Almost done!

Yes, I am very aware that I am a horrible blogger. But I'm doing better then Ted :) ..We will dedicate this one to my Aunt Vicki because she told me I needed to post more! :) I PROMISE to do better once we get back to Florida!!

Gage is doing GREAT!! Growing like a weed...He is just the sweetest baby ever! He is laughing constantly, has discovered his hands and that he can actually hold onto things, his favorite thing to do is pull his paci out of his mouth just because he can, he has been rolling over from front to back since he was one month, he tries SO hard to roll over from back to front and I honestly don't think it will be too much longer, he has great control of his head and neck and already sits up in his bumbo like a big boy! He loves attention and may be just a tad bit spoiled :) He loves to stare at his cousins Kayden & Weston and takes in every bit of what they are doing... They are pretty fond of him to though. They were over last night and I asked Weston what he wanted for Christmas and he said to me "Can you buy me some of them Baby Gage's" it was too cute!

We are down to our last week of this deployment....FINALLY! We are keeping our fingers crossed that Ted will fly into the Tyler airport this Wednesday and will arrive at 11:30 that morning! Of course there is always a chance that something could happen to their plan and they get pushed back a couple of days or get delayed at one of their stops on the flight back to Jax. But they are scheduled to land on base at 7:30ish Tuesday night :) .... I am SO excited, anxious, nervous, pretty much every emotion possible and we still have 4 days to go. My sweet, sweet mother-in-law is going to the airport with Gage and I so she can video it and take pictures for us. I am going to cry like a big baby when he finally gets his hands on his son! Being in the military means you have to make big sacrifices and we have many more to come in the next 20 or so years, but I couldn't be more proud of my husband and what he does!

I've got plenty to keep me busy over the next few days, lots of laundry and cleaning to get done, moving alot of things to his moms because thats where we will be staying, I have to go to the Uhaul place tomorrow so they can decide what hitch to put on my car and order it, I have to take the dogs to the groomer super early Wednesday morning, 7:30 to be exact so that I can get back home and get dressed to head to the airport, then Ted and I will head to Tatum to pick them up later that afternoon. I am so excited to see how they react.. They LOOOVE their daddy and have missed him just as much as the rest of us! I don't know if ya'll have seen them but their are videos online of men returning from deployments and greeting their dogs for the first time...It will melt your heart, even if you aren't an animal lover.. They just run and wine and wag their tails and jump, so sweet! I love my dogs, they are a handful and from time to time it is hard for me to handle them and Gage but I wouldn't trade them for the world. They are just as much a part of our family as anyone else! They are going to miss Texas though, thats for sure! So much outside space to run around, they will miss their summer that they got to sit outside in their baby pool all day, running and rolling as fast as they can in all these millions of leaves, and Mac will especially miss stealing my dad's cell phone and TV remote every time he sits it down :)

We will be spending the month of December here in Texas but plan on leaving the 30th. We are going to have alot of things to do when we get home and don't want to wait till the last minute to leave and then Ted have to start back to work the day after we get home. We want to take our time getting there since we will have a heck of load to take back with us and also have some time to get settled in with Gage and get our apartment back in working order. I am sure there won't be another blog until we get back to Florida but I promise to post one with lots of pictures!

Motherhood

So as you all know Gage was born on September 19Th @ 8:09 p.m. He weighed 6lbs 15oz and was 20 in long! The whole birthing process was NOTHING like I had hoped for or even thought about. I got to the hospital at 6 a.m. that morning to be induced. Well after an HOUR of trying to get my IV in they finally called in the anesthesiologist to dig down in my arm to find a vein. Needless to say my arms STILL look like I have been shooting up for years because of the many blown veins. So the whole day just started out bad. Luckily I have a REALLY high pain tolerance and can handle pretty much anything..... After hours of contractions and only being dilated to a 4 my doctor told me I would be having a C-section. Not what I wanted but okay.....They get me back in the operating room and are trying to get me numb because my previous epidural had worn off way too quick....so they try once, I can still feel everything...so they try again, no difference...so they decide they have to give a spinal block, that doesn't take. So I'm lying on the operating table just waiting and all of a sudden ALL of the medication kicks in and my entire body goes numb and I can't breath so I end up having to be completely put under, No fun at all!! I didn't get to meet Gage until 2 hours after he was born :( But I will have to have c-sections with any future pregnancies. My cervix doesn't dilate like it should and my pelvic bones are too small, who would have thought that? haha NOT me because I'm not exactly small.

