The Daily Dose: Sept. 9, 2012

Today was another day of relaxation. And work. And lots of cleaning.

We didn't get to talk to Aaron much. I chatted with him a little, but the internet in El Paso where he is right now crawls. We tried for a long time to get skype to work, but every time video came on it dropped the call. The kids were pretty bummed not to see Daddy. We haven't seen him since Thursday. Hopefully sometime soon this week. 

I cleaned the kitchen this morning - stove top scrubbing and all. Did lots of laundry too. The boys played outside for a long time. There was lots of coloring and paper airplane making today too. It was a mostly peaceful day in the house.

I had a big fall and am a little scared I may not be able to move in the morning, thanks to some legos that weren't put away. It's been a long time since I went flying feet over head, and it can be a long time til' it happens again!

It really was mostly a peaceful day in our house. Only a few minimal fights, so I really can't complain. Looking forward to Jacob going to school in the morning and really starting to get into a routine now that we've made it through the first week. Trying to get things on my calendar to look forward to.

Somehow I only managed to take one photo today, but it is a sweet one. I took a couple videos of the kids too for Aaron, but they were on my phone so I just sent them to him. There was a little more documentation then just this of today though! :)

After nap time they like to come sit in my "cubby hole". They were even SHARING it today. Miracle. Silly little boys.

We love and miss you, Daddy. Don't forget it.

The Daily Dose: Sept. 8, 2012

So there was no daily dose yesterday. And I'm okay with that. We'll just leave it at that and say today was a better day. We are all adjusting. I need to remember that.

We were supposed to go to a BBQ this evening with some folks from church, but Joshua had a rash on his cheek and chest. He takes after me and gets funky rashes that almost look like dotted bruises. Like little blood pin pricks all over. I think it's an allergic reaction to something or possibly from some kind of bite, but it's scattered funny and because he was sick earlier this week I didn't want it to be any kind of virus sticking around and get any other kids sick. So we relaxed at home today instead.

It was nice. The boys actually got along for the most part {a HUGE improvement from yesterday}, I caught up on a small amount of the editing I have to do, and had a really great chat time with my husband.

We also hit the one week mark yesterday which was a relief. One week down, it's not a lot, but it's something. Just means one week closer to being in Aaron's arms again.

It's funny how much you can learn about yourself in a week though. And about your kids. And your convictions. I've realized how much more I need to pray. For my kids. For my husband. For my marriage. For God to pour grace over me and continually fill me with patience and peace. There's already been a lot of growing pains. And I can honestly say I'm thankful for them. I can't wait for this deployment to be over already, but I also can't wait to see where God has our family at the end of it. To see the work He will do in me, in Aaron and in our kids through it all brought together. It's going to be nothing short of incredible, I'm sure.

James 1:2-4 says:

Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let the perseverance finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Thankful to get to persevere with my incredible husband. And can't wait to see what's in store. Now, for a few photos.

 We had a lunch picnic with Yo Gabba Gabba. Leftover KFC, grapes, carrots and milk.

 Monster boys. They both look so grown.

 JoJo. You can kind of see the rashy stuff on the right side of his face a little. It goes on his ear and then back behind it.

 She always looks guilty these days. Usually because she usually is. Crazy mutt.

 Serious has never looked so beautiful.

Sarah uses her own spoon now. And she also likes to travel with her applesauce. Luckily it's already mostly empty. But she likes to get every. last. bit. Girl knows how to eat.

It hasn't been easy, but we made it through week 1, punkin. Everything now is just a little bit closer to being back together. We love you oh so very much and miss you more than we could ever tell you. Hope these brighten your day.  <3 br="br">

The Daily Dose: Sept. 6, 2012 The Case of the Chewed Shoe

This is the case of the chewed shoe. I really don't have a whole lot of words for what today was, so let me show you these photos. Let me just say, these are my favorite dress flats. Since the car accident I can't wear heels, so cute dress flats are important. Sadly, these are no more.

The ruffles in front chewed.

The strap completely chewed off and most of the inside pulled out.

