Merry CHRISTmas~

"This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols, but the humble heart that receives a new the wondrous gift, the Christ."
-- Frank McKibben

¨*♥*¨*•♫♪ We Wish You a Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♥ ♥ We Wish You A Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪...And A Happy New Year!♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪... Merry Christmas Everyone!!!





2009 Edition of Living Life with the Fitzner’s ~

This past year has been full of many new and unique experiences and life changes, as well as a few trials and tribulations that have shown us yet again how gracious and merciful our God truly is!

The first half of the year was spent in Montgomery Alabama while Scott finished his Master’s Degree at Air Command and Staff College. Our experience in Alabama was a once in a life time journey to include a true family year with Scott home every night which is something that we have not had for many years. We made soooo many wonderful friends through our neighborhood, church, school, and different activities we took part in. June 8, 2009 was one of the happiest days of our Air Force career as Scott received his Master’s Degree. We are very proud of him for such a high accomplishment!

Disneyworld was our next adventure. We had the most amazing time with our family and Scott’s brother Chad, wife Michele, and our two adorable nephews-Tyler and Zachary. We rented a condo and did Disneyworld for a full 7 days! We created lots of very special memories and it was a once in a life time opportunity to go on vacation with our family. The kids LOVED every minute of having the chance to hang out with their cousins whom they dearly miss. As soon as we came back we packed out of our house in Montgomery and hit the road to move to Washington DC.

The 12 hour drive turned out to be uneventful until we arrived at our new “home”….well, what was to be our home. Long story very short, as rehashing this story is not my favorite, the house was not anywhere near suitable condition, so we had to live in a hotel for almost a month while we looked for another place to live. We found a wonderful realtor through dear friends of ours and she found us a nice home. The kids first “friends” in our new area consisted of the life guard at the hotel, the workers at the front desk, and the people that were staying in the room next to us in the hotel. I wouldn’t want to relive that situation, but everything works out for a reason and we were very well taken care of by many people. Yet again it was another moment in time where we saw God’s love and protection over our family!

Just about the time we actually thought we were settling into the “big city life” of DC, we found out that Scott is deploying to Iraq for a year leaving July of 2010. Currently he is at the Pentagon managing the budgets of five different weapon programs as the PEM (Program Element Monitor). Essentially he interfaces with the warfighters in the field to get requirements, works the budget through the Air Staff, and interfaces with the Congressional Staffers to walk the budget through the process of becoming law. He will be doing Foreign Military Sales work over in Iraq which is unique in that they are rebuilding the Iraqi Air Force from the ground up. We will be in the DC area for a 4 year tour so when he returns from deployment we will have 2 more fun-filled years left to absorb this area and all it has to offer.

There have been many positives that have come out of this move. The kids absolutely LOVE their school, have made some great friends, and have the most amazing teachers! They are both excelling, and by spending time volunteering at school each week I get to find out what is really going on inside the classrooms which is nice.  Megan and Riley are actively participating in Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts. They are both learning new skills, how to help others, and serve the community. We have found a church that is a great fit for our family that includes an incredible children’s ministry. I am working on helping start a military ministry outreach in our community, so stay tuned for the progress on that for 2010.

I think that now after about 6 months we are starting to feel like this is “home.” It has been a very different experience for us as we are used to having the house set up, hosting a party, and knowing everyone around us in a few weeks. It is not quite like that here, but everyone we have met has been sooooo kind, warm, and welcoming to us. I would say that week by week we are getting to know more people and expanding our circle of friends.  We find ourselves going on “many adventures” on the weekend-from National’s baseball game to apple picking, to the Kennedy Center, visiting the National Mall, going to a live turkey farm, and seeing the Radio City Rockettes… we seem to be keeping quite busy and truly starting to enjoy the area.

