Sneaky Deployment

It is inevitable that no matter how much time and warning you are given before an upcoming deployment, that you will never be totally emotionally prepared for one. This is Matt's 1st deployment that we are preparing for, not the 1st I've gone through, and yet some how they get harder and easier all at once. Easier because I know what to be prepared for, harder because I know what it feels like to miss your spouse for a year or more, to raise your kids alone and to worry day in and day out as all military spouses do when their other half is gone. I really can not complain. I know that there are so many families who have their Soldier deployed right out of basic training, or right before the birth of their child, or soon after. Aidan will be 8 months old in a little over a week meaning that Matt got to be here for the whole of a very tough pregnancy, hold my hand and coach me through the toughest labor I've ever had, and help raise this little person for 8 months before having to deploy. He's gotten to asst. coach the boy's football team, and go on family outings. It's been a wonderful experience. There are so many families who don't get as much as we have had and I for one am trying to see the silver lining.

Deployment ceremony's are really worth attending! There is such a sense of pride that you have in your Soldier, seeing them march out onto that Field, flags flying, and the band playing. I know how prepared Matt feels that his unit is, and no matter how much he loves his family and hates to leave, there is a draw to deploy, to do his job, to protect and serve and I for one couldn't be prouder of him. I will post some really great pictures of our family that came to visit for the deployment ceremony and to get the early good bye's out of the way, but since this post is already so full of pictures it will have to wait for another day. I love you Matthew................

Football Season!

Since the deployment is creeping up on us quickly we decided that the kids and I needed to have an activity to keep us as busy as possible so that once he leaves we don't sit in the house wallowing in self pity (ok so the wallowing would be me...lol but this is for the kids too). So we signed the boy's up for tackle football and it ended up that the head coaches....well didn't have a clue so Matt and another Dad stepped up as asst. Coaches (running the team without the title) and saved us..lol thank heavens. Unfortunatly he will likely be gone before the end of the season so he's attempting to teach the head coach how to coach offense. It's been an amazing experience for us as a family to have him coaching our two older kids and Matty and Aidan and I supporting (I some how got stuck with being the Mom in charge of setting up game snacks, oh well, someone has to do it.) I gotta say, Matt is an AWESOME Pee wee football coach, he's firm and animated with the kids, and doesn't make them do anything he won't do with them, ie; running laps, doing up down's and so on. And he's always there running up and down the feild on game day's cheering them on and jumping around like a fool when they score..lol it's too cute!

This is Michael tackleing their quarterback, it was his 3rd tackle of the game, two of which ended up causeing them to fumble, it was awesome, he came out like a bullet!

This is half time, and we were so lucky to have Uncle Jordan here for this game, because he and his awesome camera got to be on the side lines taking pictures for us! Michael is in the back right corner....so cute!

My Cody bear drinking his gatorade........he's such a tank!

Speaking of Tank, there he is, he blocked every time. He really did awesome! Now if we can just get the kids to understand what holding, horse collering and face masking really is and how not to do it...lol it is after all pee wee football but Matt is really tough on trying to get them to not do it.

Matt pumping the kids up before game.

Matt during practice. MMMM hmmmm He's just too yummy!

Cody at practice.

Matt and the boy's after their 1st game. So far we are 2-0 on games and 2-1 on scrimages with the other Fort Polk team. WOOT WOOT GO COLTS!!

Speedy McSpeederson

Ahem.....cough cough.. Ok so normally I am NOT a speeder. Frankly Matt usually rolls his eyes at my "gramma driving" as he calls it. I tend to take forever to pull into traffic, and set my cruise control at 1-2 miles under whenever I hit the highway to ensure I don't do just this.....well on my way back from Alexandria I got pulled over or going almost 15 over because they had finally opened a section of the new road that has been under construction for over a year and that section of the road we were on was 65 as far as I knew. My bad! Totally need to read the freaking speed signs and not assume that they have remained the same! WHOOPS! And yes, I took getting pulled over seriously, I just happen to have a bad reaction to getting in trouble and I smile and giggle inappropriatly....yes...uber mature! Thanks hunny for taking time to capture those special moments....brat! So....moral of the $208.00 story is...SLOW DOWN RACHAEL!

7 Months Old

I had to start out this post with our mini Santa, with his little "bubble hawk" because, it's awesome and it makes me smile. Hopefully it brightened your day. (As for the falling over in the sink...opps! Normally for "in the sink" baths I lay a towel in the bottom to keep that from happening but due to an emergency "explodeing diaper" situation he was rushed into the sink and that preventative non slip towel wasn't in place..lol my bad lil man!)

Well, we were really hopeing that this would be the month that he crawled, I mean really crawled, so that Dad would be able see him boot scootin around before he has to deploy but we didn't quiet get there this month. We reached more of a......360 twisting around and the awesome butt in the air, face getting carpet burn move..lol, which sadly I find hillarious and giggle at each time I see it.

We are also working on getting teeth...ohhhhhh the teething! It's a tough game, I forgot all about it! Oh Tylonol & teething tablets, how I love you!

Aidan is my little companion during the big boy's football practice since Dad is asst. coaching and Matty runs off to play with the other kids who are too small to play on the team. Aidan and I sit and talk to the other Mommies and of course he is a total flirt! Just look at those grins!

Like I said, mobility is practicaly teasing him at this point! I swear I can hear his inner dialouge.." I think I can, I think I can...ohhh crap nope.." lol....But then all that work wears him out and his naps have started getting longer and are thankfully changing from 20 minute power naps throughout the day to 2 hour stints of deep sleep.....ohhhh naps how happy I am to see you!

One of the things that as a parent I tend to inevitably forget is that kids do not need toys! At least not purchased ones! An empty water or soda bottle makes the best toy eva! The fact that they tend to roll off tempt him to go after them....see, crawling motivation!

Seeing as this house is full of GATOR fans that meant he would be roped into it as well. Aunt Kelly gave this adorable outfit to cousin Hunter in the hopes of recruiting another Gator fan but his poppa wan't having any of that seeing as Uncle Jordan and fam are Seminole fans (boooo lol), So this outfit made it's way to Aidan's closet and doesn't he look great in it! This is his game face. Go Gators!!!

Despite his lack of crawling I must admit I still love this non-mobile stage where he still lays in my lap all the time and snuggles his Momma! I love being a Mother, and I love being able to stay home and raise my kiddos!

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Uncle Dan

Fianlly Uncle Danny was able to come for a visit! It's been a long time since we've seen him, 2 1/2, almost 3 years for the kids and I and Matt had yet to meet him! Amy, Dave and Dan all work jobs all over the US and Canada and that makes it hard to see each other with as often as we move and as often as they travel for work, so on his way to his new job he drove to see us (thank you, thank you, thank you Dan!!! I know it was a real heck of a drive). Unfortunatly he was only able to stay about 24 hours because of a scheduleing snafu at work. We were all so bummed! However, sometime is better than no time! It was so awesome to get to see my baby brother!

Dan and Matt hit it off, what little bit of time they had to get to know each other, and that was awesome. So as of now the only member of my family who hasn't met Matt is Dave and his family! I wish we really had more time, since when he met Amy and Dan both it was only for a few hours. We at least got to have him meet Matt and meet Aidan. It was so fun!

Waiting at the bus stop for Matty to get home and see Uncle Dan for the 1st time.

The kids had a blast!