Enderli was a big part of my sanity when Chris left on his Afghanistan 2006 deployment. Here is an old pic of us.
This woman took me to my prenatal classes (oh, that story is classic!), waited the 3 days in the hospital/slept on the chair/answered the phone everytime it rang...before Colin made his grand appearance. She was even in the room when he came out... There is something to be said about all of this...
There is a lot her family has done for me/us. The list is long...
This was the view from their front yard this evening:
On another note, Chris is still stranded at Bagram AFB...boo.
Anyway, cheers to good people and the love of my life coming home soon! :)
The weather has been remarkable today. A big upgrade from yesterday...although, it looks like tomorrow and Saturday are not looking so good. Oh well. At least today we got outside for a few hours and I started working on the garden which is screaming for help. I am not all that knowledgeable when it comes to gardening...but I am going to learn quickly. My father-in-law has a super green thumb and so does my sister-in-law Heidi so maybe you inherit this stuff when marry into a family?! Or, so I can hope.
Here is my partner in crime...helping me garden...
There goes my other one...
So yesterday, Colin pooped in the potty again. He told the teacher he had to go. We are so excited for him. He is on a roll!
He was all smiles when he saw his new bed last night...
He loves it!
Chris is still not home yet...it is now looking like Tuesday when he gets home. Blah. We are waiting...be safe Daddy, be safe!!! xoxo
Oh my gosh, I love/miss this guy so much!!
Jerry Burge is/was this absolutely fantastic human being. Jerry lived with Chris and I when we lived in Texas. Hated Texas (except for Austin, of course), LOVED meeting/getting to know Jerry. Jerry was a 'character' to say the least. He was also like a big brother, a best friend, and a darn good cook to boot.
Some of the best memories include taking Jerry to his first punk show. He got right in there and he is no spring chicken...but the man was dancing with the best of 'em. He knew how to party and he knew how to treat the ladies...yes, ALL of them. Back then, it didn't matter. He knew he was deploying and life was throwing the entire lemon tree at him.
I could fill pages and pages on how much Chris and I just love and miss you Jerry and how much fun the few months we lived under the same roof meant to us. You are the most self-less, honest, loving, craziest people we know. I hope we get to see you again one day. R.I.P. xoxo
p.s. 'Hell Girl'...
Taim a dul chuig an teach!
This week I start the slow move back home. I'll be at Bagram in a few days, followed by the flight to Kuwait. I'm not really pumped about going to Kuwait, since it's still in the 50's here and it's in the 100's already there. Gonna be a long hot 24 hrs. But, it's worth it. If everything works right, I'll be home for Colin's Birthday. I'm really excitied. I miss my family and it's gonna be great to get a few weeks with them.
Speaking of Family, Tammy asked me for the question of the week for me to write down things I want to pass on to my kids. Obviously, there's alot I could write down, but we're gonna do this over the next few weeks. This week, I'm gonna give some advice to Colin. Next week it'll be Emma, and then some joint advice the week after that. So, here's some words of wisdom from me to my Son.
- As you get older, it is perfectly fine to judge a man by his handshake. You can sum him up completly during those 5 seconds.
- When you talk to people, always look them in the eye. Whether you're apologizing or complamenting them, they wll realize your sincerity and also you mean what you say, which leads me into my next point:
- Always mean what you say. Men used to be judged by their word. That's kinda gone away. But, in my line of work, it hasn't. Don't spout off a bunch of crap you know isn't true. That also being said, if you tell some one you will do something, do it.
- Stand up for what you believe in. If you believe in something down to your core, stand up for it. But, if you think you may e biting off more than you can chew, you must be willing to accept the consequences of your words and actions. Also, this doesn't give you the right to bully people. If standing up for yourself and what you know is right, and you to fight, that's fine. As I said before, you must be willing to accept what comes out of it. However, there is no excuse to bully people.
- Like I said in the last bit, it's ok to to throw a punch. As long as it's something you feel is worth the consequences.
- Treat women with respect. They are not toys. They are not play things. They are not punching bags. God help me, if I ever find out you hit a woman, it'll be a bad bad day for you. Woman deserve our respect. They are not here for you to run through or for you to put notches on your belt. There is nothing wrong with opening doors and being a gentleman.
