3 Weeks Today~ And Our Month-aversary!

So today was exactly 3 weeks! It was also a month since the day we got married. It's hard to believe I've been married for a month. Sometimes it doesn't seem real that I'm even married, and other times it just doesn't seem like it's been very long. Having Shawn leave so quickly after we got married has been rough I'll admit, but I think it was for the best. Sleeping alone and being in an empty house at night is not as bad as I expected it to be, and I'm actually starting to get used to it. I will say that I'm kind of glad he left so quickly after we got married, because I didn't have as much time to get completely used to having someone to cuddle up next to at night, if we'd been married for a year or so before he left, I know it would be alot harder to get used to the empty bed. Thank you Lord for looking out for me, even in the smallest things.

This morning I woke up early, about 730 to be exact, to the sound of 2 little boys asking me to fix them breakfast. Gotta love it, even when you let them stay up a little later at night, they still wake up early. Donuts for breakfast, thanks to my wonderful brother James, I bought a dozen from him Saturday when they were having a donut sale. Now they are almost gone... I may have enough to start breakfast tomorrow, but it will probably end up being a cereal morning tomorrow morning. lol I turned on the cartoons in the living room and my baby girl finally made her way downstairs around 845. More donuts for her for breakfast. Around 9am my wedding photographer showed up at the house with my pictures!!! YAY! I got my 12x12 photo book, mom's 10x10 parent book, Patti and Ronnie's photo book, and Steve and Vanessa's photo book. I also got my dvds with ALL the pictures! Check out facebook to see the pictures if you haven't already. And today's "photo of the day" is a sneak peak at my photo book....

It is amazing! I can't wait to show it to EVERYONE! Especially my man!
So after Robert Hall left the house and I looked at the books for a while I decided to go wake up Casey, and by this time it was about 10ish. lol After us going to bed around 4 I couldn't blame her for sleeping in! We sat around and chatted and looked at the books and pictures and chatted some more till about 12, when she decided she better go so she'd have time for a shower and to run some errands before class tonight.

After Casey left the kids played outside for a little while. Around 1 we all came inside, the kids ate, and then went down for a nap. I was able to facebook chat with Shawn for a little while which was nice, and then I decided while the kids were napping, I would too. We all slept till about 4ish.... we had a late snack, because we decided we'd have a late supper tonight. I had a surprize in store for the kids, and needed them to stay up a little later tonight. Kids movie and cartoon night till Casey arrived about 830, then PIZZA for supper. YUM! I descovered today that there is NO pizza or food delivery place period that delivers to my home, which only made me want pizza more, so Casey came to the rescue! Then for the surprize! My babi called me on Yahoo Messenger, and we video chatted! It was the first time I had seen him since he left. He was fuzzy as all get out, and said we were kinda fuzzy too, but it was soooo worth it to see the babies smile and giggle at seeing their daddy. After a few mins of talking to daddy they said their goodnights, and my wonderful pal Casey got all the kids into bed so I could talk to him just a little while longer. I love that girl! She is SUCH a lifesaver!

Of course after I got done talking to my babi, what else do you think Casey and I did but watch Army Wives. We are now down to only having 2 episodes left of season 4. I'm not sure what we're going to do after tomorrow night's last 2 episodes until season 5 comes out on dvd, but we better figure something out quick! lol We've talked about watching Gilmore Girls, I've got 4 of the seasons, and  they are on season 7 now, so we'll have a little more to watch before we get stuck again. I've also got 4 seasons of Smallville that we could watch, and I think she said she has a couple seasons of House... so we'll see what's in store for us after that. Or seeing as to the fact that Gary left 10000s of his movies with Casey, we may start watchin some of those too... lol

But for now it's time for bed, so goodnight to all, and good afternoon to my babi! I love you Shawn DeRaps, and I'm so happy to be your wife! You make me the HAPPIEST woman in the world! Stay safe!

Swimming Fun!

Ok, so..... 200 page views in a week! I'm impressed! Imagine how many I could have gotten if I would have actually had the blog up-to-date all week long. :-)

So as you know Casey stayed the night at the house last night, and we went to bed super late. We woke up about 30 mins later than planned, but still left on time, and even arrived to church earlier than normal. Sunday School was awesome, and Casey loved it just as much as she did last weekend. We had a guest preacher this morning. His sermon was really good, but honestly at one point his movements and such led me to believe that he needed to pee really bad! lol

After church we ran to the grocery store to get some last min supplies before our cook-out at the "nene-sitting" house. I call it that because that is what Brodie calls it. I think he combined nanny and babysitting and got nene-sitting. lol It's adorable to hear! Off to the nanny house for the cook-out. The cook-out was alot of fun and the kids had a blast! Meagan played in the pool and enjoyed herself. Brodie on the other hand spent the majority of his time in the little pool. Thank goodness Dunbar played in the little pool with him alot!

We left the house around 4 to make sure we were home by 5. The kids were soo tired and passed out on the way home! lol So today's picture of the day:

I was hoping Andrew would be home around 5, but he didn't get home until 6:15. So no church tonight... Meagan and Brodie took a short nap, they were exhausted! When Andrew got home he was passed out, so we all took a short nap. Woke up around 7ish and had a small snack. Kids stayed up a little later than normal due to the fact that they took such a late nap. Kids went to bed about 10, and fell asleep fast.

