The blog has moved!

I have officially moved the blog for a number of reasons, the first being the decrease in the amount of time it takes to upload pictures. The new blog will also enable Mark to be able to see the children's images larger without having to double click on them. There will still be a link to this blog in the left-hand column of the new blog. Thanks for stopping by and helping to support us during this time!

http://www.letterstodaddy.wordpress.com

A day off

Guess what? I took the day off with the younger three and I am glad I did! We had fun just being together and not needing to rush anywhere. Enjoy! Click on to see larger!





little chipmunk cheeks and did you notice the pants? She's such a peanut, they kept on falling down! Do they even make belts for 1 yr olds? :)








I'm going to have this one printed up, does anyone want to give their two cents on which is better, black and white or color?




This is what happens when I try and get them to pose :)

Family Support Day

We attended the family support day for the families of the 432nd. I could have never anticipated how much it would help our family. I was amazed at how the children opened up and at how in one day they went from feeling somewhat resentful to proud! Proud of you and what you are doing and proud of their part in it. It was really the first time that they were raised up for what they are sacrificing, it was the first time they were told thank you. The most touching part for me was when we were watching a slideshow of the soldiers from the 432nd. Everytime a picture of you would come up C would shout with glee and a huge smile on her face "DADDY!!" Near the end of the slideshow there was a picture of your departure that I had not seen before. It was a picture of you hugging M goodbye. The look on your face says it all. A couple of minutes after the picture was shown M came up to me sobbing. It had touched him deeply because he wants more than anything to have his Dad hold him. Two of the leaders of the group saw him with me and told him it was o.k. to cry, that everyone understood that here. It was just the way he said it, with tears in his eyes and so much compassion, that meant so much. M did cry, he did not feel embarrassed, and that was so important for us to not feel alone. When we got into the car after the day was done, M said it was one of the best days of his life! The girs likewise were very happy about having gone and thanked me for taking them. I want to thank Chris Schoeder and Amy Lauder and the people from Operation Military Kids for all that you did for us, you will never know just how much it helped.

And here is a little clip from the day, P is the baby with the ball in the beginning.

For some reason it won't link it but if you copy and paste it and put it in the address bar it does work, sorry!

http://myfoxwisconsin.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=6458812&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Super blogging!

That is what I am going to have to do to get you up to speed on what has been happening around here lately! First things first though, and that would mean thank yous! First to start we had a yummy meal of fried chicken with all of the fixings brought by Cathy Carpenter. She came quite a ways to bring us our meal and it was deeply appreciated on this day as I was having some issues with A and P that were keeping me quite busy. After that Michelle Croegert brought us a very kid-friendly meal that we all enjoyed! I was grateful to hear the cheers about all that she brought! Thank you Michelle for bringing us Joe's meal every week too, you are a dear! On Mother's Day I was treated to a meal of brats and fixings, from Ted and Mary Kanavas, it was a real treat! Thank you so much! I know that was a busy weekend for you and I appreciate you taking time for us to make a meal and bring it over!

Then I must let you know about the generosity of our nearby church Holy Apostles. I have been so touched by all of their efforts towards our family... The fifth grade class had a bake sale to raise money for our family. With the money they raised they brought over 12 (yes 12!!!) meals from Dinners by Design. This food is not only healthy and like homemade, it tastes so good. We have loved everything we have tried! What a great thing to just pull out a meal on those days when you don't know what to fix that night. We really have enjoyed every meal so far. I truly am humbled by their efforts to help us...

If that was not enough, on the same day some of the Holy Apostle's girl scouts and their mother's came over to weed and clean the yard. It REALLY needed it!! I certainly have not had the time to keep up on the yard maintenance. When I came home, it looked like a whole new yard! They even planted flowers which I can look out at when I have my coffee in the morning on the brown chair. Later that night your father mowed the lawn and well, it just looked beautiful when it was done!

Thank you to everyone for your continued help! Now as was promised, I am going to post some pictures of thing blooming in the yard like you had hoped. I will continue to get them as they bloom.

The cherry blossoms


The sour cherry tree


Wine Lilac


What I did to the strawberry patch

Feeling creative...

Maybe it's the change in the season, maybe it's just feeling better on the whole, but I am feeling creative! I love it when my mind is thinking of all sorts of scenes I could capture, it is truly a joy! Amazingly the children seemed somewhat in the mood to have their picture taken, it has been a while for them, or maybe they are excited knowing you will be seeing them. Before I continue on, I want to let you know of a couple of people who have brought us meals.

Judy Bloom brought us a wonderful meal of chicken bake which I was told is one of their favorites, well I can see why!! It was yummy and I will be asking for the recipe. I have really been enjoying some new recipes this year that I will be trying on you when you come home. Sandi Schimel likewise brought a wonderful meal of Italian meatloaf that everyone loved! Who would have thought to put cheese in the meat, but that made it so yummy! (Doesn't cheese make everything better?) Thank you so much ladies for helping our family out!

Now I know you are waiting to see pictures of things blooming around the yard, I promise I will post those tomorrow. A couple of these pictures were taken last week when it was a lot colder. I am amazed to see the amount of growth when I look back at the pictures compared to now. Hope you enjoy, because we sure did!






















This is the best picture I could get of P today!


I just wanted you to see the new "crocs" P has that she is so proud of!


Here a couple from last week, note A's outfit! He was helping Mom with the yard work, notice him wearing your gloves :)