This. Is. Hard.

This week was just hard. Cooking was hard. Sleeping was hard. Making lunches were hard. Even breathing was hard. Just a lot going on and a tone of negativity directed my way. But very often, there is a diamond in the rough and I am lucky to have two:



In all of these difficult times this week, just one smile from this little one turned it all around..even for just a little bit:



And I got to spend a lot of time with him, so that was great. We've finally got ourselves in a bit more of a routine and are able to keep up with a bit more now that we are home from all our travels and that has freed up more time for play. George and I pulled out a favorite one afternoon: magnatiles. We built a cool house with trees



and then he built a super long road "for Daddy".





This weekend was spent doing a few errands but mostly relaxing and having some downtime. I had a bunch of FRG stuff to catch up with and the boys enjoyed playing much of the weekend. On Saturday, we pulled out the Geotrax which the boys both still love, love love!



Liam got his first set when he was just over two and they are still going strong.



And I love that we now have a couple of trains and so they can both play at the same time.



Today, Liam declared that he would homeschool George. He spent most of the day doing just that. He did activities with him, read him "I Stink", played games with him, gave him a "30 second" nap, and made him lunch. At one point, I also heard them singing the ABCs together. They played so nicely together and had a good time homeschooling.

I'm so lucky to have these two little boys. The push me on through these hard times in their own little ways...with their laughs, their smiles, their hugs. I'm so grateful to God for giving me them and pray that this coming week is just a little bit easier on all of us.

Household 6 Signing In

I've been wanting to write on here for so long but I've been having a really hard time doing it. Writing about our lives right now would very much mean I'd have to acknowledge that this deployment is happening. We are two months in now and, of course, mentally I know it's happening. I can run FRG meetings, mail care packages, and talk about resiliency and how to handle those long days. But that's the Army wife in me. Taylor's wife and Liam and George's mom is having a much much much more difficult time acknowledging this year. Because while I can run an FRG meeting I have a much harder time telling my little boys that their Daddy won't be home for their birthdays or Christmas. I can mail care packages to my soldier but it's difficult including a whole lot personal in them. I run off of a "shopping list" of sorts of things he has requested or items that a typical soldier may want or need. And while I can talk to wives and families about resiliency...feeling resilient myself is a whole lot more challening. But the reality of the situation is....

He's Gone.

And he's not at NTC. He's not in the field. He's not in the building with the green roof. He's back in a war zone half way across the world. And reality is that when he got on that plane half of me went with him. And that hurts more than words can ever say.

But the good thing is...I AM AN ARMY WIFE. And that is the difference in surviving this or not. God made me an Army wife. He had a plan for me. He knows that I CAN handle this. That I may not feel resilient...but I AM resilient. I may not feel like I'll get through the next 10 months of this...but I WILL. I may not understand all the time how it's possible to keep doing what we are doing...but I KNOW that He knows what I can and cannot handle and I have complete FAITH in that knowledge.

And that is why I'm here writing this out. Because before I can move on to writing about all the little magical things that comprise my life surrounded by boys, I need to acknowledge several things beyond "this is happening."

I am an Army Wife....strong and resilient.

My soldier is an amazing person doing amazing things. He is making a difference in the world.

This is beyond difficult many days but I am not alone. I acknowledge that I have the Lord at my side helping me through this.

I am HH6 and I can not only handle this...I can excel at it. Just go ahead and watch me.

Gorgeous

The only sight more gorgeous than this...



might be this...



Honestly? They both take my breath away.

Sometimes..

Sometimes....



You



Just



Have



to



Be



Silly



Right?!


I think his brother would agree.

George's Preschool Report Card

Okay...well...not the report card...but the report that was attached that will tell you the same things. :)

Social and Emotional Skills: This is developed throughout the morning through play indoors and out, small and large group activities (Examples: circle time, snack time, and engaging in all center activities).

George plays parallel to other children as well as interacting with adults and children playing simple child developed and adult initiated games such as "Peek-a-boo" and "follow the leader". George understands the give and take of sharing and taking turns and is working to perfect this skill as sharing can still be difficult. George uses his words to have his needs met and sets limits with others. He is working on making smoother transitions between activities. He enjoys being silly with his friends, laughing and playing with others.

Language: This is developed during circle time, conversations and interaction with teachers, as well as peers, throughout the morning.

George initiates conversations with children and adults, using his words to get his needs met, and asking questions about his friends and school. George has an extensive vocabulary and uses words to understand his experiences. George repeats and responds to words and phrases in English and Spanish. George is usually easily understood but when asked to repeat or explain himself, he does so with patience.

Reading/Writing: This is developed through our reading centers, writing centers, story time, and descriptions of their own drawings.

George loves books! He understands that the words and pictures work together to tell a story. George enjoys watching his teacher say the letters as she writes his name on his art projects, repeating the names of some of the letters and responding "that's me...George". George loves the classroom library, sitting and looking through books as relaxation time when he is tired or desires quiet time.

Math and Science: This is developed through large and small group activities (Examples: calendar, graphing, estimating, counting, sorting, math, science, and texture centers).

George enjoys exploring math and science manipulatives and is using words to explain science such as "magnets stick". He is making scientific observations such as that the boats float in the water table but the toy ocean animals sink. George likes to count as he jumps on the trampoline or runs across the playground bridge although he is not necessarily making a one to one correlation between the number word and how many. He enjoys exploring textures and is very aware of all sensory activities using language such as "smooth, rough stinky, cold".

Small Motor Skills: This is developed through cutting, handwriting, playing with play-doh, drawing, and painting.

George enjoys manipulating play-doh, cutting it with the play-doh knife, using cookie cutters to make animal shapes. His fine motor skills are developed enough to create a snake and ball with play-doh. George can tear paper, use markers and crayons to make lines and designs on paper, control glue using the glue bottle or craft stick, paint with bing markers, a large paint brush, or finger paints. George understands how to hold scissor properly and is learning to use scissors to cut paper.

Large Motor Skills: This is developed through outdoor play (Examples: running, climbing, riding tricycles, throwing, kicking, and bouncing a ball). It is also developed during music and circle time, through large movements and dance.

George has highly developed large motor skills as demonstrated in his ability to ride a ride-on toy pushing himself with his legs, throwing, kicking, catching, and bouncing a ball. His running and climbing are very fluid movements as he performs them with great confidence. He can shovel, sweep, and build a sand sculpture. George is reluctant to take part in music and movement activities such as playing instruments, dancing with scarves or using sign-language to sing a song but enjoys watching others and choosing favorite songs.


In other words...George is doing VERY well. His teacher said he's very advanced and there were only a few checks on the report card that he was working on before the end of May!

And what's this guy up to?



Well, he's already sewn a pillow at school and today he made a pumpkin pie. Yeah...Montessori Rocks!

No Fear

My boys



like to swing



REALLY



high!

To Know Liam is to Love Him...

and living with this child is an experience. Let me share with you some examples from this past week that make you scratch your head and laugh at the same time.

The babysitter caught on to Liam's office supplies obsession and gave him a whole sheet of file folder labels. He decided to label a light switch for us:



(as a side note, he is really beginning to read well and his teacher told me Friday that he is very advanced!)

I found this set up the other morning before school. They were either checking out library books or waiting for shots:



And I have NO IDEA what this is. But, I do know that when it fell down one night and he saw that the next day he fixed it right back to exactly this set up:



And as for his little brother...well, we'll just let his shirt speak for him:



Yep, to know these boys is to love them. And love them I do!