paper chains, surgery and friends - oh my!

the girls and i spent ty's nap time today making paper chains. each link represents one day with each chain having 33 links on them. the girls then will take one link off each day, making it all the way down the chain until daddy comes home! in the picture i linked too many together, so we had fun taking those off - we aren't waiting any longer for you to come home eric!!

many of you know that ty has really had a difficult time with his ears. initially it was just his left ear, then it was his right, then both - on and on and on. we finally went to see an ENT and an audiologist this past week. they both agreed that ty does have some hearing loss, although not permanent, he does need tubes in both ears to relieve the fluid that is trapped behind his ear drum. he will go into surgery (sniff sniff) monday morning at 630am. the actual surgery only takes about 5 minutes on each ear, but he still has to be sedated. all in all only about 35-45 minutes from beginning to end. i am sure he will feel so much better, but please still pray for his recovery and for the tubes to do the job they are supposed to. plus for his hearing to return to normal - that way there will be no excuses for him not to hear me in the future!

it seems here lately i have really just lost my mind. what else is new, right?? i know i don't need to apologize, but i will - i am just sorry that i can't seem to carry on a conversation on the phone to anyone!! including eric! it is nearly impossible for me to speak to my friends without a dramatic situation occurring (usually a toy MIA or someone using extreme force to get something back). please know that i would love to sit and chat with no kids bugging me, but it just isn't happening anytime soon. my deepest apologies to my girlfriend from graduate school, who just so happens to have the same name as my next door neighbor, who i accidentally called at 1030 at night georgia time to ask her if she could help me with something!! did i mention she is still in her first trimester of her first pregnancy and is probably exhausted and i bothered her that late at night!!! what a gooooooober! sorry chick! but seriously, i have good intentions with trying to chat with my friends and family, it just never happens. so until it does - happy reading!

not a minute too late

yesterday eric and i celebrated 11 years married. 11 years. wow. i posted a sloppy love letter to him, but quickly deleted it - thinking of all those who may read it may think it was too personal. but you know what, i love my husband. our family is what it is because of what we have been through, good and bad. eric has always been right there by my side since 1994. CRAZY! i still feel like that same 16 year old girl who was looking out the living room window waiting for him to come pick me up. time apart sucks, more than anyone can imagine who hasn't been in these shoes, but it makes us stronger. it makes us appreciate our time together (at least a few months at a time :) ). so - i love you eric jay gray and can't wait to see what the lord has in store for us for the next 11 years. 39 more days!!!

wild animals

the four kids, theresa and i all spent the day where the wild animals live. the kids were awesome! it was a great day and fun to watch the kids enjoying themselves. theresa and i deeply wish our husbands could be here to share this time with us. we miss you guys so much.

kambel looking on

wild monkeys

to be a kid

remember how fun going to a festival was when we were little kids. not a care in the world? the kids and i hooked up with our 'deployment buddies' - theresa and elias - and went to a local festival this past saturday. theresa's husband, eric, is a pilot in the us army and is currently keeping us safe through his efforts in afghanistan. theresa and i ran a 5k first, then the kids had a blast riding rides, petting the animals and just goofing around. oh to be a kid again!

strawberries

we ventured out to the local strawberry farm down the street here in clarksville on tuesday. we had a blast! ty was so funny - he kept picking up the strawberries that had fallen on the ground, he was so proud of himself. kadence was on a mission to find the biggest strawberry! kambel loooooooves strawberries, so she didn't care, as long as we left with some. what a fun way to pass some time!

only 48 more days. 48!

john 3:16

nice job sweetie!

sing-a-longs

hope this makes you smile...

sweet smells

look at this lily i got last week. wow! i have never had a lily inside, don't know much about it, but it is HUGE and the smell is amazing. the scent is so strong, if i am sitting at the table i have to move the flowers so i don't get a head ache! wow!! there are a total of three stems with two blooms on each stem. kambel has had a blast watching them open. me too.

are we there yet

this weekend my little brother, zach, graduated from ball state university - majoring in computer science with a minor in physics. geek. congratulations zach! we are so proud of you. of course we had to take the journey (about 5.5 hours to the hotel) to celebrate with him. we left clarksville right in the middle of tornado sirens sounding! we were chasing the storm right out of town - in fact, not 45 minutes into the drive we passed two 'storm chaser' trucks, equipment running and all!! but that was no sign for the drive ahead. the kids were perfect. i was so excited they did so well.

saturday we spent the day at the hotel with the heated (i didn't think it was heated) indoor pool, uncle b and cousin averie. we had a blast! blue lips and all, the kids loved the pool. after a bite to eat we ventured to muncie for the open house for uncle zach and to see aunt amy and cousin cami. kadence and kambel were in heaven playing with all cami's dora the explorer things. heaven. ty liked the dress up shoes too.

the graduate opening gifts

all the kids having a blast in cami's room - thanks sweetie!

all the shutters' grandbabies (one is still in the oven) together

after one more day of visiting with uncle b, aunt bug, averie and uncle zach, aunt amy and cami, we were back on the road. not before a little mother's day surprise. aunt amy and uncle zach schemed with the gray kids and surprised me with a bag full of smell goods from bath and body works. it was so sweet... and i smell soooooo good!

enjoy the pictures! i am working on getting a few funny videos up, but for some reason they wont upload like i want them too!