From Luke

This is from Luke's email this morning:

"There are people here that are getting the stomach flu. I haven’t got it yet. We woke up to about four inches of snow this morning. It has continued to snow most the day. There is about 8 to 10 inches on the ground now. We have had some good snow ball fights. Little bit of Army against Navy. I have got in it a little. Pretty fun. Couple people protecting me, a couple targeting me. I will have to note this. :) We are getting close to getting a lot of the initial issues and hang ups taken care of and should be able to start Seabee work pretty soon. I can’t wait."

Just wanted to let you know what is going on with him. That is all. Later.

My Poor Baby

Mango's sick. :( She got it from Apple, whose getting better, but is still pretty miserable. It's just a cold, but post-nasal-drip and coughing mean lots of spitting up which means lots of feeding and clothes changes and not much sleep for mommy. Sigh. On the positive side, I'm not sharing a bed so bringing the baby to sleep with me doesn't keep Luke up all night and I still have plenty of room. Deployments aren't all bad. I get to spend lots more time on Feminist Mormon Housewives. :) Plus, we can have cereal or take-out for dinner every night of the week. Just teasing. We did that when he was here too. At least we don't have to pay taxes. Ha! Take that, civilians!

Mango's cold has totally given her laryngitis and her cries are so cute except when she really gets crying because then she is shrieking and I have to put her in her crib and bury my head under a pillow. But it is so funny because even when she talks normally, she sounds like a little old lady so with the hoarseness, she totally sounds like a frail old lady complaining about her ailments.

Luke made it to his base they are going to be working on. He says it's tiny and will be a lot of work. They convoyed through a town to get there and he said there were hardly any cars, but lots of carts and wagons. Funny weird. The base paper has an article about NMCB 4. I like how it says that this is "historical." Because they are the first Seabee Battalion to go to Afghanistan. . . .since the last time a Seabees battalion went to Afghanistan a couple of months ago. Sillies.

Turtle Face

I caught Mango pulling the turtle face the other day, just like her sisters. Can you tell who is who? You'd think with how different Luke and I look, our kids would be more interesting combinations. But nope. Oh well. When you hit perfect on the first try, it's best to stick with the formula. :)

Chinese Zodiac

Strawberry has been learning the Chinese Zodiac at school and when she got home, she asked me to look everyone's up to see if they were right. It was a little uncanny.

Luke: Dragon

People born in the Year of the Dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable, short-tempered, and stubborn. They are also honest, sensitive, brave, and they inspire confidence and trust. Dragon people are the most eccentric of any in the eastern zodiac. They neither borrow money nor make flowery speeches, but they tend to be soft-hearted which sometimes gives others an advantage over them. They are compatible with Rats, Snakes, Monkeys, and Roosters.

Okay, he's not excitable, but he can be short tempered with our crazy kids, and everything else is spot on. And it's nice to know that since I'm a Monkey, we are compatible.

Bethany: Monkey

People born in the Year of the Monkey are the erratic geniuses of the cycle. Clever, skillful, and flexible, they are remarkably inventive and original and can solve the most difficult problems with ease. There are few fields in which Monkey people wouldn't be successful but they have a disconcerting habit of being too agreeable. They want to do things now, and if they cannot get started immediately, they become discouraged and sometimes leave their projects. Although good at making decisions, they tend to look down on others. Having common sense, Monkey people have a deep desire for knowledge and have excellent memories. Monkey people are strong willed but their anger cools quickly. They are most compatible with the Dragon and Rat.

I like the erratic genius part. That thing about leaving projects? So me. The memory thing is kind of iffy. I have a great memory for facts, which is why I tend to do well in school. But I can't remember appointments or where I put my keys or what I why I just walked into a room.

Strawberry: Horse

People born in the Year of the Horse are popular. They are cheerful, skillful with money, and perceptive, although they sometimes talk too much. The are wise, talented, good with their hands, and sometimes have a weakness for members of the opposite sex. They are impatient and hot-blooded about everything except their daily work. They like entertainment and large crowds. They are very independent and rarely listen to advice. They are most compatible with Tigers, Dogs, and Sheep.

