Quick Blog...

Hey all!

This is going to be a really quick blog, but I just wanted to share a few pictures from this weekend. I know no one believes me when I say “quick” because those usually end up being the longest blogs! =) Unfortunately, today is jam packed with lots and lots of things to get done, so I’m just going to post the pictures for now and blog later on this week.

Luke’s cute Sunday Outfit:






Luke running around with shorts on his head:



Laughing during a diaper change (so rare, it had to be captured!)




Pictures from our Sunday Afternoon Walk:







Have a blessed day!
Mindy

The Draft is Saturday!

(The draft is Saturday) Not that I care much, but Chris is excited! =)

On to catching up!

Jenny and Jamie came for a wonderful visit! We had SUCH a great time! The boys were SO funny together! At first Luke thought that Jamie was a new toy, so he wanted to touch and poke, but he was starting to get the concept of “gentle” by the end of the visit. Luke is still looking for Jenny and Jamie when I bring him down from his naptimes. He leans forward in my arms so he can look past the stair railing to see if they’re waiting for him – it’s so cute! I think one of the funniest moments was when we put them in the bathtub together. They laughed and splashed and laughed some more! I have never seen anything so incredibly adorable in my whole life! It was just so sweet and pure! We also took them to an indoor pool on post – both of their first experiences in a pool. They did awesome! They never cried or fussed the whole time we were there. They even started kicking their legs and paddling with their arms. We didn’t stay too long as we knew the pool was getting a little chilly for the boys, but it was SO much fun! Even though we didn’t get any swim time in, we were both famished and exhausted afterwards – funny how being in the water will do that to you. We also enjoyed a few meals out – at Teresa’s (my favorite Mexican restaurant that we frequent once a week), the Olive Garden and a cute little café named Boll Weevil’s where they have the most delicious desserts…yummy! We also attended the church where Jon and Jenny went while they were here as well as a bible study. Of course there was shopping…=) Chris was a trooper while we looked for a swim suit (my pre-pregnancy suit is not even a consideration anymore!) We had such a great visit and I feel so blessed that we were able to share in this time together and to fellowship together. Seeing the boys together was truly priceless and it made us both yearn to live close to each other so they could grow up best buddies! We were asked 3 times if they were twins – how cute is that! Here are some pictures:

In other news:

We still don’t know much more about when Chris will deploy, but we are really looking forward to going to Germany. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I feel blessed that we get to do it. We have a TON of work to do to get ready – and in such a short amount of time at that! I’ll try to keep the blog updated as much as possible, but as our deadline nears, I can’t make any guarantees on how available we’ll be. I’m hoping to get as much done now as I can so it won’t be incredibly stressful at the end…but we’ve never moved overseas before, so I’m not sure how much stress we can eliminate when we don’t know what to expect! =) Although we don’t look forward to the impending deployment, we are at peace and know that God will provide the grace and strength we will need to get through the 15 months. We plan to make videos for Luke to watch and to webcam if at all possible once he gets over there. It won’t always be easy, but we will put all of our fears and anxieties in God’s hands and rest assured in his Presence.

We had a not so good visit to the vet. I took Riley and Tiger in for a few concerns. Riley got checked over and she’s just fine. We think she may have some allergies (but really, who wouldn’t here…it’s the allergy capital of the world!) Tiger on the other hand didn’t fare quite so well. They ran some blood work and the vet called to say that something wasn’t right with it and that we should run a few more tests. So I took him back in and the news isn’t the best. He is suffering from Renal Insufficiency (which I think is a nice way to say Kidney Failure.) I knew I needed to be prepared for this to happen – especially since he’s 19 years old, but I’ve had him for almost my whole life – since I was 7. So the news is very saddening. I can’t imagine my life without him since he’s always been there. He isn’t in any pain, and I don’t know how severe or advanced the renal insufficiency is, but it has made me realize that I need to prepare myself for the inevitable. It can’t be cured and it’s terminal. I have to take him in again in a month to see if it’s getting worse. The only thing I can do now is to change his diet gradually to a special kidney diet. So that was pretty sad news. I was planning to take Little One in soon, but now I’m scared to do that – she’s 17 and has a few of the same symptoms! Yikes!!!

