Army of 4

So much to do....

2008-11-24T10:44:00.002-05:00

......so little time! This week we are traveling to Alabama for Thanksgiving! WHOOHOO!! We get to travel with a 2 & 1/2 year old and a 1 month old, this should be interesting! LOL!! I'm sure it will go fine....says the Daddy! I have so much to do to get ready for this trip! Packing (this time for 2 kids!), laundry, cleaning, dishes, etc. etc. etc. Not to mention that some kid at church got Jeremiah sick last night! Question....why do parents bring their children to church coughing (like the croupy sound!) and their nose running uncontrollably?? WHY?? I ask! Do they think..'maybe no one else will catch this.' Or do they just not care that it might, just might infect another child?! Responsibility people!! That's all I ask!

Ok, now that my ranting is over! hahaha! It's time to get back to work!

One quick story! Jeremiah is a funny kid, and here's why. Last night he felt the need to take EVERY toy out of his toy box, and I mean EVERY toy! Here's the scenario, He finds a toy and says, "Mommy, I got a phone!! I talk to Opa! Hello Opa! Ok, bye!" and then throws it over his shoulder! "Mommy! I got Luigi!" (For those of you who may not know, Luigi is a character in the movie 'Cars') "Mommy! I got a Zebra!" "Mommy! I got Superman!" "Mommy! I got a ball!" Thus, throwing ALL the toys in the middle of the living room! It's hilarious to watch because he gets so excited over a small toy he hasn't seen in literally months! He only plays with the toy for 1/2 a second and then throws it behind him and keeps going. So, now, a project I have given myself on top of trying to get ready for the Alabama trip is to go through the toys and try to get rid of some that way it can be filled back up again at Christmas! LOL!! Off to toy sorting I go!

She's here!

2008-11-17T13:55:00.004-05:00

Well for those of you who don't know, Rachel Ann Bates joined our family on October 21st. She is beautiful and I can't stop looking at her. The Lord has blessed our family in so many ways! It's a short post, but I need to nap while both children are! And that doesn't happen often! :) Here are a couple of pics for you to enjoy!

Aren't they just cute! Jeremiah's first time to hold his Sister!

Here we are the new Army of 4!

My Cuties! Jeremiah was a giarraffe and Rachel was a Panthers cheerleader for Halloween! (Daddy actaully got the Panthers outfit! It was hard, him being a Colts fan and all!!!)

Counting The Days!!

2008-10-16T16:26:00.002-04:00

Let me just start off by saying that I know it's been a while since I've written anything on here! Too much going on around here! So, I apologize to the few of you who actually read my blog!

Jeremiah has started WEE School and he LOVES it and so do I!! What Mom donesn't enjoy a few moments to clear her head with out hearing "Mommy, Mommy, MOMMY!!!!" and having to check every 5 seconds to see what he might be tearing up or getting into! I'm so glad that he is there, he really enjoys it! He was sick this past week with a cold and missed Tuesday and he cried and all he talked about was wanting to go to 'cool' (as he calls it)! It's comforting to know that he really enjoys going to school. He's even made a little buddy, whom he talks about just about every time I pick him up from school!

The real news is that only a couple of weeks left of this pregnancy!! It feels like FOR-EV-ER that I've been pregnant!! I'm not sure I like being pregnant what feels like all year! We are all ready for this baby girl to come into our arms! Jeremiah asked me one day and was actually looking around the house saying"Mommy, Where's baby sister?" How cute! I'm sure he'll learn soon where she is and why she's taking up so much of Mommy's time! :):) We put the infant seat in the car just in case we need it soon and now when Jeremiah gets in he says, "Baby Sister goes in there!" I think he's ready for his sister too!! We will try to post some pics once we get things settled after Baby Girl comes home, but just bear with us! Hopefully I won't be so slack and wait another 4 months before something gets posted on here!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-11T11:05:00.001-04:00

Baby & Zoo

2008-06-11T09:53:00.002-04:00

I know it's been a while, so here's a little bit about what's been going on around here. This is for the 2 of you who actually read my pathetic little blog............IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!! That's right we are having a baby girl! The first granddaughter on both sides of our families! Think she'll be spoiled rotten? :) Now I get to go pick out cute little dresses and hairbows, etc! How fun! Oh, and I know the next question is going to be 'what is the name?'. Well.......you'll just have to wait till October to find out! We haven't quite decided on one yet, and even if we have, it's a secret!! :):)

Rich's company is AWESOME!! He loves it! And one thing that is great about it is that they get CHEAP tickets to things, and I mean CHEAP! We got Zoo tickets, SUPER CHEAP!! It was only $6 for all of us to get in!!!! (Not to mention he came home one day with tickets to the Discovery Place!! Whoohoo!) So needless to say, on Saturday we went to the Zoo in Columbia, SC! It was so stinking hot, but we all had a GREAT time! There was plenty of shade and we drank water like it was going out of style! Jeremiah had so much fun seeing all the animals in real life that we tell him about and that he sees in books! The Elephants, Giraffes, Turtles and Fishes were his favorite! We could have spent the whole day in the Aquarium! Of course he came out with a prize to remember his first Zoo trip! Here are some pictures! Enjoy!

