Ryan Turns Two!

The Birthday Boy

Ryan turned two yesterday and we celebrated with Bill's family yesterday and my family today. Ryan is really into trucks, cars, motorcycles, trains, boats, planes and construction equipment. Anything that moves really. Driving down the interstate is quite entertaining. Especially here in Florida where trucks are pulling boats on trailers. That comes in just ahead of the semi transporting the cars as his favorite freeway sighting. So, to celebrate his love of all vehicles he got a plethora of things that go.

Happy birthday to you......

Getting a little help from sis

Our little guy, who usually shies away from the limelight by running to Mommy, ate up all of the attention and really liked everyone singing Happy Birthday to him. He wasted no time unwrapping the presents this year. He knew just what to do! Just in case he didn't, his cousins and sister were there to give him a helping hand. Aren't they sweet? In fact, the only reason I am able to upload pictures and blog this evening is because Kaity is using the precious time that she is awake and Ryan is asleep to play with his new toys. I haven't heard her this quiet in quite a while. We had a great weekend celebrating with family, but Daddy was sorely missed. The pictures from his birthday have been uploaded to our Picasa album.

Hey Strangers!

Wow! After complaints that we haven't been updating our blog, I decided to see what the last thing I had written was. The most shocking revelation was that when I starting typing the blogsite into my browser, nothing came up! My computer had forgotten the site! So much for blogging more once we sold the house and got settled in Florida. At least I had blogged about selling our house. I thought I was going to have to start there.
So, I am going to take the advice I have given to many scrapbookers who are so far behind and have no idea how to catch up. I am going to start with today and work my way back. A quick summary of the events of the last 8 weeks.

May was a busy month for us. We started the month out with Kaity's first dance recital, packing and moving out of our house, selling our house, and a variety of end of the year preschool activities with Kaity Mac. The middle of May we bid our Sumter friends and Shooter family a very sad farewell as we headed down to Florida to live with family for the next 7 months. The day we left we threw Kaity a Bolt themed birthday party where she got to say goodbye to most of her friends. While it was hard to say goodbye, the party was lots of fun and a good distraction from the tears. We also celebrated the birth of our first niece Rylee Patricia Shomaker. My sister gave birth on Memorial Day and we can't wait to meet the sweet sugar when they come into town this Friday! I wrapped up the month competing in my first triathlon. I competed with one of my best friends and had a really fun time. If I can fit in some time to train and it works with our travel schedule I would like to do another one this summer or fall.

June rang in Kaitlyn's 5th birthday, our 9th anniversary, swim lessons for both kids, a fantastic visit with Bill, Universal, Disney, a lot of pool time, more sad goodbyes as Bill left again, and lots of time with family. The kids and I returned from visiting my grandparents just in time to celebrate the 4th and our little firecracker's 2nd birthday.

While there hasn't been a dull moment, we haven't done much. I feel like we have been very busy. Funny how that works, huh? July is looking pretty busy too as we will be spending time with Sharon, Jack, and Rylee, another trip to visit my grandparents to get all the grands and great-grands together, and my solo trip to Korea to visit Bill. We are both looking forward to the time together, but I am nervous about leaving my babies for so long. On a recent facebook posting after leaving the kids for one night (my triathlon) I was wondering what it was going to be like leaving my kids for 2 1/2 weeks if it was so hard to leave them for one night with Kaity crying and me being sad. My dear friend Marianne responded with a priceless one word answer. Romantic. I love it!

Well, that pretty much sums it up. I am going to try to do a MUCH better job sharing our adventures and our pictures, so start checking back often. Hold me accountable people! Thanks to those of you who are keeping on us to post.

We Sold Our House!!!

Well, after four grueling months of having our home on the market and trying to keep it show ready with two small children and not a whole lot of help, I am ecstatic to say that WE HAVE SOLD OUR HOME!!! Yes, I know...I should be using my inside voice since I am inside, but I am so relieved and excited. It is wonderful to know that we were able to sell and not have the hassle of renting and to be free and clear and be able to walk away not only not oweing anything, but also with a little bit of money in our pockets. On my birthday no less! I joked with Bill about the money from closing being my birthday present, but we were so NOT on the same page with that one. :) While the reality of the whole situation hasn't sunk in quite yet, we are so thankful and absolutely amazed at the way the Lord working his magic in the past 6 weeks bringing this buyer to us. While we are super happy, I have to admit I cried as I handed over the keys at the closing today. While I wouldn't have it any other way and am so glad to have it all over, I am sad to be closing this chapter of our lives and the garage door of the first home we ever bought. Our house was a great house. A wonderful home where we welcomed our precious baby boy with open hearts and open arms and filled with happy memories, lots of love, and a ton of laughter. While it wasn't always a picture perfect place to be, the good times far outweighed the bad (or maybe I should say more challenging) and I look back at the vivid memories we made with a smile on my face and tears of both joy and sorrow in my eyes. A bittersweet day for sure, but I am so excited to spend my last couple of days here with my friends and am welcoming the opportunity to be a great mom again with this burden lifted from my shoulders. Oh yeah, and to have a little time to myself to catch up on my blogging.

