Overwhelmed

Today will be crazy, I have family coming to help watch kids, and even more family coming to help clean out our 1,024sq ft garage, someone coming to pick up a chest that I sold and a guy coming to lay down baseboards throughout the house and hopefully more. KS still cant get a hold of transportation, thankfully I have orders and a POA in the mail that "should" hopefully be here today so I can set it up myself. Housing called him last week on Wed. He called back during lunch and it just went to voice mail, he didn't leave a message... and he hasn't had time to call back. I am really trying to not get frustrated I fully understand that between early morning to afternoon he is on "Army Time" and is not supposed to do personal stuff. I get that and I fully understand that, but I am also very concerned that we will loose the house b/c they have not heard back from him.... They are closed on weekends so there goes that idea... let God and let go.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

 Head on over to Me and my SoldierMan, and add your favorite words of wisdom. 

"A Woman giving birth to her child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets her anguish because her of her joy that a child has been born into the world." John 16:21

Fast Forward

So much has changed since graduation on Friday. We have decided to go ahead and move... now. Well really in just a couple of weeks but it might as well be now. So I have been busy cleaning, purging, getting housing setup, and trying to contact transportation to get movers out here in two weeks, but the lady at the transportation office is absolutely no help at all and I cannot figure out the online site to save my life. I am hoping that KS will be able to go by the trans office today and get it all setup. He also has to go by JAG and get a POA made for me since he has yet to do it. I'm taking dogs to the vet today, we decided to keep our Cocker Spaniel Zoe instead our cat. KS didn't want to keep any cats. Which works for me, I was already doubting my decision not to keep her. I will do posts for Family Day and Graduation soon, things here are just CRAZY right now!! I have also been given 4 wonderful blog awards by 4 amazing women and I promise I will get to posting them as soon as possible. I have not forgotten about them!

Zoe

I am the wife of an American Soldier.

By the time this posts it will be official. I am now the wife of an American Soldier. Family Day will be over and Graduation will have finished. I will now be a member of one of the most special ranks ever created. I will officially be a military spouse, and with that honor will come many trials, celebrations, tears and laughs. Nothing can describe how proud I am of KS today, but I know all of you fellow milspouse wives out there will know exactly what I was and still am feeling as I watched my husband cross that field completing one of the hardest phases of his life he will ever have to go through. Thank you for being with me and standing beside me during the hard and ugly parts of basic training. I have grown and learned so much during these past three months, and so much of that comes from the support that I found within you wonderful women. Thank you. KS stood in line today among 1,500 of his fellow soldiers and recited the Soldiers Creeds, so I figured that I would include the Army Wife's Creed along with this post, since in many ways our family has signed that dotted line right along with him.  

The Army Wife's Creed 

I am the wife of an American Soldier.
I am a supporter of the United States Army -
an encouragement for the protectors of the greatest nation on earth.
Because I am proud of my husband and the uniform that he wears,
I will always act in ways creditable to him, the military service
and the nation he is sworn to guard.
I am proud of my husband. I will do all that I can to protect
and provide for my family in his absence. I will be loyal to my
husband and to the vows that we made as we entered the
covenant of marriage.
I will do my full part to carry on the values
and goals we have set apart for our family
and I will continue to instruct our children in the same manner.
As a soldier's wife, I realize that I play a vital role
in my husband's decision to become a member of a time-honored profession -
that I am doing my share to keep alive the principles of freedom
for which my country stands.
No matter what situation I am in, I will never do anything,
for pleasure, profit, or personal safety,
which will disgrace my husband, his uniform or our country.
I will use every means I have to encourage my husband to be
the best soldier that he can be.
I am proud of my husband, my country and its flag.
I will fly the flag and will always remember the sacrifices
made by my husband and by generations of men and women
that have served our beloved country.
I will try to make my husband proud of the
manner in which I accept his decision to defend my freedom and
the freedom of all American citizens -
for I am the wife of an American soldier