Despite the few “hurdles” we have had this year we are truly blessed. There are many more positives than negatives that have come to our family through this year and I have chosen to reflect on those instead. The greatest positive is YOU and how much you have been a part of our lives. Whether you are local and we see you regularly, chat on the phone, send emails, Facebook, or blog it’s the relationships that always matter the most. No matter how much time passes or how much technology is introduced, the real core of our life and the heart of it all are the special friendships and bonds we create year after year.

This Christmas we want to thank YOU for your love and support, and for the blessing you are to our family. We wish you a spectacular holiday season and all of God’s love to warm your heart throughout 2010.

With Love~Scott, Alaina, Megan, and Riley Fitzner

You can follow our family on Facebook and on our blog at www.fitznerfam.blogspot.com

Happy 10th Birthday Megan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL...

CLICK ON HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN to see the 10 year page of her~

We were soooo blessed 10 years ago to find out that we were going to have a baby girl. Here we are 10 years later and think how full our lives have been with Megan. Born at Wright Patt in Ohio, moved to Florida, moved to Utah, moved to Alabama, and now moved to Virginia. I must say she is quite the "world traveller!" ....

There are so many special things about our little girl, but the ones that really stand out in my mind are all those times she would just laugh, have a cute smile on her face, help Riley with something, go running to the door to meet Scott after a long days work, or just give me a hug and say "Mommy I love you!" The every day sweet moments are the ones we cherish the most...

It was always fun to see what "dress up" outfit she would come out in for the day-she looooooves to be creative and oh my she sure came up with some great outfits. Now we're on to "the pretend cell phone" and talking to all her friends and singing Karaoke....

Thanks to all of you for sharing in our lives and for all that you have blessed Megan with by your love and affection over the years. Each of you has a very special place in our heart.

Have a SUPER day and we're off to spoil our big double digit 10 year old today...

Love~

Alaina

Halloween 2009

Hi all~ I'm trying something new for scrapbooking. Enjoy the Halloween pictures by clicking on
HALLOWEEN 2009.

I hope you are all staying healthy. I have two kids with the Swine, but I think it will be short lived. They are about driving me crazy so they MUST be getting better and we have been on a 3 day Monopoly marathon. It was quite cute-I am almost out of money in the game today because I keep getting sent to jail and Riley said "Mommy you don't have to pay me rent for my property-you are broke and don't have any money-here is a $50 to help you out..." How sweet was that?~ :) Enjoy the rest of your week~ Love, A :)

Facebook, Blog, and Shutterfly

For those of you that use facebook and blog here is my question....is there a way to have all aspects of facebook, blogging, and shutterfly in one place? I think it's a lot of work and time to post pictures and stories in all 3 places. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this?

I was thinking maybe under the "notes section" of facebook I could blog? I only use shutterfly to upload the pictures, but that is a waste because I always scrap the pictures and put my albums together so the pictures just "sit" in the shutterfly account, and as far as the blog goes you can post links, video, etc on facebook...

So, what do you all think? I am just curious because I love to keep up with everyone?

Thanks for your input, I'll be anxious to hear your thoughts.

Love, A ~ :)

Little Girl Can't Let go as Sergeant Daddy Leaves For Iraq - ParentDish

Little Girl Can't Let go as Sergeant Daddy Leaves For Iraq - ParentDish

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Scott's celebrating 20 years in the Air Force today~

Hi all~

Today is a very special day for our family. 20 years ago Scott entered the Air Force on 11 Oct 1989. He went through Basic Training at Lackland AFB, TX and then the adventure began...from being stationed at Spangdahlem Germany, Turkey, "The Desert", Luke AFB, AZ, Maxwell AFB, AL, Columbus AFB, MS, Wright Patterson AFB, OH, Eglin AFB, FL, Hill AFB, UT, and now to Pentagon, DC.....along with LOTS of stops along the way for training and travel we have not stayed anywhere for a very long time, but in all those locations we have made and kept some very dear friends we strive to keep in touch with through the years.....

We have had an amazing Air Force adventure together-it's amazing that he's been in for 20 years. In Sept of 1994 we met (introduced as future husband and wife), fell in love and tied the knot in Aug of 1996 with all our family and friends in MN. Then Megan and Riley came along a few years after, and now here were are a happy little family moving all over the US.

