Bieber

"And I was like, baby baby baby, oh when I was 13 I had my first love"...straight out of Ella's mouth. Considering we only listen to K-Love, this must truly be "Bieber Fever" and it's going around Ella's preschool class. Very contagious.

Photos of Mike's Homecoming

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thethiers/sets/72157625782307983/with/5389337062/

Video of Mike's Homecoming

Video of the Airport Homecoming:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKLcoIZ6yUQ&feature=related

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA4PKU2VRQY&feature=related

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeIQ5mshoUk&feature=related

Family Reunited

Sorry for the long break between posts. We have been really careful stewards of our time during this reintegration process and I now have some time to blog. It is really hard to put into words the airport arrival, his first "visit" to the house (as Ella said, "Is daddy coming to visit?"), interacting with him and the children and just having his presence again in the home. Those who have experienced a deployment or long absence of a spouse can probably understand; it is an anxious, nervous, joyful, stressful and altogether very overwhelming experience. Trying to keep your expectations in check. Relinquishing control of responsibilities. And in a way getting to know again your best friend, the only person in the world who knows you the best, but in some ways has become a bit of a stranger. Again, I must give all the credit to God. We have had a few bumps in the road, but it has been a smooth transition. At times it even seems as if it was in the distant past. Ella has transformed back into a joyful, less temperamental (as much as a 4 year old girl can be) and content little girl. Grant now saves some of his famous smiles for daddy, of which I am happy to share. Even Gracie the dog is more content. And I am on the road to becoming me again. I tell Mike that this deployment has possibly taken a year or two off my life! For sure the gray hairs on my head have exploded. More than anything, it has made me appreciate having a husband, not just any husband but one that puts his wife and family at the top of his priority list. We are confident to see fruit from this experience in the months and years to come.

THE Day is Finally Here

Sorry, no humerous or well thought out blog tonight. Which it should be considering this is the eve of the day we have been awaiting since the day after Mother's Day, 2010 (the day I found out he was deploying). Just pure thankfulness, excitement, nervousness and exhaustion. Ella must be trying one last time to strengthen my patience as she must know this deployment is almost over. But in her defense, this must be a lot for a little 4 year old to process. The stars have made it to the top of her countdown chart. Her picture has moved its way up to the top to be reunited with daddy's picture. We've been counting airplanes (one out of four left to go) - counting days is too risky without knowing for sure when he will arrive. Making signs, hanging signs and decorating the house. Yet, she still won't completely understand until she sees him. I still think it will even take some time for her to really process it all. It's even hard for me to process. I have to end with a verse that I have thought about frequently:

2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Who knew it would be this hard. If it weren't for our wonderful family, friends and most of all, God, I'm not sure what Mike would be coming home to.

Ramblings of a 4 year old

Azalea our sitter watching the kids:

Azalea: Ella, are these your pj's for South Dakota?

Ella: South Dakota! I've never even BEEN there. You mean North Dakota.



Prayer time:

Ella: And thank you God for the emergency exit...

Me: Honey, what emergency exit?

Ella: The one on the wall.....over there.

Me: (Laughing almost hysterically) Honey, that's the breaker box! It's for the electricity. (Thinking)...we spent way too much time looking at the safety cards on the airplane.

Ramblings of a 4 year old

Ella with a cold:

Ella: (Sniffling)


Me: Ella, do you need a kleenex?


Ella: No, I will just keep smelling it in.


Looking at Ella's Countdown Chart:

Ella: Momma, how many more days until daddy gets home?

Me: Just a few more weeks, not very long honey.

Ella: Momma, this is a long road we've been on.

Missing Daddy

Rubbing cream on Ella's face at bedtime (chapped from a bad cold):



Ella: Momma, momma! I can't stop these tears from tumbling down my cheeks.



Me: What's wrong sweetie?



Ella: (Voice cracking) I really miss daddy. I wish he was here.

Me: Oh honey, he will be home so soon! Remember when we started your chart? We started the stars at the floor and now they are almost to the ceiling. And look! Your picture is almost to the top with daddy too!

Ella: Aw, I can't wait for him to be here!

Ella Dreams

Ella: Mommy, I going to dream tonight.

Me: What are you going to dream about?

Ella: I'm going to dream about smiling coconut trees gently moving in the breeze.

Ramblings of a 4 year old

I will post more about Ella's birthday and Christmas when I can download all my pictures. But for now, I will just post more of her ramblings from Christmas to now. She has been full of them lately!


Ella, I want to apologize to you in advance for all the potty posts. I know some day you will be very embarrassed that I posted them, but they are so funny.


At Grandma Betty's and Grandpa Jerry's in Dickinson:
Grandma: Ella, you still have toilet paper in your butt.

Ella: No I don't.

Grandma: Yes, you do.

Ella: It's not toilet paper, it's a piece of cheese!


At Grandma Fran's and Papa Joel's in Bismarck (Ella on the potty):
Ella: Ehhhh, Errrr, Ehhhh, Errrr. That's the sound I make when I go poopy.

