Friday, February 27, 2009

Jack's prayer

Tonight we are in Denton, at Hannah's apartment.

As I was putting the boys to sleep in Hannah's bed (thanks Hannah for sharing your bed!!) Jack said he wanted to pray.

Here's how it went:

Dear God,

Tank you for food.

Tank you for comin Aunt Nanna's house.

Tank you for Mommy.

Tank you for Ty.

Tank you for Jack.

Tank you for da book.

Tank you for Lindsey (Hannah's roommate who he just met 3 minutes before)

Hep me be a good boy.

Hep Ty be a good boy.
Tank you for Winnie Da Pooh.
Tank you for Pigglet.

Tank you for Daddy.

Tank you for my friends.

Tank you for hep me be a good boy.

Tank you for Jesus.

AMEN.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

A year Ago

This is Ty last year, the end of February.
Sweet little newborn.

This is Ty today.
Too busy playing to even turn around.



This is Jack a year ago.
Still looks baby-ish.


This is Jack today.
"Fighter airplane" vs. B-1

I, all of a sudden, have two boys that just want to be boys.
Ty lives to follow Jack around.
Jack lives for that 30 minutes (alone) to play trains before anyone else wakes up.
Soon they will play together.
Soon they will be best friends.
Soon they will disapear for hours,
doing their thing, playing together.
Jack will get the B-1 and Ty will have to be some lame, broken helicopter
(cause he's the second born).
Jack will be Thomas and James.
Ty will be Murdock and that tan train that whose name I can't remember.
Jack will be Batman. Ty will be Robin.
I will be soaking in a bath, reading a novel,
eating Lindt Lindor Swiss Chocolate Truffles.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Good morning Jack!

This is Jack.
This is Jack as we were walking in to MDO this morning.
Can anyone tell what is missing?

Monday, February 23, 2009

I did it!


MIKE!!!!!!!!

Guess what I did for 34:42 tonight? (That's 34 minutes and 42 seconds)

Give up?

Still guessing?

Huh?

Think hard...

You said I couldn't do it.

Oh ye of little faith.....

humph ;-)

I'll bet you've figured it out.

You're a smart guy.

You are a little surprised.

You're proud of me aren't you?

You are thinking... wow... that's some strong chick I married.

She's hardcore.

She's probably going to be so wiped out tomorrow that she neglects my children.

No way man. Tomorrow's MDO so I won't be passed out on the couch while they are at home playing....

They will be fine.

And, more good news.

My heart didn't explode.

My dinner didn't come up.

My feet just kept on hoppin.

My knees, well, let's just say I'm no longer 17.

But I did it.

And I feel great!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Farmer joke #2

Emily told me a new joke!


What does the farmer say to the cows at 9 every night?




It is past-ure bedtime!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

They're home!

The best part about Mike deploying is every time he leaves, Jared and Regina get to come home. Jared and Regina Wall are our very good friends. Both of them are C-130 pilots and are on the opposite schedule as Mike. His 4 off are their 4 on and vise versa.
Today they arrived back home!
The boys and I, along with Regina's sis, brother, mom, dad and uncle were up their to greet them.

These are some of the pictures.

Posing for me



Waiting...

Here they come!


Uncle Paul, Regina and Jared, Regina's Dad (Mike)



Visiting before dinner.

Dinner!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Depending on Dyess

Below is an article that was in the Abilene Reporter News today. I read the headline and my heart sank a little. After reading the article, I just sort of agreed with most of what was said. There's no use getting your feathers in a was over it.

This is what Mike and I are called to do.

Most of you know that Mike has been wanting to retrain as a pilot. Mostly just to get away from the rigorous deployment cycle of the C-130. We were not expecting to get this plane coming out of nav training. Mike put an application in last November for pilot training. We found out a week ago that he did not get accepted.

We are content with that. Since God's answer was "no", we are now able to embrace the fact that our placement in C-130s was God's doing. This is where he wants us.

I don't know why.

Surely there is some other tougher woman that could do this job better. But God chose me to handle the stuff back home while Mike works on the battle/mission field.

