From Mommy to Student in one day!

Well, I figured it was about time to write a blog about how school is going. It's going great! :) I am really enjoying my classes. I think it was the perfect fit for me to go to school when I was older. All the things I'm learning in my classes apply to my life somehow. When I went to Bethel right after high school, I didn't really take it seriously at all. I think now that I'm a wife and a mom I realize how important it is to find my passion...and to find a job that I can go to where I will be happy every day. I know I'm not always going to have a great day, but I should always like my job. So, I'm excited about becoming a teacher now. I am ready to take school seriously. It's been really fun to be at IUSB because a lot of the students and even some of the professors have the same story as I do. They went to college, didn't take it seriously, worked for a while, then decided it was time to go back. It makes me feel so normal. Before I thought maybe something was wrong with me because I didn't want to go to school right away...but now I realize that it was just better for me to wait!

I have really been missing AJ. It is hard not to have him here. It's hard to be a "single mom." And it's hard to have something new and exciting in my life and not be able to share the excitement with AJ in person. On the other hand, AJ is so good at communicating with me. He has made me feel so important. He still manages to be romantic even though he's thousands of miles away. I haven't stopped feeling close to him...which is something I was nervous about before he left. I feel like he is still part of every single day because I talk to him every single day and fill him in on all that happened...and he fills me in on everything that happened with him. God has been so good to us this year in keeping us connected. I feel like He's really blessing our marriage despite the distance.

Elijah is growing so much!!! He's huge now! I don't have a baby anymore...I now have a little boy. It's kinda sad, but I am so impressed with how much he learns every day. He is saying all kinds of words now...he says a bunch of phrases...and he knows some of his colors! He loves to see himself on the webcam so it's nice for AJ because Elijah will sit there and do funny things and AJ can see him! I am so happy to have Elijah with me this year. He is such a joy and every day when I pick him up after school he makes me feel so special. He gets REALLY excited to see me...and that's nice for me. It's good to actually SEE how much he loves me. :) I love him so much, too! And I love AJ so much!

Well, that's the update. How are you all doing?

Sophia Louise Otis

my sister in law Emily had her baby this weekend! ross is in iraq, but he was able to call right after and he found out he had a daughter almost right away, so that was nice! emily said that when the doctor told her it was a girl, her and her mom just started crying because ross and emily both really wanted a girl! and i have to say she's so beautiful! i love her!

i picked up my brother rick and his son alex today and we went to the hospital to meet out little niece. she's so sweet! i held her for a while and then afterwards i went to get elijah out of his stroller and he looked HUGE!! his face even looked huge compared to sophia's! haha...but i still think he's very adorable of course.

i guess that rick thought it would be fun to play cards with Sophia today...i don't know...my brother is strange. i am glad he went to the hospital to see the baby today, though, because he's the next best thing to ross being there. they look alike. it's sad to me that ross is in iraq, but i'm happy he was able to call so much and he has gotten on facebook and looked at pictures. he is a very proud daddy! and i'm sure since he couldn't be there, he is really happy that rick got to go and hold his baby. that little girl is gonna be one spoiled little girl! so many people love her so much already! :)

so anyway...we have a new member of our family and i just wanted to share the exciting news! :) i hope you all had a great weekend, too! :)

it's been a while...

wow...i can't believe how long it's been since i last posted. i feel like nothing exciting happens now that aj is in iraq! after aj left after his 4 day leave in december, my mom stayed with elijah and i for almost 2 weeks and that was really nice! it definitely helped with the transition of having aj in iraq. then for christmas i went to my sister-in-law emily's house for a few days, and that was really fun! elijah had a lot of fun with his cousin hunter. then for new years i went with nikki and her friends melissa to the indianapolis indoor water park hotel with our kids. that was really fun, too! so the holidays were good! and it's nice to know that they are out of the way and next time christmas comes around, aj will be home!

i am going back to school this semester! i'm really excited about it! i sign up for classes on tuesday! i am looking forward to having something to do during the day and even to getting some time away from elijah. i love the little stinker, but it's sometimes overwhelming being with him every second of every day! i know i should cherish that time, but i think going to school will help me cherish it even more! it'll be nice to be with adults for a while every day and to also go home and be excited to see elijah! plus, it'll be nice to feel really loved when he gets excited to see me every night!