Baby Poll

2008-05-14T13:05:00.002-04:00

I've added a poll to see what people think we are going to have. Boy or Girl? We have our ultrasound in a few weeks and I thought it would be fun to see what people think that we might have! Now, you only have a 50/50 chance, so pick wisely! Haha! :) We will let you know what the baby is once we have the ultrasound! And whomever guess right will get a huge pat on the back!

Finding Things to Do Around the House!

2008-05-06T16:32:00.002-04:00

Well, this week starts the second week that Rich has been at his job! He loves it and they love him too!! They are very impressed with his speed on AutoCAD! Rich leaves early in the morning and comes home around 5:30-6. It's not too bad, other than the fact that I have no car!!!! Until the end of this month when Rich can go down to Alabama to get his Jeep. Therefore, I'm trying to find things to do with my very energetic almost 2 year old, with out pulling out my hair all day! So, if anyone has any ideas of what to do at home, I'd love to hear them! I can't wait till our neighborhood pool opens, we will be down there quite frequently this summer! It's amazing how something as little as having a car can impact your day to day life! As of now I am truly a Stay-At-Home Mom, and I mean stay at home!

Answered Prayer!

2008-04-25T10:05:00.002-04:00

Once again GOD IS SO GOOD!! RICH HAS A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And he starts Monday! We are soooooo excited! He will be working with a company that deals with the oil industry (I believe) and will be doing 3-D drawings! Rich got a call yesterday and the lady said that they wanted to skip the second interview and then asked when he could start! WOW!! We have been in prayer about a job for Rich for months, and our faithfulness has paid off! The Lord definitely has His Hand on our family! What a blessing! All we can do is give all the praise and glory to the Lord! Because of our trust in the Lord to provide all the things we needed the past few months, God has blessed us with a great job for Rich! Thank you to those who have been in prayer with us, we truly appreciate your faithfulness as well! 'Thank you Lord for this wonderful opportunity for Rich and our family!'

Birth Order of Children

2008-04-19T10:41:00.002-04:00

My sister-in-law sent this to me in an e-mail and rather than bore everyone with yet another forwarded e-mail, I thought I'd post it on my blog, so that if you want to read it you can. I thought it was just hilarious! Any of us with children (and any # of children) will understand, and since I'm going to have baby #2, we'll just see if it will come true! I hope you laugh as much as I did! Enjoy!

Birth Order of Children:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing. 3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners.

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children

Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays 2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

Our New Miracle!

2008-04-11T10:11:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was my first OB visit! And boy was it exciting!! My OB is the sweetest lady and she's really great! I love her! She delivered Jeremiah, so I'm siked that she will also deliver our second child! I think that's really cool! Rich and Jeremiah went with me, so that made it even more special! My Dr. did and ultrasound (don't ya just love those!!) and it was the neatest thing! It's comforting to see what is making me sick all day! haha! This visit I was a little farther along then I was with my first visit with Jeremiah, so the baby didn't look like a peanut! You could actually see the arms and legs, just a moving and kicking! How sweet! I love it!! Jeremiah was fascinated with seeing the baby on the screen! He kept saying, "Baby, WOW!" I'm excited to see how he will be once the baby gets here! I just love seeing the miracle of a baby being developed! How can anyone say it's NOT a miracle! Children are defiantly a blessing! Maybe we don't think so when they get into the pantry and dump the huge bag of craisins on the floor! But, God blesses us through that huge smile when they look up at you after dumping it all over thinking they've just scored the jack pot! :) How can you not love that face! (Wish I had a picture of that day!) I will leave you with our new baby's first picture! Enjoy!

That's Right!!

