Army Boys

Yeah! I finally have new Internet that will load up pictures from my computer. So, now I have a lot of backtracking and catching up to do. Our boys think it is great that Trevor gets to wear his military uniform every day. Mostly because they get to wear the stuff when he gets home. Seth is obsessed with wearing hats lately and always has to have the hood of his jacket or coat on. He will even put his dinner on top of his head and say "hat". (No Seth Sloppy Joe's do not make good hats!) Keyton is loving getting to play with friends every day, but he is extremely outnumbered here. The only people we know all have 2 girls. He has no boys to play with but his little brother. Which is good too because they have learned to play so cute together since we got here. Seth thinks he is just as big as Keyton and will imitate him all day long. The other night I tried to put them to bed in the same bed and boy was that a disaster. They thought it was soooo funny and a chance to have a killer wrestling match. Back to the play-pen Seth. I had to sit by the door and listen for a while though. It is music to my ears to hear those two making each other laugh. Then, once Seth got back in his own bed, we could hear Keyton trying to teach Seth new words. "Seth say: hot" "Hot" "Seth say cocoa" "cocoa" "Good Job Bud". They are so sweet.

from summer to winter in a week

this is what we were doing last week. playing at the park in seventy five degree weather. today... we r snowed in and have been for two days. the fort is shut down and all schools and roads are closed. it has been crazy. i had to stand in a two hr grocery line for bottled water, bread, and milk, and a few other essentials aka chocolate and snacks. everyone was panicking because last year they lost power for two weeks. luckily we still have power and water. we will keep our fingers crossed that we keep it.

happenings

things are going pretty well in ok. we have been trying to stay busy and some days are even warm enough to go outside and play. we went to the bombing memorial and museum and it was very interesting. i kind of remember that happening but didnt know much about it. it was so sad to see the belongings of people that they recovered. and to see the sweet little kids who got killed just broke my heart. keyton kept asking why someone would want to kill little kids. i dont understand it either. we also went to the ok city zoo. we got there kinda late so we didnt get to see much of it. we will go back another day. here are a few pics i have taken with my phone since i cant get our regular computer to load any.

update

We are doing good in Oklahoma. Our internet stinks and it won't let me load any pictures. I'm hoping we can get better service but not sure that will happen. Our drive took 3 days and our kids did surprisingly well. No breakdowns or anything! Once we got here, we got our apt. and it was bigger than I was expecting but very nasty. It reminds me of an old nasty college apt that never got a good cleaning. Oh well, we are just glad we got a place. As soon as we got here, I got Keyton into Preschool. He goes to the elementary school on base everyday for a few hrs. He is loving it! He thinks he is so big cause he gets to go to the "real" school. Other than that, we haven't done too much yet. We are hoping to find something fun to do this weekend. We miss home and look forward to when we get to go back.

Fall Fun!

I am little late on getting these posted, but they are too cute not to. My kids are in heaven with a pile of leaves and a rake (or snow shovel). They played in the leaves until their hands were like ice cubes. I have to tell you a funny story about Keyton. The other day we were driving in the car and he says to us, "one of my friends.... I can't remember which one.... his parents do not like President Obama. (then in a disgusted voice) They didn't even vote for him!!!" Trevor and I looked at each other and busted up laughing. Why is my 5 year old discussing politics with his friends???? We sadly had to break the news to him that his parents didn't vote for President Obama either. I think he was a little upset with us. Too funny!

Seth is getting big and FINALLY starting to try to talk. He can say mom, dad, shoes, book, go, uh-oh, duck, and he can make lots of animal sounds. According to him, a deer says "raaarrrr" Not sure where he got that from. He is a funny little guy and we love him to pieces.

We are very excited to celebrate Christmas and life is crazy busy right now. I love this time of year and it always goes by way too quickly. Hope you all are enjoying the Holidays as much as we are!

Thank You for My Children

I got the opportunity to help at Keyton's Preschool Thanksgiving feast. At the end of it, they all sat in a circle and told what they were thankful for. It was so cute because instead of saying, "I'm thankful for....." they would say, "thank you for........." Their answers were so precious to. Pets, parents, pillows, the world, toys... Keyton's answer was Jesus. How sweet is he???? So today I am saying, "thank you for my children" I think I take for granted how easy it is for me to get pregnant, how well my pregnancies have gone, and the fact that I have two amazingly smart and healthy boys. After seeing friends who have struggled with all of these things lately, it makes me soooo grateful to hear those screams that they can produce. There is a poem that my sister showed to me, and I wanted to share it with anyone reading this too:

How do you think of your children? On any given day, would you say your children are a blessing or a burden? Here is a challenge to you... How are you?... How is the baby?...How are your kids?...We all hear these questions every day. Do you know a mom who always answers something like this: "well, I haven't killed my 2 year old yet, so i guess that's good." or , "I'm just exhausted," or "Things are absolutely crazy- I am so stressed out" Maybe that frazzled haggard, bewildered mommy is someone you know. Maybe it is you. I know, I've been there. Here is my question to you today... are we bearing our blessings as burdens? Those babies that we dreamt of and prayed for, that we had so much fun choosing names for, that we counted the days to meet... are they burdens to us now? Those homes that we were ecstatic to move into... are they burdens now? That husband that we couldn't live without, that we picked out the wedding dress for, that we cried and ached and waited by the phone for... is he a burden now? That job you needed, you wanted and prayed for, that provides food and clothing for your family... is it a burden now? Sometimes it seems to me like a mantle we as moms must carry. We must be tired, we must be stressed out, we must be hurried and frazzled, we must be lucky just to make it through the day. Are we bearing our blessings as burdens? Are we tired? Absolutely. As moms, we know about the 2 a.m. feedings, the nightmares, the wet beds, the midnight curfews. Do things get a little stressful between PTA meetings, dance class, the T-Ball game, and dinner on the table at 6? Sure they do. Are husbands always a joy when they get home from work? No way. Is scrubbing the potty, doing the laundry, an cleaning the high chair tray the greatest thrill we've ever known? Of course not. So how do we look past the burdens and see the blessings of our families and our homes? Do you know any women who would give anything to have a baby to nurse at 2 a.m.? Anyone who would love to have those clothes we are sick of washing, or that house we just can't keep clean. Do you know any women whose husbands aren't coming home? I challenge you to bear your burdens as blessings and watch as they multiply. And the next time someone asks you how you are, throw off that identity of stressed out, frazzled mommy, find your smile and answer, "I am blessed!"

I know that I am soooo blessed and am very grateful for the wonderful things in my life. I hope you all feel the same too. Happy Thanksgiving.

We had a very fun Halloween this year and were excited that Trevor actually got to go Trick-or-Treating with us this year. Halloween is one of my all time favorite holidays so we try to do everything available. However, it has turned into a week long ordeal than just 1 night of dressing up. Oh well. Guess we get our money's worth on the costumes when they have to wear them ALL week. Keyton picked his costume out at the very beginning of October and couldn't wait to wear it. He has been Ironman all month long, so we were glad it didn't have holes in the knees by the time Halloween actually came. Seth thought it was very cool that he was a monkey. He kept looking in the mirror and pointing to his reflection and then pointing to himself like "it's really me". Trevor and I dressed up as Cruella and her dog napper for an adult party we went to, and it was really fun. Now that Halloween is over, we are trying to get ready for Thanksgiving and I can almost bet my Christmas Tree will be up within the next 2 weeks. I just can't resist!