so much to catch up on...

It has been VERY VERY busy around here lately. There is a lot to update you on and it's not all good news. It's not all bad news, either. Just a lot of news in general.

First, Big Grandpa passed away this week. Thankfully he & Fran made it to their 8th anniversary and she spent his last night with him before he passed. He was in a lot of pain and had quit eating and talking. It's good to know he is finally out of pain. The funeral will be next week and we will not be able to attend. It is very very close to David's departure and it's impossible to be everywhere. I will just have to experience it through pictures. I am just so thankful that I said my "good byes" to him in April when he met Wyatt.

Secondly, things are gearing up for David's departure. We are down to single-digit of days before he has to do some globe trotting for his 3rd combat tour. Our to-do list seems endless, the nights are short, the sleep isn't good, and next thing you know he'll be gone. I had purchased a ticket for my friend, Elizabeth, to come help me drive. This is the first time the Army has changed a departure to give me MORE time. Now I have to figure out her ticket and hopefully it will work out without costing too much money. I haven't had the brain space to think about it.

Our little apartment has had no internet for over a week now. It's driving me a bit crazy since I'm up to my ears in rosters, deployment plans, and more. This weekend we are staying at Adriana & Eric's house to stay with their dogs. It's a nice break from the apartment and it's nice to be able to help them out while they take a weekend away together.

Wyatt is doing amazing! I put him in our johnny jumper this week and he had a great time! He's slowly figuring it out and he likes being upright and seeing all around. The first few times he made himself bounce, he scared himself. After that, he realized how much fun it was! He can stay in it for about 15 minutes before he gets tired. He's starting to giggle and he's laughed once. David wasn't around for when he was laughing, but I'm hoping he'll do it again.










We were in Dallas last week (was that just a week ago??) for some flight training for David. We stopped by to see Aunt June. She's in the hospital for now, but it was a good visit. She was absolutely enchanted with Wyatt and he did great. Aunt June is Wyatt's Great-Great-Aunt. So we told the nurses that she was his "Greatest Aunt June."






Wyatt is getting stronger every day. He's getting better about car rides and starting to state his own opinions. He does not work himself into being angry. He goes from zero-to-angry in about 1.2 seconds. This kid does not mess around. Fortunately, if I solve it quick enough (for example, if it takes me too long to get him latched on to nurse, he's mad... but once he's getting fed...), then he's quickly happy again. HOWEVER, if he has to stay mad for a while, he holds a grudge. The other night we were at a meeting and we left a bit late. He decided shortly after he was buckled in that he was hungry. We had to get home, so I figured we'd make it. He was MAD MAD MAD!! He sobbed like I've never heard before and screamed and got so angry! Even after I had him latched on, he was still mad. He'd take a few bites, break off, look at me and then scream in anger. If he could have figured out how to eat without actually having to touch me, he would have been happy. It took him 30 minutes before he wasn't mad at me anymore. I am thinking that we have a lot of lessons in forgiveness in our future.

I can't believe my time in TX is almost over. On one hand, it seems like we've been here forever. On the other, it seems like we just got here. It's been a big 3 months and I'm exhausted. I'm looking forward to getting to AZ, riding my horse, getting this deployment going so we can get it behind us. I have a lot of goals for this year and I'm ready to get to AZ so I can tackle them. I haven't been able to visit with everyone I wanted. I haven't been able to do some of the touristy things I wanted (the broken ankle didn't really help with that...). I'm ready to get out of here, but I'm sad that what I wanted to happen didn't happen.

There is so much going on here. I have no way to keep you all up. Plus, it's just not that interesting. Just keep us in your prayers as we prepare for David to leave. It will be hard on both of us this time.