2008-04-02T12:45:00.002-04:00

You got it!! The Army of 3 will soon be the Army of 4!!!! We will be adding a new little Bates into our family sometime in October!! We are very excited!! One thing I'm not so excited about is the morning sickness, well for me, it's been ALL DAY sickness!! I don't remember being this sick when I was pregnant with Jeremiah, although my Mom and Rich say that I was! It's a yucky feeling!! My Mom tells me all the time, 'Just think about the end result, it will all be worth it then!' Yes, Mom, I agree, and there is no greater feeling than seeing your baby for the first time!! I must give some thanks for the WONDERFUL hubby that I have!! These past few days when I've seen more of my insides than I really ever wanted to, he's been a saint!! He takes care of Jeremiah (not to mention has changed EVERY poopy diaper since I've been pregnant!! I can't handle the smell or....yeah, you guessed it!!), does the dishes, laundry, etc. Poor guy, now he knows what it's like to be a stay-at-home mom!! haha!! He really has been great, and I really appreciate all that he's done for me!! I don't know who's more excited about the baby, me or him! :) Jeremiah is such a sweetheart! When I wake up in the mornings and am hunched over the trash can, he comes up to me and says, "Mommy, U OK??" Aaaww, isn't he just cute! I guess the next big challenge we will have with him is getting him adjusted to being a Big Brother! We tell him everyday, but I guess he won't understand until the baby gets here. Please keep us in your prayers as we venture through this journey. Please also continue to pray for my dear hubby, he still has not found a full time job (he looks and applies all day!!) . He was doing some contract work with a company in Matthews, however, they do not have enough work to keep him there full-time. So, in the mean time I am working my 2 part-time jobs to help make ends meet. Rich is also picking up a few hours working with my parents, so I know that will help. I know that God will provide for the needs of our family as He has shown me several times in the past! How Great Is Our God!

Big Boy Bed!!

2008-02-28T11:02:00.002-05:00

Jeremiah has graduated to a 'Big Boy Bed'!! He slept in it for the first time last night!! He did GREAT!!! We had converted his crib into a 'toddler bed' a few nights ago, and he did fine. We thought we'd go ahead and put together the bed I got at Pier 1 Kids when they went out of business! Speaking of which, those crazy people, they sold me bunk beds and we didn't get the top bunk!!! AAARRRGGG!!! It's labeled right on the beds--BUNK-- I contacted them to see what they can do, hey even if they can't do anything we got and awesome, really sweet bed for $40!!!!! Jeremiah layed right down in his bed last night and didn't try to get out. We explained to him that he wasn't to get out until Mommy and/or Daddy came to get him in the morning! And when we woke up this morning, he was standing there crying (like he always does). He didn't even try to get out of the bed, even thought he knows how!! I was worried about the whole transition thing, but he seems to be doing just fine! He loves it! Even our cat, Tig, takes naps on it! :) Here are some pictures we took of the bed and of him sleeping! Enjoy!

My New Big Boy Bed!!

Do you see any drool? I like my new pillow too!!

AAAWWW!! Poor Bacon got thrown to the end of the bed, and face down! Poor little guy! haha!! Have no fear Bacon, he still loves you! He won't leave the bed with out you!

NEW CAR!!! Well......

2008-02-19T09:04:00.003-05:00

.......Not really!! I just wish it was!! I have my Mom's car!! Don't ya just love it! :) Rich, PRAISE THE LORD, has gotten to do some contract work with an architect that goes to our Church!! What a blessing! Rich's Jeep is still in Alabama, waiting to see to be sold! C'mon you Jeep buyers, where are ya!? Hehe! So, because his Jeep is not here, we only have one car, which is kind of strange in this day and age, where everybody in the house has a car! My Aunt, who is up from Florida and has finished her chemo and recently had surgery, has a doctor appointment today. Because of the surgery she can't drive, so why you ask do I have my Mom's car. My Mom fell down the stairs at her house last week, she sprained her ankle and hurt her back really bad, so she's kind of out of commision for a little while! So, I get to drvie my Mom's car while Rich is at work and be a shofer for her and/or my Aunt! :) I LOVE her car! It's new, and BIG and rides sssoooooo good!!!! Not to mention the sound system is top of the line, so I'm bringing on the KJ-52, Kutless, TFK, etc!!! Plus, the liscence plate advertises for their business!! WHOOHOO!!! (Hint! Hint! Go check it out! www.dinnerafare.com)

W.E.E School!

2008-02-07T12:03:00.000-05:00

Well I must say that I'm pretty excited!! I dropped off my form to my Church to enroll Jeremiah in W.E.E. School (Weekday Early Education) this week. I know that Jeremiah will be glad to go! He just sokes up any information, so I try and work with him on colors and alphabet, etc sometimes. Plus, he's kind of a bully to other kids, so maybe this will help him not to be so mean to other kids! We'll see about that one! :) I was a little confused when I went to drop off the form because I have never done this before. I should have just asked someone before hand, but no, me and my independence said 'I'm going to do it myself, I'll figure it out!'. I did figure out where I needed to go (thanks to the help of another Mom that showed up about 8:00!), but the funny part is that I got to the Church at like 7:30am or so!!! YES!! That's right, 7:30AM!!!!! I thought there would be this line of people waiting at the door, because I've heard stories of people waiting in line and even spending the night in the parking lot to register their kids! So, since it was open to the Church members first I thought I would show up early in order to beat the crowd!! And boy did I!!! There was NOBODY there at that time! I guess some people weren't as ambitious as me! HAHA!! So, since I was the second person to drop off the form that day, I know that Jeremiah has a spot! :) I had debated a long time on whether or not to even put Jeremiah in W.E.E School, but I asked the Lord to provide the money. We just didn't have the 'extra' money laying around for the registration fee, so I told the Lord that if He wanted Jeremiah to go school that I would trust Him for the money. This was on like Wednesday or Thursday and I had to have the money by Monday!!! Nothing is impossible with God!! Rich sold an online computer game over the weekend, so it came out to be enough for the registration fee!! What an Awesome God! Just another reminder that God will take care of us. It was a clear to me that God had answered my prayer! I'm so excited the Lord has provided a way for Jeremiah to be inriched in His love!! I can't wait until the fall to see how he will grow in His will! Thank you Lord for providing a way for Jeremiah to learn more about how awesome you are!

