A Christmas Story By Andrew

Kodiak Christmas Parade

"Only in Kodiak" does the Christmas Parade come to your door! Andrew and I were on our way to pick up Phillip from the boat when Andrew rushed into my room and exclaimed, "Mom, I think we have a MAJOR problem! The road is blocked where we have to turn to go to the boat to pick up Dad!" I looked out the window, and said, "Oh, Andrew! It's a parade!" And we rushed out to take a few photos and pick up the candy. Andrew did not even have time to put on his coat!

What Happened to Summer?

I cannot believe it is December 8th already! I saw a Christmas countdown that says it is 16 days until Christmas! WOW! I have never been very good at thinking ahead about Holidays... I hope I can change a lot about myself in the coming year.
I have made all the Christmas cards... and if you know me... you know the mailing part is the real challenge. I don't understand it either.
Well, I do have some shopping done, but am looking forward to baking some cookies and... decorating the tree? It is up... with nothing but lights. Phillip is gone this week to spread some cheer to the villages. Maybe he will bring some Christmas elves back with him to help us decorate.
I have to finish up my filing class at college, and that is taking up valuable time. I didn't think it would be this difficult, but it is really kicking my behind.
Loving the mindless games on facebook these days, but not doing too well with the keeping in touch with friends and family. My mind is overwhelmed with dreams...

Thank goodness for Congressman Mike Rogers

Health Care REFORM?

Well, I have never really been as concerned about a topic in the Headlines as I am about this one! So, I am using my "FREEDOM OF SPEECH" while I still have it to voice my opinion on a matter that concerns us ALL!

Why does it seem to make sense to some people that we should just give up all our rights that we have as Americans? Why do we feel that we should allow the government to limit our availability of quality health care? Are we okay with "a form of some type of health care" - or are we going to DEMAND that QUALITY health care be available to us?

Seriously? We demand more from the menu at McDonald's than we do from our government officials, it seems! I mean, let's just think about some minor comparisons here!

The Government REQUIRES that the employee handing you your Big Mac with fries and a coke have TWO VALID forms of American Identification!

However, American's allowed Barack Obama take an OATH of office as the PRESIDENT of the United States - to DEFEND our rights as Americans, to PROTECT our men and women in uniform, to SECURE our Nation from threats of foreign lands - yet he cannot even PROVE from which side of the globe he hails - let alone provide VALID identification for his employment!

When we walk into McDonald's, we EXPECT that the employees who work there know the items on the menu and we even become agitated when they have to turn around to remember what a #7 is.

Yet,we don't even expect that our elected officials know the demographics of the jurisdictions they "represent". We are fortunate if they even know what counties are in their jurisdiction!

We expect to see McDonald's employees in clean, well-fitting uniforms to serve us while we are visiting a well-known franchise. I mean, if we are at McDonald's we should know it - and it should not be able to be mistaken for another restaurant! Right?

Yet, our Mr. President doesn't even have the sense of pride to salute our flag, or sing the National Anthem, or ANYTHING AT ALL to show that he is PROUD to serve our Country! I guess we are just relieved that he is not outwardly showing his loyalty to another country...?

And when we receive our order to find that the "idiot behind the counter" forgot to tell the other "idiots in the kitchen" that we did not want pickles on our hamburger - we are OUTRAGED! We demand that we get some kind of compensation for our $6.00 that we just spent on our hamburger meal! I mean... I want a free ice cream cone, or apple pie - and "it better be warm, but not too hot - because if it burns my tongue, I am going to SUE the heck out of McDonald's! I KNOW that company has money! They shouldn't have let these idiots work here if they can't even get my order right!"

Yet, we work all day - every day to make sure that we have the resources we need in life, whether we need it now, or in the future. All the while, the Government is telling us how much money we are going to give them (and we do because we have no choice in the matter - or DID we?). But we don't even think about the THOUSANDS of dollars we are handing over for our elected officials to "manage" or "handle" or "appropriate"! Why? We should have interviewed them more thouroughly! Would we even want them to serve us a hamburger? And they are on our payroll!

