Our Little Corner of Britain

Our last year in a nutshell...

2011-09-17T22:46:00.000+01:00

Has it really been a year and 4 months since my last post??? WOW!!! And, sorry! I just finished reading all of my posts from the last 3 years in England and it feels like just yesterday that we were getting ready to fly out and begin our new Air Force life in the UK. I'm not even sure where to start to try to catch up and this may not be the best time to write because my emotions are very raw tonight, but then again, maybe that's a good thing.

My last post was from right before John deployed for the first time. We had no idea what to expect, didn't know many people here yet, and I was still getting used to have 2 kids (who were 2 1/2 and 8 months at the time). If I can say one thing about deployment it's this- you learn quickly how to survive and if you're smart, you find a support system to make the time great, rather that just manageable. I am so blessed to have found that in our church and I can honestly say, as hard as the deployment was, it really was a good summer. I felt very accomplished by the end of it and excited to know just how much I can really handle.

So here we are, well over a year later and getting ready to finish out deployment #2. This one has been different because not only was it 2 months longer than the last, it was also one that we weren't expecting and had very little time to process and prepare for before he was gone. We had already planned a trip back to the States as a family to see our new nephew when he was born before we found out John was leaving. And I was so excited to get to travel as a family and not have to do it by myself. In fact, I distinctly remember the words, "I am not flying back to the States without John again!" coming out of my mouth. Little did I know....God had other plans!!

One thing I've been hit hard with is the realization that when God has a lesson to teach me, He's gonna teach it to me whether I learn willingly, or kicking and screaming. So I've had MANY times when I want to resist and have to stop myself, take a breath, and just try to figure out what the Lord wants for me at that moment. I had many lessons in that when I was stuck at Ramstein, Germany for a week trying to get home after being in the States for a month. All I could think about is that I wanted to be home, but in that week I learned how much I can handle as an exhausted mom with jet-lagged kids, and saw how genuinely nice and giving people can be. Or maybe I just looked that pathetic, I haven't quite figured that one out. But looking back on that week, I realize how much of a blessing it really was. After a full month of go go go, we had a week to just stop, relax, eat German pastries, and recoup a little before getting back into the swing of normal life again. And if I have to be stuck anywhere, Germany is the place to be!!!

Now that we're home and settled, I have a whole new exciting aspect of my life unfolding. I am the coordinator for our MOPS group and now that we've started up again, I'm feeling the pressure of being held to a higher standard and I want to be living all these things that we are trying to impress on the moms. Our theme for the year is MomSense and being bold, loving and sensible in our mothering. I want to learn to be more bold in sharing my faith with others, which means that I have to be constantly growing in my relationship with God, so that I can be someone that lives a life that is different from the world and stirs a hunger in them to know the truth. I want to learn to be more loving with my girls, both at home and when we're out and about. I want to be confident that the way I treat them when people are watching me is the same way I treat them at home when it's just us. I want to be more sensible in the way I handle things, with my children, with my marriage, with my words, with my life in general. Being a leader can be very intimidating for me, but I know God has put me in this position for a reason. Our pastor is always talking about how we need to use the gifts that God has given us. I do believe that I'm in this position because this is a gift that God has given me, but it's so new to me that it can be very scary and I don't always believe in myself. But I'm learning!!

So now we are less than a month away from John's homecoming and I'm beyond excited and a little scared for that day. So much has changed since he left, with all of us, and I know it's gonna be an adjustment when he comes home. Jadyn is officially a toddler now, she's talking like crazy and is now potty trained!!! Haylee just blows me away with everything that she knows and the things that she remembers. She's in school 3 days a week and comes home everyday with a new song that she learned and enough beautiful artwork to cover our whole house! It's also a little scary that he's coming home because that means our next step will be getting ready to move. We are getting stationed at Eglin AFB, Florida and we can't wait! Our last 3 months here are going to be filled with our last little bit of traveling, getting our stuff packed up and shipped, getting everything in order for us to leave this base, and hopefully spending Christmas in Washington and part of January in Lubbock. I feel like I'm going to blink and we're gonna be in Florida. I'm really sad to see our time in England end and I can't believe it's almost over, but I do feel like it's time to move on and I know God has some really incredible blessings in store for us in Florida!! Like the BEACH!!!! :)

In case you hadn't heard...

2010-05-23T14:34:00.003+01:00

Life has been a little crazy around the Gardner house! I just realized today that I haven't updated this blog since February and I'm sorry. My excuse is that I'm keeping facebook up to date with pictures and videos, but I thought it might be time to let ya know what's actually been going on. We have been traveling and spending as much family time together as we can because John is about to leave. His leave date was supposed to be tomorrow, but thankfully it got pushed out until Wednesday. As we speak, he is packing his bag so I'm happy for this distraction so I don't have to watch. The reality has started to hit and even though I know that he (and we) will be ok, I'm still nervous about it. I feel like I have a good routine down with the girls and can handle them by myself. The hardest part for me is thinking about trying to explain to Haylee why daddy is gone. But we will have some kind of countdown to help her understand and make the days go by a little faster.
What I'm looking forward to most is taking my first trip back to the States in a year and a half!! I am waiting on Jadyn's birth certificate to come back so we can get her passport. As soon as that comes back-hopefully by the end of June- I am hoping to get a military hop to Washington. I'll spend a week with each set of grandparents and from there, head down to Az for a couple weeks. Then I'll head to Texas for a week or two before hopefully getting a hop back to England. I know everyone is dying to see the girls (I'm just the chauffeur :) ) and I'm excited to see family and SHOP!!!!
So in the last few months, we have taken a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, Northern Wales, London twice, and Great Yarmouth (the beach!). It has been great to get away as a family and explore different parts of this gorgeous country. Haylee is finally old enough to really enjoy traveling and not need a stroller anymore and Jadyn just loves watching her big sissy wherever we go. The two of them are quite the pair! Yesterday was our beach trip and we took the girls to the Sea Life Center. I knew Haylee would love it but I didn't expect Jadyn to get as into it as she did! I carried her around the whole time and she giggled and squirmed and smiled at all the fish. I loved watching their excitement as we saw everything. We spent the afternoon building sandcastles, burying John and Haylee in the sand and trying to keep Jadyn from eating the sand. It was wonderful!!!
I can't believe how fast these girls are growing! Haylee is, as usual, talking a mile a minute and asking about a million questions a day. I think I'm gonna start working on memory verses with her this summer. She's definitely ready! She loves playing outside so I'm really glad the weather is finally warming up! And Jadyn couldn't ask for a better big sis.
Jadyn seems to have gone in to overdrive with all of her "firsts". She sat up at 5 months, started crawling at 6 months, cut her first 2 teeth, started on baby food and started pulling herself up in the last month or so. If she doesn't slow down, she will be walking by the time we get to the states! Yikes!
I will try to keep everyone updated this summer about our trip and can't wait to see you all!!!

