Ft. Bragg paratrooper killed in airborne operation

Days after I took Peter to watch Mike jump there was a terrible accident here. Reminds us all not to take anything for granted! Mike was scheduled to jump again in part of this series if jumps but all jumps were temporairly suspended following the accident. Thoughts and prayers are with the family!

Ft. Bragg paratrooper killed in airborne operation

Airborne All the Way

Mike has been here at Ft. Bragg for almost 2 years, he's jumped more than 40 times. It was high time (pun intended) we went to see him in action. This was a "Hollywood Jump" meaning they didn't have any combat equipment. Olivia was at camp so Peter and I managed to find our way through the wilderness of Ft. Bragg to find the correct drop zone. Peter was so excited to see Daddy jump out of the airplane, that's all he talked about all the way there. We were actually able to see several planes full of jumpers. Peter loved every second of it!





Mike was the 1st one out of his plane!





I have no idea what he's doing here, I'm sure it's some sort of army thing. Or maybe he hit the ground too hard...



Peter was so proud of his Daddy! And I was too!



Way to earn that extra $150 a month in jump pay! We love you!





And if pictures aren't enough you can watch on video. Again, Mike is the first one out of this plane.

A Little Boy Lives Here.....

The other night I walked into the living room to find this.....



Melts my heart!

Father's Day Recap

We celebrated Father's Day all weekend around here. Mike and I began on Friday with a Dinner and Movie date. We saw Hangover II which Mike has been dying to see and we had a really yummy dinner at Morgan's Chop House. After the movie we met some friends for drinks and got home after midnight, just staying up after 10 pm around here is a big accomplishment for us so we felt like such night owls!

Mike opened presents all weekend long! He got some clothes (khaki pants without pleats, whoohoo), a nook, and a some new running shoes. Olivia and Peter went with me to pick out all of Mike's presents and that was quite a production in and of itself. Peter had an enormous temper tantrum at the bookstore and Olivia pulled down an entire rack of clothes at Gap. I think we were coming close to being kicked out of the mall. Olivia helped pick out the color of Mike's new shoes while Peter insisted we get him "cowdoy boots" and then had another temper tantrum when I informed him that we would not be getting him "cowdoy boots". They didn't even have cowboy boots at the store so I'm not sure where this came from.



On Saturday we celebrated with a Father's Day feast--beef tenderloin, asparagus, corn-on-the-cob, mashed potatoes, and a home made red velvet cake. Baking is definitely not one of my gifts but at least this time the cake came out of the pan.

On Sunday we headed to the beach for the day. The weather was beautiful and we're so lucky to live close enough to the beach to be able to take a quick trip for the day. Olivia played in the water a bit, attempted to eat sand by the handful, and then cuddled up for a nap. Peter was super excited to go to the beach and then refused to go into the water for the first several hours we were there. He loved dragging the body board around on it's cord. Mike pulled Peter around on the board for a bit and he loved it!

 

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Hope you all enjoyed your special day!

Time to Vote

You can help! This summer Vivint is giving away $1.25 million to local charities. Here are the details:
-You must have a facebook account to vote
-You can only vote for 1 charity per day
-The charity with the most overall votes will win $250,000, each of the top charities in each of the 5 regions will win $100,000. Team Sanfilippo is in the East region, right now we're number 2.
-Voting ends on AUGUST 27th!

How to vote:
-Click on the link above
-You will be prompted to log into facebook
-Vote
-Please consider sharing your vote by posting your vote on your wall

Here's a link to a video that another parent put together. Please vote!

Make it Work

alternately titled: You Might Be A Redneck If....
alternately titled: The Best $10 I've spent all year.....

I just can't make up my mind which title I like the best :)

Two years ago this month Olivia learned to swim in the pool at the apartment complex while we were staying while we waited for Olivia to be admitted to the hospital for her transplant. Here's the video that I posted on the blog then.



Things now are very different. It's not safe for me to take both kids to the pool here in our neighborhood by myself. Olivia needs constant care and supervision and I can't provide that when I'm by myself with both kids. So we're "making it work". I bought one of those tacky $10 plastic pools at Wal-Mart last week and the kids LOVE it. By far the best $10 I've spent all year. It's also so much easier to turn on the hose in the back yard than it is to pack up and head to the pool. An added benefit is that I have absolutely no shame in letting my kids run around the back yard wearing swim diapers, the neighborhood pool requires more substantial attire. We are still very careful about Olivia's sun exposure. Peter saw Olivia wearing a hat and insisted on one of his own. This is the only one that fit (thanks cousins Braden and Hunter).