Think about this... We expect McDonald's (and EVERY OTHER business in America) to know the clientele and to come up with ways to offer us more options. Whether it be healthier food options, more cell phone minutes, more freebies on the air plane, just plain MORE for our money for the service they provide... or we won't buy it!

Why are we okay with standing by silently while the government "idiots behind the desk" who don't know their "customers" are charging us to take options AWAY from us?

Why are our standards so high in America except for when it truly matters? Why do we demand "ANGUS BEEF" for our hamburgers and "week old left-overs" from our government?

Heather Comer
August 31, 2009

On the First Day of 3rd Grade...

"I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow, mom!", was what Andrew said when he got home today!
I am so excited for him for this school year. He couldn't stop talking about how "cool" Mr. Hicks is with his books, and games and the laptop he will be able to use. Each student will be able to use their own laptop this year in his class."He said that we will be allowed to have our own picture on our screen; and do you know what I want to put on there?" I thought he was going to say Poke'mon or something. But he said "A picture of me and you!" How thoughtful! So... it is off to the Pizza Parlor tonight for a mini celebration with a couple of his friends so he can talk about his day! I love you, Andrew! You fill my life with sunshine!

Andrew's New Teacher

Andrew's new teacher is Mr. Hicks! What a wonderful blessing for our family! I feel sure that this year will be a great one for our Mr. Andrew.
Mr. Hicks will loop up with Andrew next year - and we were so wanting some consistency for our little man... Mr. Hicks has a great reputation with the people around the Island, and when their child is promoted out of his classroom - it seems to be a hard day for the parent and the student - so we are looking forward to being able to experience the gifts this teacher brings. I feel that Andrew will benefit from a male influence in his life while Phillip is out to sea for the next two years.
Andrew's first field trip will be this coming Friday where he and his classmates will climb Old Woman. Mr. Hicks uses this as a measuring tool to see what he will be working with over the next school year. He mentioned to me last school year that you can tell a lot by the way the student approaches the mountain. Are they confident or scared?... easy to get started or take a lot of prompting?...
This will be a neat school year for sure!

11 Years!

Missing each other today, but will be able to be together again soon...

Today is a good day. I remember fondly how I felt the day I was able to marry my love.

And look forward to many more wonderful years together.

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

May 31, 2009 - Nannah and Pop escourted us to Myrtle Beach to Aunt Bertie and Uncle Jerry's perfect Beach Village so that Pop could leave us with his truck for us to use while we were at the beach! Can't get better than that, folks! We had a good time on the way catching up on conversation that a four hour time difference had created, which made it difficult to talk on the phone. Well... Mom and I did. Andrew left Pop to his own devices and took a nap. Later we found out why... (and you will know, too).

For Andrew's 9th Birthday, his Nannah-Pop took us to Planet Hollywood for dinner. This was Andrew's first time there, and I wanted him to see what it was like inside. You know - figured that he would enjoy the scenery and movie-star memorabilia.

Though Pop tried to show him around and explain all the movie references and tell him who all the people were in the photos, Andrew did not know who any of them really were! If they were not in Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or ET - he had no clue. Now, that will let you know how times have moved on. Rambo was almost a recognizable character, but missed the mark because the new movie has not come out yet. Even "The Karate Kid" didn't make an impression on our little guy! I can't blame him, really! I didn't know who a lot of them were, either...

Aside from the poor service and the cold food for our poor Pop, it was nice. Hey, we got a cool free appetizer because Nannah had snagged one from the coupon book before we left. It was Captain Crunch coated chicken tenders! We really liked them. Only they came out after our meal was eaten... go figure. I didn't care. To me, it was awesome just to be able to be at a restaurant that didn't allow dogs inside... or smoking... or sold fish as the main food item! You get my drift.

