New Place

You won't find my here anymore....You'll find me here...

Maddie's New 'Do

I finally did it. Cut Maddie's hair off. Or the professional did. I just could not handle the food particles found in her hair, the fight to wash, brush or comb it and fighting her to get it pulled up and out of her face.

The verdict? She loves it! And so do I!

Colorado Part Deux

More beautiful scenery...There is nothing like playing on the soccer field surrounded by mountains. It was amazing!

Daddy and Z chillin' while the older two kiddos played at the park.
JJ jumped off this log about 37 times and I had to take his picture almost every single jump so he could see himself on the camera.
THIS was Maddie's face in almost every picture I took of her this week. She is a sassy one!

Colorado Part 1

Colorado was amazing! Not only was it our first big family vacation together, we were in beautiful Colorado. Our time was so relaxing and enjoyable to be away from reality. This first picture is a rest stop in Western Kansas. We needed a stretch your legs kind of break. The kids traveled very well.This is our first look at the mountains. JJ was soooooooo confused by what we meant mountains were. When we first entered Denver we could see them off in the distance, but he just couldn't grasp what we were looking at. It was funny but a tad frustrating because he went on and on about not being able to see them. (Maybe I am a poor descriptionist!)
The family eating dinner in our condo in Steamboat Springs, CO where we stayed for the week...

Happy Mother's Day! This was suppose to be the only really nice day so we decided to hit the trails and venture out to Fish Creek Falls just 2 miles away. I am thankful we went when we did because it snowed and rained the rest of the week. It was a gorgeous day this day and such a wonderful way to spend Mother's Day.Another picture of Fish Creek Falls....

Family Fun Festival 2010

Every year the base does a Family Fun Festival with lots of things to do! This year the weather cooperated very nicely and didn't get too cold or too hot. The kids loved riding on the fire engine the best! Maddie has told that she is going to be a fire engine when she grows up. Of course she means fire woman :)

Birthday Pictures

6 Months....3 years...
5 years...

Maddie is 3!

Maddie turned 3 last week and she is every bit a three year old now! She now informs everyone she meets that she is "free." And is also every bit a little princess! She loves all things girly and pink. As much as I tried to not emphasize princess around her, she just seems to gravitate towards them! Oh well, what can you do?

JJ's Five Years Old!

He had a wonderful Spiderman themed birthday party at lunch yesterday. I can't believe our little guy is already 5. Seems like just yesterday we were at Altru in Grand Forks holding him in our arms. And we already have pre-kindergarten round up in a couple of weeks! Yikes! All the things to think about this year. Our lives will be so different in 6 months with one is school. He is going to love being in school and meeting new friends!

Happy and Healthy

Zach has blessed us with his presence for 6 whole months already!!!! He weighed in at 17lbs 6oz and 26.5in tall(both in the 5oth percentile). His head was a bit on the small side, but no concerns. He is sitting up by himself most of the time and is very fascinated by his brother and sister! He is our texture kid. He loves anything that he can grab and make a noise with. He is very chill as most people around here put it and he smiles a ton :) We are still working on the sleeping through the night thing. Mommy would be very happy with that! He is in LOVE with his bath time. He'll play and squeal 'til the water is cold and then some.

Updates

Hello. I feel like I haven't updated ya'll on much lately. Well, really there isn't that much going on. I did get my new Canon on Friday and these are the results of my new toy :) I think it captures the beauty of my children so well! I am so happy with my camera. Now I need to figure out how all the gadgets work.

The kids are getting so big. JJ is getting ready to turn 5 in a couple of weeks. I can't believe he'll be five! And Maddie will be 3 in 3 weeks! She is growing up so fast and has become a little lady. And she is in love with all things girly and princess-like. And her favorite color is pink. Of course.

Zach just turned 6 months. He is so happy and giggly :) He is just about sitting up by himself and is fascinated by all things that move and make noise.

John is busy finishing up is Navigator Instructor upgrade and has his checkride this week.

I am staying busy with the normal things, laundry, cleaning, playing with the kids. I did start a new bible study last week with a neighbor and one other girl. So far so good!

Artist

Maddie has become quite the little artist this week! These are the drawings she has created in the last couple of days. I can't get over how good she is doing and she isn't quite 3 yet!

My Babies

I got them all in the tub together a couple of nights ago and they insisted on silly faces for me.

