GoD And DoG by WJ Francisco

What a sweet video. Not that I compare my dog to God, but He did create such loving animals...

Army Roller Coaster

So my little brother is going into the Army. He has been talking about the military for a while now. He wants to get in now and do Army Reserve while he finishes school. He'll still be away at boot camp and training for a few months. =(
But I have to- HAVE to- brag. =) He took their test the other day. A passing composite score is 50-99. Ben got a 98!! They were so impressed and said he could do anything. They had him lined up to do military intelligence. That would be so fun for him; he's a foreign affairs' major.
He did the Army physical a couple days ago. He's partially color-blind, and they won't let him do intelligence!!!! I can't imagine how frustrating that would be!! We always knew he couldn't match socks very well but thought it was a guy-thing.
He's not down, though, which I'm impressed about. He's going to be asst. chaplain. I think that could be a great mission field. Who knows what the Army will let him do once he's graduated??? Don't you think there would be some think-tank job he could do without using colors???
P.S. He leaves Nov. 3. We'd love prayers. =)

TMJ Disorder

Well, my whole life has been filled with jaw popping and weird occurences on the left side of my face. The other day, my mouth dropped in shock, and there was a different kind of pop, along with lots of pain. I had trouble eating, putting any pressure on it. So I finally went to a jaw specialist. I do have the disorder, and over the course of my life, my jawbones have been rubbing and filing away the bone. My x-rays are crazy weird. He was shocked that I've never sought treatment, but to me, that's my "normal." It's all I've ever known. The majority of people with TMJ disorder are middle-aged women. He said it's quite rare for a child to have developed it. Also, I'm literally a Big-Mouth. =) The average opening is 35mm, and mine is 50mm. That's another problem for me. =)
So, now: I have to go to physical therapy twice a week for a month! Who knows what that entails. Apparently the guy I'm seeing is the only specialist of jaws in the state of GA! He's been doing it 20 yrs. and wrote a book on it! Can't start to see him 'til 9/23, though. We'll see if my jaw cooperates! =)

Welcome Baby Hunnicutt!!!

Stephanie had her baby GIRL on Sunday night. She was in labor pretty much all day. She was such a good sport. Didn't complain much, and there were 12 of us hanging out in the room with her! Granted, she had the largest hospital room I've ever seen!!!

We had all voted, and pretty much everyone agreed it was a boy. Her husband was the one that said it was girl. We were shocked! Ella Cate Hunnicutt was 7 lbs. 10 oz and 20 1/2" long. She's such a good baby! I also spent Monday with her, and she rarely cries. She just looks around.right after labor
She's constantly sucking! She must've been a thumb-sucker in the womb. Those first two days she sucked on her thumb, her wrist, her blanket... anything she could get her mouth on.

The two of us.

Happy 1st Birthday, Lukas!!!

Lukas Gibson turns one today. I can't believe it's already been a year!!! I love that happy, wiggly baby so much! He readily smiles and does NOT like to be held. He's very active and curious. =)

Kelly had his party on Saturday. So much fun. =)

Washington D.C.

A couple days after I got back from Germany, my brother Ben and I went to D.C. for a few days. We had alot of fun! We left in the wee hours of the morning and got there around 4pm. We walked the monuments the 1st night. Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

The 2nd day, we went to the Smithsonian Museums: American History & Natural History. We also went to the National Archives to see our important, original documents.

The Constitution

T-Rex

Our 3rd day was our favorite. We had a tour of the Capitol Building. If you visit your congressmen, they give you tickets to sit in the House and Senate. It was so cool to sit in there, hearing the laws being discussed.

Our last day we went to Arlington Cemetery.

This is the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Iwo Jima

Germany

I recently went to visit my friend, Kelly, in Mannheim, Germany. She's been living there for 2 yrs., with her army-husband Rob. They could be moving back to the States soon, and ticket prices were great. Had to go! =) Kelly was a fantastic tour guide. She planned day trips and showed me different aspects of German culture. I took about 200 pictures, but here are a few highlights:

Rothenburg, the medieval city established in the 1100's. I LOVE this town. It's got a surrounding wall for guards, rolling hills outside, and typical village life.

We went to a torture/punishment museum. They had very creative methods of punishment centuries ago. This is a mask for gossips (the sign said usually for women). They are to wear these around town. It has a big tongue for spreading gossip, big ears for hearing gossip, and big eyes for seeing gossip.

Dachau Concentration Camp

It was very surreal to see. It was really brought to life. Dachau was designed for 6,000 prisoners. Once the U.S. military invaded the camp, they discovered 32,000 prisoners housed there in extremely cramped conditions.

There are 2 of 30 bunkers left. The bunks go 3 up. This snapshot shows 18 beds. They were given straw mats to sleep on. There was a picture showing prisoners in these bunks, and there were many, many more than 18 squished into these bunks.

Heidelburg Castle

This castle is still in pieces. You can't go up in the castle, but it's cool to see.

The castle overlooks the Rhein River.

These are the remains of the castle that inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

We also went to Paris for the day. The USO arranges trips on buses. We traveled in the night and woke up in Paris! I love to visit the Eiffel Tower.

We also went to the Louvre' and saw da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

I had such a great time! Thanks, Kelly, for your generosity. =)