September Gone Already!

I can't believe it is almost October! But I am not complaining- time needs to keep flying by. It was a pretty uneventful month here in Colorado. Afghanistan has been very rough, getting worse and worse. Gary is moving this week to a new location. This place is nicknamed "Camp Hell" because it is one of the worst places to be stationed at overseas. Below is a link that was on the news a few months ago of Camp Lowell (Camp Hell) and the unit that was there before Garys unit took over. Gary is going to be the new company 1st Sgt there. I know I always say this but please now more than ever keep him and his soldiers in your thoughts and prayers.

Link here: ABC News: Camp Hell 7-18-2009 by Mike Boettcher


One good thing that keeps us going is great memories and looking forward to making many more great memories! So I thought I'd post some pictures from before Gary deployed. We are all counting down the days til January when he is home for a couple weeks!

Gary and I at the Valentines Day Military Ball

One of my favorite pictures! Gary and his mini twin Kaila.

Gary and Kiana on Christmas morning

Gary and I out dancing one night with our friends.

A gift on my doorstep today

So this weekend I have been feeling a little under the weather...well a lot under the weather. Thank goodness I had the last 2 days in a row off from work! Gary keeps saying I wish I was home, I wish I could help you feel better. So today there was a knock at my door and when I opened it this is what was on my doorstep. A get well fruit basket! It did the job tho it made me smile and laugh! The balloon actually sings if you tap on it. It sang "dont worry, be happy."
I don't know how he thinks of these things! I also got an early Christmas present...well he said it is my parents Christmas present.... a flight home for the Holidays!! How did I get so lucky to meet this guy??

The basket

The base is actually a piggy bank duck. It looks like my easter basket from mom and dad!

The fruit was shaped like flowers and teddy bears. It was actually really good fresh fruit too!

The best part was the bottom that was all chocolate covered strawberries!!! MMMM!!!!

A teddy bear pineapple. :)

A rough month!!

Finally it is the end of August! August has kind of turned out to be a stressful month. I lost Jackson...but was lucky enough to find him 5 days later. And then a few days ago I got into a car accident with Garys mercedes. Not my fault by the way...some lady on her cell phone not paying attention couldnt decide do i want to go straight...or turn...or how about I just slam on my brakes during a green light in the middle of an intersection and sit and think about it. Not cool!

It has been even more rough over in Afghanistan. It seems like every time Gary calls there is stuff going on in the background that I really dont need to hear....or want to hear. He told me that a few days ago his group went on a big "mission" because of the elections going on over there. He said it was absolutely horrible but he also told me that he carried with him in his bag the Prayer shall that my Grandma Emmerich made for him...I think he rubbed it a few times for some good luck. And him and all of his guys made it back from their mission safely. Thanks Grandma. :) They have had A LOT of casualties this last month and its not getting any better. Please keep him in your prayers.

Here's some pictures from this last month.....

Jackson is back! He found this under my bed and was laying on it. It's the blanket from Kianas bed...he must be missing her...so do I! I miss the girls so much!

These two pictures are for my mom. Once in a while I help our friend Joe out. Joe is a single dad of six kids!! So last friday night I babysat all six, plus their dog and Jackson. Mom called me while I was at their house and she said "what are you doing, where are you!?" She put me on speaker phone and her and dad thought it was hilarious listening to me chase around these kids and be the referee between these two dogs. In this house there is no "time out" corner...I am making a penalty box...5 minutes for rough housing! I dont know how but I managed to take care of them all, no one got hurt and I got them all fed, showered and put to bed. We also all went for a walk...with the dogs. I am so brave!! But I do have to admit the two older ones are like 9 and 11 and are a tremendous help with the 4 little ones.

Poor poor Ben...yes I named Garys car. His name is Ben. This is the damage. It may not look like a lot but it is NOT cheap to fix.

So I will end this blog on a positive note... we have 3 months of this deployment down and 9 to go!! A quarter of the way done!! Time needs to keep flying by! 4-5 more months til I get to see him and the girls for 2 whole weeks during mid-tour. I cant wait! We already started planning our vacation...time just needs to hurry up so January/February can get here!

REUNITED!!!

So today was day 5 that Jackson had been missing. I was trying not to give up hope. We looked everywhere! The humane society every day, walked through parks and some unpleasant places, put out flyers, posted on craigslist. Didnt know what else to do.
Well today I went into the humane society and was looking through reports that came in since yesterday. I found one that a lady reported found in the same area and matched his description.
I went over to her house and sure enough there was Jackson! She found him on saturday, which means Thursday and Friday who knows where he was. But she took very good care of him and kind of got attached to him. She said if I ever need a dog sitter to call her up. And how crazy is this she lives about 5 houses down from where he went missing. He was just right around the corner this entire time.
But I am so happy and relieved! Gary and I were thinking how are we going to tell the girls, especially Kiana. Kiana got pretty attached to him and Jackson has never chosen anyone over me except for her. One night when Jackson was really sick and throwing up we found Kiana in her room with him. She made a bed on the floor and was laying there with him holding onto him. She took care of him all night. Jackson loves that girl!
I'm so glad to have him back...even though he is a pain in the butt sometimes.

Crying by the door to go outside...I think he's done enough running around!

Aww who wouldn't want this lil guy!?

I Lost My Puppy...

Well today is turning out to be not a very good day. Jackson got out again but this time he's gone and no where to be found. We have searched everywhere for hours. The neighbors, surrounding neighborhoods, parks...I've been to the humane society twice today. I got so excited about five times because there were dogs brought in that matched his description...nope not him. I was shocked at how many missing dogs there were-a lot just from today!! I'm going back in in the morning. I feel so sick I lost my appetite. For those of you who dont know me well Jackson is like my child. Hopefully he finds his way home tonight.

Jackson as a baby

He was so cute!

He kind of looks like an otter in this picture.

Standing guard like always. He was always so protective over me and Kiana and Kaila.