Proper Introduction

Dale Richard Leuer Ramus

Our newest nephew and cousin!

Flying...then & now

Growing up, travelling, flying was surely exciting. It started with my parents announcing vacation plans and became more real when Papi brought "the tickets" home. Remember those? Paper tickets? Going to the airport, remembering "the tickets"! Waiting in lines, checking the baggage, watching the monitor of the x-ray machine to see what's in my carry-on, have someone pat me down briefly, keeping my shoes on. Then at the Gate there were these little plastic goodie bags that you could fill with fruits, sandwiches etc. Newspaper available.
And now? Buy tickets online, receiving an e-mail confirmation, check in online, print boarding passes on regular paper, go to the airport, drop off the bags curbside, go through security, THEN buy something to drink while waiting for boarding time.

I just checked in online for tomorrows flights.

My best friend:

Paul.
I just got off the phone with my very best friend. It is so nice to be married to him. Since he has been away from his unit and serving with the Air Force (as the Army Liaison) we have been able to chat (yahoo messenger) a lot, but phonecalls were in 15 minute increments. And it rarely ever failed, just as we got on a subject that required some time to talk about...our 15 minutes were up.
Now he is back with his unit and today he called and we got to talk for over 2 hrs. Intentional conversations. Not smalltalk but good coonversations.
He has been gone for little over 6 months, in 2 months he will be home for 18 days. Can't wait. But certainly time is going to fly by. Wednesday we are going to California, after that, Cheerleading starts for the Girls (yes, both of them are cheering) and Christmas. My Mom is coming on the 26th and only a few days after she leaves Paul will be home.

Dear Georgia

Dear Georgia-

It is the middle of November, can I have Sweater weather please?

Seriously, I have lots of cute sweaters, I look cute in sweaters, and I'll even give up the flip flops I've been wearing for 9 or so months.

It's practically Christmas, it should not be 27 degrees (celsius).

Please get that taken care of.

Thanks,

me

Gateway

Today I walked into church after dropping off Emma-Louise and Christel-Ann in their youth groups, and felt needy. I got myself a hot cup of cider and looked for familiar faces. Steph, Kira,....saw them, both husbands home on R&R. 4 chairs in a row, I sat behind them and while singing I just felt lonely.
We are in a sermon series called "Life 360"
I am just going to write some words down:

Friendship
Patience
Speaking into one's life
Vulnerability
Intentional Conversations
Lifting each other up
Common action & hospitality

I will make a point to write something on those subjects in the next few days.

And after church I got to ride a bike again! Since our neighbor sold his bike early this year I have not been riding. Kirk handed me the keys to his, too large for me, cruiser (Yamaha Road Star), and I took it around the parking lot. He promised he will be looking out for a bike for me. Of course a Harley would be nice....but as a starter bike a Honda Shadow or Yamaha Virago would work.

A Saturday in November

I wake up because the phone is ringing. Paul. I inform him that I am still asleep but encourage him to talk. I like his voice. 5 minutes later he gets tired of talking while I sleep. He asks me to go to the messenger and we chat. We chat until I am awake and he is.....asleep. I bundle up and go running. It is COLD! Temperatures around 7-9 (Celsius!) and I run.
We eat breakfast together and get ready. Typical week-end: laundry, housecleaning and a friend and I thought about going shopping downtown. We text back and forth in the morning and decide 11:30 would be a good time. I call a babysitter, maybe I can get some christmas shopping done?
Kat and I drive downtown and find a parking spot. Should I play the lottery? We walk around and we find some goodies. Down on river street there is some music and we stop in a Restaurant and eat. The entire time: sunglasses on, sunglasses off. In the shade they are too dark, in the sun: necessary. By now it's perfect T-shirt weather. We sit and eat southern: fried green tomatoes and a good salad. Sweet tea.
We walk around some more, went into a few stores, I made some mental notes for Santa
and just enjoyed the beautiful weather and company.

Only a naughty sister would....

...buy her sister a T-shirt saying "I am the naughty sister"

Haircut!

Is she not adorable? Such a joy, full of fun, life and very, very silly!

Fall has arrived!

We are wearing jackets now! No sillies, not all day just in the mornings....
It is November, over a months since I have updated this Blog. I have received plenty of scolding.
In October my sister & family came to visit with us. We had 2 great weeks with each other. They left 2 weeks ago and exactly 2 months before my Mom will come for her second visit this year.
But between two visits, I will be vactioning.
California, here we come!
One of the reasons we have got to go to California: we have a new nephew! And Thanksgiving is just the perfect time to do so. I am very excited. I am looking forward to being with family, especially Rich, Jen, Clay & Dale. Being with them is like having a little bit more of Paul around.

Oktoberfest!

Not in Munich, SAVANNAH!
Also known as the Rocktoberfest or Octobeerfest.
I am going out tonight....and even the weather is German!

One of my favorite things...

...is hearing from friends...
Thank you friends for staying in touch, even if it means to be the one that calls me all the time or being the one that makes more efforts towards our friendship.

K.

4

The Birthday Girl!

Emma-Louise, Emmalise, Louischen, Zuckerpuppe, Wild Child, knows what she wants (and wants is NOW) and what NOT, loves to cook and bake and is a real good helper (really!!!), will decide within split seconds whether she likes someone or not, and if not....good luck! Loves food! Any kind of food, lots of it. Favorites are candy, chocolate, green beans, rice, chicken, pasta, eggs, bananas, melons, lime, and yes, she is still nursing. She loves her Bitty Baby doll, is a great Cheerleader, sings the silliest songs and can not draw. Has no interest in drawing. Her favorite shape is an Octagon (don't ask!!) and her favorite color is Pink, her second favorite color is pink. She wears a Lillifee Backpack most of the time and has done so for a few years now. She is infatuated with Lillifee (a German Character).
When she grows up she wants to be a Firefighter.
She is such a joy!!

