Concert.

TONIGHT! I'm so exited. We're going to see Dierks Bentley & Miranda Lambert. I haven't seen either of them before and I'm SO SO excited. I adore both of them.

Plus, corn dogs and funnel cakes. Does it get better? I think so! Cody is with Marissa, our teenage sitter, so it's a REAL date night for Tony and I!

insert clever title here.

Church this morning rocked.

They finished this sermon series called "The Frayed" which was all about prayer. I learned SO much today.

It comes as no surprise that my heart is lacking God. I've spent years blowing it off and acting all high and mighty when in reality I knew (and still know) nothing about God. It's a learning process and I wish I knew more. I know I haven't made God a priority. Starting today, that changes.

The big question for today was "What should my prayer life look like?". I know mine is a mess. I spend about two minutes at night praying and I've never done it the right way.

This was what Pastor Jeff said:
1. Time. We have to MAKE time for God.
2. Place. There has to be a place where you can go and be with God. 9 times out of 10, it's not going to work if you're laying in bed.
3. Order. You have to create an order in which you do prayer so it becomes a habit.
4. Openness. If you do all of the above, your heart will be open to God. You will pray at random times in addition to your set aside time, simply because your heart is bursting with the love you have and the closeness in your relationship with God.

How freaking mind blowing! I've spent all this time coming up with excuses about how I'm no good at prayer and I don't know how to do it right, turns out I just wasn't making time to DO it.

Starting tomorrow (I'd say now and that there's no time like the present, but I want to do this the right way), I'm setting aside 10 minutes in the morning. 10 minutes is nothing. Eventually I hope to spend more time with God, but it's all about baby steps.

God is good.

frustrating.

my mother.

I love her more than anything, but she has always been terrible at keeping in touch. If you're alive and she sees you posting on facebook, she's happy.

What bothers me is that my ILs manage to Skype with us and play peek-a-boo with the Codester like once a week. They are JUST as busy as my mom.

I hate that she can't find the time to see her grandson.

three rings of death.

Tony's XBox.

This is no bueno. Not that I give a dang about video games and thankfully, he's not the type to sit around playing video games all day, but I'm not happy about the three rings of death.

Why? Chances are, it is no longer under warranty. And we could *technically* afford to buy another, but I sure don't want to. I'd rather spend that extra $300 on debt.

Dammit.

sweet validation.

When I got home from work today, Tony said this: "I have no idea how you find time to clean". I told him I do it when Cody is sleeping or eating, because when he's awake we play. So he says, "but then when do you get Me time"? I was like, "I haven't had Me time in over a year"... and he told me I'm doing it wrong.

The reason this pleases me is because with him being home with Cody lately and me working, he FINALLY sees all I do. I cook, clean, and take care of our finances and Cody.

Yes, I am Supermom. And my husband is starting to get it.

Oh, and Cody fell asleep sitting in Tony's lap today. He's never done that with me and I'm super jealous.

God is Good.

Tony went to church with me again this morning. I don't know why he goes, but I am SO thankful the last two times. Maybe he knows how much it means to me, and maybe somewhere deep down he feels like he needs God. I'm so new at this whole religion thing, but I know how much I need it and it makes my heart so happy when he goes with me.

On the way home he said he learned a lot and that he enjoyed it. I love hearing that and I hope he'll continue to go with me when he isn't in the field.

I'm really glad he took leave this tour, if anything so we could have a little time together. He's finally painting the dresser we bought for Cody right now, too, so we'll be able to get his room finished soon.

I don't always understand the way God works, but I know I'm blessed. I can only hope that I will learn more and grow as a person through him. And I pray that he will continue to take care of Tony and help him with the things he needs.

I'm still proud.

www.thebump.com featured my birth story from when I had Cody, and I wanted to link it for posterity's sake, since I NEVER go on the bump anymore.

http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/blogs/birth_stories/archive/2009/06/15/bran-flakes09-cody-s-delivery.aspx

inappropriate.

My shirt at work today.

According to my supervisor, I am not allowed to wear "t-shirts". I was NOT wearing a big, sloppy t-shirt you would wear around the house. I was wearing a regular, fitted shirt that I still don't think is a t-shirt.

What amazes me is that I've worn that shirt probably once a week to work for the last three months. And as of today, it was not allowed. Ridiculous.

I swear they people at that clinic act like we're treating the President instead of a bunch of old people on Medicare. These doctors act like they are something pretty damn special, and I get that they have a degree and all, but seriously?