See, Ellie, the dog we adopted at GAIN has a closet chewing problem. For the most part we had it under control with a GIANT sized bone and her rope. However, since Aaron left her neuroticism has been, well, at an exceptional level. I'm not sure WHERE she found this shoe, or how she got it without me seeing her, but she did. She was snuggled in a blanket and every time I walked past she must have hid it. But, I looked over at just the right time to see it between her paws, her gnawing frantically at it. When she caught me looking at her she got IMMEDIATELY guilty and ran straight to her kennel and closed the door with her foot. Smart dog.

There wasn't much I could do but shake my head. It was a perfect representation of my day. And really I didn't have energy to do anything else about it. A pregnant mama with a hernia who has the flu and can't keep anything down, doesn't make for much of a useful mama on any front. On top of that today we have a clogged toilet, a payment that the military somehow never got to our landlord {even though it shows on our paystub it did}, and a number of other things. But, what are you going to do?

I have three healthy kids {so grateful for that after yesterday}, a roof over our head and food on our table. I am trying to remind myself that worrying does no good. It is not mine. It is God's. What more can I do than give it to him? And ultimately what does a chewed shoe, or a clogged toilet matter? It doesn't. But somehow I let it overwhelm me. I let it get to me.

Matthew 6:25-27, 33-34 says:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So tonight my prayer is this: That I will not worry about tomorrow. That I will trust in God's provisions. That I will remember all He has done. That I will give the control over to him. It is not my own.

So, sorry there are no photos of the kids today. I couldn't muster the energy to pull my camera out. Perhaps tomorrow. But today, today I bid you ado. Bring on tomorrow, because His mercies are NEW every morning.

Daily Dose: Sept. 5, 2012 A Wednesday of Words

Today's Daily Dose is one of no photos. I'll call it a Wednesday of Words. If it had photos, all they would be is of me doing dirty laundry from a sick JoJo all night, or laundry from dirty uniforms of a kid who got sick at school. Or of a sick Mommy or grouchy Sarah. 

As much as I love documenting details, and as much as I love getting back in the groove of capturing my own family, those are just photos I do not want. And Aaron saw the kids on skype today, so I think we're good in that department.

For those of you that have had husbands who have deployed before, you know that there is a rule of deployment. Anything and everything can and WILL happen AFTER your husband leaves. Last night at 11:30 began the first evidence of that. Out of no where a blood curdling scream from the top of the stairs. It was JoJo. Screaming. Covered in throw up. And did I mention he woke Sarahlynne up while he was at it?

He was sick all night and the poor kid learned the puke in a cup method taking Jacob to school in the morning. Which might I add, we should have just kept Jacob home. I had determined today a work day to catch up on edits from before Aaron left. Sarah and JoJo had finally laid down to rest. I got three photos edited, THREE, and the nurse called. "I Mrs. Oeth, your son threw up in class." Really? So had to get the two littles up and off to get Jacob.

The kids did get to skype with Aaron when we got home and that was nice, but the sickness is sticking around. Best part was when I get sick outside, in the pouring rain, locking and shutting the gate. Awesome.

Luckily, so far Sarahlynne hasn't showed any signs of sickness, but I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch. Not sure yet if I'm keeping Jacob home from school tomorrow yet or not, but I do know either way it will be an at home recovery day. For this evening, it was noodles with chicken broth, a little movie watching and soon to be early bed time.

But I will leave you with something on the positive side. After today, I REALLY felt down in the dumps. Tired, grossed out, sad for my kiddos, missing my husband. Really was just having a day of self pity. And a friend posted this verse:
 

My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. II Corinthians 12:9

How that spoke to my heart. Such a gentle, precious reminder that my weakness can be turned to blessing. That HE is sufficient. This weakness--His power is made perfect in it. Amazing. Thankful for that, and praying that He continually fills me and reassures me of that. And that I allow his grace to be sufficient.

Hopefully we will all feel better tomorrow and we'll have some photos. Until then, going to snuggle with a bunch of pillows in the thunderstorm and try to relax. Here's to hoping the days start passing faster, and the curse of the deployment is few and far between!

