Stephanie Howell

after i’ve scrapbooked and done the dishes and gotten everything ready for the morning,

after i’ve turned off all the lights and set the alarm,

that’s when i miss him the most.

i just miss his presence next to me in bed,

the way he always stretches his leg out so that his foot touches my leg,

the way he yelps if i touch him with my cold feet,

the sound of his breathing, and yes, even his occasional snores.

i haven’t slept on his side of the bed yet, and i’m sure i won’t.

the tee shirt he left doesn’t smell like him any more and i hate that.

gosh i miss him.

people always say “how do you do it?”.

and the answer is simple. i love him and i believe in him. i believe he was born to do what he is doing. 

what’s the point of moaning and complaining the entire time he is gone? what good will that do me or my children?

i believe in him.

people always say “aren’t you scared?”.

of course i am. every day i’m scared. but i believe that the Lord has a plan. and i can either sit around wondering what might happen, or i can move on. be the best mom i can be for my girls. pray,pray, pray. and count the moments until he is home again. everything that is going to happen was written far before we were around. i can’t sit in the rocking chair and look out that window every day wondering if a car is going to pull up. i just can’t.

i believe in Him.

and his protection and grace.

i believe in what Jimmy is doing. like he tells me, it is his job to lead these men,to protect them and lead them and teach them sometimes.  and it’s my job at this moment to take care of our girls, to get them through this, to shape them in to strong, beautiful, good-hearted women.

i believe in us.

don’t worry, i will share more answers to your questions later, but this is what i felt like blogging about today.

happy thursday sweet friends.

xo

p.s.  Stephanie Herbert is hosting a Cards for Heroes Fundraiser.  20 percent of all Stampin’ Up! purchases made through her will be donated to Cards for Heroes. Please check it out by clicking on the link above.

well, that and a big cup of coffee. 😉

i hope you are all having a great week so far.

i’ve been busy. making lists and more lists to prepare for CHA,

getting everything together for the girlies is a major undertaking!!

good think they will be at my parents’ house, which is close. 

so if i forget anything it’s not the end of the world!

here are the answers to a few more questions.

1.How are you doing with Weight Watchers? I had to end my membership a few months back. But I am still following the program, though not as religiously. I lost about 15 lbs. and now I’m trying to maintain that. I feel so much better and so much healthier. I can’t wait to show J! Let’s hope he notices, heee! I’ve had several dreams that he couldn’t tell. Uh, is that a sign??? teehee.

 

2.Are you and J gonna have any more babies?  Absolutely. At least one more. Just not any time soon. ESPECIALLY not in the next year. I’m a tad bit frightened that God will once again remind me I’m not in charge (some of you may remember the sadie surprise), but we would like to have our next kiddo in a couple of years. J needs to get to know Sadie first. No joke. He missed her being born, worked 4 a.m.-8 p.m for most of her first 5 months, and then deployed.

 

3.Have y’all made a decision about if you are going to WA or the East Coast? (is praying you say east coast)- Looks like at this point we will be in Columbus, GA for a year, and then we may have to move to either Savannah or WA.

 

4.If you could pick any job to be able to do everyday what would it be? I’m very content where I am right now. But as far as dream jobs go, I’ve always wanted to own a little clothing boutique. I’d actually like to own a clothing/craft boutique but that seems kind of weird. But you said any job right? 😉

 

5.When you move will you rent or sell your house? Rent for a couple of years and then sell. Luckily we have my dad and brother here. They build/sell houses for a living!!

 

6.If you were to win £/$5 million on the lottery what would you do with it?- set up a big old savings account for the girls and college. Go on a family trip. Give lots and lots of it away to people that need it way more than I do.

 

7.If it’s not too personal, how is your dad doing? I remember his car accident & the reconstruction/rehab he faced.- Thank you so much for asking. He is well. He has come so far, but is honestly still recovering. I believe a  lot of work will need to be done on his teeth. But he is so so strong and amazing, I really feel he has recovered b/c of his amazing will and drive.

 

Enough questions for today. Hope you guys aren’t bored.

I have a few photos to share. Check out the monkey in the high chair. She is a MESS. Note that there is no high chair cover b/c she did this EXACT same thing at lunch and it was in the wash. She’s a maniac. Half of whatever she is eating always ends up in her hair.

She’s doing this shrieking hyena thing lately (as noted in the last photo).

 

and both girls playing in the kitchen (such a sweet sight):

 

and last but not least some more february studio calico glimpses.

i did another 2 page layout this month. it was one of my crafty resolutions this year and i’m determined to make it a habit.

 

 

 

 

Have a beautiful, blessed day.

xo

 

i also wanted to share some layouts.

i hope you are all having a beautiful weekend!

weekends are pretty much exactly the same as the week around here,

but we are having a great one.

sadie is now completely walking. no lurching or falling for the most part.

she’s nuts.

i’ll turn around and she will have booked it completely across the house.

both girls are snotty and coughing (AGAIN…sigh.)

i’m praying they get well this week, i won’t feel good about leaving them with BB and G-daddy if they are sick.

but oh my goodness, I can’t even tell you how much I am looking forward to CHA.

i can’t even wait to meet everyone, and also see all of the new lines that will be coming our way. 

if you will be there, please say hi to me! 

i’ll be with studio calico, and i will also be working at the october afternoon booth from 12-5 on sunday.

i’ll be the tall spazzy girl in the studio calico shirt with wide, overwhelmed eyes!!

heeee!!

okay. on to a few questions.

and here are the layouts i wanted to share.

the first is just for fun, i did it for a 2peas challenge to “scrap the sentimental”.

journaling reads: it’s true. horribly cliched but 100 percent true. my knees still get weak when you kiss me, when i first see your face after we have been apart.  it’s like being a teenager and falling head over heels in love for the very first time.  you always will be my one true love and my teenage crush all rolled into one.

and the second is another prima layout with all new product.

how cool is that garland???

That’s it for today, have a blessed Sunday!

xo

s

I have several things to share.

First, Jimmy has been hired by the 75th Ranger Regiment!

That means that this time next year we will either be in 

GA (savannah or columbus), or back in WA (south of seattle).

I can’t even tell you how excited I am.

And how PROUD of j. i am.

We loved the time we spent with the Rangers,

and we’ve been waiting to get back.

So this is big news for us.

I’m so proud of my man!!

Next, here is a video of the Sadie Bug.

She’s been walking more and more each day, and I just had to share.

Oh, and she HATES when I put bows in her hair!!

Finally, I wanted to share a couple of layouts.

One just for fun:

And one showcasing some of Prima’s new products!

To see more go HERE.

I made this a while back for the catalog.

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!!

xo

That’s right.They are playing together. And smiling.

And there is no physical violence!!

That’s because they didn’t know I was watching.

As soon as they figured out I was peeping,

Sadie threw herself on the ground and Harper started yelling.

Loverly.

In other news, 

there is no news.

Harper didn’t take a nap at school today and had a complete nervous breakdown

when we got home.

She’s now sleeping in my bed and Sadie is napping as well,

so I’ve got some unexpected quiet time. Nice!!

Maybe my neck will relax out of the knotted mess it’s been in for the past week.

Come to think of it, I think the knot started when harper started her “boobie” obsession.

I won’t even get into it. Trust me, you don’t want to know.

We’ve been having lots of serious talks involving words like “appropriate”

and “ladylike”.

Here’s a layout I did of Sadie…

is she REALLY eleven months old? 

Is it even possible??

Have a beautiful weekend friends!

xo

s