jon-jon is home - and predictions

well - my little brother made it back safely for his two weeks "break" from the sandbox... Mom has a post and pics from meeting him in the airport.

We will hopefully get some time to visit with him before he heads back over for the final months of this deployment.

In other places - I am now 15 weeks pregnant. Last trip to the Dr. had a heartbeat of 150. The heartbeat wives tale says its a girl - the chinese calendar says its a girl - all those silly quizzes I have taken online say its a girl...

However, Ronnie is of course a first (and only) born son.... his dad is a first born son.... his grandad was one of a couple of sons.... I am not sure who the oldest in that clan is - but I know the first born was a son... and all of those "sons" (his grandfather's brothers) have had first born sons. So.... if genetics tell us more than the chinese calendar - and heartbeats - then it should be a boy.

My aunt says its a boy - others that have guessed have said its a boy...

I always thought that it would have been awesome to have a big brother - so, I figured I should have a boy first - - which is probably the influence in my head that it is probably a boy.

My sister says its a girl.... I think she was just arguing with my aunt. :)

The fun part is that all the guessing will (hopefully) be over on Feb. 8!! We are hoping baby mayhew participates and allows us the opportunity to know the answer to that question... boy or girl?

Anyone out there got a fool-proof way to guess boy or girl?

please be prayin

please be praying for my little brother. it's gotta be tough sometimes!

because my brother asked

An open letter to my brother: yes, it should have been sent in an email, but he wanted to read a blog.....

Jon,

I am blogging today ONLY because you asked me to. I am in the middle if budgeting, and projecting, etc. etc. for my job... fun stuff.

Ronnie got to go to Carowinds today with the youth from church. I am working... so, well, he is riding roller coasters... and I wish I were:)

This weekend I am going to be able to go to a conference with some ladies from my church, and then I think mom is going to come to watch our presentation on Sunday night - - the presentation is for our church to see the fun stuff that we did in Ecuador a few weeks ago. I am hoping to post some of those stories soon... just havent had a chance yet... the pictures are on facebook though if you want to see them...

Well, I think that's all I can post for the world to read - - anything else would have to be private emails:)

I hope you are staying out of trouble.... you better be...

love ya,
Julia

Patriotism

I have heard it said that "the only different between a patriot and a traitor is a matter of time."

I am thankful for the crowd of "patriots" in 1776 that cared enough to be called traitors for a short time, so that today long after they have been gone, they might be called Patriots.

I am also so very thankful for the Patriots of today.... who wear the camouflage, who sweat in thick armor, who keep M-16s on their body 24 hours a day, who sleep short hours, and fight so that the battle remains somewhere else.... away from our streets, our yards, our homes, our playgrounds...

I am personally proud to be a family member of one of those Uniform wearing soldiers... I sometimes wish I had a sticker that I could wear... to say "you know those guys that we honor?? well, one of those is my little brother." I grew up shooting BB guns with him - learning to ride a bike with him, played in a treehouse, pretended to be GIJoe, Transformers, and army guys (and girls) with him. We had trampoline fights, got in trouble for sliding down red mud hills in our good clothes, and learned to beat Super Mario brothers (the orginal Nintendo game) together. This little boy that woke up at 5 in the morning with me to prepare breakfast for the rest of the family sometimes.... is now waking up at 5 in the morning to keep us safe. Thank you Jon-Jon.

I am so thankful that today we, as a family, we were able to be online for a while chatting together. Mom and dad on separate computers at their house, Jen online at her house, me online in VA, and Jon in the "sandbox." How wonderful is our technology!!!

In honor of this day, the day we thank soldiers and patriots for our freedoms as a country.... I leave you a few quotes from popular patriotic songs.

God bless America, land that I love, Stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above. Oh beautiful for spacious skies - for amber waves of grain... Oh beautiful for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years, Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears. God bless the USA!

and finally, those words that echo longer than the writer ever imagined... Oh, say does that Star Spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave...

Heart wrenching morning!

Conversation I heard while I was on the phone with mom this morning.

Aubrey: Is that JuJu?