GO HAYLEE!!!!

2010-02-09T22:17:00.005Z

I am very proud to announce....Haylee is potty trained!!!! We started a couple of months ago when I ran out of diapers and and Haylee has done amazing. We got down to just putting her in a pull-up at bedtime but the last 4 nights she has worn her big girl Tinkerbell underwear and stayed dry through the night! I'm really praying that she will want to potty train Jadyn and make my life a whole lot easier =)

Jadyn is 3 months old now and has the sweetest personality. I can't get enough of her smiles and laughs! She rolled over for the first time at 10 weeks but just in the last week or so she has decided that her on her belly is the place to be. So as soon as I put her on her back she rolls over, gets stuck and gets MAD! She absolutely loves when I put her in the bath and not in her little seat that sits in the bath. I lay her back and she kicks and wiggles and I have to really fight to hold on to her! I put a video of it on youtube for everyone to see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo_aw-zzppo . She is 12lbs 7oz and getting to be quite the little chunk!

Haylee talks a mile a minute and I am amazed at the things she can say. She will hold a full conversation with you (if she lets you get a word in...) and is the sweetest little girl. She absolutely loves her baby sister and wants to help mommy do everything with her. She is quite the little helper! She is 24lbs now and really starting to shoot up!

John is doing great at work. He's working swing shift which is 3-11pm and we love it! It's wonderful having him home in the morning to help with the girls and it feels like we get a whole lot more time with him. We are still trying to figure out the next step in our lives, whether he is going to re-enlist after the 6 years or not. We would really like to stay overseas for a little while longer and that may mean that he has to re-enlist, but who knows?! We're just taking it one day at a time.

I feel like I am finally getting the hang of having 2 kids. It was rough for a while but I'm learning to manage my time and finding that it really is possible to juggle taking care of my husband, 2 kids, the house and myself. We started taking a circuit training class twice a week at the gym and that has been amazing for me. It is the most intense workout I have ever done and I love how hard it pushes me. And it's working! I have lost 17lbs since Jadyn was born and my jeans are fitting me again =)

Life is good! We have an amazing family, great friends and the opportunities we never thought we would ever have! Love you all and miss you!

Twins???

2009-12-05T21:33:00.005Z

Everyone said I looked like I was having twins...

Could they have been right???

Can you believe how alike they look???

Here's a few pictures of our sweeties...

Jadyn's birth story

2009-11-07T14:14:00.003Z

When I found out I was pregnant, the one thing I wanted most was to try to deliver naturally since I had an elective C-Section with Haylee and felt like I missed out on childbirth. For that reason we decided to go off base to a hospital in Cambridge where they would allow me to to try natural delivery. It was a scary decision being in a new country, not knowing what to expect but it was the most incredible thing I could have ever done!
As usual, things didn't go quite as planned. My due date was Oct. 18th so my mom flew here on the 16th and we all prayed that Jadyn wouldn't decide to come before that. 2 days after I was due I had a midwife check and found out that my body wasn't progressing at all towards labor and if she didn't come on her own, they would induce me the following Wednesday, the day before my mom was scheduled to leave! So we spent the next week trying to walk the baby out, smoke the baby out with spicy foods, drink gallons of Raspberry leaf tea, take Evening primrose oil, eat licorice, and after all of that, just relax and somehow not fret about it.
We had one false alarm on Friday night where I started having contractions about 5 minutes apart and decided to drive the hour to the hospital at 3am to see if I was in labor. After staying for about 4 hours, I was sent home but thankfully they did a membrane sweep to help things along a little. After that night the contractions I was having started feeling a little more intense and not so much like Braxton Hicks so I hoped things would start happening soon! Monday morning the contractions really started to hurt so I called the hospital and told them that I was having painful contractions but they weren't very regular and was told that I probably wasn't quite in labor, that the contractions probably weren't doing much and that real labor would be much more painful. Lots of good news! So we decided to do one more trip and took mom to the cathedral in Ely. I was still hurting pretty bad when we got home and had dinner but was determined not to go to the hospital until I knew that I was in labor. We went to bed but I couldn't go to sleep because the contractions started coming every 5 minutes so about midnight we decided we needed to go. By the time we got to the hospital, they were coming every 3 minutes and I was in a lot of pain.
I got settled in the room about 1am and the midwife checked me and I was 4-5cm dilated, my cervix was so thin she couldn't hardly even feel it and Jadyn's head was extremely low. I was so excited I almost started to cry!! After that everything went into fast forward...I decided to use the bathroom one more time before she did my IV and when I was walking back to bed, the feel of the contraction changed and I felt a lot more pressure. I got into bed and she tried to do the IV but couldn't thread it through my vein so she was going to try again. As soon as she pulled it out, my water broke and I had the strongest urge to push. I told her that I couldn't handle the pain anymore and wanted gas and air so she tried to get it hooked up for me but the baby was coming so fast that it ended up being tossed aside. I did about 10 pushes and within just a few minutes Jadyn was out and on my chest. It was the most intense, painful and overwhelming thing I have ever experienced and I don't think there is any way to ever prepare you for it. Your body literally just takes over and you have no choice but to listen and just remember that the harder you push, the sooner you will be done. I actually smiled through my last push because I knew it was about to be over and she would be here. I am so excited that I was able to do it all natural with no pain relief and was actually very thankful I didn't get any gas and air because I needed to be fully coherent to push.
Jadyn came out absolutely perfect and is a very healthy 8lbs 5oz and 20 1/2 inches long. She has really dark, almost black hair and I'm hoping she actually keeps some of it!!! She has really long fingers and toes and has quite the set of lungs on her!!! She is sleeping really well and only waking up once or twice to eat during the night. She looks so much like Haylee when she was born and Haylee couldn't be more excited about her little sissy. She kisses and loves on her as much as she can and loves to hold her and help me take care of her. I'm excited and very scared about next week when John's parents head home, John goes back to work and I am on my own with the two of them. But I am definitely ready to get into a normal routine again and be a fully recovered mommy!! I'm just so thankful I was able to have the delivery I wanted and even though it was the most scary and intense thing I've ever experienced, I would choose natural delivery over C-Section any day.

