Santa, Family, Friends, and Chocolates

We have been having a busy fun-filled time visiting with family and friends.

We took the boys to the dreaded visit with Santa. I say "dreaded" because Benjamin has been talking about how he is scared of Santa's beard for some time now. But he was a trooper and Santa was super sweet. He asked Benjamin to give him a big hug and told him there was no reason to be scared of him any longer. (Originally, the boys were supposed to be in matching sweaters but I gave that idea and battle up once he seemed willing to approach Santa without a fight). This was the best photo out of about 5 that the photo elf snapped. Photo with Santa taken. Mission accomplished. ahhhh.

We had dinner at my brother Ron and Nancy's house on Friday night and had a great time. Benjamin wrestled around with his big cousin Matthew and Ellen entertained Samuel. Nancy made a super tasty soup and Ron made burgers and we all enjoyed our visit.

Yesterday I was able to go out to lunch with two of my girlfriends from high school (NO KIDS!). It was so nice to break away. Benjamin and Samuel went over to Uncle Ron and Aunt Nancy's and again had an enjoyable time playing with their big cousins. I, on the other hand, enjoyed a great lunch and uninterrupted visit with my friends! It was so weird to be able to eat a meal without worrying about feeding the boys too. And Michelle, Jill and I laughed as we walked out of the restaurant about how our conversation has changed over the years and that now potty training issues is somehow the focus of our conversation. We have been good friends since we were 15 years old. It is one of those amazing friendships that no matter how much time has gone by since we have seen each other we can all pick up and talk about our yesterdays and todays. God didn't give me sisters but blessed me with some incredible friends.

After that nice outing. I was happy to return to my boys. And so grateful for my brother and sister-in-law for watching them as well (I think they enjoyed showering the boys with their love). And I know Benjamin had a blast.

When we got back to my mom's she had a productive day preparing for the family and friends Christmas party she throws annually. She had created some wonderful baskets of homemade chocolate candies and goodies. They looked lovely and she set them aside in a bedroom out of the way. Why am I typing this? Well, they apparently were too lovely to resist. As we sat in the living room I heard our dog Campbell rumbling around a bit but couldn't see what he was doing. So, I went to find him and he had found those lovely baskets of chocolates. Dog lovers know that chocolate is one of the worst things for dogs. Much to my mom's chagrin he had devoured about 2 baskets full of chocolates and goodies. ugh. My mom got on the phone to my brother, Kenny (dog lover extraordinaire) and he looked up online what to do. So, Harry was off to buy some magic potion that made the chocolate reappear from Campbell's belly (in a different form, of course). It ended up being a pretty eventful evening with all this going on right at dinner time. But somehow we all recovered (including Campbell, or so it seems). And Mom was able to restore the baskets to their original glory with some addition treats she had stashed away. Thank goodness!

This morning was a lil odd too. Benjamin started stirring early. He exclaimed "It's Christmas!" but, of course it is only the 23rd so I had to let him know the sad news that it's not quite Christmas yet. And that he needed to hush and go back to sleep as I looked at the clock and it was said that it was barely 4 a.m. ugh. Then Samuel started stirring as well. So, our night seemed to be over. I couldn't imagine how I was going to get these boys back to sleep. But when I got up and went into the kitchen to fix Samuel a bottle I noticed that the clocks were all flashing. Apparently, the power had gone out during the night. I found a battery powered wall clock and found that it was actually 6:30 a.m. ah. Much more manageable. Although Benjamin and I did get up Samuel managed to go back to sleep and is still sleeping (at 9 a.m.).

Don e-mailed yesterday. He said he received about 20 cards in the mail as well as some packages. So, thank you all for thinking of him and taking the time to mail those cards and packages. I know he really appreciates it.

He also e-mailed a lil bit about his day yesterday (Saturday) that I thought was pretty humorous so I will end this blog sharing it with you all:

"I have been busy working my trip report and updating project status on my big project. I flew back Wednesday night, worked a little Thursday morning after I arrived at 0730 and then slept till about 1pm. The quick trip a little over a week after returning from R&R leave has thrown my schedule totally off. Yesterday, I walked around thinking it was Saturday all day. And this morning I thought it was Sunday, so I slept in an hour early, went to work in PTs and signed out on the board that I was going to Chapel. Needless to say they weren't having a chapel service. I thought they might have canceled due to Christmas eve and Christmas day services, but when I got back in the office CPT Hughes, told me 'Sir, you know it is Saturday today.' He had a good laugh at my expense. That is when I realized that I blew off my boss' morning standup at 0800."

