Fun trip!

Since my husband was gone for these 10-14 long days we broke some of it up with a VERY quick, whirlwind trip! We headed up to my parents. My dad took me out to lunch, I took in a movie with my sister, took the girls bowling and went to a Kitchen Aid cooking class with my mom! Then my mom ,the girls and I drove the long drive down to see my Grandma one last time before Korea. While we were there my cousin brought her three girls over. The girls are all within 3 years so it was SO fun! You can see the pics in the previous post. We spent a little time there and my mom, the girls and I came back to our house. My dad and sister left the same day and met at our house. We had a pajama party and ate pizza. This morning we all got up and went to a consignment sale and saw the girls play their final Upwards game. We all went to lunch and then they left. I was a little glad to have things back to normal but now it makes me miss my husband so much more. If all goes well he will be back on Monday, but I am not really expecting that. We shall see. Now the girls are exhausted and asleep already! I am eating a late dinner and catching up on my computer stuff!

Back again here is a quick post

Road Trip

I am at my parents house and having a blast! We are here just popping in and then going to see my Grandma one last time before Korea! Also, tonight we got an email from Korea and they are working on our command sponsorship and plans for concurrent travel! Blogging may be a bit sketchy but we are all ok. Please keep praying for my husband every time you think of him or us.

Answer

Many of you at some point have asked me, "What WILL your husband do?" Well, this is his company in Korea.

here

So it begins....

At 4:45 a.m. the girls and I dropped my husband off at the paddock and watched him walk away to get in his formation. By now he is in the field probably getting equipment signed out to him and soon they will gear up for their first mission of the Gauntlet. Please, every time you think of my husband this week, please shoot up a quick prayer for him. Not only is this very important, but they average about 1-3 hours of sleep per night and they are sleeping outside all week. Not my idea of fun.
The girls are being real good so far! They got drug out of their warm princess covers and put in car seats, drove to base, drove back home and I put them back in their beds and they DID go back to sleep! I was so thankful.
Last time my husband was gone, the girls and I were watching a Little House episode. I looked and saw the title was "My Father's Son". I did not think much about it. Figured it was a cheesy episode. Ha! Mr. Edwards gets mauled by a bear! Our youngest (who is easily spooked) had bad dreams 3 nights in a row. Now they tell me they are done playing in the forests because they do not want bears to come kill them. Today, we dropped my husband off and as we pulled away the oldest said, "Does daddy have a stick with him in case a bear tries to sting him out in the field?" It broke my heart! I felt so bad for them! I explained that he was safe etc... but I am not sure it made them feel any better.
Now I am sitting here drinking coffee and watching Brady Bunch on the T.V. Later is Upwards and house cleaning!

Thank you Operation Homefront!!!!!

Today started out rough for me but was greatly improved by Operation Homefront!!! I wish I personally knew who to thank, but I will have to settle for a blog-thanks! I came home after an early trip to base and went to check my email. I saw a notice about a clothing give-away. It said Carter's clothing, but honestly I figured it was named after someone. Nope. It was really Carter's kids clothes. I went in with the girls. Filled out a very small amount of information and was told I could collect 10 items per child!!!! As you can see, we made out like bandits! But do you know what the best part was? Every single person there (and I think they were ALL volunteers) had a smile on their face! We were treated like royalty and they even apologized to me for not having a better selection of size 6 clothing for our oldest. I was touched beyond words by the people and of course the free clothes!!! I don't know that they will ever see this, but THANK YOU OPERATION HOMEFRONT and thanks to all the people who were there working to make our day be such a blessing.
Now if you have a moment follow my link above and go check out what all Operation Homefront does. Amazing.

At the mall

We were walking through the mall and I took the youngest to look in Old Navy and the oldest went with my husband. She said, "Well I know one thing. We are either going into a store about computers or shoes." My husband said, "You gotta blog that!" It was quite funny! My husband got a note and was able to attend their therapy session today. He got to spend the rest of the night with us too and we made the most of it with our typical line up.... pizza, Little House and UNO. It was WONDERFUL! 1 day till the Gauntlet. Please remember to pray!

