This Is The Stuff...

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am 4 days away from seeing my husband!!!! Unbelievable!! I can't believe I have made it through 71 days and now I am within 4 days!

This past week I've been having a love-hate relationship with time...I love that it's passing so quickly, but I hate that it is because I am having a hard time getting all my stuff done.

And speaking of getting stuff done, I had my week planned with everything I needed to do before we leave, shopping, hair appointments, church, all kinds of stuff. So on Wednesday I was going to go do all my last minute shopping for the trip and Karina and I get in the car and I put it in reverse and heard a crunch and I thought I had run over something but I didn't see anything so I keep backing up and hear this grinding sound and thought, Uh-Oh!

So long story short, I called my dad, described the sound and he tells me the breaks probably went out and not to drive it. Ok...Great. So in all these 9 weeks that Abel has been gone, I haven't had any problems with the house, the car, anything. Until 5 days before I leave. Really? Yes. So I called the mechanic and he says I can bring it in but he can't look at it till Friday or Monday. Really? Yes. Then my mind started going into what I call "GPS Mode" because I had to start saying "Recalculating, Recalculating" :) Ok, what was I going to do now? I have to get all of my stuff done and somehow get down to my parents house in Champaign by Monday. Hmmmmmm...borrow a car? Rent a car? Well, after a few phone calls, I had some really great friends step up and so VERY kindly let me borrow one of their cars till Sunday night when I will have my great sister in law take me to meet my family halfway, and they dropped my car off at the mechanic for me. So it all worked out in the end :)

In the middle of all this going on, I was at home and had the radio on and this song comes on by Francesca Battistelli called "This is the stuff"... Here's some of the lyrics:

I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

45 in a 35, sirens and fines while I'm running behind...

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
It's not the end of the world


As I'm listening to this song, God just spoke to me again that all these "things" that happen in life, like having a broke down car 5 days before I leave :), that I needed to take a step back from my little "mess" and remember how BIG I'm blessed. This "stuff" is definitely NOT the stuff I would choose to happen to me to remember how I'm blessed, but it is the "stuff" He chooses to use, and I have to remember that verse from Isaiah 55:9 (the Message) that says:
"I don't think the way you think.
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think."

And also Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Lean not on your own understanding."

I don't know why my car broke down right now, but I know how "BIG" I'm blessed! God has shown Himself to be so incredibly faithful and has blessed me beyond what I deserve. I am humbled.

So the next time you have a "little mess" or experience the stuff that drives you crazy just remember how BIG you're blessed! :)

Blue Is My New Favorite Color

Well, Blue is now my new favorite color, (thanks mom!) as in I love that Abel is in Blue Phase!! He's been in Blue for the last 2 weeks and on Sunday I got a glorious 1 hour and 10 minute phone call, another 30 minute phone call today and 3 letters in the mail today! Blue is the last phase of Basic Training and they get so many more privileges because they've EARNED it!! On Sunday in our long phone call, it was so nice to just have a relaxed conversation, instead of going down my check list of things that I had to let him know and hoping we had enough time to get it all out. I am SO VERY THANKFUL that God knew just what platoon to put him in with just the right Drill Sergeants because there are many Companies who have not been allowed ANY phone calls home except at the very beginning of Basic to let their loved ones know they arrived. God knows I couldn't have made it through...not without some major stress anyway!!! :)

So they've done lots of things from throwing grenades, doing 10 mile marches with an added 50-60 lbs of gear on, missions in the humvees, combatatives, machine guns, and having pizza parties! They even had one day where they went through a course called Omaha and they went through scenarios with LIVE fire, up until then they were just shooting blanks, oh my... good thing I pray for massive protection for him EVERY DAY!!! :) On Monday - Thursday of next week they will do Victory Forge and then come back, spend the next few days cleaning the barracks and get their stuff in order and then graduate!!! Abel is one of the squad leaders, which puts him in charge of 10 guys in the platoon and during Victory Forge, they're required to plan and successfully execute a mission, so he said they were having a fun time planning all that.

I can tell he's ready...he told me that on Family Day he wants Kit Kats, M&M's, and Reese's PB Cups, and on graduation day he wants to go eat somewhere GOOD! :) That's my man, always thinking about the food! LOL :)

I'm so thankful that God has brought me through this whole journey without losing my mind! I have learned so much about myself and what I can do with His help and when I just "lean not on my own understanding, but in ALL my ways acknowledge HIM, HE will direct my path."
13 more days...I can do this!! :)

Here's some pics of them at their pizza party. They each got their own pizza, pop and candy...and the next day they had to do their final PT test (oh wow) and had to pass in order to graduate! And the next day he ROCKED his PT test and passed with flying colors!


These guys have apparently named themselves "The A-Team" LOL!!! I do love the "brotherhood" that Abel tells me about that they all have.







Abel said he only ate 4 slices :) Unlike his buddy Ryan here who obviously ate way more than that!! But he passed his PT test too so it was all good! LOL!!

Our "Baby" is 5!

