Cheddar Bay Biscuits

I thought I'd title today's blog with my favorite part of today! :) We went to dinner with Ramalee, Troy, and Alex, oh and Steven at Red Lobster tonight. I must say that I always forget how addicted I am to those Cheddar Bay Biscuits until I take the first bite. Then I'm reminded by the first, second, and third helping of them at dinner, and the four biscuits in my take-home box, that they completely own my taste buds. They are just so good! Jack made his 2nd trip out to eat in this outing (Bob Evans was his first of course). Dinner was obviously yummy and it was really good to be able to just sit down and talk with Ramalee and Troy. Thanks for dinner guys!

Now for the less delicious parts of the day. Jack is already getting better about sleeping. He went to bed about 10pm last night, woke up once at 2am, and then slept until 7am this morning! Thank you Jack for letting mommy & daddy sleep a little longer today, we really appreciate your thoughtfulness! Jeff got up at 7am as well to go squirrel hunting with Steven in the woods here behind the house. I fed Jack his breakfast, and then we laid back down. I laid on my back and I laid him on my chest/stomach, and after that I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Feeling him there, where he had been for 9 months was just so comforting to me (and him too I think because he went right to sleep as well). Jeff and Steven emerged from the foggy mess of trees around 9am with four bushy tailed corpses in tow. Gross! They decided it'd be best to spare the cleaning of these things from my house and take them to Nanny and Granddad's to do it. Jack and I went with them, dashing to the car in the middle of what felt like a monsoon. Well, Jeff dashed with the carseat and I walked as fast as I could. Nanny made breakfast for us while we were there. Fried eggs, biscuits, and gravy. I don't normally like my eggs cooked that way, but since Nanny cooked them... I'll eat them! And they were definitely delicious (so I guess Cheddar Bay biscuits weren't my only indulge today). We stayed up there until about 12:30pm and then came back to the house to hang out until time for dinner at 5pm. It felt really good to just chill for a while with my husband and my son, and just enjoy having lazy time with my family. I hoped to get Jack's birth announcements all done and ready to send out today, however I ran out of ink about halfway through so I've got to get some more of that and finish those probably Monday. Realizing it was about 4pm, I hopped in the shower and got ready really quickly. We were about five minutes late to dinner but no biggie. I already talked about dinner, so I'll skip that. After leaving Red Lobster, we headed back home and aunt Kathy, Hannah, and Grandma Bouillion were here to have dinner to celebrate Hannah's birthday, Jeff coming home, and Jack arriving. Jeff and I didn't eat because of stomaches full of.. mostly Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Avery was really happy to see Hannah. We always joke that she's a mini-Hannah becuase she has a lot of the same habits and traits that Hannah did when she was younger. She likes dressing herself and does a good job, she is a good cleaner, and she loves smelly good, girly stuff. Just like Hannah, I tell you. Around 9pm I looked back to the recliner and Jeff was passed out cold, mouth open and everything. I went to get Jack from Aunt Kathy who was holding him, and do you know that he was sleeping the EXACT same way? Head cocked back and to the side and mouth wide open. Daddy's little boy is definitely taking after him. That's competely fine with me, I hope he takes after his daddy. Because I think his daddy is pretty darn cute! :)

:)

Its been 9 whole days since I last wrote but as many of you know, I have much good reasoning for that. My baby boy is HERE! and my husband is HERE! I do not even have words to explain how happy I am (notice the title). It feels like everything is right again. My life is together and nothing can touch me right now, nothing can break me.

