Happy Birthday to our "Tween!"

It's happened in the blink of an eye. We officially have a "tween" on our hands. I'm not sure how it got here so quickly! Landen is 10 years old as of 3:13am eastern time. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I cried as we left the house because I thought my dog wouldn't love me anymore. I went in the hospital to be induced on Sunday evening and he didn't arrive until Tuesday morning. It was long, but worth it. He's a super sensitive, athletic, forgetful, never met a stranger, great big brother, well rounded kid and I love him to pieces.

We celebrated over the weekend with a bowling party and had a lot of fun. He had about 9 friends show up which was just about a perfect number. They bowled, ate, played songs, danced, and ended with some video games. I saw visions of the teen years coming... i-pods, cell phones and flirting. These kids are only in the 4th grade! It's going to be so different from when Matt and I were growing up with all this technology. What will they think of next?

He got lots of nice presents - well, mostly money and gift cards. The shopping is slim around here. Regardless, he was happy because he's been saving his money to buy an i-pod touch. He's really into music so Matt and I bought him a guitar and a book to see what he can learn. We are trying to get him some lessons set up this summer. He ended the night with one of the boys spending the night with him.









Happy 10th Landen. We love you and have enjoyed every year with you!!

I failed to mention one thing I learned this week. Helium is EXPENSIVE in Germany. I had a guitar balloon that I had ordered and took to have it filled up. It wasn't all that large... they wanted $25 for helium. Can you imagine? No thank you. It's evidently considered an environmental hazard around here. I stuck with the regular balloon bouquet for $20.

Mmmmm....Schokolade

(I thought this was a cute picture of Matt and the kids waiting on the train.)

Yum! We went to Koln to the chocolate (schokolade) museum this past weekend with the kids. We've been there several times, but have just recently started riding the train a few places. It's a litte more costly than driving, but it's nice to have 2 adults to help with the kiddos and it's much more stress free than trying to find parking, etc. The train ride is very scenic along the river along with many castles appearing in the distance.



Anyway, I won't bore you with pictures from Koln that I've shared several times. I'll share a few of the chocolate museum though, since this was new to us. It was nice, but not just out of this world fascinating. The kids loved it, but Matt and I were a little disappointed after all the hoopla we had heard. We went on a self guided tour and then of course, we all picked us out a treat at the end of the tour.







Jordyn was so excited - a PURPLE cow!


Overall, the day was fun and the sun was shining which made it so much more enjoyable. We even got to take our jackets off for about an hour while we were walking around.... Sunshine, we love you! Please come back. I'm sitting here typing and looking out the window at it snowing and a white ground. UGH! Oh wait, I have one more picture.



Aren't these the cutest pretzel bunnies ever?

Still A Southern Girl

Today I got to go help Hayden's kindergarten class out. They had a potato dig for St. Patrick's Day. I took them out in groups of 4 or 5 and let them dig away to find their very own potato in the dirt. Then, they got to take them inside and wash them and cook them to eat for a snack that afternoon. They had a blast and I had a few laughs myself.







One little girl continually asked me if I was Hayden's mom. She repeated a number of times...."Are you sure? You don't look like Hayden. " Then, the one that made me really laugh.... "I think you must be a cowgirl!" Get this, his name was Billy. ha, ha!

Once a Southern Girl, always a Southern Girl.

Sing, Sing a Song...

Where, oh where is my wedding ring?
Oh where, oh where can it be?
My ring guard is in my jewelry box,
but my diamond is somewhere it shouldn't be!!!!!!!

My grandmother used to sing that song to me. Of course, it was about a dog in her version. My ring has to be somewhere in this house. I've offered the kids $5 and a bag of candy if they find it. They are downstairs playing their PS2. Maybe I need to up the offer?!

Please pray I find this thing! I'm beginning to lose hope - it's been almost 24hours. While you are at it, say a prayer for my grandma too.

***UPDATE - I FOUND IT!!****

Off Road!

I'm continually learning things in my adult life. This weekends lesson, don't drive off the pavement into the grass if it's muddy. Yep... after Matt and a friend tried for about an hour to pull me out of the mud with no success, we had to resort to calling a German Tow Truck to come to our rescue. 120 Euro later, I was able to drive my car again.

It happened on base at the Middle School. The boys had back to back basketball games, so of course I was in a hurry to get from one game to the next. There were not spots left open in the parking lot, so I decided to swing around to the back. That's when the trouble came in. I had done this before, with no problem. But, that's when I decided to park 1/2 on the pavement and 1/2 on the grass. For some reason, on Saturday, the sun was shining and I was feeling good... I decided I would make a big loop around in the grass and be able to pull straight out after the game. Yep... I didn't realize how wet it was! As soon as my tires started spinning, I knew I had done it. Matt wasn't to happy with me but he kept his cool and rescued me. He dealt with the "car" while I headed to the basketball party with the kids. Of course, I had offered to take the cake and had to find a way to get to the commissary to pick it up and get us to the party. Luckily, my good friend was there and she rescued us as well.


