a work in progress

a work in progress

Monday, August 30, 2010

thank you

this has been a long awaited page, one that is over due, and one that deserves a page of its own.  right now while i am typing on my computer, under my blankets and watching tv - there are many soldiers fighting for their lives, fighting to stay alive, fighting to take another step.  FOR ME.  for us.  of the many soldiers out there right now, there is one that has been very busy making sure i have a safe place to put my head.  Chief Warrant Officer Eric Gray -  my husband - is stationed in afghanistan working his ass off to protect us.  Chief Gray's pictures are older pictures, as in his current position working in military intelligence no cameras are allowed - for obvious reasons.  this soldier is dedicated and is proud to represent the united states of america, even prouder to protect his family.  thank you.


















Sunday, August 29, 2010

the dirt

time for t-ball fun.  this year they have opened it up to 4 year olds.  that means that kambel and kadence are both playing.  kadence had the chance to move up to pee-wee or to remain in t-ball.  i chose to keep her in t-ball, so i would be able to watch both girls play/practice.  plus the practice for kadence is great!  now kambel.  my free spirit.  goodness.  she loves the dirt.  she fills her glove with dirt and then shakes it out, then sits down and covers her legs in the dirt, then she yells for me that she is thirsty, then she says she is hot...  the very first practice she had a lot of work to do with her swing and making contact with the ball.  the coaches are awesome and worked and worked with her.  she did not hit a ball that was pitched but was able to hit one off the t.  she came back in line and cried for me.  it was so sad.  i went and picked her up and asked why she was crying and she squeezed out "i didn't win!!!"  so heart breaking.  i had to reassure her that practice is winning, that she was learning and it was going to be okay!  at least there is the dirt.



















































happy days!

here are the kid's at their best.  finding things to do when the heat is hot, or i am!  the girls found a few hair things in my drawer.  they are so beautiful. kadence loves to pose for the camera, so i got one in that wasn't 'staged'. i thank god often for blessing me with wonderful children.  ty got a new scooter from aunt kim, he is in heaven.  hard to believe he is only 2 and booking around on these things.  happy days!






hang loose

my sweet sweet girl friend, theresa, who now lives in hawaii (shucks), sent the girls each a hula outfit.  they are so cute.  i miss theresa dearly.  thanks lady for thinking of my kiddos! 









yay!

first day of school.  kadence started first grade and the younger two started preschool.  YAY!





nice work

we have had a steady stream of visitors lately.  it has been wonderful, it has made the time go quickly - plus i keep the laundry caught up!  here are a few pictures of when nana (eric's mom) came and made little bags with the kids.  she is an amazing seamstress, although she would never admit it.  the kids were able to stitch all the outside of their bags.  you can see kambel's on her bag.  nice work!




before, during and finished

seriously? august 11th was my last post?  seems like a lifetime has come and gone since then.  so let's start! 

i finished my seed lab piece i found in amish country.  i love it!

BefORe























DuRinG


























FiNisheD

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

the training is

haven't written in the blog lately, just posted lots of pictures.  maybe that is the easy way out, or maybe just the quickest way to get everyone updated, but i do miss writing.  one thing about being far from family and having eric deployed is that there are so many little things that happen in a day that you don't remember to talk about them or quite frankly, you forget until it is too late.

things around here have been moving incredibly slowly.  since eric left in may, it seems that time has slown almost to a complete stop.  we have tried to stay busy with swimming, visits to the gym, a few travels and just good old fun at home, but nothing seems to be speeding up time!  i do have a feeling, though, that things are about to turn around.  tomorrow evening we have t-ball sign ups for both girls.  that will keep us busy at least 2 nights a week and will offer some much needed change in routine!

kadence started first grade.  first grade.  crazy i know.  i still remember bringing her home from the hospital and the first time in my life feeling pure, raw joy.  she is ready to rule the world.  the other day she came out of her room, completly upset that ty would not stop yelling while she was trying to focus on something.  i just made a comment like "welcome to my world"... she just stood there looking at me.  kambel came out to see what was going on.  kadence says to kambel "guess what kambel?  mom welcomed me to her world.  did she invite you?"  i can't wait til they have their own kids.

kambel is doing really well.  she is starting to take off in her 'academics'.  she never really showed interest until this past school year.  she has mastered writing her name, shapes and starting to draw really neat pictures.  she loves fairy tales and has recently taken up singing.  she thinks she is a pro.  funny.  one morning when we arrived at the gym, we were all still in the car getting ready to get out and kambel says "wow mom, can i feel your muscle?"  feeling quite proud i flexed my bicep as hard as i could so i could impress my 4 year old (sick i know).  well we must have been looking at different 'muscles'.  she reaches from the back seat and starts pushing on a mound of skin that is hanging over the back of my sports bra and says "wow mommy that is really big!"  thanks kambel.  little monkey!

ty is crazy.  all boy.  all b.o.y.  he wants to live outside.  with a four wheeler.  and a motorcycle.  don't forget the tools.  he reminds me a lot of kadence when she was little, wants to be in charge, knows when something is wrong, very - very aware....he is a cool kid though.  pretty easy going (as long as we are outside ;)).  he misses his daddy.  that makes me sad.  he talks about him all the time.  he will be starting school here next week too, so it will be really good for him.  he hasn't had any 'funnies' but he does crack me up when he annoys the girls - on purpose.  haha!

i have been busy, of course with the kids.  but personally i am missing eric so much this deployment.  i am not sure if it is the fact that he will be home for about 2 years (yes i said years!) after this or if it is the fact that i am sick of this.  probably both, huh?  i have been pretty busy with my photography as well.  i told eric that for a year i wanted to test the waters and see what happens.  hoping for 2 clients a month - i have passed that.  i am very blessed and thankful for the opportunity to express my self through photography.  i just continue to practice and hope that i capture my clients in a way they love.  thought i was supposed have clients that were seeking psychological help, not family photos!  funny where life leads ya.  who knows what will happen in the next 10 years.  eric has 15 years in the army and will start thinking about retirement soon, so maybe these two avenues that have been laid for me will bring something in the future.  only god knows.  god does know that eric and i will start training to run a marathon in december when he comes home for R&R.  now that is crazy.  didn't think i was gonna run another one, but we are.  i think that is cool.  we both start training next week.  him in afghanistan, me in clarksville, then we will come together on dec 4th and run the st. jude memphis marathon in memphis.  wow!!  not sure eric knows what he is getting into.  the marathon isn't hard... the training is!!

i have a few more photos to post - i will do it soon!  stayed tuned!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

all caught up


Okay ladies and gents, here are the last pictures of our road trip to IL.  i think this officially catches me up.  first  you will see what we did on our way to IL.  stuck in traffic for 2 hours - moving just 14 miles in that time.  f.u.n.  i included what we looked at for 2 hours and other goodies. note the speed on the GPS.

you will find our visit to rockome gardens with aunt kim, including a horse and buggy ride.  each of the kids got a horse shoe made - in their shoe size and we finished with lunch.  yummy! 

you will also find pictures of my amish find - a 'seed lab' - apparently it was a piece of furniture that stored seed grains in the front part of the glass window drawers and the rest of the seed in the back and used the top slide out board for weighing and packaging the seed.  i have it nearly stripped of all the black and white paint (traditional colors for amish households).  i can't wait to see it finished.  i will update later with that!

finally you will see our short visit to metropolis!