Judah 5 months old

Well my little Judah is 5 months old now and eating some solids. So far he has had infant cereal, bananas, blueberries, and green beans that I pureed. He just loves his food! It is so funny because he sucks on his fingers in between every bite :) I also forgot how solid foods changes a baby's diapers...yuck! Here he is enjoying some blueberries :)

Coming Home ---Frank's Poem

My husband doesn't think he is a poet but he is :) He wrote this poem to me a few weeks ago during this second deployment, another separation that we have to endure. I just love him so much! I feel so very special when my man writes me poetry because of his love for me!!

Coming Home

When I came home, she was standing there

her big brown eyes and long flowing hair

blowing in the breeze

It was just the way I remember, the day I left

I strained to ingrain the image and protect it in the cleft-

just inside my heart

All the long days and really long nights

slaving and straining to do eveyrthing just right

to win an impossible war

The oppressive heat, malaria, or rockets from above

could not impede me from getting to the one I love

the one who runs through my mind

Daydreams of time spent enjoying the energy of youth

are all that it takes to give the depths of our love it's proof

a truth without equal

As the time wears on with the endless tick of the clock

the mind wanders, spirit wearies, hope runs a muck

like a bad Vangogh painting

I strain to remember the image ingrained that day

of a beauty so sweet, and innocent, a fair true lady

of which there is no compare

I suddenly see her standing there!

With her big brown eyes and long flowing hair

blowing in the breeze

My soul is at rest, my dreams made complete

when finally I am home to my lover so sweet

my final coming home.

10 yr Anniversary!

So today is Frank and my 10 year anniversary! I'm so excited to be hitting the double digits in marital life :) I truly am very blessed to have such a loving, wonderful husband with whom I love with all my heart! Since Frank is currently in Afghanistan, we won't be able to celebrate together this year. I really miss him.

So here is my top 10 list to "celebrate" my 10 yr anniversary:

Top 10 Amazing Things since I've been married:

1. Josiah Brent was born November 19, 2001.

2. Malachi Jacob was born Septemeber 26, 2003.

3. Aliyah Deborah was born March 22, 2006

4. Judah Gabriel was born February 11, 2010.

5. Frank and I were able to hike to the top of Pikes Peak 3 years ago. The weather almost caused us to turn around but we pushed through and it was a wonderful experience.

6. We are currently living in our 4th state since we got married and only one of the moves was military related. It has been a fun experience and blessing to get to know different people in every area we lived. As for geographically, Colorado is my favorite state so far.

7. In our 10 yrs of marriage we have spent over 2 1/2 years not living together, all of which have happened in the past 4 1/2 yrs. We don't like the separation but God has used it to teach us, and strengthen our marriage. At this moment, we have the strongest bond/connection in our marriage than ever before. Even with the separation, my husband knows how to make me feel special and loved :) We have learned that communication is a major key to a successful marriage, especially when you have a physical separation.

8. After all these years, I can now cook! Early on in our marriage I made hamburger helper often and just didn't know where to begin with cooking. Frank is still the better cook, but I have learned much from him and have learned how to make yummy foods homemade ;)

9. We lived and worked together in which we spent 24/7 together, literally for nearly 2 years while working in a group home and then went 2 1/2 yrs not living together. That was interesting. So you know we are on the our way to even greater years of marriage when we know we can handle spending every ounce of our time together (literally 24/7) to spending no time together for long periods and yet are still happily married :)

10. Frank is not the man I married. I married a young boy, I now have a grown man who has changed so much for the better. I love him more today than I did 10 years ago. It has been a wonderful journey so far and I look forward to the rest of my life with this man.

Now onto my top 10 reasons/things I love about my husband:

1. He is a wonderful dad!

I love how he plays with the kids. I love to watch him wrestle with them, causing much laughter in the house. He really is the best daddy and loved very much by the kids!

