Ta Da..........

It was time for a change

For All You Non-believers...........

That's right, this is for all you people who don't believe that my house is ever a mess................... This is what my living room has looked like since yesterday morning and I haven't done anything to clean it up, not even tell my children to pick up! It's not the only room in the house that's a mess, either, it's just the only one I was willing to take a picture of. It's making me crazy and I'm going to have to go in there soon and do something about it, but that's not the point, it's still a mess and it's been that way for awhile!

A Brief Moment.................

I rarely allow myself moments like this. So, I'll share my brief "moment" with all of you. This is our deployment chart. We made it the day that Chad left and each day the kids, this time mostly McKaylie and Noah, put a sticker up. We've made a chart every time he's left for more than a month. When the chart's full, then that's when daddy will be home. It is comforting at times to see the chart fill up, but I have to say that when there's only 1 or 2 stickers on it and 200 empty squares, it's more depressing than helpful. However, as you can see, we are 3/4 of the way through this lousy deployment. I put the last sticker up on the third section and allowed myself a very brief moment of excitement. I let myself think that soon this will be over. We've made it 3/4 of the way, surely, we can hold out for this last quarter. It will be over soon. It was a brief moment, though, I really don't let myself think about that very long or very often. I just can't. Too many things could happen between now and then, too many things. And, I still have to get through that last 1/4. I just can't put my guard down, yet. I know lots of women who can really just enjoy the last few months, because it's the "final countdown" sort of thing, but I don't do that, I can't. I enjoyed my moment of excitment, but now I have it tucked away in my heart where it will stay for awhile longer.

At the Zoo......

McKaylie and Noah wanted to take Grandma to the zoo. So after McKaylie's soccor game we went. It's a small zoo, but we still had fun looking at the animals. Vance was away on a scout sleep-over, so it was just the girls and Noah. And, I wouldn't say that Noah was a very willing participant. He was tired and it showed, through every inch of the zoo. The rest of us still have fun, but we did cut it short.

Myshel, McKaylie, and Grandma Jo--I'm sure you'll notice that Noah was not in the picture........

Myshel, Grandma Jo and McKaylie, again,

No Noah

Here's Noah. He wanted his picture taken ALONE! At least he's smiling, because it was probably the only time he smiled while we were there!

My mom and I had a good laugh about the praire dogs. Although they're cute to watch in the zoo, out west they're just a menace. Plus, we both commented that wild praire dogs do not get that fat. There are some seriously chucky p-dogs at the Virginia Zoo!

My little Lucky #7

McKaylie started soccor 2 weeks ago. She was very excited about it, but she got off to a bumpy start. They practice once a week and then have one or two games on Saturday. She enjoyed the first practice, but when it came time to play the first game, she wouldn't play. In fact she cried and whined about it until I'd had enough and we left early. I'm thinking that part of the problem was that she was tired, but I also think that part of the problem was her older brother. The week before her game he kept making comments like, "I can't believe you're going to play a game after only one practice" and "you know all the parents will be watching you at the game, McKaylie". I kept telling him to stop and that these little guys play soccor to have fun, but I think it sunk into her little brain more than I thought. Darn those older brothers!So, we talked about how playing soccor is for fun and that she doesn't need to worry about anyone watching. She got excited again and was looking forward to her practice that Monday. Monday night rolled around, we went to practice, and she wouldn't play................and then she started crying again.................and whining.......................I was already completely frustrated that night anyway, so we left early. again. We talked again, about just having fun and also that she started something and that I wanted her to finish it. I asked her to give it a chance because I thought she'd really like it. I also told her that she was #7 and that a lot of people think that #7 is a lucky number. She said she'd play at her game on Saturday. I was a little skeptical, so this time I rallied the troops before the game. I called Miss Candy and asked if she wanted to come watch, too. So, with mom, grandma, Miss Candy, Myshel and Noah cheering her on, she played! And she was great! I was really proud of her for just going out there and trying. I think her favorite part was the juice box and snack afterwards, but that's ok, too. I think once she relaxes more out there, she's really going to like playing. And, even though they don't keep score, McKaylie's team won...............just for the record!!
It was so much fun watching these little 5 and 6 year olds play soccor. They're so full of energy and want to do a good job. We found ourselves cheering for both teams most of the time. I think it's so much more fun that way and the kids love it! There was a dad there that day who had a son on McKaylie's team and a daughter on the green team. He appreciated us cheering for both teams too!

