Di's Thoughts

Blog Following I will go.....

2011-01-05T09:27:00.003-07:00

I am so determined to blog my heart out this year. My ramblings & what not will be kept on here in "Di's Thoughts" & I will do my project 365 on the "PahmanFamilyYearBook." Friends, family, fellow military, independent PartyLite consultants, fellow scrapbookers/crafters & so on, if you have a blog, post a comment, let me know. You can 'follow' me & I will 'follow' you. Google has that wonderful feature found at the very top of each blog & some of us have it added on our sidebar as well (I just added mine to both blogs). Here is to a great 2011!!

Photo taken with no flash to see the beautiful illumination:) PartyLites new Infinite Reflections Prism Tealight Holder + a jar candle on each side

Happy New Year

2011-01-03T20:05:00.004-07:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years! Although I haven't been so good with updating a blog & my resolutions last year didn't work, I am seriously thinking of trying to do a photo a day challenge. If I do do it & am successful (ok minus the 2 days I missed already) you will need to check or follow along with my other blog. Since the name of this one is Di's thoughts, I'll leave it at that, but the other is The Pahman Family so what better of a place to have a photo a day blog, my own project 365:)

Btw, isnt' this cute?!? It's PartyLite's new customizable tealight holder:) This is one of their photos but I do have one & saw the cutest idea that I plan to use. When I get it done, I'll upload & show you what it looks like:)

Item P90171 Customizable Tealight Centerpiece by PartyLite

End of the Year

2010-12-27T20:10:00.003-07:00

I bet you can't believe you are actually seeing a blog from me! Amazing huh!?! Well lets see, this makes my 3rd blog for the entire year. Not very good considering one of my new years resolutions was to blog more. In fact lets recap them:

1. Continue my schooling - That one I accomplished, in fact if you don't already know, I'll give you a little run down of it. Spring & summer semesters I continued with 3 classes, 10 credit total both ending in 4.0 GPA. This last sememster I made the decision to double major, added a class boosting me to 13 credits & was accepted into the honors program. In the honors program, I had to do an extra project/paper & have an instructor sponsor me, I chose my microbiology instructor. In the beginning of the semester she told our class about an opportunity that was truly out of this world (literally). I thought to myself what are my chances, but this may be a one time shot that I just had to try. Once accepted into the honors program, she asked me would I be interested in participating which of course I was & that became my honors project. To make this short, google SSEP (Student Science Experiment Program).

Opportunity knocked & I opened the door. Our window the little, but we did it. I met with a everyone interested, became the college student for team 1 & matched up with early college high school team members, two of them. We were one of the smallest teams. We worked hard, created our proposal, were finalists in the local panel (3 out of the 7 submitted were picked) & then all our hard work truly paid off when we won the final spot from the national panel. What does that mean? So long as no problems come up, our proposed experiment will be on board the next/last space shuttle flight. My teammates & I have already appeared on three local news channels, had an article in our local press & have been mentioned on SSEP's national blog. Prayfully everything goes to plan, as of now, we'll be present at the time of the shuttle launch (yes, NASA's Kennedy Space Center) & presenting our findings at a national conference in DC. Pretty amazing huh!?

Michelle, Jarisma & myself

2. Reduce the amount of crap we have - Certainly in the process but at the same time we moved & life has changed so its really hard to say. Old toys, items not needed & so on have left but at the same time school books & things like sports equipment have entered the home.

3. Blog more - Well that sure didn't happen!

4. I will lose 1/4 of the wt I want to lose in total - That didn't really happen either.

5. I will scrapbook more - That certainly didn't happen either:(

6. Print more photos - Nope, not really. But when you have to move unexpectedly in the year, not everything you plan on can be done.

Emma - December 2010 - 8 yrs old

Christopher - December 2010 - 7 yrs old

Matthew - December 2010 - 5.5 yrs old

7. Continue to learn about my OCD - Yup, done that:) In fact I've actually helped some others.

8. Put my needs before my friends - Definitely did that!!

9. Refresh my memory of the second language I once learned - Mmm, not so much, but really need to!

10. Organize more, in a normal & not so OCD sense, I hope - I'll say from what I did accomplish its a for sure. Some of it just goes with #7 & some of it I decided my way is just better:)

Oh & before I forget, yes, I got into a home based business, one I have always loved & was with once before. At first I told myself I'm signing up because I love the products so much but truly, our family can use the extra income when I can bring some in & neither Jesse or I has the time to go out & job where someone else makes our schedual. So PartyLite it is:) They have been in business for nearly 38 years & are the only candles I swear by. Don't like to burn, they have warmers, reeds & more to help freshen your home, car & so on.

My set up at a home based business open house. Feel free to visit my website anytime:) www.partylite.biz/dianapahman

Well, I think I'll stop there for now. I want to say at the top of this site there is an option that lets you follow my blog. So you aren't hopelessly checking on & off, click to follow & you should get an email when I actually DO post something. Really hoping to change that, even if my OCD knows I've missed things I wanted to post before, just so I can get something out there, even ramblings kinda like this:)

The Boys Room

2010-01-14T22:46:00.004-07:00

So I started my organization and reorganization process last week. I have completed the kids rooms so far. I still have to get a picture of Emma's but I at least have the boys to share. I went through and removed at least half of their toys. Everything left, went into a storage container and onto the shelf. No more toy box.

Then last weekend, the kids got to have a little four wheeling fun.

I'll be sure to get some pictures of Emma's room soon and get those posted. School for me begins next week. I'm just hoping the new room set ups will help the kids to help me more. Of course if all goes well, in just over a month the boys room will be changing again, as we are planning to get them a set of bunkbeds. Ta ta for now!

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T23:06:00.003-07:00

Wow, can you belive it, a post from...me! Well it's a new year and like everyone else, I have New Year resolutions.

1. Continue my schooling

2. Reduce the amount of crap we have

3. Blog more (I'm sure you are thinking, I will belive it when I see it)

4. I will lose 1/4 the wt I want to lose in total

5. I will scrapbook more

6. Print more photos

7. Continue to leare about my OCD

8. Put my needs before my friends

9. Refresh my memory of the second language I once learned

10. Organize more - in a normal and not so OCD sence, I hope

Well, that is what I have for now. What you all probably would like to see, some pictures.

The Pahman & Hand Family

Emma, Christopher and Matthew. And yes, we have a dog, her name is Sophie! The kids are growing by leaps and bounds. Even our furry and scaled family has grown. Sophie being one of them. She is very protective over the kids and I. A great delight, a wonderful companion.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-16T18:54:00.003-07:00

Ok, so that is a very delayed statement. But since the picture I'm sharing is of the kids on Easter morning I figured I just had to titled that way.

Just a little update on some of what is going on here. Jesse, is finally, cross your fingers, having his appt with Ortho on Monday. Please pray we will get some good news. Whether it be he can have a permanent profile and still be able to stay in the army, or that he can have surgery. If it is the surgery option, that the surgeon will actually have the wisdom to preform it correctly.

Emma is still having a bit of trouble with reading. Both her teacher and I work closely with her helping her along and hopefully, I know she has it in her, she will be able to pass on to second grade, without going to summer school.

Christopher continues to do well in school and is 100% boy. Matthew of course just had his 4th birthday and is back on the band wagon with potty training. Crossing fingers, he seems to want to do it, every day. This past week the only time he has worn his pull ups were at night in case. After all, if you ask him, he is a big boy now. And as for me, I am officially enrolled in the community college here. Working on studying little bits here and there to get ready to take my placement test so I can work towards getting accepted into their RN program.

