What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Whenever I step into an ice cream parlor you would think I was making a life altering decision, there are just too many good choices of flavors to decide on. That is what this is like for Dan. Today was a great day for our family, but first, some background. Dan went to Houston on Monday to interview with Continental Airlines.

Needless to say we were both excited and nervous. He is done with the Air Force in the coming months so he was stressed over finding another flying job. The actual interview was on Thursday, with a simulator evaluation in an airplane Dan has never even been in before, then an interview in front of a panel of airline Captains. Very stressful for both. He studied a lot for the past month in preparation for the big day, so I wasn't worried for him, I knew he would do well!He got back last night and as expected was exhausted. He said they both went well, that he flew really well in the sim (a 737 I am told, smaller than his current airplane) and the interview was good. Of course, he was hard on himself and second guessed just about everything he did, which is par for the course. I think maybe all pilots are like that, at least it seems that way. Well, whatever he did it must have worked. A friend of his that already works at Continental called this afternoon with the news that Dan had been hired. The chief pilot from Newark called him and asked if he would like to call Dan, which he did. And of course, he had to drag it out for Dan. I was glad to see him get teased, it is what I would expect him to do to someone else! He was offered Newark as a base, with two airplane choices. Right now he is in the Boeing 757 class that starts training in mid March. Unfortunately he can't get out of the AF until April, but he is going to try to talk to his boss to get out early. If he can't, he will fly...

the Boeing 737. It is a bit smaller, but is a great airplane also from what Dan says.

Right now he feels like either way he has won. Just like me choosing my favorite flavor of ice cream, we feel that Dan can't go wrong with this choice. I am proud of Dan and his hard efforts in achieving this goal.

A Little Update

So this is the latest on our happenings. It snowed. Finally! We got a whopping 3" the night before last. No snow the entire winter, then we get hit this close to March. It was crazy out here, they cancelled school for most of south Jersey and Philly. I wish we had Utah type snow, and I know, everyone there is sick of it. Whatever, I am still jealous.

Sam stands guard at the door, waiting for daddy to shovel the walks and wonders what all the fuss is about.

Sam and daddy in the snow. About 2.4 seconds later I gave him some snow to taste, sparking what I would consider a mild meltdown. I can't wait to be someplace where it snows a ton so we can go sledding etc...

We also went to a Church party. We don't associate these with what we would consider typical Saturday night fun, but it actually didn't turn out that bad. Each table had its own theme, and we were invited to sit at at the Luau table, so we dressed in our favorite hula skirts and ate all kinds of good food. Sam even got into the act with a nice new party shirt and a grass skirt. Not much else is happening with us, I am still getting ready for the big airline interviews (Continental next week, Delta in April) and Laura is still keeping everything together for the family.

Coming Home pictures

My friend at work gave me a disc yesterday with over a hundred pictures of our arrival home from the desert so graciously taken by another one of our friend's wife (thank you!). I had no idea they existed, but I really liked some of them so I thought I would post them here. I know it is totally out of sequence being a month and a half removed from that wonderful day, and it is killing my need for strict organization. But hey, they are pretty cool so I wanted to share them regardless. They may not all be of me and my family, but I think they still did something for me, and I wanted to show what it was like that night as families got back together again. And we were only gone four months, imagine the poor troops who are gone for a year or longer. And to think this is happening to military families very frequently. I try not to be all cheesy, but it makes me wonder what it will be like when we return to our heavenly family. Another cheesy thought, as we came home it was the families who were there to greet us. Sometimes I feel that we get caught up in the materialistic side of this world, where the house, the flat screen, or the super cool and trendy clothes become more important than what truly should be the most important thing in this world, our family.

Laura pre-reunion with Sam. He was already tired at the start, how would it go for him?

Right off the plane. I love this picture even though I look like a doof (pretty standard for me, but you do have to cut me some slack, 24 hours travelling on a cramped airplane will do that to you).

The "happy" family reunited and on the way to the terminal. At least Laura and I were happy. As for Sam, he just wanted a bottle and sleep.

In the terminal and Sam is still not quite sure who the guy to his left is, luckily it all worked out and we're buds once again.
Talking to my mom and assuring her I am really home. Sam has finally calmed down. Next, I get to go give blood to ensure I haven't brought any nasties back with me. But trust the Department of Defense, they would never do anything to harm us. And gulf war syndrome, it is all in your head. BUT, JUST IN CASE, we'll take your blood and run it through a trillion tests then hold it against you if we need to. Love the military.

D. Bates with kids. I loves this picture especially, seeing them mauling him.

Dave Manning and wife. The picture says it all.

Our Director of Ops Lt Col Moritz. Classic.

Ryan Vander Veen and his daughters. Yes, if you look closely you can see him tearing up. Again, it says it all.

Bratton and his daughter.

Percy and his wife.

Our friends Doug and Annie Hulse and Lexy. He kept me sane for four months, my church partner.

Valentines Day fun!