On another note, Thank the Lord for the Internet and Skype because Ted got to see his baby boy fresh outta the oven. I've only seen videos but Ted had the entire 3rd floor of the hospital crying! Every time I had a new nurse come to my room the next two days I was referred to as the woman with the military husband that made the hospital cry.... good stuff :)

I am so thankful that my cousin Whitney was there to do anything and everything that I needed help with during and after delivery. She even bathed me the day after...that's love! haha It's never fun to stay in the hospital alone so I was glad to have her there with me that first night. The second night however I was alone and it was kinda tough. I really felt like I needed Ted there that night. When you are in the hospital there is no sleeping. Nurses are in and out all night so I was awake most of the time with so much on my mind. It was so amazing to just sit and stare at my son. I had a very strange feeling come over me at one point. I don't know how to explain it, but my whole pregnancy I missed my mom more then anything...so laying there in the same hospital, in a room exact to the one she lost her battle with cancer in, I had an overwhelming sense of emotion come over me that I brought a life into the world at the same place she lost hers. It became very comforting. I know that may seem weird but it was something I needed. I miss her so much and sometimes can't help but cry when I look at Gage because I know how much she would love to be here. She would have been the most amazing Nunna to mine and my brothers kids. I love and miss you more then anything momma, can't wait to see you again one day. I also have to say how thankful I am of the rest of the amazing people I have in my life that were there for me and there to visit Gage....Danin, I wish ya'll would have gotten the chance to come back and experience it with me...Thank you for being there also, I LOVE YOU! ....Just so everyone knows, she missed a Britney Spears concert that she paid big bucks for just to be there for me....such a wonderful cousin/friend.

Gage is doing GREAT! We had his 2 wk check up today and the doctor says he's healthy as a horse! He is up to 8 lbs now which surprised me and the doctor! I have learned really fast how to do everything one handed...including this blog! It's amazing how much you can love someone the second you meet them. He looks JUST like his daddy which is perfectly fine with me because his daddy is one handsome man :) Now we are just counting down the days until Ted is home from deployment and our perfect little family is all together!

Gage keeps me very busy so there is no telling when I will post again...Jordan, your blog post was super sweet, Thank you!! Hope you and Stephen are doing great and hope too see ya'll when we make it back to Florida!

I'm such a slacker!

Theres been plenty going on to blog about, but I'm too lazy! We will start with my baby shower... It was wonderful! We loaded up on gifts! Thanks to my wonderful family for giving baby Gage such a great shower!! Speaking of Gage....he needs to come on out now! He is causing me some MAJOR back pains this past week. I've always had back problems due to the fact that my chest is a little on the BIG side but here recently I have been in tears on several occasions for long periods of time.. Hopefully things work out and once we get back to Florida and get settled in I can have the surgery to have the little problem fixed :) But anyways had a doctors appointment today and I'm still not quit dilated yet, half way she said. She's hoping for me to dilate soon though because she would like to induce me at 39 weeks, but if not she said she will not let me go no later then a week past my due date...which would be my luck! He should be a decent sized baby by then, at my 35 weeks appointment he was already in the 6lb range...but theres really no telling! 4d sonograms are the most AMAZING thing ever. I could sit and watch him on that screen ALL day. I can't wait to meet him and see his little face.... I can't tell who I think he looks like but several people have told me that he looks like my nephew Kayden... you be the judge

Sorry for the poor picture quality but I dont have a scanner here in Texas so it's actually a picture of a picture.

