30DBC Day #4: My parents

Today's challenge to to talk about my parents!! Well this one might be a long one because I have been fortunate each to have several people in my life that had a hand in raising me.

My father, James, was the light of my mother's life. He was her first true love and to this day, had life gone a different course, they would still be married. When I was 9 months old, he was killed in a boating accident that left my mother widowed at 22 years old with 2 children under the age of 3. As I have gone through life, I have learned of the many traits I possess that are identical to him such as my passion for taking pictures, my love of playing basketball and my obsession with ketchup!!

Daddy Jim circa 1971

When I was between 3 and 4 years old, my mother remarried the man who became my Dad!! He is a Dad in every sense of the word despite not being my blood. He never treated my brother and I different from the children he had with my mother. He has been there through everything and even when things have gone sour in our relationship, we have still managed to find our way back to each other. He and my mother divorced when I about 13 and they both remarried. My step-mom has always been someone I can turn to, especially when I need an ear to bend or some advice that I wouldn't otherwise think of. It is funny how even though he is not my blood, I have so many traits that I learned from him such as my love of music (especially the Beatles) and my knack for electronics.

Dad and Mary August 2010

Last but most certainly not least is my mother!! It is so hard to put into words what I feel toward my mother.I have written about her before (Mom) but here is a little bit about her. I hate to use the old cliche of "my mother is my best friend" but it is so true and then some. She is my rock, my confidant, my adviser and my mentor. My mother and I didn't always have the best relationship. As a teenager, I wanted nothing more than for her to butt out of my life and to leave me alone. When I joined the Navy, I truly started to see my mom in a different light but over the last couple of years, our relationship is truly evolved. I can count on her for anything and I am so proud of the woman she is. She has taught me so many traits that I hope to pass on to my own daughter such as strength, independence and compassion. I absolutely adore this woman and I am truly blessed to have her as my mother.

Mom and I after a few too many jello shots!!

30DBC Day #3: My first love

My first love.....oh, do I ever remember the day I met him. It had been such a long day and I was exhausted. There was so much hustle and bustle all around me but I could here his sweet voice screaming in the background. I longed to look into the eyes of that tiny creature making those sweet cries but first, they had to make sure he was ok. My heart did a flip and my stomach twisted in knots when they walked over and handed me the bundle of blankets. There, with a face like a tiny angel, was my sweet boy. I had waited 9 long months to look into those eyes and smell his sweet smell. It seemed like the whole world disappeared around us as we stared at each other. I fell in love that very moment and my love for him grows more and more with each passed day. Never have I felt like this and I know that I never will again!!! He is the first person in my life to fill my heart completely. He is and always will be my first true love!!!!

Little Man 12 hours after birth

Little man October 2010

30DBC Day #2

Today's challenge is to tell about the meaning behind your blog name. "See you about the decks" was a common Navy phrase that my husband heard frequently when he was on the ship. I never had the fortunate pleasure of serving on a ship despite being in the Navy for 10 years. However, since we are a Navy family, I wanted a Navy term that would mean I look forward to meeting people and "seeing" people again as they visit our little world via my blog.

The Navy is more than a job for my husband, it is his way of life as it was mine when I was serving. We will be a Navy family until the Navy tells us we need to go home. I miss being in the Navy but I am happy that I can still be a part of it all by being a Navy wife. Everyone has their "horror" story to tell about the military way of life but for us, the good has always outweighed the bad. We get a paycheck every 2 weeks (there about), we have a decent roof over our head, the doctor bills aren't killing our bank account, we don't worry about him getting fired or laid off, and we get to see different places that we otherwise may have never seen. Yes, the deployments and time apart stink but who knows what kind of job my husband would have otherwise so several months apart doing something he enjoys is so much better than him being in a miserable job that he will dread every day. To me, his passion for the Navy is going to teach our children to strive for the things they love even if it makes their lives uncomfortable every now and then!!

We are extremely proud to be a Navy family and I hope I get to see all of you about the decks!!!!

Have a Fine Navy Day!!!!!!

30DBC: Day #1

Well, here it is....Day 1 and today's challenge is to introduce myself, post a recent picture and to type out 15 random things about myself. Should be easy right? Well, we shall see.....

It all started on fine Tuesday back in 1976......

Just kidding, I won't bore you with the detailed version of my life story. I will just give you the short and sweet version. I am Jaime....who Jaime is, I am not too sure as of yet. I am going through a journey in life right now, trying to figure that all out. Somewhere along the way, I lost myself and while I hope to find me again, I don't want to find the old me, I want to find a "new and improved" me. My marriage needs work, I need work....heck, who doesn't need a little work, right (and I don't mean plastic surgery either). But I am hoping that while I try to complete this challenge, not only will it allow you to learn about me but it might allow me to learn some things about myself that I have forgotten about. Oh yea, the picture was taken about 3 months ago when I was on my way to my 16 year high school reunion (yes you read that right.....16 years)!!

