The Beach

As soon as we woke up at Aunt Sharon's, Kaitlyn was itching to get down to the beach. We walked down and Kaity took her shoes off and bolted for the water. She was not even fazed by the brisk Pacific water. We were excited to see the tide pools that were exposed by the low tide this visit. Despite all of the times we have been here to visit, we have never seen the tide pools. It was really cool to see them and to watch the kids explore them. We didn't find anything good in them, but it was still pretty cool. Check out all of our pictures through the link to the right.
Ryan, and his slow to warm up self, still cries when he gets to the beach. After about 15 minutes, he was finally interested in getting down and exploring. Once down on the beach, he didn't slow down! Fortunately, he was hesitant around the big tide pools and didn't want to get too close without one of us. Kaity on the other hand, was running in and out of the surf, hopping over the tide pools, and wading through the deeper pools. They had a blast!

California

We decided to take a trip to visit Aunt Sharon (Kim's sister) while the rest of the Shooters were enjoying a couple of weeks off after returning from their deployment. We left Sumter Wednesday morning and after a VERY long day of traveling (a drive to Raleigh Durham, changing planes in Nashville, and a four hour fight (I mean flight) with an over tired baby boy) by myself with both kids, we arrived in San Diego to smiling faces and a big belly. My sister is 5 1/2 months pregnant and as cute as a button. It makes me miss being pregnant! The kids adjusted right away to California time, waking up only an hour earlier than at home (6:30-7:00 here), which was a huge blessing and an even bigger relief. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn spiked a 102 degree temp our first day here and both kids have a little bit of a cough and head cold. Kaity seemed to be feeling better, but spiked a 103 degree temp today. Another little damper on our day has been cold, wet weather. It has rained (and even hailed) much of the time we have been here. Fortunately our first day was sunny and there have been pockets of sun and, even with the rain, the weather is so much nicer than what we left. The temps were in the 20's when we left and there was snow on the ground just north of Sumter. Even with the rainy weather and sick kids (and a mommy who is fighting the sick fight) we are still having a great visit. We are even thinking of extending our visit if we can find someone to check on the pup. If not, we only have a few days left. Hopefully both kids will wake up healthy in the morning and the rain will stop so we can enjoy the famous San Diego weather!

Bill's Intro to the ROK

I made it safely to Korea. My trip started in Atlanta on a Saturday morning and ended at 1:00 AM Monday morning. Although my 14-hour flight was packed and I was stuck in the middle, each seat had its own screen with on-demand movies and music. I think I watched 3 or 4 movies before I'd passed Alaska. Upon my arrival, several Juvats (new squadron's name) met me at the bus with a drink and a fighter pilot song. I am sure there will be lots more of both throughout my time here!

Skype has been a great means of our family staying connected, although there has been some getting adjusted to the time differences. Kaity is enthralled with the idea of eating dinner while I am having breakfast on the next day! Not to be left out, Ryan has quickly warmed up to talking to me on the computer as well. He's still not "talking" much, but we give "High fives" and "pounds" to each other through the webcam. It is really just great to see their smiling faces and hear their voices, not screams or whines.

I am slowly getting settled in both at home and work. The squadron here is great and living in a dorm with the people you work with creates a very tight knit group. I'll write more later, but I wanted to get my first blog out of the way.

Leaving for Korea

Well, I stand corrected. Back in September I said that the hardest thing I have ever had to do was to send my husband off to war. Even knowing that we would be facing this challenge a few short months later, I still thought that would be worse because of where he was going and because we would be able to visit him in Korea. I was SO wrong! While the time leading up to Bill leaving for Korea was easier, dropping him off at the airport was THE hardest thing I have ever had to do. My family's heart was breaking and there was NOTHING I could do to make it better.

Kaity helping Bill with his bags in the check in line (I missed the really cute part).

We enjoyed the short period of time we had together that morning and everyone was doing really well. Until we got to the airport and Kaity started asking questions with tears in her eyes. How do you explain to a four year old why her daddy has to leave for so long? She helped him with his bags (super cute, but I was a bit late with the camera and missed their interaction) and after he got them checked in, we started to say our goodbyes. Kaitlyn did so well, emotionally speaking, with Bill deploying, so we were not prepared for her response to this move (I can't really call it a trip). It is so hard to be strong when your child's heart is breaking. She was so upset and just kept asking for tissues, which was kind of cute and grown up and made us smile a little, through our tears. She cried all the way to security where we said our good-byes and left Bill to be on his way. We opted not to get gate passes, since there was not really enough time to wait in line again through Delta (Korean Air doesn't give them at their counters for future reference) and we also feared that dragging it out would be so much harder on us all.

Bill and Kaity awaiting check in.

