From Inmates to Playdates

Posts Tagged ‘Deployment’

It’s time for another fun edition of Where Did You Come From?  Amused, as always!

Check it out!

1. Willmar, Minnesota arrived from google.com on “One Of Those Dreaded Christmas Letters” by searching for christmas letters that people have written.

• Welcome, Willmar! I’m so glad you stopped by! I hope you enjoyed my past Christmas letters. Yes, I am one of those people who send the annual Christmas letter. Don’t hate me. I do hope you’ll continue to drop in!

2. State College, Pennsylvania arrived from google.com on “Over My Dead Body” by searching for longaberger casket.

• Well, this proves that just maybe I’m not as crazy as I thought. State College, P-A, IF you happen to find a Longaberger basket casket, could you let me know, please? I have made it very clear to McDaddy that IF a Longaberger casket basket is not available, I want to be buried in the very best – a solid mahogany casket. Notice I said solid & mahogany, not pressed & wood. Oh, and if you’re interested, you can read all about my funeral plans, right here.

3. Deltona, Florida arrived from google.com on “God’s Word – From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for god’s promises for inmates.

• Hey Deltona, Florida, guess what? God cares for you and cares about you! Hold tight to His promises, cling to His word, and know that He will meet you where you are! I hope you seek Him during this difficult time in your life! 

4. Gresham, Oregon arrived from google.com on “Wow! That’s weird. – From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for child swallowed tip of plastic fork.

• What’s up, Gresham? I’ve never had a child to swallow the tip of a plastic fork. However. However, I suspect it’s just as crappy searching for the plastic tip of the fork as it is for a penny, which by the way my child swallowed. Ahem! Welcome to the crappy club, sister.

5. Indianapolis, Indiana arrived from bing.com on “Wet T-Shirt Contest” by searching for t-shirt wet contest.

• Seriously, this whole Wet T-shirt contest post has sent me tons of visitors on Google. Indianapolis, I’m sure you were disappointed about MY wet t-shirt post. There were 15 or so of us gals playing a game at a Ladies Retreat attempting to thaw a frozen t-shirt faster than the other team. Yes, as a matter of fact, we do know how to party!

6. Santa Cruz, El Beni arrived from search.yahoo.com on “2009 May” by searching for rotator flight out of gtmo.

• Hello Santa Cruz, I’m so glad you’re here! My hope is that you do not have a loved one deployed at GTMO. However, if you do, you should totally make the trip. Despite all that is happening there, it is a beautiful place. Me and my sweet boys spent a wonderful week there while McDaddy was deployed over there. Good luck to you!!!

7. Sylvan Lake, Alberta arrived from google.ca on “Stupid Cold Sores” by searching for stupid cold sore.

• Hello Sylvan, cold sores suck. Period. Oh, and their stupid, too.

8. Sacramento, California arrived from google.com on “Stupid Cold Sores” by searching for cold sores are stupid.

• Hi Sacramento, Ditto to you on the cold sores. Stupid. Sucky.

9. Ypsilanti, Michigan arrived from google.com on “2009 January 03″ by searching for personalized plates ideas saturn sky.

• Yikes, hey Ypsilanti (sheesh, that’s a tough one!). First, if you happen to work for GM and are searching for a personalized plate for the new Saturn Sky that y’all plan to giveme, please, let me give you some ideas – 1. TOPLESS (ha! sorry, I had to!), 2. My Sky, 3. Gr8Sky, 4. SxySky, 5. Gr8Sky, 6. SeeYa, 7. Blessed, 8. James4 2, or just anything at all you want to put on it would be fine with me! *crossing fingers!*  

10. Mandeville, Louisiana arrived from google.com on “Thursday Thirteen – 13 Vehicles We’ve Owned” by searching for how to bleed brakes for a 1996 toyota camry.

• Mandeville, Louisiana, I’m sorry to say that you probably didn’t find what you were looking for as I know nothing of the bleeding of the brakes. Now McDaddy on the other hand, he could tell you all you need to know about the brakes and the bleeding. Interesting enough though, I loved my 1996 Toyota Camry. It was a great ride.

11. Cincinnati, Ohio arrived from google.com on “Thursday Thirteen – Can “U” Do It?” by searching for What can u do with a spatula.

• Hi Cincinnati! Um, I must admit that I don’t do much with a spatula because I don’t spend any more time than necessary in my kitchen. However, my top uses for a spatula would be scraping mashed potatoes from the bowl or cake mix from the bowl. Unless you are McDaddy who mistakenly calls a turner, a spatula, but don’t hold that against him. He’s a good guy even though he gets a bit confused about kitchen utensils.

12. Syracuse, New York arrived from google.com on “Wet T-Shirt Contest” by searching for 2009 Nap Wet T Shirt Contest.

• Okay, so I have no idea what Nap Wet T Shirt Contest is, but I can tell you that 4-5 per day end up here on my doorstep searching for that very thing. I tried to hook up over at Google, but something told me to turn back, so, Syracuse, if you’re still here, can you fill me in? Please?

13. Costa Mesa, California arrived from google.com on “From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for julie little lowes.

