Pvt Vermeulen, Asa J.
3rd Plt, Renegades
A Co, 35th Engr Bn
Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473
And you need to write a big number "3" on the back of the envelope. I have no idea if the letters I have sent with the old address are going to get to him... I guess I will find out soon!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Christmas Tree Shopping
On Monday night, we picked out our Christmas tree! Joel told us that it usually takes him about an hour to pick out which one he wants, but he actually found it within 10 minutes! It was freezing cold, so I was excited! It really is a great tree... Joel has put it up now, but we have yet to decorate it. It feels so weird to be getting ready for Christmas without Asa. I hope he is excited about Christmas when he gets here. I know he doesn't have time to worry about it right now, but maybe he can get in the spirit once he gets here.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Marley had a great second Thanksgiving! For some reason I love waking up with extended family when it's a holiday. Eating breakfast together and always having someone to talk to make it such a happy day to me. And there is always someone to entertain Marley! That was definitely one of the best parts. I put Jack in charge of taking pictures, and he was completely thorough in his picture taking. He would get so excited and come show me when he got a good picture of someone.
We started the day with breakfast and Joel taking Marley outside to tour the yard. It's so funny to me that taking her outside is the magic trick to making her happy. All weekend when she was nervous with someone, we would just tell them to take her outside. 
I wanted to help as much as I could with the cooking since I might be doing it myself next Thanksgiving, but it was hard to handle with Marley. Like I said, there were people there to entertain her, but I felt bad dropping her off with people all day.
She sat in Emily's lap through lunch, barely eating anything. She ate some bread... that was pretty much it. Emily tried to give her everything that was on her plate, but evidently she didn't feel like being adventurous that day. She would have liked it if she had tried it though, because she has since eaten some and loved it.
But, Marley has never been the baby to skimp on dessert! She ate almost an entire slice of pie! I really wouldn't have let her eat the whole thing normally, but it was Thanksgiving, so I figured it was okay. She did end up really wanting a banana later though. She kept pointing at them the entire weekend. So, we would open one for her and she would take a bite. But then she would either try to eat the outside of the banana, or she would try to put the peel back on and point for us to put in back on the banana hanger.
One thing she also ate a lot of was apple cake. That also has a good amount of sugar in it, but it also has apples and nuts! So, I let her eat that too. I'm a softie...
She loved flirting with Pawpaw Gene while we were there. She would smile at him or say something to him, but as soon as he wanted to come near her she didn't want anything to do with him! The day we left, he was standing on the other side of the living room from us rubbing his eyes. Marley started trying to play peek-a-boo with him!
It was sad to be without Asa for Thanksgiving. I am so glad he will be home for Christmas, but I wish he could have been with us for this also. Or I at least wish he could have called and actually had a conversation with him instead of what we had. I hope they at least served them some turkey...
At the end of the day, we were all so tired. Marley stayed up pretty late because of all the excitement going on. But once we got in bed, she didn't wake up until morning!
We started the day with breakfast and Joel taking Marley outside to tour the yard. It's so funny to me that taking her outside is the magic trick to making her happy. All weekend when she was nervous with someone, we would just tell them to take her outside. 
I wanted to help as much as I could with the cooking since I might be doing it myself next Thanksgiving, but it was hard to handle with Marley. Like I said, there were people there to entertain her, but I felt bad dropping her off with people all day.
She sat in Emily's lap through lunch, barely eating anything. She ate some bread... that was pretty much it. Emily tried to give her everything that was on her plate, but evidently she didn't feel like being adventurous that day. She would have liked it if she had tried it though, because she has since eaten some and loved it.
But, Marley has never been the baby to skimp on dessert! She ate almost an entire slice of pie! I really wouldn't have let her eat the whole thing normally, but it was Thanksgiving, so I figured it was okay. She did end up really wanting a banana later though. She kept pointing at them the entire weekend. So, we would open one for her and she would take a bite. But then she would either try to eat the outside of the banana, or she would try to put the peel back on and point for us to put in back on the banana hanger.
One thing she also ate a lot of was apple cake. That also has a good amount of sugar in it, but it also has apples and nuts! So, I let her eat that too. I'm a softie...
She loved flirting with Pawpaw Gene while we were there. She would smile at him or say something to him, but as soon as he wanted to come near her she didn't want anything to do with him! The day we left, he was standing on the other side of the living room from us rubbing his eyes. Marley started trying to play peek-a-boo with him!It was sad to be without Asa for Thanksgiving. I am so glad he will be home for Christmas, but I wish he could have been with us for this also. Or I at least wish he could have called and actually had a conversation with him instead of what we had. I hope they at least served them some turkey...
At the end of the day, we were all so tired. Marley stayed up pretty late because of all the excitement going on. But once we got in bed, she didn't wake up until morning!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Confused Feelings
Once I finally got to take a shower today was when I heard the phone ring. Asa has his own special ring, so I knew immediately it was him. I turned off the shower and ran to get the phone without grabbing a towel.
Hey! I was in the shower… Do I have time to dry off?
No, I only have one minute.
Okay.
This is just our call to let you know we are at basic.
I could hear his drill sergeant in the background shout “30 seconds!” And then it was like a mad rush to get everything in that we both wanted to say. It’s like you just start rambling off all the sentences you have time for, and sometimes they don’t even make sense.
How are you? Did you just now get to basic?