Wow, I cannot believe I'm saying this but, on Monday our "baby" turned 5 years old! There are so many things I love about this girl, and to list them here would take up an entire page, maybe more :) But I am so proud of her and the sweet, loving, snuggly, smart, creative, tender child that she is. She has gone from a seriously shy little girl, not wanting to even talk in preschool, to an at least somewhat outgoing little girl who now loves to do show and tell in preschool, and who was devastated when I told her that there is no school during the summer! :)
Especially during these past 8 1/2 weeks having daddy gone, with it just being me and her, she at times has been my strength, and now I am hers, she is really feeling the toll of having daddy gone and is easily prone to tears these days. But in only 1 1/2 short weeks we will be with him!

I always take a picture of her in her birthday crown, so here's the progression from when she turned 1 till now.

Happy 5th Birthday Karina Lizette!! Mommy & Daddy Love you!!!!!!

One more thing...

I just got a letter from Abel right now and he said that on Friday last week the were having a Battalion testing that day and one of the Drill Sergeants (DS) had to pick 7 soldiers from each platoon (28 total soldiers) to represent Delta Company to show the Sergeant Major how effective BCT has been on each of these soldiers and guess who was chosen???!!!! That's right! Abel was! This particular DS felt Abel had done such a great job to be chosen as one of 28 out of 210 soldiers to represent his Company and to go against the other A,B,C,E and F Companies!


He has really embraced this whole process and not just done what he needs to to get by, but has excelled at what he's doing! Way to go ABEL!!!! So proud of him!

Close Call...

So you know how you never pay attention to the news unless you hear about something that will directly affect you? Well, yeah that was me last week. Usually, unless Abel is here to tell me the latest news on CNN or local news, I don't really pay attention, sad, I know...but last Wednesday when I started hearing all the buzz about the government shutdown, my ears perked up. (See, some of you are going, "government shutdown? Huh?) Why? you ask? Well, the Military would be directly affected by the shutdown, since they are obviously run by the Federal Government, and all pay would be stopped to every branch of the Military, including those that are currently deployed, and delaying pay until the shutdown ended. Senseless. Completely senseless. They had to reach a resolution by midnight Friday night. For about 2 minutes, I let all the "what if" scenarios run through my head and then I caught myself and was reminded of a scripture that was sort of "drilled" into us (in a good way) at my MOPS group this week:
Isaiah 41:10 "So do not FEAR, for I am with you; do not be DISMAYED, for I am your God. I will STRENGTHEN you and HELP you; I will UPHOLD you with my righteous right hand."

Ok, God, I said. Thank you, I'll trust you even if it happens, because I know you've always had our backs.

Friday, a surprise call from Abel came in the afternoon, awesome to hear his voice, but he began telling me that his unit/company had just had an "emergency" meeting about the shutdown, and how it would affect them. Now mind you, these guys have NO outside news from anywhere, no tv, newspapers, internet, nothing, (all just part of the Basic Training process) so Abel had no idea what was going on, so I had to explain it all to him. And once again, I was reminded of Isaiah 41:10, and shared this with him.

Well, 10:30 on Friday night I turned on CNN and Breaking News Reports were that a deal had been reached...wow! Thanks Congress, nothing like waiting till the "11th hour", but nevertheless a deal was reached.

I know God gives us times in our lives like this as opportunities to see how our attitudes towards it will be and then sometimes in the "11th hour" it all works out and sometimes it doesn't. I just have to remember that His timing is always better than mine or anyone else's.

Moving right along...
Sunday morning brought another phone call! Yay! During church no less :) had to slip out...thank goodness I still keep my phone plastered to me :)

This week they get to move on to Blue Phase, the last phase of training!!!...he was excited because they get to learn how to throw grenades this week! Can you imagine all the testosterone flying around there right now?! LOL!! Next week they go to Victory Forge, a 6 day "rite of passage" trip, full of combat scenarios, live fire, camping, etc... and then the week after that is GRADUATION!!!!! I could totally hear the "relief" in his voice knowing the end is in sight!

If you want to send Abel a Birthday card you still can...his birthday is this Friday the 15th. Also don't forget, no letters after the 22nd.

Well here are the most recent pictures...

Getting ready to get fitted for their Dress Blues...the nice fancy uniforms that Soldiers get to wear...unfortunately because the country is at war, they will not get to use these uniforms for graduation, they will have to wear their ACU's (Army Combat Uniforms) That's ok though, he'll still look awesome!!
Waiting....

This picture doesn't have Abel in it, but it gives you an idea as to what the uniforms look like. Nice!
In line for chow...so serious :) 4th Platoon! Go Head Hunters!! They obviously have a lot of fun :)

The guy directly to the right of Abel is one of his good buddies Chris, and also the head of the guy right between their heads is Steve another good buddy.
Wow, all decked out in full gear...


Until next time....

