Spring break 2008 Trip Slideshow

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Keep Imagining!
Tracy

Favorite Foto Friday: THE EYES HAVE IT!

I am finally able to participate in FFF-There are several wonderful blogs I read that do this each Friday-so here goes..My first Favorite Foto Friday edition.. I think all my children's eyes are gorgeous of course-they all have beautiful baby blues just in different shades and hues which show that they are each so very special. The pics may not be the newest but I felt they fit the theme the best-even if they are a little goofy :) Want to take part in this every week (FFF) contact Sarah at her blog.
Keep Imagining!
Tracy
PS after visiting Faithful Froggers site I just had to add this music video.

Today is the end and the beginning

March 26th 2008-more than 21 months since Rodney was called to duty as a National Guard soldier, deployed to train in Mississippi, sent to Iraq as part of a Security Force unit, wounded during a mortar attack, came back to the states and was treated in Georgia for his wounds, came home to receive treatment closer to home while working light duty as a soldier-he becomes a civilian/ regular national guard soldier again. No more medhold-no more wondering when the end is to this part of the story. It is here!!! It has been a long road but we are excited to see what God has planned for our family in this new chapter. Still so much to navigate and so many questions still to be answered-you would think I would have some patience by now!! :)
Please keep us in your prayers. I realized I have never posted what exactly happened the day Rodney was wounded-I have video of a couple of the other soldiers giving their recount but I need to figure out how to get it on my blog. (If you can help me in that area please email me!) I do hope our story/journey thus far has made a difference or helped another military family in some way.
Keep Imagining!
Tracy

Back from a Spring Break

Hi to all my faithful readers-
I am back after a 10 day trip with my mom and Carley to Texas. We had a nice time and really enjoyed the warmer weather. Carley and her High School Band competed in a Music Festival in Dallas-we enjoyed hearing them perform-they did Awesome!!! The band came home with over 10 trophies. We experienced Dallas (JFK Memorial, Dealy Plaza, Speed Zone, the Galleria and getting lost even with a navigation system). We headed down to Galveston Island for a few days as the the rest of the band headed back home. We did have a flat tire on the way to Galveston-but we were helped out by a young lady who had it changed in less than 30 minutes and wouldn't even accept any money for saving us-just wanted us to pay it forward at some point. We were so impresssed with the kindness of so many during our trip-thank you Nadia! We stayed in condo owned by Wounded Warriors right across from the Seawall.So grateful to that amazing organization. We saved so much $ by not having to pay for lodging. They offer this to wounded warriors and their families. A big Thanks to Col. John Folsom and his staff! Our Balcony looked out onto the Gulf-very cool! We ate seafood, dug for seashells, shopped on the Strand, went on a boat ride, had a couple picnics at the beach,saw dead jellyfish-yuck, went out on a fishing pier, got caught in the rain walking a mile away from our condo,spent some quality time relaxing and hanging out. We headed home with a much fuller vehicle from all our shopping and many memories we will always have with each other. It was a lot of driving and many tanks of gas but so worth it. Now I am trying to catch up and deal with the upcoming issues-Rodney is done with Medhold in 2 days!!!! Still not sure what we are supposed to be doing or what happens next. So I am trying to breath and slowly come out of the "Vacation" mode. I hope everyone had a Happy Easter! I will post pics and more about our Texas trip later.
Keep Imagining!
Tracy

The "Old" US

I recently came across these 3 pictures that my mother-in-law had taken on the day Rodney left with his unit on deployment. Seeing them was so surreal,I don't even remember being in any pictures-so to see us all as the family we were on that emotional,scary day back in June 2006 is like looking at other people in a way. We won't ever be those people again. We have been wounded and reshaped but also have overcome adversity and have become stronger. We are still looking for that new normal, but I realize that most things in life that aren't in our control whether it be sickness, a financial devastation,a death of a loved one, a car accident and so many more tragic life experiences always make us look for the new normal-Life is just messy! The big question for my family now is what do we do from here..let it define us or overcome and realize that even if we want to forget how hard things have been, the experience will always be a part of us-but we just need to keep moving forward. Ok enough of my insight for today. Hug your family and always remember to...Keep Imagining!



Looking back to learn how to move forward!
Tracy

Starting FFF (Favorite Foto Friday)

Something new for me but something I thought would be fun. I first saw it on Heather's blog which lead me to Sarah's blog.There is a new topic every Friday. Today's was "This Time Last Year", but since I decided so late and had already added these pics just to share. I will catch up next week-be sure and check back!



I recieved a new camera for Christmas-and I love taking photos but I just am not terribly sure if I like the camera or if it likes me. I haven't really figured out all the bells and whistles. It has a different editing program than I am used to but I did experiment a little with a couple pics I thought turned out cool.
Couple from Soccer and misc..
Keep Imagining!
Tracy

Blessings and good things!

