Love this...

My friend had this picture as a profile pic on her FB page. Its a young women wrapped up in the US Flag. Its her writing and heart felt feelings about being a Navy Wife. I loved it. Its poignant...He loves her AND his country. We are women who stand proud and watch as our husbands leave for the mission. Many many missions. We are Navy wifes...hard, independent, as faithful to them and they are to their work. We arent perfect. We just stand united and alongside our men....fight the good fight on the homefront. We are mothers, wifes, sisters and more. There are days, we are worn tattered and torn....but we stand proudly. We stand in the "silent ranks" beside them and we are proud to love our sailors.
Staying strong....

When one door closes...one door opens

Revelations 3:8
When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go, only 1 of 2 things will happen - either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly! The power of one sentence! God is going to shift things around for you today and let things work in your favor. God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close.. 

 Its a Wednesday and I am trying to stay positive and fight the good fight.

Julia's Confirmation

This is what I wanted to post about first...But I was happy I had spoken to Jim last night. Happy he called and trying to stay upbeat and positive. What a better way than to chat about Julia's big day. Julia Dahl Fluker was confirmed on Sunday Oct. 25 at Shepard of the Woods Lutheran Church. It was a wonderful service. There were about 11 fine young men and young ladies standing proudly at that alter professing their faith. Its difficult being a teenager now. There wouldnt be enough money in the world for me to go back to those days. Let alone now....teens face more adversity and challenges than we ever did 20 years ago. Its staggering. I am proud of this young lady. We went to cheer her on and had a great time. We love you Julia

The first call...

The First Call...is bittersweet. I think,  always...one of the most difficult to get thru. Its always late. The time difference usually the culprit there. He is anxious and doesnt take note. We dont care if our sleep is disrupted in anyway by him. He is calling home and he is just as excited to hear us as we are to hear him.

We had our first call from Daddy last night. It was 10:54 pm...its been 3 long weeks since we have heard his voice and the KIDS were so over the top. They were awake. They didnt have school today so they were awake...

Jon's first words were "We need to come get you now...its time to come HOME"  I cringed just a little. I bet this is so tough for Jimmy to hear. He may be gone but his heart is always here with us. He hates leaving as much as we hate him too. But he started asking about when they will go to the hotel together. This summer we are taking Jon to Disney. Jon is looking forward to that. We are too.

James and Marin had a happier conversation with dad. They are older and understand a bit more. They talked about their recent homecoming games and dances. Jim got the pics on the internet. He gave the compliments and lots of encouragement as always. They miss their dad tremendously.

For me...my heart melted at "Hi beautiful" His usual greeting for me...So happy to hear his voice and so sad at the same time...so bittersweet. This feeling gets better, it gets easier to talk eventually....but its something about that first call. The very one that makes you hurt all over again. But he is safe and I am grateful for that. Keep these sailors in your prayers and bring them home soon.

Homecomings are OvEr...

The Yulee Hornets Homecoming games and dances are over. Phew ! Marin had a great time at her Homecoming Dance. She had all her friends meet her at our subdivision clubhouse and lots of girls/friends showed up. Some of the parents I knew and some I didnt. It was nice...she really seemed to enjoy her last middle school dance. Her cheerleading games are over as well. James went to the clubhouse ALONE....goodness...he didnt want friends there and I could barely get him to take 5-6 pictures. It was funny...he hates being in front of the camera. He is not his sister who loves the spotlight. So...dances, games are all over. Well...until next year. GGGooooo HORNETS !!

Good Morning...EARLY AM

So...sometimes when I find my self overwhelmed and LIFE is taking over. I got a case of insomnia. I am also prone to this when I am alone (deployments) really just flip us all out. This week has been pretty rough. Tri-Care our military health insurance dropped us. They had a access to waiver form that needed to be filled out. Like a dutiful wife...I filled it out and sent it in. Guess its floating around on someones desk b/c they never recieved it. GREAT !! Not really...the consequences to all this is complete chaos. They dropped us from out MTF ( Military Treatment Facility) and put us here there and everywhere. I have had to put the fight of my life on...Spent the best of 3 days filling out loads of paper work and writing a statement as to WHY I wanted to continue w/ my original providers. This is JUST CRAZY. Really???  All over a signed piece of paper that I DID FILL OUT and they state they never recieved. The end result is still unknown. I am waiting....impatiently I might add. Trying very hard to stay calm and not feel disgruntled w/ all this Navy red tape. I need this issue resolved. Prayer Prayer and more prayer.

On a good note...Polly's party was fabulous. I had a nice time and even though Jon was a bit of a handful...it was still a great lunch. She got some great gifts...my mom came up. Dee Dee, Kay, Dawn, Ivonne, Debbie, Dracie, Charlotte, Anna-Rita made it so special for her. WoMEn SuPPOrtinG WoMEn !!! YES. Gotta love it. Some new things for a new life. Wishing a dear friend NEW HAPPY BEGINNINGS.

Jon is missing his dad. He begged to see Mr. David today. Thats Dee Dee's husband. He was somewhat talking to him but it was as if he just wanted a male figure around. We didnt stay long Emily was ill. He is walking around saying This is JIM My Dad. I LOVE MY DAD. Breaks my heart. He has also acted out in school. He got a yellow !! I just had to laugh at the reason WHY...he moved all the misbehaving kids names to YELLOW....she didnt take to kindly to any of that and gave him the yellow. YIKES....too funny. A 6 year old is basically telling you these kids need a time out lady...wake up.

Speaking of 6....Jonathon Cole turned 6 on 10/21 WOW time is zooming by just ZOOMING !!!! We had a great day. Actaully the only NICE day this week. The cake request was eyeballs...eyeball cake and eyeball cupcakes. Fun to make and even BETTER to EAT. Jon...we love you. We are so proud of you and you are a true blessing to us. Happy 6th Birthday Son.

A long week...Hoping a better one ahead and one with SLEEP in  my future. So...at 12:39 AM...I am wishing you a GOOD MORNING and off to bed I go...hopefully

Life is happening

Life is happening at the Haffner household. We have been fairly busy since Jimmy left. Its been 2 weeks but who is counting?? LOL...I havent officially sent a counter to my blog. I wanted to but with the days to go still being 3 digits...I opted to try and remain positive and wait until after the holidays. 2 digits are better than 3!!

James is practicing soccer. Season is fast approaching. That just means more games to watch and more practices to pick up from. James needs a car. That would help us so much. Poor thing...he is also still on the job hunt. That doesnt look too promising either.

Marin has had SPIRIT week...80's day, Hornet Day, Camo day, Twin day and homecoming !! They lost thier game. But the girls tried to remain supportive and cheered them on...spanking or no spanking. GO HORNETS !!

Jonathon is JON...I am so proud of my video. I love that I actally did it. Its not perfect but what can you say...it was a solid B+ attempt !! He is learned his first list of sight words. WOW...reading hopefully will happen. Stay Positive RIGHT??

Looking forward to Polly's surprise lunch and the crop...Really looking forward to my MOM coming back up. I miss her at times. The older we get the more we regress an cherish that family bond. When your young...you dont see the importance of calling or talking to your parents. But as I get older, I see my children growing and I realize...We all need our moms. No matter how old we are. They have a newfound wisdom we dont always see or just see to late. I dont want to let too much life happen w/o them.

Marin cheering at Homecoming game.

                                                CIAO !!