That's all for now. I know I don't update as often as I like so I'll try to do it more often, even if it is just little tiny posts with updates and or pictures.

My Baby is 4!

2009-04-10T19:21:00.006-07:00

I just can't believe how time has flown. It has already been 4 years since our precious Matthew was born. Can you believe it, my baby is four?!

We had a nice little party for Matthew today. Rented a jumper for all the kids to play in, had food and of course cake.

I made a spongbob cake for his birthday. Matthew throughly enjoyed opening all of his gifts as well. Happy 4th Birthday Matty!!

Father Daughter Dance

2009-02-14T11:11:00.006-07:00

Ok I give, I don't think I will ever get the past posts done I wanted to. Between life and computer probs I just don't see it happening anymore. Please forgive me.

This past Thursday Emma and her Daddy attended the Father Daughter dance at her school. She had so much fun. I'm pretty sure Jesse enjoyed taking her as well:-)

Emma and her friends Hailey and Alexis before the dance.

Daddy pinning the corsage on Emma.

Father and Daughter!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

A Blog to the Extreme

2009-01-19T20:46:00.009-07:00

You know sometimes something comes up that you just know that it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I know there are many times I have just sat by and watched life just pass my by. Well today, I was not going to let that happen.

Above (door knock - day 1) and below (demolition day - day 3) photos taken from the website.

Have you ever seen (or even heard of) the show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition?" I'm sure most of you have. Well a family here in El Paso was chosen to receive one of their awesome homes. By the time I had heard it on the news (and I don't watch it very often at all), mulled it over for a bit and finally decided, yes, I will find a way to work it out so I can be on the team, production had already started. Ok so that didn't work but I wasn't going to hold me back from at least visiting the location.

Above demolition day (taken from the web site - day 3). Below, construction day 1 (taken from the web site -day 4).

Construction day 2 (taken from the web site - day 5).

Sunday afternoon Jesse, the kids, along with a friend of mine and her kids, drove out to see what we could of the production. Of course we didn't really know where to park and most of the area was blocked off so I only have a couple shots of the back of the house nearly done.

I took the above picture on day 7.

Today, was when I really decided, I am not going to let this once in a lifetime opportunity pass me by. I went back, all by myself. Found where we parked and got out. As soon as I got up to the shuttle stop, I learned they had run the last one. We were allowed to walk but not guaranteed to get in to see (about a mile or so walk). I went for it. As soon as I got to the barricades, I was told they weren't letting anyone else in, they had already 'moved the bus'.

I started to get in the line to get on a shuttle to go back, and there was quite a line. Once I got to the back, I noticed one of the designers out taking pictures, shaking hands and all that. So I snapped a few shots (thank you honey for the wonderful camera with a telephoto lens:)). The line was so long so I just waited, figured why be in a hurry and good thing to, they decided to let more people in, so away I went down to the home.

Eduardo Xol

I stayed as long as I could getting shots of the new home. I also bought a shirt to commemorate the event. The police let us stay so long then decided to start moving everyone out. On the way out, I ran into another designer, of course got pics of him, but this time, I got well his initials on my new shirt as well as a picture with him.

Rib Hillis

I left feeling pretty good. They told us that Ty and the family would be inside filming for hours yet. Again, thinking how once in a lifetime this opportunity is, I proceeded to get my oil change and head back, just to see. This time I parked on a street a bit closer and got out to walk. They weren't letting anyone down to the house anymore and just when I thought all was lost, I heard his name shouted out. Yes, there he was, Ty Pennington himself. You could tell he didn't have a lot of time and I'm not a pushy person (as so many there were), I didn't end up with his autograph, however, I did get some pretty good pictures though.

Ty Pennington

Boy am I glad I grabbed this chance by the horns:-)

El Paso, TX to Springfield, MO

2009-01-14T13:12:00.004-07:00

I'm a bit behind on posting all this but like I said, I'm going to get it done:) Here is a pic of Mitzi trying to come along in my suitcase (no not really, she just likes laying on our clothes).

The first day we decided to drive as much as possible. We knew we would be heading into bad weather the farther north we got and were losing 2 hr of time as we went along as well (from mountain time to eastern).

Jesse and I took turns driving. He still did the majority of it but at least I started out and drove (with stops) for approximately 8 hrs of the day. It is supposed to be a 26hr trip and we did the first 15+ in one day.

Nothing really to say, nothing really to see. We made pretty good time and the kids did pretty well. Note how they all fell asleep.

We arrived at the Best Western in Springfield, MO quite late and got tucked right in. No spare time tonight, we just had to sleep and get back on the road. Here is a picture of the kids all tucked in for the night.

Matty was the last up in the morning.

Jesse having a breakfast sandwich, compliments of the hotel, heated up by me using our room microwave:)

Me, looking cranky....I must be checking out the weather reports here and dreading, I mean getting all set to hit the road again.

Just an outside pic of the room we stayed in.

And of course, a picture of the lobby/check in building.

Stay tuned, as I will have more postings of the rest of our trip to follow.

Good Morning

2009-01-04T08:02:00.002-07:00

This is just a tiny little post. I just wanted to update everyone. Right now we are waking up in our hotel in Joplin, MO and are about to hit the road again. I still have all my trip blogs to post as well as one in draft form that will go up and be below this one. So when you have some time in the next couple days, come on back and be sure to check on December and January posts. Lots of great pictures will be posted.

For now I bid goodbye as I pack up the laptop, tuck the kids back in the truck and hit the road to El Pasto, TX. See you again soon!

Waltz of the Flowers

2008-12-24T12:45:00.007-07:00

Emma continued with dance and performed in the Christmas production the Nutcracker. They all danced to the March and her class also danced to Waltz of the Flowers.

Posing before the performance.

Emma and her friend Alana.

The March.

Waltz of the Flowers.

You did a great job girls!!

Just sneaking this photo in to show what a wonderful job Jesse did decorating our house for the holidays.

Oooo Big Presents

2008-12-24T12:41:00.003-07:00

My parents sent presents for the kids that they could surely enjoy and use before Christmas. What did they get you ask?

Big comfy comforters! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hand! They sure will keep them warm at night.

Christopher......The BIG 5!

2008-12-19T08:38:00.005-07:00

November 29, 2003
1:54 PM
8lbs 2oz, 21in

Christopher turned 5 this year, so hard to believe. We had a great party for him on his birthday and he loved every minute of it. He got lots of great gifts, including clothes, speed racers (one of his current favorites) and Cars items.

We served hot dogs and subs and of course cake.

And yes this year I actually made the cake.

We also rented a jumper for the kids to play in. All the kids loved it!

Happy 5th Birthday Christopher!!

Mommy and Daddy love you!!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-05T08:12:00.003-07:00

I'll just make this a really quick post. This year, like all years we have a lot to be thankful for. But this year, we are most thankful for the safe return of Jesse, our own hero. It was so great spending this holiday with him again.

We had a combined Thanksgiving with a bunch of friends, our military family. There was so much good food. The kids all enjoyed being together as well.

All the kids, minus Nate (who pretty much clung to his mom).

I know I have a bunch of posts to put out, bear with me, I will get them done before we leave for Michigan. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!

