Life: Unedited

All of these photos were taken recently and came straight out of the camera this way. No editing has been done to them!  If nothing else yet, Alaska has been a  beautiful place to see.

I've seen many pictures of Alaska and have been in awe of the beauty they posses but there is nothing like seeing it in person. I was also able to see the aurora borealis or the northern lights for the first time the other night as well. However, I was unable to get even a decent picture of them. Absolutely amazing! I never thought I would call a place like this home!

{Emily} 

Birthday Wishes

Today is this special lady’s birthday! A few years ago I found a great friend in an unexpected place at an unexpected time and I have been so blessed that she has unexpectedly stuck around!! Happy Birthday Linds, missing you more than usual today! Maybe in a "few" more years we'll be old ladies gossiping over coffee and racing each other through the nursing home causing trouble!

Friendship isn't about being inseparable, it's about being separated and nothing changes.  It's a promise made by the heart. Silent. Unwritten. Unbreakable by distance. Unchangeable by time.

From all of us today, We hope your day is special!

This Week at Home

This week at home...

...it snowed some more.

...someone tried out preschool for the first time.

...someone also spent a couple days in bed with a yucky bug.

(that was probably brought home from preschool!)

...we added some Valentines cheer to the house!

...we were thought of.

...and we enjoyed our time together while also trying to take care of ourselves.

(and indulging in a few squares of dark chocolate!)

{Emily}

Calm before the Storm

As I write, the house is quiet, but not too quiet.  It’s that just right kind of quiet, you know? It's Friday night and Aiden is already in his jammies, hanging out on the couch with his dad having a pb&j.  I’m in the other room and although the tv is on, all I can seem to hear coming from the living room is the sweet sound of a father and son.  A week has now gone by since the news. Last time I wrote, everything seemed to be falling into place just the way it should, everything was just right. The last week has brought many prayers, tears shed and extra hugs. Such is the life of a military wife as she prepares her family for deployment.  Last time around, it was just the hubs and I and we had months to prepare.  This time, it came short notice and unexpected...along with the fact that the littlest member of the house has no idea whats about to rock his world.  As if in the last two months haven’t brought enough change to our life, we must now endure this.  It's moments like this, on nights like this, that will soon be missed tremendously.  One of the most important things I learned though the last deployment was that trying to find something, anything, no matter how big or small, that is positive really helps to keep me going. It’s so easy to be angry and distant right before a separation but so much more important to truly enjoy the time you have with your loved one.  An unfortunate truth is that it could be the last. And I don’t just say that as an Army wife who sends her husband off to war. I also say it as a mother who gets in a vehicle everyday with her child and a daughter who no longer lives near her parents.  Our time on this earth is not a given, its a blessing. A blessing that can be gone just.like.that.  Hate is easy, love takes courage. Loving my husband and continuously striving to have a successful marriage  is by far one of the most courageous things I have ever attempted! Also at the top of that list is parenthood. I’m thinking that my new motto should be “You can’t scare me, I’m a toddler’s mom and a Soldier’s wife!” As funny as it might be, the truth is I do get scared. But maybe that’s what helps me to keep the faith.  A little at a time, when I seem need it the most my faith grows stronger. Some days will be better than others in the coming months and although there may be a storm in the forecast, today was a good day. A calm day. A blessed day. A happy day. And as the storm approaches, we will continue to take each day one at a time until the storm passes.

Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God.

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, Thank God.

{Emily}

Birthday Wishes

Today we send a Big Happy Birthday to Collin, our very energetic, funny nephew! Unbelievably enough, he turned four today. 

Collin we miss you and hope you’re having a splendid “snowed in” kind of birthday! 

And while we’re sending out birthday wishes...I must add that even though I didn’t post due to traveling, unpacking and lack of internet we did not forget about a few other special people who celebrated their birthday recently too!

One of our other nephews, Carter just turned another year older! He is quite the creative  Lego Architect!  Happy Birthday Carterman! I hope you know we were thinking of you on your special day. Big Hugs!