It turned out to be a good choice. After saying good-bye Kaitlyn turned hysterical. We couldn't even make it to the car. We got as far as check in when she said she just wanted to sit down. She was sobbing so hard, she couldn't even walk. We sat down on the floor of the airport and just cried together. What do you say? I knew there was nothing I could do but comfort her. She hit the nail on the head while I was trying to comfort her. I was telling her that we had just had a really great couple of months together and that we have had so much fun the past few days hanging out as a family. Really just trying to say something that would get her to focus on the happiness instead of the sorrow. Her response..."Well it just isn't fun right now!" What do you say to that? I absolutely agreed. My response..."You're right, right now it just sucks." I know that you aren't supposed to use that language with a four year old, but that was just how it was. It seemed to be the only thing that fit. She responded with, "Yeah, it's really bad." Fortunately, Ryan was oblivious and was just hanging out in his stroller. That made my job a bit easier and I could just focus on her. I have no idea how much time passed, but Kaity finally said she was ready to go home. I was relieved to get to the privacy of our car.

We got to the car and prayed for Daddy, for the safety of our family, and asked the Lord to provide us all with some much needed strength and comfort. Through our tears I thanked Him for this challenge he has given our family and we asked for His help to get us through it. And I truly believe He will.

Saying good-bye at security. Ryan's blowing Daddy a kiss good-bye.

After a few hours Kaity seemed to be doing better, and I had a 4 1/2 hour drive home. Many thanks to my dad who added me to his Audible account and to Bill for my ipod. Listening to books on the way home while the kids watched movies was a huge distraction for all of us. Bill definitely had the worst end of the stick on this one. We all left him and were going back home to our house to get on with our already established lives. While it was heartbreaking to walk through the door of our home and know that he probably wouldn't be back before we sell or rent it, we still had church, school, dance, friends, and each other to get us through. He, on the other hand, left all of us to board a plane for a 14 hour flight, alone with just his thoughts, and start a new life for himself 7,000 miles away.

Bill left the States on Saturday, January 17th and arrived to Kunsan, Korea very early in the morning on Monday the 19th. He had welcoming arms and some familiar, smiling faces to greet him at a stop in Osan (many thanks to Tess for meeting him and lifting his spirits) and at his final destination in Kunsan (also a ton of thanks to Chad for setting everything up and making his transition easier). We are all settling into a routine and are adjusting to the new normal. Most days get easier, but it does feel a little like two steps forward, one step back at times. Bill got internet in his room last week and the communication has been wonderful. Both of the kids are really cute with it, but I will write more about that (and other fun stuff) later.

Atlanta

We drove to Atlanta on Thursday looking forward to spend a couple of fun days as a family without the distractions of home before sending Bill off to Korea. We had a great time together enjoying each other as a family. Thursday evening we went to the American Girl store with Kaity and she had a great time looking at all of the dolls and their accessories then we walked over to the Cheesecake Factory and had a great dinner sampling a variety of items off the bar menu. We tried some new things and enjoyed some old favorites. Then we were off to check into our hotel for two nights near the airport.

Wow!

We woke up the next day to a very brisk 15 degree morning. I had no idea Atlanta got THAT cold. It was FREEZING, but refreshing all the same. We had a great breakfast at the hotel and headed to the Georgia Aquarium. Kaity had a great time with the touch pools and touched some rays, starfish, and sea anemone. Ryan was very hesitant to even go near the touch pools, but warmed up to them a little. He was torn between touching and being too scared to touch. He opted to point instead. Both kids really enjoyed the exhibits, especially the beluga whale exhibit and Ryan kept running up to the exhibits pointing and saying wow, which is either a new word for him or I finally just figured it out (most likely the case with him). He also started saying (and doing) the Gator chomp at the alligator tank (and the beluga whale tank, but we'll keep that on the down low). :)

Kaity was full of great questions, like how do belugas sleep and how long can they hold their breath. We all learned something new. A beluga's brain can't shut down and breathe at the same time, so they sleep with half their brain at a time. The right side shuts down to sleep and the left stays awake so the whale can breathe and vise versa. The only way to tell that they are asleep by looking at them is that they have one eye shut. Cool huh? They can hold their breath for 20-25 minutes. Not nearly as cool, but something new we learned.Holding our breath like beluga whales.
"I'm a hammerhead!" Ryan was one too, but too quick for pictures.

We went back to the hotel and took late naps, woke up refreshed, and headed down to the Manager's Reception. To keep it simple, stress free, and enjoyable, we ordered take out and had dinner at the hotel. It was a great decision! We brought wine back up to the room, got the kids bathed and ready for bed and put Ryan to bed. Then Bill, Kaity, and I played go fish. Kaity loved playing a big kid game and we enjoyed the time with her. After a couple few rounds, we put her to bed as well and enjoyed a quiet evening together drinking wine and playing rummy. It was a great, tear free way to spend our last couple of days together.