Mom: Yes

Aubrey: Is JuJu coming to my house?

Mom: No, JuJu has to work
Aubrey: (shouting at this point so I can understand every word) But she SAID she was coming to MY house!

Mom: Do you want to talk to JuJu?

Aubrey: yes

Aubrey: JuJu?

Me: Hey Aubrey, I love you

Aubrey: Are you coming to my house?

Me: (choking at this point) No sweetie, I have to work today

Aubrey: (handing the phone back to mom) I'm "pinished" (finished)

My tears flowed......

two hours later.

Phone rings - some random number.

Me: Hello?

Jon-Jon: Hey JuJu!

Me: (running outside of my office to be sure I have good phone reception) Hey!!

The conversation continued.... I won't type all that out.

Needless to say, it has been an emotional day. I feel as if tears are just seconds away from bursting out of my eyes.... Tears of missing my family, and tears of praying for my brother, and tears of thankfulness that he was able to call me....

Kinda hard to focus on work today...

If it's not one thing...

My mom says it so well...

My dad does too...

Thank you Jon-Jon for fighting for our freedom -

Each day continues

It has been 6 days since my last update. During that time, there have been a massive level of emotions.

First, I want to thank all that either here on my blog, or on my facebook, or via email, text msg, or phone call have loved us. I also want to thank those who I have been able to see personally - at church, or wherever, that have given a hug, smiled the uncomfortable smile, and said "I don't know what to say, but I am praying for you." Those words mean more to us than you can ever imagine. The outpouring of care has been overwhelming - and appreciated more than I can ever express to you. Thank you. Looking back to a couple months ago when I questioned friendship - - I do not anymore. So many people have shown that they really, REALLY care.

Now, to discuss our state. The emotional challenges shift daily. For you see, I still have NO signs of a miscarriage physically. This waiting, wondering, fearing, etc... takes an emotional toll. My pregnancy symptoms have faded thankfully. (Please take that statement with the heart of what I really mean... I am NOT glad that I no longer have a growing child.... however, losing the child, and still being nauseaus, exhausted and having heartburn daily just is not fair.)

We have continued this week with life as usual. I still volunteer at the church, still teach my college course, we worked the youth event Friday night and had a great day with several groups of friends on Saturday. We went to church Sunday - and are so thankful for the love we are shown there - and went for a walk Sunday afternoon. Yes, we have times of struggle, and yes the grieving process is still going on. We are not avoiding it... but to be honest, I think we may be delaying part of it until the miscarriage actually happens. I have also found that it helps me to keep my perspective, and keep my eyes open to the world around me, if I do more than sit at home and simply wait. There is a world of hurting people out there - - and yes, I am hurting too - but it helps to be able to help others instead of having my own pity party right now.

This week will be filled with emotions.

Tomorrow is our 2nd wedding anniversary. To be honest, I am praying that if the miscarriage does not happen today, that is waits until tomorrow is finished. I really want to keep the anniversary of the happiest day of my life, from being marred by one of the saddest.

Sometime this week also, my little brother, leaves for his second adventure in the "sandbox." As a family, this is one of the hardest, and most challenging things we have lived through.... and yet, it carries with it a pride that we cannot match.

This weekend, we will get to see some of our dearest friends. We are each traveling about half the distance between where we live in order to spend some much needed time together.

So much should be said, so many things that are still floating in my head, but they just don't come out right in a blog.

The Bible says "In everything give Thanks." This verse has echoed in my heart these last 6 days. Everything? yes. even this. Is it wrong and heartless to give thanks for the situation we are currently in? It cannot be, for if it were, then a loving, righteous God would never instruct us to "give thanks" in Everthing. So, I am working on my "thanksgiving." For even this.

Words cannot describe

I had to say my "see ya later" to Jon a week and a half ago. 

My family had to do it today... 

Jen has a picture - 

Mom has a couple of thoughts.... 

Dad has put his thoughts... from the other day... and from today as well

I don't think I have words to describe the difficulty of staying in VA when my family is hurting in AL. Or the pain of seeing the tears run down my brother's face when he says good-bye to his neice.... I mean. Really. 

