Happy Birthday Gunner!

It's already September 18th in Afghanistan.....

When Gunner was born, he was a little guy, tipping the scales at just over 3 pounds.  He was 6 weeks early I think.  In this picture I believe he was a few months old.  When he was first born, his dad was able to hold him in the palm of his hand.


Gunner with his 3 brothers.  He's the cutie on the far left.


A shot of when Gunner was home on R&R, just in time to meet his son.  (His son, who outweighed him by 7 pounds at birth, yikes!)

He's no longer that little kid.

He's a wonderful father, husband, and Soldier...and no longer the little guy.

Happy 40th Birthday Sweetie!  We love you and miss you!

P.S.  Thanks for all the great suggestions, but as luck would have it, he got this....or he will when he gets home.  It was a moment of weakness on my part....

I need help!

I can ask this, because Gunner said he wasn't able to access my blog in Afghanistan.  Guess those people don't know good blog reading when they see it!

Anyway, Gunner's 40th birthday is next month.  (That totally blows me away since I met him when he was 23!!!)

I'm stumped as to what to get him, or what to do for him.

I'm trying to think of something that will mean a lot, not cost a lot, and will be a great memory.  Everyone wants to have a special 40th birthday, and while we are going to plan something special when he gets back--I'm thinking a trip somewhere really cool sans kids--I don't want him to feel totally alone on his birthday.

So all 332 of you, I am sure you can provide me one inspirational idea that I can do or a combination of things that I can do to make him feel special while is halfway around the world.  Give me your best please, I am at a total loss!

Best Wishes for Gunner

We are still alive and living among a sea of boxes.

Gunner is still here.

My ankle is not broken, but I did strain it, and am in pain.

I was hoping all my followers would leave some words of advice for Gunner, or well wishes, or something before he leaves soon.

I'm sure he'd love some encouragement.  So comment away, and let him know you care!  Thanks!

Em's Big Adventure

Em leaves for 10 days in London today.  She went two years ago for just over three weeks, and is headed back to meet her Grandma to travel some more.  I can't complain as my parents took my little sister and my brother and I there one year for Spring Break.  I would love to go back though!

We knew when we agreed to let Em go on this trip, that she would be leaving before her dad.  Just one more sign that it is getting closer.

At Em's request, Gunner is taking her to the airport and waiting with her, so she can wait till the last possible minute before saying goodbye.

I'm sure the big adventure awaiting her will keep her mind occupied while she is on the plane, along with daydreams about Justin Beiber.

I'm nervous about her flying by herself, but she has a direct flight, and we are paying the $100 to have her escorted through customs.  Let's hope everything is uneventful.  It's a great opportunity for her, although I know Gunner has a hard time when we leave him.  While it is never easy to leave us, that's the way it usually is, so he finds it hard when the roles are reversed.

In the meantime Junior has pooped in his pants and he didn't take anything, and Abs is in rare form.  Hopefully one day he will look back on this and laugh.

Gunner as a Dad

My kids are very fortunate in that they have a dad who would do anything for them.  During our time in Tampa, we hit the beach one day and he was recruited to be the Little Mermaid.  (I'll spare you the full body, but they completed it with shell decorations and all.)

Since Em had hurt her knee, there was no way that she could get around the beach on crutches.

He carried Em to the water, to the towels, to the water, to the sand castles, to the water, to the towels, to the water, to the towels, to the water......

Of course Junior benefits from riding on his shoulders, playing with him, and all the roughhousing that I don't do.

Sometimes I feel like I have four children because he is just as goofy as the kiddos.

Abs is a hard kid.  Very hard.  Sometimes I think that no one can love her like I do, but I know he does.

Our time is limited, but he has done his best over the last year to leave his children with memories to hopefully hold them over until he returns again.

Preparing for Christmas

Gunner and I spent the day getting the final things for the kids.

Tomorrow we take the kids shopping for each other....and Sammy.  Abs has requested that nothing be bought for for her, and instead use all funds to buy presents for the dog.