American Boy

We are travelling to Atlanta today to spend some family time having a little fun before dropping Bill off at the Airport for his year long remote to Korea on Saturday. One of the fun things on our list is to take Kaitlyn to the American Girl store. She is really into the babies. We just stopped at a rest area a little while back and took turns running in so we wouldn't have take Ryan out of the car. Bill left first and I stayed in the car while Kaity put her shoes on. Kaity asked where Bill went, then quickly answered her own question. Maybe he went to the American Boy store. Too cute!

Welcome Home

Well, I figure that I should probably blog our deployment reunion before we send Bill off on his remote or we may confuse people. Bill went to Iraq for two months this fall with his squadron. We were quite fortunate that he was able to return just before Thanksgiving and that we had the whole holiday season together as a family before he had to report to Korea. I had this grand and glorious vision of a picture perfect reunion. That was SO not what happened. A week and a half before Bill returned home I drove to Florida to see my parents and grandparents, because I wasn't sure when I was going to see them again. When I got word that Bill was on the way back to the states, I loaded up the kids, the dog, and the car and headed back to South Carolina. I returned home to a broken refrigerator and freezer and spoiled, yet fortunately not stinky, food.
I woke up to Bill's phone call at 5 saying he was back in the states and that his flight would be arriving around 11:00, six or seven hours earlier than expected! Too excited to sleep, I started getting the house ready and daydreamed about our long awaited reunion over a hot cup of coffee. I had it all planned out! A couple of hours later I get a message on my cell phone that Bill's flight was delayed due to a mechanical issue and they were awaiting a part which would be arriving on another plane sometime later in the day. Bill didn't know when he would be getting in. To make matters worse, Cingular screwed up and Bill's cell phone wasn't working and there was nothing they could do to fix it that day. Leaving us with no way to communicate regarding his arrival. GRRRR!!!
Meanwhile, I called the repair guy and got that scheduled. Around 1:30 or 2:00 I get a call from Bill saying he is at the Columbia airport and could I come pick him up. That was an hour away and the repair man was at my house fixing the fridge and the kids and I weren't even ready for the day. Yikes! SO not what I was daydreaming about. I got the kids ready and hung the sign that was supposed to be held by us at the airport when he came through the gate on our garage door, paid the repair man, jumped in the shower, and drove (probably a shade too fast) to the airport to pick him up.

We were so excited to see each other! Ryan couldn't take his eyes off of his daddy and Kaity wouldn't let him put her down. He carried both kids all the way to the car. Even after the three day journey home from the desert, Bill was beaming. Exhausted, but beaming. There have only been a few times I have ever seen him so happy, and those had to do with marriage and babies! So, even though the reunion was not ANYTHING like I had envisioned, it was so incredible to actually be reunited that no one even really cared (except me maybe just a tad) and we had a very quiet and extremely enjoyable Thanksgiving where we were especially thankful for the opportunity to be together as a family. It was a blissful reunion, that fortunately went so very smoothly and didn't have any of the hiccups we were told to expect. Another thing to praise God for! Such HAPPY guys!

We are so thankful to have had a wonderful opportunity to spend the past eight weeks as a family and have had a lot of fun and have spent a lot of great quality time together. These are the times that make being apart bearable. Knowing that we be reunited and that the time apart will make us not only a stronger family, but also a family more appreciative of the time they have been given to enjoy together.

Bill...on a stick.

Bill returned a couple of months earlier than the rest of the squadron since he was going to Korea. Well, turns out those guys are missing him and having a little fun (and making a little fun we are sure) pretending he is there. Bill celebrated Christmas with them, grilled out with them, and was even in a group picture. Here is (drum roll please)Bill...on a stick!

Bill's Fini Flight

Bill's last flight at Shaw

Bill had his last flight at Shaw today and had initially thought that he didn't want to make a big deal about it. He just felt like it wouldn't be the same without all his bro's there and just being attached to a different squadron. We were talking last night and it came up that this might be the only time we would be able to be there for one of his Viper fini flights and I told him again, that if he wanted us there we would be there. This morning on his way out the door he told me that he thought he may want to order pizzas and have us come up if we could. Of course we could! So we scrambled to get things in order and do a few extras. After I picked Kaity up from school (and tracked down a picture), I started the process. Knowing how much it would mean to him if the rest of the squadron could be there, I decided to print a picture of the guys that was recently taken in Iraq. It turned into me getting it blown up, mounted, and laminated. It wasn't the same, but it was still fun.

Kelso's crew and the Shooters celebrating the fini.

We brought the guys to the fini, had them hanging out while we were eating pizza, and had them drinking at the bar.
One of the funniest things is that we were actually ready, out the door, German Chocolate cake (Bill's fav) made, cookies made, and pizzas picked up, and at the squadron EARLY. By 20 minutes. Bill landed 45 minutes early. I know! Not quite what we had envisioned (like the deployment reunion, which I will blog before he leaves again), but they wouldn't let him shut down his jet before we all got out there, so we missed the taxi, but that's okay, it worked out.

