Very grateful

(Photos are from today.)

I am so grateful to so many people right now!! The women in my life have always been awesome and I have always been grateful to them. You know who you all are. The emotional support I get from women is phenomenal. I couldn't function near as well without them. Plus some of my female neighbors who do little things for me like get men to take appliances out of my house that stink, send me my mail when I am gone, baby sit for me (sometimes for free), and sometimes help me clean my house or mow my yard for a small fee. Since we have been back home we have been spoiled by some of our female friends as well. You know who you are, and we love you all!! All the support and love is so appreciated.

One thing that has surprised me over the months has been all the male support we have had since Cliff has gone to active duty. From car repairs, to computer questions, to help getting a fridge (still working on it). I know there is more I am forgetting.

It has made my life so much easier and less stressful knowing these men and women are here to help and so willing. There are still trying times, but there would be a lot more if it weren't for lots of people out there taking time out of their busy lives to help us. We love you alllllll!!!

We've spent the last two days catching up with friends. The weather has been completely gorgeous for getting outdoors and being with friends all day. It has been sunny and 70s. It is neon green here still and the leaves haven't started to fall much yet. I made it to the YMCA today. Holden and Camden stayed in the child watch area for 45 minutes without Camden crying. It was a much needed stress reliever and energy boost! I was so grateful Camden told me last week that he will go to the YMCA nursery (child watch) for me now.

Cliff is now in the staging area in the Middle East (country??). He is tired and ready to get into a routine. We email back and forth through out the day....info about the fridge, mushy stuff, about what the kids and I are up to--not much about him really (he can't tell me military secrets). He saw a sandstorm yesterday and he said there is a lot of sand where he is...."sand, sand, and more sand!!!!" were his exact words. He called me at 6 a.m. today for the first time this week. It was great to hear his voice!! You can't imagine how much it helps to talk on the phone. He can only talk for 15 minutes at a time right now and he has to wait in a line to use a shared phone. Sounds almost like prison to me. Don't think I am feeling cynical about my husband. I just wish he didn't have to be going through this experience for so many months away from us. He misses us greatly and we miss him as well. I could add a lot more here, but I won't.

So what else can I add? We are doing great. Just enjoying life and doing lots of stuff. Everyday is something new and lots to be thankful for (and even the mundane stuff is not so bad). The kids and I went to Sailorville Dam over the weekend after the support meeting held by our Navy ombudsman. We parked by the spillway and walked around. Then Holden and I decided to bike around Sailorville Dam. We biked to a park (Camden in the bike trailer). We biked over the Dam (didn't know there was a bike trail we could have taken instead to bypass the danger of that). Then we biked to the Sailorville Lake Visitor Center. Holden is quite fun to bike with and Camden is such a good sport in the trailer. It was quite a day!! Then we had neighborhood kids begging to play with them once we got home that evening.

There is never a lack of interesting things to do in our life. Tomorrow we are going to meet an art mentor at the Des Moines Art Center. We are applying for a grant to get funds so she can come to our house to mentor Holden in art. Art is what he has chosen to explore out of a list of about 20 choices this grant will cover. It is a grant through a program called "Our Military Kids." It is on-line for anyone out there who may qualify--check it out. He picked art over sporting activities like baseball, soccer, and horse back riding. He has always loved art. So, I guess I should not be surprised. This program is for kids with a parent who is deployed overseas for an extended amount of time.

Camden's 3rd birthday is 3 weeks away. I have been trying to stay in the moment and cherish my kids...breathe when I am stressed and not get riled up too easily over the trivial things kids do or say. There are moments I get angry, but all the love I get from the universe eases the mommy demon in me. I am not too emotional about this milestone coming up for us. I am sad Cliff won't be here; he is sad as well. We will make the most of Camden's special day!!! Don't know how much I will be posting the next few months. I am trying to enjoy what little lovely weather we may have left this coming season and this precious time with my kids. Winds, rain, and snow will be upon us too soon for my liking and my kids are growing up so quickly!

Our life is very full of interesting and kind people. Thank you all for your support!!! We hope we give you as much as you give us!!! If we don't get a chance to repay you, know we are at least paying it forward to our kids, who will one day pay all this love forward to the world. What comes around, goes around.