Romper Room

The past few days have been eventful, to say the least. It's a long story, but I have been helping with Jackson for Jack and Julie. Julie, who is 32 weeks pregnant, had to be taken to the hospital in Topeka. She's been there since Monday night. I had Jackson yesterday morning and today. Julie's mom is coming up today to help with Jackson and possibly take him back to Texas. Julie isn't happy about that option but the fact is, if and when she's released from the hospital, she'll probably be on bedrest. She can't be running after Jackson.

Anyway, so I have been chasing around three kids. Yes, we are very done with having kids! I made a joke last week with Jasen that when he returned from downrange, I'd re-evaluate whether I wanted anymore kids or not. He laughed that "I" would decide! Well, no need to wait! I'm done!

Last night, I met Christine Weeks in Topeka for dinner. It was great. We had so much to talk about. The two hours we were together weren't enough. I guess that means it's a really good thing that she and Art will be coming here on Saturday to see us. Yippee!!! I think I said that already!

We have a really busy weekend coming up. Friday night is our field artillery ball. Saturday, the Weeks' will be here. That night, we have an event with the Special Troops battalion. Then Sunday, we have a wine and cheese party for the brigade. This year is so busy. We still have no tree up and I have no idea when we'll do that. Maybe next week?? At least we got the lights up outside.

Grace and Davis are doing well. They like having Jackson here. It's a little entertainment for them!

Yesterday, we had a high of 73, which is a record. Today, we'll barely get above freezing and the temperatures will begin to fall. We're under a freeze warning for tonight and the wind is howling. Who says Texas weather changes all the time?? Kansas is just as bad!

Thanksgiving

We trust you all had a good Thanksgiving! Ours went pretty well for everyone but me. I had strep throat. It was awful. I was in bed most of the day on Thursday. My mom got here that morning and she, Jasen, and Grace went to Jack and Julie's for dinner. Davis and I stayed here and slept. I felt awful. This is the second time I have been sick on Thanksgiving. The last time was when Mom came to visit in Germany. I wonder if she shouldn't stay home? ha! Anyway, I went to the doctor on Friday. He said he could swab me but what would be the point in that, as the test would take until Saturday to come back and then I wouldn't be able to get medicine. So he went ahead and gave me some antibiotics. I am feeling much better now.

Wasn't that A&M/t.u. game something? We whooped up on ole Colt McCoy and reminded everyone that t.u. in 2005 was all about Vince Young. The Roberts did come watch with us and we had chili. We had a great time.

That night, Jasen and I went to the movie and for a quick bite. We saw "Stranger than Fiction" and it was pretty good. Our dinner wasn't so great. We hadn't had a chance to talk deployment so that's what we did. Not a talk we enjoyed but one we needed to have. We'd been dancing around the elephant and that is no fun.

Oh, a funny Grace saying. We were out of her 2% milk that comes in a blue container. She told Mom that she couldn't drink our milk (skim, purple container) because she had to have "blue percent milk." ha! Davis has been giving kisses, too. They are open mouth and he clicks his tongue instead of smacking, but it's precious anyway. Especially when he leans in for it.

Saturday, Mom, Grace and I went shopping for a St. Barb's dress and ended up not getting one. I had tried on one of my old but new long holiday skirts (I bought it on sale a couple of years ago and have yet to wear it) with my black velvet top Friday night and really liked the way I looked. Jasen and Mom agreed. I decided that unless I found something that really, really knocked me out, I would just wear what I already had. Suffice to say, I didn't find anything that special. So I'll be wearing old stuff. I did get a new pair of shoes and some jewelry. It's always nice not to spend too much money!

This week is going to be busy. Our friends, Art and Christine Weeks are in Leavenworth for the week. I am going to Topeka tomorrow night to meet Christine for dinner. I am so excited!!! I have missed her so much. Then on Saturday, they'll head this direction to see all of us. Yippee!!

He's home!

Jasen arrived home yesterday morning around 5 a.m. Poor guy, Grace came in at 6:30 and wanted him to do her breakfast. He's such a good dad; he got right up and fixed her cereal for her. It took Davis a few minutes to warm up to Dad. Funny how you forget that they need a refresher at 10 months. Anyway, after his bottle and cereal, Davis remembered who Jasen was.