Merry Christmas from Illinois!

Well, we are in Illinois! We had a long but somewhat uneventful drive here. My brother, Kenny, flew out on Friday night and we got in the car around 6:30 a.m. Saturday. It started to snow about the time we hit Ohio. Kenny drove the entire way (unlike Don who usually takes a break and gives me the drivers seat for at least a couple hours). I could get used to sitting in that passenger seat!

We made it to my Mom and Harry's house around 7:30 p.m. (CST) that night. The boys, the dogs, Kenny and I were all glad to pile out of that truck. Although, all were well behaved the majority of the ride. Samuel got a lil fussy from time to time and Benjamin got a lil ancy too but nothing too horrible. We stopped about 3 or 4 times and took some nice breaks. Kenny helped with the dogs then would meet up with us in the rest stop and help with the boys.

Of course, with the snow, my mom was a nervous wreck and called us about every two hours. She was so glad when we all arrived (as were we!). Although, now, after spending a few days with us I'm sure she and Harry are both a lil wore out from all the energy that a 3 year old and a mobile 10 month old exert. But they have been a tremendous help. And it's been so nice not to have to worry about what's for dinner!

Some of the highlights of our trip so far have been:

Going to cousin Keegan's basketball game (Benjamin thought this was pretty awesome. His first basketball game. He loved all the cheering and hollering. And Uncle Kenny took him down to the basketball court after the game to bounce the basketball and after that Benjamin said "That was awesome.")

Benjamin and I made a snowman! And I showed him how to make snow angels too. We had a blast outside in the snow. We also found a huge mound of snow (the land is very flat here) and Benjamin had a blast rolling and sliding down it.

We spent some time at my friend, Michelle's house. She has 3 boys (and a baby due any day). It is the perfect place for the boys to burn off energy and have fun. We've been over there twice so far. And the second time was for a Christmas tradition we have with our families. We exchanged gifts and the kids had a ball opening and enjoying some of their first Christmas presents of the year. Michelle's husband Eric also spent some time wrestling around with Benjamin which was nice. He loves to tackle and wrestle and it is so nice to see him get that interaction with a man while Daddy is gone. He was smiling from ear to ear and going back for more.

Kenny, Gloria, Keegan and Keegan's friend, Danielle, took Benjamin to see "The Chipmunk Movie" and out for dinner. It sounded like they had a great time and Benjamin has been singing the song from the Chipmunks ever since "Alvin, Simon, Theodore... We're the Chipmunks!"

While Benjamin was at the movies Samuel, my mom and I went over to visit my brother Ron and family. Nancy's sister, Heidi was visiting with her husband and girls from Michigan and we enjoyed visiting with them as well. I got to get my baby fix and held their lil baby, Olivia for a good long while. (Thank you, Heidi! She's a doll). Yes, I did say I got my "baby fix" because even though Samuel is only 10 months old he just doesn't want to sit still long enough to snuggle any more. (Plus that chunky monkey is too heavy to hold onto for any length of time). I miss that snuggle stage already. He is really up and moving these days. He's a very busy boy and is walking pretty good distances now.

This morning our nephew Christopher had a late start for high school so he surprised us by swinging by with Dunkin Donuts. Sweet! We had a nice visit with him before he headed off to school. Christopher is our eldest nephew and has grown up so fast! It's hard to believe he's driving and it's so nice to see him enjoying his new found freedom of having his own wheels. It seems like just yesterday that he was the size of my lil guys and here he is entertaining his little cousins. (His brother, Matthew, likes to remind me that I'm getting older. ugh. Thank you, Matthew Tommy, you, my dear nephew, will always be 2 years old in my heart and love hammers! ha.).

This evening the boys and I went over to my brother Tim's and sister-in-law, Caris' for dinner. Benjamin and Samuel enjoyed playing with their cousins, Evan and Ian. Ian is his cousin closest in age to my boys and Benjamin enjoyed all the fun boy toys as well as some hide and seek with the boys. Then we headed home for bedtime.

Our routine is definitely off and sometimes becomes rather challenging but overall we're enjoying our visit. Of course, we all wish Don could be here with us. I miss him in so many ways. Sharing in all the traditional things we do this time of year but also the lil things: walking the dogs, scraping the car windows, warming up the car, entertaining the kids, visiting with everyone, etc.

