The Parker Pack

Trading the rod for the staff

2012-01-22T01:11:00.000-06:00

Lately, I have been struggling with my son, Aiden. He is defiant, disobedient, rude, and argumentative. The tantrums we had outgrown years before have returned and each day, I find myself locked in a perpetual battle of the wills. I have taken to scouring every parenting book I own (and even digging into the libraries of my friends and neighbors), trying to find something, anything to get us through this phase.

I recently borrowed a collection of Christian parenting books from a neighbor and fellow mom that all spoke to one common truth: that it isn't enough to use discipline to enforce the rules with our kids. That we must go beyond addressing the behavior and delve into shaping the hearts of our kids, their motivations, and inspire in them an obedience not only to the letter of the law, but the spirit of it, as well. That we must shepherd the hearts and minds of our children and not just seek to change their outward behavior.

I've been reading these books, filing away this knowledge, praying and trying to understand just how I could implement it in my day-to-day parenting. Because let's face it: when your child has just flat disobeyed you, you're standing in the checkout lane with all of God's creation staring down at you and your naughty, sassy-mouthed child, you are sleep-deprived, have needed to pee for 30 minutes and are running behind in your day, the last thing you are thinking is, Hmmm, how can we address the heart issues behind this behavior? What you are thinking is, I want to put a stop to this RIGHT NOW! So, if you are like me, you spout off with a "STOP THAT NOW!" through gritted teeth, accompanied by a look you hope will scare him straight. You repeat yourself, adding a bit more tension and seriousness to your voice. You might even lean over and whisper into his ear what his punishment will be when you get home or to the car. Eventually, when my eyes are bulging and every muscle in my face and neck is tensed from the effort of NOT strangling him right there in the grocery store, he obeys my request. And although his behavior may change for the moment, the same infraction always seems to be repeated a few hours later.

So, I decided to really put this idea of both behavioral AND heart correction into practice a few days ago. I made the painful decision to stop repeating myself and retrain Aiden to obey me after one request--which has meant a lot of discipline and punishments these past few days, with the hope that once he learns to obey the first time, there will be fewer battles in the long run. And I've stopped barking orders at him and started working on his heart, trying to teach him why it is important to honor me, to learn obedience to me, and ultimately, to God.

Honestly, things have been slow-going and frustrating these past few days. I haven't seen progress and if anything, Aiden seems more resistant than ever. Today, when I asked him to complete a simple chore (using the pooper-scooper to clean up after the family pet), things quickly dissolved into all out war. I asked him to do the chore. He ran out in the backyard. I go out 30 minutes later, and he's barely started, choosing to goof off instead. I remind him that he's not doing anything else until the chore is complete. He continues to goof off. Two and a half hours later...the scoop is still mostly empty. At this point, I am out of time to wait on him, so I set a timer for 15 minutes, a reasonable time to complete the job, and tell him that if he doesn't complete the task in time, he will receive one swat for being disobedient. He wastes his 15 minutes. He gets a swat. I reset the timer and send him back out, telling him the next time will be two swats. He still goofs off. I deliver the punishment and he leaves the house wailing at how unfair I am, how stupid chores are, how horrible his life is. I reset the timer...and then start praying.

I knew that what I was doing wasn't working. I'd even tried talking with him after his spanking, tried to calm him and encourage him to get the work done. I wasn't about to let him off the hook, but what could I do? I couldn't just keep setting the timer and spanking the kid all night! So I prayed: for patience, for wisdom. I cried out to the Lord how ill-equipped I was to deal with this stubborn, willful child and asked for help. And then the timer went off. But miraculously, as I walked outside, I knew what the Lord wanted me to do.

Time to put down the rod...and pick up the staff.

I went outside and I could just see Aiden tense up, waiting for his punishment. But I just walked up behind him and placed one hand on the rake and one hand on the handle to the scoop, my grown-up hands over his, and began to help him with his chore. We worked like that for a couple of minutes, me helping Aiden, saying very little. And then I asked him, "Aiden, do you know what grace means?" I explained to him how grace was a reprieve--it meant being treated far better than you deserved. I explained that I was offering him grace, a reprieve from punishment. And there in my back yard, picking up dog poop after an exhausting afternoon of fighting, I was a shepherd to my son, leading him through the gospel. I explained about sin, about the holiness of God, about how we could never be good enough to earn God's forgiveness--but that He gave it anyway, for any who would accept it. We talked about the incredible gift of Jesus. And he responded, asking questions, surprising me with his insight, though clothed in childish terms and analogies. We worked like that for about 30 minutes, our steps clumsy and our movements awkward with my hands over his. But as we completed that disgusting chore, God was using our struggle to do something truly beautiful.

I am not so naive as to believe that this one afternoon has erased all of Aiden's disobedience, and I can guarantee you that every infraction won't be met with such grace in our home--there will still be many times when the rod rules the moment and I discipline Aiden as God has charged me to do. But today, I picked up the staff of the shepherd, and by offering him grace and leading my son through the gospel, I have planted seeds that in the coming years, I hope to see take root in the heart of my son, transforming him into a true believer and follower of Christ.

PS--Curious about the books I've been reading? Check out Tedd Tripp's Shepherding a Child's Heart and it's companion book, Instructing a Child's Heart. (Click the image to be taken to Amazon).

A Quick Visit

2012-01-16T00:25:00.000-06:00

Mamaw and Papaw, Aiden and Aubrey's great-grandparents, came for a quick visit Saturday afternoon to deliver Aiden's birthday quilt and wish him a Happy Birthday. They also brought Aubrey and her best friend, Ireland, a new Princess quilt each. Mamaw and Papaw are quite the quilting team--Papaw cuts the material out, Mamaw does all the sewing and quilting, and the turn out beautiful blankets. Here is a pic of Aubrey with hers (Aiden was too busy riding his new scooter to pose with his blanket). And I managed to snap a great picture of them with the kids.

Conversations with Aubrey

2012-01-15T00:11:00.000-06:00

Me: Aubrey, I am the parent, you are the child. You do not get to boss me around.
Aubrey: Mama, you the parrot? Mama, say "Polly wanna cwacker? SQUAWK!"
Me: No, Aubrey, PARENT not PARROT!
Aubrey: SQUAWK! SQUAWK! Mama da parrot, Aubrey da child. Mama, you want a cwacker?
Me: I give....

Sleepover for Six

2012-01-14T12:10:00.000-06:00

Aiden's birthday is coming up on Monday, so we celebrated with a sleepover with 5 of his friends last night. It was utter CHAOS, but the boys had a blast. We started the night off with some Just Dance for Wii and a few other games, then ate pizza, and frosted and decorated our own superhero cupcakes and scarfed them down. After cake, Aiden opened his presents and since he received multiple Nerf guns, they just HAD to have a Nerf war! Then they jumped on the trampoline (which became a wrestling ring) until they were worn out and I brought them all in to put on PJ's. Then we spread out blankets, popped popcorn and watched The Goonies, which none of the boys had seen--they all LOVED it! After that, it was upstairs to camp out on Aiden's bedroom floor, where they spent the next hour goofing off and acting crazy (which meant I spent the next hour rushing up the stairs and threatening them with their lives if they woke up Aubrey). FINALLY they fell asleep around 11:00--and I got to tackle the gigantic mess!

The next morning, I made french toast and bacon and eggs for everyone while they played Wii and jumped on the trampoline. Then I packed 'em up and shipped 'em off (which meant they all dropped their stuff in their respective homes, all on our block, and then ran back to play). At least I was able to kick them outside and straighten things up a bit before Aiden's great-grandparents arrived for a visit. A hectic couple of days, but worth every bit of the hassle for the fun Aiden had. He was all smiles, surrounded by his buddies and doing some of his favorite things. I'm glad we did it--I'm just happy that next year, Brad will be home to help!!

The Many Faces of Aubrey

2012-01-13T22:53:00.000-06:00

I love my sweet, sassy girl! She is such a spunky little gal--always hamming it up for a laugh, full of drama, and with a wicked bossy streak. Aubrey goes to preschool 3 days a week: Tuesday through Thursday, and by Friday morning, she is always ready for some "Mommy-Aubrey time." We spend the morning in our PJ's and snuggle on the couch, playing and being silly together. Here are a few pics from today's cuddle-fest. As you can see, she is full of personality!

Double digits

2012-01-05T00:36:00.001-06:00

Tonight, I realized something exciting. There are exactly 100 days left until Brad's anticipated date of arrival. Of course, in army speak, that's give or take a few weeks. BUT...if things go as planned, when I wake up tomorrow, we will be in the double digits. What a huge milestone that is for us! I can't wait until Brad is home safe for good! (Or, at least until Uncle Sam calls on him again)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T12:27:00.000-06:00

2011 has passed away, 2012 has come charging in, bearing plenty of promise. This is the year that Brad will return home from Afghanistan and our family will be reunited. We will move to a new home in Kansas and we'll start a new adventure there. We are planning to take the kids to Disney World in the spring, so there is plenty to look forward to in the new year.
I've decided not to make New Year's resolutions this year. They always seem so...temporary. Something you start in January and forget by February. But I am setting some personal goals and even some family goals I thought I'd share with you.

1. To develop our annual family budget and stick with it. We have always had a budget and have used mvelopes(http://www.mvelopes.com) in the past and always had great success, but recently we've abandoned it and things have gotten a little off track. This is the first priority for the year: to get things back in order.

2. To get back into blogging. I've always enjoyed blogging, but with this deployment, it has been very difficult to find the time. I've set what I think is a realistic goal~~an average of one post per week~~so hopefully things will get back rolling once again.

3. To carve out time for regular exercise. It isn't because I'm trying to lose weight, or because I'm somehow wanting to become the next wonder woman. And I'm plenty active enough during the week running after two kids and maintaining a household. But to help with the stress and maintain my sanity, I've decided I need to set aside time for an exercise class or gym session or even a relaxing solo walk twice a week. This will be the most challenging goal for me to keep. Time is a precious commodity that I have trouble spending on myself.

So those are my goals. Nothing major, nothing outlandish. But all things that need to be done. Hopefully, I'll be able to report back next year that I've accomplished all of these goals.

He's coming home!!

2011-11-17T00:12:00.001-06:00

I wish I could say it was for good, but Brad is due home for R&R on SATURDAY! The coolest part is that he'll come home on Aubrey's birthday--what a special birthday present for her! I am so looking forward to the next 2 weeks of family time. And when they are over, I'll be horribly sad, but grateful that we'll only have 4 1/2 months remaining in this deployment. Say a little prayer that Brad's travels are uneventful and speedy!

2011 Christmas Card

2011-11-17T00:09:00.001-06:00

Here's this year's Christmas card. Love the pics and I'm SO GLAD we had these done right before Brad left.

Retro Plaid Christmas Card

Turn your favorite family photos into Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

France, continued... A Sweet Reunion

2011-09-18T22:25:00.001-05:00

The day after I arrived in France, I woke up EARLY to catch the high speed train to Paris so I could pick up Brad from the airport and ride back to Vitry le Francois with him in his rental car. I headed out at 6 AM and walked the mile to the train station, ducking into the boulangerie to buy a still-warm pain au chocolate for my breakfast. I arrived at the train station 30 minutes before my train, asked to buy a ticket in halting French...and then my credit card didn't work.

I quickly called the bank, and it was a compatibility issue--European credit cards use a micro chip and a pin instead of a magnetic strip that is swiped, and although most merchants are equipped to handle both types of cards, the train station wasn't. No ATM in sight, they can't just type in the number, and my train is now leaving in 10 minutes. I'm so disappointed and frantic, because I have no way of reaching Brad (I have his cell phone, and he doesn't have my French cell number to call me from another phone), he's expecting me at the airport, and there is no way I can drive to Paris and arrive in time-I was going to take a 198 mph train, which would get me there in a little over an hour, versus the 3 hours it would take to drive. Just then, the ONE English speaking employee they had, who had been translating for me, says "You come with me, my friend is the conductor on that train, we ask her if you can ride for free." He walks me out to the platform, asks his friend, and she says, "Sure" and tucks me into a second class cabin (which she conveniently skipped when it came time to collect tickets). So my day was saved by a guardian angel, dressed as a gallant Frenchman.

Later that morning, I arrived in Paris, then had to walk a half-mile to the metro station, where I would take a subway to the airport. After about 10 minutes of carefully watching the Parisians and trying to figure out the metro system, I hopped on board a subway...and then dashed off just in the nick of time when I realized I was on the wrong train! I grabbed the correct ride a minute later and was on my way. The metro system was awesome and so easy to use after that first blunder-once I figured out the system, I loved it and used it often on my Parisian forays.

I arrived at the airport just in time to see Brad walk out of baggage claim and customs. It was a sweet reunion, but brief since he was accompanied by 4 other Army guys. We headed off to collect his rental car, then coordinated with the rest of the guys to head over to the shopping center I had blundered my way to the day prior, so the guys could pick up SIM cards for their cell phones. After a hilarious conversation in the cell phone store with a college-aged French girl who spoke fantastic English about the TV show Glee (which is where said girl learned most of her English, including plenty of slang that cracked me up), we decided to quickly grab food at the mall, since the guys had limited time before they had to report in at the French military camp that was hours away. So, my second meal in Paris was, once again, in the mall. Seriously.

But wait, it isn't as bad as it sounds, because in the middle of the mall was an area of tables, with cloth linens on the table and vases with flowers. They had a prix fixe menu that included a glass of wine, duck confit and potatoes with a salad, and an apple tart for dessert, followed by espresso for 13€. We gave it a shot, not expecting much since it was mall food...and seriously, the best duck I've ever had. In. The. Mall. I freakin' love France.

After gorging ourselves and resolving to learn how to make duck confit at home, we hit the road. And the jet lag hit me. Hard. I'm sure the wine and duck and dessert didn't help matters much, but no matter how much I fought it, I kept falling asleep sitting up, sometimes even mid-sentence. Brad kept telling me to take a nap, I kept saying no, I didn't want to waste our time together slee...zzzzzzzzz.

When I fell asleep while protesting, I decided to go ahead and lay back and snooze. We arrived in Vitry a little later, where I was able to...er, properly welcome my husband, ahem. Then he headed off to work, I napped off the remainder of the jet lag, and we met back in town for dinner and a stroll around the square. It was such a wonderful time, walking through this quaint French town hand-in-hand, finally able to talk about all the things we'd missed out on over the past 4 months. It was a little slice of heaven in the midst of a dark year, and I was (and am) so grateful for every moment we had together.

An American (fumbling her way around) in Paris

2011-09-11T22:50:00.000-05:00

I arrived in Paris early in the moring on August 30th and was immediately thrown into a new world. French signs, the echoes of a new language surrounding me. I found my way through customs and immigration and baggage claim, and then headed off to find my rental car. After wandering around lost, looking for the desk, I finally found my way, where thankfully, the agent spoke English (and quite beautifully). I don't know if they were just having a slow morning or she was being exceptionally kind, but when I arrived at my car (expecting the tiny hatchback automatic I had reserved), I found a decked out, completely loaded Renault sedan. I pushed the buttons on the fob, loaded my luggage inside, then curiously looked at the black "credit-card" the agent had presented to me as my key. The steering column had no key hole. There was a 'start' button on the dash, but it didn't work. For 5 minutes I sat in the car, staring at a dash of buttons and knobs and trying to figure out how the hell to start my vehicle, stubbornly refusing to be the idiot American that had to ask how to start the car. Finally, after several moments of searching, I found a small, unmarked slot that my "key" fit into, down below the radio controls. I slid it in, pushed the "start" button...and was relieved beyond measure to hear the engine turn over. I figured out how to turn off the parking brake (a button on the center console) and began the arduous task of exiting the parking garage.

If you've never driven in France, here are some tips. First of all, every car in France is TINY by American standards--so the roads and parking spots are sized accordingly. There were places in the parking garage where the lane, which was bordered by concrete walls on each side, was only 2-3 inches wider than my vehicle, no exaggeration. To say I was driving slowly would be an understatement.

Once I got out onto the road, things weren't much better. I had wisely reviewed French traffic signs before I left, so I wasn't completely lost, but WOW. French drivers are crazy. They rarely use signals, cut around you within inches, and drive like bats out of hell. Motorcycles zoom around you, weaving between you and the surrounding cars, so close that if I were to put my arm out the wndow, I would certainly knock the rider off his bike. The other drivers, especially trucks, will run your ass over if you drive the speed limit. Here I am, driving in Paris off of hand-written instructions to a cell-phone store to buy a SIM card for my phone (so Brad and I can call each other without paying a small fortune), unable to read most of the signs, and am surrounded by insane drivers. After circling the place four times (I kid you not), I finally end up at the French version of a shopping mall, which looks nothing like a shopping mall--it looks like an industrial complex (which is why I drove past it twice--it didn't look a thing like what I expected). I get inside--and the mall isn't open yet, it is only 8 AM. So, I find a McDonalds, the only thing open in the mall at that hour--and order a cafe' au lait and a freshly baked chocolate croissant. Funny, I don't recall THAT being on the menu in the US. It wasn't the best pain au chocolat I had during my trip, but it was much better than many of the American versions I'd had over the years!

Finally I made it to the cell phone store, struggled through my transaction with a young man who spoke excellent English (but who kept saying how bad it was--I reassured him otherwise), and then headed back to my car to make the trek out to Vitry-le-Francois, the small village we were staying in.

My brief time in Paris had lulled me into thinking that I would get by just fine without knowing French--then I arrived in rural France and realized just how wrong I was. Here in Vitry, I've met 3 people who speak English. Three. Everyone else speaks French only and expects you to do the same. My idealistic bubble was burst when I arrived at my hotel. Madame owner spoke about 10 words of English. We muddled our way through the check-in, where I got my very old-fashioned key attached to a 10 pound paper-weight, and trekked upstairs to my room.

The room was very simple and small, but clean and with a modern bathroom. The hotel is not air conditioned, so I was greeted by the sight of a small balcony, the shutters and doors thrown open, the sounds of the street below filtering in. The weather was lovely--about 70 degrees--so I was content to enjoy the breeze and the sounds of daily life below. I unpacked a few things, then showered and settled in for a nap to stave off the jet lag.

After a couple of hours of rest, I dressed and headed out for dinner. I arrived at one restaurant, threw out the couple of phrases of French I knew, requesting a table, and had the owner begin barking at me in French. I asked if he spoke English, to which he just laughed. He pointed to the menu and basically told me that they were only serving sandwiches at that time, and stalked off. An old, toothless man, who reeked of whisky and stale cigarettes then saunters/wobbles his way over to me, and proceeds to laugh. in. my. face. Not an amused chuckle, but an all out, wheezy laugh. In my face. I tossed the menu on the counter, turned and stalked out the door.

I then made my way next door, hesistatingly asking for a table, terrified of a repeat performance and wondering if the "rude, arrogant French" stereotype was true. I was prepared to hate France, frustrated already by my day and wondering how I was going to get through ten days of this. But the woman who greeted me was very friendly, and when she realized I wasn't conversant in French, she kindly tolerated my butchered French and answered me in English, even helping me pronounce a few words. I had a lovely meal: a vinaigrette-dressed salad of the most amazingly beautiful lettuce (French chefs baby their greens and treat them gently--they arrive as beautiful as when they were picked. American chefs cut them with knives and abuse them, soaking them in water, so we get twisted, bland, wilting stuff), topped with a hearty slice of toasted bread, topped with melted cheese, the French version of bacon (pork belly, just cut and treated a bit different than what we are used to), slices of juicy, ripe tomato, and a soft-cooked egg. It was absolutely heavenly. The velvety egg yolk combining with the tart vinaigrette; the savory, fatty bacon; the crunchy texture of the toasted bread; the saltiness of the cheese; the brightness of the tomato--it was wonderful. Afterwards, I enjoyed a heavenly bowl of melt-in-your-mouth cream-puffs filled with ice cream and topped with dark chocolate sauce, and the ubiquitous cup of espresso. I left full, happy, and completely in love with French cuisine.

It was an opinion that did not change over the course of my trip. The food here is, without a doubt, amazing. Other than one bad experence, in which we landed in a tourist trap on a Sunday evening, when all the decent places were closed, we had exceptional meals. The food we ate was not overly complicated, as Frech cuisine seems to get a bad rap for--we ate simple, regional fare, well-prepared, in which the ingredients were of exceptional quality.

We had a few interesting moments along the way, though. Despite the fact that my French vocabulary and ability to converse was increasing exponentially each day, I ordered what I thought was veal, tete au veau at one restaurant. The waiter pointed to his cheek, saying "tete?" and questioning my choice. Thinking he was referring to the cheek of veal, of which I was more than willing to try, I said "Oui" and confirmed my order. My meal came out in a ceramic crock, and inside where chunks of meat and vegetables, surrounded by large chucks of a fatty substance. Blech. The meat and vegetables tasted wonderful, so I ate those and picked around the big fatty pieces, thinking that perhaps they were included to flavor the rest of the dish. I finished my meal, content, and went on my way.

The next night, as I was leafing through my guide book in preparation for the following day, I found a passage particularly funny--it recommended that diners try many things, when it came to French cuisine, but that they "might want to skip the tete au veau (calf's head) and save that for the truly adventurous." Ugh--I'd eaten calf's head! I was grossed out for about a millisecond, and then realized that it didn't matter--the meat I'd eaten had tasted pretty good--and chalked it up to one of those moments I would always laugh over.

Brad had his own "calf's head" moment when he inadvertently ordered a pig's foot a few nights later. It was rolled in breadcrumbs and crunchy and actually tasted pretty good, but not the most filling dish, since there is little edible meat in a pig's foot (mostly fat and gristle). But it was funny, laughing at his look of surprise when the pork he'd ordered showed up, hoof and all.

As I'm sure you've surmised from reading this, the French eat just about every part of the animal. Andouillette, a local delicacy, is tripe sausage. If you can get over the smell, you might like it, but it really stinks. We knew what it was when we ordered it, but willing to give it a shot after seeing it on menus everywhere, we were turned off by the smell and texture. Calf's head, pig's feet, lots of liver--the French don't believe in wasting any part of the animal. And honestly, most of it is pretty good when covered in sauce and cooked with herbs and all.

The French also eat a lot of eggs. On salads, sandwiches, pizza. Whereas we eat a lot of eggs for breakfast, they consume eggs later in the day--the breakfasts here are often baguette with jam, fruit, and yogurt. I never realized how wonderful an egg can be on salad or baked into a pizza, but now that I've had it, you can bet I'll be adding them to my cooking at home.

More tomorrow...stay tuned.

Catching up...

2011-09-07T09:56:00.000-05:00

My, it has been so long since I've last written here! I have had quite a hectic summer, and unfortunately, time for blogging has been relegated to the bottom of my list of priorities. So, what have I been doing with my time?

First of all, I have started working again--but once again, I am forfeiting a paycheck and am giving my time away for free. Yes, I know this makes me a bit crazy in the eyes of most Capitalism-loving Americans (and no, I'm not a Sociaist, the word du jour being thrown about on every cable news network), but I love what I am doing, yet again. I have taken on the position of Children's Ministry Director at our church, Grace Bible Fellowship. The church, located in the heart of the Amry's 1st Cavalry Division, had lost its CM director to a military move and had suspended most of its programming for kids. I found myself perpetually frustrated, having to sit through church services with a squirming, distracting Aiden next to me, and knew that if I felt this way about it, so did the other parents in the room. I caught myself complaining about it one day, and then felt this convicting little voice inside me say, Well, rather than complain, maybe you should DO something about it.... So, the following Sunday, I found myself stopping our head Pastor, Dave, and volunteering my time to be involved in the ministry.

I interviewed with Dave and the associate pastor, Stephen, and after they heard of my experience with our last church, they tapped me to LEAD the ministry as Director. I was a little hesitant, yet I had faith God would equip me with what I needed to be involved, and I said yes. The surprising part was that most of my "interview" had been spent discussing how I felt that the kids ministry at Grace was their weakest attribute--I was tactful and kind, but I spent a good portion of the time discussing how much the ministry needed to improve--and I guess they were opne to it, because they have signed me on and given me a pretty free hand to make changes.