Jackie James Davis II was born on September 17th, 2009 at 3:37pm. He weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. And if I do say so myself, he was the cutest baby in the nursery. Getting him here was not the easiest task in the world, but it was definitely worth the prize. I woke my mom up at 1:30am on Wednesday the 18th because my contractions were 5 minutes apart and getting stronger rapidly. She called the doctor and we headed for the hospital. Upon getting there, I was 7cm dilated already, so they took me straight to the birthing room. They were thinking I would be delivering fairly soon. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I cried through contractions for the first 2 hours, and then my savior came! Mr. Epidural came to stay with me starting at around 4am and I was able to get some sleep for a couple hours. Around 8am, they checked me and I was at 9cm! With the baby coming soon obviously, Dr. Parks had me start to push for practice. Everything was going well, and then the monitor said otherwise. Jack's heartrate dropped. And it didn't come back up. Dr. Parks gave the word for an emergency C-section and the room turned to a chaotic, scary mess. People running everywhere unhooking me from monitors, syringes shooting meds into my IV and epidural tubes, doctors and anesthesiologists frantically explaining risks to me. I just started crying, I was so scared. I didn't know what was happening, and most of all I just wanted to know that Jack was okay and no one would tell me that he was. They wheeled me towards the door and Dr. Parks stopped and said "wait, lets hook him back up and see, I think he's okay" And sure enough, Jack's heartrate was a strong 130's on average. I was still really scared, but nothing was more comforting than that constant, stron beat on the monitor. So, I got to continue with my labor. A couple hours after the mess of frantic people cleared out, I started to feel my contractions. Dr. Parks came in  and checked me around 2pm and I was 9cm still and miserable. Because I had been stuck at this dilation for SO long, he offered a C-section and regardless of my want to deliver him naturally, I knew that at this point a C-section was what was best for us. I would deal with the recovery if it meant this pain would go away and I would have him safely in my arms sooner. Dr. Parks said that the anesthesiologist would be coming in to make me more comfortable and after he delivered some other women that couldn't wait, I would be having my C-section. Well, he left and the contractions got worse, and worse, and worse. I couldn't speak really, I just cried to my mom to make it stop. I can remember her leaving the room a couple times to ask where the anesthesiologist was. The anesthesiologist never came. I labored, stuck at 9cm, with contractions every 1-2 minutes for 1 1/2 hours with NO relief of meds. My nurse came in and mom told her I was still hurting and she said that sometimes the meds don't work. Mom told her the anesthesiologist never came, and the nurse looked up and said "I am going to kill someone." Obviously she had no idea of this. I was wheeled straight into the operating room after that because I was in so much pain. My little boy was delivered with my mama by my side. I got to see him for about a minute and kiss his forehead before they took him. I told my mom to go with him. He needed to get an IV for meds, and be put under oxygen because of a fluid in his lungs. I didn't get to see him again until the next morning (Friday) after I was allowed to get up from my bed and go to the nursery. After two successful feedings that were anything but easy to achieve, he was able to get the IV removed and be sent to my room to be with me! We spent the rest of Friday and Saturday bonding and seeing visitors, and were able to go home Saturday morning!

I must say that even with finally being happily at home, Saturday felt like it was NEVER going to end. Why? Because we were impatiently waiting for daddy to arrive that evening. Nanny and Granddad picked him up from the Columbus airport at 5pm after hours and hours of flying to get home to his wife and son. He got to my mom's house a little before 7pm. I've never been so nervous in my life. I'm not sure why, but I was so anxious to see my own husband this time. We've said goodbye and said hello again many many times, but this time was different, someone else was saying hello too! I walked outside with my mom's help with Jack in my arms and Jeff's eyes lit up immediately I could feel him getting closer as he was walking but I couldn't take my eyes off his eyes. I could see every emotion through them. I could feel how close he was, and as he got closer it felt like every step took an hour. Finally I felt his arms around me! Finally, my family was together. Finally, Jeff was looking at our son smiling and tearing up just like I had imagined. It was almost a surreal experience, I can't explain it any other way. Jeff had said before that he didnt want to touch Jack until he had showered for fear of spreading some kind of weird Afghanistan germ onto him. And he held himself to that, showering so fast I thought his skin might fall off. He took his son into his arms and couldn't even move. He looked like he thought if he did, everything would disappear. I think until he held Jack, it was all just a thought to him until he actually felt him. My husband and I welcomed our son together on his first night in his crib. My family in the mirror is the greatest sight I've ever seen. I'm sitting here with my husband holding me, and my son sleeping peacefully by the bay window and I want to stay here forever. Someone please hand me the remote so I can push pause. Whoever you are that hands it to me, will have given me the greatest gift in the world.

Reunion, Max, Birthday, Laptop, and Jeff!

I'm too sleepy to post a grammar-worthy blog so this is whatcha get..

The family reunion on Sunday went very well. We had lots of yummy food. Lots of love. And lots of laughter. Aunt Emmy and uncle Gerald said they may make a trip down to see us after Jack gets here. yay! Uncle Chet even made it. Everyone could not believe how pregnant I was! Trina- thanks so much for putting it together, you did a great job as always and you are much appreciated. I was so exhausted after the reunion, I came home and slept from 6pm to 10pm! I then woke back up for a couple hours and fell back asleep til the next morning. I was pooped! Max also performed in his last Scioto Valley Sensations concert on Sunday at the Salt Creek Valley Festival. I was not able to attend because of the family reunion, but from what I hear he did a wonderful job as always. I sure am going to miss going to those concerts. Mackie- love you bud! Monday, I had lunch with Ashley and caught up with her a little bit. She and I have both been pretty busy and haven't got to hang out as much as usual. I picked up Avery from school and we went home to wait on Mama and Max to get home. Dinner that night was held at Giovanni's (YUM!) for Preston's 10th birthday! Amy brought balloons and a cake and everything. You can't beat Giovanni's pizza and confetti cake. Once again, I came home for the night and crashed. Phew, I think my body shuts down around 6-7pm these days.

