Just a couple of pics of my niece and nephew...can't wait to be closer to them..
THe Harting Family
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Truth Can Be Stranger Than Fiction
So...I know I blogged about all the drama of our home sale..I know I told you all I was letting the Universe do her thing, I know I told you all we were putting our house back on the market...I know that, I meant that, and I believed that..really I promise, I wasn't making any of this stuff up. I had a terrible Saturday, I came to the realization that our house would sell, but not to this person and not at this time..it was over, as in O-V-E-R over.
I started to smile again, I trusted my hubs when he assured me we would be fine, just a bump in the road and things will turn around all before we leave. I read all the encouraging words from all my well meaning a fabulous friends. And last night I found myself laughing and having fun and believing it all. And than the Universe did her wonderful dance all over again...at about 2130 we get a text message from our Realtor and it was a forward from the "buyer" to her Realtor and it say...FWD: "Hello redacted this is redacted hope you had a great Easter. Tomorrow I should have sometime to come by and sign the papers. And by the way, who do I need to drop the check off with?" ...that was it, out of the blue and after 2 weeks of NOTHING from her..NOTHING..just like that. So of course I acted just the way I always due when I have totally resolved myself to something and it all of a sudden changes, I went in the bathroom and puked my guts out. I know dramatic, but what can I say..my body does not like stress of this magnitude. So today, she really did everything she was asked to do, she went in and signed the last part of the paper work and went by the attorney and produced Verified fund proof. I know..totally insane. All we can chalk it up too is a seriously young person, oblivious to the chaos she was leaving in her wake..due to her inaction for the past 2 weeks.
So really, I am still really worried, I guess I have cause to be, but our Realtor said we needed to relax, she also thinks her Realtor may not have done her part in making sure the buyer really understood the urgency for proper timing and getting things to where they needed to be..so that in a nutshell is the whole last 20 or so hours. I will hopefully be blogging about the end of this in about 14 days! Again thanks to all for keeping me above water!
I started to smile again, I trusted my hubs when he assured me we would be fine, just a bump in the road and things will turn around all before we leave. I read all the encouraging words from all my well meaning a fabulous friends. And last night I found myself laughing and having fun and believing it all. And than the Universe did her wonderful dance all over again...at about 2130 we get a text message from our Realtor and it was a forward from the "buyer" to her Realtor and it say...FWD: "Hello redacted this is redacted hope you had a great Easter. Tomorrow I should have sometime to come by and sign the papers. And by the way, who do I need to drop the check off with?" ...that was it, out of the blue and after 2 weeks of NOTHING from her..NOTHING..just like that. So of course I acted just the way I always due when I have totally resolved myself to something and it all of a sudden changes, I went in the bathroom and puked my guts out. I know dramatic, but what can I say..my body does not like stress of this magnitude. So today, she really did everything she was asked to do, she went in and signed the last part of the paper work and went by the attorney and produced Verified fund proof. I know..totally insane. All we can chalk it up too is a seriously young person, oblivious to the chaos she was leaving in her wake..due to her inaction for the past 2 weeks.
So really, I am still really worried, I guess I have cause to be, but our Realtor said we needed to relax, she also thinks her Realtor may not have done her part in making sure the buyer really understood the urgency for proper timing and getting things to where they needed to be..so that in a nutshell is the whole last 20 or so hours. I will hopefully be blogging about the end of this in about 14 days! Again thanks to all for keeping me above water!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Happy Spring
Well..things went south on the sale of the house. As of now we have NO contact with the buyer and she has ignored all request from her own realtor and we just have to wait till the 15th and the contract is voided and we will have our home back on the market. I spent pretty much all day yesterday feeling sorry for myself and a bit angry I must admit but today is Easter and the weather is beautiful and I am deciding to be happy and get over it. I can not take things so personally and I need to just believe the Universe has a better plan for us. Of course this means going back to the "sterile" environment of a market ready house but no sweat..the weather is nicer so when I am forced out for showing at least I can just take the dog out for a walk. Funny thing about all this is our realtor told us in all her years as a realtor she has NEVER seen anything like this..crazy.
So thanks for all your great thoughts and words of encouragement during all this crazy..we are fine and we will be fine, what doesn't kill you just makes you stronger.
I hope you all have a great Holiday whatever your religious preference is, Spring is a great time to reflect on everything good..
