49 Weeks!

 Mmmm.... Feels good to be in the 40's! Only 49 weeks to go. Hard to believe it is Saturday already, I am so glad the week flew by. This has been a very good week overall. Tobias and I have been busy, but really enjoying every minute. We spent a couple evenings at the beginning of the week at my mom's house visiting, talking, and eating of course, with my brother Kyle and his wife Liz. I cannot tell you how exciting it has been to get to know Liz. You have to understand the first time I met her, I had just flown in from an all day flight to California, she was standing in the hall way of the church she was getting married in, in her wedding dress, about to walk down the isle! I gave her a hug, told her I was so glad to meet her and that she looked beautiful and then watched her marry my little brother! It was a crazy day, but I am so glad I did not miss it. The more I see them together, and the more I chat with Liz, the more I am convinced they were made for each other. It makes me very happy!

 The middle of the week Tobias and I spent at my friend Mallory's house. Her precious little girl, Bri, is exactly two weeks older than Toby. We had a lot of fun last year being pregnant together, and we are doing it again this year! (I am telling you there is something in the water on this base!) Mallory is due in October and as you all know I am due in December. It has been fun chasing our little ones, talking about being pregnant again, and laughing about how crazy it will be having two little munchkins. Mallory and her husband Bill had us over for dinner, and we ate Mexican food and watched the "Deadliest Catch" those guys are crazy! (a side note here, my sister in law, Christina, has some amazing photography of the : "Time Bandit" one of the ships on the show. It's awesome! Check out her sight on facebook, nonchalantview.) Tobias and Bri played and played while we ate and watched TV.  It was so nice that Toby had someone to crawl around with while I vegged on the couch. When we got home, Tobias crashed! He was out almost all night (which is a miracle for him) only waking up once for some formula. It was a good night.

  Some very exciting news, I got an e-mail this week from Thomas with an address for him! I have sent the address out in an e-mail to all his family and friends, along with a list of his wants and likes.  Thomas is getting all settled in to his new FOB and he is doing so well. I have been able to talk to him a couple times this week and it has been wonderful. He has sounded so good, which is such an encouragement to me! He said he has internet, his own room and the food is actually good! He was so funny, he said "I had three vegetables, and chicken Florentine last night, it was great!"  It really is the little things that make all the difference for our soldiers. A place to call their own and good food is huge! He told me he and his team had to go out on a mission the other day, but when they got their the Afghanistan EOD had already responded. So they talked to them for a little while and then headed back to the FOB. He said it was a nice change of pace. I laughed, and thought to myself, "That's just fine, let them do the work!" I sent him two boxes the same day I got the address. He had some immediate request so I got those boxes sent out. He said he is really looking forward to getting stuff from home, and from friends and family! We are trying to set up a google chat and video date, so we can see each other and of course let Tobias see daddy! I will let you know how that goes, I am hoping we get to do that with in the next couple of days.

 Thursday was quite exciting! We joined several friends at the Alaska Zoo. We were able to see the baby polar bear and he was adorable! Tobias was quite entertained and waved to the bear. We visited the zoo just in time too, the baby polar bear is heading to his new home in Louisville, on Monday! So glad we did not miss seeing the little guy. I really enjoyed the ladies I was with. We sat around at picnic tables, after we had walked around the zoo, we enjoyed some snacks and chatted about mommy things. It makes me laugh as I think about the juggling we do as moms. Each one of us had to use the rest room, or change a diaper or grab some food; so we all switched off watching each others children. It was great! I really love being a mom, and all the craziness that goes with it. I was e-mailing Thomas the other day and it just hit me, "Oh My, I'm a mom!" It makes me smile, those little moments of reality; thinking back to life without Tobias, and now life with him, I would not change a thing! He has brought me so much joy and fulfillment beyond what I expected. It makes me look forward that much more to having more children.

 Friday was a long day, but wonderful! My mom, Kyle, Liz, Tobias and I piled in my van and headed to Seward for the day! We visited the sea life center, and exit glacier. It was wonderful! My favorite part of the whole trip was watching Tobias experience new things. He marveled at the giant fish tanks in the sea life center, he wrinkled his nose at the sea critters in the "touch and feel tank", he loved being in the back pack and hiking to the glacier. It was great! Life is so new and amazing when one views it through the eyes of a child, especially ones own. I am looking forward to next summer when Tobias is running and talking; we will go to the sea life center with Daddy, and that will be a great day!

