THEY'RE HERE!

It has been raining so Momma bird has been protecting her babies like a good mom. Today was my first chance to see the little babies. And they are huge. The last time I looked, the one was just a sliver of a bird, and the other two were eggs. Now they are huge!!

There are 3 black, fuzzy birdies. Cuties, aren't they?



ps- sorry about the quality. I didn't want to disturb the nest too much. And they are nestled in this web of branches.

Go Away May

I am ready for May to be over. It has been a long long month. I went on a cruise, made a life changing decision, started a new job and a new weight loss plan (of course right?) all in one month. I have been to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Galveston and Abilene 2 times!

Not that it has been a bad month, because it hasn't. May was great! But I am ready for June.

Part of my impatience is due to the fact that all I have left is the summer and David comes home. The summer just isn't coming fast enough.

I got to talk to David on Thursday. I was hitting a wall, that is what we call it when we get so frustrated, lonely and tired of long distance. Normally this happens if it has been over a month since we have spoken. Anyway, David stayed up late one night and talked to me. It is so refreshing, it is literally a replenishing moment to hear his voice, "Hey baby!" he always says.

I told him that I really forget sometimes that he is over there, and is this real person and not just this email. Yeah, I occasionally believe that I am married to a computer program. Hearing his voice reminds me that he is alive and floating around over there. By the way, it is really far away. Look at a globe.

 So I feel ready to take on the world now. One phone call and I am refreshed and ready for June... if it will ever get here.

The Birdies in the Tree Tops

Have you heard any increased tweets in your trees lately? Well, I am a proud host of at least one new baby birdy! He is a baby mockingbird. His mom is sitting on him most of the time because she still has some eggs left to hatch and I want to give her some privacy, so no pictures yet.

They are living in our multi-family duplex bush in our backyard. On the first floor was a dove nest with two eggs. I got really excited and named them Humpty and Dumpty. Yet, after some research I learned they are not baby birdies, they are just eggs. I got so sad. Just about that time Mama Mockingbird started hanging out full time in her nest that she has been building with what I assume is her husband.

Yesterday Mama was not in the nest and I checked to see if there were eggs and there was a teeny baby bird!!!

Stay tuned for updates on my little family of Mockingbirds.

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On a more personal note, I have been overwhelmed by the support I have gotten since my last post. It seems the things that I was most afraid to share matter so little to the people that love me.

I am constantly learning that my little world is so much bigger than I realize, my fear much smaller than my potential, and dark painful moments are always over shadowed by the good, the lovely, and the pure in life.

So thank you so much for your prayers and kind words. I am blessed.

Junction Ahead

* I plan to be completely truthful and open in this post. I think sometimes we need to be honest to start fresh.*


Well I mentioned that things were crazy in my life, but seriously they are crazy. I think there are definite points in our lives where you can realize, wow this is a big moment! Other times only looking back do you see the significance of certain events. But I can definitely see that I am at this major junction in my life, and it is all happening so fast it seems.

I guess I should say that I have not yet finished my degree, a fact that I have hidden because of much shame and disappointment. I left ACU two years ago. It is a long and miserable story and I will spare everyone the details. But I will say that I needed a break from school. I had always intended to finish my degree but it was just a difficult process transferring to a new school. As I have returned to Texas I decided to try and finish at ACU, which is a big step for me because ACU and I had a bit of a falling out, I guess you could call it that.

Last weekend we were up in Abilene and stopped my advisor for a quick meeting. This is where I discovered that I could be finished by this December, which I did not think could be possible. My original plan was to attend the spring semester only. I really can see God working in this situation because things are just lining up so perfectly. But it was a bit of a shock and a big change in my plan, and it happened in a day, literally. So, I will be in school the summer and fall semesters and will graduate in December about the same time David gets out of the Navy. It seems fitting that we will both finish a major part of our lives almost at the same time.