We had a good day yesterday, of course. When Davis went down for his nap at 10, so did Jasen. Grace and I went to the commissary to give the boys time to sleep. I let Jasen keep sleeping until it was time for the kids to go down for their afternoon naps. He looked really tired all day, but handled it pretty well.

We spent the kids' nap time in the garage reorganizing and talking. The deployment is not something we want to talk about, but it occupies so much of your mind that you can't help but talk about it.

Grace got to go to Target yesterday with her own money, earned by good behavior. Her Great-Gran and Great-Grandad sent her some money for no meltdowns. It was $10 and I made a little adjustment to the qualifications for the money. We got it shortly after Jasen left and I told Grace that we would keep the money in a jar until Jasen came home. Every time she had a meltdown, though, she would lose a dollar. Well, yesterday, she got to buy a Doodle Bear (she's wanted one for awhile now) with her $10. I was probably a little too lenient, but I'll tell you, anytime she was threatened with losing a dollar, she quieted up fast. So I think I'll use that discipline tool again.

We've got a busy week or so ahead. My mom is coming up tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving. While she's here, Jasen and I will go out for some alone time, and Mom will go with me to buy a dress for our formal on December 1st. It's a big deal this year; Jasen will receive his "Order of St. Barbara's" medal and I will receive a Molly Pitcher award. So we'll be onstage at some point in the evening. It will be fun, no doubt. And I want to look good!

The kids are really enjoying Jasen being home. Grace wants him to do everything: bath, bedtime, breakfast. Because Jasen has gotten down on the floor while Davis is crawling around and chased him, Davis now thinks everytime he sees Dad, he needs to crawl away. It's precious.

Dealing

Things here are going okay. After FRG leaders were alerted about the deployment, we then had the daunting task of trying to alert every spouse possible. For me, Thursday night and most of Friday were spent on the phone, calling as many people as we could. Thankfully, I have 9 points of contact who made calls, too, but this is a large company so there are lots of people to call. I was glad to call our rear detachment commander today and let him know that we had contacted all the people that we had phone numbers for.

Grace is feeling much better. Davis still has a lot of drainage, but he seems to be dealing with it okay. He is such a fantastic baby.

Our doctor's appointment on Thursday went well. Grace did have an ear infection. The doctor calmed my fears about Grace catching everything. He reminded me that when you are fighting one thing (scarlet fever) it makes you more susceptible to other nasty viruses/bacterias. He gave us a stronger antibiotic, which, of course, made Grace get sick in her bed when I gave her only milk with it. So more washing of the sheets. Ugh! But hopefully, our illnesses are almost over.

Today, we've got a lot of fun planned. First, we have a coffee to go to. Normally, coffees are reserved for spouses only. Because our soldiers are gone, the kids are invited to this one. It's at the bowling alley and Grace could not be more excited. I am excited, too, because it will be a lot of fun. Hopefully, Davis will allow us to bowl a little!

After that, I am taking the kids to a Parent's Night Out event put on by a campus ministry group from K-State. Two of the girls (Jayme and Sarah) from this group babysit routinely for us, so I feel good about taking the kids. Jack and Julie are taking Jackson, too, and they said they wanted to do dinner with me. So sweet for them to take along their geographically single friend!

Jasen is supposed to be home sometime early on Tuesday morning. We are so excited!! Then we have Thanksgiving. We'll share that day with the Roberts. The next day is the THE GAME, meaning A&M and t.u. We'll share that day with the Roberts, too. It so nice to have old friends here for us to share things with.

I am doing pretty well dealing with our news. In many ways, I am just relieved to know it is really coming. We'd been living in limbo, hearing rumors of deployment, not wanting to believe, but knowing it was probably on the horizon. There have been moments I have allowed myself to get emotional, but my "job" (FRG leader) has kept me busy, busy. That's good I suppose. Last night was a hard one, as I laid in bed alone. You just have those moments of utter anger, despair, etc. Then you try not to think about it anymore.