Well here we are, Saturday, and it has not been my best day. Tobias and I slept well, but I am not quite caught up from our long day of driving and hiking. I decided to venture out anyway, and found that I should have just stayed under the covers! We joined my family at the mall, (I keep craving lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick) and it all put me in an awful mood. I was exhausted from just getting Tobias ready to go, making sure I remembered diapers, wipes, food, toys, etc., trying to find parking, getting the stroller out and Toby ready. Then the mall was quite busy, people every where, and they were making me crazy! I started feeling myself get that victim feeling or entitled feeling, it goes something like this "Hey people my husband is deployed and I'm tired, so you should get out of my way and quit wasting my time with silly questions! I deserve to be first. You have no idea what I am going through. etc etc...." You get the idea. I knew then it was time to go home! Those poor people, it's not their fault I didn't get enough rest. Not to mention I have no idea what they are facing in life. I hate that feeling, that "sorry for myself you have no idea how I feel" feeling. It's silly and really a waist of my energy. So Tobias and I headed home and napped. I woke up, still tired and still grumpy, but knew we should eat or something. So I fed Toby and let him crawl and play, while I watched a Dick van Dyke on netflix (I needed to laugh!). Right when the show ended my door bell rang, and waiting outside for me was a wonderful friend holding a hot cup of Orange Blossom tea from Starbucks (my favorite!). It made my evening; gave me the energy to snuggle my baby boy to sleep, and sit down and write this blog. (Thanks May, I cannot express how much that meant to me!) 

 Well I am leaving you now, I'm off to snuggle up in bed and say goodbye to this week. Thanks again for reading. Hope you enjoy the pictures, and have a wonderful week! See you Saturday!

 ~Iris

 Wow! Look at that crab!

 He was not so happy after touching that!

 He would rather watch Mommy touch the weird stuff!

 Fun with Nana, watching the seals!

 I love this!

 Uncle Kyle! Tobias wasn't so sure at first, but he LOVED it when we got started!

See you Saturday! :)

50 Weeks!

   Well here I sit, on Sunday, about to write my first official blog. This past Saturday came and went before I had time to think. But I'm here before the weekend comes to an end and writing to tell you all about our week. Well Wednesday through Sunday anyway.
 It has been a great week! We have had several busy days and a couple exciting days! Toby and I are finally mostly over our colds. Tobias is doing really well, I still have a little sore throat, but I'm feeling so much better and gaining energy everyday. We have been able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine that has recently been gracing Alaska with it's presents; It has been wonderful! 
 Thursday we had an FRG (Family Readiness Group) meeting that went very well and was very encouraging. The FRG is the group that keeps the spouses informed of any needed information while their soldier is deployed, as well as provides a support group for the spouses. We have two lovely ladies running the FRG and I'm looking forward to future meetings and get-together.

 Friday was a great day, the highlight of my week! My mom joined me and Toby as we headed to the hospital for my 13 week appointment. We got to see baby Williams #2 and he was beautiful! (He being a general term for the baby, I cannot stand to call the baby "it")  He was so active and playful, hands in his mouth and above his head, I was so happy to see him healthy and active! I'm excited to meet him. I'm only 13 weeks and I'm ready to be done and just have a baby to hold and play with.

 Saturday was another exciting day, my brother Kyle and his lovely wife Liz made it to Alaska after a long drive from Texas. We have spent the weekend with them and it has been great! I love being around my brothers, the laughs are non-stop, much like my childhood. Our family is always laughing. I must say that is one thing I miss about Thomas the most, he is always making me laugh. I realized last time he came home for R&R how much I had Not laughed while he had been gone. My sides hurt the first few days he was home from all the laughing we did! It truly is a joy to be able to laugh, I'm glad God gave us that pleasure!

 I have been able to talk to Thomas twice and receive a couple text messages from him since Wednesday. He was beyond excited to hear about my 13 week apt. and I sent him pictures of the baby, and a video too! I was blessed to have a great midwife at my apt. that allowed me to take pictures and video during the ultra sound. I spoke with Thomas this morning and he sounded very tired. It has been a rough week and he could use your prayers. He's got a lot on his plate. Summer time is the busiest time in Afghanistan, this is when the al-qaeda are most active. It's so hot right now, he went from 50 degree weather to 110 degree weather. His unit landed in the busiest time with little chance to acclimate and prepare, so things are busy and frustrations can run high.  Pray he stays focused, and is able to stay cool and sleep comfortably. (One of the air-conditioners broke last night in the huge tent they are all currently sleeping in). He is leaving soon to a new FOB (Forward Operating Base) and he is excited about that. He will get his own room and be able to set up internet so we will be able to Skype. Once he's there he will give me his address and I will e-mail that out to you, along with a list of needs and wants for Thomas. Thank you for your prayers, I know I thank you often, but it's all I have right now, the words Thank you. I mean these words, because you don't know how much it means to me that you are praying for my family and supporting us during this time.

