Sammy is Here!

Brandy (my sis) delivered her baby boy one week ago. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen. Being with Sammy made me want to have another kid...had to hurry home to two three year old boys and my mind was quickly changed!

Christmas at the Base

There is so much to do as Christmas is approaching. Last Saturday we got up early to eat pancakes with Santa. Here we created crafts, decorated cookies and watched Santa arrive on the firetruck.

We then went to Jack's work to visit with Santa again. Noah has requested that he bring "geo trax" while Joshua says that he wants a "car present."

To add a little more drama to the day we decided to go to the local zoo safari and see the Christmas lights. Noah was in heaven as we rode the train through the "beautiful lights."

On Sunday, we went to the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the base Chapel. Here the elementary school choir sang carols. The children's choir was followed boy the federal prison inmates choir...only at Maxwell Air Force Base...

Life is Good...

I originally said that I would update the blog weekly...not quite...can't find the time. We had a fantastic thanksgiving. It was a busy day traveling around Alabama to visit all of our family. I am thankful for my wonderful family - couldn't ask for more.

The boys are growing up so fast. We have added phrases like "I don't have to & I don't like that" to our vocabulary. Joshua and Noah keep me smiling.

Life is busy as always. I am working 35+ hours a week and Jack spends all of his time reading and writing papers. We will find out in a month where we will be stationed next. I enjoy being close to home, but tired of living in a small house (previously a barrack) that was converted in the 1950s.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Halloween at the base was a blast. There was so much to do....lots of parties, trick or treating and a pumpkin patch. The boys had a lot of fun giving out candy to all of thier friends that stopped by.

baby huey

Noah and I went to Randolph County for Brandy's baby shower on Saturday. Joshua and Jack stayed behind and spent the day at the zoo. We rarely separate the boys...having one child was so stinkin easy! We will have to do this more often! Brandy is in good spirits and feeling great. Baby Huey will be here within two months. I am excited about becoming an aunt of #7.

Navy Ball

The Navy celebrated its 233rd birthday last weekend. The celebration was held at the Officers Club on base. Jack and I had a baby free weekend thanks to my mom and stepdad. We enjoyed our time together.

officially three

Birthday Party #3

We celebrated Joshua and Noah's third birthday this weekend. Jack's dad flew in from California to join us and my family drove over for the day. 15 of our friends from base housing also stopped by to celebrate with us. Our small house was packed full! We had a great day and most importantly the boys had a blast! This year we decided to donate to a charity rather than receiving gifts since we are so extremely blessed. With everyone's help we collected $200 to share with a friend who is fighting leukemia. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!

Back to Work

I enjoy being back at work. Being a stay-at-home-mom is way too hard! The boys are doing great in their new class. Their teacher, Ms. Ann, does an incredible job of putting up with them! Joshua was fussy at school for the first few weeks, but he is doing much better. Noah is such a social butterfly he never knows that I have left. I enjoy picking them up each day...their smiling faces fill my heart!

Montgomery Zoo

Giraffes & Elephants

There isn't too much to do in Montgomery (compared to Atlanta). We visited the Montgomery Zoo yesterday and had a blast. The boys really enjoyed the playground and the train ride. We purchased a year membership on the way out the door...looking forward to our next visit...

toothless noah

Jack and the boys were swimming at the pool on base...Noah slipped as he was climbing the stairs to go down the slide as Joshua swam sans life jacket with Dad. He knocked his front left tooth out, root and all. I received the dreadful call from the pool employee..."You need to hurry, your son fell, he is bleeding." My heart nearly stopped as I rushed in the car to the pool. He is tough...He handled all of this better than Jack and I did! We will try to get what is called a "pedo partial" to fill the gap till the next tooth comes in.

(Yes, he is the clumsy child, just like his mother!)
This was our fifth trip to the doctor since we have been at Maxwell. We have had colds, ear infections, pink eye and everything else you can imagine. I am thankful that I haven't started working yet...think they would have fired me for missing so much work.

Hilton Head

We spent the week at 1 Curlew in Hilton Head.



Joshua, Noah and I made this long trip to be with Jack's family. Jack started war college this week so he was unable to accompany us. We enjoyed our time with 14 members of the Corlett family. Spending 9 hours in the car with Joshua and Noah is not much fun, but it was definitely worth the trip!

Base Life

from here...

to here...

OH MY!!!

We are gradually learning about base life. We are only here for 11 months, so we decided to use the housing provided on base rather than living out in town. There is just enough room for us to not go crazy, there are plenty of critters crawling about and there is no microwave to be found. Privacy is unheard of since we have neighbors in every direction.

The good news is that we will rarely need to leave the base. We are within walking distance to the pool, library, post office, gas station, grocery store, exchange, golf, fishing and most importantly (for Jack) the O'Club. It is all just like you see on the movies...revelie plays at 6am, colors at 5pm and taps at 9pm.

Jack will have his first day of War College tomorrow. He is excited about his classes and thankful to be at home with his family for the next 11 months. After three years at home, I have decided to go back to work. I recently accepted a position as an enrichment teacher at the Child Development Center on base. The boys will be attending school full-time while I work part-time. I am thrilled to have a job...staying at home with my monkeys is too hard!!!

Brandy

My sis will kill me for posting this picture, but I have to share the good news with everyone! Brandy and Derrick are expecting a baby boy to arrive in December. I am so excited for them, even though this wasn't planned!

California

Jack and I left the boys at the beach with their grandparents and hopped a flight to Cali for a wedding. Bonnie and Mike had a beautiful wedding overlooking the Pacific Coast in Santa Barbara. Jack and I had a blast and really enjoyed seeing all of our friends from Meridian.

Cancun

I abandoned my boys and left the country with Jack's sister...Carla and I stayed 7 days at the Palace Resorts in Cancun. We spent most of our time by the pool drinking banana monkeys. I enjoyed this relaxing vacation with my new best friend! I didn't know how I would make it with out joshua and noah, but I did just fine...I needed this break a long time ago!

Destin

We spent the week of July 4th in Destin, FL with my family. Joshua and Noah loved the beach and the pool. They were the center of attention and were spoiled rotten by the time we returned home.