And I have to say that we've been so lucky. If Jasen really leaves in February, we will have had two years together since he last returned from deployment. As crazy as it sounds, we are so blessed to have had that long; it's a luxury these days to have longer than a year between deployments. Of course, if he does deploy for year, that will be the third year of separation we've had since we've been married. That doesn't seem right, but it's the Army way of life. That doesn't make it easier to swallow!

Thanks for all of you praying for us.

Wit's End

I've reached my wit's end with illnesses around here. Davis has had a stuffy nose the past couple of days. Due to the drool he's also had and the clear drainage, I've been attributing these issues to teething. Yesterday evening, though, I decided it must be more. Our boy cried almost non-stop from 4:30 p.m. until I put him in the bath at 6:45. Those were two really long hours. Just ask Grace! He has been pulling on his left ear, so I decided I would call and make an appointment for today.

Then, at about 10:30 last night, Grace woke up screaming, absolutely hysterical, crying that her ear was hurting. She also had that funny sore throat voice. From that time on, she was back and forth from my room to hers, alternately crying that her ear hurt, that she was hungry or that she missed her daddy. I laid down with her in her room, she came into ours, she was alone in her room. Almost the whole time she was sobbing. Because after an hour or so, I realized she was not going to calm down for me to get any amount of sleep, I became less than sympathetic. I tried, I really did, but it was hard.

We finally fell asleep together at 2, then she was awake and crying again at 4. When I got up with Davis about 7, she was running 102 temperature. So, we're back to the doctor for the third time since Jasen has been gone. She just finished penicillin on Sunday. So, we've had scarlet fever/strep throat, a stomach virus, and now, I am pretty certain, an ear infection.

So I called to make the appointment. Can't see our primary doctor, so we'll be seeing someone totally new. The last time we were at the doctor, they couldn't locate Grace's chart, so I had to fill that doctor in on what had happened before. I am beginning to be concerned for Grace, especially since we were just on antibiotics. When I called her in sick to school, her teacher all but agreed with me. I had chronic ear infections as a kid (and tonsilitis), which ended up being attributed to allergies. Grace doesn't have those (the chronic ear infections), but something is up with her immune system. I am bound and determined to find out what it is. And if I can't get answers at the military hospital/clinic, Jasen's just going to have to suck it up and pay for us to change our TRICARE to something where she can see the same doctor. Because, as I mentioned before, I am at wit's end.

Oh, and to top it all off, I got a call from our rear-detachment officer yesterday. That's the guy left behind to help us out here. He said he's getting a lot of emails about making sure we have correct numbers for all spouses. He also told me to expect a 5 p.m. meeting sometime in the next week. That doesn't sound promising. I want to know if they are going to deploy, but if they've made us wait this long, I wish they'd let us wait until after Thanksgiving. Although, I know most of the families already think it's a done deal anyway.

Sorry this post was a downer. I guess I am feeling a little down. But hey, tomorrow will be a new day. Hopefully, the kids will get some good care at the clinic today. And Jasen will be home in less than a week. So there is always hope.

Nice Surprise

The kids and I got a nice surprise yesterday afternoon: Jasen called! He told me he had been very good about obeying the "rules." His brigade commander wanted everyone to pretend they were on a real deployment to Iraq, which meant no calling home. Evidently, Jasen was feeling down yesterday after his church service. He said he got to thinking about his previous deployment and how Sunday was always the day he called home. So he checked his cellphone and saw he still had two bars worth of battery and he decided he would pretend he was in Iraq and call home on Sunday!

He sounded really good and said that things were going okay in California. He mentioned that he's still feeling his way through his job. It was such a lift for all of us to get to talk.

We were able to talk about all the illnesses that have affected this house and how pitiful the Aggies have played. Wait, that's not right. The Aggies have been playing great. It's the coach that's disappointing. UGH!

Yesterday morning, after church, we went to see our neighbor, Brendan, be baptized. Brendan is the infant son of Katie and Anthony, brother of "little" Ashleigh. It was really neat to take Grace to see an infant baptism and then talk about when she'll be baptized and why we believe that way. I am so glad to have the opportunity to expose Grace (and Davis) to different religions and then talk to her about those differences.

Doing better

Grace and I have fully recovered from our illness. We even enjoyed some Mexican food today! That means we must be all well!