Ted is back in Japan now... he had a nice little trip to Guam. He should be the one to blog about it but he is worse then me at this blogging thing. But they got to stay in a beautiful hotel right on the beach... I was jealous, thats for sure!! He is working his little hiney off these days and I couldn't be more proud of him! I miss him SOOOO much and can't wait to see him in December. I get all giddy and happy when I think about seeing him and Gage together :)

Like always I start typing a blog and I have SO much that I could talk about and then it all manages to escape my mind! So once again thats all for now folks :)

Long weekend...

Well I feel like I'm busy all the time, even when I'm not doing anything, weird huh? I started keeping my nephew on Thursday night and had him through late Sunday night. He is a funny little guy thats for sure! He kept me busy and on my toes the whole time. We went to the park in kilgore on Saturday and then came home and went fishing...he loves it! He is a little lady killer with that platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes! Heres a couple pictures I took over the weekend...I'm still learning how to use my new camera so they aren't the best pictures BUT the camera is AWESOME!!! I love it so much!!!!! I better as much as that little baby cost us haha but a big thank you to my sweet hubby for such a great gift!!!

I also have to say a very big thank you to my cousin Danin for running me all over town Friday! We spent the afternoon registering for my baby shower and dress shopping for her. We had a good time and I'm thankful she's so willing to help me out!!! There is so much to get, it's crazy!! I also have to tell Devin that I saw meme's invitation and it is SO cute!!! It made my day :)

I'm not sure I will ever get used to pricking my finger but it's going well I suppose. My doctor says that I'm doing a great job keeping it under control and as long as I keep doing what I'm doing everything will be just fine! I have an appointment with my OB Wednesday and i'm REALLY REALLY hoping for another sonogram and to find out just how big my little munchkin is! Less then 9 weeks to go!

Here are a few more pictures that I took just messing with the camera... I didn't have anything to take pictures of but my dogs are pretty good at posing :)

Gage

Gage is always on my mind. I always have visions of seeing him and Peyton when I come off of the plane. I see this as if it is a picture or somebody else watching while waiting in line to the side. I can not wait to hug him and kiss him like I will not ever be able to see him again. When I see women with their children, a smile comes on my face because in my head I see Peyton with little Gage doing daily tasks and eating out, waiting for me to come home.

Sometimes I see him running around as a little man, doing inventive things in his own little world. I can not wait to teach him everything I know and hopefully pass on my yearning for knowledge to him. I am ready to see what he can become. I am ready to give him the tools to do just that, to fulfill every vision he has, to answer every question he asks, and to do anything he wants.

Peyton, thank you for giving me all of this.

Not much going on...

Nothing exciting going on around here...I have quickly learned how bad holidays SUCK when the one person you want to spend them with is half way across the world! This 4th of July officially goes down in the books as the worst! I did nothing but pretty much sit around and have a pity party for myself because I missed Ted so much and I was home alone ALL day! Besides these crazy dogs which drive me crazy but at the same time I would hate to be here without them...they keep me entertained and make it seem a little more like home. Which sounds really weird considering this was my home for 22 years...but I have my own home now, with my own family and I miss it terribly. I don't know if I have said it in any previous blogs but I will not be comming back to stay in Texas for any more deployments. Don't get me wrong I LOVE LOVE LOVE being here around my family and friends but things would be SO much easier if I were back in Florida. But also pretty lonely I guess...so either way has it's problems I guess...maybe I will just come home and visit for a month or so...who knows thats hopefully a long time from now!

I was recently diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, which SUCKS, but honestly I think it sounds way worse then what it is. Yeah there could be some things happen that I would rather not but the chances aren't that great. I was scheduled to go to a specialist in the morning (Friday) but those of you who have Tricare insurance and have ever used it off base know that in order to see anyone other then your designated doctors you have to have a referall from your PCM which it just so happens mine is out of town this week and wasn't in to get the referall for me so it has been postponed to hopefully early next week...If the people at the doctors office knew how to do their job instead of transferring me to a million people because they don't know the answers to my questions maybe I would have a day to go next week, but no that isn't the case! I am very grateful to have such great insurance thats for sure, but sometimes it just really aggrivates me! I feel like I have had so much blood work done since being pregnant that I shouldn't have any left. My poor arms and fingertips can't take much more!

