Oh Brother! Oh Sister!

No matter how many times we argued when we were growing up (and believe me...with three brothers and four sisters, there WAS arguing), I am ever so thankful to have my siblings in my life!  As quirky as we all may be, we've had so many fun times together (and continue to!)...and our family...it just works!  When I was still living at home, I was so anxious to leave, to go to college, to start my own life, to become my own person and to not be referred to as just "one of the Berrios clan."  Now that I'm older, I see the beauty that is living near family.  My brothers and sisters make for great babysitters for my children!  Hahaha!!!  ;)  No, really, though.  That nice benefit aside, now that I'm older, I realize how much fun it truly is to live near family...to be able to get together every now and then and just enjoy each other's company!  It was even more evident when Cameron was deployed, how nice it was to be near enough to family to just decide to drive a few hours to see them!  I wish I'd taken advantage of that more while we still lived in Texas.  :(  We're now close to moving very far away and it's sad to know we won't be a car drive away anymore.  BUT the thought of the day is how much I love my brothers and sisters and how thankful I am for each and every one of them!  They are each special and great in their own way!  I love you, Helaman, Lorelehi, Nefilinda, Abilehi, Ammon, Moroni, and Almalia!!!  :)

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Today we had a different kind of morning.  For our upcoming move to Hawaii, there are so many different things that we need to prepare.  One of those things being Isis and all of her medical documentation.  

Hawaii is a rabies-free state, so they are extremely specific and strict on what has to be done for any pet coming onto the island.  I really should have started the process as soon as Cameron got his orders, but I didn't know how big of an issue it would be until a neighbor of ours told me.  Unfortunately, she didn't have accurate information on the procedures and ended up having to have her two cats in quarantine for two months when they arrived in Hawaii.  When they go pick their cats up in December, the quarantine lodging fee alone will be costing them $2,000!  And no, the Army does NOT pick up the tab on pets...even though they're part of people's families!

Anyway.

Today we took Isis to get her blood drawn.  She was so skittish!  She KNEW something was going on the moment I brought her out of the backyard and was beckoning for her to come to the Jeep.  She kept trying to run into the house from either the side door or the front door, or back to the fence-in backedyard, but the doors were all closed.  I eventually just picked her up and put her in the back of the Jeep myself.

We got to the veterinary clinic and didn't have to wait long until we were ushered into an examination room.  I thought, "Oh, how nice!  We'll be out of here in no time!"  Boy, was I wrong.  Apparently, their computers were down and so nothing could be done until they were up and running again.

Isis did pretty well while we waited:

Alegria and Odette?  Not so much:

One hour later...we were finally on our way home.  Now we wait until the blood sample is received in the laboratory (by Friday?)...and 120 days from then (March 8, 2013, I believe), Isis is cleared to go to Hawaii!  Small detail...WE'LL be in Hawaii by the beginning of January.  More planning to come...

*sigh*

Once home, we had lunch and then we headed to Alegria's school a little early so that the girls could play on the playground for a little while before Alegria had to go to class:

Alegria's teacher finally opened the doors and all of the pre-k kids went to class.  Odette and I moseyed on home for a much-needed nap!

Back home, there were two letters from Cameron waiting for us!!!  YAY!!!!!!!!!!  :)

We picked Alegria up at 3:30 and came home to a restful afternoon filled with coloring pictures that Daddy had drawn for the girls and sent them with his letters, and the girls drawing pictures to put into a care package for Daddy, too!

The end of the night came quickly and the girls, as usual, were excited to participate in our nightly countdown ritual:

Have a great night everyone!!!  :)

Mis Padres

(That means "my parents" in Spanish.)

I am truly very grateful for them.  They brought me into this world.  They raised me.  They put up with me.  They taught me well...although these last two things I've mentioned I never really realized until I was out of the house and older.  Much older.  And with kids of my own.  *sigh*  The things I would do to go back in time and not make my parents suffer like I did!!!  But there's nothing I can do to change the past.  All I can do now is live for the future and show my parents how grateful I am by living my life in a manner that will make them proud and to raise my children as well or better than they raised me.  *fingers crossed!*  

Les amo, Mami y Papi!!!  Gracias por todo...especialmente por su amor y paciencia!!!

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Today was a special Sunday.  It was fast and testimony Sunday, which meant that at sacrament meeting (the first hour block of church), those who wanted to could stand before the congregation and bear their testimony.  As more and more people shared with us their testimonies, Alegria turned to me and told me that she wanted to go up and bear hers, too.  I had a feeling she would, which is why we had our Family Home Evening focused on testimonies last Monday (last month she'd asked to bear her testimony, too, but she didn't, so I wanted to prepare her this month so that she could)...  Well, before she went up to bear her testimony, I reminded her what a testimony is and asked if she was ready to share it all by herself (Cameron and I have said that we want our children to get up and bear their testimony on their own right from the very start without us having to whisper in their ear).  She said she was and marched straight up there (of course, she told me that I had to go, too!).  Once they had her standing on "the box" behind the pulpit and had the microphone to her level she said, "I have a testimony...and I want to go to the jungle with elephants and Grandma and Grandpa and Abuelito and Abuelita."  I quickly got out of my chair next to the pulpit, where I was waiting with Odette, and whispered in her ear that she had to say that she knows that Jesus loves her and that she loves Jesus, so she did, and then she was done.  Oh, my child!!!  :)  I don't think everyone understood everything she said...but I sure did!  I know the Lord knows her heart, though, and I'm proud of her for feeling the Spirit prompting her to go up there and share with everyone about the things and people that she loves!!!  I then got up and bore my testimony as well...not about elephants, though!  :)  

