He's Gone....

D-day was yesterday. One of the worst days we have experienced! I cannot believe he is gone for a whole year! The boys and I are doing really well so far, they definitely keep me busy and I feel it is my job to stay strong for them. We have been blessed to have a HUGE support system of friends and family, all of whom have been checking in on us and making sure we are ok. We will survive just as many, many military families have done and are continuing to do each day! Please just pray that the Lord puts a protective shield around Josh, and brings him back home safely! Thank you all for your love and support, we wouldn't make it through without it!

If you would like Josh's address, just email me or reply back to this post, and I will send it to you. I cannot post it for obvious safety reasons.

Thanks!

My Hubby,The Handy Man

Josh has become quite the Handy Man lately, and he made us a beautiful entertainment center for our TV! He also built me some shelves in the laundry room, and now it is so much more organized! Thanks, Josh, what an amazing man I am married to! Don't know what we'd do without you!

Before:



After:

Ben-Gals Alumni Game

I had a pretty unique opportunity when we went home for Thanksgiving...I got to perform with 200+ women at a Bengals game! The Ben-Gals organized a Ben-Gal alumni performance, and more than 200 former Ben-Gals from the 70's, 80's, 90's, and 2000's danced on the field at half-time. Since I love to dance, and haven't really gotten to do so much since becoming a busy mommy of two, it was so much fun for me! I got to learn a couple new dances, and see some friends that I haven't seen in about 8 years (2002...the year I cheered). I was so grateful that my wonderful hubby, and family came to watch. It was a gorgeous day to be at a football game, and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of it! Here are some pics:


Practice on the field


My friend, Amy and I practicing on the field


Josh and I


My brother, Billy and his wife-to-be, Kelly and myself


My sister, Michelle and hubby Jay with me


My friend, Allison and I getting ready to perform!


All the alumni plus current cheerleaders performing at half-time


Josh and I with the boys after the game

Thanksgiving

We went home to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving, and got to spend some quality time with our friends and family. We had a great time, ate some delicious food, and enjoyed our visit.


Cousins Gabby and Ty


Cousins Caellum and Ellie


Poppy Stone holding his youngest great-grandchildren


Cousins Maddie and Ty


Pawpaw serenading Ty

Partners In Crime

Of course we have to post nothing but recent pictures of our two gorgeous boys! These two have become partners in crime, and we are gonna be in for it with these ornery little fellas! :-)

Troop Night Out

Josh and I enjoying our night out

Josh's troop (6-4 CAV) organized an awesome night out for the soldiers and spouses. We went out to a very nice Italian dinner at Vincenzo's in downtown Louisville. The owner of Vincenzo's gave us an amazing deal. They basically gave us a free 4-course meal, along with free drinks. The food was delicious and we had a fabulous time! The news was even there to cover the story. If you'd like to see the news coverage go here:

Vincenzo's closes to provide free meal to Afghanistan-bound soldiers

See if you can find Josh and I in the background pigging out! :-)

How Could I Forget???

Oh my goodness, I forgot one of the most important events that happened in the past few months! Our newest niece, Monrow Grace Helen Williams, was born on September 13th. I was able to drive back to Cincinnati to make it on time for Monrow's arrival into the world, and it was so exciting! She is adorable and we love her so much!


Welcome Baby Monrow!


Daddy holding his newest baby girl


The happy family

Infantry Ball

Josh and I had a fun date night back in November. We went to Josh's brigade's (3-1) ball. It was an Infantry Ball (which Josh was a bit disappointed about because he is in a CAV unit) but we went with a few good friends and had a great time! Army Balls are always fun for us ladies because we get all fancy and dressed up! Here are some pics of our night:


Our professional pic from the night


Some of the ladies


Josh and I enjoying our dinner


Soldiers from 6-4 CAV

Yo Gabba Gabba Live

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Ty (and Caellum) have an obsession with Yo Gabba Gabba, a TV show on Nick Jr. They love the show, and Josh and I hate to admit it, but we love it too! We love singing and dancing to the music! So, when we found out that Yo Gabba Gabba Live was coming to Louisville in October, we had to get tickets and take the boys! Oh my gosh, both boys were mesmerized by the show. It was great, and we had so much fun! Even Biz Markie was there! :-)


Yo Gabba Gabba Live


Daddy and the boys enjoying the show!


Can you see that Ty can't take his eyes off the stage?


Ty sitting on the steps, not taking his eyes off the show!


Biz Markie

Vacation!

Josh was able to take some leave in October, and we got to take a family vacation to Emerald Isle, NC. We had a fabulous time! Josh took surfing lessons (he was actually really good), and the boys absolutely loved the ocean and playing in the sand on the beach. Unfortunately, I don't have very many pics of our vacation because I dropped our camera in the ocean chasing after Caellum, who had no fear of the water and crawled right into it! Here are some pics I managed to get before dunking our camera in salt water!


Daddy and the boys enjoying the beach!

Mommy and the boys

Ty

Caellum

Halloween!

We had so much fun this Fall, doing lots for Halloween. We went to a pumpkin patch, a Halloween party, and to the World's Largest Halloween Party at the Louisville Zoo not once but twice! We had fun trick-or-treating too! Ty was old enough to understand what was going on this year, and it was a blast hearing him say trick-or-treat as he got his candy. Of course he wanted to immediately eat each piece of candy he got, especially the suckers...he is obsessed with suckers! Here are some of our Halloween pics:

Ty is freezing at the pumpkin patch!

Trying to keep Caellum warm at the patch!

Getting ready to trick-or-treat!

Ty as Wolverine, and Caellum as the Incredible Hulk...our super-hero boys!

Ty and Gabrielle at the Zoo

Mama and Caellum at the zoo

Daddy with Ty and Gabrielle

The boys at the zoo


Ty saying trick-or-treat for us.