We got home and finally decided to put up the tree.  Junior saw the stockings and wanted to put them on so that he could be Santa.  The next thing we uncovered was a santa suit--size 12 months.  That didn't stop the boy from wanting to wear it.

 Way too small.  We used the flip and shot video of Abs and Junior dancing.  My mom asked who Junior was watching dance, because he can really shake his booty.

Then Junior went downstairs and stumbled on a mask.

Which reminded me of what I shot a picture of the night before when he was supposed to be sleeping.

The bow tie makes the outfit, or maybe it is the trash can on his head?

We finally got the tree up....

But, we were missing the chimney again, so Abs took care of that for us so we will have a place to hang the stockings. 

I did take some pictures with my camera instead of my phone, but you know how LONG it takes to download them, and I'm lazy exhausted. 

Tomorrow we have a few more errands, presents to wrap, and we have gingerbread houses to decorate.  I love Gunner being home this year!

Happy Anniversary Gunner!

15 years of marriage
14 hundred pounds of TA50
13 pressed uniforms
12 years living stateside
11 years of actually being in the same country
10 pairs of boots
9 months since you got home
8 military houses
7 months till your Afghanistan deployment (sorry, it fit!)
6 cross country trips
5 P-C-S-es
4 year long deployments
3 cute kids
2 strange inlaws
and 1 puppy named Sammy.

Thanks for the first 15 years Gunner, here's to the next 15....

Wordless Wednesday

I was looking through old drafts on my blog, and I found this one that I was going to do for a wordless Wednesday over 2 1/2 years ago.  

Gunner in Iraq during 2nd tour.

Trying to pull a fast one...

It is snowing.....again.  The joys of living in the mountains.  Actually I find it absolutely beautiful, and the more, the better.  I am about to start the last two weeks of school, and have enough work to keep an army busy. 

We of course weren't organized enough to do it yesterday, so we had to clean out the carport.  We had boxes out there from round 200 of unpacking, and had gotten a notice that we would be fined if we didn't clean it up.

We borrowed a snow shovel, and then fought over who got to use it.  I'm sure that the newness is over for Gunner, and he won't be begging to do it again any time soon.

We have several inches of snow already, and we need to go to Sam's to get a few vital things--papertowels (because this house cannot exist without them), trash bags (we accumulate more trash than anyone else I know), string cheese (so Junior can continue to exist), dishwasher detergent (we use too many dishes, mainly glasses), and a rotisserie chicken (because a trip to Sam's is not complete without one).  I also have to mail two fed ex boxes.

Gunner & I had a conversation that went like this:

G:  I should go to Sam's by myself because of the weather.
Me:  Are you sure?
G:  Yes. 
Me:  But you just came back from the recycling center and told me that the roads were all clear.
G:  Didn't I tell you about the car that crashed?
Me:  No.  I need to mail the fed ex boxes, and I have to do that.
G:  Oh.  I guess we should all go.
Me:  Oh no, I would hate for you to go out in such horrible weather conditions.
G:  No, they aren't so bad, we'd hate for you to have to go all alone.

We went sledding instead.

The price you pay

I jetted away to Texas on Thursday.  I arrived in Houston just as my mom and sister were pulling through the pickup line at the airport.  We hopped in and went to my uncle's house where I had enough time to change clothes and then head over to the church for my grandmother's viewing.

My mom is one of 7 kids.  Imagine 7 kids with children and grandchildren.  Some have procreated more prolificly than others have ever even thought about.  We spent the night with my brother and then the next day headed to the funeral.

My grandmother was a military wife, during WWII and Korea.  My grandfather would leave for years at a time, and correspondance was shotty at best.  She used to venture down to the post office twice a day with my mother in tow, to check for a letter from him.  They also listed those that had been killed, in the newspaper and you would have to check there as well.  I can't even imagine.

