Saturday, July 30, 2011

Eight is Great for J

Oh, where do I begin. Well, in the Latter-Day Saint faith, 8 is a big year. This is the year you get baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. All of this happened in the midst of our busy summer. J turned 8, then his daddy came home. We baptized him today, July 3o, and we leave at 5am tomorrow for Stuttgart, Germany! We were so happy to have many friends and family come and support Jack and his decision to be baptized. Some of the people that came were J's great-grand parents, grand parents, aunts and uncles, great-aunts and uncles, cousins, his best-friend {since he was two}, Devon, G's best friend {since she was two}, Molly, and many more. We felt so honored to have all of those people there. J said that 8 was the best birthday ever and that he was the luckiest boy in the whole world because his birthday and celebrations lasted for one week.
We also had a family swim party at J's Uncle Dave's and Aunt Auburn's house. I love our picture with the cousins {there are many not pictured though!} We have had such fun this summer reuniting with our cousins. We will miss them all terribly! J & G clapped out the candles. We also popped some party poppers.
For J's real birthday, he got to go to the Lego store and build with a "master builder". We signed him up for a class. After his Lego build, we had many family members meet us at J's favorite "restaurant" Chick-fil-A. He was happy to eat as much chicken as he wanted.
Jack is such a good boy. We are so happy to have him in our family. J is always thinking of others and is very sensitive to others' feelings and needs. A classic story of J is when he came home from school one day with trash overflowing from his pockets. When I asked why all that trash was in his shorts, he said that he hated seeing trash on the playground and by the bus stop, so he put it in his pockets to throw away when he came home. He wanted to make Heavenly Father's Earth beautiful. J is especially protective of little Sammy. He is quick to make sure he is safe on the play ground and is happy to get him out of bed in the morning and help his little brother with his morning routine. J likes to laugh. J also likes to take care of the underdogs. He has a melting pot of friends and comes home from school telling me thinks like, so-and-so is my friend now - he was playing alone all the time, so I invited him to play with me. J also loves people. He makes friends wherever he goes. We will be leaving a play place and he says goodbye to the other children by name {who were complete strangers} and then tells me he made a new friend. J is such a good son. He is constantly asking how I am doing and tells me he loves me. The other day after I got ready he exclaimed, "Wow Mom, you look pretty!" He is complimentary just like his daddy and I love that. J gives the best hugs. Just today at his baptism, he came up and hugged me 5 different times and said, "I'm just so happy mom, thanks for making this day special." We love you, J.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Officer Graduation

Well, Matt and I are reunited again! It was a long six weeks being apart. Although it was difficult to be away from my sweetheart, it really made me fall in love with him more and learn to appreciate all he does for me and our family. I was so glad to have family here, especially the help of my mom. My mom and dad were great to watch my kidlets so I could go to San Antonio for Matt's Officer Graduation and some much needed alone time with my man. We had a great, relaxing trip. It was our "calm before the storm". We are getting ready to fly to Germany on Sunday, July 31. We've heard it can take several weeks, even months to find a house...so I have to prepare myself to live in a hotel for a little while. German adventure - here we come!
Matt made several friends while at BOLC {Basic Officer Leadership Course}. CPT Ryan Allen became his good friend. We had to get a "battle buddy" picture! {They really had to designate a "battle buddy"}
Matt belonged to the 8th Platoon. {There were 8 platoons total} He's in there somewhere. The soldiers had to stand there for the whole graduation in the hot, humid weather. I witnessed 6 different people pass out. It was a bit unnerving. Side note - when standing for a long time {especially in the heat} don't lock your knees or you will pass out.
Matt also went to church while he was at camp. He found strength in fellow officers of faith. This is less than half of his church buddies. There was a senior missionary couple {the Anderson's} who ran the LDS branch.
Since we were in San Antonio, we had to go see the Alamo.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Offier Basic Training

Matt sent me some pictures from Officer Basic Training in San Antonio, TX at Ft. Sam Houston. The days are long and the work tiring, but his spirits are up and he has made some good friends to help him through these 6 weeks. Below is a picture of Matt and this "battle buddy", Ryan riding in a transport vehicle. Below that are pictures of the tents they stay in. Matt says that 48 soldiers stay in one tent. We can't wait to see him in 2 weeks!!!