October is Here! (finally, phew!)

Tonight I snapped a photo of our two lil pumpkins after bath time. Pumpkin towels... just a lil sign that
OCTOBER IS HERE!!!!!

Well, as you can imagine we are seriously counting down the days now! Don should be here, at home, with us, in about 17 days!

The day cannot come soon enough. Benjamin has been asking for the past month, almost daily, "Is today the day Daddy comes home?" I long for the day that I can answer "Yes!" And that day is finally approaching.

Don's replacement arrived a few days ago. So, we have heard very little from him due to the fact that he is extremely busy working to train him and also limited on his computer time now. Last week Don moved out of his oh so cozy container and into a tent! Another step to his return! We have received four packages of stuff that he's shipped home. Another sign he's soon to follow. Yipee! Just a bit over a week and he should be out of Iraq and eventually en route here!

Daily, I have so many people asking me "How many days til your husband is home now?" And I cannot even answer without grinning! It seems so unreal that the day is almost here! It's like waiting for Christmas (only better!).

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. And also for sharing in the excitement of his upcoming return.

"I know how you feel."

My husband has been deployed for over a year now and I hear numerous responses from people when they find out that my husband is there serving our country. I would like to take a few moments now to vent about one comment I hear in particular.

"I know how you feel."

When I hear someone say this, for a second it touches my heart. Gives me hope that I have found someone that really relates to my situation. And I have met these people. Women like me who have watched their soldiers go off to another country for long lengths of time while our country is at war.

My heart goes right back to those spouses of the current wars as well as past conflicts including the Vietnam veterans who I will never be able to quite relate to. It was a different era and in so many ways different from this war. But as a spouse I feel quite lucky to have contact with my husband as often as I do. We e-mail almost daily and I so look forward to our 15 minutes a week phone call. It's a great connection and he sounds like he's calling from next door not halfway around the world.

Back to my original gripe...

The kicker to the "I know you you feel" is when a person then follows up with "My husband travels all the time with his work."

Then my heart sinks. I want to say "Are you serious? You think your husband traveling with his job is anything like what I feel when my husband is in the middle of a war zone in Iraq?" But instead, I hush myself and move on trying not to keep a grudge on the person who made the comment. And, unfortunately, I have heard the comment more than once.

To the people that have made this comment I would like to ask you a few questions about when your husband travels for his job:

"Does he only travel at night because that's when it's safe?"

"Does he carry a weapon at all times?"

"Does he wear body armor?"

"Does your child ask who the bad guys are where Daddy is?"

"Has your child asked if Daddy shoots his gun at work?"

"When he sends you photos from work, do you scan the photo for weapons in the photo before you share it with your children?"

"Do you avoid the news because you don't want you or your children to hear what could be reported to have happened on any particular day in the country your husband is working in?"

If you can't answer "yes" to all of those questions, then "No, you don't know how I feel!"

Don't get me wrong, I know that people who have made the "I know how you feel" comment mean well. They just don't get it or don't now how to react. I pray that they will never truly understand. That some day there will be peace in Iraq and Afghanistan and that our soldiers will not be in harms way again. And I know that these people that have made this comment may answer similarly to me to some of my questions. I know what they actually relate to is the absence of a loved one. I get that. Oh do I get that. That could lead to another list of questions which I will spare us all from now.

So, now you may be thinking I'm snotty and I don't appreciate people's sincere responses to finding out that I have a deployed spouse. But what I really want to do is educate people on a more honorable response to this situation. I would like to think that I'm the only person you folks know that are in this situation but chances are if you know any other military personnel than I am not. As my husband has always said, "There are those that have been [to Iraq and/or Afghanistan] and those that will go." I am so proud of my husband. Proud of our country. Thankful for our freedom.

And if you truly do know how that military family is feeling please let them know. It does matter that we [families of soldiers] are not alone, that there are others who do know what we go through.

On that note, I'd like to end this gripe session and share these lyrics from the Martina McBride song "Happy Girl."