Halloween 2008

2008-12-05T07:46:00.004-07:00

This is quite late but I wanted to get one up none the less. First off, I had planned on getting up a blog of Grandpa and Grandma's Jones visit but my camera disappeared. I waited hoping it would show up, but unfortunately, it has not yet (I'm still hoping and praying).

Thankfully a couple friends of mine that we went out with had cameras and let me borrow them as well. So here are our kiddies all dressed up.

Emma, our southern bell.

Christopher, our pirate.

Matty, our skeleton, who did not like having his mask on.

And yes, even I dressed up this year.

Oops, I almost forgot the pumpkin.

Our Hero Has Arrived!!!

2008-11-14T11:47:00.004-07:00

At about 2am ish November 14, we welcomed Jesse and his unit back home!

While the kids each had a sign to welcome him I decorated the house as well (and the truck windows which I do not have a picture of at this point).

Me signing the big welcome home sign for the unit. My friend Lauren came along with me and took pictures. Yup had my own personal photographer. Isn't she awesome?!

Amanda and I eagerly awaiting our husbands to land.

The kids ready to welcome daddy home (yup at 1am)!

The unit unloading from the plane.

The unit marching in off the plane.

We had to wait for about another hour or so while they checked in their weapons and such. When it was time for them to enter, the smoke rolled.

Once they were dismissed, we tracked him down and had big welcome home hugs and kisses for Jesse.

After, we went outside to get all his bags. This was taken before we went to get his duffel bag (yes one more to add). Once we got over to the duffel bags, there were guys there to help locate them. When they located Jesse's bag, Jesse went to grab it and wouldn't you know, they carried it, along with the ones he was already carrying out for us. So since Jesse no longer had bags to carry, he carried his boys instead:)

Welcome home Hero!!!!!

New Wheels

2008-09-06T09:00:00.003-07:00

So in my last post I said I would talk about some of what is going on. Well I don't want to bore people (those that actually read) and do want this to end with a happy note, hence the title. Anyway, I won't go into it all but I have gone through so much during this deployment. Some only the Lord, my loving husband and drs will ever know. But since Jes deployed a year ago, I've had some medical problems that are finally getting properly addressed this month. Without proper medical diagnosis, I believe right before school restarted, I passed my second kidney stone. I was asked by a friend of mine, "Is it like giving birth?". To my reply, "very close".

Now on to the title and how it came about. So of course we live in Texas where cars need to be inspected every year. It was time again to get the Audi in and we had had problems with this last year. This year, its just me to deal with it though. So, knowing right off there is a safety issue that won't pass (we paid over $200 for Firestone to fix the highbeams last year and they quit working after they put them in, they just passed us anyway), I take my car back to the place that had fixed that exact issue, even though throught the year I had tried as well. See this place does not to appointments. They open at 7am and when you have kids in school, young children and its just you, no other car, its quite hard to just go there and sit all day waiting. Let alone leave your vehical for them.

So I take it in, being the first day back to school I figured they would be pretty slow and they were. But what do they tell me?! Sorry the warrenty is all void and we would have to fix it. The price quoted to me was over $400 this time. Oh and yeah, I needed to have something else fixed to, unsure what, but it won't pass until done. So I was looking at $800 to over $1000 in repaire costs. Now Jesse and I had discussed getting a different vehical at some point. Well that point came. I didn't see the point in throwing all that money into the car. We are hoping to go home for his leave and I didn't feel safe taking this car round trip (it was giving my signs, like all the panels inside started falling off, hmmm). Needless to say, I went shopping. This is all in that first week of school as well (yes it was a TON of stress, but its kinda how the deployment has gone).

Now since we hadn't fully prepaired to buy a new car or anything right now, we didn't have a full amount of cash to put on it (yes we try to buy free and clear as much as we can ~ see Dad, Dave Ramsey would be proud). And of course we are still working on our credit, plus my husband is deployed so we have limited banks to even try since not all work with POA's (power of attorneys). Needless to say, by the end of the week I had found a place, a dealership, with a warrenty (certified pre owned) vehical that would finance us. The bank just decided to be a little uptight about it and I had to have poor overworked Jesse get my another POA with the vin # from Iraq (but he was my hero and did).

Now that you have read through this big blog, here is the best part. Our new to us SUV:

A 2003 Ford Expedition! It has 3rd row seating which with our kids has become a must. Cloth interior (so much better then the leather I had where you stick to it everytime you get up, ugh). The back seats even have their own climate controls. And one of its best perks, we can tow Jesse's car:-)

Oh and if you are thinking about the fuel economy, sad to say, as bad as my car was running after Jesse left, it took premium gas. I did the math, we are still right at about the same amount spent for twice the size putting regular gas in the new beast.

Back to School

2008-09-02T21:49:00.005-07:00

So it is definitely time for an update. Last week the kids started school. It was actually quite a stressful week but I will blog about that in a day or so. For now I wanted to get the kids first day of school pics up.

Here is Emma, getting set to start First Grade!

Emma in her class.

On the first day I always bring the kids myself. The first thing Chris gets to do when he goes to school is have lunch. Here he is getting all set to start PreK and have some lunch:)

An attendant helped Chris go through the line so he could get used to what he needed to do each day. He definitely needed to pick out a little more food then that, he came home hungry.

Since the kids did not ride the bus on the first day so I tried to get some shots of them over the next couple days of them actually getting on the buses they ride.

Happy 6th Birthday Emma!

2008-08-17T11:12:00.004-07:00

August 16, 2002 2:15PM
7lbs 8oz

Here are a few pictures from her birthday party yesterday. Even thought any outside activities were rained out, she still had a lot of fun.

Emma and Mommy

Princess Emma

I made a turkey for our meal. Everybody loved it!

Present time. These are just a couple shots of her opening. She loved everything she got.

Her cake:-)

Happy 6th Birthday Emma Joy!!

Is TinkerBell the Toothfairy?

2008-08-17T10:58:00.003-07:00

Is what Christopher asked me on Sunday, August 3rd. Yup, he lost his first tooth.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

2008-08-04T12:11:00.003-07:00

So we are finally home and I had to chance to sit down, load the pictures to my computer and type up a vacation ending blog. While we were 'home' the kids had a chance to make some cookies with Grandpa Hand. Here are a couple pics of them helping.

I also had the chance to go out to Grand Haven beach with my good friend Amanda. The day was just so perfect! Although when we decided to try and get in the water, just to say we did at least, it was so cold, it actually hurt.

After sunbathing for awhile we took a walk down the pier.

The next day the kids and I went with Grandma Jones to the Fredrick Meijer Garden. They have a great children's garden there that the kids love playing in.

The played in the 'Great Lakes'.

In a little log cabin.

And with some beavers.

After we had a nice picnic lunch just outside.

Once we were done at the garden we headed on over to visit Grandma Jones' friend Karen.

The kids had a lot of fun playing inside and then out. Karen was so nice to open our home to us, let us swim and served snacks.

I'm still hoping to get copies of the pictures she took because I know they will just be wonderful:)

The next day I went with my friend Kathy to the Great American Scrapbook Convention. The first year they came to Grand Rapids I actually had a make in take table set up and kinda worked it, in hopes to help promote my own store. This year I just enjoyed being there and did a couple of make in takes myself.

One thing I had hoped so badly to do while I was 'home' was to make it to Michigan's Adventure. I hadn't gone in so many many years and thought it would be great fun to go. Well that wish came through and I was able to go with my friends Dan, Todd and Stacey.

