one of a kind

It's not everyone that happens to have a handmade, camouflaged sushi tray, right? Hannah made this for Drew in art at school. We have been eating sushi more and more lately and use this sweet little tray and it thrills her. She was very upset with herself when she realized that she misspelled Daddy....which makes it all the more special! It just doesn't get any better than this!!

small things

God keeps bringing these "small things" up. And when you think about it..things really are small. I think it may mean more to someone who has gotten through a life altering event..and put in perspective..in a perfect world..it should mean the same thing to everyone, but it's hard to live that way. Drew's last deployment really shook me deep. I felt like I held my breath for about 18 months and then finally let it out when I saw him get off that bus. Like anyone would say about cleaning out a fridge or freezer, "Oh I will NEVER let it get like that again!"..but time passes and it always ends up just the same...or at least ours does..it's because you get busy and you forget. God keeps reminding me lately how this applies to my life in particular. When Drew was gone last time, it was during the long course of his deployment that I realized exactly how many pictures I DIDN'T have of us together, how many movies we said we were going to see but never did, how much time we didn't spend together...and I vowed Lord, we have to fix this! Bring him home safely and I will forget all the small things that keep us from spending quality time together!! I will say since he came back in 2006...we have done much better at paying attention to things that matter and less to things that really don't. I guess it really came to terms for me in the past couple of weeks. We've been busy as bees "getting things in order" (what does that really mean anyways) Re-doing a will, power of attorney, insurance, birth certificates, tying up loose ends...and then came Friday night..a 20 year old young man in Drew's unit was killed instantly in a car accident. He had a full military funeral on Monday. I can't even imagine what his parents must be going through. To have a son about to leave the country and being scared enough about that...never expecting to lose him another way. It really stopped me in my tracks and I felt like God was saying, Heather, you're doing the small stuff again...focus on what I'm teaching you through this. I have a feeling it's almost "pruning" time. Well, let me shut this blog down for today...sorry about the random rambling...got all serious on ya didn't I?
I did clean the tub today...it's NOT a small thing. I consider it a cardio workout....and my husband has caught fish for supper...that's a BIG thing... Go spend some time with your family.. :)

some bottled memories from the past few days..

The Clark family has had a great past few days...the town of Hernando gave Drew's combined units a send off parade this past Saturday. I wish I had a count of how many people came but I'm sure it was in the thousands..Like my husband said in his speech from the square...I've never seen military support like Northwest MS gives... Really awesome.

Had to get a shot of these boots. "You might be a redneck if you have a pair of these...

A good bit of fishing was done too over the weekend..These were just a few of the catch from Friday. One more time and we'll have enough for a fish fry before Drew leaves..

Between working Friday and running errands, being gone all day Saturday...I came up with this little centerpiece for the table for Sunday. I thought it was very bright and festive!!

The kiddos all cleaned up for Easter!!

Cutie!

My baby got braces today. :(

Time in a bottle

Drew made it home Friday. If I could be bottling up all the special times we've had since then, I'd be the happiest girl in the world. So many photo ops that I wish I'd taken pictures more...I did manage to get a few though. His cousin and family (& and a couple extras) came for the weekend. We had a great time..our visits are far to long in between. Today, a great friend that Drew made during his last deployment from Maryland, John and his fiance are visiting us until Wednesday. It's fun to watch the bond that he and John share through having such an experience together.

Sunday after church, we met and had lunch with friends that we haven't spent time with in a while. Drew and Shannon were also in Iraq together. They recently packed up and moved. Shannon works on the pipeline and the family travels with him wherever he is working. It was nice to see Kimberly and the kids again. Kimberly and I stuck close during the last deployment so we have a special bond as well....the kind where you really don't have to say anything about how you're feeling or what you're going through because you know they understand already.

Kimberly and I

Saturday night we went out to eat with a couple of friends that we don't get to see as much since we moved. We're trying to get all this friend and family time in before he leaves again on the 14th. Again...I SOOOO wish I could bottle time.

Poncho thinking, "I'm so glad my daddy is home...."

Drew with one of our friends sweet girl, Jordan...she loves her some Mister Drew!!

and finally....which I don't have any pictures of...our backdoor neighbor, Amy and Michael (along with other neighbors) cooked steaks for us Sunday night! God has blessed us with so many good friends. Did I say I wish I could bottle time?