UPDATE on Stephen:
For those of you who have been praying for Stephen and keeping him in your thoughts, thank you! He has been writing a few letters when possible and calls every Sunday for a few minutes to chat.
His phone call this Sunday was good and lengthy. It was hard to believe how deep his voice was and how far away he sounded. There was no laughter this week in his words and he sounded so serious. He let us know he had just returned from a week stay in the woods. This is where they learned more survival tactics and practiced with their guns and grenades. (Makes my heart stop a beat thinking about it)
He said he is well used to the routine and is doing very well. Stephen said that he loves the excitement of the adventures and skills he is learning. So far he has been issued his rifle, which he names Haley. Learned how to administer an IV and stop a gun shot wound long enough to get medical attention. He has passed the gas chamber test, which is described as horrible intense pain, in which he has never felt so bad. (He bought the tape of the ordeal so we can view it and he can keep it as a souvenir of his survival.)
Stephen has spent much time doing a lot of exercise; running, doing thousands of push up and sit ups, climbing the tower wall and running the obstacles. He loved the obstacle course as he said it was very challenging and fun. He is in the elite group and leads the Platoon on many exercise missions. He sounds strong and more mature.
He said many soldiers have been caught with contraband or illegal items they are not allowed. Such as gum, candy, smokes and chew. Thankfully he is following rules and avoiding trouble.
Last night Stephen called home which was a shock as he never calls during the week. He said he called to let us know that there were two guys on base who had died this week due to meningitis. All soldiers were calling home as one name had not been released yet. He said it is scary! They are taking precautions and reminding the soldiers not to share personal belongings and to wash their hands a lot. I was very nervous after our conversation and researched this on the internet. The article stated it was non-contagious meningitis, which is conflicting information as two men died within days apart on the same base.
So please keep Stephen and the others in your prayers! As a mom I am very concerned and wishing he was home. 27 more days until he graduates and we can see him before his leave to Arizona.
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

CREEPY!

Everyone is afraid of something. There are many phobias in the world. Some people are scared of the dark, of being alone or of different kinds of animals. I have a very common fear myself. I have a fear of snakes which is called Ophidiophobia. The more general term is herpetophobia, which means fear of reptiles. Actually I am scared to death of them! I don’t like looking at them on TV or in a zoo behind 5 inch thick glass. The farther away they are the better. Some think they are beautiful with all the colors and markings.. Not me! I think they are creepy!
A couple years ago Stephen found this salamander camping and decided to bring it home as a pet. He bought the fish tank and fixed it up. He kept it in his room. He had it for about 7 months before it died. He then replaced it with another type of salamander from the pet store. This one lasted about 6 months and also died. I didn’t mind these slow moving lazy creatures so much. They stayed in his room and just laid in the tank soaking up the heat. They were not aggressive and didn’t move much. And I didn’t have to feed, clean or worry about them. Last Christmas Stephen’s girlfriend Haley bought Stephen a new tank, two very fast moving lizards that fly through the tank at rapid speed and eat a lot of crickets. They scare me. They are creepy….
This brings me to my current dilemma. Stephen is gone and the tank needs cleaned! The tank stinking up his room! I have been buying the crickets while Kaleb or Collin feed and water the lizards. I haven’t had a need to go by them until Now. So, I here I am with this task at hand not a clue how to go about it. Did I mention they are fast! I have no idea how to catch them or contain them while I clean the tank. UGGGH. I do not look forward to this project. I am thinking I might have to bribe the boys or nephew to help with this issue. Stephen calls on Sunday and always asks how his little pets are doing and if I am buying the crickets. Who would think that lizards eat so much??? They consume 2 dozen crickets a week. And pooh everywhere in the tank.. yuck….
Wish me luck and if any of you reading this want to come and help me.. Please do…

39 Years~~39 favorites

1. My boys

2. Laughing so hard my face hurts.

3. A hot shower.

4. childhood memories

5. My Family

6. Taking a drive on a pretty day with the windows down.

7. Country music

8. Warm sunny days

9. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.

10. Strawberry milkshakes

11. A bubble bath with a good book.

12. A good long back rub.

13. My kids laughing

14. bon fires /smores

15. A good movie

16. A great clearance sale

17. Being told your beautiful

18. My best friends (Jill and Stacy)

19. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.

20. Late night talks

21. Hot buttery popcorn

22. Someone playing with my hair.

23. A love note / card

24. Hot chocolate with marshmallows on a cold day

25. Road trips with no destination or time limit.

26. Journaling my thoughts

27. Cheesecake!

28. Making cookies with my boys.

29. Sharing secrets with my hubby

30. Taking that perfect photo.

31. My dog!

32. Knowing that somebody misses and loves me.

33. Sunday afternoon naps

34. Gardening.

35. My kids thinking I’m the Best Mom in the world.

36. Reading a great book

37. Fresh bread

38. walks in the park

39. Being a mom and wife!

Lazy Days...

