Frames of Life

In scripture, James compares life with a vapor saying: "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14).

Daily I am reminded of how quickly time passes. I see it reflected back at me every morning when I look in the mirror and discover a new "platinum highlight", or new "laugh line".

"I don't love my wrinkles and I'm certainly not fond of my neck, but I'm not ashamed of them. They are who I am..it's a record of the life I've lived." (quote by character Nora Walker)

There are 7 more school days of Chad's elementary school career...and then he will become a middle schooler! I remember the day I brought home him home from the hospital, the first time he rolled from his tummy to his back, the first time he crawled, his first word ("MOMMA"), his first steps, his first day of preschool, how excited he was to ride the school bus on his first day of kindergarten, etc. Because we are an active duty Navy family, Chad has attended nine different schools since the age of 1...his academic career has spanned 4 states TN, WA, VA & SC. And beginning this fall, a tenth school will be added to the list.

This weekend, at our pack camp out, Alex will graduate from a Wolf cub to a Bear Cub. I can still remember the day Chad crossed over from a wolf to a bear cub while we were stationed in VA. And now, it's Alex's turn.

One of my closest friends gave birth to her second daughter on Wednesday (Welcome to the world Anneliese...congratulations Wiz on becoming a Big sister!). It seems like only yesterday our third son Ryan was born. Two years have passed since that blessed day. He brings such wonderment and joy into my life with each new discovery. Every day is an adventure.

Thank you God for all the memories and prayers for many more moments to capture in my own frame of life.

Caching in on a new family adventure & sport!

Our family discovered the adventure of geocaching! Geocaching celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache. The word Geocaching refers to GEO for geography, and to CACHING, the process of hiding a cache.

In its simplest form, a cache always contains a logbook. The logbook contains information from the owner of the cache, notes from visitors and can contain much valuable, rewarding, and entertaining information. In smaller caches, a logsheet may be used.

Larger caches may contain a logbook and any number of more or less valuable items. These items turn the cache into a true treasure hunt. You never know what the owner or other visitors of the cache may have left there for you to enjoy. Remember, if you take something, it is only fair for you to leave something in return. It is recommended that items in a cache be individually packaged in a clear, zipped plastic bag to protect them from the elements.

Quite often you may also find a trackable item. Groundspeak Trackables come in two types: Groundspeak Travel Bugs^®, and official Geocoins.

A Groundspeak Travel Bug is a trackable tag that you attach to an item, and which travels from cache to cache with the help of people like you. Each tag is etched with a unique code which the finder can use to log its travels on this website. Every Travel Bug has a goal given by its owner, so if you think you can help it along on its journey feel free to take it with you.

Geocoins are special trackable coins created by other Geocachers to commemorate special events or as a signature item to leave in caches. They function exactly like Travel Bugs and should be moved to another cache unless otherwise specified by their owners. The variety of different geocoins is staggering! More information about Travel Bugs and Geocoins can be found on the Groundspeak Trackables page.

Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents. As of May 17, 2010, there are over 1,070,222 active geocaches around the world.

How fast time flies...

Wow, it has been 4 years since my last post to this blog. Apparently I am not a very good blogger. Since my last post, we have grown by 2 feet in our family. We welcomed our third son in January 2008. We have completed another PCS move (our fourth move in 7 years) and we finally are on a shore duty command after 2 back to back sea duty rotations.

This past weekend I had a reunion with my college roommate after 16 years. We had not seen one another since I graduated from DLU in 1994. Thanks to Facebook, we have been able to reconnect and our weekend reunion became a reality. It was Stephanie R. who encouraged me to resurrect this blog, and begin to chronicle our family adventures. Well, let's give this blog another try...before more time flies.