Double Digits!!!

Happy birthday to my wonderful daughter, Haylie!!!! 10 years old today!! I hope you have a wonderful day and I can’t wait to give you the biggest hug in the world when I come home!! I love you and miss you so very much! Tons of kisses!

Love,

Mom

XOXO

Happy Father's Day!!

Just a little over 100 days left until I come home!! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads who read this! Nothing too exciting happened here for me. It was just your average week. Redeployment stuff is starting to be brought up on a regular basis now which is fantastic! I got a bunch of new books for my Kindle. I think it was 15 total, but I only had to pay for 2 of them. I didn’t realize how many free books I could get if I just dug around a bit. I am currently reading The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. A very good book thus far and I highly recommend it.

Cory and the kids went up to Minnesota this past weekend to celebrate the kids’ birthdays a little early. I wish I could have gone with them, of course. I heard they had a good time. I’ve included a few pictures of what they each received. Haylie made out like a bandit since it’s going to be her double digit this year. Kevin will get his turn next year when he turns 13.

The pictures of me are extra special this time around. Why, you ask? Well, the jeans that I’m wearing are the jeans that I had Cory send to me shortly after I got here. I wanted to use these jeans as something to shoot for. When I first tried them on 6 or 7 months ago I couldn’t even get them to button up. Periodically I would try them on to see if I was making any progress. I was, but it was slow. I think it’s been about 2 months since I last tried them on. At that time I could button them but it was really uncomfortable to sit down. When I received a couple new shirts from Victoria’s Secret I decided to try them on again. Oh boy was I surprised! They fit!!! FINALLY!!!! I could even sit down in them without getting a stomach ache. Oh, and the sizes of the new shirts…..SMALL!! Looks like I’ll be able to fit into my old wardrobe when I get home!!

My sister and her husband are moving to Sioux City this weekend. Matt had an interview for the managerial position of a store out there. He was offered the job. As it turns out, Erin’s store was in need of a manager out in Sioux City as well. They offered her the job too! I don’t think it could have worked out any better. I just hope they are able to find a place quickly.

I have some news that is both really good and really bad. My brother-in-law, Joey, is graduating from Border Patrol basic training next month. When he goes home for a little bit in July he and his fiancée are going to be getting married so the government will pay to move her down to Texas with him. All of that is really great news and I couldn’t be happier for them both. It’s also bad news because it is yet ANOTHER family function that I am going to miss out on because of the Army.

Well, I think that’s about it. Again, Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! I’ll be home soon!!

Modeling one of my new shirts from Victoria's Secret. I am so happy those jeans finally fit again!!

View of the front.

Red, red, red!! I know you don't like red Hunnybear, but I really liked this shirt.

View of the back. I still got a little booty!

One of Haylie's many dresses she received.

She said this one was her favorite....I knew it would be!

Sweet looking car, Kev!

Love the cheesiness!

Jumping off the swing!

Oh boy! And this is only after two days!! NOT going to happen again once I get home Sweetie! :)

So comfy!!

The straw that broke the camel's back.

Thank you to my wonderful husband for finally uploading some pictures for me. My father-in-law visited for a couple days this past week. I hear the kids had a good time with their grandpa. I hope he's able to come down again when I get home.

I've been having a good time here at Freedom Rest. I head back to Slayer tomorrow but I don't have to go into work until Friday. Speaking of work, one of my coworkers is being recommended for an Article 15. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was him being late to work yet again. I could probably take a full day off using the times that he's been late to work or late doing something he was told to do. This guy also has very important products to produce for our mission and in the beginning when he took them over from me he was messing them up royally. He finally got it right just before I went on leave back in February. I still have to do them once a week when he takes his day off and I was noticing some discrepancies. I went to him first before taking it any higher to see if he would fix them. I gave it a few weeks before I did anything more. When nothing was fixed and he was still being complacent, I took it to SGT Ahmed and then the LT. He was finally counseled on it and I now have to spot check his work. He took 4 days off and the aforementioned "straw" happened the day he was supposed to come back into work after his break. SGT Ahmed had to actually wake him up. He was counseled again about this and told that he was being recommended for an Article 15. He also got his days off revoked for the remainder of this deployment. The Article 15 is in the hands of our commander and if she goes forward with it he will probably lose rank. I think they are going to bar him from re-enlistment as well. I used to feel sorry for him but he's messed up too many times. He was given a ton of chances.

