Grandma

"I love you, sweetie." A shrug. The point of a finger. A child-like grin.  That's what I remember and hold in my heart.

I will be eternally grateful for following my instincts, cancelling piano lessons and heading to the hospital this summer when I received the call that Grandma had fallen and was in the hospital.  It was a good visit.  As good as a hospital visit can be, I suppose.  The kids were mostly patient and well-behaved and Mike took them to the waiting room when they got too antsy.  I think he knew as well as I did that this would probably be our last visit with her.

I can't say how I knew, but I just felt peace and I knew we had said our good-byes and it was okay if we didn't make it back for another visit.

My heart aches knowing that my last living grandparent is gone, yet I am so thankful that she is no longer suffering.

Day's Eye and Industrious

It never ceases to amaze me how well my children's names fit their personalities.  Daisy and Amelia have birthdays in June so I've been thinking a lot about what makes each of them special.

Daisy is our sunshine girl.  When I think of "day's eye" (the meaning of her name) I think of sunshine.  It was no coincidence that she was born on the summer solstice.  She has the natural ability to brighten the room when she walks in.  Daisy also has the baby-of-the-family goofiness.  When I looked up celebrities who are also babies of their families I found every name listed was a comedian.  No surprise there!  She makes us laugh and smile every day with her antics.  Whether making a "wormstache" or simply choosing her own wardrobe, life with Daisy is certainly a lot of fun. 

 

Amelia means "industrious" which certainly fits her perfectly. She received the "leader" award for her kindergarten graduation this year.  When I need help around the house she is the first to offer her assistance.  Often if I simply suggest "We should clean our rooms today" a little while later she will come get me to see what she's done.  While the rest of the kids were procrastinating or complaining, she was hard at work cleaning her bedroom.  Amelia is wonderful with kids.  I will be shocked if she doesn't go into a field where she works with children.  She is also an excellent artist and very creative. Her self-portrait of what she wants to be when she grows up was by far the most detailed and colorful of her class.  She has a kind and caring heart and is constantly bringing me the sweetest notes with drawings of herself and me saying "I love you Mome." While Daisy may be the sunshine of our family, Amelia is the rainbow.

The girls in 2009 

At their dance program Spring 2012

As they celebrate their birthdays this year, I am reminded of how blessed I am to have two amazing daughters in my life.  Each brings her own unique personality to our family and it is so fun to see them grow into such wonderful little people.

Ten Years of Motherhood

Ten years ago I celebrated my first Mother's Day a week overdue with my first child.  I think the doctor jinxed me by setting an induction date for the Monday after Mother's Day and saying I wouldn't even need it because I'd certainly have my baby home by then. Caleb seemed to take that as a challenge to stay put for as long as possible.  May 13, 2002 we welcomed our first child into this world.


Tomorrow I not only celebrate ten years of being a mom, but I also celebrate Caleb's tenth birthday.  It's amazing how quickly the time has gone.  It seems only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital and calling grandma to come over and entertain him at 2am when he was wide awake and his parents were too exhausted to stay up with him.


Now he's two inches shy of five feet tall and challenging his five-foot-two grandma that he'll pass her up by his next birthday.  He probably will. It's been fun to see him grow into the young man he's becoming.  I love looking through old pictures from when we were doing construction on our house and seeing Caleb right next to my dad complete with his toy hammer and nails "helping" build.  He's always been a great helper.

Auntie Kelsey and Caleb 2005

Gone are the chubby toddler cheeks that were so sweet to smooch.  They've been replaced with the face of a boy.  Just the other day I saw him running across the gym with his class and thought to myself how "grown up" he looked.


Caleb has never been one to get excited over things.  He's very even tempered and easy going.  For him, being excited means an extra sparkle in his eyes and a slightly wider grin.  I saw that sparkle when my brother invited him to go to Washington, DC with his family.  I wasn't sure how he'd react to the invitation since he's very much a homebody, but that sparkle was there immediately when he realized what that "fake" airplane ticket meant.