Bill's legs are taped so he can't run away. If our squadron would have been here, he would have also been taped to the ladder in the background. He was glad he didn't have to go through that, but it would have been worth it to have his bro's there.

We have some cute pictures of Kaity hosing Bill down at his fini flight at Laughlin when she was 15 months old and thought Ryan would be all over it, especially with his love of inappropriate uses of water, but he just stood back, took it all in, and let Kaity do all the work.

Not only did she hose her daddy, but she also sprayed some innocent bystanders. Ooops! Bill was very thankful that we made a big deal out of it and also that we thought to include his bro's the only way that we could.

Us with the VERY MISSED Shooter guys (and out of town gals). Thanks for the ride! We will miss you dearly friends.

The Power of Advertising

I just sat down in the living room with the kids and thought I would blog quickly about Ryan and our trip to the park yesterday while the kids ate their snack and watched a little bit of a show. I had just got them settled and logged on when Kaity engages me in conversation.

Kaity: Mom, do we have ly-salt?
Me: Ly-salt?
Kaity: Yes, ly-salt...do we have it?
Me: Do you mean Ly-sol?
Kaity: Yes (in a very excited voice).
Me: Yes, we have something like that. Those are the wipes we use in the bathroom (of course we use the Costco brand), why?
Kaity: Because I can make a mess with sugar and you can clean it up with Lysol.

Ahhh, the power of advertising.

This brings up another sweet and funny moment we shared through advertising when Kaity was two and I was pregnant with Ryan.

Kaity and I were shopping at Target and I was just aimlessly chatting with her as we were walking through the baby section when something we passed grabbed her attention. She told me we needed to pick up some Johnson's so her baby brother could sleep better when he was born. The week before we had been watching tv and a commercial for Johnson and Johnson Lavender baby wash had come on, informing the viewers (my daughter apparently) that if you bathe your child in that wash it would help the baby sleep better. Well, the advertising worked, because a week later when she spied it on a shelf at the store she remembered the commercial and told me her brother would need that. She is a thoughtful girl!

I just recalled another advertising moment and thought I would write this one down too. On the weekends Bill will watch have the news on while we are getting up and around and there is an infomercial (I know, even worse) trying to sell a blanket with sleeves. This contraption is called a Snuggie. One morning last weekend we were all hanging out and I told Kaity I was going to get my robe because I was cold and she told me that I needed a Snuggie. Because then I could be all wrapped up in a blanket, but my arms could be free, but still warm. :)

Happy New Year!!!

 

We rang in the New Year with Bill's sister, Teresa, and her family. We wrapped up the six day visit enjoying drinks, spades, and each others' company. It was a great trip with many adventures. You will want to check back and catch up on our adventures with a cabin in the mountains...you will be laughing out loud! I will try to get it blogged soon.

 

As we wrap up the old and start with the new, I find that I am having a huge internal battle that started when Bill was deployed and is only getting worse as he is getting ready to leave again. A huge part of me just wants to skip 2009 because we will not be together as a family and know it will be a very difficult year. I joke that I am ready to ring in 2010! I am torn because I want this year to go by fast, so that we can all be reunited again, but I don't want to wish away the time that I have with my children at this age. I know that time already goes so fast and I really don't want to miss a thing. I feel like as adults Bill and I don't really change too much, but the kids...that is a totally different story. The bottom line is, even though I struggle with wanting time to speed up while we are apart, I truly am looking forward to ALL of the adventures that 2009 will be bringing our family, both together and apart. It will be a memorable year for sure and will make 2010 that much sweeter. We wish you and yours a Happy, Healthy, and very Blessed New Year!

Merry Christmas

We enjoyed a wonderfully quiet Christmas just the four of us. In fact, we even stayed in our pajamas and played all day long. It was fantastic. The kids were a lot of fun this year and played with their toys all day. We really delighted in having young children on Christmas morning, and tried not to get too wrapped up in the Santa and the presents, but that is so hard with the excitement of giving and the joy on the children's faces. In order to keep the meaning of Christmas in our home we have a couple of traditions. When Kaity was a baby, a very dear friend told me about a tradition someone she knows does with their family and I thought it was a great idea for our family. On the very first Christmas, baby Jesus was presented with three gifts from the wise men. Now, each Christmas our children are given three gifts by us. Before we let the kids open presents they (really just Kaity for now) have to tell us why they get three presents from us. This has worked out really well. First, Kaity can tell you why we celebrate Christmas and can tell the story of the wise men and it is meaningful to her. The second, is that it keeps Christmas under control. I love giving people gifts and seeing the happiness on their faces, so I tend to want to go crazy even if we can't afford it. :D Our next tradition, which we stared this year, is to bake a birthday cake or cupcakes to celebrate the birth of Christ, because, after all, it is His birthday. Hope you all had an enjoyable day and made some wonderful memories!