Don did call here this past Sunday and the boys and I all had the chance to talk to him. It was the first time we spoke since he was in Kuwait on his way back there. He sounded pretty good. He was traveling this week but has already returned back to his base safely. I'm so thankful for the Internet and the ability to keep in touch with him on a daily basis online.

Merry Christmas from the 62nd Medical Brigade

Don's unit (Task Force 62nd Medical Brigade) recently taped a clip for Good Morning America. He e-mailed it to me today so I thought I would post it on the blog to share with you all. Don is on the back right.

They're not sure if and when this clip would air but I think it's also supposed to be on the Good Morning America Website as well.

Some Highlights of Our Visit

Well, I've heard from Don twice since he left yesterday. He left about the sweetest voicemail ever on my cell phone once he arrived in Atlanta. I think we're both feeling a bit blue about this departure after spending such a great couple of weeks together.

Today he called from Kuwait. So, not too much longer and he should be back at his normal base. I'm sure the traveling has got to be exhausting.

Now, to answer a couple quick questions that people have been asking me:

When will Don be home again?

He will be in Iraq another 11 months and is due back stateside in October. That will be the next time we will see him. And he already has a countdown going!

Did you celebrate Christmas while he was home?

Definitely! Santa knew Daddy-O was only home with us for a short time so he made a special trip here. It was quite exciting. Benjamin woke up on Tuesday morning this week and we told him we thought Santa had been here. So, we went downstairs and sure enough there were presents under our tree. Benjamin was thrilled! He said "Look at all the presents under our tree!" And Santa brought him just what he was asking for: the Dinoco Helicopter! (from the Cars movie). We all enjoyed that morning but the excitement in Benjamin was just awesome. And it was great to share that with Daddy-O!

We had a great visit and made every minute count.

Some of our highlights of our two plus weeks with Don were:

Don's sister and kids came to visit and we spent two nights in Williamsburg, VA at the Great Wolf Lodge. They have an indoor water park and we all had a great time. We also spend a morning at Colonial Williamsburg.

The day Don got home Samuel took his first step! I knew it was coming and I thought he might have been waiting for Daddy. hmm. Smart lil guy, eh? Now he has taken up to 4 steps at once! Won't be long and he'll be go, go, go! ahhh.

We put up our Christmas tree and some decorations on Thanksgiving Day. Benjamin loves it and Samuel has his favorite ornaments too!

The day after Thanksgiving we all went ice skating at Reston Town Center (an outside skating rink). It was Benjamin's first time on ice skates. He loved it! He had double bladed skates and used a bucket (and Mom, Dad and cousin, Aaron) to help keep his balance.

We went to Chucky Cheese (Benjamin kept saying he wanted to take Daddy there!) with our friends, Dave, Nelly and their kids Brooke and Reed.

Don took Benjamin for a bike ride (one of Benjamin's favorite things to do!) And they went and got smoothies and lunch on their bike ride. Benjamin was grinning from ear to ear after that outing.

We went to dinner and out for ice cream with our dear neighbors and friends, Cheryl, Mike, Abby and Hannah who are getting ready to move to Philly next week. (ugh). We had a great time with them that night. The kids were all well behaved.

We went to an Army vs. Navy football game party at Dennis and Natalie's house. We all had a fun (even with the outcome of the game) and Benjamin loved playing with Jack (after not spending much time with him while Daddy was home).

I think I could keep going on and on about the gazillion other lil things we did. It was just awesome how much we did together as a family. But it was probably the lil thing we treasured the most. I managed to sleep in a few times past 8 a.m. (amazing!!! Thank you, Daddy-O!). Don and Benjamin shared lots of books, rocketship flips in the air, and Don and Samuel got reacquainted too. It's just a joy to make Samuel laugh these days.

Don also joined us for 2 of Samuel's doctor's appointments while he was home. I was thinking that it was probably not an exciting way for him to be spending his R&R but he mentioned that he actually enjoyed being able to go to the doctor's appointments. I guess when you have the perspective of missing out on those sorts of things than they might be enjoyable when you actually get to go. hmm. I appreciated having him there for them that is for sure.

Well, that's all I'm going to say about our visit for now. I'm sure I will have lots of more to share in the near future. Please continue to pray for Don as he makes his way back to Iraq.