Sometimes, when the heart hurts, the mind runs out of words, and all that flows are tears. 

The good-byes have been said - the tears have fallen.... and are still falling - the soldier is on his way to the last stop before the battlefield. The battle of the mind begins here at home - with the family fighting the "what-ifs." We are proud of our brother, son, husband, grandson, uncle, brother-in-law, friend. We stand taller when the national anthem is sung.... we are proud to see that flag wave. We even smirk as we pass cars with bumper stickers that downplay the importance of what our family member is doing. We laugh when the media spouts statements that are false, to the detriment of our JonJon. Our heart hurts a bit inside knowing that the price of that freedom - the freedom that is taken as lightly as a grain of salt by most of America - has been put on the shoulders of one we love so dearly. And then.... we count the days. 4 down.....

That is what is happening today. Thank you for your prayers. 

Story coming soon

I have a great post coming soon (when I get a chance to type it out) about how both of our sets of parents did ALL they could do to foil our plans to surprise them with the news of our coming addition.... 

But for now... you just have to wait in full suspense... I really hope you are able to sleep between now and then... No, really, I do.

Also.... Please be praying for my brother and his wife. He left yesterday for three days of drill - still in Bama. Will be home for Mother's Day... then three more training days in Bama... and then he is gone to another base... umm... somewhere else... for a while... (The Army is so specific for this stuff.... ) and then... around a month from now - - he will be shipping out to the "sandbox" for approximately a year. 

None of us are ready for this again. 

Brantley is doing it the first time as his wife - we are all praying hard for her! 

what a rollercoaster!

Wow. The last 10 days have just been over the top. In as many ways as possible.

I will try to get it all in a post - but that will require less detail than is really deserved on any of these topics.

1. As seen previously, Jen had her baby. A wonderful, healthy little boy. Named Barrett. He is wonderful! A great sleeper, only cries when ya change his diaper or give him a bath. A wonderful baby!

2. Due to the birth of Barrett, Ronnie and I got to spend some wonderful quality time with Aubrey. She is precious. and talks CONSTANTLY. My favorite comment of the week was when we were in Target, Ronnie put some random headband on her head.. she didn't see it coming. She jumped up, hands on her hips, and loudly said "What's the big idea here, Ronnie?" Oh, so young, and yet so smart!!!! We got to take her to play at Chickfila, get prizes at Target, see a magician at church, run through the aisles at Walmart with her swinging from our arms, and watch her learn about her baby brother. Time I will treasure forever.

3. Ronnie, Mom, Dad, Jon, Brantley and I all went out for a dinner the night before Jon left to go to his train-up for Afghanistan. I will be honest and just say that I am not ready to do this again. If you haven't experienced a family member or loved on being over there, there is just no way for you to understand the constant wondering, fighting the unknown, waking up with a gut feeling, and spending hours a night praying. I am proud of my brother. I am thankful for our military. It hurts to see him go back.

4. Mamaw found out she has breast cancer. (This is my mom's mom). Cancer has never been a problem in our family. Heart disease, yep - strokes, got em - alzheimers, yep... cancer? no. So this is new to our family. Decisions, test, dyes, etc are all going on this week. Please be praying for mamaw, and for my mom as they make all these decisions.

5. A friend of mine in Ga announced she is pregnant with number 2. Who will be 13 months younger than number 1!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!

6. Another friend of mine found out that after years of trying to get pregnant, they are finally approved to adopt - and will have a baby in May.

7. A friend from VA had her sister pass away unexpectedly.

8. Friendship has been redefined again in my life. No details. But I will say this, friends that are only friends when things are easy, or when they are good, or when they need something themselves, are easy to find in the good times, but seem to disappear with life gets rough.

Friends that are willing to cry with you, pray with you, love with you, hurt with you, celebrate the good, and mourn the bad, drop their details to help you pick up your pieces, are very difficult to find. I am blessed to say that God has given me a few. Those that are not afraid of the tears streaming down my cheeks as the bad news drops. Those that are thrilled to celebrate to amazing.

These are the people that make me want to be a better friend. They make me want to be like them. I pray that those people will find you!