Anyway, another really neat thing about it was that I thought of Phillip the entire time we were there. We had eaten there while on our honeymoon almost 11 years prior - and had even bought a coffee cup to commemorate it! Andrew picked out a key ring for his birthday memento - but he missed out on the ice cream (or what ever they give you for your birthday) because Pop's patience had worn thin with the service...

So, I promised Andrew that I would try again another time... and his Nannah promised him a home-made cake when he came back to her house. So, now you have some fore-shadowing of what's to come of Andrew's "9" birthday cakes!

Airport Fun

 

Kodiak - Anchorage - Minneapolis - Charlotte - Wingate/Marshville

We had a great time looking at all the neat things in the airport that we had not seen in about a solid year! Our first stop right off the airplane in Anchorage was Chili's Too where Andrew had wonderful Mac and cheese, and I had a Presidente' (and I am not sure what I had to eat). I was so excited to be in an area where there were so many people! My phone picked up a new icon that I had not seen before - the 3G network. I was like, "Wow, what a cool little green light on my cell phone display! And it works faster, too, Andrew!" He was excited to be able to look at all the toy stores in the airport.
When we arrived in Minneapolis, I was very impressed with the beauty of their airport. All the stores were closed because it was so very early in the morning. Andrew wanted his photo taken with Snoopy Dog "because it is Pop's favorite!" as we headed to the Military Lounge.
The Military Lounge is privately funded, and is the nicest I have seen. I think it won an award for the best Military Lounge in the Country; and rightly so. They were so nice to us, and the facilities were incredible. There were four beds for women, 20 for gentleman, and the place was full of comfy chairs, a huge television, and all kinds of treats for our weary bones. It was awesome. (All thanks to Phillip!)

The day we left Kodiak... for the FIRST time...

This is what it looked like the day that we left for our summer vacation in North Carolina. I was so happy to be able to get on the air plane and go to the sunshine.
Andrew and I had been looking forward to May 28th for a very long time; and the weather was a perfect send-off. This is also what it looked like when we returned home on July 23rd.

So Many Photos

Hi guys!
I have been so busy these days trying to focus and organize thoughts going through my head. And I scroll through all the photos that I have taken, and the task becomes somewhat overwhelming.
I have tons to share with you. Just getting them organized is so time consuming. But one good thing is... well, there are two good things (haha)... we just got a much faster computer, so it goes a lot more smoothly - and the second one is that there are good memories to share with you.
I want to tell you all about Phillip's trip to Hawaii (which was in April) Sorry. I cannot find his camera! I think he took it with him for this trip to the North again.
I want to tell you about the wonderful time Andrew and I had this summer, about Andrew's "9 Birthday Cakes", and about my first ever SURPRISE Birthday party! I am sure there are other things, too.
Andrew will be starting the 3rd grade in a couple of weeks! Which is crazy to me because you all remember when he was in Kindergarten!!! He is growing up so quickly!
I plan to sub again. That was a lot of work last year, and I loved the flexibility!

Thank you all for reading our blog! It is inspiring to know that each of you takes the time to think of us. We are thinking of you, too.
Please be patient with me as I re-focus my thoughts. I am looking for all the positives - just like you all have to do. We miss you all so much - and sometimes we feel life is going on without us (in the "real world"). One day we will look back on our time here in Kodiak as an adventure... but right now we have said to each other, "This feels like a never-ending camping trip!!"
Talk to you all soon!
Love,
Heather

Kodiak's Rainbow July 31, 2009

I could not believe the beauty of this rainbow!
Cathy and I were on the way to take the kids to the pool for the usual Friday night swim; and right before our very eyes - was the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen! I called Phillip on the cell phone and told him to HURRY and get the camera so that we could capture it on film. He rushed out and began taking photos for me, and I was able to capture this photo after over a dozen takes. Cathy says that she has lived her for over ten years, and this is the first rainbow she had ever seen here! I absolutely loved it... and needed it that day.