My husband commented on the whole "no showing my shoulders" thing. He said that the first logical thing that came to his mind was that it was for my own safety. While I can see that being the case if it were for this entire place and not just the chowhall, it is ONLY for the chowhall. I could wear a bikini in and around the pool if I wanted to. There are just as many guys at the pool as there are in the chowhall. My husband has an uncanny ability to see every story from both sides and even sometimes from underneath. This story is ridiculous no matter which side one looks at it. Ok, I think I've beat that to death. No more.

From what I've been told, things at home are fine. Kevin and Haylie are both enjoying their summer vacations so far. Haylie has been playing outside a lot, which is really good although, I think she's a little hesitant now. She's had two ticks in just as many days. That's two more than I've had in my entire life. Kevin hasn't been going outside nearly as much. If he doesn't start going outside more I'm going to take away video games and TV. I shouldn't have to force my own kid to go outside. I wanted to play outside all the time when I was a kid.

I think that's about it for now. I'm going to go read a book out by the pool...IN A TANK TOP!!!!

Silly kids

Even sillier :P

Grandpa and his grandkids. I really like this one.

Haylie discovered email. I have received so many pictures of cats in the last few days it's hilarious.

Kevin and Kitty....so comfy.

NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!!

You know what I don't understand? I don't understand how I am allowed to fight in a war, carry around guns and kill people if necessary, yet I'm not allowed to wear a tank top in the chowhall?! What the hell is that all about??!!! I got here (Freedom Rest) yesterday and since then I've eaten in the chowhall 3 times....all three times with a tank top on. I walk in there for dinner and I'm told I'm not allowed in there without any sleeves on! I just don't get it!! I can put my life on the line for someone, but I'm not allowed to show my shoulders. What is this, 1620?

Kevin and Haylie....before me.

Well, I'm here at Freedom Rest and I really want to blog, but I hate putting up a blog without pictures. My adoring husband was supposed to put some in Photo Bucket yesterday of their Grandpa Doug's visit, but he didn't. I should have known when he said he would do it AFTER installing something on a friend's computer that it wouldn't get done. So, I decided to put up some pictures of Kevin and Haylie when they were younger. And since I am putting pictures of them up I thought I'd update everyone on what's been going on in regards to the adoption case. 'She Who Shall Not Be Named's' case was dismissed on April 27th without any drama. The courts would have had to notify her directly since her lawyer dropped her. Since then, there has been NOTHING from her....no surprise there. I say no surprise but I'm worried sick that something is going to happen. We are waiting until I get home to find a lawyer in Kansas and start the adoption process. At this point I think that even if something happens we are still going to move forward with our plans in October. It's been 7 months since she has called the kids and it's not the first large chunk of time that she hasn't made any contact with them. I'm half a world away and I've talked with them more in the last 8 and half months than she has in the past 4 plus years I've been in their lives. I don't know how any parent can be like that. I love these kids so much. This year away from them and my husband is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I can't wait until we can be a family again!

Kevin at the zoo. I believe this was taken the summer before I met them. If I'm not mistaken it was right before she 'kidnapped' them to South Carolina. Kevin would have been 6 almost 7.

Little Miss Haylie...always the diva. Taken at the zoo as well the summer before I met them. She would have been newly 5.

Kevin looks to be about 3 or 4 here. And Cory, you look so much sexier now...the 30s suit you so far. :P

Haylie looks to be about 2 here. So adorable. I love her smile.

Fishing with Grandpa Doug. So cute. I love his smile in this one.

Little Miss Haylie again...I don't think she can take a bad picture. The camera loves her and she loves the camera.

Brother and sister...so cute it breaks my heart.

New York and Miley Cyrus...A perfect mother-daughter weekend!

Haylie and I will be seeing Miley Cyrus in concert on November 7th in Newark, New Jersey!! She doesn't know yet and I probably won't tell her until we get there. She's going to be sooooooooo excited!! I have a friend that lives in New York and he's going to take us site seeing that weekend! I've never been to New York but I've always wanted to go. We are going to have so much fun!! A perfect mother-daughter weekend!! I can't wait!