A Texas Christmas

We made the road trip to Texas again this year. As usual we had a great time and ate way too much food. The boys had a great time playing with cousins and I loved visiting with everyone :)

The whole gang. And yep Katie is screaming her cute lil head off.
My grandmother is seated on the couch and the back row is her grand children and all of the lil ones are her great grandkids :)

Katie in her Christmas dress.......oh melt my heart.
The boys found a quiet place and a cousin to play with.

Joe was so worn out...notice the blackened face from playing outside...he tool a Christmas snooze on Dad and later on an uncle...hehehe.

A week at home

First time holding Katie.

Sitting with Daddy...he's been officially baptized with spit up :)

Lizzzz....I need HELP!!

Wrestling with the dogs and boys.

Well Joe has been here a little over a week. It has been so nice. We have both had to do some adjusting though. Joe got used to not having kids around and definately being able to sleep in peace. Well as you others know when you have small children it is rare when you can sleep in peace.....and all night. And I had gotten into a routine and it is difficult for me to let him do things around here when they aren't exactrly done the way I do them :). We also had some added drama of a VERY sick donkey. Arthur (the donkey) went into full blown colic. I didn't sleep for 4 days because I was attending to him or worrying over him. But finally yesterday he has turned a corner and we think he will make it.

Anyway Joe and I have done some Christmas shopping, had a date night, and just lots of time at home with the kiddos. Lil Joe is thrilled that he is here. Garrett took a couple of days to get used to him and Katie....well let's just say she still wants her Mama. Joe has changed her diaper a couple of times. The first attempt was hilarious. About 20 seconds into it just as I grabbed my camera I hear "I need HELP!" It was quite funny, but he has gotten much better over the past few days. I had several friends meet me at the airport to pick Joe up and I had my camera but my hands were shaking so badly that I didn't take many pics. A friend took a ton and said he would give me a CD. When I get those I will be sure to post more.

Wanna see what I did today?

Joe and I have been so emotional lately. In the wake of Rob's death Joe is coming home for R&R. We are very excited but it is tough when you think about families like Rob's and the others who won't be here for the holidays. So while we celebrate these familes are in our prayers.

God has a new angel

A friend and colleague of Joe's while we were in Ft. Riley was injured in October in Afghanistan. Sadly, after putting up a brave battle, he was called home yesterday. His wife has been by his side for weeks and has shown amazing strength and conviction.

Joe and I are deeply saddened by the loss of a great leader, husband, and father. He served his country with honor and dignity. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and beautiful girls. My God hold them close during this time.

I got one!!

Katie has been gracing us with her smile for about a week. I finally caught half of one on camera this morning. She was grinning all over the place and I was so excited they came out a bit blurry. LOL. So my best pic is half of her precious smile but I still think she is adorable. Can't wait to see her grin at her Dad :)

Getting close!!!

Big Joe's R&R begins this week!!!! In 6 days!!! Wooohooooo!!!! So very excited. He is too. And very happy to get some Subway on the way home ;). I can't wait to see the look on the boys' faces and to see Big Joe when he holds Katie for the first time. We plan on doing lots of family outings as well as just some date nights to ourselves. And we will head to Texas for Christmas :). It will be a fun four weeks that I won't want to let go. I hate telling him goodbye but I will cherish every moment we have together starting......in 6 DAYS!!! YYaaaaahhhooooo!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

Today is my Dad's 65th birthday! It is hard to believe. One he looks nowhere near 65 and two it just doesn't seem like he should be that old. Bless his heart he is taking such good care of me and the kidlets while Joe is gone. He is over here nearly everyday (20 min drive for him) helping me feed the horses, doing odd jobs around the house, and sometimes bringing supper :). He is a wonderful man and definitely in my top three favorite people :) (God, Big Joe, and then Dad). He is also one of the strongest people I know. He is a Vietnam vet, an optometrist, a great Dad and Papa, and there ANYTIME I need him. While my mother was ill he took care of everything because he knew she wouldn't have wanted to be in a nursing home. So he had all the equipment and care brought to his home and set her up in front of the beautiful view they have out of the formal living room. He didn't get much sleep during that time because he cared for her at night and still worked full time. He has a bit of a tough exterior but really he is a soft place to land for me. I love him dearly. And I hope he has a wonderful birthday!!!