They just opened a new ride this year called the ThunderHawk. Its a suspension coaster which means you hang down while you are sitting on it. It was so much fun!

At some point in life I actually got a small fear of water rides. Well I got over that fear and went on the best ride ever! Its called the Funnel of Fear. You sit on a four man tube, start off going down a totally closed slide and pop out into a big funnel that swishes you around until you come out the bottom and yes you get totally soaked while having a total blast.

It was hard saying goodbye. We started with my parents. The kids said goodbye first when they took them to the Jones' Grandparents house. I stayed back to finish packing and have one last dinner with my family. This visit was the first time I had seen them for over a year. Quite an adjustment when you are used to seeing someone at least once a week.

The next morning (Wednesday) we got up really early, got dressed and headed to Chicago where we were going to catch our plane. We stopped and had a quick little lunch just outside the airport.

Once at the airport our adventures really began. First off, I had a bag that was 2lbs over wt, they wanted to charge $50 for that, thankfully though I was able to take something out. We then entered security, all the while waving goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Jones. I guess in my last minute frantic packing I oops'd and put a liquid in a carry on bag. Of course security had to go through the bag, at first I had no idea what they could be looking for until he pulled the stuff out. He then totally accused me of lying to him, meanwhile I'm busily trying to get 3 pairs of shoes back on 3 little pairs of feet. Another airport security guy was able to get me a little plastic bag so I could keep just about everything (the only loss was a tub of toothpaste, not a big deal).

We then walked forever it seemed to our gate. When we got to our next destination to change planes, we were only supposed to have 45 mins to get off the plane, get to the next one and get on. Sitting and waiting for the first, I knew we wouldn't make it. It came up to our boarding time and our flight had still not arrived. Finally it did and we all got on, 20 mins late. Once we were out on a runway though they made an announcement that we were going back to a gate because of a mechanical malfunction on the plane. I guess they had to change the batteries or something like that out. At this point, I knew our connection would be gone. Thankfully the gal I was sitting next too offered her cell phone to me (since mine didn't have many roaming mins left) and I was able to call and make new reservations. Or rather I was in the process of it and promised they would be made as I had to let them go since we were getting set to take flight.

At least when we were finally up in the air, all the kids fell asleep for almost the entire flight.

They had an attendant standing outside when we got off the plane. I asked about the next flight I was to take (I only had a time and of course location I was flying too). It ended up being it was going to fly out of a gate in a totally opposite wing. So the kids and I headed up the elevator to catch the sky tram. They all did pretty good holding on as we flew on over to where we needed to be.

This is just a picture I took so you can see exactly what we rode and get an idea of where it is.

Once we found the gate, we got some dinner for Mc Donalds and sat down and ate. I was able to exchange our tickets with no problem. We had a bit of time to spare and it was actually nice feeling. About the time the flight should be arriving though, if you looked out into the sky you could see lightning. So now bad to that oh no feeling. Of course they made an announcement that the pilot of the plane would not land and was just circling. In fact he ended up after a bit landing in Fort Worth on an air field. So we then had to wait for him to take flight again and land at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. At least while waiting for the plane the kids made a friend. I feel so bad I have no idea what his name is, just that it is a fellow solider. He was so good with all the kids and really didn't mind playing with them. I of course felt kind of bad that they would not leave him alone, especially the boys.

Once we were finally on board I could sigh a big relief. When we got into El Paso, we went to collect our bags. A guy that worked there offered to help with them and he helped us get a taxi too. By this time it was after 9:20 at night and I was not about to call someone to get us (keep in mind, we were supposed to arrive at 4:40). I will remember for next time though to only go with a certain cab company since they have a contract for our base. I was so set on just getting home I didn't even care anymore I ended up over paying for that cab ride home (I paid for the guy to get a pass onto the base, grrr).

In the end, home sweet home!

Weekend Overview (& Monday too)

2008-07-22T19:07:00.009-07:00

This weekend was pretty laid back so this blog is just a some snap shots of the few things we did do. Yes, I love photos:)

A happy Matthew who has been doing great at potty training.

Emma in her new red, white and blue bikini.

I got these for the boys at Michaels, they are supposed to grow if you leave them in water....stayed tuned to see what we get. I'll post that in another blog.

Helping water the plants.

Sunbathing Emma. No not really, she's just trying to get dry.

Brotherly love!

More swim time.

Grandpa and Grandma Hand.

On Monday, we all, Emma, Chris, Matt, Grandma Jones and I went over to Grandpa Pahman's home and meet up with him, Dylan and Shane, first at Palmer Park. The kids enjoyed playing on all the playground equipment.

We also went on a long walk along the boardwalk.

After we all went back to Grandpa Pahman's to have dinner and play for a bit.

Fun with Friends

2008-07-18T21:43:00.005-07:00

We had a great time visiting with our friends and having a wonderful dinner as well. All the kids played outside and inside, up and down.

Before it was time to go we of course had to take some pictures. Here are a couple of Rochelle and I.

All the kids, Matthew, Christopher, Kayla, Karisa and Emma.

Oh how cute. Chris, Matt and Ems.

Sisterly love. Karisa and Kayla.

My hams:)

A Swimming We Will Go

2008-07-17T12:32:00.020-07:00

Anyway, we started the day by taking a walk to the bakery where Grandpa Hand works part time. One the way we stopped at Lew's garden and picked a couple of raspberries.

Once at the bakery, Grandpa Hand got us all a donut.

After we were back, we got ready and went swimming in VanderMeer's pool. Matty did alright, Chris, well he is our fish so he did pretty great and Emma did great once she got a bit used to it.

1...2...3...JUMP!

Later in the afternoon the kids and I went to the Jones grandparents house. Where the kids enjoyed some more water play with a little pool and water table. After that it was on to some indoor fun with their Uncles Shane and Dylan.

John Ball Zoo

2008-07-16T21:01:00.022-07:00

Today we went to the John Ball Zoo with Grandpa Hand. This time without a doubt I'm going to let the pictures do the talking. We visited just about all of the park. The kids each had their favorite part too.

The kids had the chance to ride a camel while we were there. How cool is that! Thankfully they all fit. And they all did a great job and enjoyed it very much!!

The Lions where Christopher's favorite.

Hands down without a doubt the stingrays are my favorite. And they ended up being Emma's too. It costs just $1 to go see and pet them. How cool is that, we can pet them! They also had little things of fish for $1 to feed them with. I got us a couple (the kids and I) and we tried.

It was a bit scary having them come eat from us but Emma was successful. With me helping hold her arm in place, the piece of fish propped up between her fingers, one lucky stingray made Emma one delighted little girl.

I tried to help Chris but he got to scared and just let the food go. I finished feeding them the rest. If you don't know what to expect it can be scary, but they have no teeth and you just feel a little sucking feeling when they pass over you and take the food.

Outside the big bird cage, you could purchase little sticks of food for just $1. So we each got one to feed the birds. They kids rather enjoyed it. Most of the birds stayed up high so I lifted Matty up to fee them.

What's that on Grandpa Hand's hat?

Why it's a bird!

I'm going to guess that this may have been his favorite.

You know, sometimes an accidental shot becomes one of the best. I was trying to get the penguin but instead got the greatest reflection of Chris and Emma watching.

