Who's that guy?

I got a text message today by complete surprise. It was from Billy. He sent me a picture he took of himself in his new get-up. Then he called right after. He said he had to use a mirror to take the picture with his phone? I don't know. But it's funny! He also said that he was going "downrange" tomorrow (Friday) and that we may not hear from him for a while. He said that he got all his gear in a duffel bag. (apparently today they got uniforms and shots) It took him and another guy just to pack it (One holding it open while the other shoves stuff in) and then it weighs a hundred pounds. He also said that he had to buy some stuff at the store and one of the required things was a strap to hold his glasses on. He and another guy decided to get two packs of them. He gets back and realized he had DogTag straps. POOP! So, he was going to try and ask the other guy he knew bought two if he could buy the guys extra one. He said he expected things to start getting a little crappy from this point on. And I just told him he knew it would and at least he knows it. I just wonder if he knows just how 'crappy' crappy really is.

He already looks like he's lost some weight

Oh... maybe that's just the lack of hair. He really is BALD!!



Oh Happy Day!

Sometimes you just have too much wonderful in one day, you almost wish you could spread it out over a few days. But not today. Today had just the perfect amount of wonderful!! I do not want to share any of the wonderful with any other day. It was just a perfectly wonderful day.

First, I got to talk to Billy. It was a MUCH better conversation than yesterday. He called 10 minutes before my conference call for my project for school. We probably could have talked longer, but that's ok. He sounded like my Billy. making jokes and talking about what all he's had to do. (huge difference from last night when he sounded like he had been beaten with a club) They gave him new tennis shoes and so he donated his to charity ($60 bucks down the drain). And he got boots but no uniform yet. So they are all walking around in running shorts, tshirts, and green knee high wool socks with combat boots on. LOL!!!! He said they had some thing to do last night and didn't get in until 1 am and had to get back up at 3, and then some colonel came out there asked them what time they got in last night and then started "cussing like Chris Rock" saying they should have got more sleep and that this "$#!T had to stop!" LOL! So, he was glad someone stood up for them. [[And according to my Dad (a Navy Vet) this is a good cop/ bad cop tactic the drill sgts and colonels like to play to mess with the privates - HAHA!! But we won't share this with Billy, Ok]] Then he said he bought a new wallet. (little terd! I knew he would need one) And he said he got to keep his notebook and pens I sent with him - we were afraid they would dump it. What else... it was like a 6 minute phone call. A great 6 minutes cut too short because of my stupid conference call. Oh well!

And then, I got a great review of my big project for school. I am very excited about it! And SOOO glad to be done with that.

THEN, I get a phone call from the 4H gal and she told me that Emma is getting the scholarship to go to summer camp! I don't know when I've seen Emma so pleased!! I can't wait for her to make some really awesome memories. (I still remember my time at summer camp. Had my first slow dance with Brandon. Almost 30 years later, and I still see it like it was yesterday. I can't hear Barry Manilow without it taking me back to Woodmen of World camp - but that is neither here nor there - sorry)

Next, I have completed 4 out of 6 classes. DONE. But I saved the two whoppers for last. I reckon I'll be up late getting those done.

AND, I got ANOTHER phone call from Billy about an hour ago. I asked how the food was, he said he didn't know because he didn't feel like eating. I guess that is going to change when he gets hungry enough. I asked if he had gotten any shots and he said no that was tomorrow. He said he was bald now. But I was thinking, 'and that is different - how?' His humor was still good and he said they were about to head out again. If I am not mistaken, he almost sounded like he was enjoying himself now. OH and he said they were going downrange this weekend. (Going downrange means they leave reception and go to their actual basic training and get split into platoons and such) And then he had to go. I didn't even get to tell him any of my good news. But that's OK. I'll send him a letter. Or if he calls tomorrow maybe...

Week Zero

So today just seriously sucked. I had a nice long pity party for myself and gave myself a royal headache. Then when the girls got off the bus, I got everybody in the car and we all went and got our hair cut. LOL! Nothing like getting a new do to lift your spirits just a bit. And while we were waiting to get our hair "did" I got a call from Billy. The fastest phone call ever. It was pretty much, "are you ok?" he said, "no. not liking this too much." He sounded like he'd just had major dental work done - his speech was all slurred and garbled. I asked if he'd had any rest and he said none. I asked if he was going to get to sleep tonight and he said no. Then he said he had to go and it was CLICK and he was gone. As hard as it was to hear, I felt TONS better hearing his voice. So new hair cut and a phone call later, I was over my pity party.