Noah and Grandma Jo

We went and looked at the ships while my mom was here. We stopped to look at the little beach there too. These pictures are taken at the new deck that they built there. Noah loved having Grandma Jo with us all the time. They got to be very good buddies. Noah would even sing to her one of his favorite country song, "I got a brand new girlfriend" and he told her one day that she was his new girlfriend. He's so cute. This is one of the many things that make it hard being so far away from my parents and Chad's parents. My kids miss out and so do the grandmas and grandpas.

One Smashed Finger = No Fingernail

About 2 weeks ago, Noah was running around outside, tripped and fell down. He put his hands out to break his fall and one finger hit a rock. I'm not sure how just the one finger got smashed into the rock, but it did. He had a blood blister under his fingernail. At first it was red and then it turned black, like in the pictures. It looked like he had on black nail polish. And then...................Sunday night he was picking at it and the entire nail came off. Noah had it 3/4 of the way off and came and showed me. Then he wanted me to take it completely off. I kept asking him if it hurt and he said no. So, I took it off. I knew it was going to come off, but it was still kind of gross. All the dried blood was stuck to it, too. Noah thought it was the coolest thing ever though. He walked around the house showing everybody and then the next day wanted to show Miss Candy. Little boys really can be grody.

Heart Breaker

McKaylie

This is our little heart breaker! I actually took the picture to send to her dad but I thought I'd share it with you, too!

I'm back!!!!

Oh, I have a lot to catch up on. So I'll try and catch everyone up on the highlights that have been going on. It may take awhile, but I'll give it my best..........

(***small warning*** for you teary friends of mine, this part was hard for me to write, hard for me to get through, so you've been warned)
First of all, my mom came out to visit us for 2 weeks. I love my mom so much and I loved having her here in my home. It was fun to watch my kids with her. I think that they were just as happy to have her here as I was. We don't have nearly as much time with her as we'd like, so we appreciate every second we get. It's hard being so far away. Mom left yesterday.

I knew it was going to be hard to have her leave, but I thought I was doing pretty good. I was fine at home before we left, I was fine driving to the airport, I was even fine in the airport walking her to her gate, but that's where I lost it. I cried, we both cried. I couldn't even talk. I couldn't even tell her how much I loved having her here or how grateful I was that she came or even how much I'd miss her. I might have managed a small good-bye and then Noah and I left her there to wait for her plane. I cried as we walked through the airport, I cried while the nice lady gave Noah a pencil and an airplane eraser and I cried while I paid the parking attendant. I kept hearing, "why are you crying?" coming from the back seat, but that didn't help me stop either. I kept thinking, "I'm alone again" and it was hard not to cry. It was hard thinking about going to my empty house, but then I didn't want to go anywhere else either. I kept thinking that I still have 2 more months to go before Chad comes home and until then it's just me. alone. again. It made me feel sick to my stomach. I cried some more. I did manage to hold back the tears while we made a quick stop into the Dollar Tree, although, I probably didn't look that great. When I buckled Noah into his car seat to leave, he said, "Grandma likes the Dollar Tree" and I started crying again. It continued all the way home and for awhile at home too.

