Surreal

Today we went as a family to the Army/Navy store to buy Greg's uniform for him for the TXSG. Being in there brought back a lot of memories of being a care-free kid trying to look cool for the party/dance/musical coming up where the theme was something having to do with Camo. The girls LOVED the place! The begged for pink or purple camo shirts, hats and canteens! It was like they were in a toy store! Once I let it sink in that we were there, not to play, but to purchase a uniform for my wonderful husband to wear while he works (volunteers) to defend and protect our wonderful State of Texas...it was a bit surreal!



He walked out of the dressing room in his fatigues and thank goodness we had three exhausted and (by this point) bored little girls or I'm not sure how I would have reacted.

So, it's now a day later and I realized I forgot to post this, so I'll update it:)
I picked up Greg's uniform today, with the assistance of my two littlest girls, two baby dolls, one baby blanket and one Mister Frog. Greg was soooo excited to actually have it in his posession! He tried it on, not long after getting home from work...all I can say is wow! Thankfully this time, we not only had our children, but also two visitors from across the street playing so I was a little distracted from emotion. He looked amazing, it fit him just right, like he was supposed to be wearing it all along! Of course it probably doesn't hurt that we all but shave his head these days (yes, I said "we", he has me give him hair cuts these days), but from head to toe it just looked "right". He was so handsome! Now we just have to wait for the patches and it will be complete!

I'll post pics as soon as I get them off my camera.

Nervous

I am a little bit nervous about being without my hubby for any time at all, much less the possibility of several weeks! I haven't spent one night in our new house without him and I'm not looking forward to the first, but I know I will adjust quickly. Between the girls and the animals I will most definitely not be lonely!



I am a bit nervous about being without him during times that might also be times of need for our own family. We discussed the idea of our own neighborhood being an emergency area and him being called to serve somewhere else. Fortunately we are blessed enough to have my family just a few miles away. They are always, always, always there when we need them and I know they would be more than happy to help fill any needs he leaves behind! Most people aren't as lucky as we are to have a huge family/friends close by to lend a hand. We felt because of the amazing people we have been blessed with, the girls and I would be okay without him in such a situation.



One more, of many things, that makes me a bit nervous is his safety. It will be extremely rare for his life to be put at risk, but any risk at all makes me nervous. I don't know what I would do if something happened to Greg! That's all I can say about it right now, I can't stand that thought!!! However, I do know that whatever cards we are dealt we will be able to handle as long as we have God on our side :)

Pride!

I am soooo proud to have a husband with a desire to help other people! Through the TXSG he will be given the opportunity to help people when they have no where else to turn, when they are probably the most desperate they've ever been! I know everyone he helps will adore him and his wonderful sense of humor. He will surely bring a smile to many, many faces during his times of duty!



I am proud of him for putting his own time and desires aside to give time and attention to something bigger than him and our family!



I am proud of him for wanting to serve our country and the great state of Texas!



I am proud of him for too many more reasons to list...

then it's on to Pappy and Gommy's

After church and the great butterfly release we headed to my parents house for a wonderful meal and more egg hunting! Man, how in the world did the Easter Bunny make it to so many houses in so little time?!?!

This is how Addison spent dinner time. Thanks Yo Gabba Gabba for teaching us "COOL TRICKS"

Trinity tried to trick her Pappy, but I'm pretty sure he ended up getting her, just like always!

Addison and her Nini sharing some sugars :)

Emory was all too proud to show me the egg she found with Ariel on it!

Is that not the look of pure joy on Addison's face?!?! Love it!!!!!!!!!!!

The great butterfly release

Our church, like many others, had a butterfly release on Easter day. The girls have loved watching the caterpillars go through their life cycle and turn into butterflies and couldn't wait to see the big finale on Easter!

We found one that had escaped from it's habitat early that morning. Trinity got to play with it till it was ready to fly.

Addison LOVED holding them, as long as thy didn't move! The second one would move she would throw it :) Precious!

Emory, who lives to fine rollie pollies, was a little more timid about the butterflies for some reason.

Trinity couldn't get enough of them!

Happy Easter everyone!

Easter with the Hinckleys

We had a blast dying our eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide! All the girls got to wear our matching aprons from Valentine's Day!

Unfortunately the weather was not so great, so we settled for allowing the bunny to hide eggs inside this year. We still had a enjoyed the loot!

Trinity LOVED the duckling figurine Mommy and Daddy gave her :)

All dressed up and ready for church...along with the rain :(

Those are my goofballs! Wouldn't trade them for the world!!!!!!!!!!

His motivation

In case you don't know my husband well I will fill you in on a bit of his life and his dreams. Since he was old enough to show a preference to toys or themes for toys he has shown a strong interest in the military. From playing religiously with G.I. Joes, to begging his mom to read to him about military and military equipment from the encyclopedia...the interest has always been there! I think he always expected to graduate from college and begin a career in the military, a lifetime career in the military. When college wasn't going so well for him he decided to go ahead and enlist as a reservist to both take some time off and get someone other than his parents to pay for the remainder of college. He chose the Marine Corps for his career path. I remember him being so excited and so proud of this decision! He lived and breathed this decision from the second he made it (he did a lot of research and soul searching before he settled on a military branch) until the second things changed.

