memorial day

Wishing a very happy Memorial Day to all soldiers- past, present, and fallen, but especially my very own soldier, Aaron Patrick. Elliot, Emmett, and I love you so much and are so glad God decided to keep you here on earth with us ♥ 

... so God made a soldier.

Welcome home on Veteran's Day!

"As we express our gratitude, 

we must never forget that the highest appreciation 

is not to utter words, but to live by them." 

-John Fitzgerald Kennedy

This Veteran's Day, I had the pleasure of photographing one of our dear friends coming home from Afganistan. 

As I watched all the soldiers embracing their loved ones, I felt a little catch in my throat, because I remember when, not so long ago, it was ME in their shoes, at the airport, waiting for that moment when I would finally be in my husband's arms again.

These lovebirds were seperated for 200 days. That's 200 days that they will never get back. It sure is great to see him home safe and the two of them back together!

Our friend Warren was lucky enough to come home early, but others were not so lucky. My husband, for example, was in Iraq for 18 long months and then South Korea for 12 months. Luckily, he is now non-deployable, but he still struggles with PTSD and various side effects from his brain injury. 

Life is short. Let's remember to thank those who give up weeks, months, and even years to fight for their country. And, of course, those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom by giving their lives for our country.

Next time you complain about who was or wasn't elected president, or our government, take a little step back and think about something. We are LUCKY to be Americans. We live a life of freedom that many could only dream of. Without the brave men and women fighting for our country every day, we wouldn't be free. 

To all soliders, past and present:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

... and God bless you all.

"There is a pride most will never understand. It is a series of late night phone calls, I miss yous, see ya laters, dress blues, lots of tears, endless prayers, care packages and love letters, countdowns, homecomings, best friends, dog tags, skype dates: a military thing most will never understand." 

Happy Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day.

"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you."
-Author unknown


(Aaron arriving home on emergency leave from Korea)

I just wanted to say a sincere thank you to all soldiers who serve or have served our country.

My husband was lucky enough to make it home alive, with a metal plate in his skull, but alive. That might scare some of you, but we are so blessed that he made it home. Not everyone is that lucky. Aaron lost many friends while he was in Iraq, and more die in the middle east every day that we don't hear about on the news because it's "depressing", "discouraging", or "old news." To me, that's sad.

It's not an easy life, but somebody has to do it.

Thank you for keeping us free.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Some great songs to listen to today:
"American Soldier" -Toby Keith
"'Til the Last Shot's Fired" -Trace Adkins
"Have You Forgotten?" -Darryl Worley
"Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" -Toby Keith
"If You're Reading This" -Tim McGraw
"Arlington" -Trace Adkins
"Drive On" -Johnny Cash
"If I Die Before You Wake" -Dustin Evans
"God Bless the USA" -Lee Greenwood
"Come Home Soon" -SheDaisy
"Iraq and I Roll" -Clint Black
"8th of November" -Big and Rich
"Message from Home" -Lonestar

I've been bad.

I've been a bad blogger. I know.
It just takes so long to do posts on my ipad, and time is a commodity when you have a wild {CRAWLING!} six month old and no husband around to help.
Yes, you read that right: Elliot is starting to crawl! He's also just learning how to go forwards in his walker. You know what that means? I need to do some serious baby proofing. Like, yesterday.
I'm also busy getting ready for our move to Texas. Aaron finally got his orders. He will be flying in on July 14th at 10:30pm, so my father-in-law and I {and Elliot, of course} will be driving down to meet him, staying in a hotel for the night, and then visiting friends in the area the next day before heading back up north. I have planned am planning a lot of things to do while he's home on leave for fifteen days before we fly out to Texas, too- Elliot's baptism, an overnight trip to Macinac Island {possibly WITHOUT the baby?! Eeep!}, camping, and visiting a lot of family and friends.
We had to leave behind a lot of our furniture and things during the move from Arizona to Korea, so I've also been making some big purchases lately- a gorgeous new bedroom set, dining room table, new dishes, bedding, etc. I can't wait to see it all set up in our new home!
I have A BUNCH of photos to post, but don't really like editing on my iPad, so I shall be posting them later this week when my new laptop arrives! Yay!
23 days! ♥

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day. This is a bittersweet holiday for me, because Elliot and his daddy do not get to spend their very first Father's Day together. It just seems wrong. The last time Aaron saw Elliot, he was only six weeks old. SIX WEEKS!! Elliot has changed and grown so much since then... and Aaron has missed so much. I know he would have loved to be here for every moment of the last sox months, but he couldn't. That's just army life. I've grown to accept it. It doesn't mean I have to like it, though!
Even when he is hundreds of miles away, in a foreign country, Aaron is still a wonderful father. I knew he would be! There was never a shadow of doubt in my mind. I can't wait to see both of my boys together again... in only 25 days!
Some of my favorite father-son pictures {taken before I had my fabulous Canon DSLR} :