Our future is in God's hands, but one thing we know for sure is that he will provide for us and we just have to trust that HE has a path that is clear.

Thanks for sharing in this journey-some of you from the beginning, some of you from the middle, and some of you very recently-we love you all!

Enjoy this picture that recaps his Air Force world-from the F-16 that was the jet he did maintenance on in Spangdahlem Germany, to him spending time in a "tent" deployed to the Desert, to graduating with his Master's Degree from Air Command and Staff College, to looking with awe at the Air Force Memorial and remembering what that stands for, to the Pentagon encompassing it all with his family, looking brightly to the future with the rainbow, and finally the price our family is paying for "Daddy to fight for our freedom".....

With love and appreciation~

Alaina :)

The Price of Peace - Salute to the Families - HOME

My friend Susan just sent this to me on Facebook and I just had to share it with you. It is an amazingly touching video. Have a wonderful day~

Love, Alaina

The Price of Peace - Salute to the Families - HOME

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Back to School 2009

Hi all~

Well, we have officially made it through our first "full week" of school. Actually, the kids started last Tuesday. I posted the pictures on http://www.fitznerfam.shutterfly.com under the "Home" tab. Here's a sneak peak of the cuteness of day one...


It's amazing how fast the afternoon goes with a snack, homework, and a little playtime, dinner, showers, reading, prayers, and bed-whew that's exhausting! The kids are both enjoying school and have wonderful teachers-we are looking forward to a great school year here in Virginia.



I am a school volunteer every Thursday-I really like it because I can keep up on what is going on in the classes and be a little "mouse" in the background doing my work. ~:)

Have a great weekend-enjoy the pics~

Love to all~ A and fam

Front yard remodel

DRUM ROLL PLEASE~~~~ The front yard is complete. We are very happy with the results. We now watch butterflies visit the butterfly bush as well as we have some gorgeous birds that visit us everyday.

Thanks for all your ideas and input-I had NO idea there was so much though that has to go into a front yard. Lesson learned, don't pull out until you know what to put back in....lol

The yard is simple and easy to maintain, but has a much cleaner curb appeal. Enjoy the pictures~

Since this was such an ordeal I decided to scrapbook the pages-enjoy the story as the pages unfold. :)

www.fitznerfam.shutterfly.com

"Take your kids to work day~"

What a FUN day for our family. "Take your kids to work day" was established a few years ago to help families connect with other families, learn about the jobs their parents do with a briefing by the Commander geared just for the kids with their own Q & A time, have a paper airplane flying contest, tour The Pentagon, and experience a "day in the life of Dad" in DC.

The Pentagon tour was amazing-the most touching part was the Sept 11th memorial where were were able to sign a guest book, hear about that tragic day, and take a moment to pray for the families. The quilts on the wall were just gorgeous...I had to "ask" to take those pictures. I couldn't get a ton of pictures, but you know I asked when I could-it is a very secure area and the tour was about an hour.

The Pentagon tour is a "must do" on the list of things to do in DC.

The cutest parts of the day-Riley dressed like Dad in his ABU's drew LOTS of attention-people talked to him on the street and he was just gleaming from ear to ear with pride. Megan was such a little lady and just soaked everything in...we met a sweet family that had a 3 year old and she took right to him and took great care of him as we toured.

I am grateful Scott has such a cool place to work-the people were all so friendly, the other families were great, and the experience was very special.

Enjoy the pics~ :)

Click on this link-I've been having troubles with uploading the pictures so just go to our shutterfly account and you will see the pictures...

http://www.fitznerfam.shutterfly.com

To top off the day we had our "Back to School" night and met the kids teachers, toured the school-it was an action packed day...more pictures of school to follow.