Bittersweet Farewell

Today we bid Daddy-O farewell. We had such an awesome two and a half weeks. It's hard to believe how much we crammed into such a short time frame. We enjoyed every last minute.

I will have a ton of photos to post but with the Christmas season fast approaching it seems as if every evening I have about a gazillion things to do. Unfortunately, the blog is taking a back seat. So, hopefully, over this coming weekend I will bring the blog up to date and share photos and some stories from our visit with Daddy-O.

While Don was here he confirmed what I already knew; He's a terrific husband and a wonderful father. We miss him already.

Please keep him in your prayers as he travels over the coming days. He has a long journey ahead of him.

We love you Daddy-O!

Daddy-O Is Home

Well, Daddy-O made it home Saturday the 17th around noon and we have been having a great time.

I have had several people ask me what Benjamin's first reaction was. First let me say that Don called at 8 a.m. that morning and spoke to both Benjamin and I and told us he'd be taking the 10 a.m. flight out of Atlanta. Benjamin drove me nuts about it all morning. He just could not wait to go to the airport! I had a few things I really needed to pick up at Target so I said to Benjamin, "Let's go to Target then we'll go to the airport." and his response was "Let's go to the airport first." (Of course, Daddy wasn't due in for hours at that point). We ended up not going to Target because I figured he would make that experience miserable by just wanting to get to the airport. He was so stinkin excited. We all were.

So, we got to the airport a lil early, picked up some fruit smoothies from the airport Starbucks, fed Samuel a couple containers of baby food and waited for Daddy-O by the baggage claim. I started to notice people trickling over to the baggage claim from down a ways so we headed that way. When I spotted Daddy-O I let Benjamin out of the stroller and he headed straight for Daddy. I wasn't sure if he'd be shy or not and he was not one bit. Don lifted him up and did what they call a "rocket ship". Benjamin has been talking about Daddy giving him a "rocket ship" for months. I teared up a bit and when Don saw me he asked if I had been crying. "Not until Benjamin saw you." was my response.

Being the camera obsessed Mom that I am I took a few photos at the airport and I'm sure you'll agree that Benjamin was smiling from ear to ear. Such a genuine happy smile. (Unfortunately, the lighting was really bad in the airport and the pics didn't turn out too well).

Of course Daddy was as equally excited to see Samuel and I. And we have been having a great visit ever since. I could go on and on about every lil thing we've done but the fact is that it's getting late and my hubby just went to bed. So, I'm going to get off this blasted computer where it is quite cold and go snuggle up in our warm toasty bed... with my husband.

Daddy-O's Delayed

Well, Don's homecoming has been somewhat delayed. He called around 1:15 a.m. today to say he was in Kuwait. I was glad to finally hear from him and know what was going on. Apparently, he was not able to get out of Baghdad on Wednesday as originally planned.

He was able to e-mail a flight itinerary to me from Kuwait. I was kind of out of it when he called and he seemed a lil confused on which day it was (here). So, I was originally under the impression that he would be in today sometime around 4 p.m. but when I looked at the e-mail he sent it actually says Saturday at 4 p.m. So, I'm still not sure exactly when he will arrive.

The boys and I have been having a great day nonetheless. Samuel slept from about 7:30 p.m. until 7 a.m. today and Benjamin actually declared that it was daylight when he woke up (around 7 a.m.). Finally a pretty good night sleep (minus the middle of the night phone call from Daddy-O, but I was glad to hear from him).

Samuel took a good morning nap today and Benjamin and I made cookies. Daddy loves chocolate chip cookies so we made some of those and some with mini- M&Ms for Benj.

They are both down for naps now and I think I will try to catch up on a few things too.

Thank you all for your encouragement, support, prayers, phone calls, e-mails and sharing in the excitement of Don's return for R&R.

(Photo of Samuel and I was taken by Benjamin this morning. He's fascinated with the digital camera and is getting better at taking pictures!)

Daddy Is En Route

Well, Daddy-O should be en route to see us as I type this. He will have a few flights and stops in order to get here so I'm not sure exactly where he is right now or when we are exactly expecting him. Most likely sometime late tomorrow night. We shall see.

We have had some busy days recently and this week has just flown by so far.