 Tobias and I made it to church today. I'm so glad we did. Several people reminded me I could ask them for help at anytime, and I know they meant it. I'm not alone. That means a lot to me and to Thomas. Knowing his family is taken care of makes him able to focus on his job and worry less about us. It's good to have friends and family, I'm blessed.
 I was reading a book I received for Christmas from Thomas' Dad this morning before church. It's called "At the Corner of Mundane and Grace" By Chris Fabry. This book has made me laugh out loud, and burst into tears. I have truly enjoyed it. I think God knew I needed to read this particular chapter today, because I started my day with a pity party. I was really feeling sorry for myself and having a hard time even wanting to go to church. But then I picked up this book and started reading. Here is a little of what I read;
    "There are times when God remains silent and lets us wait. Likewise, some of the most important words in our lives are ones we don't say. The pause in a beautiful piece of music is a powerful part of the song, making you long for more, for completion. Silence makes you yearn for things that don't disappoint."..."We spend our lives waiting for what we think is important only to find that the best things weren't the ones we were waiting for at all. The important things were thrown out like the Christmas wrapping paper. The important things passed us by while we were looking for the TV remote."
  "Maybe God will be silent today, or perhaps he'll give a spectacular insight. Even if it's only ten seconds, I don't want to miss it." 

 I sat back after reading this and realized I can spend the next 50 weeks waiting for Thomas to get home. I can make that my sole purpose, my only focus, my idol....Or I can remember that life is still happening. I'm gonna miss a whole lot of blessing from my amazing God if I don't open my eyes to each moment this year. I can hold on to the heart wrenching, yet beautiful anticipation of having to wait for my love to come home, but with each day I can look to my Lord and say "Okay, what would you have me learn today?" It may be silence, learning to trust Him, it may be insight into enriching my marriage, being a better wife, it may be learning from the simplicities of a child,  it may only be ten seconds, but I don't want to miss it!

 Thank you for reading my rambles! Much love to you all!

 ~Iris

Toby and I enjoying the sun at cottonwood park. 















 
                                                                                                 Tobias watching his daddy video.

My little sock monster! Keeping bare feet bare since 2011!

                                                                                         Playing with Uncle Kyle!

                        My precious baby Williams number 2! I cannot wait to meet you!

52 Weeks

  Most people in the world start the year on January first, but our year started Saturday, June 4. Tobias and I watched as Thomas (Daddy) loaded up his ruck sack and gear into a big, green, military bus and head to the Elmendorf Air strip. That's when our year started. It may seem silly, but I have to count this year in weeks, not days. It seems easier to handle 52 weeks rather than 365 days. 
 So far, almost two weeks have passed since waving goodbye to our hero. I plan on updating this blog on a weekly bases and having you join us as we count down the 52 weeks! I've decided Saturdays is the appropriate day to update, so every Saturday afternoon or evening (depending on when Tobias naps and I have a free moment) I'll grab a hot cup of tea and tell you, our wonderful family and friends, about our week. This first blog is going to be short, due to the fact that it's not Saturday yet; it's Wednesday so I have a few more days till Saturday, and who knows what exciting things may happen between now and then!
 However, I will give you a quick update on Thomas. I spoke with him last night, he sounded good, but busy, very busy he said. We only got a few minutes, but it was good to hear his voice. They are working hard to ready their vehicles and prepare for any missions. He is waiting to see where they will send him before having me give out an address. So we are still in the waiting process on that. I am compiling a list of things he needs and wants, and I'll be getting that out to you all soon, probably when we get the address. We talked about Toby, and all he's learning and doing. Thomas does have access to e-mail he just isn't able to check it on a regular basis, but he does enjoy getting e-mails and pictures from family and friends. His e-mail is: willeod@gmail.com please send him a note of encouragement, it would mean a lot to him.
 Well, we can continue this little chat and count down on Saturday. Hope you all have a great rest of your week. Much Love!

 ~Iris