Where does the time go?

I haven't come back and blogged because I really don't have much to say. Weird huh? I've not been taking many pictures...and nothing huge has really happened. Brandon's patrol is a little more than half way over. Yay! This patrol really has gone pretty quickly. Usually I HATE it when people comment on how quickly Brandon's 2 to 4 month patrols go by. I mean really? You send your husband away for that amount of time and then I'll tell YOU how quickly it went by for me. *LOL* But, really, this one is going by pretty quickly. The ship is in port right now so we've gotten to talk to him a few times. It's amazing to me how expensive those calls are and that our cell providers don't have any deals for our US service members making international calls. We are currently paying $2.29/minute to speak to him so that he doesn't have to stand at a pay phone alone to talk to us (which can actually be dangerous). After dark they all have to be in groups of 3 or more...so pay phones are pretty much out of the question. Enough with my whining I suppose. Obviously the calls are worth the exorbitant, in my opinion, price. I guess I just feel like we're making a big enough sacrifice being away from him. Why should we sacrifice something from another area of our budget just for the luxury of hearing his voice? **Grrr** Ok, now I'm really done. I promise.

The kids are the same as always. Happy 'little' balls of energy and wit. Keegan turns 6 on Friday. WHAT?!? When did this happen? I have a 7,6 and 4 year old? I feel so very old. We are going to Portland for the weekend. Keegan wanted to spend some time with his favorite little gal pal Aubrey. They went to Pre K together and he is smitten with her...luckily for him it's a mutual feeling. Sweet kids. Apparently he does have some competition now that they're in a long distance relationship...but Aubrey's mom reassures me that she has her heart set on marrying Keegan. Apparently he "is a really smart boy who makes 'her' laugh a lot." =)

I bought the Deceptively Delicious cookbook with a Xmas gift card so I've been busying thumbing through that. I've got a nice size stock of puree'd sweet potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, carrots and avocado. I've tried a few of the recipes. I have liked all of them. It's going to take some time for the kids to feel the same way I think. A few of the recipes will go over a lot better with a few minor tweaks. So far we've tried the brownies, chocolate fondue and Mozzarella Sticks. I'm still trying to decide what to try next. I'm thinking it'll be the chocolate pudding though. Both the chocolate recipes went over well with Hadley...so that's good. Any way I can get a few veggies into her body works for me. =) I would like to get the Sneaky Chef cookbook though and try a few of those recipes too though. I've heard the brownies are to die for. Who'da thunk?

Well, i'd better sign off for now. The kids are playing nicely in the yard on their swing set. I should probably take advantage of these few moments of peace.

Please continue to pray for the safety of the USCGC Mellon, for Hadley and all the sick kiddos in the world. And especially our sweet little friend Morgan . She and her parents are headed for California for cardiac cath lab. The results of this 'exploratory surgery' will reveal wether Morgan has any treatment options left. This is VERY big for she and her family. Please pray for this family,for safe travels, and for Morgan's miracle.

Angela