If you are curious about what he's going through right now... read below.
Week 0: Reception
Soldiers complete administrative actions required to become part of the Army. Simple things such as medical examinations, setting up pay, and initial issue of equipment is completed. This process typically takes between two and three days but can take over a week in some cases.

What they fail to tell you is that you have a whole bunch of shots, pokes, prods, very little sleep and you get about 7 tons of clothes, equipment and supplies that he'll have to carry around with him.

If you want to see what the Fort Jackson training is going to be like for Billy check out this link:
http://www.jackson.army.mil/sites/bct/  I think there is even a video about reception on there.

BTW - I have my final grade for one class Computer Writing and Literature - I got an A! WHOO HOO! One down, five to go.

Easter Pics

Here are some pics - as promised...

William taking inventory of his green eggs

He's passing up a bunch of eggs to go for the green ones

Allison in the moment

William's green eggs

Emma, Allison and Will (notice William pulling at his tie, he ripped it off about 3 minutes after this picture was taken)

I told him to PUT HIS HANDS DOWN!

He looks really happy, don't he?

This was his "before BCT" pic. It's black and white because my finger was over the flash and it made the picture orange. So black and white is better than umpa loompa. And this of course was the only one he would smile for.

What a day

Well I seriously considered posting some melodramatic one line statement like "He's gone" as my entire blog post, but decided that was a bit over the top. It really wasn't the big dramatic day I imagined. There was no major meltdown or anything like it. The weirdest part of the day had to be this morning getting everyone dressed. It wasn't like we were going to a Easter service at church - which would have been a happy occasion. The mood and atmosphere was more like we were getting ready for a funeral. And I know that IS melodramatic, but I don't mean it to be. But there was just a quiet in the house as we all got ready without any arguing or tantrums - everyone talking in hush whispers. It just reminded me of getting dressed up to go somewhere nobody wants to go.
But once we left the house it just felt like time sped up to double speed. Church, then changing clothes, then a quick bite to eat, then drop him off at the recruiter's office. I felt myself tear up a few times and the only way I could snap out of was to start thinking of names of fruit. This was all day. Like drying my hair - banana, orange, strawberry. Listening to the Resurrection sermon at church - banana, strawberry, blueberry, apple, grapes, pineapple. Buckling William's seat belt - grape, apple, peaches, pear. But once we said a quick "see ya later" and went our separate ways - that's when I could think of no more fruit. So, on the way home we ended up having a nice cry. I told the girls it was OK to be sad, but we can't be sad forever. And that more than anything, we have to be strong for Daddy so he doesn't think he made a mistake.
And then Billy and I texted or talked on the phone all day. So it didn't even feel like he left. I guess when I don't hear from him for a week, that's when it'll start to suck.
***Update*** I talked to Billy this morning (Monday) and he said he was surrounded by a bunch of 18 year old kids and was highly annoyed. I am just really praying he meets someone with some sense.

Like a bandaid

The bags are packed, the documents have been checked and re-checked, the stuff is by the door... and now we just gotta get him gone. This is pretty much how things will go. See, Billy doesn't leave for Fort Jackson until Monday. But we still have to take him to his recruiter tomorrow and say our goodbyes there. One of the many things Billy and I discussed on our date night was if I should drive into Nashville and see him off from the processing place (MEPs) on Monday. He thinks it would be best not to. His exact words were, "let's do this like a bandaid. Fast and painful, but not drawn out and miserable." So, I kinda agree. Like a bandaid.

But today was nice. I can't believe how fast it went. We got up and I had to get to the post office first thing, so we all go into town. Then realized we had a few hours to kill so we wandered around WalMart for a while. LOL!! Then we went to our church Easter Egg hunt. William only picked up the green eggs. That's his favorite color. HAHA!!! I'll try and post pictures (i'm on the laptop and it is stupid)

Anyway, that's all I know for now. I still gotta go prepare the Easter Baskets for the morning. It's going to be a LONG day tomorrow. I will not lose it. I will simply float. Float Float Float.