Ok. I guess I'll do it :-)

I pulled of yesterday's calendar page off of the desk calendar to reveal today's date and verse.
.
.
.
Ephesians 4:1
...I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
.
.
.
Here is the article:
DEPENDING ON DYESS
By Trish Choate (Contact)Friday, February 20, 2009

Dyess Air Force Base could play big role in Afghanistan buildup

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's decision to send 17,000 more troops to improve deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan could mean a bigger role for Dyess Air Force Base.
The base is home to transport planes designed to operate in rugged conditions and bombers built to loiter protectively with precision weapons at the ready.

It might be too early to get into specifics about Dyess' role during the troop buildup, but the base is heavily involved in supporting missions in the Middle East, a Dyess official said.
The 317th Airlift Group's C-130 Hercules aircraft and personnel have deployed in and rotated out more than 1,900 days in a row, said Col. Bernard Mater, 317th Airlift Group commander.

"We anticipate that operations tempo to continue," Mater said.

During Valentine's Day weekend the base sent 150 people to relieve 150 who have served nearly 130 days, Mater said in an e-mail. The returning group will be back this weekend.
"Those folks will have some time off, train up and go again in a couple of months to replace those that just replaced them," he said.

Dyess military members have strong connections with operations in Afghanistan and will likely continue that close relationship, Mater said.
"In the past and now, C-130s have conducted airlift missions, some by landing at austere, dirt airfields, others by airdrops from low and high altitude and others landing at the main international airports to deliver personnel, combat supplies, humanitarian assistance, and on occasion medically evacuate injured or ill patients so they can get a higher level of care," he said.
A military expert's explanation of the need for transport during a troop buildup sheds light on the role of Dyess' C-130s.
Increasing the number of troops in theater means the military will need an increased ability to move personnel and supplies ranging from food, medical supplies, ammunition, water, generator equipment and more, said Dakota Wood, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel who studies the operational challenges of irregular warfare for the nonprofit Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington.
"The C-130's just a real workhorse," Wood said.
It can also operate on relatively short runways -- unlike the C-17, which needs a more developed airfield, he said.
"I think C-130s will take on increasing importance over time as road networks are increasingly under threat by enemy forces, roadside bombs and ambushes," Wood said.
Moving cargo and troops by air is better when a road network isn't very well developed but troops are in the field, he said.
Mater said Afghanistan's transportation network is developing, much like the rest of the country, and there are remote areas reachable only by air.
But the base's role in Afghanistan isn't limited to the personnel and approximately 33 C-130s in the 39th and 40th airlift squadrons at the base.
The protection provided by the 36 B-1B Lancers and their associated personnel assigned to Dyess' 7th Bomb Wing is the biggest, most enduring contribution, Mater said.
"There will likely be a B-1 overhead 24 hours a day available to quickly support U.S., Afghan and coalition forces who might be attacked in Afghanistan," he said.
The B-1 has also earned the title "workhorse" because the aircraft has become a favorite of commanders in the wars in the Middle East.
The plane is excellent for carrying big payloads of precision-guided bombs to provide on-call air support for troops, Wood said.

"Or if you have a reconnaissance element that's identified an enemy position, rather than approaching that on foot and putting troops at risk if you don't have to, you try to handle that target with some kind of precision fire ... that gives you distance," he said.
"This is not a temporary force uplift," he said. "I can't give an exact number of years that it would be, but I'm trying to look out for the next three to four or five years."

Thursday, February 19, 2009

B-1 guys never work

Eric, our neighbor across the road, was talking to me and said that he had Wed. and Thurs. off and he and his wife, Sonya, were thinking about going to Abilene State Park. They invited the boys and me to join them.

Bless those two.

I still think that anyone who invites a mom and two toddlers to do ANYTHING with them, is a saint.

So we go. Here are some pictures from the trip.

















More Valentine's party pictures

More pictures of our valentine's day party

HERE

at Amanda Weems blog.

Enjoy!

Thank you Amanda for putting all those pictures up. I don't have any pics of my own, I was a little too busy to pull out the camera.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Stinky kids

Stinky Pete.

I've been thinking a lot about this guy lately.

We've had a stomach bug at our house, now don't everyone start feeling sorry for me. It hasn't been that bad. Jack only threw up twice -in bed (very contained) and Ty hasn't thrown up at all.

The symptoms were:

Day 1 & 2 : Vomit

Day 2 -4: Diarrhea

Day 5- PRESENT: GAS!

Yeah, it's potent.

I'm not going to explain the odor, you can all imagine, but I am going to try to get you to understand that FREQUENCY of it.

All the "Stinkin" time!