After sacrament, we practiced the Primary Program again.  I can't wait for it to be over next week!  I'm sad that Cameron has missed out on Alegria's first time bearing her testimony and will miss out on her first time being in the Primary Program, but I'm learning that I can't hold our children back for Cameron's sake.  It's sad that he misses out on things, but I know that he wouldn't want to hold her or any of our children back, either, especially on spiritual things.  It's a sacrifice he knowingly makes in the line of work he's in.  I held Alegria back last month on bearing her testimony because I wanted to have an FHE focused on it first, so she would comprehend what it's all about and for her to be prepared if she asked to go up again, so when she did, I knew I had to let her share her testimony because that's one way in which it grows.  I know it will be a bitter/sweet thing for Cameron to read about it in letters and to know he missed out, but I also know he'll be proud of her for having a testimony and feeling the Spirit.

Back home, it was time for lunch and I was excited to use a new "kitchen tool" that I'd purchased the other day.  Odette found it fascinating, too!

I know.  I'm a stinker for advertisement!  Haha!  :)

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.  We relaxed.  We colored.  We played.

Then it was time for our nightly countdown ritual:

And then bed.

Good night, y'all!  Sleep well!!!  :)

Cameron Blayne Marlow

That's the name of the guy I'm most thankful for.  Do you know why he's so great?  Oh...there are so many reasons that I can't even name them all!  To name a few, though...he's sooooo funny!  He makes me laugh and I love his sense of humor!  He's so handsome!  I can stare at him all day and never get bored!  He's so smart!  I am so proud of how well he did in college with such a hard major (Biochemistry!) AND at the same time going through ROTC and lots of early mornings and weekends training!  He's such a guy!  Steak and potatoes for dinner, horseback riding, motorcycle riding, and football, football, football!  Which makes it even more funny that everyone else in our household is female...even our dog!  Hahaha!!!  He's so romantic!  That's right.  He's got the whole package, ladies!  Be jealous!  ;)  He's so talented!  When we first met, I had no idea how talented he was...until our first date when he serenaded me whilst playing his guitar.  *insert "Awww!" here*  ;)  He's a wonderful husband!  He does dishes, cooks, vacuums, does laundry, AND changes dirty diapers.  Does your guy do that?  He's a wonderful father!  Our little girls LOVE their daddy so much!  They look up to him and adore him and they've definitely got him wrapped around their dainty little fingers!  He's the bestest friend I could have ever dreamed of!  He's always there for me to lend a listening ear or just to hold me and not judge me when I cry at the movie "The Phantom of the Opera" for the fifty billionth time!  He's a spiritual giant!  I can feel the Priesthood power emanating from him.  He's a hard worker, dedicated, and always working to challenge and improve himself.  He can't stand to be just average or mediocre.  Just take a look at what he's going through...just to prove to himself that he can:

For these reasons and so many more, I love my husband so much and would give everything for him.  I am thankful for him and all that he does for me, for our family, and for our country.

**********

Today was a really lazy-hazy day for the girls and me.  We got up, had breakfast, and then went to the playground for about an hour.  Who says girls don't like to play in the dirt?  I wish!

We went home, colored, played, and had lunch.  Then Odette napped and Alegria and I watched some cartoons.  

When Odette woke up, we went to the mall.  I happened to have a $10-off coupon for JCPenney and decided to get her some new shoes there.  Last year, she got a new pair of shoes at the beginning of the school year and they lasted her til the beginning of this school year.  This year, she got a new pair of shoes on her birthday (August 19th) and they are already destroyed!  She chose a cute pair of Disney Princess shoes to replace her worn out Tinkerbell ones.

After our shopping trip, we went to Denny's for dinner.  It was already past dinner time by the time we were done and since Denny's has free kids entrees on Saturdays and I didn't want to cook dinner (as if I ever do anyway!  Haha!), we just went there to eat.  I was a little disappointed in the quality of the food.  Their menu was similar to Perkins, a place Cameron and I used to frequent in Bozeman, but when they brought our meals out to us, I was particularly unimpressed with mine.  Even the Oreo shake was runny and warm!  :(  Note to self: don't eat at Denny's in Columbus.  :(  That's just too bad.  I always had fond memories of Denny's from when I was growing up and we'd go there sometimes with my family.  At least the girls got to color while we waited and their meals weren't too bad...but then again, how can you go wrong with mac & cheese, mini pizza, and an order of goldfish crackers?!  :)

Waiting for our food:

Once we got home, we were all so tired!  The girls got in their PJs and were ready to count down another day closer to having the man of our life return to us:

We sure do love Daddy!!!

Good night everyone!!!