Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone!
I am back on the East Coast for a bit, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Greg's family and friends. I will update more soon, but just wanted to show you this link from Good Morning America, which had a story on Thanksgiving morning about 3/4, Greg's unit. They show the chow hall, the showers, and General Conway (the Commandant), who flew over to have Thanksgiving with them.
Here's the link to the video: A Marine Thanksgiving
Enjoy!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Pillow Comparison
Caroline, 3 days old
6 weeks old
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thankful
The past few weeks, I've been struck by the graciousness of my friends, family, and even just the people around me who I've interacted with. I've been praying every night for God to protect me, Caroline, and Rocky, and I truly believe that He is showing this through the amazing show of support that I've received recently. I just wanted to thank everyone - I really, really appreciate it, and it helps us get through the day immensely! Here are some of the specific shows of love/support that have really stuck with me...
1) A man at the grocery store last weekend who offered to take my cart back to the cart rack, after I was done unloading the car. He clearly saw that in order for me to take my cart back, I would have to carry Caroline all the way there and back, and it would be much easier for him to do it than for me. At least this is why I thought he did it...after he came back I noticed he hopped into a blue Prius (same car I have) and drove away. You can't compete with the camaraderie of Prius owners!
2) When I was driving to Palm Springs from Yucca this past week, I drove past Greg's friend Chris, who he knew from TBS and Logistics School, and who is also based here. I thought it was him, but assumed he didn't see me as I passed him, and didn't think much of it. When I got home, I had an email from Chris saying he had seen me on the road, and realized I didn't have his phone number in case I needed anything. So he gave me his number, said he understood how hard it must be to be out here by myself with Caroline, and said if I needed anything at all to give him a ring. It was so nice that someone who isn't even in Greg's tightest group of friends would reach out like that. On one hand I was impressed; on the other hand, that kind of behavior is pretty typical of a Marine.
3) My family, who came out here starting the day Greg left, until a week ago. First Ann came, and even though Caroline hadn't arrived yet she played such a key role in helping me deal with Greg leaving. She kept me busy with lots of activities, and it made a week that would have been so lonely and depressing so much fun. Then Katherine came - as you may know, she was here when Caroline arrived. She was an amazing "labor coach," which really means she did a great job driving me to the hospital and giving me a 3 hour straight lower back massage during my contractions, which seemed to be the only thing I needed the most. Then she gave me personal deliveries of food and magazines at the hospital, and even gave the staff a piece of her mind when they wouldn't discharge me (even though I had been told that I could leave that day). After Katherine my mom came out, and dealt with me during the first two weeks of Caroline's life, when (in her words) I went through my second bout of "the terrible twos". I was so fussy and tired, and she was so patient and put up with it completely. She also helped me through several speed bumps that we went through those first two weeks. Finally, Linda (Greg's mom) came out after my mom left, and we had a great time. She got me out of the house every day, which was a great because before that I had pretty much been staying at home. She also helped with the middle of the night feedings, so I was able to catch up on rest. I am so grateful for all of these wonderful women, and to their husbands, who let them leave for two weeks (although I didn't feel too bad about that, since two weeks is the drop in the bucket compared to seven months!).
4) My high school friends, who are constantly emailing me/texting me/calling me with random funny stories, or just to catch up. I thought it was so cliche when I graduated from Groton when everyone said that my friends there would be my friends for life, but it couldn't have been more true. They are so wonderful, and I love them so much! It's very rare for me to feel that someone is truly excited and supportive, with all of their heart, for someone else, just because I feel like there is so much jealousy in this world. But I can honestly say that my friends from Groton are always so genuinely excited for every step any of us take, and it is so amazing to see.
5) My college friends, who also send me funny emails, and go out of their way to make sure that just because I live in California doesn't mean I'm cut off from the world. They are so wonderful and make me laugh and miss the good old days in Charlottesville so much.
6) All of the people who have popped out of the woodwork to shoot me an email of encouragement or a little package in the mail are AMAZING. These are perhaps the biggest surprise to me, since many of them are people who I may not have known well at all, but just because they've seen (most likely through Facebook) what I'm going through they are willing to do anything to help out. This alone has given me the utmost faith in people in general. I think as much as people complain about Facebook, it kind of does allow people to put down the barriers that they might have if they were face to face with someone they don't know that well, and instead say what they are really thinking - which in my case, has led to many sweet messages and emails. Thank you so much - I really appreciate it!
