You know its time to get out when...

Tonight I was laying on the couch when I noticed the girls playing. Its not the fact that they were playing that made me laugh, it was WHAT they were playing. They got three new dolls, and a pooping dog for Christmas. Were they playing with these? NOPE. Our girls were playing war - with a sock over their hand as their "gun" and "searching" rooms for the enemy. But that wasn't even the good part. A few minutes later I caught them playing Drill Sgt. Sam was the Sgt and Hailey was the soldier. The game was complete with push ups, running around the living room and over head arm flaps. Hailey was a good soldier as she stood at parade rest when talking and followed commands precisely. Sam was full of promises of extra duty and PT if her commands were not followed. It was hilarious!!!! You know its time to get out of the Army when your kids would rather play Army than Barbie!!!

A year in review

This year has been filled with "the best of times and the worst of times." I've decided to break down the year into months (kind of like a Thursday 13, but really a Saturday 12) and recap our year. I don't blame you if you just skim over it, I'm sure its going to be long!!! Hope you enjoy looking back with us and I can't wait to read about your year too!!!
*January - Started off bad as I had to put Cory back on a plane to San Antonio only 6 days after our wedding to finish his AIT. The rest of the month was filled with school and work, on top of all my other daily doings!
*February - I flew out to San Antonio the weekend after Valentine's Day to see my Hubby. This was the first visit to what would soon become my home state. We had a great time just being together - nothing spectacular as he had a curfew imposed by Uncle Sam! Saying goodbye this time was bitter sweet as we knew this would be the last time we'd have to leave each other for a while!
*March -Cory graduated from AIT - FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! We thought the tough part was over, boy were we wrong!!! We found out that Fort Hood would be our home - we had NO clue what we were in for! Cory came home for two weeks thanks to the Army allowing him to "recruit". This was our first real taste of married life!
*April - Cory reported to Fort Hood and I began to really buckle down as school was coming to a close!!
*May - I graduated from GTC, left a job at SEMS that I LOVED, said good bye to everything and everyone I love and moved to Texas. A few short days later, I took my NREMT -P and passed on the first try - a feat not accomplished by many!!! So yes, I am a Paramedic still (for those of you who asked) - just putting it on hold for a little while!! The girls joined us in Texas at the end of the month!
*June - Pretty boring, just settling in to our new apt and life here in Texas. Oh yeah - we found out we were expecting our "love child"!!!!
*July - Boring!!!!
*August - The girls started Kindergarten. They absolutely love it and have really blossomed and are learning so much!!! I turned 25 on the 31st!
*September - Cory turned the big 27 on the 1st! I missed TONS of birthdays, one that hit me more than most!
*October - We headed home to SC to celebrate the girls BDay and see everyone for the last time for a while! We had such a wonderful time and it was so hard to leave - again. Halloween was such a let down. But we did move into our NEW house!!!!!!!!!!
*November - Missed tons more birthdays. Saw Reese on the 3D ultrasound (well kind of). Celebrated our first Thanksgiving as a family and on our own - in every sense of the word! We had a great time and made memories that will not soon be forgotten!!
*December - Started off rough as I was dealing with what I have lovingly termed "pre baby blues". I think Cory thought I was losing my mind, but I have recovered for the most part. The holidays hit hard as did my pregnancy!!! We all got the stomach bug - and survived. The month was closed out with a visit from Pappie that we all needed!!! Lastly, Cory and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary - a little unorthodoxed but thats the way we like it!!!

So there you have it. Our year in a nutshell. Its been filled with ups and downs and test after test of our patience and trust in the Lord. He has always provided and for that we are truly grateful! We are now just waiting for the arrival of our little man. Next year promises to be just as busy and trying as we are anticipating Cory's deployment, our move back to SC and most importantly the birth of Reese! I hope you all have a great New Year's and your year is filled with more blessings than you can count!! May God bless and keep you and we hope you have a GREAT 08!!

In sickness and in health...

