Back with a rant!

I have hated being away for so long! It's been a great week and a half in the mountain state, and I just haven't had time to blog. And I definitely haven't had the internet speed. But with the history changing events that unfolded last night, I felt compelled to (in true Courtney fashion) fire up my parents' stone age computer and do a little ranting!

Let me first say that I am so proud to be an American, and especially proud to be the wife of a veteran! The things the men and women of our Armed Forces have done in the past 10 years has been amazing. I am so proud and happy to finally see this mission accomplished and see the demise of such an evil man! Thank you, Navy Seals for getting the job done! And thank you to every single troop who has spent time in the middle east in the past 10 years trying to reach this goal.

Let me now say ... Holy crap America, SHUT UP! People are never EVER satisfied ... For the past year, all people have done (and rightfuly so) is talking about and complain about the two wars we are fighting, the declining economy, and continuous natural disasters, and all the bullying and negativity going on around this world. But then when something happy, and joyous and full of love is brought to the world's attention, what do we do? Complain about that as well! Now I get it, not every one was as into the Royal Wedding as I was. Weddings are for every one, they were not the leaders and future leaders of our country, and like the media does, they ran it into the groud showing us every last detail of everyone in Great Britain. But come on people, seriously, enough with the bitching. I, personally, was glad to see true love and happiness plastered all over my television for a change. It was a welcomed break from the damage and despair of tornados and tsunamis, hollywood stars overdosing and going through their 8th divorce, or kids beating the crap out of each other in school.

For at least the past 7 years we as Americans have been doubting the abilities of our nation's leaders to find Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for the 9/11 attacks. We have claimed we would never find him and he would die of old age in a cave. We have speculated that government and military officials knew where he was and were not telling the public. We have come up with 100 scenarios and speculations all the while breathing down the necks our of leaders and doubting their methods and abilities. Well last night, that all came to an end! We found the SOB, and justice was served! Every single family who lost a loved one on Septemeber 11, 2001 may now have a small piece of closer knowing the man responsible for the deaths of their loved ones has met his maker and is enduring his judgement day for all the heinous things he did "in the name of God." I am not saying you should celebrate the death of one of God's children, but I cannot help but be happy about this victory for Americans, especially American troops. This man was not going to do anything but continue to bring harm and evil to the world. I am not sad to see him go. But what are we now doing? BITCHING. Complaining about people celebrating this victory, complaining about  the way we went about it, complaining because Obama said he was behind this attack, complaining complaining.

Someone said that celebrating Bin Laden's death only shows that we are saying the cost of war has been worth it ... Well you're damn right! I am fairly certain that just about every troop who has served overseas, made sacrifices, been away from their family, or been injured or even killed would say that his sacrifice was was worth it. And I can also bet that every wife, mother, father, sister or brother who lost a loved one in these wars in the past year would tell you their loved one did not die for no reason. It absolutely burns me up when people say the death and debt that these wars have cost have not been worth it. How dare someone say that the sacrifices my family has made, and the families of so many that are dear to me is not worth it. These men do not fight these wars for political reasons and they do not fight them to the Democrats, or the Republics, or anyone sitting up on that hill. They fight it for you and me. For their families back home, for their kids to have a safe and wonderful life. They fight these wars so that no one ever again thinks they can come into this country and cause destruction like that caused on 9/11 by Bin Laden and his followers. It IS worth it. And this IS a cause for celebration.

Anyone who thinks this will be an immediate end to the war is a fool. A ton of extra prayers will go up for our troops overseas, as I am sure retalliation is upon them. But this was one very huge, and very long awaited victory for our side. Had I been alive during WWII I would have cheered the death of the coward Adolf Hitler. Osama Bin Laden falls under this same category, and today, his death will be celebrated, and the sacrifices made for this country will be honored and appreciated.

God, bless our troops.Keep them safe with your strongest angels. And God, bless this great nation.


"I have never wished a man dead. But I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." -Mark Twain

New Hair cut

So I went last week and got my hair cut pretty short. I had an idea of what I wanted when I went in the salon, but chickened out when I got there! hehe. But a couple days later I decided that I wanted it shorter. So I went back today and did just that. I love it, but now I want it blonde again. ugh. haha.