So thanks for all your great thoughts and words of encouragement during all this crazy..we are fine and we will be fine, what doesn't kill you just makes you stronger.
I hope you all have a great Holiday whatever your religious preference is, Spring is a great time to reflect on everything good..
Saturday, April 3, 2010
National Military Family Association
For several years now there has been a great program for Military Kids and since this is the Month Of the Military Child I thought I would share this. If you haven't heard about Operation Purple I urge you to go to this site and check it out,
http://www.militaryfamily.org/our-programs/operation-purple/?ref=operationpurple.com&
Operation Purple is a free week long camp (sleep away) that brings together children of service members that have a parent deployed or who have had one deployed in the past. They try to accomodate as many children as they can. Many different camps participate, if you check you may find one close by that will be sponsoring one. I am not sure what the deadlines are, I think they are all different. My son has attended these camps twice and he had a fantastic time. It was great for him to be around peers and talk about his fears, and help others through theirs. Sometimes kids put on a brave face for their parents but in fact need to talk about somethings with kids their own ages that now what they are going through. Go to the site, check it out.
http://www.militaryfamily.org/our-programs/operation-purple/?ref=operationpurple.com&
Operation Purple is a free week long camp (sleep away) that brings together children of service members that have a parent deployed or who have had one deployed in the past. They try to accomodate as many children as they can. Many different camps participate, if you check you may find one close by that will be sponsoring one. I am not sure what the deadlines are, I think they are all different. My son has attended these camps twice and he had a fantastic time. It was great for him to be around peers and talk about his fears, and help others through theirs. Sometimes kids put on a brave face for their parents but in fact need to talk about somethings with kids their own ages that now what they are going through. Go to the site, check it out.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
My Son is A Global Nomad
So today I have been thinking about what the Month of the Military Child Means..(thanks for all the great articles from International School of Lome)..
I am reminded today that my son is indeed a Global Nomad. When we were in Africa my son was given a book titled just that, "Global Nomad" it was written by a State Department brat that describes a child that has lived on 4 continents before the age of 12, and my son had done exactly that. We were first stationed in NC, we traveled cross country from Arizona and settled here when my son was 2. A few years later up we went to Asia, Okinawa to be exact. We loved it there, Michael thrived there and we really enjoyed submerging ourselves in the culture. My son is a redhead and as you can imagine that is quite rare so it was not unusual to see locals snapping photos of him and wanting to touch his head, he didn't mind as much as I did. After about 4 1/2 years off we went to Spain. We moved to Spain when my husband was selected to be a Detachment Commander at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. Again, it was really a wonderful experience and my son thrived and really won over the locals with his zest for all things Spanish. He went to the International School of Madrid and met kids from Spain as well as some Army Brats that he became very close too in a short time. After about 2 years off we went to another great location...West Africa! Yes, we landed in Lome, Togo a tiny country nestled in West Africa, a french speaking country this time..yep, he went from Okinawan to Spanish to French. And again, the International School of Lome where he was the only (native) ENGLISH speaking student in the whole middle school. You would never know and he loved it. The teachers, some American, his teacher from the Congo, all took to him, of course and he was very happy. He learned how to speak Ewe the tribal language of the local children and it wasn't uncommon for me to come home and find a house full of Togolese children passed out in the rare treat of air conditioning in my living room. The things my son learned living overseas are priceless, the things I learned living overseas are life changing. My son never looks at another human being and "assumes" anything. He knows we are all different and all the same. We all love our families and all want to provide for our families. He gets the whole multicultural lesson, he has lived it. He knows what it is like to live in a country and not speak the language so his tolerance for others is much higher when meeting those that don't in his country. I think his being a "military brat" is something we can not put a price on. He knows our flag and all her glory, he know the price those have paid to defend her and is ready to write his own check in defense of her. He comes from a long proud legacy of those who are willing to defend her. He knows his mom and dad were also Marine Brats, one grandfather fell in Vietnam, and one who went and was lucky enough to come home. He looks at his dad and he beams at the his service and longs for the day he can follow. I for one am the proud mother of this Military Brat..and for all the brats out there..I salute you.