It was there again when he opened his birthday present a week early.  He found this lego set in one of his books that he really wanted; The Crystal Reaper. We found it on ebay for over $200 brand new which was way too much for our budget. There was one used set that was up for auction and ending that night and I told him we could try to bid on that one.  He sat in my bedroom while I was on the computer waiting to see if we won.  I gave a heavy sigh when the auction ended and he said, "We didn't get it did we? That's okay mom." And went down to bed.


Little did he know that I actually won it for him.  As he was opening his gift we could see him slowly realize what it was that he was opening.  That sparkle and grin were there when he rushed over to me, wrapped his arms around me and said, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.  I love you mom."  Money well spent to see him that happy.

 So tonight we are going out with grandma to celebrate ten years of motherhood, ten years of grandmotherhood and a tenth birthday. My how the time flies!

Do It Yourself

I tend to be a "do it yourself" kind of girl.  Not the "You should have your own show on HGTV! That is so cute how you did that!" kind of girl, but the "I don't have time to wait around for someone else to assemble/hang/move/etc this so I'll just do it myself" kind of girl.


Don't get me wrong, my husband is perfectly capable of helping out and doing this sort of task for me, but I tend to grow impatient waiting for his help and it's much easier to just do it myself. I'm sure part of this stems from when he was deployed and I didn't really have anyone home to help me. The kids were 3, 2 and 5mos when he left so they weren't much help. Yes, my dad and mom live next door, but again, I would be stuck waiting for someone else's schedule to open up and fit me in. That queen-sized waterbed and pine cabinet wouldn't move themselves to the basement. That bookshelf wasn't going to move to the other room all by itself. So rather than waiting for help, I did it myself.


These past weeks have been full of little projects. After getting a second shoe cubby for our entryway, I decided I needed hooks for the kids' coats and backpacks above them. So I bought some and put them up. Then I decided it would be nice to fill the space between the ceiling and the hooks with a dry erase/magnet board/cork board/calendar organizer I found, so I put that up as well. The final touch to that wall was to move the kids' school pictures to either side of the board. It seems off-balance for my symmetrically-oriented brain since Daisy isn't in school yet and I don't have an 8x10 of her, but I am forcing myself to be okay with it. Eventually I may have her draw a self-portrait to hang in a frame in her "space" until she starts kindergarten, but for now it's going to be okay.

Wall above the shoe cubbies

Since there are no vehicle repairs to suck up our federal refund this year, we are going to be finishing our bedroom. We need to install the pine ceiling and the laminate flooring, add trim and window treatments and we're set! Yesterday we went to IKEA which is one of my all-time favorite stores. We don't get to the cities very often so we decided to go ahead and purchase a shelf, chair and ottoman for our room while we were there. These were my projects for today.

Projects 1 and 2: The Chair and Ottoman

Finished! Total time: 45min

Project 3: The Shelf (not pictured-the wicker boxes)

Finished! Total time: 45min

My favorite comment of the day was from Brady: "Mom, is that your new shelf?  And you did it all by yourself?  That's awesome!  It's really cool that you can do that by yourself."


My fourth project for the day: Write and post this blog while enjoying my new chair an ottoman. :)  Done.

Scriptures for encouragement

So in my Deployment: December 2006 post I make reference to a thread that was started by one of my online MOPS friends for people to post scripture for myself and anyone else going through a rough time in their lives.  I decided to post is separately so I could easily reference it as needed in the future.


It's interesting how this post has encouraged me as much today as it did back when I first read it five years ago.  To be honest, the closer the threads get to when Mike's unit was extended the more difficult it has been for me to go through them.  Reading the hopefulness in my posts and knowing that things didn't work out the way I had hoped is difficult to relive. The timing of this post couldn't have been better.  I love how God knows just what we need to hear.


****************

December 9, 2006

Post your scriptures here for Kate D and anyone else…

....going through a rough time right now, with Christmas coming, or just any of us who are in need of some encouragement!
There seems to be a lot of us facing some tough times right now, so I thought we could post some uflifting verses to help each other through!

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Proverbs 18:10 (dawnie)

Psalm 91:4
"He will cover me with His feathers, and under His wings will I find refuge. His faithfulness is my sheild and rampart."

Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You." (kalette)

Isaiah 43:1-3a "But now saith the Lord that created thee , O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. (mountain mama)

Psalm 113:7 "The Lord raises the needy from the dust, lifts the poor from ash heap."

Psalm 70:6 "Here I am, afflicted and poor. God, come quickly! You are my help and deliverer. Lord do not delay." (allycat)

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6

I know it's not usually seen as a verse of comfort, but we should look at it carefully.
God has a plan - a "good work" - that He is working out in us ~ experience by experience ... day by day ... moment by moment. His goal is to make us more like Himself. I am confident, that though times are hard and experiences sometimes cause confusion and pain in this life, God is working it all "together for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose."

If you have given your life to Christ and keep your eyes on Him, even when your world seems to be crumbling around you, you can be absoluely certain that it WILL all work out for good. (janet)

"O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that takes refuge in Him. Fear the Lord, ye His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger , but those who seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come ye children, harken unto me and I will teach you the fear of the Lord." Psalm 34: 8-10 (evaG)

Bumping up.......
Today our pastor had a message about the kind of person God uses....it was so upflifting. As it is almost Christmas, he used Mary as the example. He talked about how Mary wasn't rich, educated, especially gifted, or perfect. She was just willing to be used by God for his plan. How encouraging for us to know that God can use US, me!, far from perfect, often broken, but HE can use ME, as I am , in whatever circumstance I am, for His plan, so long as I am just willing to let him work......wow! Anyway, I thought I would add that, although I have simplified his message, I was really moved by hearing this simple truth again. (dawnie)

Deployment: December 2006

Just FYI: dh=dear husband, ds1=dear son 1, ds2=dear son 2, dd=dear daughter, PTL=praise the Lord, FIL=father-in-law, BIL=brother-in-law, SIL=sister-in-law
Also, peoples' comments I included are in italics with the person's name in parenthesis

*********************
December 3, 2006

DH got a call today from another guy he's in guards with who is also currently stateside and was told that a soldier from their company was killed by an IED today. Please pray for this soldier's family. He was in his early 20s and unmarried. I don't know much about him as dh didn't know him real well, but it is still so very sad.

Dh said he had hoped they would make it through this deployment without losing anyone from his company. They only have about 3-4 mos to go. I know this must be especially hard for the family since it's the holiday season and all.


Kate
************************

December 4, 2006

I got this email from dh today:

"ONe of my buddies here is online with one of the guys from over there in our unit. I guess the driver died instantly the gunner didnt die until he was being air lifted out. The commander of the vehicle(a sgt)sounds like that he'll be losing his legs both from about the knee down."
When I talked to him on the phone dh said he didn't know the two who died very well, just from them coming into the arms room when dh was working in there. The sgt is actually a guy dh knows pretty well. Just from talking to dh I know it's harder for him than he lets on. Part of him wants to be over there with his company right now, but the other part of him wants to stay in the states so he stays safe for me and the kids. Since that squad was the one dh went on patrol with a couple of times I know he is thinking that it could have been him. I just thank God he's here in the states right now and I am praying like crazy that he won't have to go back!

At any rate, I know the guys in dh's company and the families of the soldiers involved in the explosion could use a lot of prayer right now.

Thanks.

Kate

oh nooooo .... & that poor guy losing his legs. Praying for the Lords comfort to shower upon those families. I'll bet your dh is feeling it coulda been him! Do you think his injury may have been God's protection on him?? Praying for your dh's comforting too. (Susan)

I have been feeling the injury is something from God since things started really heating up over there. As frustrating as it is that his treatment/diagnosis is taking so long I know in my heart it is God's way of keeping him safe for me.

As a wife though, it's really hard not to feel "survivors guilt" since my soldier is safe and others are not. I know with my MIL's death last spring God is keeping DH safe for my FIL as well. DH is kind of the favorite son and I know it would be more devastating than I can even imagine for FIL to lose both his wife and his son within a year. It's bad enough that his favorite dog died in October.

I just keep telling myself that God is in control no matter what happens. If dh is meant to go back, that's God's plan for us. If dh is meant to stay in the states, that's God's plan for us. I just have to trust in Him and wait and see what happens. Either way, our lives are in His hands.