On the evening he reported to his assigned hotel room for his testing the following morning he was anxious and excited. I talked to him several times that evening and the following morning. He woke up, when they woke him, and he reported to his aptitude test (not sure if that's the right name, but you get the idea) and totally kicked butt on it! His recruiter told us his was the highest score their office had ever turned in! They were stoked to have someone so intelligent and wanted to get him started right away! They told him he would report to boot camp in a few days, instead of a couple of months like they had previously agreed upon. Needless to say that change made him REALLY nervous. They gave him this piece of information as he was proceeding to his physical exam! They started the exam with blood pressure testing. I'm sure you can guess it was off the charts! They kept testing it and it remained high as he was becoming increasingly nervous about the change of date and the fact that his blood pressure was high. They turned him away based on the blood pressure readings! What a loss for the USMC, but what a blessing for me!

This was spring of 1997! Can you just imagine how much his life would have changed being a reservist in the USMC post 911? Wow! The lord works in mysterious ways!

Greg's never really gotten over this urge to have a career in the military, I think he's always felt like this was missing. Now that he's too old to enlist in the United States Armed Forces he found the Texas State Guard; they have completely different requirements :)

Just this week we were watching an old movie TAPS (I think that's the name of it) with Tom Cruise, Sean Penn, and many other now famous actors. The movie is about a military academy and the young men who attend it. During the movie Greg made the comment to me that he should have gone to a military academy and said it kind of longingly. Obviously he is glad he didn't go to one and had the chance to grow up with his sisters and all the friends instead, but it is evidence of a strong calling he has to the military.

That's Coropral Hinckley to you!

My wonderful and amazing husband has decided to enlist in the Texas State Guard! I am so very proud of him and this decision! Just in case you don't know what the TXSG is, just like we didn't about a month ago, here is a brief description taken from their website:
The Texas State Guard (TXSG) is one of three branches of the Texas Military Forces (TXMF), reporting to The Texas Adjutant General located at Texas Military Forces HQ, Camp Mabry (Austin), Texas. The Commander in Chief of the Texas Military Forces is the Governor of Texas. The other two branches are the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG) and the Texas Air National Guard (TXANG).

I have been wanting to post this for several weeks now, but have not really known what to say. There is such a range of emotions and a wealth of information... so for this post I'll just stick with the facts as best I know them:

• This is a volunteer group, so unless he is called up to active duty there will be no pay
• He will report for his first day of training and be sworn in next Saturday, the 25th of April
• Almost all training takes place on the weekends, so it won't interfere with his paying career too much
• He has already been rewarded the rank of Corporal. We're not sure what exactly that's based on, but know his college degree and Eagle Scout rank have something to do with it.
• he is a part of the 2nd (something...battalion, platoon, unit....????) based out of Arlington
• He WILL NOT be assigned a weapon, unless on active duty and absolutely necessary. He will be trained on a 9mm (I think)
• Most often he will be called to active duty as a result of a natural disaster (flood, hurricane, tornado, etc)
• Last year they were called to active duty three times. Two of these times were just for a couple of days and the third was for two weeks...Hurricane Ike. Most years they are not called this often and most times they will not stay two weeks.
• They report to the State, so it is not likely for him to be sent out of state, much less out of the country...but the TXSG does reserve that right.
• From the sounds of it when he is on active duty he will be running storm or medical shelters or assisting in securing areas. I'm under the impression he will be working closely with the Red Cross and with the National Guard...but that's just an impression.
• He will be required to wear military uniform. We have not yet purchased this (they're not supplied to them, can you believe that ?!?!) so I don't have any pictures...but trust me, they will be coming!

I think that's all the facts I have as of right now. I will be writing posts about my feelings and his experiences as I am able. In the meantime...I'm very proud of Greg and his desire to serve others in this way!

April Fools!

The girls are getting old enough to appreciate April Fools Day this year...and boy do they LOVE to tell you about the bug on your head or the spider on your back! I decided to take a bit of my day to plan a special April Fools dinner for the family! I found the recipe on FamilyFun.com, so unfortunately can't take credit for it...but I did the work and for that I will take credit! I served them "fish sticks", "peas", and "ketchup" for dipping.

In reality what they was on their plates was vanilla wafer cookies, coated in peanut butter and smothered in corn flakes, strawberry jam and green laffy taffy (the strawberries were real). I was so excited to see their faces when they bit into their tricks! I was thinking about it all day!!!! I was lucky enough for Trinity to have cheerleading class on Wed evening and convinced Greg to take all three girls so I was able to stay home and prepare "dinner". It took me every bit of the hour and a half they were gone!!!

When they walked in the door Trinity's first question was, "What's for dinner, I'm starving!". I proudly proclaimed "Fish Sticks". Well, Trinity threw herself on the floor and declared that she no longer likes them and she will not be eating dinner unless something else was prepared for her. After dealing with her misbehaving and attitude and getting her to sit at the table she started picking at the "peas". She immediately said, "Ewww Mom, this pea is stuck to my finger...gross!". I found myself quickly loosing enthusiasm for the trick I was attempting to play on the girls!

I did finally convince Emory to take a bite of her "fish stick" and the only thing she said was , "Mmmm, peanut butter". That was about the extent of the excitement I received from the dinner, but I still had fun with my attempt! I'm hopeful they will look back on that night with joy as they grow up.

As it turned out, I think the April Fools Joke was on me this year...*sigh*...just wait till next year! I'll get them extra good then!

My little models (and photographers)

One day a few weeks ago Emory decided she and Addison should play dress up, but she didn't want to take off her regular clothes in order to do it. Emory looked so cute I asked if I could take her picture and she happily agreed. Well, when I got the camera out she just went crazy hitting poses and making sure each turned out okay. I really felt like I was photographing a model! Anyway...check out how cute she is!

Last night, after their pirate adventure, the girls decided they wanted to take turns being the photographer. As they photographer they felt it was their privilege to pose their subjects for pictures...check us out:

Trinity took her turn first

Then it was Emory's turn, but Addison was done...

Great, Fun times!