Life in the desert

On Friday the 27^th, the movers came to start packing us up.  I think anyone who saw me the days prior to that would say I was feeling STRESSED!  That day they packed up 70% of our house.  During the morning Mom and Dad and Kim & her kids arrived.  They were life savers.  Mom and Dad immediately went to work on our yard – I wanted it to look nice before the renters got there on Wednesday.  Mom is AMAZING, she took her lunch outside so she wouldn’t have to stop working.  Friday evening we went to dinner and then headed over to the baptism.  Things started to get pretty crazy, no chaotic!  Trav’s parents called, they weren’t going to be able to come to the baptism because they were taking my father-in-law into the hospital, he had been having a lot of pain.  Spence and Heather got caught in the traffic from hell and weren’t able to make it.  I kept on thinking that Satan is working so hard to keep this from being a really spiritual experience for Lauren.  We started the baptism.  Allison gave a talk on baptism that I felt really brought in the spirit.  The baptism itself was flawless.  I loved seeing the smile on Lauren’s face as she came out of the water.  She later asked me, “Mom, is it possible to have one perfect day?”  I told her today was as good as any!  Mom gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost.  Although it was a very noisy baptism (due to the 15 or so kids there), I think it was a very positive experience for Lauren.

Monday, the movers came and finished packing boxes.  That night we went to a going away party at a friend’s house.  Trav was sly and turned it into a birthday party as well.   Tuesday they came to load the truck.  At 3 some of my friends came over and helped me clean.  We were done by 5 and I was happy to be done with the house.  I was exhausted that night!!!  A friend pointed out to me, imagine if I had been pregnant.  Oh, man, I would have been beat and in a LOT of pain!

I was glad that we made it so we weren’t leaving until Friday.  It made it so that we had time to spend with friends (leisurely) before we had to take off.  Friday we left Puyallup at 9:30 am.  The drive was pretty uneventful.  We made it to our hotel in Reddding at 8:45.  After driving in the car all day, we told the girls they could go swimming, it was 90 degrees at 9 pm.

We got up early on Saturday and headed out.  We made just quick stops and pulled into Ft. Irwin at 4:15.  We drove a little bit through Barstow before we drove into Irwin.  Barstow looks to be a pretty desolate and run down city.  I don’t think we’ll be spending much time there.

When we made our hotel reservation, Trav reserved a “suite.”  All that meant was that there was a bedroom and then a “living room” that had a pull out couch.  When we arrived they tried to put us in a room with 2 queen beds.  Trav worked his magic and got us the room that we had reserved.  We have a mini fridge, mini microwave and a sink.  We brought our crock pot, but we thought there would be a cook top.  We later went to the PX and bought an electric skillet.  We have to grocery shop everyday because our fridge doesn’t hold that much.  Meals will be an interesting experience.

On Sunday church started at noon.  We got there and there are about 15 families in the branch.  There are 3 new families this week.  There is a young woman (maybe 14) playing the piano.  The opening song starts and Trav and I start singing.  I think we are all you can here – everyone else is singing very quietly.  Lauren told me after the opening hymn, “Mom, all I could hear were you and dad.  You were really loud.”  I asked Trav if I was singing loudly, he said just normal.

In primary they have 3 classes: Sunbeams, Jr. primary, and Sr. primary.  They do class the first hour and have singing and sharing time the last hour.  The Primary president says that she has 1 counselor and no singing time person.  They switch off who does music and who does sharing time.  Honestly primary music would be a blast!!!

In Sunday school the teacher points out that if all the new people weren’t there, there would be 3 people in the classroom.  It was the same in Relief society, there were 4 ladies other than the R.S. presidency.

On Monday we went into the housing office and got a list of the houses available.  There were 3, we went to check them out.  We aren’t allowed to walk through them because people are still living there, so we just check out the locations.  The one we chose has a park right in front of the house, its in a cul-de-sac and it is a block and a half from Lauren’s school.  We won’t be able to move in until Sept. 6^th.  That means we will be in this tiny hotel room until then!

Since then we have been filling the day with going to the pool and different places around post.  I can’t get over the heat.  The school website says that it is suppose to be 110 all this week. UGH!!!  My friend, Elizabeth, said it best.  She said, "Don't you wish it was a dessert instead of a desert."  Oh, yes I do! School started today and I’m so excited to hear how it went for both of the girls.  What am I going to do with myself with only 1 child 6 hours of the day!  PAR-TAY!

Travis has been gone for the last 3 weeks doing training in California.  For the last two weeks we haven't been able to talk to him at all.  The girls and I have tried to keep busy, but we still miss him.

On Tuesday we were at Lauren's last baseball game of the season.  We were playing at the park next to the fields.  I was holding Abigayle when all of a sudden she wiggled out of my arms.  I look over and she starts walking towards a soldier that was in uniform.  As she's walking she's saying, "Daddy, Daddy!"  I had tried to explain to her that that man wasn't her daddy.  Its so cute she misses him.

This is a huge thing!  When Lauren was Abigayle's age (16 months) she had seen her daddy a total of 4 months of her life and Rachel 9 months of hers.  Abigayle has had the pleasure of her daddy being there all but 3 months of her life.  I'm loving this lack of deployments!

