Flashback Friday

P's First Christmas (December 2007)

our house at Fort Irwin, CA

we opened presents a few days earlier since we flew out to SC for the real holiday.

I love her face in this picture.. she was so excited :)

Happy Turkey Day

Hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving!!

From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well our Thanksgiving didn't go quite as planned but I've come to learn that's what to expect on this roller coaster of a life. The kids and I were going to go to Cracker Barrel for lunch and enjoy some Thanksgiving favorites there but when we got there apparently every one else in town had the same idea. I had never seen Cracker Barrel so crowded.. think a Sunday morning times two. There was not a single spot to park and people were parking along the street and walking to it .. and let's not talk about the dozens of patrons I saw sitting on the front porch.. needless to say we did not even attempt to go in and see how long the wait was.. this mama with two small children was not going to fight that battle. Now I will admit I almost broke down in tears but regardless of the cruelty of the situation and all the reasons I could get down in the dumps I still had two kids that needed lunch. So we ended up at Steak n Shake and surprisingly the place was not empty and no it wasn't the Thanksgiving trimmings but P and I enjoyed it just the same and it was a heck of lot cheaper, ha! We then went over to Walmart to drown our sorrows in a little pre black Friday shopping.. then came home and baked turkey shaped sugar cookies. So for the most part today was no different than any other day but we still have much to be thankful for this season. I have two healthy children, loving parents, a brother & sister in law who I can always count on, an amazing extended family, great friends, and a husband who means the world to me and whom I love dearly. Of course today, my heart is heavier with him eight thousand miles away serving our great country as part of OEF but I am thankful despite our current circumstances that we are CLOSE to the end and my husband is safe and sound. And that's all that matters at the end of the day especially a day like today.. no today wasn't the perfect Thanksgiving but all of my family is safe, healthy and sound and for that i am blessed!

Flashback Friday

Camping at the Grand Canyon

Peighton

Summer of 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween 2010:

Peighton as Princess Jasmine

Henry as Rex from Toy Story

Henry Update

WOW! Can't believe my baby boy is 9 months.. where has the time gone?!? He is such a happy, easy going little guy.. and i love him dearly!! Here are some stats on how Henry Clay is developing:

*weighs 23.5 pounds (75%)

*31 inches long (95%)

*has 7 teeth (4 on top, 3 on the bottom)

*wears a mix of 12 month and 18 month clothing

*size 3 diapers

*can say "dada", "dog", and "uh oh"

*takes 2- 2 hour naps a day

*sleeps 10-11 hours at night

*loves his sister and dog

*eats anything i put in his mouth and is starting to enjoy some table foods

*loves to play on the floor

*currently not crawling but he is making progress

Deployment Update

Kudos to the hubby who this past Thursday was promoted to 1LT!! I am so proud of him!! He works so hard and even though its somewhat of an automatic promotion, he still very much deserves it!! It was a bitter sweet time for our family.. we wish we could have all been together at his promotion ceremony especially since I missed his OCS graduation and would have loved to been able to "pin" his new rank on him :( But there is always next time and it will be big one (CPT)!! I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who strives and excels in all that he does.. and the kids have a wonderful dad to be proud of!! That day General Petraeus and Katie Couric (CBS evening news) just happened to be there .. the General was visiting Salerno and Couric was following him for an interview for CBS's special on the War in Afghanistan. So it made his day even better by getting to meet and talk with both of them. So not only is he now a 1LT, he also met a few celebrities... so Brandon is officially a bonafide superstar, ha! And as for the deployment, we crossed off another month in this tour... we are certainly on the downhill but still too far from the finish line. I will start the real countdown and get more excited and less frazzled when the weeks left hit the single digits.. then I think I will finally feel like the finish line is just around the corner... Until then I keep trudging along.. all the while missing him and looking forward to the sweet day of homecoming!!