~ My Picture Memories of Uncle Warren ~

Remembering... Dearest Uncle Warren

• Uncle Warren was the "life of the party!" He brought fun, laughter, joy and smiles to everyone he met. I miss him so much... It doesn't seem possible that he passed from this earth one year ago today. It still does not seem real. I have wanted to post my favorite pictures of him many times this past year, but it was still too painful. Today I will share some photos to help remember the fun times, as he would want us to do.

Uncle Warren reading my sister and I a story in 1977. I am the one sitting on his lap and my sister Suzanne is sitting beside us.

• Silliest Memory: When I was very young, I remember Uncle Warren putting a homemade afghan over his head and poking his fingers out through the holes trying to "get us!" (He could not chase us at that time because he had a broken leg in a cast.)
• Favorite Memory: Last summer when Caleb and I had the privilege of staying for a week with Uncle Warren and Auntie Becky at their lovely home. They "spoiled" Caleb letting him eat pizza dinners in front of the TV every night! He had a "blast!" Uncle Warren would watch the Veggie Tale Pirates sing along movie with Caleb every night and even tried to learn most of the songs. They would sing them together and play pirates with pretend swords. Uncle Warren also searched out every toy in the house that used to belong to his girls so that Caleb would have more things to play with. He was beyond amazing with kids and that week was so special to us, memories we'll never forget.
• Most Profound Thoughts: Uncle Warren had the ability to make each person he was with feel very special, like they were his best friend. He always went out of his way to help whenever there was a need. He was an amazing husband, father, son, brother, uncle and a friend to countless people. Most important, he truly loved and served God with all his heart!
• Beloved Uncle Warren, your memory is cherished so dearly by us all!
• We Miss You!!!

Caleb & Friends

Caleb & Austin at the Rodeo ~ June 2009

Caleb, Austin & Hayden

Caleb & Austin love to play at Mc Donald's Playplace! March 2008

Caleb & Austin ~ March 25th, 2009

Our Little Lion & His Friend the Frog (Seth)

Zachary's 4th Birthday ~ January 2009

Last Day of Recruiting

Above is a photo of Keith in his recruiting office, where he has been working for the past 4 years. He is sitting in front of his "wall of awards," many of which cannot be seen in the photo. Can you tell I'm a proud wife? The other two photos are of Caleb and his good friend Seth.

We have fallen in love with the beauty of Arkansas, the friendly people and southern hospitality. This is where our road with the Air Force ends. We have decided to stay here and raise our family without the stresses of war, deployments and frequent moves. Keith is currently working with his good friend for a roofing company that fixes storm damage. What have a lot of that in our region!

Our Little Reindeer ~ All Ready for the School Program ~ Shirt is made from Caleb's footprint and handprints!

Caleb Visiting Santa

Caleb had a wonderful 4th birthday party celebrating with friends!

Back to Bloggin' Greetings!!! It's been so long since I've posted anything new... Since a picture says a thousand words, you can view what we've been up to through this slideshow. Caleb started preschool in August and LOVES it! Here are some of the highlight's of our lives since then.

Sweet Cousin's Reunited!!!
Caleb and Madelyn had not seen one another since they were one... Now Maddie is three and Caleb is three and a half. Maddie is actually a little taller than Caleb though! Their favorite thing that they would do together was when Caleb would play the guitar and Madelyn would dance. She is such a little ballerina and Caleb has always loved making music. They had endless fun together!

"America the Beautiful!"

~ Mt. Rainier ~ Seeing "My Mountain" again was so Heart Warming!!!
Is their anything more beautiful than the Pacific Northwest? The breathtaking beauty of snow capped mountains, the huge Evergreen Trees and the rolling waves of the Pacific Ocean. Sometimes I wonder how I could have ever willingly left all of this tranquil lushness... Yet, I have fallen in love with the warm weather, the southern hospitality and the "slower paced" way of life here in the southern states too. My heart is truly in two places at once, all of my friends here and all of my family back home. The song, "America the Beautiful" has such meaning to me now that I have not only seen the "purple mountains" but also the "amber waves of grain." They are both equally amazing beyond words. I feel truly blessed that God has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people and see so many amazing places in this "Great Adventure" of life!