There isn't much to report from here. Just passing time while Jasen is gone. Grace went back to school yesterday and earned a certificate for tying shoes. She had to tie five and she said she did them "all in a row." I think that means she did them without any mistakes in between. Can you believe she's old enough to tie shoes? I can't.

Davis is throwing everything. If I give him a ball, he throws it. If I give him his pacifier, he throws it. If I give him a Cheerio after lunch, he throws it. I wonder if he'll be a pitcher or quarterback? I am voting for pitcher; they don't get hit!

Sick again

Yes, you read correctly, we are sick again. Grace and I have had a nasty stomach bug the past 24 hours. It has been absolutely no fun around here. We are starting to get back on our feet, keeping down crackers, jello, and applesauce. I think we are on the road to recovery.

I am tired of us being sick.

On a happier note, sorry for all of you Aggies out there, but I couldn't be happier that Robert Gates will be the new Secretary of Defense. Whoop!

Scarlet Fever

Grace did indeed have scarlet fever. We found out on Friday and she started antibiotics. That made a world of difference! She's feeling much better. Thank goodness. She's still got a little bit of a cold, but all in all, she's doing very well.

I've been looking for signs of the illness in Davis, but haven't seen any. Praise the Lord!

I am trying to think of any other news to tell you guys about. There really isn't any. Just staying busy with Jasen gone. I talked to him last Thursday and he was sick, too. I think it was going to the desert air and all the dust blowing around. That was the last time I will hear from him for a couple of weeks.

Speaking of Jasen, I would like to request your prayers. I think if his unit is going to deploy, we'll be hearing it officially in the next week. Would you please pray for the soldiers, spouses, and families of 4th Brigade? I am concerned about an announcement coming while the soldiers are gone. I know for me it will be devastating, but I worry more about younger spouses. Having a deployment order come down with your soldier at home is bad enough, but to hear it while they are gone will be very hard for some people. Especially for those who haven't done this before. Or maybe for those of us who have.

I feel a real responsibility to the spouses in Jasen's unit, too, to support them should anything be announced. Pray that I will know what to say, when to say it and to be compassionate when I lose my patience with some of the spouses. I had a call from a spouse in the middle of the night on Saturday and I am still not very happy about it. It was not something that warranted a call to me, thus my frustration. I handled it well at the time, but the more I think about it, the madder I get. So prayers for me are a must! There are some new spouses that will look to me for guidance and I don't know that I am prepared for that job.

Along those lines, pray for Jasen, too. His unit is made up mostly of senior guys; most of the soldiers in Jasen's command are of equal or greater rank to him. I think his company being so top-heavy makes it more likely that a newer soldier would fall through the cracks on something like this. Please pray for Jasen and Sean (his first sergeant who wants me to call him by name) and their leadership, particularly their leading younger/newer soldiers.

I ask for all the prayers knowing in the back of my mind that there is a chance they will not deploy. Pray for that most of all!

Quick Update

I am going to make this quick, as I have little desire to be on the computer right now.

We had a good Halloween. It was cold and we walked the neighborhood early with the neighbors. Grace was a pretty Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Davis was a Yellow Jacket, although a black one. I'll post pictures soon. Grace was tired of handing out candy very early. First sign something was wrong.

The next morning, she woke up with a fever. I made an appointment because she's had a lingering cough, too. We left the clinic with the same ole, same ole: it's a virus, give it a little while to run it's course.

That afternoon, Grace came up with a rash on her trunk and arms. By after nap, it was beginning to get on her legs. After some research, I discovered she had all the signs of scarlet fever. We went back to the doctor yesterday who swabbed her throat for strep (the same virus that causes scarlet fever) and said it was either that or a virus. So I'll be calling shortly to find out what is wrong with our girl. She has now developed spots on her face, but they aren't like the rest of the rash. We'll see....

On top of all that, I've been working like a dog on this darn FRG roster. I cannot tell you how stressful this job currently is. I am thankful for Nolly Gibbs' help, because without her, I don't know what I would do. I've been on the computer or phone for most of the past two days, trying to get good contact info for all the spouses. It's not fun and I am tired of it. Once we get all the information correct, though, the workload should lessen. Famous last words!