

Bekah's last day as a junior in High School was yesterday 06/03/09 and today she is starting her very first job! She has training for the next three days to become a National Sales Representative for Cutco Cutlery and Vector Marketing. She is very excited and she looks awesome! ... with Sales skills she can do anything, go anywhere and always have a job! Go get 'em!

Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. — Students in a Marine Corps martial arts instructor course here worked through their sweat and tears to earn special training certificates May 21, 2009.
The 15 green belt students in the course volunteered to be sprayed and certified to carry Oleoresin Capsicum spray, which is a nonlethal weapon used by law enforcement.
The circuit course was designed to show the Marines what it is like to work through stress and disorientation, said Poulin.
“The instructors are here to coach the students through each station,” said Warrant Officer Bradley Poulin, Marine Air Control 1 maintenance officer and martial arts instructor trainer. “As long as they don’t freak out, they will be fine. They just have to keep their eyes open.”
The OC course was set up with nine stations. After being sprayed, the Marines worked their way through each challenge, before being rewarded with water and decontamination.
At the first station Marines were sprayed in the face from about three paces away and had to correctly count a number of fingers held up by an instructor.
From there the students are guided to the next station by the sound of the instructors’ voices. Here, they test their muscle memory with upper body strikes and punches. The next station called for the Marines to practice knee strikes.
“I’m glad I did so much MCMAP before we did this (OC spray) course. I think that it helped me, because when you get sprayed, you can’t think clearly and your brain just doesn’t want to work,” said Cpl. Daniel Byrd, station armorer and student in the course.
At the next stop, students had to locate a rubber knife and defend themselves from knife-wielding instructors using proper techniques.
During the fifth portion of the circuit course, the students were guided under simulated barbed wire while low, back and high crawling with a rubber rifle.
The Marines fought their way through the next stations using lower leg strikes and weapons of opportunity, as well as subduing and handcuffing an opponent.
Once they completed the stations, each student was steered to a table at the opposite side of the field, where they had to write their name and answer two questions in writing: how do you feel, and what did you think of the OC spray circuit course?
This last station was designed to simulate writing orders, where Marines might debrief or write up orders under stress.
“This is the worst feeling ever, but it’s worth it because I know that I will never have to do it again,” said Cpl. Tony Ellerbe, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron range coach and student in the course.
Once all 15 students made it through the circuit course and were decontaminated, Poulin spoke with the Marines and commended them for completing the training.
“You all followed through with your commitment and you’ve finished the training,” said Poulin. “That is good to go Marines.”
The spray is not a requirement for graduating the class. However, once the students finish the training, they never have to requalify with the spray for any other training.
The instructor course is scheduled to graduate May 29, 2009 at 11 a.m. in the station chapel.
You did a fantastic job during Saturday's 5K. I know you were not happy with your time, be proud that you did it and that you finished. Your time was not your personal best time, but I have already seen how you are driven to beat not only that time, but previous times as well. I love your drive and determination. I remember when you were first learning to ride a bike. Your brother and the boys in the neighborhood were riding bikes and you were determined that you would as well. You tried so hard and never gave up, even after hitting a tree. You where hurt, you cried for half a second as you climbed back on the bike and asked your Dad to push you off. I love your spirit.
In my blog, I write a lot about my family, especially my children. They are my "Sunshine" I love them more than anything and I enjoy every moment with them. When I started this blog, I wrote about my weekends home, away from work, away from Jeffersonville, IN and Louisville, KY. I wrote about Zack being away at boot camp and some of the changes we were going through. We went through those changes and came out on the other side. I continue to grow, learn about myself and appreciate those moments in life that make up time which is so special. We are now being faced with more changes. I am embracing these changes as I have learned that change can be exciting and even invigorating. I'm not saying that it is easy, however, I am remarkably more relaxed now. So, as I get the privilege to spend even more time with Bekah and Rich, (Zack is living in Arizona) I will continue to try to capture a piece of our life together. Maybe when I am gone, my children will have some of my words to reflect on, a little piece of me. Or at least how I was feeling at the time when I entered my "notes" in this blog. I am verbally and emotionally open with my family, so I don't think anything will be a "ah ha" moment or remotely close to a surprise. My hope is that someone will find it comforting, like a journal, as time passes on. With the death of Vonni and Jakki this year, two strong women who left us in their 40s, it reminds me how short life really is and we need to say what we need to say. I love you all.
On Tuesday, I went to the Florida Conference for Women. I went by myself attending seminars that I hoped would inspire me and get my mind going. It worked, they where just what I needed. I listened to women who went after what they wanted and achieved their goals. It was great to actually hear about their "stories" from the perspective that it wasn't easy, that things were not perfect, that they were human like the rest of us. But mustered up that inner spirit to keep going and to take risks for what they believed in. Their stories started in a surprisingly similar place to my recent story. I felt like they were talking to me. 





Not BeeBee
BeeBee
Happy Easter! Today was a very nice relaxing day. Rich's Mom, Dad, and Uncle came over today for Easter Brunch. It was just the 6 of us, plus the 2 dogs! My Mom and Bill are in Tennessee.

I decided to sign up for a Digi-scrapbooking online class. Wow, what a difference it makes to actually watch the steps that need to be taken. It is very helpful. I was searching for an online class and found Jessica Sprague on FB, Google and had seen her layouts before. I decided to try her classes because she has step by step video that can be paused and replayed as many times as needed. I have looked at other website but hers seemed straight forward and easy to follow. So here is my first layout from the class. It is very basic, a little more basic than the one I did of Bekah from "Digital Designs 2" but the nice thing about it is the step by step instructions and really showing an easier way to get the layouts completed. I am getting ready to start my next lesson.
The weekend is over. I am happy to say that I was able to accomplish a few things this weekend that I needed to. I finished cleaning out the computer armoire, I purchased a new laptop online (I can't wait until it comes!), we straightened and swept the house, I bought a birthday present for a friend and sent a Valentine's gift to Zack, went to lunch at Sonny's, went to a movie and did not see it (sold out), came home and watched a couple rentals while we enjoyed popcorn and snow caps. We bought a new mattress for Bekah, went to the grocery store, took a walk to the local diner for breakfast and watched the Pittsburgh Steelers become the AFC Champions going to the Superbowl.