We're back! Summer 2010

Wow! So... it's been a year since I posted anything so I don't even know who all will read this, but if anyone cares then here we go. Alex went through basic training & then his job training for the army & is now serving as a reservist in the Independence based unit. They say he will not deploy until 2012, but you never know with the army. It was really rough while he was gone, but we adjusted & survived. It's never easy to have part of your family gone for months at a time, but at least we knew he was coming back to us, which is not the case when he deploys, but we will save worrying about that for another time. The kids are very happy to have their daddy back & they understand more than I thought they would. They are very smart & very stubborn children (I have no idea where they got it) and they keep us very busy. Aaliyah went through her first year of preschool & is ready to start back to school again in a couple weeks. She did very well & her teacher says she learns very quickly & sometimes seems older than she is. I just said yeah I know! She wants to turn 5 so badly, she wants to go to big kid school already. AJ thinks he is gonna go to school to & I know I'm definitely not ready for that yet! We have been spending our days at the pool whenever possible & the kids love it! Aaliyah hasnt had lessons but it looks like she is gonna be an avid swimmer. Ok well this is takin to long & the kids wanna go outside, so I'll post again soon. We are all doing fine & the kids are getting so big! I've included lots of pics in these lil scrapbooks, so enjoy! :)

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Our Pictures at the Park

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Big Changes

We have been through several major changes as a family lately, & there are more coming. Most of you probably already know, but my husband Alex left for his army reserves basic combat training on Tuesday morning. He will be gone for 9-10 weeks, then he will get a 4-5 day pass after graduation before he has to be at Fort Lee for AIT (Advanced Individual Training) which can last between 7-14 weeks. I have spoken to him a few times since he left, but he was not allowed to take his cell phone with him & is only allowed limited phone usage in these first few days, then none at all during bt. We will be allowed to write letters to each other, which will take some getting used to in these days of email & technology. I can't even remember the last time I wrote & mailed anyone a letter, but I'm definitely gonna be writing a lot of them now. The kids have both already expressed their desire to see him again, although AJ is really to young to say much or really anything other than Da-Da. Aaliyah keeps asking me where he is, & last night when we got home she went searching the house looking for him, even though I reminded her that he went bye-bye. This is the first time they have been separated from him for this long, so it is rough on them right now. I have been separated from him for this long but it was before we were married & had kids, so it is very different this time, & much more difficult. It is just gonna take me awhile to adjust & learn to do everything myself. OK, enough of that, I don't really want to get into how much I'm gonna miss him. =(
Another big change for us is Aaliyah starting preschool this week. Her first day was Wednesday & she did really good. She is supposed to be completely potty-trained, which she is still having a little bit of difficulty with. So far she has done great & I'm really hoping that this experience will help her to finally decide to be a big girl for good. She is loving all the fun activities they do there. Aj is curious about why we are leaving sissy there of course, but I think he enjoys having me all to himself for awhile also. I am looking forward to all the new developments in her learning that she will make during this next year.
We have also been through some changes in our personal lives & as a couple. Alex & I have been having problems in our marriage for a long time now, & have been trying to work things out, but until very recently we had just about given up hope. We have both made some big mistakes & done things to hurt each other. As a couple we hit bottom I suppose you could say, & that's when we realized how much we really do love each other. Instead of us falling apart, we have decided to move on & do our best to be devoted to each other & better our marriage & our lives. We have truly discovered that sometimes bad things need to happen (no matter how much it hurts) to teach us lessons & to bring us closer together. I'm not saying things are easy now, but it is different & we are both rededicated to making our marriage work & to loving each other. I know every couple has their ups & downs so I hope it is ok to post this here, this is a very personal post, & we are generally very private about these things. I simply want to share with those that genuinely care about us that we are hopeful & looking forward to our future together. It is a rather large part of our lives, after all, & if you didn't care to hear about it, then you wouldn't be reading this now. Haha :) So anyway there's the update on us & if you have any questions, feel free to message me.

Our Mini Vacation to Wichita

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Quick Picture Update

AJ is walking!

So he has been taking steps for awhile, but has been hesitant to really go very far. On Sunday he started walking around much more, taking many steps at a time. He does still crawl a lot, cuz it is faster for him, but is loving pushing his walker toy all over the house. He was quite proud of himself! Here are the pics my dad took on Sunday, & I'll post some more tomorrow.

Kids' Birthday Party

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