To My Military Wives....

THE MILITARY WIFE
The good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared. She said, "Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong with the standard model?"
The lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both father and mother, be a perfect hostess to four or 40 with an hour's notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully even if she is pregnant and has the flu, and be willing to move to a new location 10 times in 17 years. And, oh, yes, she must have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head. "Six pairs of hands." The Lord continued, "Don't worry, we will make other military wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride in her husband's achievements, sustain the pain of separations, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired, and be large enough to say 'I understand' when she doesn't and say 'I love you' regardless."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his arm gently, "go to bed and get some rest. You can finish this tomorrow."
"I can't stop now," said the Lord. "I am so close to creating something unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick, can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave goodbye to her husband from a pier, a runway, or a depot, and understand why it's important that he leave."

The angel circled the model of the military wife, looked at it closely and sighed. "It looks fine, but it's too soft."
"She might look soft," replied the Lord, "but she has the strength of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord's creation. "There's a leak," she announced. "Something is wrong with the construction, I am not surprised that it has cracked. You are trying to put too much on this model."

The Lord appeared offended at the angel's lack of confidence, "What you see is not a leak." he said, "It's a tear."

"A tear? What is it there for?" asked the angel. The Lord replied, "It's for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment, loneliness, pride and a dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear."

"You are a genius!" exclaimed the angel. The Lord looked puzzled and replied, "I didn't put it there."

SINCE MY LAST POST I.......

*HAD A PICNIC AT BUTLER PARK WITH MY GUYS AND MY PARENTS






*CELEBRATED FATHER'S DAY (Didn't leave Joe out...his gifts didn't make it on camera)



*WITNESSED GORGEOUS SUNSETS




*HAD SOMEONE I LOVED VERY MUCH PASS AWAY.....I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU LEON! I AM SO BLESSED THAT OUR PATHS CROSSED DURING YOUR CANCER TREATMENTS WHERE I WORKED.  I AM SO GRATEFUL I HAD THE CHANCE TO KNOW YOU AND SHARE YOUR FINAL YEARS WITH YOU.  YOU SHOWED WHAT TRUE COURAGE, FAITH AND LOVE REALLY ARE AND FORVER LEFT YOUR IMPRINT ON MY HEART AND IN MY LIFE.  I LOVE YOU DEARLY!


*LEARNED SOMEONE I AM VERY CLOSE TO IS EXPECTING!


*WENT WITH MY PARENTS, JOE AND THE BOYS TO SEE


*SPENT A WEEK AT LAKE BARKLEY STATE RESORT PARK












Years ago we all met at while at Lake Barkley as kids. Our families all became close and vacation here together every year.  Now all of us "kids" are starting the tradition with our own children!  It was so awesome to see our kids bonding just like we did!

*HAVE BEGUN MAKING AMENDS WITH MY BROTHER AND HAVE SPENT TIME WITH MY NIECE AND NEPHEWS!
Pics will be posted soon!

* TURNED 33! HOW IN THE WORLD DID THAT HAPPEN? Thanks baby for my cookie cake!  You are AWESOME!  XOXO


*SPENT TIME WITH A GREAT CHILDHOOD  FRIEND AND HER KIDS (The Schweitzers)




EXACTLY A WEEK LATER....GAVIN WADE JOINED THE SCHWEITZER FAMILY! WELCOME TO THE WORLD SWEET BOY!


* CELEBRATED MY PARENT'S 38TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! THEY ARE SUCH AN INSPIRATION!


* ROCKED OUT AT THE NKOTBSB CONCERT WITH MY BESTIE! AND I AM PROUD TO ADMIT I STILL LOVE ME SOME NEW KIDS AND YES! I DID SCREAM LIKE A 16 YEAR OLD...SO MUCH SO I WAS HOARSE FOR 2 DAYS AFTER! AFTERALL, WE ALL NEED TO FEEL YOUNG ONCE AND A WHILE...RIGHT?





* PLAYED AIRPORT SHUTTLE FOR MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS TRAVIS AND GLEN. They flew 1st Class and didn't take me to FL with them! :-( I still love them though! :-)

BESIDES..THEY DID BRING ME GIFTS!



*JOE AND I SPENT 18 HOURS IN 2 DAYS CLEANING EVERY KNOOK AND CRANEY OF THIS ENTIRE HOUSE!


*JOE BOUGHT ME AN ELIPTICAL AND IN A MONTH I HAVE LOST 17 POUNDS! MY GREAT FRIEND TONYA AND I STARTED WALKING AT THE PARK THIS SATURDAY AND DID 5 MILES JUST STARTING OUT! IT'S A NEW SATURDAY MORNING TRADITION!


SO...AS YOU CAN SEE...IT'S BEEN A BUSY FEW MONTHS IN THE HARDIN HOUSEHOLD! I HOPE TO GET BACK TO BLOGGING AT LEAST PART TIME ANYWAY. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN SPENDING THE LAST FEW MONTHS?

YESTERDAY MARKED THE 7 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE TRAGIC DEATH OF MY WONDERFUL FRIEND KYLE HOUCHIN AKA HOOCH. WE MISS YOU SO MUCH KYLE! UNTIL ME MEET AGAIN DEAR FRIEND! I AM SO THANKFUL GOODBYE IS NOT FINAL!