Near and Far

It's going to be a short one. We are preparing for Ross to leave for another month long training period. This training in California is specifically for his upcoming deployment. Deployment is something that has been lingering over us for quite some time now and it seems to be finally happening. But this isn't about Ross's deployment. The past month or so has been pretty rough for the West Point community. Ross has had several friends injured while in Afghanistan recently. They will forever wear the scars of their job/calling, but they will do so proudly I am sure. They will do it because they have lost friends, classmates, teammates, friends by association, in the past few weeks. The names are becoming too familiar. It is all we can do to pray for the injured and their families, mourn the loss of friends, and thank a soldier when you see one. Please keep Ross, his friends, coworkers, and all soldiers in your prayers. This is a hard job and they are doing it willingl...

Yesterday marked an anniversary that shocked, scared, intimidated, thrilled, and surprised us. It is odd how a tiny plastic stick has the power to do all those things in a 3 minute time frame. Crazy tiny stick. I had not been feeling well for a couple weeks, but I also thought it was just the being busy with a new job and summer running around. I had gotten sick a couple times which was very strange because I rarely get sick like that. Again, I didn't give it a ton of thought. It wasn't until late the night of July 31 that it came to me. Headache, dizziness, nausea, crying A LOT, throwing up after every meal, drink of water, cracker I ate, and so on...  Oh my gosh, I'm pregnant. I sat through my sex ed classes in school, I had the talk with my mom, I had friends who had either had babies or were pregnant. I knew where they came from and how to prevent them, but due to some medical issues I was no longer on birth control and God has a sense of humor. This was not our fir...

Levi and I have been here with our Oklahoma family for about a month now. We have been having so much fun with the family and friends! We (a term I use loosely since Levi doesn't understand anything) have also picked up a few things that I would like to share with you. Ben (age 6): Will Levi be a daddy when he grows up? Me: I hope so. Ben: I want to be a daddy when I grow up. Joe (age 4): I don't! Ben: Joe, you don't want to get married and have a baby like Ross and Kayla did?!?! Joe: Nope. Dad while watching "Days of Our Lives" "Is that girl related to those Kardashian things?" Me: How much do I love you? Ben: I know, I know... To the moon and back... Dad: Kayla, you should wean Levi and leave him here. You and Ross can make another one. Joe: Sorry Kwaya... Joe: Got your nose Wevi! A few things have happened that have been milestones for Little Man. He now giggles (one of my favorite noises ever) and this morning he finally rolled o...

Thanks to a bit of "bloggers block", I haven't been able to get a post together that I have been pleased with. I have started 3 posts over the past month, but I disliked them all. Sheesh... You would think I was being paid for these or something. Levi and I are in Oklahoma with the family. We arrived after a (thankfully!) non eventful car ride from New York on June 21. Thanks to my dad who flew into Buffalo, NY, we made excellent time and got to Oklahoma a day early. Levi did VERY well on the ride! We only had a couple melt downs that made me question the decision to drive 1,500 miles with a 3 month old. One in Springfield, MO made me understand those moms who freak out and yell at the gas station attendants who are working in a establishment without a changing station. I didn't yell or freak out, but I think the entire parking lot knew that Levi was EXTREMELY upset and that I was on the edge of screaming myself. Dad got us back on the road and we drove as quickly a...

We received the call last Thursday! Well to be technical, I called and discovered that our new house was ready for us. We viewed the house at 10 am Friday morning and we had keys by 11:15. Thanks to Ross' amazing friends, the majority of our household goods were in our new place by 7:30 that evening. I was thankful for all the help I had received throughout last week to get almost everything packed up and ready. It truly made the move so much easier. Levi did great with the move! He didn't even notice that he was sleeping in a different place, but the kid doesn't know if he is sleeping in his bed, his car seat, Target, or his precious ottoman. I think Levi's transition has been the easiest out of everyone. He has discovered something recently that I think people from the South take for granted. Ceiling fans. They are quite the luxury here in the North Country and I am thankful we have them in the new house. Levi loves them. He talks to them, laughs at them, an...

Ross and I decided that we would for sure accept the house that is being offered to us on post, so we have started preparing for move #3. I really thought that the first two moves were very difficult, but #3 is proving to top that list. Packing, cleaning, and organizing is SO SO much more difficult when you have a 7 week old in the mix. Especially a 7 week old who has been diagnosed with a possible metabolic disorder and we cannot let him sleep for any more than 3 hours. 3 hours goes by extremely fast when your 3 hours start from the beginning of the feeding and not the end. His metabolic disorder is not life threatening, but it is causing me to break the rule of "Never Wake a Sleeping Baby". We were blessed with a little guy who enjoys to sleep through the night, but we are having to wake Levi up every three hours. I was recently told by a friend that my circles under my eyes are growing... Guess it is time to find a good concealer! We are waiting for the phone cal...

Like most little girls, I had no use for boys growing up. Until, like most little girls, junior high came along, then it all changed. However boys(or boys that I wanted to) had no use for me for a long while after that. Then I met Ross during the summer of 2004 and I suppose I met the right boy. Now it seems as if my life is all about boys. Still very much centered around that "right" boy, but since along the way some others have joined who have changed my life.  I had my dad and my big brother from day one. Big bro Corey wasn't always the nicest, but I wasn't always the nicest to him either. I may have been 8 years younger and very very scrawny, but I could slap like I was being paid for it. It took several years for Corey and I to get to being friends, but he is by far one of my favorite people. Thanks to that boy, I have three of the most amazing boys in my life. We gained Terry, aka Baby Boy, when he was only 10 years old. I can remember when he came to my scho...