• Hey Costa Mesa, how goes it? I have no idea who Julie Little Lowes is, but I can tell you that there’s not a whole lot of little on this Julie unless you’re talking about my math skills. Oh, and I did go to the Lowes over the weekend.

Happy Thursday, y’all!

2009 was a tough year for me.

Ten days into the year, a good friend of mine lost his life in a head-on collision. Three weeks later, the McFamily embarked on a six-month journey that would test my emotional stability limits.

So yeah, it started out rough. In fact, just thinking about it is making me tired. (Brace yourselves people, this could get lengthy!)

*************

After a three-hour ski lesson during our annual McFamily ski trip, Stevie hit the slopes with McDaddy.

NBA hopeful, Stevie learned a few things on the court this year. (he is the one with his arms up in the air and his eyes closed!)

Instead of eating M&Ms, our boys were counting them. 185 M&Ms in each of three bowls. The boys (and their daddy) would eat one everyday signifying that another day of deployment was OVER.

On a cold, snowy January morning in Charleston, WV, the WV Air National Guard Engineering Squadron headed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for a six-month sentence deployment.

After six years of supporting the Huggies Empire with two boys (and a really long run at potty training with the youngest), the McFamily is finally finished with diapers.

Hallelujah. And Amen.

The McFamily is thankful for SKYPE and the web-cam which allowed them to be in contact almost daily with Daddy.

Truly, a blessed girl! Mother’s Day – 2009 

After a failed attempt at visiting McDaddy, finally, the boys and I boarded a military rotator plane in Baltimore in route to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Pictured here at the Baltimore Airport, the local time was 4:10 am.

After 108 days (and a search by some pretty alert drug dogs), the McBoys are reunited with McDaddy at the GTMO airport.

U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay is the oldest U.S. base overseas and the only one in a Communist country. Located on the southeast corner of Cuba, the base is about 400 air miles from Miami, Florida. The terrain and climate of Guantanamo Bay make it a haven for iguanas and banana rats.

Thanks to a cheap flight, the boys and I headed North to visit McDaddy’s sister and her family. The boys enjoyed two weeks with their cousins.

After months of whining and begging, I screamed with delight as I opened my anniversary gift from McDaddy.

Hello, My Precious!

After a very l-o-n-g six-months, our boys made welcome home posters for McDaddy’s return.

While in church one evening, Stevie began to cry as he asked questions about salvation. An hour or so later, while talking to McDaddy on the web-cam, he made the decision to ask Jesus into his heart. His daddy and I were so proud and so happy that he made the decision to worship and live for Jesus.

With tears in my eyes, I watched as McDaddy’s plane arrived from Cuba.

Shortly after, The McFamily headed out in their Summer home camper and did not return for two weeks.

And if by some chance, y’all are still reading, bless your souls.

After seven years of constant mothering and homemaking, I found myself wondering what in the heck I would do with myself 2.5 hours a day, three days each week, while my sweet Alex attends Pre-School.

My favorite Superheroes!

Alex turns 1,460 days (give or take a day because y’all know that my math skills stink!)

The newest Jimmie Johnson fan celebrates his seventh birthday vowing that seven will make him stronger and faster.

And finally, (after this extremely long post) the McFamily celebrates Christmas.

Head over (if you haven’t abandoned this post) to I Should Be Folding Laundry for more You Capture – Favorite Picture posts.

Earlier this week, Jo-Lynne over at Musings of a Housewife mentioned she would be doing a fun bloggy carnival recap of 2009 using the first sentence (or two because I come from a long line of loud) to compile a year in review post. I thought it would be fun to play along.

As I think back on 2009 and the hand it dealt, I remember lots of tears. Ten days into the year, I was shocked to learn that a dear friend had lost his life in a car accident. Three weeks later, our family embarked on a difficult deployment journey. It was not easy, but we made it and I remember to thank God daily for togetherness. 2009 also gave us a new niece (Lydia Kate) along with two more nieces on the way!

In some cases (like January) I had to move on to the second post because the first “sentence” was just a word like WOW!  or some kind of tangent (ahem!). I also discovered that I use some r-e-a-l-l-y long sentences so, you’ll have to bear with me!

 JANUARY

I am so happy to report that all manner of Christmas decorations have been stowed away in our loft for another year and my big, blue, bloggy [BBB] chair is back in place at the McResidence. I am coming to you from the BBB Chair and tonight I thought I’d write a post about my funeral.

Ah, my funeral. Must. Read. Now.

FEBRUARY

Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.  Psalm 55:17

Day 2 of deployment. It’s going to be a L-O-N-G six months people.

MARCH

Things not to ask me about today.

Sheesh. I’m guessing from the tone in this post, it is a very long list.

APRIL

Typically, when I have a problem, I consult nag McDaddy.

Oh, Internets, I’m not so sure I would call it nagging, but McDaddy probably would!

MAY

Three months and one day ago, my boys and I watched as McDaddy boarded a plane to fulfill a 6-month deployment responsibility with the WV Air National Guard.

Easily, one of the worst days of my life.

