WHEN THE DADDY'S AWAY...THE MICE WILL PLAY

Okay, for those of you who have never been through a deployment, let me explain something. After they have gone, things begin to happen...things you wish they were here to deal with, but inevitably, they are gone. These things ONLY happen when they are gone, and are always, completely resolved just before they return. And as long as you keep your sense of humor, it will all be okay. So it begins...
Friday morning, I am standing in the kitchen, minding my own business, when all of a sudden a little brown mouse goes running across the kitchen floor, right past my bare little toes. I almost had a heart attack right there. But being that all the kids were standing right there, I managed to compose myself and continue with fixing breakfast. Not 5 minutes later, I guess he decided he wanted to be somewhere else, cause he ran back across the kitchen again, and not very quickly either. Really, I would have to say he sauntered across the kitchen and disappeared behind the fridge. Gives me the willies just thinking of it! And then a third time, he walked, very slowly across the kitchen back to the other side. By the 3rd trip I had had it. I called Housing thinking they would send someone over to set traps for me. HA!!!!! They rang the door bell, handed me the traps, and walked away! Have you ever tried to teach a 10 year old boy to set a mouse trap? (that's a life skill he needs, right?) Dont worry...he still has 9 of his fingers, and we have 2 less mice than we did yesterday. So far, so good.

(Dont worry, honey, we got it all under control here. The mice will only play till I get ahold of them!)

Look out mice, Jaydon is gonna getcha!
Today has been a busy day. But now, the house is SPOTLESS and there isnt a stich of laundry to be done. What a wonderful feeling. The kids had a great time playing outside in the beautiful weather. Abby, however, had a rough day. Poor little sweetie cried most of the day, despite the fact that I held her every second I could. Her tummy seems to be bothering her a lot again. Please pray for healing and comfort, and weight gain for her.

Fun With Friends

Nothing like a few good friends to help pass the time and ease the pain. David and Michael came over for a sleep over tonight, and the kids have had a great time playing all evening. JJ has made it as far as the east coast, and leaves the country tomorrow very early in the morning. It still seems okay right now, cause he is still in the US. I think tomorrow evening it might actually hit me that he is gone, then I think I will start to feel a little sad. But we will fill our schedule with fun and prayer while he is gone. And we will praise God that because he is there someone elses Dad gets to come home. And because we believe that God is God no matter where we are, we know that He has a plan, and that gives me peace. The kind of peace that only comes from JESUS!

Abby's follow up appointment at Children's today went well. She has managed to gain a little more weight, although she is still about 2 1/2 pounds under her ideal weight for her length, and doesnt need a feeding tube. Praise God! She will remain on the high calorie formula till she catches up, but she is on the right track. Oh, and dont let me fail to mention that even after driving 90 miles to Denver, all 5 children were very well behaved as I sat and talked to the nutritionist about Abby's progress. Sure does make these appointments a lot easier when they sit patiently and wait without a word of complaint.

DAY ONE!!!!! THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!

Okay, so here we are at day 1. Of what, you may ask. Well, it is day one of our countdown to the glorious day when JJ returns home to us. We dont know exactly when he will return, should hopefully be sometime before Thanksgiving, but everyday that passes is just another day closer to him coming back home. We have all been a little sad today, but are doing well. Josh really doesnt understand that he is gone for so long, but I imagine in a few days he will start asking when Daddy is coming back. The girls are sleeping with a picture of Daddy, and they held on to it as we said bedtime prayers. Jaydon hasnt said much at all about it but is testing me to the limit today. All in all, we are doing fine, and glad the first day is almost over. I must say the blessing to every deployment is the time we each are able to draw closer to God, and to witness first hand how HE provides for all our needs.