Busy, busy, busy...

That is our life! We are so busy... who would have thought with 5 kids, right?! Ha!

Anna and Jay asked me the other day where and how Jerry and I met and got married. Here is our conversation:

Anna, "Where did you and daddy meet?"
Me, "We met at college."
Jay, "Because that is where you meet who you marry?"
Me, "Well, you can. Some people meet who they will marry at a young age, or in high school."
Anna, "So... when you wanted to marry daddy... how did you decide on him?"
Me, "Well, it took some time."
Anna, "But how did you decide on daddy? Weren't there lots of boys in a line waiting to marry you?"
Me, "Uhhhh.... sure? (big pause) But your daddy was the best of them all."

Seriously, what do you say in response to something like that?! How sweet and funny all at once!

We are gearing up to go home for Thanksgiving. It is going to be busy. We have a week to spend with everyone. We are hoping to have a good visit. We have lots of fun planned!

Family Visit

This past weekend we had the pleasure of hosting my brother, Andrew and his wife, Sandy, and their son, Andy, for a visit! We had such a blast!! It was loads of fun! Jerry picked them up on Saturday and we walked around, took the kids to the park, and then ate home-made pizza. We stayed up late playing cards and had a great time catching up.

Sunday we all went to church and then we ate at Olive Garden! It was a blast! The kids were well behaved and ate their food and didn't fuss. We came back home to let the younger ones rest and Sandy and I took Jay and Anna to shop for fall clothes for them. Unfortunately, we only found some for Jay. Poor Anna is at an odd stage right now. The pants either FIT her or they were HUGE on her. There wasn't any kind of nice middle of the road for her. She was happy to walk around listening to Aunt Sandy's iPod instead. About halfway through shopping she looked at Sandy and said, "AUNT SANDY! I KNOW THIS SONG! IT IS THE ONE ABOUT JESUS AND HOW HE DIED FOR OUR SINS!" And yes, she YELLED it very loudly! She thought she was talking normal because she didn't pull the ear buds out, she just shouted over the music!! It was cute.

We came back from shopping so we could take them over to the museum. We walked around 3 of the 4 hangars before it closed. They got to take some really good pictures so it was worth it! When we got home, Jerry had a surprise for us. He was going to start smoking a chicken while we were at the museum... but it all went terribly wrong! First the gas ran out, then the chicken fell over, the oil spilled out and caught it on FIRE, sooo... he had to throw the blackened chicken across the street since it was so charred and could not be saved. He and Andrew ran over to the commissary and bought chicken legs and tenders and bought gas too. We ate later than normal that night, but it all worked out. We stayed up REALLY late that night! We played Euchre and Hoss and Pfeffer (sp?). It was fun, but by 1 a.m. we were pretty tired!

Monday, we were going to go to the Georgia National Fair, but it started raining. So we went to the bookstore and Bass Pro Shop instead! It was a lot of fun! The kids got to climb on boats and ATVs and the girls shopped the clearance section. The best part was when Aunt Sandy bought fudge though!! That was really good!!

Tuesday, they had to go home... :( I found people to watch the kids for a bit so I could run them back up to Atlanta to catch their flight. We hung out that morning and talked the whole way up to the airport.

It was sad having to say good-bye. Living in OH really spoiled us by having family so close. Now we are having to adjust to only seeing family sporadically. We are going to head to IN for the week of Thanksgiving. Thankfully, it isn't too far away... but it still feels like FOREVER! Sigh. We love our family very much and are very thankful that we have family that can visit us and spend time with us!

We are hoping to move somewhere really cool someday!! Then we will have to "schedule" visits!! Ha!

Well, gotta get back to our day!

Oops a daisy!

Life has gotten crazy!! I have found that I get as thrown off as my kids when we do not follow a somewhat kind of schedule! How funny is that?!

So I have funny stories to share!

#1: Caleb LOVES his walker! He goes EVERYWHERE in it now! Even into the bathrooms! Yeah.. that is not so good. There is another thing that he really likes as well. And that is his sister Sydney's baby doll stroller!! OH YES! He thinks it is the greatest thing! The other day she left it in the hallway and he happened to get ahold of it. Caleb is really good at manuevering our house now. He doesn't usually run into walls unless he is in a SERIOUS hurry! Well, I was standing in our kitchen and I hear him banging into walls in the walker. As I go to look, I am positive that I will see an older sibling pushing him into the walls (they think it is fun to "help" him around the house)... however, that isn't what I saw! I saw him pushing Sydney's baby stroller in front of him down the hallway! It was like he was walking the baby doll! Despite the fact that he was hitting the corners of the walls! And he was talking to it too! It was hilarious... I pulled out the camera and took a video of it! It is posted on Jerry's Facebook account if you want to see it!

#2: While I was laughing at Caleb and his newly found skill, Sydney started SCREAMING in the bathroom. So I shut off the camera and went to see what her problem was... yeah, kind of had to keep myself from laughing at her! She was standing there with her pants around her ankles and crying so LOUD I couldn't tell what she was trying to tell me! Then I slowly pieced it together... "My pincess wing is in da PAHTEE in my PEEPEE!" And yep! There was her princess ring... floating in the toilet. Sigh. So I got the tongs out and rescued her ring, wiped her bum and disinfected her ring for a day. To which she replied, "TANK U momma! You sabed my wing!"

#3: 5 minutes later.... Anna comes running into the kitchen SOBBING! I am thinking, "what now?". So I ask her, "Honey, what is wrong with you?!" She says, "MOM! I lost my tooth!" I asked her where she lost it and she said it was in her hand... so I said, "It's okay! You've lost lots of teeth!" To which she replied, "Not like this! I didn't want to get blood on my fingers so I wiggled it with my tongue and it POPPED OUT OF MY MOUTH!!" followed with a big wail! Oh yes... BIG WAIL. Once I calmed her down enough to talk to her, I got her to put the tooth in a sandwich bag and rinse her mouth out. The worst part is that the Tooth-Fairy forgot to give her a dollar that night! Whoops!

ANYWAY, funny little stories to give you a glimpse into parts of my day!

Family time

This past week we have had the pleasure of hosting Jerry's parents! We have had a wonderful time.... we went to the beach, hung out, went to a museum, and shopping!

There were so many funny things that happened... and I know they happened but at the moment, I cannot think of one that really stands out! Guess I am going to have to start updating earlier so I can keep them all straight in my head!

Jerry and his dad got to go deep see fishing and they got soaked to the skin (because of storms most of the day) but they had a great time spending time together and doing a mutually liked hobby. Meanwhile, his mom and I stayed at the beach house (for lack of better term) with the kids. We got everyone suited up and out the door and I am not kidding you... but it started to rain!! So we went in search of a beach umbrella to take with us to the beach when the rain stopped. That was pretty funny though because the rain stopped for about 30 minutes that whole day and the rest of the time... it POURED!! So grandma broke out a project, we watched movies, and relaxed. I needed the relaxing part because I had allergies really bad from Saturday's Upwards games. You could hardly understand me and I was worn out!

The next day we all went to Navarre Beach and had a fantastic time playing in the ocean and sand. Caleb had a BLAST feeling sand and playing with a bucket of water that Anna brought up for him to play with. We had taken our food with us to the beach so we could have a picnic too. The kids don't particularly like to eat their crust so Jerry encouraged them to feed the seagulls!! They were brave kids and birds! Jerry held out his hand a couple of times and the birds actually grabbed the food from his fingers. He quit after one of them bit him! We went out to Floyd's restaurant that night and the kids ate like they were starving! It was fun and they were really well-behaved. We walked on the boardwalk and then headed back to the house to bed.