Painting Ceramics

Megan and her friend L.J. went to a ceramics class together. They had a blast from learning how to prepare the ceramics to painting to the firing process. She has a new "friend".... ~

www.fitznerfam.shutterfly.com

Man of the house chores~

Riley was given "man of the house" chores while Scott was gone TDY. He was asked to put out the garbage, recycle, a few boxes, and grass clippings. He is quite a clever boy as the grass was a bit too heavy and he used his 4 wheeler to get from point A to point B. I couldn't resist taking picture along the way! :) He was so proud of himself and Daddy thought he did a great job.

You can better believe that we were watching for the garbage man bright and early the next day to see all his hard work get taken away by the garbage truck. :)

www.fitznerfam.shutterfly.com

Fifth Place Happenings~

This is our new home. We have taken quite a bit longer than usual to get set up, but it's been a challenging summer for us. I am happy to say that we are feeling much more at home, starting to enjoy the area, and Scott loves his job.

School starts next week and I will hopefully get through the dreaded storage room....lots to purge and sort. I can't believe how much stuff we have for as often as we move, but as I've been reminded of numerous times "we're the family that always has what our neighbor needs" and that is worth it to be helpful. :)

Enjoy the pictures. The finished yard is soon to follow.

Hugs~

www.fitznerfam.shutterfly.com

ACSC Graduation Ball

Hi All~

Well, we made it..last night was the graduation ball. Graduation is on Monday and the end is truly in sight. It's hard to believe the year has flown by. We're anxious to get this show on the road and move on. Today was our final Sunday at church and we've been saying lots of goodbye's...it's hard to leave, but one thing is that we've had an amazing year and our hearts are full of very fond memories with our friends~

Enjoy the pictures.....there are WAY to many to post so I have set up a family website

http://www.fitznerfam.shutterfly.com/

The tornado that touched down less than 1/2 mile from our house..

portables down by the school
remainders of the bleachers at the baseball field

a poor couple's RV house that was destroyed

So, we were just enjoying a quiet Friday night with the kids when the tornado sirens went off...Scott instantly turned on the news and within 15 seconds the lights flickered, tv went out, and the siren stopped! We were officially living through our first "real tornado."

The kids ran to our beds and hid under the covers while I folded laundry by the battery operated light and Scott listened to the radio...oh what a night it was!

Here are a few pictures of the damage we saw the next day. Riley's baseball field had bleachers on home plate and the batting cages were completely damaged. The school was left unharmed, but the new school next to ours was hit in the roof, portables fell over, and it was just a mess.

We were very fortunate and will now pay attention to the warnings from this point forward and take them seriously...you know it's hard to take them seriously when they go off about every other week!

The difference between I-85S and 185S..

So, Alaina has this brilliant idea...let's road trip to Callaway Garden's in Pine mountain, Georgia for Good Friday while the kids are out of school. Scott my handy dandy GPS made sure to print off maps both directions with step by step instructions on what roads to get on and in what order. Really, how hard could it be to follow a few simple steps?...

The trip to Callaway Gardens-no problem (exactly 1 1/2 hours) just like Scott told me....we had a blast, from watching a bird show to going through a butterfly habitat and having butterflies flying all over and around and on us, to playing on the beach and in the sand, to checking out the vegetable gardens, and the azalea's in bloom.....it was a perfect day...

Well, until about 3:55 PM which was our departure time to make it back in time for Riley's baseball game at 6:00. Plenty of time I thought and Dad, you would be proud I even built in an extra 30 minutes "fudge" factor for delays~ :)

So, we're heading down the road and I see 185S and think perfect, we're right on track...hmmmm something is not seeming quite right. I thought we were "just across" the Alabama border....now I'm seeing NO signs of the Alabama border and now I'm seeing signs that I clearly know are in GEORGIA and not ALABAMA.

What luck, about the time Scott calls to check on us he say's where are you honey? I tell him I'm crusin' along on 185S and there is DEAD silence on the phone...he says 185S not I-85S? I say yes I'm on 185S and then about the same time the highway ends...yes I said ENDS and I DEAD END RIGHT INTO FORT BENNING ARMY BASE IN COLUMBUS, GEORGIA!!!! Holy heck I am totally lost and in the WRONG state.