The Daily Dose: Sept. 4, 2012

Today was an earllllly morning. We had to get up at 5:30am to get ready and then go pick up donuts for the PTO's Boo-Hoo breakfast and then head over to set up before school. Someone tell me again why I volunteered for that?! Haha, no really--it's good to keep me busy, but man!

We spent most of the morning at the school getting some things done and then I brought the two littles home for nap time. I'm not sure what Joshua's issue is, but ever since we moved he just does NOT sleep. Nap time today was no different. Even though it was a fight, I got to talk to Aaron for the couple of hours we were home before he was heading to bed, so it was worth it. 

Then it was back on base for the mail and to pick up Jacob. My crazy child is nuts. I pick him up and walking to the car he exclaims "Mom it's the second week of school! That means I have HOMEWORK tonight! Can I do it in the car?" Really, Jacob? On that five minute ride home? Silly boy. But I do LOVE that he loves school. I hope that sticks around. 

We relaxed the rest of the day and had an easy dinner. My sickness has been hitting awful right about 4:00 oclock in the evening and lasting until well beyond bedtime. And then in the morning from when i wake up until about 10:00am. I have the Zofran and B-6 but it's not really helping. Cannot wait for this phase to pass. Makes most everything unpleasant.

The cutest thing today though---Sarahlynne woke up from her nap. I brought her down and set her on the floor and she ran to my computer and started hitting yelling "EE DADA! EE DADA!" {See Daddy would be the translation!}. Broke my heart to tell her he was sleeping. But oh so sweet. Girl picks up on things fast! She misses him. As do we all.

I think the adjustment phase with the boys is going to be a little rougher than I though. Especially with JoJo. But, we'll make it through. Lots of prayers for patience for this Momma though!

And with that, photos from today are few, but so so sweet!

 This is a picture from a couple of days before Aaron left for boot camp. BEFORE we were married. 8+ years ago. And Sarah LOVES it. It's on the floor because she was carrying it around all day. Pointing. "Mama. Daaadddaaa!' And then giving it a big kiss. It's one of my all time favorite photos too. It stays by my bed.

 Giving Daddy kisses. <3 br="br">

 Jacob being Jacob. He thinks he's so cool!

 This is what Sarahlynne's face looks like when she says "CHHHHEEESE". Haha. So silly.

 

This is the face/stance Ellie has had a lot since Aaron left. You can't see it here but she has her butt all the way up in the air and she was looking back and forth and back and forth and then TOOK OFF. Neurotic. Seriously. 

And lastly, for your viewing pleasure this evening, Sarahlynne made a video for Daddy, but instead of talking, she just blew him a thousand kisses. It's how we all feel. Love you and miss you more than the very most, sweet husband. 

The Daily Dose: Sept. 3, 2012

So the daily dose for the 3rd is a little late-but all the pictures etc. were actually taken yesterday! 

We spent a good portion of the morning up at big Navy. I had to pick up stuff for the PTO breakfast since the Andersen commissary was closed, and we went to the NEX to get a couple things too. The kids were being a little less than stellar so I was happy to be home.

Luckily after getting home Aaron was on to say hi to the kiddos on skype. Sarahlynne LOVED talking to him today. She had all kinds of giggles and stories for him. Now if we could just fully figure out what she was saying...

After the kids laid down I got to skype with  him for over an hour. So so nice. Quiet time and my husband. The only thing that could have been better would be if he had been sitting next to me on the couch and I could touch him.

Yesterday evening I was feeling exceptionally sick, so I pulled out some frozen chili for the kids. They were excited, and I was excited I found a bag of fritos in the cabinet! Perfect! Then it was early bed time for them since we had to get up at crack of dawn for PTO stuff.

I had planned on working last night since I have a LOT to catch up on from before Aaron left, but I ended up chatting with Aaron some more. After Jojo came down and I went to put him back in bed and ended up stepping on poop that Ellie had left for me in JoJo's bedroom I had had enough and ended up  going to sleep at 8:30. I needed that.

