Soccer

Cal had another good soccer practice on Tuesday! Thursday wound up being a 10 min practice due to rain. We've had a lot of it lately and the ground was just too soggy, not everyone has cleats. Here are a few pictures of Cal from Tuesday.



Apparently Ty's soccer league started this week, not last week! Hooray! He is apart of Start Smart Soccer... where he gets to have Dad as his partner and learns the basic soccer skills and techniques. Later he will move up to a team and play games. Because of the rain, his practice was cancelled but he was able to meet the other kids and get his equipment (which he gets to keep!). He was very proud to get two balls (one for inside, one for outside), some cones and a pair of shin guards! Hopefully next week the weather will be more cooperative and Chris will have a good school schedule so he can practice with Ty. Both of the boys have practice at the same time but in two different parts of the post.

You may wonder if we've had a lot of rain due to the Gulf Coast... yes. A lot of country areas and some in town streets have flooding going on... other counties have had creeks and rivers flood. We also had two Tornadoes pass through some southern towns not too far from here last night. We were on watch for them but no sirens! Speaking of sirens... I remembered that they test them at the beginning of the month out here... so no big deal when I heard one at lunch time... but when I heard a second one and it was a different sound I was a little concerned! Apparently we are a couple of blocks away from a town line and so I have two sirens! I'm glad about that... I know I will hear it when it counts!!! We will probably continue to have some rain this weekend but it appears "Ike" isn't going to make it up to our county... just a little south!

Say a little prayer for Lydia... she had a great time with Ballet this morning but when she came home she helped herself to an ice cube and wound up getting it stuck to her tongue... and then ripped it off, creating a slight tear which (she doesn't realize) will hurt in the very near future! Crazy girl, maybe she will stop getting into the ice and eating it! (we have one of those fridges that lets you help yourself to water, crushed ice and ice cubes... the kids love it)

Freedom walk

Seven years ago today I was watching a morning show and saw the attacks on the world trade centers. My friend Jana was visiting as Chris was at Bradley School and I was pregnant with Cal. We were in Georgia (Ft. Benning) and little did I realize how much this event would impact my family's future. Jana and I decided to get out of the apartment and drive over to Warm Springs to walk around the town. It was eerie to walk down the block and step into little stores where people were huddled around their radios listening to the updates and speculations of the attacks. We had lunch and the waitress kept trying to plug the t.v. into the socket next to us... I just kept praying that it wouldn't work (and my prayer was answered as she had to relocate it, upstairs) as I just couldn't stand to see the explosions and chaos anymore. My mind kept thinking about what this would mean for my husband... for our family. I just knew we would be dealing with a war of some kind and the thought of separation from Chris and the risks that came with it was a little much to sort.

Fast forward to today... Cal is almost 7 and he and his siblings know more about war than I could have anticipated. Don't get me wrong... my kids haven't had to experience war like many other children around the world... and for that I am grateful. I just cant help but admire how they handle our military lifestyle. Sure, it's all they know but they have really weathered some tough times.

As I flipped through the t.v. this morning one of the news channels showed soldiers at Camp Eggers (Afghanistan). Chris and Dan Eggers were in the Infantry Captain's Course together. Dan and two others died when their vehicle hit a mine in 2004. It made me think of some other soldiers who have died... and their families.

The schools at Ft. Leavenworth did their first Freedom Walk today. I was able to walk with Cal and his 1st grade class. It was a special moment for me as I got to spend time with just him. He is familiar with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but he wasn't familiar with the 9-11 attacks. I didn't go into great detail (didn't want him to fear planes) but I explained enough for him to understand the importance of the walk. Once everyone was at the track and the ceremony began it was moving to hear all of the kids (and many parents/soldiers) sing their songs and wave their flags. There was a dad in a wheel chair wearing a t-shirt that said 'I left half my leg in Iraq' and not far away were some international soldiers standing with their children waving American Flags. I am sure many of the speeches given at these walks all over America were about our patriotism and to remember the victims and honor those in uniform... ours had some of that too. Our families and especially the children were honored at ours! They were recognized for their sacrifices. I couldn't help but think how some children have given so much... like Dan Eggers boys.

The phrase 'United we Stand' has bugged me a little over the years. I have always felt like I have been standing, long before the attacks. Well, today, standing with Cal and holding his hand was special because I know Chris and I have done well raising him, Lydia and Ty... they are our little heroes!

Already Wednesday!