Bill's First Daylight Korean Excursion

Today I went to Lotte Mart (pronounced LA-te) in Kunsan City. It is much different than driving through the city at night. Lotte Mart is a 4-story Wal-Mart type mega store. The carts are all chained together outside and cost 100 won to unlock, but you get that back when you return the cart. All the wheels caster on Korean carts, not just the front wheels like in the US. The parking garage is on the top floor of Lotte Mart so you ride an escalator-type conveyor belt between floors. The shopping carts ' wheels lock into the conveyor belt so they won't roll (quite ingenious I think).

There was four of us that wandered around the store for a while before we went to the grocery section. The store was clean and had a wide variety of items, especially in the seafood department. I am not used to seeing whole fish or fish that are just cut into segments (head still attached) packaged in a grocery store. There also seemed to be an abundance of gelatinous type of seafood as well as squid and octopus. Quite an eye-opening experience all around. We ended up buying some strawberry cookies, a donut-type muffin, and some aloe water. Yes that's right aloe water, with real bits of aloe so you know its good. Actually all the food was good including the aloe water which got a little pulpy toward the bottom of the can.

I unfortunately forgot to bring my camera on this momentous occasion, but I will post pics as soon as I get them.

ps Its after 1 am as I am writing this so my grammar/spelling aren't great but hopefully my ramblings make sense. Enjoy!

Little Blessings

I was reminded today that our children are such little blessings. Yes, I know this everyday, and there is not one day that goes by that I do not thank the Lord for these wonderful little people (at least once), but I was given another reminder of that today.
Bill dropped some bad news on us today. A couple of weeks ago, he told us that he wouldn't be able to come home in May as we had planned on due to a TDY he was scheduled to go on. Sucky, but whatever, we were coming up with a solution and would work something out, no tears needed. It wasn't in stone anyway, just a great idea that we could probably make work. Today he told us that his one bedroom suite (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, door to separate the kids, etc) was being renovated and he was moving to the small dorm rooms (complete with all the luxuries of a bathroom, bedroom, and kitchenette), making it virtually impossible for us to stay with him. Hard to do crew rest with two kids when you have to go to bed at 5 or 6 in the evening or need to sleep in until 2 pm because you have to go to work to fly at 4 pm. It just isn't going to work.
Now, here I sit in Sumter, on a rainy day, wishing my family were together to enjoy a lazy Saturday when this bomb drops. Panic sets in and I have that suffocating feeling of not being able to breathe. Never had that feeling until right before Bill left for this assignment, just so you know. He told me this on chat and I was crying the silent cry in between messages and while making lunch, when he told me he was heading to bed. So I called him via Skype and he talked to the kids. Kaity now notices that I am crying and asks me why. I tell her I am sad. It is looking pretty dim that we aren't going to be able to go out for the 4-6 weeks we had planned on this fall. I didn't tell her that part. She doesn't need to know right now. Bill told me not to get so worked up, that we would figure out a way to make something work. Easier said than done. The brick wall had already fallen on my chest and I couldn't breathe. Trying to take deep breaths I start to complain (I really don't do this often, he knows it sucks too, and I know it isn't his choice, nor is it his fault).
The conversation starts something like this (said really fast as I am approaching breakdown mode - I know you all know what I am talking about). It's just that we planned for you to come home the first part of May and now that bubble is burst and I really wanted to go to Disney again as a family (AD military get in free and their dependents get a 5 day pass for $99) and now that isn't going to happen, and plane tickets are expensive, and we don't know when we are going to see you now, and you might not see the kids until we come out there as it is and now there is this, and (said with less emotion and speed) our children have the table manners of elephants! Ryan had just dumped his mac n cheese onto his tray from the bowl and is trying to pet the dog from his high chair with his spoon and Kaity is eating hers with her hands, hanging half off her chair so she can see herself in the computer, trying to talk to Bill over me while her mouth is full.
I don't know why I said elephants, but I did and as soon as I said it Ryan starts making elephant noises and then Kaity starts with the noise and her elephant trunk. Then the kids turn into laughing elephants and soon everyone is laughing...at least for a few minutes before Mom (aka Fun Crusher) decided to try to reestablish order at the table.
So, another moment where I am reminded that our children are such a blessing and can make us laugh even during moments when we feel like we don't have a laugh left in us. I know this will all work out and we will figure out a different path when faced with a life filled with roadblocks, but the detours are stressful, and at times depressing, and we are so thankful to have the distractions of our sweet little comedians and our greatest little blessings.

