hello skinny jeans!

ok, so this post was originally going to be all about Caroline's "pull-n-scoot," but I can't figure out how to get the video on this computer, grrr. Like I said before, I'm not as computer savvy as I used to be. I'll mess with it more and see what I can come up with.
In other news, thanks to Caroline, I am in my skinniest of the skinny jeans! :) For those of you who have seen the SATC episode, you know what I'm talking about. Those jeans you keep in hopes that one day you'll be able to wear them again. Well, instead of that ONE pair, I have 3. And the skinniest of the 3, which I wore in college, FIT! Thank you Caroline! (I'm still nursing her, so I can't take much of the credit.) I always said that I was going to nurse for 6 months or so. But she's almost 7 months old...I just don't really want to switch her to formula and pumping is such a PAIN. So, I guess we'll do this for 5 more months or so. Definitely not nursing past a year old.
Brad has a definite date for when he's leaving, thank goodness. All I can say is that I'm really excited he'll be here for Caroline's first Christmas. Now we just have to figure out what we're gonna do about a tree. I really want to get one this year, but don't want to have to put a fence of some sort around it. And by then, Caroline will really be getting around and I'm not wanting to spend allll day keeping her out of it. But I guess if that's the most of my worries, I've got it pretty good. :)
Be on the lookout for a video of the "pull-n-scoot." I'll eventually get it figured out. God bless! I'll leave you with a few pictures!

how the heck does this thing work!?

enjoying outside time with mommy and daddy!

check out those two teeth! :)

what a trip!

WOW! We had such a great time on leave!
Before we even get started on when we leave, I'll fill you in on what happened BEFORE we left. On Monday evening, Dixie and Duke got into a spat over a bone. For those of you who know my Dixie, you know she thinks she's a lot bigger than she really is. It was kinda scary, Dixie ended up with 2 holes in her. It was very surprising, Dixie and Duke have always gotten along really well. Brad was flying that night and I didn't know what to do. I called a good friend and she was here quick as could be to help out. We ended up taking Dixie to the emergency vet that night, where they tried to charge me $1000 to fix her. I said no thanks, give me the antibiotics and pain meds and I'll take her to my vet in the morning. We took her in the next morning and she ended up with 6 stitches and 2 drains in her. Geez, she was absolutely pitiful. For a while, she was very scared of being around Duke, but now they are back to normal. We have a dog trainer coming to the house to asses the dogs this weekend. We want to make sure something like this doesn't happen EVER again, especially since Caroline is so close to crawling.
We were able to get down to Brad's parents house on Friday evening and spend the weekend with the family, as well as Brad's grandma and uncle, who were in town visiting from Missouri. We hadn't seen Brad's uncle in over 3 years, so it was great to see him. The boys spent the weekend fishing and getting their rifles sighted in for hunting the next weekend, while us gals hung out around the house and down by the lake. On Monday, it was time for Brad and I to head out for our trip....a little bitter-sweet.

Our first day there, we went on a horseback ride through the mountains, which was pretty cool. Brad had a really lazy horse, so we ending up making the group wait on us several times, haha.

We weren't able to check into our cabin until late afternoon, so we went to the grocery store to get some stuff to have around the cabin, most of which we ending up bringing back, we didn't spend near as much time at the cabin as we thought we would.
When we got to the cabin, we were a little surprised at how "up in the MOUNTAINS" this cabin was. I guess that's what you get when you request a "mountain view." Our cabin was at the end of a dead end and on a MAJOR hill. Brad almost got us in trouble when we first got there by almost driving the truck off the side of the mountain....it was pretty scary. It was the first time we wished we had a 4 wheel drive. After that ordeal, we got cleaned up and headed in town for dinner. We went to the Dixie Stampede, which is a lot like a Medieval Times. It was pretty neat and we headed back to the cabin, which was TOTALLY different at night time. Even more scary heading up that last part of the hill, especially with wet roads.

the hill...the picture doesn't do it justice.

our cabin :)

the view from the cabin

another view from cabin

Of course, we called to check on Caroline multiple times a day. She did well, but Tuesday she had a rough day. We finally figured out when we got back that she cut another tooth that day. But all in all, she did well. (Thanks again Grandma and Grandma Dee!!)
The next day, we did the "touristy" thing. We went to the aquarium (which Caroline would have LOVED!), a moonshine distillery, a "craftsman show" at the convention center, and several shops throughout Gatlinberg. We cooked dinner at the cabin, where we also enjoyed the pool table, dart board and hot tub.
The next morning we woke up to trash being ALL over the back porch, thanks to the area raccoons. (How the heck did they even get up there?!?) We went to Cade's Cove that day. All I can say is AMAZING. Got to see a black bear up in a tree, several deer and a TON of wild turkeys. We did a 5 mile hike to see a waterfall, which was beautiful.