And boy, the changes I've made! I've taken a blank metal building with hand-me-down furniture and temporary walls and made it look like a kid-friendly space. We won't win any design awards any time soon (my budget was pretty small) but the kids love the new space and it actually feels like a place where children can feel comfortable. I've recruited an entire new team of volunteers and teachers--90% of the previous staff had moved away or deployed. I've redesigned the program to be more age-appropriate and energetic, incorporating skits and music and characters and fun into the morning. I've tied our children's ministry in with our global outreach missions, pairing the different grades with specific outreach families that are living and working around the world, so that the kids have a better sense of the world around them, what it is to be a missionary, etc. And the kids have really responded well to these changes--the existing kids are having a blast, and our numbers continue to rise, which is fantastic.

God has definitely had His hand on this ministry--every time I've had a need and I've wondered how I was going to make things work, He put someone in my path that filled the need. He's provided volunteers, inspired hearts to become involved, and filled the hallways of our ministry with joy. It is such a priviledge to get to walk the halls on Sunday mornings, listening to kids tuck God's word in their hearts. It fills me with pride to talk to them after Sunday school, as they leave with their parents, and ask them about their morning, what their lesson was, what their craft meant, and to hear them tell Bible stories and lessons from memory--and to see their parents beaming, realizing that they've actually learned something. I have the most amazing team of volunteers, dedicated, loving, godly people who have invested so much in these kids, it is such fun to work with them and help them fill their purpose within God's kingdom. I love, love, love what I'm doing--can you tell from how I'm gushing??

As much as I love it, it has been a pretty chaotic and brutal summer. I was brought on with less than 2 months to re-staff, re-design, and launch the new Sunday School program before school started. I introduced a new theme to our ministry, re-decorated an entire building, recruited and trained volunteers, built new policies and procedures for screening our volunteers (the kids' safety is my #1 priority), designed new logos, graphics, and even all the videos for our music (since I don't have the budget to buy umpteen pre-made DVD's so I can get one song here that I like, one there, I made my own DVD's with lyrics, which took FOREVER!). Although I have a slew of volunteers on Sunday morning, almost all of the actual painting/cleaning/designing/prep was done by me, solo, in one week. And did I mention--school is out, which means I had my kids with me at the church many days. My poor children have lived at the church lately--I can't tell you how many evenings they spent playing with toys, watching DVDs, and eating pizza on the rug on the floor while I worked.

But we launched the new program on Sunday August 21st, and it was a smashing success. The kids were sent off on an adventure, wearing safari hats and dancing and singing to new music. The morning was a grand success--despite the fact that our guest speaker that morning let the adults out 20 minutes early and I had to make parents wait for their kids, lol. And since then, things have been going smoothly and successfully.

On Sunday 8/21 we luanched the new program, and on 8/22, Aiden started school and I started packing and preparing for my next adventure--a 10-day trip to France. Brad called me in July to tell me he had been assigned temporary duty in France, and he asked if I would like to meet him there. I immediately jumped at the opportunity to spend 10 days with my husband, and in FRANCE, no less. But within minutes I began feeling conflicted and worry--I couldn't take the kids (it was after school had started, plus we couldn't afford it, plus Brad would be working most of the time, which they wouldn't really understand). So, like any mother, I began feeling guilty that I was going to get time away, with their daddy, without them. I agonized for a few days about it, wondering what to do--don't go without them, go but not tell them about Brad, go and tell them the truth and try to figure out a way to explain it so they wouldn't hate me....

After a few days, I finally decided that I would go on the trip. I have told them I am going to France for a vacation--now that their summer vacation is over and they've returned to school, it was Mommy's turn to get a vacation. But I elected NOT to tell them I would see Brad. I don't think there is any good way to tell them, especially Aiden, without hurting feelings or causing resentment. And not going just wasn't an option. I needed a vacation. Seriously NEEDED some time away--I had spent last August to November as a single parent going to school part time while Brad was in Kansas, and now I had spent April to August as a single parent, while working a new job and juggling Boy Scouts and every thing else, and I was just spent. Period. And I still have 8 months left to go before Brad comes home. I also felt like I couldn't turn away the opportunity to renew my marraige and my relationship with my husband. Even though Brad would be working, I'd get the opportunity to sleep in his arms, wake up to his smile, and just have dinner together and talk about our days and connect. So, I booked a ticket in July (courtesy of my dad, who immediately offered to buy me a plane ticket), found someone to watch the kids--Aunt Cathy happily volunteered, God bless her, applied for my passport...but then put my trip on the back burner while I tackled the mountain of projects for the church.

So on that Monday following our Sunday school launch, I jumped into trip planning. Researching food and restaurants and hotels and places to see. Trying to cram a few French phrases into my vocabulary. Dragging out winter clothes, buying new clothes (did I mention I've lost 12 pounds already during this deployment--it's called the too busy to eat diet), and packing suitcases. On August 29th, I left for Paris, arriving early in the morning on the 30th to a voicemail from Brad saying he'd been delayed. Go figure...a change in plans from the Army, like I wasn't expecting THAT! So, I rented my car and drove out to Vitry-le-Francois, the tiny village in the French countryside where Brad and I had a hotel reserved. Brad joined me here on Wednesday after a lovely reunion at a Paris airport. We've had a slew of adventures, which I will detail in subsequent posts, and now, I am gearing up to leave EARLY tomorrow morning. I'm spending my last day here packing (ugh) and now sitting on a patio at a cafe, enjoying coffee and the beautiful weather, living the French lifestyle one final day before I have to go back to the hustle and bustle of my American life. It isn't all gloom, though--I can't wait to see my children and hear all about their adventures and just hold them close and smell their sweet, soft skin. As much fun as I've had, I've missed them terribly.

Stay tuned for more about my French adventure.

Au revoir!

SYTYCD 6/22/11 Coming Home Routine

2011-06-23T21:32:00.000-05:00

This was an amazing routine last night on SYTYCD. I love that they played tribute to the complexities of soldiers coming home with such a beautiful performance--LOVED IT!

Playing Catch-up

2011-06-23T16:06:00.001-05:00

Well, it has been a month since my last post. YIKES! But the Parker Pack has been so busy these past few weeks! End-of-the-school-year parties and awards ceremonies, Cub Scout Day Camp, vacation bible school, a trip to Great Wolf Lodge, kidney stones--it has been a litany of activities and complications and craziness.

Aiden finished his first grade year with straight A's and was awarded the Principal's Award. I was so proud of how well he has done this year. Being so young compared to his peers, his first year of true "school" at a big school and not a small preschool--we were worried how it would all turn out. But Aiden thrived in school this year and we are relieved to see him end the year on such a high note.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we spent a few days with Gran and Gramps on the coast at Rockport. It was a fun treat, days of swimming and playing and enjoying the sunshine.

Then school was out and it was off to a week-long Cub Scout Day Camp. Aiden had a blast, learning all about space, building rockets, shooting BB guns and learning archery, and swimming the afternoons away. Each day, he came home exhausted and filthy, all signs of a great time for a 6-year-old boy.

The following week, Aiden attended VBS at a local church. He had such a fun time on his "Big Apple Adventure" (a New York-themed curriculum) and even learned a couple of things. He told me he wished VBS could last a whole month instead of a week, so I'm guessing he liked it.

What was Aubrey doing all this time, you ask? Many of her days were spent playing with friends in the kiddie pool outside, visiting a local splash park, and riding around with Mommy while she played chauffeur.

Last week, I ended up with a kidney stone on Tuesday and had to take a middle-of-the-night ER trip (luckily I had someone who could sleep on my couch and watch my kiddos). After some pain pills and rest on Wednesday, I was feeling better. I threw a cub scout water party on Thursday, followed by a trip on Saturday to Fort Worth with another Army wife, Molly, and her 2-year-old daughter, Ireland. We had a fantastic trip, hitting the Fort Worth Zoo for the day on Saturday, spending the night at Aunt Cathy and Uncle Wayne's house that night, and then headed over to Great Wolf Lodge for Sunday through Monday. The kids were flat worn out by the time we got home--the little girls were ASKING to go to bed!!

This week, I've been trying to catch up on laundry from all of our running about, and prepping for my new position at church--I am now the Children's Ministry Director for Grace Bible Fellowship here in Killeen. This is an exciting new opportunity for me and will keep me busy and motivated over the next year while Aubrey and Aiden are in school and Brad is away. I am excited to take on the challenge, but a little nervous, since I've never led a children's ministry before, just adult ministries.

As you can see, we are a busy bunch these days. But with Brad gone, staying busy is the only way to go--a busy mind doesn't have time to worry or feel sorry for itself. The kids have had some rough moments, and there are days when I just have to laugh at the sheer absurdity of what goes on around here: the chaos, the small disasters that come with "the deployment curse" and the temper tantrums that abound from both children. But we are surviving, and more than that, we are thriving, despite the challenges of having Brad gone. I miss him terribly and am counting the days until he returns, but until then, the race is on!

No, we didn't fall off the face of the Earth...

2011-05-18T22:53:00.000-05:00

...but we did survive our own small disaster--Puke-ocalypse 2011. Aiden, Aubrey and I all caught some dreadful stomach bug, which translated to me feeling nauseous while cleaning up puke, poop, and pee from multiple surfaces in my house. We've been through a year's supply of paper towels and I didn't sleep for about 48 hours, but we're all healed and feeling much better. And the couch (and beds, and floor) will survive.

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Warren Parker

2011-05-09T14:22:00.000-05:00

Saturday was the wedding of Brad's younger brother Warren to his bride, who the kids have affectionately dubbed "Aunt TT." It was a casual, slightly Western affair, out on the farm of Tara's parents. Aubrey was the flower girl and Aiden was the ring bearer, and surprisingly, both did really well. After the disastrous rehearsal on Friday night, when Aiden threw a giant tantrum and refused to participate and Aubrey melted down into a heap in the grass, I am sure Tara was cursing the day she'd asked my children to take part. (She was much to gracious to ever show it, though). But when the music started on Saturday and the kids were sent down the aisle, Aiden helped his sister down by guiding her gently on the back, and Aubrey carried her basket of petals and even managed to toss a few. Aiden stood near the groomsmen the entire service, gave the minister the rings on cue, and even managed to survive the entire ceremony without once throwing the pillow or sticking his butt out and fake farting (all things I had dreamed about in my nightmares).

The wedding was lovely and heartfelt, followed by a fun reception full of dancing and laughter. Brad even made a few appearances--his "Flat Daddy" made rounds at the reception, posing for pictures with family, and during the toasts, we played a video message for the bride and groom that Brad had filmed before and I had edited and put together. Aiden and Aubrey both danced and showed everyone just how adorable they can be when they put their minds to it. In fact, Aiden had all of the bridesmaids dancing with him and posing for pictures in the photo booth--he was quite the ladies man! He also managed to make every single adult member of the wedding party spend the weekend with their fingers crossed to avoid getting the "cheese touch"--if you've read/seen Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you'll understand this is a modern version of the "cooties" game I played as a kid. It was hilarious, though, watching grown men and women drink champagne, eat or dance with crossed fingers!

Here are a few pictures and videos from our weekend:

Notice the crossed fingers to protect from "cheese touch."

Aubrey kept spinning once she realized she could make her skirt bell out.

This is Aubrey, asleep on the garage floor, with her head on a dog bed--she fell asleep in the middle of playing when we got home yesterday. Just a little tired, huh?

Cub Scouts

2011-05-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

Most of you already know, but in October, Aiden joined the Cub Scouts--and I was coerced into becoming the den leader for Aiden's den. I knew NOTHING about Scouting at the time, so it has been quite an adventure, to say the least! Well, I am happy to report that a few weeks ago, Aiden and the rest of his fellow Tiger scouts earned their Tiger badges! I actually lead a mixed den of 2 different ranks, and my Wolf Scouts just earned their rank this week, which means my den of boys have all made rank and we get to have a fun summer of playing and exploring and just being rowdy. I am so proud of Aiden for sticking with Scouts and for earning his badge--and I'm proud of myself for tackling this adventure and learning so much over the past few months.

Me and my boys!

Aiden and his best bud, Jamie.

All of my Tiger cubs--what a rag-tag bunch!

Getting his rank pinned on upside-down.

He had to do a good deed to turn it over and sew it on his uniform--

he came home that night and loaded the dishwasher!

Crazy kid!

2011-05-06T11:59:00.000-05:00

Aubrey is one silly, silly gal with a penchant for costumes and drama. She likes all the princess stuff OK, but what she really likes is coming up with her own crazy combination. Like the day she wore swim goggles and a cowboy hat all morning. Or when she put on princess shoes, a police hat, and Hulk hands. She's a sassy, spunky gal and I wouldn't trade her for anything! Here are a few of her most recent costume changes!

Wearing a "Wolf Ninja" mask to breakfast...

"Why can't I get this sausage in my mouth??"

She finally figured out to reach under the mask--she still wouldn't take it off.

Swim goggles. She LOVES the swim goggles.

Swim goggles + mismatched princess shoes.

She's recently started putting her doll bed on the couch,

then climbing inside with her blanket and sippy to watch cartoons.

What a BOY!

2011-05-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

There is something so joyful about a boy--his imagination, his sloppiness, the fascination with all things "potty-related." The way they are born making sound effects and enjoy crashing things together from birth. Boys are messy, rough, and full of mischief, but they can melt your heart with their underlying sweetness. I love my boy!

Can't see them, right? That's because of their AWESOME camouflage, of course!

They look so tough in their homemade camouflage, don't they?

Thankfully, they used washable marker!

Family Pictures 2011

2011-05-04T12:58:00.000-05:00

Our extremely talented friend, Allison with eleventhirtysix images, graciously worked in a photo session on our last trip up to Dallas before Brad left. She is an amazing photographer who always manages to capture the essence of our family on film. This is our second shoot with her--she is fantastic with kids, and despite the fact that mine threw tantrums and were difficult all afternoon, she managed to get some incredible shots. Plus, she is a wonderful friend, strong Christian woman and beautiful person--I consider myself lucky to know her. If you ever need photos, I HIGHLY recommend her--it was well worth the 3 1/2 hour drive to get our photos done by her. Click here to visit her website and see more of her work.

Pass the tape, please

2011-05-03T00:09:00.000-05:00

I think my heart has been ripped out, torn to ragged bits, and I am desperately trying to tape, staple and hot glue the thing back together and stuff it back in my chest. Poor Aiden is having such a rough time tonight--he cried for a good 30 or 40 minutes at bedtime. It began during his bedtime prayer--we hit the part where we pray for God to watch over Daddy and all the soldiers around the world and he little face just crumpled, his shoulders started shaking, and all the weight of his worry came tumbling down. He cried so hard, saying how much he missed his daddy, how he can't take all the sadness and hurt in his heart. I dug out a t-shirt of Brad's for him to sleep in; tucked him into my bed, his little head resting on his daddy's pillow; put his Daddy doll in his arms and tried to cuddle him close and absorb all the hurt and heartache I could through osmosis, but it doesn't seem to be working. Even his sister (who was mid-poop and getting to stay up late) came in, crawled up on the bed, and patted her brother, saying "It's OK, Bubba, it's OK. Bubba sad. It be alright."

I miss Brad every day, I think of him constantly, but (no offense, my dear), my own hurt is NOTHING compared to how heartbreaking it is to watch Aiden muddle through this. He had been doing so well, it seemed--I had just commented earlier in the day to my mom that he seemed to be turning a corner and handling things better in the last few days, with the daily emails he and his daddy exchange. Boy was I wrong!

Aiden and I spent a good bit of time in prayer together tonight, asking God to give Aiden peace and rest and comfort, asking Him to take on this load for my little guy. It is my prayer each day--that my children never forget their Daddy, but they learn to live without him physically-present, gracefully. Please join me in this prayer--next time your spending a little time with the Lord, do me a favor--ask for some peace and comfort for my brave little guy.

Farewell, Daddy

2011-04-30T15:14:00.000-05:00

The last family picture for a whole year.

Thursday was a sad and very difficult day for the Parker Pack. Saying goodbye to a loved one for a year is an exhausting thing.

We woke up Thursday morning and dropped Aiden at school as usual, Brad getting up with him and taking him. We decided long ago to try to keep Aiden busy and keep things fairly normal for him on the day Brad left--the last thing we wanted was Aiden to sit at home, bored, surrounded by worry and doubts and fear and sadness. Then Brad came home and cuddled on the couch with Aubrey and I--it was quite a sight, all three of us squashed together on our couch. We spent the morning snuggling and letting Aubrey watch cartoons, then we made breakfast and got dressed for the day. Brad headed back up to Aiden's school around 11 to pick him up and we all went to lunch as a family at a local Mexican food restaurant--Brad needed his enchilada fix before heading off the the land of crappy Army food! At lunch, we joked and laughed and had a great time, Aiden glued to his daddy's side in the booth, and Aubrey entertaining us with her antics.

After lunch, we headed back to the house, where Aiden helped Brad finish up a few last-minute packing details. Aiden even tried on his daddy's enormous rucksack--and promptly fell on his butt under all the weight. We went inside to wait for a few of Brad's fellow soldiers to drop by and pick-up Brad's bags--they had kindly offered to drop them for Brad so he could spend more time with the kiddos at home. Everyone was getting a bit mopey and quiet, so I rounded them all up and herded them over to our neighbor's driveway basketball hoop for a quick game. Aiden and Daddy teamed up against me (and Aubrey practiced shooting hoops on the toddler-sized goal we had for her). It was a great time, the boys elbowing me and fouling me all over the court and stealing the ball from me. Trash-talking and joking abounded, and we had a blast.

Once we were exhausted and hot, we went indoors, where Brad threw on his uniform and got ready to leave. We spent a while saying our goodbyes at home, cuddling and hugging, and crying together, trying to find the right words to comfort Aiden and help Aubrey understand what was about to happen. Then we loaded up in the van and headed toward the company headquarters.

We had debated for weeks exactly how to handle this day. Many soldiers bring their kids along for the several-hour-affair of preparing to leave: the kids and moms wait in a gym or parking lot while soldiers go back and forth, dropping bags, drawing weapons from the arms room, checking in for the flight manifest, etc. Brad and I knew we did NOT want to drag our kids through the long, boring afternoon of sitting and waiting for Daddy to leave, the endless coming and going and wondering "Is THIS when Daddy leaves for real?" We had initially planned to say all of our goodbyes at home, but part of me wondered if Aiden needed to see a glimpse of what was going on: all the soldiers and other families going through the exact same process. So, several days ago, we asked Aiden what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to drop daddy off. I explained that we would say most of our goodbyes at home, that we wouldn't even unbuckle our seatbelts (we feared we'd have to pry him off of Brad or he'd flat refuse to get back into the car)--Daddy would just come around to him for kisses and hugs--and he agreed.

Well, when we arrived at the HQ, I parked and Brad walked around to give kisses to the kids. Aubrey, who hadn't gotten a nap that day, was so exhausted, she had fallen asleep on the ride over, so Brad merely gave her a few sweet kisses on her cheeks. (He had already gotten plenty of squeezes and kisses from her at home). He then walked around to Aiden's side of the van, and at first, Aiden wouldn't really look at or hug Brad. This is actually a pretty common reaction from military kids, there is a lot of anger and resentment about the whole process--so I gently told Aiden, "This is your chance, buddy. Daddy walks away for a year after this--you don't want to have any regrets or wish later you'd given him a hug." So he turned and gave him a half-hearted hug. "Hey, Aiden," I laughingly told him, "you better squeeze Daddy as hard as you can--if his head pops off, he can't go to Afghanistan!" at which point Aiden really grabbed Brad and hugged him as fiercely as he could. But then, Aiden began sobbing and suddenly found himself unable to let go of his daddy's neck. After a moment, I looked at him with tears in my eyes, "Buddy, I need you to be brave. I know it's hard, but you have to let him go." He released his daddy's neck, and then grabbed his Daddy doll and held on tight.

I was next, and although I am a grown woman, I found myself struggling almost as much as Aiden to let go of Brad after our embrace. How on earth do you let go, knowing that your best friend and the man you love more than any other is about to walk away and go to war? I gave him a final kiss, then hopped back into the car and watched my husband walk away.

We drove off and headed toward Sonic for a cold drink and a treat. I had asked Aiden earlier in the day what he wanted to do after we dropped Brad off, and he had requested we go bowling. Since Aubrey was asleep, I bought us a little time to cheer up, let go of our sadness, and let Aubrey rest a bit longer with the Sonic trip. While we drove over, Aiden sobbed, saying over and over, "I wish Daddy didn't have to go!" "I want my daddy!" and "I can't take this, Mommy, it's too much!" I was trying very hard not to absolutely bawl, doing plenty of crying myself, and telling him, "I miss him, too, buddy, I miss him, too." After about 10 minutes of the saddest, most heartbreaking crying, Aiden got quiet, and a few minutes later told me, "Mama, I'm tired of crying, I don't have any cries left. But I'm still crying on the inside." "That's OK, buddy. But just remember, Mommy can't see how you feel on the inside, so just tell me when you are crying inside, OK?"

We pulled into Sonic a minute later, and soon Aiden was distracted by thoughts of tater tots and slushies. A bit later, he was standing behind my seat, staring into my rearview mirror with his mouth wide open, making all kinds of noises and laughing, saying "Mommy, what's that thingy in the back of my throat? Look, I can make it dance!" and giggling hysterically. At that point, I knew he'd be fine.

We went bowling shortly after at the alley on post and we had the entire place to ourselves. We had a blast, laughing, cheering each other on, and feeling a bit indignant when Aubrey (who bowls with bumpers and a ramp) beat both of us! After we played some arcade games, then headed home.

We're all coping OK. Aiden has taken to falling asleep in my bed at night, laying on his daddy's pillow and wearing one of Brad's t-shirts. I move him to his bed when I go to bed, except I agreed he could sleep in my bed one night each weekend, if he wanted. He's still sad, but finds comfort in wearing a set of Brad's dog tags and snuggling with the Hug-a-Hero "Daddy doll" we bought him. The sound box inside, with a recording of Brad telling Aiden how much he loves him, is getting a great workout--I just hope the batteries will last! I know this will be a tough year, with plenty of ups and downs, but we'll make it through.

Aiden helping his daddy pack up.

Whoa, this is heavy!

"High fibe!" as Aubrey says (and Borat, come to think of it).

Shooting some hoops to say busy.

Aiden was getting pretty worn out.

Aiden showing off his dog tags.

Man, that is one CHEESY smile. No, literally, that's queso all over her face.

Aiden and his hero.

Aubrey, wearing her yellow-and-black 1st Cavalry Division colors.

Plenty of kisses for Daddy while we help him get ready.

I'm ba-ack!

2011-04-30T10:56:00.000-05:00

As I warned in this post a few months ago, my blogging has fallen off recently while I focused on spending as much time with my family as possible before Brad left for Afghanistan. Well, as of Thursday, Brad has departed for Bagram Airfield, so now I am reviving the blog. In fact, I'll be posting obsessively, since this is one of the ways Brad can keep up with his Pack back in the U.S. of A. Stay tuned for all kinds of pictures from the past few months, as well as new updates!

The Second Wife

2011-03-20T12:43:00.000-05:00

Did you know I was in a plural marriage? Yep, I know, you are shocked. Wanna hear the real kicker?? I share my husband with a man...named Uncle Sam.

Like all wives in a plural marriage must, lately I have felt quite jealous of this other spouse that is horning in on my relationship. Uncle Sam keeps hogging my man and I am PISSED! I just got Brad back from spending 4 months with Uncle Sam. It was a long and lonely and stressful fall. Brad got home just in time for Thanksgiving--and I was supposed to have him all to myself through the holidays until April, but that stinking Uncle Sam keeps stealing him away. A week-long course back in Kansas. A couple of days away here and there. A 2-week training exercise here on post that kept him out of the house 20 hours of the day. And now Sam is stealing him for a whole week in D.C. this week and a couple of days in Tampa next week. Jeez, how selfish can that dude be?

