It's the climb.

The infamous MCAT is behind us. The applications are in. Secondaries are complete and fees are paid. Now comes the all too familiar waiting game. Ever since I've been married to DH, it's been a test of our patience for our lives to move forward. Seven months after we were married, my husband was deployed to Iraq for 15 dreadful months. After DH was gone for only 30 days, I received news that would play a huge part in our life's course. On Halloween night as I sat by a bonfire with my best friend, my phone rang at 11:36pm. My husband had been hit by a roadside bomb. My heart was beating from my chest as I heard the words coming from my point of contact over the phone. For the next few hours, I was restless and prayerful until the moment I heard his voice over the phone. It's surreal to me. It's so hard to understand the pain he felt and I cannot imagine what he lived through. As horrifying and dark the incident was, I am thankful. There is always something good to be found in even the most awful events. From this single event came my husbands desire to become a Doctor. He was the first to administer first aid to the other soldiers wounded in the explosion. It changed him. It sparked a fire in him that I've never seen before. Though his recovery was long and difficult, his doctors impacted his life in a big way and he knew he wanted to do the same for others. So here we are, climbing this steep mountain. While I am counting down the days until we reach the top, I have to remind myself to enjoy the journey.

trick-or treat!

This was C's first year to go trick or treating and it was SO fun!! She wasn't sure what to do at first but I went with a group of 2 other moms and their kids ranging in age from 2-9 and she caught on quickly by following their lead. She was intrigued by all the pumpkins and lights. She kept waving at them and saying "Hi" to them in her little mouse voice.

  off we go!

We finished with my neighborhood friends and Derek surprised us by skipping class so he could take her out....so we ate dinner and went out for round 2! She knew exactly what to do this time! She'd go up the steps and knock on every door, smile at the neighbor and grab a hand full of candy and drop it in her bag!

 

           

knock knock!!

It was a little chilly out, but it was a perfect night. I'll always remember her little hands knocking on the doors, how she was so independent and wanted to climb up and down every step all by herself...even if it took her longer than everyone else and they had already made it to the next house by the time she was done :)





Our neighborhood was so friendly and festive. Everyone introduced themselves to each other and welcomed new neighbors to the area. An older woman sat on her front porch in her rocking chair and passed out pumpkin cinnamon rolls.







caught my monkey!

So the plan was for D and I to be Tarzan and Jane with their little monkey....but he ended up having class so I had to come up with a completely last minute costume. An old pair of my husbands khaki's and 20 safety pins later....I was a Zookeeper. It was definitely fitting because I was chasing my little monkey all night!

Caught Her!

 

Taking her back to the Zoo!

more treats!!

My favorite thing about the night was every time she grabbed candy and put it in her bag she would say "more". She would sign it and say it! It was so funny! Some neighbors even gave her more candy because they thought it was so adorable.















 Here are a few more pics from our fun night!

Back away from my candy!

  

 Happy Halloween!

snowy day

Halloween is almost here and we are having our first snow of the season! Caely has been napping since it started snowing but I am very excited to show her when she wakes up. It hasn't been cold enough for it to stick but the snowflakes are huge! She likes to catch the rain in her open hand so I can only assume she's going to love the snow.

We spend our days reading books and learning new songs and playing games. I love my husband for being so hardworking and determined with his future career. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be able to stay home with my baby girl.  

We painted pumpkins the other night and C had a blast. She ended up painting her high chair tray, her arms, face and colored in Daddy's tattoo's too :)

We had a neighborhood Halloween parade planned today but it got moved to tomorrow because of the snow. I took Caely to Target this morning to get out of the house while D was in school and she is in love with Elmo! She giggled and smiled at every Elmo toy she saw. She also loves hats. She tried on all the new winter hats that came in. I better get that girl a bigger closet at our next house!


Here's a pic from the tree outside my house, I love fall!

love love

monkey'n around.

Is that not the cutest little monkey you've ever seen?!

Things have been pretty crazy around here. Caely had her 1st birthday in Sept and she is just growing beautifully. She's learning new "words" every day and just as lovable as can be. I have been staying busy with some part time work here and there. I started watching a little girl after school a few days a week. That's great for Caely and I since we get to take a mile walk to the school and enjoy this awesome fall weather. {which we love} and C loves having the play mate. 

I've been doing some secret shopping and still doing my etsy orders. It's fun and keeps me busy when C is napping or playing with her toys. She likes to sit in my lap and watch the sewing machine go crazy :)

Derek has been insanely busy with school. He's working at the Old Guard Museum in the archives office. He is a full-time student and we've decided that Tulsa University will be a better fit for us for his pre-med classes. He's already been accepted and we are just counting down the days until we are out of this city. 

Our lease ends in March, so I'm already starting my hunt for our next home. We want something small so we can try to save some money. Things are not cheap here. We'll be at the next place until summer and then be home at the end of July/ early August. 

Just a few new things C loves to do this week:

*What's a monkey say? "Ooh Ooh ah ah ah"

* "Kitty"

*"Puppy"

* Signs "more" and "thank you"

*Motions me to come here with her hand

*Shakes her booty!

*"Elmo"

*Coloring with crayons, pens, markers

*"Ahh! Bug!"

Well, nap time is nearly over so I'll just post a few pics from our Monkey'N Around photoshoot!