Cory and I have put our vows to the test this year as yesterday was our 1st wedding anniversary!! We've been for richer and poorer (thanks to the US Army), for better or worse (again, thanks Uncle Sam) and our most recent "in sickness and in health" was yesterday. Yep, you heard it - yesterday was plagued by sickness. Cory and I had been looking forward to celebrating our day because Pappy was in town with the girls and we knew it would be one of the last days we would have for a while where were "truly" alone. But as luck would have it, Cory came home from PT early sick as a dog. He climbed in the bed by about 730am and did not get out of bed til 1230 today. He was soooooo sick. The girls had the bug on the 23rd and 24th, so we figured it would only be a matter of time before Cory got it. We just didn't think it would happen on our anniversary! So Cory spent his day knocked out in the bed and I spent the day on the couch. Pappy took the girls to the movies and to the park but graciously invited me to dinner with them. So we ate at Red Lobster - YUM!!!!!!! I felt so bad for Cory as he was pitiful! He survived it though - and I think its out of our system now. I just hope Pappy doesn't take it home with him.
Cory and I made up for our bummed day today, though. Pappy took the girls to part 2 of what promises to be a triple feature week as far as movies are concerned, so Cory and I headed out of the house around 3pm. We went for a small lunch, for me to get my eyebrows waxed - ouch!, and then to a movie - I Am Legend (with Will Smith) -- a MUST SEE MOVIE!! We then headed to Olive Garden for dinner and some Sparkling Grape Juice - YUMMO!! It was great. We don't do date nights near as often as we should - so it was really nice to spend some alone time with some adult conversation! We were going to go and check out some Christmas lights, but I am absolutely exhausted, so we just decided to turn in for the night! I have a wonderful blog I hope to post about our year soon, just not now as I am soooo tired.
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I know we did. Very low key, but I don't think I could have handled anymore. By the way - does anyone have any ideas on the messiest/ most annoying toy for a 2 year old? My wonderful brother and sister in law graciously gave our girls a dog that POOPS for Christmas and I just want to return the favor!!!! LOL~ we love you guys!

We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!!!

Last night I had to go to the hospital. Everything thing's fine with Reese, I just have a really bad UTI. I swear the more time I spend here in Killeen, Tx, I feel like I've been thrown back to the "stone age". Ok, so I'm exagerating a bit about the time, but I do feel like I'm in a time warp. This was reconfirmed for me last night at the hospital. When we walked back to Labor and Delivery and through the double doors to the department, we were greeted by a RN who told us that Cory would have to wait in the waiting room with the girls - this infuriated Cory as he wants to be with me especially when it could have something to do with Reese. He is very protective!! So as we walked out to the waiting room (I had to wait to get a bed) I noticed a sign on the wall that said "Father's waiting". I kind of chuckled at the thought that this hospital may make the "dads" wait in the hall for the birth of their child like they did decades ago. Again, this infuriated Cory - as we have literally fought the US Army to have him here so he could see the birth of our son. I reassured Cory that I would ask.
I was called back to the department for my bed about 25 min later. I walked into a COMPLETELY white, sterile enviornment. It kind of looked like an OR. This was their birthing room. Nothing like the rooms at Regional, GMH, Allen Bennet, Women's or Mary Black. All of those places have rooms that are "homey" and inviting. This room had NO tv, no chair for the husband, nothing!!! Just a bed, a monitor and a warmer for the baby. Now I have not seen the rooms in the Mom/Baby ward yet, but this was really bad. Thank God I will be having a C-section and will actually be in an OR - a place that is supposed to be sterile. It just reminded me once again that I'm not in Kansas (ok, Spartanburg) anymore!!!
Another reminder for me was when we first moved here. I remember watching the news and the TOP story was that the Court house here in Bell County was going to have 2 camera's installed for safety. I laughed as I thought that you can't even walk into Spartanburg County Court house without being frisked and walking through a metal detector!!! And then the next story was about the fact that Bell County was "considering" using electronic finger printing for criminals instead of the old paper and ink. Again, this is ages behind Spartanburg County - who has the electronic AND a database!!!! Here, they still use filing cabinets. Can we say "Welcome, to Mayberry???"
These are just a few observations I've made since we've lived here. Just a reminder for me that there's No Place Like Home!!!!

***By the way - Cory WILL get to see his son be born!! He had to wait this time because we had the girls and there is no one under the age of 12 allowed in L&D!!!

Thursday Thirteen on Wed

I know I have been total slack with blogging lately. I don't really have any valid excuses. I'm gonna do my Thursday Thirteen tonight because I can't promise how I'll be feeling tomm.
My Thursday Thirteen this week is an update on what's been going on in our house lately.

1) Reese is weighing in at 4 lbs 10 oz and that was LAST Monday. I swear he has at least doubled in the last week. I'm not counting on making it to my due date 2/7. I'll be satisfied with the middle of January.

