The banner we made tonight (it's a shower curtain!) My wonderful friend Michelle did the letters for me (bubble letters) and I brought it home and colored it in. I'm prob. going to hang it either on the scaffeling that's outside our building if it's still there (which it prob. will be) or hanging it on the outside of our building. (Linda they painted our building blue...ugh!).

I also bought a banner, that's hanging up on what I'm calling tonight "banner road"! We made a banner a few weeks ago as our FRG had a banner party. That's hanging up in the gym. We also made posters and have placed them here in the apartment and also have one we're taking with us!

We have about 12-13 hrs most likely until Chad's in our arms!!!!!!!!!!!

Chad will be home in.....

TWO DAYS!! ON Tuesday! I'm about to burst! We got officially told today! He should be home and in my arms actually in about 48 hrs from now! I'm so excited I could just burst! I'll post pictures of the home coming once he's home!

Almost Done

We're almost done! We're down to single digit numbers now in counting down until Chad's home! I'm ready and I'm excited. I have been cleaning all day and by this weekend everything should be done the way I want it. I have bought quite a few groceries so that when Chad comes home I can make him just about anything his heart desires!

Once he's done with reintergration we'll be going down to Edelweiss. We're going to be staying there for a full week. We're all looking forward to that. There's so much in that area to do and see. I'm excited to get there and wish time would just hurry up! LOL If you know anything about deployments, well any that are longer than 6 months, the last weeks are the longest and the last week itself is the absolutel longest! The days feel like weeks in themselves. We're down to that last week and oh man it's killing me to just be finished already! I think last night I missed Chad's calls too, which really makes me sad. I was talking to my friend Emily and my call waiting kept beeping, but because of the phone of the year which likes to lose it's signal every time I turn around, everytime I'd try to switch over, I'd lose the signal and by the time it was back up, who ever was trying to call had hung up. :( It happened a total of 4 times last night. I'm going to go buy a new phone today, so that this will not happen anymore, hopefully.

Ok, laundry is beckoning me, so I'm off to the basement!

My lovely find!

My new cario cabinet! The first picture shows our "old" cabinet. When Chad comes home I'm going to have him attach it to the wall, because it's not as stable as I feel it should be and I don't want it falling and breaking all the glass, but most of all hurting one of the boys or anyone else.

You can also see our birds! Tweety and Mecy. (Mecy is pronounced me C) I'm going to guess it's about 7 feet tall. I need to measure it! It's really, huge! I got it at a 2nd hand store in town.

Playing in Puddles

Ok this first picture I took of Jacob leaning on my arm! :) We were at the lastest home coming of one of our soldiers on Thursday night! Anyways, I just loved the picture of him!!


































And there's Jack my muddy little mess! he had a BLAST splashing in the mud puddles during Jacob's soccer practice on Wednesday! He found the biggest puddle and went to town, jumping up and down, running through it numerous times! He was soaked to the skin, but he loved it! Sometimes we just have to let them play in puddles. Ultimately 99% of the time them doing it, isn't oging to hurt a thing. Look at the smile on his face....how could some dirty clothes not be worth that joy?!!

School Days, Play Days

As you may know Jacob's home schooled. This is something I have felt led to do for years and Chad although initially apprehensive in the first few yrs of me feeling led, as Jacob got older he started to feel the same way and is now 100% behind US home schooling our children! I never pressured Chad, or at least hope he never felt that way. I just knew this was something GOD had layed on my heart and I wanted to obey. I did years of research, literally. (I first felt the desire 7 yrs ago when Jordyn was alive, but I was very apprehensive and honestly scared to go against the norm. My parents lovingly (HA) roll their eyes and without a doubt don't approve, but the facts are that we can't worry about how others feel about this decision. We know it's the right thing for our family. Jacob really loves it and the last month we started working daily on math. I recently ordered Singapore and Miqoun Math's, they compliment each other and after about 6 months of researching, talking to other home schooling families felt these would be the best for Jacob. For now I have a Kindergarten math that in the pictures above he's working on! He really, really enjoys math and yesterday told me that when he grows up he wants to be in the Army (nothing new), a Dr in the Army (which he later changed to Vet), and then decided he wanted to be a Scientist in the Army! I am truly loving this age! There's so much possibility and they're really starting to discover all the possibility that is out there in the world for them. I have no idea what Jacob will do and of course neither does he, but it's exciting to watch him!

I love seeing him grow into HIMSELF. He's not so much an extention of Chad and I anymore. He's Jacob and of course he always has been, but you know how when they're babies and toddlers they really are still such an extention on of you to an extent.