Thank you.

Round 2

Well, I got a call yesterday - from the little brother...



He's gotta go back.





This time not to Iraq, but to Afghanistan.





I can't write much cuz we are moving this week - but for those who care, please be praying for him, for his new bride, for my parents, for my sister and I... and for all those who know and love him. It just doesn't seem fair to only allow him to be home for 11 months and then send him back....





Thanks for the prayers

Also - today is his birthday... go over and tell him happy birthday!

Jon's big day

Well, tomorrow is the day we have all waited for... My little brother... the one that has made the subject line more often in my blog than anyone else probably... is getting married.

He is the last of the three Warren kids to go through the wedding... umm... excitement. The first time mom and dad have been "mother and father of the groom."

Being at mom and dad's house this week has been exciting... but there is NEVER a dull moment here! I am reminded of how different my "life-pace" is in VA whenever I visit here. Its crazy here!

Since being here... here is a general list of the things that have happened to those of us already permanently attached to theWarren clan... this does not include what the bride and her family have been doing... because I dont even have time to get to that list... I am talking about less than 72 hours for us....

4 haircuts
2 eyebrow waxings (the haircuts and waxings have a long story in them too.... WAY too long for this late night blog)
4 pedicures
3 manicures
8+ hours decorating the church (Wednesday night till 1:30 am)
1 hour exercising
1 car accident - Jen had someone pull out in front of her Thursday - not her fault - totaled her car - she is ok - just sore... go to her page for more info.
1 day babysitting Aubrey
2 hours of normal Wednesday night festivities at church
1 trip to Hobby Lobby, the mall, Best Buy, Bruno's etc.
1 counseling session
3 trips to Starbucks
2 trips to Target
3 trips to Wal-mart
1 computer repaired (mine)
1 family dinner
1 rehearsal and rehearsal dinner

Ok - that's all I care to think about now.

The bottom line... tomorrow, in the evening, my little brother will be a married man. He is marrying a wonderful, godly girl. I have never seen my brother so excited about something in his lifetime. I am praying already that tomorrow is the day my soon-to-be-sis-in-law dreamed of. I am also praying that their marriage will be blessed by God.

For the random day that Jon and Brantley read this.... I love you both so much!

Excitement that few can understand!

My little brother - the one I have posted about for a year now... the one that I have so many fun memories with... the one that has been valiantly fighting for our country - is on the way HOME! I won't see him for at least a week... I am jealous of my parents and my bro's fiancee who get to see him tmo.... but the point is that my little brother is on his way HOME!

Praise God - thank you so much for protecting him... and Internet, and friends - thank YOU for praying for him during these months!!!

I can hardly WAIT to get my "Jonathan" hug....

lata

10 days

Well, I havent been around in a few days... 10 to be exact. While this 10 day span included a trip to Alabama to teach a youth conference with Wings - and this 10 day time period has included some MAJOR changes in life.. the bottom line is that although there is much to say, I just am not yet sure how to say it.

Life is changing in southern VA - My man is changing jobs - we will be moving soon - thats enough info for the internet! but you can imagine the activity around the house these days!

I finished teaching my first set of college courses this week - and start another set tonight. WOOHOO!!!! I did enjoy the teaching more than I thought I would.

My brother will be home this weekend!!!

well - gotta go grade some final exams.

Home again

Here I am, back in VA. What? You didn't even know I was gone? Well, that's because I am a tricky little girl.

This will be short - last week Ronnie was gone for a while to a training thing in SC. Yep, I stayed home all by myself, which is quite an accomplishment for this little city girl... to be home alone for like 4 nights IN THE COUNTRY! Then, Thursday morning, I flew my little self to Alabama for a few days with the fam. I got to go out to eat with all my grandparents Thursday for lunch - there is nothing in the WORLD like Cracker Barrel when ya haven't had it for a while. Ronnie got down there on Friday evening and we got to have my bday dinner with my family. SO MUCH FUN to be with mom dad, jen, aubrey, andy and brantley having my bday dinner. It would have only been better had Jon been able to be home. BUT, we did find out, that as long as nothing changes (it IS the Army ya know) - he has done his last mission and should be home no later than Memorial Day. WOW! I am so excited. I also got to talk to him on webcam for the first time since like October Saturday evening - it was wonderful...