Umm lets see....our beautiful new camera should be here any day now which I am SO excited about. Pretty sad when that is the highlight of my day, haha...I did drive to Tyler today to spend the day with my friend Rachel which was great!! It was the first time I had seen her since I have been back in Texas and of course she kept me laughing and entertained just like always!

I am not babysitting anymore until the baby gets here...well I am keeping my nephew for the weekend next weekend but will have plenty of help from my dad and brother. I had told my sister-n-law like 3 months ago that I would keep him that weekend so of course I couldn't just change my mind. I love keeping all the kids but I just get SOO very tired out of nowhere these days and due too it being so hot outside I don't want to spend much time out there which isn't much fun for the kids so it's better that I just wait till I have my own little man here to take care of! We have a family reunion comming up this month for my dads family so it should be GREAT fun to have a million people I haven't seen in forever come up and rub my belly...oh the joys of being pregnant :) I didn't have that problem in Florida! haha

Alright it's way past my bedtime and I have cookies to get out of the oven to send to my sweet sweet hubby :) Once the new camera gets here I will start posting more pics, but mine current camera just isnt up to par these days..but here are a couple of pics of the pups with their fresh haircuts and 4th of July bandanas!

I'm loosing...

Ted is beating me in the blogging. I keep telling myself to update but I never feel like doing it...Things are going good I suppose. Some days are better then others, but that's how it goes. Not a whole lot is going on, other then alot of belly growing! He moves 24/7 and gets the hiccups pretty often.. I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and his heart was great but no ultrasound :(

I go back on the 8th and she said she would more then likely do one then so i'm hoping for a 3d/4d so I can see my little man!! Thanks to skype I get to show Ted "the belly" when we talk..I hate that he is missing so much....

He ordered me a new book a week or two ago and it came in today and I read about 50 pages or so...I DEFINITELY recommend it to all the lovely military wives out there, and even those of you who aren't... you can get a small little glimpse of our little world...and believe me it's a whole different world!

I seem to be the new babysitter back in town...which is okay most days but there are those days where I feel extremely pregnant and tired and just want to be lazy but can't due to prior agreements to do something for someone. Wednesday morning I am keeping Aaron and Addisyn for Gwyn, Thursday I am keeping Truitt and Tucker and Friday night I have Kayden... Ted and I have both decided that once August gets here I am no longer going to do the babysitting thing. Maybe it's a little selfish of me but come September I will have my own child to take care of 24/7 . If I were in Florida and at my home I think it would be better, but going to everyone elses house and being away from my computer/phone service/Ted connection bothers me. We have spring which doesn't work at ALL in Tatum and not very well anywhere else which is sucks because any chance I get to talk to Ted I want to be able to do so...We don't get to talk much anymore now that he's actually working on the planes and no longer driving the big ole bus...

I never posted about our lovely little Weezy...our Westie got extremely sick a few weeks ago on a Saturday and had to stay the night in the animal hospital. We love our dogs...they have been our babies since we had them and it broke my heart seeing him so sick... I didn't think he was going to make it.. But I'm happy to say that he is back to his fun, full of energy little self. I have been trying to get them to the groomer since I've been home but the groomer has been busy but finally told me to bring them in tomorrow morning!! I'm so happy about that, they need it so bad and it makes them feel so much better. Ted also talks to them on skype...it's pretty funny to watch them stare at the speakers and turn their heads like they are wondering why they can hear their daddy but they can't find him!

