my little C

today we started learning all about Bible Quiz with C. we got a buzzer box and all the 10pt questions. and he was ready!

he already knows about 20 questions. and that's from practicing for only half an hour. he is on fire!

some of the questions are pretty funny. they are way over his little 4-year old head. like this one:

What is an epistle? A letter sent by an apostle.

and he looks at me, squinches his forehead, and said "what's an apossle?"

...and i just stare at him. and i can't think of a single thing to say. then he tells me "Well, Paul was an apossle!" whew. off the hook.

did you know that Methuselah lived longer than any other man? 969 years. it turns out that Methuselah is a really hard word to say for a preschooler. also, 969 is tricky too.


i was getting ready for work this morning, and C always follows me around like a cute little puppy. he noticed a magazine in my floor with the Jonas Brothers on it (someone has given me a gift subscription unknowingly, so i keep receiving Seventeen magazine... even though i am going on 22 years old.. ). he picks it up and says, "This is Matthew, Mark, and John!" ..from the Bible, you know. haaaa! very funny.

I hated to burst his bubble, but I had to. I said, "No, that is actually the Jonas Brothers."
"the Jonas what?"
"um, the band that Annslee likes"
"oh.."

ha. I am very proud that he has no clue who the Jonas Brothers are. whew!


yesterday, after the JBQ mock match (see previous posts), he looked at me with a crinkled nose, and said, "I will never be able to do that!!!"

but today he is dancing around the house saying he will be a JBQ star. and he can't wait to practice more!


now.. I can't wait to teach him the question: What strange gift did King Herod give to his step daughter? The head of John the Baptist. mwhahahahaha. that should freak him out nicely.



(somehow I'll have to video tape him practicing and figure out how to put it on my blog!)

reality check.

what's it really like being an Air Force wife? why, I'm glad you asked.

every single day I get to tell people where we are moving. I save time by just saying "Virginia Beach," because no one really knows where Langley is. As a matter of fact, they probably don't even know what Langley is. Their eyes light up, and they say, "Ooooh... that sounds nice! Lucky you!" Yes. Lucky me. Sort of.

every single day I have to explain our marriage to someone. I've learned how to sum it up in one sentence: He left two weeks after we were married, and he graduates August 26th, and then we're moving to Virginia Beach. This makes the conversation move along quickly. Which is a great thing.

every single day I find myself explaining my college career. Yes. It is true. I graduate in 2 weeks. I changed my major to Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Education. I made this life-altering decision 3 weeks ago. No. I cannot teach with this degree. But yes, I am going to get my masters degree in Virginia. That will allow me to teach. Please. No more questions.

every single day I wake up to a text message from my husband at about 5:50am. It's the next best thing to actually waking up next to him. Except, you know, it's a cell phone. And, while it is a super cool touch screen phone, it isn't the same as having him here. Not even close.

every single day I wait for 7pm when I can talk to my husband on Skype. I do enjoy my days - for the most part.. ahem.. but I pine away until nighttime comes. Then it's game on. Nothing is comparable to seeing his face and hearing his voice. Nothing.

every single day I fight the urge to wear Air Force shirts. I mean, I definitely have enough to last me through the entire week. More than enough... but I do believe that people would think I was a tad obsessed if my entire wardrobe consisted of Air Force shirts. By the way, I have another one coming in the mail tomorrow, AND PM bought me another t-shirt with a matching Air Force Wife hat! I cannot wait to wear them! And, you know, blog about it.

every single day I watch other happy married couples, and it makes me want to puke. I know. It is terrible of me to be jealous and hateful. I want to be able to go on a date with my husband. I want to be able to hold his hand and go to the park. I want to be able to cook for my husband and watch our favorite tv shows together.

every single day people look at me with puppy dog eyes when they realize my husband isn't here. I comfor them by saying, "It's okay... really!" But in reality, it is not okay. I need my husband. I want my husband. But your puppy dog eyes don't help the situation. I can't help it either. We just have to get through it. That's all we can do.

every single day I contemplate quitting work. quitting school. and temporarily mentally checking out of life. just temporarily.

I forget that Mark has it worse than me. He has it a zillion times worse. He has no one down there. He is all alone. It is windy. And sometimes cold. And it storms a lot. He misses his friends. He misses his family. He misses his wife. He has to eat at the dining facility every day. He has no car. He hasn't been touched in over a month.

And, as much as this absolutely sucks for me, it sucks worse for him. So feel sorry for him. Give him puppy dog eyes. I'm without my husband, but he is without his wife too.