Casey came over and now we're watchin ARMY WIVES. She'll probably go to bed here at the house tonight, she doesn't work tomorrow. And tomorrow morning I get all my wedding pictures and such back! I'm so excited! Anyways, Goodnight to all, Good Morning to my babi. Stay safe my love and HOPEFULLY we can get the skype working soon? Love you.

Tuesday-Saturday and Finally Caught Up! :-)

Ok so between the site not letting me post, and last night, well I honestly didn't feel like getting on and getting it all caught up, it's been a few days since I last posted. So I'll start from Tuesday and continue through today...

Tuesday

Tuesday was lame! lol Not much at all to report on. Got up and got my baby girl on the bus, and the boys up and fed. We stayed home all day long. Of course the boys played outside, and we had some fun playing games and such inside too. Honestly I was in my pajamas all day long. lol The boys got dressed so that they could go outside, but otherwise it was a lazy day at the DeRaps residence. Since we didn't really go anywhere or do anything it was difficult to come up with a picture of the day, so I choose to have this:

This is the ribbon I where EVERY WHERE, EVERY DAY on my shirt near my heart. The yellow ribbon simbolizes my deplyed soldier, who I hope will come home soon... and the lion is Shawn's unit mascot.

Tried to get the kids down to bed early... at 8:30 even, and they whined because it was still "morning" outside... Or well it was still daylight a little outside. Aparently daylight means morning. lol The kids finally fell asleep around 930, 'round about their normal bedtime. Then Army Wives with Casey of course!

Wednesday

Wednesday was fairly slow, and not much at all to talk about, but I woke up Wednesday and got my baby girl on the school bus. The boys slept in a little, so I got a little extra sleep. We woke up and had poptarts in the living room on the floor while watching Super Why, Dinosaur Train, and Curious George. After that I let the boys play outside for a little while. PB&J for lunch, and a late afternoon nap. As I said before, Wednesday was VERY uneventful. Meagan came home excited about the next day's activities.

We went to church Wednesday night and started a new study on Galations. I'm hoping I can figure out a way to record Dr. Ford's lessons and send them to Shawn. After church Casey came over to the house for more Army Wives. First we had to find the video camera battery charger, but of course we couldn't find it ANYWHERE... so forget that. Army Wives till super late, then Shawn got online around 1:30 and we talked till almost 4 on facebook chat. But of course I didn't forget, the picture of the day for Wednesday is.... drum roll please.......

The picture off of my choir practice paper. lol I love my church!

Thursday

Wow Thursday went by super fast! That was a rush! lol Got my baby girl all dressed up for her LAST DAY of kindergarten! :-) She was gorgeous! This is the picture of my beautiful baby girl before she got on the school bus, and today's main picture of the day:

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL? Gotta love her. As soon as she was out the door and waiting on the bus I got the boys up and fed, I knew I wasn't gonna have much time to get myself ready, much less the boys unless I got them up early. Then mom called. She left the house only about an hour early by mistake, so she came over to help me so that I could grab a shower before time to leave. Then to Meagan's graduation leading to just a few more pictures... :-)

 Giving Mrs. Hayes a final goodbye.

Mrs. Gwinn signing her yearbook...

Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Gwinn were her teachers for the last 2 years and they loved having her in their class. Meagan made ENORMOUS improvemnets since last year! After graduation we went out for lunch with Grandaddy at Ryans. Then an all day shopping extravaganza with mom preparing for our upcoming beach trip. We're doing something different than the usual beach trip this year, this year we are going to Hilton Head for a couple of days and staying in a condo... SWEET! lol Then after "ditching my mom to the side of the road" (or waiting on dad to meet with us to pick her up) I picked up Katie and Tyler and headed home. I came home to find out that my brother was having some difficulties with the lawn mower.

After arriving home all four kids played outside for a LONG time. Katie watched the kids play outside, and Mom, Dad, James, and I straightened the closet, and rearranged the office. The plan is to move all some more of my furnature to the house here within the next 2 weeks or so. But before I do that I've got to clean my room, and do a TON of laundry. lol After all the rearranging and such Casey, Katie and I got 4 kids washed and cleaned, put to bed, and then of course Army Wives till 2. lol Then Katie and I stayed up till about 4 talking and such. lol Gotta love girl talk! lol

Friday

Friday morning we ALL slept in! lol Katie, Me, and all 4 kids. It was nice not to have to get up and get Meagan ready for school. My man called and talked to me for all of 3 mins, just an I love you and I'll talk to you later call, but it was AWESOME to just hear his voice. We all ate, watched some tv, and then Casey called to invite us out for lunch at McDonalds. So after getting rooms cleaned and kids dressed we met up for a super kids' playdate with Kristen, Myself, Katie, Casey, Meagan, Brodie, Tyler, Lauren, Andrew, and Jake. (and in case you're wondering that's from oldest to youngest. McDonalds was so much fun of course that lead to many pictures for my pictures of the day!