I will start getting pictures on here soon, but my camera has been through alot and Ted took the newer/better one to Japan with him BUT since he is such a sweeeeet amazing husband he is buying us the Nikon D60 in a couple of weeks and I plan on reading up on it alot and taking some wonderful little pictures. I constantly dream of the day Gage and I get to pick Ted up at the airport....and taking pictures of them meeting for the first time! I can't wait!!... I found the cutest little onsies for him to wear that I am ordering...and It's not a surprise because Ted has already seen them so I'm going to post a picture or two.. I still haven't decided which one I like better,

I guess I have awhile to decide on that though...but for now I'm going to get offline because my back is killing me (big surprise, right?) and this chair doesn't help one bit. Later taters

Being the headlines, not just watching them

Recently we have been doing a lot of high visability missions and a few of the things we are in on are in the headlines. The way things work here are crazy. One day they say I am going to Australia, the next it could be canceled, then its we are losing our perdium to $3.50 in Australia, then that goes to $50. All of this is based on other countries actions and what the Generals and the President want. Last night at the meeting for Australia turns out that is canceled and now I am going to Thailand, I hope heh. Looking at the hotel on the internet its going to be fun.

On another good note, most in the military do not know but when you get promoted in the Navy you get paid for the promotion later, depending on how well you did, could be one month, 6 months or 9 months after you get promoted. Well I just found out I start getting paid next month putting me in that first group and I am very happy.

So far I have gotten two days off this first month, back to work 12 hours a day...really hope Thailand goes.

First Time Off Base

Today was my first day off in 18 days, so four of us went out to the town to look around. We quickly found out how it is to not understand anybody or know where we were. We took a cab to eat sushi but that place was closed and we could not read what time they opened. So we started walking and found a little steak diner type place. I ate the Yakisoba which is pork, noodles and stir fried veggies. It was only 500 yen which is about $5, and it is rude to tip, so it was pretty cheap. From there we got the waitress to call us a cab to go near gate two where all of the concession malls and bars are. We walked around for about 3 hours looking at everything. The translation to English is very funny, I have a few pictures of the signs and messed up English wording. Right now my chief is about to cook us some steaks.

From Japan

From Japan

As far as work goes, I have been driving a bus. It is a standard and has air brakes, so I have to drive on the wrong side of the road and shift gears with my left hand. I should be done bus driving next week and back to my shop just in time to goto Australia, which I hope goes. Other then that everybody has been working hard because of North Korea.

From Japan

Peyton is doing great, and so is little gage. We had a scare recently with our little Westie, Weezy. He ate something he wasn't suppose to and had to goto the vet and was very close to dieing but he is doing great now. And here is a grass ninja

From Japan

Peyton

When Peyton first thought of the idea of being married to somebody in the military, she thought that people do it all the time and that she just wanted to be with me. Now that I am deployed I am pretty sure she is having second thoughts, and that is an understatement.

One quality I saw in her while we were dating was her strength to handle anything thrown at her. Our first 9 months together in the military we were not together and she held strong. She has been through a lot and still tries to put on a chipper face for me when we talk.

I miss her more then I could ever imagine. You really do not know what these guys are going through until you do it. Before deployment we thought this would not be so bad, but we could not even understand how hard it was really going to be.

Peyton has started a family with me, just the dogs and soon to be Gage, but I am thankful every day she found something in me that she liked. She has blessed me with the love of a family and that is what makes me do what I do every day.

Baby I love you, and miss you so much. Hold strong and I will be home soon.

Japan Trip

This was my first time leaving the states and my first

time to fly over 24 hours, which sucks. Thursday our 

flight got cancels because the plane was broke so we 

left Friday at 6:30pm. From there we flew to Chicago 

where the VA met us there and gave us free fruit, 

drinks, toothbrushes, gum, and cell phones. We stayed 

there about an hour then flew up to Anchorage. By 

then I felt like I was in some kinda of twilight where 

I just sat in a chair and was fed food every 3 hours.  

It is just a hazy experience. In Alaska it was maybe 

1am but it was pretty bright outside. From there we 

flew to Misawa Japan which is about 7 and 1/2 hour 

flight. We arrived at 3:38am Japan time. Customs 

and others came aboard checking for swine flu and 

other stuff.