Updates Coming Soon

By the request of my father-in-law, new updates to this blog will follow. With my recent fascination with Facebook, I have neglected my blogging duties! Standby!

No end to winter in Kodiak!

So... apparently there is no spring in Kodiak, AK! It is April 7th, and we are still getting plenty of snow - which I hate!
Though time is marching on, all the days seem to run together and keeping track of the days is more difficult with each passing day. The only reason to know what day it is - is to know how many more days there are until I will pack Andrew and myself up to head to North Carolina for the summer - a REAL summer.
Phillip has been gone now for a total of three weeks, with four more to go... He is in Hawaii right now - and although the weather is nice there - the work load is stressful.

I have been having lots of good times with my friends on the Island, and will write about it later when I have more time to record things.
Bye for now!
Heather

Is winter going to end soon?

Hi guys!
Haven't posted much lately because we have been one busy family packing in as much fun as possible before the men leave again!
Andrew is very busy with school and Cub Scouts. The Derby races are over now, and we will go to the Cub Scouts dinner this week, which Phillip will be here for as well!
I have been working with a new friend on some creative projects (pictorial and in the process of a Baby Shower). I would love to do nothing but little creative things all day - every day!
Stumbled onto a little thing called Facebook - where I have gotten in touch with a bunch of old friends from school - and even found Elle Mae on there! (She is a friend from Clearwater). It is quite addictive - especially view photos of friends and family! I remember when I thought a fax machine was one of the coolest things EVER! Now we can see photos of friends thousands of miles away moments after they have been taken! How cool is that?
My friend, Cathy, keeps me busy with birthday parties and dinners and movies, and anything else that continually distracts me from my daily responsibilities - which is now a running joke between my friends and myself! However, I have really been tending to my responsibilities this week-end! Which leads me to the question - is winter ever going to end? I feel like I want to spring clean and for things to revive and be new again! I am so tired of being cold and seeing UGLY BLACK mounds of snow every where! Phillip pointed out to me today that the maintenance crew picks the snow up from the parking lots and dumps it over by "Jewel Beach"! I said to him, "now, there is the picture we should send to people so they can see the "Beautiful" snow we get to see every day. It is gross. But, I noticed on the weather widget on my Google - that we should see the 40's next week! Would that not be neat?
Now - all of you know me well enough to know that I - Heather Comer - would NEVER be excited about 40 degree weather - unless I had reached a new level of desperation! And, yes, that is the case! Someone should have made sure that our little groundhog was smitten with a minor hangover on the eve of Feb. 2nd so that he would forget to get out of bed the next morning! I mean - it can happen - right? I have read in children's books where the Bear forgets to hibernate during Christmas! What about the groundhog for crying out loud!
Now - if I can clear some space for some quality scrapbooking - I would be all set! Well, as far as living on this ROCK is concerned!
Bye for Now!
Love,
Heather

Thank you for your prayers!

Hi Guys,
Just wanted to let you all know that my friend, Cathy is doing MUCH BETTER, and is at home recovering now! I spoke with her today, and her spirits are high (as is usual for her). I know that all our prayers were answered, and I praise God for it. I am so happy that all will soon be well with her again!
Love,
Heather

Please Pray for My Friend, Cathy Shaw

Please pray for my friend, Cathy Shaw. She has been in intensive care in the Trauma Center at Bay Care in Florida for a week now. Due to a freak accident involving being thrown from a donkey in training, she has suffered multiple injuries that are very serious. She has a collapsed lung, and severed liver, and now has pneumonia.

She is loved by many people and has a large network of support and friends that are praying for a speedy recovery for her. We are not only praying for Cathy's recovery, but we are also praying for her family during this very difficult time. She has a loving husband who feels lonely without his best friend to talk to every day, and two wonderful sons. One of them is pictured in the above photo. I don't have a photo of her youngest son, Robert. But please pray for their entire family.