7) And of course, my friends in Yucca/29 Palms. I don't have a huge group of friends out here, but those I do have check up on me all the time, and give me constant support and laughter. I've decided that Marine Corps is a community centered on love and community, not war, as when these guys are deployed all anyone is trying to do is to support their husbands as much as they can and trudge through to the finish line, when they can have their families together again.
Sorry this post is so long - I just wanted to point out how thankful I am! Which is particularly convenient, since Thanksgiving is in two weeks :). I hope you all are having a great weekend - appreciate the fun aspect of the weekend, because when you're alone in a house with a baby a Saturday night actually seems less uneventful than a Monday night (when the event is Gossip Girl, of course)!
1) A man at the grocery store last weekend who offered to take my cart back to the cart rack, after I was done unloading the car. He clearly saw that in order for me to take my cart back, I would have to carry Caroline all the way there and back, and it would be much easier for him to do it than for me. At least this is why I thought he did it...after he came back I noticed he hopped into a blue Prius (same car I have) and drove away. You can't compete with the camaraderie of Prius owners!
2) When I was driving to Palm Springs from Yucca this past week, I drove past Greg's friend Chris, who he knew from TBS and Logistics School, and who is also based here. I thought it was him, but assumed he didn't see me as I passed him, and didn't think much of it. When I got home, I had an email from Chris saying he had seen me on the road, and realized I didn't have his phone number in case I needed anything. So he gave me his number, said he understood how hard it must be to be out here by myself with Caroline, and said if I needed anything at all to give him a ring. It was so nice that someone who isn't even in Greg's tightest group of friends would reach out like that. On one hand I was impressed; on the other hand, that kind of behavior is pretty typical of a Marine.
3) My family, who came out here starting the day Greg left, until a week ago. First Ann came, and even though Caroline hadn't arrived yet she played such a key role in helping me deal with Greg leaving. She kept me busy with lots of activities, and it made a week that would have been so lonely and depressing so much fun. Then Katherine came - as you may know, she was here when Caroline arrived. She was an amazing "labor coach," which really means she did a great job driving me to the hospital and giving me a 3 hour straight lower back massage during my contractions, which seemed to be the only thing I needed the most. Then she gave me personal deliveries of food and magazines at the hospital, and even gave the staff a piece of her mind when they wouldn't discharge me (even though I had been told that I could leave that day). After Katherine my mom came out, and dealt with me during the first two weeks of Caroline's life, when (in her words) I went through my second bout of "the terrible twos". I was so fussy and tired, and she was so patient and put up with it completely. She also helped me through several speed bumps that we went through those first two weeks. Finally, Linda (Greg's mom) came out after my mom left, and we had a great time. She got me out of the house every day, which was a great because before that I had pretty much been staying at home. She also helped with the middle of the night feedings, so I was able to catch up on rest. I am so grateful for all of these wonderful women, and to their husbands, who let them leave for two weeks (although I didn't feel too bad about that, since two weeks is the drop in the bucket compared to seven months!).
4) My high school friends, who are constantly emailing me/texting me/calling me with random funny stories, or just to catch up. I thought it was so cliche when I graduated from Groton when everyone said that my friends there would be my friends for life, but it couldn't have been more true. They are so wonderful, and I love them so much! It's very rare for me to feel that someone is truly excited and supportive, with all of their heart, for someone else, just because I feel like there is so much jealousy in this world. But I can honestly say that my friends from Groton are always so genuinely excited for every step any of us take, and it is so amazing to see.
5) My college friends, who also send me funny emails, and go out of their way to make sure that just because I live in California doesn't mean I'm cut off from the world. They are so wonderful and make me laugh and miss the good old days in Charlottesville so much.
6) All of the people who have popped out of the woodwork to shoot me an email of encouragement or a little package in the mail are AMAZING. These are perhaps the biggest surprise to me, since many of them are people who I may not have known well at all, but just because they've seen (most likely through Facebook) what I'm going through they are willing to do anything to help out. This alone has given me the utmost faith in people in general. I think as much as people complain about Facebook, it kind of does allow people to put down the barriers that they might have if they were face to face with someone they don't know that well, and instead say what they are really thinking - which in my case, has led to many sweet messages and emails. Thank you so much - I really appreciate it!