My Favorite Girl

We have the sweetest kids. Yesterday I was upstairs and Kaity came up to give me love. She gave me a huge hug and kiss and then a funny conversation ensued.

Kaity: I love you Mommy.
Mommy: I love you too. (big hug) I love you SO MUCH. Did you know that you are my favorite girl?
Kaity (with a twinkle in her eye): No. If you have another baby she will be your favorite girl.
Mommy: You're right. Mommy would have two favorite girls.
Kaity: You could have two babies one more of each and then you would have two favorite girls and two favorite boys.
Mommy: Four babies, huh?
Kaity: Yes you would have four babies and I would help you take care of some of them.

We snuggle a little more and then go downstairs to relay the conversation to Bill, who thinks he is done having kids (we have tabled this conversation until we get our next assignment since we are not on the same page).
We have had this conversation many times recently with Kaity, though this is the first time she has thrown down with a reasonable number (usually she says she wants 20 more babies). I have told her that she would probably have to share her room and she says she is totally fine with that.
We go through all the sacrifices she would go through in our next conversation. She said she would share her room and that it would be okay that she wouldn't have mommy or daddy at some of her games or recitals, and that there would be less time with just mommy and daddy. She said that it would be worth the sacrifice to have more brothers and sisters. The proof is in the pudding and only time will tell, but we now have record of the conversation.