Jadyn Nicole Gardner, born October 27 at 2:31am, 8lbs 5oz.

2009-10-28T10:13:00.003Z

My baby is 2!!!!

2009-09-29T21:38:00.006+01:00

Haylee turned 2 last Friday and we had a whirlwind of a weekend with birthday festivities. Friday night we had some friends over for a bbq and Haylee (with lots of help from her friend Evey) opened more gifts than any 2 year old could ever need. They were too much fun to watch! Then we cut into the beautiful Minnie Mouse cake that Catherine and I made and let Haylee dig into her little cake. We were once again hoping that she would get all messy with it but she quickly informed us that it was too messy and requested a fork...She did at least mutilate the cake and we got some good pictures of that.
The next morning we headed to Banham zoo with Lynda and Evey and the girls had a blast seeing all the animals. They are quite the pair, they always have to hold hands when they walk together and they always want to do what the other is doing. After about 5 hours at the zoo (I am very proud that at 37 weeks pregnant I can still do that much walking!) we headed home and relaxed for the evening. I think all the excitement finally hit Haylee on Sunday night and she passed out at 6:30pm and didn't wake up until 7 the next morning! And on top of that, she took a 2 hour nap, a rare occurrence these days.

It still hasn't sunk in that my baby just turned 2 and I'm not sure I'm ready for it to...I think having the new baby on the way is helping me accept her growing up a little. Her 2 year checkup was this morning and everything is great! She is above average with her development and is 23lbs and 33 inches long. She seems to be getting taller but doesn't stop long enough to gain any weight! She is speaking in full sentences when she wants to and every morning I wake up to her yelling "Done in bed mommy, done in bed!!" There's definitely not a dull moment around our house!

Jadyn should be here in the next couple weeks and although no one thinks she will last until my due date, I'm really hoping she waits until my mom gets here on the 16th! I am GIGANTIC and ready to be done but it makes me kinda sad thinking about this pregnancy being over. I've really tried to enjoy it since I know how small of a part of parenthood it really is and it has been worth every moment of discomfort. We will keep you updated as my due date gets closer and we will soon have pictures of our new little miracle!!!

It's always an adventure when Megan comes to visit!!!

2009-08-06T12:31:00.014+01:00

While Haylee naps *crossing my fingers that she's actually asleep* I figured I'd take my chance to recap my visit with Megan, my best friend from high school. We took her to the 2 sights that we have to take everyone-London and Cambridge- and they were fun trips but the real adventure was our girls weekend...

We wanted to take a big weekend trip to somewhere we hadn't been before so we decided to head west to see Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford and Warwick Castle. John found out that he had weekend duty so it became a girl's trip and I would have to be the only driver. I have done my fair share of driving here so I wasn't too worried but still not thrilled that there was no one to share the responsibility with. I learned a very important lesson on this trip...no matter how much you plan something, it will NEVER turn out the way you expect!!! It can be frustrating but it can also end up being the most unexpected adventure you could ever imagine...

I had carefully mapped out our trip, set our Navigon to exactly where all we would go, booked our hotels, and written down how far it was to each sight, how long it would take, total trip time and all the info we would need. (I know, I'm a freak when it comes to planning trips) So the plan for the first day was to leave at 9am, get to Stonehenge by 11:30, spend about 30 minutes there and get to Bath by 1 so that we could see everything before the town closed down at 5pm. We were on our way by about 9:30 and everything was going great until about 2 miles from Stonehenge. We hit terrible traffic going down the hill and were stuck in it for 45 minutes. People were walking by faster than we were driving...finally we made it and paid 6.50 pounds each (about $10) to go see this arrangement of rocks. Haylee was thrilled to be out of the car and didn't want to stay with me so I spent most of the time trying to keep hold of her while we made our way through the endless people, all trying to take pictures and blocking our way. It was a neat sight to see and I'm glad I can say that I've been there but as I had heard before, it's not a place you make a day of. It's best if you plan to see it on the way to somewhere else, which is exactly what we did. By this point it was already about 2:30 and we were eager to head the short distance to Bath.

After a quick lunch we got back in the car and were thrilled when the Navigon had me take a left out onto the road, away from the horrible traffic. Our excitement quickly vanished when we got down about 2 miles, hit a roundabout and the Navigon took me all the way around it, right back into that dreaded line of cars with nowhere else to go. So there we sat for another 45 minutes, cursing the stupid GPS and laughing at our luck.