Cathy: we are praying for you and your family, and cannot wait to have you back to your old self. We love you very much!

What a Great Week in Kodiak so far!

Hi Guys!
This week has been all about the small things that have made each of us happy!

SUNDAY - was awesome because when we went to the grocery store they actually had fresh strawberries!

MONDAY - was a mixed day for all of us because Andrew's trip to the dentist to fix one tooth turned into a trip to the dentist to fix TWO teeth. Phillip and I had already decided to award his bravery with a trip to Wal-Mart for a new toy to soothe the "pain" - however, Wal-Mart had empty shelves! So, we gave him a $20.00 bill for a later purchase. $10.00 for each tooth! He was psyched!

TUESDAY - was awesome because I called the Dept. of GA. to check on the status of my Amended Return (again) - and this time they said that everything was all set and that they would be sending us a check! What a relief! Thank you Sandy! I couldn't have done it without YOU! Thank you Dad for your patience through the whole thing!

For Andrew, Tuesday was awesome because we took him to the toy store on the Island and he added "Shade" (a green Gecko) to his ever-growing collection of Webkinz! He was super-excited! He now has 8 Webkinz, and carries them all around and sleeps with them all. But his favorite remains his ST. BERNARD, CUTIE! He started it all!

For Phillip and me, the return of American Idol made us so hyper! Anything to get our minds off the long days here is a relief. And nothing does that like a weekly show to look forward to... :) Yeah! American Idol RULZ!

WEDNESDAY - was SUPER-AWESOME because Phillip's scheduled trip was delayed due to bad weather! RAIN, RAIN, AND MORE RAIN! We were all excited to have another night together!

The rain has been great because all the yucky snow has melted. It is WARM! I mean in the 40's! The water falls are BEAUTIFUL! Though they can be dangerous because they flood the roads, and we are talking about some FAST water falls here!

TODAY - is Thursday, and it has started out pretty well. Maybe we will have some more good things to happen today! :)

Going Digital

Hi Guys! I know Christmas is over, but I have really gotten behind on scrapbooking, and am thinking about going digital with it. I made this scrapbook with Smilebox, which is free and I had only used it once before for a Mother's Day card last year. I have to pay for $6.00 per month to be able to save these to my computer or to disk and then I can print them or put them on a DVD.

What do you think? I am thinking about it because it is FASTER than traditional scrapbooking. All I have to do is drag the photos to the box, and it lets me move it around a little and gives me a little bit of control over the colors in the layouts. Also, scrapbooking is very expensive and hard to find around here. I am getting further and further behind because I take so many photos these days. I also think this is a space saver and printing them at Wal Mart would cost me money as well. Also, I usually print them myself so that I can size them and crop them on paper like this program is doing for me.

I just usually feel touchy-feely when it comes to photos and memories. So, this would be a HUGE deal of a change for me. What would you do?
Thanks for taking some time out of your day for me :) Heather

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

A NEW YEAR

Greetings from Kodiak! Here is a little taste of the sweet life here on NEW YEAR'S. Heather and I brought in the new year with our good friends Paul & Kathy. Nothing says Auld Lang Syne like bowling! Bowling with fine friends a cute girl and pirates!?! "Pirates?" you may ask. Yes! Pirates! For what ever reason the locals bowling in the lane beside us were all dressed up like pirates. Complete with big hats, swords and plenty of "R's". It was a night to remember.
Now here are some things you should remember if you are ever bowling in Kodiak.
1. Learn to bowl like a pro.
2. Don't spend the locals dividend checks.
3. Bowl on your lane! Refer to #2.
4. Learn to speak pirate! They pay for drinks...kinda.
5. Wear a goofy hat.
6. Go with good friends who know the locals.
7. Tie a string around your finger to remind you to get your ATM card for the bartender at the end of the night.