Our Anniversary

March 24th 1990 we married.
This year was our 19th anniversary. Happy Anniversary to Us!
One more year of ups, downs ins and outs…And here’s too many more…

I made a promise, before God and men, that I would love you through thick and thin. For better or worse, comes blessing or curse, to have and to hold, and together grow old. I loved you then and I love you still. I promise again: I always will..


FUNNY THOUGHTS AND JOKES ON MARRIAGE

Marriage is a three ring circus:engagement ringwedding ringsuffering

The honeymoon is over when the husband calls home to say he'll be late for dinner and the answering machine says it is in the microwave.

Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage.They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.How do most men define marriage?A very expensive way to get your laundry done free.

A little boy asked his father, "Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?"His father replied, "I don't know, son, I'm still paying for it."

Love is blind, but marriage is an eye-opener.
Before marriage, a man yearns for the woman he loves.After marriage, the "y" becomes silent
The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once

Words to live by: Do not argue with a spouse who is packing your parachute

Marriage is grand -- and divorce is about 20 grand.

Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: either the car is new or the wife.

A guy went to a party without his wife. He heard another guy say to his wife, "Pass the sugar, Honey." and "Pass the honey, Sugar." He thought this sort of speech is a good idea.The next morning when he and his wife are eating breakfast, he said to his wife, "Pass the bacon, Pig."

A couple came upon a wishing well. The husband leaned over, made a wish and threw in a penny. The wife decided to make a wish, too. But she leaned over too much, fell into the well, and drowned. The husband was stunned, but then smiled, "It really works!"

Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, He goes Fridays.

Getting married is very much like going to a restaurant with friends. You order what you want, and when you see what the other person has, you wish you had ordered that instead.

Love is one long sweet dream, and marriage is the alarm clock.

It's not true that married men live longer than single men, it only seems longer.

Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you said.After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.

Explorations

Spring is right around the corner. I can’t wait for good weather. I can’t truly state that I am sick of the winter and cold weather.
I took the boys to Pizza Hut this on Saturday for the “all you can eat buffet.” I am telling you this is the way to go when taking boys out to eat. I met my sister Missi and her husband Barry for lunch. Little Philip is getting so big. I spent more time playing with him then I did eating.
After lunch we ventured to the Red Covered Bridge in Princeton to check out the creek and see how high the water was. The water was moving quickly and was high but not over the bank at this time. The boys enjoyed exploring the area. It was evident that the creek had been over the bank recently as the ground was still soggy and debris was everywhere. As they checked out the creek and it gave me a great opportunity to snap some photos. It is hard to believe how fast they have grown and how big they are getting. It is so fun to look back a year ago pictures to see the change. I mailed off a few pictures to Stephen to keep him up to date on his brothers. He would have loved to navigate this exploration with his brothers. After all pictures were taken and the boys completed there hike we headed back home to relax and enjoy a movie.
Nothing beats relaxing weekends with the boys.

Happy Birthday Kaleb

Kaleb turned 13th on March 3rd. He is now a Teenager! He is pretty excited about that fact too. He is now hoping to get taller so he is not the shortest in his class. He has started weight lifting so when Stephen gets back he can show off his muscles. I think he believes this will help him gain muscle and make him look bigger. We have marked a growth line on the kitchen wall to measure his height over the next year. We are thinking positive! Overall Kaleb is very healthy. He is also doing much better in school. He has made a huge turn around this last nine weeks with his attitude and motivation to get his work done. Growing up is a big responsibility!
We went to the Fox River resort for Kaleb’s birthday. We stayed in the condo and the boys had a blast. Kaleb brought 3 friends with him to celebrate the event of turning 13! (Leo Lopez, Julian Gonzales and Preston Powers) Collin also was allowed to bring a friend so he would leave the older boys alone. He invited Andrew Lopez. It was a very fun weekend swimming, playing video games and hanging out. Larry and I relaxed and enjoyed watching the boys play. The indoor pool was a huge crowd pleaser. They played hours of football in the pool and other various games, which included dunking each other and racing across the pool.The weekend was chilly but that didn’t detour the boys from taking walks and having fun.
On Saturday the Boys Scouts had a hike at Starve Rock and Larry accompanied Collin on the hike. Andrew went along for the hike and fun. They hiked 7 miles and then cooked over an open fire. Collin completed many of his requirements for “tender foot”. It was a cold weekend but they survived and seemed to have a good time.
I have posted a few fun pictures I took while we were at the resort. The kids truly were very good and had a great time.
A big Happy Birthday to Kaleb our Teenager!.

Another update

Stephen called home on Monday night to let us know he is on the mend. He has finished his meds but is still using the inhaler at times. He says his strength is coming back and he isn’t as tired. He definitely feels much better.
He is back to doing full days of training and is healing well. He really likes his new platoon and the guys in it. He says they all look up to him for support and advice. The sergeant also puts Stephen at the front of the lines for leadership. He thinks it is definitely easier the second time around. He likes his new barracks as he is in with 14 guys and getting to know them well. His last unit he bunked only with one solider as the big room was filled up. He says this makes a big difference how well you get to know your platoon. God is working in his life and scheduling things according to his plan. Stephen has accepted the delay in graduation and is enjoying the extra experience and training.
He says to let everyone know he really appreciates the letters and the prayers. He wishes he had time to write everyone but time is so limited. Please continue it keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you everyone!
New Address:
PV2 Cromwell
C CO 3-10 INS BN
4th PLT
495 Iowa Ave Unite 35
Fort Leonard Wood Mo 65473

Stephen’s Sunday call finally came yesterday! We have been very worried, as we have not heard from him since Feb 17th when he called to say he was ok and wasn’t one of the infected soldiers who died of meningitis on his base last month.
Yesterday he informed me he has been in the hospital fighting double pneumonia. He has been very ill and has not been able to call home. Of course he was very upset and still sounded sick. He was worried as the two who died last month on his base of meningitis both had pneumonia as well.
He had more upsetting news to share; Due to his illness and missing almost two weeks of training he will not be able to graduate on March 18th as planned. He will join the platoon behind him and start training with this new unit. This will put him at graduation on May 7th. He will have to complete much of his training over to graduate on the next available graduation date. This is disheartening and he is disappointed as he was doing so good and looking forward to seeing everyone this month. He has started training again this week but for only ¼ of the day until he is cleared by the doctor.
He is having a tough time with this and needs our prayers and support.
His new address is listed below. Cards and notes are much appreciated.
PV2 Cromwell
C CO 3-10 INS BN
4th PLT
495 Iowa Ave Unite 35
Fort Leonard Wood Mo 65473


Thank you for your support