"Laugh when I feel like it

Cry when i feel like it

That's just how my life is

That's how it goes

Oh watch me go

I'm a happy girl

And I've come to know

That the world won't change

Just 'cause I complain

Let the axis twirl

I'm a happy girl

Oh watch me go

I'm a happy girl

Everybody knows

That the sweetest thing you'll ever see

In the whole wide world

Is a happy girl"

________________

Now let me just disclaim that I hesitate making this post. I do not, in any way, intend to offend my faithful blog readers. My venting is not directed at any one in particular. I am truly thankful for the wonderful support of family and friends that the Lord has blessed us with.

"Baaa" and "Ahh"

Yesterday after church I managed to get some pictures of the boys before we headed inside for lunch. They are quite the silly lil guys that they appear to be and totally feed off of each other. It's so fun to watch them together.

At 19 months Samuel's speech is still limited but coming along. He seems to be picking up words all the time these days. Samuel now calls his big brother "Baaa" (for Benjamin) so Benjamin has decided to call Samuel "Ahh". Yes, I am the proud mama of Baaa and Ahh.

Benjamin Turns 4!

I can't believe it. Our big boy Benjamin turned 4 years old today. It's been an exciting and amazing journey as a parent watching him grow, develop, learn and become the fun lil man that he is.

And it's also been a busy and exhausting past couple of days. We had a "BLUE Monster Truck Party" up at our lil clubhouse on Saturday. We had six families (including our own) as well as Ms. Katie and my helper all come. It was a lil crazy with 11 kids there ranging in ages 4 months to 6 years but lots of fun. I had a great time preparing for the party. The kids goodie bags included a monster truck as well as candy bars with wrappers that I designed to look like his Monster Truck invites, personalized Virginia license plate magnets and the lil girls all got bracelets with their names on them. I had a lot of fun preparing the goodie bags ahead of time.

During the party we did a craft of decorating monster trucks which I cut out of foam "paper" then we played pin the license plate on a monster truck and Bozo Buckets (thank you Keegan for the game!). We had sandwiches which I ordered from Wegman's (grocery store), I made a fruit platter and I slaved over the cake which ended up looking like a kid decorated (oh well, it tasted good).

Benjamin had a blast and I think most of the kids did too. I had lots of help from everyone there and it all went as well as one can imagine with 11 kids in one place for two hours! Loud and chaotic but fun!

Today we continued the celebration on his actual birthday by opening more presents which he had received in the mail as well as some from Don, Samuel and I. Daddy-O also called three days in a row to join in on the festivities. (Phone calls three days in a row from Daddy-O just doesn't happen on a routine basis so we've been a lil spoiled there). I know as tough as it is for us to celebrate these milestones with out Daddy-O here, it has to be tougher on Daddy-O to be missing out on all the celebrations. But hopefully some of the photos I'm sharing will help Daddy-O feel a part of our whirlwind of activities this weekend. I know Benjamin enjoyed telling Daddy-O all about the excitement around here.

Tonight we went out to eat at Red Robin (a great, family friendly hamburger place). Ms. Katie joined us and we had a great time. Samuel brought a present for Benjamin along and it was a Thomas the Train car he had been really wanting. So, he was thrilled and surprised ("Samuel! This is just what I wanted!") and very entertained with his new train car throughout the meal. Then several of the wait staff came to the table to sing and bring him a sundae. He was a bit shy and hid behind me through most of their song but then peeked out and gave a big smile.

Overall, a great weekend filled with lots of joy for one special boy. And I was paid the ultimate compliment by my four year old... "Mommy, you're my best Mommy." It makes my heart melt and makes it all worth it.

(CLICK ON SMALL IMAGES TO MAKE THEM BIGGER).

Best Buddies: Benjamin and Jack

Saturday Benjamin and Jack had a sleepover at our house. They were both thrilled!

Jack's parents had an engagement party to go to so I offered to keep Jack for the night. And the evening just flew by! Jack arrived around 6:30 p.m. and the boys enjoyed playing with trains for awhile. We had dinner then our neighbor Katie sent over some Popsicles for the boys. They enjoyed those before a bath. Then a couple of stories at bedtime and then they stayed up talking and giggling until around 9 p.m. They were both exhausted from a busy day and finally fell asleep.

They were up at 5:45 a.m. Once Benjamin is up, he is up. But I sent Jack back to bed and I think he managed to sleep for almost another hour.

They were so cute together and it really made me look forward to the days when the boys get older and we can have their friends over for sleepovers.