I sniffed my way through an email to Chad which didn't help me feel any better. I mean, wouldn't it have been so much nicer to come home and have him give me hug and tell me that everything was ok and that he's here for me, but he wasn't here, the best I could get was an email back saying those things. It's just not quite the same. Noah and I went outside for awhile. He played out there while I watched him. I started to feel like I could be ok. We came inside and put up some Halloween decorations. I started to feel like I could survive. By the time we ate dinner I felt like I could probably muddle through even though it sucked. After I put the kids to bed and was sitting listening to Noah snore (more on that later) I thought about the airport. One of the last things my mom said to me, through her own tears, was "keep doing what you're doing". I think that she ment I was doing ok and if I just kept it up, I'd get through. I appreciate hearing that from her, probably more than she'll every know. Unfortuneatly, 90% of the time I feel like what I'm doing is just keeping my head above water. I'm not sure that that's such a great way to get through life.

So, anyway, I got a 2 week reprieve from my "real life" and now it's back to the "old grind" as they say............

Thhhhhhhhhhh............................

Blog updated????
Check!

(Just kidding....................my mom's visiting.................no time.................I'll be back on Wednesday!)

Birthday Cake for Mon Amant

The cooks got together and made Chad a birthday cake. It was decorated with a bucking cowboy for Wyoming. They must really like Chad because from what I was told, they got in trouble for making the cake, but they went ahead and did it anyway. See, everybody loves Chad!

Hallelujah!!!!!

For the past 3 days Noah has taken a nap..........could it be that being home alone with me is just so tiring that he collapses from shear exhaustion???? or is it perhaps that no one is screaming, yelling, laughing, running around and distracting him????? hmmmmmmmmmm, it's something to ponder on, for sure! Whatever the reason, I don't care! He's taking his naps again and I really, really, really appreciate that! Today I even laid down with him for a little while and we both took a little nap. Awwwwwww, the quiet and peace and serenity. It's just so sweet!

Happy Birthday, Chad

Today is Chad's birthday. We've missed a lot of birthdays together because of deployments or underway periods and this is one more to add to the list. I hate that we aren't together celebrating, even if it's just having cake together as a family. Chad is an amazing man and I am especially grateful for him today on his birthday.

I was reminded today about when Chad and I dated and were married and when/why he joined the church, so it seemed fitting to share that with you today.

I think most people who are reading this know that Chad and I met when we were fairly young. I was in my senior year of high school and Chad was in his junior year of high school. We dated off and on for about 2 1/2 years before we were married and were engaged for about 3 months. We definitely had our ups and downs. There were lots of factors that contributed to that. We basically came from 2 very different worlds. Although, one thing remained constant for me through those 2 1/2 years. I knew there was something special about him, something more than he let most people see. Chad wasn't a member of my church and that made things very difficult for me and my family. While Chad and I were engaged, it became even more difficult. I was talking to a friend of mine who was very concerned about this. She asked me, "do you really think that you can have a celestial marriage with Chad?" My answer was "yes" and I did think that, no, I felt that in my heart. I had absolutely nothing to base that on at the time, but I knew, without a doubt, that I could have that kind of a marriage with Chad. I knew that it was right. A few short months after we were married Chad did join the church, for himself. I'm sure there are lots of people that think that he joined because of me, but that wasn't the case. Chad told me then that when we got married and the bishop said we'd be together "for this mortal life", that he thought, "I want more than that with Cindy". And that's why when he listened to the discussions that taught that we can be together for eternity, he knew that that's what he wanted. He's made a lot of changes in his life since we've been married. I started to see in Chad the man that I knew was there all along, the one that he kept hidden a lot when we were dating. That's the man that he is today. I loved Chad the day that I married him. I knew that we could be happy and have a great family together. However, I never knew that I was capable of loving someone the way that I love him today. You know the saying, "I love you more every day", well, it's true, with every day that passes, every second that passes I love him more. We've been married now for almost 16 years and have 4 kids and he can still make my heart skip a beat with just a look. I consider him one of my greatest blessings. The Lord truly sent me an amazing gift the day I met Chad, one that I am eternally grateful for.