Someone's in the Kitchen.... AGAIN!

We made strawberry shortcake as a surprise for my husband. I never have any idea when he will get home from the field, but it is always late! So late that he usually has a friend give him a ride home. But I always have something special quick and easy ready to make for him. Tonight it will be a steak on the George Foreman, a baked potatoe and strawberry shortcake. Trust me. Even if he gets home at midnight he is ALWAYS ready for a HOT, real meal that does not come in any brown or army green packages. He never usually eats those in the field anyways. I make him trail mix and granola and he takes granola bars and candy and beef jerky! Those are all better than the dreaded MRE's.
Anyways, here are some picks of the girls making daddy his treat!

Someone's in the Kitchen

I got a recipe for EASY homemade chicken and dumplings. I have never made them before. This recipe was AWESOME and soooo much fun! I bet that kids as young as 18 months old could help make it. We had a blast and the girls enjoyed wearing the aprons their grandma made them. The oldest has decided that cheetahs are her favorite animals and that is what Grandma put on her apron. The youngest has horses because they are her favorite! I think having them home with and being able to include them in things like making a homemade lunch has to be one of the top perks of home-schooling! So far the day is off to a great start and tomorrow my husband comes home!!!!!!

Take it while it lasts

This morning I stumbled out of the bedroom and saw my sweet girls snuggling together and watching "Maya and Miguel". The oldest lit up when she saw me and said, "You are the best Mommy in the whole wide world!!!!" Is that not better than coffee??? As I tucked them in, I told them I thought they were the best girls in the whole wide world. The oldest smiled and said, "Well if Daddy calls tell him that he is the best Daddy in the whole wide world!"
The rest of the day was good, but not so sugary sweet. We did home-school and I was excited to see how much progress we are making! Also, we are excited because in two days my husband will be home again! This Saturday he starts The Gauntlet. Basically, the past four months of training do not matter unless he passes those 10 days. Please be keeping him in your prayers daily!

Ocean Camels

You may be asking yourself what exactly are ocean camels? To answer that, you need to speak with our girls. They were taking a bath tonight (Carribean Blue might I add) and they called me in to look at them being ocean camels. It was so darn cute! They were laying on their tummies and lifting their humps (bottoms) out of the water. I was giggling but then they spit out bathwater!! Because, that is what camels do. I know it is kinda gross, but I thought it was hilrarious!! My husband says this is what happens when he is gone. He says I convert back into a kid and think more like them. I find so many things funny that they say and do. Oh well!
Another night with my hubby gone. Man am I tired of good-byes. I am going to watch "Nights in Rodanthe" tonight. He has not been keen on renting it, so I thought I would watch it tonight since there is nothing on Sunday nights.
The girls and I went to church today and we had a missionary as a guest speaker. It was great! Then we did some Korea preparations and they played in the garage. Before bed we all watched "Eloise at the Plaza". I am not real fond of the movies, but I think as long as we do not watch them very often they are ok.
Also, have you heard of the movie "Coraline"? Please follow the link if you have ever thought of seeing it. We took the girls to see "Tales of Desperaux" which was utterly charming! But that movie was a preview and it was AWFUL. We have decided we will not let the girls sit in previews anymore. You just don't know what they are going to show. So, please don't go see "Coraline" and if you are thinking of it, please read the link first.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Today was actually somewhat better than I thought it would be. I am not really a huge Valentine's person, but when my husband is gone on this day it becomes huge to us both! We thought we would all go out for a special dinner on Friday but he did not get home from the field till 7:30. Just in time to put the girls to bed. So, plan B. We ordered pizza. Then about 20 minutes after we ate, he fell asleep. This morning we got up early to take him in. His day was starting off with another big test. After the girls and I were cleaned up and ready to leave for Upwards, he called again to say that he had about 3 free hours and they were on base! We flew over to get him and all hung out together at a coffee shop. While it was low on the romance factor it was AWESOME on the "we did not even know we were going to be seeing each other" factor. We missed Upwards, but no one cared! It was great to be a family for awhile! After we dropped him back off, the girls and I played outside and just hung out together. Oh, I should add that dropping him off is quite a sight! There was like 60 guys, all in camo, with sleeping bags, flak jackets, LBE vests, helmets, canteens everywhere. It looked like a giant boy scout tail gate camp out party! It was crazy! Now the countdown till Wednesday!!!!