Three Little Words

On Saturday as we were getting ready to board our flight at the airport, Ryan told Aunt Sharon, "I love you!" This was the first time he has ever said it. I am constantly amazed by the differences in my children. Kaity had literally been speaking sentences for months by the time she was Ryan's age and he still has very few words, and no sentences. Unless you count Elmo followed by various animal noises. It is from an Elmo book that he "reads" to me. Telling me in his own way that Elmo is a monkey, or an elephant, or a lion. But he said, "I LOVE YOU!"
Since then he says it numerous times throughout the day. To Bill on Skype, to Kaity, to me, to the dog. The sweetest was this morning when I was taking Kaity to school and she said, "Mommy, I love you." And Ryan said, "I love you." Then Kaity laughed excitedly and told Ryan, "I love you, Buddy." And he said, "I love you," right back to her. SO SWEET!
This evening we were rushing around the house to get ready to leave for a short notice doctor's appointment and I was bathing the kids so I wouldn't have to do it when we returned at (or potentially after) their bedtime. I scooped Ryan out of the tub, dried him off, and hugged him tight and he said, "I love you" and gave me a kiss. I slowed down (just a shade or we would have been really late) to enjoy one of those fleeting moments of motherhood before I blinked and it was gone. I truly think the way he sings those three words in his sweetest baby voice is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard!

A High Five

I caught something out of the corner of my eye yesterday, and in one of my "good mommy" moments I decided to forgo scolding and try to get the story. It was out of the corner of my eye after all.

Me: Kaitlyn, what happened? (Add the sound effects of Ryan crying in the background)

Kaitlyn: (Thinking really hard about the best way to answer this question...I am telling you, I could see the little wheels turning). I tried to give brother a high five, but it was too hard. (Said in her most innocent voice)

Me: Really?! You were giving your brother a high five?

Kaitlyn: Yes! (Hesitantly, but excited that I might actually buy this line)

Me: On the back of his head?!

Kaitlyn: No. (Said in defeat)

Yup, that is what I saw out of the corner of my eye. Kaity hitting her brother on the head. The turkey sure is creative though. See what I get for giving her the benefit of the doubt? A funny story! :)