Its Finally Here

Today is the big day! Its finally here!! Today our family will be reunited and we will be together again and I couldn't be happier. Today we get to see KS charge the field with his fellow soldiers running through the woods while colored smoke explodes and lights the tree edge. By the time this post goes live all of the festivities will be done and over with and hopefully our family and the families that we have grown to love during this insane 12 weeks will be enjoying a picnic in the park watching kids run around and just enjoying each others company. I have looked forward to this time for so long now, and its surreal to think that it is finally here. We have done it, we have completed the mission and we are now about to enjoy the rewards. KS has been able to over come ankle problems before exodus and then bad knee problems post exodus to now say that he will graduate and become a full fledged American Soldier in just a few hours. These past 12 weeks have been an amazing journey and I am so excited to be able to say that our journey has just begun. Only God know where this journey will take us, but I do know that as long as we are together. Maybe not physically but always in heart everything will always be okay.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Head on over to Me and my SoldierMan, and add your favorite words of wisdom.  

"We have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful; it's that women are strong." — Laura Stavoe Harm

So many times women go it to labor with the attitude that they cannot do this. They will walk through the doors of L&D demanding pain medication as soon as possible without giving themselves the option of learning new birthing techniques that will lesson the pains of labor. Every woman looks at labor as a painful process and don't get me wrong I am all for avoiding pain if it is possible, but after having three drug free births. I am also able to see the other side of delivering babies. I am able to see the side that makes women strong and courageous, the side that makes us get to the point where we are screaming that we cannot do this anymore but we are able to. We focus, we gain hope and strength from that deep dark place within our soul that only comes out to lend a hand when we need it most. So many times women feel the pain and shut down, they want pain medication and they want them now, like I said I understand that all to well. Been there done that, but I pushed through. If you want to experience what it is to become a stronger more capable feeling woman look into alternative birthing techniques and pain management. You will discover more about yourself and what you are capable of doing in the process.

Kids & Random Thoughts

Do you ever have those weeks where you wish you could just send your kids back to wherever it is they came from? That is me!!! These three are driving me bonkers!! The boys have been pushing my buttons and all of my limits for the past two weeks, and Cayleigh-Grace has been very fussy. I am starting to wonder if she will hit her terrible twos at 18 months just like Kiale did. It wouldn't surprise me since she takes after him the most anyway. We will be doing a lot of traveling these next few days and I just hope that they straighten up and start acting right for me. It just seems like I have been completely unable to get control over them for some reason.

On a lighter note, we will be reunited with KS this week!! I am very excited and trying not to dwell on the fact that we will see him for two days and then have to give him back again. Hopefully we will have a lot of contact during this second phase of his training; we should, but you never know. As of right now he does not have his orders in hand but he should by later on today. I hope. Please keep us and all the other families traveling in your prayers. You could throw in an extra prayer for no snow and warmer weather too! I wouldn't mind. :-)

I sold my TV on Saturday and I bought a new entertainment center yesterday. I am really excited about it!! It won't be in for another 3-6 weeks, but that is okay since I don't even have a TV to put on it yet. I cannot wait to get it in. The picture of it makes the wood look very pink, but in reality the wood is almost the white color of maple. I will be staining it natural on the top and then the rest of it will be white. The handles will be the natural color too. I picked out our new dinning table and chairs while I was there too. You have no idea how happy I will be to have a table with more than 3 chairs, at this point when we are able to eat as a family 1 or 2 kids have to eat on the toy box that we use as a bench. The table in the link is a little bigger than the one I picked out but it looks the same. I will have a large table with 6 chairs and room to fit two more chairs if I need too!! These will be stained the same was as the entertainment center. I am so excited to be getting some new furniture, and this is all wood furniture so it should hold up well to our many future Army moves!