Oh, I forgot to tell you the story of actually getting to the vet! (Jenny you’ll get a kick out of this! =) ) So, I had set up an evening appointment so Chris could help me since I was taking both Riley and Tiger in…and the thought of doing that with Luke seemed impossible. Unfortunately, that happened to be the one night of the whole week where Chris ended up staying late. So I get the animals ready, get Luke strapped into the car and head out by myself. Well, the car was running on fumes, but when I turned it on, it registered as full and the digital screen said there were 397 miles of gas left. So I just assumed that Chris had taken the car to PT and had filled it up with gas. So I head out passing the gas station that is right next to our house. Soooo, (I know you all know what’s coming next) I pick up the phone to quickly call Chris about the directions and the car begins to shudder. Now, I’ve run out of gas before, so I knew exactly what was happening. At first I was baffled because when I started the car it had registered a full tank of gas, but as the car began to shudder I look down again and see that it’s completely out of gas. So I quickly yank the car on to the shoulder. Luckily, I was able to pull completely off the road. So there I am, a baby, a cat and a dog sitting in a car with no gas in 90 degree weather. By the grace of God I was able to reach Chris and he had to leave a meeting he was in and bring me gas. What makes this funny is that both Jenny and Chris urged me to get gas…and I didn’t. =) So I deserved what happened. I’m just glad that neither Luke nor the animals got overheated because of my oopsie.

Alrighty, on to Luke facts -

We are still having a bit of trouble getting him to eat what he should be eating. He would be happy to eat Cheerios and Macaroni and Cheese for every meal, but we’re trying to find ways to sneak in fruits and veggies. He does like to suck on oranges – maybe he’s getting a little vitamin C that way! =)

He’s doing well drinking out of a sippy cup now and he’s even able to drink out of a straw.

Yesterday, he started putting little shaped blocks into the proper shape cut outs– I was so impressed! We also spent like 20 minutes today playing with a book that has tabs you push in and pull out. We would go through it once – I would pull out all the tabs and he would push them in. Then I would close the book and he would rip it back open again…so I would pull out all the tabs and he would push them in. I was amazed at how long it held his attention, since he’s such a wiggle worm.

He’s also started waving. He’ll wave Hi and Buh-bye and Ni-Night. I didn’t realize he was working his way up to waving. At first he would just walk around rotating his hands around and around. Sometimes with toys and other times he would just watch himself twirl his hands. Then before we knew it, he would lift his arm up and rotate his hands around. Soon after that he was doing a full on wave! It’s amazing how fast they learn!

He’s trying to share a lot these days and it’s just so adorable. He’ll give us food and toys and we’ll respond with an enthusiastic “Thank you.” I know he doesn’t quite know the concept yet, but I definitely want to encourage good behavior. =)

He’s walking really well now. He’s even tried to run and jump a few times. He likes to walk to the far end of our couch, and then poke his head around or up and over the arm and play peek-a-boo with us. It’s too funny! Tonight, Chris was giving him some yogurt for a snack. He was feeding him in Luke’s play area. So Luke would walk up to Chris, open his mouth wide, get his bite, turn around and start to walk toward the end of the couch, we would then say “buh-bye” and wave, he would turn around, wave and say “buh” then go hide behind the couch to do peek-a-boo over the arm, then when he had finished his bite, he’d come out and do the whole thing all over again. It was hilarious!

He’s still not sleeping through the night, but he’s doing well with his naps (knock on wood.) He LOVES his bath time. He splashes and splashes and splashes…gets washed…then splashes some more! Maybe he’ll be a swimmer! =)

Let’s see…oh yeah, he’ll bring us books now so that we can read to him. I don’t know if he’s just trying to share or if he really wants to be read too, but I like to think he likes to be read to.

That’s all I can think of for now. I do hope all is going well for everyone! I need to upload photos and make supper, so until next time – Have a great week!

Here are some pictures of our other babies:

Here are a few fun pictures I found from our college days! =) I only have a few on the computer, but someday I'll have to scan more in to post. First Floor South Rocks!!!

I'll leave you with a funny picture of Chris and Bobby...

Kannst Du Sprechen Deployment?

So at last we meet again for the first time for the last time. It’s been awhile since I blogged, so I thought I would come down from my lofty perch and speak to the mortals, if only to inform them of where we will be going in the future. Prepare yourselves to be amazed. Or bored, to tears, at least while I tell you what happens and how I get assigned where I do.

So here’s the long and short of it all…I am in the Signal Corps, and I am considered a junior captain, meaning I haven’t completed two years of either company command, or staff time as the battalion signal officer for one of the many- or few, depending on if you’re tagged for the deployment cycle or not- battalions in the Army. I actually do have almost a year of time as a battalion S-6, the staff officer job. I really have more than that, but they only count the time you were a captain, and I spent another year or so in the job as a first lieutenant. What that means is I need to get either one of those jobs to finish out my “key developmental position” as a signal captain so that in the future, should I choose to stay in that long, I can be promoted to major. It also means I can seek out another job should the opportunity arise. I kinda decided against seeking out a command just yet, since it is a big commitment both time and energy-wise, and with Luke being so young, I think I’d like to devote my time at home to him and Mindy. I’m not against a command, and might take it if a good one came along, but I just don’t feel like that’s what I need or really want right now. That left me looking for an S-6 job.