The penguins were Matthew's favorite.

As we were getting set to go, a worker got suited up and dove in to clean the tank. We just had to stay to see that, well, at least them start.

Fun Noodles

2008-07-15T20:50:00.005-07:00

I learned that the kids actually slept well at their Grandparents Jones' house. Yay! Today we just took it really easy. It was such a nice day we let the kids play outside with some fun noodles. They just had a blast.

Oh yes, even I jumped in there and played.

Chris and Emma really went at it.

Emma on her horse.

They all helped Grandpa feed the birds.

Friends of ours stopped by as well. This is Elizabeth. Isn't she just darling?!

Krupp's Petting Zoo

2008-07-14T21:29:00.011-07:00

Today the kids and I went with Grandma and Grandpa Jones to a little petting zoo. I'm going to mostly let the pictures tell the story since I'm not very good at narrating. The little petting zoo had 2 pigs, 2 sheep, 2 goats, 1 cow (this one is actually still in question, you'll see), a couple of rabbits and some chickens.

Ok I guess I don't have a good pic of this guy I I thought I did. Anyway, looks like a cow right? Well Grandpa Jones pointed out, its very hard to get milk from an animal that is missing a certain part. So does this make him a bull?

Grandma Jones bought us some feed to feed the animals with. It was so much fun! And let me tell ya, the black piggy defienelty kept up to his name, he sure was a little piggy when it came to the food. Emma still says they are her favorite!

This guy just stole the cone out of my hand. Can you see it in his mouth? He was such a bully too. Not letting the other little piggy get any food. What a pig!

The sheep and goats ate so sweetly out of the kids hands.

Chris did not care for the smell.

I don't know why this picture turned like this but I had to keep it.

This guy was not part of the petting zoo but he was just too beautiful not to include.

After petting and feeding the animals for awhile, we washed our hands and had some ice cream. Once we were done, we washed up again and headed back to the Jones' homestead. We started out playing down in the playroom for a bit.

Who are those bunch of strawberries?!

Why its my little bunch!!

Emma jumped in the picture I was trying to get of Matty. And since I hurt her feelings, as she would say, I couldn't get another good one of her in the playroom after this.

Then it was outside to make bubbles, play chalk and other misc. other fun things.

Emma drew two Spongebobs. Bad Mommy forgot to take their pictures.

Chris trying to play ball with Uncle Dylan.

Emma on the big rock, Matty climbing where he shouldn't.

Chris trying to jump rope. He at least gets the concept of it.

After, it was time to come in and have some dinner. Jesse called just prior to us sitting down so I didn't sit with the family this time. I had been waiting to hear from him and everyone knows he comes first. He told me he was doing well just working a lot and so ready to be home. I really wish he could be here in MI with us.

I finished up my talk with Jesse and had some dinner myself. After dinner the kids played for a bit then I bathed them. Tonight they are spending the night at the Jones Grandparents house, again, I hope sleeping. While I came back to my parents house to spend some time with them. I always miss my babies when they are away (or I am, however you want to look at it). I love you guys and will see you again tomorrow. Hope you are being good for Grandma Jones! Night night!

Millennium Park

2008-07-13T20:49:00.009-07:00

Today a friend of mine, Lara, called and asked if the kids and I wanted to meet her and two of her kids at Millennium park. We had never gone although I had wanted to before (don't worry Grandma Jones, we can certainly go again, in fact it will be so much better now that they are acquainted with the park a bit).

After lunch we got ready and drove out to the park. Once inside, they had a little beach, climbing area for the kids and splash park. We started out by meeting up on the beach. The kids were introduced to the water, thankfully it wasn't as cold as I was expecting since I had to go in with them.

Matty was too keen on the water at first.

After playing in the water for a bit, we headed over to the little play area and let the kids climb a bit. Give us a chance to dry off a bit and warm up. The park/climbing area really wasn't for little kids. Chris and Emma did pretty good but poor little Matthew was well, just too little yet.

My monkeys!

Next we moved on to the splash area. It was such a cute little area! The kids, especially Christopher had a ton of fun playing. However at one point, while Lara and I sat on one side watching the kids play, somehow Emma got turned around and ended up on the other. Not knowing where she was, she did the right thing and went right up to the lifeguard (well more just someone that watches over the area). I had just realized Emma wasn't playing in front of us and did a scan to find her and saw her sitting with the gal in charge. I got up and started to walk over, once Emma saw me coming she ran right up to me. She told me she couldn't find me so she went to the gal in charge and she called someone and they called someone and they found me (rather I found her but in her mind, they found me). I then brought her back to where we were (you can get an idea in the pictures just how far away it is, but with the water going, you just can't see if you get turned around). I'm so happy she knew just what to do!

I dared Chris to go sit on that. Like he needs a dare to go play in water.

Just a short while later we saw a couple of the Kent County officers that patrol the area walk up. I don't know for sure but I have a feeling they were checking to make sure the 'little girl' had found her Mommy:)

We let the kids play just a bit longer and then decided to head back to the beach for snack. The kids ate a little bit and played in the water just a bit more before we packed up and headed out.

Lara & Grace

Its cold, time to go.

After the park, we all headed on over to Lara's home to have dinner and watch a movie. We all had a great time. Thanks again for having us Lara!

Putt, Putt, Strike!

2008-07-12T21:04:00.006-07:00

Today was a nice easy day. The kids were still at their Jones Grandparents house until about 2 in the afternoon. I did a little grocery shopping with my dad while they were still gone at Costco. After they got home I spent a little time with them. I was able to go out again tonight while the kids played with the Hand Grandparents. I always miss them when I'm gone (or they are) but they have been nice little breaks for me and I know a good chance for the grandparents to have some alone time with the kids.

Tonight I went mini golfing with Todd, Stacey (Todd's girlfriend), Heather, Matt and Dan (Heather and Matt are friends with Todd and Dan). We all enjoyed a nice round of stinking:) And yes, I believe Todd stunk less.

Heather putting.

Me putting.

Todd getting set to putt.

Matt putting.

Dan putting.

Stacey putting.

After golf we headed on over to Chili's for some dinner. Then we went to a bowling alley and enjoyed a nice fun game of bowling. Amazingly that one, I won:)

We (mostly Todd) had Dan just cracking up for no real reason.

Heather bowling.

Dan bowling.

Matt bowling.

Stacey bowling.

Our scores in frame 9. I ended up at 100.

Todd bowling.

TGI Fridays

2008-07-11T21:57:00.006-07:00

Today was a nice easy day. Again I was able to sleep in (not as late as the day before). Emma and Chris got up first and then Matty slept in again quite late, past the time I got up which was close to 11 (for me, although do remember, thats just going on 9 back home in TX). The kids had a lot of fun playing today. Christopher was just full of energy. While the kids played, I was able to head out and go to one of my favorite stores, The Outlet. I was so happy too that I was able to run into a gal that works there that I had gotten to know before I left.

Yes, I got stopped by the train on the way back and just felt the need to include it.

Chris relaxing with Grandpa Hand.

After I got home, I gave the kids a couple of items I had bought at the store for them. Then after playing for a bit again it was time to make sure they were ready for their venture out with Grandma Jones to go see Grandpa Pahman and Uncle Shane and I believe Uncle Dylan was going to be joining them as well. They were all going to have dinner together at Grandpa Pahman's home. Then Grandma Jones was taking all the kids back to her house to have a sleep over. Boy I sure hope they are sleeping for her. I miss you guys!!!

