Safe and sound

I realized our parents might want to know that Ben is safe on the base now.  The chaplain he is replacing let him use his cell phone to call me and let me know he got there okay.  I think I spent the whole conversations saying, "Please tell him thank you!".  He was also able to send me a couple of texts late one night while he was at breakfast (the place had wi-fi).  I haven't heard anything for a couple of days while we wait for him to set up his personal wi-fi there, but he's safe on base and that is giving me huge peace of mind.

The kids have not talked to him yet and are already missing him.  Eli was the only one up for awhile yesterday and requested sending daddy lots of pictures of him and Maya.  I think I have 50 pictures of Eli and Maya now...

She always has to give each kid a good-morning kiss when they first get up

Even Maya notices that Ben is gone.  Every evening, Ben watches a show on the TV and I watch something on the iPad in our room.  That probably sounds really lame, but it's just what we do.  Maya always comes and lays in her spot in our room and waits for Ben to come give her a good petting before she gets in her crate for the night.  Well, since Ben's gone, I've taken over the TV and Maya doesn't know what do to with herself.  Last night she drug out this blanket and formed it into a little bed for herself and was clearly not happy that we were still downstairs.  Then it took me about 10 minutes to get her in the crate because apparently my pet-downs are not as good as Ben's.

We went to Hastings yesterday; they're going out of business this week and everything is dirt cheap.  I may have gotten carried away, but I found some great school books that we'll use for many years.

Colin was one big goof yesterday.  He wore this apron all day pretending to be a maker (baker) and an artist.  Then he turned into a photographer and was telling me to do these crazy poses, like this one:

 

Having 3 kids and a puppy certainly keeps my days entertained, which I am so thankful for right now.

And so it begins...

So many things to say...

Ben met the kids and I at the park on Friday.  The kids were doing their first homeschool PE class and he showed up with coffee and scones for us to have a little date while we watched them play.  It was awesome...until Eli ran over to us crying, saying he didn't feel well and proceeded to throw up.  I actually wasn't surprised because when it rains, it pours and knew many more things were to come.

On the bright side, it is finally "cool" enough for us to go outside!!!  97° feels wonderful now and the kids have been outside a ton.  Maya also loves being outside and really loves the kids company. We no longer have to worry about her having accidents in the house, but her new favorite naughty behavior is digging holes in the yard and digging up our sprinkler system hoses. 

The favorite climbing tree:

 

Thankfully Eli didn't throw up again and was fine after some rest.  So strange, but I'll take it.  

Saturday morning, Ben requested burritos and donuts from Arizona Donuts and then we spent too much time in Target getting him a new toothbrush....strange things happen in deployment and his trusty toothbrush became obsessed and was randomly going on and off.

That afternoon, we gave Ben a going away present.  We made him a calendar and pillowcase to take with him.

We grilled dinner and played at the park and put the kids to bed and then it was time to say "see you later".  All I could think was, "and so it begins..."

Legos with Eli

Eli decided to play with his big legos this week because they're easier to clean up. It cracked me up; either it's really lazy or really genius. He spent an entire afternoon playing "ships" on our bed and seeing all of his different creations was so fun.

Spelling with Colin

Our family has this thing...it seems like we all say "see. look." but it morphs into one word. Colin says it numerous times in this video.
We've been working on spelling Colin's name for what feels like forever. He can tell you how to spell it, but then writes 'Coiln' and the 'n' usually turns into an 'm'.

Perks of deployment

I remember Kent saying last year that as much as it stunk that Ben was gone, he enjoyed all the extra blogging it brought.  Yes, it's true...Ben being gone=more writing for me.

This coming deployment, we are trying to focus on the blessings and choosing each day to be thankful.

#1 perk: more pictures and stories of our family.  I saw an inspiring instagram hashtag #extraordinaryintheordinary.  Essentially encouraging moms to embrace the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life.  I hope to do this the next 7 months.  I've only had a few freak out moments and one of them came when I realized Ben would come home just in time for Eli's 7th birthday.  SEVEN.  I'm not okay with that.  So, I choose to soak up every bit of 6 I can.

I am thankful that Ben has a job and for technology that allows us to talk to each other even when he is across the world.  I'm thankful he'll be on a base and will, Lord willing, be safe.  I'm thankful our kids are old enough to help me around the house and can do some things for themselves.

 

In a way, I'm thankful for deployment.  It makes us really cherish our time together and it gives us time to miss one another and really remember how much we love one another.  Plus, the moment that we are reunited, is one of the best experiences in life.  I'm also thankful that it enables us to sympathize with so many other families.

Sunday breakfast together

You may be wondering how we are doing, leading up to deployment.  It's easy to type that we're trying to see the positive, but it doesn't always mean we feel that in our hearts.  It still stinks.  I've had lots of questions and all I can answer is, "I don't know".  My brain is having a hard time processing all the change.  Not only is Ben deploying, but we are about to start up school and activities and trying to figure out what our year looks like is a big mystery to me.  I just know we're going to take it a day at a time.  I don't feel anxious about taking care of the kids or the house and I feel very safe where we are.  Our neighbors are boarder patrol and police officers and Ben has talked to them about keeping an eye on us.  Plus with our furious puppy, we'll be well taken care of :)  Actually, deployment was one reason we got Maya.  Research shows that military kids who have a dog, fair better than those who don't.  It gives them a constant in their life, even when homes changes and daddy's are gone.  That's a lot of pressure on a dog, but I'd say she's been really good for our kids so far.

Colin's perk of deployment is that he gets to keep sucking his thumb.  This stinker.  I put the yucky nail polish on his thumb this week and he just kept on sucking.  But Ben feels too bad to take it away right now, so I guess he's just going to suck his thumb forever.

We have less than a week together and they say this is the most stressful part (they also say that the second deployment is harder than the first).  If you think of any more positives, pass them our way!

Music themed randomness

Yep, still a thing that the boys are never wearing clothes.  Ironic how much laundry I do for the lack of clothes they are wearing whenever I take a picture.

~Youtube uploaded the videos with blurry lines.  Anyone know how to fix this?

The Benard's (the other Chaplain Ben works with) had everyone from the office over for dinner last night as a send off for Ben.  Colin and Annabelle really hit it off and were dancing around the house.  She kept calling, "Where is my prince?!".

When your puppy isn't the size of a puppy anymore...

Ben and I went to our first Marine Ball last week.  The first praise of the night was finding a great babysitter!!!  We rarely hire babysitters, but I am so thankful to have found this girl...I might actually use her for frivolous reasons when Ben is gone.  It was strange getting dressed up, especially because I wore my prom dress.  When I came downstairs, Eli said, "Your eyes look weird." (because of my make up) and Alison said I should put on a tiara.  Ben scooted me out the door before anymore insults could change my mind about going.

It was a really fun night.  We even danced 1 song *gasp*.  

16 years ago.

The kids said they think Ben has changed the most over the years.  I think he just keeps getting better with age.  We'll all have a good laugh when I try to put that dress back on in 16 more years!