JUNE

I am so excited to announce that I finally completed a project that I’ve been wanting to do since we moved into our house seven years ago.

The finished project looks awesome!

JULY

Wow.

Obviously, when the idea of Thursday Thirteen – The Alphabet edition popped into my head 20 some odd weeks ago, I gave little thought to what might happen when it was time for me to come up with thirteen words that begin with the letter U.

Because seriously?

 Have you ever thought about “U” words?

(I know, I know! That’s a lot more than just the first sentence. What can I say? I love to tease. After all I did do 26 weeks of Thursday Thirteens going through the entire alphabet during the stupid deployment!)

AUGUST

We’ve had six months of tears, doubt and massive heartache. I didn’t even mind fighthing with 30 red, white and blue balloons because they were all tangled together and because the wind was blowing like mad.

Folks, after six long months, IT IS OVER!

SEPTEMBER

I am the most organized person I know.

May I introduce you to Braggy McBraggerson?

OCTOBER

I’ve got a busy weekend ahead of me and I have about 4,387 things on my to-do list.

Apparently, October 1, 2009 was a pretty typical day in the life of me!

NOVEMBER

This was hardly a typical shopping experience.

You can say that again!

DECEMBER

It is 10:25pm on Monday night. I am sitting up in my bed instead of my big, blue, bloggy chair because there are three people sleeping in my living room.

Just another post about some Things I Learned This Week.

And if that’s not enough crazy for you (and also because this will serve as my Thursday Thirteen post this week) you can go read about some other really weird stuff.

Thanks for stopping by Inmates! 

Although I have no idea what 2010 has in store for the McFamily, I am sure of God’s grace and mercy in our lives today and everyday!

Happy New Year, Internets!

What better day to tell you thirteen things I’m thankful for than today on this Thanksgiving holiday.

I love Thanksgiving. I have fond memories of waking up very early on Thanksgiving morning to the smell of turkey and pumpkin pie baking in the oven. And, no Thanksgiving is complete without the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  So, yes, I will watch it even today. I will watch it while I dig through the pile of advertising debris as I plot my course for the black Friday shopping extraganza. Yes, I am one of thosepeople. I will rise at O Dark Thirty to hit Kohls, Target, Wal-Mart and probably Sears in search of bargains that likes of which we only see once a year. I’ll be lucky to come away with my sanity. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the hubbub. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Now, back to thirteen things I am thankful for, in no particular order. When I say no particular order, I mean just that. It is more a matter of how they popped into my head as opposed to order of importance.

1. My three fellas – This one is a given, but certainly worth mentioning right off the bat. These fellers are the light of my life. (And yes, we do say fellers around here!)

2. Our Home – With so many people losing their homes these days, I sure am thankful for our home and the joy that fills it.

3.  SLEEP – Sweet mercy, this probably sounds silly, but believe me when I say that I am certainly thankful for sleep. The boys rarely crawl into bed with us anymore and it is glorious to wake up at 6:40am when the alarm clock goes off instead of 3:40am when someone needs to be fed or changed. [Not sure why this picture is so small or how it will look once its posted!]

4. The Blog – The fact that The Blog made the short list of things I’m thankful for will probably leave some of you shaking your head. The fact is that I really enjoy blogging and people love me here. So, its a great place to come and blow off steam or just say hi!  I have also met a lot of people who I consider to be URL Friends (the opposite of IRL – In real life friends). [Hey, remember that princess?]

5. The United States of America –  I have to say that deployment, coupled with our trip to Guantanamo Bay left a lasting impression on me. I will NEVER EVER AS LONG AS I LIVE look at the American flag without thinking about the honor, sacrifice, and courage of the thousands of soldiers stationed all over the world.

6.  My Parental Units – I am thankful that I have my parents and that they live close-by. I had a great childhood with two loving parents.

7.  The In-Law Siblings - When I married McDaddy I gained a truck-load of in-laws because he is the oldest of five children. His two sisters and two brothers (and their spouses) are also our friends. I am thankful most especially for four great sisters-in-law!

8. Deployment Is Over – I am so, so, thankful that we are done with deployment. This time last year we were preparing for deployment. We filled out a will, a power of attorney, and all the other stuff that comes with your husband being out of the country for six-months. I am THANKFUL to have him back at home!

9 . My In-Laws- I LOVE my in-laws. They are living in Florida where my FIL is serving on active duty and I miss them terribly. And I’m not just saying that because my sweet MIL, Jean  reads From Inmates To Playdates daily. She is one of my biggest bloggy fans and frequently makes references to my book. The book that she wants me to write. Someday. If the opportunity were to present itself. Not at all sure what I’d write about. I’m guessing it would be filled with crazy, crazy, and well, more crazy. [Keep in mind that it was a hot August day when McDaddy returned home. My hair kept its flip for all of three minutes in the humidity.]

10.  Our Church – The Lord sent us to our sweet, little church about two months before we were married. We have been worshipping there ever since. Most of our friends are from our church. I have no doubt that I could call any of them at any hour of the day and they would drop what they were doing to come to our rescue. I am thankful for the love I feel when I enter the church doors. I look forward to going to church for each service.