I truly wish I would have had pictures to show you of this journey, but at the time "Kodak" moments were NOT on my mind...finding my way home was a priority.

Thankfully Scott was still on the phone with me and through quite a lot of construction he was able to navigate me home safely.

So, lesson learned-details are VERY important especially when it's a 1 versus an I....oh, and yes we missed baseball, but then the tornado hit....stay tuned for the next blog update on "The tornado that touched down less than 1/2 mile from our house...

Here are a few pictures from Callaway Gardens...it was so fun to see the kids just running on the beach and laughing and not having a care in the world...despite getting lost it truly was the perfect day and I would do it again in a heart beat. Those moments you see pure joy and smiles and giggles are moments that forever stay in your heart~ :)

Riley's new friend-this amazing woman Carolyn who is a professional photographer in Africa!
Trying a new photo technique with my "teacher Carolyn" giving us photography tips~

What a cutie-he wants to be SOOOOOO big so bad!

Megan has sure spread her wings this year-I can't believe she's almost "double digits" as we refer to 10~

Momma wanted to sweeten the pot and get this road trip started with smiles so I totally went against my rules and gave them ice cream at 9am...but, WELL worth the results of a great day and good listening from two little monkeys~ :)

Life is passing us by~

Hi all~ I am really trying to keep up with this blog, but life as you know just seems to pass quicker than I can take the pictures and post them...so, here goes~

First, we were sad to find out on Good Friday that Scott's Grandpa Wilbur passed away-here is the memorial page I made for his funeral... I can't remember if I posted the one I made for his Grandma Doris so that is below as well. It's been a rough last 6 months on the Fitzner Family side-Scott's Uncle Dick died in Sept of 08 and then his Grandma in Jan 09 and now his Grandpa in April 09. It really makes you stop and think how precious TIME is with people and how you want to spend it with those you love~

http://www.mvfh.net/obits/obits-2009/apr/Wilbur_Fitzner-6.html

This is his obituary page-it is a beatiful write up about his life and love of God and his family-also if you go the home page you can search for Doris under Past Obituary in Jan 2009

I have truly found my passion-well, it's not a new found passion, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE to do pages like this and create things with my new photoshop elements program. I am really hoping that once we get settled I can get on a regular routine and get caught up on our lives albums.

But, there is no time for that now....it's cleaning closets, organizing, perging, and getting ready for our move which by the way Scott graduates in LESS than 2 months now-where in the world has the time gone?

I have lots more to say and post pictures, but I think I better split up the blogs so I don't max out my space...so stay tuned for the next topic-"The difference between I-85S and 185S...."

Love ya~ A :)

PLAY BALL~it's Baseball season~

Tonight was the first night of baseball for Riley. He had a great game-hey, he hit the ball and ran the bases and even hit the winning run! Asst Coach Scott was a very proud Daddy tonight....one thing to be aware of is that Riley seems to be like his Dad...a great player, but he DOESN'T like to lose....I'm sure as the season goes on Scott will teach his son "team spirit" and how to be a good sport. :) Enjoy the pictures~

Love, Alaina

Wake up call to America! This is VERY humbling...

I get a lot of forwards and typically delete them to protect our computer from viruses, etc, but this one from my Mom-in-law I had to share with you. Thanks Gloria~ :)

I checked it out and it is indeed a true story:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/wakeup.asp

We were stationed at Luke AFB (actually that is where Scott and I first met) so it is near and dear to us and also because we have dear friends that are serving in the military as well as curretenly we know some that are deployed and this really made me think and be truly grateful that this was not my husband's formation of gunships flying over his grave....we are truly blessed and need to remember to thank our military for dedicating their lives to our country at the expense of losing their own lives and leaving their families behind to pick up the pieces. We continue to pray for our deployed to bring them home safe and sound~

True Story....

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and itsplanes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certainl Lieutenant Colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/herday at the mall.