We finally saw our first glimpse of Bath around 5pm and what a sight it was! It's a Roman city built up on a hill that looks like it belongs in Greece or Italy, not England. We were so excited to get to the Park & Ride and take the bus into town to go explore. As we pulled into the city, Haylee started crying because she needed a diaper change and I started telling her, "Don't worry sweetie, we're almost there". Little did I know...we drove down a hill into the city and got stuck behind about 15 cars at a stop light. Now, one thing I have learned about British driving is that they don't know how to use stop lights because they are very rare here. Instead they use roundabouts which they do very well with, but they seem to get very confused at stop lights. We sat there for about 20 minutes and I watched the light turn green a few times with only 1 or 2 cars going through and realized that this could take forever. So I decided to turn left instead and thankfully the Navigon rerouted us and we thought we were on our way. Not the case...I specifically remember telling Megan that I did NOT want to go up the hill towards the residential area because it was very steep, very narrow, and there was lots of rush hour traffic. About 2 minutes later, the Navigon told me to make a left and I headed straight up the hill, exactly where I said I didn't want to go. I started freaking out, Haylee was still crying because she needed her diaper changed, and Megan got out her video camera and taped the whole thing.

I finally made it up this crazy hill and was then told to continue up past the houses where the road became barely big enough for me to fit, let alone be the 2 lane road that it was supposed to be. On top of that, there were trees lining both sides of the road so there was no way to see around all the turns in case someone was going to run me over. After a few minutes we saw a little cut out in the road and I was able to pull over, change Haylee's diaper and catch my breath. It ended up being a really beautiful area overlooking Bath and I'm pretty sure we got to see a part of Bath that not many people get to experience. We got lucky and saw a lady walking so I stopped her and asked if she knew where we needed to go. Turned out, we were only about a mile from the Park & Ride that we were trying to find! So we headed up the rest of that tiny road and finally made it to our destination.

It was about 5:45 by that point and we didn't even care what else we saw in Bath, we just wanted to get some food and I didn't want to drive! We got on the bus and headed into town and were able to do the City Sightseeing bus tour, the one thing we had planned on doing there, so the trip wasn't a total bust. The tour was very relaxing and we were the only ones on it which was really nice. After spending about 2 hours in town we headed to our hotel and relaxed for the night.

The next day was our day in Oxford and I'm very happy to say that it was a lot less stressful than the previous day. We slept in, took our time getting there, had no problem finding the Park & Ride and found a nice sit down restaurant for lunch. The only drawback was that it rained on and off all day but I prefer the rain to heat any day. We did a little shopping and then hopped on the bus tour around the city. Megan, who is already obsessed with Oxford, fell even more in love with the city and decided that she was going to move there. And I would love to have her that close!! We spent about 4 hours in the city and decided to go ahead and go to our hotel to relax for the evening. That was the best idea we had all weekend!

Sunday morning we packed up our stuff and headed to Warwick. The drive was once again very uneventful, thank God, and we made it to the castle by 10:30 or 11. We toured one of the indoor parts of the castle and then decided to go up the Mound, the oldest part of the castle dating back to 1608. It's quite a walk up this hill and there are lots of stairs but John and I had done it before and I knew that we could handle it. Haylee even held my hand and walked up all the steps herself! After we got back down, we went over to another part like the Mound (or so we thought) and decided to try it. Now, our first clue that it may not have been the best idea was the warning out front that said it was 530 steps (doesn't sound that bad, does it?), there's only one way out and that's on the other side and that you shouldn't try it if you are elderly or have health problems. Well, I may be 7 months pregnant but I'm not elderly or have health problems and I apparently think I'm super woman so we headed up the steps. The first part wasn't so bad and we got a gorgeous view of the town of Warwick and then we headed down the first spiral staircase. Now, mind you, I have a huge belly that I was trying to balance and Megan was carrying Haylee the whole way because these spirals we had to climb were really narrow and not big enough to let her walk. So we went up and down about 20 (or so it seemed) spiral staircases, thinking that it would never end. I'm happy to say that it did eventually take us back to the ground and we all survived. And even though the climbing was rough, I thought it was worth it because of the amazing view we got from the top.

We spent a couple more hours at the castle and decided it was time to head home. Unfortunately, the trip was destined to have more bad luck as Megan ended up getting very dehydrated and sick on the way home. I'm thankful she didn't puke in my car but hated seeing her sick. We were thrilled when we arrived home and spent her last 24 hours here doing absolutely nothing. I had a really great time with Megan and am so thankful she made the trip out here. Hopefully we will be visiting her in Oxford soon! As long as she doesn't move to Bath because I don't know that I would be willing to visit her there...

Venezia pictures

2009-07-19T21:33:00.002+01:00

Venezia!!!!

2009-07-18T20:58:00.006+01:00

There is not enough time in the world to completely recap our incredible anniversary trip so instead I thought I would make a list of what I learned in Venezia. What an amazing city!!!

