Boot Camp

Last Novemeber, while in Oregon, I got a phone call from Colton telling me that he had signed up with the Army National Guard.  As I listened to him tell me about how excited he was, my heart just stopped.  No mother ever wants to hear that there is a chance her son will be going to war.  The military is a scary thing, to know that someone else tells you what to do and when to do it and it may put you in harms way...

He made the trip to South Carolina and the first day he was there, he was handed a gun.  He was in heaven!  I started seeing on facebook pictures of what he was doing....

He made friends!

He got to play in the woods!

Then, before we knew it, GRADUATION!  Pictures just can't tell the story.  Smoke bombs went off, music was playing, emotions were at their highest, and all of a sudden, Warriors come flooding out of the woods!  It was so powerful!  They come from all directions, and suddenly form into their platoons. 

Then, you are given permission to go find your Warrior and hug them for the first time in 10 weeks.

You spend quite a bit of time hugging and then step back and give your Warrior a good look over to see what changes the Army had made in him.  (Almost 60 pounds lighter, really fit...LOOKIN GOOD!)

He shows you were he had been living for the past 10 weeks.  Home Sweet Home.

He shows you how he learned how to make a bed and clean his room and keep his things all nice and neat.

Then you take him to lunch to taste fast food for the first time in 10 weeks...YUM!  After spending a wonderful day with your Warrior, you have to give him back for the night, with the promise to see him in the morning.

In the morning you have to wait for your Warrior as he and over 900 other Warriors march on the field to finish the graduation ceremonies. 

Then you can hug your Warrior again...

And again!

Take a look at how nice he looks in his dress uniform!  Very nice!

You feed him and hug him again..(Its hard to stop hugging him!)

You have been educated and learn some great lingo! (And start buying all kinds of paraphernalia!)

He just looks so good!!!!

Then, before you know it, the second day is over and you have to once again give your Warrior back to the Army, not knowing when you will see him again.  This was a very hard thing for me to do and I know I embarrassed him by all the crying and hugging and kissing I did.

Our Warrior is on to more training...knowing he IS a WARRIOR!

We are the PROUDEST Parents of a WARRIOR!  HOOAH!

Nachos!!!!!

For several months now, Jeff and I have been having "Date Night" on Tuesdays nights.  We have been on a quest!  A quest to find WHO HAS THE BEST NACHOS?  Now this is not as easy as it sounds!  You would think that Mexican Restaurants would have the best.  You would think...
Ok, I know we probably didn't make it easy either.  We like our Nachos with the chips on the side.  When you have all the toppings on TOP of the Nachos, then by the time you get down to the bottom, you either don't have enough toppings for what is left of the chips, or the chips are soggy.  We ended up asking at each place we went to if we could have our chips on the side.  We got a lot of funny looks.  So we were looking to see...
1.  Chips to topping ratio
2. Enough for two
3. Good tasting toppings
4. Did the cheese stay soft and stretchy till the end
5. Chips stand up to toppings
6. Price

We tried places like...Casa Corona, Bobby Salazar's, Sal's, Chili's, we even went to Denny's!
This is not the full list, but we learned along the way that most places taste the same...not too impressed!

BUT...We do have a winner! (Drum roll please...)

We like Qdoba Mexican Grill in Clovis.

1. They give a GOOD side of chips for the Nachos

2. We both have a good fill and never come out hungry after sharing one!

3. We have tried all different combinations of meat and love them all! 

4. They have a cheese sauce and shred cheese that is SO good and stays soft!

5. I love their chips!!!!! The chips have a hint of lime and salt on them.  I am good just eating a plate of them alone. (Not to forget the guacamole! SO GOOD)

6. For less than $10 we get the Nachos and a drink.  Again, it feeds two perfect!

It is always very clean when we go in and the people working there have been wonderful!  There are SAMPLES..yes, I said SAMPLES and everyone is great about suggesting new combos or to recommend one of their favorites...

Anyone up for NACHOS?  Come on!  Tuesdays!  (I Love NACHO Night!!!)

(Qdoba closed this last week, July 2012, so now we are on the hunt for a new NACHO place...suggestions?)

A Month Of Happy!

Twinners!

 For a little over a month Keana and Collin came and stayed with us!  We took so many pictures but it is hard to pick which ones to share that shows just how fun it was without doing a picture overload.  It was hard to leave for work everyday knowing that this little guy was at home waiting for me to come snuggle!  Almost every night I was able to rock him to sleep.  I miss my snuggle buddy!  He just makes any problem that I might have, just slip away.  He does my heart good!