I am reminded today that my son is indeed a Global Nomad. When we were in Africa my son was given a book titled just that, "Global Nomad" it was written by a State Department brat that describes a child that has lived on 4 continents before the age of 12, and my son had done exactly that. We were first stationed in NC, we traveled cross country from Arizona and settled here when my son was 2. A few years later up we went to Asia, Okinawa to be exact. We loved it there, Michael thrived there and we really enjoyed submerging ourselves in the culture. My son is a redhead and as you can imagine that is quite rare so it was not unusual to see locals snapping photos of him and wanting to touch his head, he didn't mind as much as I did. After about 4 1/2 years off we went to Spain. We moved to Spain when my husband was selected to be a Detachment Commander at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. Again, it was really a wonderful experience and my son thrived and really won over the locals with his zest for all things Spanish. He went to the International School of Madrid and met kids from Spain as well as some Army Brats that he became very close too in a short time. After about 2 years off we went to another great location...West Africa! Yes, we landed in Lome, Togo a tiny country nestled in West Africa, a french speaking country this time..yep, he went from Okinawan to Spanish to French. And again, the International School of Lome where he was the only (native) ENGLISH speaking student in the whole middle school. You would never know and he loved it. The teachers, some American, his teacher from the Congo, all took to him, of course and he was very happy. He learned how to speak Ewe the tribal language of the local children and it wasn't uncommon for me to come home and find a house full of Togolese children passed out in the rare treat of air conditioning in my living room. The things my son learned living overseas are priceless, the things I learned living overseas are life changing. My son never looks at another human being and "assumes" anything. He knows we are all different and all the same. We all love our families and all want to provide for our families. He gets the whole multicultural lesson, he has lived it. He knows what it is like to live in a country and not speak the language so his tolerance for others is much higher when meeting those that don't in his country. I think his being a "military brat" is something we can not put a price on. He knows our flag and all her glory, he know the price those have paid to defend her and is ready to write his own check in defense of her. He comes from a long proud legacy of those who are willing to defend her. He knows his mom and dad were also Marine Brats, one grandfather fell in Vietnam, and one who went and was lucky enough to come home. He looks at his dad and he beams at the his service and longs for the day he can follow. I for one am the proud mother of this Military Brat..and for all the brats out there..I salute you.
E-Mail From a Gold Star Mother
I received this in an email from a friend today. Her name is Donna and her son Dennis J. Veater was killed a week or so shy of coming home to plan his wedding. He was killed in Iraq another name, another added to that horrible list. But to those of us that know the cost of freedom he is more than that to us all, and even more so to the family he left behind. Dennis was KIA March 9, 2007. He left behind a son and a very large family including a twin brother. We knew the Veaters from Okinawa, I worked with Donna and her husband was a SgtMaj. now retired. Anyhow this is something she sent me today and I wanted to share it.
The Music Stopped
> (For those who are unaware: At all military base theaters, the National
> Anthem is played before the movie begins.)
>
> This is written from a Chaplain in Iraq :
>
> I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3' here at LSA Anaconda. We have
> a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other
> large gatherings. As is the custom at all military bases, we stood to
> attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was
> going well until three-quarters of the way through The National Anthem, the
> music stopped.
> Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in
> the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude
> comments, and everyone would sit down and yell for the movie to begin. Of
> course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first
> place.
> Here in Iraq , 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed
> forward. The music started again and the Soldiers continued to quietly stand
> at attention. But again, at the same point, the music stopped. What would
> you expect 1000 Soldiers standing at attention to do ?? Frankly, I expected
> some laughter, and everyone would eventually sit down and wait for the movie
> to start.
> But No!!... You could have heard a pin drop, while every Soldier continued
> to stand at attention. Suddenly, there was a lone voice from the front of
> the auditorium, then a dozen voices, and soon the room was filled with the
> voices of a thousand soldiers, finishing where the recording left off: "And
> the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the
> night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner
> yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."
> It was the most inspiring moment I have had in Iraq and I wanted you to know
> what kind of Soldiers are serving you. Remember them as they fight for us!
> Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our
> soldiers serving us here at home and abroad. Many have already paid the
> ultimate price.
> Written by Chaplain Jim Higgins LSA Anaconda is at the Ballad Airport in
> Iraq , north of Baghdad
>
> Please share only if you are so inclined.
The Music Stopped
> (For those who are unaware: At all military base theaters, the National
> Anthem is played before the movie begins.)