Until I go up to Abilene I will be working at my church as the secretary/web designer. This also came about rather quickly. I am happy to be working there and wish I could have stayed longer. But I just believe I am being guided to Abilene and things are happening in such a way that I am confident that I am being looked after.

And now that we have hit the half way mark of our deployment I am starting to get excited/nervous about David's homecoming. And nervous/excited/amazed that we will be free of the Navy so very soon. And I have this strange feeling like all I need is just one more step and I will be this completely new person, triumphant and new, with nothing to hide or dread just opportunity and possibility. I am aware that life is never free from troubles and challenges, and also that happiness is not on the other side of anything; happiness is everyday. There is joy in a simple sun rise. But there was a time when I could not see any hope for possibility in the future, there was no dawn.

Yet now I see my self standing in the doorway that leads to a whole new world, and David and I with a great sigh and release of burdens will step over the threshold hand in hand.

I can not wait.

Cruise Top Ten

Well I know that I have been a bad blogger lately, I'm sorry. Things have been crazy on the home front, which shall be explained in subsequent posts.

Melanie requested a top ten and I thought that was a pretty good idea. So....

Analee's Cruise Top Ten

10. FREE STUFF! I don't know what it was about this boat, but stuff was free, everywhere free. And I really liked it. I kinds got obsessed with going and getting the free stuff.

9. The HAIRY MAN CONTEST. I have never laughed so hard in my life, than this hairy man contest. Too funny. But we all got sun burnt watching it. It was worth it.




8. The HAGGLING! This deserves it's own number because I was a great haggler!! And it made me happy. My best work was in Mexico and I got a red coral bracelet for a real good price. and The shopping! Well I just had a fun time picking out stuff. I liked seeing what kinda of different stuff I could find in different cultures. We shopped in every port and I got some good deals.

7. Animals! I got to see so many different animals in the ports. Which is good because I have a one track mind, "pets, pets pets pets". We saw two parrots, Pablo and Shaniqua, me and Jeni named them. And feral chickens just running around! And three iguanas. My most favorite was Frederico the wild lizard. Yes, I named the wild lizard.

6. The Food. I did enjoy going to dinner and ordering just anything and everything. It was also picture time for me and Jeni and we went nuts taking a million pictures. Also, the chocolate melting cake. Yum.

5. The Towel Creatures. Who doesn't love the little towel animals that appear on your bed every night. LOTS OF FUN!

4. The Shows. We did go to almost every show. My favorite was this fabulous juggler. He could do super human stuff on a moving vessel. Amazing.

3. The Motion of the Ocean. I LOVED the rocking of the boat, after being in port and then getting back out on the water I would always say "It is good to be moving again." I really liked being out on the open water. PS- the Gulf of Mexico is HUGE, if you didn't realize.

2. Snorkeling in Cozumel. After the not so great snorkel in Jamaica, Cozumel was gorgeous and I really got the hang of breathing through a tube. I saw so many fish and now all I want to do is snorkel.

1. Jeni! Spending time with Jeni was refreshing, fun and so hard to leave. I had forgotten how much I miss Jeni and how much fun we have together. The most fun thing was just being with her.
As you can see I had a really good time. It was really hard to leave and leave Jeni. It is always nice to come home, but I would jump at the chance for another week long cruise with Jeni.

Home Again

So yes I am back and safe and still alive, I didn't sink to the bottom of the ocean or anything. I am still writing emails to David giving him the whole story of my cruise, and it is a lot of typing and emailing pictures, so my blog audience can wait a little while for the whole story but of course I had a great time.

My car went to the hospital while I was gone and still isn't home. :( So keep him in your thoughts, that he is healthy and hurries home. I miss him.

The cats did fine with out me and my transition home was so smooth, no hard feelings or standoffishness. If you have a cat you know sometimes you get a nasty cold shoulder after a vacation. Not my precious little pumpkins.

This is how I feel about being home and not on a cruise with Jeni