1. Venice is HOT in July!!! Be prepared to sweat a lot...but you are too busy taking in the sights to really care.
2. There are pushy guys all over the city trying to force flowers in your face for a ridiculous price. If you let them hand you one you're screwed. You basically have to be just as rude back just to get them to leave you alone.
3. A gondola ride at sunset is just as relaxing as an hour long massage. Definitely worth 100 euro!!!
4. There is NOTHING better than authentic Italian cuisine. My new favorite dish is linguine with salmon and a creamy red sauce. Lemon gelato is a lifesaver when it's blazing hot out and easy to find no matter where you're at.
5. Getting lost in Venice is a blast. We wandered the back streets, away from the crowds and saw a part of Venice not many people see. My favorite part of the whole trip was when we were wandering around and found a little pizza stand on a street corner. We got pepperoni and ham pizza served on a piece of paper and sat on the ground in a gorgeous neighborhood to eat it. It was so peaceful and quiet.
6. The Vaporetto (water bus) is wonderful! We rode it all around the city and got to take in the sights without killing our feet.
7. San Marcos square is really fun at night. We spent about $50 both nights on a dessert and snack so we could sit and listen to the live music. Restaurants line the square and each one has a band and they all compete with each other. We liked to sit at the edge of one so we had a view of a couple different ones. The music was beautiful and the food was delicious. It's worth the money just for the experience.
8. There are about a million shops and carts selling souvenirs all over the city. Don't just accept the price they ask, if you hesitate at all they will lower it until you buy. It's really fun to haggle with them and you can get a great deal on stuff.
9. Murano glass is gorgeous and available all over the island. Another specialty is hand painted masks. Some are beautiful and some are really creepy...
10. St. Mark's Basilica is amazing. We toured the inside and went up to the very top and looked out over the square. What a view!!!
11. Murano Island is a lot of fun. We got to watch them blow the glass and they had the real fancy glass shops which were fun to look in.
12. If you can handle the heat and walking, pregnancy is the best time to go to Venice! I only paid to use the restroom twice because all the restaurants let me use theirs whether or not we ate there. I got to use the private lift at the basilica and they let me use the bathroom that was supposed to be closed. People were really nice about offering me their seat on the bus and the waiters didn't have a problem with me putting my feet up at the restaurants. Italian men are really sweet to pregnant women!
13. Pigeon's really like to dive bomb people in the square. Funny to watch but not funny to experience...
14. Venice is 1000 times more amazing than you can ever imagine. There is just no way to describe the culture, beauty, history, uniqueness and charm of the city. It was the perfect way to celebrate our 3rd anniversary!!!
15. It was SOOO good to get home to our precious little girl! We really missed her!

Excited big sissy!

2009-06-19T22:23:00.004+01:00

Just wanted to share a picture of Haylee's new "big sis" shirt. She is so excited about this new baby and has been practicing how to take care of her with her dolly. I will try to put a video up of her in action here but if it doesn't work, just go to http://www.youtube.com/user/haylee092507 to see it. We have finally agreed on the name Jadyn Nicole!! She is already quite the gymast and I love sitting on the couch watching my stomach jump all over the place. Haylee loves pushing on my belly to try to get her to move and thinks that it's hilarious to pull my shirt up and say "pop" when she sees my belly button...

On a side note, please keep us in prayer as we begin to plan the next step in our life. Although the military is not in any way the direction we saw our lives going, we are really beginning to see why God put us here. We have some big plans that we are working towards putting in motion and though we are not quite ready to share them yet, we ask that you keep us in prayer that we truly seek God's direction in all of it. He has always surprised us with where He has directed our path and we can't wait to see where we end up next!!!

SURPRISE!!!!

2009-06-05T21:14:00.006+01:00

Yesterday was our big appointment to find out what the sex of the baby is....and it's a GIRL!!!! We were honestly shocked because we have been pretty sure that it's a boy. But she was 95% sure that we're having another little girl and we are thrilled. It will be so much easier just adding to our girly collection of baby stuff and Haylee is so excited to have a new sissy. John told me that we have to eventually have a boy so I'm praying that the next one is a boy so we don't end up with 12 kids...in the mean time, I told him we can get a male dog to even it out a little.
As far as a name...we haven't quite decided for sure so until we have it set in stone we are going to keep quiet. It's been hard trying to figure it out this time! We will let you know when we know for sure!

I have to brag a little, sorry...

2009-06-02T22:35:00.002+01:00

So John and I will celebrate our 3rd anniversary next month on the 15th and we've been throwing around ideas of what to do for it. Our first choice was Paris but flights are booked for the entire month of July so we went to plan B...WE'RE GOING TO VENICE!!!!! Our flights are booked and now we just have to find a hotel and I need to go shopping for Venice clothes! Quite a step up from our last 2 anniversaries, camping at Carlsbad Caverns, NM on our first (and I was 7 months pregnant) and a weekend visiting John at Tech School in Wichita Falls, Texas last year. This year, Venice, Italy and once again I will be 7 months pregnant... =) And Haylee is staying with a friend so it will be just John and I. Probably our last trip away before our family of 3 becomes 4.
Alright, I'm done bragging...
We are still enjoying the beautiful weather here and are spending lots of time in the pool. We want to get a bigger pool so we can all sit in it but don't think we can fit it in our car to get it home. We'll find a way! We are planning on going to Oxford tomorrow so I will have pictures up soon. And Thursday we find out the sex of the little one!!!
Love you all!

Fun in the pool!

2009-05-31T21:46:00.006+01:00

We have had absolutely beautiful weather the last few days so I decided it would be fun to get a kiddie pool for Haylee to play in. I filled it up this afternoon and we tried to play in it...the water was VERY cold so Haylee didn't get in very far but she sure had fun splashing the water! I left the water in it and I'm hoping that it will warm up by pool time tomorrow. Here's a few pictures from our fun in the sun...

She insisted on getting in while I was blowing it up

Haylee and her new pool!

She finally got in!

So I had to try it out too

Warming up afterwards

This was later this evening but it was too cute of a picture to not post =)

Youtube

2009-05-29T13:13:00.006+01:00

For anyone who doesn't know, I have a page on youtube with videos mostly of Haylee. I seem to always have the camera on her so I add new ones fairly often. Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/haylee092507

New couch and bathtime fun

2009-05-27T13:28:00.007+01:00

We finally got our new couch yesterday! It is the most comfortable thing we have ever sat on and we're so excited to be able to sit on it together and not be squished. Yesterday Haylee kept climbing up on it and laying on the pillow and saying "night night". Too bad she wouldn't actually go night night! But it was really cute.