Hair

I wanted something different in the color department. So I went dark!

Princess Ballerina

This is how she INSISTED on going to the library...our little girlie girl!

The Military Wife

I am stealing this from a friend who posted it on FB....But I liked it and wanted to share.

Military Wife

Lots of moving...

Moving...

Moving...

Moving far from home...

Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.

Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house;

Moving curtains that won't fit;

Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.

Moving away from friends;

Moving toward new friends;

Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting for housing.

Waiting for orders.

Waiting for deployments.

Waiting for phone calls.

Waiting for reunions.

Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.

Waiting for him to come home,

For dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:

She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;

Handle the yard work;

Fix a noisy toilet;

Bury the family pet...

She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.

She can file the taxes;

Sell a house;

Buy a car;

Or set up a move...

.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.

She reinvents her career with every PCS;

Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.

And learns to call them all 'home'.

She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...

They leap into:

Decorating,

Leadership,

Volunteering,

Career alternatives,

Churches,

And friendships.

They don't have 15 years to get to know people.

Their roots are short but flexible.

They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come

after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:

They connect over coffee,

Rely on the spouse network,

Accept offers of friendship and favors.

Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:

The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is

unique.

He doesn't have a 'JOB'

He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...

He's on-call for his country 24/7.

But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!

His language is foreign

TDY

PCS

EPR

SOS

ACC

BDU

ACU

BAR

CIB

TAD

ABU

And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.

She is the long- distance link to keep them informed;

The glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:

She wants to wring his neck;

Dye his uniform pink;

Refuse to move to Siberia;

But she pulls herself together.

Give her a few days,

A travel brochure,

A long hot bath,

A pledge to the flag,

A wedding picture,

And she goes.

She packs.

She moves.

She follows.

Why?

What for?

How come?

You may think it is because she has lost her mind.

But actually it is because she has lost her heart.

It was stolen from her by a man,

Who puts duty first,

Who longs to deploy,

Who salutes the flag,

And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her

Military Husband,

She will remain his Military Wife.

And would have it no other way.

--Author Unknown

Gotta Support!

How's this Anne?????

Lovable

I just LOVE this face! Don't you?

Growing

So it hit me this morning like a ton of bricks...the kids are growing up. For some reason I am having a hard time with Maddie. Not in a bad way, just watching her be so independent and not need me at such an early age is just plain hard. JJ on the other hand would still let me dress him if I wanted. Maddie picks out her own clothes most days, dresses herself, and usually goes to the bathroom with no help needed. She does everything "all by myself." If only you could hear how cute she sounds when she says that.

While we were in the car yesterday John and I were discussing JJ and school in the fall. These next six months will be the last we have of him home all day. I can already see it in him. He is anxious to get out of the house everyday - doesn't want to be home, ever. He is just ready to be going to school and learning. I can't explain the feeling, he is just there, ready to go.

And Zach, he'll be 5 months next week. He LOVES to eat his cereal and veggies. I am so glad he likes baby food because the other two refused it, but that just means he is growing up too! And this morning he had a real poo, not a breast fed poo. It was a food poo.

Do you hear me children? You are NOT allowed to grow anymore! Not one inch!

Taste Buds

Hi, my name is Ellen. I am 31 years old and I like cucumbers. I just discovered them or I should say my taste buds finally like them! I don't know what came over me. I tried them on cute little finger sandwiches at church and have been eating them on my salads ever since that day in August! I can't believe I didn't like them before. Thank you for listening. This is something I needed to share :) Anne, you were in my thoughts while typing this!

Inspired

Today while viewing Mandy's blog, I came across a blog she has listed on her site. One click after another and I am finding myself inspired to try the Eat From the Pantry Challenge. I really want to do this. Starting tomorrow. I am going to spend my day taking inventory and getting started! I'll be trying to blog about as I go. Maybe that will help me stay on track!

JJ's New Spec's!

After many hoops and loops I got JJ into the ophthalmologist last week only to find out he is far sighted and needs glasses. They arrived today and he is looking very handsome! Now I just hope we don't struggle with keeping them on his face....

New Spectacles

I am sooo happy with my glasses I got in the mail today. a.) Because they are super cute b.) They were only 12.95 + shipping! I actually ordered two pair. They are both super cute. I think I might actually wear glasses more often now that I have two pair that are cute and comfy.