Uncle Sam will have Brad all to himself once the end of April rolls around--for an entire YEAR! Do you know that since I married Brad, he's never spent a whole year with me without some darned interruption by that stupid Sam?? Can't Sam just wait a little longer before he wraps his grubby paws on my dear husband?

I know I shouldn't complain--I knew that Brad and Uncle Sam were bound to one another when I said "I do," but it doesn't change the fact that Sam's ability to change all of our plans, to dictate where and when we move, to steal my husband away at a moment's notice is just plain aggravating. It sucks, knowing that although my husband loves me and our children more than anything else on this planet, the demands of someone else will always come first.

And then there are all these people on the news, members of the public, politicians and government leaders who seem to jump at any chance to send my husband back to Sam. Problems in Libya, problems in Yemen, a quake in Japan, Egypt's government crumbling--hey, let Uncle Sam get involved! He's got missiles and bombs and guns and plenty of men and women bound to him that he can send in to the fight, right? So many people, without any "skin in the game" are always so willing to send in Sam and all the men and women bound to him, never realizing that those men and women Sam controls are already stretched so thin, are already exhausted and spent and have nothing to give after 10 years of war with that bossy, demanding, hard-ass Sam. Funny--those voices never seem to volunteer their own husbands/wives/sons/daughters to join Sam's gang and help out, but they sure are quick to volunteer mine. Makes a second wife a little bitter.

Like all good second wives, though, I must maintain my composure. I have to put on my brave face and pretend that, although I am sick and tired of that stinkin' Sam, everything is fine on the home front. I have to swallow my anger and jealousy and surrender my husband to that other spouse with grace and love and support. I have to be patient and tolerant and supportive to the needs of Sam, which are always far superior and more important than my own petty needs for companionship. And most of all, I have to persevere, knowing that as soon as he can disentangle himself from that bossy fiend, my love will come bounding home to me.

A downer of a day

2011-03-19T23:00:00.000-05:00

There are days when motherhood seems like such a beating. Today was one of those days.

It started off benign enough--breakfast at Gran and Gramps' place in San Antonio, capping off a visit that included a day at Seaworld with friends and exploring the riverwalk. Visiting Mamaw and Papaw at their house for a bit before loading up and heading home to Killeen. But then things started going wrong.

Aubrey refused to nap in the car, instead babbling constantly and acting like someone had shot her up with a syringe of straight caffeine. Then Aiden got car sick and puked all over himself, the car seat, and the floor of the van, with no notice or warning. Of course, we were in the middle of nowhere and had to try to pull over and clean the mess up with a few paper towels and a pack of baby wipes. After we wiped and scraped and tried to clean up what we could, we had to rush the rest of the way home in a puke-scented car and try to arrive in time to pick-up the dogs before the kennel closed at 5. We arrived just in time--and were then informed that our female dog, Freckles, had gone into heat, and the workers weren't sure if our male puppy got to her before they discovered it. Great.

We got home about 20 minutes later, and when I unbuckled Aubrey, I discovered that she was burning up. Absolutely scorching hot. And I noticed what appeared to be a mosquito bite welling up on her ankle. She'd been mildly sick since Thursday, while we were at Seaworld she developed a low-grade fever and cough and snotty nose, but no fevers like this. I took her temp--104.1. I quickly gave her Tylenol and watched in horror/amazement as the "mosquito bite" on her ankle became 3, then 5, then 10, that spread up her legs and trunk. Within minutes, the bumps were multiplying, with the earlier ones disappearing as fast as new ones were appearing. I called the nurse advice line and they told me to head to the ER immediately, in case this was a severe allergic reaction. We left Aiden with a neighbor and headed out.

After chest x-rays and exams, they ruled out the scary stuff and determined that it was a virus and viral urticaria (hives) and sent us home to watch and wait for her to get better. Once home, we discovered Aiden had been up to mischief while we were gone, throwing rocks with another neighbor boy and denting his mom's car. The other mom was livid and marched Aiden home, unleashing her anger on the friend that I'd left Aiden in the care of--meaning I now have 2 neighbors/friends who aren't fond of my son right now. I grounded Aiden, took away priveledges and sent him up to bed.

Then I took Aubrey up to tuck her in. She threw a huge tantrum, kicking me in the stomach and hitting me repeatedly. I finally got her in bed and went in to tuck Aiden in. He's sullen, and when I asked him what's going on--he's been grouchy and snippy and short-tempered for days--he broke down into a bawling, sobbing mess, begging me to move us back to Wylie and all his old friends. He said he hates how everything changes: we moved away from his friends, he made friends here that have moved away, daddy is leaving, etc. We talked and I tried to comfort him as much as I could, but then he asked me: "What happens to me if you and daddy both die? I'd be all alone!" So there I was, trying to comfort a child whose daddy is heading off to war about his biggest fears, death and dying and being left alone, and all the time thinking, "Six year olds shouldn't have to worry about these things!"

So tonight, I am ready for bed. Ready to close my eyes and sleep away the day, and hoping that tomorrow will be a better day.

Welcome to the Pack, Buster!

2011-02-15T22:45:00.000-06:00

Meet Buster, the newest member of the Parker Pack. We have thrown the idea of another dog around for a while, thinking Freckles needed a companion, but we haven't been all that certain about it. Definitely not motivated to go out looking for one. But last weekend, we went over to a friend's house for drinks and they were dog sitting for a friend. The dog, Buster, was sweet and adorable. They mentioned that the woman was going to have to drop him at the pound the next week, she was going through a divorce and unable to be home or give the time and attention he needed--she felt guilty leaving him in his kennel all day long. So, Brad and I looked at each other and both began seriously checking him out. He was sweet and gentle and laid back. He's about 6 months old, originally rescued from the pound, and thought to be a border collie/German shepherd/boxer mix. He is already potty trained, has been raised around small kids, and even knows a few simple tricks and commands. We brought him over to our house the next day and night for a "test run" and he was wonderful--he doesn't chew, he and Freckles had a blast playing together, and he was great with the kids. He even lets me trim his nails or check his teeth without a bit of fighting, and has learned the commands "come" and "stay" in one day. So today, we decided to welcome him into our Pack, and his ecstatic owner came by to say goodbye and drop off his food and things. She was sad to see him go, but content knowing that he'd found a good home with a family who would love him. Aiden is ECSTATIC about his new buddy and Aubrey has even become a fan, frequently rubbing him and saying "Good boy!" and even telling me, "Mama, he so cute!" Let's hope he continues to be the laid-back adorable puppy we've come to love these past few days.

Kind of a cruddy photo from my phone, but isn't that an adorable face?

Toddler Drama

2011-02-01T13:08:00.001-06:00

The terrible two's are in full swing at our house. Aubrey is making life miserable a good portion of each day, thanks to her penchant for screaming, throwing herself on the floor, and wailing at the top of her lungs. A 10 minute trip to Target becomes an hour-long torture session--she throws a tantrum over riding in the cart, she screams at the top of her lungs throughout the store, she fights me then entire time, trying to climb out of the seat, or if I let her walk, trying to run away or just melt into a puddle on the floor, refusing to move. She gets pissed off when a well-meaning stranger tries to cheer her up. I hand her her juice cup or a blanket, and she throws them at me. Misery, complete misery for all involved.

Things aren't any better at home, either. As long as she gets her way, we're good, but as soon as I tell her "No" or try to do something she doesn't want, like a nap, or a meal, or turning the TV off, she throws a gigantic tantrum. She screams at me, throws things at me, knocks food off the table, throws herself on the ground and wails. I honestly don't know what to do with the child. I just keep my cool, don't give in, stay consistent and pray, A LOT, that this phase is short.

2011-01-11T17:32:00.004-06:00

Mobile blogging. I think I finally have this figured out. Now I can blog from my phone, so expect more random, on-the-go posts from me. Finally, something to do while waiting to pick up Aiden!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-11T11:52:00.000-06:00

I'm just a little late, huh? What can I say, these past few weeks have been a bit hectic. I'm not even going to try to post everything that has been going on the past couple of months, but I will give you the "Cliff Notes" version.

Brad came home from Kansas on November 19th around midnight, so Aubrey woke up the day after her birthday to a great surprise. We didn't expect him home until late in the day on the 20th, but Brad couldn't stand being away any longer and drove straight through from Kansas to get home as fast as possible. It has been wonderful having him home once again.

The following week was Thanksgiving, and the crazy lady I am, I hosted all of our family at our home for the holiday. Since they were all traveling from out of town, I ended up preparing the entire meal--for 18 people! I started prepping a week in advance, and I am happy to say that I pulled off the meal, by myself, with the meal on the table only 20 minutes behind schedule! We had herb-roasted turkey, chipotle-raspberry-glazed ham, dressing with cranberries and apple, roasted sweet potato and banana mash with a spiced-oat crumb topping, cider-braised acorn squash with bacon and kale, pan-roasted root vegetables with thyme butter, garlic green beens with carrots and bacon, cranberry-apricot chutney, and rolls. It was a great meal, shared with wonderful people. Late that night, I headed out to Toys-R-Us with my mother-in-law, Livy, and my sister-in-law-to-be, Tara, for some Black Friday insanity. We ended up standing in line outside for an hour and a half before getting inside--but I was able to get all of my Christmas shopping done for the kids in one night, and I saved over 100 bucks on one item alone, so it was worth it!

The next day, we had a family birthday party for Aubrey with all of our visiting relatives, with a bounce-house for the kids, a taco bar and an adorable "Yo Gabba Gabba" birthday cake for Aubrey. Many of our relatives left Friday evening or Saturday morning, so we spent Sunday just relaxing as a family and buying a Christmas tree.

The following week, it was back to routine--school, Cub Scouts, running Aubrey to Toddler Tumbling class, and all of the insanity of day-to-day life. Brad had a big planning exercise at work, which meant he worked from sun-up to about 9 o'clock at night, so it was back to "single parent mode" for me. Plus, I was trying to finish up all of the Christmas shopping and get ready for my good friend Brooke Lasher's baby shower, which I was throwing that weekend in Dallas. Friday afternoon, we packed up and drove up to Aunt Cathy and Uncle Wayne's place. We enjoyed the weekend with them and all of our old friends, taking in the Wylie Christmas Parade, throwing Brooke a shower, and even visiting the Fort Worth Science and History Museum and eating an awesome brunch at our favorite hole-in-the-wall in Fort Worth, the Jazz Cafe before trekking home Sunday.

The following week meant Christmas parties for Cub Scouts and more Christmas shopping. Friday I had coordinated a progressive dinner with our neighbors, with our home hosting everyone for appetizers and drinks. Aiden ended up sick that day, which meant a whole lot of extra work for me, quarantining him upstairs during the party and letting him watch movies while we were at the neighbors houses for the rest of the dinner. Luckily, he rallied for "Yo Gabba Gabba LIVE!" the next day, which we all really enjoyed. But by Sunday, he was even sicker, and I had caught his bug, too, so we all spent the day at home recovering. The next week was a blur of school Christmas parties and the 1st CAV Christmas tree lighting and all sorts of holiday events, including TWO formal military balls. Then school was out, and a few days later, we had our family gift exchange and Santa came to visit our house early, since we were traveling for the Christmas holidays.

On the 22nd, we headed north to Sherman to visit my mom and spend the night in her new apartment. We exchanged gifts, Aiden getting a new Razor motorcycle that he zoomed around on. The 23rd, we headed to Oklahoma City to stay with my grandmother. My mom followed us up the next day, and we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrating with my large, extended Brum family. Aiden had a blast with his cousins, especially Quinn, who he latched onto and followed everywhere! On the Monday after Christmas, we traveled to visit my dad's parents and spend the day with them, and then we drove back to my mom's apartment for a quick overnight before heading home on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon and evening, I did laundry and repacked our suitcases, and then it was back on the road Wednesday, headed South to Bandera to be with the Parker clan. We stayed in Bandera through the Sunday after New Year's, exchanging Christmas gifts, ringing in the New Year with cocktails and fireworks, and gorging ourselves at a family fish fry. We returned home on Sunday the 2nd, Aiden was back in school on the 3rd, and we've spent the time since trying to recover from the insanity of the holidays.

So, that's the short version! You can see why my blogging has fallen behind recently!

Now that the New Year is here, I thought I'd share my only New Year's resolution. I am resolved to cherish the family time we have between now and the last week of April, when Brad will deploy. I don't want the deployment to loom over our heads and color everything we do with the gloomy thoughts of this will be the last time we do this as a family for a whole year.... Instead, I want us to be joyful, to enjoy the time we have, and to spend these days laughing, smiling and playing. I will do my best to update this blog with our progress. But, you'll have to forgive me if I put blogging and Facebook and all the little distractions on the back burner for a while--I plan to be busy playing with my family.

So...I'll see you when I see you.

Happy Birthday, Aubrey!

2010-11-19T22:19:00.000-06:00

It is hard to believe that my beautiful baby girl is TWO YEARS OLD! Where did the time go? I am turning into such a maternal cliche', I actually cried last night over her birthday. Aubrey is probably my last baby, though, so it is bittersweet to say farewell to the baby phase.

Two years ago today, I was at Medical Center of Plano, laboring away and exhausted. 23 hours of natural labor and I had made very little progress, so I finally decided to get an epidural, and 30 minutes later, my baby girl arrived. Her birth, with everyone rushing to catch up with this little diva who decided to do everything on her own terms, has prepared me well for her toddler years. It seems Aubrey has very particular ideas about the way things should be done, and always has me rushing to keep up with her!

So, who is Aubrey today? She is a child who ~~walks~~ dances to the beat of her own drum. She oozes personality, always making silly faces or giving people cross looks or lighting up with open-mouthed awe and excitement. At two, she is already speaking in complete sentences and attracts the stares of lots of strangers who see this tiny, petite little thing run up and speak to me clearly. She is cuddly and sweet and loves to be held. Her favorite TV show is Yo Gabba Gabba, which she loves so much that she knows the words to every song and sings them at random throughout the day. She is still very attached to her thumb, sucking it at night while she sleeps and when she's tired or sad during the day. Her blanket, a.k.a. "Bee-tah" must go everywhere we go. She has one particular corner that she has to hold in her hand while she sucks her thumb at night. I call her my little Linus, dragging her blanket around behind her. She generally leaves her blanket behind to play and run around throughout the day, but if she falls or gets hurt or is sad, Bee-tah is called in for a cuddle.

Aubrey is my artsy child. She loves to color and paint and will "decorate" any piece of paper in reach if she can get her hands on a pencil or crayon--Aiden's homework, bills, my moving claim forms that I have to turn into the Army. Aubrey loves music and dancing and loves to sing--when I sing to her at bedtime, instead of settling in for sleep, she loudly sings with me. Her favorite songs right now: "Wheels on the Bus" and "Keep Trying" (from YGG). Every night before bedtime, she digs through her musical instruments and grabs a drum or cymbals and begins pounding away, singing "Shakey booty! Shakey booty!" and dancing. Aubrey also loves theater--I took her to see a musical production of Cinderella and she was positively enraptured--she didn't move the entire hour and a half except to lean sideways when the person in front of us got in her line of sight.

Aubrey is such a smarty-pants. She loves books and will bring them to me throughout the day to read. Her current favorite: "Run, Turkey, Run!" about a Thanksgiving turkey that escapes, which she can "read" on her own--she knows the entire thing by memory. She knows her colors, can count to 20 in English and 10 in Spanish, and can sing her ABC's. And I am positively amazed by her vocabulary--she can talk about all kinds of things.

She is also very determined--I am writing this on my laptop, sitting on the couch next to her while she watches Yo Gabba Gabba. A moment ago, she pushed my hands off the keys, closed the lid, and looked straight into my eyes to tell me "Juice, please!" And twice now, she has sat on my lap for a cuddle while I am typing (so you'll know why if this post is a little all over the place).

So that's my baby girl in a nutshell. She is such a sweet girl and is in such a lovely phase right now, I wish I could just seal her in a jar and keep her this way forever. I love this little imp, who is into everything, you laughs and shrieks with joy when she's being mischievous, who cuddles me and kisses me and greets me with a smiling "Good morning, mommy! You sleep good? Change diaper!" every morning. I love her smooth, baby cheeks, her tiny, chubby feet, her crazy hair, her soft little voice, her shrieking laugh. I know that time must march on, and I look forward to seeing the young woman she will grow into, but I can't help but wish I could store away some of this sweet baby goodness and hang onto this magical part of her life forever.

I love you, pumpkin. Happy Birthday, baby girl!

**As you can see, we're in our "refuse to look anywhere near mom when she has the camera out" phase. :)

A few Aidenisms

2010-11-13T11:29:00.000-06:00

Aiden has been on a roll lately. He is such a spunky kid who says whatever comes to mind, which can have both disastrous and hilarious consequences. Just this morning, he pronounced a few things that made me laugh and also wonder how we skipped past the 'girls are yucky' phase and straight to the pre-teen, concerned-about-my-appearance phase.

Me: Aiden, why don't you go get dressed while I finish cooking so that after breakfast, you can go on outside and play?

Aiden: No, I'll wait. I don't want to get dirty, I want to look nice so girls will come up and talk to me.

____________

Aiden (running inside): "Mommy, it's COLD outside.

Me (exercising great restraint to not say 'I told you so!' since I had reminded him to dress warmly just 15 minutes ago): "Why don't you take those shorts off and put some jeans on so you'll be warm."

Aiden: "No, Mom! The jeans will rub off all the leg hairs I've grown!"

Missing something...

2010-11-09T11:10:00.000-06:00

These past four months have been such a challenge for me. Forget the lack of sleep and the bags under my eyes from four months of sleeping 6 hours or less each night. Forget the insanity of trying to keep up with a house, a yard, the flower beds, the bills, and the car, in the "spare time" you have from feeding, loving, shuttling, bathing, and caring for 2 rambunctious kiddos. Forget the 2 grad-school classes and the weekly assignments and hours of videos and 15-page research paper I've written and thousands of pages of reading I've had to do. No, the real challenge has been trying to be both the mom and the dad to two children that desperately need both of their parents.

This separation has been so difficult for Aiden--not that he would tell you that in so many words. He says he misses Daddy, but he doesn't cry or mope or act sad. No, this need for his daddy shows up in other ways. When his daddy left, he was doing well at school and his behavior was great. He was 5, of course there were times when he would act a little rude or silly or have trouble concentrating, but he was generally doing well. But as the weeks passed, his behavior has gotten worse and worse. He's been snarky and whiney and rude. He talks back and argues and yells at me. He's getting in trouble at school. Things got better right after we went to see Brad in KS--suddenly Aiden was back on track, doing great in school, being helpful and respectful and sweet. But then, as the weeks have passed, again, things have gotten worse and worse.

To be honest, I dread seeing his teacher's face when I pick him up from school. In about 2 seconds flat, I know whether Aiden had a good or bad day by the smile I get, or the pained expression on her face. His teacher is wonderful, she is a loving, patient woman who works side-by-side with parents, so I am so thankful to God for providing Aiden with such a great woman. But I actually feel worse, knowing that my son is causing so much trouble in her class. Yesterday was a particularly low point. Aiden actually got into trouble at school all day for not following directions and goofing off. Then, on the playground, he was caught fighting with another child on the playground, sitting on top of him and screaming at him. Ah, jeez...

So here I am, trying to figure out what on earth I'm going to do next year when Brad is gone for at least a year, with only one 2 week visit home. Trying to figure out how I can provide Aiden with the mothering and fathering he needs. Trying to balance the need to discipline with the need to be loving and merciful toward my son. And trying to learn how to discipline without being angry, because that's really the only kind of discipline I knew growing up. I am struggling to grow as a parent, learning a lot about my priorities and what really matters, and having to transform the way I interact with my kids.

What have I learned so far?

I won't be continuing school for a while. I love seminary, the classes are interesting, and I've done really well in my classes, but right now, my ministry needs to be my kids. They need me too much right now. So, maybe when Aubrey gets into kindergarten, but for now, full-time motherhood is what God is calling me to do.

Effective discipline doesn't have to be angry or with a mean look or a stern tone of voice. In fact, discipline is much more effective when doled out without it--no matter how exasperated and exhausted I may be.

A few good friends that can listen to you vent from a few thousand miles away, or fix you a cup of tea and gab, or just give you a hug and lend you every parenting book they own when you are at your wits ends are essential when you are trying to parent solo.

An early bedtime and a solid routine are the only ways to survive the insanity of living alone with 2 kids.

No matter how rough the days, no matter how long the to-do list or how frazzled you feel, some days, you just have to fix breakfast for dinner or grab a pizza, put everyone in PJ's and cuddle on the couch with your kids while the dishes and chores wait.

So, I am learning. And listening. And praying. And seeking. And hoping that somehow, despite the insanity of this time, our family will grow stronger because of it.

Halloween

2010-11-01T09:32:00.000-05:00

Halloween was so fun this year! We had a great weekend--Aiden and I had a movie night Friday night, staying up late to watch a spooky Scooby Doo after Aubrey went to bed. Saturday night we enjoyed a block party around the fire pits, roasting hot dogs and s'mores with all of our neighborhood friends. And Sunday, of course, was the big trick-or-treating event.

We had hundreds of kids come out to our neighborhood (all the kids on post know that the Field Grade Officers have the best candy) and every house in the neighborhood was participating, so it was a fun, fun night. I had probably 100 kids go past my house in the first 20 minutes alone, and by the end of the night, we had handed out 9 HUGE bags of candy, with only a handful left over.

On post, Halloween works a little different--the trick-or-treat hours are actually set by the post commander, so this year, candy was to be handed out from 6-8. At 6:00 precisely, my doorbell rang, and all I did was hand out piece after piece for 15 minutes straight--I didn't even close my door, they were just streaming up. Then I handed candy duty over to Aiden while I finished getting Aubrey into her costume.

I have this Halloween "man" that Brad's mom got me a couple of years ago that has a pumpkin-shaped candy bucket for a head and is weighted in the bottom, so he sits up on his own. When it was time to take my kids trick-or-treating, I set him up on my doorstep, loaded with candy and sign around his neck that said "Please take 2 pieces. And remember...SANTA IS WATCHING!" Then I headed out with Aiden and Aubrey in tow. The first house we hit, Aubrey didn't understand the concept, and when the man reached forward to put candy in her bucket, she actually put her little hand up and yelled, "No! Stop! Mine, bucket!" I laughed and showed her what he'd put inside, unwrapping the blue lollipop and giving it to her, and then it was as if a lightbulb went on and she couldn't wait to run from house to house.

Aubrey was moving too slow for Aiden's comfort, so when we ran into one of his friends and his mom, he begged to join them for some trick-or-treating, and so I sent him on his way. Aubrey and I moseyed from house to house and she charmed everyone in the neighborhood with her adorable "Twick-a-tweet!" Every time someone dropped a treat into her bucket, she would clap and dance and bounce up and down saying "YAY!" Then she would smile and say "Thank you!" before rushing on to the next house.

Her considerable cuteness led to a very full bucket in a short period of time, which was too heavy for Aubrey to carry. But when I offered to help her carry it, she would put that little hand up and say, "NO! Stop it! Mine, bucket!" and was content to drag the thing, which now weighed as much as she did, down the sidewalk. We headed back home, where I was relieved to find that the kids had not robbed me of my entire candy stash, and we continued to hand out candy for quite a while.

Aiden soon rejoined us and the sugar free-for-all commenced. After a while, Aiden was running in circles in the middle of the street screaming "I'm so hyper! I'm so hyper!" and Aubrey was laughing hysterically at nothing while unwrapping her 7th lollipop of the evening. I rounded them up and dumped them in the bathtub and after a while, they crashed from their sugar high and fell into a deep slumber.

What and eclectic Pack?!

Aiden quickly ditched the mask to his costume.