So, the reality of it is... it sucks for both of us. It absolutely sucks. But I still love the military. I will still proudly sport my AF t-shirts around town and continue to ask every business I see if they offer military discounts. I will wait (un)patiently for him each night for our dates. I willl endure these next four months like a good old Proverbs 31 Woman should. I'm failing constantly. Just ask around. But I'm trying. Really really hard. I'm trying to be the best and most supportive wife possible. Afterall, isn't that my job? to be a helper for my husband. I'm trying.

some singing, kazooing, and JBQ!

tonight was the end of the year celebration for Hope U!
all the little kids performed songs and dances.
here's my nephew's age group.
he's the one in the bright turquoise outfit!
..although I'm sure you know what he looks like by now...

I love the little peeker in the front row!!

the mock JBQ match
with B & C leaguers!

adorable, right?

I took some of these pictures for YOU, Brittney!!
*wink*

***Note: his shirt has his blogging nickname on the front! how cute.

wow!

10 days before we were married:

60 days after we were married:

look at the change!

final update

one question separated us from nationals. one.

picture it:

the last match of the day.
it's the last question.
and it's a 20 pointer.
whoever gets this question right wins the game.
the quiz master reads...

"According to f-"

and the other team buzzes in. his coach slams his pen down. he is sure that they have lost the game.

(because this kid totally guessed. it could have very well been 1st Corinthians/Thessalonians/etc. OR Phillipans. there is no way to know if the "f" was really an f or it was a ph.. does that make sense? you interrupt the quiz master and finish the sentence, but he took a guess because he buzzed in so early)

the kid thinks for a second. then rattles off a guess: "According to 1st Thessalonians, when should Christians give thanks? 1st Thessalonians 5:18: Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

and he guesses right.

they go to nationals.
and we stay home.

could it get any worse? i think not. so that was my last match ever for JBQ. until i watch my nephew quiz! things aren't nearly as competitive with younger kids! this weekend we competed against this cute little team. they had a star quizzer who was so tiny. her voice was squeaky and adorable. she rattled off scripture like nobody's business. as soon as she spoke, every woman in the room went, "awww..."

then i found out today that she is 7. what in the world?! that's like 2nd grade! (1st-3rd graders are in B league, and they do not compete in regionals or nationals).. this little girl was amazing! she was doing 30 point questions, and she was doing them VERY WELL.. which means she began studying 30pt questions at (or before) the age of 6.

just to give you an idea of 30 pt questions, here are a few:
naming the 12 sons of Joseph, 12 disciples of Jesus, romans 8:38-39 (all the things that can't separate us from God's love), the huge chunk of scripture in 1st Thessalonians where Paul describes the 2nd coming of Christ, etc. HUGE amounts of scripture. I can't believe how stinkin cute she was! ... so you know the first thought in my head was, "Hmm.. I wonder how soon I can begin 30 pt questions with C... " mwhahahaha.

honestly, all the kiddos on our team this year are 5th and 6th graders. That is quite remarkable. They still have one year left to study hard and grow a few more inches. They will definiely be able to make it next year if they stick to their guns! I can't wait to see my nephew quiz!!!! Chances are, JBQ isn't at your church. Especially because it's an Assembly of God program. But, if it is, you need to get your kid involved! It's a huge committment, because you have to study every day with your child. But - honestly - is that so bad?? Would you rather your kid be practicing basketball or playing video games or studying scripture? You make the decision. You're the parent!!


www.jbq.org

friday fill-ins

And...here we go!

1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is plug your headphones into the computer and don't talk. ever.

2. Stinky and wet like clams.

3. When I think of carnivals I think of getting nauseous on spinny rides.. i hate them.

4. Gerber daisies (actually #2, but I can't think of the winner at the moment) are my favorite spring flower.

5. Things on my desk include a bunch of hotel crap since I'm at a Fairfield Inn.

6. Losing matches in JBQ tournaments makes me wanna puke my lunch up, cry, sweat, and throw the score sheet across the room.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my date with hubby, tomorrow my plans include driving 6 hours and reading Harry Potter 7 and Sunday, I want to work on some homework (boooooooooooo)!

well....

you begged for an update, so here it is:

we lost six.
and we won six.

unfortunately, this isn't too hot. we had some really great matches! ...then we had some really bad matches.

seriously, i have a ginormous headache. the tension in those rooms is unreal. let me take you back to round #11...

the score is 150 to 145. it's the 19th question. there's 1 question to go. we're up by 5 points. there's one 10-point question remaining.

and the quiz master says, "How many..." and our quizzer buzzes in early. misses it. i flip out. my stomach does a somersault and i'm pretty sure my chicken sandwich from lunch wants to come up.

the question is re-read for the other team.

"How many people waited together in the upper room for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?"

two quizzers slam their buzzers down! #3 gets it. he answers, "3,000"

...


and misses it

leaving the score 145 to 140. we won. holy skittles!!

it was like that all day. now i have a gigantic headache, and i feel nauseous.

tomorrow we have 7 matches. 7 deadly matches. right now we are probably 11th or 12th in the region.

so there's your update! i am now 20 days away from seeing PM! can you believe it? we are down to 10x2. i'm liking those numbers.