2) Cory received official word that he is on Rear Detachment (he gets to stay here at Fort Hood) while his unit goes to Cali for NTC. This is a MAJOR answered prayer. Now we know he will not miss Reese's birth!

3) We've decided not to decorate the outside of our house. We made this decision for many reasons; lack of money, time, energy and the full "Christmas spirit". We are proud to say that we are the ONLY people in our cul de sac with no outside decorations, but luckily Cory and I enjoy being different.

4) I am having a really hard time sleeping lately. I can't sleep for more than about 45 min to and hour at a time. Reese is running out of room and likes to remind me on a regular basis.

5) I am dreading Christmas for the first time in my life. I know its going to be a hard day for me as I am away from Family and friends. My Step Dad John will be flying out Tuesday night, so maybe that will help out! Plus, I am with my AWESOME husband and fiesty girls, so I'm trying to look at the bright side.

6) All of our Christmas presents are bought and under the tree (well except for one)!!!

7) Cory got his Christmas/Anniversary present early. He just couldn't wait. He traded in his Playstation2 and some games for a XBOX 360. He also got a couple of games he really wanted and the stuff for him to do XBOX Live on the internet. He's like a kid again!!!

8) Tomorrow is the girls last day of school for 2007, and its a half day!!!!

9) We finally got a Car seat for Reese. I've been totally slack on "nesting". Hopefully we will acquire all the other goodies soon!!

10) Some one told Samantha and Hailey that Santa only puts you on the "naughty" list if you can't write your name good. This annoys me and almost makes me want to dispell the myth of it all. If it were up to Cory, we would have already set the record straight. I'll let you know how that all turns out!

11) The weather in Texas has been CRAZY! It can't decide what it wants to do!

12) Cory has been working 1/2 days this week as he is one of the few that didn't take leave for Christmas break. We are saving up his days for when Reese gets here.

13) I am currently working on a blog (in my mind at least) about the insanity I've seen on the Today show the last few days - be sure to check that out in the next day or two!!

So there you have it!! Totally random. Just hang in there with me while I fight through the lack of sleep and extreme fatigue!! I promise it will get better!

Makes me smile

I remember when I began working at Spartanburg EMS last summer and the "news" broke that Cory and I were dating. I was told by several people to "watch out" for Cory - one person in particular (who shall remain nameless due to lurkers upon this blog). I never really take into stock what "scorned lovers" or the family of such say because very few people leave a warm and fuzzy feeling with their exes. Anyway. This person said that she knew first hand that Cory did not want kids - ever and so she knew things would not work out for us because I had kids. I was merely a "rebound". Like I said, I never put stock into these comments. I told Cory and we just kind of laughed (and still do). I remember so many times people told me that I was just something to pass his time and to keep my heart guarded. I knew that those people would never understand what Cory and I have. I say all this to say that everytime I look back on what those people said to me, it just makes me smile. If only they could see us now!!!
Cory and I are coming up on our one year wedding anniversary next week and I can honestly say that I am more in love with him now than I was a year ago - I never knew that was possible!!! My mom made the comment the other day that she knew my brother was in love with Annie when he would eat lettuce for her and that I was in love with Cory when I would tolerate his dipping habit ( I know that's gross, but that's a different post all together). And she was right. I love everything about him - from his night terrors that keep me up most nights to the way his eyes light up everytime I walk into a room!! As cliche' as it sounds - he completes me!!! I could blog for days about the things I love about him and the reasons I am so in love, but I'll save that for our actual anniversary!
As for Cory not wanting kids... obviously he just didn't want kids with any of "them" (and Thank God for that - I don't need any other ties to THAT drama). If they could only see the light in his eyes when he talks about Reese and the girls; or see the big goofy grin he gets when Reese kicks him in response to his voice... It warms my heart more than anyone will ever know!

Gullible was a baby chicken...