New Wheels

We didn't get a new car but the kids and I have some new wheels.

During Spring Break our trusty old double jogging stroller went wheels up, literally. We were about a mile from the house when one of the wheels fell off. I managed to shove the wheel back on and we had to slowly roll our way home with one wheel up on the curb and the other on the street to keep it from rolling off again. Pathetic. We bought that stroller at a community yard sale shortly after finding out that I was pregnant with Peter. It was pre-diagnosis and things were so much simpler then. Its held up well and we've definitely gotten out money's worth.

The old stroller with the crooked wheel.





I went back and forth about getting another one. Olivia likes to ride but how much longer will Peter be content to ride? I looked for another gently used model but couldn't find one that I liked so I ended up on Wal-mart.com and found this one. Strollers have gotten pretty fancy in the last 4 years! I've decided to celebrate the arrival of the new stroller by doing one of those Couch to 5 K programs so I'll let you know how that goes....

Beach Retreat

In college my sorority sisters and I went on an annual beach retreat each year. Some of my favorite college memories are from those weekends. These were always "No Booze, No Boys" weekends. Just time hanging out with my sorority sisters, we played silly games, we cooked meals together, we hung out at the beach. We made goals for the the coming year. Fun Times.

This past weekend we went on a beach retreat with Mike's unit. In 2004 the Army began a program called Strong Bonds, it's a chaplain-led program designed to increase Soldier and Family readiness through relationship education and skills training. Multiple deployments and increased training and operations schedules have added significant stress to military families and the Strong Bonds program is the Army's approach to helping manage that stress. Preliminary studies of participants of the Strong Bonds program have a 50% lower divorce rate and increased marital satisfaction. This was actually the 2nd time we've been able to participate in a Strong Bonds retreat and we all had a great time! We made the short drive to Myrtle Beach and got to stay in a beautiful resort. Childcare was provided and while I was really nervous about leaving Olivia all the childcare professionals loved Olivia and she spent the day running around a huge empty meeting room at the resort. She had a blast! Peter also loved hanging out with other kids and was talking up a storm by the time we left. Peter would happily told me about all the cool toys he played with each day when we picked him up.

The curriculum for the retreat was based on the "5 Love Languages" (for more info you can check out the website http://www.5lovelanguages.com/). It was interesting curriculum and I do feel like we have some new tools to communicate with each other.

The resort had a beautiful waterpark and Peter and Mike had fun enjoying the slides an splash park while Olivia and I enjoyed the lazy river. Mike and I were able to enjoy some solo beach time which was AWESOME! It's amazing how different things are when you're not schlepping chairs, towels, umbrellas, toys, kids, snacks, sunscreen, etc, etc, etc! We also got to enjoy an early dinner date at a great Myrtle Beach restaurant (Sea Captain's House) where I had Hummingbird Cake for the first time--it was fantastic, a southern spin on carrot cake, so yummy!

All in all we had a blast, here are a few pictures of out weekend. For the most part we were having too much fun enjoying ourselves to be busy taking pictures. I did include a few of our attempts of a family shot on the beach. Apparently we will not be sending out a beach themed Christmas card this year If you are an Army Family and you haven't been on a Strong Bonds retreat you should check it out!

My Little Tattletale....

Peter and I try and meet up with Mike for lunch once or twice a month. Honestly some weeks that will be the only time Peter gets to see Mike since he leaves before Peter wakes up and often doesn't get home until after Peter is asleep.

Peter and I were running errands so we picked Mike up from his office and went to a quiet mexican place on base. It was later on a Friday afternoon and it wasn't crowded at all. The restrauant was near the nature trail and we ate outside and Peter had a blast running around and playing with his toy cars on the trail. We really had a great time. Then we headed back to the car and loaded up so that Peter and I could drop Mike back off at work. I was driving and I saw that the parking space in front of me was empty so I decided to pull foward through the empty space so we could be on our way. I'm sure you can all tell where this is going....there was one of those parking barrier things and I drove right over it. I froze, Mike started turning 5 colors of red as he gets out of the car to inspect the damage. He is LIVID, I'm sure you all can imagine. Seriously the way he was carrying on I thought the front half of the car was about to fall off. Mike doesn't want to say anything in front of Peter so we begin our ride back to his office in complete silence. You could have cut the tension with a knife. A few seconds into our ride Peter just starts quietly saying "Bump" "BIGGGG BUMP MAMA". Peter repeats this phrase the entire ride back to Mike's office. As Mike kissed us goodbye his only response was "Well, it's clear this happens often".