We stayed home all day Monday. By the end of the day I was thinking that surely my carbon monoxide detectors were going to think something horrible had happened to all the oxygen in the house.

I got light headed at one point.

It wasn't just one boy. It was two. They were tag teaming it.

Maybe they were playing "War" and I wasn't informed. Why did both kids have to choose to be the machine gun opperator???

Wow.

My eyes are watering as I remember.

I just kept thinking... that stuff has got to come out at some point... I hope I am prepared when it does! I don't want another book store poop story to put on here.

I won't keep you in suspense much longer. I know most of you have already done the math and are thinking... that was Monday.... today is Wednesday night.... wonder if he passed it yet....

He did. (Jack I'm talking about)

At mother's day out. Score Becca! Yes! One for me! Negative one for Miss Amy.

Poor Miss Amy. She is Jack's beloved MDO teacher.

And... she's pregnant.

No pregnant women should ever have to change another child's diarreah blow-out. -I'm buying her lunch tomorrow (FYI)

Amy calls me in a bit of a panic.

"Becca, this is Amy from MDO.... (pause).... there's been a bit of a disaster up here."

-My first thought is of a story I read in Reader's Digest months ago where a shooter comes into a child's daycare.

Amy:
"Jack has just had a blow-out all over the place. He got poop all over his pants, shirt, socks, and I was washing his underware out and it got sucked down the toilet! We don't have any clothes for him, so he's just standing here naked and all the kids are looking at him!"

Uhh....

Ok... good... no shooter.

Bad... Jack's standing in the middle of his classroom naked.

I felt like there had to be something that could be done to keep Jack from standing in the middle of the room naked with all the other kids looking at him. But I was still recovering from my shooter thought and couldn't suggest anything. I just said, "Oh, ok. I'll be right there."

I rushed home, grabbed some clothes and headed back to MDO. Amy put Jack in a pull up.

Whew. Glad he had something on.

We dressed him and let him go to the playground since that's where the other kids were. I guess the poop made an impact on the other kids. Jack's friend Noelle came up to me and said:

"Jack went poo-poo everywhere."

Oh, yeah, thanks Noelle.

Poor Miss Amy.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Are we there yet?

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you...
but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trust in him."
Ps 32:8,10
These verses jumped off the page last night. I have a hard time with the idea that we will never learn all the lessons or know all there is to know about how to live this Christian life.
I like to conquer things.
Things I feel like I have conquered: *conquered does not necessarily mean I have mastered it
  • Softball
  • College
  • Teaching P.E.
  • Guitar
  • Childbirth
  • Changing diapers
  • Moving
  • Riding bikes
  • Chocolate chip cookies
Now I can add to it -making a background for a blog.
I am satisfied with my ability to successfully execute them.
But even after learning lessons -one... after... one.
Day after Day.
Year after Year.
I am never done.
I don't like it when people tell me, "that's how life is, you won't ever know it all."
I WANT TO GET IT!
Let's be done with the lessons already so we can jump in the pilot's seat and fly this plane!
Why does life have to be so trial and error?
I guess I am slowly starting to accept the fact that I won't ever get there.
Maybe that is why those verses were a sight for sore eyes.
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you...
but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trust in him."
Ps 32:8,10
When I fail:
God will instruct, and teach me.
When I decide to seek the right path:
God will counsel me AND watch over me
then,
All I have to do to have the Lord's unfailing love surround me is
to trust.
It sounds so wonderful!
But, I am SURE I will find a way to screw this one up too. I'll probably forget it before I go to bed tonight. Who knows how many times I will have to learn and relearn this same lesson before it sticks.
Oh well. It's not like I'll ever get there anyway.

Go read Katie's blog

Mike (and Gina too). Go check out Katie's blog. Anyone else is welcome to also. She is SO FUNNY. This is her post on "Snuggies."

For those of you who know Ashleigh Kelso. This girl is her twin. I am going to have to get these two together sometime. It's pretty cool having a local Ashleigh. Everyone should have one.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Ahh! Sleep!

I feel better, just woke up from a nap. Ty could work for a hotel, being the "Wake-up call guy." He is so good at it. I would write him a letter of recommendation if he ever asked.

I have been so blessed yesterday and today by friends and family that have asked me how I was doing. Lots of you. For the rest that haven't asked asked but wonder:

I'm doing great. The last two days have been much like any other day. With the exception of having to carry more of a work load.

