Poor Mya - no baby book, not many pictures...and now I can't even keep up with her blog posts. This picture is from our trip to Disney world.  More blogging about that soon.  So despite being a week late, here ya go... - One of the biggest changes in the past few weeks is Mya's vocabulary.  She has started talking a lot more and is very clear with lots of words.   - She still loves her "papi."  We are driving home for Christmas and will spend about 18 hours in the car each way, so we will not be getting rid of the pacifier before that trip! - weight - 22 lbs. - length - not sure.  - She has now cut all her teeth.  A few are still coming in, but hopefully we are done with teething! - Her favorite foods are peanut butter, yogurt, humus, chicken.  She is hit and miss with some veggies, but over all is a good eater.  -Is still a champion sleeper. Wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00 (or later!). She Never whimpers when it is time to go to slee...

I have been doing a poor job at updating the old blog.  I am going to follow my friend Regan's lead and give you some bullet updates on the Monroes for now.  Ever since Chad has been home, some how spending time with his is more appealing than sitting down at the computer to blog.  Also Pinterest has been stealing most of the computer time I do get!  If you haven't been on Pinterest, check it out! 1. Chad has a four day weekend for Veterans day and we have used it to do things around the house. We both have become pretty big fans of Pinterest and have been trying to actually do some of the craft/DIY ideas.  On Friday many restaurants offered free meals for veterans, so we took advantage of that and went out to dinner with some friends.  On Saturday we had another friend over and then her and I went to a Scentsy show at a friend's house.  We also pulled the Christmas decorations out.  I normally don't decorate before Thanksgiving, but since we'll...

I realize yesterday's post title included "snow" and I neglected to get around to those thoughts!  So for what its worth, here's my thoughts.  Realize this is meant to be humorous, but also very true... Snow is an important word here.  Its basically a way of life November-April.  Fort Drum was in the top of my list of places I never wanted to go in the Army (#1 on that list is Alaska) for one main reason - SNOW and COLD. I hate being cold.  I really do.  I also hate snow.  I am also sick of people tell me how much I should love it.  Just because you like snow, does not mean I have to like it.  Being hot is so much easier and CHEAPER than being cold.  I have had so many people tell me how much I am going to love the snow here, especially with my girls.   I lived in Ohio for four years, and while we didn't get 13 feet a year, we got enough for me to deal with.  I've had my car plowed in, I've driven in the snow where I couldn't...

As a friend said on her blog, I might as well stop apologizing for being behind on the blog.  Tis the story of my life these days.   I'll start with the most important and exciting update in our family - welcoming our hero home!   On October 28 last year we began our 2nd deployment. On October 13th it was finally our turn to welcome him home.  As an FRG leader, I tried to be at every welcome home ceremony to celebrate with families and welcome soldiers home. It was fun and exciting to go to all the ceremonies, but it was bittersweet leaving alone each time.  At Ft. Campbell we were able to see the plane land and the soldiers marched in basically right off the plane.  They had to take care of a few things after the welcome home ceremony and then we were free to take them home.  Ft. Drum does it differently.  The soldiers take care of everything before the ceremony, so that when you see your soldier, you don't have to watch them leave again, even...

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the end of the deployment for me.  My mother-in-law will be a sweet sight at the airport tomorrow!  No more nights alone, no more going it alone with my kids, someone who will actually eat what I cook...help is on the way! :)  Not only is she a great mother-in-law and a fantastic gran'ma - she is an amazingly thorough and fast cleaner and an excellent seamstress!  When she told me to leave some of my to do list for her, I'm not sure if she quite understood what that would entail! My to-do list is 4 pages long and I feel like I'm not even making a dent most days.  Today I moved all the furniture in the living room to vacuum.  I get it - he doesn't care if there is a lingering Cherrio under the couch or that all the girls clothes are neatly organized in the bin where they belong.  I was up at 6:30 this morning organizing bathroom cabinets.  Again, he doesn't care that all the stray bobby pins and q-tips are in their...

Here are some updated pictures of Mya Mya... I really know nothing about photography, but taking pictures like this one make me so glad I have a nice camera!   When she looks at this picture she screams "PAPI!" Look at those curls!!  I will have to come back and update this later...because I don't even have a recent picture of Miss Mya for this post! **Now I do! My camera has been gathering dust lately and I need to get it back out!! I know I said this in the last Mya post, but she is getting to be more like a little girl and less like a baby every day. She is talking more, copying her sister more, wanting to do things on her own and at times has definitely taken a turn toward the terrible twos! Still sweet Mya, but certainly knows how to throw a fit when she doesn't get her way! - She is running and climbing up and down stairs on her own.  - She thinks she can jump. If you ask her to jump, she bends down, pauses and then stands up quickly. SO cute! - S...

I know I've left the blog very lonely these days.  I sat down the other night and wrote a lengthy update on all that we have been doing lately.  Blogger is not cooperating with me lately and the whole post was erased when I tried to upload it.  So here's another attempt.  Definitely won't be as lengthy though! The question everyone is asking is - when is Chad is coming home??  While I won't be sharing any specifics on here for security reasons, I can say that it is getting close!  We are all getting anxious.  The end is tough b/c you are so close and yet it feels like time is crawling.  There is no one more ready than Chad.  We would appreciate your continued prayers as his unit wraps up their mission and that they can stay focused in this time. The girls and I have been very busy.  Our FRG is keeping me very busy.  Between meetings, reintegration trainings, at least 1 social each week, supper club, and making preparations for t...

