Tonight Seth said to Mom, "Grandma, do you have a baby in your tummy?"

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday we headed to the riverwalk to play in the fountain. While the fountain wasn't on, we did run into a nice mini-farmers market where John and Seth played met Tira. John says woof woof!

And...of course....swimming. Just one two-week swim lesson this year and Seth has really blossomed with his swim skills. He can hold his breath under water across the pool and loves to show it off!

Today we relaxed and slept in, rested. We took a quick trip to McDonalds for some coffee and play in the playplace, and then did some rock painting....which turned into face painting.

And of course more swimming. Our neighbor erected a zip wire from the treehouse to the fence across our back yard, which goes right directly over the pool. Here is Sethman doing his Spiderman pose.

This Week

So, this week I took off of work in anticipation of my departure. Mon and Tues I spent rearranging the house and cleaning for Mom and Dad's extended stay.

Starting on Wednesday I kept the boys home for quality time with me. Wednesday morning I called up Charity and we and our children headed out to Jump City for a while.

In the afternoon we came home and napped, cleaned, swam and waited for Mom's arrival. Yay! She's here!

Thursday we went to another jumping place.... Monkey Joes per Seth's request. Our whole family had a lot of fun!! Later on we swam in the backyard.

Yesterday was a fun time at the park, and of course swimming.

On Hold

So I submitted a packet on Tuesday to request medical exemption from mobilization. Thursday I called to confirm they recieved my fax. Once it was confirmed, I was told.....

DO NOT, I repeat do NOT report to Ft. Jackson on Sunday. Do NOT get on that plane. The commander will review your packet, obtain copies of any medical records and any further documents necessary and once a decision is made on it you will receive another set of orders stating that either 1)you are dismissed from the reserves and do not have to mobilize, or 2) you still have to report for mobilization at a later date.

I do not know when the later date will be, so basically all of the Army stuff is "on hold" for the time being. So, I go back to work on Monday and all life will return to normal for a while.

Thank you all for your prayers!!! Keep em lifting, as they are still needed concerning this commander's decision.

The Countdown

So we're down to less than a week now. This weekend was a lot more of the usual stuff.... shopping trip, McD's to play, swimming, trip to the park, etc.

Church was particularlly hard, as it seems to be the one place that I simply cannot hold back my emotions. I was a basketcase, but walked away feeling comforted, loved and knowing that I have friends whose prayers on my behalf will be heard. This was my last Sunday in church, so I said goodbye and Thank You to all my friends.

Today I shuffled the kids off to daycare and got to work on my paperwork. I managed to steal a spot in the afternoon with my Dr's office to get the letter from her and copies of my medical records. I finally picked up John's birth certificate (yes I know it's a year and a half later), and I talked to the Sergeant on the Delays and Exemptions board to get some information about submitting a packet to the Army for a medical exemption from mobilization. This, IMO, is my only chance at getting out of this recall. Fortunately I already have everything I need, and will be faxing the packet tomorrow morning.

This afternoon I ran to Target and picked up some sports bras (ahhhh) and shower shoes. Don't you love the feeling of a new sports bra? Makes you realize how much the elastic on your current bras has shot.

Tomorrow will be dedicated to finishing the last few household chores and stuff to get ready for Mom. Mom is coming down on Wednesday and Dad will be arriving next week after the Collyer family reunion up in NY. Tonight is Dave's last day of work this week, so the rest of the week will be devoted to family time.

For any of you who just starting reading my blog recently...... I was recalled back into the Army after being out of Active duty for a year and a half. I am reporting to Ft. Jackson on Sunday for mobilization processing. If during that time I am not medically disqualified from mobilization, I will then be sent to a refresher course for Arabic for a short time (likely about 3 months) after which I will join the reserve unit I have been assigned to and fly overseas with them. Where and when we still do not know, but we are hoping that they will not find me medically fit for mobilization.

So, thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. We are in a tough time right now, and not just me but my entire extended family.

WW

WW? What's that?










Yeah, so as far as the diet is concerned, WW flew out the window a few weeks ago. Things are too stressful right now NOT to indulge and frankly, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I had the most scrumptions salad yesterday with real Bleu Cheese and real croutons and I did NOT feel guilty one bit. I figure in about a week I'm going to be running and doing enough exersize to make up for it. So..... see ya later WW.... you're still my friend, I just need some space right now.

Recap Part 2

Last weekend was our second half of the 4th of July celebration. Like I said, it was raining on the 4th, so we saved the sparklers for Kerrie's visit. YES KERRIE WAS HERE!!! YAYAYA!!!