Sunday morning we went to church, and then made the trek back to VA. So here, I am - home again. Ronnie was sickly yesterday so we spent a majority of the afternoon in the doc office - but the meds worked fast and he is headed to work this morning.

I am off to try my new exercise (getting in shape for the cruise ya know) - roller blading! I haven't really done this since middle school, so it could be interesting - but I have all protective pads and stuff. I am going to the park down town, so maybe not many people will be able to see me make a fool of myself! (its kinda hidden in the trees and by the river and stuff). Then of course today is church work day and "pretend to know what you're doing as a college prof" day.

Have a good one.

Update

So, someone gave a link in the comments to my last blog to the full story of the military funeral that I saw... Turns out that the people I had asked about the funeral were mis-informed. It was not the funeral of the Roanoke soldier, however it was a military funeral, of a vet from the Korean war. They apparantly have recently found some soldier bodies from that war, and this soldier from my city was identified.

My emotions are not diminshed by this not being what I originally was told. Can you imagine the closure that a family must feel to finally know what happened to their loved one? A wife? A sister? A brother? Now, for the first time in 50 years they know the end of the story. Both of my grandfathers fought in Korea. One in the Air Force, and one in the Army... I cannot imagine what the family of this soldier must feel today. relief? saddness remembered? regret? closure?

Anyway - having said all of that, I am sure the family of the Roanoke soldier still needs your prayers during this time.... and I know my family appreciates your prayers for my brother as he finishes his time over seas. He wants to finish this race strong, and we want him to, but even more than that, we want to see his smiling face and get that "little" brother hug I have needed for the last 7 months!

On to other topics. This is a birthday week for me... WHOA! I will be 29. (for the first time) I always thought I would feel older when I got to 29, but surprisingly I still feel about 21. I have decided though, that I might turn 29 several times before the next dreaded number. Don't get me wrong, I would rather have birthday's than the alternative right now - but maybe I will just stay 29 until my husband catches up with me... I married a youngster, he is only 26. So, I think I will stay 29 for about 3 years... or maybe longer.

Well, it's dinner time. re-run food here we come!

my experience yesterday afternoon

I was sitting in front of the CVS in my town. Across from the big graveyard, and traffic was all jacked up. I was stopped right at the entrance for the graveyard.

I have to believe God put me there. At the time, I was frustrated though, a funeral procession was coming and I was late getting to the church. Car after car turned into the cemetary.

There was a family standing along the road at first, they had American flags in their hand and it looked like they were waiting to cross the street at the entrance to the cemetary. I though thtey had just visited a grave or whatever. Then more people started to walk up, each carrying American flags. As some of the people in front of me in the traffic got frustrated and turned down the side roads, I pulled up a bit further, looked down into the cemetary and saw two lines of soldiers standing at attention. My heart dropped. About 10 days ago, a soldier from the VA national guard was killed in Iraq by an IED. He was 24 days from coming home, had taken his wife's place to go (she was called up and he rejoined so that she could stay home since she was pregnant with their second child). The guy was part of my brother's battalion. They trained at the same time about 8 months ago. I looked further down the road. Jon's group was trying to get back to their base about a week ago to make it to the memorial there overseas. It was strange to think I was at the other end of a funeral that started in the Middle East. As I looked up, I saw the Patriot riders... the motorcycle guys that stop any protesters from showing up at military funerals and send-offs. They are there to protect the families of the soldiers.

The tears started to fall then as they are falling now. I then saw the TV cameras coming to the street from the graveside - Then, the hurst with the coffin, I could see the American flag draped across the coffin through the window as it passed by me. As it passed, and turned into the cemetary - the tears flooded my eyes. Time was standing still. Then Someone behind me honked their horn, as the traffic in front of me started to go and I was just sitting there, watching, wishing I had known it was happening in time to go as support, wishing I could hug his family and say Thank you.... Anyway, please pray for this guy's family.... I don't know how they are handling it... and please continue to pray for Jonathan... He is so close to the end of his tour... don't let up on the prayers for his safety!

it will have to be 101

I needed to post to say thanks for the prayers, we finally heard from Jon last night...