Yep, she's definitely a horse.

Apple: Rooster

People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy and are devoted beyond their capabilities and are deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Rooster Year are often a bit eccentric, and often have rather difficult relationship with others. They always think they are right and usually are! They frequently are loners and though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. Rooster people's emotions like their fortunes, swing very high to very low. They can be selfish and too outspoken, but are always interesting and can be extremely brave. They are most compatible with Ox, Snake, and Dragon.

She thought this was hilarious and went around crowing for a while. We'll have to wait until she is a little older for most of this, but there is definitely potential for it to be right.

Mango: Ox

People born in the Year of the Ox are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. They tend, however, to be eccentric, and bigoted, and they anger easily. They have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent. Ox people are mentally and physically alert. Generally easy-going, they can be remarkably stubborn, and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people.

This one just isn't right. She's not patient or easy going. And she definitely doesn't inspire confidence in others. She makes me feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. This is my third kid and I had it all figured out, but she is sooo different from the other two that I feel like I'm just starting. She does speak little, anger easily, and have a fierce temper though. And she is mentally and physically alert. :)

Anyway, it was fun to figure us all out. Strawberry was pretty excited when I told her that Uncle Peter was a horse too. Now they really have something in common. :) Anyway, everybody have a happy Chinese New Year, which we will totally be celebrating instead of Valentine's Day (bleh--stupid people in love showing affection for each other).

Sweet Conversations

We were driving home from my brother's house today and this is the conversation that we had in the car.

Apple: "I really miss daddy. Can we go to Afghanistan?"

Strawberry: "I think it would be too expensive because we'd have to fly in airplanes. How much would it cost, mom?"

Me: "Thousands of dollars."

Strawberry: "Well, you have thousands of dollars, right? So can we go so we can see daddy?"

Me: "No because there is a war there and they don't let little kids go to where wars are."

Apple: "Do they only let soldiers and builders go there?"

Me: "Yep, mostly."

Apple: "So will they pick a little girl to be a soldier?"

Me: "No, sorry honey, you're too little."

Strawberry: "Well, he could meet us somewhere like at Disneyland and then we could see him."

Me: "No, he's too far away from Disneyland."

Strawberry: "Oh, so maybe SeaWorld instead?"

Apple: "Remember when I was a baby and we went to SeaWorld and I petted a dolphin?"

Me: "No, he can't come to SeaWorld, and no, we've never been there."

Apple: "Yes, we did, remember? When I was a baby. And we saw the dolphins and petted them. When I was a baby. Remember?"

Strawberry: "I miss daddy."

Apple: "I miss daddy too a lot and a lot."

Me: "I miss him too."

We had a lot of fun on our quick visit. They were devastated to leave. Thanks for letting us crash, guys. :)

Apple's Fascinating Mind

Apple has been so funny lately. She has had a very vivid imagination. She's been telling me all about these things that happen to her. Sometimes it is big stuff, sometimes just a little thing. The other day, I had a friend pick her up from pre-school and Apple told me that she forgot about her and she had to stay with the teachers and then my friend came back. Apparently, that totally didn't happen. Then the other day when I got home from the grocery store, she said, "Why did you forget to buy dog food?" I said, "We don't have a dog sweetie." And she said, "Really? I thought we did have one." She has also told me about the time our house burned down and we had to go running out in the middle of the night. It's just so funny. I know imagination and reality totally blur at this age, but man, some of the stuff she convinces herself of is wild. This is what she said to me yesterday:

"I learned how to do my hairs. I spray and spray and spray and spray and spray and brush and spray. Now my hair goes like this, like the girl in the 'Credibles. So I have to wear a headband so G (her friend) doesn't know I'm a 'Credible. I was a 'Credible when I was a baby because I was like that 'Credibles baby." Then she went on to describe her babyhood as a 'Credible. I love how she goes off on these wild tangents.