 Kristen

 Tyler

 Meagan and Brodie

 Andrew and his YUMMY hamburger

 Lauren so cute

Casey and Jake, both also adorable! lol

Of course somehow I missed taking pictures of Katie or myself somehow, lol but it's all good. After McDonalds a trip to Target to pick up some stuff, and to drop off Katie and Tyler. Andrew fell asleep before we even made it to Katie's so after dropping them off we went straight home and ALL of us took a nap. Meagan and Brodie slept a little longer than Andrew so I spent some quality time with him before he had to go to Adam's house for the weekend. I woke up the kids and we all went outside to play while we waited for him to arrive. In the mean time a man came to look at the back porch. We may finally be getting it fixed! YAY!!! Adam came and picked up Andrew, then Meagan, Brodie, and I headed out to "A Day in the Country" with my Young Married's class. We all had a blast, so more pictures!

 Sweet Alabama

 My strong girl pulling 3 kids in the wagon.... did I mention it was uphill?

 The band

 Brodie checking out a bug

 the kids dancing to the music

 Watermelon eating contest for the boys...

Meagan and Brodie in the tire

We got home around 930, and the kids had a "campout" in Meagan's room. Casey and Kristen were supposed to come over for a girls night, but Kristen's phone kept going to voicemail, and Casey bailed on me by falling asleep! lol Love ya girl. Talked online to my hunny for about 5 mins, but it was enough to get me through the night.

Saturday

So this morning was the best so far. Meagan and Brodie slept in a little, and then they fixed their own breakfast and watched tv and let me sleep in! It was AWESOME. lol First time I've slept in since Shawn's been gone. I finally woke up around 1030ish, and it was of course MUCH needed. Not long after I woke up my dear Casey called and invited me and the kids to go swimming at the "nanny house" with her and the twins she nannys for. Before we headed over there though I waited for Shawn to get online. He was supposed to get internet yesterday(for him/today for me) so we were hoping for skype, but that didn't pan out when they didn't get the internet installed. So we left the house and headed to go swimming. All four kids had so much of a blast, we'll probably be going back to go swimming again tomorrow.

After swimming Casey, Meagan, Brodie, and I decided to go to Chili's for supper... but then we had an "incident" lol Casey and I had a little bit of a fender bender, or bumped vehicles. lol There was no damage to either vehicle. lol Just a little scare to both of us. Whew! lol So then off to Chili's. Meagan wanted Mac-and-Cheese with celery sticks, Brodie had a hamburger with french fries, and Casey and I split a 2 for 20 deal and had "fried cheese" and Ribs... YUM... So Shawn, I guess Casey and I just had our first "date" lol and it was GREAT. lol Off to Hallmark for some "supplies" lol can't say what. Then we went to Casey's so that we could pick up some things for her since she is staying the night tonight and going to church with me again tomorrow. The kids played with the dogs, and she gave me a tour of the house. LOL then home we came. On the way home I saw this and couldn't bear not taking a picture for my picture of the day...

Beautiful Sunset, made me think of my man... and how much I miss him.

After arriving home the kids took a bath so they wouldn't smell like clorine. lol Then off to bed they went. They were asleep before their heads could hit the pillow. lol Casey and I started with Season 4, Episode 1, and finished with Episode 7. lol Late night I was hoping to be able to chat with my man, but it's 3am, and he's still not on, we've got church tomorrow or I'd stay on a little longer.

So I've finally caught up all the days, some a little shorter than others, but all done. LoL. From now on I will keep it up to date better... as long as the site agrees with it anyways. lol But for now I'm going. Goodnight to all, and Good Morning to my babi! I love you, I miss you, and I'll talk to you soon. Hopefully I'll see you soon on skype too! I love you. Stay safe!!

2 Weeks Down, And Only 50? To Go.....

Well, it was exactly 2 weeks today since Shawn left. Woke up, got my precious baby girl ready for her last week of school. Today was field day at school for her. She was so excited! Got my girl off to school, and the boy were still sleepin. Went back to sleep, and the boys and I finally got back up at 9:30! I'm hopeing they keep this up during the summer too, cause the extra sleep is awesome! Poptarts for breakfast, and those must have been some awesome poptarts cause the boys devoured them! After breakfast I sent the boys upstairs to get some cleaning done. The realtor's office is schedualed to come out to the house tomorrow to a quarterly inspection.

After a TON of cleaning in the living room, more upstairs in the kids room. I even got some laundry done. Didn't quite get all the cleaning i wanted done today, but I did get quite a bit done. Got the boys down for nap and started doing some research.... After a few mins of searching, I found some swimming lessons for the kids. I found a great deal too! So in July all three of the kids will have PRIVATE lessons for only $150 for all three! Can't beat that it's only $50 per child. One week long, and they will all be water-improved on their skills end of July. I'm excited! All the kids have been talking about since it started getting warmer is how excited they are and will be to be able to go swimming! lol

Meagan came home from school just as excited as when she left. She's had greens for everyday since her daddy left. I'm so proud of her! James came over a little while to watch the kids while I went to a wonderful friend's baby shower. Her name is Hadessah, she has a 2 year old daughter, and she was pregnant with a baby boy. I say was because little Noah decided to come into the world 2 weeks early and was born last Thursday. Hadessah and Noah were relased from the hospital Saturday, and they were at church yesterday. lol And of course little Noah joined us at his own shower tonight. He is sooo tiny and cute! Hadessah is always on the move, and because of that I felt led to buy her a double stroller.  With her being on the move that much, she's sure to need it and put it to good use. I wouldn't put it past her to start using it tomorrow! lol Anyways today's picture of the day:

 Pretty Miss Hadessah, little miss skinny mini again. lol

 Little baby Noah

One of the outfits I bought for Noah. It says "Brand New Red, White, and Blue" I think it's perfect for an Army Wife. Yes, Hadessah is an Army wife also. Her hubby works in a sister unit of Shawn's and is still here on Ft. Gordon.

