Update and Angela's Baby Shower

UPDATE:
I am so behind in reading blogs and updating my own blog. But I do have a good excuse. ;)
My hubby and brother completed their deployment training and came home over the weekend. They will be here for a very short while before heading to the mob. station. I am just trying to spend as much time with the both of them as I can. I am so thankful that we have this time (though I am not looking forward to the good-byes again) I am also very thankful that my brother is staying here with us during this time. The kids are loving it! I will try my best to catch up on your blogs and will try to update a little more often on my own blog, but right now my priority is with my family which I am sure you can all understand. =)

ANGELA'S SHOWER:
A couple weekends ago, I along with some other Mil-spouses, hosted a baby shower for a fellow mil-spouse, Angela. Angela and Paul (who is in the same unit as my hubby and brother) are expecting their 1st child in November. Below are some pictures from the shower:

We set the food up in the dining room. We served veggie tray with veggie dip, assorted fruit with fruit dip, chocolate chip cheese ball, chicken cheese ball, and cake. You can link over to my RECIPE BLOG for all the recipes.


Another view of some of the decorations. (most of the decor I was able to snag out of Madi's room)


Yummy cake made by Wendy H. (another mil-spouse)


I set the drinks up in the kitchen. We served White Grape Juice punch and water.


I found this adorable little carriage at Ross. It was brown, but with a little white spray paint it was quickly transformed into this ;)


Mantle decorations


Kim and I made these wall hangings for Angela to hang in the baby's room. (I will do a blog on how we made them)


Angela and me


All little girls must have a tutu. =)


And a bag with her name on it.


Another pretty name wall hanging.


BEAUTIFUL dedication gown that Angela's grandmother made.


Framed maternity photo that Angela's brother took.


Angela got a lot of books to read to Ava.


Travel system

We had a great time at the baby shower. It was so sweet listening to all the oooh's and aaah's as Angela opened all her sweet baby presents. There was a lot of parenting advise shared (most of it was pretty funny) and of course a few tears were shared. I think Angela is all set now it's just wait till Ava decides to join the world.

I will post about how Kim and I made some of the decorations. Be sure to check out the recipe blog if you would like to try the recipes.

Thoughts From Madeline

Just thought I would share a very precious conversation that my 3 yr old had at school today. When I went to pick her up, her teacher, Ms. Suzy, walked her out as usual to put her in the car. I got the usual update of what all they did in class and that Madeline had a wonderful day. Then Ms. Suzy shared something with me that had me in tears...she said that during the morning devotional, they were talking about being happy and sharing things that God gives us that makes us happy. Ms. Suzy said that Madeline stopped for a moment then said, "yea, but God made me sad when He put my daddy on an airplane and took him away from me" OUCH! Tears...
Being an adult in a deployment is hard even when you "understand" the reason your spouse has to leave...I don't know what it is like to be a 3 yr old watching your daddy leave. I can only imagine how much harder it must be when you don't understand. My baby girl is sad...she misses her daddy...and this was her way of expressing that. I talked with Madeline for a little while tonight. I want her to know that it is ok to be sad because mommy is sad too. I want her to understand that during all this we will have days when we are really happy and days when we are really sad. BUT most of all I want her to know that even though her daddy is gone, she has a heavenly Father that loves her more than Jason and I could ever love her and that HE is always with her, even when she is sad. I want her to know that it is in these times that God is growing us and bringing us closer to Him...yea, a little too deep for a 3 yr old, but I want her to know that...and pray that one day she will get it. That one day she will look back at this sad time and thank God for His faithfulness to us during these times.

If only parenting (especially during a deployment) came with a handbook of instructions...So, readers, how would you have handle this situation???

I will leave you with a picture of my little fashionista on a recent shopping trip...She has a purse filled with money and lipstick (no I am not kidding, it really was)

Jack's 1st Soccer Game

This past weekend Jack had his 1st soccer game. This is Jack's second year to play soccer. He really seems to like it which I am so glad. I want him to have some fun activities to help him through this deployment. Don't get me wrong, I am not putting the kids in activities thinking they will not think about daddy being gone. That is not it all. I am simply trying to find things that they will enjoy and to help keep their little lives as normal as they can possibly be. ;)
Last year when Jack played soccer he mostly played goalie so he did not field much and therefore did not score any goals. The league we are playing in this year does not play goalies (weird to me) so the kids are fielding the whole time. Jack scored the 1st goal of the game!!! We were so excited for him! And the look on his face was priceless! I wish I would have taken a picture of it, but was to busy yelling and cheering that I forgot. :( But it was perfect. He threw his hands in the air, jumped up and down, and had a smile across his face that stretched from ear to ear. He was so happy and I was so proud of him! He could not wait to tell his daddy all about it when we were able to talk to him later in the day.

The game was so funny! Organized sports at this age is just hilarious! You can not help but laugh. Our team did great. They did not win, but they put in a lot of effort. Our team scored a lot of goals, but it was mostly in the wrong goal which meant the other team got the point. So if the score was 5-2 then I am sure that 3 of the 5 points the other team had was scored by our team. =) Funny how the children did not hear any of us shouting "wrong goal!" They were too focused on making that goal. Like I said, just too funny!

Here are some pictures of the "Cobra's" first game:

Such A Goof!