.

TV Time! Come on MeeMa!

Dad, I need to go back to MeeMa's, but you can come this time!

You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum

Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie

You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop

Snoogums-Boogums, You're the Apple of my Eye

And I love you so and I want you to know

That I'll always be right here

And I love to sing sweet songs to you

Because you are so dear

Family Time

It is hard to believe just how fast our family is growing up. I use to hate it when people would tell me to enjoy my kids when they were little because it would go so fast. When you are dealing with 2 kids under the age of 2 and they both have ear infections and you have not slept for 2 weeks, it really can not go fast enough. Now that our family is into the adult ages, this is when I really do wish it would slow down. I am enjoying every minute with them.

This past week, Coqui and Keana and Collin flew down from Washington to spend some family time. It has been the best! To have family dinner time together, and have Keana unable to eat for fear that food will come shooting out her nose because of the stories that Colton is telling. I have missed having all of my family together.




































































This was a picture I got of Colton this morning. Today he left for a great adventure in the Army. I love and adore him and I will miss him so much. It is hard to know that I can't call him anytime I want. He is so excited and I am so proud of him.

I love that my girls wanted to come and spend time with their brother before he left.

I am blessed!

Emotions/Theme for this year

The past few months I have felt I have been on a "Emotional" roller coaster. I have had a heavy heart as several loved ones have returned to Heavenly Father. I have hurt inside as several of my friends have had really hard times in their lives ranging from divorce to money problems to children problems. I have had to deal with some people that do not like me and let every one else know why. I have been filled with love and yes, dare I say it, PRIDE in my children. Then I have friends that I will miss seeing daily as they have felt they need to go on a world mission and do service for others. I have friends that have been able to adopt new little ones in their family that they have fought for, for so long! I have met some new sweet babies, fresh from Heaven. I have dear friends that hug me every time they see me. I have friends that make me laugh. I am watching a family I dearly love,as they hurt watching their son who is 27 and newly married, struggle daily to breath while waiting for another families sorrow to provide him with new lungs to replace the ones he has that have been destroyed by CF. I watch as love ones deal with cancer, depression and other health problems.
So many emotions, all of them fill my heart. I have learned an important lesson from a lady I truly admire and I am so blessed to call my friend. She has taught me, Everyone has problems but not everyone has a cheerleader. Don't be a problem they don't need, be a cheerleader they do. With that lesson I found a quote that I have decided will be my theme for this next year.

Work for a CAUSE
not for APPLAUSE
Live life to EXPRESS,
not to IMPRESS.
Don't strive to make your presence noticed,
just make your absence felt.

Christmas 2011

What a year for the Wilding family. As you can see, we start out this holiday time with YES, another move. If the picture looks familiar, it is because we have lived in this same floor plan 2 other times. We are so excited to be in our new place. (This is the 19th move in 25 years...)

We were blessed to be able to celebrate Christmas early with all of our family home last week.

Coqui and Jason (not pictured) are living in Oak Harbor Washington now. Jason is in the service and is stationed there. They have just bought a house and are having fun fixing up their place. Coqui is working at a gas station while looking for a new job.

Keana and Kevin are living in Spokane Valley Washington and just welcomed their 1st baby boy, Collin Joseph who was born November 10.

Colton is a busy boy! He is going to school, working, competing in paintball and has moved in with two of his good friends to an apartment so they can stay up late playing x-box.

During Thanksgiving, Colton joined the Army Reserves. He leaves for boot camp in March. (He looks so good in his ACU)

Klaira, busy as always, just finished performing in her high school production of "Grease". She was Frenchy and did an amazing job. I so loved watching her and listening to her sing!

(Two Beauty School Drop Outs!) Klaira is doing EVERYTHING she can during her Sr. year of high school. She doesn't want to miss a thing.

This is Sweet Collin! We are too far away!!! We loved the snuggle time we had this past week. I just can't get enough of this sweet baby. It was really hard to let go of him when it was time for them to head home.

Jeff and I are busy as always with work and church callings. Jeff is now in the Elders Quorum and I am helping to interpret for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in another ward. We love our callings and love where we are right now.

Our Hearts are full as we reflect on the experiences we have had this past year. From loved ones returning to Heavenly Father, to New Loves being sent to us. We think of the trips we have had, the family time, of our testimonies growing. We are blessed!

We are excited for this new year and all that it brings.

Hugs and Kisses,

The Wildings