We are heading to the beautiful mountains of West Virginia tomorrow. Logan and I will be staying at least a week, maybe two. Evan will only be able to stay with us until Monday, through Easter. I cannot wait to go home! It's been a few months since we have been there and I am anxious to see my family and a lot of friends. I don't know how often, if at all, I will be able to post because the internet is slow and crappy. But I hope everyone has a great Easter, and remembers the reason for the season. Thank you Lord, for you son. <3

The rest of our weekend ....

Before the tornado hit, we were actually having a great weekend. We took Logan to the circus in town Friday evening, which was surprisingly awesome! He loved it! Actually, we all loved it! It was another one of my favorite moments as a parent, when you get to watch your child experience something for the first time. I love to see the world through a child's eyes. Logan particularly loved the "vroom vrooms" or the motorcycles. He could not get enough of them. My personal favorite was the trapeze act! And when they shot a man out of a cannon! Great fun was had by all!

"What's that?!"

Family Fun!

THREE motorcycles!

Elephant Rides

The trapeze family

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to head to Wilmington to participate in the ALS walk. I did this walk in memory of my grandpa who fought a courageous battle with this disease for over 10 years. I wanted to celebrate his life and be a part of finding a cure so no one else ever has to go through this disease again. My grandpa was the bravest and strongest man I ever met. It was so hard for my family to watch him deteriorate  over the years and not even be able to walk or speak. He taught me so much about life and was such an amazing man. He made a huge impact on just about every one in their community. He is missed every day. My son's middle name is after him, and I was so glad that he could be there with me as I did this walk. His little legs even walked about half a lap for his great-grandpa. I am so thankful to my husband for coming with me and doing this walk and supporting me. He knew how much it meant to me. I was only able to fundraise for less than a week, and my amazing friends and family helped me to raise over 200 dollars for the ALS Association! The Wilmington chapter exceeded it's total goal of $85,000 and raised a total of $101,959.00!!! This is so amazing!! Thank you everyone who helped out! I hope to be a part of an ALS walk somewhere every year from here on out! I know my grandpa was there with us. He even brought a little sunshine to the walk. And I hope he was proud. 

I love you Pa. I'll see you again some day.

Logan & I at opening ceremony.

What a great turnout!!

Logan James walking for his great-grandpa James Barger.

I'm so blessed to have them.

Tornado

So, I'm sure most of you have heard about the tornados that ravaged the south this past weekend.. Unfortunately, I got a first hand look at the devastation they caused. We had been hearing all day Saturday that it was supposed to rain hard and hail, but the skies were mostly blue and their was no rain in sight. Late Saturday afternoon the winds had started picking up quite a bit around town. I got online to see what was being forecasted for us and saw that we were under a tornado warning. Evan and I didn't really think much of it because hurricane warnings are so frequent around here and then nothing ever happens. So around 8:30 Saturday night Logan was asleep and we were just watching a movie. The wind and lightning  started to get really bad and we were peeking out the window taking a look at things. My friend was texting me telling me that they were thinking about going to get their son from Saturday Night Daycare on base, and then she said they had lost power at their house. We lost power for just a few seconds. I then text our best friends who were supposed to be coming over and asked if they had lost power as well. About 5 minutes later I received a frantic call from Evan's best friend saying that a tornado had just touched down on base housing right at their house and that homes were flattened, they had lost windows in their home, and he had just helped a neighbor rescue her baby from the rubble! I was frantic and got off the phone with him immediately so I could call our friend and tell her to go get their son. The daycare is on the same road that Megan and Greg live on and I had no clue if it had been damaged. My friend then told me that they couldn't get their garage door open because they had no power. Without even thinking, Evan jumped in his truck and said he was going to get little Evan! He flew over there just as the parents were about to take off walking. Thankfully, the daycare was not harmed and neither were any of the kids, but the elementary school directly across the street was basically destroyed.

All of my friends are healthy and okay, and their home was even spared and they are allowed to go back and live in it as of today. The toddler that our friend helped to save was a 2 year old who has a broken leg, arm and ribs, a collapsed lung and internal bleeding. The toddler was on life support, but I was told today that his doctor is amazed at his progress and he is expected to make it through! God is so good! I have been a mess thinking of this child and his parents!

