Boys and their Toys

We have let Logan watch parts of Ironman (true Daddy's boy) and he is now in love with him! I am a sucker for buying my kids toys (which we are quick to donate others) and Logan got this awesome Ironman Action figure today. Both boys are enthralled with it. So cute:-)

Austin getting his turn (notice the head marks...just woke up from a nap)

Austin playing with his barn. I love how he pulls it up on his legs along with his blanket:-)
Logan shooting down a transformer...his Dad would be so proud!
I caught Logan walking around with his Ironman like this. Too cute!

By the way I need some ideas for dinner recipes BAD! These boys are being so picky lately and I gotta eat healthy with this pregnancy! Please do share your recipes and websites!

Thank you also for all the loving and sweet comments about Mike being gone. Like I said, I couldn't do this without all of you. Day 3 is almost done! HA! Just kidding, going smoothly so far:-)

Game Face Time

So many, SO MANY emotions flooded me today. With this being our 4th deployment, I think I have started to really get the hang of letting go and saying hello again. Unfortunately with that comes the ability to just turn off emotions. I realized today when talking with my soon to be deployed sailor, that this is all so surreal to me. I mean, we were within hours of saying goodbye and we were talking about life like it was going to continue and this huge void wasn't going to happen.

We went yesterday to drop him off only to find out that he had a 24hr delay and would be coming home for another day. Of course it was so wonderful to have him home for a bit longer, but it is really bittersweet. Our lives have been put on hold for the past 4 weeks, trying to eat up every moment, thinking..."this will be the last time in a long time that (fill in the blank)". Yesterday was the day that "life" was going to start again. I know this may sound horrible to some of you, but this is the military life for most.

So today, we sat in the USO waiting for the appropriate time to leave him at the airport. Here the boys are having a ball in the playroom with all the new toys and I am holding my husbands strong hands holding back the tears. I knew if I let them flow now, that they wouldn't stop. The boys so innocent, really had no idea what was going on. Logan, 3.5 yrs old understands what "trips" are and that Daddy was going to be gone, but he doesn't understand how long 6 months is. Austin, little guy, obviously had no clue, but I know he will miss his Daddy. We let them play for about an hour, got some lunch in, and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to stay another 3 hours, drag it out, and miss crucial nap time. There it was, the time to say goodbye.

I let Mike change Austin's diaper one last time (haha:-)) and of course the tears started. He walked us to the car and his face sweat with tears, kissed his little guy, got an open mouth kiss back, and buckled him in. He then swept Logan up in his big arms, hugged him close, said a few whispers in his ear, got kisses and let him get in the car. Next was my turn...sigh. Prayers said, kisses given, hugs tightened and tears swept away. I love you my man...come home to me.

Now I had to drive away...so awful. Of course as I am driving away all these thoughts flood my heart of "did I love him enough? have I cherished all the things he has done for me? do I remember all the things he says about life? was I a good wife..." Oh LORD! I just wanted to redo the past 10 months of this homeport. I wanted to remember all the smells, sights, and sounds of every wonderful moment with my husband. See...this is what happens when I hold all my emotions inside! They all come out on a blog! HA!

It is game face time now. It doesn't mean I won't cry or have an aching heart, it just means that I push through it for my sailor across the world and for the boys in my home. Now starts the countdown! Now "life" starts again. Routines begin, cleaning started, and new memories made. I apologize to those who haven't heard from me recently, who haven't gotten that phone call back or friendly visit. Between morning (all day) sickness and spending this time at home, I have neglected those around me. This is our life and I shouldn't change who we are because of it. Please hold me accountable in being a friend, walking with the Lord, being a loving and firm mother. My hubby may be somewhere else, but I know I am not alone. Thank you friends who are SO there for me...I truly couldn't be a military wife if it weren't for God and my support (YOU!).

The airplane to take him away

Playing with his boys one more time.
Always getting love from Logan:-)
Last family photo...hopefully our next one will be in the same airport 6 months from now!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday Re-do and extras

So I have gathered that several people CAN see the Scavenger Hunt photos and some CAN'T. When I posted it I did something I don't normally do, so I will try again! Sorry for the delay in getting it up, I was dropping the hubs off at the airport (WHOLE OTHER post to come about that one:-( I apologize for those who have already seen these pictures and the repetition! Just trying to get it to work this time!