Our Christmas Letter

Season’s Greetings from the South
Wow! What a year we have had. It has been a bit of a whirlwind for us, and even though we say this every year, we have no idea where the year went. This is a little long, we are making up for last year, so grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and catch up with us.
We started out the year visiting some of our favorite characters at Disney World. Bill’s parents gave the kids and grandkids 3 day park hopper passes for Christmas. When we turned them in for tickets the theme parks were running a special for an extra day free. So, I drove down again with the kids in May for a quick visit and Bill met up with us on his way home from one of the many TDYs he was on. We got to visit all of the favorite characters that we missed the first time, and even had breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, and the rest of the gang. Ryan was a trooper and Kaity was at the perfect age to enjoy the park. We had so much fun!
Bill has made a lot of professional advances this year. He finished the 4 FLUG (4 ship Flight Lead Upgrade) and became one of the Flight Commanders for his squadron in February. He continues to maintain a 4.0 in his Master’s courses and is currently meeting his Major boards. Bill has been gone this year more than he has been home it seems. The Ops tempo here at Shaw picked up last fall and continued going strong with training TDYs (where he goes somewhere else to work). Beginning last October, he escaped (I mean had to go) to Las Vegas, the Florida Panhandle, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Alaska, and back to Las Vegas (I know…again!) where he helped to support the Weapon’s School pilots and got to play war games and practice some of the things that they can’t practice while at home. Totally cush, I know…but by the end, they were all a bit worn out. He finished up the year with a deployment to Iraq with his squadron. We are incredibly blessed that he was able to make it home by Thanksgiving, about two months earlier than the others, but it is bittersweet because he is getting ready to leave again after the holidays for a really long time, but I digress. More about that later. Despite his CRAZY work schedule and his even CRAZIER TDY schedule, Bill has always made time for the kids and I and we never felt that he didn’t meet our needs. Frustrated…absolutely, but never neglected. This year has continued to remind us how precious family time is and has taught us to be creative when balancing family time with working and studying at home. We are so proud of him, the role he plays in protecting our freedom, and the husband, father, and man that he is.
Kim has been busy holding down the fort while Bill has been away, but has still made time for friends, family, fun, and a bit of work. The bow business is going fairly well and she began selling to some local boutiques this year. She is so thankful to be involved with such a great group of gals in the squadron, especially since they all get together so often to make the TDYs and Deployment not only bearable, but a bit of fun. The distraction for the ladies and the children is most welcome. They get together for fun girl stuff quite frequently which makes the time pass quickly.
Now for the stars of the family. Kaitlyn, who is 4 ½ going on 15 at times, started 5 day a week preschool this fall and goes from 9-12. Mom is still not a fan of her going every day, but thinks it is good practice for next year when she sends her baby to Kindergarten. Kaity is a social girl, who makes friends easily and whose teachers find her a joy to be around, so it really is a good fit for her. Kaity is maturing every day and can put a smile on our faces in a heartbeat. She is a sweet and funny girl who is quickly becoming her own person. She also became involved in dance and gymnastics this summer and continued dance (we made her choose one thing) this fall. She is really enjoying it and we have been able to see some small performances and are looking forward to the big recital in the spring. Kaitlyn still loves books and has started to read on her own. It has always been fun to listen to her “read” stories from memory, but is so cool to listen to her sound words out now as well. We have discovered that our spelling days are over, as she has figured out many of the words we try to spell when we don’t want her to know what we are talking about. I guess we will have to move on to Pig Latin. Kaity is still an awesome big sister, and although there is a lot of fighting over toys, she is so sweet to Ryan and always wants to love on him and play with him. They make each other laugh all of the time and are truly best buds.
Ryan has gone from a baby to a boy seemingly overnight. He really is still a baby, but it shocks us how much he grows every day. He is nearly 18 months and is quite possibly the sweetest, most loving little boy we have ever met. Which is a really good thing, because he is also one of the busiest. Our boy who we once called “baby chill” is anything but. He is into EVERYTHING! Ryan is constantly doling out kisses and hugs and when he sees us sitting on the couch or the floor runs up for a quick snuggle and some kisses. He charms the ladies already! Mommy was worried because he was never interested in books at all, but recently has fallen in love with them and anytime we sit on the floor, he runs and gets a book and backs up into our laps so we will read to him. It is the only time he is still! He has hit many milestones this year, from crawling, to running (he seemed to skip walking), climbing, and talking. Ryan has quite a few words, though many are hard to understand. It is so funny how different two children can be. Kaity was speaking in clear, few word sentences at his age and his only clear words, are mama, dada, Kaity, JD (for any dog that he sees or hears), vroom, and train. We aren’t worried though. He knows what he is saying and talking will be like walking was for him. It took him a while, but once he got it, he didn’t slow down. Ryan adores his big sister. He looks for her when he wakes up and when she is at school. He follows her around wherever she goes and wants to do whatever she does and have what she has. The quintessential little brother. She eats it up most of the time, though. They both bring so much joy, love, and laughter to our lives. The Lord has blessed us!
As we wrap up this letter we ask for your prayers for our family as we encounter the greatest challenge we have had to face as a family. This recent deployment was tough on us, but all four of us handled it pretty well. The reason Bill came home before the rest of his squadron is because he had an unexpected assignment handed down this summer. Though unexpected in timing, we knew we would probably have to face this at some point in his Air Force career. Bill is to report in January to Kunsan, Korea for an unaccompanied remote assignment. He is thankful that this flying assignment will keep him in the F-16 and has the potential to be great for his career, but we are heartbroken that our family will be separated for a year. Two months was hard and a year is a really long time, both in the eyes of small children and in the eyes of a daddy who will leave a baby and come home to a little boy and miss many milestones in both children’s lives. This year has been a good preparation for that, but not anywhere close to the same thing. Many things are uncertain about what comes next for the family, but of two things we are certain. The first is that we are committed to making this a positive thing for our family and our marriage. We have plans to see each other both with and without children and although many days will be difficult, we have a lot to look forward to and a lot to look back upon fondly. Fortunately, we have technology on our side, which should make it easier on the kids. The second is that Kim will be buying a lot more coffee and wine as a single parent for the next year. Buy stock now!
We joined the computer age this year as well and started a blog. Please stop in often and check out our blog where another family adventure usually awaits. Kim is getting better and better about blogging and posting pictures and you may even be surprised by a posting now and then done by the man of the house (or the Korean bachelor pad, as it will be). Our site is http://livelaughlovepcs.blogspot.com. We started this blog right after we found out about this assignment, so for those of you who don’t know how PCS fits in our blog address, it stands for Permanent Change of Station, which is quite ironic because nothing is ever permanent in the military. Bill didn’t want anything with our family name in it, so this made sense at the time. We hope you are all having a delightful holiday season and that health and happiness are abundant in your lives. Much love!
Bill, Kimberly, Kaitlyn, and Ryan

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Pictures

We have taken so many pictures in the past few days, the best way to see them and the captions explaining them is to click on the link in the top right had corner that leads to our Picasa photo gallery. Or just go straight to www.picasaweb.google.com/kaityry. Enjoy!

Christmas Traditions

One of the best things about marriage during the holidays is the holiday traditions that are brought to the table. One of our favorite traditions is one that Bill had growing up and that we have continued since we got married. Each person gets to open one present on Christmas Eve and it is always related to pajamas. That way, each person has a new pair of pjs to wear on Christmas morning. The kids loved their pjs and house shoes. Ryan's pjs were fire trucks and he is totally into the movie Cars, so we picked him up a pair of lined croc style house shoes in the shape of Lightning McQueen. Kaity's pj's were pink and green (of course) and she got a pair of Tinkerbell house shoes. Bill and I really didn't need pjs, so we both got some L.L. Bean scuffs and I got a little fleecy robe from Victoria's Secret.
My family always made pancakes on Christmas morning, so we let Kaity make the batter and we made snowmen pancakes for the kids.
We started our own family tradition this year, and it may be my favorite (or at least the most convenient) one yet. I decided that since we spend so much time in the kitchen on Christmas Eve and Christmas day and since there is so much to clean up and so much to do on Christmas Eve, why add to it. We ordered pizza from Papa John's and ate on paper plates! The kids were thrilled (pizza is still Kaitlyn's favorite food) and clean up was a snap. That will be one we're keeping.

