Katie and Lexi

Katie loves playing with Lexi. Anywhere from running through the house making lots of commotion or they are on the couch together calmly watching TV. Lexi is truly a "man's" best friend, the "man" being a sweet 3 year old little girl. Lately, Katie has been making Lexi lay down on the couch beside her while she watches TV. She props a pillow under Lexi's head and covers the dog with a blanket. Then, she proceeds to curl up beside her. It is really quite cute. You'll see in the photo that on this particular day, Katie actually posed herself and Lexi in a chair for a photo. One moment she is playing, the next she is asking me to take a picture of her and the dog. (Children's little minds amaze me!) I have to say that Lexi is such a good dog. It never matters what the kids do, she would never hurt them. Even when Marcus unintentionally grabs her hair and pulls, Lexi takes it all in stride. She has tolerated Katie's kindness and also the times that Katie has been too rough with her and I had to intervene. Sweet Lexi she never complains. She just accepts it all and still seems to love our family. Lexi is now developing a sense of protectiveness over Marcus. She likes to sleep in the bedroom with him until he wakes. Then, she paces around under she is sure I am aware of the situation! I have to admit, I am not a big dog lover. However, more and more I appreciate what Lexi brings to our family and when she was at my mom's this fall I actually missed her quite a bit. Yes, she is another responsiblity on my plate... but she's so much more too. She has become a big part of our family. For anyone who has recently watched Marley and Me... well, you'll understand while I have learned to appreciate Lexi that much more. I hope we have many more years of this craziness together!

Marcus plays with a birthday balloon

Well, my little man never stops. He is one wild little boy! In this short clip, you can see how much fun he is having with the balloon that came with the strawberries from Edible arrangements. He had so much fun playing with the balloon. And yes, his little legs really never stop moving that fast!

My Birthday

I really enjoyed my birthday this year. It was sad not having Matt around, but he sent these beautiful chocolate covered strawberries from Edible Arrangements and it made it special to have something from him. Katie was thrilled to be celebrating a birthday- she loves parties. I had so many people wish me happy birthday that day... many phone calls and e-mails. Thank you to all of you who sent me good wishes, it really meant a lot to me. My favorite part of a birthday is hearing from my friends and family- it is so cool to be remembered! I hope I manage to remember everyone's birthday who thought of mine. Birthdays are different as you get older, and especially when you have children. They go along much like any other day, but it is nice to know you are thought about. I did get to do something special after the kids went to bed that night. Poppie stayed at my place while the little ones slept. My mom, sister, and I went to see the movie Marley and Me... great movie! Check out our dessert platter... chocolate covered berries and 2 mousse cakes! Yummy. What a great day!

Katie- my little princess

Katie loves to dress up. She is loves skirts, dresses, leotards, tights, ballet slippers.... anything girlie and fun! She'll change her outfit several times during the day so she can wear all of the fun things she loves. I like to see what she picks out and puts together. Sometimes, it matches perfectly and other times it is pretty comical. Well, here's a picture of her in some of her fancy dress up clothes. She looked so cute that day, and walked around like such a big girl. We were visiting at Ninna's that day and Poppie came home with flowers just at the right moment. Katie was so pleased!

The Military Wife

A friend of mine sent me this in an e-mail. I have seen it before, and it makes me cry every time. If you are a military wife this will definitely hit home. I think God has made us from special mold. Just thought I'd share it with you all...

The Military Wife

The good Lord was creating a model for Military Wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an Angel appeared.
She said, "Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one.
What's wrong with the standard model?"
The Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both Mother and Father, be a perfect hostess for four or forty with an hours notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant or has the flu, and she has to have six pair of hands."
The Angel shook her head. "Six pair of hands? No way!"
The Lord continued, "Don't worry, we will make other Military
Wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart
so it can swell with pride in her Husband's achievements, sustain
the pain of separation, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired,
and be large enough to say "I understand" when she doesn't and
"I love you" regardless."
"Lord", said the Angel, touching his arm gently. "Go to bed and
get some rest. You can finish this tomorrow."
"I can't stop now", said the Lord. "I am so close to creating something
so unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick,
can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave goodbye
to her Husband from a pier, a runway or a depot, and understand
why it is important that he leave."
The Angel circled the model of the Military Wife, looked at it
closely and sighed. "It looks fine, but it's too soft."
"She may look soft," replied the Lord, "but she has the strength
of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure."
Finally, the Angel bent over and ran her finger across
the cheek of the Lord's creation. "There's a leak," she announced..
"Something is wrong with the construction. I'm not surprised that
it has cracked. You are trying to put too much into this model."
The Lord appeared offended at the Angel's lack of confidence.
"What you see is not a leak. It's a tear."
"A tear? What is it there for?", asked the Angel.
The Lord replied, "It's for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment,
loneliness, pride and dedication to all the values that she
and her Husband hold dear."
"You are a genius!" exclaimed the Angel.
The Lord looked puzzled and replied,
"I didn't put it there."

-Author Unknown

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009!

Hope you all rang in the new year some sort of exciting way. mine was rather low key. I stayed home with the kids, put them to bed, and relaxed around the house (after I did the dishes, picked up the toys, and folded some laundry) I actually watched a cute movie I had on the DVR called Lucky 7. It had Patrick Dempsey in it and was really cute. Then, as the time approached for the crystal ball to drop I tuned in.... one cool thing about being in the central time zone is that the ball drops at 11pm instead of midnight. Of course, in my pre-child days I would have thought this was not cool at all. However, now that I don't get sleep at night the prospect of celebrating the new year and going to bed an hour early sounded great. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to bed before the new year as Katie woke up and had trouble getting back to sleep. When I finally got to bed, I managed 3 hours of sleep before my kids took turns waking me up until 7am. I am praying that in 2009 they start sleeping again! This schedule of waking up all night wears me out! On another note, I think as far as I can remember this was the first new year's eve Matt and I spent apart since 2000! There may have been one in there we missed together, but he was able to call and wasn't at sea. The most important or special part of New Year's eve is that 9 years ago Matt and I shared our first kiss ringing in 2000 in Beijing, China... who knew that quick midnight kiss would lead to a wonderful lifetime together! I still remember that moment. Ah, to be young and in love!
2009 is going to be a great year for me, because I am so looking forward to Matt's return from deployment. Another year full of opportunities (most likely we'll move this year to our next duty station) and most importantly Matt's homecoming! Even though I was sad to be without Matt on New Year's eve, I was happy to because it is one day closer to his return.

May everyone who reads this have a blessed, happy, and healthy 2009!