Will he EVER listen to me and NOT pick a costume with a mask??

Visiting our friend, Luke, and Ms. Edel

WOW! This sugar is AWESOME!

Seriously, Mom, can you make everything stop spinning and get rid of that buzz in my ears?!

Hee hee, everything is so FUNNY right now!

OK, maybe that 7th lollipop wasn't the best idea...but I'm still smiling!

A visit with Daddy

2010-10-29T10:12:00.000-05:00

So, I am a bit late in posting this, but better late than never, right?

We had a great visit with daddy a couple of weeks ago. The kids and I drove up to Dallas and then flew out to KS on a Thursday afternoon. The trip out was not exactly easy--trying to navigate my way from a parking garage to the ticket counter with 2 suitcases, a small bag, my carry-on/diaper bag and Aiden's backpack (which, of course, he didn't want to carry) and 2 kids. We checked our bags, then had to navigate security, which I was completely prepared for, but apparently the TSA needed to perform about 500 tests on Aubrey's sippy cup, and that took FOREVER! Then we boarded the plane and Aubrey decided that she really didn't want to sit on my lap and threw a tantrum...for 10 minutes. Screaming, shrieking, kicking...and nothing I did made her happy or made things better. I got about 500 dirty looks from all of the business me around me, but finally, she calmed down and was an angel for the rest of the flight. Luckily, Aiden was wonderful the entire time--he did his homework, charmed the lady sitting next to him, and generally took care of himself and enjoyed the flight.

When we arrived, the kids were ecstatic to see Daddy. We claimed our bags and headed out to dinner at a local Kansas City restaurant. Afterwards, we drove out to Fort Leavenworth, dropped our stuff at Brad's hotel room (which, thankfully, is a 2-bedroom), then drove over to say hello to some old friends of ours, Adam and Amanda Barlow. We have known the Barlows for many years, shared several assignments around the country with them and their children, so it was great to catch up with them. On Friday, we headed back in to Kansas City to visit Crown Center, shopping center owned by Hallmark Co. We saw fountains that were choregraphic to music, visited to Crayola store and a really cool toy store, then ate lunch and ice cream. Afterwards, we headed back for Aubrey's nap, then spent the evening hanging with the Barlow's and making s'mores around their firepit.

Saturday we spent the day at the Red Barn Farm, which had a fantastic pumpkin patch, full of fun fall activities. We went on a horse-drawn wagon ride, the kids went on pony rides, we navigated our way through a corn maze, visited many farm animals, and ate some yummy barbecue. After our pumpkin patch adventure, we headed back for Aubrey's nap, while Aiden and Brad had some father-son time at the bowling alley and mini-golf course on post. After naps, we dropped the kids over at the Barlows', where they spent the evening playing with Maddie and Quinn under the care of a sitter while all of the grown-ups went out for some fun at the local Irish Festival. After a few beers and some Celtic music, we headed back to grab the kids and some sleep. Sunday we spent the day hanging out as a family, eating lunch at T-Rex (which is like a Rainforest Cafe, but with dinosaurs), bowling at the lanes on post and eating some famous Kansas-City-style BBQ. Monday we packed up, spent the morning cuddling in bed and watching TV, then loaded up to head home.

We really, really miss Daddy and are counting the days until he's home again.

The hassles of Army life

2010-10-22T22:26:00.000-05:00

Ah, the joys of living on post. The quarters NCO (the guy in charge of inspecting the neighborhood to make sure our lawns are cut, etc.) actually knocked on my door to tell me that the inside of my garage was "unsightly" and that I needed to fix it or he would cite me. After I almost laughed in his face, I realized he was serious--apparently, the toys that the neighborhood boys were playing with that were scattered out of the bin in the garage were just too messy for him. Frackin' ridiculous, especially since my garage is actually very neat. My neighbors have broken furniture in their driveway that's been there a month, he drives right past them, but threatens to cite me for some scattered toys INSIDE MY GARAGE!

So, I picked up the toys, swept up the grass and leaves that had been tracked into my garage and called it a day. If he comes back and complains, there is a great likelihood that I will be kicked out of post quarters for having told off the housing NCO. Anyone have some rooms we can borrow??

Mirror, Mirror

2010-10-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

There are many types of mirrors in this world: funhouse mirrors that make your butt look humongous; little compact mirrors you carry in your pocket to sneak a peek in to ensure you don’t have spinach in your teeth after lunch; or those make-up mirrors that magnify every pore and wrinkle and make you feel ancient. I have a love-hate relationship with mirrors. When I see one, I am drawn to look, and although I can honestly say I like a lot of what I see, I often obsess about a few small details, like my crooked eyebrows or the new wrinkle I have on one side of my face from a lifetime of sarcastic, crooked smiles. My droopy tummy from 2 pregnancies and all the scars on my legs from a childhood riddled with roller skating accidents. However, in all my years of mirror gazing and obsessing, I never found a mirror so convicting, so accurate, as the living mirror.

“A living mirror…huh?” you ask. It is this little living, breathing mirror I have in my home ever since my kids learned to talk. I have two, actually, and they follow me around and show me some pretty interesting stuff sometimes, and usually at the most inconvenient-but-perfect times. Like the time Aiden yelled “Stupid drivers!” while we were driving down the road, which made me promptly reign in my impulse to yell out “IDIOT!” at the guy who cut me off on the freeway.

My mirrors have shown me both positive and negative things. I’ve seen my marriage with Brad played out by Aiden, and although the picture wasn’t perfect, it made me realize that my kids do witness a pretty loving marriage. On one of our “date nights” Aiden insisted that we pretend to be husband and wife and required that we call each other “honey” or “dear” all evening. He would gently prompt me when I forgot and called him Aiden, and he held my hand and asked me about my day and even made up stories about his own day at “work” to share with me.

Aubrey has taught me the exact face I must make when I am telling her to do something (for the second or third time) or warning her of bad behavior. Just the other day, she walked over to me with her empty juice cup while I was on the couch, handed me the cup, and with a very serious face, eyebrows pinched, leaned her head forward, looked down her nose right into my eyes and said, “Juice” in her most serious and stern voice. I laughed hysterically and realized that, like me, she was attempting some sort of Jedi-mind-trick to get the behavior she wanted.

And then there are the times that Aiden takes his sister by the hand and mirrors the patient way I try to teach Aubrey things. He will sit down beside her, take her hand, and in the sweetest voice, say “Look, Aubrey! A bird. Can you say BIRD? Good job! You’re so smart, Aubrey! I’m so proud of you!” Those moments fill me with hope that maybe, just maybe, I am not completely screwing up this parenting gig.

Just this morning, we were walking out the door on our way to school. Aiden ran to the van first, Aubrey was toddling after, and in her bossiest, most authoritative voice she points at her brother and yells “Hurry buckle! Hurry buckle!” OUCH! You see, instantly I realized how I had yelled those exact same words to my son about 500 times in the past few months, as it seems that as a temporarily-single parent, I am ALWAYS rushing around and Aiden is ALWAYS dawdling. The instant I heard those words, I knew where my daughter had learned them, and I knew that I was getting a major wake-up call that it is time to slow down, spend more time prepping and less time rushing.

That is the great thing about the living mirror. If we are really paying attention, it gives us the opportunity to see the true legacy we are leaving our children. Not the stuff we think we are teaching with our words, but the lessons they are actually learning from our actions. I realized this morning I have been so focused on getting everything done—the swim lessons and Cub Scouts and homemade lunches with his favorite foods and homework and love notes in the lunch box and combing hair and permission slips and baking his favorite cookies for an after-school snack—that I’ve lost sight of the reason for doing all of this: to make him happy, to raise a child who knows he is loved and treasured. Doesn’t do a lot of good to do all of these THINGS for him if I am yelling “Hurry!” all the time, does it? Instead of showing him he is loved and treasured, as I’d intended, I’ve been showing him, with my impatience and rushing, that he is a hassle, that doing things for him is a chore and an inconvenience. It was a rather uncomfortable view of me, and although the image I saw was a bit painful, I am so grateful for it, because now I have the opportunity to fix it.

Guess where we are going?

2010-10-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

Aubrey ADORES Yo Gabba Gabba! She once crawled onto my lap on the couch while I was doing homework on my laptop, sat on the computer keyboard, whacked me on the forehead with the remote and told me, insistently, "YO GU GU!!" She asks me about a hundred times each day if she can watch it, and dances with glee when I turn it on (she has a 3 "Yo Gu Gu" limit each day, lol). She knows all the songs, she dances along with the music, and even tries to beatbox during Biz's Beat of the Day. So I know this will be the BEST birthday present her daddy and I could get her. I can't wait for December 11th to get here!

Fallin'...

2010-10-10T22:46:00.011-05:00

I LOVE fall. It is my very favorite time of year. I love the way the air feels crisp. I love seeing the leaves turn colors and fall. I love the smell of the first fireplaces lighting up in the evenings. I love mums and pumpkin chocolate chunk muffins and dressing up for Halloween. I love cooking insanely large Thanksgiving meals for our friends and family. And I love trekking out to the local pumpkin patch for some great fall fun.

This year, we tried out the pumpkin patch at Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls. It was about an hour away, but well worth it for some great family fun. My dad and his friend, Michelle, were in town visiting and joined us for the day. We had such a great time! The kids started off the day with some strawberry lemonade to revive us after our long drive (Sweet Berry Farms is a pick-your-own berries farm in the summer, so you can imagine how yummy the lemonade was!). Then we headed off to paint pumpkins. We ate hot dogs and chips, then went to feed the goats and ride a horse. Aubrey and Aiden both LOVED the horse rides--neither one wanted to leave their horse when it was over, and I don't think Aubrey closed her mouth the entire ride, she just kept staring in open-mouthed awe at her horse! We went for a short hay "shuttle," over to the other section of the farm and walked through the huge fields of beautiful flowers, then went on a long hay ride through "Scarecrow City" where there were all sorts of crazy scarecrows acting very silly. We met some more farm animals, then went over to stuff our own scarecrow and pick out pumpkins to take home. On our way out, we decided to get some of the pumpkin ice cream everyone was raving about, only to discover they were sold out--so we settled for homemade vanilla with strawberry sauce, which was delicious. Then we piled back in the van and headed home. It was such a fun day. The only thing that would have made it better--if daddy had been able to join us. We all miss him terribly and can't wait 'til he comes home next month!

An even uglier truth

2010-09-28T22:29:00.000-05:00

Apparently, on top of being OCD about my schoolwork, I am also a complete schizo. Let me explain.

Part of my online class is to participate in an online forum where we are asked to review one anothers assignments and evaluate them and discuss. This week, our assignment was to create a handout for a bible study course over the historical background of Philemon, and we were instructed to "Be creative!" When looking at the work of my classmates, I came across a handout that was very creative, but the author had placed various images throughout the paper, sometimes placing them behind the text, so it was almost impossible to read the text itself. She used multiple fonts, various spacing conventions (single in places, double in others, etc.), the margins varied in width, and sometimes the caption to the pictures was separated from the picture, so it just suddenly appeared in the middle of the other text. So, when I reviewed her work, I noted that I liked the illustrations and that the content of the text was great, but that I had a hard time reading the text because of the placement of the pics. I stated that I thought the concept was great, but that the end product needed a bit of tweaking to make it more readable and that the inconsistencies in font/spacing/margins were a distraction to the great text she had written.

This was the response I got today: "Angela, You could have said something other than than tearing my project apart. I thought we were supposed to be kind in these things. I am an artistic person and liked my project. Sorry that you didn't."

OUCH.

So here is the schizo part. In the 5 minutes after reading her response, I go through this:

First of all, the lawyer in me wants to argue my case. "Objection! I didn't tear your project apart!"

Then, I feel HORRIBLE for making someone feel that way, when my sole intent was to offer constructive criticism in an academic setting.

Then, I am aggravated. Did she really want me to just say "Good job, it was great!" when, truth be told, it wasn't? If the point of this entire academic exercise is to learn from one another, then should I just spare your pride and tell you what you want to hear, or should I actually tell you what made it fall short, in my opinion?

And then, I am embarrassed. Everyone in my class has now read this and probably thinks I am a big fat meanie that made the nice girl cry. I am feeling like a schoolyard bully now.

Then, I am ticked off, because part of me feels like emotional reactions like this are what give women a bad name in the academic and business realm, and I don't want to work in a world where men tiptoe around women and treat them like fine china because they are afraid of setting off an emotional atom bomb.

And then, I am back to feeling awful, because regardless of the purity of my motives, if this girl feels like I've picked on her, then I have somehow failed in my communications with her, and I need to fix that.

Then I feel convicted--here I am in seminary and I've hurt some girl's feelings and am I really doing what Jesus would want me to do??

And then I feel like, well, Jesus didn't tell people what they wanted to hear, he told the truth, so I shouldn't feel convicted! I feel righteous!

And then my stupid conscience sets in, and I realize that being all righteous and prideful is about the worst thing I can bring to this situation, and boy, am I sure I am heading into the right career field??

And then I compulsively re-read every comment I wrote to everyone else in my group last night and wonder if everyone else also thinks I am a heartless *&^%$.

Then I feel totally insecure--could that be read to be an insult? Wait, does that sound too harsh? Hmm, should I have really used that word there?

Then I feel completely defeated and resolve to just write blanket statements of praise on everyone else's work from now on so this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN!

Then I kick myself for being such a self-conscious ninny about this entire thing. I didn't write anything mean or inflammatory, so I should just stop beating myself up.

And the conversation in my head goes on, and on, and on. In fact, it has gone on all day and all evening and I still am no closer to working this thing out in my head. I long ago wrote a response to the girl, apologizing for hurting her feelings but re-stating my initial desire--to simply offer constructive pointers for how her handout could have been more effective. I re-stated my praise, explained why I wrote what I did, and apologized for failing to communicate that to her in a way that wasn't hurtful. I also told her how frustrated I was with the process of having to have these discussions via email, and that if I had been able to talk with her face-to-face, with the benefit of body language and inflection of my voice, there would have been no doubt in her mind that I admired her work, but that I was simply trying to offer advice on constructive ways to improve it, not tear it apart. But even after all of that, I am still fretting and worrying and obsessing about this entire exchange.

As I said yesterday, I must be crazy. BUT...I don't think I am alone.

I am pretty sure that there are other women out there that do this, too. We obsess about little things, like conversations or social situations, wondering whether we have said or done the right thing. We wonder what others think of us, we criticize ourselves mercilessly when we make a minor error, and we refuse to just let it go. When I think of how much energy I waste on beating myself up and questioning my every comment or social interaction... I can't help but beat myself up about that, too!! So, I just keep praying that the Jesus living in me will lend me a little of his grace. That He'll pinch me every once in a while, so I can remember to silence my earthly tongue and let His words fill my mouth. I put my hope in Him, that if I can just clean out a few of these negative thoughts and give Him a little more room in my head, He can stretch out in there, get comfy, prop His feet up on the coffee table and teach me how to be little more like Him.

An ugly truth

2010-09-27T23:21:00.000-05:00

You ever get to a point in life that you are forced to face a very ugly truth about yourself? Well, this semester, I find myself back in school and facing one booger of an ugly truth: I am a neurotic over-achiever.

Wait, stop laughing at me. I know, all of you that have been my friend for more than 5 minutes have probably already realized this and are laughing hysterically at the fact that this is some big realization on my part, but it is the truth. I never realized how ridiculous it was until this semester. I've always known I'm a bit fussy about the details at times, and that I like things a certain way, but I've had to face the ugly truth--I am a big ol' ball of OCD, with a cream filling of crazy, rolled in a crunchy coating of anal-retentive. Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

What brought on the realization, you ask? Well, here I am, in a new city, a new home, with 2 kids, trying to parent by myself while Brad is in school in KS, AND taking 2 classes at Dallas Theological Seminary. To say I am stretched thin right now is a bit of an understatement. I'm working on my homework and assignments for these classes after the kids go to bed, I'm exhausted, and I tell myself every time "Just do it well-enough to get a decent grade, then go to bed, don't kill yourself making it perfect." And what do I do? Kill myself making it perfect. We have to post our assignments in an online forum, and my OCD papers have become notorious among my peers--I think they are secretly plotting to either (a) kill me for screwing the curve or (b) kill me for forcing them to read my ridiculously detailed papers. And I know I'm being obsessive and crazy, but here's the kicker...I cannot let it go! I can't leave it half-done or not just right. It literally drives me crazy until I get back to my computer and fix it.

So, there is something definitely wrong with me, and I'm gonna have to figure out how to fix it, or else I might just drive myself, my kids and my husband mad. (I imagine Brad doing a happy dance somewhere in KS while he reads this, hoping and praying that this means an end to my detail-oriented obsessions about stacking towels in the cupboard a certain direction and putting the toilet paper on the roll the right way--FAT CHANCE, BUSTER!) But I do need to figure out how to approach my school work with balance, and perspective, so that I can be a sane parent to my kids and also, actually enjoy my seminary classes and not miss the point of the whole exercise--this is to bring me closer to God's word and His will for me, not be an excuse to wallow around in a mud-pit of "making myself look perfect." Pray I figure out how to let go of my self-aggrandizing need to make an A on every paper and test and just be a student of the Word out of joy.

Shameless Plug

2010-09-27T17:14:00.000-05:00

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Aiden's school is having a fundraiser, and in the digital age, there is no need to march from door-to-door begging your neighbors and other creepy strangers to buy. Now you can just pester people digitally! The company sells everything from magazines to gift wrap to cookie dough and many other gift items, so check out the catalog and order, and your items will be shipped directly to you, with Aiden getting the credit for the sale.

To order, just click on the banner above and enter STUDENT ID #227KKPW.

Thanks for your support!

Aiden on his skateboard

2010-09-26T19:03:00.000-05:00

Poor Brad, he goes away to school, and Aiden decides to master all of these cool "boy" things, like riding a bike without training wheels or learning to skateboard. Here's a video of Aiden on his skateboard:

The Little Mama

2010-09-13T19:59:00.000-05:00

Aubrey spent a good portion of the evening mothering Freckles--she was too cute! Here's the video:

A little Lance in training

2010-09-12T16:34:00.000-05:00

Well, he won't be competing in the Tour de France anytime soon, but Aiden has finally mastered the art of riding his bike. Last night, just as we were going in for the night, our neighbors invited us out to play. Aiden had been dying to play with his buddy, Trent, all day, and Trent had been cooped up in a car all day, so I relented and told Aiden he could stay out and play for another 30 minutes. I walked over to chat with Trent's parents, Neil and Kelly, and 30 minutes turned into 3 hours!

Aiden had dragged his old bike out of the garage while we were outside, wanting to ride along with Trent. Brad and I had just removed Aiden's training wheels about 2 weeks before his bike was packed up by the movers, back in May, and although he'd sort of gotten the concept, he wasn't exactly riding on his own at that point. Last night, he climbed on his bike and was giving it a try, but he kept getting frustrated--over the summer, Aiden had outgrown his old bike, and he just couldn't get going on it. Neil pulled out Trent's old bike out of their garage (Trent is 7 and a good head taller than Aiden), adjusted it to fit Aiden, put him on and gave him one solid push--and Aiden was off and riding! He struggled a bit with turning at first, and was having some issues with stopping (let's just say Aiden would rather bail out than use the brakes), but by the end of the night, he and Neil and Trent went on a moonlit bike ride around the block, and Aiden made it no problem.

We were all having such a good time talking and watching the boys play that we lost track of time, and before I knew it, it was 11:30! But what a fun night it had been. The boys were on "night patrol" and riding outside shirtless (they thought they were big stuff). The grown-ups were enjoying an evening of good conversation (a rarity for me these days!). It was a fun summer evening, and although we were a bit tired this morning, it was worth it.

I can't believe how big my little guy is getting. In the 1st grade, riding a bike without training wheels, zooming all over the neighborhood on his scooter. He is is growing up so fast--it seems like just yesterday, I was bringing him home from the hospital. Time flies, doesn't it?!

Here's a video I took this morning of Aiden riding:

It's official...

2010-09-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

Aiden is a FIRST GRADER! After 10 days of trying it out and having a multitude of educational professionals observe him and his progress, we unanimously decided that Aiden is ready for 1st grade. He is excelling in the classroom, and was assessed by his teacher as having already mastered all of the 1st grade reading curriculum and most of the math curriculum. That's right--he's skipping a grade, and the grade he's skipping into, he's already mastered most of the material. Aiden is being challenged by the social aspects of first grade, and is struggling a little with the maturity required to sit still during long lessons, but his teacher is delighted to have him in her class and is very committed to working with Aiden to smooth out these little wrinkles. His teacher and the counselor and vice principal, who have all met and observed Aiden, have also decided he should be tested for the Talented and Gifted program, so we'll be pursuing that in the next few weeks. But for now, Aiden is ecstatic to be staying in the first grade. As he told me one day, "I like first grade better than kindergarten. I feel like a bigger kid in first grade--like I'm 7 1/2." Too cute!

Scootin' along!

2010-09-08T20:41:00.002-05:00

Aubrey has been determined to learn to scooter like her big brother. Tonight, I pulled out Aiden's old trainer scooter, and Aubrey figured it out in about 2 seconds flat! Here's a video of her first scooting adventure!

(Sorry about the garbled audio--it was really windy out and it caused a lot of noise in the video.)

Weekend in Fort Worth

2010-09-07T13:25:00.000-05:00

Aiden has been missing his friends from church and his old school. so I decided to head north to Dallas for the weekend. We crashed at Aunt Cathy and Uncle Wayne's house, who graciously fed us, entertained us, and even babysat for me so I could get a break.

We drove up Friday afternoon, arriving in time for dinner and some playtime before bed. Saturday, Aiden and I attended the birthday party of one of his friends, Aaron, at Bounce U in Plano while Aubrey spent time with Cathy and Wayne. After the party, I returned to pick up Aubrey and grab some swim clothes, and then we headed to visit our friends, the Lashers and the Fishers. I spent several hours chatting with our friends while all of our kids played and splashed in the pool--it was so nice to see them and spend time talking and hanging out like we used to. Aiden ended up going home with the Fishers so he could enjoy a sleepover with his buddy, Bradly, while Aubrey and I headed back to Cathy and Wayne's house.

Sunday morning, Aubrey and I met Aiden and all our friends at church, where I got to see many of my former co-workers and all of my church friends. After church, I took Aiden and Aubrey for haircuts (there are no kids salons near Killeen), and despite a small snafu (I left my wallet in my bag from the pool the day before and only had my checkbook and a jar of change), I managed to get Aiden a haircut, Aubrey a bang trim, and lunch for all of us before we headed back to Cathy and Wayne's. We all watched the movie "Furry Vengeance" after naps, and then enjoyed a short walk and trip to the playground before I headed out for dinner with Brooke. Brooke and I spent the evening talking and enjoying some kid-free time, and ended up closing the restaurant and even spending another hour talking while standing in the parking lot! There is nothing like getting to catch up with a good friend!

Monday, I decided to take the kids to the Fort Worth Zoo for the day. We arrived just after opening and spent most of the day walking and looking at all of the animals. Aiden was excited to hear the lion roar and see the prairie dogs and meerkats. Aubrey loved the elephants and giraffes. They both had to be dragged out of the Museum of Living Art, the zoo's new high-tech herpetarium and aquarium--they were both in absolute heaven watching the snakes, lizards, turtles and fish! After the zoo, we grabbed a quick frozen custard at Curly's, then headed home. Our trip back was fraught with complications--traffic jams and accidents on the freeway, but we arrived home safely yesterday evening, in time for a quick dinner, baths and bedtime.

It was a great weekend, but exhausting. Cathy and Wayne live on the opposite side of the metroplex as our friends, so I made the hour-long one-way-trek to the Wylie area 6 times in 2 days. I ended up getting a mild sinus infection following a recent allergy attack, so I had a horrible headache much of the weekend. Plus all of the walking at the zoo and bouncing at the birthday party--I was exhausted! But it was worth every bit of it--I've missed all of our wonderful friends from Wylie and am looking forward to seeing them again soon!