Happy Birthday, Amant, I love you!
xoxo

First Day of School

2006

McKaylie--1st grade (she's all smiles today)

Vance--6th grade (can't get him to smile to save his life)

Myshel--8th grade (notice the "I don't want to do this", teenager stance)

McKaylie in her classroom (she's thinking, "will you just leave already)

My insame day went something like this.........

First I'll say this: The first day of school each year is always amazing to me. It seems like my children grow overnight and they wake up the that first day of school and look so much taller and older. I don't know if it's the new clothes or the excited attitudes, or what exactly, but they always look bigger on that day.

I sent Myshel off to school at 6:55AM. She is very happy to be an 8th grader, the "seniors" of middle school; plus, she gets to wear a white shirt this year! (in her school, the uniform shirt changes with each grade, 6th is light yellow, 7th is light blue, 8th is white). One down.....

We left to take Vance to school at 7:30. I had to drive Vance to school yesterday because we weren't on the ball and got his bus schedule when we should have and I wouldn't go out and get it in the rain Friday. So, that was an adventure. They're doing major construction on his school and they also close down one of the streets for the buses. The other streets around the school are one way streets so we had to find the right street to get us where we wanted to be. I was not looking forward to picking him up at the end of the day. Second one down..........

I walked McKaylie to school at 8:40. We met her teacher and she seems very nice. She's young, tall and blonde and reminded McKaylie of her kindergarten teacher a little. I think she liked me taking her to her class, but was perfectly happy to see me go. Third one dowm

So Noah and I came home did a few chores around here, went to the post office, delt with a very rude postal lady, ran a couple of other errands and came home for lunch. It started raining around noon I think. It really rained hard for awhile and then continued on for the rest of the afternoon.

I left to pick up Vance around 2:20. I was hoping that Myshel would be home from school by then, but her bus was late, so I had to leave a note for her telling her where I was and that if I didn't get back by 3:10 to go and pick up McKaylie from school. Ok, I get to Vance's school. I had to park about 3 blocks away and it's still raining. The umbrella that's usually in the car isn't in there, so we, Noah and I, had to walk in the pouring rain, except Noah wouldn't walk, so I had to carry him. By the time I get to the school I'm completely soaked and Vance isn't where he's suppose to be. 20 minutes later we finally find each other (come to find out later that they wouldn't let him meet me there, even though they knew I was there!!!!! in the rain!!!!! stupid people) We get back to the car dripping wet, drive home and Myshel and McKaylie are already home. They all had a good day. They liked their teachers and classes.

We got changed out of our wet clothes and started sorting through all the papers that I had to fill out and sign. (by the way, )I was freezing for the rest of the day. I had on sweats and a sweatshirt until I went to bed) I made dinner, ran to a soccor meeting for McKaylie, came home, read scriptures, said prayers, read stories, brushed teeth, all that night-time stuff and put McKaylie and Noah to bed. Then I did basically nothing for rest of my night.

Today is looking much calmer.........................

Fear Factor.......Mommy style

I saw this on the internet and had to pass it along to all of you:


I have kids, therefore, fear is not a factor for me!

10 Things I'm Thankful for Today

First, Tropical Storm Ernesto is dumping unbelievable amounts of rain on this area. I don't see us going anywhere today. It's just crazy weather.

Second, I've been tagged by Marie

10 Things I'm Thankful for Today
1....... that the water dripping down through my bedroom doorway is a slow drip and not a constant flow.
2.......that I can call maintenance and have them worry about fixing it.
3.......that my two older children can help entertain my two younger children.
4.......that I have plenty of things to do at home today.
5.......that I still have my electricity and internet.
6.......that school starts in 4 days.
7.......for my children, who are giving me even more to do today.
8.......for blocks and Little People
9........that it wasn't raining like this yesterday when I had to be out in it.
10.......for migraine medication.