I saw this picture on a friend's facebook page last night and I could not stop laughing. My hubby is such a goof sometimes! =) I am so glad that during all this training they can still find the humor in some situations. I am glad I saw this picture though...I REALLY needed the laugh.



It's been almost 2 weeks since my hubby and brother left and I can not even begin to come up with the right words to describe what it has been like. Different. Hard. Difficult. Tiresome. Roller Coaster. I will share more later...I am just not ready to "go there" at the moment. Instead, I am just going to keep smiling at this picture...whatever works right???

Madi's 1st day of Pre-School

Madeline started K3 this week! I can not believe she is old enough to go to school...my baby. But I am so excited for her. Excited for the memories she will make, the friendships that will develop, and of course the things she will learn (and maybe I am a little excited about the couple hours I will have to myself...priceless hours that I would not get otherwise) =)
Madeline has been so anxious to start school just like her bubba. She is going to the same pre-school her brother went to for K4...I love this school and I really love Madeline's teacher. I specifically requested her for Madeline. She knows Madeline and she understands what its like for a child with a deployed parent. I know Madeline is getting loved on a lot by her teacher.

Below are some pictures of Madi's big day:

Time to head to school!


Madi was so excited to go to school just like her big brother does.


Finally gets to use the book bag that daddy got for her.


And we are here...this is so exciting


Quick picture before walking in.


Hanging up her book bag outside of class.


Madi's bestest friend Emma is in her class. These 2 girls are my absolute faves and are such little balls of energy =)


So proud of my little girl! She walked right in to class with no problems at all. She said she had a "great" day and that she learned the "number A"...yea, we still got a good bit to learn, huh?
After pick up time Madi and I went on a lunch date...it was so special. I don't think that she and I have ever been able to do that just the 2 of us. ;) Jason called her after school and she was so excited to tell him all about her big day.

We are looking forward to a great school year!

Heading Out

Well, here we go...we have hopped on the crazy roller coaster known as deployment. The kids and I took my hubby and my brother this morning to catch the bus for the airport. We are on the crazy coaster now...the day we have been dreading has finally arrived. Well, sort of...even though they are gone, this does not count towards the deployment timeline. They are gone to train/prepare for deployment for a few weeks so its totally separate...confused yet??? It can be confusing, but I have given up trying to understand and instead just accept it. Yes he is away from us...yes it has to do with deployment stuff...no it does not count toward the deployment length. They will be gone for a few weeks then will be able to return home for a couple weeks. At the end of that time, our orders will start and we can officially start our countdown. Knowing that we will have a little more time together made the send off a little easier this morning. Yes, it was hard. Yes, we did not sleep last night. Yes, there were tears. BUT it really was not too bad. The kids managed to go back to sleep when we returned home. My mind would not let me rest though (and it still won't) So I texted back and forth with J until he was on the plane. It was nice to be able to do that. Now he is in the air and the kids are full of energy...its going to be a long day. The kids (well mainly Madi) are already asking when daddy comes home...bless their hearts...this is so hard. I have really had some weak moments this week (I will spare you the details, but I believe there may have been some this is not fair comments made...I know selfish right? )so I can not even imagine what they must think. How I pray for their hearts and minds and ears to be protected/shielded from all this.

Well, I am leaving you with some pictures of the send off...


Sweet picture Jackson drew for daddy to take with him...he said its our family and we are holding hands...if your wondering if we cried...yep...lots of tears. But that picture is perfect! Jason is now carrying that picture in his wallet...could not think of a more perfect place for him to keep it.


Jackson also drew Uncle Jeremy a picture. This picture is Uncle Jeremy with Jack, Madi, and me ;) too sweet!


Jason and me waiting for the bus to pick the group up from the reserve center...its 0500...VERY early after seriously a sleepless night. (Yes, Jason is in civi's...they were given the option to wear civi's or uniform...he chose comfort)


My hubby and my brother's bags. Since they are only headed to RTC they do not have that much stuff, but will be issued a lot while there including new uniforms.


Some of the guys loading the bus...they left about 45 minutes behind schedule, but they made it to the airport in plenty of time. They are in flight now and will arrive to their training site soon.

A Weekend Recap...at the end of the week

A little late on posting, but I have a great excuse...family time. We are soaking up as much time together as we possibly can...wish there was a way to stop time and freeze these moments...but I know I can not so we are really just trying to enjoy this as much as possible.
So on with this post... This past weekend, my hubby's reserve unit held a yellow ribbon event. It was really great pre-deployment information, especially for those who this will be their first deployment. I enjoyed getting to meet some of the spouses and making some great connections. It was a very busy weekend, but overall a success.


My hubby and me before the events began.





Me and my little brother, Jeremy...I'm going to miss him while he is gone

After all the Yellow Ribbon classes we changed and headed to a dinner at a local museum. The evening and dinner was hosted by the FRG. The museum we held it at was a great setting as it holds lots of memorabilia from previous wars.

Jason and me at the dinner.


Touring the museum.


3 of the FRG officers: Kim, Wendy, and me.


I saw this hanging in one of the displays and had to have a picture of it. So fitting since I will once again be needing a 2 blue star hanging.

Well, I am off to dig in the dirt...yes, I said dig...we are getting a new deck and patio area so more shoveling is required...just an fyi...digging and shoveling dirt is very therapeutic.