Ask The Expert

So tonight I was watching this show on TLC called "What the Sell?!" love that name! lol! It's about this mom and her daughters that own an antique shop and people come in all the time to sell stuff to them. On tonight's episode, there was a lady who came in with a beautiful necklace which she's had for about 30 years, and it was passed down to her by her aunt, who got it from her aunt. So it's been in the family for about 60-70 years. She has had it for all these years and has never worn it, so she decided she wanted to sell it. It was kind of a gaudy piece, very costume jewelry-ish, but she thought she could at least get about $300 for it. The women who own the shop are hilarious and they're making comments about the necklace and that they'd probably give her $30 for it, but one of the sisters steps up and says, "you know, I want to call in the expert for this one, you never know". So in comes this British dude with his little gadgets to determine whether the pearls are really pearls and the diamonds are diamonds or if its just all fake. He's also using is eye magnifying glass, looking for the "signature" of the maker. He's keeping everyone in suspense...everyone's expecting it to be a dud...but, as he holds the meter gadget on one of the diamonds, it beeps, meaning it's the real deal, and so are the pearls. Not only are those the real deal, but the piece was made by Cartier, and he estimated the value at $10,000! Needless to say, the woman was floored and said she was going to keep it! Duh!! :)

So, why did I tell you about this episode of "What the Sell?!" sorry I just wanted to say it again! :) Well, because as I'm sitting there watching this, I cannot help but feel like a lot of times we (I) try to look to "others" or "things" to tell us what we're worth, and most of the time what we or they think we're "worth" is not very much. So often we try to rid ourselves of something that we think is of no worth or value to us or anyone else so we sell ourselves short, thinking that all we have to offer is just a dud, instead of looking to the Expert, the One who created us and finding out we're worth more than we ever could have imagined. In fact, we are worth SO much, that he took the one thing that was of greatest worth to Him and paid to have us as His own.

Is there something you're trying to get rid of that you think is a dud and isn't worth anything at all? Could it be a disability? Past hurts? Broken relationships? Whatever it may be, God, our Creator, Designer, Maker, can take ANYTHING that you think is worth NOTHING and make it SOMETHING beautiful. Ecclesiastes 3:11a says: He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Can your Creator's "Signature" be found on you? Maybe today you need to ask your Creator how much you're worth...you might be surprised at His answer! :)
Psalm 139: 13, 14, 17 says it beautifully:
¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

After a conversation with my sister last night, she said it perfectly: "There's light at the end of the tunnel!" We're on week 6 of 10!!

I felt like last week was my "hump" week, with it being the halfway point and all. It kinda seemed to drag on, and I was kinda feeling like I hit a wall, but again the words from the Josh Wilson song, Before The Morning kept ringing in my head:
Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,
that you still have a reason to sing,
'cause the pain you've been feeling,
can't compare to the joy that's coming
so hold on, you got to wait for the light
press on, just fight the good fight
because the pain you've been feeling,
it's just the dark before the morning

I was reminded again at how God has been so faithful to us through this journey. Not just our lives are being changed, but other people's lives are being touched and changed as well, not by anything we've done, but all because of Jesus.

I got a call from Abel last night, he was the only one who got a call, apparently all their Drill Sergeants (DS) left early last night so they weren't there to facilitate calls. He said there was one DS from a different platoon so he asked if he could call home and the DS said yes. So, I don't know if it was a matter of him just asking and no one else thought to ask or what. But hey all you can do is ask right?! And I'm glad he did!

He is doing so good, I can hear it in his voice.

He said that everyone is doing great as a platoon, they had another really great week. This week they are getting fitted for their Dress Uniforms (the really nice dressy ones), and also this week from Tues - Friday they are doing Victory Hammer, where they'll be out "camping" (which by the way he hates camping! LOL!) and doing their combat scenarios and all that good stuff. Then, the following week, they should be moving to Blue Phase (YAY!!) and then the week after that is when they do Victory Forge, which is another camping thing, except 6 days that time, it's their "rite of passage" and then after that's done they will be practicing for graduation! So I know for him time is gonna zip right on by and hopefully for us too. We have a busy April coming up.

He told me that he's lost about 11 pounds and today he was gonna have to go get fitted for new uniforms because his didn't fit him anymore. The uniforms were already a little big when he first got them and now that he's lost that much weight, he needed new ones. :)

Abel's birthday is coming up on the 15th so if you think about it, it would be really nice if you could send him a card :) Mail has been pretty quick getting to him so if you send it one week before his birthday, I'm sure he'd get it on time. I'll post his address again at the end of this post.

Also, he said to stop sending letters after April 22nd, because they don't want them getting mail after they've graduated and because they'll be out almost all that last week anyways.

Thanks again for walking with us through this journey...stick around cause there's more excitement to come!!

Here's his address once again...be sure to address it in blue ink and put a big blue 4 on the back of the envelope.

SPC, Vargas, Abel
D co. 2-39th Inf Reg
4th Platoon (Head Hunters)
10400 Hampton Pkwy
Ft. Jackson, SC 29207-6820


Most recent pics :)


Chow Time