My Soldier Is Home!

2008-02-05T10:56:00.000-05:00

I know this post is a little late, but Rich IS HOME!!! We are so glad to have him home! Jeremiah is SOOO glad to see his Daddy everyday now! He cries if Rich goes outside and everything, is 'Daddy! Daddy!'. It's amazing how much you really count on your husband to help with things. While Rich was gone I did everything around the house AND take care of Jeremiah! (You stay-at-home Moms know what I mean!) But I must say that the hardest part of it all was not being able to pick up the phone and talk to Rich whenever I needed him. I would have gladly followed in that life, but God has other plans for our family! God brought Rich home to fulfill his other dream of drawing houses, and let me just say not just any house, we're talking 14,000 square feet, 1/2 million dollar (or more) houses like on Lake Norman!!!! God has blessed Rich with an amazing talent of drawing houses, and Rich is very excited to get back into this again! So, Rich has been job hunting since the day he got home, what a guy! We are both trusting that the Lord will bring him the job that is right for him. We have seen God's Mighty Hand over us the past couple of months, so we have no doubt that God will provide the right job for Rich! Please pray with us that a job will be found quickly!

"Bacon!"

2008-01-25T15:57:00.000-05:00

Ok! So here's the "Bacon" story! When Rich came home at Christmas, he brought home this reindeer stuffed animal. Rich said that his Drill Sergeant gave them to anyone who had children, so that they could give it to them. So, below is the picture of Rich giving it to Jeremiah. Jeremiah, by all means would rather have a truck, so this reindeer quickly made it into the pile of toys to be played with later.

So, the story just doesn't end there!! Ever since Rich has gone back to Basic, Jeremiah has resurfaced this reindeer! He has been carrying it around with him, to and fro (I think only because Daddy gave it to him and he misses his Daddy! Most of his stuffed animals don't get this much attention!) So, this reindeer has graduated to being in the crib with him at night, now normally any animal that is in the crib when I lay him down at night ends up on the floor by morning, probably before I finish closing the door! So, in amazement the other morning, the reindeer was still in the crib! Before I picked him up he ran to get the reindeer and was saying 'Bacon! Bacon! Bacon!" LOL!!! My child has named his reindeer Bacon!! I have no idea where he got that from, but it's just too funny!! So, we have a new member of the family so kindly named, Bacon!

This is Jeremiah and 'Bacon' watching the movie Cars (Thanks Grammy & Granddaddy!! It's his favorite movie!).

Now, as you can see 'Bacon' goes where Jeremiah goes now (even breakfast)! They are buds!! This is new for me because this is Jeremiah's first 'lovey'! Hopefully this stuffed animal will last a little while!

Psalm 46

2008-01-18T12:43:00.000-05:00

God is our refuge and strength.
A very pleasent help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved,
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations made and uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth;
He makes the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
"Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
-Psalm 46

I came acoss verse 10 ('cease striving and know that I am God') in an old journal from my college days. It was actually a verse that someone else had put in there. How encouraging! When I looked up the verse, I couldn't help but read the entire chapter! According to my study Bible the theme of this chapter is: 'God is always there to help, providing refuge, security and peace. God's power is complete and His ultimate victory is certain. He will not fail to rescue those who love Him.' WOW!! How powerful is that!! AMAZING!! As some of you may or may not know, Rich is being medically discharged from the Army for some heart reasons. This is a time of uncertainty in our lives. But how awesome to think that we (Rich, Jeremiah, and I) are right where God wants us! We don't know nor understand why God has brought this upon our family, but what we do know is that God will provide!! Isn't it just amazing how God comforts us! A random thought to open this journal, and look where God took me! Straight to His Word!!!!!!! If that's not comfort in time of need, I don't know what is! Please continue to keep us in your prayers, as I'm sure you are. A specifc prayer: for God to provide a job for Rich, and for patience and guidence with my child! Remember that we need to stop striving and trying ourselves for things to work out, but stop and know the He IS God and to let His Spirit comfort us! God is in control!