"Get-out-of-jail-free"-card

I must have had one of those cards on me today. Oooops. BIG OOOPS!!!! I was pulled over for a traffic violation (c'mon none of you guys reading this is walking on water, y'all have been there, done that). I explained myself and the Police officer "set me straight" (much appreciated by the way). Then I was to show proof of insurance and my Driver's licence. Proof of insurance was produced quickly...and the Officer pointed out that it had expired....oops again, but he did not seem too worried, he could have called it in. BUT since I left the house in a hurry I just grabbed my little change purse that I take to work and back, NOT my wallet. But there was that "get-out-of-jail-free-card"...I did have my licence on me!!!! Nice Officer pointed out that in the state of Georgia, driving without a licence is a felony and he would have had to take me to jail where I would have had to post a cash bond. YIKES!! I will do some online search...if that is true...anyway, no harm was done. I will NEVER go anywhere without my licence!!!

94,70,4

94 years ago, my paternal Grandmother was born.

70 years ago, my father was born.

4 years ago, my daughter was born.

Emma-Louise received her name from my Grandmother Emma and Paul's Grandmother whose middle name is Louise, but that is the name she goes by and it is also Paul's mother's middle name.

I really cherish my daughter's special names. Inspiration to us naming our children was Paul's Aunt Ann. Her sons have 3 names. A first name, and then a name from each side of the family. I remember Ann telling me about her sons names when I was pregnant with Christel-Ann, we were favoring "Ashley" at the time. My sister (also pregnant at the time) argued that Ashley was the name of her male horse and would not work for her niece. And then we started searching in our families for suitable names. Names that could be pronounced in both English and German. And decided on my mother's first name and Auntie Ann's first name. The hyphen was placed by Paul. When I became pregnant with Emma-Louise her name was picked really fast. A son would have been Henry Chandler, no hyphen. During the pregnancy I often, mostly referred to her as Emma-Lou'. One look at her and she was Emma-Louise (e NOT silent!). I could not call her Emma-Lou' and I do call her a lot of "names". Mostly "Louischen" and sometimes "Emmalise" (from the time she could not say her name correctly).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Y'ALL ;-)

(P.S Party Details will follow)

Ein paar deutsche Sprueche!

Kate Winslet:
"Urlaub ist, wenn ich zwischen Windelwechseln und Breikochen auf dem Klo sitze".....

Joachim Fuchsberger:
"Eltern begabter Kinder glauben unerschütterlich an Vererbung"

Kaya Yanar
Geburtenförderung würde heißen: Man schickt Boris Becker und Kaiser Franz auf große Deutschlandtournee.

Jack Lemmon
Wenn man einem Sohn das Auto leiht muss entweder der Sohn oder das Auto alt genug sein.

Will Smith
Kinder sind dann erwachsen, wenn sie nicht mehr fragen, woher sie kommen, sondern verschweigen, wohin sie gehen

Steve Martin
Mit Kindern ist es wie mit Ideen. Nur wenn sie von einem selbst sind, findet man sie auch gelungen

Robin Williams:
Großeltern und Enkel verstehen sich wunderbar. Das liegt daran: Sie haben einen gemeinsamen Feind.

Paul Auster
Mit Erziehung versuchen die Mütter auszugleichen, was wir ihren Kindern vererbt haben.

Jay Leno, US-TV-Talkmaster
Bill Gates ist Vater geworden. Das Kind bekommt keinen Laufstall, sondern gleich ein ganzes Laufwerk.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Kinder müssen mit Erwachsenen sehr viel Nachsicht haben.

Goldie Hawn
Erst wenn man genau weiß, wie die Enkel ausgefallen sind, weiß man, ob man seine Kinder gut erzogen hat.

Bruce Willis
Nicht jeder, der danach aussieht, ist ein Penner. Vielleicht hat er vier Töchter und nur ein Badezimmer.

Harald Schmidt
Was sagt man, wenn ein Baby auf die Designerklamotten sabbert? Hey, das Lätzchen ist voll Hipp!


Robert Benigni, Schauspieler
Kinder sind nicht nur ein Trost für das Alter, sondern auch ein Mittel, es schnell zu erreichen.

Mia Farrow, Schauspielerin
Kinder müssen die Dummheiten der Erwachsenen ertragen, bis sie groß genug sind, sie selbst zu machen.

Mike Krüger
Wenn man Jenny Elvers’ Busen sieht, glaubt man, ihr Sohn habe beim Stillen nicht gesaugt, sondern gepustet.

Ingolf Lück
Fernsehforscher fanden heraus, dass Kleinkinder Serien wie „Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten“ wesentlich lieber sehen, als die Teletubbies. Der Grund: Die Dialoge sind einfacher zu verstehen.

Harald Schmidt
Unsere Nachbarn in Frankreich sind auf Platz 1 in Europa in Sachen Babyboom. Mich hat es gewundert, wo sie doch dem Storch die Nahrung wegfressen.

Dieter Hildebrandt, Kabarettist
Was ist eine richtige Familie? Die Frau ist die Regierung, der Mann ist das Volk und die Kinder sind die Opposition.

Mike Krüger
Laut Umfrage glauben 73 Prozent aller Deutschen, dass Kinder glücklich machen. Die anderen 27 Prozent haben welche.

Ruth Moschner
Heidi Klums Kind wog 3750 Gramm bei der Geburt - also so viel wie ein ganz normales Top-Model.

Rudi Carell
Kinder - das Einzige, was in einem modernen Haushalt noch mit der Hand gewaschen werden muss.

Martin Scorcese, US-Filmregisseur
Kinder haben so viel Vorstellungskraft, dass sie Dinge machen, von denen sie keine Ahnung haben.

Peter Ustinov
Erziehung ist die organisierte Verteidigung der Erwachsenen gegen die Jugend.