We are enjoying a lazy, rainy afternoon so I thought I'd put up some pictures of Haylee's new favorite thing to do, take bubble baths. John of course had to mess her hair all up after her bath last night and I couldn't believe how long it looked! Maybe we will be able to put it in a ponytail by the time she's 3, yea!!!

Our new couch!!! I think we finally have everything set up how we want it.

I can't get the whole living room in one picture so here's the left side of it.

Crazy hairdo!!! Thank you daddy =)

She loves covering herself in bubbles and then says "mor, mor" ("Mirror, mirror") to see how she looks.

Memorial Day Adventures...

2009-05-25T22:19:00.006+01:00

Happy Memorial Day!!! We had quite an eventful day today. John was involved with a ceremony at Madingley American Cemetery in Cambridge today and my friend Lynda and I decided to go. So we packed up the girls (she has a 2 year old named Evey) and headed out there. First of all, our Navigon kept having us pass all the exits for Cambridge so finally I just got off on one of them and it thankfully redirected us to the cemetery. Then about 10 minutes before we got there, poor Evey threw up her milk all over the car. We finally got into the car park and tried to find a parking spot. It was all grass and I tried to park the car up a bit of a hill and all the sudden started sliding backwards...not a good thing when there's cars behind you!!! Once we found a good spot, the clean up began. Evey had to wear one of Haylee's outfits that was just barely long enough for her and I had to change Haylee's very poopy diaper complete with a diaper rash. It took us a good 30 minutes to get the girls ready and in their strollers. I'm so thankful I had Lynda there going through it with me! It is always so much better to deal with little emergencies when you aren't alone.

We got our workouts pushing the strollers up the hill and over to the ceremony which was almost halfway through by this point. Thankfully we found John and got to see the jets fly by which the girls loved to see. Afterwards John met us at the car and we headed into town to the mall. Poor Lynda had to sit in the back between the car seats. Good thing she's thin!! The city was packed since it was a holiday so it took us forever to get into the parking garage and find a spot. We didn't spend too much time there because John felt uncomfortable with the looks he was getting since he was in his Blues. There are parts of England that aren't very good to wear a military uniform in and I think Cambridge is one of them. So we finished there and headed to Pizza Hut. We had a great meal and Haylee decided to stick a blue crayon in her ear and now she has a blue ear...But the girls were great, thank goodness!!! The trip home was pretty uneventful other than trying to find our way and the girls were both passed out by the time we got home.

All in all it was a great day and I'm really glad I had Lynda and Evey there to enjoy it with. Haylee and Evey absolutely love each other and are really good together when they're not pushing or stealing toys from each other. Littlekids are so funny to watch! I'm glad that Haylee is having to learn to share now, especially since she will have a sibling to share with in a few months!

Speaking of, I got a letter from my hospital today saying that I have an ultrasound scheduled for June 4th!!! We finally get to find out what we're having! We are pretty convinced it's a boy but we shall see! He's been moving a whole lot lately and I'm starting to feel him push on the outside a little too. I can't wait for John and Haylee to feel him! I will let you know when we find out what this little munchkin is!

Oops!!

2009-05-18T23:21:00.009+01:00

I just realized how long it's been since I've blogged...sorry about that! Life has a way of getting away from ya, doesn't it?? So for a quick update...We have been here for nearly 5 months and it has FLOWN by! We are finally settling into a routine and it's feeling more and more like home. John just switched to a permanent weekend duty schedule which seems like it will actually be really great. He works 8hrs Friday, 12hrs Saturday and Sunday, and 8hrs Monday. Then he has 3 days off!! Yea! We are really excited about the 3 day weekends because it's our chance to travel this summer. Most of his shop is deployed for the summer so we didn't know if he would get any time off before the baby is born. And now we have our chance! We are hoping to go to Paris for our 3rd anniversary. =)
Haylee will be 20 months old on the 25th and I can't believe how fast she is growing. Her vocabulary is exploding more and more everyday and I think she's just too smart for her own good...it's hard to get anything by her! She repeats everything we say and her new favorite thing to do is take bubble baths. She's definitely a girl!!! She has a new little friend across the street and she always wants to go over and play with her. She's come over a few times and I am learning that Haylee doesn't quite know how to share her toys...it definitely helps when you have 2 of everything!
I am now 18 weeks pregnant and everything is going great! I just transfered to Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge so that I can try to deliver naturally and I'm really excited about it. We still don't know the sex and I'm really not sure when we will. And I am surprisingly ok with that! It sure is different the second time around. I've been feeling a lot of movement and I can't wait till Haylee can feel the baby move. Now that I'm over the morning sickness it seems like we are our and about constantly and have to find time to relax. It's a nice change.
The house is finally almost set up the way that I want it so I will have updated pics soon. I know it's pathetic that we've been here for 4 months and the house still isn't totally set up but I just haven't had the energy to do it. All it due time right?!
We sure do miss everyone back at home! I'm really excited that my grandparents are coming to visit next month and more family and friends are coming later this summer. Everytime I am out running errands I think about what it will be like to show you guys our life here. We can't wait to freak you out with the driving and show you all the incredible sights of England. It really is an incredible place!!!

Dover Castle

2009-04-09T20:35:00.001+01:00

Trip to Dover, England

2009-04-09T12:19:00.013+01:00

Monday morning, after John worked 12 hour shifts Friday through Sunday, we decided to get out of town. We booked a room at a little B&B in a town called Deal and drove 2 1/2 hours to the coast. Most of the way we were on the freeway but to actually get to Deal our GPS took us on this insanely narrow road. Now, we have gotten pretty used to narrow roads here but this was new for us. There was literally only room for one car and when you came up to another car, one of you had to pull over or get run over... I was very thankful John was driving!!!After we got settled into our room we headed for Dover to see the English Channel and get a glimpse of Dover Castle, where we spent all day Tuesday. We headed up to the White cliffs and watched ferries come in and out of the castle harbor. It was so neat to see that they are still using it. Haylee had a blast playing with bubbles and barking at a dog that she so badly wanted to play with.