Also, the hubby’s favorite brother celebrated his birthday...

So, Happy Birthday cool Uncle “Tonkey”!!

Last but not least, Aiden’s Gigi had a birthday as well.  There are so many birthdays and day-to-day things we miss out on having to live away. But to all of you, we send our love and big birthday hugs. And we think of you often, not just on your Birthdays.

Lots of love-

{Em & the boys}

Notes from Home

"The Last Frontier"

"North to the Future"

"Land of the Midnight Sun"

ALASKA!!

And yes, its "home."

It felt like such a long journey to get here, but now looking back it all seemed to go by so fast.  We didn't nearly have enough time with all our friends and family along the way. But, it's good so very good to have a place to call home and to be getting settled.  And just like that the hubby is back to work "for real", I start training for a new job next week, Aiden is excited to be starting "school" and this will all be our new normal!

The last time I wrote we were enjoying Christmas with the Marcelli's in Denver, Co. It was great to be back in Colorado after moving away from there a few years ago but what was even greater was to see Kris, Lindsey, Nora and Allie again after a few (long) months. Lilly was overjoyed to spend some time with her best doggie friends. One of my favorite things about this trip was enjoying a cup of coffee with great friends during the quiet mornings before Aiden got up. I can't even really tell you what all we talked about but that part doesn't even really matter! With all of the great family I've been blessed with already, I feel exceptionally lucky that God also feels I need these friends I consider family as well. Aiden even calls Lindsey and Kris "Aunt and Uncle." Well, he calls Kris "Uncle Kris-tmas" and loves them just the same as his other Aunts and Uncles.

Christmas Eve was spent shopping, making Christmas cookies and playing Wii. The days were going by so fast and I knew it wouldn't seem like we had nearly enough time spent here!

On Christmas morning, Aiden was excited to see that Santa had found him in Colorado. There wasn't a snowflake in sight and we were able to spend the morning comfortably in our sweats. We even headed out that day to Kris' parents house sans coats and needing sunglasses! Even without the snow, it was a beautiful Rocky Mountain Christmas. I must admit I miss living in Colorado far more that I ever thought I would.  Aiden took the role of passing out the presents and even assisted in opening most of them also! Since Santa knew that we would be traveling he only brought Aiden on gift this year and it was Jingle the Husky Pup and interactive storybook made by Hallmark.  He got another book from Mom & Dad and a CAT machine with a drill that he can take apart and reassemble from Kris and Linds.  As I said, later on that day we were welcomed into Kris' parents house for dinner and they even had a couple things under the tree for us.  Completely unexpected, but very thoughtful.

The day after Christmas we headed out to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in search of King Tut. I need to add a HUGE shout out to the DMNS as we were all allowed to explore the museum for FREE! What a nice surprise that we all got full access for the day, for free with military ids. There aren't enough places that do this type of thing, and I'm not just saying that because it benefits me, but because it benefits so many other families as well. Later that night after heading home to check on the dogs and have some lunch we also went to the Denver Zoo for the Zoo Lights display where the zoo becomes a 38 acre illuminated safari complete with both real animals and 150 animated light sculptures.  It was so cold Aiden was crying because his snot was freezing to his face and his mom and dad (who will not be winning parents of the year) had left behind his mittens. But daddy came to the rescue and let Aiden wear his gloves and the zoo had numerous hot chocolate stands offering free refills once you had the cup!

Too soon it was time to get back on the road and keep making our way to the Pacific Northwest where we would catch the ferry to Alaska.  We had a couple stops to make along the way and were unsure what kind of wintery weather we would be getting ourselves into. Just as every time before, this time was no different when the dogs were separated. Lilly spent most of the rest of the trip depressed, missing her friends and confused about what was going on! One stop we made along the way was to visit my father who I'd not seen in 15 years.  He did not know we were coming but welcomed us in at 9p.m. at night after receiving an unexpected surprise at his door.  He invited us back the next day and we spent most of the afternoon there.  Leaving the past in the past, Aiden now knows his grandfather and we'll see where it goes from here.  After that, we had one day left and I wanted to do some exploring in Seattle, WA.  For those of you who don't know, my husband strongly dislikes bigger cities so venturing into the hustle and bustle that is Seattle was strictly something he did for me.  That day we went to the Space Needle and the Pike Place Market.  I have been wanting to go to the Public market since high school! More (and pictures) on all of these adventures later soon!