Monday I took Samuel to see the Orthopedic doctor regarding his feet and he prescribed Reversed Last Shoes. So, I spent some time researching to figure out where I could actually purchase these shoes for him without driving to Maryland. After numerous phone calls and Internet searches I tracked a place down in Arlington, Virginia. Since Monday was Veterans Day, our neighbor Katie was off from work so she ventured with me up to the shoe store. It was great to have her with me. She was much more familiar with that area and she entertained Benjamin while I got Samuel's feet sized. Boy are these some expensive shoes! But a small price to pay if it will prevent him from needing casting. We will try these for 6 weeks and hope they help correct his feet from turning in. The shoes should be in within the next few days and we'll see how he does with them. (I will not complain about the cost of Benjamin's extra wide shoes any longer!)

Benjamin fell asleep on the way home from the shoe store Monday evening around 5:30 p.m. (after not napping that day). And he slept until almost 6 a.m. the following day. Phew! He must have been wore out. (Precisely why I truly believe he's not ready to give up those naps).

Today Benjamin did NOT have a good day at preschool. ugh. When I went in to pick him up I could tell something was wrong. First of all, the kids' artwork was all lined up outside the classroom minus Benjamin's turkey shape creation. hmm. Then Miss Jenny was letting all the kids go to the other parents. But not Benjamin. I was one of the first in line. hmm. Well, the other teacher, Miss Tracie asked if I had a minute she'd like to speak to me. uh oh. She said Benjamin had a "bad day". And for them to use those words it must have been bad because they really do a good job at remaining positive. Apparently, he was hitting all the kids in his class and he threw a fire truck which broke. ugh. He was pretty disappointed that he wasn't getting his sticker from his teacher (which he has never NOT gotten). And they had him sit out from doing the turkey art project. The teachers are great and super understanding but it's still awful to hear that our child was not treating other kids kindly. ugh. Most likely he was overtired. No excuse but he can definitely get unruly when he's tired. He was up around 5:30 a.m. today too. And after lunch he took a 3 hour nap.

The other art project he did do had a list of things he was thankful for which said "Benjamin is thankful for race cars, Pop Tarts and Halloween treats." That's our boy.

Well, I have about a gazillion things to do. The house is still a bit of a disaster even though I managed to get a few things done today there is still lots to do. So, I may not be posting frequently for a couple of weeks but I will try to post some picks from time to time.

(I'm adding a video clip I took tonight of the boys with the balloon we picked up for Daddy-O's homecoming. Samuel loves the balloon. The clip is a little dark but hopefully you can still make out their images.)

Fall for All

We enjoyed our not so exciting weekend. Caught up on some laundry and a few chores around the house that I'd been avoiding. (Still have a ton to do!)

We set up a lil tent in our bedroom first thing Saturday morning and all pilled in (Campbell dog included). We enjoyed a few stories and giggles in there before heading out to the grocery store. Benjamin loves to go and as long as I keep my list rather short, both boys do well. Benjamin pushes his own mini shopping cart, gets a free balloon and sugar cookie, and, if he behaves he gets to ride Harry the Dragon on the way out of the store. So, of course he loves to go grocery shopping! He's a good helper too. When we arrived home Samuel was sound asleep. So, I brought the groceries into the house then carried Samuel up to his bed. As I came downstairs I could hear Benjamin saying something like "It's not too heavy." And as I made my way all the way to the ground level (where I had dropped all the grocery bags) Benjamin was heading up the stairs with a bag full of groceries and declaring that he was helping. He was so proud of himself and I was surprise to find that this was already his second trip up (with evidence of another full bag of groceries already placed on the kitchen table). Of course, he got a special treat for helping Mommy with all the groceries plus the very distinguished title of being "Mommy's Great Helper" which he was pretty proud of.

Benjamin played in his room for close to two hours but never napped Saturday. ugh. When Samuel woke up we headed out to Target and our neighbor Katie joined us. She was pretty entertained by Benjamin belting out the tunes to the "Cars" Soundtrack that we play in the car (constantly). But as we arrived at Target (15 minutes from home) we were somewhat surprised to find Benjamin sound asleep. So, I pushed the double stroller so he could get a lil bit more of a nap. I had a list and managed to get everything I went for (plus a few things, of course). One of the main attractions to going to Target for Benjamin was the fact that the long anticipated Christmas trees are up again. So, once we got to that area I woke him and he was thrilled. On the way home we stopped at Moe's for dinner. It was nice to have Katie's company and help.