We are missing Mike's presence, but also missing the presence of

ANXIETY,
FEAR,
DREAD,
SELF-PITY and
LONELINESS.

They have been replaced by peace and contentment.

Before the last deployment, I did everything but rejoice. This time I have been able to look beyond myself and find the exit door at the pity party. I'm glad I left that place. It was lame!

I learned -through experience, I hate to say, how God really does mean what he says. On several issues. See how I could have missed that really bad experience the last deployment if I had just believed and obey this passage below:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
See what I mean? Easy enough. Could have saved me 5 months of feeling yucky. (Four while he was gone and the month prior to his leaving).
Hopefully I can remember this the lesson the whole time Mike's gone.
I will start posting more frequently because Mike really likes to see what's going on. It is easier for me to share details of life when I can scrounge up a few minutes. It seems like there is always something going on when Mike calls and I can't focus enough to tell him detailed stories of the day. (Mike, keep calling me, I will still try to drop everything, but sometimes I just have to multi-task.)
Ty has finally made it to my lap. This whole time I have been posting he as been on the floor whining. He is one of my projects during this deployment. It's time for him to start obeying and not being so clingy.
This post is getting too long so I'll ramble more later.

3 - 2 - 1 ... TAKEOFF!

Homecoming Day countdown has begun!

129ish days left till Mike get back.

His squadron left this morning with no delays, in fact 30 minutes early.

Mike and I had breakfast together, we considered it our Valentine's day date. It was nice. I am feeling much more at peace with our assignments this time around. Right now I can't even think straight. Maybe it's cause I've been up for so many hours. I am going to have to get on here tomorrow and try make some since out of the words floating around in my brain.

I guess you probably noticed my new blog layout. I decided to learn how to format my own blog and somehow put in the HTML to make it work. Thanks to a couple of step-by-step instructional webpages I made it work.

Enough for now. The boys will be up in 6 hours.

Friday, February 13, 2009

We're here for the party!

We had a Valentine's party today at our house. It was filled with activity. We couldn't leave those kids unoccupied for a moment. I didn't take any pictures, there were about 8 other cameras out, and I have faith that my friends will be sure to get me copies of the best pictures.

Here is a link to a post one of my friends put up with pictures from the party on it:

http://thebakerkids.blogspot.com/2009/02/valentines-party.html

Enjoy :-)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Deployment update


We are planning on 4 months.


New info has come down that they will need extra crews for the second half -the half Mike is supposed to be home for.


With most of the guys tasked with other things there are few options as to who to take....


We will be VERY surprised if Mike comes home at half-time.


Should know something tomorrow. Maybe.

Happy Birthday Big Dad!

Today is Big Dad's Birthday!

Big Dad is Mike's Dad, Scott (Big Dad is his Grandpa name)

We love you Big Dad!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Big things happening

Today both of the boys had a "first".

Ty -while walking, fell down (normal) but then, in the middle of the room, pushed himself back up to a standing position and continued to walk!

Jack -Spelled his name and spelled Ty's name too. "J-A-C-K, that says Jack! That says ME [points to himself]" "T-Y that says Ty, that says you [points to Ty] !"

I might also have a first if this pot of black-eyed-peas turns out to be edible.


****UPDATE****

I have failed again at the Black-eyed-peas. They are sitting there in the pot, just looking at me with their one eye. They seem to be saying "You can't cook me!"

After 10 hours in the crock pot on low they are still hard -not quite hard as rocks, but hard. Dang it.


We all went on a walk and debated what we were going to do for supper. Jack wanted to wear his helmet. I tried not to be offended.


Apparently Mamie wanted to come too. Ty kept trying to push her off. He gave up at this point.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Deployment


Yep, it's that time again.

It comes all too soon for the wife of a C-130 guy.

Deployment.

Mike is scheduled to leave on Saturaday, Feb. 14th.

Don't know the time, but just wanted to update all of you.

Mike is only supposed to be gone for two months. We'll see.

Your prayers will be appriciated for the next 2-4 months as Mike will be at war. I will be home, and hopefully not engaging in combat. Pray for Jack and Ty as they transition to Dad being gone. Jack understands more this time. He knows that Daddy has to go far away to fly the airplanes so Jared and Regina can come home. (That is why Jared and Regina had to go -so Daddy could come home.)

