Almost Summer

We have finally got this deployment started. The whole unit is on the other side of the world.  Just this morning, I received a call from the Family Assistance Office just to see if we were doing OK.   Ryan has already been gone for 4 months, but because he is National Guard this time around he has just made it to the desert. We have many more months to go. 

 

As thankful as I am to have a family picture, this one is terrible. It was pouring rain! It was loud in the room where these pictures where and they were trying to get as many done as possible. It was a stressful day and I think you can see it on all of our faces!

School is winding down. Thank you very much!!!

Field Day is over for the elementary kids. Jackson was in about 4 events. Most of them involved him running. The boy is fast!

We still have Sports Day for the middle school kids. Somehow Caroline figured out how to be a cheerleader during sports day and not do any other sports.  Although cheering can be tough, I do believe that they will get the easy way out this year.

Scarlett has one more week of daycare and then I think she will spend all her spare time trying to get into the "water." We added extra locks to the doors to keep her in the house. We are also going to be potty training this summer. I bought her a little kids potty. She refuses to use it, choosing to sit on the potty like a big kid. Who does she think she is!!

We finally dropped that bottle habit. She has had a bottle consistently for a little over a year. She only nursed before that and would occasionally take juice from a bottle. Now she is 2 and we just dropped them all together. The truth is we lost them all.   Hopefully when they are found they can be trashed without Scarlett seeing them. 

 

I'm A Helper

I always have thought of myself as a leader. I thought I was pretty good at making decisions and stepping up to the plate when no one else wanted to lead. I'm beginning to think that I am a much better helper. I actually had help all those times when I was "leading."  Someone leading right beside, helping me along whatever path we are on together.  Some of our greatest friendships have come from leading together.

long weekends in the field = crashing in the chair

I think that is why I have handled being a military wife so well. I have moments of weakness, but I have enjoyed moving and setting up home in new areas. We have built our world around the up and downs of military life. My goals have always been to help my husband feel settled so that he can focus on his job.  The kids take a bit longer, making new friends is hard stuff. Mourning lost friends is even harder. 

My helper tendencies extend past my home. I love to help in our church with children's ministries and women's outreach. With the help of my great friend Kaleena, we lead a group of girls in Girl Scouts for 2 years. I've stepped up and helped with PTA/PTO and sports. 

Sometimes I have to say no. That has happened recently with Boy Scouts. I just could not help lead a troop of boys with this upcoming deployment. Especially since the Boy Scout Pack meets at the time that Scarlett needs to be getting ready for bed.  Caroline is getting close to being a babysitter, but not for long periods of time with a cranky toddler.

I hope that I can teach my kids that they can lead, but they can also be a helper. Sometimes the ones that are already leading just need help carrying the load.

Easter Fun

Our Easter turned into a low key event. Scarlett got into a fire ant bed a few days before Easter. Her feet were still bleeding and tender on Easter, so we stayed home. I will post some pictures soon. 

Here is our neighbor's dog, PJ, with Scarlett. She loves that little dog and tries to call it over to our house by patting the grass. PJ is still a puppy and jumps in Scarlett's face, but Scarlett just pushes him away.

 

We went to the fastest Easter egg hunt ever. The kids were divided into sections and at 2:00 they were set free to load up on plastic eggs. At 2:09 we were back in the car and we even stopped to get a cupcake.  Jackson got several eggs. I don't have a picture of Scarlett, she was in another section and it was not very well patrolled. The teenage kids that were supposed to be helping the 0-3 age group decided to pick up eggs for themselves. Ryan was a little outdone with them.

 

We decorated Easter eggs with the sweet girls that live a couple of houses over from us. This was Caroline's very cool creation.

And finally at the end of the day, pool time. This was Scarlett's first time at the pool. She went when she was a couple of months old, but that doesn't count.  I just knew that she was going to love it. I was so very wrong! The water is still a little cold, but Scarlett freaked out. I think part of the problem was that she was not touching the bottom, it is very unlike the bathtub.