Oh and one last thing... Billy's grandmother is sick with bronchitis and the doctors told her she was contagious. So she hasn't been able to see Billy before he leaves. And that also means that her son (Billy's uncle) didn't get to come in for Easter and see Billy either. I know they wanted to see him, but he'll be back in a few months. And I promise to get Billy's address to everyone I know as soon as he calls me with it.

Happy Easter folks!

Date Night!!!!

I don't know when I've been more excited to blog before in my life!!! Billy and I had our date night last night. Billy's step-brother got us a hotel room in Nashville. A real nice fancy hotel that we probably never would have had a chance to stay in, and we are sooooo thankful to him for thinking of us. It was awesome to just get away from the kids and actually have a dinner without interruptions. We ended up going to the restaurant in the hotel. It was a lovely meal, and we practically had the whole place to ourselves. Just sitting there talking for a couple hours without any interruptions was unreal. The hotel room had this super sized luxury king bed that felt like we had a football field between us. (We're totally getting one of those when we get to our new place) And then this morning, we had our cup of coffee on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Nice... just super nice. ***ok, that was the version of the date that we'll tell people when they ask how our date was. here's the real version (the most awesome hilarious version)*** Last night we get a chance to stay in a hotel in Nashville and as we pull into the parking lot we see a whole fleet of trucks and buses. The trucks are unloading what looks like hundreds of chairs, sound systems, TV's, speakers, stage equipment, lighting equipment, etc... The buses were unloading hundreds of kid-type people. As we walk up to the building, a kid yells over the balcony, "Hey you lady in the green (me) and you guy with the glasses (Billy)!! Hi!!!!" Oh good grief were my thoughts. So, we check in and I ask the lady behind the counter what kind of event is going on tonight and she says it is the Anime Convention. Anime = Japanese cartoons.  We leave our children at the grandparents in order to escape children and end up staying in a hotel with a few hundred children. And when I say children, I mean grown folks who just never lost that inner child. And I have no issue with Anime loving folks - my niece and brother are both huge fans of Anime. But when you take a hotel and stuff it to the gills with Anime loving folks... um... no words. Just to give you an idea - we saw some folks in pirate costumes, some people with purple hair, some people with green hair, people wearing long flowy dresses, people wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a gas mask (in no way joking), folks in tuxedos and the head of a dragon, a lady in a little bo-peep dress with Dr. Suess style Cat In the Hat stockings.... the list can go on and on. OH And a guy wearing six inch stack shoes with a 4 foot sword made out of cardboard and silver spray paint - and he had on black tights with his tuxedo jacket that had white cotton balls glued to the butt. Whew!!! So, we get up to our room and (it was a least a mile walk to the room from the elevator) we find our door with our broken refrigerator out in the hall. The room really was wonderful. And the blaring rave music playing in the courtyard at deafening levels was such a mood enhancer!!! Dinner was super nice and quiet (seriously the best part of the evening). We were the only ones in there for the longest time. The mashed potatoes were AH-MAZING!!!!! And then after dinner we sat out on the balcony listening to the rave music and watched a girl wearing nothing but  t-shirt and a gas mask line the floor of her balcony with newspaper and then spray paint her clothes black. Priceless. Billy wouldn't let me take any pictures of any of this. But the mental images are vivid enough.
Anyway, it was a really fun experience. LOL! I am extremely thankful and Billy and I just really enjoyed our time. If only I had some pictures though....

Oh and at dinner Billy said the most wonderful thing: "You know, I am kinda worried about snoring too loud and bothering the other guys."  So I reply, "Really?? You've been married to me for 12 years and you've never once worried about your snoring and how it effects me!"  Billy says, "Yes well you won't put a bar of soap in your sock and beat the crap out of me in my sleep."  My thoughts were, "Oh won't I?"

Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace

Billy and I have never really agreed on music. I like to call his music "kill-yer-momma" music and he refers to mine as that "uuncha uuncha crap." [[ Let me clarify here: The reason I call it "kill-yer-momma" music is because sometimes a singer will just scream into the microphone and you have no idea what they are saying and they could be saying something horrible like "go kill your momma." I know that's wrong, but it is a joke and he hates it when I say it.]]  ANYWHO... Billy's favorite band is the Foo Fighters. I am not a fan (well, I wasn't a fan). Only because he does that screaming into the microphone thing that grates my nerves. But yesterday Billy played a song for me and without saying anything, we both knew how special this song is. And I will also say that I am a kinda-sorta fan of the Foo Fighters now - but only if they don't threaten my mom in their screaming lyrics.
So, I'm going to share this song with you. It makes me cry, so you might want to get our some tissues. I don't know if I'll be able to listen to it after he's gone.