Now on to the 15 random things.....let me see:

1.) My children are my heart and soul. They are the reason I walk this Earth, the reason I wake up everyday, the only reason for my exsistance (or so I think!!)

2.) I hope to get my Master's degree in Education one day and would love to go even further to get my Ph,D.

3.) My mother is hands-down my absolute best friend in this entire world. I can't go a day without talking to her and I cherish the awesome relationship we have. I can talk to her about anything. 

4) I spent 10 years and 26 days serving in the United States Navy. That was the boldest and best decision I ever made in my life and I am very proud of my time served.

5) I miss being in the Navy a lot but wouldn't trade being home with my babies for anything!! 

6) I am an ex-smoker

7) I would love to lose 15-20 pounds but I am not in the mind-set yet of getting my butt in gear to do it. I need to stop whining about it and get it done!! 

8) I HATE RUNNING!!!!!! But love to chase after my kids!!! 

9) I pride myself in being a strong woman who can handle almost anything that is thrown her way. I know that God will always see me through and will never give me more than I can handle. I just need to remind myself of that every now and then!! 

10) I have 2 tattoos and I love them. I can't wait for my next one which I should be getting sometime next year. 

11) I love to cook and wish I wasn't surrounded by such picky-eaters!!

12) I also love to bake but I don't bake every time I have the urge to. If I did, I would weigh 400 pounds!! 

13) I tend to shop too much and typically using shopping as therapy. It is a bad, bad thing!! 

14) I  have 2 sisters and 4 brothers. I love them all so much and wish we could be closer. They will never realize how great they have it to be so close and get the opportunity to be so involved in each others lives. 

15) I am one of the most loyal friends you will ever have. I may not pick up the phone to call often or send emails/texts/messages every day but if you need anything, I have your back, until you give me reason not to!! God has truly blessed me with some pretty awesome friends!!!

Compassion and the 30-day Blog Challenge

Wow, I have been bad about blogging as of late. Between traveling, the move and life in general, blogging is always furthest from my mind but I hope to change that. I will get back to that in a minute.

First, I want to tell you about a proud Mommy moment I had yesterday and today. Little Princess was at gymnastics class and for the class, they had converted the gym into a huge Halloween maze for the kids to go through. She was having so much fun running, climbing and tumbling all over the place. At she was approaching one area, she came upon one of the little girls who had fallen and hurt herself. She was crying and my sweet girl went up to her and started rubbing her back, asking her if she was ok. She gave her a hug, told her it would be ok and even offered to kiss her "owie". She then took the little girls hand and walked with her to the slide area they were coming upon. I couldn't have been more proud to know how much compassion my Princess has....until this morning that is.

Princess woke up throwing up and was having a very difficult time with it. I was busy trying to get her cleaned up along with anything she threw up on so I had her lay in my bed with a bucket "just in case". Little Man woke up and was immediately concerned for his baby sister. I left the room to go get her some Pedialyte and came back in to find him lay next to her, rubbing her back and reassuring her that she would feel better soon. My heart bubbled with joy to know that amongst this chaos we call life, we have taught our children one of the most important qualities a person can have and that is compassion!! I am one proud Momma!!!

Now, back to my lack of blogging....I was reading my friend's blog (That Tattooed Girl) and came upon an awesome challenge which she got from a great blog called Katie's Journey I am going to join in the fun and use the original list which goes a little something like this:

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you've traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you're afraid of
Day 11-Favorite tv shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you're looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you've learned
Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture 

I hope some of my friends and readers out there join in the fun too!! But if you do, make sure your credit Katie with her amazing idea by linking to her blog!!! Stay tuned for Day 1 of the Challenge tomorrow!! 

Happy Wednesday!!!

MilSpouse Fill-In #16

Here are this week's Friday Fill In questions from Wife of A Sailor If you are a blogger, follow her and join in the fun. If not, please share your answers in the comment section of my blog. I would love to hear what everyone has to say!!

1. What is the longest road trip you’ve ever taken? It was one I took about 10 years ago. I drove from South Carolina to New Orleans for a family reunion. Spent 3 days there and then drove from there to New York for 2 days and then drove back down to South Carolina. It was a fun drive!!!

2. Do you collect anything? Tell us a bit about it. I collect Barbies and Willow Tree statues. I love Barbie, they remind me of my childhood. I have 94 of them as of right now. My Willow Tree collection started when I was pregnant with my son. Each piece has special meaning to me and I love them all!!

3. What is your favorite part about being an adult? Being able to do what I want. If I want to stay up late, I can. If I want to skip dinner, I can. I normally pay for bad decisions like staying up late but it is still a nice privilege.

4. What song brings a tear to your eye? Whiskey Lullabye. It reminds me of someone special from my past.

5. Describe your first plane ride (how old you were, where you were heading, etc). Ummmmm, I don't remember it but I know it because of pictures. I was 1 and I was going on a cruise with my mom and brother.