Yesterday when I picked Benjamin up from school we stopped to visit with Jack (who also goes to the same school but is in a different class). Jack was opening up his backpack to show his mommy his family he created in preschool. It was a string of four people (kind of like a chain of paper dolls). Each person had a name written on them... "Mommy", "Daddy", "Jack" and "Benjamin." Yes, that was not a typo. Jack's brother is actually named Nicholas but not on Jack's artwork! Apparently, Jack thinks Benjamin is part of his family! Natalie and I really got a good laugh out of that one. His teachers are going to think his lil brother is named Benjamin NOT Nicholas. And later Jack's Daddy asked him where Nicholas was (referring to the artwork) and Jack responded "Upstairs!" (as if Dennis didn't know Nicholas was upstairs).

They're just at such a cute fun age. They are learning new things every day and it's amazing to see their lil minds work and hear what comes out of their mouths.

Just last week after watching a dinosaur movie 'Land Before Time,' Benjamin told me that "B is for Time."

ME: "No, Benjamin, T is for time."

Benj: "That's not what they said on 'Land Before Time." (B For Time)

ME: "Hmm."

Benj: "B is for Time."

ME: "That's not what they meant. T is for time." (Then I fumbled around with trying to explain the concept of the word "before" which is not easy to do without actually using the word "before.")

NOTE TO SHERYL CARTER: Yes, that is the same bed we used to have sleepovers in! Only a new and improved mattress and NO rainbow bedding!

Photos from Don

Don sent some photos recently so I thought I would share a few. For those of you who don't already know... he recently had his head shaved bald. However, that idea was short lived and the last update I got was that the stubble is already on it's way back!

Please keep Don and his commrades in your prayers as they start to make their preparations to head this way. They still have a ways to go before they are safely back on U.S. soil.

Just Us

Here are some photos that were taken back at the beginning of the month (on my birthday, actually). I just hadn't gotten around to posting them until now!


We had a fun night which included an ice cream cake that my neighbor Katie had sent over for us. And we lit the candles over and over because the boys enjoyed blowing them out so much!


I received a ton of phone calls and e-mails. Overall, it was a fun-filled day! And my husband spoiled me with flowers and lovely gifts from both him and the boys.

A "Flatdaddy" Update

Thought I'd just take a minute and post this photo of the boys and I that my neighbor took of us right after church today. It amazed me that it turned out at all because Samuel was fighting to run away from us the entire time!

I also caught a couple of pics of Samuel and our "Flatdaddy" last night. I think it's been a good long while since "Flatdaddy" has made an appearance on the blog. Well, Samuel has officially learned the word "Daddy" and today Don finally got to hear it over the phone! I was thrilled that he said it right before we hung up!

We have been practicing saying in the word "Daddy" every day for awhile now. Our "Flatdaddy" has become a regular at the dinner table lately and I often say "Where's Daddy?" And then Samuel points to our "Flatdaddy", says "Dada" and lights up.

Our "Flatdaddy" is not in the best of shape. He has been in his own war of sorts just being dragged around our house by two active boys. He has several creases in him and his head is been secured from flopping around with a lollipop stick and heavy duty tape. Overall, it has been great having our "Flatdaddy" around and a great aid in getting Samuel to say "Dada"!

Our real "Daddy-O" sounds good, excited... eager to come home! He is, obviously, counting down the days til his departure from there and until his arrival here. (As are we). Benjamin spoke to him for a good long while this morning. He told him all about his first soccer practice and rambled on and on about numerous other things. Then it was Samuel's turn who babbled, pressed buttons and hung up on him. Oops. Fortunately, Daddy-O called right back. He received our final care package which I sent last week and I feel some sort of sense of finality even saying it is our "final" care package! One more step towards closure on this adventure.

Soccer Starts!

Today Benjamin started soccer! This is his first organized sport and he's been so looking forward to it! (It was supposed to start last week but got rained out).

Unfortunately, Benjamin started our day at 5 a.m. ugh. He'd been sleeping in past 7 a.m. all week and today of all days he got up at the crack of dawn! It had rained last night so I was a lil nervous that soccer would be cancelled again but it turned out to be a beautiful, hot, steamy day!