It was great to see my immediate family and my extended family and my mom and sisters and I headed back to Georgetown Friday night.  We had Mexican for dinner, and then for lunch the next day.  I could have eaten it every single meal.

While I was basking in the beautiful weather in Texas, Gunner and the kiddos were freezing in Colorado.  They got about 6-8" of snow.  While I was wishing I had brought sandals, he was bundling them up in their snow gear to go sledding.

While I was waiting to board my flight on Sunday, TSA was all over our gate.  They started doing random searches, and everyone was giving the other passengers a once-over to see if anyone looked suspicious.  We finally got out of there late, and I used my drink coupons to have a glass of wine on the ride home.

When we arrived in Denver, the ground was covered in snow.  I finally made it out to my car, which was buried under the snow.  The doors were frozen shut.  Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less.

I pried open two doors, and turned on the car, found Gunner's ice scraper, and then loaded my luggage into the trunk.  As I was going back for my second suitcase, I slipped on the ice and fell.  I hit my butt, whacked my head, and slammed my elbows into the ground.  I started to cry.  I laid there for a few minutes whimpering and realized I was out at the far end of the parking lot, it was dark, there was snow, and no one was going to care, so I got up.

I wiped my tears, loaded the last suitcase, and started shoveling the snow off.  I finally got the car in a driveable condition and headed home.  My windows were frozen shut and fogged up, and the car never got warm.  Time to check the radiator fluid.  I made it home almost three hours later (from the time my flight landed).

Before Gunner arrives home after a deployment, a TDY or field time, I scrub the house from top to bottom.  Apparently he didn't get that memo!  So although the house was a mess, the kids were happy and tucked into bed.  They had a great time with movie nights, sledding, trying to make a snowman, and just hanging out.  I'll clean the house, after all, he did keep them alive!

This morning when Junior got up he had thrown up in his sleep.  Lucky me.  It looked like he just did it once, and he seemed fine, so I called Gunner to see if he was acting sick at all.

Me:  Junior threw up sometime last night.
Gunner:  Really? (total surprise)
Me:  Yeah, was he acting okay last night?
Gunner:  Yep.  Although did I mention he at an entire tube of toothpaste?
Me:  Are you kidding?
Gunner:  No, I sent him to go potty, how was I supposed to know he would eat a tube of toothpaste?

So Junior is fine today, the sheets are cleaned, and I'm locking up the toothpaste.

Thank you...

Thank you to all our friends and family that serve/served.  Of course a special thank you to my Soldier...

Vulture Day at the Zoo

I had a ton of school work to do on Saturday, so Gunner headed off to the zoo with the kids. I had forgotten it was vulture day, but the kids were excited and got to see what the stomach contents of a vulture looked like, flight feathers, and lots more. The kids loved it, and Gunner loves the zoo, so it worked out.


They found eggs, and had to try out each part.

Hanging out with the bronze animals.

A gigantic chair.

Another egg view.

We thought it would wear them out, but it didn't seem to phase Abs. Em went off to the balloon festival with a friend, and we put the little kids to bed. Abs snuck out and grabbed Chris' iPhone. He stood outside her room, and she cried out in disbelief "How did this get in here?". No idea Abs. Then I checked my email and she had requested me to be in Gunner's mafia on the phone. She cracks me up.

The Big Camping Trip

The first camping trip with all three kiddos is a go for tomorrow.

There is an 80% chance of rain. I have class, so I am going to go out there, have dinner, hang out, and then head home so I can finish up my homework and such.

I'll head back out there on Saturday, after class, when there is only a 40% chance of rain.

Gunner sent me a text today that gave all the percentages for the chance of rain, and then asked me if it was okay if he took the kids because he really, really, really, really wanted to go camping. How can I say no?

The RV has most of the bare essentials packed. The meal plan was made, changed, rearranged, and purchased today.

Sleeping arrangements have been created and he has even had all the kids out there to make sure everyone would fit in a trial run. Apparently if I come then Junior has to sleep in the playpen because there will be no room in the bed. I don't see how there will be room for anyone in the bed, at least if you are wanting a good night sleep! It's all good though, and I will go out on Saturday and spend the night since on Sunday there is only a 30% chance of rain.