She has been learning so much in preschool. The other day I was sitting in the car and she said, "You know that big storm on Jupiter? You know, that makes it look like it has a big red spot?" She'll just throw things out like that randomly. I love it. She'll start talking about transportation or the Antarctic. She decided to make her teachers some planet bookmarks. That's what the picture is. She's really thriving. When she started in September, she couldn't draw a line and now she can write her name independently. And the other day, I was looking through this little journal she has. She'd been drawing flowers and people, and then I came across the words "fun money" "tithing" and "mission fund" written perfectly. She had copied them off of her little savings bank. It's weird because if I try to help her, she can't do it, but if I write a word and then walk away, she can copy it really well. It's pretty cool.

Okay, one more cute thing. Last night we were driving on to the base and Strawberry said, "What if the guy checking your card was really daddy? And he just said, 'You don't have to show me your card honey.' That would be really awesome, huh?" I said, "I'd grab him and kiss him." And Apple said, "I'd grab him and put him in the house and lock the door so we could keep him forever." I totally cried the rest of the way home. These girls so adore their daddy. They are actually doing really well and I think it is because he is such an amazing dad and they know how much he loves them. They think about him and talk about him all the time, but they are happy thoughts. I was afraid that they would get depressed, but these wild imaginations are so helpful because instead of thinking how sad it is that he isn't here, they talk about how great it would be if he was here and what they would do and what we are going to do when he gets home. It makes me happy.

Speaking of Luke, he's moved from the main base to one a little further north and is sort of in transition to his goal area. His job is seriously changing every time I talk to him so who knows what he will end up doing. Right now he is hanging out with the German army and getting snowed on. He's happy and healthy and studying hard.

My New Baby

Over the past couple of weeks, Mango has undergone a complete transformation. The old Mango was definitely the fussiest of our babies, but also so sweet and fun and active and crazy and silly. She'd give you huge smiles one second, and then scream for 20 minutes straight the next. When she got tired, she'd cry and cry and cry and I'd rock her and bounce her and walk with her and I just couldn't figure out what was wrong or what to do. And she hated being at church! She would start screaming about 5 minutes after Sacrament meeting started and wouldn't stop for at least 15 to 20 minutes, until she had cried herself to sleep. It was so frustrating because she was such a fun, sweet baby, but she would get so mad and I didn't know what to do.

Well, two weeks ago, I had a breakthrough. For one thing, we changed her formula to the expensive one with partially broken down proteins. That seemed to help her tummy feel a little better. But around the same time, I realized that she just didn't want to be held when she was sleepy. When I would just lay her down on my bed out of frustration, she would immediately stop crying and go to sleep. So she had been crying because she was tired and all my attempts to calm her down were just keeping her awake. Isn't that funny? It was just so different from my other babies who would only go to sleep while I held them and then pop back awake as soon as I laid them down. So she had been crying so much because she was tired. (Also because of the formula, of course).

And also a little more than two weeks ago, she figured out how to suck her thumb. It took us forever to get her to take a pacifier in the first place, but then she realized how much more awesome her thumb was and wouldn't take a paci at all anymore. Frustrating, but then also also a huge positive because she can calm herself completely so easily. She'll wake up in the middle of the night, talk a little bit, then stick her thumb back in her mouth and go to sleep.

I call this a deployment miracle. Just in time for Luke to leave, she became the perfect baby. So sweet and happy; her smiles are just the thing to make me feel better when I get sad. And she only cries now when she is hungry or sleepy and both those are taken care of immediately. The only difficulty now is that she got very good at rolling over and so she'll flip over onto her tummy and can't remember how to get back and will start yelling for help. It's pretty darn cute. She can get around pretty well. She hasn't started rolling across the room yet, but with rolling and twisting and kicking, she can get into things.

She discovered her toes in the past couple of weeks as well. It is the funniest thing when she gets her diaper changed, because as soon as it's off, she rolls herself up and grabs her feet so she can put her toes in her mouth. Then as soon as she gets it there, she kicks and arches her back and practically throws herself off the changing table. It is really hard to get a diaper on this little girl. She's been wiggly like that since she was born, but now she's a lot more coordinated with her antics. She's so much fun.