Now on the the "play" Jack's taking a Tumbling class. Heather (Mitchell's mom) is teaching it. He's not participating hardly at all. He's actually smiling in the bar picture, but trust me he wanted NOTHING to do with it. The parachute picture, you can't really see him, but he's sitting down on the floor, he did like when we pulled the parachute over us. When we get home he's all for doing everything that he "learned"! This past Monday we actually left 15 minutes early, because he wasn't participating anyways and I had a PWOC board meeting. When Heather walked in through the childcare room to go to the board meeting he was showing Heather how he could do flips! Next week Heather said to let Jacob participate (he has been doing school work) and hopefully Jack will follow along, we'll see. I'm hopeful! The class only goes to the end of October, it's once a week on Mondays from 9-9:45.

Well, I'm off! Jacob has soccer practice and I have to get both boys changed into sweats. It's been raining off and on all day and unless it's actually storming, they will practice. Yippee! LOL Jack will love getting to play in mud puddles. Hopefully it won't rain for the hour we're at practice! We won't be going over to the park this week, since it is wet though!

Slide Show

Here's a slide show I made of Jordyn.

To Scott

Thank you Scott for sharing the one link with me (military.com) the other blog is mine. I had no idea military.com had my blog on theirs.

God Bless and Thank you

Respecting Someone's Words

I am a little upset as well as humbled. I got a call from our FRSA this morning saying that she read something I had written and that it was beautiful titled "Memorial", it's the entry I wrote about the last soldier from our unit who was killed (on 9-11). Someone who is either new to my journal/blog or who's been here for a while took my entry and posted it elsewhere. My name is not anywhere on it and I was never asked permission if my words and feelings could be shared else where. If asked I would most likely give permission, but and this is why I'm a little upset...I was not asked. These words may not be legally copyrighted, but they are my words. No one else can write a journal entry on here, just comments. I would apperciate if anyone reads this and wants to share what I've written that they please come and ask first. Yes this is for now a public journal, and I really do not want to have to make it private because of fear that someone may take what I've written and possibly use it as their own or just not give ownership.

Often when you read an article or poem, etc there's no author, it's because someone took it without permission.

So, if you did take my entry and post it somewhere else, please let me know where and who you are, not because I'm angry, I'm not. I'm honestly humbled that you felt my small entry was worth sharing, but so that I can put my name on it. Those are my feelings and it mentions MY husband, so if there's something out there from me I want my name with it.

I hope this makes sense. I don't want anyone to think that I'm mad, I'm truly not. I guessI was just really taken back. I never had any intention for anyone here where I live to read my words. It's not because I write negatively about them, just this is something of mine that I don't go and advertise so much to a lot of people I see face to face on a semi-daily basis.

I read many journals/blogs on many different forums. One that I read her husband is in law enforcement and every once in a while he has to work late shifts. Tonight I read her journal and she's complaining about how her dh is working late and how she's just dying for him to get home, since she hasn't seen him this morning. It got me to thinking how so many really do live in a nice bubble more or less. We all have our hardships, and I do realize that when someone's not used to her husband being gone that often, when they are working late or have to go out of town for a few days it's not easy for them. At the same time I wonder do they EVER think how it must be for a military wife who's husband's been deployed for a year (or very close to it)?

I of course can't imagine life where Chad doesn't deploy, go out to the field, go TDY, etc at different points in the year. There's never been a point in our marriage where Chad's not at least went out to the field for a few days, even when Jordyn was going through treatment (tx) he went out to the field for a few days. When he's home for well more than a year's time (no deployments) I am often ready for him to go out to the field for a week or a few days anyways. I can even handle up to a month, after that though it does just stink. We get used to our routine, and there's actually a transitional period once he comes home (from a deployment). I just can't imagine what life will be like when he doesn't leave either for the field, TDY, or deployment once he's retired. We have a few yrs still until then, but it is something I think about! I'll be the wife complaining that her husband's always there! LOL

On another note, I had a nice evening...it was really a good way to end an emotional day. I had 2 friends over for dinner, both are in my unit. One has a little girl who's almost 9 months old, who's just beautiful! I made roast, carrots, potatoes, noodles, and home made bread. It was a great dinner, but most of all it was great company. I think for the next 6 wks until Chad comes home I'm going to have someone over for dinner once a week. It'll be a great way for me to stay on top of our home, plus it's nice to have another adult over to talk with.

Well, I'm off! I think tomorrow I'm going to get some scrapbooking done. If I don't get any done during the day, I'll do it after the boys go to bed. Jacob has school work tomorrow during nap time. So depending on how much help he needs, I maybe can get part of a page done. I have to get more school books ordered tomorrow. We're starting on his kindergarten math, I bought a book a while back that he's working out of, but it's not challenging enough for him. We're actually going to be working out of 2 different books. Miquon and Singapore. They complement each other, and I truly believe Jacob will be challenged in a great way! We're also working hard on writing and reading. I haven't been focusing on him doing science right now, we'll get into that once Chad's home. We're also working on memorizing bible verses as well.

God Bless