Wordless Wednesday

Dear Plant,

If you promise to hang on for one more week, I promise to stop neglecting you as soon as we get to Texas.

Bare Walls & Boxes Galore!

Wow! It's been a while since I've given an update on what's going on. Sorry about that. My excuse? Well, the Army is a funny thing. Things change. All.The.Time! But, after much anticipation (mostly on my part) we (that's Eva & I) finally have a green light for heading on down to the Lone Star State!

For the past few weeks, I've been packing & packing & P-A-C-K-I-N-G!! All the while, hoping & praying that I wouldn't get a call from Issi saying that he would be deployed soon & that I shouldn't bother moving down to Texas. And all the while, having a VERY mobile (almost) 9 month old hanging onto my pant-leg! Thankfully, a few good friends have been more than eager to let me pawn her off on them in order to get some things done around here :)

Now for the great news: Issi will be coming back on the 1st of February so he can help with the move. YAY!!! I was able to get a CHEAP ticket online but the only catch is that he will be flying in to Omaha, Nebraska, which is about 2 1/2 hours away. Oh well. Better than paying almost THREE TIMES MORE for Des Moines International!

So We will pick up a U-Haul trailer when we get back to Des Moines & then we'll have to get it weighed, along with the Jeep. Then, we'll have to weigh everything again after everything is all loaded up. {Do you see why I'm so happy to have Issi to help?} The Army will reimburse us up to a certain weight or something like that.

Anyway, that's where we are now. I'm (planning on) taking lots of pictures on our trip down there. If you think about it, please say a prayer for us in hopes that Eva will tolerate the 18+ hours (not including stops) of driving that are ahead of us. {Maybe NOW you can really understand how happy I am that Issi is able to help!} Our Pastor's wife is going to keep an eye out for a portable DVD player on craigslist to help keep her occupied.

i heart faces: We are Family

This week at i {heart} faces, the theme is "We are Family!" This photo was taken last summer in Iowa during a hike in the woods. I love how Eva is holding on to her Papa's thumb :) In just a couple of weeks, we'll be hiking in the Franklin Mountains in El Paso, TX!

Wanna show off YOUR family? Go here for the rules, & here to view other entries.

Now Here's an Interesting Discovery....

I never knew desert life could offer so many different kinds of pets!

Well I knew about the rattlesnakes & had my suspicions about the scorpions but COME ON!

Random Dozen

1. Do you find it gross to share drinks with family? Friends?

Not with immediate family & VERY close friends.

2. What have you learned this year?

While Issi was gone for training, I learned that if I lost an arm, I'd still be able to do pretty much ANYTHING!

3. When do you dismantle the Christmas decorations?

New Year's Day

4. Something you wish to accomplish before the end of 2009 is:

Eat or give away all of the left-over Christmas ham!

5. How do you feel about winter (after Christmas)?

I'm ALWAYS ready for Spring after Christmas is over! This winter, I'll {almost} get my wish when we move to the desert!

6. Have you participated in after-Christmas sales?

I went to Target to get a "Baby's first Christmas" ornament for half-off, but they were out! I'll just get one off Ebay :)

7. Do you have plans for New Year's Eve?

We've talked about putting together an "Ugly Sweater" party, but don't know if it will happen.

8. Is there anything special awaiting you in January?

Moving to El Paso, TX!

9. If your life this year was a movie, what category or genre would it be?

After having our first baby & going Active Duty Army, definitely D-R-A-M-A!

10. How much time per day do you spend blogging?

If I'm not posting, maybe an hour or so. If I'm writing a post? Could be all day after being distracted at least 978 times!

11. Who runs your household?

Definitely me! I honestly don't think my husband could function properly if something happened to me :)

12.Share one hope/dream for 2010.

That I will get to know my way around our new home in Texas & that I'll make some good friends before my husband gets deployed.

Not Exactly the Homecoming I Had Hoped For

But I suppose it's better than no homecoming at all!

At 5:45 pm Friday night, I was sitting in front of Des Moines International Airport with butterflies in my belly! It was the strangest thing. I actually felt like I had when Issi & I first started dating (if you can call it that). Again, I PROMISE that one of these days I will tell the detailed tale of how I became Mrs. Israel Reyes, but not tonight. I'm tired & should be going to bed, but I haven't given an update on my soldier's return home so, here it is. The good & the bad.