We really enjoyed Cade's Cove, and it made us wish we would have camped instead of renting a cabin. Maybe next time. We went to the Old Mill for dinner that night. We couldn't believe how much food we got with our order. The food was great, as well as the atmosphere.
The next day, we headed out to Bass Pro Shops before heading home. (If you know my husband at all, you know this is a MUST :) ) He got some stuff for hunting that weekend and then we headed back to see our baby girl. I was so glad to see her, she changed so much in the 4 days we were away. She is so close to crawling. Just cause she's such a cutie, I can't help but add a recent picture of her. <3

ok, maybe two pictures :)

When we got back to the lake, the boys spent the weekend hunting, while we went looking for a Ball dress. Yay! We found one and it isn't black! (Brad's request, haha)

None of the boys got a deer, but hopefully found some good spots for when they get to go again. Now we're back and trying to get back in the swing of things. I took Dixie to get her stitches out yesterday and she's doing just fine. Lots of unpacking, reorganizing, laundry and cleaning in my near future. As always, I hope all of you are doing well. God bless you.

kinda scary...

So, as many of you know, there have been 2 Cobra helicopter crashes lately, which have killed 3 of our Marines, all of which Brad had some sort of contact with over the past year. One of them was an instructor at the last squadron we were at, with whom Brad flew with multiple times.(who also had a baby about the same time Caroline was born.) The others were at the last squadron at some time during our time there, but they were both students there with Brad, so he never flew with them. One crash was at Camp Pendleton and the other was in Afghanistan, at the FOB Brad is scheduled to go to.
Any way you look at it, it's scary. This is what my husband does. There is a wife without her husband, a child without their father, a mother without her son, etc. I try not to think about this too often, as it just makes me too sad. I do pray for the families of these Marines daily. I pray for God to give Brad guidance as he flies. I pray that this coming deployment will go by quickly.
Brad's squardon is sending two Marines on WEDNESDAY of this week to Afghanistan, which they found out about on FRIDAY. Thankful that Brad was not one of the ones chosen to go early.

That's not to say that I'm sitting around sulking. This is what we signed up for. (And I do mean "we," as Brad and I made this decision together.) Sulking won't make it any better, but with these latest incidents, it does make me think about it more often.
Sorry for the sad post...Brad is flying for the first time in 2 weeks tonight, so I couldn't help but think about it.

On a lighter note, my angel is getting more and more fun each day. She has such a little personality and I absolutely ADORE her! :) She is eating very well. I have been making all her food and I have yet to find anything she isn't too crazy about. She is still nursing, although not near as much. Big girl food is so much more fun, mom! Geez!
She will be 6 months old tomorrow...time has gone by so quickly. Although, it seems like it was FOREVER ago that we were at the hospital with her. I guess that's just because we have been so busy since she was born. She isn't crawling yet, but maneuvers around pretty well on her belly and forearms. She LOVES our dogs, and we are pretty sure that she has started saying her first word...BUBBA! (a nickname for Duke.) He is her favorite, although she LOOOOVES her daddy! :)
Brad is taking 10 days of leave starting on Friday, which cannot come soon enough. We are going down to Brad's parents, which is about a 5 hour drive. Brad's grandma and uncle will be there visiting as well, which we are excited about. We will stay there through the weekend and then the two of us are going to Gatlinburg on Monday. Caroline is going to be left with Grandma until Thursday. I hope she does ok. She can sure be a momma's girl. Brad and I rented a cabin up in the Smoky Mountains. I am so excited for quality time with my husband! This will be the first time we've ever left Caroline for more than a few hours. I'll let you know how it goes.
 A friend invited me to take Caroline to a MOPS meeting tomorrow, which I am looking forward to. Hopefully I'll be able to meet more mommies so that I'll be able to keep busy while Brad is gone. :)

Lastly, please take a moment to pray for the Marines killed recently.
God Bless you all!

Not as computer savvy as I used to be...

Oh geez .This whole "blog" thing is a lot harder to make than I figured. Six or Seven years ago, I'd be all over this. I'd have it just the way I want it with only a few minor hiccups along the way. Not so much anymore. Please be patient, I'm sure I'll mess with it enough to get it where I actually like the way it looks, although it may take a while.
So, I thought I'd start a blog for several reasons...
1. To keep family and friends updated on our day to day life, especially since we have a precious little one, who I am sure 95% of the posts will be about. One thing about the military, you are definitely not as close to loved ones as you'd like to be...
2. For my husband to read when he's deployed. That way, if there are things I'm forgetting in e-mails, letters, etc., he'll know what's going on.
3. For my sanity, especially when he is gone. I'm going to go ahead and apologize now. I'm sure I'll have to vent every now and then, especially since I will be lacking in "adult conversation" time.

Speaking of delpoyment, I wish they'd let us know when to expect to see them leave. I know things change, but I'd like to know if I have 6 weeks before he leaves, or 12. To me, that makes a huge difference. Don't really know what we'd do differently, but I think it would help me mentally prepare.

Anyway, look to see more blogging from me, especially once Brad leaves. God bless you all!