I will put up my 100 things... or maybe 101 now;) soon I promise!

Post 99

Well, here is post 99 - I think that means my next post has to be the 100 things... 100 things about me that you really don't wnt to know... i am not sure that there are 100 things that I haven't already shared - But i will try with all my might.

Tonight is my first Tupperware party... kinda nervous, kinda excited, kinda ready to just be GOING! Nicole is my host - and she has been wonderful so far.. Thanks girl! She sells stuff too, so she has already gone thru this "first party" junk... (she doesn't sell Tupperware tho... something else)

Before I get into the "meat" of my post - I encourage you to go here and read a story of how a guy really took Jesus serious in his "Good Samaritan" parable... EVEN in 2008, EVEN in NY, EVEN in the Bronx... Makes me think.

Pray for me and my family - we are trying to keep our head out of the land of "what if" as my mom alluded to here. Its been a few days since we heard anything from Jon... so close to the end, it just weighs a lot on our shoulders right now. Honestly, it is one of those things that we should be sharing the load with our Savior, and I know He wants to help carry my load - its just hard to actually share the weight.

Someone asked me the other day what the impact of having my brother in Iraq has been on me. The truthful answer is that any words I try to put to it, really does not do it justice. It has impacted every area of my life. On the negative side, the tears have flowed more freely, especially when songs come on that refer to kids playing and such... mainly because those are some of the memories I treasure most of my family. It has impacted my marriage. My husband has dealt with me having more homesickness than I have ever had before because of my brother. There is a feeling that I need to be there to help hold up my parents through this - which has made these last months even longer. On the positive side - my prayer life is probably stronger now - if for no other reason, anytime I wake up at night, or have a moment when my brain quits thinking about anything else, I pray for the physical, emotional, and spiritual protection of my brother.

That paragraph can give you a small picture of the emotions that are rampant in my heart. I cannot put in words the total impact on my life. I respect my brother, and see him as a hero for us, and for you. I am proud of him - I love him - I miss him.

It is heavy. I am trying to "cast my cares" - and give Him some of my burden because "His burden is light." I am trying to keep taking steps forward... I am trying to be excited about Tupperware. But sometimes its just heavy. I can't explain why now more than the last few days. but it is.

Anyway - sorry if this was a darker post than what you were hoping for... We do appreciate your prayers for the safety of my brother.

Look for my "100 things" soon.

Sun and Snow

The weekend was a wonderful celebration of Christ's ressurection. I didn't blog because things were all kinda busy and well, its hard for me to blog then. When I say busy - I mean, Saturday was like 75 degrees outside so we went on a long bike ride, and then laid on a blanket in the yard, in our swimsuits - trying to get a bit of color in our skin before Easter. It was wonderful! I soaked up the sun, Ronnie read some political books or something. I gave him a haircut outside - it was just a wonderful sunny day. (my haircut also came this weekend.. took about 2 hours on Friday afternoon to do mine... a bit shorter than planned... but still is not too bad.. )

Easter Sunday was wonderful time together - last year Easter was the day he proposed to me (of course the date was different) - but we thought back on that, (it was also the day of our first date together!!) had lunch with his parents, and one of his childhood friends was back in town so he came over last night for a while.... they talked about guns and stuff... ya know, boy stuff. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining - it was a bit chilly, but nothing jeans and a long sleeve shirt wouldn't fix. We dyed eggs - but didn't go hide them or anything...

(Jon, Ronnie did the Red White and blue one in honor of you in Iraq on Easter!)

This morning - we woke up to THIS!!!!

Yep - welcome to Southern VA - where one day you get sun burnt, and two days later, it SNOWS!!! - - - over an inch of it on my car! It is supposed to melt by this afternoon and be back up in the 50s... but still... this is a BIT ridiculous!

Anyway, it was great to celebrate the risen Savior with my husband... our first one as a married couple.