Brooke Shields
Wenn du deine Kinder mit Anbrüllen zum Gehorsam erziehen willst, kannst du auch gleich versuchen, dein Auto mit der Hupe zu lenken.


Sarah Jessica Parker
Mein Sohn betet jeden Abend: „Lieber Gott, bitte mach, dass die Vitamine aus dem Spinat in den Vanillepudding kommen.“

Ephraim Kishon
Tradition nenne man die Methode, die verhindern soll, dass Kinder ihre Eltern übertreffen.

Kate Moss
Ich kann viel von meiner Tochter lernen. Zum Beispiel, wie viel Geduld ich habe.

Michael Douglas
Eines wissen alle Eltern auf der Welt: wie die Kinder anderer Leute erzogen werden sollten.

Woody Allen
Sei nett zu deinen Kindern, sie suchen dein Altersheim aus.

Dieter Nuhr
Vater nennt man jemanden, der weder sein Telefon noch sein Badezimmer noch sein Auto benutzen kann.

Horst Schroth, Kabarettist
Heutzutage verstehen Kids unter Safer Sex, dass die Eltern nicht zu Hause sind.

Ingolf Lück
Immer mehr Kinder verbringen ihre Zeit vor dem Computer. Die meisten, um Mama und Papa zu erklären, wie er funktioniert.

Bob Hope, US-Schauspieler
Kinder sind etwas Wundervolles. Ich möchte meine am Spieß gebraten.

Sir Peter Ustinov
Eltern verzeihen ihren Kindern die Fehler am schwersten, die sie ihnen selbst anerzogen haben.

Hand me Tequila and Salt!

Life gave me plenty of lemons today!
First: I was wide awake at 4 am! Then the School Bus did not arrive (again!), our neighbor drove Christel-Ann to school, I went to work. At work one issue after another. As long as they are internal issues, no problem, but now it will affect customers and that's when it WILL go from bad to UGLY. Anyway upwards from 30 emails were exchanged and I found myself spending more time writing emails about this problem than time trying to resolve it! UGH! Did I mention that my coworkers son was sick so it was me myself and I working the issue? By the way it is not my problem...never was and will not be...just trying to help and work towards a common goal: customer satisfaction (we like happy customers! And our customers kinda expect being pleased when spending $50 Million all in one place!)
Then a phone call: the bus driver decided that since she did not pick up Christel-Ann in the morning, she would be consistent and leaver her at school. I blew yet another fuse with "First Student" and the operations dept at the board of education. Come on folks! No child left behind.....take it just as it reads! A bus was dispatched and picked up Christel-Ann and I went to get Emma-Louise, who decided to wear her brand new shoes to the SPRAYGROUND. Her teacher apologized and wanted to buy new shoes, but heck, they will dry and we will move on. Oh did I mention that the convertible did not start this morning? Same problem as before: one of the girls left a door open for the past couple of days....

Friday!?

With the holiday on Monday this has been a short, quick week! Another week over and tomorrow, the 8th Paul will be gone for 4 months, "only" 11 to go!
I've had a challenging week at work and can't wait for my week-end to start! Emma-Louise is spending time with her favorite teacher tonight while I take Christel-Ann to a birthday party the Build-a-bear Workshop in the mall. I will take some time and curl up on a chair with a good read at Barnes&Noble, treat myself to some Starbucks and relax! Because before the crack of dawn, the ladies will get into the car and we are going to Sweden! Ok not quite....we are going to Atlanta and will be paying a visit to IKEA and see what else we will do! Maybe the Aquarium.....no I better not, that is VERY high on Paul's list of "must do". Maybe I can venture off the beaten path and find an Aldi?

Another Project!

I did not like the dark chandelier that our builder put up without asking.... we like the more contemporary look. And I put in energy saving light bulbs as the other ones burn out!

Project...

Our new door levers

Our old door knobs

Just one example of what I did while I did not blog. Little known fact: I have very many doors in my house! So what did it take to change brass to brushed nickel? 3 deadbolts, 4 keyed entry locks, 1 keypad entrylock, 6 lockable bed/bathroom locks, 10 closet locks.

4th Grade it is....

Yesterday was Christel-Ann's first day. And OF COURSE we had bus issues. It's a curse! It must be! At the end of the school day, there was no bus to pick her up! So she went to the after-school program until I was able to pick her up. This is when the deployment truly "sucks". Paul would have been at the school in 5 minutes....it takes me 30 without any traffic...This morning...7:27 at the Bus Stop...no bus 7:28 I start calling First Student....7:36 finally someone answers....Bus is on the way..running behind (no, really!? Couldn't have guessed that....) So at 7:57 it finally arrives...Bus driver promising to be "on time" tomorrow.
But on a lighter note I think 4th Grade will be awesome!
Pictures will follow!

Birthday Wishes.....

All the lil' Lady wants is her Daddy back home.
No matter who asks her, they all get the same answer and everyone feels my pain.
First she thought she was going to be slick: invite him and he should be there! When I had to break the news to her she simply decided that she would ask for him as her really big and only gift.
Ideas anyone? She is VERY consequent. She will not be sidetracked at ALL. If you show her really fun and cool things and ask her if she would maybe consider liking this or that for her birthday: NO. Her Daddy is all she wants.

T'was the night before 4th Grade....

...and and all through the house not a small creature was stirring (past 7:30), just the mother....ironing, getting "the list" together, preparing the lunchbag (remember the child will attend college close to home so that I can fix her lunchbag), checking the supply bag(s!).
We are ready. 4th Grade.
Thinking back to her first day of school. Wuerzburg Elementary School, Kindergarten. It was the week after Labor Day, but it was also a Tuesday. Very pregnant me, Paul home on R&R from Iraq. He had arrived at 2 am that morning. Christel-Ann did not know. When I went to wake her in the morning I got my usual "5 more minutes" and the blanket went over her head. Paul then wished her a good morning. And UP she was! Standing straight up in her bed.
Tonight he called to wish her a happy 1st day of school and 4th Grade.