Remember This?!

2008-01-11T09:35:00.000-05:00

Ok, so please tell me that someone else out there remembers these huge-o cell phones! HAHAHA!!! I'm not kidding, this is no joke, that phone is REAL!!! It was one of the first flip cell phones from back in the day....yeah....at least 13 years ago!!! When my cousins were here over Christmas/New Years some how we got on the conversation of cell phones. I remembered that my Mom had an old one in the kitchen drawer! So I pulled it out! My 14 year old cousin Michele just cracked up! I don't know that she had ever really seen one in real life! So, in our funniness we decided to take pictures of the old 80's phone along side the 2000's phone! AMAZING how the times have changed in only a few short years!

Ok, so here's the funny part! Michele was laughing so hard she almost couldn't take the picture! The 80's phone almost didn't fit in the picture once it was all folded out! The picture below is my cousin Jay acting as if he was talking on the huge-o cell phone!! haha!

So, can't you just picture it. Here we are back in 1987, driving down the road (well for me, I'd be in the back seat watching my Mom) talking on the cell phone, thinking we are just 'all that' because we now have a 'flip phone' and not one of those 'bag phones'!! Yes! I said 'bag phones'! Hopefully I'm not the only one out there that remembers those! And, sadly (and hilarious) to admit my family had one of those too!!! So, I can hear you asking, 'Why does your Mom still have that phone?!' Well my answer to you would be, only for us to take it out every couple of years and reminisce about the 'good 'ol times'! And just think, one day our children will be doing the same thing, we will have kept what we thought was the coolest cell phone (and what we consider small, too), and they will have a pen for a phone!! Ok, so again I quote Larry the cable guy: "I don't care who you are, that's funny!"

Worlds Worst Blogger!!

2008-01-10T13:52:00.000-05:00

I have come to realize that I am the Worlds Worst Blogger!! I had all these great intentions of updating the blog everyday! HAHAHA!!! I laugh at myself because it's been almost a month since my last post!!! Maybe I'm not cut out for this blogging thing! But, fear not my fellow blog readers, I will press on update our blog!!

So many things have happened in a month! Wow, how times flies!! My hubby came home for Christmas and that was by far the BEST Christmas present an Army wife could ever ask for!! It was such a blessing to have him home! Jeremiah sure enjoyed seeing his Daddy! We had a great Christmas! My Dad's side of the family always gets together for a family Christmas Reunion (we usually call it the 'Roost Christmas' because of the family last name-Cocking,it means rooster-and my grandparents used to have a mountain home but recently sold it because the family has outgrown it!!), and this year it was in Charlotte! My Dad is one of four boys, so you can imagine the fun and chaos that goes on when all the brothers and their families get together! This is pretty much the only time of year that we get to see that side of the family, so it was great to have Rich here so that he could see the family too!

I will leave you with a couple of pictures from the past month. Enjoy!

Here is the picture of my grandparents and the four boys. Left to right: Matthew, Marty (my Dad), Karen, Jack, Mark and Mike.

This is at my parents house when all the family was there. There was a bunch of us playing games in the kitchen and Jeremiah kept getting into trouble in the living room so we locked him in the kitchen with us! He kept looking under the gate and standing on his tippy-toes to see down the hall and kept talking to those he could see! It was too cute!

Look at my handsome men! That's all I can say about this picture! :)

My Mom got her grands this little car for Christmas! It's not battery powered, it's like a 'Flinstone' car! The boys (Jeremiah and my nephew, Sammy) loved it! My Mom didn't realize that it had to be put together, so my Dad and brother had to put it together. On the box I think it said something like, "Only 67 pieces"!!!!! Yeah!!!! "I don't care who you are, that's funny!!!" (quoting Larry the cable guy).

3 MORE DAYS!!!!

2007-12-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS!!!! On Thursday I will be picking up my hubby at the airport! Isn't that exciting! Yesterday on the way to Church Jeremiah was in the back seat pointing out the window and saying, "Daddy! Daddy!" and then he started blowing him kisses! Too cute! I guess he thought that we were going to pick up Daddy! Everytime we get in the car he does that now! Do you think he's ready to see his Daddy?! Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of watching my nephew, Sammy, while his parents went to the Panthers game! That was fun, and sure was a handful! Kudos to you Mom's of two or more!! Sammy is 14 months and Jeremiah is 18 months! They had so much fun playing together! Jeremiah woke up this morning saying, "Where's Mammy?" (That's how he says Sammy's name! haha!) and was looking around the living room for him! Think he had fun! Here's a picture of them, the few moments that they were actually still and watching Curious George, their favorite! That only lasted about 5 minutes! Notice Sammy is holding a Curious George doll!

Call my from my Soldier!