For dinner we went to a place called the Lighthouse Inn and Restaurant and got to try something we've never had before. For an appetizer they brought out a bowl of whole Whitetail fish that you eat head and all. (I was thrilled to find that they at least took out the bones...) They were DELICIOUS!!! Even Haylee loved them! She shoved a whole fish in her mouth and handed me the tail. Too funny!
Tuesday morning we got up and had a delicious English breakfast and headed back to Dover. We went down another treacherous road to the waterfront and walked along the beach. The beaches here are very rocky and not sandy like back in the states and Haylee was not thrilled with the idea of walking on it...We took a foot path up to the top of the cliffs and enjoyed the gorgeous view. But man was it windy!!

Finally, we headed to Dover Castle and spend about 6 hours there. Like I said before, it was VERY windy but an absolutely gorgeous day!! There were a lot of hills to climb so we definitely got our workout for the day. We did 3 different tours, one of the underground tunnels that housed the hospital and operation headquarters during WWII and 2 of the tours took us down into caves where they set up a lot of their defensive posts during the war. We also got to see a Roman Lighthouse and the old Anglo-Saxon Church which was beautiful. Pretty much everywhere you looked out you could see the ocean and pictures just really can't do it justice. It was amazing! Even 6 hours at the castle wasn't near enough to see everything so we will definitely be back. We had such a great adventure and it was so nice getting away as a family!!

London

2009-04-03T22:47:00.008+01:00

So far we have been to London 4 times and still have SO much to see! The first time we went we took the Original Bus Tour and saw Westminster Abbey. The second time we toured the Tower of London and went to Hamleys-a 7 floor toy store!- and Harrods (WOW!!!!). The third time we went we met John's uncle Jim for breakfast and then just walked around the city. It was a beautiful sunny day and we didn't want to be inside so we walked around Trafalgar Square and through an amazing park and saw Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately I forgot the camera but since we live so close to London I wasn't too upset. The only thing I wish I would've gotten was a picture of was Big Ben in the sun. We were walking around the Square and I looked down the street and there was Big Ben, bright and beautiful. Oh well...next time! The 4th time we went it was just John and I. He bought tickets to Phantom of the Opera for my birthday and we spent the whole day there just the two of us. We had lunch at the Texas Embassy Cantina and then saw the incredible show and had dinner at the Hard Rock cafe. It was really strange not having to carry a stroller up and down the stairs to the tube...but we had a really great time. One thing I'm most looking forward to is going there in the late spring/summer when everything is in bloom. The park that I love so much will be breathtaking when the trees and flowers are fully in bloom. I better remember to bring my camera then!!! More London pictures to come!

Busy Saturday afternoon

Waiting to see Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre

Her Majesty's Theatre!!!

Endless elevator down to the Tube (Subway)

Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe

Texas Embassy Cantina. They even play country music!!!

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

They have to remind people so they don't get run over...

Big Ben!!!!

On a bus tour around London

Bundled up on the bus tour

Enjoying our tour of London

Trafalgar Square (So much fun when it's sunny and warm)

Reassurance and Big Decisions

2009-04-02T13:00:00.001+01:00

Yesterday was my first doctors appointment and all in all it went great. I had a sonogram and the baby was kicking around and waving at us for the first half. It was so exciting to see that much movement this early on (12 weeks) and very reassuring for us too. The heart beat was steady at 154bpm which is perfect and they determined with the size of the baby he should be due between Oct. 13th and 17th. John is really hoping for the 13th since it's his birthday so we will see! The second half of the sonogram, when the doctor was trying to get good pictures for us, the baby decided he had enough and went to sleep. He wouldn't move at ALL which I though was pretty funny. I feel like it's a boy but hey, if it's a girl at least we wouldn't have to buy much!

On to the big decisions... I had a c-section with Haylee but am hoping to at least try to have this baby naturally. Because of the limitations at the military hospital, they do not allow VBAC's (vaginal birth after cesarean). But they said that I could decide to have the baby at a civilian hospital that is properly equipped if I needed to have an emergency c-section. I would continue to see the doctors on base until about 34 weeks and from there they would send me to the civilian doctor to prepare for birth. So now we have to decide if we want to play it safe and just do a scheduled c-section at the military hospital or take a chance with a british hospital and have it naturally. I know that the logical choice would be to just stay with the military but I feel very strongly about trying to do it naturally. We have a ton of research to do in these next few months about the hospitals and doctors here and have a feeling I will be back and forth about the decision about a billion and one times...Please keep John and I in your prayers as we make this decision!!! I will try to find someone with a scanner so I can put the sonogram pictures up.
We love you and miss you all!

News!!!

2009-02-25T18:17:00.000Z

We found out a couple weeks ago that baby #2 is on the way!!! We are so excited! I am about 6 1/2 weeks along and my tentative due date is October 17th. It's so different the second time around now that I'm a "Veteran" at this. It's kinda nice!!! The morning sickness is starting which I'm not thrilled about but I'm learning to deal with it. Not much I can do when I have a toddler to take care of! I will have more info and hopefully pics in the next couple weeks.