I got back from the baby shower later than planned, but still in time to get done what I needed to tonight. So far I've put together another care package, did a little cleaning, "chatted" with my man on facebook, and even watched a little bit of Army Wives. Casey wasn't able to come over tonight, but she was babysitting for someone who has netflix and watched some of the episodes there so that we would be able to stay on track and keep the episodes going. But anyways, now I'm off to head to bed.

Good night to all, and Good morning to my baby. I love you! Stay safe!

Part 2~ The Picture

So after I just got done with that last blog I looked for the picture of baby Logan and Andrew, and realized I didn't post it like I thought I did, so here it is!

Logan closed his eyes, he wasn't too fond of the flash, but Andrew was in hog heaven holding the baby. Too sweet! Anyways, that's all for now! Goodnight!

Sunday Sunday Sunday!

Wow! Apparently more people read this blog than I realized! lol As of RIGHT NOW  at 1:03am, I have 350 page views. :-) I didn't realize my blog was so popular, but it makes me feel special!

So anyways today started out normal, Casey and I stayed up late last night watchin Army Wives, and she stayed the night since she was planning to attend church with me this morning. We got up a little later than planned, but still made it to church in plenty of time. Casey said she really enjoyed my Sunday School class, which made me glad to know she was enjoying herself. One thing she made note of is that in my Sunday School class, we are very open and have open discussions about the lesson and how it applies in our lives. Casey said that it was the first time she had been in a Sunday School class with REAL people, not the fake "oh my life is perfect" type class, but the "these are the problems going on in my life" type of class. I skipped out on chior this morning, (sorry Brent if you read this!) because I didn't want Casey to sit by herself during church especially with it being her first Sunday there, and Kristen hadn't shown up yet, and I needed to help Kristen find the nursery and us when she got there. Church started as with a "graduation ceramony" for the pre-k class of Grace Baptist, and then one dedicated to the graduating seniors and college students. It was really nice, and different than any other church graduation I'd ever seen before.

The actual church service started off with Chris Tomlin's song "Our God". This song really got me to thinking this morning. It sooo applies to my life right now, and I LOVE the lyrics.....

"Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who can ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
Then what can stand against?
Then what can stand against?"

I think I may eventually use this song as background music to a slideshow I'm thinking about doing..... But I don't know yet. We'll see. Anyways today's sermon was on "Making the Most of our Youth". Pastor Bill taught from 2 Kings 22:1-13. I always knew that Josiah was only 8 years old when he became king, but he was an awesome leader of his people. We learned about how Josiah was always committed to do what was right in the sight of the Lord, and that he was always committed to the truth. Very good sermon. For those of you who don't know, I've always been one to take notes during a sermon, to kind of keep a record of what was taught, the verses, ect. Now this may seem like a very random fact today, but it leads into today's picture of the day... :

Oh how I love my beloved Casey! She always knows what to say/do to cheer me up! You see, for as long as I can remember during church while I'm taking notes Shawn has always reached over, grabbed my pen, and wrote "I (heart) U".  Very simple, yet very sweet. When we were making our yellow ribbons the other day to hang on the tree I wrote "I (heart) U" on one of the ribbons, and mentioned to Casey how that was mine and Shawn's thing that we always wrote, especially when I'm taking notes during church. I didn't think anything else about it. But then today about mid-sermon, Casey pulled a Shawn, and wrote on my page and signed it from Shawn. It was almost like he really wrote it. It made my day! After church Casey decided that she will be attending church with me whenever she can while our men are deployed. She loved the church. Kristen said she enjoyed it and may visit with us a few more times, but I think Grace may have been a little bit bigger than she was expecting. I'm hoping I can get her to come on a Wednesday night, I really think she could use the fellowship with our Young Marrieds class.

After church Kristen and Casey headed home, and I ran to the house to make a quick batch of cookies before heading to Jan's house. At Jan's we ate a huge lunch consisting of rice, corn, rolls, mac and cheese, green beans, greens, and a roast with potatoes and carrots. YUM! It was delicious, and everyone was there.. Goodness, there was Nana and Papa, Beth, Pete, Megan Riley, Logan (sweet baby boy!), Shannon, Danny, Matthew, Jacob, Myself, Meagan, Brodie, and Andrew. Wow that was a packed house! The only one missing today was my man.... And babi, I was told to tell you that you were missed today, and that Megan Riley said she loves you a whole lots and lots. :-) I stayed at Jans for most of the afternoon. The kids played outside, and I spent some quality time with Logan while everyone slept so that his mama could have a break. lol Logan was born premature. His due date was mid-late March and he was born in January weighing only 2lbs. He is still tiny and only weighs about 9lbs right now. For four months old he's only about the size of a newborn, but he is progressing by leaps and bounds. He is already rolling over, cooing, smiling, holding his head up by himself, and progressing quicker than his nurses and doctors thought he would. This is the baby that Andrew is holding in one of the pictures from yesterday. I have never seen Andrew be so loving over a baby before. All I heard today was "mommy see the baby", "mommy I like the baby", "mommy can i hold the baby?" Sweet as could be!