All About Valentime's

Our girls are over the top excited about "Valentime's" day! They said tomorrow is the day to get ready for it and they wanted to decorate our van with hearts and stuff. The oldest had a very cute conversation with me and her little sister. She said, "Valentime's is all about sharing. So we need to get mommy and daddy a gift to share. so, Mommy, can you drive us to a pet store and we can take our banks and go in and buy a suprise pet for you? It will be a suprise though. Also, (little sister) Valentime's is also all about love. So on Saturday you need to tell me how much you love me ok?" of course the youngest agreed whole heartedly. They are just way too cute for their own good!
Some small, but exciting news in the world of home-schooling... we finished our first math workbook. That was 80 pages of math done by the oldest. Also, the youngest read four words the other day and has really turned a corner as far as attention span and trying hard on her work. It has been a breath of fresh air for me.

Yikes

In our area they have measured wind gusts at 75 mph. On the news they reported at least 60,000 are without power AGAIN. Please, Lord. Not us. Not again. So far, so good here. We did keep the girls home from Awana's tonight. We just did not feel like getting out in that. Yuck. I did get the Valentine's shopping in. I found these two little heart shaped muffin cups (actually they are big). They are oven safe. Son Friday night I will bake two giant heart shaped chocolate chip muffins for the girls. They will love it! I also picked up a few tiny gifts and some cool bags to put them in. We will try and have a happy Valentine's since my husband leaves us on that morning. No real news here. I am just addicted to blogging and someday want to have all these little moments to remember!

Grumpy Bear

I feel led to share a very funny story from my husband's training. Back in the summer of 2008 he was in BOLC II at Ft. Sill. During their training they spent three weeks in the field. Evidently they were all upset because rather than being treated like Officer's they were once again being treated like candidates. Since they have no real tools at their disposal to change the cadre's behavior, they came up with a creative way to make some kind of statement. When using the radio in the field you have to use "code names". I guess they all decided to go with a care bear theme. So they would be saying things like, "Grumpy Bear, this is Rainbow Bear. You are instructed to kill all enemies in sight." "Flower Bear, this is Sunny Bear. Kill those **** now!!" I just thought was SOOOO funny! He never even thought to tell me about till a few weeks ago. I still get a chuckle whenever I think about it!
Here was something cool that happened to me Saturday at Upwards. A lady came in and sat beside me. She was asking who that cute little girl was playing. It was OUR daughter! She said, "Wow. She is beautiful! She looks like Dakota Fanning used to. She is so adorable." She spent the rest of the game cheering for her and making nice comments on her. I was just a tad proud! =)

Sunny Weather

We have had beautiful weather the past two days. Our van and the girls have loved it! Yesterday I hand washed the van and today I vented my frustrations on the interior! The girls played outside for over 3 hours today! It was great and they were so thrilled to be out and running and climbing and getting mud covered! They were both asleep by 7:30.
I witnessed something real interesting at a local playland today. There was this woman there with a son named John-Paul. John-Paul was real annoying. So was she. He was running around screaming. LOUDLY. Her choice of discipline? Screaming at the top of her lungs, "JOHNPAUL WE DO NOT SCREAM IN PLAYLANDS!" And when that did not work, she continued that for the next 5 minutes, in a much louder voice than his. Then she told him he was a dumb nerd. Oh yeah, and he was 3 years old. Sounds like the kid will have a great life.