900 Years of History in Ely

2009-01-25T18:10:00.001Z

I just have a few minutes but I wanted to let you know about our exciting day yesterday. We decided to take a trip to a town about 20 min away called Ely to see the cathedral. Man did we pick the perfect day!!! We got there around noon and come to find out they were celebrating their 900th year of the city and the Archbishop of Canterbury was coming to preach at the service they were holding that afternoon. They had given out all the tickets but were letting as many people in as they could so we were able to go. Now, we had never seen the Archbishop so of course we had no idea what he looked like. As the service began, all of the people involved in the service walked down the side aisle right where we were and the last person stopped right next to us. He was an older man with a gold robe and funky hat and staff and the craziest eyebrows we have ever seen! Haylee was smiling at him and he was smiling back and waving and making faces at her. Then they walked back up to the front and that guy started speaking and I realized that was the Archbishop!!! The man that was flirting with my 16 month old!!! Haylee didn't care but I thought it was so exciting =) The service was incredible to be a part of and then afterward we were walking out the door and he was standing there shaking people's hands so I asked if I could get a picture of he and Haylee. I can't wait to put this picture up because it makes me laugh everytime I look at it. You think of the Archbishop as this high and mighty man and here he is crouching over next to Haylee's stroller grinning like a fool. It made our day!!! What an incredible opportunity to be a part of such an amazing day in history!!

I'm not sure where our next adventure will be but I'm hoping Paris will be soon! I think we will do that on our next 3 day weekend so we have plenty of time to sightsee. Please keep John in your prayers, he officially starts at the shop tomorrow and they are doing some kind of military exercise so he has to work 12 hr. shifts all week. That should be fun! We are still loving it here and excited to really get settled into life. Our stuff should be here no later than the 6th and I can't wait! I guess that took up more than a few minutes...oh well! Love you guys!!!Inside the cathedral

Ely Cathedral

Getting settled

2009-01-20T14:59:00.004Z

Well we moved into our house last Friday and are now just waiting for all of our household goods to get here. We bought a love seat which will be delivered Friday so we will have a little more sitting room until we can get a couch. It feels so good to come home!!! It's a semi-detached (townhouse) 2 story house in a town called West Row and has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths plus a gorgeous kitchen and big french doors out to our backyard. I've already pictured how to set everything up and we are very eager to get our stuff and really make it home. Haylee seems to be adjusting well and loves to help me with household chores and doing all the normal girly things =) John will finish inprocessing on the base this week and will officially start at the shop on Monday. He is very eager to start doing the job he spent 6 months training for!!! He will start off in the Servicing department of AGE and drive the equipment onto the flight line and get a chance to really see how things are done around the shop.

We spent the day in London yesterday and absolutely loved it!!! We parked in a city near London and took the Tube into the heart of the city. We spent a lot of the day just figuring out where everything is so now when we go we will have an easier time getting around. We took The Original Bus Tour around the city and then toured Westminster Abbey. It was incredible to be in the place where some of the most famous people are buried and where thousands of people have worshiped for centuries. We also got on a boat tour on the River Thames and saw the Tower of London which will be the next place we tour when we go back. It was so neat to see everything that we have spent our whole lives hearing about up close and personal. Of course our camera had to die halfway through the day but since we know we will be back, it was ok. As soon as our stuff gets here and I have our computer I will put up pictures of everything, promise!!!

We did get cell phones and if I didn't email you our number let me know and I will get it to you. We love you all and miss you! Let us know how you are doing, it's been hard not being able to just pick up the phone and call so let us know!The front of our house. Ours is the one on the right.

Our Backyard

Half of the living room

Other half of the living room

The beautiful kitchen!!!

Our bedroom

One of our 3 bathrooms

England!!!

2009-01-11T18:19:00.001Z

Well we've been here for almost 2 weeks now and I can't even begin to tell you about everything that has happened. Our trip here was pretty uneventful but very stressful when we got to London. We had 8 bags and no one knew where the bus to Mildenhall was. Thankfully there was someone that was headed that way and could tell us where to go. We made it to the base and into our temporary little apartment and slept!!! John started what they call FTAC last Monday so Haylee and I have been running all over base getting stuff ready to move into a house.
We found a really nice little 2 story house in a village called West Row. It's right by the base which is nice and it has everything that we need. We move in Friday and we can't wait! We also found a car and still can't believe what it is....we bought a red Audi A4!!!! It's a little older but absolutely beautiful and so much fun to drive! We also got Haylee a big girl carseat and she is thrilled. Now instead of crying the whole time we drive, she talks and laughs. Thank God for that! We are getting used to driving over here. Their intersections are roundabouts and those can be confusing since we have to yield to the right instead of the left. It's also very weird having the rest of the car to the left of us. It throws your perception off so you really have to pay attention.
Haylee seems to be adjusting really well. She doesn't want to take naps anymore which is very frustrating for mommy but we're making it through! She's talking more and more and is into EVERYTHING! She already has a fan club wherever she goes, no surprise there, and entertains everyone she meets. =)
All in all, we love it! We can't wait to get moved into our house and get our stuff here and really get settled into our life here. I already love going to the street market on Fridays to get our fresh produce and the butcher shop to get our meat. We have been to Cambridge and Norwich and a lot of the area around Mildenhall. It's a beautiful area with so much history and it's exactly what we pictured England to be. We are really starting to miss family and can't wait for you guys to come visit us!!! I will put pictures up as soon as I can, I just haven't found a computer that I can upload pictures on yet.
We love you all and miss you lots!!!!

Very sleepy after we got off the plane

We had a LOT of luggage!

The front gate sign

It's VERY cold here!

Fresh produce from the market

Our new car! (Yes the steering wheel is on the right side)

Getting ready to go!

2008-12-26T16:41:00.001Z

We had a wonderful Christmas with family and are now getting last minute stuff together for our move. We leave Monday afternoon and fly into London Heathrow on Tuesday morning at 10:30am. We are very excited but nervous too! We have been planning this move for months but still can't believe that it's actually happening! I will get pictures put up as often as possible so we can keep everyone up to date on our new little adventure.