But today Billy got to spend some much needed one-on-one time with his mom. I know they both enjoyed it and I'm so glad they got to hang out today. And while they were doing that I got to go get some Easter stuff for the kids. I found a section of greeting cards that were "support." Out of 300 something cards, there was ONE card for military. How pathetic. And it was super cheesy. So I bought it. LOL! But I got a few cards for Billy to send him from time to time. I gotta say, a couple of them choked me up. So here I am in Target trying to keep it together and Will (who is a little under the weather right now) leans over and says, "Mom, I just love you so much." Those little miracles that just make me smile... Love it!

And if you are wondering, when we are in the car, we usually listen to country - which is a fair compromise I think. : )

Really?

I guess we couldn't get only good news today. But after Billy did his test, he sat down with the recruiters and got his shipment papers done. Recruiter told him he had to be there at noon on Sunday. That SUPER stinks! I had thought when they originally told us 1 pm, that maybe we could talk him into coming in at like 2 or 3 even. But nope. Instead of move the time later, they made it earlier. So, we'll have just enough time Sunday to check out Easter baskets, get dressed, head to early church and take him straight over. Not even time to eat lunch. Maybe they did that on purpose so that Billy wouldn't feel tempted to eat a load of junk before he went. But then he's just going to have to sit in a hotel room for hours upon hours until he leaves for Jackson. And even then, they couldn't tell him if he's taking a bus or an airplane. I'm not even sure I know how to feel about that.

But in better news... Allison brought me a letter she wrote for her daddy. I tried to memorize it before she sealed the envelope, but it was more like "Daddy, I love you and I am happy for you being in the Army. I will miss you a lot. Love, Allison"  So, progress is being made. But I did call the school guidance counselor today and left a message for her to call me. I just wanted her to have a heads up with what the girls were going through.

And Emma is going to be the death of me, I swear it. Yesterday she insisted on wearing these high heal open toed shoes to school for picture day. By 11 am her feet were blistered and she was miserable. Me being the most horrible mean mother on the planet decided she made her bed and needed to lie in it. Billy and I both warned her that those shoes were bad news. Did she listen?? Um, no and then I made her wear those shoes all day. So today she wore flip flops. And her toes were still sore from the previous day and after lunch she called me to bring her some neosporin because according to her, her toe was swollen and bleeding. Apparently a tiny red dot the size of a ball point pen constitutes a swollen and infected toe. I could have killed her. Thank goodness her PawPaw came in the school office right at that time. But then apparently he didn't get the memo because he asked me how I was holding up. Almost lost it. That was the one time I was actually glad Emma interrupted.

And finally, I find out tonight that my final project not only has to be submitted in digital form online, but that I have to mail a hardcopy to her before next Wednesday. So, I guess now I have to go buy some fancy report cover and all that jazz. I wonder if I took it to Office Depot, they could print it in book form and bind it for me.?..?? Hmm... I'll call and find out. Well I'll call tomorrow...

He did it!!

Billy passed his fitness test!!!! He did 31 push ups, 27 sit ups, and a mile in 8 minutes 24 seconds. The minimums are 13 sit ups, 17 push ups, and a mile in 8:30. He is just so proud of himself!!! and so am I!

Now we just have 4 days of saying goodbyes and giving lots of hugs!

Happy Birthday, Billy!

Today Billy turned 36. All in all, it was a rather boring day. Got up. Went to work out. Ate lunch. Came home. Took a nap. Straightened the house. Ate dinner. blah blah blah... He told me a thousand times not to get him anything for his birthday. So, I didn't. He wouldn't even let me pick him out a cheap wallet to take with him to training. I think tomorrow, when he's least expecting it, I'll go get him a wallet and some stamps.

