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!