Gunner has the map printed out, and the bathrooms highlighted even though the RV has one. He knows where all the playgrounds are and where he wants to go fishing. He bought a minnow bucket today and was on cloud nine. Ummmmm......he went fishing while we were stationed at Fort Lewis, spent like 8 hours out there and returned home with a few trout. By the time he skinned them, I couldn't eat them and we didn't know how to cook them correctly. I've gotten a lot more adventurous since then and as long as it is cooked and not celery or chow mein noodles I can eat it!

Oh, and the only one without a cold is Em.

So we will be out in the rain, already sick, trying to camp, and hopefully having the time of our lives so that Gunner will want to take us out again. He's started a camping book where he is compiling all the information, and where he will add all the things we will change next time. He is so unlike me. I try to be organized, but truth be told I will always overpack and probably still have to make a run to Walmart at least twice.

It will be fun. And worst case scenario, we are stuck in a small RV with three screaming kids, a bathroom that I know is clean, a DVD player and a microwave....and did I mention air conditioning?

I might need to pack a set of earplugs, a camera, and a triathlon book for good measure.

Happy Anniversary Gunner!

Thanks for 14 years of love, children (well they started coming around year 3), chaos, PCSes, TDYs, togetherness, loneliness, laughter, tears, deployments, and reunions. I think we have covered all the emotions! I should have known when you were deployed for our FIRST anniversary, that it was a sign of things to come.

We have had 7 addresses in those 14 years, three kids, 3 big moves, 4 year long deployments, two trips to NTC (yeah, we lucked out the first 10 years we were married!), an endless number of field problems, and thousands of nights aparts.

It was by chance that we met, but by hard work, determination, and love that we are still together. No one can say marriage is easy, and I think it is twice as hard when you maintain it with one phone call a week.

I wouldn't trade Gunner for anything (remind me of that after he has been home for about 3 months and is leaving his dirty laundry everywhere!), and I can't wait to see what the next 20 years hold.

Another Wife

My husband works closely with the IA (Iraqi Army). Most of them have more than wife, and tell him that he should have more wives and more children. He just looks at them and tells them that he is done having kids and one wife is more than enough. If he does change his mind, I'd love for him to get one that would cook and clean for us. Hopefully she rubs feet too, and loves to fold laundry.

I.am.going.to.scream.

I finally get all the kids in bed last night and spend the remainder or the night picking up, cleaning, read a little, blogged a little, and watched a little tv. Eventually the girls went to sleep and I was headed that way. I'm walking back to check on everyone and make sure that they are covered up when I walked by Junior's room. His door was shut but I could smell a dirty diaper. I debated about whether or not I should change it since he was sound asleep, but decided that I better get it over with since it was already after 11. I open his door and am met with the foulest odor in the world.

Any mom knows that smell.

The boy has barfed. Knowing that I am oh-so-lucky because I have given birth to a child that can throw up and not wake up, I turn on the light. Yes people, there is my sweet, innocent, baby boy asleep in his own vomit. Not lying on the other end of the crib away from it, not lying next to it, the boy is lying right smack dab in the middle of it. He has even managed to wallow in it so that it is covering his entire face. So I do what any other not-so-good-mom does and cry.

I went back to the living room and put out a towel, got the wipes and a warm washcloth. I go back and grab my barf covered baby and he begins to scream. I change his diaper (because of course he had to have diarrhea and diaper rash), wipe him down and change his clothes. He screams the entire time and I just keep telling him over and over "If your sisters weren't asleep, I would scream with you."

I leave my screaming child on the floor and then go back to attack the crib. I put on a new sheet, a waterproof piece of material, a towel, and wipe it down. Junior is still screaming, but I found a non-barfy binky and tucked him back into bed. He snuggled up under his fuffy and fell right asleep.

