Hello and Goodbye

I don't trust myself to sound like anything except a pathetic country western whine- so I'm going to let the pictures do (most) of the talking. 1st Night home: Celebrating Izaac's birthday

Say bye-bye to his little curls. Dad cut his hair a few days later. NO mullets allowed in this house.

Baptism Day. A little hectic. I really regret not getting pictures of Mamie and Papa or one with Ellie and both of her parents would have been nice.

Ski get-away at Crystal Mountain. Lovely. Relaxing. Refreshing. Heavenly.

Played lots of soccer. Watched lots of soccer.

Jay wouldn't let him out of sight and constantly wanted Dad to hold him.

Getting reaquainted. They liked each other after a few days.

Roasting s'mores on the beach.

Fire is always a big hit in this family.

The zoo.

We also bowled, went swimming, went to the movies, played lots of Wii, went on a few dates, Jaylon took Ellie shooting (she loves guns now), went running and ate too much.

Here are a few more images for you: Re breaking a leg. Getting drop kicked into the ocean. Big hammy fist in the gut. Ripping heart out of body (think Indiana Jones). Saying goodbye again was an exercise in agony- but totally worth it to see him. And for those of you who might be tempted to tell me that I'm "on the down slide slope" or "only 4 months to go" well...it's kind of like pregnancy. It gets more painful and time goes more slowly and you get more miserable as time goes on and on and on. I guess I lied. Welcome to my country western song.

Big DAY

It's been 7 months and 5 days since we were all together...and exactly one year ago today Izaac was born. 7 hours till he lands!!!! To say we're excited would be an understatement. What an unreal and fantastic feeling to know we're going to see him so SOON!!!

Life this Week

We've had a t.v. stand for almost ten years but a few weeks ago the doors broke off. I decided that I didn't have time to screw the doors back on. That would be too much work. So instead I went to Walmart and bought a new t.v. stand. This is what I found when I opened the box: I spent 4 1/2 hours getting through the first 6 steps on the first night. I nearly cried when I opened the booklet to discover that I had 18 steps to go.

Twelve hours, 1,000 screws (maybe a little less) 50 nails, buckets of sweat and blood later...

I have never built anything this complicated. I feel almost as proud of myself as I did after delivering Izaac without so much as an advil. Though both of these "accomplishments" were a direct result of my own stupidity. Live and learn, eh?

In less than a week:

Izaac will get to be hugged by his Daddy again!

In less than a week:

Jax and Jay will get to hold Daddy's hand.

In less than a week:

I get to look at him, stand next to him, hug him, smell him and rediscover life as a complete family. I can hardly wait. Pray for our soldier to travel safely and swiftly home.

Skamania Lodge

We were all thrilled to get a phone call last Wednesday telling us that we had gotten into an army retreat at the Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington. 2 days later we packed our bags and were treated to a luxurious, all expense paid (babysitting, food, lodging) restful vacation.

We went with our dear friends and neighbors- Dina, Frankie and Mark.

The change in scenery was fabulous for all of us...no beds to make, no food to cook, nothing to clean...adult conversation...

The kids claimed beds as soon as we got into our room. Ellie informed me I could have the couch. Nice try, Ellie.

This is the view we woke up to the 1st morning.

Luckily we got plenty of exercise walking in this gigantic hotel...since we also ate way too much food!

The kids tried to give me a guilt trip about spending all of their time in daycare but it wasn't a normal daycare. They played and made crafts and watched movies and had plenty of fun. And, best of all, I had Seven child-free meals. No coaxing anyone to eat their vegetables or getting up a hundred times...just sitting and eating and conversing with old and new friends. Did I say this was a fabulous weekend??

The kids loved the all-you-can-drink cocoa in the lobby.

I spent a quiet hour watching the moon rise. What can I say? Sometimes the army does something right...and thank you tax-payers. It was a beautiful weekend for this little family.

Soccer Man

Jax woke up Saturday morning and said, "Today is my big game!" And so it was. Jax scored 2 goals the first 2 minutes of the game and I was fumbling with my camera and missed getting them on film. He managed to assist with another goal and also scored once more. He had some really exciting runs down the field and also faked out the other team on one of his many attempted goals. Jax loves soccer and I love watching him play! He is focused and determined and tireless on the field and doesn't cry when he gets knocked down. It is so much fun to watch him discover something he is good at and enjoys so much.

Raw and Uncut

Notes on Deployment:

Life is lived in increments.

It is so much longer and harder and lonelier than I ever imagined or anticipated.

I never thought I'd be so stressed about him returning home for 2 weeks. Will we fight? Will we reconnect easily? Will our separate and independent lives easily merge into one? How will the kids handle him coming home and then leaving again?
It just plain sucks. That's all.

His damn unit is robbing us of the anticipation of him coming home by (surprise surprise) once again being so unorganized that they can't even give us an inkling as to when (or if) in March he will be coming home. Lovely. That gives me no idea as to when I need to clean the mold in my toilet. Or the dust bunnies under my sofas. Or shave my legs. In my defense about the mold and the dust bunnies...I am still doing housework. Just a more relaxed version. After he left I worked really hard to keep the same standards. One day Ellie came home from school and I'd been cleaning all day and I asked her if she was happy with how the house looked. She looked around and said, "We don't really care if it's clean, Mom." And that is when I decided to enjoy my children's oblivion. I read to them and we get Dominoes once a week. Life is sweet.

As Jaylon said, "Izaac doesn't even know he's supposed to have a Dad." And I am pretty sure the others feel abandoned by him. We are living a calm and peaceful life. How riled up will my children be when they have to say goodbye again. How messed up will I be?
This is fun. Really. A barrel of laughs.

Spring Soccer: Jay, a.k.a. SOCCER STAR

Spring Soccer is a misnomer. February in the Puget Sound is Winter. Not Spring. But that's o.k. because the boys LOOOOOOOVE soccer. I signed Jay up for his very first official season and he has asked me every single day during the past month if it was time for soccer yet. Saturday was his first game and it was a hoot. Izaac was a great sport about suffering through 2 hours in the rain to watch his brothers play. Jay and his best bud, Charlie got tangled up and face planted in the mud. No tears. He was having way too much fun to be bothered by a little mud. This is the same child who cries if his hands get sticky.

Grinning the ENTIRE game.

Jax also played in his first game but (long story short) I missed the first half and so didn't get any pictures. He'll be featured in the next soccer post. He made a fantastic stop when he was playing goalie and after the game he said, "Mom- next time you have to make Ellie watch my game. I was totally awesome out there." And he really was. He almost made two goals but "there were always 4 blue guys on me." I'm surprised at how excited I get when I watch my kids play soccer...I now understand my dad's crazy behavior at my brothers and sisters games/meets. And I am so excited for Jaylon to come home and see the kids play soccer in a few weeks (maybe 2, maybe 3, maybe 5- the army keeps us guessing)!