Emma-Louise is not starting Pre-K this year, she was born just 2 weeks after the cut-off date. Academically, that smart cookie belongs in Kindergarten! Socially: NOT ready.

4th Grade......

Is just around the corner. Actually, it is no longer in hiding, only the Holiday week-end ahead of us and off to school she goes again!
4th Grade! Mrs Buckley will be her homeroom teacher and this is the last Grade that she will have a homeroom teacher. She will still be at Jacob G. for 5th Grade but will start switching rooms, have a locker etc. No, not ready for that....
4th Grade it is for now. Yesterday was the open house. First stop: 3rd Grade hallway! Big hello with Mrs Reynolds. The children in her classroom seem so small and that was Christel-Ann just a year ago? Then on to the 4th Grade wing. Mrs Buckley. Classroom list: ALL SMILES "the clique" is together! A lot of hands on work, 4th Grade is in charge of both garden and animal habitat, she will be on the Safety Patrol and in the Strings Program. Ms Malfatti (Violin teacher) was hugged and loved on.....We have all the pieces of the Uniform ready to go, no more "Aloha Fridays" she will be in Navy blue and White 5 days/week only for special fundraising events can the kids buy their way out of the uniform.

All is well

Need I say more? With a big sigh of relief was I able to leave the Doc's office. Will be back in 6 months for a follow-up check-up, just to be safe, but rather safe than sorry....

Medical Update

I am going to get the results of my biopsy today.....hope it's nothing...I really like my Doc and just in case further treatment should be necessary I know I am in good hands! Will let y'all know later..leaving the office at 10 to head to the Dr. office!

Christel-Ann & Cousins

She had a great time in Germany. She had a lot of fun playing with her cousins Paul and Inga. Since Paul and Christel-Ann were born just 6 weeks apart, they have always been close. They never needed time to warm up to each other. When Inga was born, she was "the Baby" the two older ones could be rather mean to little Inga at times, ditch her, not let her play, run away. Then Emma-Louise came along. I remember her being just a few weeks old and Paul just loving on her, looking at her and marveling at how small she was. To Emma-Louise Paul is the hero, she loves and adores him. As they are getting older Inga and Christel-Ann are getting closer now. They like Girlie things. Pink, Glitter, Horses. I hope they even though they are far apart they will always be close at heart. My cousins and I never were. I know most of them but it has been years since I have seen some of them.

Long time no bloggie blog!!!!

We are complete again!
It's been a long month without Christel-Ann. I did not get to blog, I got to have some very special time with Emma-Louise who missed her sister VERY much. Wor has been and is very busy.
More tomorrow! Promise!

Pictures

The 3 of us and 2 pictures of Christel-Ann after church, there will not be threesome pictures for the next month!

Monday Miscelany

What's up? An Aircraft is hogging all of my free time. It leaves Thursday. Thursday will be Party Time! Serious, we are going out Thursday Night to celebrate! I have not had time to go out much, but the delivery of this aircraft is reason enough to make arrangements for a Sitter and have a good time on the town!!!
We are preparing for Christel-Ann's departure on Wednesday. 2 more sleeps. Sigh. Going to Germany. Solo. We packed her suitcase yesterday. She is growing up too fast! She did some of her own ironing, matched her clothes to her accessories, tried to think of all possible weather case scenarios. She is looking forward to me giving her a list of "to buy and bring home" items. That is because she has not seen the list!!!
Paul is doing well, communication is excellent at the moment, we webcam/webcall daily.
Emma-Louise is cute as always. She wants to go to Germany with her sister, does not want to be without her. It will be different t only care for one child, especially the one who has never been the only child except for short vacations. 30 days will be loooong for her! Emma-Louise made a new friend. And with her you are either friend or enemy. She either loves you or will have nothing to do with you. It is hilarious how consequent she is in her liking or disliking of others. At her school there is a Ms Kathy who briefly worked in her room. Emma-Louise will not go into the room if Ms Kathy is there. She never has liked her (very nice lady, by the way) and probably never will. She does not even look at her and will go to extremes to make it perfectly clear that Ms Kathy is not a "trusted" person. So what do we (silly, there is no we at the moment!) do when her teachers are not in yet and Ms Kathy is in the room? Easy, Emma-Louise will go into the newborn nursery and love on the Babies until one of her teachers doe arrive. This is an Emma-Louise special, no other child has permission, but they do know Emma-Louise and know that she will NOT make a change to that attitude, not yet.

A slave to my yard

That's me.
What am I doing? Mowing the grass 2 to 3 times a week. Spending a good half hour to an hour weeding after work every day, trying to envision how the yard should look like in a few years. I am too cheap to buy larger size plants. I buy the cheap small ones and try and see what it will look like. Some have already grown quite a bit, others did not like where they were planted. But I think I am almost finished with the front and sides of the house. Why do we have the less than attractive power transformers right in the front of the house?? I bought different grasses to grow and hide those ugly monsters. The last project for the front yard. It has come a long way!Just one year ago we did not have a front yard!
On the picture you see my Magnolia growing on a trellis. I said that it grows up to 25 foot. That will be interesting! Paul will probably have to build a new trellis while he is home for R&R in January. I have been looking for the perfect climber for that side of the house for a year. Clematis, Rose, Kapuzinerkresse (tried this but it did not grow). I saw the Magnolia and had to bring it home! Can't wait for it to bloom!!!

Happy Birthday!

The true gift to my sister on her 40th birthday is that I am sparing her from me singing "Happy Birthday" to her!
Not that I should feel old, especially because she is 10 (9 1/4 to be exact) years my senior,but I vividly remember her 18th birthday! No public stoning here on her birthday though!
I hope you are having a happy birthday, Katja, celebrating with your family, our parents and friends with nice gifts and of course many more to celebrate.

