Weekend Visit

This weekend Sherry, Jade, Autumn, and Lillyonna came up from Kansas City to visit family. It was a lot of fun getting to see them again since it had been about a month and a half since they had been back last. The weekend was spent hoping from place to place to get together with everyone and see as many people as possible before having to head back home again. Thankfully they were able to get together with everyone in the family while they were here, even with AJ. We were able to skype with him Saturday evening so that they could see him and then he could also see how much Lilly is changing. It was a lot of fun getting to have them up here, but of course the time went by way to fast as always. Thankfully Thanksgiving is only a month away, so it won't be too long before we all get to be together again :) Here are a few pictures from the weekend:Sisters! :)
Aunt Jade & LillyAunt Kayla & Lilly All the girls :)Great Grandpa Darr was giving rides in the laundry basket! :) Lilly is going to be a fuzzy black kitty for Halloween! :)

Update #5

Things continue to go well for AJ down in Mississippi. He and the rest of the soliders have been back at Camp Shelby for a week now, and they will be there until they leave for overseas in a few weeks. While there, the soldiers are continuing to prepare for what is coming fast. They are going through health screenings once again before heading out, and they are continuing to get everything that they will need packed up and ready to go. It is definitely keeping them busy with things to do, but thankfully it also allows for some down time here and there so they can call home and catch up with family before the big move.

One thing that has really been fun is skype. We started using such this weekend, and everyone really had a good time being able to actually SEE him rather than just talking to him on the phone. Everyone is more than thrilled to talk to him when they can, but getting to see him while talking made it just a little more special :)

I was also able to surprise AJ with a package I sent him this past Tuesday. He got it on Saturday, and he had no idea it was coming. So he was pretty excited to get it and enjoy what was inside. Although I'm not sure how good it was for him to eat all FIFTEEN Slim Jims in one day :P

Continue to keep AJ in your prayers as he gets ready to make the big move with the rest of the soldiers soon. It's going to be the big step they've been training for and waiting for for nearly 3 months now, and there will be so many changes not only in scenery and duties, but also in communication with friends and family back home with the 9.5 hour difference.

And as always, we are SO thankful for all the prayers and encouragement shown to us so far. We're almost to the '9-month' mark and that means we're a quarter of the way through! :)

Update #4

Today is the 15th of October, and that means 'moving day.'

For the past 4 weeks AJ has been in California at Fort Irwin which is located in the Mojave Desert. While there they continued their training to prepare for their trip overseas to Afghanistan later this year. The middle 2 weeks was spent in 'the box' where the soldiers went through intense training to simulate what it will be like in the desert overseas. During that time the soldiers had to turn in their cell phones and all other electronics to cut off communication with friends and family at home to teach them to bond together as a team and family with their fellow soldiers. Those 2 weeks were pretty tough, especially when things wouldn't necessarily go the way I wanted them to here back home and couldn't talk to him about them. But we made it through, and thankfully he was given his phone back on October 8. And it has been SO wonderful to be able to talk to him again :)

Today the soldiers returned to Camp Shelby in Mississippi. While there, they will continue to do more training before they finally head overseas for the real deal.

AJ is doing well, and seemed to really enjoy the change in scenery and location while being in California after being in Mississippi since he had first left. But it seems like he's just ready to be done with training and finally get over there so that he can start experiencing it all.

Please continue to keep him and the rest of the National Guard soldiers in your prayers as they continue this long journey ahead of them. We truly appreciate everyone's prayers, thoughts, and encouragement through this time. We are truly blessed beyond words!

Only 9 1/2 months to go!! :)

A Small Yet Big Sewing Project

As most are aware, we have 2 dogs. Some may not even classify them as 'dogs' being that they are so small too! Tilly is a yorkie-poo and Charlie is a chihuahua.

As most are also aware, the fall season is here and that means the colder weather is slowly moving in (although, with the 3 nights in a row of having frost, I'd say the colder weather is moving in faster than I would like!)

Last winter we had a black and red sweater for Tilly for her to wear when we took her outside in the cold. Being she's such a little body and likes to take her precious time when finding a place to do her business, she would get cold quite quickly! So the sweater was our alternative to keep her a little warmer :)

Well, being the crazy person I am, I had the idea to MAKE little sweatshirts for my dogs for this coming winter to keep them warm. I figured it would be something fun I could do, something that would pass the time, and also something that would even look nice (and not like a weird dog sweater!) I had my idea, and I went with it! I found some camo fleece (to be supportive of our amazing soldier we miss so much!) at WalMart that was pretty cheap (cheaper than most other patterns) and it even came in pink for Tilly! So I went ahead and got some. And then the adventure started.

I do not have a sewing machine other than a little $12 one I got from Big Lots a few years back. It wasn't a bad one, and it did a good job on smaller projects, but apparently when it comes to sewing 2 pieces of fleece together, well, it's simply just too much work for that little thing! So what option did that leave me with? Yes, that's right. I was going to have to sew them by hand and do it the old-fashion way with a needle and thread. It should be so bad, right? HA...
I sat and made Tilly's sweatshirt all in one day. It took nearly 5 hours! Needless to say, Charlie's is not finished yet because I haven't had a craving for 'sitting around sewing a sweatshirt by hand' recently since then :P But with the weather starting to get colder, I just might have to work on that some more so that I can get it done! It is started, so that counts, right? :P

I decided to take a picture regardless of Charlie's unfinished product (you notice his doesn't have any sleeves! And you can't tell, but the hood is actually only pinned on, not sewn yet!) Here's me the little beasts 'in the hood' :P