouse in Shalimar, exchanged vows with me and quickly returned to Gator Lakes Golf Course before his group had finished the 9th hole.  No one had a clue where he had been.

It's funny to me the things that I remember from that time...I remember the flowers mom and pop sent to us, a huge and absolutely gorgeous bouquet...I remember the phone call from Bobbi Jo Stumpf that night telling Randy and me that she and Brian were having a son...I remember getting up the next morning and driving to Tennessee to get my now-mother-in-law and not telling her at all what had happened...I remember her seeing the flowers from my folks and asking us what they were for but not being able to remember what we told her...I remember Katie coming to the house on Friday to get ready for the induction and not telling her either...and I remember at the induction when Randy's name was called I was introduced as his escort.

My handsome new husband at his Chief's Induction, January 2002

With his mom Judy and daughter Katie at the induction.

With the Maginel's and Engberg's.

Two days after the induction I was on an airplane to San Antonio and Randy returned to work.  Less than three weeks later he deployed.  Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from his deployment there.

My handsome operator.

With then-Colonel-now-Brigadier-General Michael Kingsley, a great commander and friend, after being promoted to Chief in Afghanistan.

I think this speaks for itself!

So here we are babe, ten years later and still going strong.  Who would've thought...between us one son, 4 daughters, one daughter-in-law, one son-in-law, one granddaughter and one grandson.  I love our family, I love our life, but most importantly I love you.  Here's to fifty more!

Manners...

A while back I wrote a post about thank you notes and whether or not they are really important (I do believe they are).  I've been faced lately with the simple issue of just saying or hearing 'thank you.'  What is up with that?  How hard is it to say those two words to let someone know you are appreciative of what they have said, what they have done, what they have offered, etc.?  So before I feel I can criticize the actions or inactions of others, I need to first look at myself.

Do I always say thank you to hubs when he does something for me or says something kind?  Admittedly no, but I do try.  Do I always thank the girls when they finish what they are told to do, or when they see me lying down with a headache, bring me a warm wet cloth for my forehead?  I try to, but I do not always.  Regrettably, the reason I feel I do not always tell hubs or my girls thank you each time is because I take them for granted.  That right there is a realization that I need to stand up to...those you take for granted don't usually stick around, or at the very least lose whatever respect they had for you.  I need to make this my New Year's resolution - to be more gracious, stop taking family and friends for granted, to let people know that their kindness is appreciated.  If someone is kind enough to take the time to do something for me, I need to be equally respectful and take the time to let them know that I truly appreciate what they did.  Right?

Our PTA at the girls' school does a lot for our teachers and support staff beyond fundraising to help them buy what they need to buy.  We had a dinner catered for them that started off our school year, our volunteer VP coordinated a desserts and coffee right before winter break, we provide dinner for them on conference nights, we periodically go through the school with a cart full of coffee and donuts just because we can.  After we have done something along those lines there are a couple of teachers who are absolutely excellent about placing a little note card in our box in the front office just to say thanks.  Those cards go a long way in keeping up our morale so that we can do more to help boost their morale.  Having people tell us thank you makes the difference between us doing more because we want to and doing more because we feel we have to.

So I think I'm going to take note of that in my own home, with my own family.  Thank you goes a long way.  I like to hear it from my children, we are trying to raise them with proper manners.  And since I know how it feels to me to hear it, I know then that our children will feel the same way when I say it to him.  Same goes for hubs...he's the absolute last person I want to perceive I am taking advantage.  I love and respect him too much to do that.

This is definitely something that WILL matter ten years from now.  By that point I pray that our daughters are well-mannered young women with grateful hearts.  And when hubs and I are sitting outside together...when he brings me my cocktail I will be sure to say THANK YOU!  :D

Thomas Reese Anderson

We made it through the holidays!  Christmas was actually pretty good.  My older sister came down from Tallahassee for a few days and it really was great having her here.  The girls are absolutely in love with their Wii and the games they received...I was fretting for nothing.  They are sitting in the family room with me right now playing Donkey Kong.  They were happy and content with everything they received.  Whew!  Until next year...

My sister went home the day after Christmas, which was also the same day that Randy returned to work.  We seemed to be settling into the groove, just took it easy for a couple of days.  Then Randy received a phone call on the night of December 27th.  I didn't even hear his cell phone ring.  I was busy getting the girls ready for bed when he walked into the family room and asked if he could talk with me.  I told him I'd be there in just a few minutes, after I got the girls in bed but he told me no, that it could not wait.  I went to his office with him and he looked me square in the eyes and said that Tommy was gone.  I asked him what he meant, I mean where did Tommy go?  He said 'he's gone, he died.'  Randy looked like a pillar made of stone, it was not hard to tell he was in shock from the news.  I immediately broke down.  Once I had recomposed myself, we started the difficult task of letting his children know as well as telling my family.  Even though I broke down into tears each time I had to tell someone, I still was having a hard time believing that Tommy was really gone.  Randy and I then spent the rest of the night getting him packed and ready to leave for Tennessee the next morning.  I did call his mom, spoke with her briefly to let her know that Randy would be there by the next evening, the girls and I would swing through Georgia, pick up Katie and follow on the next day.

