Gifts from God

I had a great day with a special friend. I went to Bible Study and then stayed for some special time with her after everyone left. We had great conversation and a yummy lunch, but more importantly, she solidified for me why she is a part of my life. God was doing something very special when he made her a friend of mine. When I am down, confused, spiritually flustered, or just needing a friend to talk with ... she is ALWAYS there! I am so blessed, it makes my heart full and after our talk, I feel very content about what was weighing so heavy on my heart. I feel like I have some direction, a purpose and a few more answers. I love her and I hope she knows how much!

PIctures

Girls Night Out
My crazy night .. there is always going to be a rebellious side

The end product

My accomplices
Me and my niece teagan
Ethan enjoying the last days of summer and swimming

G'pa and Kaeli My two gifts

Here are the pictures I promised ... I am at a friend's house using their computer to upload. And yes, I sent them to Mike first! :-)

VA Trip Update

What can I say, I have some awesome friends! Girls Night Out was fabulous, and just what i needed! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and a few drinks at Catch 31 .. right on the oceanfront. A very classy place with the perfect ambience for our group. The conversation was fun and open and I did not realize how much i missed my time with these women. They are all so different and offer so much to my life and I am so blessed to have them as friends. After dinner and a few drinks, the majority went home .... knowing they had children to tend to the next morning while a couple of us probed the streets looking for a piercing parlor. We were determined to pierce our nose! Jackpot! After some hesitation and A LOT of contemplation, I did it. I was very nervous. Nervous about what it would look like, how bad it would hurt (I have become a wuss) and worried whether mike would like it or be disappointed. It seems that no matter how old I get, or how much I mature, there is always a bit of rebellion in my bones :-) It turned out pretty nice, and Mike thinks it is cool. I think he digs my "wild" side a bit and is glad it is still there .. since that is who I was when he fell madly, deeply in love with me *wink*. Unfortunately I cannot upload pictures here at my dad's .. but will post some soon.

The kids are great. kaeli is on the verge of crawling. She gets up on her knees and rocks back and forth, then lunges herself. It is pretty darn cute (again, pictures to come). Ethan is having a blast at my dad's, playing with his new step uncles and spending quality time with my dad for once. Kaeli is beyond spoiled here with so many people to hold her and play with her. We miss my mom's house, but will be back there to spend our last week with her before we head home to Colorado.

I am looking forward to this weekend. We have lunch with my grandma tomorrow and then a bbq and pool time at our friend's house. Sunday is church and the church picnic which I look forward to every year! Our church family here is so awesome, the people are so genuine and truly love and care about our family and our faith. They are very uplifting and supportive .. I have missed that!

Mike is in Colorado working hard! We miss him so much and cannot wait to get home and give him some down time. He is working the Denver Democratic Convention (not by choice) and he is unfortunately on 12 hour midnight shift for 2 weeks! My heart aches for him as we are here on "vacation" and he is there working so hard. We will make it up to him when we get home! Maybe he will get a spa day or something :-)

Well, it is late and tomorrow is a long, busy day. Our love to all and hope to hear from you all soon.

Pictures

Reading with BonBon Mimi & Kaeli

Uncle Greg & Kaeli

Jenna, Teagan, JD and Brook at Jds birthday party

Kaeli, her first time in a pool

We have a picture of Jamie doing the same thing to Ethan in California

Mommy & Kaeli

Cutting Ethan's toes, he pulled back and his toe was bleeding, so Aunt Jenna made him a cast ... complete with signatures!

My mom spoils him! Mom, T & Kaeli

Happy girl, she loves this bouncy!

Well, so far our time back in Virginia has been nice. We had a great turn out for Jamie's bridal shower and birthday (my main reason for the visit home). It was great to see everyone, and see her so happy. We are all very ready to get her married off! She is 30 afterall! haha

We had a wonderful morning at bible study yesterday! I saw some "old" friends and met a couple new ones. Ethan had a great time playing with all the kids, and it was great to see him back with his old buddies :-) I was pleased until he put on the purple girls bathing suit! That is what happens when your son hangs out with little girls who play dress up. I politely asked him to take it off, trying hard not to make a big deal out of it .. but the smile on his face showed me that he knew he was being funny!