Today, I did not wake up until around noon. I guess I'm getting my lazy sleep-in days in while I still can. Only about one more week (if that) left of those. I picked up Aye and we went for lunch at Chinese Buffet. It's pretty much our favorite place and I think we go there at least once a week these days. After lunch, mom and Max met us in town to help me shop for a new laptop. I have always wanted a smaller one than, mine is a 17 inch. And in the last year or so, its size has become especially bothersome because of all the traveling I've done. Well, I made a deal with my grandma and she said she would buy my laptop from me (since she's looking for one for herself anyways) and I could get a smaller one like I want. So that's what I did! I purchased a 15in. dell from walmart today. I got a pretty good deal for the amount of RAM and memory it has. It also has a webcam built-in which will be especially nice. I have cleaned off my old laptop and its ready to go to grandma! Yay for getting things done! After walking around at least 4 stores today comparing computers I was pretty tired. My body is telling me I am getting close to labor, I'll spare you the gross details on the ways its telling me. Do I think I'll make it til Jeff gets here? Only God knows now. We will just have to wait and see. I have not talked to him since Saturday night. But knowing that he is coming home soon, I am sure he is busy getting everything squared away with that. I can't wait to have him home for a while. I can almost feel his arms around me now! Gosh, I love that man! :) I have my 39 weeks appointment tomorrow and will be writing an update tomorrow night. So look forward to that and for now this army wife is out! Love to all! 

Busy, Busy, Busy

First of all, AH I missed a day! I know, Bad bad blogger.
Yesterday and today were both fairly busy for me. Last night, I just went straight to sleep when I got home. And tonight, well tonight you're lucky I have a teensie weensie bit of energy left. (It mostly because I'm WAY excited for my hubby coming home soon)

Yesterday I had my 38 weeks OB appointment, however I was really 38 weeks + 2 days. Everything looks great. I am dilated 3cm now, and am 50% effaced. Jack's heartbeat was steady at 130. I've also lost 2 pounds since last week, which is totally normal towards the very end of pregnancy I am told. Dr. Parks offered to induce me on this coming Thursday, 5 days before my due date. But I declined, saying that we were going to try and wait for daddy to get here :) So I have my next appointment on Wednesday, I will be 39 weeks exactly! So very exciting! After my appointment, we went to chinese grand buffet for dinner and ran into Aunt Chris while we were there. We joined her at her table. It was so very nice to talk with her, I haven't seen her since the baby shower. She is great, she's got some more baby stuff for me too, thanks Chris, love you!!! I went to visit Nanny and Granddad after dropping mom and Avery off at home. They are both doing well, and it was really nice to talk with them for a while too. Since I had been sick, I had not been to see them. Granddad got a tattoo that matches Jeff's. The tribal one with the "D" in it. Mikey did a great job, its amazing artwork. Granddad is also REALLY happy that Jeff will be home soon so that he can shave his beard! hehe. And of course, Nanny is just as giddy as I am. After leaving there, I stopped by the Londonderry Donut Shoppe and picked up a vanilla milkshake and chocolate cake donut. YUM! I forgot how good they were. I definitely will be making regular trips to get these items now. I visited with my dad since I was in the area, too. We just talked about normal things, nothing in particular. He talks about Jack a lot now, and it makes me smile. He's going to be a great grandpa. Finally, I am on my way home and when I pull into the driveway there is a huge maroon truck there. Steven came to see me! He was getting ready to leave for walmart so I went with him so we could catch up. I've missed him lots, I realized. He is doing well, still working way too much but still, he's good. We laughed a lot and just caught each other up on what's going on in our lives and whatnot. We, of course, talked about Jeff a lot and how we can't wait til he gets back. After my LONG LONG day, I came home and just crashed. Understandably, I guess.

That brings us to today. Which, in all reality, was just as busy as yesterday believe it or not. Avery woke me up around 10:30am this morning and told me it was time to "wake up and get dressed." Mom, Avery, and I left about an hour later for Tammy's house. We saw all the new little puppies she has. Yorkiepoos, yorkies, shih tzus, shnauzers, and minpin/shnauzer mixes. They are all just adorable. The yorkies are about the size of a big mouse, as they are only 4 days old. We then went to Dairy Queen for lunch. I must just say that Chillicothe Dairy Queen rocks because they have crunch! It's my all time favorite ice cream topping. And actually, I would probably just eat straight crunch if I could. haha. We stopped at Aunt Kathy's to drop off the carpet cleaner to her and visited with her, Hannah, and Brady for a while. Avery decided she wanted to stay with Aunt Kat for a while, and of course Aunt Kat did not object to that. Mom and I headed to Columbus to go to a teacher supply store up there. The first one we went to was called Holcomb's Know Place and quite frankly, it was a mess. They looked like they were going out of business or something. It was horrible, and there bathroom was really stinky. Ew. We asked the associate at the counter if she knew of any other places in Columbus and she told us of a place called United Arts & Education. Well, we decided we wanted to go check it out, but then soon realized that neither of us had brought our tomtom's. Luckily I remembered that my phone had GPS. And so we thought, "well we'll just try and get a map off of the phone or something." Heck no! That phone is better than a tomtom. It gives you step by step directions like the tomtom, but also says the roads/exit numbers out loud so that you're sure you're going on the right one. Its awesome! So big thanks to LG, makers of the lotus today. You saved us. We arrived at the next store and found out that its our new favorite. It was HUGE. And had TONS of stuff. It reminded me of a Michael's crossed with a teacher's store. Mom got everything that she needed and probably more. And I (per suggestion of my husband) got the necessities needed for me to start sketching again. Great shopping trip. We were hungry by this time so we went over to Donatos Pizza and had dinner. Another favorite of both my mama and I. Sooooo good. I ate way too much, but hey, I'm pregnant so I'm allowed, right? We picked up Avery on the way home and also some wings from Rooster's for Rick. Next stop, the living room for Buckeye Football! Ashli and Justin came over to watch the game with us :) It was awesome to see both of them since I hadn't in quite a while. Another great surprise, Jeff called! He is so excited to be coming home soon. He talked to one of the other guys thats already been on leave and it took this guy only 3 days to get from Afghanistan to back home. So we are hopeful it will only take Jeff that long as well! YAY! Its so close! I can't wait.