It will still be hard on him, whether he understands it or not.

I'll keep you posted.

-Bec

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Did I just say that?

"Jack, don't eat things that are on the bottom of your shoe."

-Rebecca Ellis
2-4-09

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Cold weather makes me fat

Cold weather makes me fat.

Yes.

The first place I gain weight is on my stomach. Yesterday I noticed that I look about 4 months pregnant.

I'm not.

I have come to the conclusion that it can only be the cold weather that is causing this.

When it's cold you don't get as much exercise outside.

Everyone has a runny nose so you don't do things with other people as much.

Your kids get germs from all the other sick kids at church or MDO or just from touching the playthings at the mall. So then, instead of being active, you are sitting on the couch holding your little one, nursing them back to health.

Cold is lame.

It makes since now that Jack Frost is always depicted as evil and mischievous.

No wonder the Clause's are overweight.

I understand now why Rudolph's nose has been red for decades.

After Jack's nap I am going to challenge Cold. I am going to put jackets on my boys and put them in their stroller, put my wind/rain cover over my stroller and take them for a jog! We'll see who wins this one.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Can't think of a good title

Ty is feeling better. Or at least he was a 10 minutes ago, before he started banging his head on the wall that divides his room from the computer room. He is in his crib. He is supposed to be sleeping but prefers to make the pictures on the wall shake while I type.... ok that's enough of that...

I'm back. Ty's crying, the wall is no longer shaking.

Sometimes I forget that I need to get up and go train Ty instead of just training Jack to be patient with Ty.

Ty just got some training.

I expect he will need more in a minute.

The plumber came by finally. Our dishwasher has been leaving white dried gunk... there Ty goes again... be right back....

Back.

Ok, the dishwasher... dried white gunk... ok, the plumber couldn't find anything wrong with it, it was draining fine so he thinks it's just calcium deposits in there. He suggest I clean the inside of the dishwasher. Like I have time to clean the inside of the dishwasher! The whole point of the dishwasher is to keep you from having to clean as much. That plumber needs a briefing on the topic: "Why we have the dishwasher."

He thought CLR would do it. But, I, being my mother's daughter, knew better than to go buy some chemical when VINEGAR would do the trick. (Thanks Mom!)

I am running the dishwasher right now. The plumber said that about a half cup of vinegar would probably be enough to clean it. So I put at least a cup in there. We will see soon how it turns out.

Realtor called today. Some guy who looked at the house yesterday is apparently very interested -no offer yet. Please pray that if this is God's will that we can sell this house and get it off our back. I am still not worried/concerned about carrying this house. I trust that God is for us. I believe that He led us to the new house on base and that He will not lead us into financial ruin. Maybe he is going to use this house to provide for another family. He has given us money to cover the costs for now. We aren't going hungry. Since our money is money that God has given to us to be stewards of, then if God wants us to give a chunk of it to the mortgage company each month.... so be it.

Or maybe we are being punished for going into debt in the first place. Heck. I don't know. I don't think that is it.

Boy, not sure why I got off onto all that... I have just lost half of my readers.

If you made it this far into the post, then you either love us and want to know more about my day OR you are really bored. Either way, I need you to pray for God's direction for Mike and I with this house. Caring or bored. You need to help us out on this one. Intercede on our behalf.

I keep thinking I had some work to do on the 'puter. For the life of me I can't think of what it is. I've already checked craigslist for strollers (Lawson that was for you) and checked ebay for that clue game I'm wanting.... I guess I'll go downstairs and clean something.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Ty-Ty's sick

Poor kid!


Our new look

When we came home from our super bowl party we were delighted to find that our downstairs had a new look.

Apparently we have some aspiring interior decorator friends that couldn't control themselves.

Check out the pictures:

(our gracious neighbor Eric who came to help us clean up the mess)

This is what you open yourself up to when you don't lock your doors.

You think you are safe just because you live in a gated community.

Nope.

Even guards with guns don't deter these mystery decorators.

I don't know, we might keep it this way. Jack has already figured out a way to get up stairs, despite the couch now residing on them.
( See first picture).
If nothing else it's creative.

Be assured that Lieutenant Mike Ellis will get to the bottom of this. Nothing will stop this renegade military man. I feel I should warn all of you who were involved. He will not sleep until all of you have been brought to justice. He will not falter, he will not fail and he only has 2 weeks to get it done.