Church Talk: To Go or Not To Go?

Every Sunday that Captain J isn't here, a gnawing guilt is ever present. I look back to the churches we attended together in Alaska and Georgia and I remember waking up, wanting to go. I looked forward to worship and to the message that I would hear. I almost always took something away from it and it was good to be in the house of the Lord!

As of late, I rarely feel inspired to go here. If J isn't with me, it just sounds like too much of a hassle to get Baby K ready and out the door, just to drop him off in the nursery, sit alone on a pew, awkwardly shake hands with the congregation when the visiting time comes, and have the pastor introduce himself to me as I walk out the door after the message (We've been over to his house! He has been to ours.). He rarely knows who I am if J is not by my side and, well, I'm an army wife. J isn't by my side pretty often. It's embarrassing to have to introduce myself over and over.

And so I don't go.

It's awful, I know. I just don't get much from the service. The people there are so SO nice, though and that's what keeps us going back. I know it's not the best reason to attend a church. We do have some friends there, but on top of that- the people were so incredibly welcoming when we got to town. After visiting the church once, people were bringing over food and baby gifts when we welcomed K into the world last August. This is what makes us want to get more involved and keep trying to enjoy the service there. They try to include us in events and we're thankful for that yet we have little in common with the people there because of an age difference. Normally, that wouldn't matter for us- we're old souls! But it does present a problem when the younger crowd meets up for dinner (age 40 and up!) and their kids are all grown or in high school and can fend for themselves. Meanwhile, K is squirmy, cranky, and ready for bed. We just don't fit in all too well. Captain J is fine with that, but I'm not.

I want to go to church and focus on what I came to do: learn more about my God and Savior and worship Him. I want to get a cup of coffee, close my eyes, and feel God's presence washing over me. I want to feel comfortable going to the altar to pray if I feel lead. I want to feel at home.

And I don't feel at home there. I don't feel at home here in Louisiana. And it's seeping into everything I do.

Salmonella Scare

I can see the light! It's there. It's faint. But I see it! This rotation is almost over and I couldn't be more ready for it to be. I want my husband back.

Captain J has been coming home the last few nights so I kinda, sorta have him back a little, but he can only stay for a few hours (read he comes home to sleep for a few hours). Either way, Baby K is in bed long before he gets here and he is gone before he wakes up so I'm still rockin' the single parent role for a few more days. Thankfully, my babe has been such a good boy and I'm beginning to knock those awful first trimester sickies.

Speaking of sickies, I had this AMAZING recipe I was going to share with you today, but then THEN...I poisoned my entire family. I'm kidding, I hope. I made the most delicious Cajun pasta yesterday. It was so tasty! I fried some chicken to put on top of it and some of it may or may not have been cooked all the way through. Some of the pieces were thicker than others and I didn't check them all. Perhaps I should start! Anyway, I warned Captain J when he got home that the thinner pieces were probably good but if he chose to eat a thicker piece, he should check it. Then I told him four more times.

Two bites into his THIRD PLATE, he says "oh, babe this isn't cooked at all!" as if I had never uttered a word about undercooked chicken possibilities.

"I told you to check!"I said while acting like I didn't care in the slightest. In reality, I retreated to the bedroom with iPhone in hand to google if we were all going to die that night. I was so worried, y'all. I couldn't sleep. I even asked Twitter for prayer. I just knew I'd poisoned my poor husband and my tiny fetus inside me.

We awoke this morning with no sign of a salmonella attack so fingers crossed we're in the clear. Only time will tell.

Yummy pasta hasn't been the only thing that made me happy this week. I got flowers! My online pal in Alaska sent me a lovely bouquet and brightened my week considerably. I feel so blessed to have met and "met" so many of you online because of this blog. I hope you know that I consider many of you friends. You all are great!

Thanks again, Nina!

I think I'll chalk last night up as another freakout moment courtesy of my hypochondriac tendencies or perhaps Murphy wanted one last kick at me when I was down moment. That's fine. Next week, I will prevail. You'll see.

Introducing!

I grew up in a small town. You mighta guessed that from the way I talk sometimes (especially after a few glasses of wine!). Still, I'm proud to be from a tiny little town where people know each other by name and you have to drive to another town to go to Walmart. It's nice. My high school was no different. For the most part, I knew the majority of people who attended my school- all 400-500 of us. If I didn't know their name, I knew their face. I knew something about them. I've come to find out that it's kind of a different world from most adolescents' experiences, but I'm okay with that. I liked my school. I wouldn't want to go back for the world, but I enjoyed high school just fine.
Inside its walls walked many greats. I mean, I know a really cool blogger girl who...Oh, I'm kidding.
I wanted to tell you about some folks who went to my school that are breaking through in the world of music! The first is the lovely Kendra Chantelle:

Maybe you recognize her from a previous season of American Idol? When I heard she was going to be on the show, I got out my year book to put her name with her face. Oh, her! I don't know her well, but from what I do know, she is sweet as pie. And her voice is, too! When I first heard her sing, Georgia On My Mind, I was impressed. I never thought any white person ever gave that song justice (ha), but I loved her take on it and was quick to send her a facebook message telling her so! I'm a weird complimenter, what can I say? Here's a brief clip:

See? She's awesome. And you can get your own copy of her debut album Unthinkable on iTunes or at KendraChantelle.com.