Emma, playing with some Floam.

Chris, being a goof ball. Just so full of energy.

Tonight I was able to hang out with my good friend Dan. We did a little shopping then had dinner at TGI Fridays. Man I've missed that place. The closest one back home is 4 hrs away. After dinner we walked the mall just a bit, after all they were closed, then headed out. On the way back to my parents house we stopped for some ice cream to help end the night. Such good times:-)

Me and my Mudslide Martini:-)

Dan being goofy.

Walking in the mall we found those little stands that do those quick little pics, so we decided we have a little fun:-D

They have 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream. How cool is that!

We've Landed

2008-07-10T21:02:00.012-07:00

We arrived at the El Paso airport right around 10:30am (Wednesday). Our plane was set to leave at 11:55am. It really wasn't a long wait until we got our tickets and headed to the security check point. Once it was our turn, we put all our belongings in the bins and took off our shoes. My only regret, I dressed my poor little girl in an adorable yet metal top. So yup you guessed it, she set off the metal detector with her big buckle on her top and of course for security purposes had to be wanded and patted down, which she did just perfectly with.

Once it was time to board the plane, the kids got the very awesome chance of wearing the pilot hat. In fact, Emma was able to sit in the pilot's seat! Guess that was Emma's special bonus for having to be wanded;)

The kids did just awesome when the plane took off, which I was a little worried about. Once we were in the air for a little bit I got out some snacks for them and then at the same time they started to bring the snack cart through. We still received complimentary drinks and little snacks. I will tell you, Coke for the drink, bad idea. At least not thinking ahead I should have just ignored the seat belt light and gone in the plane while we were waiting to taxi up because man I tell ya, I thought I was going to die trying to make it to that bathroom. And of course when I got there, there was a line.

View from the plane when we took off.

My complimentary drink and snack. The kids had the same snack but the boys had oj and Emma had water (smart kids).

Isn't it beautiful!?!

Here we are getting set to land in Dallas, TX.

Once we were out of the bathroom, and yes I made the kids go too, we headed out to find our next gate. I didn't want to take a chance of missing our plane. By this time we were all quite hungry as well, since we did leave right around lunch time with no real time for lunch. We had passed a McDonald's on the way but it was too far back to try and trek with 3 small very hurgry cranky kids so I opt to go to the closer TGI Friday's To Go. Yes, so not a very cheap lunch, but considering they didn't feed us on that next flight, ever so worth it.

Once aboard the next plane we received notice that our flight was being delayed due to some bad weather we had to fly through. So I promptly took out our lunch and we ate while we waited. Again when it was time for the plane to take off, the kids did great. During this flight I took out the kids special coloring books and let them color. On this flight we also received complimentary drinks, however the snacks cost and since we had just ate (and I had some with me in case) I opted not to get any. Although I took the chance of giving myself just a little treat to 'fly in style' and bought one of those little bottles of wine. I knew it wouldn't do much to me, just a tiny calming affect, and after dealing with 3 small children through a couple of airports and planes thats quite needed (the bit of calming that is).

Isn't is just the cutest little bottle?! I felt so high class, haha. And yes, I had ice water too.

Oh yes, we had turbulence:)

Chicago skyline.

When it was getting time to land, I put all our activities away and got us set to be able to grab our bags and go. This time I was also sure to go and use the bathroom before we landed, just in case. Once we landed, since we didn't have another connecting flight like some others on the plane did, we let most leave before we started to get off. Which at that point, Emma told me she had to use the bathroom which then left us being the last ones off the plane.

Our view of the plane pretty much from where we sat.

In case you actually haven't seen just how small the bathroom is.

Once out, we ventured off to find luggage claim. Wow, let me tell you, you have to walk forever, at least we did. From where our plane parked, we had to walk all the way around, like in a U until we got to the escalators. Once down the escalators, Grandma and Grandpa Jones were waiting for us. We walked over and got our luggage and were off. We drove for about an hour or so before stopping for some dinner. Then we hit the long road ahead of us.

We didn't get in until almost 2am. First thing was to get our stuff in then get ready for bed. I was able to sleep in a room by myself so I got the sleep I needed. Grandma Jones stayed in the room with the kids. In the morning each of them slowly got up, later and later, Matty the latest at 11:30 (yes me ever later then that :) ). The kids played quite a bit and then had lunch. After lunch they played some more and we got set, loaded up and came over the Grandma and Grandpa Hand's.

The kids played, watch part of the movie, had dinner and played again. Bed time rolled around and they all got tucked in. With that said, I am going to wrap this blog up now since it concludes our day. I will be sure to get more pictures of the kids playing and having fun with all their grandparents soon and will continue to blog through our stay here in Michigan. Good night everyone!

Happy 8th Anniversary!

2008-07-08T23:27:00.003-07:00

July 8, 2000
Jesse and Diana Pahman

Then

Now

Amazing to think its already been eight years of wedded bliss. It may not have always been easy but always definitely worth it. I love you Jesse, more now then ever before. Happy Anniversary!

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-05T09:37:00.005-07:00

Ok well its late but I wanted to get one out since its a pretty big day being we are a military family and all. Plus this way I can add in a bunch of pictures from our day.

Nicholas

The girls dancing while eating a snack. Emma and Alana.

Riley

The kids and their 4th of July shirts.

We had a pretty laid back day. Just had some friends over to bbq and hang out. No fireworks for us this year. They are forbidden here in the city and of course on post. We thought there was supposed to be a big display put on by the post though but either because of our weather (high fire hazard) or it was just put on somewhere far away, in any event, there were none for us last night.

Amanda and I

Christy and I

Our friends from next door and a couple blocks away came over. I got the pool set and the kids had a great time playing in it. Then after our bbq, we attempted to roast marshmallows over a grill:-) All in all, we had a great time.

This is Pixie, our neighbors dog. Pixie also enjoyed our 4th of July. See near the end of grilling, I put on a 1/2 pack of hot dogs and totally forgot about them. It wasn't until the kids yelled in asking who was going to get them off the grill that I realized. Needless to say they were quite the crispy critter, but Pixie did not care.

One last quick note for all our military men and women......

Signed this

Dance of the Cygnets

2008-06-29T21:43:00.005-07:00

Saturday evening Emma had her ballet recital. She was so excited and we couldn't wait to see her. She has been attending ballet class two days a week for the last 3 months.

Emma before the recital.

And the recital begins. All the girls were dressed in pink leotards, pink tights, pink skirts (these we had to buy from the organization so they were exactly the same) and pink ballet shoes. They also had to have their hair up in a ballet bun.

See Emma in the back?! The gal on the left in the black shirt is their teacher (Mrs. Alina Smith). They danced to "Dance of the Cygnets" from Swan Lake.

The sun was shining in brightly so it is kind of hard to see her here at the end of the performance.

After everyone performed, they all came back out to take a bow.

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-06-19T22:42:00.005-07:00

So today was my birthday and I actually woke up feeling really down. It wasn't the fact that I was another year older or in my last year of my 20's but this is the 2nd year in a row Jesse wasn't here for it. Last year he was at a different base.

The kids were all excited for me though and that made it easier. We went to Applebee's for dinner tonight. Just the kids, my friend Christy and me. We had a great time. The kids behaved great and of course I received the very embarrassing birthday announcement for the whole restaurant to hear. The kids loved it!

