Birthday Party

Last weekend we were able to throw a little birthday party for Abigail. We were so blessed that John could be there for her birthday. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Happy Birthday sweet Abigail.

Abigail is now one. I can't believe how quickly this year went by. This time last year was wonderful and difficult. I hated that John missed her birth. He hated not being there, but he knew I was in good hands. I wish I could say that things were going to get easier or that things were going to calm down this year, but that is not the case with military life. Here we are about to start craziness all over again. I am in a good place mentally and spiritually ready to tackle this year long deployment.

Enjoy the pictures down memory lane and new ones too.

This was right before I left for the hospital...I remember being so excited to meet Abigail. My Dad and I were staying at my grandparents and he drove me to the hospital. We left at 4:00 am and Marmee (my grandma) got up to kiss me good bye and tell me she was praying for me. I will always remember that when I look at this picture.

My mom got to the hospital we took this picture and about 30 minutes later I was holding Abigail.

She is here..

6 weeks

My three little cuties...I am so blessed.

A year later and just precious.

I love these little lips..

Family Zoo Trip...

Last week John was able to have some leave days. We had some really good time as a family and were able to get more accomplished in our home. One day we went to the Mill Mountain Zoo in Roanoke, Va. It is a cute little zoo perfect for the girls. They have a cute train ride, animals and a park. We brought a picnic lunch and had just a great day. Here are a few pictures from our day...

 

We're back....

It has been a month since my last blog update....We survived the move! I know we will move again, but moving is just plain stressful! The house was in really bad shape and I was not in a good place when I saw the walls alone in the house. We have done some painting, got new carpet in the basement and I have cleaned and srubbed the floors with bleach. I am feeling a whole lot better about the house and it is looking a little more like home! John finished WLC and finished in the top 20%. I am very proud of him. He has some leave days so he is at home with us now. We are excited about having some quality family time before he has to leave again.

Easter 2011--John was able to come home to go to church with us that morning

Abigail was not interested in pictures with her older sisters

She is such a sweet baby...I can't believe she is almost 1.

Last post from Fayetteville, NC

Well the time has come for the big move back to Virginia. We are almost packed, the girls had their last day of pre-school last Friday and John is officially on leave. At this very moment I am calm, but I have had moments of AHHHH! With the Army you have to just go with the flow because our plans have already changed. John was told on Monday that he will be going to WLC (warrior leaders course), which is awesome because he will probably promote in the next couple months. It is just crazy timing with the move and him deploying. Their are so many what ifs and unknowns about our future. John's contract will be up next August. Do we stay in the Army? Do we get a civilian job and join the national guard? What do we do with our house in Va.? Their are so many more questions than just these...I have to just give it to the Lord or else I am going to go crazy with anxiety! I am trusting God through all the unknowns. He has never failed me. He will continue to take care of me.

Enjoy the pictures...I added a lot :) My next post will be from Va.

I love these girls

Daddy is home from JRTC...the girls were so excited to see him. Abigail wasn't sure about him for the first few minutes, but then started following him every where. She has him wrapped around her little finger. She will follow him fake crying so he will pick her up. She loves her Daddy!

 The best picture I got and of course I cut off the top of John's head!

Today was a beautiful day and we spent the afternoon at the park. Abigail loves to swing!

We love this park because it is right next to the air field and you can watch all the huge planes take off and land.

I love this classic Eliza face! A lady walked by and said, "oh what a pretty picture." That was enough to get the Eliza glare :)

A random boy wanted his picture taken with the girls...who could blame him?

Such a bad blogger...

The past couple months have been busy to say the least! This is why I am such a bad blogger. Life with my three little girls keeps me busy and then add being a military wife on top of that. John is off training for a month before he deploys. I am busy packing up the house as the girls and I are gear up for our move back to Va. My 10 month old is into everything!! She is crawling, pulling herself up and putting everything in her mouth. The older girls are into toys with little pieces and I am scared to death that Abigail will choke. I am trying to teach Anna and Eliza to put trash in the trash can and clean up the strawberry doll pieces, but they sometimes forget.

This is such a bitter sweat time. We are excited that we will be back in Va, but at the same time know it will be hard being separated from John for a year. I want to cherish this year, which may sound weird, but I don't want it to just go by with me trying to get through it. I want to enjoy my children at the ages that they are and will be. I want to use this time to grow in my relationship with the Lord. This year will be tough and lonely without John, but I know it can be/will be a time where I am forced to come to a place where Jesus alone is enough. I have goals of reading a book once a month. It was actually a new years resolution to read 12 books this year and I am just extending that until John comes home. I have already read three and just started my fourth! My other goal is to paint every room in my house in Va. It will probably take me a year just to decide on a paint color for the living room. I really need help to decorate...I just do not have an eye or talent for it! The girls have already picked out purple and pink for their rooms. I will start there :)

So these are just some thoughts on how I will thrive not just survive during this upcoming deployment... (My fourth book is Thriving Not Just Surviving deployment perspectives for today's military families)

Hope you enjoy the pictures....

Abigail doesn't want to miss anything...she crawled right into take a closer look at what John, Anna ad Eliza were doing.

Abigail is really coloring. She watches the girls color and wants to color right along...I just have to watch her so she doesn't mark on everything around her and put the crayon in her mouth.

We took a trip to Gigi and Poppi's for the weekend. The girls are outside taking a quick break from gardening so I could get their picture.

My good friend Kelly had her baby this past Saturday and we went to visit them today. I got a picture of the big brothers and girls together.