2007-12-13T12:12:00.000-05:00

Today has been ok. But the past few weeks have been quite stressful, as I haven't heard from my hubby. Until today!! YEAH!!! He's doing fine, just keep him in your prayers, as I know you are. He's got a lot going on right now. It was wonderful to hear his voice again, as it was about 2 weeks since I've spoken with him. Talk about hard ladies, not being able to have any, other than letters that take a week to get to you, contact with your hubby. Today also marks the one week till I get to hug his neck!!! How exciting!!!! I don't need and/or want anything else for Christmas! Just my hubby! That's all!! Jeremiah got to talk to his Daddy today too!! It was so cute! His eyes just lit up and he grabbed the phone and started walking around just jibber-jabbering away at his Daddy!! After I got off the phone he was walking around saying, "I did, Daddy!!!" I would ask him if he got to talk to his Daddy, and that was his response! Too cute!! I don't know who's more excited to see him, me or Jeremiah! It will be the best time ever! We will definitely cherish each moment together! Rich being gone has opened my eyes to lots of things, one thing being that all those times we would have a disagreement or argument, seem so small and insignificant. And seem so pointless as to why we would even get upset at each other. I definitely have a better view of our marriage and how it's so important to rely on God to provide for us! This experience thus far has opened my eyes to really rely on the Army of One! All I can say is that God has shown His Hand in Mighty ways since Rich has been gone. All my thanks and praise goes to Him, as He will never let His children down. Yes, it's been hard, but only brought me closer to the Lord. What a wonderful Savior we have! :) Continue to pray for Rich as he only has one more week left until he comes home!! We thank you so much for your prayers, as they are evident in our lives everyday!

Our First Trip to the ER!

2007-11-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

Well Saturday was an exciting day! If you can call going to the ER exciting! Jeremiah has been battling a cold and cough. I went to work on Saturday and my Mom, Dad, Aunt Cammie and my grandparents (you think Jeremiah was in heaven with all those people to care for him! haha!) watch Jeremiah for me. Mom and my grandmother (we call her Nonny) said that Jeremiah's cough was getting worse and was going into his chest, so we gave him some cough medicine, but that didn't help. By the time I to their house after work Jeremiah was wheezing really bad, so I called the nurse on call and she listened to his breathing and she told me to take him to the ER right away! So that's what we did, packed up and ran to CMC to have Jeremiah checked out! Talk about scary! They gave Jeremiah a nebulizer treatment and his wheezing improved. They said that his cough had settled into his chest, which was causing the wheezing, and that he may just have some kind of virus that's going around! Whew! At least that's all it was! So, needless to say it was around 12am when we got home and Jeremiah threw up in the car on the way home, so I was up even later cleaning up that!! I had to take Jeremiah to the Doctor yesterday because he needed a follow up with his Pediatrician and because his cough didn't sound any better, even though we've been doing the nebulizer treatments. The doctor said that Jeremiah has an ear infection! AARRGGG!!!! The infection came from all the congestion that was built up in his head! So, now he's on antibiotics and cold medicine AND the nebulizer treatments! Boy! That sure is a lot to do! But at least it's under control now! A HUGE praise is that we have medical insurance now!! So our insurance should cover all costs!! What a blessing!!! Here are some pictures of Jeremiah's first ER visit! When we left the hospital Jeremiah was waving bye-bye and blowing kisses to all the nurses and doctors! It was so cute!

Here is Jeremiah and Oma in the waiting room playing. He doesn't really look sick does he?!

I had to wear this thing on my toe so the doctors could measure my breathing! I did not like that!

Do you like my new gown and socks? Haha!

Here I am getting my treatments!

A Letter, A Phone Call and A Picture!

2007-11-20T18:43:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all!! Today marks the one week day that Rich has been gone! It's been a tough week having to deal with that, but not so bad because of the family and friends surrounding us with love and prayers! I have received a couple of phone calls from Rich which was a surprise because I wasn't expecting to hear from him so soon!! It was the best 3 minutes.........ever!! I got my first letter from him today! (I don't have his address yet, but I'll get it out as soon as I get it!) He sounds tired, and that was a few days ago! He's got much more ahead of him! He did ask for prayer for his right foot, it seems to be hurting him in some way, so please pray that it will heal and he won't have any other problems with it! I've been busy this past weekend! Whew I'm glad it's over though! Only for it to start again with Thanksgiving! Over the weekend I went to my brother's house and hung out with my sister-in-law and my nephew! Boy, did those two boys (Jeremiah and Sammy)have a blast playing with each other! Sometimes I wondered who had more fun, Jeremiah, Sammy or my brother, Andy! HAHA!! Here are a couple of pictures from my weekend! I hope that everyone has a good Thanksgiving!

Uncle Andy and my cousin Sammy and me playing with the big bouncy ball!!

We had fun pushing each other around in the Tonka truck!