Then I had to go to the pharmacy on base to get my vitamins refilled. My "yellow card" was expired, which is this card they require you to have that goes along with your ID card. So they made me fill out this ridiculous form before I could get my refill. And the pharmacy student that gave me my stuff was a total moron, asking me what MY last four were, then when I told him, he told me that was wrong, so I had to explain to him that he needed my sponsor's last four, not mine. Then he asked my sponsor's birthday instead of mine. Insane. I HATE being a dependent sometimes. I really miss the Navy today.:(

old school.

great movie.

but in this case, I'm talking about me. Starting school full time in the fall. I'm planning on getting my degree in education.

Thanks to my hard-earned GI Bill, the VA pays me to go to school. So I'll be able to stay home with the boys and go to school. I know I'll have a lot on my plate, but at least I'll be able to see my kids and not shell out God knows how much in daycare.

I have so much more I'd like to say, but now isn't the time. More later.

nesting?

I'm wondering if the nesting phase came early to the Trionfo house. Yesterday I cleaned and disinfected all of Cody's toys (to include the toy box), shampooed the carpet in the bedrooms and hallway (living room is today after church), cleaned the kitchen, set up Sawyer's bedding and emptied his room, and did some laundry.

It felt really good to get it done, and I love looking down the hallway at clean carpet. I'm definitely looking forward to having a clean living room too.

Hopefully I can get everything else done today so that tomorrow after work I can just relax before Tony comes home on Tuesday. I'm also going to get registered for school today so I can start getting ready to quit my damn job, woo-hoo!

saturday.

this morning I am sitting in the recliner, drinking a cup of coffee while Cody sleeps in. Him sleeping in is so rare I'm doing my best to enjoy it.

I have a ton of housework to do, and I just realized that Ambie will be here in less than a month, meaning not only do I have to get this house ready, I also need to buy a cheap bedroom set so they have a place to sleep.

So today Cody and I are going to venture down to Fort Collins to Babies R Us for a few things for Sawyer's room, then come home to shampoo carpets. I know it doesn't sound very exciting, but I'm looking forward to it anyway.

Happy Saturday, all!

Valdosta, Georgia.

So my darling husband has put in another attempt to get us out of Cheyenne. There is a special duty lying in the heart of the Southeast, at Moody AFB in Valdosta, Georgia. We swore we wouldn't go back to the South, but at this point, we're desperate. This job would keep Tony away from home a lot, but that's nothing new to us anyway.

It would also put me 4 hours from South Carolina, where one of my three BFF's lives, and 12(ish) hours from Baltimore, near Tony's parents. There are a lot of upsides to this potential move, but it is in God's hands.

With any luck, either his UAV package or this one will work out. We desperately need to go somewhere, do something, anything, to get away from where we are now.

Fingers crossed!

luck.

We have none.

Since we moved to Wyoming, there has been nothing but garbage. Tony hates his job, mine is nothing spectacular, we pay too much for childcare, we live in a crappy house, and everything Tony has applied for has been denied.

He's trying so hard to get this UAV job, and I'm trying not to get my hopes up, because the chances of it happening are fairly slim at this point. I just wish one thing would go our way. Just one.

I'm so frustrated right now.

Independence.

GOD BLESS THE USA!!!! Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you...JESUS CHRIST and the AMERICAN SOLDIER. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Amen.

Today in church we started a new series called "The Frayed". The series is all about prayer. The average Christian spends something like 3-7 minutes a day praying, including mealtimes. It's not enough. I'm a big believer in the power of prayer, but I rarely pray like I want to or like I should. That's something I am determined to work on. Also, they sang Bon Jovi's 'Livin on a Prayer' as the first song today, which, might I add (and forgive the French), is BADASS. I love that place.

With that, I'm off to celebrate our freedom by thanking my husband, neighbors, my family and friends, and, let's face it, myself, for our sacrifices as military members and spouses. Hot dogs and hamburgers, here I come!

a hard lesson.

I'm not normally too anal about who watches Cody. I've had a few sitters I knew weren't a good fit, so I found someone else. There's one girl who has watched him a few times, and while she seems like a nice person, I just don't feel a connection with her. One day she wasn't available, so she had a friend of hers watch Cody. I ADORE the woman who watched him that time, and of course it's my luck that she's moving next week. Anyway, she kinda told me that the woman who had watched him wasn't really that great.

She's a nice person, but this morning was the last straw. When I got there, she told me that her and her kids weren't feeling well. I was pretty frustrated, because, really? Why couldn't she have called me last night so I could make other arrangements? Of course, seeing how it was 8:00 am, I had no choice but to leave Cody there.

There's more to it, but I really don't feel like going in to all the details. Long story short, I learned more about her that proved to me she is not a good fit as a sitter for Cody. So I called another sitter who has been highly recommended to me about a million times by the other woman, and she is watching the Codester next Thursday. I'm looking forward to it since I've heard so many good things about her. Fingers crossed that she will be a good fit.

I'm so over the daycare/babysitter situation. I want so badly to be with my little man.