Aiden and some of his buddies at the birthday party. What a rambunctious bunch!

The plates and decorations were 3D. Of course, the kids put the glasses on and went around saying EVERYTHING was 3D! Wow! Um, yeah, your hand is 3D. You are 3D.

How many times do I have to explain this?!

Cupcakes!!

Aiden and his buddy, Aaron. Aiden said the cutest thing when we were walking into the party: "Mommy, Aaron is so special to me. I've missed him." They had a great time playing catch-up!

Aubrey before the haircut began--she was so excited about the car and getting to watch Dora.

As you can see, the sentiment didn't last. No amount of Dora could make her happy about this!

'Riding' the bronze turtle at the zoo.

Loving the turtles--Aubrey's mouth was never closed, she was so excited!

And Aiden swore the turtles were smiling at him. I had to pry them away from this exhibit.

Fascinated by all the reptiles and amphibians.

This lizard would chase Aiden along the inside of the glass. Aiden thought it was hilarious.

Touching the snake. Even Aubrey got in on the action.

Climbing around.

"C'mon, Mom, let me in there!!"

The Pack, divided

2010-09-03T07:57:00.000-05:00

This past week has been a complete blur. Brad left for Fort Leavenworth, KS on Saturday for a 4-month school. Saturday was also my first day of Seminary classes in Austin. My mom and grandma came for a visit from Friday through Monday. And Aiden completed his second week of first grade.

The next four months promise to be very exhausting. Trying to take care of everything around here by myself is just overwhelming and exhausting. Between keeping the kids and the dog fed and cared for, trying to keep the house just somewhat presentable, and schoolwork, I've only managed about 4-6 hours of sleep each night. Coffee is definitely my best friend!

Brad is in KS until November 20 for an Information Operations Qualification Course--basically, he has to complete this course and do well in order to keep his new job within the Army. He attends class every day 'til about 2, then works on homework and writing assignments. He's also getting a lot of downtime, which he deserves and needs, but it is a bit difficult to not feel resentful when he's going to barbecues and parties with our good friends, who are also in Leavenworth right now, and to the gym every day, while I am back home juggling like a mad woman. I know that Brad would rather be here with me and the kids, and I do want him to enjoy his time there--he has to be there, might as well make the best of it--but I still feel very jealous, which makes me feel like a shrew of a wife and a crappy mom all at once.

On top of trying to just care for 2 kids and the house, I'm trying to take 2 seminary classes, which is just insane. One class is a once-a-month, all-day-Saturday-class in Austin. The other is online. And the two are killing me. My online class has 1-2 hours of video lectures to watch, plus several hundred pages of reading, plus at least one, usually 2, written assignments, and that is EACH WEEK! Plus I have to read the work of other online students and interact with them in the online forum. My last homework assignment took me about 4 hours to complete. And on top of that, I have hundreds of pages of reading to do for my other class. I've put Aubrey into childcare every Wednesday and Friday from 8-2:30, which helps, but I was hoping to use some of that time to take a break or just grocery shop without lugging her with me, and not spend all of it doing schoolwork! Remind me to NEVER try to take 2 classes and juggle the kids/household by myself again, OK??

So, if you don't from me for a while, then just know that I'm probably sitting in a corner, babbling incoherently about biblical study methods or Old Testament history and geography, surrounded by piles of laundry and 2 kids who are running wild. I'll get back to the blog eventually!

Living on the porch

2010-08-26T11:43:00.000-05:00

OK, I've decided that I will never again buy a house without a big ol' front porch. The past few days, we've had a "cold front" pass through, bringing temps in the upper 80's and lower 90's, so our family has literally lived on our front porch. Tuesday night, we enjoyed dinner on the porch: a picnic of fruits (grapes, apples, watermelon, cantaloupe), a variety of cheeses, salami and prosciutto, crackers, and wine for the grown-ups. The kids loved it, grazing and playing for hours--it is the most Aubrey has eaten at one meal in a LONG time! Some of our neighbors ended up joining us and we had a great time visiting and watching the kids play.

Wednesday, Aubrey and Brad and I spent most of the day outdoors. We went on a walk through the neighborhood, then let Aubrey play in the yard while I sat on the porch and read for my classes. While she napped, I watched my online lecture videos and did some studying. After picking Aiden up from school, it was more time spent outside with him and a gaggle of his friends.

Thursday brought more lovely temps, so we threw the doors and windows open to air out the house and Aubrey and I played for a good while on the porch. She ate her snack outside--Goldfish crackers, which she insisted upon eating with a spoon. That spoon was later re-purposed as a tiny shovel for digging in the dirt in our flower beds.

We've all spent a lot of time outside lately--a trend that will continue as fall weather moves in over the next few months. But at the heart of all of that outside living is a big porch with a comfy sofa and chairs.

Aubrey crashing on the pavement--she's worn herself out playing.

Studying on the porch with my favorite study buddy.

Eating Goldfish with a spoon.

My silly gal. She's trying to feed me Goldfish with the spoon.

Hmmm, this spoon makes a nice shovel!

The accessory of the day: swim goggles. Later that day, we added a cowboy hat and a purse.

Let's just say she has her own sense of style!

Aubrey being silly--that girl is a ham!

Once his homework is done, this is all I see of Aiden until dinnertime:

a streak that zooms by on a scooter, with a gaggle of neighborhood boys close by.

First Day of School!

2010-08-23T09:58:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it is here--Aiden's first day of school. And in typical Aiden fashion, we are doing things a bit different from everyone else--we are going straight to FIRST GRADE!

Over the summer, Brad and I had Aiden tested for placement. We had reviewed the curriculum standards for kindergarten and discovered that Aiden had already mastered the entire kindergarten curriculum, and even some of the 1st grade stuff. He's reading chapter books now, he's even reading Harry Potter to us each night before bed, and he's great at simple addition and subtraction, even counting money, so we felt that testing was warranted, just to see where Aiden is truly at.

After 2 days of math and reading testing, the school determined that Aiden should start the year in first grade as a temporary placement. After 10 days, his teachers, counselor and principal will meet with Brad and I, we'll all compare notes as to how the first 10 days went, and decide whether Aiden is emotionally and developmentally ready for first grade, or would do better in kindergarten. This should be an interesting couple of weeks--I'm both excited and nervous for Aiden, and praying that God would lead us to make the best decision for Aiden. There is a lot to consider--Aiden's need for an educational challenge, balanced with concerns for his emotional development and even physical development in comparison to his peers. We worry about the long-term consequences of jumping him ahead--like getting his license a year behind his friends and peers and hitting puberty later than his classmates, but we also don't want Aiden to fall into the boredom/misbehavior trap and be labeled as a troublemaker by his teachers, or even learn to hate school because he isn't challenged.

The great news: Aiden's teacher is fantastic and spent years as a school counselor before becoming an educator, and is one of the teachers for the Talented and Gifted program, so she is especially qualified to evaluate Aiden and give us her recommendation for his placement. And Aiden, who doesn't really know that anything special is going on, is ecstatic that one of his neighborhood buddies is in his class. So we are all excited to see how these 10 days play out.

A Painful Weekend

2010-08-22T08:38:00.000-05:00

Last week ended with the promise of of a great weekend ahead. Brad and I had an overnight getaway in Austin planned on Friday, with the kids playing at a neighbors and their grandparents coming in later that evening to care for them. Saturday, Brad's brother and fiancee were coming to join in on the weekend of family fun. But, as usual, life didn't work out as planned.

Thursday, Aiden complained of a headache and spiked a low-grade fever. He had no other symptoms and had been playing outside with other kids for quite a while, so I figured he may just be overheated or a little dehydrated, gave him some Tylenol, a bunch of watered down juice, and sent him to lay down and rest. His headache went away, and within an hour he was back to his normal, rambunctious self. He was fine the rest of the evening, but once again woke me up in the middle of the night with a headache. A dose of motrin, some cuddling, he was back to sleep. I was relieved--every time Brad and I plan a date, it seems our kids get sick.

The next day, Aiden was fine throughout the day, but in the afternoon, began complaining of a headache again. He had been playing outside and came home complaining that he "felt like his brain was banging the inside of his head." I gave him fluids and another dose of motrin and sent him upstairs to lay down, and after about an hour, he was fine. Brad and I decided to go on our overnight as planned, figuring that the grandparents could handle the headache issue for a night, and since we were only an hour away, we felt fine to leave.

That night, though, things got worse. At bedtime Aiden complained of a headache, but the sitter didn't give him any medicine for it. When his grandparents arrived to take over, Aiden's head was hurting worse, and within a couple hours, Aiden was vomiting from the headache pain. After he threw up, he fell asleep and was fine until morning.

Brad and I came home Saturday morning and heard of the previous nights events and began to suspect that these weren't run-of-the-mill headaches. Throughout the day Saturday, Aiden would complain of a headache, we'd medicate him, the headache would go away for a couple of hours, but before he could even get another dose of medicine, his headache would be back. He complained of nausea and couldn't even walk across the room without crying. I decided to call the Nurse Advice Line at the hospital here on post, and the nurse felt we should have Aiden seen by a doc within the next 24 hours, and that we shouldn't wait until Monday. Aiden was in a period of feeling fine by then, though, so we planned to wait, see if the headache returned, and if so, then take him to the ER to be seen.

Aiden was fine all afternoon and evening, but by bedtime, his headache was back, so we put him in his jammies, packed a bag of blankets and loveys and activities, and headed to the ER for what we figured would be a long wait (Saturday night AND a full moon, we were doomed!). After waiting a good while, we were finally seen by a PA. From the moment she walked in, I was not impressed. She walked, went straight to Aiden (without washing her hands, by the way) and started tapping on his forehead and face--Does this hurt? Aiden told her no, and she finally introduced herself and began to half-assed examine Aiden. She would ask questions, but didn't listen to our answers and would interrupt me when trying to explain his symptoms. At one point, I had just said, "He has thrown up once during the headache and has felt nauseated several other times," when she then asked "Any nausea or vomiting?" in the next breath. It took all my patience to not scream at her, "YES YOU IDIOT! IF YOU WERE LISTENING TO A THING I JUST SAID, YOU'D KNOW THAT!" But I kindly answered the question without any yelling or snarky comments. She looked in his ears and his mouth and then declared, "Yup, he's got a little fluid in his ears and a little mucous in the back of his throat, so it's a sinus infection." She scribbled down a prescription for antibiotics and shooed us out the door. When I tried to question her, "He hasn't had any cold symptoms or allergy problems, no runny nose, no stuffiness, nothing..." she cut me off. "But he isn't hurting in the face or the usual sinus places..." but once again, she cut me off. I gave up and decided we would just gut it through the weekend and then see his normal doctor on Monday morning. It wasn't until after we left that I realized that in her incompetence, she hadn't even done a basic neurological exam to rule out any sort of neuro event! I knew in my gut she was making the wrong call, a sinus infection just didn't make sense with his pattern of symptoms, but I was too tired and frustrated to fight her about it and felt like our best bet was to wait until Monday morning to see his doctor or another pediatrician in the clinic.

Aiden and I headed to the van while Brad headed down to the hospital pharmacy to pick up Aiden's meds. While Brad was waiting, Aiden's headache went from painful to excruciating, and by the time Brad got to the car, Aiden was sobbing in pain and begging me for medicine. I quickly gave him a dose of Motrin and we began to drive home, but the entire ride home, he begged me to take him back to the hospital so they could "make him better." Aiden HATES the hospital, it took bribery and tons of reassurance just to get him in the door of the ER just a few short hours earlier, and now he was begging me to take him back. I was fighting tears the entire drive, feeling utterly helpless and ready to drive back and strangle the PA. He cried the entire ride home and ended up throwing up just as we pulled in the driveway. We carried him inside, coaxed a few crackers into him and re-dosed him with Motrin, since he'd just vomited all of the dose we gave him, and tucked him into bed.

The next morning, he woke up early with his headache back, and began vomiting. He was sobbing in pain again and begging for us to make it better. We couldn't get him to keep anything down all morning, not a single cracker or dose of medicine, so we decided to take him to the Acute Care Clinic that has hours on Sunday mornings.

Of course, by the time we get to the clinic, Aiden is feeling better and asking for food. He's running around like his normal rambunctious self--in the span of fifteen minutes after his last vomiting episode! He'd thrown up three times in 2 hours, but now that we decide to take him in to the clinic, he's acting fine. Brad and I proceed to take him in, knowing that if we were to go home now, he'd be back to vomiting and feeling awful again in a matter of hours, but were just waiting for one of the doctors or nurses to tell us we're attention-craving crazy people who are making it all up.

Luckily, we got assigned to a pediatrician, and he was wonderful. He did a complete neuro work up, he talked to Aiden and listened to him describe his pain and symptoms. He listened to our account of his morning and asked questions. He declared that this was a typical case of childhood-onset migraines and sent us home with a list of dietary triggers to avoid and anti-nausea medicine to help Aiden keep the pain-relievers down when things got bad. He told us the best way to manage the headaches--medicine within the first 10 minutes of onset or even before, if Aiden began having auras to indications a headache might be coming, followed by laying down in a darkened room for 15-30 minutes with cool compresses to the head. He even took the time to explain to Aiden the importance of coming home for medicine at the first sign of a headache, even when he was playing, so we could help him. He filled out all of the forms we would need for Aiden to get medicine and time to lay down at school. And he scoffed but, in his professionalism, refrained from bashing the PA who had made a bad call, simply stating "There are absolutely no signs of an infection, his ears and sinuses are normal--just throw out the antibiotics."

I was so relieved to have a doctor actually listen to us all and complete a thorough exam before diagnosing Aiden. And when we followed the strategy he'd outlined for us the rest of Sunday, we found that Aiden would usually doze off for a few minutes and wake up with the headache completely gone--we were able to knock it out at the "slightly painful" stage instead of trying to fight it at the "miserably excruciating" stage. Now I'm just hoping that we'll have the same luck at school--I've spoken to his teacher (who is also a migraine sufferer and is sympathetic and understanding) and to the school nurse, who is on-board with letting Aiden lay down in the clinic in the dark for a while if he needs it. Now I'm just hoping this won't be too disruptive to his learning and that we'll be out of this headache pattern soon. If it continues, we may have to be more aggressive with medications, but I'd rather not have Aiden on anything unless we have to.

Crawling out from under the rubble...

2010-08-16T15:29:00.000-05:00

Yikes, it has been a busy couple of weeks! We've moved out of one place, moved into another, and unpacked all of our worldy belongings. The house is starting to look like a home now. We have the entire downstairs unpacked, even have pictures on the walls and drapes hung. Upstairs, the kids rooms are unpacked, but we still have a lot of work to do with decorating and organizing, and the master bedroom is a disaster area, but that should change today. Things are really starting to shape up!

Aiden and Aubrey are loving the new house. When our household goods arrived, it was like Christmas morning--tearing open boxes of toys we hadn't seen in a couple of months. Aiden has even made a few friends on the block. There is a little boy, Jake, who lives 2 doors down from us that is the same age and the same size as Aiden. The two could be brothers--they both have blond hair and blue eyes and are skinny little guys that never stop moving. And there is another boy, Chris, across the street who is also 5 that Aiden has befriended. And his newest friend, Trent, who is 7 and is as active and silly as he is. Brad and I are beginning to make friends in the neighborhood, as well, so this new place is finally starting to feel like "home" and not just another stop on the perpetual road trip we Parkers call 'life.'

Here are a few pics of the new place. There is still work to be done--we've got a few furniture pieces to buy still (a desk and coffee table for the living room, bar stools for the kitchen), but you can see it taking shape. If you're in the Austin area, give us a call and come see the place for yourself--we'd love a visit from our friends and family!

The "before" pictures: this is how it looked less than 2 weeks ago.

The "after" pics. We've come along way, but still have some work to do!

My favorite part of this house:

a "real" front porch, with room for a sitting area.

AND it has a huge covered back porch, complete with ceiling fans!

Our new house!

2010-07-29T16:50:00.000-05:00

Just a quick snap with the phone, but this is our new house! We got keys today, and our household goods will be delivered on 8/4. We are SO EXCITED! The house is beautiful, hardwood floors and great appliances and nice carpet--it looks brand new inside. I can't wait to move in! When I was walking out to the car after viewing it, one of the neighbors already stopped to welcome us--gotta love friendly neighbors, one of the best parts of living on-post. More pics to come, once we are moved in and settled.

Out and About

2010-07-29T10:31:00.000-05:00

In an effort to keep these kids busy and not lose my mind, cooped up in one room with two crazy little ones, I have spent much of my time here in Killeen exploring parks and playgrounds and other fun places. Here are a few pics from our recent adventures.

Chillin' (actually, sweating profusely) at the playground


Aiden pouting because he climbed to the top of the rock and refused to climb down on his own...and Brad and I wouldn't rescue him.

Splashing the day away at the Family Aquatics Center at Lion's Park

Hanging out with Uncle Warren at his house in Houston.

Star Wars VR game at NASA. Aiden was in heaven!

Tweet, tweet. Bzzzz, bzzzz.

2010-07-28T23:27:00.001-05:00

Wow, do kids grow up fast! Today, while watching SYTYCD, Aiden busts out with "Those girls are dancing SAXY!" (he meant to say sexy) And earlier today, our lunch conversation consisted of him asking me all kinds of questions. "Mommy, how does the baby get in the tummy? ... But HOW does the daddy put it in there? ... What kind of special cuddling? Can you show me?" I swear, I felt like I was traipsing through a minefield wearing clown shoes! But I think I muddled through well enough--he seemed to be satisfied with the answers I gave him, and I didn't have to go into too much detail about it all.

But what amazes me is how early this little guy has picked up on things like "sexy" and other adult themes. I don't look forward to raising teenagers in this sexually forward world, where you can see women pouring chocolate sauce over their mostly naked bodies on MTV and your sons and daughters are bombarded with nudity everywhere they look. But I never thought I'd have to explain to my 5-year-old what the word sexy means and why it isn't appropriate for him to say.

The mouth of a sailor

2010-07-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

Aubrey has got quite a mouth on her these days. Her vocabulary is growing more and more each day, but unfortunately, her ability to enunciate those words is not! We end up with quite a few funny words and situations as a result of her newfound speaking abilities. For example, at the dinner table, Aubrey spends much of the meal yelling, "FUK!" which is her way of saying 'fork'...but the other diners around us at the restaurant don't know that and think my one year old has a potty mouth! Or, when we are walking through a clothing store, Aubrey yells "SHIT" quite enthusiastically. Don't worry, she isn't shouting expletives, she's just pointing out all of the lovely shirts around her--but it does elicit a few giggles and stares. My favorite, though, is when she asks for a particular snack that she loves, dried kiwi. I'll let you hear it for yourself:

And just for fun...

AUGH!

2010-07-27T23:21:00.002-05:00

This picture sums up how I feel about our current living situation:

Thank goodness our days in this tiny apartment are numbered!

Sweet Girl

2010-07-26T22:14:00.001-05:00

Catching Up

2010-07-24T21:20:00.000-05:00

We have a house! Somehow, despite still being #28 on the waitlist, we were offered a house on post last week. Apparently, every other family on the list was either stuck in a lease or didn't return the coordinator's phone calls, so we ended up getting the house. We won't be able to move in until sometime between 8/3 and 8/10, but the end of this cramped lifestyle is in sight.

I am so excited to move in to our new place. We will be only the 2nd tenants to live there. The house is a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 2-story home, with a 2-car garage and a back yard and 2300 square feet of living space. We are so excited to move in, get our household goods delivered out of storage, and get settled once and for all.

I am also happy to announce that after years of waiting and saving and putting it off, we finally bought new living room furniture. I have been so tired of my battered and stained pale beige, pre-kids sofas. Saturday we drove down to Austin just to look and check out a few furniture stores I had looked up online. The first store we visited was moving their showroom to a new location and was selling off all of their floor models at HUGE discounts, and lucky for us, we could wait to take delivery of the items a week or two. So, for what we expecting to drop on a sofa and loveseat alone, we ended up getting a sofa, loveseat, chaise and chair and will be able to furnish both the living room and family room in new furniture. How cool is that?!

Things here have been busy. I've registered Aiden in his new school, although it is still up in the air whether he will start kindergarten or first grade. He is being tested in reading and math today and tomorrow to determine where he should be placed. I originally contacted the district about having him tested for placement in the Talented and Gifted program, but I was informed that TAG doesn't start in kindergarten until February. When we explained that Aiden had already mastered the kindergarten curriculum, they suggested testing for placement into first grade. Brad and I have our reservations about whether Aiden is mature enough for 1st grade and the long-term consequences of jumping him ahead, but we also know that an active child, like Aiden, who is bored will become a trouble-maker and may even learn to dislike school. We are torn about what to do, so we are waiting to see how he does on the testing and during the 10-day temporary placement into first grade. If you think of it, say a few prayers that God would lead Brad and I to make the right decision for Aiden.

We drove out to Houston to visit Brad's brother, Warren and his fiancee, Tara. While we were there, we took Aiden and Aubrey to check out NASA and to explore the boardwalk at Kemah. I also got my fix of Lupe Tortilla's fajitas--Lupe's is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants ever, and I hadn't been since law school.

On the Sundays we are here, we've been checking out churches and exploring the city. We were so spoiled by Firewheel, our last church, we are having a hard time finding anything remotely close in this area. But we aren't giving up--one way or another, we'll find a church we can call home. We've visited a few local attractions, too, like a cool city-owned water park that is CHEAP and happens to be located just down the street from our condo. Library story times, local parks and playgrounds--we've explored many places in an attempt to escape this tiny place we currently call home!

We've also been busy trying to settle ourselves onto this post. There are so many places to visit, forms to fill out, and lines to wait in. It has been hectic and boring, but the end is in sight. I am so looking forward to moving into our new neighborhood, where Aiden will be surrounded by other kids his age and able to make new friends. He has made a few new friends, children of friends that we knew here in the area, but I look forward to the days when he can roam our block with a pack of boys, running and laughing and having a great time.

Conversations with Aiden

2010-07-20T15:15:00.000-05:00

Today we went to purchase school supplies for Aiden. He is absolutely ecstatic about starting kindergarten in a few weeks. He was adorable to watch, debating which backpack to buy, discussing the merits of Buzz Lightyear vs. Spiderman. While we were shopping for him, though, I picked up a few notebooks and pens for myself. Aiden saw me and protested--"I don't want flowers on my notebook!"

"These aren't for you," I told him. "Mommy is going to start school in a few weeks, too."

"Are you going to elementary school, too?' he asked.

"No, Mommy is going to seminary."

"What's that??"

I explained, "Seminary is where grown-ups go to learn about the Bible and Jesus and how to teach other people about Jesus and the Bible."

Aiden looked thoughtful, absorbing this new info, and then turned to ask the most important question of all: "Mommy, do they have recess at Seminary?"

"No, buddy, they don't have recess at Seminary."

"That's too bad--I get recess and YOU DON'T!" he proudly exclaimed.

Home, sweet home?

2010-07-13T00:50:00.000-05:00

So, here we are in Killeen in our temporary home. It is an OK place, clean and with all of the essentials. It is decorated in what I like to call "dollar store chic" and has a color-scheme right of the 80's, but it is do-able. I swear the place is shrinking every day, though. It is a 2-bedroom unit, with a small living room, kitchen, half-bath and laundry room downstairs, and 2 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. We're talking about 900 square feet of living space, with 2 very rambunctious kids and NO TOYS! Well, as of a couple of days ago, we have a few toys that I bought to tide us over, but due to a complication with our moving shipment, we have hardly anything to keep these kids occupied.

"Complication" seems to be the common theme of this move. I have never had a move go so badly. It seems that every bit of planning, forethought, and preparation I put into this move has gone right out the window. It started with the packing itself. The movers broke stuff (including my Waterford crystal champagne flutes that Brad and I used on our honeymoon and at every anniversary and at the birth of both of our children) before they even packed it, so I can't imagine how much stuff will be broken when we arrive!