This was my week's interpretation of these themes:

1. BOKEH

2. BUSINESS

3. REPETITION

4. ECO FRIENDLY- We planted a vegetable garden for the first time this year and our bell pepper plant is doing awesome. It has at least 12 peppers growing right now!

One of the peppers we actually got to eat together!

5. MUSIC. The Psalms are music to me. I love to read them and sing them.

Since I had never heard of Bokeh before, I was very curious and had lots of fun figuring it out. My husband was again, very helpful by making the filter ourselves and giving me opportunities to figure it out:-)

I know Logan is quite blurry in this one, but I love how he got silly when I was taking the pictures:-)

The first one I got that turned out.

It was so cool to look through the lens and filter and actually see the bokeh shapes in the background.

It was hot and Austin's face is priceless!

More diamond shapes

Finally tried the cross shape the hubs wanted to see...it worked!

Sunday's Scavenger Hunt:-)

Had another fun week doing a scavenger hunt! Hop on over to Ramblings and Photos to check out more pics!

The rules are simple:

1. Anyone can participate.
2. You're encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge.
3. If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I'm not too strict about it - I do my best to take fresh shots).
4. Link up here on Sunday (or Monday at the latest) - you can use the new button.
5. Have fun!

Now for my interpretation of the items this week:

1. BOKEH. I saw this word and had NO idea what it was...after some researching and having some fun with the hubs this is what we came up with! I think the reason why my subject is so dark is due to the aperture. I don't have a macro or prime lens, so this is the best I got with a 5.6F. I made my own filter to put over the camera to make the cross shapes.

2. BUSINESS. (this store is closed...ha!)

3. REPETITION. All I could think of is when you look into a mirror and see a repeating image.

4. MUSIC. I don't have any instruments in our house at this time in our lives (someday I WILL bring a piano back in:-)) but the Psalms are music to my ears. I love to read them and sing them:-)

5. ECO FRIENDLY. It was our first year with a garden! We are growing Red Bell Peppers, Green Beans, and tried pumpkins. Our Bell Pepper plant is awesome right now! We have about 12 or more peppers growing at this moment!
I will tell you the taste of this pepper was unlike any other! Can't wait to share some more!
Join us next week with these ideas. It's not hard...just lots of fun!

1. Red (also your POTW theme)
2. Homespace
3. Fence
4. Rock
5. Sharp

Bokeh Fun!

In this weeks scavenger hunt we were asked to do a Bokeh photo. Like I said, I had NO idea what that meant and after researching it on the internet, found some pretty explanatory tutorials. However, reading it compared to actually creating the picture was quite hard. The lenses I have for my camera have a higher F number or Aperture than needed therefore it was harder to get good lighting.

My husband and I made some DIY filters with shapes such as a diamond and cross. After we got the hang of it I had a ton of fun taking LOTS of pictures. I just had to share some of the fun ones! Plus, I notice Bokeh's a lot more in photos. I will attempt to explain it first. It is when the background of your picture is out of focus and the light reflects in shapes or mostly circles. This happens mostly when you have a low F number and are focusing in on something close by.

This was the first one I got. I thought that you have to shoot into the light, but you just have to at least have it nearby. (I think??)

Finally got it with Logan! See the long diamonds?
Love Austin's face in this one. HA!

See it on the edges...this was so cool!

Mike wanted me to try it with a cross shape...it sure worked!

Fun to actually figure it out!

I know that Logan is super blurry, but I was having fun in Town Center with the lights behind him, and Logan was having fun making faces at the camera! Love my subjects!

New design?

So I got this awesome blog header (thanks Christy!) and decided to change the look up a bit. What do you think...is it too much? I put the design on here that I thought was the craziest and I think it can be overwhelming. Does it distract you from the text and pictures? Do you like simple blogs better? I am just feeling the waters for the new look, so PLEASE be honest! Not hurt feelings on this side of the world!

Flash Me Friday! (is back!)

Interested in what everyone else lives like?
Curious to see where others live, but don’t feel comfortable asking?
Want to take a peek into your friend’s home….who lives across the country?

Then join along in our weekly blog hop! Go on over to Jen's Blog to join in and link up!

This week's flash....your dishes!

It has been a while since I have done a FMF, but we are back!

My dishes are probably not that cool, and are quite hefty at times. We have gone through several cheap kinds which we have remnants of now, but my dear husband got me this set a few Christmas's ago!