Pregnancy update

So I went into the Dr. today to see if I had strep. They checked all my vitals and then went to find a fetal heartbeat. The nurse searched and couldn't find one. I told her I'm always anxious because my sister had 2 second trimester miscarriages. She told me she would bring in the doctor to do an ultra sound. He did an ultrasound, and was very silent and then brought in another doctor. They informed me they weren't able to find a heart beat. It appears the fetus is developed up to 13 weeks, which means this just happened in the last day or 2. They are scheduling a D&E (like a DNC - but for those past 12 weeks) in the next 24-72 hours.

I've kind of felt all along that this baby happened too easily, the sad thing is I was beginning to think it was going to stick. Keep us in your prayers. I'm going to take a not from my sister, Allison's book because I really need to look on the bright side right now.

10 Things I'm grateful for:
1. I have 3 beautiful, healthy girls
2. I have a wonderful husband who dropped everything to come and be with me!
3. I won't be moving into the desert 30 weeks pregnant.
4. A wonderful friend who listened to the spirit and offered to bring us dinner even before this all came about.
5. That Travis was not out of town when this happened, if I would have waited until my next appt, Travis would have been in California.
6. Wonderful family that has offered to step in and help us where necessary.
7. I can lose some more weight before trying to get pregnant again.
8. If I get my bum in gear, I can run the rock 'n roll half marathon.
9. The knowledge of an eternal family and a loving Heavenly Father.
10. The atonement of Christ - Alma 7:12 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

Spring Break

We decided to go to Utah for Spring break. It was a long trip down and back. We got to visit, friends, family, and old mission friends. It was so much fun, but quite exhausting. The best story from spring break goes as such:

Set the stage. My brother Scott was giving his son, J.C. (9 months old), a bath. Rachel (4 1/2 years old) walks in and stand next to Scott and watches.

Rachel: What's that?
Scott - taking in a deep breath: That's a penis, you need to ask your mom and dad more about that.
Rachel: Not that, what's in his hand?
Scott: Oh, that's a dolphin.


This story made me laugh so hard! When I was retelling the story one time, Rachel added at the end, "Yes, there was a blue and a pink dolphin." Aw, the innocence of youth. May you not lose that for a long, long, long time!

Shocked, right?!

I bet you're shocked. Its been a year and a half since I posted. A quick update: we had our baby February of 2011. Abigayle (Gayle is my mom's middle name) was 8 lbs 12 oz. She is our little angel baby! She was such an amazing baby and continues to be an adorable little girl. She developed much more quickly than our other girls. She crawled at 7 months (Lauren & Rachel crawled at 10 1/2 months) and walked at 11 (other girls 12 months & 15 months). She makes us laugh so much!!!

She has been such a great little girl that we wanted to try again for another baby. It took us 2 years and 1 month and countless infertility appointments to get pregnant with Abigayle. My friend lent us a digital Ovulation test, and we tried it. Travis was leaving for a month, so I decided to take a pregnancy test just so we would know before he left. I was positive it was going to be negative. To my shock it said, "PREGNANT." I looked at Travis and said, "It says pregnant." His reply was, "You look shocked." Me: "Because I am." I can't believe we got pregnant the first month of trying - totally unheard of for us!! We are due October 9th (my sister's birthday). When I told her we were due on her birthday she said, "It's about time, you had 2 on Kim's birthday." That made me laugh.

Final news: We'll be moving from Washington at the end of July and heading off to California.

There's an update. Thanks, Lisa for making me want to post again.

Big News!!!

WE'RE PREGNANT!!! After 2 years of trying, we are finally pregnant. We found out a couple days after Trav went back to Iraq. I told him by emailing him a picture of the test. I wonder how many men found out that way. We are so excited and can see the Lord's timing in it. I'm so excited for Travis to experience the full first year of one our children - it has yet to happen. We are due February 9th, this is an ultrasound of our little baby at 10 weeks. We will find out on the 22nd of Sept. what we are having so stay tuned!!!!

Home Sweet Home

Our goal this summer was to kill time. We went many different places to try and make the time go by faster. Alas, we didn't have anything planned for August. After talking with Trav, we decided that we would go back to Maryland for a week - what sealed the deal was when we realized we could fly for free with the military. So let the adventure begin.

We had a date in mind to leave Saturday the 14th, it turns out with military flights that you only know 72 hours out if there was a flight scheduled. On Thursday the 12th we found out that our next chance to go to Andrews was Friday the 13th instead of Saturday. Last minute, we got everything together to fly out the next day. The military told us that there was a "call time" of 0710, but that this call time was 3 hours before the scheduled flight. I got there right at 7am, to find out that there were a handful of things I needed to do before I could just check my luggage. The soldiers behind the counter were kind enough and they got us on the flight no problem. As she was checking my large luggage she asked, "Will you be claiming any weapons?" I thought this question was hilarious as I looked down at my 2 kids traveling with me. My answer was, "No." When I relayed this story to Trav he didn't find it quite as funny. He was very practical, "They have to ask, it is a military flight."