11. My new job- Okay, so its not a new job. Its a job that I’ve been privileged to hold since 2003. While there are days that I miss the craziness that happened in jail, I am so appreciative that I’m the one who is there everyday with my boys. When they are sick it’s me who holds them, when they want to make lego chapels, it’s me who gets to help them design it, when they want to play outside on the swingset, its me who gets to sit and listen to them make big plans about pretend repairs and super jumps off of the swings. I am thankful for the chance to be home with them every day.

12. My twin brothers – While I am not as close to my twin-brothers as I would like to be, I am so thankful they are my brothers.

13. A tie between my TiVo and my iPhone – I know this probably sounds silly! These two little gadgets make my life easier and happier. They save me time and just make my world a better place.

That’s all.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

To: My Sweet Boys

From: Your Mama

Date: November 19, 2009

RE: Just So You Know

Dear Boys,

November is a month of thankfulness and I am so thankful that God picked me to be your mommy! I hope that I never forget to tell you both how special you are and how much I love you!

I think I missed Just So You Know last month, so let me just add that the two of you were the cutest little Superheroes ever!

Dear Stevie:

You are having a great year in the first grade! You made straight A’s on your report card, you began your second year of basketball this month and you started Cub Scouts. You ended up in the emergency room last month because you fell on the playground and got a big, ole, nasty knot on your head. Sweet child, please slow down. It was a nerve-wracking day for me to walk into the office at your school and see this…

Motherhood sure is tough some days. It broke my heart to see you sitting in the office trying to be brave. I hope I never get another one of those calls. Your biggest complaint was that “you were winning the race” before you fell. I am thankful that the knot healed quickly and that you were okay!

You are a sweet, thoughtful little boy who makes me smile every single day. You sang “Voice of Truth” at our church Youth Service this month.

Yesterday, I was working at your school laminating cornucopias that you all had made. You were asked to write what you were thankful for on it. Tears came to my eyes as I read yours…

 I hope you will always remember that God is awesome!

You decided that you are “old enough to sleep without a stuffed animal” now. Your teddy bear, “Milo” has a place of honor on the shelf beside of your bed and it was all I could do to contain my tears last night. You are growing up so quickly! I’d like for time to stand still for a bit. Six is a sweet age and it fits you perfectly!

I love you, Stevie and I am thankful for you!

Love, Mom

Dear Alex,

You are such an independant little boy! You want to do every. single. thing. all. by. yourself! I love watching you when you are determined! You love pre-school and have made many new friends. Your best friend at school is Tanner. You also enjoy attending Scout events with Stevie. I’m thankful that the two of you are good friends!

You just had your fourth birthday and you are excited about getting to wear underwear to bed at night. You received some bad news at the eye Doctor last month and before we knew it, we were at the hospital trying to explain to a four-year old what was about to happen. I can honestly tell you that my heart shattered into a million pieces as they took you through the doors and you said, “Mommy, I want you!”

At that moment, I wanted to scoop you out of that woman’s arms and run as fast as I could out of the hospital.

Sweet mercy that was one of the most difficult moments of motherhood I’ve faced. I pray that the problem is fixed and that we won’t ever have to go through that again. It was the longest hour of my life.

I am thankful that you got a great report at the eye Doctor after the surgery. You are doing so good with your eye-drops. Putting eye drops in your eyes four times a day for ten days could be miserable. You have been a trooper through the whole thing! We are proud of you!

You haven’t forgotten that daddy spent six months in Cuba and you mention it just about everyday. I never dreamed it would still be so fresh in your mind. I’m thankful that daddy is so special to you that you think about his absence in your life. Daddy is a great role-model for you boys and I am thankful that you all love to spend time with him!

I love you sweet boy!

Love, Mommy

So, it’s time for another thirteen of something.

McDaddy is home this evening and we’re watching Grey’s Anatomy. Did I mention that Grey’s Anatomy is a great show? Because it is. It really is.

Today, I thought we’d consult Google for some help with today’s Thursday Thirteen.

So, in the words of Simon Cowell, off we go! (Grrr, I can’t make the blue or the underline go away! Sorry!)

1. Southfield, Michigan arrived from google.com on “Thursday Thirteen – Thirteen Things Stevie learned in Kindergarten” by searching for Ten Things you learned in Kindergarten.

• Hello, Southfield. The good news is that I’m sure I learned more than 10 things in Kindergarten. The bad news is that I can’t remember one thing I learned in Kindergarten except that I enjoyed talking. I know that because my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Richardson reminded me of it every. single. day. of my kindergarten career.

2. Hobbs, New Mexico arrived from search.yahoo.com on “Longaberger” by searching for wife +swarping.

• Welcome Hobbs! I thought I was the only red-neck in the world that used the world swarping. Not sure what context you meant by searching for wife swarping, but in our house it means that I’m more than likely in an agitated state and I’m cleaning. When swarping, I am probably doing the “sigh thing” to let the male members of this household know that I’d appreciate some help. Thanks for stopping by! Happy Swarping!