Peace

Well, I can finally say I am at peace with the decision on which pets I can keep. I have been agonizing over this decision since way back in August when KS enlisted in the Army. Picking two pets to keep out of 4 cats and 3 dogs is a very hard decision to make. There were so many things I had to take into consideration when making this decision, but I can finally say that the two we are keeping are Emi, our miniature pinscher, and Tipper (Mama) our long haired Calico. These two get along very well and are very CALM, which had a lot to do with my decision. I don't think taking a more active dog, like Zoe, would have been a good idea. No matter how much I wanted to keep her; I can only handle so much. I just knew that keeping her would have been too much for me with all of the moving we are going to be doing. So here are the other 2 family members that belong to A Day in the Life of 5...

Emi (Emily)

She is 4 years old.

&

Tipper (Mama)

She is 5 years old. 

Now begins the difficult part, finding homes for our other 3 cats and 2 dogs. All of our cats are mature adults and it is very hard to find homes for adult cats, hopefully we will be able to find them good loving homes soon. 

Limbo

No, I am not talking about the fun game we all played in our childhood, and at some wild and crazy weddings. I am talking about where I am at right now. I am hanging in limbo waiting for either the green light or the yellow light. Unfortunately I will continue hanging in limbo until KS and I can sit down and talk about all of our options there are lots of pros and cons all of which revolve around when we should move. Should it be June or should it be March/April? If we move in March/April we will not have to wait for a house one is already ready for us, but we would have to move the kids out of their wonderful school into a school whose curriculum is quite a bit less then the school they are currently attending. They boys would be ahead of their peers but I do not want them bored in class. Colin would be going from a full day preK with reading, writing, math, Spanish, and Bible study to a half day of preK... Kiale will continue to be in a full days classes, but their new school just doesn't offer everything that their current school does so I am just starting to think that it will be better for the kids to finish out the school year here. KS won't be able to live with us until April-ish and I know I don't want to move until he can actually live with us. Although, we would get to see him at night and on weekends if we were to move, but I realize that a lot of his time will be taken up with school and homework. So if we were to move mid April, they would only have a month and a half of school left to complete if we were to stay, and looking at the grand scheme of things I keep thinking to myself why not just stay and finish out the school year. Kiale and my sister are both graduating this year, full cap and gown graduations ceremonies. One from Kindergarten and one from high school and I really want to get pictures of the two of them together with their cap and gowns and I also want to see her graduate, as well as be here for her Senior Prom. There are so many different reasons why I want to stay here, and of course the reason I want to move. Well that's the easy one, KS.
 
This is where I stop and ask all of my experienced Army Wife friends and any other readers experienced with moving school aged children for advice. So please leave your thoughts in my comments section, I don't want to overlook anything that I may not be currently aware of once KS and I are able to sit down and make our decision, and please remember, if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. Thank You. ~Charity

By the way... I sold my van today, that is one thing I get to mark off my list, and buy selling that it means I will get to mark several other things off of my list that I needed the money from the van to complete!! I am one happy woman today!!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Head on over to Me and my SoldierMan, and add your favorite words of wisdom. 

"Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers--strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength."
— Barbara Katz Rothman

Lists and a Suprise

My life seems to be all about lists these past few days and adding to them. I am up to 4 pages of lists now... but do you know the best thing about lists? You get to mark stuff off of them! I have a list for bills to pay off with our return, I have a list for what I need to take to graduation, I have a list for everything I need to do/buy to complete the remodel on the house so we can get it rented... here is my do/buy before renters list:

Paint- bedrooms, bathrooms, ceiling, and cabinets
Replace Floors- bathrooms, bedrooms
Other- put the base boards down, replace the board on the ceiling that is missing (decorative), put the trim around the doors, replace the hinges in the kitchen, pressure wash the house, but new garbage cans, replace outlets throughout the house.
Rent- dumpster and clean out garage and yard
Sell- my van
Clean- out closets and under the sinks, organize Christmas decorations, clear out outside toys
Purge- any clothes that are too small or just worn out
Dogs- get both of them updated on shots, and get Zoe fixed
Cats- find homes for all 4 of them

and finally after all that is done...

.... FIND RENTERS!!