When we finally got home it was getting late, and was almost time to leave for Sunday night church, however tonight the only thing they were doing was passing out flyers for VBS and then having an ice cream dinner after that, so the kids and I decided to chill at the house. We had pizza for dinner, and a little ice cream of our own. We watched Monsters Inc. and the kids had fun. Bedtime was fairly easy as normal, Meagan got to bed no problem, Brodie was a little emotional right before bed though. He is getting better though, Andrew was up and down in the bed for a goof 45 mins but finally settled down and went to sleep. Casey didn't come tonight, she had a late night at work, and we both thought we could use a little extra sleep tonight.

Around midnight Shawn got online and I facebook chatted with him! I can't wait till I finally get to skype him and I get to see his face! The online reguations have been changed and they only have like 30 mins online at a time now though so he was on and off quicker than I had hoped, and just as I was getting ready to begin my blog he called. Oh man it was awesome to be able to hear his voice! I love you babi! We were able to talk on the phone for about 13 mins, and right as we decided it was time to go and we were fixing to start saying our goodbyes, the phone cut off with no warning. :-/ Sadness! But I do know that he loves me, and he knows that I love him. And hey I did get to talk to him, so it's all good. As for now, I'm off for bed, it's my baby girl's last week of school! She graduates kindergarten on Thursday! WOW! She's growing fast. So off to bed so I can prepare for the long week ahead! Goodnight all!

And to Shawn, good morning! I love you babi~ Stay safe, and I hope to hear from you again soon!

2 Days Down, and Finally Caught Up!

So...  I have 2 blogs to do tonight. Yesterday and todays. And then I will be caught up! :-)

Yesterday.... I woke up, and Casey was getting ready to leave. She had to head to the gym. I got my baby girl up, dressed, fed, and on the school bus, and then started feeding my baby boys breakfast. Kristen and her babies got ready and left too. A quick run to walmart to pick up some totes and some mason jars. Then to mom and dad's to get some packing done. Yes packing. I am finially moving all of my stuff out of their house. While we were at the house, the boys played outside while I packed. Which leads to yesterday's picture of the day....

Yes. My child is actually holding a bug. And yes it is alive. And yes he is smiling!!! It was his idea too! I'm so proud of him, he is actually beginning to get over his fear of bugs. Maybe now I won't hear the shill of a horrified little boy everytime there's a moth upstairs. Oh wait, Andrew is still terrified. Hopefully seeing Brodie not being scared of bugs will help Andrew get over his fear quicker too.

I got the majority of all my stuff packed up and into the truck, and then I got an awesome phone call! My best friend from high school, Howard Walls called to say that he was in town for the day and would like to meet me for ice cream. Which means more pictures!!

 Me and Howard

 He's like SUPER tall

And this Andy. I graduated with him too, he's Howard's best bud.... he's SUPER tall too.

These two guys make me look like a midget! lol Ice Cream at Brewsters, then back to mom and dad's to spend time with my grandparents while they are in town. Came home, and shortly thereafter my beloved Casey showed up with chocolate and strawberries! LOVE YA CASEY!

 My Casey eating a chocolate covered strawberry

and me eating one too. :-)

We watched a few episodes of Army Wives, I got to talk to my man on facebook for a few mins, and then Casey had to leave. She had an early morning, and needed to go. I went up to check on the kids and couldn't help but to take even more pictures. They were adorable sleeping last night!!!

both of them got out of bed and layed down on the floor beside each other to sleep. So Sweet!

And my Meagan... so cute!

So this morning I expected to be awoken by my 3 lovely children around 7 or 730, but my kids didn't wake up till 930!!! I was SHOCKED! It was so awesome to sleep in! Woke up and had to hurry to get the kids fed and dressed, I was supposed to have the kids to Jan's house first thing this morning. You see, Jan and Rick are Meagan and Brodie's other set of grandparents, and their Aunt Beth and Uncle Pete just came to town for the weekend. So Jan called and ask if she could get the kids for the night. It worked out great cause I had a wedding to go to today. So I got all 3 of the kids ready and off to Jans we went. I was actually kid free for a few hours. It was so awesome! It's the first real break I've had from the kids since Shawn has been gone, and I soooo needed it today.

So I came home, got ready and off to the wedding I went. My Uncle Mike got married today. Which leads to today's picture of the day...

pretty decorations

 when he saw "Aunt" Anna come down the isle

 So happy to see each other

 lighting the unity candle

 the kiss

after the cake cutting

The wedding was beautiful, it reminded me of my own wedding. It reminded me of my husband and how much I miss him too though. After the wedding I went to Jan's and picked up Andrew. We had a mommy and Andrew afternoon, and it was awesome. I think Andrew needed it some wicked bad. lol He was so much better behaved than he has been in a while. I needed a semi-quieter afternoon too.

Then around 10 Casey showed up. She's attending church with me tomorrow, so we decided she should stay the night, and have some more Army Wives. :-) It's funny, our men have been gone barely a week and a half, and Casey and I have watched Army Wives for about a week, and we started on season 1, episode 1, and tonight we finished with season 3, episode 2. Needless to say we love the show. And spending time with each other is helping the days and nights pass by quickly.

So to bed we are headed, and tomorrow we will get up and go to church. Kristen is supposed to be headed to meet us at church tomorrow too. I'm so thankful to have the two of them to lean on and support each other! I love them!

