snow days...

can you believe it's already snowing?! i went to target with elijah today and got him some snow boots, pants, and a coat. i have been wanting him to see the snow and play in it, but i didn't have any snow stuff for him except for a hat and gloves...which don't even match his snowsuit now, but oh well!! aren't little kids supposed to have mismatched snow outfits?! :)

when we got home i took him out to play in the snow for a while. i didn't bother putting on his gloves and hat because we were only going to walk around in the snow for a little bit. but that was a mistake because when we were about to go inside, elijah fell over into the snow and got so upset because his hands were all wet! so...word of advice...no matter how long or short you will be outside, put gloves and hats on your kids! :)

i got a couple of pictures, but nothing really cute. next time we go out, i'll try again. i was more interested in watching elijah's reaction to the snow! he really liked it! he wasn't sure at first, but then he was wobbling around the whole yard with a big smile on his face!! he's such a cutie!

i'm ready...

this has been such a wonderful week. a.j. didn't work at all this week and we had such a fun time hanging out and just being silly together. we cleaned and organized our house, played with elijah, got a new kitten, took walks, watched movies, took naps together, cuddled, and played games. we had time to really talk about how we were feeling, memories of when we first met, how we're going to get through the year without seeing each other, and how much we are going to miss each other. it has been a sad week, but a great week...and now i feel like i'm ready to conquer this thing...i'm ready for him to leave. i am so proud of him. i believe in the reason we're in iraq, and i know that God is in control of everything. i know that God will be with us both, and that's so comforting. He's our connection this year. i don't want a.j. to leave, but i feel confident that we'll make it and we'll probably be even closer than we even are now.

i had a date night with a.j. tonight. nikki watched elijah for us and we went out to eat at the olive garden. it was really fun. i love spending time with just a.j. he leaves on monday morning, and as much as i don't want him to leave, in a way i'm ready for tuesday to come. i will wake up that morning knowing that a.j. isn't there and i'll start my countdown to when he's coming home again. i really can't wait for this time next year when he'll be either home or close to coming home. that will be so great!

so anyway, if you could keep us in your prayers this weekend, that would be wonderful. we can use all the prayers you can give! :) thanks!

3 more weekends...

well, i haven't blogged lately because i feel like i have NOTHING to blog about!! i have really enjoyed staying home every day with elijah! he seems to like spending all that time with me, too. :) i think i need to start working or going to school soon, though, because he's becoming a momma's boy. and we don't want that! :) actually, i really am planning on going to school this next semester at iusb for secondary education. at this point i'm thinking of becoming an english teacher. i would really like to teach in a middle school. i have to check to see if i still am eligible for my GI bill for being in the army, but a.j. looked at the requirements and i met all of them...plus it said if you were honorably discharged from the army, you can still use your benefits. well, i was, so i am pretty sure i'll get them...and that will pay for my school! yeah!

a.j. and i have been doing a lot of talking about where we want to live when he gets home from iraq. i am pretty sure that soon we're going to put our house up for sale and try to sell it when a.j. is gone this next year. we really want to move to minneapolis. we'll just get an apartment there at first while a.j. finishes school and then we'll talk about what we want to do after that. i'm excited about moving somewhere new with a.j.! it'll be like our first adventure after being married!

a.j. leaves in 3 weeks. it's so wierd. sometimes i think about it and get so sick to my stomach...sometimes i cry...then sometimes i just want it to get here so i can start counting down the days. i just can't imagine what it's going to be like to not have him here. i feel like i will just not enjoy life as much this year because a.j. isn't here. i mean...my favorite part of every day is seeing him. and the weekends are so fun because he's here with me all day! and next year the weekend will just be another day in the week, you know? i just pray that God will give me the strength to not only make it through next year, but to be an encouragement to other's during the year, too...to be able to shine for Christ and glorify Him even on the hardest days. i suppose that's everyone's prayer every day...but when i pray that it really gives me purpose..it gives this year more meaning. i don't know...it's late...i'm tired. i just wanted to update everyone! have a great week!!

new dog...

okay, so a.j. and i have been looking for dogs. it's true. i have really wanted one because i know it will make me feel safer next year with a.j. being gone and elijah and i are at the house by ourselves. so we decided to look for one from the humane society. we found one that we thought was so cute...a boxer/whippet mix dog named Josie. she was about a year and really cute in the face and had really short hair. but another family had applied for her and got her, so we kept looking. we found another boxer mix named Hunter. he is really even cuter in the face and just looks adorable. here...see for yourself...

