Things we did in Austin

Marley, Vivi, and I headed to Austin to visit Mimi 2 and Pawpaw Gene after our trip to Dallas.  The rest of the family showed up a few days later and we all celebrated Thanksgiving together!  Here are some of our favorite things we did.

We played outside.

 Watched the Thanksgiving Day parade.

Vivi peed on the bed 5 times.  So, we had to change the sheets 5 times.  And Marley made sure to run out of the bedroom and announce it to every one!

 

Sister cuddle time.

 Marley was sassy.  But what's new?

Vivi helped us get ready for Thanksgiving while Marley went to the park with the teenagers.  We also did a lot of standing in front of this mirror because Vivi was in love with herself! 

 We attempted to take some pictures of the three of us.

 Marley and Aunt Julie did some needle point.

 Vivi started doing this!  It's not all the way sitting up, but it sure is the first step!

 I was a proud Mama.

Marley cooperated for a picture so that I would give her a skittle.

More sister cuddle time.

We took walks.

And we played with Mimi 2.

And Marley really loved the color-changing night lights.

"Mommy!  It's green like your favorite color and blue like Daddy's favorite color!"

Thanksgiving makes me think so much about my family.  I am so thankful for every person in my family and all the love they show me always!  Next year will be even better.  Our first as a family of four!

Surviving Deployement: Get Out of the House!

Tomorrow will mark nine months since Asa left for Afghanistan.  NINE MONTHS PEOPLE!  That feels like a huge accomplishment.  So much has happened, so much has changed.  But we are finally on the downhill slope!

Since I have a big chunk of this year under my belt, I have decided to share some of the tips I have learned for making deployment a little easier.  These will be things that have worked for us and made our lives a little bit better than they could have been.  All of these tips may not work for someone else, but I hope they help someone who is going through a deployment sometime soon or in the thick of it right now.

Obviously, nothing I say is going to completely fix the fact that my husband isn't here.  But there are things that I try to remember every day and I feel like they have helped me have a positive attitude as much as I have!

Today's piece of advice is simple: Get Out of the House!

Ok, getting out of the house isn't always simple, especially with kids coming along.  But the days are so much easier and faster for me when I get out of the house, no matter what the outing is.  And finding activities that the girls will enjoy means that I will get to see them happy also!  Marley absolutely loves getting out of the house.  

I watched one of those surprise homecoming shows at the beginning of Asa's deployment, where they were interviewing a mother of three whose husband was deployed.  She explained that life had stopped after her husband left and her kids had not gotten to do a single fun thing because she didn't want her husband to miss it.  For 11 months, their three kids hadn't done anything special!  I can't even imagine how slowly that year has dragged on for them. Kids need things to look forward to and experiences to learn from and enjoy!

Asa and I discussed this a lot before he left.  I was worried I was going to feel guilty that I was home doing whatever I wanted to with the kids and he couldn't be a part of it.  I wondered if I should tell him what we did or just keep everything very vague. 

He reassured me that he wanted us to do things.  He didn't want our lives to stop for a year until he got home.  He wants us to do whatever we possibly can in this time because he is working hard so that we can all be happy.  We will have done so many things by the time this year is over.  My heart does break sometimes when we do something that I think he would really enjoy, but I try to remember that we will do it together in a few months.

I try to get out of the house at least once a day.  It's a special bonus if it's something that lets Marley use up a lot of energy!  I carry my camera with me for as much as I possibly can so that at least he can see pictures of what we are doing and videos if anything cute happens!  He loves to see those pictures and feel like he was there in that sense.

I encourage you to have that conversation with your deploying spouse.  It isn't very fun to think about all the things they will miss.  But I promise it is necessary to your sanity to not be cooped up inside for a year!  And your kids deserve it, too!  I always remind myself that our girls are only this age once and they should get to have a blast as a three year old and 4 month old.  I can't spend a year of their lives waiting around for life to start again!

So, pack up the kids right now and go do something that all of you will love!  Take a walk, go to the playground, visit the library, or go enjoy a yummy lunch out.  Your day will seem so much brighter, and while you won't ever forget that your soldier is gone, it will make things go by a little faster!

Things I Don't Want to Forget

Her sweet, cuddly hands.  They grab everything, but I love it best when they are holding on to me.

Her hilarious faces.  They keep me smiling all day.

Her smiles.  Oh, this smile melts my heart.  Everyone comments on what a happy baby she is.  She smiles at every single person who smiles at her!  She is the friendliest baby!

Her "I'm Gonna Eat That!" face.

Her eyelashes that curl up perfectly, just like a girl's should!  People are always talking about her eyelashes!

Her adorable monkey ears that stick out just like her Daddy's!

This hair!  It seriously makes me laugh out loud when I look at it!  It's short all over, but then you get to this little patch on the top with all this hair!  It's long and curly and I can't wait to see what it's like when it grows out!

Visiting Megan and Tyler

This past weekend, I had my first trip alone with the girls!  I was very worried about it, because I haven't traveled longer than 20 minutes with the girls by myself.  And when we have traveled in the past, someone was always with me to drive and the trips still didn't go very well!

So needless to say, I was scared.  I tried to do all the timing perfectly, keeping Vivi awake for a few hours before the trip and then filling her belly up before we left.  And fortunately for me, my plan worked perfectly.  She literally slept from about 5 minutes into the trip until we got to the parking lot of our friends' apartment three and a hlaf hours later!  It was amazing.  It couldn't have gone better.

Megan and Tyler are the same age as Asa and me and just got married in August.  They are our good friends and Marley loves spending time with them!  I think Tyler was a little nervous because he doesn't spend very much time with children, but he did amazingly.  There were a few times that Megan had choir practice and we were alone with Tyler.  He stepped right in and played whatever Marley wanted to! 

They played Memory and put together puzzles.

And they watched Cinderella. By the way, yes that is Marley's Daddy Doll that Tyler is holding.  Poor Tyler misses his buddy!

While Tyler was at work, Megan took us to the Nature and Science Museum.  It was a fantastic museum with all kinds of things for Marley to do!

Marley got to start out her nights in Megan and Tyler's bed so that we could hang out in the living room.  When I came in to get her, I found her sleeping like her Daddy with her arms up by her head.  It's amazing to see little Asa qualities in her.  It always makes me smile.

On Saturday morning, Megan had choir, so Tyler took us to a nearby park.  Marley had a blast playing and really enjoyed having Tyler there to help her do things.  It really showed me how much she misses Asa and how much he would be doing with her if he was there.  I felt guilty watching her have fun with Tyler, but I know that Asa is happy she is having fun.  We don't want life to completely stop while he is gone and we certainly want Marley to still have fun.

Anyone know what this hairy acorn thing is?  Asa, Tyler said you would know!

We ended up having to leave a little early because Marley was out of control and I was about to lose my mind trying to make her listen to me (we are having a serious case of the three-year-olds lately), but we had a great time while we were there.  We had a break from Nacogdoches, fun adventures in Dallas, and time with good friends.  I can't wait to go back with Asa next time!