I would just like to say that 1. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the car, you can't even see a dent! and 2. That was the FIRST TIME IN MY ENTIRE LIFE I HAVE EVER DONE THAT. I may take the occasional speed bump a little too aggressively but I've never run over anything!

Thanks a lot Peter. Just you wait till you start driving.....

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--Robert Frost

For a couple of months now been at a crossroads. The uncertainty of the future has been weighing heavily on both of us and I have felt like I couldn't share much of what was going on for fear of jinxing us in some way. Mike's time in command is coming to an end and he has been busy researching different career opportunities for his next assignment. He is going to stay in the Army, that's is the one thing that we're sure of at this point. Mike interviewed for an ROTC instructor position at Tulane University in New Orleans. It's a bit of a dream job, it all seems too good to be true. We'd be in the same city as friends and family. When I was in New Orleans last month I toured a very special school in New Orleans for children with special needs. I believe that it would be an amazing opportunity for Olivia, it's a remarkable school and I know she'd fit in well there! I even started looking at job openings at local colleges and universities for myself. Mike was researching graduate programs and hoped to begin work on his Masters while we were there. Mike would not deploy for a couple of years. New Orleans has all the medical specialists that Olivia would need. The list of pros is long. Mike's current boss and his potential new boss both agreed that he would be a great fit for the position. But we're still waiting on approval from Army Human Resources. This approval is taking a very long time. With each day that passes it seems less and less likely that this will work out. It really does seem to good to be true.

Option two would be for us to stay here, for Mike to get a job within the special forces community as a Fire Support Officer. This is also a job that Mike would enjoy. He would most likely deploy in the near future but we could stay in our house, in our neighborhood. I've made friends here, I've learned my way around Eastern North Carolina. Olivia is all ready for school in the fall, I've even registered Peter for school in the fall. We have good relationships with therapists and doctors here in our area. North Carolina is growing on us, I don't love Ft. Bragg but I am growing to love North Carolina.

Mentally I've already begun preparing for option two but at the same time I just can't seem to let go of the dream of New Orleans. The uncertainty is starting to become stressful. I just want to know, one way or the other! It feels better to share about it finally. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers. What's meant to be will happen, I know we'll be okay with either option, I just want to know!

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be
--Ray Evans

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

We took advantage of Mike's 4-day Memorial Weekend to head north to Virginia and Washington DC.

After Olivia's graduation party we drove up to Colonial Williamsburg. Neither Mike or I had ever been and we love exploring new places together. We all enjoyed the early summer evening wandering around Colonial Williamsburg.



Peter would have chased the fireflies for hours! He didn't catch one but he did come close a couple of times. It was such an absolutely beautiful evening, it felt so surreal...we were there experiencing this beautiful part of America with our kids, chasing fireflies. I almost had to pinch myself.



Nothing says vacation like eating donuts in bed from the continental breakfast buffet!



When Olivia went on her Make A Wish trip we were very generously given a 1 year pass to almost every amusement park in the world. We used the pass for the first time at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It was a beautiful amusement park and we all had a great time. The best part about being given a free pass to an amusement park is that there's no pressure. We don't feel the need to "get our money's worth" we are able to just relax and enjoy the day. We do whatever the kids what to do, when we get cranky and tired then we call it a day. I'd never been to a Busch Gardens park before and I was surprised at how many rides there were for kids.





This was Olivia's favorite ride of the day! Peter was tall enough to go on it but I thought it would scare the %*&# out of him so Peter and I opted out while Olivia and Mike braved the Elmo ride. Olivia is on the far right.



Olivia and Mike are the last car of the Grover Coaster. Olivia giggled the entire time the coaster went uphill and she enjoyed going fast but did not enjoy the downhill bits.



