New Big Boy Bed

Marcus outgrew his toddler fire truck bed and has been sleeping on our floor in our bedroom for a while now. We finally got him a new bed and he loves it! Sophia and Marcus spent the last 2 days climbing up and down the ladder.

First day of School

Today was Marcus' first day of preschool. I was so excited but sad at the same time. I was also nervous that he would not have fun or want to come home but he did great! Geno wanted to come so badly but unfortunately couldn't get out of some meetings but he called me 3 times and even found me at the commissary after a meeting to make sure that Marcus did OK and that the school hadn't called. I took Marcus' picture this morning and of course Sophia wanted to get hers taken too so I added it as well.

Mosquito Bite

Marcus got a mosquito bite on Wednesday night when we went to check the mail. About 24 hours later it began to swell. It started out the size of a quarter and within 20 minutes it was the size of a small orange. I took him to the ER and after some medicine it looks like the picture above. I'm still waiting for the Dr. to call me back to see if I need to take him back in. Kind of scary!!!

Splash!

We went to the San Diego Zoo and they were having their summer nights festival. One of the shows was called Splash! There was a painter who painted to music. He mostly threw the paint and used his hands. It was really cool. He completed each painting in about 8 minutes.

Older than Dirt!!!!

Waiting for Daddy to get home
SURPRISE!!!
The Birthday Boy

Making a wish

Today was Geno's birthday and he turned 30!!!! We just had a family party when he got home from work, but it was so much fun. The kids and I practiced saying "surprise" before he got home. They did a great job and he was very surprised. Happy Birthday Geno!

Military Spouses

I found this on a message board and thought is kind of summed up the whole experience!

Over the years I have talked a lot about military spouses, how special they are and the price they pay for freedom too.

The funny thing about it, is most military spouses don't consider themselves different from other spouses. They do what they have to do, bound together not by blood or merely friendship, but with a shared spirit whose origin is in the very essence of what love truly is. Is there truly a difference? You have to decide for yourself.


Other spouses get married and look forward to building equity in a home and putting down family roots. Military spouses get married and know they'll live in base housing or rent, and their roots must be short so they can be transplanted frequently.Other spouses decorate a home with flair and personality that will last a lifetime.


Military spouses decorate a home with flare tempered with the knowledge that no two base houses have the same size windows or same size rooms. Curtains have to be flexible and multiple sets are a plus. Furniture must fit like puzzle pieces.Other spouses have immaculate living rooms and are seldom used. Military spouses have immaculate living room/dining room combos. The coffee table got a scratch or two moving from Germany, but it still looks pretty good.


Other spouses say good-bye to their spouse for a business trip and know they won't see them for a week. They are lonely, but can survive. Military spouses say good-bye to their deploying spouse and know that they won't see them for a month or for a year. They are lonely, but they will survive.


Other spouses, when a washer hose blows off, call Maytag and then write a check out for getting the hose reconnected. Military spouses will cut the water off and fix it themselves. Other spouses get used to saying hello to friends they see all the time. Military spouses get used to saying good-bye to friends made the last two years.


Other spouses worry about whether their child will be class president next year. Military spouses worry about whether their child will be accepted in yet another new school next year and whether that school will be the worst in the city...again.


Other spouses can count on spouse participation in special events, birthdays, anniversaries, concerts, football games, graduation, and even the birth of a child. Military spouses only count on each other; because they realize that the Flag has to come first if freedom is to survive. It has to be that way.


Other spouses put up yellow ribbons when the troops are imperiled across the globe and take them down when the troops come home. Military spouses wear yellow ribbons around their hearts and they never go away.


Other spouses worry about being late for Mom's Thanksgiving dinner. Military spouses worry about getting back from Japan in time for Dad's funeral. Other spouses are touched by the television program showing an elderly lady putting a card down in the front of a long, black wall that has names on it. The card simply says, "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. You would have been sixty today." A military spouse is the lady with the card.

The wall is the Vietnam Memorial.

I would never say military spouses are better or worse than other spouses are. But I will say there is a difference. And I will say that our country asks more of military spouses than asked of other spouses. And I will say without hesitation that military spouses pay just as high a price for freedom as do their active duty husbands or wives. Perhaps the price they pay is even higher.


Dying in service to our Country isn't near as hard as loving someone who has died in service to our Country, and having to live without them.


God Bless our military spouses for all they freely give...And God Bless America

FIVE YEARS!!!

Tomorrow is our five year wedding anniversary. Wow! Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday we met in a chat room and started talking. Now we have 2 beautiful children and a life all our own. I guess we have lived up to the saying "Time flies when you're having fun!" This has been a wonderful 5 years full of so many memories. Along with the memories came the trials: 4 moves in 5 years, a 7 month deployment to Iraq, being a single mom to a little boy while pregnant with number 2 and so on. I wouldn't trade my life though. I feel so proud to be a military wife. Not only am I proud of Geno, but I am also proud of myself. I have done things I would have never dreamed I could handle years ago. Happy Anniversary Honey!! I love you!!!