We saw ELMO!!!

als ich am Montag die Kinder vom Kindergarten abgeholt habe, sehe ich das Plakat: Sesamestreet Roadshow in Ft. Carson! Und die Karten waren for free. Super dachte ich, da geh ich hin. Caiden und Caleigh lieben Elmo!

Dann sah ich das Datum. Am Dienstag und am Mittwoch sind die Shows. Und es war schon Montag..

Ich hatte wenig Hoffnung noch Karten zu bekommen. Aber als ich Dienstagsmorgens angerufen hab, hatten sie tatsaechlich noch welche fuer die Show um 14.30 Uhr.

Also sind wir Mittwochs nachmittags zum Special Events Center um Elmo zu besuchen. Leider hab ich meine Kamera nicht mitgenommen, weil ich dachte dass es bestimmt ziemlich chaotisch zugeht. Aber es ging eigentlich. Das Bild das ihr oben seht ist von USO gemacht worden und wir sind in der Mitte. Caiden hat ein dunkelblau/blaues Shirt an. Vielleicht koennt ihr ihn ja erkennen.

Als die Show losging, klebten Caiden's Augen an der Buehne. Caleigh hat zunaechst etwas Angst gehabt.. dann aber auch eher mehr interesse daran gehabt die anderen Kinder anzuschauen.

Caiden hat kaum gesprochen waehrend der Show. nur alles in sich aufgenommen. Als das ganze dann nach 30 Min zu Ende war, sind wir zurueck ans Auto.. auf einmal gings los, Caiden hat mir die ganze Show von vorne und von hinten erzaehlt. Das Elmo und Cookie Monster gesungen und getanzt haben und das es sooo schoen war. "Mama das war schoeeennnn!"

Ich fands auch schoen, obwohl es ja schon ein bisschen laenger haette gehen koennen.. aber na gut.. dafuer das es nichts gekostet hat und wir auch noch jeder ein ElmoSpielzeug bekommen haben, darf man sich ja nun wirklich nicht beschweren.

not even a month...

Chris is gone now for not even a month.. in some ways time is just flying by, in other ways it seems already like forever and really it's not even a month, yet...

Like everybody else who goes through a deployment we have good days and bad days.. I have days where I hardly can move, it feels like showeling snow in a blizzard.. I'm trying and trying and don't get anything done..
and than I have good days, where I feel that I did good, the kids had fun and it's evening and time for bed before I think about it. Usually on a day like that I sit down in the evening and think: well that was actually not too bad, I think I get used to beeing alone.. and than a voice in my head says (and I think it's my husband voice) .. but you don't want to, right?
No not really, I don't want to be alone, I hate to manage everything by myself, I don't like that I have to wait for a phonecall to talk to my husband. It's no fun at all.
On the good days I miss him, because I wish he could be with us, see what we saw, laugh and play with the kids and just be there..

on the not so good days I miss him, because I feel I can't do it without him, I need to talk to him, I need his support.

So far we had more good days than not so good days.. which is good (I'm sure it's not good to have the word good three times in one sentence..) But that doesn't mean we don't miss him.

the kids and I say a prayer before every meal (well more every time when i sit down on the table, because Caiden likes to say AMEN ;-) )
We say: Dear GOD, bless our food, WATCH over our family, especially over our DADDY in Afghanistan, AMEN-GUTEN APPETTIT!! (Caiden only say the capitalised words, which is plenty, I'm sure God gets the point )
I always try to keep Chris in our daily life, which is sometimes not easy, because on one hand I want, that the kids know that he did not just dissapear, that if he could, he would rather be with us. On the other hand it's really painful sometimes, when Caiden asks for his Daddy over and over again, and even though he is so little he still express that he think it sucks that Daddy is "at work". Just the other day he told me: Daddy BACK!!

But other than that.. we're ok. And hopefully time will fly just a little more tomorrow!

E7 Board

After a lot of rumors going on in the company, I got sick of it, and looked it up online. And it's true. My lovley husband is on the Promotion list for Sgt 1st class. Yeahh for him!

I'm really proud of him because his career went so fast and he is gonna be 27 this year which makes him a really young E 7 (in just 7 years in the Army)

That also makes us think about the future again. His time in the Army will be over in 2011 so after 9 years in. Usual you say that if you hit the 10 year line, you might stay in the whole 20 years to get retierment. He will be still young at that time to make the big step into the civilian life. And because of school and other things he already did and has and is planning to do while in the Army, he would get a good job after all.

So right now he is thinking about to reenlist, when he goes down range and then drop his WO package and make the Army his career.

I have to say, that I would be not upset about it, if he stays in. I see from friends who got out that civilian life is not easy, especially with a family and if you are from Germany and used to have a good social network. I can't imagine having no health insurance and all that things. And so far the Army didn't treat us too bad deployment wise and station of duty and so on. So I'm happy where I am right now, and wouldn't mind to stay here.

And if we have to move again, oh well, as long as the kids are little it would be not that big of a deal and there are sooooo many places out there which I'm curious about and I could see myself living there (if it's not permant).

We will see what Chris is gonna decided to do!