Tomorrow we will visit with some other dear friends, Christy and her kiddos. Then, spend the evening with my dad.

We are all missing daddy so much! We were driving in the car and out of nowhere I heard from Ethan "I miss my daddy". So, we made a needed phone call and told daddy how much we missed him! It feels like we have been away for so long already and it has only been 5 days! I so wish he could take a break and come here for a few days. Unfortunately, he has to work. We are so blessed that he loves us so much and works so hard that we can enjoy so much of life! He is such a wonderful provider!

Going to VA

I keep saying "I am going home", but really, this is my home. This is where my loving husband and my 2 beautiful babies are ... home is where they are! But I am still so excited to go back to VA tomorrow and visit my family and friends! I have missed them so much these past 3 months .. it feels as though I have been gone a year already. I already have many plans with my friends, and look forward to time spent with my sisters and my parents. I am excited about my girls night out! I am in desperate need of one.

I am going to miss Mike so desperately! He is my rock and my best friend. I have gotten so used to having him home every night and enjoying dinners together, cuddles after the kids go to bed, good morning kisses and calls from work just to say he loves me. He is such a great man and we are all broken up about being apart. He is packing the web cam so he can still see the kids and I while he is up in Denver. Kaeli is going to be so grown by the time we get home!

God, I pray for a safe trip. Keep Ethan, Kaeli and I protected during our travels and Mike during his. Brings us all back together safely in the end. Help us to always use our time apart to grow closer and realize why you brought us together to begin with - Amen

Bittersweet

I am so excited for my trip home to VA! It is mainly for Jamie's bridal shower, but a great opportunity for me to see my family and my friends that I miss so much! It is truly bittersweet though because I am going to miss Mike so bad I am already teary thinking of us being apart so long! We have been inseperable since April when he left the ship and it has been such a blessing to have him home every night and have him to sleep next to. A few times I have wanted to banish him for driving me nuts, but all in all, I really do love having this time with him. While on the ship, he was gone 28 out of 36 months! That is a lot of catching up to do! I don't even want to think of how Ethan is going to miss him, and Kaeli just beams when he looks at her. We will definitely be utilizing the web cam as much as we can!

The horrors of preschool

So as you all know, Ethan started summer camp Monday. He came home Monday and was an absolute nightmare! I bewildered as to what could have caused it .. the constant of the day, the exhausting craft time, the hour it took him and his classmates to clean up their areas causing everyone to miss play time outside, feeling deserted by his mother. Anyhow, I found out the next day (the first time I was able to talk to him after that nightmare of a day) there were a few "sweethearts" that decided to call Ethan stupid, spit at him and throw sand in his face! There was one kid, Nicholas, who spit at him but as Ethan stated "he changed his attitude later mommy". I know, I know, they are children and mine is NO SAINT ... but really? Is this what happens in a normal day at PREschool? No wonder some kids are left by their parents kicking and screaming! Not sure I would want to go to a place where I was to be tortured by my peers either. Anyhow, we discussed what friends are (Ethan calls everyone his friend) and explained that when that happens, they are not your friends and you need to find someone else to spend time with. I was determined to give it another shot, so come Wednesday I picked him up and he was in a much better mood, much to the satisfaction of mommy. I asked about his day. It was much better, those particular kids did the same hedonistic behavior .. but Ethan was the bigger kid :-) and walked away to play with someone else. The result .. a crush on a cute little girl (whose name has yet to be remembered)! We will see how this plays out, to be continued ....

Ps ... please do not get the impression that I think my child is a "perfect" child who never acts out! That is by no means what I am suggesting!