What's been happening since Graduation....

Ok, seriously, I have GOT to get better about posting! Ugh!! Well, Michael is at Ft. Leonard Wood right now completing his AIT (advanced individual training). So far it is MUCH less rigorous than basic training, and two HUUUUUUUUUUGE plusses are that #1, he is allowed to have his cell phone, and #2, he is close enough that we can go see him every weekend! God was so good to us to allow Michael to do his schooling so close! Is He awesome, or what?!?!

Right now we are in the throes of remodeling! My mom and dad decided a while back that they'd like to put an addition onto their house that would put a master bedroom, full bathroom, and laundry room onto the main floor of the house. (There are no bedrooms, or full bathrooms on the main floor.) Basically they're thinking that eventually they will get to a point where they can't (or shouldn't) physically be able to climb the stairs, so they're just thinking ahead. In the meantime, that room will be a pool room/art gallery to display my dad's artwork.

Weeeellllll.....you'd think tacking on a quick addition to add a master suite and laundry room wouldn't be that complicated, right? Not so w/my parents! Lol!! The house they live in is almost 100 years old - it's a really pretty old, kind of Victorian-style house. My mom really didn't want an addition tacked onto the back of the house, where it would be highly noticeable that it was not part of the original house soooooooo..........they decided to take the addition all the way up - yep - they're adding a 3 story addition! It will be a total of 6 extra rooms, plus a HUGE storage area. They put new siding on the outside of the house, so you can't even tell where the "old" house ends and the "new" house starts! It looks great, and is going to be so wonderful when it's all done!

All that to say - we're at the point of PAINTING! Well, painting/wallpapering, you name it. Praise the Lord, it seems that there MIGHT be a light at the end of this tunnel! So last Monday Laynie spent the day w/Aunt Bebe, and tomorrow she'll be there too, so Mom and I can focus on getting the painting done. (It is sooooooooo much easier and FASTER w/o a 3 year old underfoot!!)

Jared has been busy losing teeth - 4 total now. This last one he lost, he almost swallowed! Crazy kid - he didn't even know it had come out! He's enjoying his treats from the Tooth Fairy. :) And Laynie keeps sadly reminding me that she still has all of her teeth. Hehehe....

Well, that's all for now - maybe I'll actually get another post up here sooner than several WEEKS from now! :)

BCT Graduation and AIT!

Me and my suuuuuuuuuper handsome soldier!

Ugh...I've waited way too long between posts, but Jessica inspired me - lol!! Thanks Jessica! Hehe...ANYWAY........

Family day and Graduation went quite well. The ceremony was super cool, and my husband looks soooooooooo good! WOWSERS!! When I saw him for the first time (it had been 74 days since the last time I'd seen him) he looked deflated! Literally!! He looked pretty awesome when he left for BCT, but when he was DONE - he looked even better! I couldn't believe it! You can scroll through my blog to see "before" pictures, and I'll post some "after" pics with this post so everyone can see the difference.

It was so so soooooooo good to see him and be with him. I didn't take the kids with me - mostly for selfish reasons. I wanted him all to myself for the first couple of days! :) Family Day was on a Thursday, then graduation was on Friday, then we came home on Saturday - the kids were BEYOND excited to see Daddy - Laynie wouldn't take her eyes off him. It was so precious! We got to spend Sunday and Monday with him, then we had to take him to Ft. Leonard Wood (MO) so he can complete his AIT (advanced individual training). This will take approximately 19 weeks - he should be done around the end of November/beginning of December. It stinks because we can't be w/him during this time, BUT he does have free time on the weekends, and he's only about 2 hrs from my parents' house, so we can drive down on the weekends. Also, he's allowed to have his cell phone, so the kids and I can actually talk to him every single day, which is WONDERFUL!!!

AIT is definitely easier than basic training, but I must say that I'm ready for this to be over. The kids and I are having a great time w/my parents - all is going well - but I just love our little life we have together, just the 4 of us, and I'm ready for things to be back to "normal." I'm really hoping these next 6 months or so go by quickly. I miss our home in GA, our church in GA (though we have an AWESOME church to go to while we're here!), and most of all, our LIFE in GA - I'm so anxious to have it back! Hopefully I don't sound too whiney! Ok, off to post some pics....

Jared and Daddy



My handsome soldier counting cadence for his platoon.



CW4 Schnellbacher, and Specialist Schnellbacher


Michael's company




Marching out to the field through multi-colored smoke grenades - very cool effect!!

It's winding down........

I can't believe we're down to the last few days of basic training!!!! I thought these days would never come! Jared and Laynie are sooooooo excited about seeing Daddy again. They miss him so much! Next Wednesday I'll be flying to South Carolina so I can be there first thing Thursday morning for Family Day, then graduation is on Friday! Then I get to have a nice looooooooong road trip with my Sweetie (and my in-laws, who will also be there for the graduation), back to Missouri. Hopefully things will stay super busy between now and then so the time will fly by quickly!

Nine more days!