So to all goodnight, to my babi, good morning, I love you, and I hope to hear from you soon. Stay safe babi!

Not My Fault!

So, I missed another day, but this time it was not my fault! As I logged on last night to blog, they were "undergoing maitenence." lol So... Yesterday morning was usual, typical  stuff, getting Meagan on the bus, getting the boys up, ect. Casey had stayed the night and she woke up, we all ate breakfast. I was waiting on Cushman's to call so that I could get a price on having our storage container moved, but after waiting all morning and the difficulties I've had with them, I'm starting to consider looking to another storage building mover.We'll see though.

Around 11am I finally left the house. Casey stayed home and watched the boys so I didn't have to worry about them while I was running around doing my errands. First I went to the social security office and officially had my name changed. I am now officially Mrs. Bonnie Marie DeRaps!! YAY! After that I went to the driver's licence office and got it changed too. They gave me some kind of paper print out until it's mailed me my official one. Finally I drove all the way to post to get my military Id updated. Well, according to the lady that helped us the week before shawn left said all I needed was his deployment orders.... which I had. So yesterday the lady asked for everything, and apparently the first lady lied and she needed something totally different. Now I am waiting on Shawn to mail me a POA. grrrr!

After that I ran to Walmart and got some groceries. It was nice being able to do it by myself. I finally arrived back home and Casey left, she had to go run an errand. Then James came over to the house and finished mowing/weedeating the yard! Thanks! Then Casey and Kristen, another Army Wife came over and Casey made us some lazangea (sp?) it was AWESOME!!! Which leads to today, or well 3/12/11 picture of the day...

My 3/4ths of the way eaten lazanga. AMAZING! The kids all went down fairly easy and were sleeping before we knew it. So then we had GIRL TALK. and boy did we enjoy ourselves.... Late nights, tears, REALLY RANDOM jokes, and 3 girls is equal to extrame silliness. We were up till almost 4 giggliing and laughing the whole time.

Now I know that you're expecting today's blog now too, but it's SUPER WICKED late and I'm about to pass out even as I try to type. The plan is to update for today first thing this morning, but if I don't do it asap in the mornings I wild definaely do it tomorrow afternoon sometime. Goodnight to all!

And too my babi! I love you, I miss, you, and stay safe! Goodnight/Goodmorning!! Love to all!

The Day I Missed, Plus One More!

So I failed! lol I missed a day! I'm sooo sorry Aunt Cathy, I know I disappointed you and your coffee! lol :-) I'll explain what happened, but I'll start from yesterday morning.....

Yesterday morning I woke up late! I woke up at 7:40, meaning I had approximately 10-15 mins to get Meagan up, dressed, fed, and on the bus.... Whew! What a rush! lol I hurriedly grabed some clothes for her, and she got dressed while I packed her book bag. Then I fixed her hair super fast while she brushed her teeth, (yes before she ate) and tied her shoes. Out the door she went, poptarts in hand, to stand by the tree and wait on the bus, but we made it. She ate quickly and finished the last bite right as the bus was pulling up! We made it! lol

After getting Meagan on the bus, I put in some biscuits before the boys woke up. Gotta love the smell of fresh hot biscuits in the morning. Casey had stayed the night Monday night, so I woke her up, and then got the boys up. After Casey left, the boys and I sat down for our daily morning cartoons.... Then I snuck away for a few to start packing my care package for Shawn. The biggest flat rate box wasn't big enough for one item that Shawn had asked me to mail, so I had to buy a 14x14x14inch box to put it in. While packing the box, my babi called! We only talked for a few mins, but I loved every min of it. He did tell me though that he would not be getting internet in his room like we had hoped because it was going to cost like $250 per MONTH. Rediculous if you ask me!

Anyways, a quick bite to eat for the boys and we were out the door to the post office. I show up at the post office at 1:20, 10 mins before it reopens after lunch... Thankfully they opened a few mins early yesterday, so I was in and out quickly. Shawn's care package weighed 34lbs.... I blame these---- yesterday's picture of the day

Yes I mailed Shawn some Mtn Dews... apparently they don't have them over there.....And Shawn LOVES them. Can't wait till I can put them in a flat rate box so it doesn't cost so much. Yesterday's care package cost me $50 to mail. I bout died!

After we mailed the package, I picked up Katie and Tyler and we met up with Casey and the twin boys she nanny's for at the park. Those twins are so cute! And I had a blast! The boys played and enjoyed it, and us girls were able to enjoy it too! After the park I had to hurry home for Meagan to get off the bus. I arrived home to my wonderful brother who came to start mowing the grass... Shawn and I hired James as our landscaper/handy man for while he is gone. That way I don't have to do yard work and such. Then the land-lord called. It's time for our quarterly inspection, which will be Friday afternoon. This is all fine and dandy except for a large gaping hole that was in the wall of the boys room upstairs. Shawn was supposed to fix it before he left, but was too busy, so I called my daddy. Daddy to the rescue!!!!! After work Dad came over and sheetrocked the hole and put up the framing around it.... picture of the day number 2

You see, there is a hidden compartment for "storage" behind the framing, and the boys "fell" through the center of the sheet rock before leaving a rater large hole. The boys were all but terrified to get near the hole, but with the inspection coming up, that had to be fixed. Thanks so much daddy! Now all that's left to do is vaccum up the mess and paint the middle to the same color as the rest of the wall.