We had a 5 hour flight to Andrews AFB in Maryland. It was on a C-something (30, 10, I don't know) plane. It was REALLY loud and we were instructed to wear ear plugs. The girls made some friends with the other families traveling and it was generally a good flight. We did have to pay $4.25 for a meal but the meal included a sandwich, chips, apple, nutrigrain bar, soda, water, & a chocolate bar. I thought it was a lot for the money's worth. We did have one little hiccup when Rachel didn't want to wear her ear plugs anymore and I was afraid she was going to go deaf. She's bawling, kicking, screaming and I'm trying to explain/yell about why we need to wear them. I was a little embarrassed about the yelling, but then I figured the other passengers probably couldn't hear me anyway. Finally, I took her the bathroom, and talked very sternly. She calmed down and we went back and had a good rest of the flight.

We got to Maryland and Nathan, my cousin Alisa's husband, came to pick me up. It was so neat to be back at their house. It was like no time had passed at all. We had so much fun in Maryland, we went to back to church in Odenton and we were mini-celebrities. Many people asked when we were moving back. It reminded me how welcoming that ward was. We also stayed a night in Odenton and got to hang out with all of my friends. It was so awesome, because it truly felt like the last time we saw each other was yesterday. I also got to go and see my friend, MaryAnn from AZ and the rest of the time was spent hanging out with my dear friend, Alisa. Our kids picked right up where they left off and we rarely saw them except for meal times. It was AWESOME!!!

Andrews AFB only gives a 24 hour notice if there was a flight out. We were planning on leaving a week after we arrived so we were happy to find out there was one Saturday with a call time of 7:30 - the soldier told me its best to be there an hour beforehand. Alisa's house was an hour drive from Andrews so that meant we left the house at 5:30 am. We got there no problem and got loaded up. This was a much different experience than back home. We got "checked in," then we had to sit and wait for roll call. At a little after 8, they called those going to our destination, I got in line, gave them my paper and then sat down and waited again. Over the next hour you hear them calling people's names and they go up to the counter. Then at about 9:30 they announce that all seats have been filled. I was shocked, we had no problems getting OUT of Washington. I got a little concerned as I heard people mentioning that they have been trying to get out of Andrews for about 2 weeks now. So, I had to call Alisa, she drove to pick me up and we decided we would try again for Monday.

Monday morning we left the house at 6 am. We got to Andrews in plenty of time to sign in. This time Alisa stays with me, just in case we don't make the flight - I've smartened up. We go through the same rigmarole as last time. As we are waiting we all of a sudden hear them call our last name, I actually "WOO-HOO!" in the airport. As I'm checking the bags, the soldier informs me, "This is a medical transport flight and there are psychiatric patients on board. If any of those patients are a harm to others they will be restrained and have an escort, are you okay to travel under these circumstances?" I say its fine than she lets me know that if the pilot deems it unsafe, he will cancel the flight for the other passengers. I asked Alisa to wait until we boarded the plane, just to make sure we got on.

She stayed and we said our final goodbye as we loaded the shuttle to go out to the plane. We pull up to the plane and the driver hops out. He gets back on, only to inform us that there is a mechanical error with the plane and they are going to see if they can fix it. Back to the terminal we go. We wait for another 2 hours before they inform us that they will not be able to fix the plan today. At this point it is noon. I had looked at flights earlier and knew there was a flight out to Seattle at 2:45 or another one at 8pm. If I could get to the airport right away I could make it the earlier flight. I called around to a few different shuttles and settled on a taxi. I went out to wait for the taxi and called Alisa and let her know what was up. After I broke down crying on the phone she helped me realize I might be less stressed if I tried for the 8 pm flight. I called my next door neighbor from Odenton and she came and picked me up. She was an angel, she fed us and then took us to the airport - Heaven bless wonderful neighbors!!!

At the airport we arrived with plenty of time. But had another little stressful event at check-in. It all got worked out and we were off to go through security.

We got on the plane, settled in. After we took off Lauren kept on asking for activities to do, I told her no way, it was bed time and she had been up since 5:30. She insisted that she wasn't tired and eventually fell asleep. Rachel didn't put up a fight at all, she just leaned her head on my lap and fell asleep. After a while, for some reason, I woke up and felt Rachel's seat to discover that she had peed her pants. I luckily had a pair of underwear in my purse. I had to wake her up, put a trash bag over her seat, get the pee-pee undies off, new ones on, lay her wet shirt out to dry, and wrap her in her blanket to go back to sleep. I was worried that her shirt wouldn't be dry by landing and she would have to walk in only her undies through the airport. Another "luckily," I remembered that I had an extra pair of pants in the carry-on. Upon landing, Lauren woke up and said, "See, I told you I wasn't tired." I just laughed and said, "You slept almost the entire time!"

My wonderful in-laws picked us up at 11-something and we were headed home. By the time we got home it was after midnight - 3 am EST. I'd been up for almost 24 hours, been in 2 airports, only 1 breakdown, and got 2 kids, our luggage, my prego-self back home. I was glad that day was over because it was MISERABLE!! Home has never felt sweeter!