Taking it day by day

Already, another month has flown by and it’s almost October. Since Jeff returned in July our lives have been on somewhat on hold in more ways than one. We’re waiting to find out where his Army career will take us next (could be AZ for another 1-3 years, but we’re just not sure yet.) October should be the month when we find out, but I hate not knowing. Like my friend Lexie said to me the other day “and you’re such a planner so this is so hard, right?!” Yep! I constantly have to remind myself to calm down.

I’m still working part time at Gold Canyon and it’s sometimes stressful even as PT (“part time” = still produce full time work!), but again I try to remind myself I have a pretty decent arrangement with some days working from home, a good boss and work I *usually* enjoy. Depending on where Jeff’s job takes him, I could be a SAHM someday soon, but we’ll see! *Then* I will have time for more of these writing projects I mentioned.

Since I’m like any typical mom, I still feel guilty when I’m not with Andrew and then when I don’t get a break, I get crabby! BUT, I still count my blessings and realize I’ve got the best of both worlds right now—time in the adult world AND plenty of time with my favorite little man. I do get worried he’s not getting enough time with other kids though. He still goes to his in-home day care at least one day a week lately while Jeff is busy with Army/job-hunting responsibilities and I’m working….but we’ve also started attending some functions with a mommy group. Play dates, pool/splash pad and some moms only stuff, too! It’s nice to hang out with some other moms and see Andrew playing with kids his own age.

Andrew has been having lots of fun having Jeff home. When he goes back to work, he’s going to be surprised at how much he’s NOT here—since he’s here all the time now! They do so well together, but I think someone’s a bit over-protective! ;-) To be expected from Dad AND Jeff. :-)

Here’s some of what we’ve been up to…

Love that face.

Spotting the planes every time.

Buddies.

Does every kid do this? I swear they do.

New table and chairs from our IKEA trip.

Daddy bought him Perry from Phineas and Ferb, but it was really just for Daddy :-)

He says "CHEESE" now when we take a photo!

What a sweetheart.

You would have thought we were spinning, but no...

We better savor this quality time we're getting with Daddy while it lasts!

Time to Play Catch-Up

Time to play catch-up…I wanted to share with you all the blog I wrote that I mentioned last month. “Amazing Gifts – God’s Surprising Timing”

And also share photos from our trip to Illinois to see our friends and family. So much fun! More photos here.

At the zoo with my mom and sister.

PHX at 5 a.m. Still smiling!

Peoria Zoo

With my sister, Aunt Beth

Uncle Bryson is so fun!

With my friend Melissa's new baby Miles!

Who looks scared here?!

So Behind!

I just had to blog to everyone that I am sooooo behind and haven't been on Blogger in a LONG time. Since Jeff got home, I've been on FB a bit and that's it!

I am behind in reading a lot of your entries, so that's why you haven't seen responses from me lately :-) Can't wait to catch up later today...

It's time to get back to writing/blogging. I am trying to make time to write for another blog as well. I was asked to write for the Faith Deployed blog as well as Wives in Bloom so I really need to sit down and make some time for all this! I entered a writing contest for the Faith Deployed blog and won 3rd place so I have one entry on there already, so that's where the Wives in Bloom request came from. I'll blog more about this later!

It's Finally Over

This deployment is finally over and we're picking up Jeff at the airport tomorrow afternoon! I cannot believe it's FINALLY here. I can't believe it's been a month since I posted too. Probably because I have been so busy thinking about Jeff coming home and just trying to make the time go by faster. Also, my aunt (mom's sister) passed away a few weeks ago from cancer that had come back. She went into the hospital with pain and was gone within two weeks--so sudden and hard for my mom and her daughters to comprehend. Tomorrow is the visitation in Morton. At the same time tomorrow we'll be welcoming Jeff home in Arizona as my family says goodbye to Aunt Judy. Such is life with its many ups and downs and it's time for the next chapter in our lives. I am definitely ready to see what is to come!

 

Sea Life Arizona

Look! We're in a fish bowl!

Andrew had his first experience at an aquarium on Monday and he had a good time checking out all the fish and other fun stuff there. We met up with a few moms and kids from the mommy group I've gotten involved with and well, it wasn't Chicago's Shedd Aquarium or anything, but it was cute and pretty fun for both of us. The kids liked the light-up floor at the end the best!

Mommy accidentally blinded this fish with her flash.

Andrew and his new friend Hildon.

What Would You Do?

Have I ever told you how much I hate the post office? I think loathe is a better word. I thought it was just the employees, but apparently it's the customers, too. It’s sad. I’m losing faith in our society lately.

Anyway, I didn't know I was picking up a huge box Jeff had sent from Egypt so they say they have to wheel it out on a dolly. Meanwhile I’m still thinking I can probably push it while holding Andrew or having him walk. BUT, it’s even bigger than I thought! It was actually one of those “lockers” as Jeff calls it.

So, I'm standing there holding the baby going hmmm...don't think I can do this, “can someone help me out to my car?” “Nope—everyone's on lunch”, says the super rude government employee. Mmmkay...I turn around to face the 5+ people in line thinking about what I should do, hoping someone might offer to help. Nope.

I can't come back, so I desperately ask the guy closest to me in line if he would mind helping when he’s done. He says sure. Now, geesh—was that so hard, dude? He was totally nice about it, but deep down it seemed like he was saying “Dang it! Why did I have to be the one?”

Oh and don’t you worry—I told him where the box was coming from and that my husband had been gone a year, so I hope you felt bad about yourself mister!

I mean, really people? I’m sorry, but if that was me in line, I would have been jumping to help. I hope those people don’t get caught on that show “What Would You Do?” They would fail their social morality test for sure!

Thank you for reading because I just had to get that out! I should know better, it IS the post office after all…"Hello, Newman!"

1-Year Photos - Finally!

I finally got around to doing Andrew's 1-year photos...over a month late, but they still turned out great so I'm not complaining! Thanks again to Kristin Merwin and her mad photography skills ;-)

Here is my fave so far. Click here to visit Kristin's site where you can see some more.