Now, I am exhausted and I'd say you are as well just from reading this. So goodnight, love to all!

2 months down, 10 to go!

WOO!!!!! Another milestone in this deployment has been reached. We are one sixth done with it today. Quite frankly, I am pretty proud of myself and of my husband. It has been hard, but we have both settled into a pretty good routine living physically apart but emotionally together. We are stronger than ever in our marriage right now, and we just keep trucking on! Of course, Jack will add a whole new dimension to every aspect of our lives. Deployment included. Regardless of how hard it will be for Jeff to be away from him for a long period of time, and me to be a single mother for that amount as well... We can do it! These past 9 months of pregnancy have flown by, so hopefully the next 10 of deployment will as well.

Today I woke up at 6am. Well, I actually had been up since 4am but I didn't get out of bed until 6. I have no idea why my sleep cycle is so irregular. Well, I'm assuming pregnancy is to hold accountable. I went upstairs and talked with my mama while she was getting ready for school and helped to get Max and Avery ready too as much as I could. After they headed out for school, I got a quick shower, dressed, and did my hair and make up. Ya know, normal morning stuff. I had to go to the lab at Adena hospital to get some blood tests done today. My primary doctor requested them as a pre-requisite to consulting about the new injection they have for asthma patients. I wore my mask like I was supposed to and got lots of inquiring looks from the other patrons. Being at a hospital, I thought I would blend a little more than when I wear it to say Walmart, or the library. But no, I felt just as out of place. I held my head high though. I'd rather be the target of wondering, interested eyes than be the victim of the swine flu! Thats for sure. After I had my bloodwork done I went to visit my aunt Amy and grandma. They are both doing well. We just talked about things currently going on and normal stuff. I stayed there for about an hour then headed to pick up lunch and meet my dad at his work. I picked up our orders from Sumburger and went out to Pickaway Ross around 11:30am. It was good to see him. I haven't been out much since my asthma attack and the diagnosis of bronchitis, so I hadn't seen him in a while. He had a sumburger platter and I, of course, had a plain turkey sub platter. YUMMY! I highly recommend Sumburger to anyone in the Chillicothe area. I got to see lots of my dad's coworkers that I hadn't seen in years or more as well. Everyone wished me luck with delivery and they were all very sweet. I feel very blessed to feel such a warm atmosphere from people I haven't seen/spoken to in ages. I'm a lucky young woman. I picked up Avery from school at 2pm like normal, and we came home to find the best part of our day in the mailbox. THREE letters addressed to me from Afghanistan, and one addressed to Miss Avery Hartshorn as well. She was so excited to see that Jeff had written her. I told her I had to pee and she waltzed right into that bathroom and said I had to read it NOW, she couldn't wait. haha. She said she is taking the letter to school for show and tell next week. Since it came all the way from Afghanistan. My three letters made me get butterflies in my stomach. I fall more and more in love with my husband with each stroke of the pen that I read. He knows exactly what to say to get me to just melt. I know, I know, I'm getting mushy. I'll spare you any more and just say that I am ready now more than ever for him to get home! :) Good thing its SOON! I can't wait to see you my love.

Half Woman, Half Beachball

Well, 38 weeks today. And yes, I'm aware that I look like I've swallowed a watermelon, or a basketball, or something around that size. Of course this is the normal appearance for this stage of pregnancy. But even with that reassurance, I do not feel any "cuter" per say. There are many things that they do not tell you about pregnancy. And in my opinion, I could totally teach the most effective sex education class to date. I could single handedly bring the teen pregnancy rate down by a significant percentage with the stories I have to share. I think they don't tell you this stuff, because they are scared that the population growth would come to a screeching hault. Understandably though, after knowing what I know.