Here are is the cabinet with the other pieces and sweet wine glasses that I use for about any liquid. Gotta have those to-go coffee mugs:-)

Here is the cupboard for our boys' dishes. We were running out of room fast (we have horrible cabinet space) so we put their dishes somewhere else, but in reach for them. They love getting their own dishes and Logan can help me put his away when I am unloading the dishwasher!

Similar Yet Different

Even though this is my third pregnancy, and I feel like it's no big deal, I am so impressed with how different it is! I already feel about 4 months pregnant and probably look it with all the food I have been eating. You know that stereotypical pregnant woman who eats 24/7...yup that's me. Instead of having Mike go to the store at midnight, I ask him to go downstairs and get me a Nutrigrain bar or something. Luckily I haven't been craving any sweets...yup...I have even turned down chocolate ice cream. My parents both know that would never happen:-) It is mostly fruits and salty things. I have downed several Ramen noodles (which actually sound really good right now) and a bag of Baked Doritos. I am really trying to portion or spread out how much I eat because after working so hard to loose Austin's weight I really don't want to gain it all back! Plus, another huge thing (no pun intended) is that my hubs will be returning when I am about 9 months preggo and I don't want to be any fatter than I need to be.

Now don't get me wrong...I am not one of those gals who freaks over every pound. I know that every inch put on is, or can be, a sacrifice for this little blessing inside me. I just don't want to overdo it. Anyways, I was nauseous with the other two boys and am also with this one...all day kind of stuff. I know that eating can help it, but I can't eat all day! HA! Logan is still a riot about the "baby in mommy's belly" and has gently talked to it several times. I even asked him how big mommy was going to get and he didn't make it seem too bad:-) What a goof! I can't wait to see what a big brother and help he will be with this one.

Some fun things I will be getting with this little one:

1-a new maternity sleeping pillow. I have already picked mine out (after the "mini" one has been worn out with the past two pregnancies) It is huge and that is ok since Mike won't be in the bed for the most of it!

2-hopefully a really nice new rocker/glider. I really want one that looks like a regular chair, not a rocking chair, but after seeing the prices...NO WAY! Unless I find a cheap on on craigslist or something

3-we will have to get a few new or hopefully gently used baby gear items. For example a new car seat and swing.

What were some fun items you received with your second or third pregnancy? Where their any wives tales (like craving sweets or salts) that came true for you?

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I had fun thinking about the pictures for this week...had some great ideas and help with the photos! Check them out!

1. LEADING LINES. My husband helped me get creative in where the lines point to...my belly!

2. COMFORTABLE. Newly bought pillows that actually ended up being awesome!
3. FEET
4. SIGHT. I love how you can see his eyes through the binoculars.
5. SWEET. two things that are sweet...my little man and the ice cream that is melting all over him!

Thank you for checking out my interpretations! Please join in with us and link up at Ramblings and Photos for some fun! She is also a fun photographer to follow:-) Next weeks ideas are:

1. Bokeh (also your POTW theme)
2. Business (August 2010 Photo Hunt item)
3. Eco-Friendly (August 2010 Photo Hunt item)
4. Repetition (August 2010 Photo Hunt Item)
5. Music

Becoming Real

So, we have somewhere around a week left until the hubby goes on deployment. It didn't quite hit me until yesterday during the deployment briefing (which is usually when it starts to become real). There was a family day at his command that included lunch, a big jumpy thing, the dive tank, and big trucks (as the boys put it). It was incredibly hot, somewhere in the 90's. That, along with the sadness that was hanging over most of us wives, made it difficult to enjoy. Logan was a big boy and jumped to his heart's delight, and Austin was in awe of the HMMWV (humvee). During the brief I got some great ideas on how to help children deal with deployment. When we were deploying without kids, I didn't even think about the ways a Dad being gone would affect kids. This being our second one with kids, and the boys being that much older, I worry more about how they will deal with it than I.

You see, I know I can handle the lonely nights, the missed phone calls, and seeing other wives and husbands enjoying life together. But will my boys understand that their Daddy still loves them? Do they know that their Daddy can't wait to wrestle and talk with them? Do they know the sacrifice that their Daddy is making AND the sacrifice they themselves are making? I pray daily that they won't cave in and regress due to Mike being gone, and I know that God will fill in and be Daddy for them. As I prepare these "extras" for the boys I will share the neat ideas about how to keep the family together. Thank God for people out there who care about military families and devote their jobs to making life easier for us!

The boys hanging out in the JERRV- the truck that Mike works out of doing demo and other great things:-)

Austin having a blast!