When we arrived at Judy's it was still surreal.  As we pulled into the driveway I could see Tommy's truck back by the shed and my first thought was that he was probably inside at the table eating some of his momma's cooking.  It took a minute for it to register that Tommy wasn't there after all...and he never would be.  Randy and his mom were already at the funeral home so Katie cleaned up and we drove her there, I would follow later when she would take the girls back to grandma's.  I spent the last half of the visitation there with Randy and truly marveled at my mother-in-law.  The little pint-sized woman that I have known now for more than 11 years showed remarkable strength and poise while she spoke and spent time with every single person who walked through the door to pay their respects.  Every once in a while I would see her dab at the corner of her eye but never once did I see a tear make it all the way down her cheek or even hear her voice crack.  I was not even able to go near the casket without choking up and instead of embarrassing myself or my family in front of family I was meeting for the first time, I stayed away.  Instead I preoccupied myself with Diane and Debbie, two of Randy's cousins who had been side-by-side with his mom since she first heard the news.  The next day for the funeral I stayed back at the house with Emily and Grace while everyone else went to the funeral home.  I stayed back not only to stay with the girls (who Randy and I both felt were too young to go) but also to heat up the food that had been given to us by so many people.

It was after everyone left that I started getting worried about Randy and his mom.  Randy and Tommy were the best of friends, not just brothers.  Almost every Saturday night they would talk for a couple of hours on the phone.  As for their mom and Tommy?  He lived further in town but most mornings she would make him breakfast and he would stop by on his way to work.  Or in the evening he would stop by and eat supper with her.  Tommy kept up all of the maintenance on her house, took care of her lawn, repaired anything that was broken, painted whatever she felt needed painting.  It was a few days after the services that I stopped worrying that she was in shock yet functional.  We were sitting at the kitchen table, Randy and Katie had left already to head home and Judy and I were having coffee.  I had left the room momentarily and when I returned she had tears rolling down her face.  When she realized I was there she quickly apologized for crying...to which I told her what I had heard from my own mother - our loved ones who pass are worth a lot of tears, don't ever feel bad for shedding tears for someone, they've earned it.  That is when I learned that Judy was not in shock at all, just very strong in keeping her feelings private, close to her heart.

We spent a few days at Tommy's house, cleaning it out, moving his things and getting it ready to return to the owner.  His mom zipped from room to room while I moved things outside.  In no time we were done.  And just as quickly we loaded up my Durango and the truck and trailer that Randy's cousin Diane had brought over.  We left his former home, never to return.

We (Randy and I) inherited a little dog while we were up there.  Several months back when Tommy was playing golf with some friends, he became buds with a little female Chihuahua mix.  She followed him around to the end of the game and he absolutely fell in love with her.  He named her Missy and took her home.  After Tommy passed, Judy went to his house and got Missy to take her back to Judy's house.  Randy and I felt it was the right thing to do to take her with us.  As I sit here writing this, comfy with a lightweight quilt over my legs, she is curled up beside me with her entire body - including her head - completely under the covers, as happy and content as she can possibly be!  She sleeps with us at night (something Randy started) and her favorite position is in between us with every part of her under the covers and snuggled up against one of us.  She is absolutely precious and lives a life of peaceful coexistence with Chessie!  LOL!

Randy has buried himself in work, staying very busy.  It is still almost surreal to both of us that his brother, his younger brother and only sibling is gone forever.  We've all heard it said that time heals all wounds but I do not agree.  Some wounds never heal, no matter how long it has been.  It is my belief that time makes it easiER to deal with them, but it is never easY.

Will it matter ten years from now?  Absolutely - by that time, Randy will have spent ten years without his best friend and Judy ten years without her youngest son.  But memories will always keep Tommy close to all of our hearts.  To us Tommy died too soon.  To God Tommy died at just the right time.  Maybe ten years from now we will better understand or at least better deal with him being gone...and then again maybe we will not.  Only time will tell.

Tommy with Katie before Randy's USAF retirement dinner.

Tommy with Grace in December 2005.

Thomas Reese Anderson with Emily Reese Anderson, late summer 2003.