The mom, whom I do not know but have seen a few times, was laying the toddler down in his crib in the upstairs of their home when the tornado hit and ripped the top floor off of the home. The mom and child were thrown from the house into the back yard. When Greg and a couple of his neighbors got outside she was standing on top of the pile of rubble screaming for them to find her baby. This is an image that will haunt me, an I am certain will haunt these Marines forever. They started searching through the rubble and Greg lifted up a wall that was being held up by the child's crib. They baby was inside. A man had come from the houses behind them and grabbed the baby and took it to Megan and Greg's living room where he began CPR. The mother's jaw is broken and all of her teeth had been knocked out.

The amount of destruction and devastation was unbelievable to me...You just don't imagine ever seeing vehicles through living rooms and piled up on top of each other. That seems to be only a scene from a movie. When I saw my best friend's home and the homes around her's all I could do was cry when I thought of how close they had come to being so seriously injured or killed. God was watching out for them and so many other families. I still just cannot believe all of this happened so close to us. The tornado touched down about a mile from our house. I have been thanking God and counting my blessings constantly since Saturday. Things could have been so much worse. Please pray for those families that lost everything and other families around the country who lost loved ones as well as their homes.

Behind their neighbor's house, where the toddler was found.

Houses right next to them with no top floor.

Bowman Ct.

Love conquers all.

ALS WALK

Here is the link if anyone is interested in making a donation to the ALS Association. I am participating in the walk tomorrow in honor or my grandpa who was taking by this heartbreaking disease. Any donations will really mean the world to me! Thank you!


https://secure2.convio.net/alsa/site/Donation2?idb=1570853817&df_id=17871&FR_ID=7042&17871.donation=form1&PROXY_ID=3013301&PROXY_TYPE=20

Slacker

My goodness I have been slacking on my posts lately!! I have finally started to get more followers, so I had better get on the ball and keep up the posts! The weather has been SO gorgeous lately that we have spent most of our days doing one thing or another outside. Spring is so great down here. It's a little warmer than spring most other places so we can bust out the shorts and tank tops early, but it's not the dead of summer yet so NO HUMIDITY! Summers in the south are just miserable. I cannot stand humidity, and I cannot stand to choke to death when I walk out of my house! So we have been enjoying the days while we can!

Last weekend I went down to Wilmington with a few friends to the Azalea Festival. It was so nice and such a great time. The atmosphere down there was so friendly and calm. The fireworks, the fried food and the company were all amazing! Logan was just enamored with the fireworks and it was the cutest thing ever! I think one of the most amazing parts of parenthood is watching your child experience something for the very first time. I love taking him to see and do new things just so I can see the sheer joy and pleasure on his face. Ah, to see the world through a child's eyes again! Everything is so magical to them. It is such a neat experience! We all had a great time, despite the rain. Evan and Greg were at Busco riding 4-wheelers again, so Aunt Megan stepped in as fill in daddy/date for us. ;)

First Fireworks

She spoils him rotten!

Azalea Festival. Wilmington, NC

Megan and I NEVER pass up an opportunity, when in Wilmo, to have a photo-op with One Tree Hill casting sites!

In PCSing news (Permanent Change of Station, or moving in civilian language): After going back and forth and making changes a million times, we have finally nailed down moving dates! The movers have been booked and will be here to do a walk-through of the house next week! It was such an exciting feeling to see actual paperwork on my table! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's looking like we will have almost a month to get moved out of our current house, find a new place in VA and get settled in! I am beyond excited for the next chapter of our lives. Camp Lejeune has been a lot of hard times, and a handful of unforgettable ones. The people I have met here have mostly been toxic and people that I never want to have to deal with again. But for the very few who are good and true friends, I will hold them dearly in my heart forever and ever.  <3

This weekend, Evan and I are going to be participating in a walk for ALS. This is a horrible disease that took my grandpa from me way before I was ready to let him go. I'll post more about the walk and about my papaw after I have done it. I just found out about the walk last weekend when we were in Wilmington so my expectations for fundraising were not high. But my amazing family and friends have been so generous that I have raised over 200 dollars in less than a week just from posting on Facebook and sending E-mails! I am so exciting to honor my papaw in this walk, but I know it's going to be such an emotional day for me. 

Well, it's WAY past bedtime, and I've got to rise and shine early in the A.M. to help a friend do a little yard saling :) Sweet dreams everyone! 

Top 2 Tuesday: Favorite Drinks

#1:: Dr. Pepper -- I LOVE Dr. Pepper. It's the greatest drink EVER. I have one every morning as my cup of coffee. :)

#2: Bud Light Draft -- Classy, I know. ;)