The way the assignments process works is like this: Signal Corps branch has a list of all the openings for signal officers, by rank, around the Army, and we have people who work at the main personnel headquarters whose specific job it is to find positions for each rank- in my case, we have one who does only junior captains. So during the Signal Captain’s Career Course, which is the school I am in now here in Georgia, they get a list of some of those assignments and bring them to us. There were eighteen of us who still needed assignments, so she brought eighteen different ones, from all over the world (mostly). There were some decent ones on there, nothing great, and there were some really awful ones on there (Ft. Polk, anyone?) They only gave us a day to rank them all in order of our preference, 1 through 18, so Mindy and I had a nice long talk and decided on our order. Tuesday the branch rep showed up, and yesterday (Wednesday) I met with her and got my official assignment. And the winner is….Smith Barracks in Baumholder, Germany, home of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division.

We’re actually pretty excited about it, although there are MANY, MANY questions about how it’s all gonna go down. The biggest is a looming deployment, and how soon it may be. It’s been a long time since I deployed last, believe it or not, especially in the Army’s eyes and especially given the fact that four or five of my classmates have been twice. So I get no free pass because I went once already. That’s ok with me on a professional level; hey, it’s my turn again. It won’t be any fun leaving Luke and Mindy, but I vaguely remember something about duty and fidelity or something…or maybe that was my wedding vows. I don’t know. I do know I will probably go back sometime in the next six months…which means I will have just arrived in Germany with my family only to leave them and go to the Country Reputed to be Amazingly Peaceful, Per Executive branch Reports. So I got that going for me… We may end up going over to Europe, packed light, for however long it is until I deploy, and then Mindy will return to the States to stay with family. Along with that comes many questions- such as, what to do with our pets? What to do with our household goods? What to do about a place to stay? And so on and so on.

Good times. I also have new and exciting things to look forward to, like a 15 month deployment instead of the normal 12. But hey, they promised us a year at home! Can’t beat that with a stick…unless you remember that’s what they said when the deployments were 12 months (Insert random comment here: Um, why on earth did they gut an entire active duty brigade- my last unit- to do training when they needed units for this surge? I tell you, I work for geniuses in DC…just misunderstood ones). They are also now throwing $20,000 dollars at captains who sign on for another 3 year commitment, since they are losing us at a breakneck pace. Hmm, I can’t seem to figure out why…oh well, maybe it’ll come to me. Mindy and I will have to decide about that one. We may do it, just since I have a one year commitment after this course, then another year-plus in Iraq, and by then I’ll just be mad at myself for not taking it with really only a year left. Who knows.

So with all that hurtling towards us, we prepare to move on. Should be an exciting 2007, to be sure. Please keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers, after you get done thinking and praying for all the other fantastic events happening around the world. We have a lot to prepare as well as many things to decide, and are pretty much placing it in God’s hands at this point…I wouldn’t know what to do anyway.

I will let Mindy keep updating you guys on Luke…she always hits the stuff people want to read about anyway. My stuff is usually just funny stories about how I throw the ball at his head to make him laugh and how I knock him over when he’s playing on our bed. I have taught him how to throw, so I’m proud of that one. Of course, if he inherited my junk shoulder, I doubt he’ll be throwing footballs or baseballs at the professional level when he grows up. But I guess I can post a few pictures of him on here.

Well...that's all folks. Now get back to work, you slackers!

Easter and Birthday Surprises…

Chris says I start the blog the same way every time, so this time I will start it differently…

As I write this blog (just to set the mood for you), Luke is crying into the monitor. He went down for his nap at 1pm and needs to stay down until 3pm and he’s already crying at 1:43pm. =) He’ll go back to sleep…hopefully. Riley just went upstairs to go lay down on the bed next to the crying Luke, Tiger is upstairs in the hallway with his head next to the water bowl and Little One is curled up in my closet. Chris is at Famous Dave's at a class lunch and here I am typing at the computer. I have the screen door open so a lovely cool breeze is blowing and I have a yummy cup of coffee sitting next to me. If it weren’t for Luke’s persistent cries over the monitor, it would be a very peaceful setting. =)

Ok, on with things you’d actually like to hear about. =)

Easter

Our Easter plans were sadly not what we had panned. We had hoped for a 4 day so we could drive up and spend Easter with Chris’s family – unfortunately, there was no time off. Chris even had a meeting on Saturday, so getting away for a short weekend wasn’t even an option. So we spent Easter at home. We had a good day despite being disappointed that we were unable to carry through with our plans. Chris and I bought Luke a few toys and empty Easter eggs (knowing he would much prefer playing with the eggs to finding candy in them at this age.) We gave him his gifts Saturday evening and he played with them for the rest of the night.