This morning we went to church and when we got home it was pretty nice out so Benjamin and I worked on corralling some of the leaves that collect in our yard. He was thrilled. We have been reading a book about the leaves falling and talking about jumping in them. He had a ball. I practically had to drag him in the door after that. Samuel stayed pretty entertained just watching his big brother.

Don had called and left a message before we got in from church. He called back though and we were able to talk to him for awhile. I let Benjamin answer the phone and he was so excited to talk to Daddy-O and discuss all their upcoming plans (doing what they call "rocketships" -- which means Daddy-O tossing Benjamin high in the air and catching him, going to Chucky Cheeses, Great Wolf Lodge, etc.) And Benjamin proudly recited the Pledge of Allegiance for Daddy too.

Of course we are all anxious and excited about Don's upcoming visit. I feel like Christmas is coming! Well, I know it is right around the corner. But I feel like the excitement and anticipation for that day is happening this week. His visit will be the best gift of the season for us all.

Please pray for his safety as he travels home this week.

I'm Already There

This song rings true to our situation in so many ways. I know it is a favorite of a lot of military families going through the same separation we are. Every time I hear it, it brings tears to my eyes. Country music fans will know the song... all you other folks ought to look it up online or something and give it a listen. (Actually, I linked the title directly below.)

I'm Already There

(Performed by Lonestar but written by (Richie McConald/Gary Baker/Frank Myers)

He called her on the road

From a lonely cold hotel room

Just to hear her say I love you one more time

But when he heard the sound

Of the kids laughing in the background

He had to wipe away a tear from his eye

A little voice came on the phone

Said daddy when you coming home

He said the first thing that came to his mind

I'm already there

Take a look around

I'm the sunshine in your hair

I'm the shadow on the ground
I'm the whisper in the wind

I'm your imaginary friend

And I know I'm in your prayers

Oh I'm already there

She got back on the phone

Said I really miss you darling

Don't worry about the kids they'll be alright

Wish I was in your arms

Lying right there beside you

But I know that I'll be in your dreams tonight

And I'll gently kiss your lips

Touch you with my fingertips

So turn out the light and close your eyes

I'm already there

Don't make a sound

I'm the beat in your heart

I'm the moonlight shining down

I'm the whisper in the wind

And I'll be there until the end

Can you feel the love that we share

Oh I'm already there

We may be a thousand miles apart

But I'll be with you wherever you are

I'm already there

Take a look around
I'm the sunshine in your hair

I'm the shadow on the ground

I'm the whisper in the wind

And I'll be there until the end

Can you feel the love that we share

Oh I'm already there

Oh I'm already

There

1 week to go and Daddy should be en route home for a visit!

Pictures from Our Soldier

Don has been putting that new digital camera to good use! He sent a couple of photos of taken last week of himself. They are of him at a coffee shop that he and John routinely go to around 0930 every morning right after their morning meeting.

I thought it was odd how the inside looks like such a trendy coffee shop atmosphere... like you'd see around here. But apparently, it's no Starbucks as you can see from the photo of the outside of the container! It's pretty amazing how that can transform these containers to fit just about any need.

For those who have been keeping up with recent blog posts you know that Don has been traveling within Iraq. Well, he was visiting the Baghdad ER and he sent several photos taken while he was there. These were taken from the Baghdad ER rooftop. He sounded like they were keeping him pretty busy there and he returned back to his regular base late yesterday.

Only 9 more days and he should be here with us! We can't wait.

Samuel is starting to stand on his own and I think he's saving up those first few steps to share with Daddy-O on his visit home.

(Note: you can click on the images to enlarge them).

Samuel Sleeps and Benjamin Naps! woo hoo

Lately I cannot even believe how much Samuel looks like Don. He just gives me some looks that some days I feel like I'm truly looking at a mini version of Don.

Plus the fact that anyone that knows Don says he looks just like his Daddy! Today at church, one lady said "When you miss Don all you have to do is look at him and you can see Don".

Well, Samuel finally slept through the night last night. I wasn't sure this day would ever come again. Thank goodness it did. Benjamin woke up at 5:30 a.m. which I attribute to the time change. And Samuel slept until around 7 a.m. He slept about 12 hours straight. phew.

Samuel has two bottom teeth poking through (FINALLY!!!). They are just barely through the gums but they are definitely there. Hopefully this sleeping through the night again is here to stay.