Plans to Tri

Someone once told me that one way to work through a deployment is to set personal goals while you are apart. Since Bill wasn't going to be gone long enough for this past deployment to need to do something big, I tucked this little nugget of information away to retrieve when needed. Thinking that a year is a really long time, I have been thinking about setting a pretty big goal. One that would take me a while to reach.
Many, many years ago during our first year of marriage and our first assignment at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, I had a friend who did a triathlon. Our group of neighborhood friends went to cheer her on, and I decided that one day I would really like to complete a triathlon.
Fast forward to late spring/early summer of last year when a bunch of us gals were sitting around talking about ways to make the 4-5 month deployment easier and a friend who has been through a deployment before made the personal goal suggestion. Most of the couples strive to loose weight together or to eat healthier or to become better organized. I went home and thought about something I wanted to accomplish. I don't really need to lose weight (maybe just a few pounds), I eat pretty healthfully (most of the time), and I am a pretty organized person (again, most of the time). Then a thought struck me...I could accomplish the goal of completing a triathlon! Okay, I'll do it. I'll start training when he leaves, and find one we could go to together as a family when he returns and he and the kids can cheer me on. Great plan! I'll definitely have enough time to train. Perfect! A month or two later we find out about Korea and we weren't sure if Bill was even going to be deploying. In all of the hubbub of the air force madness, I didn't really think about it again. Too busy focusing on what the next six months would entail for us.
Fast forward again to November when I was visiting one of my best friends on my trip back home and she told me she had recently decided to start training for a triathlon. I told her that it was something I had always wanted to do and that maybe I would look into doing one with her if I ended up moving back home. Over the next couple of months I thought about this off and on, but not very seriously. After Bill left, I decided I was definitely in need of a great distraction. I also decided I needed to focus my energy on something I could control instead of the stress of the things I couldn't control. Being apart, single parenting, not knowing where we will be moving next, selling a house. You see where I am headed. The loony bin if I don't act quickly. I started looking up events both near here and back home that might be feasible options. I came across an event the last weekend in May back home. The timing with my plans of being home was perfect and it was a mini tri. 200 yard swim, 10 mile bike, and a mile a half run. I could do that, no problem! I would start small and work my way up. So I e-mailed my friend to see if she wanted to do it with me. When she wrote back, she told be she was already registered for the sprint distance event the next day and told me that I could do the sprint distance and that I should do it with her. It is ONLY a 1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and a 5K run. She has a lot more faith in me than I have in myself. :)
After doing a bit of research later that day, I thought, I can do this...maybe. I have plenty of time to train. If I can work it out with the kids. I just bought a new bike in May. A Wal-Mart special. I have swimming experience. A long, long time ago. I have done a 5K before. Sure...I can do this. Does it sound like I am trying to convince myself? Maybe it is because I am. ;D Just kidding. I am pretty sure I can do each by itself, maybe even the swim and run together, but don't have any experience on a bike. Aside from the leisurely rides with the family. It will be a great challenge and I am looking forward to it. I committed myself to doing it a few weeks ago, not monetarily (which is the biggest commitment), but I did start telling people I was going to do it. And I told Michelle I was in a couple of weeks ago, so I am definitely committed. Intimidated, but committed nonetheless.
So, I start training tomorrow. I have 14 weeks to train. By the time I cross this off my bucket list, we will be more than a third of the way through this long year. Plus, I will have done something that I have thought would be really cool to do someday. My someday is May 31, 2009! Bill hasn't decided on a personal goal just yet, but I am sure he will think of one. He won't let me show him up. Game on baby!

A Funny Memory

One of my best friends recently reminded me of a funny story from when Kaity was a little bit younger than Ryan. When I was talking to her Ryan brought me a piece of slobbery dog food in his chubby little hand and was chomping on one in his mouth as well. He does this quite frequently and, while I am disgusted by it, I have gotten used to it. He gets a certain look when he has it in his mouth. It is a cute, funny, defiant little look that begs for attention. I was on the phone with a very dear friend in Italy and it had been a while since our last phone call, so she had my (nearly) undivided attention, leaving Ryan to find creative ways to get my attention once he was finished playing by himself. I asked him what he had in his mouth, did the finger sweep, pulled out a piece of dog food, and exclaimed, "GROSS!" before telling him we don't eat dog food...again. Angel asks me if I am going to call the ER. I laugh that exasperated, head shaking, eye rolling laugh and say, "No, he does it all the time." She laughs in return and says, "You don't remember that?" Apparently (I do remember this now), the first time Kaity ate dog food, somewhere around a year old, I actually called the emergency room to see if it was something I should worry about. I think it was after the Pediatric Clinic was closed, but it was the ER nonetheless, making the story even funnier. The difference between the first and the second child. The nurse laughed and told me it was fine, but to make sure I brought her in if she started barking. I totally forgot about this and was so thankful that Angel reminded me that I promised I would blog the memory. Maybe that is why my children like to pretend they are dogs, too much dog food in their diet.

Snow Day!

Happy girl, happy dog!

The Tuesday after Bill left, the weather forecasters were predicting a couple of inches of snow. While I was hopeful and felt a little bit like a kid on Christmas Eve, I wasn't holding my breath or staying awake for it. I woke up to find quite a dusting of snow outside my window! This Florida girl was SO excited! Kaitlyn was excited too. She woke up to use the restroom and couldn't go back to sleep. She ran into my room and said, "Mommy, something really great happened. IT SNOWED!" While I was enjoying my first cup of coffee, while checking e-mail and facebook, she ran into her room, got dressed, and snuck outside (I heard her go out the back door). I peeked outside and found her, almost dressed for the cold, but not quite. Before I could get the camera ready, she had already gone down the slide and gotten her jeans soaking wet. She was too excited about the snow to care about the cold. I joined her outside with the snow gear and played with her for a little while making and throwing snowballs and making a snowman while Ryan was still asleep, then we came inside to warm up with hot chocolate in front of the fire.