There weren't too many memorable quotes from today that I can remember, but here are the photos:

This is what I call Ellie's broken neck stance. I hate it when she lays like this. She looks like her neck is about to snap off! She's been acting pathetically neurotic since Aaron left. Poor puppy.

 Sleepy Sarah after naptime.

 So a highlight of yesterday was when Sarah woke up and I realized she must of rubbed yogurt in her hair at dinner the previous night. not only was her hair stiff like this, but it smelled like rotten milk. So gross. Definitely had bath time yesterday. But, I have to say, the mohawk does look pretty cool.

 This is a puppy that Aaron bought Sarah while we were in Germany. She LOVED JoJo's puppy so Daddy bought her one of her own. She hasn't really been super attached to it, but oddly, since Daddy left, she has to have it most of the time. She refused to leave it in her bed after naptime yesterday.

 After naps the boys enjoyed a movie on Jacob's computer in his room while playing legos. Clearly something was intriguing to Joshua.

 This is his "put the camera down Mom" face.

Jacob is always intensely concentrated. Lego and movie time were no different!

We love you, punkin' head. Fun just isn't as fun without you here! <3 br="br">

The Daily Dose: Sept. 2 2012

Well yesterday and last night were rough for me. I stayed up to make sure Aaron made it to his first destination and even the 45 min. facebook chat I got with made me feel SO much better. I dosed off and on but ultimately had trouble sleeping.

After chatting with him off and on this morning we had to head to the BX and after coming home we had the HIGHLIGHT of our day. Getting to skype with Aaron! The kids were excited and had lots to tell him. And seeing his face/hearing his voice, so so good. 

Lots of lego building, cheese quesadillas and evening Veggie Tales were on the agenda for the rest of the day. Pretty simple day, and still recovering. And now just waiting to see his face again tomorrow. So thankful for skype.

Before photos here are a few good quotes from the day from JoJo:
 

JoJo at the breakfast table: "I am done. I am full. My tummy is officially shutted DOWN!"
JoJo while ordering Popeye's: "Mom, Mom, MOM we HAVE to sit by the racing on tv. Can we PLEASE sit by the racing. Vroom vroom vroom {while imitating a racecar}. Can we please sit by the racing? I'm going to be a formula driver when I grow up. For a thousand years! Vroom, vroom vroooom!"

And for the photos:

Baby diaper wedgie!! The details that just can't be missed! :)

 Veggie Tales after dinner. We have to get a new bulb for the projector.

 The box I got for while Aaron is away. We can change the numbers every day. I know it may not stay the same and we may sometimes have to add or take away extra..but it's something interactive for the kids. I can't wait for that huge number to shrink. Fast.

 Sarah trying to help Jacob with his legos. While standing on the table. Her signature move. I'm going to start calling her Godzilla.

 I realize her face is disgustingly dirty. This is right after lunch. To show her owie on her chin from yesterday.

 There has been a ridiculous amount of lego building going on here. There are probably 15 of these "ships" around the house. I'm going to need to buy more legos.

 Sweet silly baby blues. Especially for Daddy.

 Love the freckles he's getting on his chin. My sweet sweet little boy.

And we can't forget Ellie. Sarahlynne was trying to feed her carrots after dinner. She was uninterested. But she appeases Sarah.

Hope these make you feel closer to home punkin'. We miss you. And love you more than the very most.

A New Beginning: The Daily Dose

Yea, so remember the "Daily Dose" I started last month? Well I did it for a whole like 5 days. I am a notoriously BAD blogger. But, today, today starts a new beginning. I am committing to the Daily Dose. I don't have a photo for you today, but from here on out, it's coming.

See my sweet husband left in the wee hours of the morning for his deployment. He will be gone 7-8 months of the next year, and as I sat and wallowed this morning my heart broke. Not just for me, but more so for my kids. All the things I knew Daddy won't get to see first hand. Their crazy antics, their silly smiles, their big fat hugs and kisses. I know he'll miss that. And while technology is AMAZING now and the kids will see him on skype and talk to him on the phone, not being around for the day to day is hard.