At the beginning of the post I mentioned I'd be going back to work and Aiden would be starting "School"...I will explain.  I have just been hired by Bright Beginnings Early Learning Center as an Assistant Administrator. I'll be in the classroom part of the day and in the front office the rest. Its not exactly what I was looking for when wanting to go back to work but I'm putting my degree to use and I can still somewhat be with Aiden.  They have a spot in one of the classrooms at the same location I'll be working at for Aiden.  We checked it out yesterday and met his teacher, he seems excited and has been talking about "school" and "the boys."  I'm hopeful this will be a good thing for both of us!  One more thing before I go...

Word on the street (ok, the official Groundhog Day Website rather) is that Mr. Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning! Ladies and Gentlemen that makes me happy and hopeful to say that Spring is on its way! Yay!!

Notes from the Road

Happy Holidays!

As the year comes to an end, looking back our family endured some things that we would have rather not. BUT, we still feel very blessed for all the good and wonderful things. We are looking forward to a new start in the new year!

We have been busy in the last few weeks and  please excuse my absence, yes I can blog from my Droid, but like I said we've been busy! Whew!

Here's a few notes from the road, so far...

We officially left Missouri the first week of December. We spent the 3 following weeks in Illinois with family. A huge gigantic thank you to Grandma & Grandpa DeCap for lodging, and all that comes with putting us up! Lilly (our dog-ughter) traveled for the first time and did amazingly well. Going into the trip I decided I was not going to try to enforce Aiden's schedule, rather we've just been going with the flow. This cross country move would prove to be trying, yet well worth it all for our adventurous little family!

Not too long after making our way to IL, the snow began to fall. (And fall, and fall, and fall...) Being out in the country made for a beautiful setting and start to the holiday season. The first weekend we were home we gathered with family and the sisters and I had a Christmas cookie baking day. Luckily, the guys were all on hand to assist with quality control! It was so nice to see Aiden playing with his cousins now that he's old enough to keep up with them all. There are many times that we truly miss the chaos that being blessed with a large family brings!

A few days later, after another snowfall, Aiden bundled up and spent some time sledding with his cousins. His first sledding experience was a success and his cousins were such great helpers! A pizza and Lego night followed unexpectedly and fun was had by all.  That weekend we made it to one of our nephews basketball games and Aiden spent some time at Grandma Na's house while the hubby and I were able to have a nice quiet adult conversation type lunch date and get some Christmas shopping done.

That weekend was also our Honkey (or Adam's sister)'s Birthday! (Sorry Sis, I didn't get you a special blog post made...I think you understand why!) Unfortunately the weather kept us from spending time with her on that day, but we were able to attend the Geneseo Christmas Walk with other family. We bundled up and made our way through part of the old victorian town and window shopped, checked out the museum, popped in and out of stores, took advantage of a few picture ops and ended the night with dinner, drinks and lots of laughs by the fireplace at a local restaurant. The next evening Aiden spent some time with his God Father and with the McCarty's having the always delicious chicken gumbo! It's something we've began looking forward to for the last few years.

