Hosting, Soccer and a week on the go!!!

   So last Sunday night we all got in the car and drove up to the main gate to pick up our coaches that would be staying with us.  Ben and Rhys, outside of a page on each we knew nothing about them and where praying that we would all fit together and make it till next weekend.  Lucky for me their had their our car, so I did not have to run around like a chicken with my head cut off.  They were ready to go when we got there so the girls stayed in the car and we came right back to the house.  

The girls sign we made for the boys on Thursday night game!!

   In that time Matthew and I had a little time to talk, and think about what we were going to do that night and whatnot.  Made it back and got the girls out of the car and was able to meet what we lovingly call the boys now.  At first I miss Rhys name and it was not till about an hour later when Ben said it but we are all good now.  We had Tacos for dinner and then after dinner took them out to Fro Yo!  Here on base it's something that they love.  Spent a good amount of time talking and getting to know each other, and let them see in our game room!  Which I think they both like.  

After the game!  Everyone that played Coaches and Marines

   Monday came, and we hit the ground running, it was the first day of camp.  And I had a list of things that I wanted to get done with Jessalla was there, that all went to the waste side when she ask me to stay!  So I stayed for hour-ish then ran home to pick up before running back to get her.  Then back to the house to make lunch, and wait for the boys to get back.  At this point thinking they should have been back by now I think I have lost them on base somewheres and thinking it was dumb not to give them my number!  (They made it back a few minutes after that, and I got and give numbers)  And the weeks been a lot like that, we have not lost them again that I know of.  We have took them around base, up to the MCX, and  got them pop. (out f one of those that have 180+ kinds)  Ben has been able to take part in a day trip to LV, and Rhys got to go out to Joshua Tree Park and hike and whatnot.  All the coaches have gotten to go to Palm Springs 2 times as a group, once for shopping and the other for GO-KARTING.  Took them blowing one afternoon with the unit.  (OOO yes have to had a unit fun day in there, and a fundraiser in this past week)  There were many first for the boys this week.  New foods, word, and saying.  (but I would have to say that went both ways with the sayings.)  But on Thursday night the Landers Family had a first....it's first soccer game!!  It was the coacher v. the marines!!!  Not sure who we were for....we look like it this Matthew was not playing and we had two coaches living with us, so sorry Marines but we had too!!  Good thing too, 5-1 (I said 4, but others are saying 5.  I miss one) Very sad day or the Marines!  Matthew and I both were thinking that more than one of the coaches were going to lose it.  But thankfully no one did.  Came home and Ben cook for the 6 of us plus 4 other coaches.  I will have to try to make it.  (if not he will just a have to come back whenever we want it) After dinner we made a fire and let them all have s'more!!  To funny!  Glad we did it.   Friday - Eammah and I campout at camp and got pic of Ben and Rhys for them with their kids and of Jessalla and her coaches!  We had a great time.  Then come Friday afternoon it got clam and the boys left for the night, another host family had a big bbq for them and whatnot, and Matthew had to stay over so it was just the girls and I at the house.  We napped, got up ate dinner, and watch a little TV and went back to bed!!!  I needed it!  

Thursday night after the game!  

   It's Saturday morning the boys are on their way back to the house, no idea what is going on with Matthew as of right now. I'm sure we'll find out soon....I hope!  We would host again in  a minute!  We have loved it, the girls have loved it!  And I think the boys have...  Jessalla has said that she will be playing soccer in the fall, and wants to go to camp again next year.  Eammah was just as happy to watch as Jessalla was to play!  Both are sad that the boys are leaving in the morning.  And have ask if we will see them again.  I think we will try to see them one Saturday when we do Sea World.  And other than that I can not say.  Matthew and I would love to say yes we will, and we hope we do.  They are always welcome here or wherever we are living at the time.  They have truly became part of this family over the past week.  The girls have fallen in love with them, and so have Matthew and I.  We were sitting around talking the other night.  One of them said that the girls made them fill like they were family they have not seen in a long time.  That made me feel good! 

   Soccer camp is over Jesssalla is taking the weekend off and then going to golf camp.  But at the end of the week the coaches fill out a paper on each camper.  This was her Coach's comments -Extremely well behaved camper that always listened to coach's instructions, as a result you are now able to perform skills such as the drag back, in-outs, toe taps forwards & backwards.  Remember to keep practising these skills as these will help improve your control for when it is time to scrimmage.  In addition to using the inside of your foot when short passing.  It has been my pleasure having you on camp!!!  Thank you Coach Nathan!!  

Talk about a happy/ proud Mommy and Daddy!!!

Starting our last day with the boys!!  Going to make it a good one.

~ Amber

 

Cell phones?!?! Are taking over!!!

