Fort Hood, Texas

Yesterday there were 13 people killed and another 30 more injured. This happened here, in our community, our home. My husband was on post at the time this occurred and until he called, after 5pm, I wasn't completely sure if he was safe or not. Everyone here is trying to make sense of what went wrong. Is there anything that could have been done to prevent this? Is there anything that CAN be done to prevent things like this from happening again? One thing that we have to remember, as we think about this terrible event, is that this was one of our own. Regardless of his race, religion, or name... this was a fellow soldier. How do you protect yourself from one of your own?
I found out about the shootings at 2pm. Listening to the radio, on my way to pick up our 4 year old son from preschool. I don't think reality sank in until I got to the school and it was on lock down. I sat there, on a bench, in disbelief. Standing around me were many other parents talking about it all. I just sat, listened, and tried to fight back the tears. The moment I saw my son's sweet, innocent smile, the tears began to flow. I saw that face, and all I could think was.... some sweet child just lost their mommy or daddy.
My heart goes out to the families who have have a loved one who was lost or injured yesterday.

Pumpkin Patch

It was suppose to be almost 80 degrees. Too warm to sit inside and waste the day away. So we decided to take full advantage of it and headed to the pumpkin patch. For those of you who live in central Texas, you MUST visit the Silo Christmas Tree Farm and Pumpkin Patch. It was one of the best I've ever been to. The kids loved it! They had hay rides, train rides, pony rides, a maze, pumpkin painting, water races, a petting zoo, and the best part of all... freshly grilled burgers! We had such a great time.

Finally Got It Back

I'm so happy to announce that I finally have my camera back! A sensor had gone out in the power switch soooo... I had to mail it to the repair center to be fixed. It seemed like forever but my beloved camera has finally made her way back home.
I took this picture, of my 4 year old son, playing basketball in our driveway. He really is pretty good!

Moving Forward

September was a busy month. There were birthdays, packing, unpacking, remodeling, and decorating the new house. It seems the last month has been one full of change and with that change comes a feeling of loss.
Both of my boys have their birthday in September. On each of their special days all I could think about was that it wouldn't always be like this. Before we know it, they won't want to hang with dear old mom and dad on their birthday. Soon it will be all about their friends. Soon after, it will be about girls, cars, and "getting out of this town." I realized that each birthday is another year closer I am to facing the day that my little boys leave home. sniff sniff So as we celebrated with cake and ice cream, presents, and songs. I made sure that I held on to this memory because a part of me realizes that it won't be like this for long.
The month of September also brought us something else to celebrate. We bought our first home. With this came the packing, unpacking, painting, and more. Though we are thrilled to finally be home owners, it was a bitter sweet goodbye I said to the other house. Our little rental that the kids and I lived in, while James was deployed, stores a lot of memories. It was in that house that I had to find the strength to do things alone. It was in that house, that a new part of me was born. I felt a little sad as I took one last look out the kitchen window because that is where I would often stand and watch the boys play in the backyard. I can hear their laughter echo in my mind. Yes, I will miss that run down old rental.... but I smile at the thought of all the new memories we are about to start making in OUR home. I look back and see all that we accomplished in the past 2 years and I know that this is going to be amazing.
So I guess it's time to move forward.... but I will always look back.... because behind me are some of the most beautiful memories and if I don't take the time to relive them.... they could be lost forever. I hope that each day we may all hear the echos of laughter from our past.

Water Park Pictures

Yesterday, we took the boys to the water park. We had such a great time together. I took a couple of pictures and wanted to share with you all. These were taken with my husband's camera as mine is currently in in the shop. :(

The Ugly Truth

The air is filled with the sound of cheers and a marching band. A young and beautiful woman is pushing through the crowd, desperately searching for her love. All the while, he's doing the same thing. It seems as though the search will go on forever when suddenly, they lock eyes. At that very moment, all the noise that filled the air, is replaced with the sound of a symphony. With their eyes locked on one another, the handsome soldier and beautiful young woman walk towards each other and she is now in his arms. As they begin to kiss, a soft breeze begins to blow, gently pushing her hair away from her face. Ahhhh... I do love a good romantic story.
As you know, my husband recently returned home from a 14 month deployment to Iraq. He came home on his mid-tour leave in October, then it was another 10 months before we saw him again. As it got closer for his return, I often thought about his homecoming and how it would be. Being a hopeless romantic, I always thought about the paragraph above. I have since discovered the ugly truth.
I had been tearing up all morning, my face was swollen, my stomach was in knots, I was going to the bathroom every 5 minutes, and to top things off I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack.
Looking around the gym, you could clearly tell you were sitting in a room full of sexually deprived women. Honestly, the first two things that come to your mind after not seeing your husband for 10 months are sex and a break from the kids. Just being honest here. ;0)
After what seemed like an eternity, the moment was finally here. Our husbands, sons, daddies, and grandsons came running into the gym! - and there they stood.
It was now time for the moment I had been thinking about for so long. Other people rushed down to the center of the gym. I stood on the bleachers unable to go down, holding my 1 year old with one hand and my 3 year old's hand with the other. Crying, I watched as my husband made his way towards us. My nose began to run and before I could do anything about it he was standing in front of me. Forgetting that I had told him to grab the kids first, just in case I fainted, I leaned in for a kiss... just as he bent down to pick up our 3 year old. He then stood up and received the most disgusting kiss a person could imagine. Two words, snot and tears.
So my friends, just a friendly reminder that a fantasy is always nice but sooner or later you will experience the ugly truth.

Welcome Home Troops!!!

Meet Barley

Hey all! I know it's been a while. Things have been crazy around here. We've got about 2 weeks until my amazing husband returns from Iraq and I've been very busy trying to get everything ready for him. One of the things that was on my list was to find a second family dog.
We have a Beagle who is just the sweetest little girl. She's very quiet and afraid of everything! So we decided that we needed a bigger dog who was a bit more "intimidating" to balance things in our household. :o)
We decided on a German Shepherd. His name is Barley and he's 7 weeks old.