Phase One

Yahoo! Phase 1 down and roughly 8 weeks to go! I am very proud to report that Patrick has passed his swim qualification portion of Marine boot camp. He has some very busy weeks ahead and I personally would not want to be in his shoes or boots right now. All I can say is that I am so very proud of all he has accomplished to get where he is and all that he is doing right now. I am truly having to take the verse "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind and lean not on your own understanding." Every time I start worrying or miss him I lift him or whatever is bothering me to Jesus.
Charles is just growing and learning new things. It took about 6 months but I am happy to say Charles is potty trained. He is riding his tricycle very well now. He is a little sweetie and makes us all laugh. This past Wednesday night at the end of Awana right before we left he told me wait mommy. I said okay. He ran to this cute little girl in his class and hugged her and whispered in her ear I love you. We have a little Romeo on our hands.
Meredith is just crawling everywhere and trying to pull up. She is growing up way too fast. She is my very serious little baby. Right now she enjoys playing with all her toys and her brother's toys. Her top teeth have finally cut the gum. She does not like to hear no. She will primp up and start crying every single time.
I guess that is all for now. Thanks for all your prayers and support of our family. If you have spent time writing Patrick we really appreciate it!

Husband Update

Praise Jesus Patrick is almost finished with phase one at boot camp. That means he has been away for 4 weeks at this point if you include receiving week. I am going to be honest here. I am not going to say oh all is just a bed of roses because it has been very challenging at times. I will say though that it is great to have family and friends to help the time pass by. Also, having support groups on Facebook with other people that are going through the same thing has helped more than anyone could imagine. For instance I have gotten to see 4 pictures of Patrick through these groups, and since he does not have time to write home very much those  pictures are a treasure. I look at them daily and throughout the day. Patrick says keep the letters coming they really lift his spirits and it is the only contact he has to the outside world. So, I would like to thank each and every person that has taken time out of their busy lives to write him. He just really started getting a lot of the letters around January 25. He said it made him feel good, but he hasn't had a chance to read all of them yet. Please know that if you write him he would love to write you back but it may take awhile. If you all would say extra prayers for him and all the recruits at Parris Island it would be greatly appreciated. Many are sick with coughs and pink eye including Patrick.

Busy Bee

    The past two days I have been taking care of odds and ends. I have been on the phone with companies, banks, and insurance until I am ready to scream. All are just fine with no problems thank goodness. I have deactivated Patrick's cell while he is gone, so if you need something message or call me.
    Charles is enjoying reading books and playing with his Track Master Thomas the Tank Engine trains and track. He especially likes it when they crash into each other. Meredith is crawling and getting into whatever she can. We have had to move magazines, toys that she is to little for, and various other things. They both are enjoying bathing in Nina's and G-Pop's big tub. Today we went to the library. I now have a Pines library card again and can get books I want pretty much all over the state! Yahoo!!!! Charles really liked the library up here, but he has always loved going to the library. He loves books which makes this mommy very happy. We also got to chat with Mel, Jeff, and Will for a little while today. It was so nice to get to chat with them.  The kids are doing really well.
  I am doing much better. I had a hard time the morning and day we dropped Patrick off, but getting to chat that night online with him helped me out a lot. I know I will have my moments still, but today no tears. I know Patrick will do well and that he has arrived safely at Parris Island. Continue to pray for his health and safety. We would also appreciate prayers for our whole family while we are apart.

Hello All

     It has been a very long time since I have been able to sit down and blog. We have had a crazy couple of months. Patrick's waivers all passed for the Marines, so he handed in his letter of resignation at Carroll Community Schools. Then we had to start packing up all our belongs to move south. During the past months I was also working as a full time long term substitute grading, planning, and teaching from the last week in September until the day we left Iowa on December 16. Add in a 3 year old and an infant into the mix and you have your hands full.
    The kids and I will be either with my parents or Patrick's parents while he is in boot camp from roughly January 5 until mid May.We would appreciate all your prayers for our family. Some specific prayer requests: Our family being separated during this time and for Patrick to be healthy and strong with no injuries from now throughout his training.
     We are extremely happy about this new adventure and being closer to family. Know that we will miss all the great friendships we made while in Carroll. We hope each of you will keep in touch and up to date on the going ons of your family.
    I plan on keeping this blog more up to date in the coming year. I want to keep a journal of such while Patrick is in training and away. I think it will therapeutic for me in the long weeks ahead.

What happened to September?

It seems like I just blinked and September was over. A great deal has went on this month to make it fly by so quickly:
1. We sold our home.
2. Moved to an apartment for the time being. We are slowly getting everything where it goes.
3. Found out our baby is going to be a little girl. I was so shocked that I forgot to make an appointment for 20 weeks before leaving the doctor's office. I had to call later to set up an appointment. It has been 115 years in Patrick's direct line since the last girl, so I kept telling myself it is going to be a boy.
4. I am doing a short term substitute job for someone that is on maternity leave. This is with grades 4-6. I teach 4th grade math and 5th and 6th grade social studies.
5. Homecoming week which is always busy. I was so happy that I didn't have to plan it this year. I got to enjoy it. Patrick has to be at like 3 performances that week which makes it a crazy week for us.
6. I read 2 books: Wedding Belles by Janice Hanna and Not By Sight by Kathy Herman. Both great books. I did not reach my goal this month.
7. Took care of and played with Charles. My major fail is that I only got 4 pictures of him this month. The camera has been packed most of this month. I have it ready to go this month, so be prepared for picture overload.
8. Trying to find girl bedding that I like that doesn't cost a fortune.
That is a nutshell of what September looked like for us.