Daddy Magic

When my husband was first leaving us ONE YEAR AGO for OCS, he made a cd for me and the girls. We all listened to it over, and over, and over and... you get the picture. The girls understand when we are listening to that cd, but whenever one of those songs are on the radio or playing in a store they think that daddy sent it to them and that he knows we are in the store or driving. They also firmly believe that it means he is thinking of us. So on his most recent field time, we drove past the area where we knew he was and I rolled the windows down and they were screaming, "Hi daddy! we love you Daddy!!" As soon as I rolled the windows up one of their songs came on the radio. The youngest said, "Daddy heard us! He did and he sent us this song to let us know!" I did not have it in my heart to tell her that was not the case. I want them to keep on believing in that Daddy magic!

Who's there?

Last night our cable and internet were out. I guess some rogue tree fell and took it out. While they confidently assured my it would be quickly fixed... it wasn't. Luckily, after meeting a friend for coffee I picked up some dvds. After watching "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" I was sitting quietly, feeling very lonesome and playing computer games. Around 10 my phone rang. It was my husband and I was like, "Oh no. He is injured. Otherwise they do not call home from the field." As my brain was on the verge of passing out he says, "Can you open the front door and let me in?" Then I was like, "WOO-HOO!!!!" It was so exciting! Now we get him here at home til Valentine's. They are leaving for the field on Valentine's day. But I am just thrilled to have these stolen moments. Of course, he is working all day but we do have some time in the evening. Tonight we did our usual post field celebration and ate at Red Lobster. Then we all played UNO and finished reading the condensed version of "Anne of Green Gables". It was a perfect evening together.

Passing the day away

Today was Thursday which means therapy day. It was nice to have a reason to leave the house and really go somewhere. We had an uneventful trip there. Afterwards, I took the girls to a McDonald's playland that we have wanted to go to since we moved here. The girls liked it. Then we ate what may have been our last meal at Skyline Chili. YUM! Then we stopped at Wal-Mart and loaded up on milk, juice and toothpaste. We got home and I was excited to find a package from my mom! Then we watched Little House. I realize this was a pretty boring post, but it helps me remember what to tell my hubby when we see hime again! The girls also bought Valentine's gift for him (they saw it and asked for it). I could not deny them. They want to slip it into his pack when he leaves for the field before Valentine's day. I will let them! He will be embarrased but will be happy too!

First

We have a new first here! It's a biggie! Our oldest came and asked me to check her teeth and see if any were loose. She had two that were very slightly moving and the dentist said they'd be the first to go. Well, I went to check and we have a majorly loose tooth! In fact, my husband is not coming back till Monday and I have a feeling the tooth may not make it that long! Especially with all the attention it is receiving! LOL! I will post photos after the tooth is out. It won't be today, but I don't think it will be real long either.

Pledge of Tallegence

Overheard mere moments ago....
Oldest: "ok. Now it is time to do what we do at Awana's. The Pledge of Tallegence."
Youngest: "Ok."
Oldest: "I pledge Tallengence, to the flag of the United State of America."
Youngest "I pledge Tallengence to the flag of the United States of Tamerica."
Oldest: "and to the republish for which it stands"
YOungest: "and to the, what did you say sissy?"
Oldest: "One nation, Under God."
Youngest: "This is funny. One nation, Under God."
Oldest: "inlizardable and just one straw"
Youngest: "inlizzzzaaaarabbbbllle and just one straw."

If that is not the funniest and cutest thing you have ever heard you have some major problems!!!!!!