i had a rough week this last week because i realized that aj hasn't even been in iraq for one month yet. it's so wierd to me that i won't see him for 7 more months and even after that he'll have to go back for a few more months. it seems like i won't make it to july...like it's just too hard! but at least i get to talk to him every day! that really helps. it has also made me feel so special because he has to wait in lines to talk to me every day, and sometimes he has to wait for an hour, and he'll do it more than once a day! it makes me feel like i really am so important to him. i knew i was, but this has made me really see how important i am to him...and how much of a priority i am! elijah loves talking to his daddy on the webcam. they play peek a boo and do funny faces back and forth, blow each other kisses, and wave hi and bye! it's fun to watch elijah get so excited about seeing his daddy!

anyway...that's about all that's happening right now. life seems a little boring...but i think it'll get more exciting when i start going to school. i think it'll really help the winter to go by pretty fast! and for some reason, i feel like if i can just get through this winter, it'll be downhill from there! doesn't winter seem to be the worst time of the year after christmas? i think so...you can do so much more when the weather is nicer, and it seems like the days just fly by then! i can't wait til aj's home!!! it'll be amazing! so...now starts the countdown! 7 months! woo!

MOTTTS

so ashley asked me to go to MOTTTS (mothers of tot's to teens) with her a while ago, and i really wanted to but i was nervous to actually go because i didn't know what to expect. well, now that she's my neighbor,(yeah!) she suggested i ride with her. so i went today...and i loved it. i felt so at home and it was my first time. i enjoyed listening to everyone share different ways that God had shown Himself to them the last week or so. it was so encouraging. it just made me think of all the times i've seen Him in my life these last few weeks, and there have been LOTS of times! one girl said that she thinks it's even more special to her when God provides the littlest things you need as opposed to the big miracles because it just proves that He cares about everything in our lives. i totally agree.

anyway...they're going through a book called Creative Corrections, and this week they talked about spanking. we read 3 verses and i loved every one of them because disciplining Elijah has been my main concern lately. he's just so strong-willed and it seems hard to find the right thing to do to get him to understand that when i say "no", i mean NO! anyway...the verse that really spoke to me today was Proverbs 13:24...

"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."

i mean, wow! it just made me realize that no matter how hard it is to find something that works with Elijah, if i love him, i'll keep at it until i find the right thing for him...which actually happens to be spanking. i started spanking him this week (just like one time right below his diaper) when he does something wrong after i tell him no, and he starts crying and then stays away from that thing. it has really worked well. i never really thought that discipline meant that i loved him, but it's so true. i want him to have the best life and to be well-liked by others, and how can he if i never discipline him? he would be a crazy kid doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. not only that, but i would hate my life, too! it would be so hard to be in the same house as him! so it's just cool that even the simplest thing like disciplining your child is in the Bible. God really thought of it all, huh? :)

anyway...just thought i'd share that my week DID get better this week! i do feel like God is in control, and it's a lot easier just to leave things in His hands instead of trying to come up with every solution for every problem myself! i'm just gonna see where He takes me, and everything will be okay! thanks for all your encouragement everyone! it is nice to know that people do care and that i'm not alone in this. it's especially cool to know other people have/or are going through this whole deployment thing, too. i can see that there is an end to it and that the sun does come up again! :) i'm really excited for the post i do next year when a.j. is back and i write about all the cool things i got out of this year!! that will be awesome!!

have a great weekend!

furnace

well, our furnace went out last night. it was just the pilot light, so bruce and sue berkey stopped by and fixed it for me, but then it went out again an hour after they left, so i called lechlitner's in wakarusa and they came and fixed it. the guy who fixed it said that i might have to get it replaced because there may be a crack in it, and i asked him how much it would be and he said about 4500 dollars! i couldn't believe it. that's so expensive!!

anyway...i was thinking about it when i got home and just started crying...and i don't think it was really about the furnace as much as the fact that a.j. won't be here this year and if things like that happen, i'm going to have to decide what to do myself...and it just hit me that he's really gone. i mean, i get to see him this weekend but that's it. i am so happy to know he'll come back at the end of the year, but it's a little overwhelming sometimes thinking of running the house and taking care of elijah this whole year without him.

i was talking to emily when i started crying about it and i was telling her that i just can't believe a.j. is really leaving and that pretty soon he will be in kuwait and there's no guarantee how much i'll really get to talk to him then, and that's how i feel connected to him, and she just said God knows exactly what i need to get through this year and He will provide that. i'm just so glad she said that because it's so true. i can worry about whether i'll get to talk to a.j. every day or whether i'll need to get a new furnace or whether i'll be able to go back to school this next semester, but there's no point because God knows exactly what i need and He will provide it. isn't that so encouraging to know?!

anyway...i hear elijah playing when he's supposed to be taking a nap, so i better go check on him. i hope you all have a great week!

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!