General Petraeus shaking hands with Paul at the July 3rd Rehearsal for the Ceremony on the 4th.

More Pictures!

Now that my camera and the Schlepptop are talking to each other, I am putting up pictures with almost every posting!!
Here are the Girls in their new dresses from Hawaii!!
Thank you Auntie Ann!
And is it not funny how you can tell the character of these Girls by their hair? Christel-Ann's hair, straight as a stick, and then there is Emma-Louise, curly haired wild child.

Here is to Paul

His 4th of July-Reenlistment "Torte"

For each of Paul's Military milestones I have made special cakes that he shared with his comrades. I have been with him and promoted him alongside his commanding officers to every single rank. However, I miss the (re)enlistments! I missed the initial enlistment as in L.A. with his recruiter, he reenlisted for the first time in Ballad in 2003 and now 2007 and he is in Baghdad.
But I still made a cake. For you, Love!

50% American 100% Cutie

Emma-Louise! She is much fun, always up to and into something, has an answer for everything (yes, almost 4 going on 13) and enjoys living life HER way. I will have to write more about her later.

Behind the scenes

Behind the scenes of the largest reenlistment ceremony in U.S Army history:

Today was the rehearsal at the palace overlooking the Tigris river.
Tomorrows Independence Day festivities will culminate in a mass reenlistment ceremony, where about 300 soldiers will step forward, raise their right hand in front of their fellow soldiers and swear to continue defending the Constitution of the United States. And there will be more than soldiers from the rank of Private to Sergeant First Class affirming their oath of service.
There will be 180 soldiers swearing the oath to become citizens of the United States of America. As part of the ceremony they will promise to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This isn't going to be the first time these soldiers have made such a promise. They took a similar oath when they became soldiers of the United States Army. Their presence in Baghdad bears witness that they kept their word so that others might be free.
Last year President Bush signed an executive order making foreign-born members of the active duty armed services immediately eligible for U.S citizenship. That makes perfect sense to me, does it not!? If you are willing to risk your life to defend a country, you deserves to be a citizen.
But anyway, behind the scenes:
Paul received his "goody-bag" (more on the contents later),the award, the coin and had his picture taken with the General. Today. There will not be any time for that tomorrow. The "big wigs" are flying in for the ceremony.
There is a lot of media coverage on the event and Paul is sitting front row and center. Check "Good Morning America" and the News channels, you may just get a glimpse of him!

Happy Birthday America!

Remember the tree?

Here is a picture of the planted tree. Planting that tree was hard work! VERY heavy!

Special Messages from Daddy

Here are 2 more pre-deployment pictures. On the day before Paul deployed he took the Girls to the Build-a-Bear workshop to make special stuffed animals with them. each Girl picked one and Paul recorded a special message for them to be put into their animal. Christel-Ann picked a Husky and named it "Daddy" and Emma-Louise's very pink cat is named "Miss Kitty". Both Girls enjoy being able to hear the special message Paul recorded for them. I just hope that the batteries last!!

Mowing

Growing up my Mama always mowed our grass. Both of my parents enjoyed gardening, but my Mama cut the grass with our electric lawnmower. She had it down to a science. At least that is the way I remember it.
Paul mowed the grass growing up (at least he says he did!) and so I never really had to do it. In Giebelstadt our lawn was really small and easily taken care of with an old fashioned push-mower and while Paul was deployed in 2003 I cut the grass.
When we bought our house, I really wanted a nice size backyard. I guess I was not thinking about the maintenance that a nice size yard requires.
Anyway, when our neighbor "Mr. Mike" found out that Paul would be gone for 12-15-18 months, he vowed to take care of our yard. Well....right after Paul left, so did our neighbor. He will be gone until July 10th and I am taking care of our yard (as I should, I know). The grass is growing in really well and I find myself cutting it 2 to 3 times a week. I just put down summer fertilizer too. I can do this!
The only bummer: I cut off one of our sprinkler heads. I don't think I did major damage, but we now have a little fountain, rather than a sprinkler in the backyard.
So guess what's next on my to-do list: figure out how to repair a sprinkler head. Bigh sigh!

Casually strolling.....

Alligator Snapping Turtle

Here is the picture of the Alligator Snapping turtle that paid us a visit last month!

Picture of Paul in Kuwait

Equestrian Camp

That is fancy for "hanging around the stable all day with 2 formal lessons every day". Christel-Ann is at the Staffordshire Equestrian Camp this week. I am startiung to dislike summer! How do "real" single working parents of 2 do it? I am very lucky to be able to adjust my schedule due to my circumstances. This week I will start an hour later and work an hour longer, because Of the camp schedule. It will be a tight schedule, dropping off Christel-Ann at camp at one location then Emma-Louise at "Kindergarten" and finally making it to work. I don't need to mention that camp is not conveniently located?!
Christel-Ann will have a great time, she will be assigned a horse to care for this week. She will maintain the stable, be responsible for the grooming, have her lessons on "it" (I will be clued in on the details later)and feed the horse. I can write more on this later, as I have only dropped her off this morning.

Weekend

Unfortunately it's over! Saturday I got my haircut. Will be back at the place on Tuesday because I don't like it. I had to cut the grass, yes it is finally growing in nice and thick. Not on the entire yard, but let's say 90% of our backyard is lawn. We turned on various water toys and had a lazy Saturday, took naps and enjoyed the sunshine. I am still shopping for the perfect hammock and think I know where to find one in South Carolina. Maybe that will be my destination next Saturday!
Sunday was "as usual", went to church and had friends over for a BBQ afterwards. I am getting "pretty good" at the grill. It has always been Paul's job to man the BBQ, but I am not willing to do without so I am learning! Talking about Paul, communications have improved, we are able to chat on a messenger every night now and I can see him over his web cam. That is really neat! And with the audio feature, we get to talk and see each other and he does not have to wait in line for a 15 minute "morale" phone call.