So my day ended with 3/4ths of my yard mowed and weed-eatted, and one less hole in my wall. Meagan and Brodie went down quickly, a couple of tears from both of them tonight, but overall good. As for Andrew, I sat by his bed trying to make him stay in it and ended up falling asleep... which is why I didn't get on and blog last night. Again sooo sorry! I awoke sometime around midnight and got online to blog, and decided to check my facebook really fast, realized Shawn was online, so I talked to him for just a few, and then went to bed. It wasn't till this morning that I realized I had forgotten to blog last night.

So this morning I woke up on time, and gave Meagan cereal for breakfast, ready for school with plenty of time to spare, and then on the bus. After she left I decided to lay back down to sleep since the boys were out still. I got back in bed and we all slept till about 9. That was an unexpected, but awesome surprize. Mom came over for just a few, she was on the way to the doctor.Today was really a "lazy day" per say, we didn't really do much, a little bit of laundery done and some other cleaning here and there, but we mostly stayed at home and had our morning cartoons before the boys went upstairs to play. Lunchtime was here before we knew it, and after that was nap. Brodie had a great nap, and all Andrew did was play, so no nap for him. I didn't realize it till now, but today was totally uneventful. lol Meagan got home from school, we ate some supper and got ready for church. Cushman's called, I'm meeting with them in the morning to get an estimate on moving our storage shed. That should be fun. lol YEA RIGHT. lol

We got ready for church and left the house a few mins late, meaning that I ended up about 5 mins late. Today though when I arrived at church I came prepared with my new phone with facebook and skype capabilities. I WAS NOT going to allow what happened last wednesday to happen again. lol Church leads us to today's random picture of the day...

Andrew's name tag! Andrew has to wear it in the nursery every Sunday and Wednesday. Church was good tonight, but it just isn't the same without my babi there. I miss him so much! I didn't stay for choir practice tonight, I just wasn't up for it and the kids needed to go to bed. Got home, got the kids ready and in the bed by 9. I cleaned the kitchen and by clean I mean I loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, wiped down the counters, swept, and even mopped! All this by 10! Brodie and Meagan were asleep when I went up to check on them, Andrew still awake. Casey showed up around 10:15, we had some girl talk then started our Army Wives. Andrew finally fell asleep on the FLOOR lol around 11. Casey's staying the night tonight, she's going to watch the boys tomorrow so that I can go to the social security office and have my name officially changed. I may be married, but the government still has me down as Bonnie Collins, and I'm ready to  officially to the governement be Mrs. Bonnie DeRaps!!! I'm excited and looking forward to it!

Goodnight to all, and Goodmorning to my babi! I love you, and cannot wait to hear from you again. Stay safe and I'm sending you all my love!!!

FRG, Bows, and Ribbons

Well, it has offically been a week since my babi left. I'm doing alot better than I thought I would at this point, which is good, really good actually. Woke up this morning, got Meagan off to school, and somehow I knew from the start that it was going to be one of those days. You know, those days where nothing seems to be going right... That's how my day started. After Meagan got on the bus, the plan was to get the boys up and dressed, and out the door by 9, 9:15 at the latest. I needed to take a trip to mom's to get some more of my stuff. Well, after fixing the dog's food and water, I put her on her chain, only to within 2 mins knock over both of them, so off to refill them both. Then I finally got the boys ready and in the car to leave, and I got 10 mins down the road, and I realize, I left the key to mom's house at home. Great. Back to the house I go, finally get to the Lincoln County bridge, and there is a one way road due to road work being done. I think I'm gonna make it, but just before I got through, the man turns his little sign from slow to stop, one car ahead of me. I think I ended up sitting there for a total of 15 or 20 mins. By the time I finally made it to mom's it was 10:30, an hour after I had planned to arrive.

At moms the boys played outside for a long while, and I got all of my stuff out of the bathroom, all the hanging clothes and shoes from my closet, and half of the knick-knack items around the room. I got the boys inside, and fed them PB&J and tried to get them into bed. Key work there being tried, cause after 2 1/2 hours of fighting and discipline, I finally decided to give it up because at that point they would have been getting up shortly after falling asleep. While the boys layed down I got all of my clothes packed and everything into the truck. I hurry home, and make it home just in time for Casey to arrive! Casey got to the house about 3:45 and she helped me unload everything out of the truck. She's really awesome if I do say so myself! lol Then we worked on our bows... which leads to today's picture of the day:

 The bow I made for Shawn. :-)

 The bow Casey made for Gary.

We ended up having to dry the paint with the hairdryer so it wouldn't get all over everything. Then off to the FRG meeting. It was kinda boring alot of planning and not much real talk. However I now have a list of more people who would like to be added to the facebook group I made. I'll add them tomorrow though! :-) After the meeting we hung our bows ont the trees outside the company.... more pictures!

 My bow hanging on the tree for Shawn

Casey's bow hanging on the tree for Gary.