While on our trip, I called the corporate housing company to confirm (again) our rental, and I was informed that, oops, we can't accommodate you after all. I had reserved the place and signed a rental agreement almost a month before, but 10 days before our move-in, when I called to confirm "just in case" they tell me that we didn't have a place, after all. Thank goodness I called, or else we wouldn't have discovered that we had no place to live until we arrived!

I also checked our wait list position with the on-post housing office while we were traveling and got more disappointing news. When we got onto the list, we were #32 out of 40 and were told our wait would be 2-3 months. After a month of traveling and waiting on the list, I discovered that we were now #44 out of 60, and our wait was now 3-4 months. Yep, that's right, after a month of waiting, we were now father DOWN on the list, and our wait had doubled, instead of decreasing. AUGH! After a mini-meltdown, I called the housing office to get an explanation. Without boring you with a bunch of procedural details, let's just say that we were told before going on the list that we had to do things a certain way, so we changed all of our plans to fit this, but now we were told that the previous info we were given was incorrect, and a whole bunch of people were doing exactly what we were told we couldn't do, and we jumping in line ahead of us. As of today, we are at #36 and are looking at still another 2-3 months of waiting. Grrrrr....

Prior to our move, we elected for a partial delivery of goods, and when the movers packed up our stuff, we set aside a bunch of stuff that we wanted delivered to our temporary home, before we got the remainder of our goods at our final home. Things like clothing, toys, the Wii, Aubrey's crib, etc. Well, when we arrived, we called for the partial delivery--but it turns out the movers didn't designate the partial delivery items on our inventory, so we have to actually go out to the storage facility on Wednesday and help them figure out which items we need. That will be fun!

So, here I am, in a tiny condo with the bare essentials, nothing more, living in limbo until we get our house on-post, which I am hoping is before Christmas. The good news is that we have a few people that we know in this town with kids that we can spend time with. Our condo is just down the street from a city-owned water park that is very nice and cheap. And Brad is home for another week to help me get things somewhat settled. The bad news: it looks like I'll be unpacking and setting up house by myself, after Brad leaves for school in Kansas in late August. I'll have to drive Aiden across town to his school on-post for a month or two, until we get our house. And I will have to spend the next couple of months trying to keep these kids happy and occupied in this tiny house, without losing my sanity. Wish me luck--I'm definitely going to need it!

The Great American Road Trip Part VIII: The Family Circus

2010-07-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

After leaving Devil's Den, we headed back to Oklahoma to begin visiting many of our family members. We headed first to Del City to visit with my grandma Charlotte. While at her home, we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at Ingrid's Kitchen, a German-food joint in OKC. I enjoyed some much-needed catch-up time with my Grandma, who I've always been especially close to growing up. She is such an amazing woman who has truly encouraged me and inspired me over the years and it was a treat to just sit on the back deck at her house and talk for hours. My Aunt Carolyn and her husband, Merle, also stopped by for a quick visit. I'm hoping to make it back to OKC soon to see more of my "Yankee" family. (All Texans regard anyone living north of the Red River a yankee, lol).

After Oklahoma, it was off to my parents' house near Lake Texoma. We enjoyed chillin' on the back patio, feeding mom's giant pet turtles and drinking margaritas from the machine. It was a laid back visit, Aiden wanting to play washers or air hockey or X-box with his Pawpaw--Aiden loves all of Pawpaw's toys! And it was great to spend Father's Day with my daddy.

The only hitch to this visit: when I called to confirm our furnished apartment rental for the following week, I was told, "Oh, yeah, um, turns out we won't have a place for you after all. Sorry!" So, I spent much of our visit on the phone and internet, trying to find a place to live 10 days before we were to arrive to Killeen. What a mess!

After a couple of nights there, we headed farther south to Aunt Cathy and Uncle Wayne's house for a quick overnight to pick up our other vehicle, some boxes, and Freckles. Oh, how Aiden had missed Freckles! He was so happy to see her and throw the frisbee for her. While there, we dined on lamb chops and drank far too many of Uncle Wayne's famous "Cox-mos" in celebration of Brad's birthday. Brad ended up passed out on the bathroom floor and I had to drag him back to bed.

The next day was Brad's birthday, which we celebrated by popping tylenol and drinking a bunch of gatorade (to get rid of the hangovers), packing the car and driving, again: YAY! We headed south toward Killeen to continue our quest for some place to live. Yep, 7 days from our arrival date at Fort Hood and we are completely homeless, with no place to land after a month of traveling. So we drove to Killeen and scoped out a few of the potential places that were available. Option 1: the "model" apartment at a complex that turned out to be a filthy, tiny 2-bedroom on the second floor.Option 2: an orange, yes orange, quad-plex on the corner of a busy street, with no fenced yard, in a fairly sketchy part of town. And Option 3: a nice-looking row house in a pretty good area of Killeen, a 2 bedroom, 2 story unit, with a fenced backyard--but we couldn't see the interior because it was rented. Hmmm.... I spoke to the owner of the third option, and on a gamble, I decided to rent it, knowing we were only obligated to 10 days, and figuring it couldn't be any worse than the other 2 options. Yep, sight unseen, I rented a place, over the phone, for my family and I to live in. Ah, desperation....

While we were in Killeen, we decided to take Aiden on post to show him where we would eventually live. We drove him past his new school, our neighborhood-to-be, and then we took him to one of the MANY outdoor museums, full of old tanks and cannons and helicopters. Aiden was in heaven, running around and checking out all of the cool machinery. Then we rounded the kids up and headed on to Gran and Gramps' house in Bandera (near San Antonio). We arrived around 7 and shared dinner with them, then had cake and ice cream to celebrate Brad's birthday.

The next few days, we hung out with Gran and Gramps and Mamaw and Papaw and Aiden's cousins. We went swimming in the Medina River, jumping off the big rock and floating downstream on our butts. We took Aiden for a "big boy outing" to see Toy Story 3. Aiden had a sleepover with his cousins and then, the next day, we took Claire, Rachel, Mamaw and Papaw with us to visit Natural Bridge Caverns, a big, living cave full of amazing formations. We spent two weekends at the coast in Rockport, TX, where Gran and Gramps keep their travel trailer and boat. We went bay fishing, where Brad caught a small shark and a big redfish (which was very yummy) and I even caught a small trout. Aiden had a great time fishing, and even more fun scooping shrimp out of the bait well for all the rest of us. While we were there, Aiden taught himself to swim underwater, and even began diving for quarters from the bottom of the pool. On the 4th, Brad and I hit the Rockport Art Festival, drank margaritas on a patio overlooking the marina, and even hit a local wine bar. That night, we all enjoyed fireworks and ice cream from Sonic--although Aubrey wasn't quite sure what to think about the noise and lights, she vacillated between excitement and smile to hiding her face in my chest while sucking her thumb.

On Monday the 5th, we all packed up and headed back to Bandera. We quickly washed our laundry and loaded up our cars, then headed to Killeen on the 6th, where we moved into our new, temporary home. (Luckily, it turned out to be a nice, clean place!) It was the close of our adventure month-long adventure, and although I am glad to be stationary and no longer living out of a suitcase, I have to say, I'm a bit sad that our adventure is over.

In a month, we had driven just shy of 5,000 miles. We passed through 7 states and visited prairies, mountains, hills, oceans and forests. We've seen amazing feats of architecture and awesome natural beauty. We've lived the city life and reveled in the quiet of country life. We've met new faces and visited old friends and loved ones. We've fought, argued and bickered, laughed and smiled and giggled together. It has been a long month, but one that has been full of wonderful memories that I know we will cherish for years to come.

The Great American Road Trip Part VII: Devil's Den, AR

2010-06-18T22:32:00.174-05:00

Once we left Memphis, we headed west to West Fork, AR: home of Devil's Den State Park. I've been visiting Devil's Den ever since I was a child. When I was young, we would stay in a tent in the campground, living out of a cooler and cooking meals on a little camp stove. My brother and I would spend our days running wild about the campground, making friends, swatting mosquitoes and seeing how dirty we could get in one day. As I got older, we began renting a cabin, and for many years, our family made an annual trek to Devil's Den to stay in cabin #10 every Memorial Day weekend.

Last year was the first year I got to share my love of Devil's Den with my own family, and after seeing what an amazing place it was, Brad was hooked as well. When I suggested we return again this year, he was quick to agree. Devil's Den is home to the largest known sandstone crevice in the world. There are miles and miles of hiking trails to explore, large fossil beds to examine and search, and all sorts of wildlife to watch and observe. There is a lake to fish and canoe in, a pool to swim and splash in, and a camp store with a freezer full of treats to eat after a hot day. It is kid-heaven, a place to get dirty and be silly, a place to forget about TV and modern conveniences and focus, instead, on the important things: games of Uno, laughing with your family, and eating s'mores by the fire.

This year, we rented a one-bedroom cabin, #9, that was charming, with 2 queen beds in the bedroom, a separate living area, a jacuzzi tub, and a small kitchen. We spent most of our time outside, though. We started off our first day by hiking Devil's Den Trail, a big loop that takes you past 2 caves to explore, waterfalls, a creek, and even the ruins of old pioneer homesteads. Unfortunately, the caves are closed this year in an effort to protect the large bat population in the area from a fungus that has killed millions of bats in the northeast U.S. (it is thought to be spread by humans on our clothing/shoes). But despite that, we enjoyed exploring the outer crevices and splashing in the waterfalls. Aubrey rode along in her frame backpack carrier again this year, content to watch the sights go by from her perch on Daddy's back. Aiden hiked and climbed like the trooper he is, although he needed a bit of encouragement a few times to make it through.

After our hike, we headed back to the cabin for a quick lunch, followed by a family nap. Aiden and I played a few hands of Uno while we waited for Aubrey to finish her nap. Then we all changed into bathing suits and headed down to the pool for a swim. Aiden, who had been terrified of the water slide on the back of the Foxes' boat just one week before, loudly declared "I'm going down the slide" as soon as we arrived at the pool. Before he had even gotten wet, he climbed the ladder and slid right in! And then slid again. And again. He even started experimenting with different ways to slide: on his belly, head-first on his back, sideways, etc. We were so proud of him for conquering his fear. While he enjoyed the slide, Aubrey waded in the baby pool and enjoyed jumping off the side of the pool into our arms. Whereas Aiden needs some time to gather his courage before trying something new, Aubrey is fearless and spent most of the afternoon trying to kill herself in one way or another!

After an hour or so of swimming and splashing, we headed over to the camp store for a frozen treat. Aiden and Aubrey devoured their popsicles and ice cream. Aubrey even let Aiden have a bite of her popsicle.

Then we headed back to the cabin to cook dinner. After a delicious meal of steaks and veggies and couscous, we put Aubrey into bed, and then Brad and Aiden headed out for a little night fishing off the dam. Aiden caught a few fish, and although they were too small to keep or eat, he loved the thrill of reeling them in.
When they returned, Brad and I enjoyed a few hours sitting by the fire and eating s'mores. What a treat it was to just chat and enjoy the sounds of nature echoing all around us.

The next day, we donned our hiking gear once again and headed out for a short hike around the lake and river. We explored the ruins of the old Civilian Conservation Corps camp that employed hundreds of young men in the 1930's. We bounced along the suspension bridge (which completely freaked Aiden out), then wandered along the creek. Aiden, who had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, was awful our entire walk, complaining, whining, and generally being a brat. Aubrey fussed and whined in her carrier. So Brad and I threw up our hands and headed back to the little cafe for an early lunch. After lunch, we headed back to the cabin for Aubrey's nap. Aiden, who refused to sleep, pretended to be a blacksmith for hours, digging in the ash bucket and poking sticks into the little fire I built him, while I sat nearby and read a book. After our naps, we headed back to the pool for another day of swimming, where Aiden began experimenting with swimming underwater--major progress from being completely afraid to put his face in the water just a week before. Aubrey was happy to splash in the baby's wading pool and eat snacks from my stash--she was much more interested in the food than in the water.

After dinner at the cabin, we packed up flashlights and slathered on the insect repellent and headed over to the amphitheater for a presentation by one of the park rangers. The topic was the trails of the park, and since I had been on all of the trails a dozen or more times, I think I knew the park better than the newbie park ranger that was leading it. But we enjoyed the chance to socialize with other visitors to the park. Afterwards, we hiked in the dark back to our cabin, enjoying the opportunity to watch critters, like deer and raccoons, traipse through the forest nearby. Aiden kept blinding us with flashlights and freaking out at the slightest sound, so finally Brad and I took his flashlight away and made him close his eyes, let them adjust to the darkness, and finish out the hike using his night vision. At first he was afraid, but when he realized just how much he could see and hear, he began to enjoy it more. Along the way, I distracted him with stories of my previous camping adventures: he especially loved the story about time I went for a night walk and came back to find raccoons had broken into my plastic tub of food and were sitting on the picnic table, with a bag of marshmallows between their outstretched legs, looking like a couple of couch potatoes sharing a bag of potato chips.

When we arrived back at the cabin, Aiden asked for "just one last s'more, before we go home tomorrow." How could I deny that request?! So, I quickly built a fire, and while I bathed Aubrey and settled her into bed, Aiden and Brad toasted marshmallows and made s'mores. While they were enjoying their snack, a rather large raccoon came ambling by. Aiden quickly pointed it out to his daddy, and when they crept forward for a better look, Brad noticed Aiden holding his s'more behind his back. "What are you doing, buddy?" Brad asked. "I don't want to raccoon to see my s'more, Daddy--he might steal it!" How cute is that?!

The next day, we enjoyed a vacation treat: brownies for breakfast. Aiden was in chocolate heaven, and Aubrey was quite a fan of her gooey treat. Afterwards, Brad and Aiden headed out for some early morning fishing while I packed and cleaned the cabin. Aiden caught a few small fish. Then we loaded up the car and headed west. Our time at Devil's Den had been far too short, but what a great time we had! I look forward to going back again and again with my kiddos--how fun it is to visit one of the favorite places of my youth and share it with my own children, building new memories with each visit.

The Great American Road Trip Part VI: Memphis, TN

2010-06-15T22:48:00.103-05:00

After our stay with family in La Follette, we headed west to Memphis for a quick overnight stay. The true intent behind this stop: to break up the drive and keep the kids from melting down on our way to Arkansas, the next big destination in our trip. But since we were there, I figured we might as well make it a fun stop!

We left La Follette in the morning and decided to stop in Nashville for lunch and some sightseeing along the way. As we pulled into Nashville, a bathroom emergency on Aiden's part necessitated a quick detour behind a church, but then we headed into downtown to "see what we could see." Brad, who usually teases me that I have our vacations planned down to the five-minute window he has to use the bathroom each day, was quite surprised when I pointed to a bunch of new, modern, high-rise condos that I could see in downtown and said, "Let's check out there. Where people live downtown, there are usually restaurants." After a few turns, we ended up on Broadway, a.k.a. "Tourist Trap Central." Streets lined with neon signs announcing country bars and western wear stores and restaurants. Tourists milling about in newly-purchased cowboy hats in crazy colors, often paired with fanny packs, flip flops and bermuda shorts. My inner Texan was screaming in revolt, so I tried to avoid staring directly at the fashion faux pas.

Since we were surrounded by cheesy tourists, we decided to just join in on the fun. We ate in a taco stand that played up its country roots, and although it wasn't like home, it was pretty good. We walked the block with the kids, stopping to pose with Elvis statues and saddles and bopping to the country music blaring out the open doors. We stopped for ice cream, surrounded by a sea of pink cowboy hats, then headed back to the van and onto the highway to continue west to Memphis.

Daddy's little cowgirl.

"Mom, did you see that? Fanny packs with cowboy hats! What are they thinking?!"

Aiden being moody for the camera.

Posing with the King.

Aubrey is too busy trying to figure out why a guy is wearing rhinestones to smile for the camera.

We arrived in Memphis in the afternoon and headed straight to our hotel. After unloading the necessities and setting up Aubrey's travel crib (which, I can do in about 12 seconds these days), we jumped back into the van in search of the best Memphis barbecue we could find. Before this trip, I had spent days researching the topic, checking out the establishments that had been featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and the Food Network's "Barbecue Tour." I had singled-out a restaurant that had featured prominently on the TV shows and was beloved by locals as well: Cozy Corner. I plugged in the address into our GPS and away we went.

Well, after a short detour, thanks to user error (we accidentally added a via point while searching the map), we arrived at Cozy Corner. We could smell the smoke from a block away, but it turns out that although the smoker was going, the restaurant wasn't! They were closed Mondays!! So, I quickly pulled up the address of my second-choice, Corky's Barbecue, and off we went. Well, that GPS...it sent us directly through the 'hood. I watched in dismay as the car in front of us slowed, several young black men running up to the windows, where money and something else was exchanged. "Look kids, a drug deal!" We kept on driving, and the kids even got to see members of the oldest profession in the world on our 'scenic' tour of Memphis. When we arrived at the destination, we discovered a boarded up old shack, so I quickly double-checked the address online, and wouldn't you know it...the address in the GPS for the restaurant was for their OLD location. I pulled up the new address, plugged it in manually, and off we went again, this time passing through beautiful, historic districts of Memphis, with gorgeous mansions and tree-lined boulevards that had seen many generations pass by. When we finally arrived at the restaurant, Brad and I realized that we were about 2 miles from our hotel, on the exact same street! We had made a huge loop for nothing! (By the way, our GPS is fired.)

Although it was about 9:00 by the time we arrived, on a Monday night, Corky's was a happening place--there was a line out the door! The wait was an hour long, and Aubrey was in melt-down mode by this point, so we ordered ribs to-go and took them back to our hotel to enjoy.

And boy, did we enjoy them! The dry ribs were amazing! Tender and salty and deliciously smokey. Brad and I stuffed our faces, devouring the ribs and the delicious loaded potato salad. After stuffing our bellies, we ushered the kids into bed.

The next morning, we loaded up, scarfed down another free breakfast (by the way, if I see another "make-your-own-waffle" station, I might scream) and then headed to the grocery store to stock up for our next adventure: staying in a cabin in Devil's Den State Park, a remote get-away in the Ozark mountains. It was quite a shopping adventure, with Aiden and Aubrey testing every limit and driving us crazy. At the end of the shopping trip, a frazzled Brad looked over at me and asked, "Is that how it is every time you go to the grocery store?" I responded: "Actually, that wasn't bad. There were 2 of us, I had a very short list, and we got out of there pretty quick. When I go with both of them by myself, it usually takes me almost 2 hours to get it done, and my list is twice as long." He looked at me for a long minute and just said, "Thank you. I don't know how you do it." Boy, was that nice to hear--guess I need to drag him out for stuff like this more often!

Once we packed everything into the travel cooler, we headed downtown to grab some lunch on our way out of town. This time, I had picked "The Little Tea Shop," another restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Oh. My. Gosh. The food was amazing! The restaurant specializes in southern-style food--but it is owned by a middle eastern family. Accordingly, there is no pork on the menu or used in any of the food. Sounds like a complete oxymoron, doesn't it? But let me tell you, the turnip greens were to die for, the fried chicken was heavenly, and I could have made myself sick eating the corn sticks, they were so good! We all enjoyed a fantastic meal, then hit the road to travel on to West Fork, AR, home of Devil's Den.

The Great American Road Trip Part V: La Follette, TN

2010-06-14T22:39:00.003-05:00

After leaving the Fox Den, we headed East to La Follette, TN, where Brad's great-aunt and uncle and a whole host of cousins live. The drive was a short one, only about 3 hours, and should have been relatively uneventful. HA! Leave it to the Parker Pack to make an adventure out of something so simple!

Before leaving the Foxes house, we decided to update our GPS. Then we packed up and hit the road. Jason gave us directions for a new road that wasn't even fully open or on the maps yet, that took us around a bunch of small towns and stoplights, and then we counted on our GPS to guide us in the rest of the way. When we got close to La Follette, the GPS indicated that we should take a road that would lead us straight into town. We exited and followed the GPS's directions.

But once we were on the road, it suddenly changed from blacktop to gravel--we rounded a curve and bam! no more pavement. We continued on and the road went back to pavement. But then it turned into a dirt road. Well, being a girl who grew up in rural Oklahoma, where the roads are still dirt to this day, a dirt road didn't automatically scare me off. The road was okay and besides, the GPS showed we only had about 2 miles left of this road before we turned onto the main highway that led to La Follette. But the road got worse, and worse, and before we knew it, we were straddling 2-3 foot deep ruts and washes, creeping at a 5-miles-an-hour pace and praying that the road didn't just end right there on the mountain. The road became quite a challenge, but it was too narrow to turn around safely, so we kept going, taking our time, talking out the proposed path through the ruts and potholes at every turn.

At one point, when we crested the mountain, there was a tense moment--I had to blindly crest the mountain and cram on the brakes before heading downhill, since I couldn't see if the road even continued on down the other side. We rounded a curve and found a fallen tree lying across the road at one point, which meant we had to get out and move it. Luckily, the tree was still green and flexible and Brad could bend back the branches enough for me to squeeze the van by. I had to get out and move rocks at one point and Brad spent more time out of the car directing me through the ruts than in it, riding. We came upon a group of hunters along the road, and boy were they laughing when I rolled down my window and said, "Can you believe my GPS sent me down this road?!" One of the old guys explained that the road we were on was the main road between 2 major cities--in the 1890's!! I inquired as to whether we would be able to make it through to the the highway and they assured me that if I had made it this far in our minivan, I would be able to make it the remainder of the distance. They also assured us that we weren't the first minivan or car they had seen on that road--in fact, just a couple of weeks before, a Dodge Caravan had wandered down that road, thanks to the directions of a GPS. I imagine those hunters had a few laughs at our expense, though--those crazy city people, in their plush minivan with 2 kids, out on a road that is now used as a 4-wheel-drive track.

The funniest part of the whole adventure, though, was the running commentary coming from the backseat. Brad and I were calmly discussing the route, we were communicating in a way that would make any marriage therapist proud, working together to decide how to proceed and helping each other out. (No, really, I'm serious!!) But with every comment or discussion, Aiden would freak out in the backseat. "Oh my goodness! Oh my Lord! Oh no! What, Mama?! What is it?! Are we going to die? Are we going to crash? Are we stuck? Oh, Lord...." He was such a Nervous Nellie, he was driving Brad and I nuts. "Mama, I don't like this road. I want to go home. Mama, I'm scared. My knees are shaking." No matter how many times we assured him that we were fine, that we just had to take our time and be careful, that we had a full tank of gas, cell phones, the roads were dry and hard and we were being very careful, that this was an adventure, not something to be afraid of...no matter what we said, he just freaked out. When we finally got to Aunt Shirl's house and Aiden set his little feet on solid ground, I thought he was going to jump out and dance a jig.

The really ironic part? This road, which the GPS put us on to cut over the mountain, instead of taking the main highway around it, ADDED an hour of travel time to our route! But this adventures wasn't for naught--along the way, we found the local "makeout point" that is dubbed "The Rock" by the local kids. It is a giant boulder, spray painted and covered with graffiti, but the view beyond it was amazing, overlooking the entire valley and town of La Follette. When I saw the beautiful view beyond the rock, I stopped the car and insisted we all get out and enjoy the vista. The way I figured it, we'd worked darn hard to get there, and we certainly weren't passing that way again, so we better stop and enjoy the view!

When we arrived at Aunt Shirl and Uncle Cecil's house, with smoldering brakes and a few extra gray hairs, we shared the story of our defective GPS and the resulting adventure with them, and they laughed. A lot. And then told all of the other relatives. Who also laughed. A lot. But I can't really blame them, can I? It is an amusing tale--ending up on a dune buggy trail that was once a wagon route across the mountain in a mini-van with 2 kids in tow, all thanks to some idiot at Garmin who is probably laughing maniacally, thinking of how he's sending poor souls off on a crazy adventure.

The road. This was the widest and mildest portion of the road, ironically.

