Because its my freedom...

Now to start some controversy... 

Today I twitted (is that the correct tense???) "I really don't care about the swineflu and think naming it the Mexican flu is a great idea"... I created an uprising on facebook that i am racist. While i am not at all racist, and my younger sister, husband & brother in-law (and hence my 5 nieces & nephews!) are ALL 1/2 Mexican or "Hispanic" to be politically correct... 

First of all, CNN was talking on CNN News all day about the Swine Flu or the "Bush Aid" that made a stupid move... really? I get people are sick, and dieing in Mexico, but more babies are dieing from ABORTION EACH HOUR then the freakin SwineFlu has since it has come to be. 

I just think it's so sad that "liberals" (well anyone really!) will take away my freedom to say i don't care about the swine flu and publicize and get the media all over this "flu". But something as critical as Abortion is off limits... It drives me insane... 

Last November, the day before the Presidential Election, Daniel (my brother) & I posted as our status "supremacist liberation theology marxist muslim anti jew constitution hating baby killing...Oh..I mean Barack Obama" on Facebook. (Each of these things i have heard the President say, or i feel are founds, but some say these things aren't... OK, so it's debatable depending on who you are...) Together we received over 200 comments. I ended up deleting my status & comments & emails after i received many that were offensive,  as i would call it. Many people called me "illiterate", "uneducated", "stupid", and even some words that i wont use here. I thought it amazing that these people would attack our "freedom" of speech as to how we FEEL about the then Presidential Candidate. However, they were free to say anything that came to mind about the CURRENT & Now past President. 

Isn't interesting when the tables are turned? How people will fight for something that is "their right" when it helps them?Yet when it comes to something that hurts them, they find a way to say its irrelevant, wrong or maybe politically incorrect?

I don't want to be like that, or know for being like that. What would this look like to you? How can I as a Christian live out my life taking in both sides of the controversy, yet stand strong and living a Godly life. 

I hope i articulate what I am feeling well. I'm not sure i did. But i would love feedback on what you think. I hope I don't insult anyone with my thoughts and ramblings...

-Deanna

Brock's Boot Camp Adventure Update

Brock just called me! He made it thru the week however! He said the IV wasn't so bad. The nurse had to "wiggle" the needle around in his arm and he said that wasn't so great. But it didn't sound like he had to give it to anyone else. So that is good. Friday they did a 3 mile run with their rifles, but the 1 mile to get there! He said he got really bad blisters from that. He did get a cold and said most everyone there is sick. But, he didn't sound horrible. (Thankfully not a flu or anything). I found out that when i sent him some snacks & Excedrin & cold/flu meds. he had to throw it all away. He is only allowed to keep prescription type things. He also has about 3 min to eat whatever is in his package so I'm not sure what he chose to eat, beef jerky or the Oreo candy! 

He said yesterday they went into the gas chamber. Worst experience of his life he said. He said it felt like someone was pouring Bleach up their nose. He said his skin and eyes felt like the worst sunburn ever. But it only lasts a couple minuets. (I'm sure it doesn't when your in there!) But then it was over, and he said it's not so bad after its done. Lots of people were throwing up (sorry for the TMI!) and not doing well, but he said he did fine. 

Next week starts the battle week or something? I couldn't here or understand what he said. So... that took up all 6 min 59 seconds...

Prayer Requests 

-SPIRITUAL; to find another Christian guy who he can talk to & to rely on God to find his strength

-PHYSICAL; to get better & stay better from colds & his callouses as he runs/for them to heal

-MENTAL; to stay strong in the fast paced

life/situations with higher ranking offices & their discipline

Thanks for praying,

Deanna

Makes me sooooo happy =)

When Drew was dedicated many years ago, as his God mother, i thought it fitting to give him a Bible. While, when i got it engraved, they spelled his last name wrong. At the time, he was like 6 months old... and everyone thought it was funny then. However, Drew has never let me forget, his name is spelled wrong on his special Bible. Lately, he has been hounding me for a new one. Sometimes we were just too busy, or i just didn't feel like going to the Bible bookstore when he would bring the topic up. 

Finally, tonight we went and spent a good half hour perusing the aisles at the local Bible bookstore for just the right Bible for my little guy... 

After we took our picture, he decided he was going to go "read" his Bible... he soon came back when he realized there were only a few pictures =) He is so excited to take his new Bible & highlighter to church tomorrow! Thrills my heart =)

Thoughts...

THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER OVER ON THE OTHER SIDE...

BUT I'M LEARNING TO STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS OVER HERE 

Brock's Boot Camp Adventure Update

Brock called me this afternoon! It was very much a surprise! I saw his picture & name pop up on my phone and was scared for a second something was wrong. He said that the Sergeant let them use their cell phones since nobody got to talk on the phones because of the poor reception they were getting on the pay phone. We got to talk for 30 min! 