Olivia and Mike on what we've dubbed the "safest ride in America". The ride operator was training a new operator and it took so long for everyone to be safely buckled in that Olivia almost fell asleep waiting for the ride to start.



Peter saw the balloons and got very excited about going on the ride. Mike and Peter headed to the line while Olivia and I staked out a good photo spot. The next time I looked up I saw Mike walking towards me and the ride starting! Apparently it was a kids only ride. It's a good thing this was a very short ride because Mike and I were a little worried about Peter, we felt like terrible parents, who lets their 2 year old ride by themselves! There wasn't any real restraint, it was just a lap belt. Peter could have easily fallen out! Peter was very good though and he held on to the basket very tightly but I don't think we'll be letting him go on that ride by himself again till he gets a little older!



Peter and Olivia flew their airplanes all by themselves. Fortunately this ride had a much better restraint system!







After our time in Williamsburg we headed to D.C. to visit with Mike's younger brother and his family and our newest niece. We find it intersting that on my side of the family Olivia is the only girl out of 4 grandkids while on Mike's side of the family Peter is the only boy out of 7 grandkids.

The Leiva Boys




My two favorite guys!


We parked across from a firestation and it was all we could do to keep Peter from running in and climbing on the engine.



We were able to spend a couple of hours at Arlington. Our National Cemetery is such a beautiful, peaceful place. I really don't have words to describe this special place but I did see this quote that I thought was appropriate:
"Memorial Day is significant ... This year it marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. This Memorial Day also marks the 10th anniversary of continuous conflict following attacks by al-Qaida on the United States in 2001. The first national observance of Memorial Day was at Arlington National Cemetery in 1868."
SOURCE: Hattiesburg American

A shameless bit of self promotion....

Earlier this month I received an award for some of my volunteer efforts. At first I didn't really give it a second thought, I thought it was just a routine volunteer appreciation award....until I saw some of the email traffic circulating about the award and that the award would be presented by the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, Major General Huggins (that's a 2 star General for you non-military folk, there are only 99 of them in the entire Army!). I was presented with the Dr. Mary E. Walker award for my volunteer work with Army Families with children with special needs. The Dr. Mary E. Walker is a reward for Army spouses whose achievements and performance merit special recognition. The award is a means of recognizing those who have contributed significantly to the quality of life for soldiers, exemplifying personal concern for the needs, training, development and welfare of soldiers and concern for families of soldiers.



And because I love a good backstory.....
Dr. Mary E. Walker is the ONLY female recipient of the Medal of Honor. She was a remarkable woman, here's her bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Edwards_Walker. My Gamma Phi Beta sisters might also find it interesting that she was from Syracuse!

Happy Graduation

Last week we all attended Olivia's preschool graduation party. I was quite proud of the snacks that we contributed to the party....fruit kabobs and diploma roll-ups. I've learned that I should stay away from baked goods and have found my calling as the "mom who brings the healthy snacks."





I generally am very conscious about posting pictures of other people on my blog but since most of the kids aren't looking at the camera I'm going to sneak this one in. Check out Olivia's fancy "carpet time seat belt chair" (as it's officially referred to in her IEP). This allows Olivia to participate in carpet time activities without having to sit on someone's lap. She's been using the chair for about 4 months and she now stays seated in her chair without the seatbelt for carpet time activities each day. Olivia is on the right, seated next to her 1:1 in the black and white stripes. You may notice that there are a lot of adults in the classroom. Olivia's preschool class has become increasingly crowded over the year, there are a total of 14 children, 1 teacher, 2 aides, 1 interpreter, and Olivia's 1:1. We're hoping that Olivia will be in a smaller class next year with fewer students.



The class sang songs and watched a photo slideshow during the party but Olivia's favorite part was by far the food! Olivia was especially well behaved during snack time at the party. She very carefully ate one bite at a time and did not overstuff her mouth. She also was very careful not to flip her plate over and dump any of the food on the ground. This is especially unusual for her. I don't know if Olivia knew it was a special occasion or if she was just really impressed with the wide variety of snacks but she was one of the most well mannered snackers in her class!







We tried desperately to get a picture of Olivia holding her diploma with her 1:1, Ms. Tina, but Olivia wasn't cooperating.

 

Olivia's last official day of school isn't until the 9th so we have few more days to say goodbye before summer begins!