Kate

(quote from Kate D)"Just from talking to dh I know it's harder for him than he lets on. Part of him wants to be over there with his company right now, but the other part of him wants to stay in the states so he stays safe for me and the kids."

I wondered about that Kate. I had always had the impression that he is a real honor and duty kind of guy, and I am sure he feels pulled. Remind him that you are his primary ministry here on earth, and that God has a plan so its ok to go with it! He knows, though, I'm sure. The good ones always feel torn.....the bad ones wouldn't care one way or the other! (dawnie)

**************************

December 5, 2006

I know so many of you are already praying for me and my dh and I thank you for that. I just wanted to let you know that he has an appointment with an actual wrist specialist (at what I recently found out is one of the best clinics/hospitals in the midwest ) tomorrow (12/05) at 1:45pm CST. If you could please pray that this specialist can figure out what is wrong with him I would really appreciate it.

Dh said his arm is feeling better overall, but then he went to put a log on the fire this weekend which required him to twist his arm a little and he said that simple task caused pain to shoot up his arm. To me, that sounds like there's still something wrong in there. Of course I am praying the doc will recommend he stay in the US, but more than anything I just want to know what is wrong with him and how to fix it. Having him home for Christmas (or even "for good") would be a major bonus.

Thanks again for all your support. I know dh appreciates it when I tell him all the ladies at MOPS are praying for him.

Kate

****Update****

I just spoke with dh and the specialist said his wrist was definitely borken, but it looks like his wrist is healing (PTL!!!!) and that the pain he is experiencing is most likely tendonitis. They could do some sort of operation to go in and check things out, but if nothing is wrong it could actually cause damage and make things worse so at this time the doc recommends passing on that operation. The doc said to do another month of Physical Therapy and see how dh is feeling. He also said it could take up to a year for the pain to go away!

Anyway, since dh called en route to Ft McCoy from the doc he doesn't know whether or not he'll be going back since he hasn't spoken wiht any of the "higher ups" who actually have the power to make decisions like that. Dh did say that the doc told him he's as close to 100% as he's probably going to get for right now. Basically it will just take time.

Please continue to pray that they don't send him back. I know his job over there requires a lot of lifting which would put some strain on his arm and prolong the healing process. Even if he has to stay at Ft McCoy until the rest of his group comes home I think he would heal better/faster than he would in Iraq.

Thanks for all the prayers and all the support. We both really appreciate it!

Kate

****************

December 6, 2006

I just got off the phone with dh and he asked if he could call me back because he was heading into a meeting with the colonel and the case worker to decide what's going to happen to him. Please, please pray that they make the best decision for my dh.

He needs 6 weeks of physical therapy according to the specialist and yesterday he was told they may send him back to Iraq and have him do the therapy over there. Please pray that doesn't happen. I just can't imagine a war zone being the best place to recover from an injury.

Thanks and I'll update when I hear from him again.

Kate

So here's the deal. Because the doc said he's just under 100% as far as returning to where he was before he was injured it's okay for him to return to duty. As for physical therapy, he can do the excercises on his own so he won't actually need a physical therapist working with him. This means they'll be sending him back unless for some strange reason his unit doesn't need/want him back. I asked for a timeframe and he said he has funeral detail next week for one of the soldiers who was killed from his unit and then after that it's just a matter of when they could get him a flight out.

I knew this was a possibility, but I wanted to badly for him to stay home. I just don't understand how if he's still experiencing pain whether tendonitis or whatever that they are okay with sending him back into a war zone. Even though Christmas is a couple of weeks away it looks like that doesn't matter and they'll just send him back as soon as they get the okay from his unit.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. I am still praying like crazy that his unit won't want him to come back. No matter what I just need to prepare myself for the fact that despite what I think is the most logical thing to do in this situation, the army doesn't do things "locigally." (maybe that's why I never joined)

Well, my dd needsd a nap and I have to clean up the house before piano lessons tonight. I just wanted to post an update.

Kate

Right now dh is scheduled to fly back to Iraq Dec 15. If he can't get a flight that day he'll fly out on the 18th. Either way he won't be here for Christmas. I am so frustrated that he couldn't stay just an extra week since he's here anyway, but of course we have no say in the matter and they don't care that we have three little kids who will be so sad to have daddy leave, especially right before Christmas.