I LOVED having her here, and miss her already. We saved the sparklers for Saturday night and had a ball. It made us all feel like kids again. Seth got his first sparkler experience, and after watching Mommy have so much fun with the first one, he had no fear (well, he was cautious but still had fun).

Recap

Our 4th of July was a little extended this year. Friday night we had a fun bar-b-que-ish dinner (minus the actual grill) and the usual fixings. Then we waited and wondered if the rain would let up long enough for fireworks....but it did!!! So we headed out with a couple blankets and some bug spray to downtown Augusta.
They had a huge display off the 5th st bridge between SC and GA. So we found a spot along the river where the boys could admire the boats.















Once the fireworks finally started, John went into panic mode... not even the "oh no Mommy protect me!" mode but the "lets get the hell out of here!" mode. He didn't want me to hold him, he wanted to run away!! I had to chase him down a few times, after which he sat in his stroller and looked a me like..... are we leaving yet? Seth (after missing the first half of the fireworks while Dave took him all around to find a potty) sat looking mostly like the picure below... asking to go home.




I on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed the display, and greatly underestimated Augusta in my expectations of what kind of fireworks they would have. We have been going to Ft. Gordon for the last 4 years, and August definitely outdid the Army this year.

15 Reasons Why I Think My Sister is Awesome

1. I can call her a big dork, and it makes her happy.

2. She gives the best back massages

3. She can sing a song for just about any occasion, and remembers the words to all the camp songs that I forgot long ago.

4. She is comfortable being in her 30s

5. She squeeks when she laughs

6. She is an awesome Mommy.

7. She is an artist. She has won awards and decorated my home with her photographs!

8. She is messy. Knowing her house is as messy as mine makes me feel much better.

9. She is super strong! Ok so I could take her with one tickle, but seriously...she works really hard...(hence the messiness)

10. She's the person I think about when I'm bored and think....who can I call to chat with?

11. She can actually make Mommy Macaroni and Cheese just like Mommy, for some reason I can never get it right.

12. She inspired me to go to "cheeseburger rehab", and was my sponsor in times of temptation.

13. If she won a gajillion dollars, she'd share it with me, because sisters share with each other :-)

14. She's really good at everything that I wish I was good at. (including grammar!) She is an awesome vocalist, actress, photographer, and she's great with kids (even other people's kids)

15. She's my sister and I love her!

Where I'm At

As much as I'd love to use the "I was really busy this week" excuse for not blogging much lately, I really can't say I was so. We're now officially 3 weeks away till I have to leave for Ft. Jackson and I am feeling extremely emotional. It's harder to post anything without breaking down.

During June it was easy to discuss our situation because it still seemed kinda far away. Now that it's closer.....it's getting too close. I miss my boys already. If I could afford it, I'd quit my job right now and spend every moment with them.

The worst part of it all is the not knowing. I might go there for 1 week and then be sent right back home. On the other hand I could go there and then be shipped out to training and then overseas for a year and not come home at all. Either way if I knew I could prepare for it and try my best to prepare the family for it. But as it is, we just have to hurry up and wait.

In the mean time I have arranged my transportation to Columbia, SC; started gathering all the paperwork I will need; started purging our home of the extra stuff we've had that we don't need anymore, and getting our spare room comfortable for Mom and Dad's extended stay. Some of the boxes I've sorted through lately include more of my old Army stuff...uniforms, gear, shoes, etc. I kept some of it for spare, just in case, but most of it is going to Good Will.

I've even been dreaming of the Army lately. They're not really bad dreams, but vivid enough that I remembered them (which I usually don't). I don't really know what that means except that I think about it a lot.

I can't really remember any other time in my life where I've ever felt so completely helpless toward my own lot in life. I know I know, I was the one who signed the paper....signed my life away to the Army. But I always felt like our decision was honored and God blessed us and our family because of it. Not once in 5 years after basic training in the Army as an Arabic linguist did I have to be away from my family for more than 1 night. We were blessed to be stationed here in Augusta with one of the only strategic units on post. I was blessed with a job that I loved and an opportunity to support my family so that Dave could go to school.

So, now that I've been out for a while and called back, I can't help but feel like I did something wrong? Why has nothing we've hoped and aimed for in the last year and a half worked out? Why am I now being torn away from my family? Will this be a blessing in disguise?

I do know one thing. I know that my children are HIS children, and though it might be in HIS will for me to be away from them, it is not HIS will that they be left without support. HE has seen fit to bless them with such wonderful grandparents, and such a wonderful Dad to help them deal with this stressful situation. In this I take great comfort. I know they will be taken care of. But it doesn't make my heart long for them any less.

Ham