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.

The complaint: 'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:

Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A..M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special?

Any response would be appreciated.

The response:

Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at SunlandMemorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because ofthe jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who
understand the sacrifices they have endured..

A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning air show? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable
formation of their lives.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you.....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier..
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.

USAF

Apology letter from "disturbed citizen"...who by the way is retired military Navy Veteran himself-OUCH!

To his credit, the complainant Mr. MacRae, issued a written apology which was published in same newspaper on July 9:
--Regarding "Flyby honoring fallen comrade" (Letters, June 28)--I read with increasing embarrassment and humility the response to my unfortunate letter to The Republic concerning an Air Force flyby ("A wake-up call from Luke's jets," Letters, June 23).I had no idea of the significance of the flyby, and would never have insulted such a fine and respectful display had I known.I have received many calls from the fine airmen who are serving or have served at Luke, and I have attempted to explain my side and apologized for any discomfort my letter has caused. This was simply an uninformed citizen complaining about noise.I have been made aware in both written and verbal communications of the four-ship flyby, and my heart goes out to each and every lost serviceman and woman in this war in which we are engaged. I have been called un-American by an unknown caller and I feel that I must address that. I served in the U.S. Navy and am a Vietnam veteran. I love my country and respect the jobs that the service organizations are doing.Please accept my heartfelt apologies. -Tom MacRae, Peoria

It's Official~we're moving to DC in June

Whew, the finally anticipated news has arrived. Scott found out today that we are "officially notified" that we are moving to DC and Scott will be working at the Pentagon this summer for a 3 year tour. Now the fun begins of finding a house and getting the area, schools, and of course a church figured out....we've already started our excel spreadsheets with data! :)

I thought it would be fun to post a few pictures from our first trip to DC together-it was BK (before kids) and these pictures were from December of 1998 in front of the White House. I just love the "Honey Fitz" life preserver. That was actually in the museum and I had to take a picture of it.

Hugs~A :)

Random Acts of Kindness~

What benefit do you think there is in spending over 100+ hours on learning Spanish when you are in the states and don't have a use for it? There didn't seem to be much of any benefit other than to pass ACSC in June until Scott found out today that there is a benefit...on his way to school he saw a Hispanic gentleman on the side of the road who needed help. Scott pulled over to help this guy who didn't speak a lick of English and asked him what he needed? He needed directions...thankfully, Scott had JUST finished the unit on directions this weekend so he was able to help him. I know the hours of learning a language are agonizing and very time consuming, but it was heartwarming for him to share this story with me and feel like he made a difference for someone in their day with his Espanol knowledge.

A few weeks ago, we were at Chappy's (our favorite little deli) on a "lunch date." Scott asked for the bill. They didn't bring us the bill because the waiter told us that some sweet lady who wanted to remain anonymous paid for our lunch and already left the tip. Scott was in uniform and she said to tell him "thank you for your service!"....that was very unexpected and greatly appreciated.

I hope you find little blessings like these in your days as well and make time to do "random acts of kindness" for others~ :)

"Kindness is an inner desire that makes us want to do good things even if we do not get anything in return. It is the joy of our life to do them. When we do good things from this inner desire, there is kindness in everything we think, say, want and do"- Emanuel Swedenborg

Much love and have a happy week~ Alaina :)

Life is full of surprises~ Snow in "BAMA!"

Greetings, It's been a hectic few months for us...I was hoping by now I would be blogging about our next move and where we're going and that it's official and we're set to start house hunting...but, the Air Force has their own agenda and we're on a need to know basis and as of now they don't feel that we "need to know!" We're hoping that we'll have orders in the next few weeks so stay tuned!!! :)

So, what a surprise to wake up to snow this morning...I love the photos Scott captured of the kids early this morning...I'm not thinking we'll be making a snowman, but it's fun to see snow when you're not expecting it!