He comes home Saturday to get his stuff for the funeral detail Tues/Wed so I'm planning on getting all the presents and stuff together and doing our own little family Christmas one of the days he's home. He has to be back at WI by midnight on Thursday, so hopefully we'll be able to figure out something during the short time he gets to be home with us.

Thanks, everyone for all your prayers. You never know if there will be a big storm or something and he'll get stuck in the states for a few extra days or something. Anything's possible, right? If that happens we'll just be lucky enough to have two Christmases this year.

Kate

*************************

Praise you in this storm

So after posting my update about dh I started thinking and decided that I needed to post again. Despite the fact that I am disappointed right now about how things are probably going to turn out I really have so much to be thankful and praise God for.

*Even though it means probably going back to Iraq, dh's wrist is almost completely healed and he didn't need surgery to fix it.
*He has been in the states nearly a month past the date he was supposed to return to Iraq and I have seen him every weekend since he left for WI the beginning of November.
*I get to see him this weekend when he comes home to get his class A's for the funeral detail.
*I know that as hard as it is going to be to see him go again, God is in control of everything and no matter what happens I can count on Him to be by my side (or carrying me) every step of the way.
*I know that everything my family has gone through with this deployment is going to be used by God in one way or another.

I know in my heart that all thing work together for the good of the Lord and although I don't understand why things are going the way they are right now I just need to trust in Him and His promises.

Thanks so much for all your support and your prayers. I am still clinging to the shred of hope that they won't want him back, but I am prepared to face the reality of him leaving again if that is God's plan for us. It's amazing how much truth there is in the verse "I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength." Phil 4:13 Any strength I may be showing right now comes directly from my Lord and Saviour and I thank Him so much for never leaving me to fend for myself. I know I could never do it alone.

Kate

Yes, I have heard that song. I have the Casting Crowns CD that it's on. The chorus of that song is what was running through my head when I was feeling sorry for myself earlier and decided that in everything I need to give praise to God no matter how rotten I think things are or how frustrating and unfair things seem. I'm not in charge of anything other than how I choose to react to the situation I am in. I guess that's why I felt convicted to start this thread.

Thank you all for your kind words. Any of you who read my "getting to know you" thread know how far I've come from 10 years ago when I hit rock bottom in my walk. Thanks, JavaJayne for pointing that out again. I guess I'm doing better than I thought I was. There is no way I could have written a post like this if I was still in the place I was back then.

One more thing that I thought of that is good about dh going back is the plan my dad had to surprise him by building a master bedroom addition to our house before he comes back for good. Right now our room is so tiny and if we have another kid it will be even more squishy around here. That would be a really great surprise for him and something for me to be a part of in order to take my mind off things.

Kate, I too am so proud of you for this post! And don't forget, God has a plan in this for YOU too! Just look at how many of US here you and your story have touched, and by touching, changed! You may not know in this life, but I expect there will be at least a few in heaven who tell you just how much God has used you through your trial. Hang in there, and keep hanging on Him! Love ya! (dawnie)

************************

So when I logged on tonight and saw the scripture thread for me and anyone else having a rough time right now it brought tears to my eyes. I think this is the first time I have ever cried from just reading the subject of a post.

I just wanted to say thank you. Really, I am so glad that last March after dh left I sent an email to MOPS, International asking for resources for wives of depolyed soldiers. The response I got directed me to these forums.

I don't know if you ladies understand just how much easier you have made these last nine months for me. If it's not support through prayer and scripture and advice and hugs it's sharing a silly story that makes me laugh and brightens my day or posting something on the eyeroll thread that I can totally relate to.

Thank you so very, very much for being here for me. I know my nights would have been a lot lonelier without you guys to spend them with. Thanks again!

(((((((hugs)))))))

Kate

**************

December 12, 2006

Today is just being a really hard day. I found out a few minutes ago that dh is supposed to fly out to Iraq this Friday so we won't get to see him this weekend after all. He's kind of home for a couple of days, but he's gone during the day for the funerals of the two guys from his company who were killed a couple of weeks ago. He hasn't seen the kids much and we were really looking forward to just spending the weekend together as a family before they sent him back. Dh asked if there was any way to push it back to Monday instead and the guy told him no, they already had the flights booked. Seriously, this is the 21st century and switching flight schedules isn't as difficult as rocket science or brain surgery or anything!

