BLOGGING SLACKER!!

Ok, starting with the latest news. Steven and I just found out that he will be deploying for Iraq in April. He will be serving a 6 month tour. For those of you that are thinking; "poor Jennie =(" DON'T! Steven volunteered for the deployment and I am very proud that he is going. I am little scared but for the most part happy that he is able to serve his country in this way. We love being part of the US Army and it has blessed us in so many ways. I have no doubt that I will be well taken care of while he is gone. I have been very blessed to have many friends and family who take such good care of me. My neighborhood is about 90% military and 1/2 are deployed to either Afangistan or Iraq right now and most for 12 month deployments. I have a lot to be grateful for (6 months!!). Also these women have come to be my family. It is very unique for me to be united and excepted so quickly by so many different people. I know that I will always treasure this experience in days to come.

Ok, since I have been such a slacker lately I thought I would give you an update. Since my last blog a lot has happened, i.e. Holloween and Thanksgiving. Holloween was great, I dressed up as Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz and my boys were Power Rangers. Steven was gone to California for most of the month of October at NTC playing Army out in the sand pit. November we had some of our dearest friends, Brandon and Marion Kofford drive up from San Antonio to spend Thanksgiving with us. It was a blast, those guys are a ton of fun. I made the dinner and it turned out pretty good I must say.

Poor Buddy Dog =(

Ok, so I got a new stroller (No, I am not pregnant). I've joined a walking group in the mornings with other moms after we drop our kids off at school. So, I decided I HAD to ofcourse find another way to buy a new stroller to push Gavin around. After Steven put it together Gavin had already gone to bed. Well, I had to try it out? Thats were Buddy comes in handy since he weighs the same as Gavin. Poor Buddy, he is such a good sport!

Salute to Army Wives

I wanted to take a moment to solute the soliders in Iraq and Afghanistan that are fighting to keep us safe. What many people don't hear about are the families here at home who are left as single mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Over the past couple of months I have been surrounded by mothers and children that have husbands and fathers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just in my small neighborhood we have at least a dozen husbands deployed. That is not to mention the ones I don't know about. They are some of the bravest women I have ever met. Most all of them have children ranging from infants to high school. I have had the privilege to speak to several of these women and they all have very similar stories. There life is HARD!! They not only deal with the loss of there husbands for over a year but also daily worrying, companionship, and rasing a family alone. Imagine your spouse being gone that long and the idea of telling your children that Daddy is not coming home. One friend said to me, "It's like your life is in slow motion, you have to take one day at a time." Now remember that these familys are fighting this war for US. It's not only the soliders but the Families that are sacrificing there lives for our safty and freedom. It's there husbands and there fathers who are not present. It is my wish that we remember these sacrifices and say a prayer for our Military and there Families. I want to also mention that everyone that I have met has a strong belief in this war and are willing to give what has been asked of them, however that doesn't make it any easier. I am so grateful for the people I have met and the strength of these women. I hope that I too can be as strong as they are when Steven has left us to serve in this war. God bless the USA!

First Day of SCHOOL

The kids are loving school so far. John has already made tons of friends in his class. And Gavin thinks preschool is "so awesome."

I am also loving the time I have been getting to do all my normal chores, laundry, house cleaning, and dishes. It is pretty nice to finally feel like I have the time to do those things. School is awesome!

Midieval Times, Dallas Texas

Last weekend after Steven got off work we made the 2 1/2 hour trip up to Dallas, TX. When we got there we headed stright to Midieval Times. The kids loved it and it was a great family activity. We got to travel back in time to the days of knights and kings and princesses. We watched the knights battle and ride their horses while we ate a chicken with our bare hands, it was great. We were cheering for the Red and Yellow Knight who did not win the tourniment but came very close. It was all very exciting.

After the show we walked to our hotel which was right next door. The boys love staying Hotels so that was all part of the fun. The next day we went swimming and then headed south back to Harker Heights where we live. It was a great weekend!

We're back!

I just got back from a 2 week trip to Utah to visit family. We had so much fun! However, I was so excited to get back to Texas. The best part of all was to see my gorgous husband, Steven. He unfortantally wasn't able to make the trip because he had to work. The kids and I really missed him. I was also glad to see my baby, Buddy our dog. The first day we were there the kids were wired with excitement to see Grandma and Grandpa and ofcourse the 2 dogs, Belle and Pumpkin. Not to mention the cat, Buddy. This trip was a huge success for John and Gavins Birthdays. Since we are new to Texas and all, the boys have not yet made a lot of friends so the Huge Campbell Family decided to throw them an awesome Birthday Bash in Utah. It was a fantastic party which was amazing and fun for everyone.

nice and clean

Jennie and the boys are on vacation in Utah for a couple of weeks so the responsibility of posting a blog has fallen to me. As you can see I am not very good at it. August has started out as a lonely month. You would think that with the amount of time that I am working I would be use to not seeing the family, but that is not true. These two weeks have been very lonely and I miss hearing the children beg to stay up late and my dear wife begging for them to go to bed. While I was looking through pictures I realized I did not have a lot of new pictures. However, I did find this one of Gavin in his favorite towel. He had just finished taking a bath in the “big tub” in our bath room. They really enjoy getting in our tub and making a royal mess. Once they are done with the bath they always ask for me to give them a towel swing. A towel swing is when I wrap them up in a towel and swing them up as high as I can. Recently I have been having a tough time doing it because they are getting to big. Luckily I can sometimes use this towel long enough to distract Gavin. He loves to wear this around the house and let everyone know that he looks like a giraffe. I love how cute he looks with his big smile and a little towel. Well, I am sure Jennie will have much more to say and post on the blog when she returns home and I can’t wait for that to happen.