I find myself yawning all day. I have no energy and I have been very tired the last couple of weeks. I have to drag myself out of bed in the morning after hitting the snooze button several times. After an extremely long hot shower, I can somewhat function long enough to make it to work on time and manage to get through the day with out falling asleep.. Is it possible that sitting at a desk and staring at a computer all day could be part of my lack of enthusiasm and energy? Or not getting enough sun could be another huge factor of lacking the energy needed to get through day. Does anyone else have this issue?
Seriously I am not a person who self diagnosis herself with all kinds of illness or made up diseases.. But I have heard of this thing called Seasonal Affective Disorder! It is a person who suffers through the season. It makes a person depressed, tired an want to eat.. Hey that describes all my symptoms! So I looked it up online and it says: Insufficient exposure to sunlight has been associated with low levels of melatonin and serotonin, carbohydrate craving, weight gain, and sleep disturbance.
So I thought… Maybe I have this…It certainly describers my symptoms! If I understand this correctly; it is kinda like how a rainy gloomy day makes us tired but a sunny bright day has us all happy and geared up.
It has been a very long cold winter and it isn’t close to being over and very little sun for these last few months. So I have been taking vitamin B to help boost my energy level on top of drinking lots of hot water and orange juice. What happens, I wake up with a huge canker sore in the back of my mouth. I guess I have had too much orange juice…that citrus acid thing…go figure. I try to feel better and only get worse. What is wrong with this picture??
So I look forward to brighter days with sun filled afternoons! I promise not to complain that it is too hot or humid out! lol
So to all of those who suffer this SAD problem, join me in celebrating the news that winter is only 6 more short weeks. We can hang in there as I look forward to seeing the green grass and sprouting flowers in my yard.
So I believe this would be a good time to curl up with my book until I drift off to sleep… Goodnight…


"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself." --

Everything Changes...

Today in the life of the Cromwell Household, money has been very tight and bills are being separated and paid by the importance factor. The lack of unemployment is hurting us and we are faced with change - all of it driven by the worldwide economic crisis. In our defense to control our budget and bills we are facing major decision making challenges.
In this world change should be common and easily adjusted to; as everything changes so quickly. Technology has driven our wants and needs to where we are accustomed to upgrading and moving on quickly. We flip a switch and we’re now using a new system. We push a button and our favorite program is saved to watch later. Then painfully a announcement of layoff is declared and we stop moving forward. Now is the time to reverse the upgrading and determine what needs to change so we can continue to survive.
The change is not so much the issue. The issue is the psychological and emotional process that we go through in transitioning from the way it used to be - with which I am very comfortable - to the new way. (or the more economical way)
So I sit down with the monthly bills and start to categorize the needs! After many piles and rotations of change we determine we really can’t change too much of what we already have. But we can learn to live better with in our means.
So I start to make the little lists of what we all can do to help save money. So my list looks like this:
· Shutting off the tv, lights and radios when they are not in that room.
· Conserving the water usage by not running water while doing the dishes.
· By taking shorter showers. (This is my huge down fall)
· Combining large loads of laundry for fewer loads.
· Making more meal at home, no eating out.
· Change out the light bulbs for the energy smart ones.
· No more shopping for un-needed items.
· Cut back on groceries a week by making a list and sticking to it.
· Turning down the furnace when leaving and sleeping.
· Changing out the furnace switch to automatically switch temperatures.
· No more shopping.. (did I mention that already)
· Change cell phone plan to lower costs.
· Home phone, local calling only. (saved $60.00 a month)wow
· Turn down the water heater temperature.
· Limit trips to town to save on gas
· Change Dish-Net to general package and cut out all extra packages.
· Coupon clipping (saved me 11.50 cents this week)

These changes will save us a couple hundred dollars a month and was not as difficult to endure as I thought. Little changes in life are actually not too bad; it’s the big ones that really scare me. It doesn’t matter what the change is. The issue is not the change. The issue is the emotional turmoil, chaos and confusion we go through during the transition from the old to the new.
Change is inevitable. There is no choice, it just happens. Things that happen to us are sometimes out of our control. Like loosing a job! Very Stressful on everyone.. But how we make the transition is always a choice. And that choice makes all the difference as to whether the change creates havoc or livable results. Saving money is exciting and the new way of living will take time to adjust but eventually things will go back to normal and the new habits will still remain. Life is a roller coaster with no promises. We need to hang on tight and enjoy the ride as it comes.