Speaking of stamps, Allison got a bit upset tonight over Billy leaving. Emma and I were trying to get her to write Billy a letter for him to take with him. She has a total meltdown and the only thing she wrote on the paper was "I hate the Army."  I do not know how to deal with that. We had a little talk about how daddy doesn't WANT to be gone, but he does want to do this amazing thing. And that we need to support him and not let him see us get all upset. It's just too much for a young mind to comprehend. I get it. I mean, crap - I have meltdowns almost every day now. I told her it was OK to cry. But it isn't OK to let daddy feel bad about his decision. So... we'll see how this weekend goes. FLOATING - I'm just floating.

I haven't done a darn thing for school in three days. I can't even think about all these final assignments coming due. I mean, I get all anxious - like I'm running out of time to do it. So, I've been putting everything off until next week. For one reason, it will give me a great distraction and keep my mind off of worrying about Billy. And another reason, I just don't want to spend this week dealing with it when I could be hanging out with him. And lastly, nothing is technically due until April 27-May 2. So, I can cram it all in next week. And then Emma comes home today with her big news. She has to have a science fair project report and the whole nine yards due May 2nd. I literally started crying. She was like, "what is wrong with you??" My anxious went from present to screaming "Help Me!!!!" in my brain!!! FLOATING FLOATING FLOATING!!!!!!

Lastly, we still haven't moved my piano to my mother-in-law's house. We've been waiting on A. a sunny day and B. a day when Billy's dad can help him. So, far these two things have not lined up. If it is sunny, his dad is gone. If his dad is here, it is raining. And now they're calling for rain the rest of the week. floating floating floating floating floating floating.....

Please pray for Billy's physical assessment tomorrow. I'll let you know.

The final countdown!

Well, in one week Billy will be at a hotel in Nashville waiting to leave for Fort Jackson, South Carolina. And what are we doing?? I'm blogging. Billy's playing solitaire on his phone. Emma's watching TV. William and Allison are in bed. You would think it was just another boring night at the Blackburn home. Kinda weird.

Today I did a massive laundry haul. I do not want anybody stressing this week over stupid things like clothes. That seems to be me and Billy's favorite thing to fight about. I hate doing laundry. And he hates not having clean clothes. And now see, I know there is a very obvious and logical solution to this, but I've already had that argument and it didn't fly. So... we'll just not bring that up right now... : )

Tomorrow is Billy's birthday. He's got to go run with the recruiters and then we're probably just going to come home. He can't eat anything yummy for the rest of the week. Meat and water - that's all he's getting. And that really sucks because I know he probably wants some cookies or something for his Bday. But... I'm just going to be a real jerk.

Anyway, Billy takes his PT test (also known as 1-1-1) Tuesday. Lots and lots of prayers for him. I have faith he can do it. It is a blind faith. But faith nonetheless.

Lawn Mower Man

SOOOOO today was interesting. LOL!!! Started out as a normal day. Went to work out for the first time in three weeks. Ran a few errands. Came home and Billy and I decided we would mow the yard. Good heavens!! It just went all down hill from there. See, last time we mowed the yard, Billy went and bought new blades for the tractor because the other ones were well let's just say they were awful. Problem is, he got the wrong blades. He didn't admit they were the wrong ones, but I feel like they were. So Billy tries to mow the yard and it looks like someone hacked it with dull kid scissors. THEN he hits something that sounded like a boulder. Turns out the blade came off and bent the tarnation out of the mower deck which caused the blade to stick. (I've learned lots of new tractor mowing lingo today) So, Billy and I removed the deck and all the springy thingies and belts and clippy things. Then we (well Billy really) beat the deck like heck with a ten pound hammer to get it back in shape. LONG story short... Billy had to go buy ANOTHER set of blades for this stupid tractor, and after putting them back on, he was able to mow the yard in the dark. : ) What a mess.

I am sure no one really cares about our yard mowing adventure. But I was proud of us. Billy and I managed to take an extremely stressful situation and fix it without ONE fight. 

And to update you on Billy's fitness - he did 12 laps around the mall today. But he didn't time himself. So, we still aren't sure if he can do a mile in 8 minutes. I think Saturday, I'm going to take him to a track over at the school and have him run it while I time him. He takes his real test Tuesday. Lots and lots of prayers for him. And the good news is, his weight is still kinda iffy - but his body fat measurements are well below their max. So, he should be alright in that area.

But we're down to the single digits now. Only 9 days left. UGH! I think we're ready. Almost. We got our paper work out of the way today. We just need to get some more junk out of the garage/ basement and take my piano over to the MIL's house.