3. Pleasant Grove, Alabama arrived from bing.com on “Deployment” by searching for sample counseling letter floors not swept, vacumned and mopped.

• Howdy, Pleasant Grove, Alabama, I’m so glad you are here. If you are counseling people on their floors not being swept, vacuumed and mopped, I’m afraid you’d stay pretty busy around the McResidence. I’m pretty sure my floors could use all of the above at this very minute. Only instead of spreading my fabulosity doing my floors, I’m sitting on my sorry behind blogging like made to get this post cranked out before bedtime. The good news is that the floors aren’t going anywhere so there is always tomorrow!

4. Maryland Heights, Missouri arrived from ask.com on “What I Learned At The Funeral Home” by searching for Embalming a Human Body.

• Wow Maryland Heights, I thought I was the only one interested in watching an embalming. Can I just say that it was quite an experience to watch. And if you get all freaked out by blood and guts then you probably shouldn’t plan on watching an embalming any time soon. However, if you are a freak little different like me, watching an embalming will be quite the experience. Let me know how that goes for you, would ya?

5. Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania arrived from google.com on “The Stupid Deployment – From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for irobot roomba erratic behavior.

• Hello Beaver Falls, welcome to From Inmates To Playdates! If you are still experiencing erratic behavior, you might try taking the bottom compartments off, cleaning the dust, hair and debris from the wheels and such and then try running it again. If that doesn’t help, it’s possible you might have a feather or small object stuck in the wheel well. If the roomba is still acting crazy, you’ll have to visit google again. Hope that helps!

6. Madrid arrived from google.com on “Letters To Crazy People – From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for letters from crazy people.

• What ‘s up Madrid? How are things in your neck of the woods? Can I just say that there is plenty of crazy to go around. To crazy people and any other person you can think of. Shoot, for all I know, you’re crazy! And if you are, I say welcome! Come in and have a seat!!! I suspect you and I will get along fabulously!

7. Portland, Oregon arrived from google.com on “Wet T-Shirt Contest” by searching for wet t shirt contests.

• Howdy Portland! Um, I have no idea why you are searching for wet t shirt contests, but I say party on!

8. Flossmoor, Illinois arrived from google.com on “What I Learned At The Funeral Home” by searching for tell me about the first time you watched someone be embalmed.

• Oh Flossmoor, I could tell you all kinds of stuff. I didn’t get into a whole lot of detail, but I will say that it was something that stuck in my head for weeks after watching the embalming.

9. Fort George G Meade, Maryland arrived from google.com on “Christ” by searching for Youtube Standing On The Promises-Medley By Selah .

• Welcome Fort Meade! I am so glad you are here! And Selah is one of my favorite groups! I hope you will take a second to listen to Selah’s Precious Lord and Just a Closer Walk With Me medly. It is fabulous!

10. Birmingham, Alabama arrived from bing.com on “What I Learned In Prison” by searching for how to make christmas ornaments out of fishing bobbers.

• What’s up? Birmingham? Um, I’m pretty sure that I did not learn how to make Christmas ornaments out of fishing bobbers when I was in prison, but hopefully you found something here at Inmates To Playdates that helped you out. And by the way, I would love to see a picture of your fishing bobber Christmas ornaments. We have some friends who would adore them! Oh, and if you’re new here, you should know that I wasn’t really in prison, I toured a prison gift-shop and bought a Christmas ornament which explains how you got here by searching for prison and christmas ornament.

11. Ames, Iowa arrived from google.com on “The Love Dare” by searching for does anyone think the love dare has helped their marriage.

• Hello Ames, Iowa, I’m glad you’re here! If you are thinking of doing the Love Dare, I would encourage you to DO IT! Whether you are experiencing trouble in your marriage or not, I think it can be helpful. It is a great book and I am learning more about myself than I am about McDaddy.

12. Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen arrived from google.de on “Wet T-Shirt Contest” by searching for wet shirt contest “*.jpg”.

• Hello, Koln, Nordrhien-Westfalen or should I just say Germany? I’m happy that you’ve happened upon From Inmates To Playdates, however, I suspect if you’re looking for a wet shirt contest jpg, you didn’t stick around very long. I had to admit that I chuckled when I was your Google Search happen through my feedjit window. I get about eight or ten hits a day on my wet t-shirt post, however, you are the first that added the jpg tag in your search! This post is proof that a good blog title can send some bloggy traffic your way!

13. Bradford, Pennsylvania arrived from google.com on “Wet T-Shirt Contest” by searching for what would you think if your wife entered a wet tee shirt contest.

• W0w, Bradford PA, what is it with you folks searching for wet t-shirt contest stuff? Um, I can’t speak for others but McDaddy would probably welcome me in a wet t-shirt. He probably wouldn’t take too kindly to me entering a contest (ahem!) but I’m guessing he might think it was pretty cool. No worries though. Me and the girls like to stay dry and warm, so a wet t-shirt is probably out of the question.

Okay, that’s a wrap for another week of Thursday Thirteen. Sadly, I COULD HAVE shared 13 people who found me by searching for the wet t-shirt. There’s a lot of them out there, folks! 

And chances are they aren’t playing a game at a Ladies Retreat.