I wanted to share some good things that are going on in our lives:
1. We received the TSGLI payment-it has made such a difference in our lives, it isn't just the security of the money and paying off all our debt (except for Car)-it is the acknowledgement that Rodney did sacrifice.
2. We are looking for a house and have one in particular we love-it is a buyers market so hopefully we can negociate a awesome deal (I used to be a real estate agent).
3. Connor started guitar lessons and is signed up for summer baseball.
4. Carley made the Spring Play at school-"Peter Pan"-she is a PIRATE!
5. Connor has a solo in his vocal music concert next week
6. Taylor is still going strong at school (she has been home since Wed. with the nasty flu though!)
7. Both girls have been hired as lifeguards at the local Aquatic Center (this will be Taylor's 5th summer)
8. I am leaving on a trip to Texas with my mom coming along to watch Carley's
High School band compete in Dallas. After we are heading down to Galveston to hang out for 3or 4 days. We even are being treated by Wounded Warriors so we can stay in their condo! I am looking forward to it!The Beach and SUN! (Please let there be sun!) We leave on the 13th and come home on the 21st. Should be fun!
9.Carley recently was able to get off some of her asthma meds she has been on since 3rd grade!
10. SPRING has to be coming! I know it has to be even though it is March 7th, it is snowing AGAIN and we are supposed to get 5 inches! YUCK< YUCK!
11. We got a new dryer-yeah one that doesn't tear clothes and actually turns off by its self.
12. I got a new do and some new clothes-wish it was I lost 30 -50 lbs. but that doesn't just happen-UGHHH!

Keep Imagining!
Tracy

MedHold News: The next step

Rodney April 2006 before deployment

I heard the words yesterday "your husband is considered fit for duty": so he is less than a month out from being let off medhold (which he has been on since Oct. 2006)so he will be Re-fraded? back to his National Guard unit and go back to his civilian job. A new chapter of our journey begins. The thing is with a new chapter is we aren't sure what is going to happen-kinda like a mystery book but it is our lives with the military in charge. I asked Rodney many questions about the process last night and to my dismay he really doesn't know what will be occurring.(you know by now I am the one who worries and stresses out!) Once again I am wondering why we don't have one person we can contact to get the reassurance and answers we need to hear.So hopefully with some prayers and phone calls to some contacts we can navigate what is up next.
My worries include medical issues that still need to be taken care of with Rodney.
He does have a sleep study this Saturday night for snoring and some strange sleep behavior since returning home, he is finally getting some dental work done as it seems all his meds have caused havoc with his teeth. He still has ongoing PTSD issues. I think he needs a full physical, head to toe as a precaution to make sure nothing is missed. He does have a small hernia from the abdominal surgery in had in Iraq-they are saying no big deal but I have seen him do a sit-up and it looks like a small alien trying to be born. It may seems as if I am being paranoid but I did listen way back in 10/06 and more than one person said don't let them release you until you are as close to 100 percent as possible. I am not sure even how the disability ratings so if anyone out there know something please get with me!
I am also carrying this one thought around in my head-What if he gets deployed again? I will try and be patient and hope for the best-and if not continue to fight the good fight!
Keep Imagining!
Tracy

Some really cool bald guys...

I wanted to share a video of some men in our community that have all went BALD-to show their support for our High School Boy's Basketball Coach-Don Bechard who is going through Chemo.for a relapse of cancer. Cancer sucks! Don does have a caringbridge site as coachbechard. Bald is Beautiful and so are all of these guys hearts!!!!

Keep Imagining!
Tracy

PS after hearing about this my soft-hearted husband went into the bathroom and shaved his head! He is Very BALD! (Being military he had some pretty short hair anyway). So another cool bald guy-picture to come later.

Cub Scouts

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Here is a few photos from Connor's Cub Scout journey-I Love you Connor and I am Proud
of you!!!
Keep Imagining!
Tracy

Catching up a Little

I have been very slack in posting over the last month-sorry!
There has been so much going on (as there usually is)-that my to do list gets longer everyday instead of shorter. That doesn't help with my innate need to have a sense of accomplishment :)I have tried to post a few times but the words just didn't seem to be flowing nor was my information sounding very interesting.
I do have a great deal to catch up you all on and some ideas floating around in my head (if I can just get them to make sense when I write them)
So for today...How about a run down of what is and has been happening with my youngest..seems like as good as place as any to begin.

CONNOR:He is still doing well in school. They start the dreaded state assessment testing this week-so he is supposed to get more sleep and eat a good breakfast. Sounds easy enough but we will see tonight at bedtime?? He just finished his indoor soccer season. They were the youngest team in the league-so they had a pretty rough season but hopefully learned some skills that will help them in the future. He seemed to take it all in stride. I will say the indoor game moves really quickly!! Connor has shown interest in the guitar-so we signed him up for lessons. He loves Guitar Hero (and yes I do know it isn't the same thing :)His grandpa plays so he is very excited for Connor to begin. We finally got his haircut!Yeah! It is still long in my book-but it is the style. At least all the blond coloring is gone-he looks like Connor again! He recently finished up cub scouts. He has been involved since the 1st grade. He went through the Arrow of Light ceremony-it was moving and a little sad. Another milestone in life...with many more to come. Enjoy the pics of him in the slideshow going from a boy to a young man in cubscouts. Until later-I am off to clean the "young mans" hole-I mean room!
Keep Imagining!
Tracy

Ready to Boogie-Winter Royalty Style

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Sharing some Pre-Dance pics from the winter royalty dance at the high school. She looked amazing! We had a great time (Carley,Taylor and I) picking out the dress-the them was fire and ice.She had a good time at the dance with her friends-but it was bittersweet since her and her BF (first one for her)broke up the week of the dance. She made it through and they even went tiwht the same group of friends. My daughter is so strong and keeps me in awe. I can't beleive she is growing up so very fast-but I am enjoying every second of it. Just one of the Happening of our Feb.!
Keep Imagining!
Tracy