Family, family and more family!

I can hardly believe that we are already in December. The house is decorated in Christmas decorations, the tree is up and most of the presents have been purchased. Where has the year gone!?!

In the past month we have welcomed both sets of Grandparents and my sister, Alli, into our home. We will have Brad's parents back right before Christmas along with their two miniature Schauzers, Oscar and Henry. That should be quite the adventure as we have our own mini Schnauzer, Ranger. We love having family over and we are always looking forward to the next time that we can be with them.

Brad's parents were here for the long Columbus weekend at the beginning of November. We did a "whole lotta nothing", which is always fun! Then, my family was here for the week of Thanksgiving. We had a great time preparing the dinner and spending the week playing games and watching football and movies on our new 42" flat-screen digital TV. (Can I just say how amazing the reception is with a digital antenna and an HDTV! I can't believe what we get off the free airwaves!) We also spent some time with Brad's unit and had a Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday afternoon at the Battalion Dining Facility (DFAC). All the officers and NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officers) were dressed in their Dress Blues and served the meal to all the soldiers and families that were there. It was quite good and fun for all. Then on Wednesday we went to watch the Turkey Bowl, which was a flag football game between the Officers and NCOs in our Battalion.
We had a little snack bar set up to make some money for our Family Readiness Group and the kids had a great time playing with the other kids their to watch their Daddies beat up on each other!
The next day was Thanksgiving Day so we spent the day cooking, baking, watching the parade, watching football, and of course eating!
So next we will have Christmas and New Years and many more pictures to share. Merry Christmas everyone!

I really need to stop procrastinating!

I have to admit, I never thought it would take me so long to get back to blogging...but it has. I have posted some pictures of the past few months just to get you all caught up. I will try my best to keep this thing up now. I am finally starting to feel more like myself since Brad has been home. We all have been dealing with so much including health issues, surgeries, and Army stuff in the past few months which have kept my mind fairly busy. I think I'm starting to be able to handle everything better, so I can think about other things now. Enjoy the pictures and I hope to be able to keep up this blog now!

Post blog hiatus.

Obviously since "the Dad" has been home, I have been seriously lax in updating our blog. I realize that there are many of you that would kind of like to see what the little men are up to these days. I am going to try and update you on the past few months. Although I think it may take awhile. As I think back to all we have done and accomplished in the past few months, it is daunting to think about recounting it all in great detail. I will try my best, so please keep checking back...I promise to have something here again soon. I pray that you all are well!

He is here!

Well everyone...the Daddy is finally home!!! He came home on Wednesday the 30th of April. We are all thoroughly enjoying having him home. The boys are starting to bond with Daddy and I am loving watching them interact. I will post pictures of all our fun and of Brad's homecoming...but for now...this is all I can do...just announce that he is here, safe with us, in North Carolina. Thank you all who have been keeping up with us during this long 15 months without Daddy!

It'll all be over soon!

Despite what our countdown says, we are actually about 3 days away from having Daddy back! I haven't been very good about updating the blog since I have been SO BUSY with the FRG and helping our families figure out how they are going to get here and see their soldier get off the plane. Its a huge responsibility and I am trying my best to balance that with my motherly and wifely responsibilies, but right now I feel like the FRG wins out some of the time. It feels like a full time job sometimes! Anyway, we are just days away from the big arrival and so once life slows down again there will be many happy posts documenting the wonderful day and those that follow. Hope all is well with you all! We love you and thank you so much for supporting us through this long 15 month deployment!

Happy Birthday, Gabriel!

Well, yesterday, my biggest little boy turned 4! I do have pictures from his special day, but I have been so busy that I haven't had time to upload them. I will try to do that soon.

We started off the day with a cinnamon roll for breakfast, complete with birthday candle and singing.

Later on in the day I gave him his present from Mommy and Daddy...a big boy t-ball set and Car movie race track.

We then went to Red Robin to have dinner with the Pelikan clan. Gabriel loves that restaurant! He got presents, ice cream and a round of 'happy birthday to you'. On the way home from dinner he tells me that it was the "best, best, best, best party ever!"

I have been so busy with my responsibilies with the Family Support Group of Brad's unit, that I barely had time to think about anything else. I think Gabriel had a special day even though we weren't able to have a true party.

On another note...the Angel Boys' Daddy will be home in about 2 weeks from Afghanistan! Right now this is our top-end estimate, so we are truly down to the last days of this marathon of a deployment! We will be able to party WITH Daddy soon! I will do my best to update the blog in the next 2 weeks, but I can't promise anything...just keep checking in to see our progress toward D-Day (Daddy-Day)!

Happy One

Today the smallest McCoy boy turned 1!


Birthday waffles for the birthday boy.

Here are some pictures from Michael's birthday dinner and cake.

Mickey Mouse ears are great party hats!

Big boy cup for the big boy.

Pretty close...He seems to like this hand gesture.

Yummmmm....cheese pizza! Not bad for a first timer!

Brother with some cheese of his own.

Yay...birthday cake!

Gabriel was waiting all day for this.

Birthday present from Mommy and Daddy.

Mommy put this together in about 5 minutes...sadly, Michael's legs aren't long enough yet :-(



I have been thinking all day today about how quickly this last year has gone. One year ago, I had just had a c-section and was lying in the hospital bed with a sleeping Michael on my chest...that was the only thing he wanted to do that night...no eating...just sleeping on mommy. One year ago, Daddy had been gone for less than two months...now it has been almost 14 months...wow...where has the time gone?! So much has happened in the past 12 months, and I can't believe how fast our little baby has grown. Michael is a sweet, loving, and funny little guy. I cannot wait for this next 4 weeks to zoom by as quickly as the past year has, so that Daddy can come home and finally get to know his littlest boy.