    Let me say first that we have cell phones.  Well Matthew and I do.  And have talk about when and if the kids would get one.  But that's not what this is about.  Thinking back to when I was a little girl there was a sign welcoming you to Church, or maybe one asking you bring nothing but water in.  But now most Church have a sign that says please turn off Cells.  Are you kidding me.  I did not even think of taking a phone with me to Church.  This was not a time to have a phone this is a time for you and God to talk.  Or at times have God hit you upside the head when needed.
     Then Matthew went overseas a few years back, and my phone became glued to my hip!!  And I'm sorry to say I would leave Church and take phone calls from him.  I always turn it down and just had it on my lap so I could see it.  When if home now I leave it in the car.  But some many of us do not.  They have came to count on it and are not sure what would happened if there did not have it with them at all times.
    Today we had two phones goes off in Church....And I know people have their reason of having them on.  But do we have to have them on all the time.  Do we need to pull out our phones at Church and look things up on our Bible app?  Before and after Church do we need to sit there and play games or text our friends?  No, we do not need them.  We have a good old hard cover Bible with pages inside that works just as well.  And I know for me having it at my hip like that with my Bible app ready to go, I do not know the word like I should.  Why should I?  I can look it up in no time at all!
   This goes for others things too!  Why should we learn math, with our phones with us all the time it's not needed.  We do not have to stop to think about anything, with your phones.  It's right with us all the time.  Our kids can look things up in a matter of minutes and know what they want.  But they do not have to learn it, because the next time they need it they just look it up again.  And yes I have look things up!   And sometime I have to look things back up!  Not that I'm happy about that.
    Let me ask you something when you went out to eat 15 years ago or even 10 years ago, what did the kids do?  What did the parents do?  What was going on at each table?  People talk!!! Not text not play games on a phone!!  They talk and maybe a game of tic-tac-toe was played.  Same goes for parks!
   Now that I have said all of that, here is what the Landers are going to do about it!!!  We are turning of our phones!  Not for a hour or a day....but each and every time we sit down at the table, walk in to church, or have family game/ movie night!  Our kids will get phones when they start to drive.  But I hope it will not be a smart phone.  And if I think I could get away with it I would get them one that would just call home, mom, dad and 911!  I'm thinking that by then they may have some friends that they would like to talk to.  I'm not saying that it's wrong to have a cell in Church and if there is a time again that I "need" to have one I will.  But for right now as a family we need to step back a little.  Our kids spell LOVE  like this TIME, and we are not giving them the time they need with our phones on our hips all the time.

~Amber

Are we miss out?

Being in a Military family you could have that we miss out on a lot.  And so do our kids.  I mean lets think about it....We miss out on
   1) Holiday dinners
   2) birthday parties
   3) weddings
   4) Graduations
   5) Birth
   6) Everyday things
And those are just some of the big things that we miss out on!  It goes both ways.  Our kids do not get to have family at their Birthday's, we have people around for the holidays but it's not "family" with our Aunts rolls or Grandma's stuffing.  Those are things that we miss out on.

   Why is it that we miss out on these things.  Is it because we have in our mind what it should look like and because we can not have that we think we miss out.  I think we miss out because we do not look for a way not to miss out!  In the past month there have been 2 high graduations and 4 yes 4 babies!  All boys!  Where was I for all of this 3000 miles away!  Not where I wanted to be when all of this was going on.  How did I make it so I did not feel like I was missing out.  I called to tell the two sweet ladies how proud I was of them for finish high school and that I wish I was there.  And that I love them.  I'm running a little late and still have not got anything in the mail for them.  But I will get it there soon!  I hope!  With all the babies!  I wrote and or talk to each of the mommy!  The first mommy had twins!!  And have one at home a girl, but sh was coming home with 2 and 3.  The 2nd mommy was having her 3rd!  I was able to write her on facebook and got to text a little after.  And the 3rd mommy is my sweet sister~in~love (law) This one kids me more than the others.  Just because 4 years ago we were both having girls just 2 months apart.  And we have became best friends.  But the girls and I have something sweet for her.

We plan to be there when we can.  And when we can't we still make sure to talk or write to who ever big day it is.  And our family and friends back home are very good about doing the same for our girls.  Sometimes I fall behind, but for the most part I try to stay up on it.

So do we feel that we or our kids are missing out?  No!  But they do know what matters!  And that's our family and friends!  It's all about how you look at it.  I'm not saying that we do not wish we were there or that we do not get home sick, we do and more so when we are missing things.  But we are grateful for the time we do get.  And it give us a changes to get cradtive in ways we stay in the loop.

~Amber

Small update and the reason we been gone for awhile

  Sorry about taking sometime away!  We made a web page thinking that was the way we wanted to move in the way to keep up with our family.  But it just was not working out the way we wanted and after a year of working on it and trying to work on it.  We have came bake to our blog with a new name and a little different lay out.  We will slowly bring our post from our web page to post here.   We working on adding more pages and making it more like we want.  Hang in there with  us and see what come form it.   We have big things coming up.  Tinker Bell is going to start posting on here for school.  We are working on a game plan of what we hope will come out if this.

   With that out of the way.  We are doing great, we made the move back to Cali and are under way to get back in to what will be normal life again.  It is warming up here and fast with yesterday being about 115 not all that bad.  We seen hot the last time we were out here.

This months goals are to get 2 weeks of camp done and over with.  Start planing for next years school year.  And the never ending one just working on the house....I think it takes me about a year after moving to get things done how I like.  I'm looking forward to posting more for all that read this and can not wait to hear back form you all.

~ Amber