2. He is a talented cook!

I love that my husband can have a meal in a restaurant and then come home and make it even more tastier! He really is a talented cook...or should I say chef :) He really does have a natural gift of cooking and I'm so happy! Thanks to running, I'm not overweight from all of his delish meals :)

3. He is a great provider!

I love that my husband will do anything to make sure that the kids and I are taken care of. He will work any job, no matter how miserable he may be to make it work financially. I am secure in knowing my husband will always provide for us.

4. He is a playful companion!

I love how my husband will play around with me, tickling me and teasing me. He has a habit of trapping me under the covers and holding me down while tickling me. It is fun to have a playful husband!

5. He is not selfish!

I love how my husband will always put the family before himself. He is not a selfish person at all. He sacrifices his own desires for the betterment of the famliy and to make good memories with the kids.

6. He loves me!

I love how my husband loves me. He truly loves me more than I ever thought anyone could love me. He loves me unconditionally. He would do anything for me and always desires to make me happy. I am happy!

7. He is active!

I love that my husband enjoys being active and doing things. He runs and enjoys moving his body rather than sitting in front of the tv or video games. I enjoy running with him (when we have childcare). I hope to complete some adventure races with him in the next 10 years of marriage.

8. He loves the outdoors!

I love that my husband prefers hiking, backpacking, and camping next to anything else because I, too, prefer those things. We have made some great memories so far with the kids hiking and camping. I love the outdoors, the simplicity of nature, reveling in God's creation....all while being with my husband and kids. It is the life!

9. He is a poet!

I love that my husband will write poetry to me to share the depths of his love for me. Honestly he has written me 2 poems, one while deployed to Iraq and one while deployed this time to Afghanistan. It makes me feel so special, so loved. He also is good at it! I look forward to more wonderful poetry from my husband!

10. He is my best friend!

I love that my husband is truly my best friend, my confident. I can tell him anything without fear, I do tell him everything. I trust him. I am truly happy when I am with him and the kids. Not that I don't love my extended family or friends but I would be happy living in the woods with just my best friend and children and never seeing anyone again. It is because I am content and fulfilled with my husband and children alone. I don't feel like I am missing something when I have my husband with me.

So with that, I am happy to have spent the past 10 years married to my best friend, confident, lover, and look forward to the next 50+ years together if God allows it here on earth. Thank you God for Frank, for bringing him into my life, thank you for our marriage. It has has some bumps over the years for sure but we have learned much and have grown in many ways and are so much in love! I love you Franklin Brent Carr!!!!

Out of the garden...

Here is an onion out of our garden.We cut it up and put it into our fish tacos tonight. So yummy!! I love fresh veggies from our garden!

Dog tags

So I had some pictures of the kids and their daddy turned into "dog tags" for them. They now have their daddy around with them and they can look at him anytime they want :) They loved them!

Honey Wheat Bagels

So homemade bagels is simple to make but does take some time. You actually have to go through a process of broiling, boiling, and baking them for a final yummy product. Surely it is much cheaper to make your own than buying some in the store. I used freshly ground wheat flour for these :)

Josiah enjoyed shaping the bagels.

The final product!And spread with some homemade peanut butter and enjoy!!!

Homemade Peanut Butter

I just made homemade peanut butter tonight! I can't believe it is so very easy as well! I think it is even better than my all time favorite Jiff :) The kids said it was better too! I then used the peanut butter I made and put some in the blender with some bananas, chocolate, milk, and ice and made chocolate peanut butter and banana smoothie for the kids for a snack. They loved it. Unless Frank doesn't like it (which is doubtful) I will only be making my own peanut butter from now on :)

Recipe Finds

So I should be either sleeping or working on cubscouts, instead I'm looking up recipes. I'm trying a new recipe almost weekly. I'm also trying to get back to the basics of making everything homemade. So I found this! Check it out! I will be trying some of her recipes soon and let you know how I like them :)

BTW, my loving husband finally emailed me from work! Now I can go to sleep since I heard from him.