We had to leave Wednesday morning but had planned on making one last trip to the beach... which didn't happen because it rained... And it RAINED on the way home! But we made it home safe and sound and have hung out since.

Jerry's mom and I went shopping for a bit yesterday, Jerry and I shopped today, and his mom and I went back today! First shopping trip I bought Christmas and birthday gifts, second Jerry and I went to the case lot sale and stocked up, and today... his mom helped me find a sewing machine! I can't wait to figure it all out and start a project. I am going to make the girls dresses and myself a somewhat matching dress and the kids Christmas PJs is my other goal! It should be fun!!

His parents leave tomorrow... it will be sad. The kids are going to have a tough day. However, we had a great visit and we look forward to our next family visit! My brother and his wife and my nephew (their son) are coming in October! Can't wait!! Then we will be going home for Thanksgiving and then Disney!!

I hope that one day, my kids are truly thankful for a family that loves them so much to come and visit them!

Just thoughts...

I love my kids! It is so hard for me to believe how big they have gotten. With Caleb turning one, it has just brought it all the more home for me. Jay is getting bigger and starting to need more responsiblity... Anna is becoming quite the little young lady with such a loving heart... Xavier is a bundle of energy that often gets hurt... Sydney is turning into a beautiful, if not spirited, dancer... and Caleb is starting to come into his own! Some days it is just chaos here... but I wouldn't trade those days for anything.

There are so many things that I look forward to doing with my kids as they get older. I watched "Dan in Real Life" a while back. And the thing that I took away from that movie was that I want to have a family get together like that some day. I want to have my kids and their families all together, playing games, hanging out, and just enjoying spending time together. I look forward to that time of life while I am enjoying this time of life we are in now.

Jerry and I watched "The Family Stone" a week ago and there is a scene in it where the dad looks at the youngest daughter sleeping on the couch and he pats her arm and says, "this is how we like her." That line cracks me up and whenever I see Sydney asleep on our couch that is the first thing that pops into my mind! They love their daughter just as much as their other 4 kids, but at that moment she is so peaceful and not full of "vinegar" that it is hard not see that how love can overflow in that moment. Another funny thing from that movie is that they have 3 boys and 2 girls!! However, I pray none of my boys does not turn out like one of theirs.

Well, I think that is it. Just had some thoughts that were on my mind! I hope everyone that reads this is doing well!

My baby...

Caleb will turn one this Wednesday... I can't believe he is going to be a toddler soon! It seems like just yesterday I had him! And here we are one year later! It makes me a little sad, but happy too. I feel like we are coming to the end of one phase of our life and moving on to the next.

Jerry is going to be in OH this week and drive down with his parents on Friday. So he won't be here on Caleb's first birthday. I don't even have anything really planned for him... how sad is that?! I have to get on the ball!!

This week is going to be pretty crazy... I have to run all the kids everywhere with me. It will be insane! I don't know what or how I will do it all but I will! Lots of prayers will be raised up I am sure!

We got to have my parents over night last week for a surprise visit. It was a surprise for both them and us! They were on their way home from Haiti and ended up getting stuck in Atlanta. So Jerry drove up there and got them and brought them here to spend the night. We were all pretty excited to see them! We haven't seen family for awhile so it was fun for everyone. The kids were just so happy! Anna got upset because she wanted them to stay for two nights. Sydney threw herself at grandma when she came in. Xavier talked and hugged them a lot. Jay stuck pretty close to grandpa and talked his ear off too. Caleb found his voice and hollered out every once and awhile too! He is such a riot!

Caleb's new thing now is to get going as fast as he can in his walker and then sail down the hallway! He also now runs (in the walker) with his arms up over his head and yells! Yes... he has found his voice!! And he loves it! And if you don't watch your ankles... he will run into them!

Well... off to laundry I go!

Been awhile...

It has been awhile since I have been on here to update I see. Ooops! Let's see... we have been super busy here! Sydney started taking dance lessons this past Tuesday, as well as Anna who is taking Ballet that night. Wednesday night we go to church for our kids' groups and I teach the Kindergartners about missionaries! Thursday Anna has tap, and on Saturday Jay and Anna both have Upwards games they are a part of. Jay plays Flag Football and Anna is a cheerleader! She is so cute out there in her little outfit! If we can just get Jay to keep his mouth piece in... he would be having a lot more fun!

Sydney has been a real handful lately! She has taken to screaming fits. It is wearing on all of us. She screams when she does not get her way... very frustrating. She does it at church now because she has found that some of the people will give in to her. I talked with the Children's director and she and I agreed on a course of action. I feel sorry for her teachers... I really do! I can hear her on Wednesday nights just screaming... sigh... I am praying that this is a phase that she grows out of soon. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we are running here and there 3 nights of the week and she isn't really used to it. I didn't run like this when Jay and Anna were this age, however, I don't think it is fair to make them stay home.

Xavier is getting to be such a big kid! He is so funny... he tries so hard to help out and is still a little on the small side. His legs are so long and skinny!! I can't believe he is 4 1/2 and next year will be 5!!! He talks himself to sleep at night now... that is pretty funny to listen to. At least until he starts hitting the wall!

Caleb is getting so big!! He has not interest in walking yet. He walks around things and will hold your hand for a bit. And he LOVES his walker!! Absolutely, LOVES it! He goes all over the house and runs, and I mean RUNS on the tile. He gets going and then glides with his feet dragging... it is hysterical. He is also cutting his front two teeth now. Soon he will be a 1 year old with 4 teeth!!

Our family is growing by leaps and bounds... it feels like I can see them change before my very eyes...

Our 10th Anniversary...

Jerry and I celebrated 10 years together this past Friday. We decided to go down to Eglin AFB in FL and hang out at the beach with the kids. We took off on Friday morning and got to the house we rented around 4:30 p.m. We unloaded the truck and then got back in the truck to go by the commissary to get food for the weekend. We ended up picking up lunchables and eating them at the beach. Once we were done the kids played in the sand... and the water, even though they were asked not to get in the water. BUT we were at the beach, and how hard is it to stay out of the water when you are kid?? VERY hard! Needless to say, they walked home with daddy while mommy drove the truck home with Caleb in his seat... he was the only one out of 5 kids that was still dry!

The next day we met up with our first friends in the Air Force, the Pasieka's! They met us at Navarre Beach. It was a great time! Very windy and a rough surf because we were there in between storms! However, the kids had an excellent time playing in the sand and water. Caleb wasn't too sure so he stayed with Ms. Joy most of the time. Sydney played in the sand and only in the water for a minute because she got a face full of water! Xavier had a blast flitting from place to place and holding onto daddy when he was close to the water. Anna and Jay had a blast laying on the beach and letting the waves hit them! They got a kick out of daddy taking them into the water. However, with the waves being the strength of a linebacker... Jerry did not stay in with them for very long. That is when they sat down and let the waves come up to them!

After the beach we picked up lunch and went back to their house, showered and the kids played outside and in. It was great catching up with our friends and watching the kids play. We all had so much fun, we can't wait to go back and do it again!

On Sunday, we took the kids to the beach bright and early (mainly because they were already up!) and then showered them, dressed them, and loaded up to leave. It seemed to take us twice as long to get home. We did stop at Cracker Barrel to eat dinner and the kids had their time to play checkers outside with daddy while mommy looked at the clearance (that daddy had already scoped out!). We got some Christmas presents taken care of which worked out well.

Monday we took the day to chill and to write in Jay and Anna's "journals" about what we did this weekend. They had a good time playing with their toys again and getting back into the swing of things.

We are thinking about signing Sydney and Anna up for a dance class that is right up the road at the Youth Center on base. I would like to put Sydney in. I think she would really get a kick out of it and have a good time. Anna would too, but she doesn't need to work on seperating herself from mommy so much as Syd does. We'll see though.