I can get all this done in a month right!? I sure hope so since I called the housing company on base yesterday and they said they already have a house we could move into right now, and there is zero wait for a 3 bedroom house on post!! I am so excited, I couldn't believe it when the lady told me we will be moving as soon as I can get renters in this house!! I have already called and got Colin on the waiting list for Pre-K, and Kiale is already signed up as an incoming kindergartner. I even talked to the principle at the school today, she was very nice and answered all of my questions for me. I am getting more and more excited with every passing day. Did I mention that KS will be graduating in just a few short days!! He passed his PT test and beat his shortest time for running the 2 mile. All of his times and figures have improved, so he is doing wonderfully!  We are fixing to end one part of training and then jump in head first into the next phase of training, and I couldn't be prouder of my husband. He has pushed through the pain and overcame what he needed to overcome to complete his goals!!

Thoughts and Decisions Made

I have a lot on my mind these days. We have  a lot of decisions to make and a lot of them will fall on me. The biggest decision I have to make is when to move our family to be with KS. I called yesterday and I have the opportunity to be number 2 on the waiting list to get a 3 bedroom house... Do you realize how close that is to number 1!? I could not believe it when I called, I spent most of the day on the phone to different people trying to get all of my ducks in a row. I have to finish the remodel on our house, clean our yard and clean out our garage before we can move. My goal is to have all of this done by my birthday. That is a month and a half away from now. I think I can do it, I know I can do it as long as I have enough people helping me. The hardest part of this decision lies with the boys and school. If I take them out of school, I will have to enroll Kiale in kindergarten out west, and Colin will just be home with me during the day. I doubt they will have k-4 out there but I will ask when I call the school they will be attending today. After talking to the boys last night many decisions have been made, the boys have decided that they want KS to go ahead and put us on the waiting list for the house and they do want to move in the middle of the school year. They are both sad to leave friends and family but they want to be with KS again. I am so proud of my boys for understanding everything that goes into moving our family. Kiale has taken it the hardest but after the tears he still says he wants to move in the middle of the school year, so that is what we will do. Today I will be calling the housing again to find out what local school Kiale will be going to, I will then be calling them to find out what all goes into transferring a kindergartner and if they have a graduation ceremony. I told him the kids might not talk to him the first day because they will be shy and he told me "that is okay I will be shy too." I am so proud of my son, he may be only 6 years old but he is wise beyond his years. Colin doesn't quite grasp what is going on, he is sad to leave his Brookie and Tres, but he wants to be with KS so bad right now I don't think anything else really matters to him. We will not be doing spring sports after all since we might end up moving right at the beginning of the season, the boys were sad about it at first but they said it was fine. We spent time last night looking at pictures of the houses and floor plans and dreaming of where their bedrooms will be and if we will have stairs in our new house. This is going to be a very bittersweet time for our family, but it will also mark the beginning of our journey into our new Army life. As my boys now say each night as they say their prayers, "Keep Daddy safe and happy and make us Army Strong, HOOAH! Amen."

Please pray for Gods will to be done in our lives, leaps of faith are never easy, but the peace I feel lets me know that everything will be okay.