Funny Gabriel Day...

In and amongst my crazy day of painting, lots of emailing, house work, and taking care of the kiddos, Gabriel had a few quotes that were quite humorous.

#1 As we were eating breakfast this morning Gabriel informs me,

"Michael doesn't understand me. That's what babies do, they get bigger and understand people."

So profound for a nearly four-year-old.

#2 Then while we were deciding about what to have for dinner. Gabriel decides that he would like to have cinnamon waffles for dinner. I said that sounded very good and cheesy scrambled eggs and vanilla yogurt would go really well with that, and Gabriel completely agreed. He says with much enthusiasm,

"Oooo...this is going to be the best dinner ever!"

#3 Then tonight as I was tucking him into bed I leaned over and gave him a hug. He quickly pulled back and exclaimed,

"Oooo, Mommy, you stink! Go take a bath!"

I explained to him that I had some more painting to do, but I would do that right away as soon as I was done. I leaned in for one more hug and once again...

"Mommy, no! You stink!"

So I settled for a kiss instead. I completely agreed with the kid though...Its nice to know that he wouldn't let me get away with being stinky!


So, my son is 3 going on 14! How quickly they grow up and how fun it is to watch it happen.

We are so excited for Daddy to be coming home in about a month and a half! He can then, finally, experience his two precious sons.

We love you Daddy! Come home safe and soon!

Mommy's Rules, Lesson 2

With Lesson 1 of Mommy's Rules underway...What not to touch in the house...I can begin Lesson 2...Let Mommy get her sleep.

So, I am awake before 7:00am, listening to the frustrated whines of Michael. I am teaching him that in this house...you stay in bed, preferrably asleep, until at least 7:00. That seems to be the magic number for me. I taught Gabriel the same thing around this age. It takes a few mornings of half awake whining, and then they seem to get the hint. With Gabriel I used to bring him in bed with me before that time and we would sleep for another couple of hours sometimes. But then, he would just call for me earlier and earlier in the night until it was 3:00am and he wanted me to come get him! I am not doing that this time...I don't function well with kids sleeping in my bed. It works for some people, but I am not one of those. Its okay on occasion, but if it happens too often then I start losing too much sleep. I'm too concerned about smothering them that I never get into a deep sleep, and then I am crabby. So, anyway, he's been at it now for about 30 min...but he still is so tired that his eyes are closed while he's crying. I sure hope he just gives it up and goes back to sleep!

Its 7:00 now and he's ramping up again...so maybe I'll go save him from his bed. Ah, the perils of having a pre-toddler.

Cool Big Boy Stuff, Lesson 1

This morning I was here at my kitchen table enjoying a freshly made latte and listening to a podcast, when I noticed a lack of noise coming from the living room. Gabriel and Michael had been happily playing there with their mass of toys, and I no longer heard playing noises. I walk around to the stairs and there I find Michael 4 stairs up with Gabriel coaching him and praising him to climb higher!!! Gabriel says, "Mommy, look what I teached him! He can go up the stairs now!" I calmly, but quickly, removed Michael from the stairs and told Gabriel that he is such a good big brother and that I am proud of him for teaching Michael something...BUT, Michael CANNOT go up the stairs without me right there to help! It was quite a cute moment, actually. So begins Professor Gabriel's ongoing lessons in cool big boy stuff with Michael as the primary pupil! Lord, have mercy!

Post Vacation Wrap-Up

So, what can I say about a nearly 3 month trip away from home? Wow...what a trip!!! We had so much fun visiting with family. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend so much time with the people that we love. We saw so many great things and the kids were able to experience some things that they may not have otherwise. We are very, very grateful to our family for taking us in and providing a refuge for us during this deployment. Being gone as long as we were and doing the things that we did really helped the time to just fly by! It was great to leave knowing that before we knew it 2 and a half months would be gone. And, man, has it felt that way! So, now we have been home for a little over a week and we are trying to get our lives put back together here at home. Michael is a full-fledged crawler and soon to be, cruiser. So I have had to quickly adapt our home to accomodate his new found skills. We are also in the thick of preparing for Daddy's return. He will be home in about 2 months! We have many things to do before he gets home, that this time, I am sure, will fly by as well. Hopefully now that we are safely home, I can update our blog more often. I'll keep my fingers crossed on that one! :) So, we are on to new adventures now and soon Daddy will be a permanent fixture back at home!!! We can hardly wait!!! Much love to all from Steph and the Boys.

More fun in Nebraska

This slide show brings us to the end of our trip. Go to the website below. Enjoy!

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery2.php?instanceid=102089059

The rest of our fun in California.

We are finally home!!! I will have to apologize for not keeping up on the commentary part of documenting our trip. I'm resorting to the good 'ol photo slide show to tell about the rest of our time away. I will follow up with another of the rest of our time in Nebraska. Go to the website below. Enjoy!

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery2.php?instanceid=102084811

Still gone...

So, its been almost two and a half months that we have been away from good 'ol North Carolina. The time has gone extremely fast...but that was the plan. We are just that much closer to Daddy coming home! When we get home we will have under 3 months left of this deployment--which as we have just proven, can go by in the blink of an eye!

I have been lax in posting about all the fun we had in California and I will probably not be able to post any more pictures until we get home at the end of the month.

I am starting to get very tired of being away from my home and am very excited to return home soon. Before we know it, Daddy will be here and we have things to do to prepare for his arrival. We should be able to keep ourselves busy. Keep checking in...I will, hopefully, post and catch everyone up on our trip when we get home!