The Graduate

My baby isn't really a baby anymore :( He is out of preschool and on to kindergarten in the fall.

Bad Blogger

I haven't blogged in forever. It isn't even b/c I am too busy, I guess I just don't have too much to talk about. My brother got home from Iraq safely on April 28th. We went to the base for the grand arrival, and it was great. We all wore tshirts that said "Welcome Home Charlie Company" and waved flags. It was very emotional, but happy.

(Yes, I am a pic stealer MK!) There were a couple of news crews there. I watched the videos online and I saw Smoo on both channels, in both clips you could only see him for a second though.

Dan has recently started a new job. It seems like it will be very promising. He is now a locksmith. He has been training for a couple of weeks, but should start on his own very soon. There will be a significant pay increase, so we are thrilled.

That is really about all that has been going on around here. I will try to post something else soon.

We had Smoo's booster shots yesterday. It is a good thing that Dan was there b/c I couldn't have held him down on my own. When we got there he wasn't upset or anything, but he started to get nervous when they called us back to the room. When we got in there and he saw the needles, he started to cry. He had to have 4 shots, and after the 1st one he was hysterical. In between his loud, pitiful sobs and crocidile tears, he was screaming at the nurse "DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!" and "GET AWAY FROM ME!!" It was a pretty bad ordeal, and I felt horrible when he looked at me like I had betrayed him. Luckily, there is nothing in a child's world that a happy meal can't fix. He had forgotten all about after only 15 minutes.

Won't be long now!

John is leaving Iraq on April 15th. He will be back in Jackson on April 25th. We won't know how much warning we will have to get to the base to meet him, but we do know that is the date. They will be at Camp Legune for a few days, and then they will fly them back to Jackson. From the airport they will bus them to the base, and that is where we can pick him up. We hope they can call before they get on the plane to come to Jackson, so we will atleast know about what time. We are SO EXCITED to have him coming home. He has only been gone since September, but it has felt like a really long time to me. We have missed him at every holiday, birthday and gathering for the past 7 months. We love you John...only 24 more days until you are back where you should be.

(This is a picture of John that someone took this past Christmas in Iraq. )

I know I am a bad blogger. I feel like I never have anything interesting worth writing about, but I realize that I haven't posted much lately. So I guess I can do a quick update.
I sent off my registration for school this week, and completed all my FASFA applications. I hope to hear back on all that soon. Speaking of school, I am registering the Smoo for kindergarden on April 22. That seems very soon to me, but I guess it will be a relief when I am not scrambling to do it in August. He doesn't know this yet....but we are going to have to get booster shots before registration. I figured I would tell him we were going to the zoo, and when we pull up at the clinic I will say "You're right, this doesn't look like the zoo. But hey we're here so let's go in and check it out!" Just kidding, our mom used to do that to us.
I have been walking every night for the past month. Well, most every night ;) I feel like I have seen some results.
My brother will be leaving Iraq in 20 days. There will be a few stops in between there and home, so we look for him to be back the last week in April. We are so excited. I can't believe that we are so close to the time when he will actually be home.

Big Winner!!

I won at the casino this weekend!!! YeeeeHaaaaww! We went on Friday night to celebrate my sister's 25th birthday. I had no intentions of gambling b/c I am far too stingy with my money to waste it. We went to eat and hear a band that was playing, but stepped out on the casino floor just to look around. I had $5 in my pocket, and I said "What the heck, it's only $5!" I found the nearest quarter slot machine and inserted my money. I was down to my next to last spin (and was getting frustrated with myself for wasting that money) when lights started flashing and loud buzzers began to go off! The woman next to me said "You hit!! You won!!" On the screen, the numbers were climbing and climbing...the anticipation was building. The numbers ran for what seemed like forever, and finally the machine gave me a ticket that said I had won. $345.25! From my little $5 bill.
I have never been one for casinos, but I am beginning to see the draw now!!!

Spring is here!

I just can't believe how wonderful our weather has been this week. It has been in the 70s for the past several days. I am loving it!! This weekend we are going out on the boat and it should be lovely. This is the best time of the year in MS, great temps and lots of sunshine. We had better all enjoy it b/c it won't be long until the summer heat is making us pray for death!