- When the time comes for you to date Colin, here's the test you give the girl. When you walk up to the car, open her door first. Let her in. After you close the door, walk around the backside of the car. Look in through the rear window and see if she unlocks your door. If she unlocks your door, then she actually cares for you. If she doesn't unlock your door, then she's into herself and not worth it. Trust me on this one.
- There is nothing wrong with having faith and a belief in God. My faith has gotten me through alot. There's nothing wrong with having the morals that come with your belief in god.
- The world, or me, don't owe you a thing. So many kids now-a-days think that just because they're alive the world owes them a job, a place to live, etc, etc, etc. That's a bunch of BS. You want something, get off your ass and earn it. Nothing come for free. Once you hit the age when you should be working, you better be working. You will get nothing from your Mom or me.
- Speaking of work, there is nothing wrong with hard work. Going out and busting your hump is no below you. There's alot to be said for a hard days work.
- I know people say it's ok for men to open up and express there feelins and what not. Sure, you can. But, I'm a firm believer in the fact that men don't cry. You can every so often. Funerals, when your kids are born, at your wedding, or when Steve Young retires. And Steve Young already retired. In my line of work, it's seen as aweakness, and I agree with that. You don't need therapy for your problems, you need a friend and a 6 pack. That worked for hundreds of years.
- Which leads me to this. Be true to your friends. If you're lucky, you'll have some that will stand by your side, or take your back, for your whole life. I've been lucky to have several like that. And I know how lucky I am to still have them as my firends.
- That also means you take your friends back. No matter what. The only time you don't is if within the last week you've siad to your self, "Man, he needs an ass whopping". Then, you can take a step back for a minute. But, you better get in there and help him finish it up.
- And yes, you will get whooped in fights. Nothing wrong with that. You won't win them all. And that's ok. Sometimes, a good whoopin will put you back in your place.
- There is more to life than material crap. If you're living to only get better toys and date supermodels, than I screwed up somewhere. And I screwed up big.
- Life will be hard. Not all the time, but, you will have challenges. Stand up and face them. Enjoy the good times in life. No matter how small they are, enjoy them. That way when the road ahead of you is uphill, you can use them to get you threw the bad times. Enjoy this life. We put here to enjoy yourselves. For me, spending time with my family is impossible to beat. And for times like now, when I'm 12,000 miles away, those memories hlep me get through all of this.
Colin, I hope you become a good man. One who does what it takes to provide for his family, is a good husband, a great father, and some one people want to be around and look up to. I love you son. We'll talk about all these things over the next 10-15 years to get you ready for the real world.
Ok folks. That's it for this week. Who knows where I'll be when I write next weeks. Until then.....
Slan,
Chris
Oh, and Congrats at Sean and Kim for the birth of there son Tadgh! Congrats!
Good times:
...I am still feeling terrible. Hmmph. Colin is doing fine so far. Thank goodness. We didn't make it to the movie due to the bellyache but Monsters vs. Aliens: sometime this week!
Important breaking news:
Sean and Kim Lightholder are now the parents of baby Tadhg (pronounced Tiger without the -er). Look how adorable this family is:
Love them. Congrats to you guys and we love you.
Last night was tough. Colin woke up screaming about midnight...I ran upstairs and there he was, sitting in a giant pile of puke. Then, as I slowly helped him to stand, he threw up all over the floor. Poor guy. He had no idea what was coming out of him. He looked completely scared. I softly explained that throwing up just meant that his tummy was feeling sick and need to get the sick out. He seemed to be ok with that answer which was great. However, once I cleaned him, his bed, the floor, etc etc up, I laid him in my bed so the stench wasn't going to make him sick again...not even 5 minutes later...I ran to the bathroom and got sick. I knew it wasn't over for me...2 hours after struggling to sleep, I got exorcist sick (thankfully, JUST made it to the bathroom). It was AWFUL.
Anyway, I want to call in sick but the only catch to parenting is, there are no sick days. Darn.
Colin played with James and Lizzy for a little yesterday:
Lisa found out that the sale fell through on the house. So she was less than amused after hearing that. However, I know everything is going to work out well for them. I know it just hurts just a little more since Marlon had to leave yesterday for Indiana. Poor thing.
We found Colin a new bed!! I am so excited. Colin ran right to it, and said 'i like this one mommy'!! Yay! This is it...except I didn't purchase the extra shelves under the bottom bunk:
We are supposed to go see Monsters vs. Aliens with Lisa and James today...:)
xoxo
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