>
> This is written from a Chaplain in Iraq :
>
> I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3' here at LSA Anaconda. We have
> a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other
> large gatherings. As is the custom at all military bases, we stood to
> attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was
> going well until three-quarters of the way through The National Anthem, the
> music stopped.
> Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in
> the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude
> comments, and everyone would sit down and yell for the movie to begin. Of
> course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first
> place.
> Here in Iraq , 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed
> forward. The music started again and the Soldiers continued to quietly stand
> at attention. But again, at the same point, the music stopped. What would
> you expect 1000 Soldiers standing at attention to do ?? Frankly, I expected
> some laughter, and everyone would eventually sit down and wait for the movie
> to start.
> But No!!... You could have heard a pin drop, while every Soldier continued
> to stand at attention. Suddenly, there was a lone voice from the front of
> the auditorium, then a dozen voices, and soon the room was filled with the
> voices of a thousand soldiers, finishing where the recording left off: "And
> the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the
> night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner
> yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."
> It was the most inspiring moment I have had in Iraq and I wanted you to know
> what kind of Soldiers are serving you. Remember them as they fight for us!
> Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our
> soldiers serving us here at home and abroad. Many have already paid the
> ultimate price.
> Written by Chaplain Jim Higgins LSA Anaconda is at the Ballad Airport in
> Iraq , north of Baghdad
>
> Please share only if you are so inclined.
Thankful Thursday
Sometimes in life things don't actually go your way, and I get that. For those of you that are interested, as I blogged recently our house is under contract. Well recent events have led us to believe that the contract may be voided due to poor preperation on part of the buyers realtor and inaction by the buyer herself. It is a long and complicated story and I really don't want to bother you all with the details but I can tell you by tomorrow we should hopefully have closure on this one way or the other.
So of course this is really stressing me out but I decided to try to focus on the things that are really good in our life, and there is a lot we are happy about. We have a great kid, he's pulling straight A's in his Senior year, he was picked as an outstanding Senior (20 out of about 200 students) and there seems to be no signs of senioritis setting in. We were able to get the whole G.I. Bill fiasco fixed so all of hubs benefits were indeed transferred over and that took a huge weight off our shoulders.
When we initially entered this contract we entertained the initial request of being out of the house by 1 April (today). In order to do that we would have had to sign a 3 month lease at an apartment where we were going to live until PCS time. I think it was smart to wait, and now because of that decision we really have no financial obilgations incurred from the contract if it were to be voided. We did have the inspections but they were all at the buyers expense and we did spend some money correcting some things but those things would have been identified regardless and now if the contract falls through we will have a much better inspection on next go round.
We are really lucky in so many ways so to spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves is silly I think it would be better to focus on these great things and we have a lot..we are happy, I have a husband that I love more today than I did over 16 years ago when we decided to really do this life together..as a team and we do it well.
Also, before I go..we have a secret to a very happy life..and that is this;
Only one of us gets to be crazy at a time...
Thanks to all that support us everyday and send good thoughts our way. I will surely let you all know how this all turns out..
stay tuned
So of course this is really stressing me out but I decided to try to focus on the things that are really good in our life, and there is a lot we are happy about. We have a great kid, he's pulling straight A's in his Senior year, he was picked as an outstanding Senior (20 out of about 200 students) and there seems to be no signs of senioritis setting in. We were able to get the whole G.I. Bill fiasco fixed so all of hubs benefits were indeed transferred over and that took a huge weight off our shoulders.
When we initially entered this contract we entertained the initial request of being out of the house by 1 April (today). In order to do that we would have had to sign a 3 month lease at an apartment where we were going to live until PCS time. I think it was smart to wait, and now because of that decision we really have no financial obilgations incurred from the contract if it were to be voided. We did have the inspections but they were all at the buyers expense and we did spend some money correcting some things but those things would have been identified regardless and now if the contract falls through we will have a much better inspection on next go round.
We are really lucky in so many ways so to spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves is silly I think it would be better to focus on these great things and we have a lot..we are happy, I have a husband that I love more today than I did over 16 years ago when we decided to really do this life together..as a team and we do it well.
Also, before I go..we have a secret to a very happy life..and that is this;
Only one of us gets to be crazy at a time...
Thanks to all that support us everyday and send good thoughts our way. I will surely let you all know how this all turns out..
stay tuned
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