I found out that I got accepted to a writing institute. I don't know that I will do it. I might try it on my own first and see how it goes. However, I have a feeling that I will have to fight Jerry for time with the laptop in the evening because he found a deer hunting game that he enjoys playing... but we'll see.

A better week... I hope!

So we started school... and then had to stop 3 days in... Anna and Xavier both were sick all day Friday. I keep waiting to see if Jay or I will get sick and so far so good! Let's hope it lasts!

Today we started off pretty well. About halfway through school, Anna discovered that she had a loose tooth. She could have pulled it out if she wasn't such and ninny about blood. I can say that because I was the same way when I was her age! We got to lunch and she made her sister a sandwich and then made her own. She was going to take her second bite when she started freaking out... and I mean FREAKING out! As she was going to take her bite she first noticed that her tooth wasn't in her mouth and second that it was stuck in the bread of her sandwich! It was hysterical the way she carried on! I know... mean mom moment, right? I did calm her down and then got her to spit her food out to hold a paper towel to the new hole in her mouth. She pulled the napking out of her mouth... saw the blood and again started in with new hysterics! I got her calmed down and then she realized that she looks just like Xavier now and she started back up again... by then I just let her go! It was pretty funny.

Jay has not been having a good beginning to the week. So far he has managed to hurt both of his sisters... and one brother. He is at a pretty tough age... and I am trying to figure out what to do about that. I am hoping that Flag Football will help be an outlet for his energies!

Caleb is getting to be a good little stinker! He is so funny with the things that he does!! He sticks his tongue out a lot to feel his new teeth. He loves following people around in his walker. And he is getting pretty quick on it too! His siblings love and adore him and he is starting to figure out how to love back!! He pats their backs, pulls their hair, and slobbers on them... such a good baby!

Sydney is trying to be bigger than she is. She wants to help with so much but is still just a little to small to be helpful. She loves to play in her room with her babies and watch Olivia, My Little Ponies, or Strawberry Shortcake.

Xavier can't wait to start his school but at the same time... he loves to play with the trains in his room and Legos too. He and Sydney will play together well for about half the day and then their patience for each other seems to be gone! That is about the time that we try and do seperate activities!

My mom sent me an application to apply for a Writing College. We'll see how that goes. I sent it in and am waiting to hear back. I feel like there is something great in me that I need/should write... I just don't know what it is yet. Hopefully, IF I get accepted we can look into it in more detail.

Jerry is really enjoying his job. He seems busy and he likes busy. He has really missed being with troops the last 3 years and is going to miss it for another couple being here, but he has a lot of projects that he has to get done so that should keep him busy. The plus side is that he gets to come home for lunch at least a couple times a week. THAT has not happened EVER. The kids enjoy him coming home as do I. He really likes the fact that the gym is minutes away and he can work out early in the morning and shower at home, not at the gym! I am not complaining about that either!

On Sunday we went to Lane Orchard. WOW! It was amazing! Peaches, pecans, corn, tomatoes... EVERYWHERE! They even had a cafe, an ice cream shop, and a production line that you could see. There were tours of their place too. Since it was Sunday the line wasn't running, but we still saw where all the people sit and sort the peaches and pecans. It was pretty cool and the kids really liked their homemade ice cream!! We can't wait to go back and try their food and visit their production line.

Other than that... we are getting a long. Our street is now full. All the houses are occuppied. I felt a little isolated this past week with the kids being sick... still do a little. But this is the beginning of a new week! Can't wait to see what it has in store.

First Day of School!

Today was our first day of school! It was anything but smooth too!

Anna woke me up at 6:45 a.m. telling me that Sydney had thrown up in her bed... yeah... that was a lot of fun! So we started school with an on again, off again puker! It made for an interesting day. BUT we got it started! Our timeline is up... their first lessons done... and they got to design their notebook covers so it was all good!

I don't know that I saw Xavier for very long today. I think he pretty much played in his room all day by himself. He was so funny though! He would come out and ask me if it was his turn yet! Unfortunately, that was one thing that had to go today. I did not get his school started with him, but I don't think he minded that much because his trains kept him busy most of the day! He is such a funny little boy!

Sydney is finally starting to feel better. She hasn't gotten sick for over 2 hours now! That is a good sign. She slept most of the day away and got sick in between... poor thing is so tiny that it just makes her look smaller.

Jay and Anna seemed to have a good day despite the many interruptions. We signed Anna up for Upward Cheerleading and Jay for Upward Flag Football today. They are really excited about starting this Saturday. It will prove interesting!

We have decided on going to Central Baptist Church. The kids loved it and they talk about church all week. We went to the contemporary service this Sunday and really liked it. It is a BIG church building but a small sized feeling with the people. We really enjoyed it and everyone made us feel at ease and welcome. We like that they have such a missions oriented church. With my parents being missionaries we felt like this was the place for us. It also brought back good memories from our first church home in the Air Force, Alice Drive Baptist Church.

Slowly, we are getting new neighbors! We had 2 new neighbors move in this weekend. We met one but not the other... sick kids kind of put a damper on things!

However!! I almost forgot! We watched some of our friend's kids on Saturday and then they watched our kids on Sunday. Jerry and I went to see the Harry Potter movie and eat out! It was our first date here! It was a lot of fun. After we went out we hung out with our friends for awhile and then took the kids home and put them to bed! It was WONDERFUL!!

I think that is about it! Hope all is well with everyone!

Settling in...

We are settling into our new house. It is feeling more and more like home each day... although there are still moments that it feels like we are just "visiting" with all our things! Tomorrow we get our cable hooked up and our extra boxes picked up. So we will be able to watch regular TV and news AND reclaim our front porch. I am excited about that because I will be able to put down their mats under their play set and they can play while it is in the cool shade.

Caleb continues to pull up on everything. He is getting so big!

Xavier has been having problems going to sleep on his own lately. He likes to pester Jay and vice versa... not quite sure how we are going to remedy this but will figure something out. Evidently we are not getting all the energy out of our boys and yet the girls are passed out by bedtime.

We tried a church today. We liked it but will try some more before we make a decision. We went to a traditional service and it was VERY traditional. Not in a bad way, just felt like when I was growing up.

I have school planned out for the kids and I am going to start with them on the 20th of July. I think they are going to enjoy school this year. We got the test scores back from this past year and they were not bad but they were not entirely great either. I will test them again at the end of this year, but I will be the one administering the test so we will see if that makes a difference or not.

Jerry so far is enjoying his new work assignment. He took us by his building today and we drove around base to see what else there was around. Both of us are pretty excited that the gym isn't too far from our house. We are both taking classes. He is taking a spin and ab class. I am trying out an aerobics class, a spin class, and a step class. I have already done the step class and got completely stomped by older men! But, I will get there!! They have been going for years, so I don't feel so bad. I did get to see an OLD man do Zumba though... THAT was awesome!

All in all, we are slowly finding things to fill our time. We just don't have a lot of kids around or anything like that yet.

Our new home!

This could be really long so I am going to shorten it!

-We arrived in Warner Robins on Monday the 22nd of June.
-We stayed in our new house on Wednesday the 23rd.
-We had our household goods delivered on Friday the 26th.
-Jerry in-processed the base on Tuesday and Wednesday the 30th and 1st of July.
-The cable company ran lines and set up boxes this week.
-Our phone was hooked up today as well as our DSL line!
-We unpacked our last box today!
-Our house is starting to feel like home...

In between all that... Caleb cut 2 teeth, slept with Jerry and I until we got his crib, and started pulling himself up on our tables and couches! Sydney has reverted back to her screaming fits... yeah for us... but has shown great love for all of us, especially Caleb (sometimes too much!)! Xavier has adjusted pretty well... does unsmart things sometimes, like throw the Wii remote across the room b/c he is trying to bowl 'real fast' (just missed the new TV). Anna has lost a tooth and has become very helpful and reliable. Jay has a loose tooth and has become helpful in certain aspects!

