Sweet Lindsay

Today Lindsay pulled Tyler's hair and kicked him. Naturally, I put her in time out for her behavior. When I went to get her out of time out, she was on her knees with her arms folded and acting like she was praying. I asked her what she was doing and she looked up at me and said (sobbing), "I am asking Heavenly Father to forgive me for my sins." It was so sweet. Now if only a little of that could rub off on Tyler!

Service

My home teachers came over the other day and gave me this cute coupon book! I thought it was so creative and so nice. The book is full of service coupons like free babysitting, lawn care, and house cleaning. I was truly touched by their generosity! What a creative idea!

No time to blog!

I made it through 1 week without a husband...only like 18 more to go (but who's counting?). The week seemed to go by REALLY slow, even though we were really busy with kids' activities, my church calling, and just everyday stuff around the house. In all the craziness, I have definitely neglected my blogging duties!

I have a lot of respect for all the single moms in the world who carry the work load of both a mother and a father. This past week has made me realize how much Jon actually does to help me. Just having someone to entertain and play with the kids gave me a lot of extra free time that I am now missing. Jon is also the one who puts all kids to bed, bathes them, reads them stories, etc. Bedtime wears me out! Maybe the fact that I'm 36 weeks pregnant has something to do with that, but by the time they are all in bed, I'm ready for bed!

A couple of Jon's other chores around the house are unloading the dishwasher and taking out the trash. Both things I HATE doing! I don't know why, but I don't mind loading the dishwasher, I just hate putting it away! Oh, and taking out the trash sucks...especially when you miss trash day on Monday and have twice as much to take out on Thursday.

However, I shouldn't complain because some things have been nice...for example, I get the whole (king size) bed to myself. No fighting over blankets and waking up cold because he stole my blanket and no kicking him in the night because his snoring woke me up. Some other luxuries have been less laundry, only one car to gas up, no fighting over the remote (not that we fought much anyway...I usually control it), and no "hairs" on my bar of soap in the shower...all you married people know exactly what I'm talking about and don't deny it!

I definitely think I am going to survive without Jon around, but I am glad that it is only temporary. I need someone to take out the trash, so the next 4 months and 1 week better go by fast!

Bye, Bye Daddy!

Well, yesterday was the big day...the day that Jon left for Iraq. It was pretty much a terrible day from the start. First of all, he had to meet the other deployers at 3:30 in the morning. We were allowed to meet him at the airport at 5:00am and then he flew out at 7:00am. So, I dragged all three kids out of bed at about 4:30 so we could go see him off. The one nice thing was that they let the family go through the security check point, so we were able to hang out with him until about 6:45am. I think because this is his first deployment, it was extra hard (I've heard it gets easier???). I was holding strong emotionally until it was actually time to get on the plane. I was really trying not to cry, but with the extra pregnancy hormones, that was near impossible. Lindsay saw me crying and she started bawling.

So Jon got on the plane and then we came home to go back to bed. It was already light outside, so the kids had a hard time going back to sleep and so did I. Tired mom + cranky, tired kids=a recipe for disaster. It was a long day and I couldn't wait for bedtime to come. I decided to go to church, even though we were so exhausted, but the kids actually were very well-behaved. The worst part of church was that everybody kept asking me how I was doing (which is nice that they are all so concerned), but everytime they would ask, I would get all emotional. It sucked.

We eventually made it through the day (thanks to some friends who invited us over for dinner). I am now trying to look on the bright side and trying to figure out how to be a single mom for the next 4 1/2 months and have baby #4 without a husband (any tips?). I know that I shouldn't complain because many husbands are gone for a lot longer than 4 1/2 months and there are so many people that are a lot worse off than me. I need to count my blessings. My hilarious cousin said to me, "What more could you want...a husband who is never around to drive you crazy, but he sends you lots of money??"

If any of you would like Jon's email/mailing address, let me know and I will get it to you. I am sure he would appreciate any extra support. Plus, making packages makes for great Family Home Evenings and service projects :)).

Little Ballerina

Soccer Time

One of my biggest fears....

So here in Florida we have all sorts of poisonous snakes...coral snakes, water moccassins, etc. Anyway, our house backs up to a forest and our neighbors have told us sooo many snake stories. One of my biggest fears is that my kids will be playing in the backyard and they will get bit by a poisonous snake. I'm so paranoid in fact that I make them wear long pants and boots when they go out and play...even though it is like 100 degrees outside with 100% humidity. Better safe than sorry, right?

I was feeling pretty lucky that we have lived in this house for a year and have never seen a snake, but my luck ran out today. Curled up in the corner of our patio was a HUGE, black snake. Tyler spotted it first, but luckily Jon was home (I probably would have panicked). I quickly herded all 3 kids inside while we watched through the window as Jon bravely got rid of the snake with one of our pool nets. I didn't get a chance to snap a picture, but I am now a believer that there are snakes in my backyard! Will I ever let my kids out to play again?

First Day of School!