Another entertainer that walked the halls of LHS was Mr. Brad Dills, my boyfriend. Yes, it's awkward now. I mean, we never really broke up. We were a pretty big deal in fifth grade (well, he was in 6th) but we went our separate ways and never officially told each other we would see other people (as much as you can date in middle school). All throughout high school, we joked that we had the longest relationship of anyone we knew in school. Brad is a good guy and he has hooked up with some other fellas around the Southeast to make up the band Star City Meltdown:

Vocals - Brad Dills (middle)

Guitars - Lukas Patterson

Guitars - Chris Stewart

Bass - Cody Cupp

Wanna see them in action?

You can go here to sign up for their newsletter and get your FREE MP3 download of their single "Here With You"!


I hope you enjoy listening to some new music, my friends! Have a fun weekend.
Love,

SOMEthing's Drawn and a really funny video

I'm sorry this is late. I felt like death this morning (and last night for that matter) and I really planned on skipping the link up altogether. But seriously? The power of prayer is somethin' fierce because I feel much better this afternoon. I'm not 100%, but I'll take it! Thanks for your prayers, fine folks. Before I get started with SOMEthing's Drawn I've GOT to show you this. It really cheered me up yesterday when I opened my email to find this video from my sister:

Haha! Love it...especially the guy in the sweater vest. Love his heart. Anyway, you're here for the linkup, right? Here are some of my latest drawings. Wanna link yours up, too? Just grab the button and enter your post URL below.

<a href="http://www.mrskandcaptainj.net" target="_blank"><img src=" http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r5/ksmoore21/somethingsdrawn.jpg " alt="MrsKandCaptainJ" width="125" height="125" /></a>

Mine are sorta, kinda, really lame this week. My creative juices have up and left. Maybe they'll be back next week.

To keep the sadness away

Today I decided that I wouldn't have a nervous breakdown so hopefully I will stick to that. Yesterday was a terrible, awful day that I wish not to repeat any time soon. To say that I'm completely sick of the Army would be disrespectful and ungrateful. If I complained about having zero breaks from MY JOB, it would sound like I'm unhappy and I'm not. If I said that this location is less than desirable, I would be breaking my own rule of trying to make the best of situations. I really would like to avoid complaining. I know it won't do me any good. This is my life right now and better things are to come. In fact, by the end of this month, one of my Alaska pals will be moving here with her husband. Maybe the neighbors will move out and they'll move in right beside me? Ehh, a girl can dream.

Did I mention I haven't had a car for almost a week? Well, I haven't. This misfortune has left me with tons of time to pin, pin, pin. Enough with the depressive stuff, maybe these will make you giggle:

Source: Uploaded by user via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: google.com.au via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Mrs. on Pinterest

And just because I need the reminder today:

Source: wonderful-things-in-your-law.tumblr.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Happy Tuesday, folks!

A Picnic in the Park

On Monday (Memorial Day) Baby K and I decided a change would be nice. We were tired of staring at the walls and wanted to do something fun, just the two of us. We went on a picnic! We drove to the park, found a perfect place under a shady tree, spread out our blanket and plopped down. 

After eating our food, we discovered all kinds of fun things. We tasted grass. Well, one of us did anyway! We played in the weeds, smiled at passing children, talked to passing dogs, and relaxed in each others' company- happy as larks.

I also discovered another noise that Baby K is terrified of--THAT was fun. I showed him how positively delightful it was to find a thick blade of grass to place between my thumbs and blow on it to make a loud, screeching sound. He was not impressed as he's not with most loud sounds.

Other than that mishap, we had a fun day at the park and wished Daddy could have joined us, too. Next time!

Does your family picnic?

Saturday Morning Scene

Happy Saturday to you, my friends! Here's what our day has looked like thus far:

When I went in to get K Baby, he still had all his favorite sleepy time things in the crib. He usually throws them mid morning and by mid morning of course I mean 0600.

It's diaper drying time today in the early morning air.

And play- with -the -mischevious- little- grinner- in -this -photo time.

What's Saturday morning without one cartoon? I know, I know. It's a bad habit to get into, but he just LOVES VocabuLARRY. And you know what? I'm done with the mom guilt. Yesterday on my facebook feed, someone updated their status to say something like how awful it was to leave a baby in their diaper (cloth or disposable) for longer than 2-3 hours...and ohmygahthatpoorchild. I deleted them on the spot. I mean good grief? Who wakes their kid up in the middle of the night to change their pee diaper? If you do, good on ya...but it's not worth it in this house. We like our sleep. And I'm done with judgy parents. That is all.

Also? Some warm decaf tea in the morning makes a nice (enough) replacement for coffee:

I hope you all enjoy your Saturday. I'm not sure what we'll get into- probably not much seeing as how Captain J is in the field and I'm stuck without a car. His truck broke down a couple of days ago and it's getting fixed after paying an arm and a leg. Anyway, maybe he'll get to come home tonight. Fingers crossed!