The rest of the drive, we were too stressed out to think of taking a picture!

That's me, laying on the rock and checking out the amazing view.

After that, we had a great, albeit uneventful, visit with family. Brad's great aunt and uncle, along with a whole slew of cousins, welcomed us and fed us and spoiled us all. They insisted I sleep in every day, they wouldn't let me help with the dishes, they indulged Aiden at every turn and I don't think Aubrey's feet touched the ground the whole time. We had a wonderful time catching up with everyone, and Aiden delighted in playing with his cousins, whom he was too young to appreciate when we used to visit during his first year of life. We laughed and talked and swam and ate and and laughed and ate some more. Aiden cried when it was time to leave, wanting to stay longer to play with his new-found best bud, Jacob, but after promises of return visits and invitations for his cousins to fly out and visit us, we coaxed him into the car to head west toward Memphis. It was a great visit, much shorter than we would have liked, but we hope to make it an annual trek.

Aiden and Jacob. The two were inseparable.

And despite quite an age difference, they had a wonderful time together.

(Thanks to Jake being such a sweet, considerate guy!)

Aunt Shirl and Uncle Cecil after a day of hanging with the kids.

They both zonked out as soon as their behinds hit the chair. I think we wore them out a little!

The Great American Road Trip Part IV: Hanging with the Fox Family

2010-06-12T23:33:00.001-05:00

We kicked off our first day of our visit with the Foxes by visiting the church where Jason serves as a pastor. We even got to hear J preach, which was a treat. He is such a talented teacher with a visible passion and a talent for making the word seem accessible and applicable. Brad and I truly enjoyed the opportunity to hear him teach.

After church, we headed back to the Fox den for a quick lunch and then we changed into lake clothes and headed out to Lake Cumberland. Jason's parents, Laura and Steve, had just purchased a brand-new houseboat that was due to be delivered that day. They graciously invited us all to join them for the "maiden voyage" of the boat across the lake. After a drive across the lake in the "runabout" (a very nice 22 foot Sea Ray ski boat), we boarded the "Restoration," a lovely 84-foot houseboat that had every comfort of home. Unfortunately, due to windy conditions, we decided not to take the new boat out that day--but we all enjoyed a chance to talk, catch up, and share a meal together (although Aubrey was in, what I fondly call, "birth control mode" that day). After another bumpy trek across the lake in the runabout, we loaded into our cars and headed back to the Fox Den.

The next couple of days, we romped and played in the pool, swimming and splashing the days away. Aiden and Stella played and fought and played and fought, pretending to be husband and wife one moment, then doctor and patient the next, then superhero and princess. Aubrey and Vivian alternated between fighting over toys and flat ignoring one another.

One evening, Brad and J went out to the lake to learn all about the new boat and help Laura and Steve get it settled into its new home at the marina, while Em and I stayed home with the kids. Aiden and Stella were playing in Stella's room and Aiden came out at one point, proudly wearing Stella's mary jane-style Crocs with some adorable white ankle socks. "Mom, look--Stella gave me these shoes to wear!" He was oblivious to the fact that they were girls shoes, and I didn't have the heart to tell him, so I smiled and told him they looked cute, and then went about chatting with Em. After dinner, we decided to take the kids to the park to run off some energy before bed. It wasn't until after we arrived and Aiden was running about the playground that I realized he was still wearing those girls' Crocs and ankle socks! Aiden and Stella ran about, I chased Aubrey and Em entertained Viv and we gals tried to fit in some conversation between running after the little ones.

But a little later, Stella come over to me: "Ms. Angela, Aiden wants his mommy." I looked up from chasing Aubrey and noticed Aiden sitting on a park bench by himself. I ran over to him and asked him if he was OK. Well, a very pale Aiden explained that his stomach hurt--he had gone too fast on the merry-go-round and didn't feel so well. I picked him up and carried him over the bench where Em and I had been sitting--and then Aiden proceeded to puke all over the ground in front of him. Stella was fascinated by the whole process, staring in wonder at the whole spaghetti noodles that had come up. I scraped up what puke I could with a discarded plastic cup that I found, then threw gravel over the rest of the vomit, and then rounded Aiden and Aubrey into the car. We headed back to the house, Aiden still feeling pukey, and Em took the girls inside to give them a bath while Aiden and I sat outside, waiting for the motion sickness to pass. A neighbor's cat come over to cheer Aiden up, rubbing against him and playfully batting at him. Even a firefly come to light on Aiden's hand, and before long, his color had returned and he was back to his rambunctious self. Even so, Stella couldn't resist asking repeatedly about Aiden and his red, noodle-y puke.

Wednesday, we headed to the lake for a few days on board the new houseboat. We arrived, unloaded the cars (my goodness, the amount of stuff we had to take for just a few days at the lake with 4 kids!), and then settled in. We decided to stay at the marina the first night, with the threat of severe weather on the horizon, and then voyage on out to the lake the next day, where we found a quiet, calm lagoon to park the boat for the duration of our stay at the lake.

The next few days were a blur of tantrums and laughter, swimming and playing, napping and exhaustion. We all had a great time, but the kids were in rare form. It was a symphony of crying, whining and tantrums, with one child starting out, their screams reaching a fevered pitch, and another one joining in as the first wore out. If they were awake, they were making some sort of noise it seemed, whether it was talking, making annoying noises, fighting, screaming, or crying. Each night, after they went to bed, the grownups would sigh and crash on the couch--and then begin pouring mojitos or popping open beers and chatting the night away, catching up and laughing and enjoying time with good friends. By Friday, we were all at our wits end and the adults were on the verge of having their own meltdowns. It had been a fun time, but even though the houseboat was very large, it seemed tiny by the end of four days with 4 kids on board!

Laura and Steve met us at the lake that last day for dinner at the marina restaurant that is managed by "Mr. Sonny," a young man from India that the Fox family has taken in as one of their own. After sharing a meal and turning over the boat to them, we began loading up to head home. But then we realized that Laura and Steve, who had bought a new recliner for the houseboat, weren't going to be able to load the recliner from the runabout to the houseboat by themselves. So Em and Jason decided to stay, ride out, and help them off-load it, then meet us back at the house. Stella piled in the van with Brad and I, and J and Emily took Viv with them. We parted ways, returned home, and got the kiddos bathed and in bed. Later we got a call from Jason and Emily: apparently, none of us had realized that the houseboat, which was still tied to land out in the middle of the lake, was almost completely out of gas! So Jason and Emily had to stick around to help Laura and Steve untie the boat and take it back to the marina to fill up with gas. But then they realized that the water level of the lake had dropped while we were out, meaning that the giant houseboat's front was stuck on land! They ended up having to tie the runabout to the houseboat and pull it off the land. Then they had to try to cross the lake, at night, with an empty fuel tank! The ended up running out of gas, having to have a refueling boat bring them gas out on the water, then continue in to the marina to fuel up. When they finally got back to the marina after the fiasco, it was after 1:00 AM and Viv was sound asleep, so they decided to just camp out on the boat and head back in the morning.

When they returned in the morning, we were all bummed that our last night 'together' had been spent apart. But while we loaded the van and prepared to leave, Aiden and Stella began playing together better than they had all week, pretending to be a married couple. Aiden was a secret-agent-turned-baseball coach, Stella was a mommy and dance teacher, and the two went shopping together and played together and even went on a "beachside vacation" to the pool together. They were adorable, hosting tea parties and playing together. And while they pretended together, Emily decided to "Fox-ify" Aubrey by giving her pigtails and two giant hair bows--she looked adorable! (And I still have no idea how she got her to be still for that long!)

Saying goodbye to the Foxes was the hardest part of our trip. There were a lot of tears in our eyes that afternoon as we pulled away from their home. Even Aubrey was sad, saying "MeMe! MeMe!" (her name for Emily) as we drove away. But the great thing about friends like the Foxes: no matter how far apart we are or how infrequent we may see one another, when we get together again, we'll just pick up where we left off, like no time has passed at all.

The Great American Road Trip Part III: St. Louis, MO

2010-06-06T22:06:00.004-05:00

A little "Daddy-daughter" time

My sweet little gal

Aiden showing his Army guy the view from atop the Arch.

Even Aubrey enjoyed sitting on the ledge and looking out the windows.

Aiden giving me attitude. Typical...

The Arch, as seen from on the river boat.

Such a handsome, silly little boy.

Daddy's favorite pair.

Our St. Louis adventure started off well enough. We woke up bright and early and enjoyed a yummy breakfast, compliments of our hotel, then headed off to the Arch for our 8:20 tram ride to the top. The entire ride over, Aiden kept telling us that he wasn't going to ride, he was too scared. But after some coaxing and dragging him into the line, he finally relented and agreed to go.

The trams that you ride to the top of the arch are tiny little round bubbles that hold 5 people seated in a semi-circle, knee-to-knee. Just a tip: when riding the arch, make sure you wear deodorant and pop a breath mint out of respect for your fellow passengers--we're talking close quarters! The ride to the top is about 4 or 5 minutes long, with lots of jerks and bumps as the car rocks and re-levels itself as it ascends to the top. Our family rode up with a young couple who were visiting, and Aiden latched on to the young woman, flirting with her all the way to the top and seeking out comfort from her.

Once you arrive up top, the view is amazing! There are tiny windows that you can lay out and peer through, offering a spectacular view of the city. Aiden enjoyed looking out over the Cardinals' stadium and watching the tiny cars go by below us. Aubrey was oblivious to the view, but she enjoyed running through the center of the arch and trying to kill herself on the rounded floor.

We stayed for about 5 minutes, then headed back down to ground level. We had some time to kill before our riverboat cruise, so we decided to go back through the Museum of Westward Expansion. Aiden loved the animatronic people that spoke about the relations between Native Americans and the American government. Aubrey enjoyed pushing her stroller and generally wreaking havoc everywhere we went.

At 10:30, we went for our riverboat cruise. When I booked the cruise, I envisioned a pleasant time, Aiden watching the barges and big cranes and Brad and I enjoying the sights. HA! What I got was an hour of screaming by Aubrey and whining by Aiden--two very tired, cranky kids on a riverboat is a recipe for disaster! After surviving (barely) the cruise, we piled into the van and decided to forgo the nice lunch we had planned in favor of a quick burger and fries on the road--there was no way we were going to survive a meal with the two cranky beasts! Onward to Campbellsville, KY, to visit our dear friends, the Foxes!

Our drive to Campbellsville was fairly uneventful. Aiden and Aubrey slept quite a bit of the trip. We stopped along the road for peach milkshakes and some play time at Chick-fil-a. Aiden positively lit up when we crossed the Kentucky state line--he couldn't wait to see Stella. Aubrey started screaming somewhere along the way and after handing her every toy in the van, I finally pulled out my secret weapon--the bag of lollipops. I handed her an orange one, and within about 5 minutes, she was covered with orange sticky goo. The child looked as if she had been given a really bad spray tan, she was so orange. I even caught her eating the lollipop using her toes--it was hilarious. And although it took giving her a bath in the sink at a restaurant, it was worth it for the hour and a half of blissful silence it bought Brad and I.

We arrived in Campbellsville just after dinner, and Aiden and Stella were ecstatic to see one another. They have been apart since November, when we all visited Disney World together, but they picked up right where they left off. Those two gave each other huge hugs, then set off playing and chasing one another and having a blast. And Brad and I were so happy to see Emily and Jason. We spent the next few hours catching up, reveling in the opportunity to visit with our wonderful friends. Then we headed to bed, ready to begin our week of fun with at the Fox Den!

The Kindness of Strangers

2010-06-04T23:30:00.002-05:00

We safely made it to St. Louis this afternoon. We slept in this morning, then ate a quick breakfast and hit the road. We only had to stop once for lunch, so we landed in St. Louis ahead of schedule--I think that's a first for the Parker Pack!

We checked into our hotel, which is awesome--a junior suite that is so much bigger than our last room! Then we headed downtown to see the famous Arch. We had originally planned to visit the arch in the morning, but since we arrived early, we figured we'd visit tonight so we could sleep in later tomorrow. Little did we know, there is a Cardinals game tonight, which meant tons of people in town visiting that had the same idea of visiting the arch. Add to that the fact that only one tower tram was running today and you have a recipe for SUPER long lines. So, we decided to go ahead and pre-purchase our tickets for tomorrow morning while we were there and take in the Westward Expansion museum. We stood in line for tickets, and when it was our turn, I asked if there was a military discount. (Never hurts to ask and many parks and attractions have them.) The lady kindly informed me that there wasn't a military discount, so I pulled out my credit card to pay. Well, a gentleman in line behind us came forward and asked if we were a military family. We answered him yes, we were, and he insisted upon paying for our tickets. We're talking a $65 dollar gift. We argued and told him it wasn't necessary, but he would hear none of it and kindly thanked Brad for his service, paid for our tickets, and wished us well.

Several times over the years, we have had families anonymously pay for our meals, purchase tickets, or even press money into our children's hands. We are stopped often by strangers who shake Brad's hand and thank him for his service. Brad is always embarrassed and feels guilty for accepting the gifts others offer, but it warms my heart to see them honor my husband who willingly sacrifices so much. Brad has argued and tried to turn away the generosity of others, but I've finally convinced him that the best way to handle these situations is to politely decline once, but if they insist, to just accept the gift graciously. It is a tough pill to swallow for a proud soldier who thinks nothing of what he does. And although the gifts aren't necessary and certainly aren't expected or sought out, they are greatly appreciated.

We headed over to the museum to explore. It was filled with artifacts and exhibits about the expansion west and St. Louis' role. Aiden's favorite part: the tee-pee. As we peered inside, I told him how the entire family would live inside the tee pee with all of their belongings. "We'd be pretty crowded in there, all four of us and Freckles, wouldn't we?" Aiden quickly replied, "Aubrey could sleep on my butt and use it as a pillow. And I could toot in her face all night long! And daddy could sleep on top of you." At this point, I'm laughing, and Brad is liking the idea more and more, especially that part about the adult sleeping arrangements!

After exploring the museum, we walked through the park along the riverfront and just enjoyed the beautiful day. Then we headed back toward our hotel, which is in a suburb of St. Louis near the Galleria, to grab some dinner. After days of "country cooking" and fried foods, we found ourselves at PF Chang's for dinner, which was a welcome change. Our server was fantastic, spoiling Aiden and Aubrey the entire meal and distracting them when they got antsy. She was a Texas gal, born in Fort Worth, and we enjoyed chatting with her. At the end of our meal, upon hearing that Aiden was going to be visiting his girlfriend, Stella, tomorrow, she put together a gift for him to take Stella--a little gift bag with a cat figurine and a couple of fortune cookies for Stella and her little sis, Viv. She even asked her manager to give us a discount, as we were a military family, and they removed $20 from our bill. (We happily put that 20 back into her pocket as a tip!) It was an enjoyable evening and a nice break after a day in the car.

Tomorrow we'll visit the Arch and take our riverboat cruise in the morning. We'll follow it with lunch at a restaurant featured on Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives. Then we'll head east to Kentucky to visit the Fox family, arriving after dinner. It will be a long day, but it should be a great one!

The Great American Road Trip Part II: Branson, MO

2010-06-03T23:59:00.002-05:00

Ah, Branson. It is a town unlike any other. Where else in the world can you visit that proudly boasts an entire musical act about the dogs aboard the Titanic. Yes, you read that right. The promo says there were 10 dogs that sailed the Titanic whose stories have never been told, so they made a musical about it. Really?! They get people to pay money for this?!

And where else is there an entire show AND restaurant that holds the name "Baldknobber?" Am I the only one that giggles like a 9-year-old when I read that word plastered in 6-foot-tall letters across a billboard?

It is a town of amazing natural beauty that has been filled with cheap hotels and all-you-can-eat buffets that specialize in soft foods. Gorgeous blue skies, and large groups of tourists with hair to match. But there are lots of fun things to do here and many family-friendly forms of entertainment, so we've really enjoyed ourselves.

We arrived late on Tuesday to our hotel--just in time for the free, nightly dessert buffet. We grabbed some cobbler and ice cream and then tucked the kiddos into bed. Our room, although clean, cheap, and very nice, is TINY. Our master bedroom at our old house was larger, and it had only one bed in it! We are piled on top of each other, and I came very close to having an adult version of a meltdown yesterday when I stubbed my toe for the umpteenth time while trying to dig through a suitcase with a toddler hanging on me and a five-year-old jumping from one bed to the other.

Wednesday, we woke up bright and early and headed downstairs for the free breakfast buffet, which was really pretty good. Then we piled back in the van and headed over to Silver Dollar City. After a minor ticket fiasco, which ended with Brad running in the 90 degree heat uphill across the gigantic parking lot and back, we made it into the park. We headed straight for the kiddie ride section, making a short detour past the blacksmith, where Aiden was awed to see the metal worked into a horseshoe. Aiden jumped right into the fun, climbing aboard the spinning teacups and proudly exclaiming to everyone "I didn't throw up!" after he disembarked. Aubrey, however, was unable to ride a single ride in the kiddie section! Despite the fact that she had already ridden the spinning teacups, flying elephants, and every other ride they had at Disney World when she was 9-months-old, she wasn't allowed to ride a single kid ride at Silver Dollar City, most of them the exact same ride as at Disney, because of height restrictions--a child had to be 36 inches to ride any rides, even with a parent. So, after Aiden ran through the selection of rides, we headed off in search of something Aubrey could do.

Aubrey doing her best model impression between rides.

We soon stumbled upon the Flooded Mine ride, which is a slow-moving boat equipped with laser guns that moves through a cave filled with targets. Talk about a ride made for Aiden! We rode probably 5 times in a row--since there were no lines that day, we were allowed to just stay in our boat and ride again and again. Even Aubrey liked this one--she kept fighting us for the gun and yelling "Pow!" Aiden had a blast, and although he could have ridden forever, we finally pried him off to go check out some of the other attractions.

We decided to try the newest ride, River Blast. Basically, you board a raft, fashioned after the the raft that Tom and Huck so famously ventured on, but with one major upgrade--water cannons. Using a crank mechanism, the riders have water cannons that they can pump water through to shoot bystanders along the borders of the ride, who are also equipped with water cannon stations, so they can shoot back. Well, you are supposed to also shoot at targets along the ride, some of which squirt back, but with multiple little kids (and quite a few big 'kids') squirting you from the sidelines, you quickly forget about the targets and just go for retaliation! We had a great time and even Aubrey could ride this one--she was loving squirting others, but wasn't too keen on getting squirted herself! We all walked away looking like drowned rats, but it was a welcome reprieve from the 95 degree heat.

After the ride, we went in search of food. We found a stand selling succotash--basically a mixture of veggies and meat cooked in a skillet, and we loaded up. It was absolutely delicious and definitely satisfied my craving for veggies after a day of burgers and fries on Tuesday. The outdoor seating area was full, so we ended up sharing a table with an older couple from Oklahoma. They had 46 great-grandchildren--can you imagine?! They were sweet to talk with, though, and were so patient with Aiden, listening to all of his tall tales with interest and putting up with several tantrums from Aubrey.

After lunch, we had thought to explore Marvel Cave, the cave inside/under Silver Dollar City, but when we discovered that the tour was at least an hour long, we quickly nixed the idea--we knew Aubrey would never make it at that point in the day. So, after some begging and cajoling from Aiden, we headed back to the Flooded Mine for one more ride. Afterwards, we passed by a big-kid coaster, the Thunderation, and Aiden decided to give it a try. He and daddy rode, even taking the front seat in the car, but when they returned, Aiden looked a little green and complained of a tummy ache, so we decided to call it a day and head back for a nap.

On our way out, we enjoyed a street performance featuring love potion. Aiden asked what love potion was, and when I explained, he got a look of terror on his face and said "Don't let them spray that stuff on me! I don't want any girl wanting to kiss me!!" I cracked up--he genuinely was terrified by the prospect.

We headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a leisurely nap--well, all of us except Brad, who crazily decided to go on a run in the heat of the day on the mountain streets! He came back completely wore out, admitting he had bitten off more than he could chew on that run! This place is quite hilly--you can't even park a stroller anywhere without setting both brakes and staying within arms reach, or you'll find your child taking their own roller coaster ride!

After naps and showers, we headed over to Branson Landing, a shopping center built on the river that overlooks the water. We ate dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, enjoying the patio view and eating our fill of crab and shrimp. By the end of our meal, we were more tired of cracking shells than we were full, but we had enjoyed our meal--and happy-hour margaritas! Afterwards, the kids played at the playground and then we headed out to walk off our meal in the shopping area. Well, we didn't make it far before we ended up inside Build-a-Bear Workshop. And, sucker that I am, I let the kids make a bear each. After showing them the group of animals they could choose from, also known as the cheap section, Aiden picked out a cute dog and Aubrey picked a bunny. Aubrey found the sound effects section and kept pushing the button for the lion's roar, giggling each time, so she ended up with a bunny that roars! Although Aubrey enjoyed the process somewhat, Aiden absolutely had a blast. He loved picking out a heart to put inside, stuffing the dog and giving it an air bath afterwards. He went to pick out clothing and found a Star Wars jedi outfit for his dog, which he fittingly dubbed "Obi Pup Kenobi." Aubrey's bunny got a cute top and bottom set, which she enjoys pulling off more than anything, and was named "Bella"--which she promptly changed to "Buppa." Both kids have refused to let their new friends out of their sight, so we have spent a lot of time prying them away and promising children that the new friends will be safer in the car.

We headed back to the hotel after Build-a-Bear, grabbing some dessert from the buffet on our way upstairs. We put everyone to bed, even Brad and I tucked in early--but Aubrey wasn't ready to settle in just yet. She kept popping her head up in the pack-n-play, to peer over the edge, saying "Hi!" each time. Brad and I would put on our stern face and tell her to lay down and she would quickly drop back to the bed. But then, a minute later, we would see her little eyes peek over the edge, then she would notice us noticing her and would pop up with a big "Hi!" once again. Even after turning all the lights out and getting quiet, Brad and I trying to fall asleep, we could hear her talking or counting in the bed. She finally fell asleep at 11:30--so you can imagine her mood the next day!

This morning, we headed back to Silver Dollar City for more fun. We decided to take the cave tour first thing. We left the stroller in the car and opted for the backpack carrier in anticipation of the tour. After having multiple people try to scare us out of going--the cave has over 600 stairs, low passages, takes over an hour, etc. and everyone kept asking us "Are you sure you want to go inside?" we finally headed out on the tour. As soon as we went inside the cave entrance, Aiden started getting scared. "I don't want to go. I'm gonna throw up. My stomach hurts. I'm scared...." But with each Nervous Nelly excuse, I would assure him that it would be fine, marching forward with a confidence I didn't really feel and hoping that Aiden would be fine and I wouldn't have to carry him through! The first 300 steps down into the cave were a bit rough--they played Ozzie Osbourne loudly on speakers, which freaked Aiden out, and then seeing the huge drop to the bottom beside the staircase, which freaked him out even more, it took my best parenting work to get him down the stairs--but we did it! Once we were at the bottom of the sinkhole that starts the cave tour he was fine. Especially when the cave guide turned out the lights. Aiden, who was wearing a glow-stick around his neck that his daddy had given him (we found it in the bottom of the backpack carrier when we were waiting to enter the cave--what a blessing that was!), discovered that he could be a light for the whole tour! The cave guide told Aiden, "Buddy, if the lights go out, I know you'll be able to get us out of here safely with that light!" Aiden's little chest puffed up with pride. Every time we would stop at different portions of the cave, Aiden would say proudly, "Here I am! Here's the light guy!" and the cave guide would give him a high five.