Sarah: Are you done going poopy?

Ella: No, I still need to roll one out.


Again at Grandma Fran's and Papa Joel's (pulling into the garage):
Ella: I don't want to go in the house anymore. It's too constricting. I want to go back to Texas. In Texas I can go outside and play on the playground where it's nice and warm. Grandpa, you must like the cold.

Grandpa: No, but I live here and work here and it would be too hard for me to get a job in Texas.

Ella: I have an idea. You can just wait until it gets warm out. Oh! I have a job for you in Texas. You can feed Grant his bottles!

On the way to school:
Me: Ella, why are you so crabby today? You are really showing bad attitude. What happened to my sweet Ella I had back in ND?

Ella: I'm here.

Me: No, the sweet Ella is gone. I sure wish I had her back. I wonder what happened to her.

Ella: No, mommy it's me (pointing with urgency at her chest). It's me!!! I'm your Ewwa.

Opening Cousin Doug's and Kristi's presents:
Ella: Mommy, Doug is a husband now, right?

Me: Yes.

Ella: And Kristi is his wife, right?

Me: Yes.

Ella: Then they need to have a baby.


Per Kelly, the babysitter:
Ella: Let's play dolls. I'll be the babysitter and kiddos, you be the mommy.

Kelly: Ok. "Bye kids, I love you and I'll see you in a little while".

Ella: No! You have to say, "I'm leaving now, I need some 'me' time".

Disclaimer: I do not ever recall using the "I need me time" statement. However, I do say "I need my space" or "I need it quiet so I can think".

Driving in the car after discovering Grant has his first tooth:
Ella: (Starting to cry) Momma, I don't want Grant to get a tooth.

Me: Why?

Ella: Because, I want him to stay a baby.

Me: But honey, he can't stay a baby. He'll keep growing bigger and bigger and soon you will be able to play with him more.

Ella: Then I think you should put him back in your tummy.

Grant's Firsts

Grant has been a very busy little guy. He is so smiley, but do not be fooled. He is one determined little bugger when he sees something he wants. Like now with the computer. He keeps adding plus signs to the post. Anyway, either Grant or the object must be removed or he will keep trying until he gets it.

While we were in ND, he really took off crawling on his hands and knees vs. army crawling on his belly. Yesterday there must have been some serious brain wiring going on. In one day, he got from sitting into 4-point position to crawl for the first time (usually just goes from belly to 4-point), pulled up to tall kneeling holding onto a box, then pulled to stand from that position. I usually have to work on these skills for a few weeks or months. It's fun to see it "just happen".

As you probably already read in Ella's latest blog, he also got his first tooth. Bottom center-left. This would explain the crankiness a few days before we flew back. Sarah, the kids and I were at the fabric store when he opened his mouth just right and I saw a little white bud poking through. I exclaimed, "Look Sarah!!! He got his first tooth!!! Then we all oohhed and ahhhed; Sarah, Ella, me and the lady cutting the fabric.

Let's hope he slows down now a bit and holds off on any new firsts until daddy gets home...which is just a few weeks away!

All I want for Christmas...

I must admit that there was a small part of me that was wishing for a surprise this Christmas. Perhaps a doorbell would ring and he would be standing there. Or he would call and tell me he is at the airport and I am to come pick him up (I have replayed this event in my mind over and over). But as I webcamed with him the day before Christmas Eve, and I stared at the walls covered in Ella's artwork and pictures of the family, I knew he was still in Iraq, not to come home until it's time. It really didn't feel like Christmas, even with all the presents, decorations and snow. I think that made it easier, actually. If it had really felt like Christmas, then it would have been much more difficult. I miss you, love you and I can't wait until we are sitting under our tree in February having our Christmas with you.

Ella's First Dance Recital

Here is Ella on the day of her recital. She was so excited about this day that she was counting down the days a week ahead. She did awesome! She confidently walked onto the stage and danced from the beginning to the end of the routine. Her and another girl were the only ones really dancing. The other 3 were running around the stage and lying on the ground :) Afterwards she said: "I want to do 20 more recitals!" It brought me such joy to see her with such confidence and poise. She is usually the observer and cautious one, so this really took me by surprise. I really wish I could post the video, however Blogger has a hard time downloading even short clips.

Ramblings of a 3 year old. Volume #9

Ella: "Mommy, would you like Ellas everywhere?"

Ella: "What day will I be married?"
Me: "Who are you going to marry?"
Ella: "I don't know, I need to find a boy."
Me: Ugh.

Ella at prayer time: "Mommy, no matter what I will always love you. Even when the raindrops fall, I will love you. Even when it thunders I will love you."

Oh, my sweet precious Ella!

What is healthy?

Our discussion while cuddling in bed:

Ella: Mommy, why can't I eat fruit snacks all the time?
Me: Because they aren't healthy.
Ella: Are carrots healthy?
Me: Yes.
Ella: Is watermelon healthy?
Me: Yes.
Ella: Mommy, what does healthy mean?
Me: It's things that make your body feel good and strong.
Ella: Daddy makes me feel healthy! He makes me feel good.