Two pink lines, a + sign, "pregnant." Any of these on that disgusting little stick drenched in pee means you are about to start the most uncomfortable, gross 9 months of your life to date. The fact that you have to pee on a stick should be your first clue that maybe the rest of this process is not going to be so attractive. Anyways, jump for joy mama because you won't be jumping much longer. Spend the next week eating anything and everything that you've ever been fond of. Because in one week you won't be able... UH OH! Scratch that one week estimation. You are praising the ceramic throne right about now. Your hubby brings you water, and your copy of "What to expect when your expecting" per your request, because you are SURE you should not be feeling this sick. Relief is absent among the pages. You find out that morning sickness is anything but MORNING sickness, it lasts all day and sometimes all night as well. People tell you, your second trimester will be soooo much better. Well, the 13th week comes and goes... So does your hope for relief. Just when your about to give up, the sun comes up on a new day and you feel like going for a walk. For the first time in a long time, your starting to feel normal, you're going out and doing things, people are telling you how adorable your "baby bump" is. You quite frankly, feel great, compared to your last three months. Yay! pregnancy is sort of fun. Call your sister, tell her you'll meet her to go shopping at 9 tomorrow morning. You wake up, the clock says 8:01. Wait thats backwards! It says 1:08! that CAN'T be right. Waddle to the next room.. that clock says it too! "How could I have slept that long?" you wonder. Your phone says 14 missed calls. Some from each member of your family, they've all thought something was wrong when you didn't show up for your shopping excursion. You are mad! You just want everyone to leave you alone. You post a message online saying to everyone to BUTT OUT! Wait, why are you mad? They are just worried right? Ah, its your third trimester is saying hello. You go back to bed and wake up just in time to eat a full pint of Ben & Jerry's and watch America's Next Top Model. But, you only stay in front of the tv long enough to finish the pint. Because models make you want to put your hands around their 110 pound necks and squeeze til the single carrot they had for lunch comes out. Your husband's home. You are angry with him already. All you want to do is take a bath and lay down for the night, and he wants to take you to dinner. You win. He gets take out for dinner. OWWWW! Who punched me in the gut? OW OW OW! I'm pregnant, why is aunt flo cramping in your stomach? Oh, wait, refer to your "what to expect"... its just Braxton Hicks.. completely normal part of hell. Relax, take it easy, the doctors say. But don't forget that staying active will make you more comfortable during labor. Really? He wants you to walk a mile every night? How about HE get out here and hold a bowling ball between HIS legs and walk on a bumpy sidewalk, on feet that are swollen to twice their size. Not to mention the 230940403598 hundred people that ask you "Oh hunnie, you're huge! You've gone over your due date? Why don't you get induced?" No, ignorant person, I have NOT in fact gone over my due date.. I am just normally this huge, and thank you for reminding me. Finally, you've made it to 38 weeks, you're almost there they say.. that baby can come any day.. Sorry, but any day is NOT good enough for me unless "any" is today. Refering back to kindergarten.. I don't remember learning an "ANYday" between MONday and FRIday.

To be continued... When ANYday finally comes.

5 going on 15

Avery had her first day of preschool at Southeastern today! She was so excited. She picked out her own outfit and everything. Quite frankly, she did a pretty good job! She is definitely just like her cousin Hannah in this aspect, Miss Diva Fashionista :P

Getting her nikes on, her favorite school shoes

Making sure she has everything in her bookbag

Putting on the bookbag just long enough for a picture. It was WAY too heavy for her today because she had to take all her supplies in

Avery and her proud mama!

She and her Kai-Lan Bookbag, to quote her "available ONWEE at Target"

One last picture before they're off to school!

I picked her up at 2pm and she was just as happy as when she left this morning. The best way to relay information from her will be in an interview type blog so here ya go.


Kate: "Did you have fun today, Aye?"
Avery: "YES! It wasn't as boring as I fought it was gonna be because we got to play a lot"

Kate: "What did you play with?"
Avery: "Lots of fings, play-doh, and I painted! I painted a clifford picture for you!"

Kate: "Awh thanks Avery I can't wait to see it! What else did you do?"
Avery: "We played outside at the playgwound, and we got naptime. But I didn't sleep I just watched the movie."

Kate: "Well I'm sure that's okay too. Who did you play with?"
Avery: "You know that wittle girl Stormy? From the meeting that I played wif.. I played wif her on the playgwound"

Kate: "Oh yeah I remember her, she is nice huh? What was your favorite part of the day?"
Avery: "Snack time"

Kate: "Really what did you eat?"
Avery: "I just ate what my mama packed for me. They had ofer stuff too but I did not like any of it one bit. But I think those wittle round fings were donuts.. they looked like donuts. I will ask my teacha tomorrow"

Kate: "What is your teacher's name?"
Avery: "I have fwee teachas. Miss Louis, Miss Cathy, and Miss Tammy."

Kate: "Three? Wow thats really cool! Do you have papers in your bookbag to bring home?"
Avery: "Yes, WOTS"

Kate: "Okay, well we will look when we get home okay? Did anyone get in trouble today."
Avery: "Uhmmmmm, no. We all got tokens! OH NO! I left my tokens at school!"

Kate: "Its okay Aye! So you had a good day?"
Avery: "Yeah, I like school"

Kate: "Good, cause guess what?"
Avery: "What?"
Kate: "You get to go back tomorrow!"