Busted!

Catching snowflakes.

When Ryan woke up, he ran straight to the window (Kaity spilled the beans about the snow) and was also very excited. His wonder was so sweet to watch. They were both really excited about the newly fallen snow and the snow flurries that were coming down pretty steadily while they stood in front of the window in awe. Fortunately, Ryan was happy watching the snow from the warmth of the indoors for a little while.

Decorating her snowman.

Kaity's friend Meghan came over for lunch and we built another snowman and the girls had a snowball fight with the fence, threw snowballs playfully at each other, and decorated their snowmen. JD loved the snow as well. It has been quite some time since he has played in the snow and he really seemed to be reliving his puppy days. The snow on the ground didn't last long, in fact it had all melted shortly after lunch, but it was a wonderful day of excitement and fun when we needed it most. The Lord provides!Throwing snowballs.

Our New Puppy

I think I may have scared the you-know-what out of Bill and made the rest of you wonder if I have lost my mind. No, we didn't get a real puppy, but Ryan starting pretending to be an animal today. He got down on all fours in the kitchen and started crawling around and barking like a dog. He got a kick out of himself and would crawl around the apartment barking and laughing, making sure that Kaity was watching his antics. She was, and was impressed that he picked up this newly acquired skill, undoubtedly learned from her. It isn't the first thing, nor will it be the last. At least this was one of the cute things!

Trucks, Trains, Cars, and Planes

Ryan is ALL boy! He is always on the go, constantly running and very rarely walking. On our way out to California, he discovered really big planes at the airport. He was in love. Kept saying plane. Throughout the plane ride, he kept looking out the window and looking at the wing and saying plane. On the next leg he looked back to the engine and kept saying plane. He would also look out the window and say WOW! Then a few minutes later, he would look out again and start wowing all over again in his precious little sing song voice. A-dor-a-ble!

He is also really big into race cars. He either says vroom or queen. For McQueen. As in Lightening McQueen. He is infatuated with the Disney race car! And cars in general.

Even more than cars, Ryan LOVES trucks! He is hilarious. Every trip in the car he points out every truck. Also every bus, SUV, and camper is a truck. He loves the California freeway and one of the hits of our San Diego visit is that he gets to cruise around in Uncle Jack's truck!

And last, but not least, is the love affair with the train. Every time he hears the train whistle he starts exclaiming train until someone acknowledges him. It is pretty sweet and we actually like living by the train tracks. My sister's apartment is just a few blocks from the beach, so we hear the train cruising up the 101. We have many a memory of getting to the top of the hill with Kaity and turning around to see the train speed by. We haven't had the right timing yet for Ryan, but I know when we do he will be beside himself with excitement.

Trains, Sharks, and Seals

Ryan telling his sister about the jaguar in the train. Roar!

Today we took the kids on a miniature train ride through Balboa Park. The train pulled up and Ryan ran to the fence yelling, "Train, train, train!" After the train stopped, Kaity ran over to the fence and stood with Ryan. He kept roaring and we discovered he was telling her that there was a jaguar. We came to the conclusion that they were conspiring to ride next to the jaguar, because that is where they ran after they handed the conductor the tickets.

Getting ready for the train ride.

Both kids really enjoyed the train ride, but Ryan was so excited. He clapped when we went into the tunnel and he kept saying train every time the train went around a curve and he could see the engine. It was pretty adorable!

Watching the engine on the curve and Ryan saying, "Train!"

Cute baby boy, looking like a big boy.

Kaitlyn waiting to feel a baby Rylee kick.

After we rode the train, we headed up to Paradise Point Resort to see/feed the sharks and fish at the marina area. We decided to let the other people there get the fish hands and enjoyed watching the birds and sharks and other fish fight for the food. It was entertaining for both the adults and the kids. We had fun taking silly pictures too.

Ryan and Uncle Jack checking out the sharks.

Being silly

On the way back home we hit up the La Jolla Cove for some close up time with the Harbor Seals. They are always hanging out on the beach in this little cove and are cute to watch. It is pupping season and the moms will give birth in the spring to new babies, but there were some small ones out there to watch as well. Hopefully we can get back to do a little more seal watching and picture taking when Ryan isn't so tired and difficult to keep still. :)

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!