7) And of course, my friends in Yucca/29 Palms. I don't have a huge group of friends out here, but those I do have check up on me all the time, and give me constant support and laughter. I've decided that Marine Corps is a community centered on love and community, not war, as when these guys are deployed all anyone is trying to do is to support their husbands as much as they can and trudge through to the finish line, when they can have their families together again.
Sorry this post is so long - I just wanted to point out how thankful I am! Which is particularly convenient, since Thanksgiving is in two weeks :). I hope you all are having a great weekend - appreciate the fun aspect of the weekend, because when you're alone in a house with a baby a Saturday night actually seems less uneventful than a Monday night (when the event is Gossip Girl, of course)!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
And then everyone was tuckered out...
Rocky and Caroline, all tuckered out after a busy day...nothing like sleeping babies!
Dog Park
Today Rocky, Caroline and I went to the Palm Springs dog park. It was quite the adventure getting both of them in the car, but once we accomplished that, they were so well behaved and both slept all the way down and all the way back up to Yucca. Rocky was SO grateful for the long overdue exercise...check it out!
Visit California
As you all probably know, California has some amazing tourism commercials. As a Californian for a year and a half now, I have to say they are one of the few things that makes me proud of this bankrupt, crazy state! There is so much natural beauty here, and so many different cultural experiences to offer. In our time here, Greg and I have explored San Diego, Big Sur, San Francisco, LA/Santa Monica area, Santa Barbara, and the Inland Empire. This commercial, which just rolled out last month, hits a lot of these spots, and just made me smile at the amazing beauty of where we live. If you haven't seen it, check it out...
Friday, November 06, 2009
Caroline's Birth Day and Caroline's One Month Mark
October 6, 2009 - less than one hour old
November 5, 2009 - more and more alert every day!
Happy One Month Birthday, Caroline!
Today Caroline is officially one month old today. I am so proud of the progress we've made the past month. She can now regularly lie on her stomach and turn her head from side to side, and she even rolled over last night! I don't think this will be a normal thing for a while, but you should see how hard she works when she's on her playmat to achieve these feats! It's actually really funny - they say you don't really know a baby's personality until they are older, but when Caroline gets frustrated while trying to roll over/shimmy around, she acts exactly like Greg when he gets frustrated. It's adorable.
Last night, to celebrate her one month eve, Caroline slept from 11:30 PM to 5:30 PM! Praise the Lord! It was much needed sleep. While I know that probably won't continue on a nightly basis for a few weeks, she is consistently only waking up once a night and is doing at least on 4-5 hour stretch. If I've already said this on the blog pardon me - I definitely have mommy brain right now.
The biggest event that happened this morning was that Caroline had her first string of definite, smile because she's happy smiles. She did it this morning as we were reading our books. It was adorable! Here is a photo of it:
Last night, to celebrate her one month eve, Caroline slept from 11:30 PM to 5:30 PM! Praise the Lord! It was much needed sleep. While I know that probably won't continue on a nightly basis for a few weeks, she is consistently only waking up once a night and is doing at least on 4-5 hour stretch. If I've already said this on the blog pardon me - I definitely have mommy brain right now.
And then she got tired:
These photos both just make me smile to see - as I said above, her personality shows more and more every day.
Many thanks to those of you who have sent Greg mail. I spoke with him this week, and I think the newness of the deployment may be starting to wear off. I know he would really appreciate any letters or packages, especially "fun things" - easy to read books (thank you Maurels, for the John Grisham novel!), DVDs, cards, etc. If you don't have his address and are interested and sending something to him, let me know and I'll give it to you. Motivation is the key to making this deployment go by like honey, instead of molasses! I think we've given up on thinking that it will "fly" by...so I'm being realistic at this point :)
I wonder what Caroline will be like in one month from today. We'll see!
Monday, November 02, 2009
Caroline's Stressful Day
Today I tried to send Caroline to Afghanistan, so her Daddy could see her live and in person. :)
She had none of it, gave me a lecture (in baby wails) on how dainty girls don't belong in Afghanistan, and that she'd rather stay in the comfort of her home. Nonetheless, there were some good photos.
Caroline survived her scare, and is recovering now. If you work for Child Protective Services, please - I'm kidding!
She had none of it, gave me a lecture (in baby wails) on how dainty girls don't belong in Afghanistan, and that she'd rather stay in the comfort of her home. Nonetheless, there were some good photos.
Caroline survived her scare, and is recovering now. If you work for Child Protective Services, please - I'm kidding!
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