Not quite sure exactly what that saying means, but I remember Reid Boyer (our old youth pastor at WBC) used to say that to my friend Hillary because she would believe just about anything. I am bothered by the fact that so many people these days are extremely gullible and then want to punish someone else for their stupidity. I'm sorry if I step on anyone's toes here, but I am a bit of a skeptic and anyone who knows me well knows that I just don't believe things just because someone else tells me (most of the time) - I usually have to prove it to myself!! Here are two incidents, I've heard of recently, where I feel that people should have used their brains a little more and done some research.
In 1987, Oral Roberts, a well respected Evangelical Speaker stood in front of a sold out crowd of followers and proclaimed that GOD told him that he needed to get 10 MILLION dollars or that he (GOD) would strike him dead. That's not even the sad part of it - the sad part was that he was able to raise this astronomical amount in a very short time. He did not mention what he would be raising the money for, just to save his life. Does this strike anyone else as odd?? I mean, I totally believe that God is more than able to strike someone dead if he felt the urge, but I also believe that MY GOD is a tender, loving and fair God. I just can't buy into the idea that God would come down and tell someone to raise 10 million dollars just because and then threaten them with DEATH if they did not follow through.
More recently, I heard a couple of weeks ago about a couple in Monroe, Louisiana who claimed that the wife was a member of the CIA and could arrange for satellites in space to take a full body scan to detect disease, tumors, cancer or any other illness. You had to pay a fee, but of course the fee was reduced if you went through her as she could offer a "discount". If the body scan revealed any illness, she would arrange for Secret Service agents to come in while the person was sleeping and administer medication to cure them. This story is too bogus for me to make up. The couple was able to raise close to a million dollars in a matter of months which says to me that some of the people who were paying for these services possibly had a good bit of money, as I'm sure the couple didn't not accept IOU's. And with money, one is to assume that there was some level of education involved. When I heard this, I had to laugh out loud. Who could be so gullible to believe that something like this could take place? I know we have made great strides in Medicine over the last 20 years, but for Satellites to diagnose something and the CIA and Secret Service to take the time out of their schedules filled with protecting our country to administer medication to the people of Monroe (sorry if you know anyone who lives there) - I just can't buy into that. But what upsets me the most about this particular case was that the couple who ran the scam have been placed in jail for an undisclosed amount of time. I know they should be punished for what they did, but I'm shocked that they were able to find that many people able to pay for their "services". Those people have no one to blame but themselves.
Again, I'm sorry if I've offended anyone here. That is not my intention. My plea to you, DO NOT buy into random claims for a "quick fix" for your problems. Very few things in life come easy and fast - the best things in life are the things you have to work for!!!!

Prayer requests

I'm taking a moment to ask you all to pray for Sherri Richardson, my sister-in-laws mother. She was put into the hospital today to have some tests run. I'm not 100% on the details, but I know its something with her heart. Please pray for her and her family. Brian and Annie drove up today to be with her.
Also, please pray for me. I've been hit by some ferocious bug today. I have been throwing up and I will spare you details about the other end. Please just pray that whatever this is passes just as quickly as it came. I'm off to the toilet- I have a really good blog I'm working on, hopefully when I am able to sit up in bed for more than 5 min I will finish it and post it!

And some say we do this for the money...

FYI: Volunteer Military – “According to the Defense Department, the active-duty military’s largest pay grade is E-4. About 261,300 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are paid at the E-4 level, $1,699.50 per month in 2007… Using 2007’s salary figures, a U.S. E-4 will make roughly $56.65 per day in base pay. Considering the average work day in a war zone is at least 12 hours, on slow days, they will earn roughly $4.72 per hour.”- Army Times

** Might I add that Cory's work days are already 12 hours and he hasn't made it to the sandbox!!

Pictures

My belly at 31 1/2 weeks! Notice the bandage on my finger - I sliced it open with a steak knife! I'm so glad to be married to a Paramedic/Combat Medic!!
Here's the front view! Please excuse the outfit - I only have one pair of maternity jeans and a couple of shirts, so I wear bum clothes the majority of the day!

One of our new rugs. We have another one this size and a small one to match at the door! Not what we would have picked out, but FREE and they get the job done!

Our new additions! This is Zach, Lucky and Ben - our friends the Finleys moved and did not want them anymore! No, this is not our big decision!!

A closer look at our tree, the girls and Cory did a great job decorating!!

Here is our Christmas Tree!! I'm so proud - its our first family tree!

Here is Sam (blue) and Hailey (pink) on Santa's lap for the very first time!!! And they actually talked to him! Before now they always screamed!! I'm so proud.