He is doing OK. He has been in "reception" since he got there on Thursday. They mostly work out during this time and stay inside the barracks. (The weather is stormy & cold right now at Ft. Lenard Wood) Today everyone got their shots. Brock got 2 in each arm & 1 in the butt. (I'm thinking Pearl Harbor! haha) He also got his blood drawn & a test for something that he couldn't remember. Brock is no friend to blood or needles, so it was pretty hard for him. They are telling them they will start boot camp tomorrow. Hopefully this is true and the 140 day countdown will start!

Other news- His bunk buddy is  year older then him & married as well. He has a 18 week old baby at home too. He seems to be taking the separation a little harder then Brock. But Brock is enjoying him as they are some of the "older guys" there. One of the guys that came from California on Brock's plane from LAX is 17 or 18 and Brock is becoming friends with him. They are working out at nights and are "battle buddies" (basically do/go everywhere together).  He isn't sure if they will get to stay battle buddies but is hoping to. He knew going in he would be one of the older guys, but he said some of the guys (about 1/4 of them) are annoying. When one person messes up, gets a question wrong, etc... they all suffer the consequences. So yesterday in a school type time, i guess???, they were answering questions. Brock said they ended up doing 180 extra push ups since people were getting so many wrong answers. 

They are hoping to start boot camp tomorrow, and then Brock will be moving barracks to across the base. Then he will have an address i guess to where he can get mail. He is a little bummed to be starting tomorrow because he got a blister from running in his new shoes. That was a big prayer request for him he said. 

thanks for praying for Brock!!! 

***disclaimer- i know this isn't well written at all! i just wrote things down as i thought of them! sorry

Celebrating!

 ITS APRIL and TIME TO PARTY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to my husband & my 3 sisters

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

to my best friend & her husband

happy 25th brock! you always are making me smile and laugh. i am so thankful for the man God has and is molding you to be. i love you.

happy birthday venessa! i'm glad your in my life! it has been a joy to get to know you more and more and see how God has used you to teach me so many things!

happy anniversary shawn & laura! i am so bless to be apart of you lives and am so excited to see what GOD has in store for your coming year of marriage together! 

happy birthday sharyl. i am so glad that God has put you in my life and for our friendship. thank you for being my sister and a role model as a Godly wife and mother.   

happy birthday chelsea! wish you were here to spend the day with! i am so glad you are apart of our family (it would be too loud to keep danny around if you weren't!) i love your enthusiasm & sincerity.

I thank God for all of you. I am so glad for the family He has made us, and the friends He has blessed me with. 

The First TGIF

1. Celebrating Good Friday always seems so dreary to me. I get that its a time to celebrate the day Christ died for us, but i always look forward to Easter that much more. Its kind of like seeing the PASSION. It happened, but you don't want to dwell on it.
2. But this year, as i thought about this concept more, the more meaningful it has made Easter. Today I am continuing to reflect on all Christ did and promises to do for me! If I skip over the store of Good Friday, I realized I'm not taking in the WHOLE story. The part where he DIED, the death of a criminal, FOR ME! This song really struck me today and i was trying to prepare my heart for this weekend and the meaning of Easter...

Jesus Paid It All 

1. I hear the Savior say,
   “Thy strength indeed is small;
   Child of weakness, watch and pray,
   Find in Me thine all in all.”
   • Jesus paid it all,
     All to Him I owe;
     Sin had left a crimson stain,
     He washed it white as snow.
2. For nothing good have I
   Whereby Thy grace to claim;
   I’ll wash my garments white
   In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.
3. And now complete in Him,
   My robe, His righteousness,
   Close sheltered ’neath His side,
   I am divinely blest.
4. Lord, now indeed I find
   Thy pow’r, and Thine alone,
   Can change the leper’s spots
   And melt the heart of stone.
5. When from my dying bed
   My ransomed soul shall rise,
   “Jesus died my soul to save,”
   Shall rend the vaulted skies.
6. And when before the throne
   I stand in Him complete,
   I’ll lay my trophies down,
   All down at Jesus’ feet.

I am eternally grateful for Christ's death on the cross, the sacrifice i could never make for myself. He made it for me. He made it for you. But even more amazing... the story doesn't end tonight.

O death, where is your victory? 

O death, where is your sting? 

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory 

through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Check out John Piper's Conversation with Death HERE! 

Day 4...