We had a great trip to De Soto, Missouri this past weekend! Our friend, Jim Ramsey (the one who introduced Chris to me and was our best man in our wedding) is back from his deployment to Iraq and was visiting his home church. He is an Army chaplain and it was great to hear him preach and to finally meet his wife and kids! We also have our friends, Jim & Wendy Thomas (and their boys) who also live in De Soto and we were able to hang out with them at lunch! Hopefully we'll get to see more of our friends now that we're a little closer!

Well, I just got back from the gym and still need to shower and get Lydia and Ty their lunches. Tonight is the first night of AWANA's and there's still a lot to do. I will write another post later with pictures I'm sure!

Miss Lydia

Whew! Lydia likes acrobatics and ballet! Hooray! The school is very strict about their no photo/video policy so you're not going to see many if any pictures... sorry! We did sneak one of her in the hallway before class started! I'll have to have her perform in the living room to get some photos! We'll let you know when the recital date is (sometime in May!)!

Where did the week go?!

I cant believe it's already Friday! Lydia and Ty started preschool and the boys started soccer! Actually Ty suited up but nobody showed up (we're hoping it was the right field), we'll have to make a telephone call on that one. Ty was so excited about putting on his new socks and equally excited about using Cal's old shin guards, cleats and soccer shorts! Thankfully they fit! Ty also got a new bike this week... he chose a spider man bike and is already zooming around the cul-de-sac!

Cal is thrilled to finally be on a team where the color is GREEN! They chose the name Green Dragons. It was good to see him running around and doing really well! I think he had forgotten how much he liked the sport!

Cal is staying busy with school and is learning all kinds of neat facts about insects! He has a wonderful teacher and only 16 students in the class! The school even has it's own Education theater with a full dome planetarium! I wish all schools were as 5 star as this one! I cant tell you how pleased we are that Cal was able to get into this school district!

Lydia starts ballet/acro in the morning. She was in bed and asleep by 8:30 with no fuss... I'm surprised she wasn't already dressed in her outfit! Lydia isn't going to play soccer this year and has already made friends with another girl who has to watch her brother play soccer. Lydia likes that the field has some swampy areas... ideal for frog hunting! Although she didn't find any frogs, she did meet Oden, the nicest dog you'd want to meet! I bet Lydia thought she was in heaven... a dog and one that was the size of a horse (which she also wants)!

Chris is staying busy with school... lots of reading which he tries to stay a head of. He takes the kids to school in the morning (great time for them to spend with him) and then I pick them up. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays Lydia and Ty come to the gym with me. There is a great on site daycare for them and it gives me two hours of workout time! I've made some new friends and also met up with some old friends from Germany! It's been the perfect place for me and I love having 'my time'!

Leavenworth Kansas has turned out to be a really nice place for us! We're still trying to get our groove in the new schedule figured out but for the most part we are gelling really well as a family unit. It's just a different situation with everyone in school and not having to deal with deployment/training schedules! It's also strange for me to not 'do everything'! I personally feel a lot happier and am starting to feel more joy during my day.

We're off to Missouri this weekend! We're meeting up with some old friends who we haven't seen since we got married! I'll blog and post pictures of that next week! Have a great weekend!

Beginnings

Ok, here we go... so many things go on in our family and most of the time I am not able to share it with family and friends as it would take too long to call and write everyone! Now we have a spot where you can drop in and read about our daily activities! I will do my best to include pictures, quotes and brief updates...

This past July was a busy one for us. We packed up and moved from Ft. Lewis Washington to Ft. Leavenworth Kansas. We bought a home in the town of Leavenworth (which we love!) and are still unpacking boxes! We have a huge yard which faces a small pond with a big field and a few horses! Lydia would love to ride them!

Chris and Cal both started their schools on August 11th and Lydia and Tyler will start part day preschool tomorrow morning. Soccer starts this week for the boys and Lydia will begin Ballet/Acro this weekend. Cal is taking a short break from Tae Kwon Do as he is very busy with his other activities and school! We have also found a great church and the kids will start Awana's next week. They are busy memorizing their first verse and really want to earn their vests!

I am really happy to have Chris home this year! This will be the first time since we have been married (almost 14 years) that he will be home for the entire year! He has been a huge help with the home and kids which has allowed me some time to take care of myself! I have joined a gym and have a personal trainer... this year is going to be about myself and health and so far the kids and Chris have been supportive!

Well, I am going to close for tonight. The kids are in bed and we have a big day tomorrow! Nite!