The first Valentines Day for Sam. Not really a big deal when you think about it. I am still of the opinion Valentines was developed as a marketing ploy by a major flower and chocolate conglomerate to prey on the innocent. I am guilty. Did I buy chocolate for Laura? Yes. Flowers? Usually. But this time instead of dumping money into flowers that die, I got her a dress she wanted. Scored big for that one I believe. My friend at work was not so lucky, he spent $160 on flowers for his wife. Yes, he bought them Valentines morning, so that is what you get. Back to Sam. Something as simple as a box or paper would have made him happy. That of course would not work. G-ma Stromberg sent a delightful little book for him that started things off. Laura then put me in charge of buying Sam a small token for the day. I think I was 50% from the field (1 for 2) on that account. Here Sam surveys the loot.The "good" present was a set of foam letters and numbers. He thoroughly enjoyed them all day.
The "bad" present may have been a bit contrived. I figure, Nerf guns are fun. So what if it says 6+ on the box. I thought if Sam didn't want it now, he would surely want it later. AND, he would probably let me use it until he was ready for it. Watch out mommy!

Here Sam enjoys his letters. He also likes standing now, what a cute little guy (he is using the wall as a brace, but we'll take what we can get for now).The day started well with present opening, and it ended equally well. I raced home from work, changed, and off we went to Brio Tuscan Grill in Cherry Hill. Very good food, and surprisingly kid friendly. We then walked across the parking lot and picked up some cheescake from the Cheesecake Factory for dessert. We got home and put Sam to bed, then started watching a movie and devouring our cheesecake. I was then promptly called to the hospital to give a blessing to one of our friends, but obviously that is much more important than a movie. In the end, it was an awesome day, definitely good to be home with family at last.

Random Samness part 2

More random Sam. The picture we absolutely loved. After a hard day of playing with freinds at a play group Sam just couldn't even muster enough energy to finish lunch. Strange for the little boy with the buddha belly...

The video is an update of Sam's travels. He loves to crawl the stairs now, and although his parents are still a little leery, he does quite well. His favortie thing to do now is to make us chase him to the stairs. He knows we'll follow him, so it has become quite a game now.

A Letter for my Valentine

What is Love?
In the American Heritage College Dictionary, the definition for love is a deep tender feeling of affection, and solicitude toward a person such as that arising from kinship of a sense of oneness. Knowing the literal definition is not enough for a person to fully understand the concept of love. The only way for someone to understand love is to have been in . . . LOVE. Everyone has their own meaning of love most likely, because of their own experiences.

These are the reasons Danno has given me to come to know the meaning of love...

*A sense of security...If anyone knows my Danno, they know how protective he can be for those he cares about. This holds true in a night we will never forget. One late night (2am) Dan received a call from me while he was on his way home from flying. I franticaly told him that there was a man at the door asking for money and wanted to know if my husband was home. Dan told me to call the police and he would be there a.s.a.p. Well, he was there, before the police made it and the police were closer. When Dan arrived the man at the door had already left, but Dan was determined to find him as he would have no one threaten me or Sam.

*Knowing me better than I may know myself...Just the other night I fell upon a web-site a friend shared with me. To my delight they were having a giveaway from one of my favorite stores the Shabby Appple, the prize being a dress I could not bare to go without... the

Jackie O'. All I had to do was enter what my favorite dress from the Shabby Apple was! Too easy, my answer: "I love everything at the Shabby Apple. From the Antiquated, to the Rosie the Riveter, 24k, Buttoned-Up, Tuxedo, and even the Nantucket. But they all pale in comparison to the Jackie O’. I can see myself now, wearing the dress with a set of pearls and my favorite pair of vintage pumps. Perfection!"

This is how well my husband knows me. Seeing that out of 415 comments I just might not win this beloved dress and would then be oh so crushed, before the winner was even announced he surprised me and purchased that beloved Jackie O' dress for Valentine's Day. Little did Shabby Apple know that there would be two winners! Oh, how I love my Danno~

*Always finds a way to put a smile on my face... After 10 years of marriage I have learned that nothing should surprise me at what Dan may do next to put a smile on others. While he was deployed he received so many cute packages from the young women of our ward and in one of these packages was a darling chic pink purse, obviously they knew Bro. Stromberg all too well. Dan wanting to thank them in his own "special" way and posed for them, holding it with pride. Kind of hard to do in front of other manly guys. That's my Dan though!

*Being the best Daddy ever...Since Sam has been in our life, a new meaning has been added to the definition of love. I have seen a part of Dan that I never want to part from our family. He has an incredible love for Sam and he will do anything and everything for that kid. It's always such a great sight to see the two together.
So to my Valentine,thank you for showing me the defintion of Love. Happy Valentine's Day! ILY

11 Months?

It is hard to believe it has already been 11 months since Sam was brought home from the hospital. Only one more month to his first birthday, how crazy is that? Along the way he went from the Bumbo...

to the big boy high chair!

He also loves to cruise along any type of furniture that is high enough for him to grasp. And of course, that means anything that high is fair game. We can't say we weren't warned, we just weren't as prepared as we thought we were.

Here Sam cruises along the foot of our bed. We picked a great color for his hair, it matches our bedroom furniture wonderfully. Score!