Battleship Totally Rocks My World!!!!!!!!!

You know those annoying parents who think their child is the only one to ever hit a home run, make a winning touch down, or star in the school play? I'M ONE OF THOSE!!! Oh, I'm sorry, I'll use my inside voice now but.... I'm one of those parents. We went to see the movie Battleship which my daughter starred in... Well technically she didn't star, star in it, and I guess technically she wasn't actually seen in it, like literally, but then again speaking as one of those parents, SHE SO 

TOTALLY DID.  Okay, I'll back up and start again. While my daughter participated in RIMPAC (an international  naval exercise), they filmed part of the movie Battleship on the ship she was on (USS Sampson DDG 102). When we were watching the movie, a couple of close up shots of her ship came on the screen and I was as proud and excited as if they had flashed a full screen shot of her million watt smile. Every fiber of my being wanted to stand up in the crowded

theater and shout  'THAT'S MY GIRL!" Of course I'm way too shy and subtle to do something like that, but I did clap like a manic sports fan and a couple of "Oh Yea Baby" did escape  my lips. Yep, my parental pride couldn't be stronger right now than if she had written, directed and had the starring role, cause that's just how proud parents are. Go Navy and Go Aja, cause you totally rock my world.

Aja, on one of the many adventures she has taken thanks to the United States Navy, her very own magic carpet to places most people only dream of seeing. I can see her saving the world from an Alien nation. Can't you?

Cycle of Influence

Yesterday I was thinking of how lucky I am to have such great kids. Two of them are now adults and #3 is on his way. It's such a blessing to watch how they have grown into their own identities, to watch them slowly develop into who they are today. Looking back I have to give credit to the multitude of people

who have influenced their lives. My kids have been blessed by being surrounded by the best. There are countless people who have influenced their lives from the time they were tiny tots to today. Babysitters who played with them, teachers who taught them, grandparents who loved them, an uncle who would wrestle them till his eyes bled, church family who counseled them, children's workers who guided them, youth leaders who admonished them, parents of peers who sat a good examples for them, coaches who challenged them, employers who depended on them and co-workers who befriended them. Countless people who touched their lives in small ways, ordinary ways and outstanding ways. Each touch adding to another, molding, shaping and helping them become who they are today. Most of those people have no clue the amount of influence they've had on them. Some of them did so intentionally, but others did so just by living their lives, doing what

they do every day without thinking twice about the words that were spoken or the deeds that were done. Wow!!! Makes you stop and think doesn't it. When I thought about all of the people who touched their lives,  it reminded me of the quote from Ronald Reagan....

"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out".

This seems like an odd quote to associate with parenting, but then again, if you change the word policy to values, it fits perfectly!

It may not have been said with parenting in mind, but it certainly makes sense. Values are important and the more people you have setting examples of your values to your children, the more likely they'll be to "get it". It was always funny to me how my husband and I could suggest something and our kids would think we were totally wacked out, but have someone else say the same thing, and suddenly it takes on a whole different tune.  Little did they know the voices all around them were echoing our values. I'll never credit myself for being a great parent, but I will give myself credit for making sure my kids were surrounded by people who were a great influence on them.  I wish I could reach out to each and every person who helped them become who they are today. The amazing thing is now they are the ones influencing others, who will influence someone else and the cycle continues.


Proverbs 27:

 ¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
   

Nothing In Life Is Free

Prayer pays off!! I am a living, breathing, testimony of God's faithfulness. Eight months ago my daughter left on deployment with the United States of American. Standing at only 5'4" tall, and maybe 120lbs soaking wet it was hard to imagine her facing what lay ahead. Plagued with kidney stones, and severely homesick it looked to be a very long deployment. My first instinct was to steal her back from the government but this is something I knew she needed to conquer. My second option was to worry myself sick about her, which maybe unconsciously I did. But my best option was to place her into the hands of her creator and just believe that he had everything under control. Friday at noon, I stood at the end of the pier shoulder to shoulder with 6 other people who love her almost as much as I do as the same ship that sailed out several months ago, sailed back into the port they call home. Many of my friends expected me to be screaming for joy... instead I just stood there in tearful silence, searching for the cherub face of my first born child. A thrill and a pride washed over me that had to have resembled the pride and admiration that washed over God as he watched his only Son rise from the dead. Words cannot adequately express the feeling you have when the child who came from such and imperfect womb accomplishes something far beyond your imagination. As she sailed back into her home port I knew she was coming back a much different person than she left. The last day of our visit we stood on Mount Solodad reading the plagues of those who have fought and died for our freedom. My daughter turned to me and said "Mom, I never really understood what would cause someone to love their country so much they would actually die for it, but after being in so many different countries, I totally get it. This is the greatest nation of all and I totally understand that it is worth dying for, your little girl is a Sailor Mom". Not only did God safely bring back my daughter safe and sound, he brought her back as a woman who loves her country more than she thought possible and has a new appreciation for the blessings so many take for granted. Nothing in life is free..... Especially freedom.