Easter Sunday we went to church and enjoyed a nice Easter service. I do have to admit that I REALLY missed putting on an Easter Production. I missed it so much that Saturday night I dreamed that I was putting one on anyway. =) But, I suppose it just wasn’t meant to be this year. It’s only reconfirmed, however, my passion for directing productions. I may not be good at it, but I LOVE doing it. =) We spent a relaxing rest of the day with Luke and each other. It was very nice.

On Monday, an Easter box came from Grammy and Grandpa Scott. Luke had a great time pulling out the different items! And we had a great time eating all the yummy candy that came in it! =)

Oh, and just a word of warning - I dyed my hair. So the below pictures will show me sporting my new color. It's not permanent - I just wanted to try a darker color out. I would have liked it, but for some reason the color went on really uneven, so I'm using the Prell Shampoo trick to get it to fade faster. Most of the time I forget that I've done it - until I pass a mirror and then I'm like - "oh yeah, I'm not blonde right now." It's fading pretty fast and then I'll go back to being a blonde, but it was fun to try something new.

Birthday Surprise

The rest of the week was busy and went by pretty fast. We decided that we would make a quick weekend trip to Maryland for the next weekend (April 14-15) to surprise Mom Scott for her birthday. We knew it would be a lot of driving for a short time, but we really wanted to do it. So Friday after Chris got home from class, we jumped in the car and took off. I had tried to pack everything I thought we would need for the next 2 days, but if Chris was writing this, he would tell you that I forgot a lot of stuff. For once I didn’t over pack though! =) The trip there went pretty fast (it’s a 9-10 hour trip depending on weather and traffic.) Only Randy and Jamie knew we were coming, so it was a complete surprise to Mom and Dad Scott. We got to the house at about 1:00am. It was all dark inside and we knew they were fast asleep. We quickly changed Luke into a shirt that we had made that said Surprise! and Happy Birthday! on it and went to the door. Chris knocked. Then knocked again…and again…and again…and again…finally Kaylee (their cute chocolate lab) heard the knocking and started barking.

We were getting somewhere. =) So we continued knocking. Finally a light came on and we hear from within the house, “Who’s there?!” So Chris and I respond, “It’s a surprise!” Then we see Dad Scott come to the door, and finally it registers for both of them who we are. It was great and definitely a huge surprise! So we stayed up for an hour visiting and playing with Luke. (And for those of you who know how we travel, yes – we brought our entourage…Riley, Tiger and Little One came along too.)

Saturday was a lot of fun. Luke had a blast pulling things out of the kitchen cabinets and helping GrammyMom and Grandpa put together a highchair. Randy and Jamie and Great-Grandpa Scott came over and we all spent time visiting together. Later we went out to lunch. For supper we had crabs (much to Chris’s delight) and were able to visit with Aunt Marge and Uncle Joe as well. It was such a great day!

Sunday we were able to stay and go to church together. Luke didn’t last to long in the service and Grandpa took him out to play. We stayed and ate at a Sunday School class potluck at church and Luke sampled many new dishes. After that we packed up our things and headed back. The weather was pretty bad the whole way (we drove through a nor'easter), but we made it in one piece.

We had a really really good time and our only wish was that we were able to stay longer.

I thank God for his continued protection over our travel. We had a really, really close call on the way up. We were almost rear ended on I-20 in Columbia, SC at a pretty fast speed. It could have been a serious accident, but God’s hand was over us, as well as the other vehicle. The guy that almost hit us had to slam on his brakes (he had just switched lanes behind us and was accelerating quickly – however our lane was slowing down quickly), and we were sandwiched between a cement wall with no shoulder, a car ahead of us and a semi on the side. So the guy had to slam on his brakes, somehow switch into the other lane, ended up doing a 180 turn (in heavy traffic might I add) and ended up a few lanes over. Although a VERY scary thing (we could see he wasn’t going to be able to stop in time and I was sure he was going to hit us) God poured out his protection and the accident that could have been really bad (not only for us but for many others) never happened. Praise God!

So far no official word on where we’ll be heading to next, but hopefully in the next few days we’ll know. We have a broad idea of some of our possibilities, but that doesn’t really help us to much in getting prepared. I just want to know if it’ll be overseas or in the states so we know how to begin preparing. We’ll just have to wait and see though. =)

We are really looking forward to our next visitors this weekend! Jenny and Jamie are coming down on Friday and I can’t wait!! I haven’t seen them since the beginning of December, so I’m really really excited to get caught back up again. It’ll be fun to see Luke and Jamie play together too!

Alright, I think that’s all the new news.

Have a wonderful week!

10 months at a glance...

A few days old...

5 weeks old...

8 weeks old...

13 weeks old...

18 weeks old...

21 weeks old...

25 weeks old...

29 weeks old...

34 weeks old...

39 weeks old...

45 weeks old...