First Sunday in a dress and proof

I finally decided that I didn't care....Katie would wear a dress to church today. Aftrer 5 1/2 years of trucks and polo shirts I wanted to dress my lil girl up. The problem is tights. Even the smallest ones I have found were waaaaaaay too big, not only in length but the width of her little leg. She looked like an old lady with wrinkles in her knees. But today I said "I don't care" and I dressed her up and she looked soooooooo adorable. And thanks to a good friend with three girls of her own...Katie has some preemie tights coming in the mail :)

Second is PROOF. Proof that even though my boys wrestle like dogs on the floor and fight over the same car they canbe civil to one another. I snapped this picture before it was too late ;)

"Tagged"

I have been "tagged" by a friend :). This is an Internet game where you find the fourth picture folder then the forth picture in that folder, post it, and write four things about that picture. Then you "Tag" four of your friends with blogs. So forgive if I tag you...and then we will play. It was kinda fun thumbing through old pics anyway :)


1. This is a pic of Little Joe (for many of you...this is how you remember him :)) It was taken in the Fall of 2006 making him a lil over 3yrs.

2. This was our first trip to the pumpkin patch in my hometown, and Joe is walking through the corn maze (which we never figured out heheheh). We had just moved into our lovely Tennessee home.

3. From an early age Joe has been a hat kid. He loves to wear hats. He has a John Deere hat that he received on his fourth birthday that looks like a true country boy hat now :)

4. Garrett and Joe look very much alike except that Garret has HUGE dimples, and it is pictures like this where I am really amazed buy how strong my hubby's genes are ;)

ok Now I am tagging

Ashley - The Harding Family
Linda- A private blogger friend
Chaney- Jackson and Zoe's Daily Updates
Heather- A Journey of Faith

Why?

Ok of course the day after my last post Joe called. Maybe I should whine more often :). And he was in the field...and will be in the field until basically he comes home for R&R. Bleh. Oh well. I know he is safe and he is doing fine, although a lil sleep deprived.

My next question is why.....why do we as parent spend thousands of dollars on toys when our kids end up playing with yard sticks from the paint store, or a cardboard roll from wrapping paper....or spices from my spice rack?!?!!? The other day Joe had dumped his very LARGE Tupperware of lincoln logs on the floor. And yea he played with them a bit but soon discovered running around the house with the Tupperware on his head was much more fun. Garrett soon found another container to wear and join Joe in the fun. hehehehehe. I remember spending days in a box from my folks new deep freeze. I even slept in that thing. This is how I find Garrett many nights out of the week

8 days

...since I have heard from Joe. UGH!!! He had mentioned he was leaving for the field but did not say how long and I am just assuming his cell phone did not get coverage wherever they went. I was really hoping he would be back by now especially since they do honor most American holidays there. I know he is not in a dangerous area but after 8 days your mind begins to wander. Is he ok? Did something weird happen and no one knows where we live? Then my mind says to quit being silly and he will call you as soon as he can. Sigh. I hate being patient. And it is hard knowing today's technology that is is possible to communicate with him it is just the circumstances won't allow it. Ok I'll climb off my box now...sorry.
Well, Joe, if for some reason you are able to check the blog before calling me....I love you. I miss you. Please call when you can. Think..dream..pray. All my love hun.

Tennessee Orange....and reds and yellows

The trees are so beautiful around here the past week or so. I'm always amazed by the wonders of God's work. Whenever I am driving down the road lately, I find myself saying out loud, "Wow, isn't that one pretty?!" I took a few pictures around our property. I just love living out here and never tire of it.

One month...and well plus one day!

Our darling Katiebug is one month and one day old. She is so terribly sweet. I am soaking up every minute of having her. I just love dressing her up, seeing her smile in her sleep, and knowing I can make her stop crying instantly just by holding her. Her brothers are totally in love as well. And I just cannot wait for Big Joe to meet her. I know he will be wrapped around her tiny lil fingers in a heart beat. Here is a pic I took yesterday....when she really was one month :) Bless her heart she has pretty bad baby acne....all of my kiddos did. Hopefully her precious face will shine through even more in the coming weeks :)

Zoo of a Halloween

Well I have officially decided three kiddos makes for a zoo! But it was pure coincidence that all three were animals this year for Halloween :). Although Katie stayed in her costume a total of about 3 minutes.....I have come to the conclusion that 0-9 month costumes lean way more toward the 9 month range. It was HUGE on her!!!!! Joe had a rough week at school the week before so as punishment he was not allowed to go to the pumpkin patch like I had originally planned but since last week was better I was finally able to get all three kiddos to a patch the day before Halloween. The boys had a great time and Katie slept in the sling. It was a feat to get three kiddos and four pumpkins back to the car though! I let the boys paint their pumpkins while I carved one after they went to bed.....it was too chaotic to do it with them awake. Then Halloween night we went to the church's fall festival. Again a great time with lots of candy and inflatables for the kids to play on.











