Party Time

Whew, it has been a busy, busy weekend. And it's not over yet. First, a little update. Julie was able to come home from the hospital on Thursday. Jackson did go home with her mom, though. It's going to be a tough few weeks for her, being away from her first baby, but she's doing a good job of keeping it in perspective that it's what is best for her second baby. Keep them in your prayers.

I am sitting here writing this update, listening to Grace and Davis play together. It is the sweetest thing, when the two of them play together. Sometimes, I'll have my back turned and hear them laughing away. It's a special memory I'll always treasure.

So, Friday was our big St. Barbara's Day ball. She is the patron saint of field artillery and every year, the FA battalions have a ball in her honor. Jasen received his St. Barbara's medal and I received a Molly Pitcher award. We had a great time. Possibly the best part was that Jasen was able to unveil his Texas tuxedo shirt. I was able to get the back part replaced with a nice satin replica of a Texas flag. Jasen has wanted to do it for a long time and we finally were able to get it done. Everyone at the ball was quite impressed. And Jasen was able to show it off when we danced the second dance. We tore that dance floor up! So much so that no one else danced with us that dance. They didn't want to have to compete with us.

The next morning, our friends, Art and Christine Weeks came out to see us. Art is doing the pre-battalion command course at Fort Leavenworth and Christine had to join him for a week of the class. They were with us in Germany; Jasen worked for Art for much his time in Bamberg and Iraq. Christine was one of my closest friends there and their kids, Arfur and Brittany, were like Grace's older siblings. They currently live in England but will be making the move (probably to Fort Bliss) in the next year back to the USA.

We had a lovely visit with them. Just as it always is, though, it was just too short. Christine and I were able to go shopping and leave the guys to their shop talk. Alex Lee came over, too. He was with Jasen and Art in Iraq and commanded Bravo battery here at Riley, alongside Jasen. Anyway, we visited all day long.

They left the same time our babysitter came and Jasen and I left for a hail and farewell. We had a nice time at the dinner, sitting with Jasen's new first sergeant and his wife. Then we went to their house. It is so beautiful! They live in Manhattan and recently completed their basement. They created almost double the living space by finishing the basement. It was awesome to see the work they had done.

After that, we headed to Aggieville in Manhattan where four of Jasen's former lieutenants were having their promotion party. It was okay, but after about ten minutes, Jasen and I looked at each other and agreed we were too old for that kind of party: loud music, lots of drinking, etc. So we said goodbye and headed home.

This evening, we have another hail and farewell. By being in HHC, Jasen belongs to two units: HHC 4IBCT, and the STB. We went to the STB dinner last night and have the HHC dinner tonight. UGH!! My kids have had sitters every night this weekend. I am ready for the party season to be over. I can't take much more and neither can our pocketbook!