Baking Goodies

This year was a lot of fun baking with Kaity. We made Oreo and cream cheese balls covered in white chocolate, buckeyes (which Kaity kept calling BUG eyes...gross!), spearmint and peppermint bark, peanut butter balls, and will soon make truffles and birthday cupcakes since today we are celebrating the birth of Jesus. We decided at the last minute not to make Santa cookies because he already had a ton of treats.

 

 

 

 

Trinity Day School Christmas Party

I was the mom in charge of the Christmas party, so I put Ryan in Parent's Morning Out for my own sanity and hung out in Kaity's classroom this morning. We had a lot of fun making reindeer food, playing Christmas bingo, eating yummy cupcakes, popcorn, and reindeer snacks (carrots and apples), and opening presents.

Tis the Season...

...for a marshmallow in your hat! That's right, not a typo. Bill had the great (but potentially dangerous) idea to roast marshmallows for s'mores in our fireplace. We told Kaity she could have hot chocolate and make s'mores since we had to leave the Festival of Lights before doing that because the kids, Ryan specifically, were beat. But first, she had to pick up her room which really just consisted of putting all of her books back on her shelf. After about ten minutes, I went to go check on her and she was fast asleep on the floor in her dress (again, why did we buy her a bed?). So, we put the hot chocolate in the freezer and the ingredients back in the pantry for another day.

 

The next night the three of us (we waited until Ry was in bed because having an open fire with a stumbly toddler is never a good idea) had a great time roasting marshmallows in the fireplace and making s'mores.

 

Now Kaity discovered a Santa hat and a jingle bell in our Christmas decorations Sunday afternoon and has hardly taken them off. You see where this is going. She wanted to wear them to school on Monday, so we let her wear the hat, but she had to leave the bell in the car. Remembering my teaching days, I thought we should spare her sweet teacher. Kaity was happy with the compromise.

 

Well, at pick up I was told that she kept playing with the marshmallow in her hat all day. My response was, "great, you guys had marshmallows for snack today - that's one of your favorites!" and, to Ms. Shannon "Sorry about the hat, but at least you didn't have the bell." See, I thought Ms. Shannon said the marshmallow and the hat. Turns out that our sweet sugar was saving a little something sweet in her hat for later (like, the next day!) and had been playing with it during preschool. Silly girl. Needless to say, I replaced the stale and germ laden marshmallow with a new one.

 

Children's Christmas Party

 

We are so glad we shelled out the ten bucks for the photo with the kids and Santa in Charleston because we thought our best pictures of the kids would be from this party. People we know taking great pictures, not as many people, hair done and cute holiday outfits on, you know the drill. Well, you know the saying about the best laid plans, right? They were laid to rest when Ryan puked all over the concrete in the parking lot as Bill was putting him in his stroller. That's right...we have another stomach bug! GRRRR! So, Bill cleaned up the baby and sat with him in the car watching Cars as I took Kaity to the party.

 

Santa flew in in an F-16 and handed out presents to the kids. All of the kids got a book and Kaity and Ryan got sweet little books about godly character. Kaity got I'd Be Your Princess and Ryan got I'd Be Your Hero. Santa did good, 'cuz these books are super cute! And something new for mom and dad to read to them. :)

 

Kaity had a great time bouncing in the bounce house, making a picture frame, decorating a cookie, and running around with her friends. I was bummed that Ryan missed out, but honestly I think Ryan was quite relieved to not have to see the dude in the red suit again...especially since Santa gave his gift to Kaity Mac to give to him. Don't forget to check our online album (click on the link to our pics on the right) to see the rest of our pictures.

Meeting Santa

 

Well, to say that Ryan wasn't impressed with Santa is a major understatement. Besides being incredibly overtired (a 45 minute nap down to Charleston and an hour past his bedtime), he is starting to be wary of us leaving him. As the parent of a second child, I handed him over anyway and laughed at his reaction while filming. It didn't last long though, because I felt too bad and rescued him from the jolly old soul. I then proceeded to take some video of Kaitlyn, who was very excited it was FINALLY her turn, telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas, only I couldn't hear over the crying her brother was doing in my arms because I was in the vicinity of the jolly man he will (hopefully) love next year. As you can imagine, all of the parents around us were laughing, most likely remmebering their child the previous year, and I could hardly see for the tears of laughter filling my eyes. Kaity never had this response to Santa as a baby, so I am glad I was able to capture Ryan's reaction. It will make a great story in years to come. The look on his face is priceless.