She just smiled after that, and said that she would just get her tokens tomorrow after she asked Miss Tammy if she was supposed to bring them home or leave them in the classroom. We went through the papers in her bookbag, and she gave me the Clifford picture that she painted :) Mostly the rest is just more forms for mom to fill out, a handbook, and a lunch menu. After telling her they were having meatloaf tomorrow we both made a face and she decided she was going to ask mom to pack her lunch again. She is now winding down for the day playing on nickjr.com on the desktop computer.

Little sister's first day of school? check. Little sister had a good day at school? check. Big sister happy that little sister had a good day? check. Big sister READY for little sister to be in school? Well, its a working progress.

Deployments Suck

The title says it all. Insomnia took over my body last night. I woke up around 1am and could not go back to sleep. But, I think God is to blame. I was missing Jeff pretty badly, tears and everything. And what do ya know? At 3ish am he popped online. It was so good to have him comforting me when I needed him most. However I couldn't keep the waterworks from flowing. I cried the whole time we were I.M.ing. Good thing he could not see that. I would hate for him to see me like that because he would just worry and thats the last thing I want. I told him I felt like a big beach ball full of blah. He thought that was really funny. Not that I was feeling bad, just how I explained it. Lovely man, my husband is. Regardless of my sadness, I was happy too to talk to him. I can't wait until I can just hug him. I just want to feel his warmth again, and his arms around me. Nothing can replace that feeling. My severe feeling of lonliness continued into today. I woke up and did not want to do a thing. I laid in this basement all day in the dark. I managed to force doing a load of laundry, but other than that.. I spent the sunlight in the darkness. Depression is a battle I'm constantly fighting and today I feel I lost a battle. Good things there's more than one battle in a war. Tomorrow is a new day.

Pictures from the FOB

Pictures!

Here's what our soldier has been up to!

This is some of the guys from Bravo (Jeff's battery) shooting off one of the howitzers

A chinook, either coming in for landing or taking off

The kitchen in the DFAC is under contruction still but almost done

The rest of the DFAC

Enjoy!

Fun day Sunday

Only slept til 11am today! haha. I'm just telling myself that these next couple weeks will be the last that I get to sleep that long for quite a while. So indulge while you can right? After a much needed shower and a poptart for breakfast, I found myself wanting to paint my bathroom. Yes, I said paint my bathroom. So I said to myself "woah, woah, woah, just wait a minute.." Obviously that is the most random thing my brain has brought to my attention in quite a while. And then *CLICK* the light bulb came on. I am getting the oh so lovely gift of pregnancy's nesting instinct. Obviously I did not paint the bathroom. But I did get some cleaning done and laundry folded. That was enough to satisfy my newfound urge. Speaking of this nesting, why do you think it comes right BEFORE baby gets here? I mean I understand the concept, helps you get last minute things ready and blah blah blah. But don't all you mothers agree that the burst of energy that comes with the nesting is much more needed right AFTER baby gets here? I could be wrong, as I'm not a mother yet. But I'll be sure to let you all know in a couple weeks.

I was supposed to attend my Responsible Driver's Course today. After my wreck in July I was offered the option to take this course in return for no points added to my license. Of course I took the opportunity. Anyways, the class was cancelled and is rescheduled for a Sunday a couple weeks from now. Avery and I made the most of my free time tonight and headed out for a girls dinner, just the two of us. We've developed a system taking turns picking restaurants when she and I go out to eat. Tonight was her night to pick, and she chose Chinese Grand Buffet. She just likes it for the Jello! But thats okay, it sounded good to me too. We had a wonderful dinner and I realized how much I'm going to miss her during the day when she goes to school starting Tuesday. She makes me laugh so easily. One hug from her can make my smile reappear when I think its gone away forever. Goodness, that little girl is such a blessing. I don't have the words to explain how she's impacted my life. I can only hope that I can show her the same support/love she's shown me these past five years. And even though I will probably live far away for most of her life, I vow to do my best to be the same big sister she knows now. I pinky promise ;)

Jeff and I were only able to talk for about 15 minutes total today. The reception was going in and out, we had to reconnect 4 times just to get that much time out of it. He recieved two of my care packages today. One from nearly a month ago, and one from about a week ago. On duty when he recieved them, he had just enough time to take them to his bunk and breifly look through the contents. He said that it looked like everything made it there okay. The bottle of bath and body works lotion (per request from him cause it smells like me) that I sent exploded. But luckily he has a pretty intellegent wife that knew this might happen and sealed it up in a plastic bag :P Other than that he didn't really say much, since we didn't have much time to talk anyways. We both always say how excited we are for r&r and how we can't wait and all that. I told him that he sounded stuffed up, like he had a cold. He said that its because of all the dust where he is. And that the guys are all complaining that he's snoring at night. Poor guy.

New photo album on my profile for all of you facebook-ers. Its called "Blast from the Past" and thats exactly what it is. There's about 30 photos of friends, family, and myself throughout the years. Some are pretty humorous as I forgot how different we all looked just 5 years ago. How different things were 5 years ago. Change is for the better though, always. Even if its unexpected and unwanted, in the end its for the better and allows you to grow as a person in ways you didn't think you could. I'm happy with how my life is so far, that's for sure. But I can't say that I expected any of it fully. Come what may.. I'll be ready.

