Things are coming together, Finally

Everything has finally come together. Last Thursday, we finally got our medical clearance. This was the piece of the military puzzle we were most worried about, since our youngest is behind on vaccines due to our family's own deciding. However, after many questions, needing signatures, power of attorney, and even asking me questions about my diabetes that were on the forms, a month later, we finally got our clearance. It was suppose to take 14 days, so that was beyond frustrating.

Amazingly, my husband had talked to a lot of people, so our orders were able to be turned to us within 24 hours and last Friday, we found out we are definitely moving to Germany in September! Because we finally got orders, my husband was able to get orders to come home, so I am a very happy air force wife lately. For obvious reasons, I can't say when he'll be home, but it will be soon enough. Therefore, I have been very busy getting final arrangements made, packing, shopping, cleaning, etc. We will spend close to a month traveling over 3,000 miles to see family, ship our belongings, and more before heading to Germany, so there is a lot to be done.

While this past year, specifically the past month, has been a struggle, I see how God has worked. While it took a long time for our orders and that was stressful, it helped to alleviate the anxiety of knowing specifically when my husband would be home. Thankfully, as I said before, I had prepared for the rain, so that helped when we knew the date, as I had a good deal already done. And then, once I knew the date, I still had a good deal to accomplish, so that has kept my mind busy. In fact, I was in the middle of doing more preparation but needed a mental break, which is why I'm posting. Since this is the general update, I must head back to what I was working on. But thank you for all the prayers thus far.

Sarah's Golden Book themed baby shower

I decided that before I moved away, I wanted to throw a baby shower for my sister-in-law and niece she is expecting. I thought and thought about a good theme. Then, the Thursday before the shower, it hit me. The girl loves to collect golden books. So I did a quick google search and found this blog post at Aesthetic Nest and set to work doing something similar, throwing it together in just 3 days. However, I did not want to do blue and yellow, so did pink and yellow.

First, there were the presents. I wrapped most of them in pink paper, and the cute ribbon, some white and yellow stripes, some white with yellow polkadots. Then I placed one of the dad-to-be's favorite books behind the presents.
Above the presents, I placed a few more books.
For the table, we decided to go incredibly fancy and use my great-grandmother's China. These dishes never get used, so I decided this was the perfect occasion to pull them out. The best part? They had gold.
The center of the table consisted of some pink flowers in a pink box, with a yellow ribbonn tied around the box. Two glass containers that held golden reeses cups and peanut M&Ms, also with yellow ribbon tied around them, and one of the golden book cutouts in the middle. Two small books stood on each side, with a small bowl of pecans, and a yellow container with pink mints in it.
I had found this adorable idea and decided to create one myself for my niece, Emmaliegh. Then I decided to use it for a wall decoration behind the dining room table. I love how they turned out. Also I loved that they were hanging on a light green wall, which is a color they plan on painting the nursery.
For dessert, I made pink (strawberry) and yellow (lemon) cupcakes with the book tags in a few of them.
For the food table, I used this adorable pink and yellow fabric I had as a table cloth. It was very appropriate as they are doing the nursery in pink zoo animals, such as giraffes. I also had this pretty pink and yellow flower arrangement in a pink vase with yellow ribbon, plus more golden books, as the centerpiece on the food table.
We offered fresh fruit, with chocolate dip, cheese platter, spinach dip with crackers, then there was also Publix's cubanito sandwiches, min pigs-in-a-blanket and meatballs, but I forgot to get a picture of them.

And a platter of golden oreos. For no other reason than they were 'golden'.
I have never thrown a shower quite like this, but I loved how it turned out, and so did every one else.

Planting the fields

I posted a while back about the men who were praying for rain, one did nothing as he waited, the other planted the crops in the fields. This story has continued to resignate in my mind over and over again as we anxiously sit and wait to find out what the status is for our medical clearance.

As most military wives can probably attest, you save things to do for the last minute, as the last minute is when your mind needs distraction. So I figured he'll be home in less than a month (ha, most likely) and began to pack up our unaccompanied stuff two days ago. Somehow, everything but clothes and a few toys are now packed. Oops! But at least I am preparing the fields for the rain. I don't know when the rain is coming, but if a miracle happens and he comes home this week, I'm ready. I've gone ahead and booked some hotel reservations and our car rental reservation, based on the date we were told he's coming home, and based on miracles taking place. I've booked all refundable rooms/car. If he is delayed further, I'll cancel and rebook.

But now, I wonder, what am I suppose to do now? I pulled out my sewing machine and I'm going to work on a few projects that shouldn't take too long. I had put all the kids' clothes in bins, and may go ahead and start sorting through them. Hopefully by the time those are done, we'll have orders and can get our new address, then i get to begin the dreaded task of calling companies to tell them our new mailing address. That should take a nice while.

All this to say, prayers are still appreciated. I can do all I can to prepare the fields, make ready, but until God decides to send the rain, I'm stuck. And even more so, my husband is stuck. Thanks for the prayers!

Respecting Your Elders

"Respect your elders." This is an age-old saying. In the past few weeks, this lesson has really challenged me in a few different situations. I have thought about the fact that I am in my late twenties. When do I get to stop respecting my elders and start defending myself and others around me?

I asked some other women I know, and many of them said that they hate the idea of respect your elders. You should not pay respect just because someone is older and wiser. Instead, you should give respect to everyone. Respect is also earned. It was also determined that there is a difference between standing up for yourself and being disrespectful. The question then lies, what is considered disrespectful? Where is the line drawn?

I asked because of situations I was in. However, the discussion has made me question the thought of respecting your elders and made me consider that maybe it's not a thought I want to teach to my children, but rather I want to teach them to respect all. I want them to feel like they are able to speak up if they feel something is wrong or they are being treated unfairly, but I want to teach them how to do it with respect. It also hammered in to me that I need to be treating my children with respect.

When the topic of "respect your elders" comes up, I'm reminded of a story from my childhood. When I was around 14 years old, I would babysit for my aunt. Almost every time, my grandmother would ask me if my aunt had paid me for babysitting, and would sometimes use it against my aunt. I got tired of being asked, and as respectfully as I possibly could, once told her "Nanny, thank you for your help, but honestly, I don't think it's any of your business." I was in so much trouble. I think that was the one and only time I've truly been on my grandmother's list (a true accomplishment). My mom was upset with me, and I was the talk amongst all the relatives. I was so scared saying it, but so relieved when I never got asked again. I truly felt it was worth it and it was the right thing to do.

Today I have realized that I don't want my children to feel that kind of pressure. If they are in a situation like I was, I either want them to feel okay to speak up, or to feel like they can come to my husband or I and ask for our help. I never felt that way in the situation above. I'm glad that I asked some other women about their thoughts on respecting your elders, because it's made me review this aspect of parenting.

If you are up for praying, please pray for family dynamics and situations surrounding my family at the moment. Also, please continue to pray for the situation I recently posted about. I amazed how I am still freaking out a small amount, but I have some peace and am really just trying to ignore the whole situation and trust God with it all. But prayers are still very welcomed. Thanks!