the army's new plans for our family

My husband called me today with some exciting news- he finally got his projection, has a levy brief first thing tomorrow morning, and should have his orders within a week. For those of you unfamilar with the army lingo, this basically means that we're finding out exactly what his new job {MOS} in Texas will be, and exactly where {what unit} he'll be heading.
Of course, none of this is set in stone until he actually has his orders in hand... but here's what he will be doing, most likely.
He is still going to be a UAV {unmanned air vehicle} pilot, but instead of flying the Shadow spy planes that he flies now, he will be flying Warrior Alpha planes, which are equipped with hellfire missiles! Although I'm a pacifist, my husband is definitely NOT. {You know what they say about how opposites attract...} Truthfully, he really misses the danger and adrenaline rush of his infantry days. This new job will give him a taste of that excitment again- but since he is not actually INSIDE the plane, the chances of him being shot again are slim to none {THANK GOD!}.
In addition, it looks like he is going to join a batallion, which I won't name here, that mostly does top secret search and destroy missions. This group... we'll call it "Task Force O" usually deploys every six months for six months at a time. To some of you, that may sound awful, but quite honestly, a six month deployment is much easier to handle than twelve months {or longer}. Aaron spent fifteen months in Iraq and is now in Korea for twelve months. Honestly, I cannot imagine him being gone for so long again. So, yes, he will deploying a lot more often. But he'll also be gone for a much shorter period of time.
Honestly, I couldn't be happier for him- this is right up his alley and we both think he will like his job a lot more now. In fact, he has been thinking seriously about getting out of the army once this contract is finished, but if he really enjoys this new job, then he will probably make this a career, which I am all for- especially in this uncertain economy!
{49 Days!}

50 Days...

I just realized that my husband will be home in 50 Days!
This has been such a bittersweet year. When all is said and done, it will have been the longest and hardest 365 days of my life- but over the past year were some of the happiest days I'll ever know. The only thing that could have made those moments sweeter would have been having my husband by my side to watch our son grow and change. He has missed SO much- Elliot's first smile, laugh, tooth... and many, many more things. When he left, Elliot was a sickly, helpless newborn who demanded to be held 24/7, had a constantly upset tummy, and cried... A LOT. Now, he is a smiley, giggly, playful, active, happy little boy who hardly cries at all. He has also DOUBLED in weight since Aaron held him last.
Oh, my husband is in for quite the surprise!

Movin, movin, movin...

Only a few hours after I finished my mini-rant on my last post, my husband called me with some EXCELLENT news. Branch must have gotten tired of Aaron calling every day for the past month, so they finally got their act together! Guess where we're headed next?
Fort Hood {Killeen, Texas}
Back to the warmth and sunshine! This was my first choice, so... needless to say, I am VERY excited.
Just for fun, here are all the states I've lived in {I added TX}.

Lately.

I took some of the advice you lovely ladies gave me. After slathering up Elliot's head with olive oil and combing out the chunks and loose hair {yuck!} Elliot's cradle cap is now about 95% better. Hooray! He might not have much hair left... but hey, at least his scalp looks nice again. You know... since you can see it so well these days :).

Remember how just a few days ago, I was worried that Elliot wasn't grabbing or picking up things yet?


Yeah. Well, obviously that's not a problem anymore.


He can pick up big things...


... and little things. He loves pushing these beads to the other side {where he can't reach} and waiting for me to push them back.


Elliot hanging out in his walker, which he LOVES!


He can't touch the floor yet, but he doesn't seem to mind.


He also likes to lay on my lap while I'm reading. Now, how much do you actually think I'm able to read when I look down and see this adorable little face looking up at me?! Not much. That's for sure.

And just a mini rant: My husband comes home in 70 days, and we STILL haven't heard where we're moving next. We really want to live on base this time, and I want to get things set up with the movers. But, you know, we can't really put our names on the housing list OR have our stuff sent anywhere, until we know where the heck we're moving.
Technically, you are supposed to get a reassignment projection 90 days before you leave. That was 20 days ago. Just sayin.


We'd love a few more votes! I'm also loving all of the comments on my blog lately. I promise I read every single one. I really wish Blogger had a way to reply to individual comments. ANNNDDD, we have some PRETTY awesome giveaways coming up soon! I'm excited. So you should be :)

Another day, another doctor appointment.

Well, Elliot went to the doctor today for his 4-month well baby appointment. He is now 12 lbs 12 oz and 26.2" long. That puts him at the 10th percentile for weight {up 5% from last time} and the 90th percentile for height. Looks like he's going to be tall and skinny like his mama!!!
Elliot was also finally put on antibiotics for bronchitis. His lungs also sounded terrible so there were some questions about pneumonia, but his doctor {thankfully} decided to wait and see how he does on the meds since hes already had so many x-rays in his short life. No need to expose him to even more gamma rays if we don't have to!
He can't get his shots until he feels better... I'm not too heartbroken about that, though. If some of you are wondering why I've never talked about vaccinations on this blog, when I talk about practically everything else, there is a reason. If given a choice, I definitely would have practiced delayed vaccination and possibly even selective vaccination. The army, however, did not give me a choice. I'd tell you how frustrated I am about that, but it would be a lost cause and a waste of my time so I won't bother.
In other news, we are in the middle of a SNOWSTORM. We are supposed to get 5-12 inches and my dad {a meteorologist} seriously doubts that my brothers will have school tomorrow. This is RIDICULOUS!!!!!

