it's august, should i just give up?

ugh, does anyone even read this blog any more?  not that many even did to begin with.  but i have been so neglectful about postings.  i'm on the fence.....  i feel like i should get some motivation & get back into the blogging game.  even if it's just a place to document our times & important (or sometimes, not so important) things, i feel like i shouldn't give it up.
ok, so i guess this is news for the blog, even though in the real world we've known this info for at least a good 4 months or so.  :/ but we're moving to england!  looks like we'll be living outside leeds for the next 3 years.  really excited & looking forward to it!
& the pcs process begins all over again.  although, we already have our no-fee passports so i don't have to go through that again.  but let's hope our orders arrive earlier than the day before we step on the plane for england.  unfortunately we don't have awesome in-laws over here in guam that will ship our car, & be there to pack up all our stuff - for storage, unaccompanied baggage & household goods.  true story.  we are so lucky jeff's parents are awesome!  now, if they could just make it over to guam to help out with this pcs.....  wink, wink.

ok & here are some cute photos of the bean....

the artist

 the rascal

the courageous

the dramatic

the center of attention

he's home!

jeff returned from his deployment a few weeks ago..... it is amazing to have him back! & today is veteran's day! so thankful for those who serve!

a day in pictures

so today i decided to take pictures of everything (well, almost everything) we do. mostly for daddy, so he can feel closer to us & what we're up to while he's gone. but also because i thought today would be pretty interesting..... we had planned on going to an outdoor concert/ food festival kinda thing at a winery about 45 minutes away & then a major rain storm this afternoon made us change our plans. but before that i thought it would be kinda neat because i knew we were gonna go eat indian food for lunch & we hadn't been out to eat in a while (except for some take out from panera once) & then i thought the concert thing would have been interesting... so that's why i chose today. i think i want to do an abbreviated version on a normal day too, maybe a working day, so jeff (& anyone else, bueller, bueller?) can see that version of a day too....

but without further adieu, i present to you.... "a day of photos"

ps. you can click on them to make them bigger....

after waking... a little snuggle time

dressing my little sunflower

breakfast

& prunes it is....

trying to pick up a piece of cherry

grammy's morning goods from the garden

watching daddy read to us

daddy on tv

my silly girl

sleeping beauty

upon waking

at lunch.... indian buffet, yum-o!

& then the rain....

time for gymnastics & laundry

a change of clothes

looking out the window at the rain

lots of rain

caleb wants to drive

can't fit anymore babies back there

my sis & her diet coke...

the hungry kiddos

coloring the plant

potty break

time for night-night

mommy time

daddy's book

here's a (touching) video of lena reading her "daddy's book"..... it's one of those books that you can record your voice reading & daddy recorded it before he left. we just got around to reading it for the first time last week, because, well honestly i couldn't open it & hear his voice reading these sweet words without breaking down. but i got over it, got my mom to record lena & my reactions & am posting it now. it really is a sweet thing to do for your child if you'll be apart for a while.

and in other book reading from afar news.... we got a dvd & a book from daddy in the desert. the uso over there has this great program where the daddys (or mommys) can video tape themselves reading a book & then the uso will make a dvd & send it, along with the book to your kids. so cool! & we watched that today! & again i cried. but lena loves seeing & hearing daddy! we miss you so much! each day is closer to seeing you!

may hay-day

wow, may was great. it went by in a flash, but it was such a great month. still a few days left, but those don't count. :)

well i talked about mother's day & jeff coming into roanoke to be with us before he deploys. we had such a great time. we explored roanoke, enjoyed the mountains (& food & shopping) & then went to visit jeff's parents in chattanooga. & lena had her first road trip! she did great, slept the whole way basically! jeff's parents got to meet lena for the first time & we all had a great time seeing each other & checking out the city. we went on incline railway... claims to be the world's steepest railway incline.... but yeah, chattanooga was fun. & it was really nice to have that time together with his parents while we could.

at mill mountain star

with the grandparents in chattanooga

in front of the river

looks steep huh?

from tennessee, we left & drove to visit our friends toby & lindsey & their son jackson in north carolina. again lena was a travel champ..... slept the whole time while mommy complained about the lack of space in our sweet little chevy aveo..... wow, 2 adults, one carseat, stroller & luggage make for some seriously cramped quarters. but we survived the 2nd leg of our road trip & had a great few days seeing our friends. we met their son jackson (1 & 1/2) for the first time & he is such a sweet boy! jeff & toby played soccer together in high school & he was jeff's best man at our wedding. toby & lindsey are great friends & we were lucky to plan a last minute visit with them.

the best pic we could get.... the kids weren't having it

future soccer star

and then it was back to roanoke to enjoy the last of jeff's leave before he deployed. we fed lena rice cereal & she did really well eating & had planned on only feeding that to her until she turns 6 months, but decided to incorporate some veggies because A. jeff will get to see her eat & B. she got a bit clogged up..... the girl didn't poop for 3 days! poor thing. so we gave her sweet potatoes & she loved them! & then she pooped the biggest poop jeff & i have ever seen! my mom & bill through a family get together to say farewell to jeff & we got to meet our cousin april's baby emery! she's almost 11 months & such a little doll!

the family & our babies - see a pic of us all pregnant here.... (except zach, that would be weird)

"lemme do it mom!"

and then jeff had to leave. that was the hardest day. saying good bye was the hardest thing i've had to do. it just felt so different than the other times we've been apart. mostly because of lena, & also because he's going to war.... basically. a tearful morning, i tried to stay strong for lena (& myself & jeff), but i couldn't stop crying. we got a gate pass so we could wait with him until he boarded the plane. it felt surreal to say goodbye, people were around, lena was getting tired, it was just weird. but we had several hugs & kisses before i had to take lena in my arms & walk away from the gate, tears streaming down my face. i kept turning around to see him just one more time as i walked through the terminal & he watched, waved & blew kisses to us the whole time. when i got back outside of the security check point my mom was there waiting & there was a lady who had been sitting there earlier before jeff, lena & i left for the gate & i looked at her through my tears & she was crying for us. i wish i had smiled or said something, but at the time i couldn't see jeff anymore & i just felt like i had to flee, i had to get out of there or i was gonna break down. but i appreciate her compassion & empathy.

and now he's gone. & it's just lena & i ..... & mom & bill. & we're trying to make the most of things, getting back on a regular diet (no more restaurant outings), getting lena on a better nap schedule, introducing more veggies - the latest were peas & i can say i don't think she's a fan.

but i did go to ballet class for the first time in about a year. & it felt really good. so i have that to look forward to. i'll write more on dancing again in another post. there will be more of that. but i want to end this post saying that i had a great time with my husband, baby, & extended families & am thankful we're in the states right now & that i have an even stronger appreciation for military families.....

before the drive to the airport

air force soccer article

an article about my husband came out today! i'm so proud of him & so excited! he made it stateside safely & soon the training camp begins! read about it here.....