Is anyone else watching documentaries about September 11?  I just happened to turn one on called "Voices Inside the Towers."  Wow.  Its amazing how something that happened 10 years can still stir such emotions and can be so unbelievable. Haunting. In the last few days I've been reflecting on where I was that day.  I was riding in a van with other RA's from Cedarville University.  We had come back early to campus for RA training.  We were on our way to a high ropes course for team training.  We had the radio on and someone said something about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. We, like everyone else, thought of a small, misguided plane clipped the tower.  Its hard to imagine it, but we didn't have cell phones, iPad, etc... so we were completely unaware of what was going on.  We went about our normal day. Our window to the outside world was from the Dean of Students.  His wife was calling him on his cell phone and giving him updat...

Our first day of Preschool -  Addison was enjoying the pictures... Mya didn't want to miss out on the fun! Hard at work! We are only one week into this and I'm already changing curriculums!  Last spring I bought the  Letter of the Week .  Since I never got around to using it, I just assumed it would be fine for us this year.  I was wrong.  A lot of the activities are too young for Addison and since a lot of them repeat throughout the year, just focusing on different letters, I decided to make a change.  (Don't get me wrong, last year the activities would have been great!) I enjoy having a curriculum at this point just for the ease and organization.  Since her curriculums are only $10, upgrading to the  K4 Curriculum  wasn't a big deal.  I am excited that we will have a little reader soon! :)  Addison absolutely loves school time and asks everyday when its time to start!

Well, our countdown has been about the same for a few weeks now.  Every time I talk to Chad, the date has been pushed back a few days.  Hopefully now the date won't change too much and we can get rid of these Hershey kisses for good! If you've been through a deployment, you know what the title of this post means!  There is something about soldiers coming home from war that brings on an incredible urge to clean, organize and to do listing like crazy.  I can't really explain it.  This is always comical to me because we all do it.  I've never met one military wife who didn't care what the house looked like when her husband came home.  I mean seriously...they've been living in plywood boxes and eating the same food for a year...I'm sure they could care less if there is dust on the bookshelf or if the recipe book is organized.  I chalk it up to a couple things. While I'm pretty diligent about keeping my house clean (most days), for the past year, I ...

Please take time to watch this video.  This is an amazing story of my friend's journey through cancer. At the time I had no doubt that her sister-in-law, my friend, Krista would call me one day with funeral details.  It felt so hopeless.  Three years later I still stand in awe at something only God could do!

"Addison, will you clean the bathrooms for me when you get older?" "Sure Mommy!  When I get hair under my armpits, I will clean them for you! Yay!" After going too fast down the stairs and bumping into a wall... "Don't worry Mom, I'm ok.  I was just giving the wall a high-five." "Addison, I asked you to stop playing with your food." "But Mommy, I turned the catapult the other direction.  You mean, NO catapults at the table?  Aw man." "Mommy, look - its a combraro!"  "You mean, sombrero?"  "Oh yeah, sombrecro"  "Sombrero"  "oh yeah, sombrero.  That's the hat that people wear where they don't have anything to eat."   We may need to have Mexican culture awareness day during school this year...

Sunday morning at church the kids sang two songs they learned during VBS last week.  Addison LOVES being on stage and was excited to get to sing in "big" church.  More than anything, I was impressed that she stayed in one place the whole time!  All I had was my phone, so not great quality and not the whole song.  Still cute though!

At the beginning of each deployment, I try to make a list of things I want to accomplish.  A point "A" - where I am when he leaves and point "B" - where I want to be when he gets back.  If there were a letter before "A"...that's where I feel lately with most items on that list!  R&R toward the end of the deployment has thrown me for a bit of a loop.  I feel like the home stretch should be passing more quickly! Each time I talk to Chad, his projected homecoming date is a little further down the road.  Single parenting is very tough - especially discipline.  Somedays I think having 2 newborns would be easier to handle alone than a feisty 4 year old and a mischievous 19 month old.  My mom has had some difficult health news to deal with in the past few weeks.  My reactive hypoglycemia I battled the first deployment is back in full swing. Bottom line - I'm tired.   The Lord warmed my heart though tonight when I looked at a friend's blo...

Sweet Mya Mya - you are 19 months old! (tomorrow) There is a very good reason I didn't get around to posting Mya's 18 month post... I don't think she could have asked for a better present for turning 18 months! Mya is turning into a little girl more and more everyday!  Her favorite thing to do is copy her big sister!  She has no fear and will climb any table, chair, bench or bookcase she can get to.  Keeping up with her is definitely a chore!  She is such a SWEET girl!  She cuddles far more than Addison did at this age. She loves to "rock, rock" with me and even with Addison in her rocking chair.   She is getting faster everyday.  She can run for a little while, but often wipes out if she gets going too fast. words: she says more and more every day.  Words she says most often: momma, dada, papa, nana, grandma, cracker, Addi (she drags it out -  Aaaaadddda), ball, pap pap (paci), cup cup, milk, tooth, trash (because she says it all t...

Here are a few pictures that didn't make it into any other posts...  I know they are random, but remember one of the main reasons of this blog is to keep Chad up to date on life here while he's gone! Gabi's 7th Birthday! Addison had just come from gymnastics apparently...  Since we were in Georgia for so long over the winter, I signed Addison up for gymnastic.  I loved the instructor.  He was an alternate for the Olympic team in 2000 and he did a great job.  I felt like he was actually teaching, instead of it feeling more like playtime.  This is what we came home to in March!  My dad and Addison learning together how to shovel snow! I am not ready to see this again anytime soon!! In June, my family went out to Carrabba's.   My brother Chris and his wife Brooke.  So excited that they are expecting their second baby in March!!  My parents and grandmother Nothing makes you feel white like having your picture...