Thankful

The other day I was very much feeling sorry for myself. I was tired, sick with a stomach bug, my house was a mess and I was missing my husband. He called and I gave him the woe-is-me spill (yes, even though he is the one at war)..."life sucks right now" I said. He stopped me very quickly. "No Melissa, don't say that, your life doesn't suck." He reminded me of all my blessings, especially compared to some of the people in Afghanistan. So this Thanksgiving I reminded to see the blessings in even the things that I complain about daily and to know that God has a plan for me, even if I do not know what it is.

I am thankful for….

My dirty house and the endless bottles that I am cleaning because it means that I have a home and a child to make it dirty.

My long and exhausting days as a stay at home mom because that means I am financial able to not work and to enjoy my son and watch as he grows, changes, learns and surprises me everyday. It means I am able to raise my own child in the 21st century.

My busy life of being a FRG Leader. As much as I complain about the work and the constant phone calls and emails that bombard me everyday… It means that I have something to occupy my time during this deployment while helping others who are going through the same thing.

My husband being in the Army because it means that I married a man who is honorable, brave, strong, smart and a leader. I married the man who defends his country and our right to be free. I married someone who is doing his best everyday to learn more about the world and the best ways to bring it peace.

This deployoment. It makes me a stronger women. It makes my marriage stronger too...if we can survive this, we can survive anything. It makes me appreciate life in a whole new way. I don't sweat the small stuff (well usually) because I am doing bigger things and so is my husband. This deployment forces me to take a step back, think about the world we are living in (as opposed to "my" world that I live in)...think about the past and the future, but only for a second because I have to live in the moment in order to survive this year.

I am truly blessed and truly thankful for all that I have. I have the most important things in life…friends, family, health and love. There is nothing more that I could ever want.

Jude's First Halloween

Make a Smilebox postcard

Moms Group

Mom Maria fixing Bella's hair...

Jude did manage to try on his Popeye costume. I just wanted to see if it actually fit....it's tight!
Jude hanging out with Sophia...he is impressed with the way she can crawl right up to him!

Sophia with mom, Alli

Bella and Maria getting food....sorry it came out a little blurred

Kylah and beautiful boy Michael

Rikki and Miller....having sweet dreams

The crew...minus Gage

I love hanging out with the moms and babies in our mom's group. We meet once a week to eat and chat with each other about life and mommyhood. I look forward to it every week. It's nice to have a whole new set of friends who can relate to the place in life where I am at now...new mom. We originally had high hopes that we could get the babies in a picture together in Halloween costume. What were we thinking? We did take their pics...minus Mr. Gage, Jude's best boy bud, who couldn't make it this day.

Date Night...with my girls!

Our wonderful husbands bought us season tickets to the Broadway Across America series in San Antonio so that we (Rikki, Ana and I) could have date nights with each other during their deployment. First show...Rain, a tribute to the Beatles. Amazing! So much fun and the final song...Hey Jude... what could be better?

Seattle Trip

Well we did it! We made it to Seattle and back with baby! I'm not going to lie...it was hard. It wasn't exactly a vacation get away. There is nothing relaxing about traveling with a baby or saying good-bye to your husband for a year as he leaves for war. Between flying across the country, time-changes, jet lag, and getting over an ear infection, Jude was not a happy camper. He is very much a creature of habit (like his mom) and couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep well the entire time. The weather was decent for Seattle and the fall folidge was beautiful. We had an amazing hotel view of the city and bay and managed to have a lot of fun. Thanks to Aunt Kelly and Nani (Monica) for all the help...no way could I have done it without you! It was a physically and mentally exhausting trip. Glad to be back home, but so glad we went! Here are some highlights....



Hanging with dad....
Hanging tough in Nike Town...

Playing Peek-a-Boo in the rental car....

Seattle skyline from Pikes Market

Judes new hat from Nani...

Chris and Jude on the giant piggy bank in front of the fish throwing...

Fish throwing fun...

The freshest flowers for the best prices!...

Original Starbucks...one pumpkin latte please!

So I didn't get a good picture of the beautiful folidge.....but I did manage to take a picture from under the highway...it's even pretty under there!

Chris with sleepy boy, Kelly and Monica just outside Ivars on the harbor

Ivars had yummy food and we got to watch the ships coming in...

Jude crashed at the restaurant....Dad soaked up some snuggles

Eating like a big boy...

Happy Family...

Daddy Doll

One of the Family Readiness Group volunteers ordered these great "hug-a-soldier" dolls to give to all the children at our deployment ceremony. I refer to ours as Jude's "daddy doll" or sometimes I just refer to it as "dad". Dad hasn't missed a beat...

We took a family picture at the Northwest Hills UMC pumpkin patch...


And dad has even been laying at Jude's bedside to keep him company while he has been sick...

Now if these little soldiers could just do dishes and diapers, I think I would order a few more:)

First Ear Infection

This weekend Jude got his first fever, cold/ear infection. Yuck! He started "slowing down" this week and just wasn't himself. By Friday afternoon he had a fever and by Saturday afternoon he was in a lot of pain. We took him to an after-hours pediatric office and they said it was indeed an ear infection. Poor baby is all snuffly and conjested, tired, cranky and well sick. We are hoping for a speedy recovery in order to fly safely to Seattle by Sunday. We are hoping for the "all clear" from our family doctor on Thursday. He is feeling better, but still not his normal silly self. Thank goodness it's perfect weather for being sick, staying in our pajamas, and snuggling in bed.


After a long day, Jude gets cozy with his Nani...(8pm on Saturday night)
And what a difference a good night's sleep and a Longhorn win makes....(8am on Sunday)