After dropping Brock off at Los Alimitos on Monday afternoon, he headed to LA for the night. Tuesday morning he was up at 4am and on a bus the the LA MEPS station to finishing up his paper work & get his orders to leave. However, as many people like to lovingly refer to the military motto "hurry up & wait" Brock found this all too true! He got processed and hit many bumps in the road that left him waiting all day! Mostly people pointing fingers saying someone else should have finished this or that. Around 6pm (14 hours of waiting around) Brock got sent back to the hotel for the night with NO ORDERS to leave! I was able to meet him at his hotel and bring him some dinner before picking some friends up from the airport! He was a little discouraged, frustrated with the military and tired. 

Wednesday he got up and had to be back at the MEPS station by 4am again. However, the person to finish up his paper work didn't come in until 9am. He waited around to talk with the investigator for his security clearance, and was done by 10am. He had to wait again, until 2pm, which ended up being 5pm, to get his shopping orders! We talked on the phone for a couple minuets, but i could only take saying good-bye so many times =)

This morning he called me at 6am to let me know he made it to the airport (which was less than a mile from the hotel, but after all the run-arounds he had these past few days i started to wonder!) and his flight was at 7:30am. He made it to St. Louis, Missouri around 11am our time. After having some lunch with 3 other guys, who flew with him on their way to boot camp as well, a bus picked them up around 2pm to head to Ft. Lenard Wood!

Thanks for all your prayers! We appreciate them so much!

Love, Deanna

PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES?

For the of you who know Brock fairly well... Well, actually at all, You know that he is obsessed with ZOMBIES.

So, for his birthday, my good friends Sarah & Erin got him "PRIDE & PREJUCIDE & ZOMBIES"!

WOW. I have never seen Brock so interested in a book or want to read something so much! It's amazing... They should do this with more classic lit!

Birthdays: Mini Golf & Parties...

Totally not in order... but you get the idea!

Aloria & Venessa
Brock's Soldier Birthday Cake

Aloria & Uncle Brent playing "kill the ants"


Daniel & Brock with their matching "CFISU" shirts...

♥ Mini Golf ♥

Aloria, Auntie Deanna & Uncle Brent

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Must be where she gets it...

Aaron, Aloria, Mom B, Brent & Dad B
The Family =)

Huntington Beach, Ca

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

New Chapter...

It's been a surreal few months since Brock has joined the Army National Guard. When he enlisted, i was thinking he would ship off within days of being sworn in, or at least within the month. However, the day he was sworn in, we found out he would not be shipped off until April. Since then we have tried to enjoy the time we have together, making every moment count and doing countless new things to make memories. However, that was 5 months ago...

And here were are, April 5th. I have entered this new world of Military that is so unfamiliar and new. Weekends away and the ever looming 16 weeks apart. Each time Brock would return from a meeting with his recruiter, i would find out a new piece of information, or his stint in Missouri would become longer. The Military is an ever changing thing and flexibility is a new character trait i must acquire. Not only with and for my husband, but a third party i can not cajole to my likes...

I toyed with the idea of starting a blog for Brock as he is away for those of you who want to keep tabs on him as he is away. However, i think i will just post here and make it look like my life is more interesting then it is! (haha!) So look for the labels: "Brock, Army, Boot Camp" to keep apprised of his situation.

Now the 411 on his new excursion:

Monday 4/6 - I will be taking Brock to Los Alomitos (his station)tomorrow to meet his Recruiter @ 2pm! They will then drive to L.A. and spend the night @ a hotel in the area.
~PRAYER: For Him as he starts his journey! For Me & my drive home, i think it'll be really long and hard =( & that I can keep it together long enough to get in the car!

Tuesday 4/7 - Brock will head to the L.A. MEPS Station to be processed around 4am (Hence why I'm not driving up to LA on Tuesday AM!) and spend the day finishing up that stuff.
~PRAYER: That Brock has all papers in order, physicals go well (again!) and he has peace! I may be able to see him at the hotel when he finishes for the day, 2nd good-bye are always hard.

Wednesday 4/8 - Brock flies to Missouri! He arrives sometime Wednesday and will start "reception" and physicals there as well.

We're not sure when Brock will actually START boot camp, as they have to wait for enough people to begin. He could wait as long as 3 extra weeks to start!
~PRAYER: That Brock would stand strong while waiting and God would give him peace as he goes thru all the testing & such before getting started!

This is where it gets good! Brock will only get a 5 min phone call about every 3 weeks. He has the opportunity to write everyday, but he also has to shower and clean, etc... within the allotted time. So while i am planing on writing him every day, i know it maybe be tough for him to write me.

Look for coming posts on phone calls, letters & how it's all going!
If you want to write him (I'm sure he'd LOVE mail!) let me know, and i will get you an address as soon as i find out!

Thanks for your prayers ahead of time & all the love & support!

-Deanna

Deanna <3 Brock

Thanks Daniel & Collin for an amazing photo shoot. I am so glad that I have these pictures!