A Woman After God’s Own Heart

I have spent the last few months learning lots of new things! One thing I am trying to do is be a better communicator! I am impressed by so many wonderful ladies and want to join in their ranks!! So here is a post on what has made a difference in MY life:

Someone gave me this book years ago but have no idea who!! I opened it when a dear friend started reading that and loved it. I had to see why she loved it!!

Since the New Year, I have read it THREE times and the last time, I took 7 pages of notes!! I LOVED it so much, I cannot even tell you all I liked about it! It has redirected my life and made me prioritize how I do things!!

Here are a few things I came away with – the wife/mother is the thermostat of the home, she should be predictably happy, need to be the one how teaches my children about God (NOT the church’s job), is the homemaker in more ways than one, oh could go on and on!!!!!!

The biggest thing God told me through it all is that I need to HOMESCHOOL!!! I cannot do what He asks me to do if I am putting priorities on other things. So need to completely simplify my life and we will start homeschooling in August after we move to Texas!!! Don’t know if I am up to the challenge but know God has asked me to do it!!!!

Grandparents Visit

My THREE year old princess!

Pumpkin hunting with Grandma & Grandpa

(was hard to get a good pic of all 5!)

Letchworth State Park

Fishing on Loch 23

Grandma and Grandpa Lierman came for a visit this second week in October. Since we were not able to go see them in Idaho this year, THEY came here. They were able to see all the beautiful fall colors!!
Day #1: played one on one with Miss KC while the big kids were at school. Then we took them on a tour of B's kindergarten, RR's elementary school and to eat at Twin Trees yummy italian restaurant. Yummy pizza, wings and salad!!
Day #2: Day at Abbotts Farm!!! We picked apples, pumpkins and had fun on the working farm. Gma and Gpa enjoyed talking about farming with east coast farmers. A little different than Idaho!!
Day #3: Fishing and Picnicing on Lock 23. Then tour of Salmon River and Tugg Hill area. Gorgeous!! Glad I had put dinner in the crockpot since we were gone 7 hours!!
Day #4: Church and then KC 3rd birthday party!! The party was very last minute but she thought it was the best!!! It was a princess theme and we decorated crowns & treasure boxes. she had a Cinderella ice cream cake and was SOOO excited!! We had a few close friends join us and she couldn't have had more fun if I did the big bash like we first planned. :)
Day #5 & #6: Letchworth State Park and Niagara Falls - We drove to Letchworth State Park with a stop off at Sauders Amish Store in Seneca Falls (I bought supplies for my Christmas baking) and lunch at Ciccinos in Waterloo - best pizza crust ever!! The countryside was ablaze with color!! Letchworth is now one of my favorite places on earth!! Wow!! Called the Grand Canyon of the East. We stayed in the caretakers cottage - 150 year old. The next morning we drove to Niagara Falls. Another day driving through colorful countrysides!! Ate lunch at Buzzy's - known for their pizza and wings. Kids and greandparents enjoyed seeing the Falls. Bodie would NOT ride on Maid of the Mist boat!! Remembered how scared he was last year on it!! :) Then we drove home and they flew back early the next morning!! Fun and memories was had by all!! Made me love NEW YORK even more!!

Navy Ball

This weekend we celebrated the US Navy's 235th birthday at the Hotel Syracuse. Daryl decided to use the Hotel Syracuse because it was a unique site. It is no longer being used as a hotel but you can reserve it for weddings, receptions and balls. The Hotel Syracuse was built in the 1800's and it has the largest dance floor outside of NYC. Very cool art deco designs!! Too bad we didn't take pictures there. There was a professional photographer but we didn't use him. Too busy "working the room!" The catering company Daryl chose was amazing!! The food was displayed so prettily. The chiefs created a presentation for the POW table. Usually there is a table set aside as the POW table. This time, the chiefs set out the entire table to the poem. Very heart wrenching. Made me so proud to be part of such a wonderful organization!! I hope to get some of the photographer's pictures of it! I never know anyone so I just had to go around and small talk people all evening. Do my duty of being the hostess. But loved being part of such a wonderful tradition. Why I love being a Navy wife!! :)

And the Verdict IS. . . .Guilty!!!!

Hello All! I have realized that I have a HUGE problem!!! I must admit it now and then move away from it. Will you keep me accountable, please??? I have a problem with . . . drum roll, please. . . MOMMY GUILT!! And it is BAD!!! I feel guilty about everything - what I should be doing, what I did, what I didn't do, how much t.v. the kids watch, I don't get enought sleep, ate too much, exercised too little, said something a little too harshly, didn't say something I should have, OH the list goes on!!

So I feel guilty about a lot and will now start walking away from it with baby steps. Today - posting on my blog again. Small post so I am not overwhelmed by ALL I feel I have to catch up on since I haven't in a YEAR. I have a wonderful friend who just blogs one thought a day. Profound. I'll have to copy you Andrea!!