Doctors

I just found a Family practitioner for myself and have made my annual appointment with an OB/GYN that a coworker suggested. That seems to be one of the harder things to "pick" after a move. Personal recommendation seems to be the best way to pick a Doctor. It does not feel right to look at zip codes and provider listings. Before returning to the workforce I would just go to the closest military treatment facility, get a Primary care Physician assigned and then see him/her when needed. We have been very lucky, but being able to go outside of the military care system is great. Maybe I will be given something besides Ibuprofen 800mg as the cure for all ailments.

A few funnies

Reenlisting on the 4th of July

It is official: on July 4th, Paul will fly with General Lynch to Baghdad's "Green Zone" and take his reenlistment oath at Saddam's palace. Because of his reenlistment he gets to have first choice of R&R. We talked about that in the past and decided that the time around Christel-Ann's birthday would be perfect. We are not going to meet him anywhere, just spend quality time at home together and celebrate Christel-Ann's 10th birthday together.

Swim Team

In order for children to have full access to all the areas of the YMCA Pool, they have to pass a swim test. Today Christel-Ann spend time with a friend at the Y Pool and since she wanted full access, took the swim test and passed. While taking the test, the Lifeguard yelled at the Swim Team Instructor "Ey! You need to check out this breaststroke!" She did. And Monday I will be back at the Y, getting her suit and cap and paying the fees...she'll be on the West Chatham YMCA Swim Team. Practice 4 days a week, Swim meets every Saturday. She knows she will miss the Championship Meet because she'll be in Germany, but that is ok with her.

Chris? Christel? Ann?

CHRISTEL-ANN!!
The adults at camp kept asking Christel-Ann what her name is and what people call her.
Spelling is another issue...

Did I say that she is home???!

She arrived back in Savannah at the scheduled time, well almost. As punctual as the Deutsche Bahn ;-)
I was about to faint when I saw all the make-up on her (note to Jen, we will take Clay hunting, that's for sure!) but was so happy to have her back! Well, do I have Christel-Ann back? A spoiled rotten little Tinkerbell that looks a lot like my husband seems to be very familiar with her room.
Unpacking was very exciting. Unpacking? Dumping everything was more like it, but she has about 6 weeks until she needs those suitcases again, so I will let her worry about her mess. Her little sister is, not necessarily to Christel-Ann's liking, attached to her. Follows her everywhere, telling her to never, ever leave again. And that she is....
But for now we have her back home, she is adjusting and attending camp this week. What was her favorite part of her vacation? Space Mountain! (That's MY Girl! And my sister's niece!). Her least favorite part of her vacation: Having to come back home. She did greet me with "I did NOT miss you.....but that does not mean that I do not love you".

More from Baghdad

Paul called. He is now using regular phone cards. The MWR phones hardly ever work and if, the lines are long.
The mail is pretty fast, he receives letters and packages from us in about 4-5 days!
BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) and Camp Stryker are on the same installation. camp Stryker is used by the infantry and BIAP by the Air Force and Aviation guys. (Don't quote me on this!) It is a huge installation, about the size of Ft Stewart without any vegetation!
He is planning to reenlist on July 4th!

LAX-ORD-FRA ORD-SAV!

Christel-Ann was due back in Savannah yesterday. Right around the time she was supposed to leave, Rich called me. United had booked Christel-Ann on the last Flight of the day out of Chicago! An absolute NO-NO for UM's! I won't get on my soapbox about that and make a long story short, her reservation was changed and she was booked on a flight out of L.A going to Frankfurt, Germany, via Chicago where she was to get off and get on her flight to Savannah. Can you believe I was sweating all day? A Girl, speaking German, possibly sitting next to Germans...one inattentive Attendant and she would have gone into the transit area rather than to her next flight! And ended up in Frankfurt! What a nightmare!
But she just called and announced that she is in a different aircraft and surely coming home!
At 16:33 I will have her back! It's been a long 11 days....More on her adventures and pictures to follow.

Saddam's Palace

Paul is going Sightseeing!
He forgot his camera, but will take it next time. You are not getting a comment from me on this one. I was certain that Paul got his castle-fix while we lived in Europe. Evidently that is not the case. He did not elaborate on his sightseeing tour, but I do hope that he will write more about that. He is working closely with 2 civilians who have been in Iraq for a while and are showing him around.
The food is really good (Ben & Jerry's every day!), the accommodations will be better next week as they are moving from tents to trailers. And the transportation issue is being worked. Right now there is a shuttle bus, but it is always late and always full. Work is work, 12 hour shifts are no piece of cake, but it does keep him busy!
When he does move into the trailer, he will be closer to the communication tent, the MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) tent with phones has been closed since he arrived. Funny: when he left Savannah, he was given a free calling card. He tried using it, and it is not free from overseas! DUH!!!!

The Alma Mater or Cal State Fullerton

Christel-Ann's destination for yesterday! Visiting Auntie Jennie and Uncle Rich's Alma Mater and Marilyn's office at Cal State Fullerton. Marilyn's office is (quote) "no great shakes", but Christel-Ann was able to talk to several professors and secretaries (wearing her tiara she must have left quite an impression! And will recognize her when she returns in 2016 ;-) They toured the library and an art exhibit about minerals. At the arboretum she took many pictures of plants and in the adjacent children's garden she walked the sunflower maze. Marilyn and her spend some good quality time together sketching before heading home.
She enjoyed her "peek into the future" but I am sure glad she is deciding to go to 4th Grade first.
I must not forget to tell that she went horseback riding and visited the recycling center.
Homemade Pizza was on the menu for the evening.
What a day....! What fun!