Thanks to the time change we were all set for church early today. Samuel wore the sweater that his Great Aunt Shirley Kemple made and sent him when he was born. She does an awesome job and putting him in it this morning reminded me of the beautiful sweaters she used to knit and send me for my dolls when I was a kid. (I guess that was just practice for the real world! Who knew?) It's an adorable sweater and fits perfect so thank you again Aunt Shirley!

We had a nice morning at Sunday school and church. Benjamin has been attending Children's Church during the morning service and really seems to be enjoying it. It is geared for kids that are at least 4 years old but somehow he's graduated out of the nursery early. Today when I went to get him he was very busy decorating a shoe box that will be sent to a needy child through the Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child which is an program our church participates in every year. Our family will be filling two shoe boxes this year... one from Benjamin and one from Samuel.

The highlight of our day was that Benjamin finally took a nap for me today! We have been talking about it since yesterday and he knew the inevitable was coming. But today he didn't fight it one bit. He stayed in his bed and I was thrilled. Just when I was feeling like I was getting a few things accomplished Samuel started fussing. He napped at church but besides that he fought the idea of napping all day. He went to bed exhausted at around 7 p.m. And it was a struggle to keep him going that long. Hopefully he won't be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. We shall see.

I did manage to get some Christmas presents wrapped and am feeling pretty good about getting some of that accomplished.

We didn't get our weekly phone call from Don this weekend. I kind of anticipated that due to the fact that he is traveling within Iraq this week. But it's a bummer nonetheless. His calls are like taking a happy pill once a week. I don't know how else to explain it. I guess I just feel re-energized to some extent after we talk.

Only a matter of a couple of weeks and he will be here with us!

A Poopy Day

It's not even 8 p.m. (before the time change) and the kids are both asleep.

We all got up around 6:45 a.m. today and I dread the thought that with the time change that could mean getting up at about 5:45 a.m. tomorrow. ugh.

We spent the morning at the Leesburg Outlet mall. The boys were excellent and I managed to use a gift card I had received for my birthday from the Ford family and also get lots of Christmas gifts. woo hoo. Besides the Eddie Bauer Outlet store I didn't get much else done. But Benjamin had a good time at the outdoor play area and Samuel took a good nap.

One of the funniest things that happened was when I was trying on a pair of pants with the boys in the fitting room and Benjamin said to me "I like those underwear, Mommy." I can only imagine what people might have thought if they overheard him. But underwear are a highlight in his life. He loves underwear and pajamas and is very opinionated about both (mine and his). He often requests that I wear certain pajamas at night when I'm tucking him in. He'll say "Mommy, will you wear your red snowflake pajamies tonight?" He also loves my monkey pjs and some with bears sledding that Don gave me. He's really into my flannel ones since I have just switched over to them for the colder weather. He would live in pajamas if I let him.

Anyways, we managed to lose Samuel's hat while we were shopping. I was bummed because I was pretty proud of myself for picking it up before the cold weather even arrived. I was totally prepared. And it was pretty stinkin cute on him too. We backtracked a bit in hopes of finding it but didn't. Benjamin was a lil distraught over leaving the mall without finding it. He kept saying "We lost Samuel's hat." and "We have to find Samuel's hat." But I reassured him that it was okay and that sometimes Mommy's lose things too. Oh well.

When we came home from the mall it was lunchtime so after lunch Benjamin played with play dough for awhile. He hadn't done that at home in some time but plays with it at school quite a bit. So, he had a great time and stayed entertained with that for about an hour. Then I put Samuel down for a nap and decided to approach Benjamin's nap time differently today.

We headed up to our room and I laid down with Benjamin. I put in a Thomas the Train video and he actually sat quietly for a good hour. I fell asleep. I figured he would too. He did NOT. ugh! And when it was over he was in high gear. Well, at least we had one hour of quiet time.

(When I took this photo of Benjamin I asked him to give me the biggest smile ever. Nice. And I think the photo below of Samuel looks like he's trying to talk on the phone. He really does hold the telephone like that when Daddy-O talks to him. It's too cute.)

My patience ran thin at one point after Benjamin was up for a little while and I sent him up to his room while Samuel and I played downstairs. Then I heard Benjamin say something about poop. So, we headed upstairs and if the poop would have been blood it would have looked like a murder scene. It was brutal. Poop just about everywhere. And Benjamin was sitting with his poopy butt proudly propped up on the counter with his feet in the sink rinsing some poop off his feet. ugh. I immediately put Samuel in his crib and started the bathtub for Benjamin. So much for the bathroom that was just cleaned yesterday. I got that all cleaned up then by the time I got Samuel back out of the crib he too dropped a bomb. Bonus. Lucky me.