Tyler and Lindsay started school on Monday. Lindsay was really excited, but Tyler not so much. When I picked them up from school, Tyler said, "That wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be." They liked seeing all of their friends from last year. Lindsay's favorite part of the day was lunch and Tyler's was getting to go to recess twice. My favorite part of the day was taking a nap!

I've Been Tagged

My friend Sarah tagged me, so here it goes!

20 years ago!
(Who can remember that far back?)
1. I was 8 years old.
2. I was getting ready to go into 3rd grade.
3. My oldest brother had graduated from high school and was getting ready to go to BYU.

10 years ago!
1. I was 18 years old and I just graduated from high school.
2. I was packing up to go to BYU in Provo and saying good-bye to good friends and my boyfriend. It was definitely going to be a new chapter in my life!
3. I went on an Alaskan cruise with my parents and their friends. I had sooo much fun. I went deep sea fishing with my dad, mountain biking, and kayaking in freezing cold water. Our waiter on the cruise ship was this cute Romanian. We even met up one late night and he planned a very romantic evening. I was very flattered. It was kinda like Titanic, but no iceberg!

5 years ago!
1. Let's see, summer of 2003...Jon and I were living in Germantown, Maryland. I was 23 and I just had Lindsay in July. Tyler was only 14 months old when Lindsay arrived, so I was scared to death to have 2 kids so close together. I didn't know how I was ever going to handle it!
2. In August 2003 we had gone to Idaho to visit family. When we returned to Maryland, our house had been flooded! One of the pipes in our house broke. Two out of the 3 floors in our townhouse were destroyed! It was the beginning of a year-long nightmare of dealing with the insurance company and trying to get the repairs done! Not a very fun time.
3. Jon was starting his 2nd year of medical school.

3 years ago!
1. Jon was getting ready to start his 4th year of medical school. There was actually light at the end of the tunnel!
2. Jon had to do an out of town medical school/military assignment, so a friend of mine and I took our kids to Hershey Park, Pennsylvania. We had 4 kids under the age of 3 and it was quite the adventure to say the least. We came home exhausted, but the kids had fun...I think.
3. Tyler was 3 and Lindsay was 2 and we were thinking about having #3. Were we crazy?

1 year ago!
1. My grandmother had just died. I went to her funeral in Missoula, Montana. I took Anna with me (she was almost 9 months old). The week of her funeral just happened to be the week that the movers were at my house packing all of our stuff. I had to coordinate people to help with my kids (Tyler and Lindsay didn't go to the funeral) and also to supervise the movers. It was a crazy time. Thanks to all the good friends in San Antonio who helped out! I couldn't have done it without you!
2. We were moving to Eglin AFB, Florida from San Antonio, Texas. We had just found tenants for our house in San Antonio, so I jumped in my car with all 3 kids and made the 12 hour drive to Florida by myself.
3. We checked into a hotel on base the night we arrived in Florida and the next day, Tyler started kindergarten. Jon had to stay in San Antonio to do Flight Surgeon Training. He joined us in Florida in September. I was excited to live so close to the beach, but not excited to unpack!

This year so far!
1. We have been to Disney World 2 times.
2. Tyler "graduated" from kindergarten and Lindsay from preschool. I will have two kids in elementary school. I can't believe how fast they grow...And #4 is on its way.
3. Jon and I have been to the DC temple, the Orlando temple twice, the Palmyra, NY temple, and the Boston Temple.

Yesterday!
1. Jon and I went boating with the kids. I drove the boat for the first time while the kids and Jon tubed! It was a blast!
2. We watched Michael Phelps get his 8th gold medal of this Olympics. Jon and I were cheering! Go America!
3. A lady in our ward died a few days ago and I had to help out with the luncheon at her funeral.

Today!
1. I skipped church but for good reason! I had to take Jon to the airport cuz he is in San Antonio this week for pre-deployment training. I also had to help him pack...seriously!
2. I am going to a friends house for dinner.
3. I am resting cuz it's the Sabbath, right? Does blogging count as resting?

Tomorrow!
1. First day of school...hooray! I am taking Tyler and Lindsay to school in the morning. They go everyday from 8-3. Life is good.
2. I need to go grocery shopping.
3. Cleaning my house...it's a mess! Oh, and I have tons of laundry to do. I will probably watch the Olympics too!

Next Year!

1. We will probably still be living in Florida...but who knows with the Air Force.
2. I will have 4 kids, the youngest will be 10 months old!
3. Hopefully I will have lost all my pregnancy weight and I will be lookin' good, ready to hit the beach!
Okay, so now I tag 3 people....Cheryl Kingsford, Emilee McClinn, and Cami Mosteller.

This is what happens when...

Anna skips naptime! Anna is such a good sleeper. She usually takes a three hour nap during the day and sleeps 12 more at night. I wish I could do that...I love to sleep too. Anyway, Jon has had leave all this week and we have been running tons of errands trying to get ready for his deployment. We kept her up and needless to say, she didn't make it through dinner! The funny part is she looks so uncomfortable. I definitely could not sleep in that position. I knew she was exhausted when she didn't even flinch when the camera flashed. What a funny girl!