Happy Groundhog Day

I just wanted one normal day, but evidently it is NOT to be. It all started normal, my husband off to take his big Armor test and then classes. I got a call from him in the middle of home-school and he says the cadre interrupted the test to tell them they have changed and are leaving for the field within 2 hours. So, the test ended at 10:30 and they were told they were leaving for the field at 12:30. But they had to go to this class at 10:30. He asked the girls and I to come get him at 11:00. The teacher ended up keeping them until noon. I spent ONE HOUR sitting in a van in a parking lot with two kids. He comes running out at noon and we have 30 minutes to go home (15 minutes away) and pack for the field and get back to base. If you do the math..... Anyhow, he had been told the night before that they would leave for the field Wednesday afternoon, so nothing was ready. Luckily he had laid out almost everything. I packed his food and he packed his stuff. We loaded up into the van (after some calls to his platoon leader and platoon Sgt. who told us to hurry but to be safe and they would wait). We got back to base at 12:45. No one is there. We drive around and my husband decided they left him. So I had to drive him out to this restricted area about 6 miles away. I pulled up in between about 100 tanks, Humvees and other big things and dropped him off. I was pretty flustered by this point and was now running late for my oil change. I get stuck at all the traffic lights that are still out and pull into the lot RIGHT on time. I knew it would be a long wait today, so they drove me and the girls to Chick-Fil-A and we had a late lunch. And they played. And played. For 3+ hours. Yep. I sat for over 3 hours at this place. Luckily it was a play land, but I was ready to go. On the way home we still had to stop at Kroger's for milk and apples. After I got home, the girls and I popped popcorn and watched a Little House episode. THAT made me feel better!!! Now, I get to enjoy the ONLY benefit to my husband being gone. I can watch my "dork" shows like "The Bachelor" and "American Idol" and there is no one making fun of me!!!!

Ice, Ice Baby

What a week!!! 1 inch of ice followed by three inches of snow = no power for 1 week! It has been nuts around our area! I wish I could have blogged through it all because God was sure watching out for us. The power went out about midnight on Monday. We thought maybe we could tough it out. So we pulled the girls into our bed and spent the day bundled up and playing cards and stuff. Then we heard reports of 2-5 days before electric was back. We knew we could not make it because it was already so cold. So, around 3 p.m. we headed out to find an alternate source of heat. Obviously every place was sold out of every thing. we were kinda panicking. Everyone we knew was out of power, roads were icy, hotels booked all the way to Nashville and we cannot find a way to keep our family warm. We were wandering aimlessly through Home Depot (enjoying their heat) when I heard employees mention the word "generator". I ran back and asked what they were talking about and they said that within the hour they were expecting generators. My husband sprinted up front where he got the LAST number of a promised generator. They KNEW 40 were coming, maybe more, but only 40 were definite. We were number 40. They came in within an hour and there were 50 of them so about 50 families purchased one. We lucked out and found a 2 gallon gas can and the last ceramic heater in the area! We got home and found our WHOLE neighborhood had left, except for the guy who shares our duplex. The 5 of us were alone in this area. It was a weird feeling. He had an extra gas can and he plugged into our generator. It took a good day for the house to reach about 50. It was such a blessing though because we could watch DVD's, use the coffee pot and even make toast and smores! We found a second heater and our living room got fairly cozy. We spent lots of time playing and going to playlands. Mostly, our time was spent surviving. Not in a life and death sense. But when you have an 8 gallon generator and only 6 gallons of containers, you spend LOTS of time going out to get gas, PLUS only 2 or 3 stations were open so you had at least a 3 car wait every time. PLUS they were cash only so you had to go to ATM's and of course only 1 or 2 of those had power! So, each trip for gas was about 1-2 hours worth of time and we were doing it 3 times a day! This whole area was hit so hard. At one point 3/4 of a million people were without power. It took almost 24 hours before ANY shelters were open. Then the water in the whole area became unsafe and we are all on boil alerts. Stores ran out of water, stores ran out of food. It is amazing there were not more deaths. We were so blessed and know how much God was taking care of us and others in the area. Now life can resume some sense of regularity. The base is open again too! I need to get some more laundry and stuff done, but hopefully I can add more to this later!