We are hoping to try our first church on Sunday. We haven't really decided where we are going to start yet, but will hopefully find something that fits with our family well! We do not have neighbors on either side of us. We have a commander and a family that live a couple of houses down though. We have heard that the chaplain is to move in to one of the houses next to us. There are 4 houses around us that are done, just not occuppied. Behind our house there are another 3 being finished. So each morning we wake up to workers working on houses!

Evidently, we are somewhat near the firing range. Not close enough to catch a stray bullet or anything but within earshot of the firings and explosions. Almost sounds like a warzone! Well, only in the garage, laundry room and kitchen. The rest of our rooms must be sound proofed or something. We also hear sonic booms here. That is pretty fun. The first time I heard it we were at the pool with the kids and it sounded like something exploded. The second time I was in the house and my walls shook a bit. That will be something to get used to.

When we walk out our front door and look to our right, across the road we can see the horses in their corrals. That is pretty fun. Supposedly we can see deer in the morning if we get up early enough. So far we haven't seen them because we have been working until we are exhausted and then sleeping in with the kids... when they let us!

I think that is about it... We are settling. Now as Jay reminded me the other day, "Mom, we have been here for a whole week and we still don't have any friends...", we just have to start meeting people!

The real fun is about to begin!

We found out today that our house has been accepted by the base!! Hooray! That means that when we get down to GA we will have a place waiting for us! Now we just have to set up a time to have our "stuff" delivered!

Today is Jerry's birthday. He is officially 32 and has enjoyed a full year at home... no deployments. He has been to ALROC (a class for advanced logistics), gone on inspections, seen the birth of our 5th baby, had a shoulder surgery, gone on more inspections, retired a good friend of ours from the Air Force, and packed out our house in Ohio. Now we are moving on to our next adventure in his career in the Air Force. We are blessed! With the Career Broadening Program he will not be able to be deployed, however, there will be conferences and things of the such that will take him away for weeks at a time possibly. But for the most part, he will be able to be home with us!

We are having an interesting time staying with family. The kids are getting a little crazy. Understandibly so... they have no space of their own or their own home. I am getting a little short tempered, I know... Jerry seems to be the only one that is uneffected by our situation. It will be sad to leave family, but it will be nice to have our own house again and our own things around us!

Well the monkeys are getting rambunctious... must be hungry or something! I mean... really... it's only lunch time, right?!

Homeless...

Yes... we are officially homeless now. It is very strange to be homeless with 5 kids... We got word on Tuesday that our things are in storage in Macon, GA. We are staying with Jerry's parents right now, next week we will be staying at my parents house while they are away at a conference, and the following week we will be staying at Jerry's parents before we pack up our vehicles one last time before out BIG MOVE!

It is all happening really fast. We are having a great time visiting with family. We are going to see my brother and his family tonight and then later next week we are going to catch up with Jerry's older sister. In between all that we are going to see Jerry's younger sister, Jerry and his dad are going to reroof his dad's garage, and our older two will be attending a summer camp! So despite it all we are keeping busy.

While we have been home, Caleb has learned to pull himself up steps and to pull himself into his toy basket. He is growing so fast it is hard to keep up! I feel like I am missing some of it because we are so busy with the other kids and life! Picture taking has ramped up since he started doing things like pulling up too!

We have gone to the Children's Museum and plan to do other trips as well. Jay and Anna are finishing up school and the younger 3 play together for the most part. Xavier and Sydney still have their moments where they fight but those times are becoming less! Caleb loves to get into the middle of what they are doing and tries to climb onto them to play too. They get a kick out of it most of the time!

Friday Jerry has to go back to finish his out processing. I think I am going to go with him. We'll see though. We were going to try and take Caleb to the doctor one more time but his doctor will not be there on Friday. I am hoping to catch up with some friends that I left without saying good-bye! But again... we'll see!

I am going to spend this Saturday with Jerry's mom and sisters and my mom as well. We are going to have a girls day out! Should be fun! We don't really know what we are doing yet... but will by the end of the week! Becky (Jerry's older sister) and I are both going without children. I am a little nervous leaving Caleb, but know he will be all right with daddy and gpa. It will just be strange to not have him with me!

Anyway, I think that is about it. At least for now!

Done in OH, now in IN!

All of our things are now in Macon, GA being stored until we reach the base and set up for our things to be delivered to our new home. Yes... we have a new home! We will be moving to 202 Fort Valley Street on Warner Robins AFB. The home is brand new as are the homes in that area. It will prove to be our most interesting move yet as we have 5 children this time and we will be living on the actual base. We have lived in base housing before... just never ON base. The benefits are very good. We will be close -as in a half a mile- to a gym, a lake, and a running track. Thankfully, we will also be moving up in square footage too! The house is 2500 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths with a 2 car garage attached and all in a single story! It will hopefully give us some room to breathe! We were in 1580 sq. ft., 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, with a single car garage in a 2 stories in Dayton. We are hoping to downsize a little with the amount of "stuff" we have too...
While we are in transition, we are staying with Jerry's parents in Whitestown, IN. We will be here until the 20th of June or so. We are hoping to get our house on the 22nd and get delivery of our household goods that week. We will keep everyone posted as to when and what we will be doing.

A funny story from when I brought Jay and Anna and Caleb back to IN:
We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Richmond, IN to eat supper. We went in and got our table. The server came up and asked us all what we wanted to drink and Jay was quick to answer, "I want a diet coke!" I quickly shook my head to the server and said, "No, we still have a long drive ahead of us. We will all take water. Thank you." The server paused for a moment and Jay again quickly responded with, "Well how about a beer?! Can I have a beer?" Wow... really?! See, I know I looked like I had been living a rough life b/c I was in my cut off sweats and a T-shirt, NO make up to speak off, and I am sure my hair was looking a little wild! What that server must have thought... I have no clue! I just laughed and said... "No... we are not having ROOT BEER either!" At least the server got a little giggle out of it... I was mortified! Oh well. What do you do?

On Memorial Day, we went over to see my Grandpa Dragon's new house and visit with the family. It was a lot of fun! We got to see all the cousins -well, the closer ones- and their kids and life was grand. Xavier had to life threatening events... He fell down 3/4 of the basement stairs, from the top of course, and he almost ran behind a car backing out. I love that boy dearly, and I swear one of the days he is going to give me a heart attack! Someone asked me if I ever wished I had stopped at 2... to which I replied, "On days like today... yes!" However, I can't imagine my life without my 5 kids. And I do thank God for them daily.
Despite the rain and the mud, we had a fantastic family gathering. One of my uncles brought an old home video from 12 years ago. That was fun to watch and see us all young. To be honest, I don't remember that day, but it looked like I had a lot of fun. What a joy it must have been for my grandparents to see their kids and their kids' kids all playing on a beautiful afternoon! I look forward to those days with my own children. But I sure don't want to rush to it! I am enjoying this stage a lot right now!

Gotta get the last of the kids to bed!

Let the chaos begin!

So we are down to our final push this weekend before our movers come on Monday. I have the girls packed for the most part and their small clothes put up in Space Saver bags. Now I just need to finish their laundry and the boys so I can put the girls clothes in bags or a suitcase and begin the boys packing! Whew... A lot left to do and short time to do it... Hopefully it will all go quickly and smoothly.