anyway...we filled out the application and on saturday morning we are heading down to kokomo to look at him and pick him up as long as we all get along! i'm really excited. first of all...elijah loves dogs. second of all...having him there really will make me feel safer. and third of all..when i'm lonely at night next year, i'll have a buddy to cuddle with!

so we're excited and really hoping that it will work out! just wanted to update you guys! :)

oh...and by the way...i LOVE staying home with elijah now! LOVE it!!! he's so cute and i get to be with him all the time now!!

everything is changing...

well, first of all...lana didn't make it through the weekend. i think she was sick or something. it was kinda sad, but i didn't get a chance to become too attached to her because we only had her a few days. a.j. got some really cute pictures of her with elijah, though. maybe i'll put some up.

by the way, i had to put this in here before i forget...i just think it's so cute...elijah pointed at the bananas on the counter this morning and said "nana" like he wanted to eat one! i didn't know he even knew what those were! then i also said okay, say goodbye! and he waved bye bye! i'm just amazed sometimes at what he knows. he is learning so much every day. i love it!

the other news is that i will no longer be working at ascot. things have been really slow and we had a meeting a few weeks ago and our boss said we really needed to cut down our hours more and i said well, i can take a couple days a week off if you want, and then she said well would you be willing to do a voluntary layoff? and i thought about it and talked to a.j. and we decided that would be fine. so i'm not working now...and they'll call me back if things pick back up, but i'm not really counting on it anytime soon. it's kind of overwhelming how much is changing lately, BUT i had been wanting to go to school anyway, and i dont' know if i really ever would have stopped working there if this hadn't happened. and i like the job, but i really really really want to be a teacher, so i wouldn't be completely happy staying there. so i guess this is a good thing!

i'm really excited to get more time with elijah for a couple of months and i'm excited to be home more and be able to be with a.j. whenever he's free...especially since he'll be leaving in less than two months.

plus, karen kingsbury's new book in the sunrise series comes out next week and i'll have plenty of time to read it! friday is my last day at work, so i guess we'll "celebrate?" with the apple festival! i am excited about that!! i love the apple festival and this year elijah can ride rides!!

well, that's about it. here are a few pictures of elijah and lana. and then i'll stick a couple more of my favorites from this week. have a great week!!

everybody...please welcome Miss Lana Maldonado...

well, we have a new addition to our family! a tiny beautiful 6-week baby kitten! okay, so i don't know for sure if she is 6 weeks or not, but she's little and that's our guess. she is really pretty! she is yellow with a white nose, chest, and paws! and she purrs all the time when you're holding her or petting her. i've only known here for about 3 and a half hours, but i can tell you that i'm pretty much falling in love.

a.j. is allergic to cats. but he said i could get one next year when he's gone. well, this kitten was outside of our door at work and we caught her and she's so tiny and bony. she needs a home, so i asked a.j. if i could take her home, and surprisingly he said yes right away! it probably helped that i had sent a picture of me looking sad and needy holding the cute kitten. how could he say no to that? :) but he even named her...her name is Lana. it's a name we really love from the show smallville. ha! but it fits her perfectly because she's girly and kinda prissy. she hates being in a room by herself.

anyway...i just wanted to introduce her to everyone...isn't she pretty?

a whole lot of nothing...

i started working out last friday. i'm doing this hour long video every day except sundays. i really like it and it is such a great workout! i started getting up at 6 to do the video before i go to work. it's such a great feeling to go through my day knowing i worked out! plus, i still have lots of time after work to go on a walk or run or play tennis if i want! i'm excited about that. :)

elijah is imitating EVERYTHING lately! a.j. and i were praying before our meal the other day and after we were done, elijah looked down and started talking....he was praying! it was the cutest thing! and a.j. said something that made me laugh the other day and i hit him on the arm (you know...how girls always do to their husbands/boyfriends), and elijah went up to him and hit him on the arm! i really have to watch what i do now!! i was doing pushups the other day and he got down right next to me and started doing them, too! haha!! he's so funny.

a.j. has to go to minnesota tomorrow until like midnight thursday. he's excited because he's going to stay with his brother roger. i'm excited for him, too. he will be busy all day with army stuff, but it'll be fun at night for him to hang out with roger.

i'm getting excited about fall! i love this cooler weather. i love hooded sweatshirts. and the rain lately has been wonderful. it's nice to have an excuse to just stay in and relax sometimes, isn't it?

i have NOTHING to blog about lately. i'm sure that will change soon enough. just wanted to write an updated post...even though i really didn't say much! hope you all are having a wonderful week!! i can't believe it's already half way over tomorrow! the days are going so fast lately...