Broken Glass

How many times have you woken up late and that just set the stage for a bad serious of events? Well that was me on Friday. I had forgot to set my alarm the night before until after midnight, so I had to change the set time before I could turn the alarm clock on. Once I did that I quickly fell asleep, forgetting to set the set time back ahead... needless to say I woke up on my own 30 minutes later than I wanted. I was rushing around the house, nursed Cayleigh-Grace, got the boys breakfast ready, stuck CG in her room and finally got into the shower. I honestly think that was the fastest shower I have had in quite a while. After I got out I had to pack Cayleigh-Grace's bag because she was staying with a friend while I took the boys on a field trip. The boys got dressed and we finally headed out the door, I had got everyone ready and out the door, including myself, in 45 minutes. I was thrilled, we were actually going to make it out on time, until I got to the truck. I quickly realized that I had locked my keys (all of them) in the house with my purse. I had grabbed Cayleigh-Grace's bag which is the same style as my purse and walked out of the house without a second thought. Normally this would not have been a problem, I have a hide-a key, but I had used the key on Wednesday after church b/c I couldn't find my house keys when I left. I had forgot to return the hide-a key to its designated spot... which meant that I was 100% locked out of my house, no one else has a key. So I put Kiale over the fence to the backyard hoping that the boys had left the backdoor unlocked, but of course it was locked. Even the doggy door was locked. So I go around to all the windows trying to get them to open to avail. Finally I am pushing on our dining room window that KS replaced before he left just hoping that it would give and open. Well it did give, but it wasn't the window that gave and opened. The glass ended up shattering all over my forearm and hand. (Granted I was angry and was pushing with way more force than I needed to be...) So I rinsed the blood of in the spicket, grabbed a brick and finished busting out my dining room window. Then I was able to climb into my house, FaceB@@k my friend and tell here it has been a bad morning and we were on our way, rinsed my cuts off again, and headed to her house. As soon as I got to her house, I was hiding my arm behind my back, I asked her if she was okay with blood. She gave me the oddest look and said she was so I showed her my arm and explained my "fun" morning. Thankfully she was able to get me all cleaned up and we were able to get Cayleigh-Grace settled and the boys and I headed off to our field trip. We ended up leaving only 15 minutes later than I had wanted too. I just wasn't able to check the boys into school, granted I don't think I would have been a good idea to show up to school with a bloody and cut up arm to begin with. They would have freaked out...Thankfully we made it to the theater with 10 minutes to spare. The movie, Under the Sea was wonderful and I had never been to an Im@x movie before so I was surprised by how nice it was. All I knew going into it was that it would have a very large screen. The only thing I was disappointed in was how short the movie was. It was exactly an hour long. After the movie I had the pleasure of panicking again due to the fact that I had forgotten to get gas before I left town and I could not find a gas station close anywhere. So my gas light was on and all I kept saying was please don't let me run out of gas, please please please... Thankfully we made it to the gas station right as the needle was on E. After getting gas the boys and I headed over to Sonny's for some lunch...  (the pic is from my phone)

After lunch we headed back to the house to clean up my mess... and boy was it a big one...

After about an hour and a half of breaking all of the remaining glass out of the window and cleaning the floors we finally went and picked Cayleigh-Grace up from my friends house. This happens to be the same friend that took our family pictures as well as the pictures with KS in his ACUs. Thankfully Cayleigh-Grace did wonderfully her first time away from me. Yes, it has taken me 17 months to leave her with anyone... On Saturday my Dad came over and replaced the glass in my window, and I now have 2 hide-a keys instead of one.

Scroll down to see a pic of my hand and arm, it isn't that bad I promise. It didn't even hurt when it happened thankfully. I do realize that I got very lucky, if the glass had cut me any lower and any deeper it could have been really bad.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Head on over to Me and my SoldierMan, and add your favorite words of wisdom. 

"After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels."
— Ann Richards

Countdown!

The countdown has begun!! We are just a few short weeks away from watching KS graduate from the first part of his training. I must say I am BEYOND excited to see him graduate. This road for him has not been without its hurdles. Before he was able to come home on leave for Christmas he managed to hurt his ankle, and once he was home it looked like a tennis ball was attached to the side of his foot. Thankfully that was able to heal completely during leave, but a few short weeks after being back into training his knees messed up on him. He had to accept a no running profile for 5 days, he has been fighting back feelings of disappointment and regret within himself. He is so dissapointed in his body for failing him, and he has been very homesick and wondering if this was the right decision. Thankfully with lots of prayer and support most of this is behind him now. I have no idea how he is doing post profile. I have not talked to him in over a week now, and tomorrow will be a full week without letters as well. Hopefully he will have time to write me just long enough to say whether he was able to pass his final PT test or not, it was Monday. I am so nervous for him, I know he can do it and I believe that he was able to pass. I would just like to know for sure whether he did pass or not. Before his knees started messing up he was running the two mile in 16:43 and was hoping to have it down to 16 minutes or less by this final PT test, but like I said that was before the knee issues. The kids and I are so excited with graduation and family day right around the corner, the end is in sight!!