This one I just thought was funny! Do you think Jeremiah has fun playing at home?? This is what my living room looks like most of the day! Enjoy! :)

Dishes

2007-11-14T12:52:00.000-05:00

Who likes to do dishes?
It's only with wishes
That they would disappear!
I clean them up, only for them to re-appear!
Every time I turn around,
There's the sound!
The dishes waiting to be done!
Why can't I run?
Where's my Mr. Clean?
Can't he get them done?
Oh well, they must be done
For a Mother's job is never done!

We Love You!

2007-11-13T18:05:00.001-05:00

Today was Rich's last day here. I don't know any other details other than that he will be in a hotel tonight and get up really early tomorrow and...........be in Ft Sill, OK by tomorrow night! We maily just hung around the house today soking up the precious moments and memories, and did some last minute errands. I want to thank y'all for all your prayers! We can sure feel them! Here are a couple of pictures from our day!

The Army of 3!

Can I help Daddy?
I love you Daddy!
High Five!
I'm gonna miss you Daddy!
This is Rich with the Army Recuiter, SSG O'Berry

I ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers! I will probably not hear from Rich for a couple of weeks, so pray that the Lord's Peace will be with me and Rich. Pray that Jeremiah will cope with it all, he had such a hard time when Rich left, he was clinging so hard to him. Pray also for our house, that the right person will come at the right time! Thanks again! We love all of you and appreciate your prayers and support!

Alabama Trip

2007-11-05T16:26:00.000-05:00

Wow! Has this week been fun for us!! We packed up on Tuesday morning and headed to the wonderful world of Oz!! (Ozark, AL) We made one last trip down there to see Rich's family before he leaves next week (can you believe it, next week!). We were there longer than we usually visit for, so it was really nice to see the family for a little bit longer. I know Rich enjoyed seeing his family, as we don't get to see them very often! Jeremiah just LOVED his cousins!! He has 4 of them down there!! The youngest, Peter, is only 1 and is bigger than Jeremiah!! They get along so well, they were talking to each other in their baby language all day!! It was so cute, it was like they could understand each other!! Jeremiah HAD to do everything the big boys were doing!! If one was on the swing, he had to be swinging in the other one, if one was riding his bike, guess who had to have Daddy push him on the bike! Yep! You guessed it, Jeremiah!! He couldn't miss anything!! Jeremiah had so much fun on Halloween. Jeremiah was Elmo!! Or as he calls him "Melmo'! Too cute! He even had Elmo slippers!! Rich's parents church threw a Fall Festival, so we went there! Jeremiah loved the big bouncy slide!! And Daddy did too!!

Me and Daddy bouncing! It was lots of fun! I don't know who had more fun, Daddy or Jeremiah!

Me and Daddy going down the big slide!! Can we do it again Daddy!?!?!

Since I was too little to throw the ball, I just walked right up to it and put the balls in!

We also went to Uncle Tim's (Rich's brother) church's Fall Festival!! Tim is the youth minister there. Boy was that a busy night! Jeremaih had so much fun! He was worn out by the time we got home!! He almost won the costume contest!! He was the runner-up! But he did win some cookies on the cookie walk with Daddy!

Me and my cousin Powers playing in the ball pit for little kids!

Jeremiah had a big FIRST down in Alabama!!! He got his first haircut!! Bye-bye curls!! I almost cried!! I teard up a couple of times! Jeremiah was so good while Aunt Hope cut his hair! Now he doesn't look like a little boy, he looks like a little man. He looks just like Rich, so we have been calling him 'Little Rich'!

Before!

Bye-bye curls! After!!

What handsome men I have!! :) :)

I know this was a long post, but there was a lot to tell!! Hope you enjoyed reading!

A Little More Time...

2007-10-15T10:47:00.001-04:00

We have a little more time with Rich!! Rich found out last week that he will not be leaving until Nov. 14th. Rich has to have a flight physical because of the field he's going in to. He can't leave until he has that done. He will be going down to Fort Bragg (in Fayetteville, NC) to have that done, probably sometime this week. Once that's complete then he will be ready to go. He will still be going to Fort Sill, OK, for his Basic Training. We are still going to have the potluck for Rich at our house this Sunday, as some have already replied and we have made plans for the other weekends that he will be home. So, please come!! I know it will mean a lot to Rich to have you come and support him!