Next step! Uploading pictures to the computer!! Keep me accountable!!
Love you friends and family!! :)

MOPS Convention

I left home for FOUR days in September!!! I hadn't ever left all three kids and Daryl hadn't had all the kids like that before. The church offered to pay for the steering team for MOPS to go to the convention in Nashville, TN. Wow!! We figured in order to save money, we would drive the 14 hours there. 8 of us went: 6 drove in the church's van and 2 flew. I was quite leery of leaving at 3 in the morning - since I am SOOO not a morning person. Well, this was the most fun I have had as a person - me, Angela - not as a mom, not as a wife - just ME in as long as I can remember!!! Probably since Daryl was gone on deployments!! I had a blast!!! The 14 hour drive was the BEST part. Being with 6 wonderful girls trapped in a car with nothing to do but talk for 14 hours!! That is what every mother of preschooler DREAMS of! :)
We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. I have always wanted to stay at one and I got to stay there for free!! Five years ago, while we were in Fort Worth, Daryl promised me we could stay at the Gaylord Texan if he got promoted. Well, he got promoted but we moved so quickly after that that we couldn't fit it in. I finally got to do it!!! And it is an amazing place! Huge, plush, very nice service, excellent food - but a cup of coffee was $3.22 - BLACK!!! They accommodated our 4000 people seemingly effortlessly They are used to that types of crowds.
The convention itself was awesome!!!! MOPS International did a wonderful job! The speakers were Godfilled and spoke like they were talking only to me. The worship was AWESOME!! Matt Redman, Plumb, Christy Nockles (of Watermark), Natalie Grant and Matthew West. Couldn't believe it. We had great breakout groups. I went to a session on telling God's story in you, Creative Concoctions - cheap homemade activities and crafts for kids, being a discussion group leader, being a Green Mama . . . I guess that was it. I loved it. It was talking to me as a Christian. Not solely focused on me as a preschooler's mother. How I can reach others for Christ - right here where I am.
I love the girls I was with. I have been here only a year but I feel like these girls are my soul mates. I haven't felt that way in a LONG time!!! So excited to be serving my Lord with these ladies!!! Watch out world!!! MOPS at NSBC is out to change the world - NO mom left behind!! :)
Oh, D and the kids did GREAT!!! Didn't act like they missed me at all! :) SO can I do it again next year???? :)

New School Year!!

I love the start of a new school year. To me, it is the new year and that is when I have MY New Year Resolutions. This year, I will try to sleep more, be more organized, and exercise more!
This summer did not go the way I originally intended! I did not plan on breaking my leg!! What a way to spend a summer! But we did survive! One thing I planned on doing was getting caught up on my blogging. I guess my aspirations are too high. So I will start right now with a clean slate! I did post a lot of pictures on facebook so you can check out those.
September is a jammed packed month. We came back from Idaho on Labor Day weekend. School started on Tuesday morning. Not even a chance to breathe! Riley is so excited about her teacher, Mrs Donegan. I can’t believe she is in 2nd grade!
This month is the start of all MY activities: MOPS, PTO and planning for the CNY Navy Family Support Group. In MOPS, I am a discussion group leader. At first, I was upset about that seemingly small job. But now I realize how important it actually is!! It is where you learn about each mom and can encourage her, pray for her, help her. I am so EXCITED!! And this year, I am going to convention!!! In Nashville! I will be leaving the family for the first time! Wonder how Daryl will do in MY job?? MOPS is so important because we need to be building up families. Families are falling apart all around us! Need to shine the light of Jesus to other moms. YES, this is hard work but SOOOO important!
I am the secretary for Riley’s school’s PTO. Another job I feel called to do!!! I know people are busy, but it is so important to be involved in your child’s school. I love being there and helping the people who are educating our future!!
Daryl and I are working on creating a group call CNY Navy Family Support Group. Long name, but you know the mission! J We had a family picnic in June and I was shocked at how little the Reservists family’s knew about the military! So I told Daryl I wanted to do something about that. Some of my closest friends are from our military travels. These people (thought I don’t talk to them all the time) are my closest friends. They understand about so many things that nonmilitary people have no clue about. Our first thing is planning a Deployment Brief for the group of Sea Bees who are getting ready to deploy. Wow! I feel like I bit off more than I can chew – at times. Just have to trust God in my efforts and know that anything is more than these people have heard.
Finally, Daryl and I will attend a Bible Study called iMarriage by Andy Stanley. I took the class this winter while Daryl was attending all of his schooling. Now we can go together! :)
I’ll close my rambling!! Need to wake the kids from nap. D is salmon fishing. He is doing that a lot this week – and then he had to remind me that he won’t be doing it for at least 5 months this winter! :) Love to all!
P.S. I have met a wonderul lady who is helping me watch the kids during the week - as needed. She is an answer to prayer - both of ours!! She needs to make extra money but has small children. I need someone to watch my children and she has instant playmates!! :) Her youngest two are closest to Bodie and Kaylee. They have wonderful times together and she is an inspiration to me! God is so good!

Bodie is FOUR!!

Kaylee has to be in the middle of everything!

All the Presents!

Happy birthday, Dear Bodie!


The Bouncy House!

His favorite gift, from Mimi and Granddaddy

Our crew on the Maine Narrow Gauge RailRoad

He called her "Mavis"

SOOO proud of his ticket

"Can we put it on the 'frigerator?"

He is FOUR!

Fancy "Old Coach"

I can't believe our little boy is FOUR! His birthday was actually July 24th but we didn't let him know because we were in Maine. Birthdays at our house mean cake and presents and we didn't want to do all that in Maine! We did do something on his birthday just for him. We went to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. Got to look in old coaches and ride the train in the pouring Portland rain.

When we got back to New York, and while Mimi and Granddaddy were here, we celebrated his birthday in style! I asked him what he wanted to do and the perfect 4 year old answer- Have a Bouncy House! We invited all the neighbor kids and a couple of families from church. Grilled hotdog/sausages, veggies and ranch dip, watermelon and cupcakes/icecream cake. What else could a 4 year old want! :) He got so many presents, I was overwhelmed. It was a GREAT day.