Peachy Keen

At 13 weeks pregnant I'm really starting to feel peachy keen. So, how appropriate that this week the munchkin' growing in there is about the size of a peach...

I am truly thankful that I am getting back to my old self as far as appetite and food goes, nausea is just miserable...can I get an AMEN! So nice that all this misery and sickness will be over by the time Nate gets home, you are a lucky man to have not had to deal with me the last couple of months! Carter continues to do her best to convince anyone that will listen she is "having a baby brother". This leaves me with a lot of explaining to do anytime I pick her up from a friends, the kids room at the gym, etc. She makes me smile. I can't quite imagine what it will be like to have another little person like her join our family, I'm guessing it will mean more smiling, so that is a very good thing.

Monday Carter Edition #36~Two bits, Four bits...

Six bits a dollar...all for THE END, stand up and holler!! The end of our separation as a family that is. And, while it's not quite over we are definitely on the homestretch. Just two short weeks and we should be together again! There are definitely days where I have felt like I wouldn't have made it without the support of my very own little cheerleader (who appropriately decided to wear her uniform this past Friday for all of our errands and outings, she brought many a smile to strangers faces)...



And today Monday Carter and I decided we were officially ready to countdown! All you need is a little paper, glue, and VOILA! A "countdown chain" is born...




















Two thumbs up she says...

We're hoping this chain shrinks at an incredibly fast rate!!

OH DAAADDDYYYY, I'm ready for you to come home now!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Waiting is a hard lesson to learn when you're three. I love you so much daddy!

XOXO Carter

Go Fly a Kite

With a tuppence for paper and strings

You can have your own set of wings

With your feet on the ground

Your a bird in flight

With your fist holding tight

To the string of your kite....

Ohhhhhh, Let's Go

Fly a Kite

Up to the highest height

Let's go fly a kite

And send it soaring

Up through the atmosphere

Up where the air is clear

Oh let's go

Fly a Kite!

When you send it flyin' up there

All at once your lighter than air

You can dance on the breeze

Over houses and trees

With your fist holding tight

To the String of your kite...

At the end of the day...

From the time when Nathan and I got married I have always loved that moment at the end of the day when he would walk in the door and be "home". I think after Carter was born I looked forward to that hour with new anticipation. It meant help had arrived, my best friend was there to talk to, and would share in the little moments for the rest of the evening.

Every time Nate leaves it is quite an adjustment. I find that instead of looking forward to the end of the day, I dread it. The end of the day is just that...there is no one coming home, no hug and a kiss to look forward to, no one to love on Carter with a fresh perspective, no holding hands on the couch as we watch a little TV. It's always hard for a while, but the mind is a very interesting thing and it does adjust.

Nate's been gone a little over 7 weeks, hopefully just a few more to go. But, I realized as I was cleaning up after dinner tonight this is the point in his absence I hate. It is the point where I no longer even imagine that he might just come strolling through the front door. The moment comes and goes and I rarely notice. I am "used to" him being gone, whatever that means. This makes me sad. It makes me feel like somehow I am not doing him justice by missing him enough. I know that probably sounds silly, it feels silly as I type it.

I'm ready to have him back. I'm ready to get "used to" him being here again. That is the fun part. And I know that although I adjust so I can function happily while he is away, Nate is never far from my heart nor I from his. I think that is what matters most.

Transformation

Carter and I were sitting on the couch a little while ago. I was talking to my mom on the phone and she was messing with my feet. I saw her intently start to look at the tops of them and I knew what was coming. You see I, like most women, shave my legs and feet. However, when your husband is away, or you're pregnant, or whatever excuse floats your boat these things sometimes slip through the cracks. The tops of my feet just happen to be one of those things. This is something most of the people I encounter on a day to day basis would never notice, but lucky for me nothing slips by Carter. She looked at me and said...

"Mom (and this was a serious look and tone I was getting), you are turning into a dad."

With Nate not around I knew it was only a matter of time...I guess my transformation is complete.

Monday Carter Edition #35~The only thing worse...

The only thing worse than morning sickness (or in my case afternoon/evening sickness) is your toddler having a stomach bug at the same time. And while Monday Carter is officially on the mend, we spent the better part of our weekend in an unpleasant place. I won't elaborate, every mom had been there, but it wasn't fun and I bawled and basked in self pity at least once. Luckily we made it out of our house for a couple of hours today which does wonders for your frame of mind. And along the lines of how this whole "sickness" started I thought I would share an outing from last week. It was Friday and we had said farewell to our friends and need a pick me up so I offered to take Carter and a friend to McDonald's for lunch. This is Carter and her good friend Lydia...

And like I said we headed for McDonald's...good old Mickey D's and their Pitri Dish of a playground, I have a feeling that may have played a part in how I spent the better part of my weekend. But, at the time it was fun for all...

These grown up little girls ate at their very own little table and had a fabulous time...

Ronald, I'm so glad you make children around the world happy, but do you think it would kill you to sanitize, and I mean really sanitize every once and a while?? Just a thought.

Dear Daddy~Let the countdown officially begin! Three weeks from today I hope you are almost home. I asked mommy how many more years you were going to be gone because it feels like FOREVER!! I love you so much!! MISS YOU!

XOXO Carter

Friends

"I wonder what Piglet is doing," thought Pooh.

"I wish I were there to be doing it too."

-Winnie the Pooh

I'm a friend for life kinda' gal. When I was a little girl making friends did not always come easily for me, and maybe it's for that reason that I held on tight to the ones I had. I think as time went on I got better and better, but truth be told I've always been just a little on the shy side around new people. For all these reasons I think God having Nate join the military was kinda' like a big joke on me. All the things that have made me uncomfortable most of my life were suddenly completely unavoidable. Moving, making new friends, being in new places were all just a part of the new routine. It stretched me, challenged me, it was hard on me and in the process it made me better and brought me closer to God. He gifted me with things I didn't think were possible, one of those being friends. We moved to new places knowing we wouldn't be there long and at times I just wrote off making friends, thinking there just wasn't enough time...but I was always pleasantly surprised. Almost everywhere we have lived I have left with at least a couple of friends that I know will be a part of our lives forever (even if it's just by blog or email!)

When we moved here two and a half years ago I was pretty down in the dumps. We were leaving behind some of the best friends we'd made in a while and I was feeling pretty bummed about the pattern of loving and leaving that was evolving in our life. But, I didn't have long to feel sorry for myself because we had new friends waiting right around the corner. Janelle welcomed me to Oak Harbor with open arms (she has often said she didn't give me a choice as to whether or not we would be friends) but I am so glad for that!! Carter left behind her first real friend in Jacksonville but had a couple of new buddies to quickly get to know when we arrived here. Sadly, they hit the road today for a new adventure. But, we are realizing goodbyes come with the territory in this military lifestyle and it is all just part of the game. Carter got to spend the afternoon with Cooper yesterday, I know she'll miss her buddy, they've done quite a bit of growing up together. Carter and Cooper 2007...

and 2009...

We also got to have a girl's night out for dinner with Janelle...

What can I say, other than the OH just won't be the same without you! As hard as saying goodbye can be I am so thankful for all the friends God has placed along our path as we travel this road. You're never far from my mind...