Holiday Festival of Lights

We took the kids down to Charleston Friday night to do The Festival of Lights again this year. It is such a great show. A three mile drive sporting an awesome lights show. Kaity's favorite was a great white shark that jumped out of the "water" with his jaws wide open. My favorite is the one with Rudolph measuring the chimney and the look of concern on both his and Santa's face because there is no way tubby Santa will fit. The thing that makes it so funny is that it is sponsored by Weight Watchers. We hope you enjoy all the pictures in the slideshow. All of the pictures after the sand sculpture were taken on the driving tour. Don't worry...no one was injured as I was taking photos through the sunroof, but I did get a little chilly. It was worth it!

We did half of the drive then parked and visited Santa's Village where we took a train ride through the park and got to visit with Santa (funny story coming up in the next post) then not only finished the drive, but went through again. The kids were exhausted and Ryan fell asleep as soon as we got moving. Kaity was too excited about the lights to sleep. She needed a potty break and we needed a pick-us-up before our drive home so we left the island and headed to Starbucks. It got really quiet and the next thing you know she was out cold before we even hit the bridge. She didn't even remember talking in her sleep or me carrying her into Starbucks. Bill and I were thrilled when we all slept 'til 9:00 the next morning!

Warming My Heart

A woman in our Life Group through church works for a children's home here and told us this morning of an emergency placement. The three children will be in the home for Christmas, but they were not planning on having them, so the company who is providing Christmas has helped with the current residents, but the need for the three unexpected children has not been met. She sent out an e-mail asking for help to give these kids a Christmas like the others in the home, from clothes to toys. I have a special place in my heart for helping children, especially during the holidays. Although she doesn't remember it, we have done the Angel Tree with Kaitlyn each year since she turned two.
This afternoon I told her that we were going to go to the store to pick up a gift exchange present for a little boy in her class and while we were doing that we would be picking up toys and clothes for these three little kids (one being a little girl her age). My sweet, gracious, generous daughter said, "Okay, we can use the money from my piggy bank, especially since I don't have a piggy bank anymore." Her brother broke it because she kept climbing up to get it to play with the money and Ryan grabbed it before we knew it was down...again, but back to the real story. This warmed my heart and made me so proud to be her mother. I know that she has no concept of money, but $5 for her is a lot, especially since is at that age where she doesn't want to share (and she actually has to do her chores to get paid). Now she isn't perfect (as we all know) and asked for all of the things we bought for others for herself, but was kind enough to take her money, pick something out, and pay for it herself for a complete stranger who is less fortunate than she.
As frustrating and defiant as she can be sometimes, it is times like these where I know we are getting through to her and doing something right as parents. She is a special and loving child, filled with God's grace and giving spirit, and for this I am so proud. I am writing this so I can remember how sweet she is on those days where I want to strangle her for not sharing with her brother. ;D

Failing Drastically

Well, there is a little princess who is failing drastically at The Pristine Castle Game.
To be fair, she is not the only one. I put her in her room for quiet time and like usual, she destroyed her room. I can't believe how quickly she can mess it up! Which begs the question...Is the two hours of quiet time each day worth the fight to clean up the mess she makes or worth cleaning it up myself? Maybe I should just let her watch TV. Just kidding, I know that her imaginative play (aka room destroying) is far healthier for her little mind and there will come a day where I laugh hysterically remembering her special talent. Right now, I might just become hysterical. ;D We have so many pictures like this from the time she was two and went into the big girl bed. Oh the stories we have! Maybe one day I will blog them.

The Sleeping Princess

The princess fell asleep during quiet time today on her makeshift bed, leaving us to wonder why on earth we bought her a bed. She is so sweet when she is sleeping! She is awake now and thinks this picture is cute and wants to see the rest. :D

Our Home is for Sale and A New Game

Well, I finally did it. We got the house "for sale ready" (well nearly anyway) and created an online photo gallery and have listed it with militarybyowner.com. If you know anyone moving to Shaw or the Sumter area, please have them check us out. We are ad number MBO92776. At this point, we owe entirely to much to be able to even think about listing with an agent, so we are hoping and praying that a great (or even good, as long as it covers our mortgage) offer comes in soon.

Until then, the kids and I will be playing a little game called The Pristine Castle.
The object of the game is to keep the pristine castle spotless. If the players fail to do so, the angry queen will come swooping in (trying not to spill her wine or coffee, depending on the time of day) to capture the little prince and princess and stick them in their towers until the castle is pristine again...and the game starts again. Sound like fun doesn't it?

I am embracing this new challenge in our lives and am hoping that it will finesse some positive routines in our lives (especially with the kids). Having to have the house in perfect order with beds made, sinks polished, and counters cleaned before we leave the house would make me a VERY happy woman. I love order and cleanliness!

Our House is FINALLY on the market.