Later that next week, we visited the village fire station. The hubby was a Hillsdale fire fighter prior to joining the Army and his brother has been for many years as well. Aiden really enjoyed exploring the trucks with Uncle Tony and even tried on his gear. It also snowed again that week and one morning while Papa was plowing out the lane with the tractor Aiden got to help. We got all bundled up and stomped and tromped around in the snow. Later that night we had dinner and movie night with the Trickey family. It was a perfect snowy night to have spaghetti and hang out on the couch with all the boys sharing a blanket watching a movie. Another busy weekend would soon be upon us, it would also be the last weekend at home with everyone. Friday night, we enjoyed one of our oldest nephew's Christmas concert at his school. He looked so handsome and sang very well. Saturday morning we would be up bright and early for Christmas at Nana and Kevin's house. We spent the day enjoying tacos and treats and like always, Nana had lots of presents for her little ones. Aiden received a very special Build-a-Bear that has a voice box in its had that when pressed he hears a special message from his Nana. Later that night, my hubby full filled his promise to his sister that if he was able to shoot a deer he would so she could stock her freezer. Together, with the help of his brother, he shot a doe and hug her in the morton building to be processed. With moving across the country and all, we were unfortunately unable to keep any of the meat for our selves! Sunday evening we also spent with family at Papa and Gigi's house for Christmas. It was nice to see cousins and aunts and uncles we don't see often enough and also for Aiden to get to hang out with his God Mother. We are so appreciative of everyone who makes the time to get together with us while we are "home."

We are also very appreciative of all the dinner invites we received! We received so many that we almost ran out of nights to eat with everyone who offered! Through this, Aiden was able to spend some time with his great-uncle Bunkie, great-grandma and grandpa Young, all of his grandparents, his friends Blake and Kai, his pseudo grandma Sherry, great-grandma and grandpa DeCap, all of cousins and aunts and uncles, as well as Michelle and Matt DeCap. I feel like I must have forgotten someone, but Thanks again to everyone! I was just as hard as it always is to have to leave but we needed to keep moving forward on this new adventure and what felt like all too soon, it was time to go.

We were looking forward very much to where we would be going though, our next stop would be to Denver, Colorado for a visit with some of our closest "Army family"the Marcelli's! More fun on our time here in Denver to follow...

Until Then...
Em & The Boys

Birthday Wishes

Although the day is coming to an end, we have not gone without thinking of our sweet niece today on her birthday! Luckily, we were able to chat with her on the phone today and let her know that we hoped her day was extra special.

Happy Birthday Claire-bear!

We love you, miss you and will see you soon!!

Lots of Love from Uncle Adam, Aunt Em and Aiden!

XOXO

Late, but not forgotten

Please forgive me as I’m a day late in honoring Veteran’s Day, but it was not forgotten. The afternoon was spent with my husband, a veteran, and 5 others at our house for a Veteran’s Day, pre-Thanksgiving, please come help us eat our food up before we PCS dinner! It was nice to have some of the people who have filled our home with joy while we’ve lived here come one last time...and of course aid in not having to throw away food!

And I can’t go without beaming with pride on a day like Veteran’s Day, so yesterday I found a few pictures of the hubs in uniform. He’s almost half way to retirement, he’s re-enlisted a number of times, he’s been deployed twice, he’s about to be stationed overseas for the second time, and he’s working hard to become an officer. We are so grateful for the sacrifices he has made and continues to make for us to live this life. We also remember those who have served,  are now serving with him, and those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country. God Bless them all!

{deployed - OIF}

{deployed - OEF}

{Manchu Ball '08} 

 {most recent re-enlistment '09}

And I'll leave you with this video of a song that kept playing in my head yesterday...

{Emily}
...And don't worry...I've not forgotten about posting pictures of halloween festivities...

Oh, Rosie

Today, our little Rosie is recovering from the emergency surgery she endured yesterday. Oh, Rosie we sure miss you around here. We hope you’re getting some rest with the blanket we dropped off for you last night. Lilly has looked all over the house for you and Aiden has been talking about seeing you resting last night. Get better soon so you can come back home for awhile. We love you Rosie-Roo.

Our little “speed-bump”

After returning home from visiting Rosie at the vet last night:

Aiden: “Ro-iese, Ro-iese” Hollering in the yard and around the house for his dog.

Me: “Honey, she’s not here. She’s resting with the doctor, remember?”

Aiden: “Roiese, Blank. toes.”

Me: “Yes, we took the blanket to Rosie and covered her toes didn’t we.”

Aiden: Nods. “Roiese, rest.”

I love that little guy. And I love that he loves his dogs so very much!

{Emily}