Saying Goodbye Once Again...

So we found out a couple days ago that they are sending Rob on TDY for training for two months in Alabama. Of course our first reaction was that of anger, sadness, and frustration. We just got him back and he is leaving again. I am so sad to see him go again but a good friend of mine, Savanna sent me a beautiful message that I hope she doesn't mind me sharing. I wanted to share it mainly so I can go back and read it when I need to, and also in hopes that it will provide comfort to those going through similar circumstances. Now Savanna and her family are stationed in Germany and her husband is currently deployed. After hearing that Rob was leaving again she sent me the following message:
Hey,I've been thinking about you and Rob and your current predicament a lot today. Military life is so hard...between the long hours, training, deployments, TDYs, and just worrying about safety, job security etc can be quite taxing on families. For these reasons it is easy to get into "dread mode" and sort of become bitter about all the time apart. And we have good reason to...Families are important and we are supposed to be together- that's the point of the temple right? When I am down and upset about yet another day, week, or month without Nayte, I have found some comfort in studying the early Saints and the time they spent apart. Often times the most valiant families would spend 2 and 3 years a part so that the husband could serve missions or serve elsewhere in the church. These women not only had to raise their children alone but they also had to run their farms, businesses, make EVERYTHING by hand and from scratch. And the only way that they had to keep in touch was through letter writing...and only receiving word every few weeks or months. The loneliness I feel during times when we are apart is only doable b/c I get DAILY contact with him. These times for these women solidified their testimonies and truly enabled them to teach and lead their families by example. They could say to their children, "I don't do this because I love your father...I do this because I love the Lord." In our situation, they are serving their country but they are also servants of the Lord...they carry their Priesthood with them and they can do MUCH good there in the dreary loneliness of deployment for their peers. I love these scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants 31:5
Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back, for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live.
6 Behold, verily I say unto you, go from them only for a little time, and declare my word, and I will prepare a place for them.
7 Yea, I will open the hearts of the people, and they will receive you. And I will establish a church by your hand;
8 And you shall strengthen them and prepare them against the time when they shall be gathered.
9 Be patient in afflictions, revile not against those that revile. Govern your house in meekness, and be steadfast.
11 Go your way whithersoever I will, and it shall be given you by the Comforter what you shall do and whither you shall go.
12 Pray always, lest you enter into temptation and lose your reward.
13 Be faithful unto the end, and lo, I am with you. These words are not of man nor of men, but of me, even Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, by the will of the Father. Amen.
We give them up for a time...but receive so many blessings in exchange. I wanted to tell you these things not to minimize your pain but to lift you a little. I hope they have brought you some comfort and I hope that you can find peace with whatever is in store for you family. This life is hard...the times when I am at my lowest and can do nothing else except pray, I ALWAYS feel the love our Father in Heaven has for me and I always know there will be an end...and it will be glorious beyond belief. Rather that means a new and improved me or the wonderful eternal award that awaits...it will be marvelous. I wish the best for your family this coming year, Nikki. Merry Christmas! love, Savanna

Thanks so much Savanna! I love those scriptures and do find comfort in them. Even though I am so upset about being away from Rob yet again, I take comfort in knowing that even though this time may be difficult its still easy to count my blessings and to always have gratitude for the many blessings in my life. A couple nights ago we were reading a talk by Henry Iring and he was talking about choosing to have a joyful heart and the way to find true joy is by having a grateful heart and always being mindful of the Lords hand in your life. The one thing that has been constant when Rob has been gone is knowing that my Father in Heaven has never left me comfortless or alone. My Dad also reminded me last night of a talk by Uchtdorf when he saw his parents lose everything the owned...twice. They lived in Germany during when it was being invaded and the one thing he was reminded of was...hard times happen...but they don't happen forever. I love that.
Thanks so much for your friendship, advice and prayers. Merry Christmas Savanna.

Welcome Home!!!!