A Guide Of Where Not To Go In China

My Daughter and her friend had signed up for a mainland China tour. The fact that they were the only two who had signed up for it should have been a clue. From the pier they took a bus to a train station, when they got to the border they had to go through immigration - that just wasn't much fun! Since they came in on a Naval ship they did not get a passport stamp in Hong Kong, so immigration were like "how did you get here???", their tour guide was Chinese so he could explain everything and got them through. The first place they stopped was Shenzhen, China to a park that had mangrove trees. While the tour guide was talking about the trees, a group of people started gathering around the group looking at the girls really strange. They were talking to the guide in Chinese. The guide explained to the girls that they were a poor farming family that had come to the city for the Chinese New Year and the girls were the first white people that they had ever seen. My daughter and her friend were completely amazed by their reaction. The children that were with them, were looking at the girls with their mouths open and when they were leaving they would come up to them and poke them and touch them. It was a very unusual experience. The next stop was a museum. This museum had the famous terracotta warriors and horses. My daughter got to touch what they call the "8th wonder of the world" and after a good scolding in Chinese she realized that was a BIG no no. From the museum they went to mall where they could look around for a couple of hours and then meet up later with the group to go back to Hong Kong. Well... they called it a "mall" but my daughter described it as "scary". It was a 8-10 story building with no heat. Apparently there isn't heal in Hong Kong or China except for the really nice hotels. People just wore gloves and coats inside. Anyway the the mall had teeny tiny (No bigger than your bathroom) shops just one right after the other. The shops all sold the exact same stuff, t-shirts, purses, belts, watches none of which had any quality. The owners of the shops sat outside their store and tried to get them to come in so they were constantly bombarded. There were a lot of beggars there that followed them for hours because they had nothing better to do. Even after the girls gave them money they continued to follow them around. This mall was NOT in a touristy area and the girls became increasingly more uncomfortable as they were they only Americans around and everyone spoke only Chinese. Because they were on a group visa they couldn't go back, they had to wait for the entire group. My daughter describes it like the Tom Hanks character in Big, where he goes to the city and is in this crappy hotel and he is so scared he just curls up in a ball and cries. She said that is exactly what she felt like. Coming back into Hong Kong proved to be more of a challenge than leaving. They got stuck again in immigration and both girls were taken back into the interrogation room. There were together so she says it wasn't too bad but from a Mother's perspective, and after seeing the movie Broke Down Palace, I'm glad I didn't know about it until after the fact. They asked them questions... Where they were from.... What ship were they on.... How long were they going to be in Hong Kong. The girls really thought they were not going to be allowed to go back through. Her words exactly are "I'll never go back - EVER". The entire time she was there she said she felt like there was a dark cloud over them, like it was evil. She said she couldn't really describe it and maybe it's because it's communist, but it seemed like a very sad country.

Freezing in Hong Kong

I got an email from my Daughter today about her experience in Hong Kong. Apparently she wasn't as thrilled with it as she was her last couple of ports as she is incredibly homesick and tired and just ready to be back in the good ole USA!!! When they pulled into Hong Kong they pulled in with the entire battle group, and had to anchor out in the harbor. In order to get off the ship, they literally had to climb down and get into a little boat that would take them to the pier. The little boats were called liberty boats and they were basically Chinese water taxis. The boats were pretty small (about 60 passengers) and really nasty because the drivers lived on them. They would cook on little hot plates and it would make the boat stink to high heaven. The combination of the smell and huge swells made a lot of the crew sea sick including my daughter. It was a 30 minute ride to the pier. The Navy set up a building on Fenwick Pier and that is where the liberty boats dropped them off. From the pier they took a taxi or met up for tours. The weather was freezing cold. Since most on the ship were not prepared for cold weather the first thing my daughter and some friends did was go to a mall to purchase warm clothes. From there they went to Outback Steak House for American food which she described as wonderful, then to a couple of pubs and back to the ship.