On another note, I walked into the bathroom last night and Hayden and Jordyn were taking a bath. Jordyn was the dentist, and Hayden was the patient. It was cracking me up! Hayden was a really good sport. She also loves to brush his hair and anyone else who will let her. Though, I warn you... it hurts.

Step 1, Complete.

We broke down and told the kids about Matt's upcoming deployment. We've debated and dreaded about when to tell them. We didn't want to tell them too soon, for fear of them having so much worry for such an extended amount of time. On the other hand, we wanted them to have enough time to digest it and spend some quality family time with Dad before he leaves.

I'm not sure why I was so fearful of telling them. Landen is older this time around and really understands how it will all play out. Maybe that's why. We were eating lunch and decided to spill it. Landen's reaction was pretty upbeat. We quickly followed the announcement with, "but we are going to AR" this summer for a long time! He sat there, Matt left the table and then I could see the wheels spinning in his head. He looked at me with big tears in his eyes and said, "but I thought they only had to go one time and dad already went." Unfortunately, as I fought back tears I had to share with him that some moms and dads have gone several times and we are lucky it is only for 6 months and not a full year.

Hayden's reaction was , "oh... man!" Then, he was off to play. He can't grab that concept of it yet, and he doesn't remember him being gone when he was 2 years old. I'll have more of an issue with him, when it all actually transpires. We calculate time by how many sleeps we have until an event. Matt explained it will be 180 sleeps.... that's the best way we can explain it to him now.

Jordyn, of course, has no clue. She doesn't understand. It's going to break my heart because she looks for daddy to come in the door every day. She asks for him the minute she wakes up and wants to know where daddy is a lot. Every time he leaves for a trip and comes back, she sits by him and hugs him and won't let him out of her sight. She's like his own personal stalker! I wonder what she will do after not 2 or 3 weeks of distance, but 6 months.

We'll get through it as every other family does. It's the same worries and fears that thousands of other mothers face, so I know I'm not alone. I don't have to like it though. Now, onto the next steps. We have wills to update, power of attorneys to get, issues to discuss, presents to figure out for Matt to give the kids before he leaves, car registrations to update, and my list is continually growing. The stress begins along with the anticipation of it. It's all starting to roll.... like it or not.

This and That

There is really no theme to this post, it's just a mixture of random thoughts and what has been going on lately.

Matt made it back from the US and had a great time. He had the opportunity to visit Fort Smith and see his family one last time before he deploys. He hasn't been back since we moved over here and that's been about 21 months for him. I think it's the longest either of us have ever gone without a trip to Razorback country. I'm looking forward to my turn this summer. I am still in some serious denial that he is leaving again. Reality is slowly starting to set in... we are going to start making preparations soon. There are so many things to think about and get done before he leaves. At least I have started jotting down a list of a few things.

He returned with a super duper Valentine's present for me and all of the other miscellaneous things I asked him to come home with - 4 buttons, a long sleeved leotard, spanish peanuts, a bible for Hayden with his name on it, Spongebob DVD's, and more miscellaneous things. These are typical of the small things that frustrate me here because a) I can't seem to find them or b) there is one choice, and one choice only.

Matt also brought back a 2 1/2 X 3 1/2 picture frame. My sister made Jordyn a small cross stitch and brought it to her when she visited us in the fall. I haven't been able to frame it, so I asked Matt to bring something back. He pulled through with a .98 picture frame from where else... Walmart. I threw a few rhinestones on it and added a bow and wahh... lahh.. it will work for now. Thanks, Terri.



The boys are finishing up basketball season and we'll have a nice break before we begin baseball. Hayden has had a fantastic season and loves it. Landen's team has struggled quite a bit, but he has been a trooper and hung in there. It has been a good learning experience and we will just leave it at that. He's looking forward to baseball and hoping he gets on a more talented team.



We have been talking of taking a quick day trip to a US cemetery in Luxembourg. However, the two times we have tried we have awoken to snow and ice on the ground. One of these days, hopefully soon, we will make it there. On the weather note, we have had a lot more snow this season that last. It never accumulates a whole lot, it's just more of a constant thin layer of snow and ice. The boys aren't even really excited to see it anymore. It's funny how the excitement disappears once you take something for granted, isn't it?

I guess that's all of my random thoughts for now. Oh. Happy Birthday to my mom yesterday and Matt's dad today. We love you both!