Pics of our trip coming soon..............!!!

FAMILY

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Wiggle's World with Family & Friends!

Mommy and Caleb took a trip to Frisco, Texas for a fun weekend in May. Caleb was able to meet his Aunt Alice and Cousin Melissa for the first time! It was a very special and fun time!!! We were blessed to stay with our dear friends Kevin, Brandi and thier precious son Connor. They showered us with generosity and southern hospitality! Caleb and Connor had a wonderful time together too!

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Angela's Birthday Party

We were blessed to have our dear friends, the Wilhelm family, visit us over my birthday weekend. We celebrated with a delicious dinner at TGIFriday's. They had me wear a costume jewelery princess crown, necklace and ring so that I could feel like a "princess for a day!" It was so much fun!

Church Preschool Kite Flying Day at the Park!

April 19th, 2008

Buzz Lightyear Really Did Fly!!!

A Whole New Roof???

Storm Update Our area and neighborhood were hit so hard with the recent hail storm. The insurance adjuster came recently to assess the damages and our whole roof needs to be completely replaced along with needing new gutters, vents and a few other things. Some of our neighbor's have even more extensive damage... God is so faithful and we're so thankful that no one was hurt! We're just shocked that so much needs to be replaced due to damages. We will be having to sell our home within the year so it will be a PLUS to have new shingles etc. June 17th, 2008 FINAL UPDATE We have a wonderful new roof and all new gutters as well! Thanks to our wonderful friend Steve who's company provided us with quality materials and the best deal ever! THANKS SO MUCH! Our house looks way better than it did before the storm!!!

Thanking God for Protection from the storm on Wednesday Night ~ April 9th, 2008

Large Hail
The picture on the above right is of my destroyed planter of pansies. Can you see the quarter next to the melting hail balls? This was taken 45 minutes after they had fallen from the sky. Our yard was still covered with hundred's of ice balls at that time. This other picture is a comparison of balls of ice next to a tennis ball. WOW!

What Happened???

Last night was the scariest storm I have been through yet... This is after living in "tornado alley" for the past 12 years! A "rotating funnel wall cloud" came over our town with large hail. Caleb and I were home by ourselves and it truly sounded like the hail would come through our roof. A man on the news described it perfectly, "it sounded like boulders were being thrown on top of our houses." God protected us and our home but many around us have broken windows, leaking homes and trees down. Any car that was not under cover has hail damage. We received golf and tennis ball size hail in our town and there was baseball size hail in the larger town nearby. Many people were left without power. All schools were closed today. We had to keep the kids up so late in "safe rooms" until the tornado sirens went off. Thank God it is a gorgeous sunny day today and we're praising Him that we're safe and alive!!!

Caleb's Easter 2008

~TEST UPDATE~

Thanks so much to everyone who prayed for Keith's big exam last week!!! We won't find out the result's until June... It was extremely challenging and the Air Force will only let a small percentage of recruiter's advance this year. Even if someone had a passing grade, it is only those with the highest scores who will be allowed to move up in rank. We're believing God for the best!!!

Studying Hard

Keith is currently studying every extra second to prepare for his upcoming Tech Sgt. test. Last year he missed passing by only 14 points! Please keep him in your prayers as his test date draws near on March 28th. Thank you so much!

Recruiting

Life as an Air Force recruiter is busy but rewarding for Keith! The hours are still long and late but we manage to find family time together in the spare minutes. God has continued to bless Keith in the midst of such a challenging position. Most definitely the best part of his job has been preparing those who enlist for their military future. He has always been truthful with them and goes way "above and beyond" what is required when it comes to helping these young recruits be ready for basic training. Keith has received endless calls and letters of "thanks" from them both during and after they complete boot camp. It's nice to know that he is helping shape thier future in a positive way!