Anyway, I'm thinking about signing Allison up for swim lessons. I'm trying to get Emma signed up for 4H summer camp (if we can get the scholarship we applied for) Basically, I'm trying to find plenty of ways to stay busy while Billy's gone this summer.

I feel like my thoughts are all over the place tonight. Sorry. I'm going to end this now before I bore you all to death.

Apologize in advance

I know I'm a looney. But if I just break down in tears for no reason (like I did today on the phone with my mother in law) please just take it as a phase of crazy. I have no real trigger for the tears. But it usually occurs when someone asks me directly how I'm holding up or speaks directly about what is going on. I have an unbelievable amount of stress on my head right now and I just can't help it when I lose it. And boy howdy, I seriously lose it. Trying to calm down, I tried to brush my teeth. (insane) And crying while brushing your teeth can be a very dangerous thing. Billy's not seen my moments of insanity. Thank goodness he's never here for them. I can't say I'll be able to hide it from him as next week comes and goes. But it is what it is. He knows I'm whacko. I don't think he expects any less. : )

So this is just me apologizing for making things awkward when I have my meltdowns. The best thing to do for me is to just ignore me. The more people try to calm me down, the worse I get. I'm going to miss him more than I think I even realize.

gotta do this first

So today is my get-r-dun day. I have a TON of homework to catch up on. And I plan on just doing a marathon essay writing session until I'm done. I've had my coffee and I've got William all cuddled up on the bed next to me with his cartoons. (we're going to ban TV during the day once we get past this heep of mess called school)

Billy's on his way to physical training in a bit. I don't know how he's going to do it though. He has run and walked so many times around the mall the past couple days, his legs are beyond sore. He can hardly walk. He reminds me of Tim Conway as the Old Man on the Carol Burnett Show. Pretty funny stuff!!!!

But anyway, I just had to get these thoughts out of my head so that I could start this marathon with a clear mind. Thanks for listening. : )

If you need me today - wait til tomorrow.

Good old fashion butt kickin

So. Billy went for his morning workout today. It turned out to be a marathon. Run around the Columbia mall twice (outside) and then walk it once. And then run around twice again. And then walk once more. And then run two more times around and then walk around again. 9 trips around the mall. I think we figured it up to running four miles and walking two miles. But nobody timed him, so who knows if he made it in the 8 minutes. They don't seem too concerned about it. But I was certainly proud that he made it that far. I think he was too. Now that is what I call a good old fashion butt kickin!!!
Tomorrow we have an appointment with JAG (justice something general or also known as military lawyers) to get some power of attorney papers figured out so that I can take care of stuff while he's gone.

We got our final exam for my journalism class. It's another one of those essay exams. Three 900 word essays with references to reading material and outside sources. It is very similar to that horrible mid-term that I did not too long ago. BLECH! It isn't due until the week after Billy leaves. I think I'll use that as an excuse to keep myself busy. That along with my project presentation, a final exam, and two more final essays. ARGH!

Speaking of... I'm going to hit the books.

Army TidBit of the Day:
When a soldier gets mail there is a good chance that he could get push ups for just getting mail. Plus he could get push ups for each piece of mail (usually twenty push ups per letter). AND he will certainly get push ups for any "I love you" or hearts or kiss marks on the envelopes - usually twenty or more per endearment. And if you don't want everyone in your soldier's unit to hear all the details of your letter, you had better not put it in your letter because if your soldier's had a bad day, they (the drill sergeants) will try and make it worse by reading the soldier's mail out loud to the whole unit.   It sounds like a lot of fun, huh?

Have a little more to say...

Ok... so I am at this very moment officially procrastinating yet another homework assignment. It's like the end is so close... I can feel it! But I just do not want to spend the next three hours writing about intercultural communication in health care communities nor do I want to pretend I give a darn about it either. I'm also supposed to write two 3 page essays (one of which was due two days ago) and seriously... need  some serious prayers to get me through it. I really need some serious prayer. Really. Seriously. As Pastor Steve this morning said, never under-estimate the power of prayer. But I still have some more things to post, so I will get to my papers soon. I promise.