Our trip to Vegas was a lot of fun. We felt like we were in a whirlwind the whole time, but enjoying ourselves as we went. We didn't get to go down to the strip or do any real gambling. We didn't really want to gamble but we would have liked to have seen the strip. We will see it this fall hopefully! We did get to see some of the hotels downtown. Jerry got to see the inside of the Luxor hotel and we both got to see the inside of the Bellagio as our friends took us to see the "O" show there. It is their Cirque du Soliel show and it was ASTOUNDING! Simply amazing! The tricks and side shows and the water and the stunts... WOW! It is defintely a show anyone going there should see!

While we were there Caleb got sick, which isn't too good since he is a slow weight gainer. Jerry and I talked it over and we are supplementing him with formula. With the stress of the move and how small he is already... we can't really take any chances with him not gaining what he should. I am a little saddened but at the same time I feel a little more free. He is the longest I have nursed any of my boys. Half the time I feel like I fight him to nurse because he wants to see the kids or what is going on around him. This way he can.

Jerry cut Caleb's hair this week as well. He cut off his little mohawk... that makes me sad. He doesn't look like a little baby anymore. He looks like a bigger baby... So many changes in one week are starting to weigh on my emotions here! All sweet babies must get bigger and all military families have to move eventually... this I know, but it doesn't make it any easier when it stares you in the face!

We are hoping to have some good family time before we move down to GA. We still haven't found a house to buy or rent. That is starting to get to Jerry and I but we are just holding on to our faith in that God provides us what we need when we need it and that is that!

My parents are coming over this Friday to drop off furniture and take two of our kiddos back with them. We were going to send the older 4 home but decided that Jay and Anna are old enought that they will probably need closure on this move. So we are keeping them and Caleb with us and sending Xavier and Sydney home to spend the week with g-parents. Hopefully, it will be a lot less stress all around for everyone! Only time will tell though!

I better get off here and fold some clothes and switch the others over so I can finish up the packing of our clothes that we HAVE to have!!

We hope to see all our local friends and ones in IN before we go. Please forgive us if we don't!

The Countdown Begins!

Well we are at that point again... we are counting down the days until the packers come!

Friday (May 1) I am heading back to IN with the kids (except Xavier, because he is already in IN with Gma/pa Ottinger) and staying the night with my brother, Andrew, and his wife, Sandy, and their son, Andy. We are planning on staying a couple nights with them before heading to Jerry's parent's house. The kids will stay there for most of the week, while I fly out on Wednesday (May 6) to go to Las Vegas!! Jerry is going to be meeting me there on Thursday. Friday he is doing a retirement ceremony and on Saturday (May 9) we fly out to come back home. Mother's Day we will get to see both of our mothers before we head back to OH for our final week in our house before the packers come! Our plan is to come back to IN on Saturday (May 16) to see family and drop off the kids so that we can have a little less stress while the packers are here. Then on Sunday we are going to celebrate my brother, Michael's birthday and head to OH! The next morning, May 18, begins our adventure in moving!!

Jerry and I will be in OH with Caleb finishing up our house cleaning and all that we want to take with us. On Friday, May 22, we check out of our house at 2:30 and will hopefully be free and clear for the holiday weekend! Then we are going to be hanging around with family for a couple of weeks before we head to GA to find our new home.

Part of us is hoping to find a place to live before we get there... but that is really hard to do when you are not there to actually look. We have some pretty great friends down there that run to different houses for us to look at them to see if they will work for us or not. That is helping us narrow down our prospects pretty quickly! We know that God has a place for us and it will be right where he wants us. However, the not knowing of where that is... sometimes catches up with our human side! We are trusting and resting in that trust that there is a home for us.

Well, I need to go fold some more clothes and sort some more things! Off I go!!

Catch Up!

Okay... so there is alot to catch up on! We celebrated Sydney's 3rd birthday with our families on April 4th. We had an awesome time visiting with family and hanging out and playing games! My grandpa made the trip up with his new wife, both Jerry's sisters were there with family, and both my brothers and family were there. We had a cookout, hid some eggs for the kids to find, had cake, and opened presents! Sydney had a great time and was completely worn out by the end of the day.

In the last couple of weeks Caleb has really taken off developmental-wise. He sits up now if you set him down that way. Then he usually leans to the side to get on his belly because he can roll EVERYWHERE now!! He is so cute! You put him in the middle of the room, turn around, and the next thing you know... he is next to a couch on the opposite side of the room! He cracks us up and the kids get a big kick out of watching him go all over. He is getting so big.

Our big move is getting closer, and closer... sigh... We set the dates for our movers to come. They will be at our house packing us up on May 18, 19, and maybe the 20th... just depends on how long it takes them to pack us up. A family of 7... accumulates a lot! Then on the 21st they are loading it all up and taking it away! We are hoping to find some place to rent so we can move in June 1st... but we will see how things work out. There are some great houses out there, we just hope they are still there when we get there!

Jay and Anna are testing this week. They are taking the Iowa Basic test for 1st graders. We wanted to get an idea of just where they are at and what we need to improve on. The first day was tough for them... first time to do anything like that was bound to be. Jay shouted out answers a couple of times, and got bored so he filled in the circles because he was done -randomly filled them in, of course! Thankfully, the proctor made him erase them and do it over! Anna meanwhile, just didn't do 2 pages because she couldn't keep up. The proctor told me that there are things on the test that are older grades, just to see how much the kids know. That made me feel a little bit better, but not much. Anna said the proctor was reading too fast and she asked her to slow down. The proctor said she did slow down as much as she could but had to move on because the majority was done... She is young to be testing so I will leave it at that. However, day 2 went much better. Both kids came out happy and energetic and really thrilled with what they did! So hopefully day 3 will be even better and all will work out to the best!

Our next 5 weeks are going to be hectic... I am not looking forward to some of it and am for some of it! The moving is going to be stressful. We have a trip to Vegas in there which will be a nice break before the intense things begin! And then it will all happen very quickly.

Please pray that all will go smoothly and we will all stay healthy and that we find a place to live!

Single parent week comes to a close!

My week of single parenting is finally up! The kids and I dropped Jerry off at the airport right before lunch last Saturday. He was supposed to be home LATE Friday night... well, 2 days later... he is finally home!! Hooray!

Our week went well. The kids and I went shopping for Sydney's birthday party, which we are having on the 4th with our families. I braved Michael's first and then we went to Target! They were really good for the most part. They helped me with ideas on what to pick out for the gift bags and the like. Tinker Bell is the theme but we are also going to "hunt" eggs! Should be fun.

Friday was a bittersweet day for me. I had to say good-bye, for now, to some neighbors. They are moving to GA, the same place we are going. It has been nice to really get to know them. It makes our move that much more smooth in my mind. We don't have to start from scratch with friends or for me... a support system!

I also had some childhood friends come over from out of town with their children. We had so much fun! All the kids played well together. Melissa had her 2 year old daughter, Amelia, and her 7 mos old son, Eli. Krysta had her 15 (?) mos old son, Victor. So we had LOTS of little ones, but it wasn't overwhelming. We fed the kids dinner and visited for awhile then got the kids all ready for bed. Once we got the kids settled, we ate BAD food and watched Twilight. We had to pause a couple of times, but that just meant we got to get refills on our food! The next morning our kids slept in until 8:30! It was wonderful!! We fed the kids breakfast. While the coffee brewed brewed for us, I made the adults lemon scones. We visited some more, and then they loaded up their child(ren) and headed out.

It is always so much fun to have friends over! The ones that you have known for a long time bring something different to a visit! To think back and revisit all the silly things we did, or serious things that happened... We had a nice time catching up on each others' extended family, baby stories, and life in general. I don't get a lot of adult time with other women. So when I get it... I enjoy it and cherish it. So THANK YOU Melissa and Krysta for stopping by to visit me and my kiddos!

