Catch-up on the February Happenings

I bet you all thought I gave up blogging for Lent! Actually I've been really busy recently and this just seemed the natural thing to push to the bottom of the list. Mike was out of town for a couple of different TDYs and since he's gotten back we've been in deployment prep mode. As I think I've mentioned before, as soon as Mike leaves for his deployment the kids and I will be moving in with the 'rents in Texas! We are actually really excited about returning to the best state ever and all the fun we have in store while we're there! Hopefully the master packer, my Dad, can fit everything in our van that we'll need with room to spare for all the shopping I plan to do too! Here's a recap of our ups and downs since the beginning of February:

UP:

• Jackson is getting closer and closer (fingers crossed) to sleeping without a pull-up! About 1-2 times a week he is waking up with a wet pull-up, but the rest of the week he's completely dry! So proud of my big boy. Seriously hard to believe he'll be 3 in a little over a month!
• Kennedy, as I mentioned in my last post, is talking more and more everyday. She responds to questions appropriately and I think she says a new word daily! She also has the cutest voice too. She is a monkey for sure though and I haven't figured out how to keep her off the furniture. She's also gotten tall enough to reach the kitchen counters, so anything close to the edge is no longer safe including knives - thankfully Mom still has some quick reflexes!
• My fabulous husband bought me an ipad for an early birthday present! I love it and would love any suggestions you have for cool apps especially for the kiddos! A special thank you to Pat, I'm pretty sure that your new ipad convinced Mike we needed one too!
• Speaking of Pat, we finally made it down to Salt Lake City to visit his new place! We had a great time except for the lack of sleep due to crying children! He's got a great set up there and we'll definitely be back!
• Yesterday was only day one, but I'm really excited to start a new Bible study with some fellow spouses. We're reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. I'm hoping the book has some good insights on dealing with stubborn first born children uhh humm - Jackson!

Down:

• The day Mike left for his most recent TDY Jackson woke up with the stomach bug. Thankfully he was the only one that got sick. That's just the worst though when your child throws up or has severe diarrhea and you can't do anything, but comfort him. 
• It was confirmed officially that Mike will be deploying the full amount. There had been talk that he would come home half way through and we would move, but as usual, the AF has their own agenda. I wish I had never know about the half way scenario, but it is what it is and we just have to accept it and make the most of it. There are definite benefits monetarily, but hands down I'd much rather have more time with my hubby!
• One of my Dad's old co-workers passed away recently. He was younger than my parents and had two daughters. He was a big part of our lives with 4-H growing up and was such a great guy. Again, life is so precious and can be taken in an instant. It just fuels my desire to live each day as if it were your last despite my incessant need to plan plan plan for tomorrow!

Photo Catch Up:

Insert sound effects: pew, pew, pew!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Look at these delicious strawberries - perfect for dipping!

Story time at Uncle P's!

Jack Nicholson, I mean Pat Hefferly in the morning!

Gearing up for some sledding!

All bundled in her brother's old snow suit!

I need to get this girl some dress up stuff. She is using Mr. Potato Head's glasses as a necklace and trying to wear his hat too!

Favorite Thing:

While packing for our trip to Salt Lake City the idea occurred to me to look for a sound machine app rather than hauling the kids' sound machines with us. They are light sleepers though so ambient noise is a necessity! I found this app called sleep machine. It is so neat. I upgraded to the paid app to get all the sounds. Their are 91 different sounds and you can use up to three different sounds together and mix them yourself. You can also mix your itunes music or audio books with the sounds too so you could listen to a book while hearing a crackling fire in the back ground - pretty awesome. It also has a timer for the sounds, an alarm, and a nice illuminated digital clock for traveling that is big enough for this blind girl to see at night! I highly recommend it if you too are a light sleeper or even if you aren't it's pretty cool!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 2013 #5

Late again with my weekly post! I thought I might stray from the norm a bit on this post. If any of you follow me on Facebook you know that the Air Force community lost another pilot this week. Though we did not know Capt. Gruenther, we still feel the loss as if we did. Our community is so tight that it is difficult not to get your stomach in knots anytime something happens to one of our own. Mainly because you can't help but put yourself in the shoes of their family because it could've happened to you just as easily. Been praying like crazy for his wife and their unborn child that he will never get to meet. I continue to pray daily for my friend Tami who lost her husband less than a year ago and their two children. If anything it makes you reflect on all the blessing you have in life and hug your family a little tighter. So this week I thought I would list some of my blessings this week because let's face it, I'm extremely blessed!