And then I waited. I waited for the next round. I started barfy laundry. I got out towels for barf. I located barf buckets for the girls. I reminded myself how Junior stuck his binky in my mouth at swim lessons while I was not paying attention and he was feeding me goldfish. I start to feel barfy myself.

I wait a bit....no barfing so I get into bed. I lay there on the verge of tears. Gunner is the keeper of barfy children, I am not. Gunner could fall right back asleep and not worry about who was going to get sick next, I cannot.

I start hearing things and am up and down every few minutes for the next hour while I make sure no one is getting sick. I finally fall asleep.

No more barfing....yet. Junior is still asleep. The girls are still asleep. I'm scared to wake up anyone for fear that will change.

I got an email from Gunner this morning (about my post last night) that said "I couldn't stop laughing so hard. I could just imagine Emily standing there with that look on her face. oh, she is so priceless. She is going to have your feisty-ness (sp?), that I love so much. I am really homesick now. I love and miss you all so very much. I think you are doing a great job without me and I am thankful that I have a wonderful wife. Hang in there and this will be all over before we know it. I love you. Gunner."

And then I cried. I cried because I have a great husband who knows exactly when I need to hear that I am doing an okay job. I cried because he is missing out on so much. I cried because I am tired.

And now it's time to wipe those tears away, get the girls up for school, spend the day cuddling a sick baby while sanitizing the entire house, and hope that no one else gets sick.

And if they do....you'll probably hear me scream.

A new kitchen

Gunner is in a location where they get one hot meal a day.

Not a big deal, he's used to it and he gets packages filled with things he can microwave. The Iraqis have a contract with a guy who cooks their meals and delivers them three times a day. The IA is not happy because they feel like the guy is serving them poor quality food and not enough of it. Fair enough.

So what's an Iraqi to do? They tell my husband that they want a kitchen. The command tells my husband that Santa Claus is dead and they need to go through their people.

So this morning my husband was IMing with me and working with the translator on getting things taken care of. Apparently the last team in there gave the IA everything that they wanted and now they expect that. The team Gunner is on, is supposed to cure them of that habit of expecting the Americans to pay for everything.

To make a point Gunner said that they had some of the IA come over for what they have been eating for "dinner". In the end, the outlook is not good and the IA will probably get a kitchen with the bare essentials. Maybe then they can serve hot meals to the Americans?

Love from Iraq

Wednesday morning my outlook express cratered. I'm sure it had something to do with the 4,569 unread emails. Or maybe the over 15,000 deleted emails. (I keep everything, and often don't even click on the junk emails) Gunner called from Iraq to see if he could help fix it, to no avail. I told him the error codes, etc. and he asked when I would get online again. The girls had swim lessons, so I wasn't able to get on till almost 9 that night.

My dear, sweet Gunner said he would call me then. Unbeknownst to me, he went back to his room, googled instructions (my whole computer locked up), wrote them down, set his alarm, called me, explained the instructions, and went back to bed. He loves me.

My email works.

I'm off to email him.

5 stars

An email from Gunner today:

ABW,

here are my 5 star accommodations. wish you were here. I love and miss you

Gunner

I love how even though it isn't much they will make it home. He sent a picture of the whole room (which of course was a mess), and they had put up blankets, to have a little privacy and put them in the dark when they were ready to sleep. I'm sure over the next 15 months they'll make it a place to call...home doesn't sound good, although I guess for 15 months it has to be something more than just a place to sleep.

I heard about the possibility of the tours getting shortend, but like Erin and I discussed, we would believe it when we saw it. We both agreed, that knowing the army, it would be the new people that came in. At least we can say we were right! Tonight is trash night though, which puts us at 5 down and 60 left. Hey, it's progress!

Pictures from Iraq

Gunner sent these pictures over today. He was able to get on the web cam for a short bit till it bogged down the connection. Junior saw him and started screeching "My Daddy! My Daddy!" and laughing uncontrollably.