This post is long overdue, and most of you have already seen these pictures and heard our stories but I wanted to make sure I wrote it all down before I forget. Rob was deployed for six months...SIX MONTHS PEOPLE. I know what your thinking...because when I tell most people that he was deployed for six months the usual reply is " well atleast he's not in the army, they're gone for (fill in the blank)". I am well aware that there are other brave men and women who are deployed longer than my husband. While I am still so grateful for their sacrifices...I only know what I have been through and six months was hard. THAT being said you can only imagine what this day (the day he was coming home) was like emotionally and physically. I say physically because have you ever been so excited and anxious that you can't breath or do anything productive? That's the type of excited I'm talking about. I knew going in that we weren't going to be able to go to the flight line and see his plane come in like we did last year. I was semi-grateful since it was so cold that night and this year was had a baby in tow. We knew ahead of time that he was landing and had to go through customs here on base and we weren't sure how long that would take. So there we were packed in their squadron auditorium with tons of other anxious families for TWO hours. SO we finally got word that the guys going through customs got a bit anxious and were going to start walking one by one to the auditorium. So everyone bundled up and headed outside to wait and hopefully find Robbie. We were standing there watching families reunite one by one and it just fed our excitment! Finally one of our friends said he would go ahead of the crowd and find Rob and bring him back. Before we knew it Rob was walking right to us. As soon as we spotted him Savannah burst into tears and held on tight, and Porter was screaming "Daddy I missed you...Daddy I missed you!!!!" I can't describe what that moment feels like. The world just pauses for a bit. It is beyond surreal. I've gone through that twice and it will be burned into my memory forever. I will never be able to describe how grateful I am that he is home safe and sound.

She's on the move

Watch out world...Cora's crawling.

Happy Halloween

This year was a lot of fun. My family came down for all of the festivities and we got the kiddos dressed up and went to the trunk or treat and chili cook-off at the church. Its always so nice to be with my family and their visits are never long enough. This year Savannah was a winter queen. Porter was a ninja turtle and Cora was a ladybug. We missed Daddy,but my family coming down was the distraction I needed.

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

So we have moved around a bit, and I have noticed two (ok maybe more than two) food items/recipes that people not from the St. Louis area have never tried. The first being rhubarb, and the second...Gooey Butter Cake. Well, we were asked to bring a dessert to a friendly get together and I made Gooey Butter Cake...with a pumpkin spin. I got this recipe from a friend's sister-in-law, so I can't take the credit, but it is so delicious!

Gooey Butter Cake

Crust:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 egg

1 stick melted butter

Mix together with a fork and press into a 9x13in pan.

Filling:

2 eggs

1 (80z) pkg cream cheese

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 stick of melted butter

Pour over crust and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 55 min or until set. It will be gooey...hence the title:) To make the pumpkin version add 1(15oz) can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg to the filling mixture.

Meeting Uncle Momo

My brother came up last month with my parents and finally got to meet Cora. He was in basic training and tech school when she was first born so this was the first chance he had to come visit. We had a blast!! We all love Uncle Merrill!!!

(This post is actually from Sept 20th but somehow didnt get posted)

My Cora and Me

I thought for sure that the "newness"(if thats even a word) or novelty of having a baby sister would've worn off by now, but no. They are just as in love with her as the moment they met her in the hospital. They give her bigs kisses and hugs before they leave for school and run to greet her after. At night they both want their time to cuddle with Cora in their beds. They both hate to hear her cry or whine and she rarely has to since they love to entertain her. Everytime she laughs...they laugh, and I smile. The bond they all share truly melts my heart. I love them so much.....and we all love our Coco puff!!

First Day of School

My sweet babies started school on the 11th of August. Porter started pre-k and Savannah started 2nd. They both love their teachers and we are excited to get another year rolling!

Porter's Birthday

My sweet baby boy turned four in August. He also started Pre-k three days before his birthday, but thats for another post. I love my baby boy and we share a special bond. He's the one that knows exactly how to push my buttons then immediatley after...melt my heart. He is a goofy, active, mischevious, handsome little man. Rob obviously wasn't here to help with the birthday festivities , and I really wanted to make this birthday great for Porter. He really deserved it! As most of you know it was 100+ temps here for over two months and Porter really wanted to have his party at the splash park. So after much hoping and praying, we were blessed with perfect weather the day of his party. We had an awesome turn out and Porter had a blast. Rob's parents came down for the fun too! We were able to skype Rob from my phone so he could see Porter open his presents.

I love you so much Porter.

Look who's sitting up now! Not to mention...look at those blue eyes...and those cheeks! We love her to pieces.