December 2011

Last time I blogged, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and then said goodbye to Amos.
December
This month was a rough one as we adjusted yet again to a life of 3 Bazil Babes. We took in a sweet yorkie poo for a coworker who was trying to find him a new home. He helped us refocus our attention and take our mind off of our loved one far, far away.

After 2 weeks, I told the coworker that if she was ok with it, we found him a new home...OURS! He adjusted very well to our home and has been a huge blessing. He lets the girls carry him around or "walk" him on his leash around the house. He won't get any bigger than he is now and we're fine with that. Even me, a person who has never been a huge dog fan....he now sleeps with me in my bed each night! To say he has won our hearts would be an understatement!
At the end of the month came the holidays. We celebrated just like we normally would and attended church on Christmas morning. After church this is what took place:
Hailey came into my room and said: Mommy, I want to ask Jesus into my heart.
WHAT?! I said! I had prayed for this moment and yet I was in shock at her request. She then said, "get on your knees and pray mommy!"
We did just that on the floor of my bedroom, we prayed and little Miss Hailey asked Jesus to come into her heart, save her and forgive her of her sins. Praise the Lord, we will one day be with her in heaven!
The girls and I then sat down for lunch. I asked Hailey if she wanted to tell Briahna what she had done. Of course, Briahna (being the big sister) did not believe her. I assured her that yes, Hailey accepted Jesus into her heart. Briahna then asked if she could pray for lunch. During that prayer Briahna asked Jesus into her heart!!!! WOW!! What a wonderful way to celebrate Christ's birth! Now while you might think "well Briahna just did because Hailey did." I thought that at first but then remembered the MANY conversations Briahna and I have had over the past year regarding salvation. We would get all the way down to the prayer and Briahna would say, I'm not ready. I truly believe it took Hailey to just encourage Briahna to take the next step.
This is how we ended our 2011....both girls accepting Jesus into their hearts. Praise the Lord!

Still here.....

We're still here! I go to my blog often, to catch up on the blogs I follow. I obviously haven't taken the time to update my own.....until now! :)
Last we left off Amos GRADUATED flight school!! Praise the Lord!!
After moving him back home, the girls and I quickly got back into our school routine. It was so nice to have him home and in our routine with us! He got some time off to settle back in and then he had to start post flight school flying. It was very exciting for him to be able to fly over our house as well as other familiar areas.
In mid October he was able to join Briahna on her first field trip, to the pumpkin patch. Of course, since I teach the same grade, I was there too....just with my class instead of hers. She had a great time with daddy by her side!


He was also able to join us for Halloween this year. Since the girls were at two different places, he picked Hailey up early from daycare and brought her over to "Briahna and Mommy's school" for a parade, food and a party.


During October, Amos also celebrated his birthday and was able to visit and catch up with family and friends he hadn't seen in a while.

Then came the 1st of November......and our fun came to an end. We knew this was coming but was not sure of the date. We said goodbye and sent him off to predeployment training. While it wasn't an easy thing to do, sadly we are used to him putting on his Army clothes and going off to train.

As Thanksgiving drew closer and closer, he discovered that he would still be in the states until the end of the month. He was given a 4 day pass to fly home and see his family for Thanksgiving. We were elated to get just a few more days with him!! It was wonderful!

Graduation At Last

I know I'm behind on my blogging. Hang in there as I try to catch up!

September 22nd was the big day! Amos graduated flight school! WOW! What a long 18 months! All of his hard work and dedication paid off! His family was able to make the trek down to celebrate the occasion. We then packed up the apartment and made the journey back to Kansas! I am so proud of my hubby....who is now a U.S. Army Aviator! :) Here is our week of celebration in pictures....

Labor Day Weekend

How ironic that my last post was the first day of school. Needless to say we've been busy. Kindergarten wears Briahna and I out....sometimes it's a competition to see who goes to sleep first. She usually falls asleep on the drive home, stinker! One day maybe she can drive and I can nap! :) The good news is we both LOVE it!
Ok so what ELSE have we been doing besides school? Well....Labor Day weekend we made the trip to Manhattan to check out Purple Power Play on Poyntz. (say that 5 times fast) It is a big K-State pep rally of sorts. We met up with my sister and her son and had lots of fun. The kids got all kinds of freebies and we enjoyed some yummy food as well.
When we left Manhattan the next day I decided to stop at the outlook stop just outside of town. I let the girls just run around and I had fun taking a few pics. My camera is nothing fancy but I thought the pics turned out decent. They were just for fun. Enjoy!