Thanks to all of you who stop by here daily and those of you who come through the front door courtesy of Google!

When I read that this week’s You Capture Challenge was Sunrise/Sunsets, I chuckled.

I chuckled because I try not to make it a habit of being awake early enough to watch the sun rise.

So, with one strike against me because of my inability to function at O Dark Thirty, I would do my best to shoot the sun as it set.

Here’s what I came up with this week….

I shot this picture as I was dropping Alex off at pre-school one morning. I don’t think it was a sunrise because it was almost 9am, but I knew my chances of capturing the sun this week would be slim, so I captured it!

I shot this one from my back deck one evening. I was thrilled with the colors. Around 5pm every evening, this is the scene that we see. God’s handiwork is amazing. [McDaddy, I know you hate the arbitrary use of the word amazing, but in this case, I think it is fitting!]

I took this picture in May when McDaddy was deployed at Guantanamo Bay. Since I didn’t have very many sun pictures this week, I wanted to include this one. It is one of my favorite pictures from our time in Cuba. It was as if God smiled down on us as we stood on Glass Beach.

Kinda makes me wish I was at the beach.

Enjoy your Thursday, y’all!

Be sure to visit I Should Be Folding Laundry for more sunrise/sunset pictures.

I am an organzier by nature.

And a multi-tasker.

I also like being one step ahead of the proverbial game. Stevie and I both have birthdays in December. In fact, thanks to my unwillingness to reamain on bed-rest on my 29th birthday, I had Stevie one day later on December 12th. McDaddy was happy that our sweet boy arrived in time to be claimed on our taxes and I was happy that I didn’t have to spend one more miserable second on bed-rest but if I had any sense I would have kept my sorry behind in the bed and waited until after the holidays to have my sweet boy. Instead, we have two birthdays, one day apart, two weeks before Christmas and one very L-O-N-G sentence.

For that reason, I try to do as much as I can to prepare for the holiday way in advance so I can enjoy the holiday.

If you are a friend IRL (as opposed to URL) who receives the McFamily Christmas Letter in our Christmas card, you should stop reading right now. If not, you will totally ruin the surprise of our Christmas letter.

In other words, you should not read any further if you want to be surprised when our Christmas card arrives.

Now.

There are probably a million handful of people out there who despise the Christmas letter.

We get about six or eight Christmas letters each year and I look forward to them. I also appreciate the cards that are acutally hand-signed by their senders.

I told my BFF Becky yesterday that every year I wonder if I will be able to compose an interesting Christmas letter. And, every year, I surprise myself. During a twenty-minute stint in the pick-up line one day, I started thinking about our Christmas letter. Within minutes, my wheels were turning and I knew if I didn’t get home quickly, I would never remember what I was thinking about.

I’m glad to have this one thing done well in advance of the holiday.

Here is the final product that has become the 2009 McFamily Christmas Letter. It should be read to the tune of Twas The Night Before Christmas… [Insert image of cute Christmas paper here!]

Twas the month before Christmas, at the McFamily abode
Steve’s working for Honeywell, Julie’s cleaning a commode
The stockings are hung on the banister by the door
Hopefully the kids won’t knock them in the floor.
The children are healthy, and snug in this place
They run wild here at home, they sure love to race
Julie’s in her bloggy chair, Steve plays in his jeep
The fellas love to off-road in that big, dirty heap.
When in the back bedroom I hear a big thump
Our sweet little Alex is jumping from the top bunk.
Away through the hall, I fly with a flash
I arrive just in time to see my little boy crash

It’s been a long year filled with deployment stuff
We made it through, but some days it was tough.
After 107 days, Julie and the boys appeared
On Guantanamo Bay with eyes full of tears

The boys were excited, to see their sweet dad
We were all reunited and man, were we glad.
More rapid than before, the days passed quickly by,
And we said tearful goodbyes again with a sigh!
Now daddy! We’ll miss you! Please hurry home!
Our house is just not the same when you are gone!
Daddy was gone six long months with the Guard in Cuba
Spending time with the GTMO folks and a little time for some scuba.
And now that it’s done, we’re grateful for each-other
And Steve and I are sure thankful for two sweet little brothers
Stevie’s in first grade and soon will be seven
He asked Christ in his heart this year so he could go to Heaven.
Alex is four and wears glasses like his brother
He’d rather be in the garage with dad instead of in the van with his mother
As they play together and giggle with joy
Steve and I thank God for our two little boys.
Usually dressed in CARS attire, with shoes on their feet,
Our boys stay busy, their rooms rarely neat.
A bundle of Toys they’re asking for this year
We are just thankful our family is near.
There’s joy in our home and smiles on our faces
We’re thankful to travel and camp in lots of new places.
Our hearts are full and so are our hands
We continue to pray for those serving in far off lands.
Steve’s family is still growing with three kids on the way
There’s lots of nieces and nephews what more can we say?
Alex is potty trained and that makes us real happy
We’re trying our best not to make this real sappy.
Julie dishes out some crazy on her little blog
(www) From Inmates to Playdates is what it is called
You can keep up with the McFamily boys and all their drama
Along with some random ramblings from their crazy Mama.
Another year is done, with many blessings from our Lord.
We’d like to say bless you as this New Year we look toward.
We’ll exclaim it once more before the year is through
Much love and blessings to every one of you!