My friend Christy.

This is just before they sang.

And they sang, loudly.

Me embarrassed after.

Our little group.

Our Big Day

2008-06-19T22:08:00.005-07:00

I have only on off tried potty training Matthew because he really doesn't seem ready although somewhat interested. Well yesterday, when I was getting the kids lunch set Matty was in the kitchen with me and started making those 'I'm going to poop' noises. I know all Moms know those. Well I asked him if he was going and normally he would say no but this time he said yes. So I dropped what I was doing and toted him off to the potty, Matt protesting the whole way. I put the seat on the toilet, took off his diaper and sat him down.

I sat with him to help him be comfortable. Usually he gets uptight and won't do anything but to my surprise he went. I praised him over and over again and gave him one of his potty treats (these really worked with Chris). Emma and Christopher also praised him and cheered him on, it was so sweet.

Our Countdown to MI

2008-06-18T09:43:00.001-07:00

Countdown Clocks at WishAFriend.com

Until Next Time.......

2008-06-11T11:18:00.005-07:00

We never say goodbye, its just not how it is, but until we see you again. Its what we were all told to say when they first deployed. Its not the end, just a temporary time away.

Taking Jesse to the airport was not easy. His fight was to leave at 6am so the kids and I got him there by 4:45am. We got in line to get his ticket and wouldn't you know, the flight was canceled. They placed him on the next one they had going out which wasn't until 8am. Since this was the last time we would be with Jesse for a bit, we stayed.

Being military allows us to get special tickets that take us to the gate, so we ALL went through the security checkpoint.

I love this shot of Emma and her Daddy.

Oh the wait was so long.

But it was really nice to have these last few moments with Jesse to hold onto until we see him again.

And then off he went.

See you in the fall Jesse. We'll all be here waiting for you! Love you!

To My Husband

2008-05-31T08:31:00.006-07:00

Well I didn't get a post out for you on your birthday, but I still want to dedicate one special to you. We've been together a long time now and have been through a lot. We both have changed a lot along the way. I've seen you go from a scared young man, with a brand new baby to a great father. Our kids adore you and miss you so much right now. I am so happy you are the father of my children!

We each have our own faults and weakness but you really do complete me. I'm so happy you are in my life and don't know what I would do with out you. I love you more then life itself! This deployment has not been easy and I can't wait for it to be over. I long for you to hold me again, comfort me when I need it, even over the smallest of things. I just miss you so much!

These are some of my favorite pictures of us that we took the night before you went back. I have them along with the picture of us on Transmountain and at the airport in a frame on the wall next to our bed. It is what I look at every morning when I get up and at night before I go to sleep.

I'm so glad we went and had our family portraits done, as well as some couple shots. This really is my favorite of us (yes I have copies for our families). You can see this one as soon as you walk in our front door.

I miss you Jesse! Stay safe and come home soon. I love you!!!!

My Counters

2008-05-28T13:32:00.003-07:00

I have these posted on my myspace but since it is private and not everyone has one, I thought you all might like to see them too.

Countup Timers at WishAFriend.com

Countup Timers at WishAFriend.com

Take note mostly of the days. The hours are off a bit because it sets them at a specific time.

The Incredible Pizza Place

2008-05-27T06:33:00.004-07:00

Now the kids and I have gone here a few times. Let me tell you, the food is pretty great then there is the games and more for when you are done. Best part, is every time we have gone, it has been totally free. I'm signed up to something called Waiting Families. Its a group that organizes events and such for families who have their soldier oversees. Not only do we get to eat for free, but they give us cards to play the games, alls they have is a 1 hr time limit and once you start the time ticks down. But 1 hr, can be really long with 3 young children.

I was thinking and hoping that maybe Jesse and I could take the kids out there while he was home on R&R. But what do you know, Waiting Families hosted another dinner night there, and because Jesse is still deployed, just on leave, he was able to go for free too. So I really did get my wish after all and it didn't cost us anything but gas for the car.

One thing the kids and I have not done, is the go carts. Mostly because they are too young yet. But I knew Jesse would love them. So we set daddy out on a solo ride and watched.

He may not have come in first in the race, but he is still first place with us. And he did a very good job driving, then again, it is what he does:-)

Our Big Date

2008-05-25T19:52:00.005-07:00

So Jesse had been planning this big surprise date for us. I was told to get all dressed up, I was even able to get a new dress for it. Before we got all ready we arranged to put the kids in daycare while we went out and dropped them off.

He had a stretch limo pick us up (and drop us back off).

He took us to a Five stare restaurant. I was allowed to order anything I wanted. And because he is in the service, our waiter gave us a free bottle of wine on him.

For desert, they brought 2 champagne glasses and a slice of cake. On the plate written in chocolate was this....

And he presented me with a new wedding ring (yes, he got down on one knee and re asked me to marry him).

These are just a few shots of us on the way back home after our date.

R & R Overview

2008-05-25T16:52:00.011-07:00

So I'm not going to post a big huge thing on all about what we did on Jesse's R&R. In fact, really, most of it was just spending time together as a family, something we all enjoyed and very much needed. I know Jesse and I are both really wishing we had it back right now too.

As a promise, I made a full turkey dinner. After all, Jesse missed all the major holidays with us. Here are just a couple photos of the food we had and us at the table.

Yup, I made him carve it.

I bought him this awhile ago but it was one thing I wanted to surprise him with when he was home. Jesse is the one that took the picture, so yes, he was very pleased.

Jesse loves to fly a kite. So I had picked up a little one before he got home and then one afternoon we took the kids to Kelly park to fly it. They all had a lot of fun.

And yes, our kids can get easily amused by simple things like the max car wash.

We also took them over to Biggs park to play one afternoon. Jesse had us get another kite (different kind) and we were going to try again but sadly there was no wind.

Just a couple days before Jesse had to go, we had our family portraits done (and yes, I have some to give out to family and friends). Afterwards, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Golden Corral.

Just a couple pictures of Jesse enjoying time with his boys.

Of course we had some pool play.

One last thing we did before he had to go, was to take a drive up to Transmountain. You can see some of the mountain close up, after all, we are actually in/on it and some overlooking part of the city.

Blog Catch Up

2008-05-20T22:08:00.002-07:00

So I'm trying to play blog catch up. Trying to get out all these ones I wanted to have done before. In fact I just found out that if you start one, when you finish it, even if it has been in the draft state for weeks, it will post back at that date. So please look back to April, where there is a post for Matthew's 3rd birthday.

Do keep coming back. Once I get caught up, and I promise I will, I'm going to try and blog at least little updates about once or twice a week. For now it is time for me to head to bed. Its just after 11PM, outside its 86 degrees (our high today was 99), I have the house down to about 72, just trying to decide if I should turn the air off for the night like I normally do (and by air I mean swamp cooler). Until the next blog, take care all!

Jesse Comes Home!! ~ For R&R

2008-05-20T15:35:00.004-07:00

I placed the kids in daycare so we could surprise them. They had no idea Daddy was coming home that day, they just knew it was supposed to be soon. After dropping them off I arrived at the air port just in time to see Jesse's plane taxiing up.

It was so excited waiting for him to get off the plane and then I saw him. Man was it great to see and hold him again!

After we got home, we spent a little time together, Jesse showered and changed clothes (loooong flight, very needed, ha ha). I went to go get the kids. I still did not say anything until we were walking up close to the door. The door opened and there was Daddy!

