This is our family (minus George who was taking the pic) last July at Family Day at Ft Benning. Travis had just finished his Basic Training and was about to begin AIT. This is probably going to be the last family pic for a long time. I am thinking that it's going to be difficult to get everyone together since the four boys will all be in the Army.

For those of you who don't know everyone...
Back row: Amon, Grace, Dad, Michael
Front Row: Kerry, Mom, Travis, Benjamin, Me, Ryan

Anyway, I really like this picture.

I am hoping to post several of my favorite pictures over the next few days. So check back to see them. :)

For those of you who know me, you know I LOVE to buy bows for Grace's hair. BUT, I have realized that those little bows can get expensive. So...imagine my excitement when one of my very favorite bow makers on eBay began selling her instructions. Of course I bought them. Above, you see a picture of my very first bow that I made all by myself. I am so proud of how it turned out. Thankfully, that little center piece covers all my bad wire twisting and folding. Ha! I know it's not as good as Shannon's, (the woman who I bought the instructions from) but I am happy with it. The picture makes it look a little darker than it really is, but you get the idea.

We heard from Travis on Saturday evening. Actually, I heard from him on Sunday. It was so good to hear from him. He said he lost like ten pounds when they had to do some sort Field Training Exercise (FTX). They had to live off the land and their MRE's. Hmm...sounds like a new diet to me. Just kidding. Anyway, he is in lockdown again for three weeks. This is his SERE School. He said they do some crazy things during that part of his training. After this he starts his actual medic training. Pretty neat.

It was such a nice day Friday. We played outside for a good portion of the day. We even walked all the way down the driveway and back up. That is quite a trek for those of you who have never been here. Well. It was for me anyway. :) Anyway, it was really nice to play outside for a change.

Then, today, which is Saturday, I went to Conway to buy some supplies to start making hairbows for Grace. I am hoping that I can get this down enough to make them look pretty...maybe even sell them to make some extra money. I will post a picture of my first attempt later. I don't think it's half bad.

Kerry came home from school and brought Dara with him. She really seems like a nice girl. I know Grace likes her. She calls her Dora. As in Dora the Explorer. It's kind of funny. At least Dara was nice about it. :)

AND...we heard from Travis for the first time today in at least a month...it seems longer. He has been in lockdown with his Green Beret training. I think he has one more lockdown for three weeks and then he begins his medic training. I miss him so much. You tend to take for granted those that you see everyday, until you no longer see them everyday. Travis is a good guy and I am very proud of him. We love you, Uncle Fraff!

Amon and Michael are also joining the US Army. I think they both leave at the end of March. At least that's what I have heard. AND...Kerry will be joining at the first of 2007...after he graduates from the University of the Ozarks. Can you imagine having four brothers in the Army? Wow. That will be interesting keeping up with all of them! Let's see...Travis is in Green Beret training, Kerry will be doing the same, Amon wants to be a Ranger, and Michael wants to be a field nurse. Those last two are what I've heard from Mom, not firsthand. I'm so proud of them all. It is a very noble thing to do....to serve in the military. A huge sacrifice.

Well, it's much later than I intended to stay up until. I am signing off for now. Tomorrow we have church and then we are going to go see Sonja and Aaron's house in Searcy. I will post pictures later.

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Just a picture of Grace a year ago. Such a cutie pie.



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Blah.

That's how I feel today. George is off and it's just a lazy sort of day. I did manage to clean a bit. Hopefully, I will get more done this week since George will probably be off until Friday. It's nice when he's home, but sometimes I think it would be nice to have the security of a Monday - Friday 8-5 job. They both have their ups and downs. I'm sure if he had a regular job, I'd wish he could have a job with more flexibility. The grass is always greener, right? Lord, help me to be content in our present state. You always provide and make a way for us. For that, I am thankful.

As I said, I hope to get the house clean this week while he's home. I feel better about scrapbooking when the house is done. And I REALLY want to do some more pages. I'm so sporadic in my scrapbooking. I've got to get better about it. Also, it will be nice to have the house clean when George is gone to Texas in two weeks. I don't particularly like it when he travels, but we need the money for sure! :D

Well, I should get off of here and get busy.

Take care!

This is a pic of the kids in Ben's crib on Valentine's Day. You wouldn't believe the challange to get both of them to look at the camera and smile at the same time. It's near impossible. This was as good as I could do. :) They're still cute, huh?

Welcome!

Well, I've tried this once before, but it just didn't go so well. I lacked commitment. And time. And desire. BUT...now I am willing and wanting to give it another go. I know some consider blogging to be more than what I will use this space for, but that's okay. I probably won't spend much time discussing the latest Washington news, dissecting intricate issues, or other worthwhile topics...BUT, what I plan to do here is just as important. Well, at least to me. I plan on recording our lives. I think it will be a treasure for our children to look back upon one day. And who knows? Maybe others will find some pleasure in this blog as well.

Regardless, Welcome to our blog! :) My goal is to update a minimum of once a week. Hopefully, it will be more like three to four times a week. But with the kids...who knows. :)

Speaking of the kids...I am going to try to figure out how to post pictures on here of them as well.

That's all for now.

Talk to you later,
Tracie