Oh a sad note...one of Joe's colleagues and friends was severely injured in Afghanistan this week. A good man....with a lovely wife and two adorable little girls. Currently he is being treated in Germany with the hopes of returned to the states in the next couple of weeks. Please be in prayer for Rob and his family. http://yllescasfamily.blogspot.com

Go Titans!!!

There are some pretty big Titans fans in this house :). Tonight is Monday night footabll and the game is all the buzz around town. I dressed my own lil team up in all their Titans gear today and got many postive comments from people on my errands...hehehe. I thought they looked so cute I would take a pic and then an extra one of the head cheerleader ;). The boys look mighty proud don't they. So sweet :)

Holy Tomatoes, Batman!!

Wow...I have planted tomatoes before but they have never taken off like the ones this year. Somebody needs to tell these plants that Halloween is next week!! I picked 24 tomatoes just today! I should be canning some, but mostly I give them away and eat some myself. Here is a pic of my plants....I have three and they are all taller than my 5'2 lil self. So if anyone local needs some tomatoes please feel free to stop by :).

And just a goofy side note...I was taking pics of Katie the other day and when I turned around there was Garrett cheezing it up so I would take some of him. How could I resist?!

The good and the bad...

I'll start with the bad....just me I always want to hear the bad news first and then feel better with good. More drama was in our lives this week. Tuesday I had another hemorrhage. Of course I have to be the weird one. My doctor who has become a good friend says she usually sees one hemorrhage a week, one bad enough to require a D&C once a month, but I am the only one she has known to have to severe ones. Ugh! At least my chances are going down that this won't happen again. Unfortunately there are no guarantees. I am at home again though, but kind of back to square one with recovery. I received two units of blood in the hospital but I am still weak and anemic. I just pray this nightmare is over soon. It's been a trying time full of questions in my prayers but I know there is something to learn from this.

Ok now for the good :):):):). Today is my darling hubby's birthday!!!!!!!! Happy birthday, my love!!! I keep joking with him that I am officially married to an old man...heheheh today he is the big 3...0. I know I know that's nothing these days but I still like to tease ;). Hard to believe that this month we will have been together ten years. I can remember us talking about our plans when we were in our 30s and look here we are :). I couldn't send his birthday package yet because he is moving and I didn't want it to get lost but I hope it's worth the wait :). I love you so much, Joe....more and more with each passing day...and I hope to celebrate many many more birthdays with you. Love you bunches :) Oh and by the way hun....the Colbert Report celebrates it's anniversary with your bday :) thought you might like to know!

Great news for my Joes!!!!

I received an email this morning from Big Joe entitled "Household 6 this is Dragon 6. I'll be home for Christmas....Over." YYYYAAAAAHHHHHOOOOOOOO!!!! This means he will be able to come home for leave around Christmas like we had hoped for for months now :). That's only 80 something days!!!!! He will be taking over his new unit at the end of the month :) which also means he may very well be home for good by Christmas of next year. We'll just keep praying. But this was the best news I could've gotten all week.

For my other Joe.....he has been playing soccer for three seasons now. And this weekend he scored his first goal!!!!! I have been telling him he can get a special toy if he scored a goal. Sadly I wasn't at the game due to the drama of last week but I am still sooooo excited for him. And a friend from church took some great pictures for us. He got a new GeoTrax train to celebrate his moment. And I told him this week he needs to score another for me so I can see it :).

Katie cutness and a huge scare

For those who haven't heard the 8th of Oct was very dramatic in this house. It was one of those situations you hear about but never think it will happen to you. I was relaxing on the couch when I started to bleed...I was hemorrhaging. I was taken by ambulance to the hospital where thankfully my doctor was there. I had a D&C to stop the bleeding and I am still under a watchful eye for a hysterectomy. Besides a terrible headache from losing blood and two spinal anesthetics I am much better. This was truly a wake up call though.....one that can change your life. I am truly grateful to my doc for her actions and all of those who helped and to those who are volunteering to stay with me as I recover.