Benjamin was a lil shy when we first arrived at soccer. He kept hiding behind me but eventually he warmed up and he was chasing the soccer ball all over the place. They mostly just play lil games that teach them some basic soccer skills. His best buddy, Jack is on the same soccer team too. They had a good time! Although Benjamin did manage to break down into tears once (which I believe was really due to his early rising this morning!). But the outburst was short lived and he was up and running around within seconds.

The team is made up of thirteen 3 and 4 year olds, 2 coaches (dads) and 1 trainer. It was quite amusing to watch all the kids in action!

Now both boys are sleeping. Samuel is wore out after being woken up several times this week (adjusting to that afternoon preschool is going to cause a few sleep issues!). I tried to wake Benjamin up but he was fighting it and eventually fell back asleep. I will regret letting him sleep later tonight when I'm sure he'll be up until 10 p.m. But for now, I am rather enjoying the quiet time to myself! Ahhh... the life of a soccer mom! ha!

(Click on the photos to enlarge them).

Family Fun

Sunday the boys and I went to my company's picnic. It was a beautiful warm day which was great after our very soggy Saturday. The boys had a great time.

Benjamin had a blast on the two moon bounces they had. Especially, the obstacle course one. He just kept going! Samuel was not too fond of the moon bounces and being tossed around about so he mostly chased balls around the grassy fields.

Both boys took short naps that day which I had to wake them up for in order to get to the picnic before the food was done being served. So, we arrived around 2:30 p.m. and stayed until 4:30 p.m. or so.

I thought for sure they would be asleep before we returned home but neither of them dosed off. Which actually worked out for the best. They were dirty from head to toe and went straight into the bathtub. They definitely earned their bath that day!

Benjamin's Back to School!

Finally, back to school for Benjamin! He was thrilled, excited and ready to start his new school year.

Last week we went to school and met his teachers. And that same day he went home and drew them a picture.

So, today we were getting ready to go and I looked in his backpack to make sure we had everything and he had tucked the picture he drew safely in his backpack. It was too cute. He did not want to forget it!

It started raining about 20 minutes before we had to head out the door. My neighbor, Rebbecca (who is always willing to help me in any way... she's a total lifesaver!) came over and stayed with Samuel so I could focus on Benjamin and give him a lil extra attention on his first day.

So off we went! We met up with Jack for their obligatory 1st day of school pictures together. They were so cute and happy. And as I watched a couple of kids crying their way into the school I was thankful that my child was not one of those!

Benjamin's new teacher, Mrs. Nickles noticed the improvement of Benjamin's scratched up face and was thrilled to see the picture Benjamin drew for her. She said she would put it in her "treasure chest." (These preschool teachers really know how to say the right things!)

I returned home just in time for Samuel's nap. It was odd having all that time to myself! Then I had to wake Samuel up to go pick Benjamin up. ugh. Hopefully this will not become part of our routine but with Benjamin now having afternoon preschool it may very well reroute Samuel's sleep schedule!

When we arrived Benjamin was thrilled. He was excited to see me but also excited to tell Mrs. Nickles he would see her tomorrow. He was bubbling over with so many things to tell me as we got in the car.

He had a sticker on that said "Calendar" so I said "You did calendar today?" And he said "Mrs. Nickles made a mistake. Another girl did flag. What's a mistake?"

(Not sure if he was supposed to hold the flag for the pledge and someone else ended up doing it or what but that's what it sounded like. The cutest part was that he clearly told me that Mrs. Nickles made a mistake but then he obviously did not know what that word meant).

We stopped and picked up my helper from the high school nearby. We went out to dinner tonight which was somewhat of a disaster. Probably just too much excitement for one day. The boys were not so well behaved. Not that they're ever lil angels but they were really all over the place with crazy behavior tonight. (I'm sure my helper was ready to get home after that!)

While we were out, Benjamin mentioned that he could write the letter "B". He doesn't know how to write his name just yet and has really come a long ways with crayons and pencils over the summer. But as far as writing his name... last year the teachers had him tracing the letters so that's how I figured you're supposed to teach him. Apparently, Mrs. Nickles has some other tricks up her sleeve!

When we got home tonight we pulled out the crayons and pencils and he quickly drew me one straight line and two circles. A nice backwards "B"... but a "B" nonetheless. The first letter he ever wrote! If this teacher can get one letter out of my son on his first day of school then I am just thrilled to see what this school year has in store for him!