Ok first... I turned our A/C back off. I had it turned on while my mom and aunt were here, but then I figure we can sleep in our undies again. So, we've got all the windows open and the fans are a-blowin.... yay. Let's just hope there is nothing that would cause everyone to evacuate the house during the night. We'd all look like nuts in our skibbies outside in the middle of the night.

Second, Allison pulled another tooth this morning. She's hilarious! We got to spend the majority of Saturday with her on our one-on-one weekend trips. We went to the Adventure Science Center in Nashville. We had such a great time!! She got to explore with the dinosaurs, walk through a brain, stand inside a guitar, bounce planets around with her shadow, eat dippin dots for the first time, play a piano like the one in "Big," walk through a heart, walk on the moon, ride a roller coaster, and slide down the bowels and land with a nice loud juicy toot. All in all, it was a great day. Billy's got all the pictures on his phone... so until he can send them to me.. you'll have to wait.

Speaking of pictures on Billy's phone... he got himself a nice picture of a 3 foot solid black shiny snake in our back yard today. First snake we've seen since we've been there. (except for the water moccasin Billy's step brother said he saw near the barn last summer) I need to look it up and see what kind of snake this black one was.

And alright... in two weeks, Billy will be gone. His recruiter told him to start meeting him tomorrow morning for some kick-your-butt workouts. They want to try and get his weight down and get his running time better. I've been praying for this and I'm just so glad he's getting the chance to improve before he leaves.

Well, I really need to get this homework out of the way. It ain't gonna get done by itself...

It's just been such a BLESSED day!!

I figured out what the most important things in life are a long time ago. I am thinking that maybe it really hit me with the birth of our first baby, Emma. Not that I didn't understand love and not that I didn't love the Lord or my dear Billy or my parents or siblings before that day in February ten years ago - but this was a love that I'd never really understood before. That unconditional love that God has for us. That blinding love that supplies you with a reason to be a better person. That makes you want to grow up. That kind of love that makes you fear for its absence. The kind of love you "think" you understand until you see your baby's face for the first time. Then you realize you just thought you knew. The birth of a child is an amazing thing. But to witness your child be REBORN and dedicate her life to a wonderful and glorious God is something that can fill your heart up so full you just know it is going to bust. Emma and I sat on her bed about six weeks ago and prayed a prayer that I am so blessed to have been a part of. And then today, Billy and I sat in the front row of The First Family Church in Columbia, TN and watched our baby girl show the world her new life and love in Jesus. There really is no greater feeling. We are so blessed and I could not be any more proud of my sweet girl. Emma, I love you!

***Apparently I got Billy's head in the shot... LOL!! Sorry***

And then here are a few shots of her before the service.

One of the helpers getting Emma ready

All dressed

Sporting the cool robe

Getting a little nervous

Getting a little excited

Emma and Brother Rick



A Most Productive Day

Not sure what hit me this morning, but we woke up and did a marathon cleaning stretch in the basement. It was insane how much we accomplished. I took yet another load of junk off to Goodwill. We have little corners in the basement set aside for things we have borrowed from family members that need to be returned. Memaw and Papa have a corner. Granny has a corner. Mimi has a corner. Papaw has a corner. We have our own corner (of stuff we are going to take with us). The Maury County Dump has a corner. Billy's friend Tony has a corner. And Billy's old boss had a corner until his stuff was returned to him tonight. Apparently we have an octagon shaped basement. Nevermind, bad joke. Emma's studying geometry. It's on the brain.

Debbie Downer Alert!! You know how I said deaths come in Three's. Well, Billy got a call yesterday that a guy he used to work for passed away of cancer. Kinda sad.

This morning I sat here and watch Emma put on her blue jeans. It literally took her four minutes. FOUR minutes. I was getting so frustrated. She has no concept of HURRY. So, I told her I had never met anyone so slow in my entire life. She looked at me and said, "Hi I'm Emma....... Now we've met." Little turd.

Billy is leaving in 17 days. It is crazy. He has told me time and time again he doesn't want any kind of party or send off. He just wants to be as stress free as possible the next two weeks. I think that sounds like a great plan. However, I can think of nothing but things that stress me out. It's just keeping it to myself is that hard part. I guess I'd better get used to it though. Soon I'll be having all the stress and absolutely no one to share it with.

Oh and James Dean (Billy's nephew) has a corner. What is a shape with nine points?

Good news and bad news

You want the good news or the bad news first?? Ok bad first...