Anyway, I am having a really hard time holding myself together and the kids are asking me why I'm sad and they are too little to understand anything that's going on and I just don't want to do anything other than curl up on the couch and cry my eyes out.

I am going to email dh's captain here in MN and see if there's anything she can do. I'm sure I'll just get the response "that's the military" which is the most infuriating thing I have ever heard in all my life and I am so sick and tired of them using that as an excuse for how they do things I could just puke!

Anyway, please pray for me. That I will be strong for my family regardless of when dh goes back and that I will make it through the holidays with minimal time curled up on the couch feeling sorry for myself.

I just don't understand how they can medically clear someone who is still experiencing pain and who still needs physical therapy and send him back into a war zone, especially when there's no physical therapist at his base! I am so concerned that he won't get the therapy that he needs and then in March when he comes home for good he'll be stuck in WI finishing the therapy they should have taken care of right now!

Thanks for all your support and everything. I really do appreciate it.

kate

************

December 13, 2006

I feel like a total prayer piggy, but I don't know what to do other than ask for more prayer.

I just spent the last hour laying in bed sobbing my eyes out because dh is definitely leaving to go back to Iraq Friday morning at 5am. He has to be back in WI by midnight Thursday so that means today is our last day/night together until he comes back for good in March.

I know this is God's will at least I keep telling myself that it is that that it has to be and that even if I don't understand it right now there is a reason for this and someday I will see what it is. It's just hard to make my heart understand what I know in my mind to be true.

It's far easier to just curl up in the fetal position and think about how much life sucks right now and just cry my eyes out. Problem is that I have a family to consider, not just me. I actually made my dh cry because I was so upset and I feel terrible about that. I think that's only the third time in our nearly 10 years together that I saw him cry and it was because of me. I hate that and I hate feeling like this.

It doesn't help that ds2 was screaming about wanting his daddy and told me he wanted me to leave instead. That's what started the cryfest. I know he's only 3 and he didn't really mean it, but if this is what I have to look forward to for the next three months then I don't know what I'm going to do.

Please pray that I can focus on being strong for my dh and that I got all the tears out of my system (at least for now) and that we can focus on the positive for the rest of the day. Anyway, I have to get going. Thanks for the prayers and support as always.

Kate

*****************

December 15, 2006

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers that have been sent up for me and my family the last couple of days. I just got home from taking dh to meet his ride back to WI. He leaves on his journey back to Iraq at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

I have had such a hard time with this even though I knew it was a possibility and I know your prayers have helped me survive the last couple of days.

I posted yesterday about how rotten I was feeling and I just have to say that after I posted I did start feeling better. I'm sure it's the sharing the burden thing and I thank you all for sharing this burden with me.

I also wanted to share something really cool that happened last night as I was laying in bed with dh. We were laying with his arms around me "spooning" and he was really quiet so I asked him what he was thinking. He said he wasn't thinking, he was praying. I asked him if he would pray out loud so we could pray together and then for the first time in about 6 years or so, we prayed together. It was so amazing to share that with him. We both have our separate relationships with God through prayer, but we haven't made a habit of praying together as a couple. We both felt a real sense of peace after that and although of course I have still shed many tears today I haven't felt that sense of despair that I had yesterday afternoon.

Anyway, I know it will be three months or so until we can experience prayer like that together again, but we are going to make a real effort to continue praying together at night before bed once dh returns. I can't wait. Just one more thing to look forward to in his homecoming.

Thank you again everyone for all the encouraging posts and for sharing this difficult time for me. You are truly amazing women and I thank each and every one of you for what you have given me. You are all so unique and bring such a different perspective to things and I love reading how you see things and how you choose to share yourselves with me. Thank you for that.