Today the kids and I played the Playstation 2 and just had fun. We ate pizza and hung out until bed time. THEN Xavier decided he was going to hide under his bed while everyone else got ready for bed. This really isn't something new, I just let it go longer this time. I decided that if he wanted to hide... he could hide. I put all the other kids to bed and hugged and kissed them and left the room. A little while later, I heard him banging around playing. So I went in and asked him what he thought he was doing. He said he was ready to get ready for bed. I told him it was past that time and he better just get in bed. Jay was also informed that if he incited his brother to playing, he would be spanked as well. Sure enough, I had to spank their bottoms a little while later because they were playing again. However, I did not hear from them again!

Jerry pulled in safe. He had to take a taxi because I didn't have anyone to watch the kiddos and he was flying in late. It is good to have him home. We are going to be mapping out our "game plan" for the move and all that here in the next few weeks. Hopefully, we can make a trip to GA to do some house hunting... but as of right now... our calendar is looking VERY full!!

We'll see and keep you all posted!

Single parenting

Well this week I am a single parent. At least it is a week! Jerry meanwhile gets to enjoy AZ weather for the week! I am hoping for at least... spring weather! It always motivates me to clean and reorganize!! I might just paint some walls this week too!!

Our neighbors that are moving to GA (same place where we are going) are leaving this Friday... their packers are at their house and the movers come tomorrow. I will miss them! But at least I know I will see them in a couple of months. Unfortunately, they might not be just across the street anymore... but at least a short drive!

Jay has had a couple of really good weeks with school. His reading is so much better! He is motivated to read! Anna on the other hand, has been having a tougher time. I am not quite sure why, but I am hoping to narrow it down because it is really getting old! She seems to be getting more emotional... sigh... oh the things to come!

Xavier is now asking to do school! That is exciting and daunting all at the same time! Sydney even asked... but I think she was just more repeating what Xavier was saying. Who knows though... I start with Xavier she might want to as well! Could be good!!

Jerry and I are going to be attending the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention. It is downtown this year, so it should prove to be fun! I am looking forward to it. I am not sure how much he is, but it will give him some good bonding time with Caleb while I attend sessions. I am thinking that I am going to switch up some of my curriculum. I need boxes to check off... I think. We'll see.

I am slowly attempting to organize and slim down some of our possessions. It would be nice to have everything organized before we move, but I am just hoping to have the important stuff done!

Hope all is well!

Ways to freak out kids... and Xavier's birthday!

Tips on how to "freak out" a 6-year old... When daddy brings home "bait minnows" and has extra that he puts in a vase... DO NOT attempt to freshen water without holding something over the opening to keep fish inside the vase. They WILL jump out... and land inside the garbage disposal! They WILL flop around. Well, at least until you run water and turn on the disposal... then, not so much! Of course for me, all of this occured in front of Anna, whom Jerry had told the fish were "hers". Traumatized... she screams, "NO!! You killed my fish! My fish! My fish! You killed my fish!!" Yeah, I got to be the voice of reality on that one! While I am trying to explain as rationally as you can while being screamed at... I am continually trying not to burst out laughing at her! Finally, I gave up and had her call daddy so he could explain that those fish were going in the freezer that night anyway to be used as bait at a later time! Bless her little heart... she is so sensitive. Next time, it is all dad dealing with the fish!

We celebrated Xavier's birthday two weekends in a row! We went home for a last minute family get together and had a great time. We got to see family and the kids and I got to see Uncle Andrew and Aunt Sandy's new house. It was so beautiful out that weekend that we played outside on Friday and Saturday. Then we came home and three of our kids came down with allergies! Isn't that fun?! I ended up getting a touch too, however, I always end up getting the hideous cough at the end of mine... and that has been LOADS of fun.

This past weekend we took the kids to brunch at the Big Boy up the road from us. We questioned our thinking on the way out the door with a SCREAMING Sydney, and again when we were seated. But as soon as food was put in front of her (we did the breakfast bar), she was as good as gold! We had such a good family time on Saturday and it flowed over to Xavier's actual birthday on Sunday... it was nice. We spaced out his presents and I think he savored his birthday far more then if he just tore into them.

All in all he had a good birthday. He got books -which he loves, a scooter, helmet with knee and elbow pads, Pinnochio, and an outfit from Gma!

It is amazing that he has grown so much. I have to start thinking about Preschool with him next year... Makes me wonder how Sydney will react when he starts doing "school". Anna didn't like being left out when I started with Jay... Sydney is her own little person though... she might not care on bit!

We are still trying to decide if we want to rent or buy in Ga. We have a realtor and are approved for a loan. Now we just have to find time to go down there and look! We will keep everyone posted!

Time to shed.

This week a neighbor moved out of the neighborhood... and two more are scheduled to move in the next couple of weeks too. I am feeling the itch to move. Mainly because all of my close neighbors are moving. I can't wait for the nicer weather to get here. I want to go through a lot of things and shed things that we have out grown or don't need anymore. That makes it sound like we have a lot of unnecessary things in our house, and really we don't. We just have 5 kids and along with that comes all of their "accessories" that are needed at one point or another. So my goal will be to find an organizational way to have things where they need them, when they need them, and be able to FIND them! Ha! In other words, get rid of things that are not going to be used again for another child and label what I store.

We are going to head over to IN this weekend to celebrate (Aunt) Mary's birthday and Xavier and see family. My brother and his wife and child moved to Fishers, which is a suburb city of Indianapolis, so we want to stop by and see their house. My parents put their house on the market so we might have to stay with Jerry's parents more. Which will be interesting! My father-in-law told us if we ever needed to stay with them they would pull their camper into the driveway to stay in, and we could have the house! I thought that was pretty funny at the time, but now... I see his point! So it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

Next week Jay and Anna are getting their 6 year old molars capped and I get to get a temporary crown put on a tooth! Yeah for me... did you catch that bit of sarcasm? I really do not like the dentist. I am glad the my kids don't mind going. It will be interesting to see if that changes for them after Tuesday. I wouldn't think that it would, but you never know. Jerry had his teeth capped when he was younger so he hasn't ever had a cavity. He doesn't know how lucky he is! Thankfully, my MIL will be coming over to help watch the kids so I can get their appointments and mine done.

Other than that... I don't know that we have anything else going on. We finally got Sydney over the bug that Jay had. Poor thing got sick all over again on Saturday after she had it on Wednesday! It was not good. But we are past that and moving on!

I hope everyone's week is going well!

Flu bugs stink...

Yesterday we had a couple of sick boys. Xavier was first. He had the runs and was cranky... so I took him upstairs and we took a nap together for a bit. He slept for 2 hours and I slept for 30 minutes. The funny thing about that is that usually if he naps... he doesn't go to bed on time. Well, that night he did and was passed out all night long, which worked out well since Jay was really sick. Jay threw up on our kitchen floor right as he was going to the bathroom because he said his "tummy was angry". Then he continued to be sick every hour after that until 4:30 a.m. It was draining and tiring. Thankfully, he feels a little better now... I just need to keep him hydrated, warm, and fed.

Then this morning, Sydney tried to take responsibility for her own breakfast and dumped Cheerios all over my living room floor. I told her, "Well, there is your breakfast! Have fun!" The floor is clean, in case you are wondering and the majority of them did land in her cup that she was using! She and Xavier split the cereal and were happy with that. Anna got her own cereal. I had them all drink water all day so that if they do catch anything it will hopefully flush out of their systems quickly.

Tonight I got to play Bunco with some really great ladies. If you ever wonder about how small the AF is, I can tell you! I met 3 different ladies that all knew someone that I knew! It was really neat to find that out. I had never met any of these women and yet only having been to 3 bases, I have met a lot of people. Makes me wonder if anyone that I have met over the years ever says, "Oh! Do you know the Ottingers?" It would be interesting to know what they say back!! I am sure it is probably along the lines of, "Have they had their 6th child yet?" or "They have how many now?"