I just learned the my Aunt Patsy passed away this afternoon. She was my dad's older (only) sister. Apparently she was in bad health and went in for a surgery and just never recovered. So, that's hard and it just happened so very fast. We tried to figure it up, but I think she was 69 years old. I hadn't seen Patsy in years. I think the last time I saw her was when they auctioned off my grandparent's house back several years ago. And even that was the first time I'd seen her in almost ten or fifteen years. We did email each other from time to time, but we're talking like once a year and it was mostly just to send pictures. But I hadn't heard from her in a couple years. It's just sad I guess. But rather than focus on the negatives, I'll just remember the good times. Like going on nature hikes in the woods, picking up rocks or moss and pine cones, bringing it all back and making little woodland creatures out of it. And I remember her laugh. So contagious.

And I hate to be all doomsday and stuff... but you know these things happen in three's. I just don't even want to think like that. But ugh.

I do have some good news though! Emma is going to be baptized this Sunday. We discussed it tonight and she had a choice of waiting until Easter or do it this week. She chose this Sunday and now we just have to call the pastor back tomorrow to confirm the date with him. We're just so happy!!! I'm just excited for her and sooo very much in love with that child!

Allison was supposed to have her one-on-one weekend this weekend, but we're going to have to do it a little weird, I guess. Since my mom is going to be coming here for the baptism, we're going to just let her keep Will and Emma home and then Billy and I are going to spend the weekend with Allison - out and about as much as possible. I got Allison's permission before we confirmed all these plans because I didn't want to hurt any feelings. But she was cool with it. She's just happy her Mimi is getting to come stay with us. (and so am I)

Multi media day!!!!

So, I haven't posted pictures in a while. So, here are a few spectacular moments from the past little bit.....

Billy flying the kite.

This kids had a better view from the ground.

This is the infamous Triceratops that Allison built for her project. (yes, those are corn-on-the-cob sticks posing as horns.)

I wish I could post more... but I'm limited as to the amount of data I can upload b/c we have that country bumpkin internet. So, hopefully, the Army will move us somewhere a little more tech friendly.

Spring Cleaning continues

 Today I did a most despicable thing. I paid Emma to clean out William's room. LOL! It was such a mess and just over run with toys. So she straightened it all up and then we went through it and boxed up two BIG boxes of toys to take to Goodwill. And there are still just a TON of toys in there. He has a toy box about the size of a Christmas tree and it is full. Good heavens! I'm wondering if it gets this bad because he has a birthday and Christmas right at the same time. That kid got so many toys in the month of December, I was almost embarrassed. And we also cleaned out some of Allison's toys. I told her to pick out 15 stuffed animals and put them in a bag. Of course, she picked out the little tiny ones. So, I had to help her out and we compromised a little. I managed to pack up a nice big garbage bag of stuffed animals. WHEW! I'm so glad to get that out of the way. Looks like we'll be taking some more trips to the GW soon.
Anyway, Billy went to future soldier training Thursday night and he did his initial fitness assessment. He has to do 17 push ups, 13 sit ups, and run a mile in 8.5 minutes. He managed to get 29 sit ups, 27 push ups and ran a mile in a little over 11 minutes. The running has me just super concerned. He couldn't run the whole time because he said his tooth was hurting. Hopefully, getting that root canal will help him and not hinder his progress. And then today he has been feeling sick again. I'm just slightly on the edge of freaking out! FLOATING!!! DAGGUMIT!!! I AM FLOATING, I SAID!!!!!!!!!! (does it sound like I'm floating? yeah, I didn't think so)
Fantastic Allison quote: (in reference to William having a meltdown over who knows what) "Hey Mr. Cries A Lot, why are you crying???? Oh yeah I know - BECAUSE YOU ARE MR. CRIES A LOT!"

Movie day

So we went to see "Hop" today. I'll just say this - unless you want to just really get out of the house, just wait for DVD. It was cute and had some funny moments. And the soundtrack was super great. Everything from Guns and Roses to some current hiphop stuff (I'm not up on my hiphop pop culture) But I recognized some of the music. I gotta make this post quick since I've got to take a test tonight. But I'm going to leave you with yet another profound Allison quote. "How can someone say they are in the middle of nowhere. If they really are nowhere, how would they know where the middle is?"