Kate

*******************

December 16, 2006

Just wanted to know how you're doing.
Been thinking 'boucha....have you heard from your hubby?
Praying as always! (dawnie)

Hey, dawn, thanks for asking! I'm doing okay. I was supposed to go for coffee this afternoon and someone was going to watch the kids so I could have a break and they ended up cancelling about 30 min before we were supposed to go. That was kind of a bummer. but dh did call a short while after they cancelled and I wouldn't have been able to hear him as well had I been in a coffee shop so then I wasn't quite as bummed.

Dh made it to Kuwait. He thinks he'll be there a day or two before then send him off to Iraq. I am still irritated about the whole situation, but dh is waiting for an email from a guy here in MN who was working on getting him a physical therapist at his base so hopefully that will work out and I can relax a little as far as his treatment is concerned. I still can't believe that they don't take a guy's civillian job into account before they decide to "clear" him to return to duty. But I digress...

I have been playing with photos of the kids and posted a couple on the "ones that didn't make it" thread. Dh has the original file of our Christmas pic with him. Oops! I'll have to scan in a copy of the actual card after I get them back.

I am thinking a bubble bath sounds pretty good right about now so I'll probably be shutting down pretty soon here and heading off to the tub.

Thanks again for asking about me and for all the prayers. I know it really does help.

Kate

Oh man, bummer. Again, too bad you all don't live here, I could watch your kids for you so you could get out more. Ah, well, I digress too.....
Glad you heard and that things are going ok, I will update SS tomorrow, and lots of us are praying about the whole thing.
Enjoy your bath....I usually do that more often myself when hubby is gone.
Hey, that pic in your signature is hilarious! Is that your daughter?????
It looks so much like Bubba that I did a double take! Same face, same expression, eegads!
Have a good night, and try to relax and enjoy yourself! Hope the kids are doing better now too!(Dawnie)

*************

December 19, 2006

So I just got off the phone with dh and he said that now it's looking like they won't be leaving his base to head for Kuwait and then the US until March 15 or later. (before he left for R&R he was told Feb 15 or so) My birthday is March 24 and with the amount of troops they have to move and the travel from overseas and the demobilization and all that it really doesn't look like he'll be home for my birthday.

He was home for his mom's funeral the beginning of March this year and left to return to MS the 21st and then on to Iraq the 27th. I know it's not that big of a deal, it's only a birthday, but I was really hoping he'd actually be home for my "real" birthday since he missed my "real" birthday this year and he missed our "real" anniversary when he came home for R&R.

I'm just feeling grumpy tonight. I suppose part of it is the fact that he's back with all the other soldiers and their soldier brains so he's going to get brainwashed into thinking like them again and might actually decide to reenlist even though when he was home he decided not to. Just having two conversations with him since he's been back in Iraq I can tell the difference in his thinking.

Anyway, if y'all want to pray a speccific prayer for me and dh, please pray that he's home in my arms on/before my birthday. Thanks!

Peace out!

Kate

***************

December 25, 2006

So dh got the "official" word that his group that is stationed at his base will begin training their replacements early Feb and that he will be done at his base as of Feb 23!!!

BUT- Remember that this is the military...

He said that doesn't mean he will be coming home then. All it means is he and his group will be "out of harms way." Right now they are scheduled to leave for the US March 15. He said it is likely they'll be sitting on their butts at their current base between Feb 23 and Mar 15 but one of his commanders is working on getting them sent home early!

I am not even going to begin to start hoping that he'll be home that early, but even if it's the 15th it will be before my birthday (which is what I've been praying for all along!).

So Merry Christmas to me! This was wonderful news, especially today!

Kate

*********

December 27, 2006

So ds2 has been having a really hard time with daddy being gone this time around. He has little screaming fits where he wants his daddy or needs to hug his daddy or whatever. So I told him that since daddy's not here in person we have to send him "angel hugs" and then God can deliver them for us. So I have him hug himself and then we pray "dear God, please send this angel hug to daddy. Amen." The amazing thing is that ds2 calms right down after we do that!

Tonight he got up after I put him to bed and was hollering down the vent at me. "Mom! I didn't give an angel hug to my daddy!!!" We sent daddy an angel hug and he went straight to bed.

I just thought if anyone else had kids who were missing their loved ones this might be something to try.

Kate