From Japan

After that we sat in the terminal for about 4 hours until 

they finally told us the plane was broke and check back 

later. After that we just hit the base in search of food 

and Wi-Fi. Later our command got us rooms to spend 

the night, and a steak dinner. So everybody just hit the 

bowling alley, and I am not any good anymore ... Now 

we are going to go back to the airport at 10am, 01JUN09, 

to find out if we can leave yet and make it to Kadena. I 

kind of want to stay here, the more I am here the less I 

have to work there. Everybody is having fun but some 

people don't have a change of cloths, luckily I brought a 

change just in case this happened. And half of the 

websites I goto are in Japanese...

Exhausted ...

 Well we got to Texas early Saturday morning last weekend and had a good day visiting and eating BBQ with all of my in laws and then headed out here to Lakeport to make our rounds with my family and unpack the car... The weekend went by entirely to fast and we had to head to the airport Monday around 11 a.m... That was the longest hour of my life. I cried the ENTIRE way there, the whole time we were there, and the whole way back home....and everyday since! It's worn me out basically. I miss Ted like CRAZY and just want the 6 months to fly by. He is really the sweetest, most amazing man I know and I still wonder what I did to deserve such a wonderful man in my life. Gage is one lucky little boy to have such a great daddy!! I've been staying pretty busy which helps but I feel so exhausted. Today my dad and I went to Tyler and bought a new bed for his bedroom which he so kindly gave up to me for the 6 months since it's so much bigger then my old room! It ended up being an all day ordeal and my feet are currently throbbing and swollen to the max! Tomorrow my dad and I are going to the zoo with my sis-n-law and my nephews, and Pop and his three kids...so I'm curious as to how big my feet get tomorrow. HA! After the zoo we are heading out to Gilmer to see my grandparents that I haven't seen since our last visit to Texas!... My dad is pretty good at keeping me busy, and when we aren't on the go theres PLENTY to be done around this house! 

I'm 24 weeks pregnant today, and according to my website I use, I am now in the 6th month! yay!! I don't really know though the whole week/month thing confuses me. I have a doctors appointment on the 17th of this month with my Texas doctor and I'm hoping for a sonogram since she hasn't seen him yet :)  He's still kicking like crazy...and i'm okay with that! But I suppose I should go to sleep now since we have a busy day tomorrow and i'm the only one still awake in the house! Including our little pups who are passed out!!! They aren't used to being around so many different people so often and having so much land to run around on!

Ted and I will be sharing this blog so that he can keep you all updated in his own words and pictures :) he should be posting soon! I'm sure you will be able to tell who is who! He is currently in Misawa, Japan waiting on their plane to get fixed so they can head out to Kadena..hopefully they won't be there long but I will let him inform everyone, I was just really glad to talk to him for a little bit!!! 

It's almost D-DAY...

I should be packing and getting laundry done at the moment, but procrastinating is more fun! As much as I'm ready to see everyone in Texas, I just don't want the time to come to say bye to Ted. We are heading out tomorrow sometime but we have no idea what time...I guess whenever the lovely Navy says so (which will probably be late). But umm speaking of the Navy and Ted..He got PROMOTED!! He made second class, which means he is now E5!! I am SOOO very proud of him. He was like a kid in a candy store this morning when he came in the bedroom to wake me up..it was cute, all I could do was giggle at him!... It's a pretty big deal considering that 800 people in the navy took the test and only 79 got it. AND he got a 98% which means he did better then 98% of the people!!!  He worked hard studying and definitely deserved it!! We should find out his scores for his officer test this next week so we are hoping for HIGH scores again!... CONGRATS to the Roberts & Duncans as well :) Jordan tell your hubby we said congrats...and Megan I have NO idea if you even know this exists but if so tell Chris the same! :)  Yay for having smart hubbys!!