View Album
If you can't see the album, copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://www.photoshop.com/express/index.html?user=fitznerfam&galleryid=852dc9798cc34d6faeb2f4426410f55a&wf=share&trackingid=BTAGC

Have a great day and we're staying inside today as we figure that most of Alabama doesn't know how to drive in this and we're better off safe at home having a jammies and movie day in between Scott's studies!

Love ya~A :)

The Law of the Garbage Truck~

My dear girlfriend just sent this to me and I thought it was worthy of sharing...it helps us keep life in perspective~enjoy~


"One day I hopped into a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really very friendly. So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined you car and sent us to the hospital." This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'.He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Simple Moments~

I wanted to show you all that I learned at my Photoshop Elements 7.0 class I attended today. I am so excited to be able to make my own digital scrapbook paper and elements and fonts...this is a HUGE step for me and there is quite a learning curve, but I am quite pleased with what I have learned so far!

The first page is the life history made with love for Scott's family for Grandma Doris' funeral....I love being able to scrapbook our lives and do special gifts like this for others. The one of Riley and I was created today at my class.

Enjoy and sending our love~

The New Way To Spend Quality Time with Dad~

Well, as you know there is A LOT of reading here at school, so Scott has now decided that the "traditional" kid stories are over rated and it's much better to bore the kids to death with his books and papers. So, this morning over our wonderful french toast breakfast he read us his 3 page mid term paper. Megan hung around to hear the whole story and about half way through Riley decided that adding a little piano music would be interesting so he left, but all in all it was a fun little moment to share as a family. I have included a few impromtu pictures for your enjoyment! Have a happy week....Scott is now embarking on his final 25 page paper-we'll have to read that one bits at a time like a novel. :)

Riley Scores With the Ladies

The Official menu with her number on it :)
It's hard work being such a smooth ladies man~

So there we were, having a nice family lunch at our favorite local joint Chappy's Deli, when we experience an unforgettable moment that showed us just how fast Riley is growing into a little man. We had asked for and gotten our favorite waiter, Grant, who I think is just out of high school. We had already ordered and were waiting for our food when a very cute 14-year old girl walked by, looked at Riley in passing, and said, "Aw, he's so cute!" Of course this made Riley blush, but at the same time he was simply enamored with her, and my own words you could tell he "thought she was a hottie." They sat down two tables away from us and Riley couldn't stop looking at her. As this was happening Grant had walked up and seen all that had transpired and he said, "Hey, she's pretty cute, huh? I know her, do you want to go talk to her? She's really nice." Of course Riley was REALLY embarrassed at this point and he said, "I can't go talk to her, I'm not her boyfriend!" This made us all crack up, especially Grant, and he went over to let the girl know that Riley thought she was cute. She laughed and smiled and waved at him, so Riley was very interested at that point. He was coloring a picture on his kids menu and decided that he wanted to finish coloring it and give it to her. He also had some change along and said he wanted to buy her some ice cream. Grant was having a great time with all this, so once Riley had finished the picture he got the girl to come over and introduced her to Riley, her name was Cassidy. Riley had his head down a bit, as he was struggling to figure out what to say to her, but things got better once she started the conversation. After a bit he was looking at her and felt more comfortable, and then my little man went in for the kill when he asked, "Hey, do you babysit?" He was thrilled when she said yes, and then he proceeded to ask for her phone number so Mom or Dad could call her sometime to babysit. She wrote down her name and phone number on his kids menu and gave it to him. Although he was exuding confidence and excitement at that point, and Grant gave him a big high-five, it was now time to ask her what kind of ice cream she liked, so he got a bit embarrassed again. That's when Grant chimed in and said, "Dude, you already scored her phone number, it's smooth sailing from here on out! Just ask her what kind she likes!" So he finally did, and after she told him she like chocolate, Grant took him behind the counter to help make the cone and let him bring it back to her. He was grinning from ear to ear! So my son of 6 years old has already scored digits from a 14-year old cutie...I have to say, I think he even has me beat. So I guess it's only fair to put the warning out now...watch out ladies, Riley is on the prowl!

Cheers!
Scott