2 Showings, ADT and my In-Laws!

2007-10-05T12:33:00.000-04:00

WHEW!!! What a day it has been today, and it's only 1/2 over!! I got a call at 9:30 this morning from the showing agency asking if someone could come look at the house!! Now, that's what I want to wake up to!!! LOL!!! She wanted to know if someone could look at the house between 10:30-11:30 and also for 1:30-2:30!!! Well, I said it was fine. I mean, if these people want to buy our house I would like to have them look at it! So, Jeremiah and I hopped in the car and drove over to my parents, who live like 10-15 mins from us. Now, I'm just waiting on the ADT guy (who is my best friends husband) to show up to update our system. Then the next showing! WHEW! It makes me tired just thinking about it!! My in-laws are coming up from Alabama, my father-in-law has the weekend off, so they decided to come up here. This will probably be their last time to see Rich before he leaves for Basic. They will probably be here just in time for supper! My Mother-in-law requested that we go to Showmars! They don't have those in Alabama (obviously! cause it's only here!), so I'm excited to go out to eat! I was hoping for a nice relaxing day, well.....as you can see.....I'm not so sure how relaxing it's going to be! But, hey, God is in control!! Thank goodness!!!!

Not only is all this going on today but Rich is at MEPS today. I've had no contact with him since last night. He had to stay in a hotel last night and get up probably before the sun did and get shuttled to MEPS. From what I understand MEPS is just a place where he gets a COMPLETE physical!! And I mean complete!! He has an eye, hearing and medical tests!! Sounds like fun, huh?! This is something that all people that have enlisted have to do before they actually ship off. This is just a test for me to see how I will do with NO CONTACT with Rich. It was hard last night because I couldn't go to sleep till after about 1:30am. I tried everything! The Lord is just preparing me for the life that is ahead. I'm so glad that I have the Lord to lean on. I know that this whole experience (being an Army wife) will only bring me closer to the Lord! This is how God is showing me to depend on Him and Him only! I will be very glad to see Rich when he comes home. Whenever that may be!!

Change of Plans

2007-10-04T12:47:00.000-04:00

We found out last night that Rich will be leaving 2 days eariler! He will be leaving on Oct 22nd (my birthday!). He will also be going to Fort Sill (I believe) in Oaklahoma for his basic training. All the spots in Fort Benning had been filled, so they had to move Rich. Rich is getting more excited every day! Me? You ask. I'm excited because I know that this is where God wants him, but it's hard because I won't get to see him for a couple of months and I know that the road will probably get rough around here trying to run (and sell) the house, work and chase after Jeremiah. I just need to run to God when I feel down, I know that He will take care of us both, even being in two different parts of the country.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-01T11:43:00.001-04:00

First Bite!

2007-09-28T13:16:00.000-04:00

We have put our house up for sale! We got our first bite yesterday! It was kind of nerve racking as I wasn't quite ready for people to be walking through my house. I managed to get the floors cleaned up (well most of it ended up in the closet, so I hope nothing falls out of it when it gets opened! haha!). I was cleaning up and Jeremiah was walking right behind me pulling things back out and making a mess! I'm the worst for just leaving things laying around, so it's hard to keep my house absolutely straight so that on a whim I can just leave the house and it look descent! The people who looked at the house didn't like the floor plan, I was little bummed because I thought that this might be it. But I have to remember that God is in control and He will bring the right people at the right time! I'm thankful that He is there to take care of us! Just keep praying for us that we can get our act together and get the house looking good and keep it that way! We are having pictures taken of the inside of the house this weekend, so our realator can put them on line for the virtual tour! That should be pretty cool!

Packing, Packing, Packing

2007-09-25T16:16:00.000-04:00

WOW! Can we accumulate tons of STUFF!!! We have been packing up some things these past couple of days. We put our house up for sale on Saturday and we have to have pictures taken of the inside of the house!! AAAHHH!!!! That means I have to de-clutter, and fast!!! LOL!!! I'm such a packrat! (And so is Rich!) Jeremiah has been having a field day with all the boxes laying around! Why did I spend money on all those toys, when the kid loves to play with the box!! LOL!!! :) He climbs in them, on them and even pushes them around and sometimes puts things in them, like his toys! He's such a big helper! :)

Army Strong!

2007-09-24T11:43:00.000-04:00

Hello All!! It's going to be a tough road for the "Army of 3" family. As Rich is joining the Army, hence the title of our blog! :) He has always wanted to join the military, but the timing has just not been right until now! God has opened SO MANY doors for him to fulfill his dream. Rich's dream is to fly Apache helicopters, like his Dad. Rich's Dad was in the Army for 20+ years, so Rich knows and understands the Military life. Rich will be leaving on Oct 24th to go to Basic Training in Fort Benning, GA and then from there he will go to AIT school in Arizona for 23 weeks, hopefully Jeremiah and I will be able to move out west with him while he is in school. Rich will be going to school to train to be an 'Unmanned Areal Vehicle Operator', which means he will be flying a remote control plane! Rich will be home from Basic Training (BT) just in time for Christmas!! :) After Christmas he will have to go back to BT for two weeks, just to complete the training.

I'm setting up this blog spot because I'm not sure where we will travel to in our journey of the Army life, but I want all our family and friends to be able to keep up with our lives.