So these daily doses, these photos are going to be for Daddy. To document everything going on that we may not remember to tell him. Or have the time to tell him. Details you can't express through stories. Plus, I hope that it'll keep me more busy and my mind off of everything going on.

A lot of big things going on at the Oeth house. A lot that will be revealed in the next couple of days. But for now, here is my simple commitment to try and get this up and going. So we can stay connected and keep sharing life with the greatest Daddy and husband out there. It's amazing how much you can miss someone after only 14 hours. My heart has physically hurt like this few other times. I know it will pass as time goes on and that time moves so quickly these days. And even in the crappiness of deployment I find myself thinking of all of our blessings. Getting to keep him for 4 years in Germany. Being lucky enough to have a husband and Daddy that is so worth missing and having a Daddy/husband that we love so much and can't wait to wait for. Not all families have that. And we do. We are blessed.

And now that I've rambled on in my sadness, it's off to eat pizza delivery with my kids and snuggle to a movie. The best thing about having littles when you are down--their snuggles melt the world away.

There'll will be photos for your viewing pleasure tomorrow. For now, I'll leave you this one. My handsome husband and my three little loves. Talk about some sunshine in my life!

Daily Dose: August 2, 2012

Okay, so I'm fully aware I skipped a day again! So haven't meant to, but I have to be honest, VBS is kicking my butt! So tired. And aside from that I've had lots of sessions to catch up on the editing front and sometimes just lose time. I didn't take any photos again today, but snatched a few when our good friends the Carrolls visited from Texas while we were home in Missouri between Germany and Guam. After dinner one night we took the kids to one of the water parks at the playground in downtown CoMo. I don't think they had fun or anything....

Jacob fully enjoying his time in the water! 

JoJo and Jadyn

Sarahlynne is a super water baby, but she wasn't sure about all this that day. 

Jadyn LOVED stepping on the water and then letting shoot up in her face.

The result of it shooting in her face.

We were there around sunset. Jacob was examining one of the shoot outs. Cracks me up with his superhero unders sticking out!

Pure joy.

I love this. They were "karating" the water at each other. Hadn't seen each other in three years and just picked right back up. Awesome.

Silly dance!

Flying water superhero!

Joy!

Sweet little JoJo, soaking wet!

Letting it shoot up in her face again!

JoJo was about done. He just wanted to go across the park and go down the slide!

Looking back at these photos makes me miss my hometown, and our time there. But, I am so grateful that the military allows us friends ALL over the world. It's so bittersweet. So thankful for the Carroll family and what they mean to us, and thankful that my kids have a lifelong friend in Jadyn, regardless of where we may end up. There is nothing better than friendships that do not change, regardless of time apart. When you get friendships like that, hold them close. Happy almost Friday!

Love, 

Kayla

Daily Dose: July 31, 2012

Today was a day of few pictures. We were so super busy with VBS and then I was pretty exhausted afterwards thanks to my bum foot and my accident with a plug and my heel last night. Let's just say it was 8 times worse than a lego or a hot wheel. But, after naps before they spent the evening outside, I snapped a few of them "waking up".

Reading babies. 

Jacob has been using Aaron's kindle to look up Bible verses. He was finding ones he loved for his prayer journal he made at VBS today. 

The legs of a real boy. The bad bruise on his left leg is from him falling on the stairs and it scraping all the way down. That has nothing to do with being a real boy, but everything to do with getting clumsy genes from his Mommy. Sorry, buddy.

I hear Joshua singing down the stairs immediately after he woke up. I got my camera ready and this is what I witnessed as soon as he turned the corner. Singing, dancing with his hands in the air, swinging doggy, and somewhere along the lines lost his shorts during nap time. LoL. Love the way this boy wakes up with singing and dancing.

Sarah was trying to break into that water bottle!

Annoyed with the camera already. It's rare to get a photo of all three of them together. My loves.

Almost Wednesday here in Guam. Aug. 1. Here's to a SLOW month, and enjoying my whole family being together. Cherish the time friends. 

Love,

Kayla