Our government disgusts me

I am extremely dissapointed in our government!

A Lazy Sunday

First of all, it is SNOWING outside. I am SO ready for the sun to come out and the snow to melt so that on lazy days like today, I can take Elliot outside. I'm sick of winter. For me, winter loses it's appeal right after New Years. As soon as the holidays are over, this dreadful season should end!
I always miss my husband more on the weekends. Probably because he works long hours all week, so Saturday and Sunday are "our" days. So yes, thanks to this dreary weather, I've spent half the day today thinking about how much I miss my husband and {I'll admit it} feeling a little sorry for myself. I'm ready to move to wherever our next duty station is and actually start start living our life as a little family of three.
Oh well. At least I have this cute little guy to cheer me up:

two things

Folks, I have some big news:

1. I just found out that my husband is being deployed. For those of you who saw my angry tweets and facebook statuses a couple days ago, this explains why I will not be able to talk to him for so long. Prayers for his safety would be wonderful! {This isn't a HUGE change for us- we are still separated either way- I just liked knowing he was safe and sound at his base in South Korea.}

2. My DSLR is supposed to be here TOMORROW!?! Fastest shipping ever! I wish I could put into words how excited I am. Be prepared for pictures. LOTS of pictures.

Big News!

Nothing is set in stone yet, but I just had to jump on and inform you all:
My husband is putting in the paperwork to extend his tour... so that Elliot and I can join him in KOREA!
This was our original plan- to do an accompanied tour and spend a few years together in a foreign country. Everything changed when we found out about Elliot's condition, but now that he is healthy- we might still be able to do it! I am so excited!

Guess what!!

HE'S HOME!

Tensions between North & South Korea

In case you didn't know, my husband is currently in South Korea. I'm not sure if you've been following the news, but North Korea has been doing some pretty shady things lately- such as sinking ships and attacking islands, killing South Korean soldiers and civilians. Because of all that is going on, my husband's platoon has been on alert, and soldiers are not allowed to take passes or leave until further notice.
So that basically kills my hope of Aaron being able to be home for our son's birth. The only way he can come home is on emergency leave- once I'm already in labor. And it'll take at least twenty-four hours for him to get back into the states.

Here are some articles about what is going on:
'Crisis Status' in South Korea After North Shells Island
South Korea Reassesses Its Defenses After Attack
In South Korea, New Stirrings for Revenge
South Korea Warns North Against New Attack

Please pray for Aaron's safety {and that he can come home soon!}

Have you thanked a soldier today?

As you all know, my husband is currently serving our country in South Korea. But what most of you do not know is that he also spent a long fifteen months in Iraq- where he was shot in the head by a sniper. This earned him a purple heart. Miraculously, he survived and is still fighting for our country today!
I try to thank God every day for sparing his life and bringing him safely home to me. Not everyone is so lucky. Aaron lost friends in Iraq- friends whose families were left behind.

♥Aaron Patrick:
Thank you for everything that you do for this country.
I couldn't be more proud.
Happy Veteran's Day.

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."
-Elmer Davis

Rain, rain, go away...

Sorry I've been MIA lately.
The weather has been TERRIBLE (cold and rainy) and I've been sick.
To make matters worse, my husband has been really down lately. He hates being in Korea without me, and every time I talk to him, he's in a bad mood. Cheering him up is impossible. I just wish there was something more that I could do! I feel so helpless. Usually I look forward to talking to him everyday... but now everytime we say "goodbye," his mood has worn off on me and brought me down a little, too.
I am so thankful for this little boy. I had an OB appointment yesterday, and things went really well. I'm measuring right where I should be, and my OB still thinks my weight is perfect, even though I feel like I've gained way more than everyone else in my birth club. Elliot's hearbeat was a little irregular (but still in the 140s). The OB chalked it up to him being so active or hiccups. It worried me a little, though.
I just keep praying that things will continue to go smoothly. And I'm very much looking forward to finally being reunited with my husband and meeting my son.
I could use some cheering up!

We're slipping a little- my fault for not posting! Care to vote? :)

best news ever!

My husband's commander gave him permission to stay the WHOLE TIME Elliot is in the NICU! We've both been operating under the assumption that he would have to head back to Korea about two weeks after he was born, so this is such great news. It will be so much better having my husband by my side during such a rough time.
Things really seem to be looking up for my little family of three.
Hopefully, this little boy will cooperate and wait until Aaron gets here, on December 14th, to make his grand entrance. I'll be 37 weeks then.

Click click click? :)

Beautiful.

A beautiful song by U2 specially written for the movie "Brothers," which was nominated for two golden globes. As an army wife who nearly lost her husband in Iraq (he was shot in the head by a sniper), this song really hits home for me. Not to mention the movie. If you haven't seen Brothers, I highly recommend you watch it. It accurately portrays the problems many soldiers face as they struggle with PTSD and coming home. I am so glad that my husband will not be returning to Iraq or Afghanistan anytime soon. And I feel so blessed to still have him here with me, as we take this journey together and hopefully start a family soon. He will be a wonderful father.