Right now she also loves to scratch things and play with toys and laugh at her sisters. Unfortunately, she still hates church. That hasn't changed at all. Sigh. I am this close to going inactive while Luke is gone. Maybe I should just get to church 30 minutes early so that she can get her screaming out and go to sleep before any meetings start.

Anyway, she's a great baby and we love her. She's sucking her thumb and smiling at me right now. I love this little girl!

I did want to mention (after this way long post) that Luke emailed me and I figured out what he was in the middle of saying. He got a phone! He found a prepaid phone that will work throughout most of Afghanistan. So when he is away from the main camp, he will still be able to call me and let me know what's up. It was so funny because I got this text from a ridiculously long phone number that said "I love you, this is my number" and I thought it must be a misdial. But it was my sweetie, texting me from the other side of the world. It was funny.

Silly Strawberry

Strawberry got this awesome tutu for Christmas (thank you little cousin K!--his mommy made this) and looooves prancing around being a ballerina. I had to share some of the pictures.

Luke called this morning. They are all settled in to Afghanistan getting training for scary things that I don't want to think about. He says it's a lot different than Iraq, definitely not as nice. Plus it's raining and snowing instead of 130 degrees. He and all the other officers and chiefs are sharing a big tent. So it's fun, like Girls' Camp, right? I wonder if they tell ghost stories and prank each other. He said that in the next few days, he will be taking a 21-person detail out to a Forward Operating Base and expanding it. So it's really good that he will be doing something already. I was worried that he would just be sitting around. He said a lot of the other people will be, but he gets to get out and work. We didn't get to talk for very long. The last thing he said was, "Oh yeah, do you have a piece of paper and pencil ready?" and then it hung up on us. Aauugh. What was he going to say? Now I'm all anticipating. He hasn't had much access to email. So I may have to wait a few days to find out what it was, especially once he heads off for the job. Sigh.

At least we got to talk. He was able to talk to Apple this morning, but Strawberry was at school. He actually just got to talk to her last night when he called for 2 minutes to let us know he was there and told her that he loved her. My poor girls miss their daddy. Apple had me write a letter to him this morning that basically said, "we'll be good if you come home." :( I don't know if it is harder for her since she doesn't understand what 8 months means or for Strawberry who does understand. I've been doing my best to keep them busy and happy. We actually went to Disneyland the day he left. I was warding off the depressed state that Strawberry tends to fall in to when Luke leaves, and it worked, they had a blast. My next door neighbor met us there. Her husband has been deployed since August so she and her kids knew exactly what we were going through. But, I don't know, the last couple of days have been tough for me. I just want to lay in bed and feel sorry for myself, but I can't. So I'm more grouchy than I should be. I need to remember that my girls need me to really hold it together and be happy and keep them happy. It's tough.

Anyway, he's doing fine and we're doing fine. Thanks for all of your concern and love. We have awesome family and friends.

Family Pictures

We took a family picture just a few weeks ago. I can't believe I got one when everyone was looking at the camera and no one was crying or blinking. We didn't end up getting to take that many because we lost the light. Mango was having tummy issues and was crying before and after these were taken. We were going to take more individual ones, but just didn't get the time. I got some of Luke with each of the girls that they could put in their rooms though. They turned out very sweet. We got the one of Mango the day before when we were location hunting.

Bye Daddy :(

We sent Luke off this morning. We're all devastated, but surviving. The local news did a story on his battalion. There is a little clip talking about what they will be doing over there. Luke was quoted in the story. Just so you know, I was not fighting to hold back tears; I was crying like a baby. And I was mad at that reporter. Who comes up to a daddy saying goodbye to his baby and asks to do an interview? I told her that it really wasn't a good time, but Luke was nicer than me. And I'm glad because now I get to have an article about him to keep. Here's the link:

Seabees Deploy Before Dawn to Afghanistan

There are a few nice comments at the bottom of the story. It's sweet to hear that people care. Sorry there are no pictures. I was too sad to pull out the camera.