Well, I'm glad to report that a light at the end of the tunnel has been spotted! Praise the Lord! I was starting to wonder if this was EVER going to be over!! I haven't gotten to talk to Michael in over a week now (which isn't the longest we've had to go, but still a long time!), and I'm so excited to get to not only get to talk to him soon, but to SEE him!! Woo hoo!! :)

The kids are also very ready to see Daddy, of course. Laynie says to me every single day, "I want my Daddy!" Several times! And he was worried she would forget him!!! While he's been gone, Jared lost his first tooth, learned to ride a bike without training wheels, finished his Kindergarten year of school, he'll also have his graduation and first speaking part in a play before Daddy gets back. Thank goodness for video cameras!

This Friday is the last day of school, though J has been done with his work for a week now. He does still go to reading class with the first graders, art class (twice a week), and Bible class, but he's done with all of his videos. Sunday is Kindergarten graduation, awards ceremony, and elementary school play, then on Wednesday is when I fly out to SC! It's coming up quickly!

I want to thank everyone who has prayed for us throughout this difficult time - I truly don't know how people make it through difficult situations without prayer! I hope everyone is doing well, and I'll post again soon! :)

He's half way done!!! Woo hoo!!!

Well, yesterday marked the official half way point of basic training - hallelujah!!! I couldn't believe it - on Tuesday afternoon Michael got to call me (totally unexpected since the other times he's called, it's been on Sundays), then later on that evening, he got to call AGAIN! The second time, we got to talk for a little over THIRTEEN minutes!! I think if you combine all of the times I'd talked to him before that, it wouldn't have added up to thirteen minutes! What a treat it was to hear his voice.

He was just getting over a cold, but sounded in good spirits. He said he's really been enjoying target practice (w/his M16) - he said he's surprisingly good at it! I think he picks and chooses what he tells me about - he doesn't want me to worry, but he just sounded so good, I was so thankful that I got to talk to him! Also, he was able to tell me several things he needed that I AM allowed to send him (there's not much I'm allowed to send at this point!), so I was super excited to be able to send him a package with some things he needs.

Again, if there is anyone at all who would like to send him a letter or card, please let me know - I know it would be such an encouragement to him to hear from anyone! I think the hardest thing for him at this point is being away from everyone. He's told me several times, he's taking things one day at a time, and even then - he kind of breaks the days down further. He focuses from making it from breakfast time to lunch time, to supper time, then to bed time. It seems to help him to have smaller goals - even though he is kept very busy, the days are really crawling by slowly for him. (For us too!!!) Anyway - I want to thank everyone for their prayers - we truly do appreciate it. At times, I feel like, "Wow - I can't believe we've already made it half way!" Other times, I feel like, "Ugh..we still have another half to go!" Lol!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! I'll update again soon!

I got to talk to Michael today!!! Woo hoo!!!

Well, as the title of this post says - I got to talk to my sweetie today! :) :) :) He actually sounded pretty good. I get worried about him not getting enough sleep, but he said he's getting about 6 hours a night, so I was very glad to hear that! He did get a bit choked up when he talked to the kids - I know he misses them so much. We got to talk for 3 minutes and 44 seconds, so it was short, but very sweet. If anyone would like to write him a letter, please let me know. I know it would be such an encouragement for him to know people are thinking of him and praying for him.

He told me in a letter that right now he is going through what is called the "Red Phase." It lasts 3 weeks (though we are already a full week into that - yay!) and it is by far the hardest part of basic training. He said he'll have to ask permission to do EVERYTHING. After that he will have the "White Phase" which of course will still be hard, but not quite as hard as "Red Phase." It is also 3 weeks long. The last 3 weeks are called "Blue Phase" and are the easiest - though still hard, of course! His graduation will be on May 22nd, and I'm planning a little surprise for him. I'm not telling though - don't want anyone to spill the beans! Lol!!

As far as me and the kids go - we're busy with the same ol' same ol'!! Mom has a horrible abcess (sp?) tooth right now, and will be getting that taken care of tomorrow, so I will be teaching her class tomorrow! Exciting! I'll take Jared with me and he'll do his videos so he doesn't get behind. Laynie will be staying with Aunt Holly, as she likes to do! Oh, and a big announcement! Jared will receive his first visit from the tooth fairy tonight! He is sooooooooooooo excited! Lol!! He has had a loose tooth for several days now, and today it pretty much just fell out - I was so disgusted! Lol!!! I was so glad my mom was here to do the deed. She basically just took it out of his mouth - there was no pulling involved - it was completely ready to come out! He giggled, and thought it was the greatest thing! (I don't do pulling teeth! It completely grosses me out - in fact, I almost couldn't finish my lunch, it grossed me out so bad - and for those of you who know how much I love food, you KNOW what a big deal that is - lol!!)

I appreciate all who read this - it means a lot to me that people care to keep up with the happenings in our life. I truly appreciate all of the prayers - thank you all so much!

He's gone - waaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!

Well, my Sweetie is officially gone. We're now at the mercy of the Army (drill sergeants, perhaps?) as to when we get to talk. I'm not counting on anything any time soon. We've been apart before, but NEVER for this long, and never w/o the ability to talk on the phone several times a day. The kids are already asking for him (ugh!), I can tell this is going to be a long road! So....9 weeks, 4 days and counting! Just thought I'd post an update! :) If anyone is interested in sending him notes of encouragement, please let me know, and I'll e-mail you the address.