On a much lighter note Katie is so stinkin cute. I am just so in love with my lil girl. She loves to snuggle and I don't mind granting that request at all these days :). Here are some new pics you can tell what a lil thing she is especially with the remote :)

The Harrison finale is here...introducing Katherine Greer!

Well our lil princess has finally entered this world!!! I went in about 8:30 on Friday morning and we started the induction at about 10:00am. My wonderful doctor suggested I try an epidural. I had been told since I was 15 I could not have one, but after talking to several people we decided to try. It worked wonderfully!!!! So now I have experienced natural and epidural.....and yea with the epidural was much less dramatic ;). I progressed slowly but surely and at 3:34pm on October 3rd Katherine Greer Harrison was here. Big Joe was on the speaker phone and got to hear the delivery and her first cries :).She weighed 7lb 4oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. She was the exact same weight as Garrett but 2 inches shorter....so she has a lil more chub than the boys but still seems tiny :). She was nursing within 15 minutes. They had to take her to the special care nursery just because she was a lil early but a few hours later she was safe in my arms again. She is a lil jaundice and had some initial blood sugar issues but neither are a big deal. Just need to put her in the sun and do some blood checks. The boys came yesterday to meet her. Joe is very excited. Garrett is not sure what to think. I am totally in love :). I feel pretty good....this is still all so surreal. Out family feels so complete now with her....what a wonderful blessing. Here are some pics to enjoy.

Katie is coming!!!!

I have really not been feeling well the past few days. I saw my doc today and told her and she recommended going ahead with delivery....tomorrow! I am 4cm and 75% effaced and that combined with getting dehyrated on and off she is worried about the fluid level around the baby. She mentioned that I could get an amnio done to check for lung maturity but she thinks Katie should do fine. But she wanted me to be aware that she may need to be transferred to a civilian hospital if she doesn't due well....since she will be considered preterm by a couple of days.
So now I am in a state of shock...I want her to be here so badly but now the thought of tomorrow...wow!!!! I will make sure to post lots of pictures as soon as I can :)

Happy Birthday, Mom.

Nearly a year ago, I lost my mother to brain cancer. This disease plagued her from the time I was 12 until October of last year when God called this angel home. Today would have been her 64th birthday. I feel like I lost my mother a long time ago due to her failing health. Her first surgery to remove the tumor changed her personality (I used to joke that they removed the part of her brain that liked me :)). But she was never the same since. Her radiation treatments left her mostly deaf, but she was unable to learn sign language due to her short term memory loss from the tumor. She was severely unbalanced...to the point when I had Joe 5 years ago I could not let her carry him for fear she would fall. But when I was a young child....wow...what an amazing woman. I remember her cheering my brother and I at swim meets. Never thinking twice on driving us all over town to our activities. She made home cooked meals nearly every night after working as a teacher all day, which she did for 20+ years. She was a strict mother but had very loving moments. And even though our relationship the last few years of her life was very tense I will never forget the last time I saw her when she recognized me....I told her I love in and signed it to her in sign language...and she attempted to sign it back. Through my tears she knew I understood. She made all of my Easter dresses by hand, even two prom dresses after her first round of cancer. After being given a 2 in 10,000 chance of survival in the early 90s she saw many things until 2007, including both of her kids graduating high school, college, both get married, and meeting and loving two grandchildren. And although she will miss her last grandchild from me....I like to think she had a little part in us getting our little girl. I hope this year on her birthday she gets a well deserved party in heaven :) complete with roses (her favorite) and whatever cake she pleases as long as she doesn't have to make it :).

I love you, Mom. And we all miss you. Happy Birthday.

Here are a couple of pictures of my mother. One at Thanksgiving in 2006...not completely healthy but how I remember her most, and one of her holding Garrett just weeks before she passed.

A little paint and a little pink

Since Katie is coming and I didn't want to totally redo the nursery I just added some girly touches to the room. It is an underwater theme with several fish, a turtle, a crab, and a surfboard. The surfboard orginally was green and had Garrett's name, so I changed that. I added some butterflies, flowers, and gave the already existing turtle some "loving thoughts". I also had blue bubbles on the wall and I put some pink ones in between. I hung a pink curtain, and plan on replacing the blue rug with a pink or purple one.

The since Joe had his name already in the boys' room Garrett's need to be added. Their room has a rodeo theme to it. Joe has his name on a barrel which says "Joe's Rodeo Co." I decided the area of the closet would be a good spot fro Garrett and maybe an awning would be nice.....now for the phrase. Of course, his signature nickname around here "Garretto's Burritos" :)