On Monday we went to Gage park for some fun. We checked out the zoo, then used our coupon books for carrousel rides. It was a nice and relaxing weekend!

1st Days and a Birthday

Wow! What a day today was and it's still going on for our family! As I type this Amos is on his first night flight! While this is exciting, what's more exciting is that this begins the last leg in his training. Praise God!
While Daddy was preparing for night flights and adjusting his schedule, we have been busy celebrating today as well.
Briahna started Kindergarten today! Where has the time gone? I don't know but I do know that she had a great day! She is just across the hall from me and since I teach kindergarten as well, I feel blessed to see her as much as I do. It's a bit strange though because I'm used to teaching, used to working with kids and adjusting to their needs. Everytime I'd look up and see her on the playground, at lunch, at snack or in the hall I found myself thinking, "Why is she here at school? Why isn't she at daycare?" I then remind myself that she is the same age as the kids in my class and she fits in perfect. Her teacher said she had a great day! Hoping for many more! :) She's growing up too fast!

This summer we found her back to school outfit and she of course picked out her lunch box. When I mentioned a backpack she really wanted to use the one she got from Upward a few years back. I was fine with that. (It saved me money!)

While everyone else in the house was nervous about 1st days, Miss Hailey was ready to party! She turned 4 today!!! I look at her (my baby) and just think, "she's 4! WHAT!" She was the biggest surprise I have ever received and will never forget the day we found out she was joining our family! She is such a blessing and a perfect balance to our family! She is always singing or dancing. We say she goes to the beat of her own drum...it's so true! She also is always up to give us a laugh but very sweet and ready to hug and snuggle at a moment's notice.

Here she is this morning. She picked out her own birthday dress, did a great job! Briahna picked out the Minnie Mouse for her present. The glasses are from Amos and I. She got other clothes and Littlest Pet Shop animals too. I loved that everytime we sang to her or gave her a gift, the first thing out of her mouth was "Thank you!" Such a sweetie!

Daddy Dates

This summer I requested that Amos take each of his girls out on a date. We called them Daddy Dates and the girls loved them!!
First he took Briahna out.

After dinner one night Amos asked her if she wanted to go on a date. She said yes and asked to go for ice cream and to play. She choose ice cream at McDonalds and then played on the play area there. She had a blast!


Hailey loves to eat donuts! Saturday morning they got up, grabbed their coffee (well Hailey had milk) and headed for the donut shop. She also wanted to watch Dora on the couch with daddy. They picked out donuts for everyone and then headed back to the house so her and daddy could watch Dora together!


The girls love their daddy dates. They are requesting mommy dates too! It's fun to take time to just spend some one on one time with each kiddo. We hope that with these daddy dates the girls will grow up knowing how a man is supposed to treat them on a date so that when that time comes they will be ready.

Alabama Birthdays

With the girls now having friends in Alabama they have asked all year for Alabama birthday parties. Since Amos will miss attending both of their birthday parties this year, we thought...why not!! Amos had a great idea to have one birthday party for both of our girls in mid July since Briahna had a birthday the beginning of June and Hailey has one in August.
We made invitations and decided on a pool party at our pool with a Taco dinner afterwards at our place. Easy, fun and inexpensive! I'm all for it! We invited our friends and with a few decorations we were ready to go!

Well.....small change of plans. It doesn't rain much here in Bama...but OF COURSE it had to rain ALL DAY the day of our party!! We moved the swimming part to the bowling alley on post. The girls were a little bummed about not getting a pool party but got over it pretty quickly and had a great time!


Here is a pic of all the kids (and Sam holding up Cadi) ready to bowl. We divided them up into two lanes and they had a blast!


After bowling, we went back to our place to eat tacos and open presents.


What's a party without a cake...right!?!? We got an ice cream cake....YUM!


We are again so thankful to have met so many wonderful people down here!