Love to all!

Zzzzz, Zzzzz, and more Zzzzz

Today has exhausted me. However, I did nothing! I've slept most of today away in this poofy, comfy contraption called a bed. I have no idea why this fatigue is owning me lately, but today I finally gave in and just crashed. Well, I guess it started last night. I fell asleep for what I thought would be a short, one hour nap and woke up 4 hours later at 11pm! I was awake for about 2 hours before falling into a deep slumber again. I slept until 1:30pm today. Again, awake for about two hours and then back to sleep and did not finally get up until around 7:30pm. Thats a total of about 20 hours! Wheewww, I must have been sleepier than I thought.

So now, I must figure out what I want to talk about in this blog, because obviously nothing exciting happened on the inside of my eyelids. Lets see, my doctor's appointment went very well. I met Dr. Vanvoorhis and really enjoyed his personality. He listened to my concerns and is sending me for bloodwork and testing to see whats going on with my breathing. One of the tests is to see if I can qualify for a new injection for those suffering from severe asthma. I think I will go on Tuesday to the lab to get the tests done. We also talked about this dreaded swine flu re-appearance thats happening this fall. I told him that Dr. Parks (my OB doctor) had expressed deep concerns for my health with this epidemic. Confirmed by both doctors, I am at a pretty high risk for contracting the illness because 1) I'm pregnant. 2) I am within the target age range. 3) I have severe asthma/respitory problems. Because of this Dr. Vanvoorhis recommended that I take extra precaution throught the upcoming fall and winter.This means all the usual "avoid the flu" precautions and then some. He asked that I wear a mask when I go out into places where lots of people congregrate indoors (malls, gymnasiums, schools, hospitals, airports). If someone is visibly sick in the place where I am, I need to immediately excuse myself. I also need to pay very close attention to the signs my body is giving me, and not hesitate to notify him if I feel flu-ish. All and all I am okay with taking these precautions if it means I stay healthy. I cannot afford to be sick, I have a baby boy that needs me! Oh, and these steps will be taken in his case as well. He will be covered up when we go out. Also, no offense to anyone at all, but I will not be allowing people to hold/touch him out in public. Its just not worth the risk. I hope that everyone can understand it is best for him. When we are out of the water with this swine flu and his immune system has had time to build, he will be open to playfulness of all kinds!

Talked to Jeff once again today. He was very tired. After being awake and working for nearly 24 hours, he was getting ready for bed as it was about 10pm his time. He is so very excited to be coming home for leave soon. I asked him if he wanted me to pick up anything special to have here at the house when he gets here and he responded with his normal "Uhm, I don't know babe." I expected nothing less, he is so difficult sometimes. :P I think I will pick up his shower stuff this week and his loofa of course. I'll wait to get his favorite food items until right before though, they wouldn't last long in this house! We talked about Jack a lot, Jeff says he can't wait to see all his stuff (crib, swing, bouncer, clothes, etc). And of course we both can't wait to put him in these things and try them out. Oh goodness, our little boy is going to be so spoiled. We obviously will try to avoid it, but I have a feeling its inevitable and that the grandmas and grandpas and everyone else in the family will totally help with the spoiling. At least he'll never have any doubt that he's loved! I am so thankful that communication is as good as it is with deployment right now. We are very blessed to have the ability to talk often. They are even expected to be able to have internet on their personal laptops by Christmas. Which means that daddy will be able to use internet at his conveinence. Special thanks to our Lord and savior for blessing us with these many amenities. You are so great!

After a bonfire with aunt Kathy, Hannah, Brady, and Mel and Kyle Hutton, the Hartshorn/Krebs/Davis household is quiet. Even Titan is sleeping, and I'm not far behind. God bless!

Love to all!!

Still Sick, but Hubby makes it all better.

Its been 6 days since I had to make a trip to the ER because of an asthma attack. Honestly, I feel better than I did that day obviously, but not as well as I should be feeling. I know it takes a while to get healthy again after bronchitis. I know this from much experience. I just feel that I should be making further progress by now. This morning I started coughing while still laying in bed. I could not stop. I was still getting air, but I could not stop coughing. I took my albuterol inhaler, and it subsided a little but still I could not stop. Eventually, the coughing made me vomit. (Sorry for the graphic image in your head right now). I just don't feel this is normal. I've been on a steriod and an antibiotic for nearly a week now. Shouldn't I be feeling close to normal? Luckily, I have an appointment in a couple hours with my primary care provider here in Ohio. I have yet to meet him, today will be the first time. But I have heard good things about him, and I plan on discussing my concerns thouroughly with him. Hopefully, he will listen and be considerate. Sometimes doctors think I am over-reacting when I tell them of issues I've had/am having and how severe they are. But I know myself and I know my body and something is not kosher within me. Fingers crossed, he will tell me that its just because of pregnancy that I'm having a hard time recovering. We will see.