The trek through was beautiful, but a little stressful for Brad and I. Many times, I would have Aiden in front of me, holding my hand, while I walked backwards and directed Brad through, telling him how much he had to bend/stoop/crawl to keep Aubrey, who sits slightly higher than Brad's head in her carrier, from smacking her head on a rock. There is a 7-foot-long stretch that is only 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide, which was really interesting to get through--Brad had to duck walk with the pack on his back, while I duck walked backwards in front of him. We had the whole tour rooting for us, though, and helping us get through the passageways. They probably thought we were a little crazy, too, but they helped us along and all cheered for us as we completed each section. When we reached the cable train that takes you out the last hundred yards, after having climbed about 300 steps uphill, we all laughed as we noticed steam rising off of Brad's head in the cool cave. It had been hard work but it was so worth it--the cave is absolutely beautiful inside, water cascading down falls, stalagmites rising up from the cave floor and stalactites hanging in gorgeous formations from the walls and ceilings. And the best part--watching Aiden fill with pride after having conquered his fears. As we walked out of the cave, he proudly exclaimed, "Mama, I made it! And I didn't throw up!"

After the cave tour, we headed over to, where else, River Blast. We had a great, albeit wet, time. After a quick lunch, we then found Geyser Gulch, a giant play area for the kids. They have a foam ball fort, where kids can use air guns to shoot foam balls at each other. There are giant vacuum hoses to suck up the balls from the floor and other contraptions that suck in the balls and shoot them back out. There are water cannons to shoot out onto targets on the river, there's a sprayground for the kids to run through, and a giant tree house filled with slides and tunnels and all kids of fun things to explore. Aiden and Aubrey had so much fun playing--we had to drag them away to head back to the hotel for our naps.

Aubrey amazed by the ball fort--her mouth was open so wide, I was afraid a ball would fly in there!

After a quick nap and wardrobe change, we headed to Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, a dinner show featuring singing, dancing, trick riding and other entertainment. When I booked the tickets, I hoped the kids would enjoy the show, but it turned out so much better than I had hoped. When we arrived, we walked past the horse stables to meet the performers before the show. Aiden found it particularly hilarious and gross when one horse, whose backside was facing us, decided to raise its tail and poop about 2 feet from where Aiden was standing. After the show, he wanted to go back to visit that horse--he said he was his favorite!

Inside, we had our picture taken as a family, and although it was ridiculously expensive, we ended up buying it, since it turned out very cute. Then we headed to the pre-show, where Aiden and Aubrey munched on popcorn and oohed and aahed over the juggler who performed. There were some pretty amazing stunts, so even Brad and I enjoyed the show. Aiden was especially awed--he kept asking daddy, his own resident superhero, "Can YOU do that, Daddy?" and when Brad replied that he couldn't, Aiden was even more impressed.

Then we headed inside for the main event. Aiden was thrilled to discover that there is no silverware at the Dixie Stampede and that he would be allowed to eat with his hands. He cracked me up the whole meal--he would grab the entire, whole roasted chicken and pick it up to gnaw on it--he looked like a little cave man. There were trick riders and ropers, fire breathers and a woman who flew like a bird on a cable. There were racing pigs and miniature ponies, kids chasing chickens and men riding stick horses. We laughed and had a great time. The entire premise of the evening is that the two sides of the arena, the North and the South, are competing against one another. We were on the side of the South, and Aiden hooted and stamped and hollered with the best of them. But in the end, when the North beat the South, Aiden actually cried, he was so disappointed that we lost. His little heart was broken--can you tell that boy was born in the South? I'm really dreading when he learns of the Civil War in American History class one day!

After the show, we decided to head back to Branson Landing to see the fountains. Every half-hour, they have a fountain show that features music, choreographed fountains and pyrotechnics. We noticed that there was a Cantina Laredo restaurant whose patio overlooked the fountains, so Brad and I decided to head over, grab a margarita for us and dessert for the kids while we watched. But Aiden, who was still in a funk over the South's loss, had other ideas and was quite vocal at expressing his disagreement with our plan. Our relaxing time we were hoping for turned into a huge, miserable battle.

On our way out, we let the kids ride the kiddie quarter rides at the playground. Aiden and Aubrey had a blast and quite a few other kids also enjoyed some rides. The kids were exhausted by this time, so we headed back to the hotel.

Tomorrow, we will load up and head toward St. Louis after breakfast. Branson has been exhausting and a little weird, but we've had a great time.

The Great American Road Trip Part I: Getting our kicks on Route 66

2010-06-02T00:20:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, after crashing at Cathy and Wayne's house for a few days and attending the wedding of my high-school best friend, Jeremy, we loaded up the van and headed north to begin our adventure.

We headed north on I-35 to Lindsay, OK, the tiny farming town I lived in until I was 9 years old. My dad's parents and much of his extended family still live there, so we stopped in for a visit. My grandmother has Alzheimers, and although she still recognizes me, she can't remember Aiden and Aubrey's names and she gets very confused when we are there, so we kept our visit short--just a few hours to visit and catch up. After an afternoon of country life, riding the lawn tractor, picking up rocks and sticks and following ant trails, we loaded back into the van to head farther north to Del City, OK, a suburb of Oklahoma City, to visit my mom's mother--Grandma Charlotte.

Grandma welcomed us in and helped us get the kids settled into bed. Monday, after Aubrey's nap, we headed down to the Bricktown District in downtown OKC. My great-uncle Paul, the former city planner/architect for OKC, helped to design the Bricktown project about 7 years ago, taking a large, crime-ridden area of warehouses and turning it into a tourist destination by digging out a canal, attracting restaurants and hotels, and making something ulgy into something amazing. Well, my uncle's vision has really paid off--Bricktown is a thriving area, full of shops, restaurants, monuments and statues, night clubs, even multi-million dollar condos. We took a river boat tour of the area, walked the canal, and ate dinner there, as well. We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon, and I am so proud of my uncle's accomplishments there. He died a few years ago, having seen just the beginning of the transformation. I know he would be proud and amazed at the change his "little project" has made.

Today, we loaded the van back up and headed farther north, jumping onto Route 66 in Edmond, OK. I've always wanted to make the full trek from Chicago to LA on Route 66, and although we don't have the time or inclination to embark on that adventure right now (can you imagine THAT trip with 2 kids?!), we did enjoy traveling a portion of "The Mother Road" today. We saw so many cool things along the way. In Arcadia, we visited the historic Round Barn, where my great-grandmother used to go for Saturday evening barn dances back when she was a teenager. How fun it was to climb the stairs to the loft and imagine my great grandmother, dressed in her finest, blushing and dancing with boys.

After checking out the barn, we headed across the street to POP'S Diner, a futuristic-looking gas station with a diner inside that also sells over 500 varieties of soda. We scarfed down some tasty burgers and fries and washed it down with some rather interesting sodas. Some of the flavors we sampled or purchased: Toxic Slime, Rat Bastard Root Beer, Swine Flu Tonic, Swamp Juice, Lemongrass Soda, White Lightning Grape, Espresso flavored soda and Soprano's Amaretto Soda. We even saw soda called Kitty Piddle, Bug Barf, and more. We had a great time reading the labels and checking out the many, many varieties.

After lunch, we hopped back onto Route 66 and headed north-east. We drove through many old towns and saw stretches of the original, now-abandoned Route 66 highway. Much of the old road is only 9 feet wide, requiring cars to pull over to let one another by. Most of the old road is now barricaded off, but you can see sections of it running parallel to the "new" 66. We drove over old bridges, some of them still bearing the original red brick decking. We tried to stop at one bridge for a photo op, but quickly dove back into the car when we noticed the hundreds of giant mosquitos suddenly swarming all over us. Aiden thought it was pretty funny, watching me jump around inside our van with a rolled up map, smacking the mosquitos that had followed us inside.

In Catoosa, just north of Tulsa, we stopped to take in the Blue Whale. Once a swimming hole, the Blue Whale is a concrete and steele swim platform, complete with slides and diving board, that is made to look like a giant, smiling whale. Although it is no longer open for swimming, you can still climb aboard the whale to take a look. We stopped for pictures, and were soon joined by an entire bus-load of Brits who were taking a tour of ol' Route 66. Just next door to the whale are the remnants of Noah's Ark, what was once a zoo housed in a wooden boat. The Ark has long-since fallen into ruin, but you can imagine what a fun stop along the road it would have been back in the day--swimming at the Blue Whale and visiting the animals at the Ark.

We climbed back in the van and headed a bit father north to Foyil, home of Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park. Ed Galloway built a collection of totem poles, hand-carved from concrete and painted with colorful designs. The world's largest totem pole is here, a huge tower that rises far above the trees. Aubrey loved the totem poles, especially the large one she could go inside and yell, listening to her voice echo. There is also a museum that houses some of the 300 different fiddles that Ed Galloway hand-carved, each from a different variety of wood. Some of the woods he used were so exotic, I'd never heard of them before. There was also a small gift shop inside, and Aiden decided he had to have a souvenir, picking out a Native American shaker for himself, and even buying a mini-version for his sister. He used his own money to purchase them--his great-grandfather, Papaw, had given him a jar of quarters at Christmas and we brought them along, telling Aiden he could spend his own money as he pleased--as long as he did all of the counting! Aiden is quickly learning to count by 25's!

After the totem poles, we piled back in to the car and headed north on Route 66 to Miami (pronounced my-am-uh). Once there, we enjoyed dinner at the Ku Ku Diner. The Ku Ku Diner used to be a chain of burger joints, famous for being shaped like a giant Ku Ku clock. Each hour, the giant bird would sound off with a loud "cuckoo." The chain died a painful death when McDonalds became so popular, and now the Ku Ku Diner in Miami is the last of its kind. Although the bird no longer cuckoos each hour, we still enjoyed some tasty burgers, cheese fries and corn dogs.

After dinner, we loaded up and parted ways with the Mother Road, heading east towards Branson, MO. We arrived in Branson at 9:00--a full 12 hours after we headed out this morning. We only traveled a couple hundred miles, but we made a lot of fun memories along the way.

We're homeless!

2010-05-29T22:45:00.000-05:00

The house is sold, all of our belongings have been packed into boxes and loaded onto a moving truck, and Brad, the kids and I have piled into our van and headed off on our month-long traveling adventure. Stay tuned for updates!

Laugh of the day

2010-05-21T22:47:00.000-05:00

Saying goodbye...

2010-05-18T10:06:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a sad day at Firewheel Bible Fellowship. Our pastor, Jeff Kinkade, led his last service at our church. Jeff has decided that after 16 years of serving as a pastor at Firewheel, it is time to step out on faith and take on a new mission for God. He made the announcement about 6 weeks ago that he would be leaving and, although the congregation supports his decision, we are all saddened to see him go.

Over the past year, I have worked at the church three days a week, with my desk in the reception area outside Jeff's office. Whereas I used to see Jeff from a distance, up on the stage delivering a sermon, over the past year, I've gotten to see the man behind that persona on stage, and I've begun to consider him as a friend. I'll miss our conversations about books and family and his zany antics at staff meetings. His wife Amy, who I worked alongside in the 5th and 6th grade class that Brad and I used to teach on Sunday mornings, is also a beautiful, wonderful person whom I greatly admire and have enjoyed getting to know. And Brad and I have taught two of their boys, Collin and Blake, in our class and we've loved watching them grow up and being a part of their spiritual growth.

I know what you are thinking: you're moving away in a couple of weeks, what does it matter that you've had to say goodbye to someone a little earlier than you were planning? But for me, I had this idea that the church we have grown to love and adore so much would still be marching on somewhere, even if I wasn't there to be a part of it. And I knew that with friends in the area, there would be Sundays where we could come to visit and reconnect with our Firewheel family. And although that is all still true, I know I will miss hearing Jeff teach--my favorite part of Sunday mornings.

Jeff has an amazing talent for making it seem that he is speaking directly to me each week, for breaking scripture down to make it completely relevant to my life, and I have grown so much over the course of the last three years because of him. When Brad and I first began attending Firewheel, I only went because Brad wanted to go. I was working 70 and 80 hour weeks at that time, trying to get established in the recruiting industry. By the time Sunday rolled around, all I wanted to do was sleep in and relax--getting up early for church was the LAST thing on my mind. But I knew it was important to Brad, and raising our children to be Christians was important to me, as well, so I went. The first Sunday, I wasn't sold completely on the church--it seemed so different from the churches I had known--but I really enjoyed Jeff's message that morning. I agreed to give it another try the following Sunday, and after a couple of visits, I was hooked.

Each week, Brad and I chose to fill our minds with God's word and the teachings of Christ, and that one choice led to more and more positive choices--reading our Bibles more, decisions to read stories from the Bible to our kids, and changes in the way we parented our children. Every time we chose to live our lives in accordance with God's will, we found new doors being opened to us, and found it became easier and easier to "choose God." It was as if we had been sitting on a hilltop, staring at a giant boulder carved with the words "Christian walk" on it. Making those initial choices--to begin attending church, to get involved, to step out of our comfort zone and into the life that God was choosing for us--was so difficult. We strained, we worked, we put every ounce of strength we had into it. But once we got that boulder rolling, it became easier and easier, and now, making those choices is at time, effortless. Not that God's path is necessarily easy, nor is it always simple to discern God's will versus my own. But the choice of who to follow--my will versus God's--we'll that's a no-brainer, these days.

Looking back, though, I know that it was Jeff Kinkade and his teaching that gave our family that initial strength to get that boulder rolling. And along the way, when we've stalled in our efforts, it was his spiritual leadership and encouragement that got us moving in the right direction again. And for that, I am so grateful.

Jeff has also had another major influence on my life, one that I have been hesitant to share until I knew for certain the outcome. A few months ago, Jeff told me I should consider going to seminary and encouraged me to apply to Dallas Theological Seminary, his alma mater. At the time, I laughed it off, and dismissed the idea outright. But wouldn't you know it--God wouldn't let it go. Every time I prayed or got quiet, the thought kept popping back in my mind. It was this nagging idea that I couldn't let go of. So, I started looking into it. My mind had a million reasons why it was a bad idea. But for every excuse I came up with, God revealed an answer. Finally, after days of praying about it, I told God, "If this is what you want from me, if you think you can use ME (which I still don't quite believe), then I'm in." I submitted my application to DTS earlier this month and am waiting to hear from them regarding whether I've been accepted.

I'm excited about this new chapter in my life. I have always longed to have a career that made a difference, that would offer me something more than just a paycheck. I used to dream of being an attorney that advocated for those who didn't have a voice, but then I married an Army officer, making a legal career practically impossible. Now, God has put me on a path of serving in His church, and I can't think of a more worthwhile and fulfilling use of my talents. Had you asked me three years ago if I would ever go to seminary, I would have laughed in your face. But because of the spiritual leadership of Jeff and his teachings and encouragement, because of the way that Firewheel Bible Fellowship has become a central part of my life, I'm finding the courage to let go of the control and place my life in the hands of God.

Thanks, Jeff, for your leadership, your teaching, your friendship and support. I wish you and your family nothing but the best in this new chapter of life. I know God has wonderful things in store for each of you, and I look forward to seeing how He puts the talents of each of your family members to use in the coming years.

A new look...

2010-05-16T23:52:00.000-05:00

Like the new layout? I keep getting braver and braver when it comes to tweaking the HTML code for my blog, so I decided to change things up a bit. I've always felt the sidebar of the blog looked a little cluttered for my taste, so I've moved all of the sidebar stuff to separate pages, which you can find by clicking on the handy-dandy navigation bar I created below the header.

Looking for that list of blogs I read? Check out the 'Links' section. Under the 'Contact Us' page, you'll find an email link and a link to our Photo Share site. The slideshow of family pics can be found under the 'About' tab, which also gives you a brief synopsis of our family and the blog. And the 'Archive' tab...well, that's self-explanatory. Hope you like the new look!

Just plain AWESOME!

2010-05-14T00:05:00.004-05:00

So, this video is actually a couple of months old, but I ran across it tonight and just had to upload it. This was the evening that Aiden required all of us--his Aunt and Uncle and grandparents, plus Brad and I--to watch him give a fashion show and model the new clothes his Gran had sent him. This was ENTIRELY his idea. We had to move the furniture out of the way to create a runway for him to walk on. We had to use a flashlight as a spotlight and play music. And we HAD to take pictures of him striking a pose. The fashion show went on for probably 40 minutes, much to Brad's mortification. I thought it was hilarious, though! Here's a snippet of Aiden's catwalk debut. Notice the Zoolander-like faces and attitude.

Counting kisses

2010-05-11T22:21:00.004-05:00

Each night before bed, Aubrey sits in my lap in the glider and we rock forward, saying "One, two, three..." and then we kiss Aiden. Then we repeat it for daddy, rocking forward three times and then smooching. She laughs hysterically and usually demands that we repeat the show at least 2 or 3 times. Well, today she began counting on her own, even rocking forward for a kiss when she wasn't in the rocking chair! All day long, she would toddle over to me and count, "why, too, wree" and then plant a big, wet kiss on me. Too cute!! I couldn't resist filming it.

Two weeks?! AUGH!

2010-05-10T10:40:00.000-05:00

That's right, two weeks from today, we close on our house. The movers arrive the day after to pack up our belongings and we will be fully cleared out of our home on the 27th. I can't believe how quickly this day has arrived. I have so much to do and so little time, so pardon the mini-hiatus that I'll be taking with the blog. I have a ton to catch you up on--a trip to the zoo and baseball pics and adventures without training wheels, so hopefully I can manage a little blogging between the multiple doctor visits I have scheduled, the packing, the cleaning, and the insanity of trying to wrap up my work at the church and find 3 people to take on my responsibilities!

Counting away...

2010-05-01T23:57:00.000-05:00

In an effort to lose the 15 pounds of steroids weight I've put on, I've been spending a lot of time at the gym and trying to eat healthy. I know, many of you will jump on me and tell me I'm fine, and although my weight falls in the "normal" BMI range, I know that my body just isn't where it should be. The steroids have COMPLETELY changed the make-up of my body--I've lost muscle mass and gained fat cells that just a few months ago, I didn't have. I'm trying to simply reverse the process: build more muscle, lose the fat around my middle, and hopefully drop a clothing size in the process. But it seems that, despite the extra time in the gym, I've been unable to really make any progress, so I decided to take things a step further and begin keeping a food diary. I wanted to see just how many calories I was really consuming in a day. So, I signed up for the Daily Plate program on www.livestrong.com, a free food journal that helps you track your caloric intake and expenditures.

My first day, after tracking everything I had eaten, I discovered that I had eaten more than 2400 calories--OUCH! The sad thing--I really hadn't eaten anything particularly awful or unhealthy, no french fries or hamburgers, nothing that would make me think I was about 800 calories over where I needed to be. But as I looked over my day, I realized that the steroids, that are notorious for causing people to insanely crave carbs, were wreaking more havoc on my diet than I had realized. It was an eye opening experience, for sure.

I've continued to track my calories, and let me tell you, the first day of eating only 1550 calories (which is my particular caloric need if I want to lose 1.5 pounds per week) was PAINFUL! I felt as if I was starving all day! I was eating regular meals and snacks, just cutting portions and swapping the majority of the carbs in my diet for protein or fruits and veggies, but still--it was painful. I think my body had become so accustomed to the carbs, it was punishing me for cutting back.

Several days into the new plan, I'm doing much better. I plan ahead, knowing that if we're having dinner out or something that is high-calorie, I have to scale back during the day. Brad laughed at me this evening when I obsessively tracked my meals and exercise for the day--and then jumped for joy when I realized I could "afford" to drink a margarita this evening. It has also helped me to make better choices--instead of a high-calorie, tiny snack that will never fill my stomach, I choose to eat a piece of fruit and a tablespoon of peanut butter and walk away happy and full. I know it borders on the obsessive for now, but it is my hope that after a few weeks of tracking and adjusting my diet, making these choices will become second nature.

Farewell, nursing.

2010-04-29T10:12:00.000-05:00

Last Friday was a very sad day in my household--that was the last day that Aubrey and I nursed. With this recent lupus flare, I needed to finally wean Aubrey so I could start a new medication that isn't compatible with nursing. We were already down to just 2 nursing sessions a day, at nap and bedtime, so I weaned her to once a day for 3 days, then we stopped.

Our final nursing session was bittersweet. Although I'm not yet ready to completely rule out having another child, I also know that with my increasing age and health problems, it probably wouldn't be the best idea. I also know that the next few years, there will be quite a few moves and deployments, Brad and I both going to school, so another child just doesn't make sense. Knowing this made it even harder to say goodbye to nursing--it will probably be the last time I ever nurse a child.

Breastfeeding has created such a special bond with my children. I have two very active, rambunctious children, and once they became mobile, finding quiet time to hold them and cuddle became next to impossible. The great part about nursing--it forced us both to stop, to shut out the rest of the world and the to-do lists and toys vying for our attention, and just sit quietly together, gazing into each other's eyes. Aubrey and I always played a silly game when she nursed: I would look at her and just say "Don't you smile!" and she would grin. "No laughing!" I would tell her, and she'd giggle hysterically, that big belly laugh that she reserves for the special occasions of humor. It was such a fun, silly time, and I'll miss it now that it is gone.

Aubrey has coped surprisingly well with the weaning. There have been only a couple of times when she would tug on my shirt and fuss to nurse, but I have been able to easily distract her. Surprisingly, the times I expected to be the most difficult--nap time and bed time--have been the easiest. I just wrap her in a blanket and hold her to my chest in her rocking chair, and she sucks her thumb contentedly for a few minutes, and then settles right into bed to drift off to sleep.

I wish I could have nursed Aubrey for a few months longer--these little ones grow up so fast, I treasure every bit of "baby time" I can squeeze out of them. But now that we are weaned, I look forward to a few things--being able to finally go out and buy some new, pretty bras that will actually fit right and not have industrial-looking snaps and fasteners on them. Not having to worry about pumping, so I don' lose my milk, when Brad and I try to get a little break from the kids. I'll miss the special time we had nursing--but I look forward to getting hugs and kisses and cuddles that don't lead to being a food supply, and the new "grown-up" relationship I'll have with my baby girl.

Deal alert!

2010-04-28T13:42:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, April 28th is 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins! From 5 PM to 8 PM, you can head over to Baskin Robbins to get up to 3 scoops per person for just 31 cents. And the best part? Proceeds benefit the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Now you have a great excuse to take the kids out for ice cream tonight!

7 years and not an itch in sight...

2010-04-26T12:57:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that today, Brad and I have been married for 7 years! It has been 7 years of bliss, pure happiness, and romance....

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Anyone who has been married for more than 5 minutes can tell you that the last line was a load of...well, you know! But even though it hasn't been pure bliss and romance, it has been a wonderful time in my life. Brad and I have survived 6 moves (about to be 7). We've survived deployments and Army life and Jumpmaster school (my fellow Airborne wives can attest to how hard THAT can be!). We've survived a miscarriage, 2 high-risk pregnancies and shared in the miraculous birth of 2 beautiful children. We've comforted each other through grief and loss, we've shared amazing joy and laughter, and every emotion in between. There have been times when I didn't want to leave his side, times when I've longed for his presence, and times I've begged him to just leave me alone! We've been through times of romance and passion and times when I would have whacked him had he even thought about sex right after our kids were born. I've put him to test on that whole "sickness and health" promise, and we've struggled through hard times together. We've played and laughed, cried and fought, and through it all, I can't image a single person I'd rather have shared it all with.

Brad is the man that can make me laugh through my tears. He is the guy I know always has my back, who I can lean on when I'm weak, and who I know won't run screaming when he sees me at my worst. He's the guy who laughs at my 3rd grade sense of humor and puts up with my silly antics. He supports me, loves me, accepts me, and challenges me to be better. He's a loving husband, amazing father, and wonderful friend. And although he can annoy me in a way that no other human being possibly could, he knows exactly which buttons to push to drive me insane, he is the one person I would choose to be stranded on a desert island with.

No, our marriage hasn't been perfect. It isn't some fairy tale where the husband and wife never fight and wake each morning singing to a sappy tune of love and romance. It is real, gritty, sometimes rocky, but always committed. If I could sum it all up in one sentence, it would be this: each day, we choose love. And I know that for the next 50 or 60 years, we'll keep doing the same. I love you, Brad, always and forever.