Kiss Marley for me.
I’m sad you aren’t here for Thanksgiving.
I love you.
How are you?
I’m okay. I have to go now.
You don’t sound okay. I love you too.
Bye.
That conversation left me feeling concerned about him, happy I got to hear from him, and basically just confused about how I should feel. My grandfather said that Asa isn’t supposed to be happy right now, and I know that, but I at least thought he might be happy when he got to talk to me. Instead he sounded distraught. It was hard to hear Asa sound that way. I am relieved that I can send him letters now and hopefully that will brighten his day a little bit to be able to hear from all the people who love him.
It’s so exhausting having this cloud looming over you all the time, but I honestly don’t know what to do about it. When I am smiling and laughing I feel guilty for feeling that way when I know Asa is probably not. But at the same time I know he doesn’t want me moping around feeling sorry for him. I hate to admit this, but before we were in this situation I never understood why people acted like it was such a big deal to be away from your husband for a little while. But it is a big deal, no matter if your husband is gone for a year of a few weeks. It is hard on a daily basis to not know what is happening and not know how you feel about it.
I hope it gets easier.
Hey! I was in the shower… Do I have time to dry off?
No, I only have one minute.
Okay.
This is just our call to let you know we are at basic.
I could hear his drill sergeant in the background shout “30 seconds!” And then it was like a mad rush to get everything in that we both wanted to say. It’s like you just start rambling off all the sentences you have time for, and sometimes they don’t even make sense.
How are you? Did you just now get to basic?
Kiss Marley for me.
I’m sad you aren’t here for Thanksgiving.
I love you.
How are you?
I’m okay. I have to go now.
You don’t sound okay. I love you too.
Bye.
That conversation left me feeling concerned about him, happy I got to hear from him, and basically just confused about how I should feel. My grandfather said that Asa isn’t supposed to be happy right now, and I know that, but I at least thought he might be happy when he got to talk to me. Instead he sounded distraught. It was hard to hear Asa sound that way. I am relieved that I can send him letters now and hopefully that will brighten his day a little bit to be able to hear from all the people who love him.
It’s so exhausting having this cloud looming over you all the time, but I honestly don’t know what to do about it. When I am smiling and laughing I feel guilty for feeling that way when I know Asa is probably not. But at the same time I know he doesn’t want me moping around feeling sorry for him. I hate to admit this, but before we were in this situation I never understood why people acted like it was such a big deal to be away from your husband for a little while. But it is a big deal, no matter if your husband is gone for a year of a few weeks. It is hard on a daily basis to not know what is happening and not know how you feel about it.
I hope it gets easier.
The nicest park Marley has ever been to
We are in Austin for Thanksgiving and on Wednesday we took Marley to the park in my Mimi's neighborhood. It was such a great park, and /i heop we can back tomorrow and feed the ducks in the pond!
Getting to Austin for Thanksgiving
On Tuesday we made the long trek to Austin after my mom got off of work. We planned it for right when Marley needed to take a nap, and that plan worked out great! 
Marley was asleep before we even got past the loop on the way out of Nacogdoches. Mimi was not long behind her. Marley slept for about an hour and a half, and woke up right in time for us to stop in Centerville.
Emily was very excited because that meant she got to buy some jerky and her favorite candy!
After Emily got some gas in the car, it was time to go shopping!
She really wanted us to get her some beef and turkey jerky, so we did.
She also wanted some chocolate covered almonds, so we got those.
She tried to talk us into one of these lollipops, but she couldn't convince us.
She picked out many many things on this aisle, but we only let her get a few.
After we had spent way more money than people should spend at a gas station, we were back on the road with 3 more hours of driving. Surprisinly, we did not have to stop again and Marley was a great sport until the end. I literally think she ate for the entire rest of the drive: cheese, turkey jerky, wheat thins, vanilla wafers, and yogurt covered pretzels. Towards the very end when her Mimi ran out of things to entertain her with, she had to resort to Emily's favorite candy. She only got a few little bity pieces, but she loved them. Before it was even in her mouth, she was doing the "more" sign for the next piece.
Marley was asleep before we even got past the loop on the way out of Nacogdoches. Mimi was not long behind her. Marley slept for about an hour and a half, and woke up right in time for us to stop in Centerville.
Emily was very excited because that meant she got to buy some jerky and her favorite candy!
After Emily got some gas in the car, it was time to go shopping!
She really wanted us to get her some beef and turkey jerky, so we did.
She also wanted some chocolate covered almonds, so we got those.
She tried to talk us into one of these lollipops, but she couldn't convince us.
She picked out many many things on this aisle, but we only let her get a few.
After we had spent way more money than people should spend at a gas station, we were back on the road with 3 more hours of driving. Surprisinly, we did not have to stop again and Marley was a great sport until the end. I literally think she ate for the entire rest of the drive: cheese, turkey jerky, wheat thins, vanilla wafers, and yogurt covered pretzels. Towards the very end when her Mimi ran out of things to entertain her with, she had to resort to Emily's favorite candy. She only got a few little bity pieces, but she loved them. Before it was even in her mouth, she was doing the "more" sign for the next piece.We got to Mimi and Pawpaw Gene's house just in time for dinner and then all crashed as soon as we could. I really hope she does as well on the way home. Maybe she will be so tired from seeing everyone that she will just pass out on the way home. That would be perfect!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