I have no idea why the document won’t move those two lines. It’s enough to drive me crazy!

At any rate, I’ve got the first part of our Christmas card completed! 

Hopefully this week, I’ll be able to sign the cards and have our Christmas picture printed.

Being organzied works for me!

Check out other Works For Me Wednesday posts over at We Are THAT Family.

One year ago on this very day, “From Inmates To Playdates” made its way onto the bloggy scene with this post.

My blog design looked like this, and I have to admit I’ve missed this cute little gal a time or two since Jo-Lynne redesigned me with a skinnier, older princess.

For those of you who have been here with me from the beginning, I appreciate you! Around the halls of Inmates, you’ll find 393 posts, 2,480 comments and lots and lots of crazy!

My most loyal commenter is my McMotherInLaw, Jean logging in 144 comments. My URL friend, Kellyn [who works within sight of The Mall Of America] came in a close second with 133.

The post that yielded the most comments was entitled I’ve Been Expecting You which happened to be linked to Boo Mama’s Christmas Tour of Homes.

My highest comment day is Thursday because that’s the day I post my You Capture photos. I’ve enjoyed learning more about my camera each week in a feeble attempt to ‘run with the big dogs’ over at the You Capture carnival. We’ve photographed shadows, reflections, red stuff, technology, ourselves, fall stuff, old signs, Joy, and all kinds of other stuff that I can’t think of right now. Basically if you can think of it, we’ve shot it. I keep waiting for the week when Beth assigns CRAZY. I’ll be all over that.

History was made here at Inmates back in June when my daily visitor count reached 1,008. I watched it slowly climb toward 200 and I was thinking it wasn’t even noon. Just before midnight, I hit 1,000. It was an exciting day! That was on a Monday and I was the first linker to link MckMama’s Not Me! Monday post.

This blogging gig has been enjoyable for me and I am grateful for the opportunity to make new friends, review some cool products and make a teensy-bit of cash through advertisiting opportunities.

My most controversial post by far was this one about animal rendering.

Remember all these posts about deployment? It was a long six months with a trip to Guantanamo Bay thrown in the middle of it. I appreciate the kind, encouraging words y’all left throughout the McDeployement Journey.

I think most of you would agree that the thing that sets me apart from most other bloggers is my quirkiness -and believe me, there is plenty of it. My quirkiest post was entitled Things I Learned At The Funeral Home and was a result of my watching an embalming. Yes, you should go there right now and read it. I’ll give you a second.

You back?

I told you it was quirky!

What can I say? I’m a quirky girl. A quirky girl who loves to give stuff away.

And, with the holidays just around the corner, this give-away from uPrinting is perfect!

I am a card-writer. I try to send cards ‘just because!’ Giving custom thank you cards is the perfect gift to express sentiments to your loved ones. 

One lucky reader will be jingling all the way with a pack of 50 Custom Thank You Cards with envelopes! UPrinting cards are made from high-quality paper and cardstock and will surely bring holiday cheer to your friends and family.

 I am so excited about this give-away! I can’t wait to design custom made thank you cards for the McFamily.

Prize Offered: (50 ct.) 7 x 5″ (folded to 3.5 x 5″) Custom Thank You Cards with plain envelopes
Shipping: Free UPS Ground within United States
Blogger Appreciation Prize: (50 ct.) 7 x 5″ (folded to 3.5 x 5″) Custom Thank You Cards with plain envelopes
Eligibility: Limited to US Residents due to shipping costs.

*Pursuant to the FTC ruling on Blogger Reviews and Sponsored Postings, I am fully disclosing that I will be receiving fifty (50) thank you cards from UPrinting.com for hosting this giveaway.

To win, simply leave a comment on this post about how you plan to use the thank-you cards.

A winner will be drawn at random on Sunday evening, November 15th at 10:00 pm ET.

Thanks for celebrating with me!

—————

Updated to announce the winner of the 50 custom thank-you cards.

And the winner is…..

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

8

Timestamp: 2009-11-17 04:06:45 UTC

Congratulations to Commentor #8 Michelle who does not have a blog but has a Yahoo e-mail address.

Thanks for stopping in for a daily dose of crazy, Michelle! Enjoy!

I’ve got a busy weekend ahead of me and I have about 4,387 things on my to-do list.

Next week, doesn’t look much better.

I need about three good days with nothing to do.

Anyone? Anyone?

Beuler?

Okay, I didn’t think so.

Anyway, I was looking at my feed yesterday and I noticed quite a few new ‘direct’ hits. A direct hit means that folks come to ‘From Inmates To Playdates’ because they have me listed in their favorites and they click right on my web address.

So, I’d like to give a shout out to Vail, Arizona,  and Leavenworth, Kansas who stop by Inmates just about everyday. I feel like I know y’all! I sure do appreciate that you share part of your day with me! Same goes for Shelbyville, Kentucky (Hi Bill and Deb!) and Blountville, Tennessee.