Something else that is funny is that I have had so many adult conversations in the last 4 days, that I can't keep conversations straight anymore! It has been really nice to have those conversations too!! I found out that two of my friends are having twins! That is really exciting news for them! Unfortunately, I will not get to see them when they are born. Oh the joy of military life. On the other hand though, I find out people are moving and where too and get to get all excited about their move with them.

Jerry got our name on the housing list for Robins. We won't find out anything about a house until we are closer to moving. Which won't be for another couple of months... so we will have to wait and see! We are just praying that we know which path to take when the time comes to choose, stay in base housing? Or rent?

We'll see! Need to get to bed now!

Gotta love a man that gets things done!

We are excited that we have our official orders now! We are moving to GA the end of June/beginning of July. However, we will be out of our house here in OH byt the end of May. It should work out well with the kids school schedule as well! We are hoping to get into base housing, but that will depend on whether or not we are able to get a 5 bedroom or not.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. Jerry got a lot done. He started with saving us $20 on our phone bill/DSL bill and then progressed to getting $5 off our dish bill and adding free HBO and Starz for 3 mos!! That will take us right up to our leave time... what a great husband!

Jay is going through a mouthy stage right now... Anna seems to be picking up on his bad behavior. My responsible child, Anna, is now entering a new phase that I am hoping does not last long! Xavier is still being his funny little self. He smiles through everything!

Sydney has not figured out how to stay in one place when she is upset. She ran into the kitchen with her eyes closed, mouth wide open, head back and threw herself at me. Unfortunately for her, I was turning to catch her and she flew past me straight into the dishwasher... face first. Bloody nose, bloody top and bottom lips... and she might have chipped a tooth, not too bad thankfully. I thought it was going to be a lot worse but thankfully it wasn't.

Caleb is our little monkey-baby! He clings to me just like Sydney used to. He also sleeps like Anna did at his age (lay him in his crib with his blankie and he might fuss once but then is out like a light). He is so fun and happy! The kids adore his every laugh, coo, and when he is on the floor- his rolling! We started feeding him baby food today. He seems a lot happier now that he feels like he is eating like the rest of us! His favorite thing to do right now is blow raspberries... all the time... he likes to watch his pacifier fly out of his mouth or watch cereal fly all over you!

All our kids are growing. They have all been eating like their legs are hollow. And they have also been cranky and then crashing out early for bed time! It is funny and sometimes frustrating that they are on the same growth time table! At least I know when I am going to have to buy new clothes!

Our next couple of months are going to be a bit hectic. We have to finish school, sort through our belongings and sluff off the "stuff" that we don't need! I hope everyone out there is doing well!

The Birthday Celebrations Begin....

For the next 3 months we have birthdays for, obviously, 3 of our kids!

Anna's celebrating started this weekend. When asked what she wanted to do for her birthday, she said she wanted to get her ears pierced. Grandma and Grandpa Dragon had come over for a visit to celebrate her 6th birthday, so grandma and mommy took her to Claire's in the mall and got it done! She was all brave and excited until they got the guns out and the ladies tried lining up to pierce her ears... then she kind of got a little tense! But in the end... she was a big girl! And she loves it! Hopefully, she is much better than her mother was at this age with pierced ears!

Anna seems to be our easiest child to buy anything for. She loves clothes and sewing and crocheting and coloring and drawing. She is so easy to please it is great! And then we have Xavier... he is so hard to buy anything for! Clothes... he couldn't care less. Star Wars toys are great but not young enough for him and books he likes but then loses interest... What do you get a 4 year old boy? He does like Gameboy and computer games. But we have so many already! Kind of frustrating... Sydney, who is after Xavier in the birthday line up, is pretty easy to please like Anna. She likes baby dolls, clothes, little dolls, hair bands, dolls, coloring books, etc...

It is fascinating to sit and watch each of them at the dinner table and just watch the differences in personalities and the similarities too! The smaller ones each look up to their older siblings and a lot of times mimic them in order to learn. Xavier has been coming in to the kitchen when I am doing school with Anna and Jay and seems to get a kick out of watching them. I think next year he will be ready for a preschool program.

Well, little Caleb is howling... better go rescue the poor, little, left-alone baby!

More kids for us? Or ... not.

Last week I asked Jerry to really think about whether or not we are going to have anymore kids. Why did I ask him to think about it? Because I really want both of us to be in agreement one way or the other if we are done or not. That weekend I did not feel good and ended up going to bed at 6:30 because I felt so awful. That left Jerry taking care of the kids with his parents (b/c they were visiting). He fed them, bathed them, and put them to bed. During which time Sydney probably threw 2-4 fits...? (I don't know that you could really call them fits... because they are loud and obnoxious and VERY annoying. She screams and cries at the top of her lungs and won't listen... sometimes kicks and flails her arms... yeah, not pretty by any stretch of the imagination!) The next night I still didn't feel right but was helping with the others while Jerry brushed Xavier's teeth. Xavier stuck his finger all the way in the back of his mouth, gagged, and proceeded to throw up all over the sink, the bath mat, and the toilet... Right in front of Jerry of course! So the next day he looks at me and says, "I am done thinking... there is no way I want to take a chance on having another kid that throws fits like Sydney and has no disgusting factor like Xavier! I am done!" Meanwhile, I have had time to think about it and my thought was, "Let's wait until November to decide permanently!" :-) So... nothing permanent will be done, but neither will we be trying! If it happens, it will be God's doing and not our own.

With our move coming up faster than I want to think about... I need to go through all of our things and shave off a couple 100 pounds of clothes and what not! Should be interesting stuff! We are looking to rent down in GA because we will be there for 2 years and the base housing lady told me that their 4 bedrooms are only 1400 sq. ft. We are in a 1500 now and are comfortable... anything less and we will be cramped!

I am having to take Caleb to the doctor every couple of weeks for weight checks... this is nothing new for me. My last three kids seem to have taken a growth path that freaks doctors out. Thankfully, I have a down to earth pediatrician that actually BELIEVES me! That and my kids have a history of dropping in their growth curves until the find their own. The doctor said he wanted to just chart his growth before taking blood and doing a whole lot of work ups on him to make sure it is just genetics and not something else. Caleb meets all the milestones, and is happy and active. He said if he hadn't seen him and just looked at a chart he would order the blood work, but Caleb charmed his way through it all!

Jay and Anna are still doing great with their school and we will be able to finish before we move. Xavier and Sydney have actually both been really good the last couple of days... Jerry and I are astounded by how good Sydney has been. Her screaming fits have ceased! (Jerry thinks it was the threat of no more kids!) I think she just grew out of it.

Oh and by the way... funny part about the whole Sydney's fit thing was that my parents said she reminded them of me at that age and Jerry's mom said that the fits reminded her of Jerry at that age!! SO evidently, we got double whammied with her! She has been having fits for 3 mos. now and they seemed to have just ended yesterday. In my opinion, I have to agree with my MIL because she said Jerry threw those kinds of fits until he realized that it didn't get him anywhere... and I think that is what happened with Sydney. She just ends up being sent to her room until she calms down and she doesn't like being away from us. Silly girl!

Anyway, that is it on our end for this week.

New Assignment!

This week we found out for sure that Jerry DID get picked to be a part of the LCBP, Logistics Career Broadening Program, and that we are going to be moving to Warner Robins AFB, GA!! How fun is that?? (We would have liked VA, but this is the next closest to family... literally!) We will be headed south again. I figure if we survived SC then GA shouldn't be too much different! I guess we will find out though, and real soon! We don't know our exact move date yet, but should in the next couple of months. We hope sooner. It should prove to be a good two years of Jerry's career. He will be switching from job to job within the ALC, Aerial Logistics Command, under the General there. The good thing for the family is that they will not deploy him while he is there. So the next two years he has nothing but family!!