Halloween Pictures (This is for you Sarah!)

Talking to Sarah last night she asked me when I was going to post the kid's Halloween pics. So, even though it is December, here they are. It wasn't as I remember Halloween: wearing our snowsuits under our vinyl costumes (which turned hard from the cold) with the parents driving in the car so we could run to a house or two then run back into the car to warm up. In all fairness, I guess I only remember one Halloween like that. But anyway, that is why Grant is not wearing the bottom half of his monkey costume. We spent it with some great friends, my friend Yvette who flew in to visit, and Amy and her husband and their daughter Shiloh, Ella's best friend.

Milestones

I really need to give an update on the kiddos. First, Grantman. He is very advanced with his smiling :) No really, he smiles most of the day. I call him my "bright bit of sunshine". He is belly crawling and nearly crawling on hands and knees, which I am so not ready for. He is also......are you ready.......saying mama!!!! Of course, everyone and everything can be mama, but who cares. He loves Gracie the dog and tries to grab a chunk of her whenever he can. He is eating 3 meals of solids a day, with his favorite being carrots and least favorite peas. He is already exhibiting his boyish play skills by banging every toy given to him onto the tray of his highchair. He is officially now sitting in the highchair, no more bumbo seat for meals. Which brings me to Ella. She is an official big girl sitting at the table on a small booster. She had been eating her suppers still in the highchair (and at her little table for breakfast and lunch) but has reluctantly passed down the highchair to Grant. She still calls it "our highchair". It helped that the booster is pink ("Oh pinkie, my favorite color!") She is taking a ballet class and continues to show me moves with names I am totally unfamiliar with, since I never took dance. She has a recital coming up in December. I am so sad that Daddy will miss this, her first performance of any kind, ever. I will have to bring some friends for moral support. Since it is fall, she loves to collect acorns, leaves and flowers (yes, we still have flowers here in south Texas). She is also becoming quite the artist and is coloring, gluing and taping various art projects and likes to make "books". The other day I drew a person and she said to me, "Huh, I usually draw the people with the legs and arms coming out of their head. You gave them a body." Once she starts drawing bodies, I'm afraid that her art skills will surpass mine. What wonderful little blessings they are!

Veteran's Day

I can't believe with my husband in Iraq, that it was nearly the middle of the day before I realized it was Veteran's Day. In the past, this was just another day off for me, not giving much thought to what it represents. It is so interesting how our human nature doesn't allow us to experience true empathy unless we go through the experience ourselves. Even today, with Mike in Iraq, I was still overcome with the busyness of life that I didn't get a chance to stop and give him a personal thank you. So I am now. Thank you honey for your sacrifice. It doesn't go unnoticed and I am sorry if I don't always express it to you. You are an amazing husband, father, best friend, and attorney too. I can't wait for you to return home, so we can feel whole again.

Ramblings of a 3 year-old

My friend Yvette came to visit me this week. What a wonderful blessing that was, even if only for a few days. Ella on the other hand is always uncomfortable with visitors when they first arrive, no matter who they are. After we brought Yvette home from the airport Ella asked, "Mommy, can we take her back to the airport?"

Ella: Mommy, Gracie (our dog) is blonde, right?
Me: Yes, she is.
Ella: I'm blonde too, we have that connection.

Our sitter Azalea came Monday night so Yvette and I to go to my Bible study class. When Azalea walked in the door Ella said, "We won't need you tonight, we got her" (pointing to Yvette).

Azalea was eating dinner with Ella and she asked Ella if she could have a piece of her Halloween candy. Ella thought about it then said, "You can get some of yours when you get home." Azalea said "I didn't get to go trick or treating." Ella says, "Well, you can always go next year."

Oohhh, Halfway There, Oh Oh, Livin' on Prayers!!!

OK, sorry if now you have Bon Jovi in your head, but it has been in mine since we are now "halfway there" to Mike coming home! And we have really been living on all the prayers from our wonderful family and friends. It is not by my own power that we have made it this long. I am still thankful to God for taking us through this. Mike and I have seen so much good come from this despite the separation, stress and loneliness. I've learned to ask help from others, and allow them to help me in times of need. I have learned that I will be much more available to help others who need help as well. I have grown in patience (doesn't always feel that way), and perseverance. Mike and I have surprisingly grown closer to each other too by doing a nightly devotional and praying together. It's pretty easy to have a captive audience when he has nothing else to look at but the walls of his shipping container-house! While none of this has been easy and milestones and memories have been missed, we really are thankful for this opportunity to grow closer to God and re-evaluate our life's priorities. As Mike said, the fact that he is in Iraq is not what's hard, it's being apart from his family that's hard. If he could have us there, everything would be fine. (Of course, I'd just rather he come back to Texas)

So thank you to everyone who continues to think of us in their prayers. They have been sustaining us.