I little puzzled and stunned but then they were so excited!

Grandma & Grandpa Jones Visit - Part 2

2008-05-20T13:05:00.009-07:00

So I realized I never finished up the visit. I won't say much, I'll just let the pictures do all the talking. I know everyone needs more pictures to see.

The kids Easter Baskets:)

Hope Chapel!

The kids in their Easter outfits.

Our not so traditional Easter dinner.

Our eggs.

Our trip to the Zoo (Monday). I'm just borrowing a few photos as I left my camera in the car that time (I know can you believe it!).

My favorites!

Our Easter egg hunt actually took place on Tuesday.

Chris' new bike (ah freecycle).

Emma before her hair cut.

In process......

Ta da, its done!

For our final dinner, we ate at the PX. It gave everyone a choice of what they wanted.

The kids getting their last bedtime story from Grandma Jones for awhile.

One more hug for littles Matty!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T11:39:00.003-07:00

Just a quick little Happy Mother's Day too all the moms reading this blog! Hopefully I will find time to finish all my half started blogs and get them up soon. Take care everyone!

Myspace Layouts

Happy 3rd Birthday Matthew!!

2008-04-21T06:02:00.003-07:00

Matthew John Pahman
Sunday, April 10, 2005 3: 19 PM
7lbs 11oz, 20 inches

Matty's 3rd B-day party!

Boy did he love his cake:)

Another better late then never post!

Grandma & Grandpa Jones Spring Visit - Overview

2008-04-19T08:41:00.008-07:00

Yes this is waaaay behind but I still wanted to get a little bit up. They arrived on a Thursday and we went out to eat to Golden Corral (a really great restaurant).

Friday we took it easy and did stuff around the house and went to a park.

Matty can do this slide all by himself. He is just too cute to watch. The first time down, he flopped off and landed on his bottom. His remarks "Oh my butt!" then got up and to go down again.

I managed to catch on of Emma coming down a slide. Isn't it great??!!

Saturday, was a big day! We started off all going to Chris' karate class. After that, we drove to Alamogorda, NM. Once we arrived we ate a little picnic lunch. Then once we finished, we started to explore the toy train museum until it was time to ride on the little train. Once we took our train ride, we finished the tour.

Next we headed to a place called Kid's Kingdom, a giant playground. The kids had a ton of fun playing there and even made a couple of 'friends'.

We then headed to White Sands, NM to play on the dunes. Let me just tell you, they are absolutely beautiful! And you know, you would think it would be all hot with the sun beating down on you, but I guess since the sand is white, it isn't at all. I mean you step on it and it feels nice and cool, start digging down some and it just gets cooler.

Once we were done there, we headed back towards Alamogordo and had dinner then back on the road to home. It was definitely a nice fun filled day!!!

The Kid's Rooms

2008-03-17T09:19:00.008-07:00

The other day I thought of something, I never did put up any 'after' pictures of the rooms. So I thought what best to start with would be the kids rooms. Of course the boys room has already changed just from a few days ago when I took the pictures and Emma's well, yeah I'm not fully content with it, for sure, she does need a new bed. Anyway, on to the pictures!

Christopher and Matthew's Room

That is Christopher's bed.

Here you can see the tail end of Matthew's.

And now Emma's Room.

Have you ever seen those virtual tours online? Well here are a couple of the kids rooms!

Karate!

2008-03-11T15:21:00.005-07:00

Yup that is right Christopher is taking karate. He is learning Tae Kwon Do. It is so cute to watch him too. So far he has already had 2 classes. He goes Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. And now since I need to finish dinner and my mind it just a jumble of thoughts, the pictures you would all like to see and video!

It's Been One Month

2008-02-22T22:46:00.003-07:00

So I guess it has been one month exactly since I posted a blog. I usually am so tired and/or have so much I'm trying to yet squeeze into the day that it just doesn't happen but then there are those times (and really right now is one of them) where when I think about it, I just don't have the heart to do it. Let me explain this.

So it was actually my mom that pointed it out to me. The day the flowers arrived, the last post I posted, just happened to be exactly 5 months since Jesse deployed. I talked on the computer with him one more time after that day and then that was that for 13 days. The only reason I got a call on the 13th day was because I was having such a hard time I had them send a message down range (it means someone from the company still stationed here emailed or called someone in the company in Iraq).

Things were good for a bit. He bought a cell phone so he could keep in touch with me more. He has to prepay on it (it runs about $0.20 per min). Now here is where my heart isn't in blogging right now. The last I heard from him, was 9 days ago. He called me the night before Valentine's Day (his Valentine's Day). We talked for a very long time, in fact, he ran out of time. He said he was going to purchase more minutes but that was the last I have heard from him.

Today marks 6 months since we said good-bye, or rather, I'll see you later. Since the kids and I last hugged and kissed him. So I guess you can figure, if you don't see a blog from me, I'm either really busy (and I'm trying so hard to surprise him with some new things on R&R, including a new me - works:) ) or my heart just isn't in it to blog and needs some time.

I know you all want to see the kids, so here are a couple pics I took Valentine's night. They are all tucked in with the new blankets I made them. I got them a little bit of candy but I thought the blankets were even better (and won't rot the teeth :) ).

He Loves Me!

2008-01-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

Like it isn't a known thing but I just had to share how much he showed me today. I was told by Jesse that I needed to be home today as much as possible, I would understand why later. Well shortly after picking up Chris I started to feed the boys. All of a sudden there was s knock on the door. FedEx was dropping off a package.

Jesse had said he wanted to hear all about it (of course that right there kinda led on to it at least wasn't a phone call, lol). So I did one better, I got photos for him, even of me. Yup, I cried.

Are the flowers beautiful!?! I love the bear and the card was the sweetest thing too! Thank you honey, I love you!

Christmas at Our House

2007-12-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

A big part of our family was missing this year, of course you all know that. But thankfully we were able to see and chat with Jesse. He was able to watch the kids open some of their presents. I didn't get as many photos as normal but that is ok. You can actually slowly watch our front room become just a whirlwind disaster, lol.

Kids had a pretty nice Christmas huh!

As Jesse posted before, he got a little gift of the IPod Nano, and yes he would have gotten it anyway, the move money just made it possible earlier. In addition to that, I also got something we had be planning to get for awhile too. A new camera! Can you tell the difference in the photos? With this new camera, I was able to take some video as well, and it has sound!

Then in the afternoon we went to a friends house and had Christmas dinner. She made a wonderful turkey! And if you can believe it, it was her first one.

The Stuffing and Pie I made.

That is my friend Sara, whose house we were at.

We all had a lot of fun!

Holiday Greetings!

2007-12-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

Who Looks Like Who

2007-12-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

I thought these would be so much fun to see. You know how everyone always says she/he look more like mom or dad well I've seen these done and thought how great to really see, lol.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Genology

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Geneology search

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

WOW, can you believe it!?!?!

Christmas is in the Air

2007-12-16T23:39:00.000-07:00

Our tree has been up for some time now but I finally finished the tree skirt the other day. Yup thats right, I made the tree skirt. It doesn't lay all perfectly flat like I was hoping (hey, I'm still learning) but I'm happy with it.

Close up of the tree skirt.

Here are a few pictures of the kids helping decorate our tree.

Even the outside of our home is decorated. Thanks to my friend's husband, Sean.