On another note..I had a doctors appointment this morning and Gage's heartbeat is GRRRREAT! I love hearing it. While the doctor was listening she just giggled because he is BUSY BODY!!! I may just have my hands full with this wiggle worm :) but that's just fine with me!! I am SO thankful that I have had such a smooth pregnancy. I just really hate when my feet swell to the size of Texas...and the fact that I feel so huge haha...but I think I am huge so I guess I don't just feel that way. 

LESSON LEARNED : before anymore babies it is MANDATORY to be in great shape PRIOR to getting pregnant!!

I really thought I had alot to post about but now that I've gotten on here to do it my mind has gone AWOL! Lately I feel like if my head wasn't attached I might just loose it. I've got one too many things going on in there I guess...so I guess that's all for now :) 

See all of ya'll Texans SOON!... Everyone have a wonderful SAFE Memorial weekend. Being a military wife has given me a whole new perspective to those that serve/served our wonderful country and God Bless them ALL!!!!!!! 

We've MOVED!!

So we FINALLY got moved into our new apartment, which happens to feel like a house because it's so much bigger than our previous apartment. We LOOOOVE it! And have I mentioned that they are BRAND new and never been lived in! We of course enjoyed our first little home here but lets face it that area of Orange Park isn't the safest! Our new place is gated, we have our own alarm system AND our next door neighbor is a cop and he always has his car out front so we feel ALOT better about leaving next month. Thanks to Sweeden the move went great! We couldn't have done it without him! I did all the packing since Ted has been working nights and is gone the major part of the day and I felt bad that I couldn't do much lifting being pregnant and all. Most of you know our couches are crazy heavy and when we got here we bought a huge entertainment center that weighs like twice as much so that was intresting to watch them move! Once I get all these boxes unpacked I will have to post pictures... Gage also has his own room now and seeing his furniture all set up makes me just grin from ear to ear everytime I glance in his bedroom. His bedding should be here sometime this week I hope! 

We are still crazy busy and will be until we both leave. Hopefully Ted will go back to working days once everyone is done taking leave. I get upset at night when I'm home alone sometimes because it just makes me think of him being gone. Damn these hormones! We were seperated our first 6 months of marriage so obviously we know what it will be like, but I just get upset when I think about our sweet baby boy... Which we will get to see on May 1st! I have a sonogram that day and it is supposed to be the one they tell us the sex but little do they know we went off base to find out! 

I also have to say a big CONGRATS to my brother-in-law Matt (Ted's brother) and his wife Ashley! They made the big drive from Seattle to Texas to try and find a house to buy! Matt will be getting out of the Navy next year and will be going on deployment later this year so Ashley and Kaidence (our niece) are going to be living in Texas when I get home! Matt is on the Submarines, unfortunatly and that isn't something many people at all want to be on in the Navy so they are definitely looking forward to the big day of being done!

Tomorrow is my birthday, turning the big 23! Looking forward to getting my birthday card in the mail from my daddy :) haha... Have I ever mentioned how much I love my dad? Because I do! He always said he would never send a text message because it is stupid and thats not what phones are for, but the day he learned how he hasn't stopped since! He sends them to me all day every day, and they usually crack me up! He's a funny, funny man!

Anyways thats all for now, I've got boxes to unpack! 

Oh Baby Baby!!

So as you all know we are having a baby BOY :) .. Ted got his little man! We couldn't be happier, everything looked great at the sonogram. His name is William Gage Sparks, which is after Ted and his grandpa but he will go by Gage. I am so glad that we don't have to call him an "it" anymore! But we are exstatic and can't wait to meet our baby boy! We can't wait to have him play all the sports with the rest of the youngins on base!

So Ted is leaving for Japan on May 29th for his 6 months. So the weekend prior to that we will be packing up and driving the long little drive to East Texas. I'm glad I will be getting to see everyone but not ready for him to leave one little bit. Being pregnant and having crazy hormones doesn't help any...I am going to be an emotional wreck for awhile. But i'm a military wife so I gotta suck it up right? I will drive Ted to the airport in Shreveport that Sunday and then the countdown begins...We aren't really expecting him to be able to be home for the arrival of Gage because Japan is really far and we just don't think it's going to happen. So Gage won't get to meet his daddy until December which breaks my heart...but we can do it!