Can I just say that Don's deployment has really lucky timing on getting him out of a ton of diaper changing (and poopy disasters). If we have more children in our future, he will definitely have some serious diaper and potty training responsibilities to make up for this time.

Speaking of Don...he has been traveling this week and e-mailed today that he will not be back at his normal base for a couple of more days. Please keep him in your prayers as he travels back this week.

It is November and he will be home around the 15th! I'm so stinkin excited about it I just can't stand it. I just want time to stand still for awhile while he is here. We will celebrate our 8 year anniversary on November 20 and I am so glad we'll be able to share that day together.

Our Halloween Happenings

Yesterday was Halloween which was awesome but one of the most exciting things about the day was that we all slept until about 7:45 a.m. Samuel was the first one awake and I heard him stirring and jumped out of bed. I couldn't believe it was almost 8 a.m. And our neighbor, Rebbecca, was due to stop by after her boys got on the bus around 7:45 a.m. Her son, Mati, was a a soldier for Halloween and I offered to let him wear some of Don's pins.

7:45 a.m. - It was a good start to an eventful day.

We went to Benjamin's school and watched all the classes in the school parade around in their costumes. It was about the cutest thing I'd ever witnessed. Just about all of them looked pretty petrified as they looked out towards the paparazzi (aka parents with all sorts of cameras and camcorders... me included!). He was the only cow in the school and he was so stinkin cute! It was his turn to be the class line caboose which is a big highlight so he did a fine job at that. I had a weak thought as he was up there on stage that I would absolutely hide under a chair if he decided to whack another kid on stage. Phew. We made it through the event without incident.

Samuel took a good nap yesterday afternoon and Benjamin again frustrated me as he caused a commotion in his room while he was supposed to be napping. I thought that if he would just sit still he would fall asleep. So, I took another approach at letting him lay down in my room and watch a calm t.v. show. No luck. No nap. ugh.

We had some neighborhood friends join us for dinner. I made some Halloween pasta (that was shaped like bats, pumpkins, ghosts, ect.), meatballs, and carrots. Cheryl and the girls brought over some garlic bread and cookies and Miss Katie brought pumpkin cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory (sweet!). It all went pretty well and before we knew it we were off trick or treating.

Miss Katie lives directly next door so she took care of our candy and passing it out for us. (We usually spend time socializing with her but with Don gone the night was a lil crazy. And we missed hanging out with our dear neighbor friend. But at least we got to spend time with her at dinner).

Benjamin had a ball trick or treating. This was really the first year he totally got into it. He was running from house to house and would shout out "Trick or treat!" Then "Happy Halloween!" And "Thank you!" He got it all down pretty quick. And sometimes after he'd get a treat he would turn to me and shout "A peanut butter cup, Mommy!" or "Halloween playdough!"

Samuel sat pretty contently in the wagon. He was my "sitting duck!" Oh yes, there was plenty of corny comments to go around. Not to mention that he should have been the one who was a cow since he's all about the saying "Got milk?" and a good portion of his trip around the block was spent downing a bottle.

Our neighbor Paci was a chef and I told Benjamin to say "What's cooking?" to him and he quickly replied "Beef." ahhh. Not so funny when you're dressed like a cow.

After trick or treating we hurried over to our church. They were having the first fall fest we've had. It was really fun. But by the time we got there it was already 8 p.m. (bedtime on a normal day). Cheryl and the girls joined us there too. They had tons of games, a puppet show, moon bounce, lots of door prizes, food, candy, etc. Benjamin and Abby had a blast. And everyone adored seeing the boys in their costumes.

By the time we headed for home it was already past 9 p.m. Yikes! Our church is directly across the street from our subdivision, however, Samuel managed to fall asleep in the car. He was completely tuckered out. Once I got him into bed Benjamin and I followed someone of his normal bedtime routine but only read one short Halloween book (instead of 2 or 3 books). He was exhausted and went right to sleep.

Unfortunately, I still had a mess from dinner to tend to but I called my mom and before I knew it the dishes were all done too. I snuggled into bed around 11 p.m. until Samuel woke up around 2 a.m.

After that interruption the boys slept until I woke them up around 7 a.m. this morning. I can only dream about how late Benjamin could have slept if we wouldn't have to had to go anywhere.