Still feeling sickly, I was in need of some major cheering up yesterday and boy did God listen to my needs! I was able to talk to Jeff for close to 35 minutes yesterday afternoon. And then again on yahoo messenger last night for 20 more minutes! Hearing his voice instantly brightens my day. We talked about silly little things mostly. Just like he was on his way home from work or something. It felt so right to me, talking to him like that. The conversation made me realize that we are handling this deployment really well. Of course it is very difficult, some days more than others, and of course we miss each other but we really are doing the best that can be expected in my opinion! I'm so very proud of us for this. As r&r gets closer and closer, our excitment is building on both sides of the world. We know, first off, that seeing each other after any amount of time apart still gives us both butterflies, and secondly, that soon after that we will finally get to meet our little unexpected blessing! My mission now is to get everything ready for Jack and daddy. I have mostly everything taken care of for Jack. I need to get all daddy's things. His shampoo, his body wash, razors, a new loofa for him (yes he uses a loofa! haha). I need to wash his clothes so they smell fresh. And probably get out some of his wintery clothing. He will think its freezing here compared to Afghanistan I'm sure.

I'm just so excited that its time to do all this preparing. Hopefully I will be completely over this sickness by the time Jeff gets here and Jack gets here. As I'm sure I will need my energy, physically and emotionally. Well, its a lovely day outside. The sun is shining down, and its past time for me to get my day started.

Love you all!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Hi all, if you are reading this, you have been invited to keep up with our little family by reading these updates. After posting updates on facebook for a while, I realized that not everyone that is important to us, has a facebook profile. I was constantly trying to make sure I copied and pasted the updates and emailed them to everyone. Ah! too much!. So I've decided to just make a blog that everyone can see regardless of a facebook or myspace profile. So save this page in your favorites! Cause this is where all the info will be from now on. Also I will post pictures from time to time. Probably LOTS of pictures, as I take tons of them. Especially when baby Jack gets here. He's going to know how to smile on cue before he even knows what its for! :)

As far as baby Jack and I, we have exactly 2 weeks and 6 days left on this eventful journey we call pregnancy. Official due date still being September 23rd. We are both doing pretty good. I am having some issues with my asthma. I caught a cold that quickly turned into bronchitis and landed me in the ER for a night after an asthma attack. But my doctors have gotten that under control with some new meds and they seem to be doing the job. Jack is very obviously getting pretty squished in his home of 8 1/2 months. He seems to get so frustrated sometimes and tried to stretch in every direction he can. Heartburn has returned for me in the past couple weeks, on account of there being virtually no room for my stomach. But all this is managable and very well worth it! We will continue to take it easy until he decides to make his debut!

Jeff is doing very well. Its been a while since I've updated on him, so bear with me while I try to remember what you know and don't know. He is BORED! He says this every time I talk to him. Which of course I have no problem with, but of course he says its getting rather mundane. He is still doing 18 hour shift duties like he has been for quite a while now. He says it is a lot but it helps make the days go by faster. I recently recieved a general update from one of Jeff's higher ups. They send these to us pretty regularly if they can so that we have some idea of what its like there. He says that life is improving every day at the FOB where they are stationed. the MWR internet service was installed recently and is up and working. However, there are only 5 computers. And that is a major differnece in ratio to the number of people wanting to use them. But, at least they are availiable. The Armed Forces Network gear arrived recently as well, and the soldiers are all pretty excited to get some tv and (hopefully) get to catch some of this season's football games. The problem is, that none of them know how to install the equipment! So they are working on getting the right people there to do that soon, hopefully before the first week of the NFL season of course! They guys are all still living in tents currently, but are waiting and watching (very impatiently I presume) as the contractors get closer and to finishing the re-locatable billets. The DFAC (cafeteria) is also still under construction. Many of the soldiers are starting to wonder if it will ever be finished. From what I hear they recently have been serving lots of burritos and enchiladas. They've even started to count consecutive days. CPT I recieved the email from says his count is at 15 days in a row currently. The mail service is still slow but has improved greatly. So again, I REALLY encourage you to send letters! Its constant reminder for Jeff that we're thinking about him here. If you need the address again, don't hesitate to ask!

All and all, our family's life is pretty good right now. The thing we are most looking forward to is that Jeff SHOULD BE coming home for r&r (two weeks of leave) towards the end of this month. Obviously I cannot post exact dates, but things are looking up that Jack will get to meet his mommy AND daddy at the same time. Which is great! Now, this is all assuming that Jack waits til he's supposed to come, so we'll see. Regardless we could not be more thankful that the army is giving him this time to spend with us. I'm also looking forward to starting my college classes at the end of October. I'm taking classes through Coastline Community College online. In two years, if all goes as planned, I will have an AA in general studies emphasis in science and math. I chose to do this and get my generals out of the way first since I still don't have a clue what I want for a career. The best part is that I recieved a 6000 dollar grant through the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account Program, so I will be paying close to nothing for my first two years of school.

As you can see, things are looking really good for all three of us right now. We are so thankful to God for what he's blessed us with. I hope that everyone will follow this blog, and feel free to make comments as well!
We love you all!