Update on Paul

I talked to Paul yesterday. Since he left, my phone has not left my side. He calls at very odd hours. For me and him. Sunday morning at 6 am. I was already sending bad thoughts to Germany, thinking it was someone there that could not do the math. Sorry! When he was still here we would call each other every morning at 7:30. Right after I dropped of Emma-Louise at school and was on my way to work. When the phone rang, and I heard his voice, that was special. I miss those first conversations of the day with him.
He is working 12 hour shifts, right now he is on the A.M shift, that may/will change in time.
Phone as well as internet service is not reliable (yet?). He will have to get out old faithful, pen and paper and start writing to us. I am using a cute idea and sending him themed care packages. The Army lines that he was issued are not the most comfortable. He asked for "real" sheets. Off I went to create a "bedroom" care package. I was tempted to buy GI Joe stuff or Strawberry Shortcake (he said to send "any kind of sheet set, twin size") even Shrek came to my mind. But plain light, dusty brown probably was the best choice given that he lives in a tent.
The Girls are really having fun with those special packages and are quite creative when it comes to themes! Emma-Louise wants to send him a bubble package. Bubble wrap and blowing bubbles for entertainment, bubble gum, what else should be in a bubble package? Any ideas?

The happiest child on earth and her California Adventure

One of the things Christel-Ann loves to do is: ride rollercoasters!
Yesterday she spent 11 (eleven!) hours at Disneyland. Before going, Auntie Jennie took her here :

Today, a very tired Uncle Rich is taking her......to ride more Rollercoasters at the California Adventure Park.

And how do I know all of this?

Because my favorite sister-in-law keeps "Mama" in the loop. My dear daughter has not felt the urge to talk to me. She is having too much fun with her little Buddy! Coaxed him into eating icecream, which he normally hates!

Rich is busy riding the rides today, pictures will come soon!

P.S Do I end every post promising pictures?

Pictures of Christel-Ann after Libby Lu

Turtle Crossing

Emma-Louise and I got into the Van and backed out of the Garage and down the driveway when I looked to the left and saw: a giant turtle!!!!! Casually strolling across my driveway heading for the sidewalk and my yard. All muddy and covered with Mulch on the front of the shell. Mulch that looked just like our mulch, since I am the only one with mulch in the front yard, all the neighbors prefer the pine straw. That gal made real short work with one of my flower beds! Due to the down pouring rain (it has been raining in our area nonstop for over 30 hours) digging through that flower bed was not a difficult task for her. After calling a friend and talking about this experience, I am almost certain that she probably found my flower bed a fine place to lay her eggs! It has been raining too much for me to look but I will do that when the rain lets up. What do I do? That silly turtle! If she did lay eggs, those little hatchlings are going to head for disaster! The street is just a few feet away. I did take pictures and will upload them here just as soon as I can. I will also call a few turtle rescue places and ask for their opinion on what I should do. I am not certain what kind of turtle I encountered but am fairly sure it was a snapping turtle. Look forward to pictures! The image I have posted with this (I know how to do this now!!!) was allready on this computer, taken in November on the way home from Tybee. I need to get with it and install the driver for my camera on this new Schlepptop of mine. Only a matter of hours or days....weeks at worst ;-)

California Girl

Christel-Ann is in California!
Auntie Jennie picked her up at 12:00. She was once again ahead of schedule.
I have 2 monitors on my desk, one of them had the United website displayed and I was constantly refreshing to get the latest information on her flight.
They were headed to go to lunch and then on to Santa Monica for tonight. Tomorrow they will explore the city.
Check out her http://www.fairmont.com/santamonica/slideshowposting.htm?DisplayType=popup/">accomodations< for the night.

Chicago!

Christel-Ann just called! She has arrived in Chicago. Tailwinds pushed the plane and after leaving 10 minutes late, she arrived 30 minutes early. She is in a lounge, "hanging out".
At the airport, 5:30 this morning we checked in, made sure all the necessary documents were ready and correct, then went through a very thorough Safety inspection I am glad we were allowed to stay decent! The guy ahead of us, had to take off his belt, and Christel-Ann commented that she did not want to see his pants fall to the floor. Sometimes a bilingual child is a very good thing! She is starting to get a sense of when to speak what language ;-)
We sat at the Gate, drank Starbucks (is that bad? Christel-Ann loves to sip Starbucks from time to time, and we are not talking Decaf!), read the national geographic kids magazine together and then she made a few requests. "Can you not call me any silly names when saying good-bye?", "Can you just wave and leave?". I complied, well I stepped away from the Gate and then watched the plane take off from the Parking lot (SAV is a very cosy airport).
I will write more when she arrives at her destination!

Baghdad

Paul called from Baghdad.
He had quite a trip! After leaving Kuwait on Sunday and falling asleep on the C-17, he woke up in: Kuwait! Sandstorms kept the airplane from descending and so they returned to Kuwait. Paul spent another 24 hrs on Ali-Al-Sarem Airbase and called me from there around 2pm my time. At 7pm he called again, from Baghdad.

Memorial Day

This is for all of our friends, that are "Already Home"
(Get some tissues before klicking the link!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7ixC-LYDGc&mode=related&search=


If you’re reading this…and my mama’s sitting there-Looks like I only got a one-way ticket over here.Sure wish I…could give you one more kiss-War was just a game we played when we were kids.Well, I’m laying down my gun…I’m hanging up my boots-I’m up here with God and we’re both watching over you.So lay me down…in that open field out on the edge of town-And know my soul…is where my mama always prayed they’d ever go…If you’re reading this –I’m already home.If you’re reading this…half way round the world-I won’t be there to see the birth of our little girl.I hope she looks like you…I hope she fights like me-And stands up for the innocent and the weak.I’m laying down my gun…I’m hanging up my boots-Tell dad I don’t regret that I followed in his shoes.So lay me down…in that open field out on the edge of town-And know my soul…is where my mama always prayed they’d ever go…If you’re reading this –I’m already home.If you’re reading this…there’s gonna come a day-When you’ll move on and find someone else and that’s okay.Just remember this…I’m in a better place-Where soldiers live in peace and angels sing amazing grace.So lay me down…in that open field out on the edge of town-And know my soul…is where my mama always prayed they’d ever go…If you’re reading this…If you’re reading this -I’m already home.