There were a couple more women who made bows and hung them on the tree, but it was getting late and dark so I'm going to go take pictures of them in the next few days. Over all Casey and I were quite pleased with our bows. A quick trip to Walmart for care package supplies and some bare necessities, and then home. All the kids in bed ASAP, to include tears here and there, but not because of missing daddy, but because of the kids misbehaving and telling lies. No tears for daddy. Don't get me wrong, the kids are missing their daddy something aweful, and I am too, but those daddy dolls are working miricles. :-) After the kids went to bed, what else but more Army Wives, and then Casey decided to stay the night. I was glad, it's nice to not be the only adult in the house all night. :-)

I didn't get to hear from my man today, but I know he'll call again as soon as he can. I love you Shawn DeRaps! Stay Safe out there and call me whenever you can. <3 You

Mother's Day Fun

So first off I want to wish any mothers that are reading my blog out there a Happy Mother's Day. I had a pretty awesome one, alot better than I thought it would be without my man here... So I woke up this morning at 8. NEVER get to do that on a Sunday anymore.... At my church, Sunday School starts at 9, but you see, this morning I went to church with my mom, and Sunday School there doesn't start till 10. The extra sleep was nice. :-)

After a crazi morning of trying to get 3 kids ready for church by myself, we finally made it to church, and we were only 5 mins late.... That's not too bad is it? lol Church went well, and was very quick. After church I let Meagan and Brodie do something special for their mother, Debbie DeRaps. So I have a couple of pictures of the day today......

 My three GORGEOUS babies on Mother's Day. :-)

My roses from my babies, given to me at church

 Walkin with the ballons

Ballons and roses

So I think we relased a total of 10 ballons up to heaven for Debbie today. Although I don't know for sure if I ever met her in person, and I don't believe I ever knew her personally, I know she was an amazing woman. I wish I could have met her. One day when I die and go to heaven I know one thing I want to do is thank her for the gift she gave me, those two gorgeous wonderful children of mine who love me so much. They are a blessing, and I'm thankful everyday that I have them and get to be their mother now.

After church we went to mom's house. Daddy and James were the cooks, and prepared our lunch... but before lunch, what else but more pictures!

all of us, minus dad of course, someone had to take the picture!

So after taking the pictures and changing clothes I get a text message from Shawn's mom saying that he had called and wished her a happy mothers day, and that he had tried to call me also but I didn't answer. My first thought was that it was probably while we were letting the ballons go, and he hopefully would try to call me back. His mom reasured me that he would. A little while later I got a voicemail on my phone. My heart sank. Had he tried to call again and I had missed it because of crappy signal? :-( But then the phone started ringing. It was my man. I recieved what was possibly THE BEST mother's day present ever. A phone call from my man. We talked for probably a good 20 mins, and I was loving every min of it. He talked to the kids, wished my mom a happy mothers day, and talked to both my dad and my brother, and then when he was done he talked to me again. I love him soooo much! He's the bestest hubby ever!

So the men (daddy and James) cooked lunch today. The menu was Steak (and cheeseburgers for the kids), corn on the cob, baked potatoes, grilled veggies, and salad. It was amazing. Delicous! Mom, Dad and James gave me a mother's day card, and we gave mom the card from the kids, and one from me. After supper, mom and I got to relax some more. All the kids went down for a nap, and so did mom and I. Andrew napped with his Mamaw.... I think she needed that! And while we all napped the boys cleaned up the mess. I woke up right before it was time to go to church tonight, and at the last min decided to stay at mom's a little longer instead. We watched a movie called 8 Seconds. It was pretty good. The ending was sad, but what do you expect? lol While watching the movie we had cookies and cream ice cream YUM!

After the movie went off the kids and I finally headed home. We made it home at 8:30, just in time to have Meagan a quick bath and get all the kids to bed.... or so I thought. I got the kids ready for bed, we did our devotions, read a book, and then instead of bed, we made something special for daddy.... and since he reads this ya'll will have to find out what later. Kids finally in the bed at 9:30. The only tears tonight were Brodies. He was perfectly fine running around and having fun, but the moment the words time for bed came out of my mouth it was like magic. Instantly Brodie was curled up on the couch in a ball complaining of a tummy ache..... Funny how quickly kids can come up with excuses not to go to bed. lol

After the kids were in bed Casey came over, which leads to my final picture of the day....

Casey bought me flowers for mothers day! I felt so special! :-) Gotta love your friends! They always have a way of cheering you up when you most need it and least expect it.

She came over tonight so we could make some bows, yellow bows for a tree on base. We have a FRG meeting tomorrow, (and thank goodness Shawn got me a map of Ft Gordon before he left!) and we're putting ribbons and bows on the tree for our men. So we made our bows, and they turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself! And now all we have left to do is write on them before tomorrow's meeting. We couldn't find anything that wouldn't bleed on the ribbon, so Casey's gonna pick up some puffy paint for us to do that with tomorrow morning. After that we started our Army Wives marathon again. That is soo much fun! lol Around midnight Shawn got online and I "chatted" with him on facebook chat. This was the first time he had been able to get online, and he finally got to see this.... my blog. He said he LOVES it. I'm so glad he does, because it is mostly for him, and just a little for me. For him so he can keep up with us and for me so I can kinda feel like I'm talking to him every night before bed. I've also found out that I've got a couple of other dedicated readers who read my blog every morning with a cup of coffee... Hi Aunt Cathy!

Anyways that made two times getting to talk to my man in one day.... I couldn't have asked for a better mother's day, even if my man is away it was still awesome! I love you baby, stay safe over there! See you soon!