Sickness and Sicko's

While I'm waiting on Cory to get ready to go and get our Christmas tree (YEAH!), I thought I'd take a minute to update you on our week and all the exciting and lack there of things that have happened.
Hailey has had some sort of Upper Respiratory junk for the last couple of weeks. It always scares me when Hailey gets sick because she seems to have less of an immune system built up than Samantha. I called my mom about a month ago and asked her to send us Hailey's nebulizer as I left it in SC. So I was ready to combat any asthma symptoms that may arise. Thank GOD it didn't get to that point. She just had a nasty cough and it is getting better.
Samantha seems to be getting what Hailey had. Oh the joys of siblings and better than that, TWINS!!!!
I can't remember if I blogged about this next particular occurence when it happened, so I'll give you the reader's digest version really quick. When we first moved into our village, we got a knock on our door after about a week and a half. It was CID (criminal investigations division) - no they weren't here for us! They were informing us of an attempted abduction that had occured the night before in OUR cul de sac. YIKES!!! Things have seemed to die down until this week. Apparently, this SICKO has tried to take another kid or two. They (CID) had a sketch of this pervert and a description of the guys car(s). This is particulary frustrating for us here for several reasons: *While we are considered "on post housing", we are not inside the main gate and therefore there is easy access to our village. *To live here, you have to have at least 2 kids because these are all 4 & 5 BR houses (at the age of 10, you do not have to be under direct superivision of an adult during the day, so there are TONS of kids walking around before and after school - its a picking ground for anyone who wants to take innocent kids) *While we have two gates to get to our village, they are unmanned due to "lack of manpower". We are not slated to get guards until 2011. So basically we are just sitting ducks until SOMETHING happens. I just hope that its something positive and not something tragic!
So there you have. We are off to purchase our very first Christmas tree and some decorations to get us all in the mood! Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend. Check back for some pics of the Girls with Santa, our Christmas tree, a belly pic from me and our new additions!!!

Happy Birthday, Annie!!!

I just want to take a minute and send a BIRTHDAY shout out to my sister in law, Annie!! I hope your day has been wonderful! We love you and miss you!

Decisions....

Today we were presented with an opportunity that, 6 months ago, we would have jumped on - no questions asked. But being that it is now, it has really put a burden on mine and Cory's hearts and minds. I am choosing not to disclose the details of this opportunity until we have made a decision. There are many different things we have to take into consideration and we ask for some extra prayers for us in the next couple of weeks. Please pray that God will direct us in which direction to go and give us peace with the decision that is made! We don't want to make this decision selfishly, but rather want to do what is best for everyone involved. I know I'm being annoyingly criptic, but please know that all will be revealed in due time. This is a MAJOR decision that will impact our family tremendously, no matter what we decide. The days will be filled with many questions, very few answers and the making the toughest decision we've had to make since begining this journey!

Hodge Podge

I don't really have anything to say tonight, so I thought I might just do a hodge podge update of the last few days:
*After my burnt chicken and rotten potatoes fiasco, I gave it another shot last night! Our grill is having some issues, so I ended up baking the chicken; I also forgot to put the potatoes in the oven in time to bake, so I ended up making instant 4 cheese potatoes. So it wasn't the exact same, but it was good - I feel like I'm well on the way to redeeming myself.
* We've decided to lay off the "pill popping" pressure for Hailey. She is content with us breaking the pill and putting it into something to drink. We are content not to fight with her!
* Thursday I had a serious emotional break down - I think from the stress of our everyday lives, the holidays, the hormones and a multitude of other small issues that have just grown into one big problem. Cory, bless his heart caught the brunt of it but handle it like a true soldier! Don't worry, I'm getting help - thanks to my husband (have I said lately how lucky I am?!?!)
* Yesterday Cory cleaned my car out! It was soooooo disgusting!! But now it looks like new - I almost hate to drive it; I just want to park it and look at it!
* I also got a package yesterday from the Dale's. I won a drawing on Stephanie's blog a little while ago, and my prize was some hand soap in a cute Snowman and some lotion (it smells so yummy). Thanks Steph!
* We got rugs today!! YEAH!!!!!!!! The best part is - they were free! Our friends Chase and Mandy wanted to get rid of them because they have limited room in their apt, so they gave them to us! Hopefully I will take a pic of them and post it soon. They're awesome.
* We switched insurance companies today. Why is this important, you ask?!?! Well, we'll be saving about $800 a year - that's something to celebrate! And no, we didn't switch to Geico, we actually left them!!
* My mom is supposed to be sending me some Christmas stuff to get me in the spirit (and maybe Annie too). I can't wait to see what it is and get it all together.

I guess that's about it for now. Nothing spectacular for now. But I've grown to love the fact that my life has become a little boring. The Army gives me enough road blocks to deal with daily!! Til next time...