3rd Grade, no more!

Christel-Ann is on summer vacation!
She successfully passed the Georgia CRCT Test (a standardized aptitude Test) and will attend 4th Grade after Labor Day. Yes, off from Memorial until Labor Day. But mental loafing is not an option! She will be busy with different camps, service projects and travelling! This first week she will be able to unwind, sleep in, relax. Until Friday: the big day! Her first BIG adventure of the summer. Let me hint this much: she is making a list, I will check it twice, she is leaving on a jetplane. And leave behind a very unhappy sister who has proclaimed this much:" Sissi, you can't go! You will miss me so much, all day long!" And the lil lady told her sister that she will not have time to miss her much because she will be busy with her buddy!
What else is good about "Ferien"? No more polishing the uniform shoes, no more hectic ironing on a Sunday night for enough uniform pieces to last us through the week. No more lunchbag issues for 14 weeks. Yippieeeeeeh!?

Our tree

I have a tree, a big tree (about 13ft) on my front lawn. It was given to me/us by a good friend (winke, winke Kira!) and picking it up from her house and bringing it to ours was not exactly a walk in the park. But now the tree can not just sit there. Today I started to dig a hole. It needs to be 3 foot wide and 2 foot deep. Did I mention that I have solid clay instead of dirt in my backyard? No? Well, I do! Both Girls helped me, but after getting blisters on my hands I stopped. Tomorrow I will continue and by this week-end I will have a fine Maple tree in my backyard.
I added a counter to the blog, maybe by the week-end I will be able to put links into the text and/or add pictures???
For now I am tired and will not play with it anymore.

Honor Day

Today was "Honor Day" at Jacob G. Smith Elementary School. Christel-Ann received several awards.
Proud moments! She is really exceptional. Just a few months ago she moved from Germany, switched schools. Entered 3rd Grade. What a different "game" 3rd Grade is or better was, only 3 days left! She mastered Latin. Students at JGS start learning Latin in Kindergarten and she cought up within the schoolyear. She made new friends and grew so much.
Growing up. Growing fast.

Update on Paul

You may start mailing "stuff" his way!
I do get to talk to him more often than I thought, about every other day. He calls at unusual hours (for him) but that is mainly due to the lines in front of the phones!
He is doing well, the temperatures are down and humidity up, he prefers the heat!
Paul is in charge of moving everyone (his company has about 370 soldiers) forward and once that mission is accomplished, he will move himself. I have a rough idea when but do not know how. We rarely ever talk about details of his work and it would have me be a nervous wreck knowing that he or any one of his soldiers is driving through Iraq again. So let's just imagine that they fly, not convoy.

Armed Forces Day

That was yesterday! And to honor and appreciate the military (or what is left of it, here in Savannah) the local minor league baseball team (Sand Gnats) provided free admission to military ID card holders. Now you know me, I don't know a single rule of this great American pastime. I had no idea what the score was or why, but we had a good time. Christel-Ann had one of her best friends with her and Sophia came to our house to spend the night. The giggeling continued until well after midnight!

Kuwait via Ireland

Paul has left home and arrived "in theatre". He sent a note with his whereabouts and had me thinking he was on a drinking trip with his friends! The subject line read: Hello from Ireland!
But within hours I received a phonecall from Kuwait.
The installation has changed quite a bit (incl a name change) since he was there in 2003. Now there is a Starbucks and a Subway available to the soldiers. I on the other hand packed up Paul's coffemaker and am storing it in the Garage. To those coffe addicts planning to visit with us: I can get it out, but do not even have coffee filters or coffee at the house please plan on giving me plenty of notice.
I am planning on putting pictures on this blog and adding some more features, but need to make sure I am doing it right first! So bear with me and enjoy reading in the meantime.

RAIN!!!!!

Finally!
After weeks of drought, wildfires careening out of control here in Georgia, it is raining! Sometime during the night it started.
We spend Saturday "as usual". It was the first Saturday of the month and we took the Girls to Home Depot for their Children's workshop. They do have some really fun projects. This month the Girls assembled a Herb garden. The "Y" had their annual Kids health day and Louischen's teacher handed out snow cones. I was americanized another little bit. Had my first one. My last, too. After that we went back to our house to finish up the last projects (yes, we've been saying that and yet always doing more). After I stained the stairs last week, we put up lattice for my roses to grow on and Paul made a door, in case of a plumbing emergency we can still acces the main vent without tearing down my roses. All of the bricks are layed and now all that we have left to do is clean up the mess. But I have a feeling that I will be doing that once Paul is gone.
Today we are going to church and afterwards we are taking family pictures. Christel-Ann and Paul are finishing her final science project on endangered species (she picked the Galapagos turtle).
Our Company has started to deploy, about half of the guys are gone by the end of today, our friend Mike is leaving today.

Support Our Troops

http://www.neilford.com/supportourtroops/indexhi.htm

Welcome to our world.

Until Mission Accomplished....

...the name for my Blog.
Why "Until Mission Accomplished"?
Because this Blog is to keep family and friends up to date on any unclassified information that pertains to "the mission" and our life on the homefront.
Paul's orders officially read 18 months but we are hoping to be back together in 15 months or less. But there is always the slight chance that orders will be amended and instead of coming home after 12, 15 or 18 months the length of the deployment will be "until mission accomplished".