Pour Your Heart Out - USMC

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for Pour Your Heart Out Wednesday! As always, I'm linking up with the beautiful Shell of Things I Can't Say! If you'd like, you can click the button below to join in, or just click here.


Today, we left for Parris Island to see my brother graduated from Marine Boot Camp. We haven't seen him in 13 weeks, and I know he'll be different. I am excited to see how different he will be, but at the same time, I'm afraid that he may have changed too much. I have to remember that although tomorrow will mark the end of Boot Camp, he will just be beginning the start of his career. We hope that somehow he will be spared from going over seas to the Big "A", but we also know that it is inevitable. It's a scary thought, to know that my little brother will be doing things that I could never imagine doing myself. He will see things, do things, shoot things, say things, that I will never say or do in my life.

I am so proud of my little brother. He has come such a long way over the last four years. He was the teenager that picked the wrong crowd to follow in high school. He experimented with drugs, and alcohol, and basically crapped away his entire high school years. He could have been so much better. He realized this during his last few weeks as a high school senior. It was too late to change what he had been in high school, but not too late to change his life. When he decided that he wanted to join the Marines, we all tried to talk him out of it. There were so many other things he could do besides the Military. We didn't understand why he wanted to do this; and we selfishly didn't want him to leave like we knew he would have to.

Over time, we became okay with the fact this was what he wanted to do. He was going to do it anyway, with our support or not. I gained a lot of respect for my Brother during the weeks leading up to Boot Camp, and have gained even more respect for him now that he is more or less a United States Marine. I couldn't be more proud of him, and the courage he has developed to serve our Country.

By Friday of this week, I can proudly say that I am a proud big Sister of a United States Marine.

Congratulations little Brother! I love you.

Post-It Note Tuesday

It's time for Post It Note Tuesday! I'm linking up with Supah Mommy, so join in if you'd like! OH! And forgive me if I haven't commented on your blog the past couple of days. I've had/got a lot of stuff to do to get ready to leave tomorrow. Please forgive me!

The Monday Minute & Easter Re-Cap

It's Monday already? What happened to the weekend? Geez. Anyway, since it's Monday that means that it's time for the Monday Minute a blogival created by none other than the one, the only, Ian from The Daily Dose of Reality. If you want to join in, just click here and have fun!



Now for the super random questions...

1. What's wrong with fake breasts?
I guess there's nothing really wrong with them, I just don't understand getting extremely LARGE boobs. Pamela Anderson & Dolly Parton have always just looked so out of proportion.

2. List your latest run-in with the Carnival of Idiocy.
It happens every time I get in my car, and get on the road. Just last Thursday, on my way to visit my Grandmother, I passed 3 separate car accidents in less than a mile of each other. 2 of the cars had flipped over, and the other 2 cars had been a minor accident for rubber necking over the flipped over car.

3. Name one thing you'd like to tell your ten year ago self.
Let's see, 10 years ago I was 12 years old & in the 6th/7th grade. I would have told myself that it was okay to be myself; that I probably would have had more friends if I hadn't been so disclosed. I also would have told myself that I shouldn't be jealous of the popular girls because most of them ended up pregnant with dead beat dad's, fat, and a lot less happier than I am.

4. What's your favorite word that's not in the dictionary?
I like adding "-ness" to the end of everything. The other day I wasn't sure if an animal was a donkey or a miniature horse, so I said something to the effect of "I'm not sure of it's donkey-ness" I think that I must have started a trend though, because a lot of people are using it.

5. Why do fools fall in love?
Because only stupid people allow themselves to fall in love.

...Now for the Easter Weekend Re-Cap

I wish that I could tell you I had an amazing Easter weekend, but if I did...I would be lying. I won't go into detail, because there are too many names that I would have to mention & well...I don't wanna start no drama :) So...just enjoy these pictures of our Easter weekend.


She had fun dying her Easter Eggs.

Bree picking up an Easter Egg

Bree had a lot of fun hunting for the eggs & then she and her Papa counted them afterwards

This is us...not sure why Paul's face is orange...stupid picture uploaders cut down the quality of pictures.

Time Really Does Fly!

I had no idea, 3 months ago, when I wrote this post; that time would fly by so incredibly fast! In January, April seemed so far away, and now that it's April...January seemed like it was forever ago. This time next week, I will be watching my Brother become a United States Marine! It's hard to believe that the time is finally here; that everything he has worked toward over the course of the last 12 weeks is about to pay off; that my Brother, my little brother, is going to be a Marine. The Few. The Proud. The Marines. I could never be more proud of my Brother than I am now.

I am so excited to see him; so excited that I can hardly stand it! When we leave for Parris Island on Wednesday morning of next week, I'll probably be so giddy that Paul will want to pack me in the trunk with the luggage. I wouldn't put it past him either, but how can I not be expected to be so excited to see my Marine Brother? To wrap my arms around his neck, and give him the biggest 'Big Sister' hug that he has ever gotten? This is my little Brother; the one I beat up with a pair of sneakers one time; the one who will be a Marine. I am one proud Big Sister!

Now, if you're sitting there wondering what in the heck you're going to do without any blog posts from me for 5 days (which I doubt you are), I've got it covered! I know, always thinking ahead...I'm so organized (not). I'll be here Monday with a Monday Minute/Easter post, Tuesday with a Post-It Note post, and a scheduled Wednesday, Thursday & Friday post! And how cool is it that for next Friday, Elizabeth of Confessions of a Working Mom, will be guest posting for me?! You should definitely get excited about that, because Elizabeth is Da-Bomb. Does anyone even use that word anymore? No? Guess I'm not as cool as I thought I was.

Anyway, so...it should be a good week next week. I'm excited :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Good Friday, and hap-hap-happy Easter Weekend!

Top 3 Thursday - Names

Happy April Fools Day!!

It's time for Top 3 Thursday! If you want to join in just click here or here to get the rules!


What Are Your Top 3 Favorite Names?

Before we knew the sex of baby Bree, we had several names picked out. We were pretty sure that she was going to be a he, but obviously...it didn't work out that way. Below is our Top Three favorite names that we had picked out for Bree.

3. Casey Wade - So like I said above, we thought Bree was going to be a boy. I'm not sure why we liked the name "Casey" for a boy so much (& it wasn't because of the race car driver Casey Kahne). It just sounded good put together with "Wade" which was my late Papa Roy's middle name. I still like the name, and if I were to have anymore kids...this name would definitely still be on the list.

2. Landon James - If Bree had been a boy, she most likely would have become Landon James. Hubby and I both just liked the name Landon, and James is Hubby's middle name. Now, I'm kind of thankful that Bree turned out to be a girl, because after she was born, everyone and their Mother seemed to be naming their kid Landon. No offense to anyone who named their child this, it's still a beautiful name, it just wasn't different or unique to me anymore.

1. Kara Lynn - After we found out that Bree was going to be a girl, and before we picked the name she has now...we had thought we would name her Kara Lynn. We picked this name after my Grandmother whose name was Carolyn. I liked Kara Lynn, because it didn't sound as old fashioned as Carolyn does. However, the name just didn't sit well with me. I liked it, but I wasn't in love with it. With me, I've got to be in love with something before I even consider it (this applies to clothes too).

Thankfully, I found a name that I fell in love with. Bree's name fits her personality in every way, and I am so glad I found it!

What 3 names do you like the most?