One good, great, wonderful, blissful thing that occurred since Issi came home is that Eva slept through the night for the first time since he left on November 7th! **Que the Hallelujah chorus!** I'm not sure if it's the newly purchased humidifier or the fact that Papa is home. Maybe it's both. It doesn't matter. Mama got a full 6 hours sleep & felt like a brand new woman!

Now, the bad. Issi woke up this morning, ate a bowl of cereal, took a couple sips of freshly-brewed coffee & started shivering so bad his teeth were actually chattering. He spent most of the day in bed, buried in warm blankets, two sweatshirts, warm socks & a sock-hat just trying to get warm. When he finally started to get warm, we found that it was most likely due to the fact that he was running a fever. Eva doesn't care if Papa doesn't feel good. She hasn't seen him in six weeks & that's a lot of playtime to catch up with! Just like a good soldier, he toughed it out as best as he could. He even changed a diaper or two.

Bedtime (for the both of them) was 9:15. Meanwhile, the specially-made-just-for-Issi pecan pie is wasting away on the kitchen counter. I'm not gonna eat it. I tried to give it to Issi's brother, Andy, the human garbage disposal, only to be informed that he's "not really the pecan pie type." Figures.

Anyway, I hope that Issi gets rid of whatever this is that he's got because he'll be leaving in just two short weeks on January 3rd for Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. And I have concluded after much prayer & contemplation that Eva & I will join him after he gets things squared away out there. Originally, we had decided that Eva & I would stay here in Iowa because he would be deployed to Afghanistan anyway. The fact is: we have no idea when that might be & it would really be pointless to keep ourselves separated from each other for longer than necessary! Fort Bliss is bigger than the state of Rhode Island, so surely I can find a handful of good Christian friends while I'm there who will have a better understanding of what I'm going through because they'll be going through it right along with me. That's what I'm praying for anyway.

In the meantime, the anticipation of moving to the desert & leaving cold, rough Iowa winter behind invokes the afore-mentioned butterflies to flutter wildly at the thought of "starting over again." Scary & exciting at the same time :)

1. Gingerbread: For or against? Discuss.
I don't think I've ever actually eaten gingerbread. I like the looks of gingerbread men, but I don't think I would eat one. I don't really care for the taste of ginger after taking ginger tablets for morning-sickness while I was pregnant.

2. Is it important to you to always stay (live) close to family?
Um. I'm an Army wife. I don't have a choice right now. In a perfect world, we would live right in between southern Indiana (where my parents are) & northern Ohio (where his parents are). But that would only be so they could see their grandkid(s) grow up.

3. Which holiday pretend character do you wish really existed?
Rudolph!
4. Which holiday movie best represents how you feel about Christmas or life?

"A Christmas Story" is the movie I HAVE to see every year! It always makes me remember what Christmas was like when I was a child. Having that "young spirit" in turn, helps me to keep that "renewed" feeling of knowing that Christ is my Savior!
5. Is there a particular Christmas song that you're enjoying now? Any that you're tired of?
"I'll be Home for Christmas" -- just from my husband's perspective because (Lord willing) he'll be home for Christmas!!
6. What is your favorite way to remember those less fortunate at Christmastime?

Toys for Tots
7. Does it upset you to see "Xmas" instead of Christmas? How about "Happy Holidays" etc., instead of "Merry Christmas?"
Seeing "Xmas" upsets me with every fiber of my being & it gets worse every year. What kind of Christian would I be if it didn't bother me? Any time someone says "happy holidays" to me, I respond with "Merry Christmas, God bless you!"

8. How many Christmas programs are you attending this month?
Just one ~ I'm surprising my husband with tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra! shhhhhh!

9. Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Any chance of that dream becoming a reality?
HAHAHA!!! We just got 15 inches a week ago, so YEAH.

10. Tell me about a Christmas present you received as a child. Pics are always nice.
11. How many Christmas parties are you attending this month?

I'm sorry to say, but I'm really trying to avoid them this year. I don't need the empty calories! I'm really tired of of this baby fat that won't go away!
12. How do you keep yourself centered on the significance of Christmas?

Knowing the fact that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!