Howdy also to the Jeepinwv.com peeps who stopped by yesterday to read the post where Stevie talked about our their JEEP.

I enjoyed meeting the rest of y’all too. You know, the ones. The ones who happen upon Inmates searching for stuff. Stuff like embalming, swallowing pennies and latin freaks. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Google sending people my way. Really, I do! It makes me smile!

Take this one for instance…

• Atlanta, Georgia arrived from google.com on “A Penny… For Your Thoughts : From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for something funny to say when a child swallows a penny.

Hello, Atlanta. Welcome to From Inmates To Playdates. As much as I’d love to share something funny to say when a child swallows a penny, I can’t think of anything right now that would be funny. Because seriously, if your child swallows a penny, it will be anything but funny. It will be crappy. Because remember? I had to poke through poop for ten days looking for the penny and then after ten days, I never found it and then we did the x-ray only to be told that the penny was gone. Um, nothing funny about that. Sorry. But thanks for stopping by! I wish you all the luck in the world with that penny.

• Fargo, North Dakota arrived from google.com on “A Man With A Plan : From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for doolittle’s mashed potatoes nutrition .

What’s up Fargo? I remember the post about Doolittle’s and their yummy mashed potatoes. I have only thing to say about Doolittle’s. Go. There. Now. and enjoy every stinkin’ bite of those yummy mashed potatoes because they are to die for. Okay, not really die. But they are delish. Oh,  and thanks for stopping by!

• Rockford, Illinois arrived from google.com on “Nosiness : From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for the positive of nosiness

What’s shakin’ Rockford?  Um, if you find the postive of nosiness, would ya mind sharing it with me? Because McDaddy rats on me all the time for being so dang nosey. Or is it nosy? I never know. Shoot. All I know is that there probably isn’t a postive to it unless you can count that I could pretty much tell you some really weird stuff because of my ‘condition.’ I was wired that way. What can I say?

• Bombay, Maharashtra arrived from google.co.in on “Just So You Know : From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for i am tired of your tantrums letter to my boyfriend.

Hey Bombay, I’m so glad you’ve stopped by. I have two words for you. RUN. FAST. If your man is having tantrums as a boyfriend, girl, it will only get worse when he’s a husband. Kick that cat to the curb. And don’t help him up. Good luck to you.

• Terre Haute, Indiana arrived from ask.com on “Nosiness : From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for where can i take sexy pictures in terre haute for my husband as an anniversary gift.

Um, Terre Haute, there’s one in every crowd. I would suggest you moverightalong because um, me and McDaddy, we don’t take those types of pics around here. I’m not saying McDaddy wouldn’t like it (ahem!) I’m saying it doesn’t happen. Um, and I wouldn’t have a clue about Terre Haute, so I’m sorry to say you won’t find the answers here at Inmates. Unless you’re looking for pictures of that sexy Saturn Sky and if that’s the case, you will find them in abundance, because hello? I triple heart the Saturn Sky.

• Fleetwood, Pennsylvania arrived from google.com on “From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for swollen eyeball mouse feces allergy.

Welcome, Fleetwood, Pennsylvania! I do remember writing a post about a certain rodent helping himself (herself?) to our snack basket. But um, I don’t remember mentioning the eyeball, the feces or the allergy. I hate that for you because seriously, it sounds very painful. I wish you the best as you search for the whole healing the swollen eyeball mouse feces allergy. Man, that’s a mouthfull. Thanks for coming by!

• Reidsville, North Carolina arrived from google.com on “What I Learned At The Funeral Home : From Inmates to Playdates” by searching for cut eyelids funeral.

Reidsville, North Carolina, what’s up? Um, I did watch an embalming and there was lots to talk about, but I know nothing of cut eyelids. Actually, the mortician will put a contact lens in your eye with little grooves on it to keep the eye from opening. You can read all about that over here. It was all very interesting.

• Bryan, Texas arrived from google.com on “Thursday Thirteen – Thirteen Things Stevie learned in Kindergarten” by searching for lessons u learned in kindergarten and first grade.

Hello, Bryan, Texas! I can tell you that I have a little one in first grade and I learned something from him today. Johnny Appleseed’s real name was Johnny Chapman. I did not know that. I must have been talking asleep the day they taught that in first grade. Stevie brought home a drawing he did just today about Johnny Appleseed. I found it interesting that I’ve lived 35  years on this earth and didn’t know that. My six year old on the other hand, well, he taught me something today.

• Huntsville, Texas arrived from google.com on “What Deployment Taught Me” by searching for symbol for deployment.

Hi, Huntsville. We just went through the whole deployment thing. If I had to choose one symbol for deployment it would probably be a teardrop. We did a six-month sentence deployment and I cried approximately 168/180 days, but I’m a big cry-baby, so maybe you should talk to someone else about a deployment symbol.

Google, I appreciate you sending these fine folks my way! It makes me smile to find out what people are searching for. It reminds me to write about some weird stuff from time to time.

Enjoy your weekend, y’all.

Thanks for stopping by!