We also are finalizing some plans to go to Vegas this summer. One of our neighbors from SC that had Jerry do his re-enlistment has asked him to do his retirement ceremony. Hopefully, we will get all our plans hammered out in the next week! We are really excited to be a part of his retirement as well as humbled that he would ask us!

This summer is going to prove to be a busy one that is for sure. We have Vegas, house hunting to do, a move to get through, and establishing a new community all in one year! It will be stressful at times and probably pretty crazy too... but it always brings us closer as a family and always brings us more dear friends.

The kids are doing well. They don't really understand a lot of what we talk about... or so we think... and then they will ask us questions about whether or not their friend is moving too. The move from GA will begin to mark when our moves will become harder on the kids I think. Mainly because Jay and Anna are at the age where they want their own friends their age. They will miss their friends here, as they have other friends from our previous move, but they will remember the next set of friends more.

Jerry seems to be happy with finally knowing where we are going. I am. However, I also look around at all the "stuff" that we have acquired since moving here and it is staggering. Yes, we have added two kids, but WOW! We have to start winnowing down what we have and soon! I feel it like a bad itch. I just want to get it done. At the same time, I need to focus on what is important and that is the kids' school and the kids' themselves. And so it will be until their school is done and then it will be a spring cleaning like none other!!

So if anyone is looking for anything specific, let me know... I might just have it!

Why you should never play Wii with children on couches behind you...

Okay... so... Jerry has been out this week and will return tomorrow... While he is away something always seems to happen. Well, all right, it just seems more traumatic then if he were here!

So the kids convinced me to play Wii with them Tuesday night. We have a rule that when we play people that are not playing have to sit on the couches (we have 2). In our living room there is one on the back wall and one sideways to seperate the pack and play from the rest of the room. I decided to try my hand at hitting homeruns... Xavier and Sydney were on the couch behind me, Jay was on the floor in front and off to the side of me, and Anna was on the other couch beside me. I am standing in the middle of our living room under our fan (our coffee table is MIA at the moment in the garage) getting ready to hit baseballs. I hit one... almost got a homerun, but not quite. I gear up for the next one and.... hit a foul ball. At this point, I think to myself, "I am going to try the chopping thing that my dad always does and hits these stinking things once and for all!"

So I am really gonna give it my all this time! What happens, however, to my amazement is that my hand comes down and suddenly stops with a sickening thud on top of Xavier's head! Evidently, he decided that he was going to sit by Jay for a better view and since he was coming from behind me... yeah, didn't see him coming until I crushed my pinky finger between the Wii remote and his head with all the force of my downward swing behind it. I swear I saw stars, and blacked out for a minute. Now you might be thinking... "what about Xavier's head???"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! The child's head is made of METAL or CEMENT or something REALLY HARD!! He was more upset that I stopped him from his goal of reaching Jay and because I scared him!

Meanwhile, I can't feel my hand. Of course it is my right hand... since I am right-handed... My pinky swelled to the point that the fleshy skin was taut instead of pliable. Sobs were so close to coming out that I had to leave the room and get ice for my hand. The kids were not concerned about me... Oh now! They were more worried about all the balls that I was missing! Gotta love kids and their sense of compassion right?! Ha! Actually, truth be told, I was glad they were distracted because they tend to hover!

I did call my neighbor, Shelli, to see if she knew if you could still bend a broken finger. She and I decided that if it got worse, I should go to the ER. I haven't gone. It still aches and is pretty colors now. The swelling has gone down but my knuckle closest to my nail looks odd and my hand aches more then it originally did. So we'll see how it all turns out.

What I learned as a Wii player that is a parent of young children:

• Put them in front of you, where you can see them at all times!

So sorry....!

All right... Apologies to those who read this and have been waiting for me to update! I did not realize that it had been that long!! SORRY!!

Christmas was a wonderful time! We got to see both family sides and the Dragon extended side! I had one lapse in my memory that was kind of funny, but thankfully had a couple of awesome cousins bail me out!! I had made Gouffre cookies, which are French cookies that my Gma Dragon used to make, for everyone on the Dragon side. We were gathering for gpa's wedding and I thought this would be the perfect gift for everyone this year, since I would see them all for once! (Well, almost all.) So Jerry and Mary (SIL) made the batter for me and then I made the cookies on a borrowed cookie iron (from one of my wonderful neighbors!). Yes, I made 104 French cookies on a double cookie iron. It took 2 hours... but was SO worth it. I had made my list to pack up earlier in the week so the cookies were not on there. So naturally, I left without them! THANKFULLY, my cousin April and her husband Chris were driving by Dayton to get to the wedding, so I had another one of my FABULOUS neighbors unlock my door so they could get in to get them and bring them to the wedding, which they did!! The worst part of it all was that I left the house KNOWING that I forgot something and it was important. It wasn't until we got to my parent's house and my dad was helping me take everything upstairs that I remembered what I was forgetting. Probably because it was his mom and I was so excited to do the cookies for that side of the family because it meant something to all of us.... I think everyone liked the cookies! They at least remembered gma.

The kids had a good Christmas. They got to see all their cousins and had a lot of fun playing with them. Xavier attached himself to little Andy, my brother and SIL's son. He had the best time! Makes me see a promising future for him and Caleb! Sydney regressed in her potty-training while we were home. That wasn't too cool. She was fine when we got home and then had a couple days where she was peeing AT the potty on the bath mats and not IN the potty! That was really frustrating. We are hoping she is past that. She was going through clothes left and right there for awhile... which is fine on the clothes, but the bath mats can only take so much washing over, and over again before they start falling apart!

Jay and Anna had a lot of fun with their cousins as well. They enjoyed playing Wii with Uncle Michael and Gma and Gpa Dragon. Anna is so good at bowling it is scary and funny all at the same time! Jay does all right, but was more excited to play Lego Batman with Uncle Michael!

They are back into the swing of school now. They have days where they don't like school and don't want to do it, but I just push through. Once they finish, they forget what they were complaining about! Silly kids! Jay starts multiplication in a couple of weeks! Anna will be a couple weeks behind him... That should prove interesting!

We are going to start Piano lessons next week. I was going to start a couple weeks ago but thought better of it since we took a 2 week vacation instead of 1 week. I didn't want to have to review it all! They seem excited. I will see if I can't set time aside like we would do if they were really going somewhere for lessons. That way, we are sure to get it done!

Jerry's shoulder is healing well. The doctor or physical therapist is really happy with his range of motion. He doesn't have to wear his sling anymore, so he is really glad! He went fishing this past Friday and caught 6 Bass. He was ECSTATIC! Of course, he had to put two back, but brought the other 4 home to clean and all that. So our freezer has about 6 fish in it now. For the next 10 - 14 days he is on an inspection. The kids always miss him, but I think I miss him more because I lose the extra help and my heater in my bed!! (He's is my personal furnace!)

I am doing well. Busy with laundry, cooking, teaching, nursing, and general upkeep of the house and such. I am hoping to get on my scrapbooking while Jerry is away, or at least make some good headway. However, I also want to read a couple of books too!! AGH! So little personal time... what to do?!? It is precious time that I have to myself so I tend to be selfish with it. I am slowly working on adding more responsibilities to Jay and Anna and a more laid out plan with all the kids. I am taking it slowly because I am afraid to implement it all at once and have really upset kids and an upset mom!

Hopefully, this is a good update for everyone because I did not get Christmas letters out this year! Everything came at us fast this year! Happy New Year to all!