We have been really busy lately...we are moving next week, preparing for a baby, preparing for both of us to be gone for 6 months, studying for tests....it's pretty crazy! Ted took his test for E5 and we should find out in May how he did, but we aren't worried about it because I just KNOW he did great! He's a hard worker and had alot of extra points towards his test grade due to the fact that he does so well. He is now studying for the test to become OFFICER :) which i'm sure he will do great on! He is taking it in a couple of weeks and putting in his OCS (Officer Canidate School) package in really soon... We are very thankful to have stability right now when so many people are loosing jobs, homes and their sanity. And can you really beat retiring in 20 years and making great money doing a job that you LOVE? Nope I don't think you can. I of course miss Texas like crazy and all the wonderful people we have there but this is his dream and I back him up 100%. So since we are doing it might as well make the best of it! We hope to be able to move to different places throughout the years and see things alot of people don't have the opportunity to. 

Well guess that's good for now...Keep It Classy blogger world! (anchorman for those of you who think i'm retarted, haha)

......  Oh and a BIG congrats to Dustin and Molly on the baby!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed they get their baby girl that they deserve!!

...... And a BIG Happy one day late 21ST birthday to my wonderful cousin Austin...Hope ya'll have an AMAZING time in Vegas!!

A much needed update...

Soo enough people told me I needed to update that I finally listened....As you all already know Ted and I are expecting our first BABY! We couldn't be happier about it. My due date is September 21st-22nd...they have told us both of those, but of course babies never come on that actual day. I will be moving back to Texas sometime in June when Ted deploys. He still doesn't know where he will be going, but atleast we know that he is going. I will be having the baby in Texas. It's really bittersweet actually. We are glad that I will get to be with our family and get to spend some much needed time with everyone, but the fact that Ted may not to get home for the birth is no fun. But I guess when you sign up for the military those types of things come along with it. It will be really hard not having him there for 6 months, but like always..I'll survive, But I sure do LOVE that man!...And as you have all been asking we do have several names picked out but you will have to wait till we find out what we are having to hear them :)..Which we may find out March 24th, so keep your fingers crossed!! Ted wants a boy, I am fine with either...Girls are more fun to shop for but I grew up always wanting a boy first. So we will be happy with either! ( my dad is dying for a girl) But I just have this feeling he isn't gonna get what he wants, haha. 

  On another note our lease goes up in April, which we are SO happy about. I'm just not a fan of these apartments that we are living in. Soo we shopped around forever and signed a lease for a new place across town. They are SO nice, and NEW so we will be the first to live in them!..It's a two bedroom two bath, just enough room for us and a baby...and of course our crazy little dogs!  The kitchen is AWESOME! It was the selling point for me...apartments just don't ever have big kitchens, but this one actually has enough cabinet space! And granite counters and stainless steele appliances. We will be keeping the apartment while we are both gone for the 6 months. Theres lots of people moving down here from the base in Maine and we really wanted this place. And didn't want to deal with trying to find a place after having the baby, but we can't WAIT to move!

The weather was feeling so great here until this cold front came in this week, so we are getting pumped about beach weather and taking the dogs out there. Weezy has only been once and that was when it was semi-cold but he LOVED it. It's so fun seeing them run around and having so much fun...and now we can't wait to have a little baby join us :) 

I think this will have to do for now, I guess the dogs knew I was talking about them and now they need to go out...haha jk, I will try and do better with the blogging! 

Happy New Years and 1st Anniversary

The 31st started out with our first anniversary.  I got Peyton a nice card and some flowers.  Later that night we went out to Ichero Japanese steak type restaurant.

For new years we went downtown Jacksonville to the Landing and a club called the Twisted Martini.  There were way more people then we have expected and it was a crazy night.  Live music, football games on the big screen, and a great fireworks show at midnight.

From 08-09 New Years - Landing, Jacksonville, FL