Today my parents begin their journey back to a life in the USA. They have been living in Ramstein, Germany, per Uncle Sam’s orders. Now Uncle Sam has deemed it necessary that my father continue his career at Wright-Patt AFB, near Dayton, OH.
I know that McMom & McDad are sad to leave Germany, especially since they have had a lot of difficulties in the past year with McDad’s job. But, since “Home is where the Air Force sends you,” they are moving on with Brave Faces and leaning on God to show them where they fit in His plan.
Being an ex-military brat, I know that those Brave Faces are issued at Military Clothing, the same place where McDad has to purchase his uniforms and Air Force paraphanalia. Even AFN (the Armed Forces Network) radio station has commercials asking parents to Be Happy about their moves so that the transition is easier for the children. Since my parents are empty-nesters, they really don’t have to put on a Brave Face for the children. Even Esau, their dog, doesn’t need them to put on a Brave Face since Esau has no idea what is going on. But I know from personal experience that Brave Faces are important for your own soul, so that the transition is easier for you.
Yet, more importantly, knowing the God has you in the palm of His hand is even more important than the military issued Brave Face. I know that this move is harder for my parents than previous moves, but their faith is so strong that the devil is having a really hard time shaking them. And God has given them a symbol of hope- after 2 years of waiting for the news, their first grandchild is on the way! (Side note- when McDad started praying for his grandchild, he named the grandchild Hope. McMom said to McDad, “Do you think all babies are girls?” McDad said, “All mine were.”)
Personally, I am very excited that they are moving back to the US. I am especially excited because they will be in the same time zone, something that hasn’t happened since I was a senior in college. (6 years ago for those of you keeping score at home.) No more counting the hours until I can safely call my parents to say hello or give them some news. Vists with them will no longer be wishful thinking.
I am excited that when the day in October arrives and they become first time Grandparents, they will be only an 8 hour drive away and not an 8 hour plane ride. Taking The Gummy Bear to Ohio for his/her first Christmas should be a lot easier (and happier) than an overseas flight with a 2 month old child.
So, when my parents drive to my house tomorrow afternoon, I will greet them with happiness and my own hope that the future will be filled with happiness and the great things God will do.
Welcome Home McMom & McDad!

Sorry about the coffee stain, but at least it makes a pretty design!

For 28 weeks there has been a bun in my oven- the bun we affectionately call The Gummy Bear (due to the 9 week ultrasound picture).
If you do the math, that means that there are 12 weeks left (approximately) until D and I become parents. It is simultaneously cool and scary all at the same time. For those of you who know D, you probably are thinking it is more scary than cool. And if you were to get inside my head you would find that I am thinking, ?Where did the time go??
I think there is lots to do still and worry that we aren?t quite prepared. I know when the final bell rings, we will be ready, but right now I worry. I worry and I read.
I don?t read the typical pregnancy or parenting books that keep some people occupied during their nine-month wait. I admit people have loaned or given me a few, but they sit there ignored by me, gathering dust and getting in the way. Instead of reading the books, I read stories on the Internet about birth and parenting.
Right now I am obsessed with birth stories because every one is so different. Sure, there are the basic plots of pain, contractions, water breaking, pushing, baby coming out, and everybody is happy. But how each person arrived at those plot points is intriguing and I am drawn to seeking out those stories and guessing where ours will fall into the mix.
Here is a list of a few birth stories I have found. If you have any that you want to add, just use the comments section below.
?Birth story from the Baby Making Capital, USA (my favorite)
?Birth story from Dad?s point of view
?Home birth story where it didn?t go exactly as planned, but the ending was perfect
?A home/ water birth story
?A c-section story

P.S. I do know about A Baby Story, but we don’t have expanded cable and I don’t get to see it that often.

Do you have a gmail account? Do you have invites you don’t know what to do with? You do?
Then may I suggest this great idea?
Go on.
I’ll wait here.

Thanks to M. Giant for the info.

If anyone cares, there is a new Chik-fil-A downtown at Miller Plaza. Apparently it is next to the Subway. Open Monday through Friday 11 am – 2 pm.

Where I work there is a sacred tradition of celebrating certain events with a Goodie Day. A Goodie Day is where people in the department bring in food items to snack on through out the day and by eating the food items, they are celebrating whatever event is occurring that day.

Have a birthday? Let’s have a Goodie Day!
Holiday coming up? Let’s have a Goodie Day!
Bonus checks being distributed? Let’s have a Goodie Day!
Someone having a baby? Let’s have a Goodie Day!
Someone get promoted? Let’s have a Goodie Day!
Someone get fired? Let’s have a Goodie Day!

Goodie Days vary from department to department. My first Goodie Day was around the holidays when I worked in a department where I did nothing but data entry all day. I was shocked when it was more than the standard chips and dip. People brought in casseroles, crockpots filled with sausages and sauce, fancy pies and cakes. Now I am in a department that has a desire to live up to the standard of that old department, but when it comes down to it, we get kind of a lame response to Goodie Days.

In fact, I forgot that today was a Goodie Day. When I went to check the food cube to see what was missing, the answer was “a lot.” There was the birthday cake and someone had brought in 3 tubes of Pringles, but that was it. My logic was that if there was plenty of food, then I wouldn’t have to make my way to the corner store to purchase something to make up for my forgetfulness. Since the table was sparse, I ventured out to the downtown grocery store to find some chips and salsa.

*side note* If you forget or don’t contribute to Goodie Day, your co-workers talk about you behind your back. They really don’t like it when you don’t contribute anything then go over and fix yourself a plate.

The downtown grocery store is very, very small. And it has a very unpleasant odor to it. Because of this odor, I would never purchase the meat or “fresh” vegetables from there. But I figure, prepackaged food is ok.

I tried to find the “snack” aisle, but at Beuhler’s there really isn’t one of those. But the most shocking thing about my trip to the small store was the fact that among the 5 aisles, there were no tortilla chips and no salsa to be found. None, nada, zip.

I ended up contributing an overpriced bag of Bugles to the Goodie Day, but I ask you, what kind of store doesn’t have tortilla chips or salsa?

I guess the good thing is that no one can talk about me behind my back today. At least when it comes to the food table, they can’t. And I will have another piece of cake, thank you!