• Jackson is so very thoughtful. He always wants to show us affection, especially Kennedy. He is constantly hugging her or kissing her cheek. He also has many terms of endearment for her like Hunny, Sweetheart, Love, Baby Girl, Sunshine, K, or Sissy. Jackson also loves getting praised from Mike and I. He'll tell us something he did and then say, " you're so proud of me" which of course we are! Mike didn't get to talk to the kids much this week because he was working days and didn't get in until the kids were already in bed. I told Jackson that I talked to Daddy and that he was so sad and missed his Jackson boy. I think Jackson has mentioned that to me everyday when he asks when Daddy will be home or in the morning when he hops in bed with me and asks why Daddy isn't there.  Such a sweet boy that loves with his whole heart!

The painting activity didn't last even 10 minutes. Jackson didn't like getting 'dirty'!

• Kennedy, likewise, loves her big brother and would do anything he asked of her. They are so cute to watch when they play together. You can also tell how much she misses her brother on the days when he's at MDO. She gets the biggest smile on her face when we go pick him up! She is talking more and more each day and has the cutest voice. Here are some of the words she knows: Momma, DaDa, Brubba (brother), Minnie (for both Minnie and Mickey), Up, Down, More, Milk, Sock, Shoe, Foot, Nose, Yes, No, Baby, MiMi, Night Night, hot and she can sings parts of the ABCs and Hot Dog Dance! I've never seen such a happy girl! She loves to talk on the phone too. Earlier this week we were talking to Mike while I was at Wal-Mart and I hung up the phone and put it in my purse and she kept looking into the purse screaming, "DaDa, DaDa!" She is definitely a Daddy's girl!

My attempt at doing something with K's hair. It is always so crazy all the time!

• Then there is my wonderful husband - Mike! He just wrote me the most amazing love letter last night when he couldn't sleep. He wanted to assure me that I was the love of his life and though sometimes he has to be away for work, I am always with him. I needed to hear that! It is so hard being apart from each other more than we are together and he knows exactly what to say to make me smile and get me through another day. He did the sweetest thing before he left on this TDY. He had requested Turkey Pot Pies for dinner, but then didn't come home until 10pm and obviously wasn't hungry. This was the day before he left and so he wouldn't be eating any of the leftovers either. He knew that I spent a long time making these pot pies and the next morning when he got up to get ready to go, he heated one up and ate it for breakfast! Now that's love! I couldn't ask for a better guy!
• I'm also extremely blessed to have fabulous parents. They always make time to talk to me on the phone or FaceTime especially when Mike is away. They are opening their home up to us when Mike deploys later this year for us to literally move in for 6-7 months. They even bought the kids a play kitchen to play with while we're there. They go above and beyond to make us feel loved and 'at home' even though we live hundreds of miles away.
• I'm also blessed to have great in-laws too. They have such wonderful insight into the things we are going through because they've been there too. Not to mention that they are willing to do anything for us on a moment's notice. Mike's siblings are fabulous too and I consider them my own and am so blessed to have such a great relationship with them even though we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like. Thank goodness for Facebook, Blogs, and FaceTime!
• In the same way, I'm also very blessed to have such a wonderful AF family. These ladies would do anything for another spouse without question. They drop everything to help you out in a bind. It's truly like having a bunch of sisters living right next door. The best part is that no matter where we are stationed there are always friendly and familiar faces to make you feel welcome. 

I could seriously go on and on, but I think you get the idea. When you're feeling down in the dumps I hope you too can take a step back and count your many blessings. Please join me in praying for the Gruenther family and all those who've lost a loved one. Life is so short and so precious and should never be taken for granted!