holiday catch up

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to my Maw Maw & Paw Paw's house in Baton Rouge and had a lovely time with my Dad's side of the family. At my grandparent's request, Anna, Reuben, and I stayed on for an extra week after the rest of the Don Zeeks went home. We had a really wonderful visit, and it was very cool to see my little guy toddling arround their home just like I did at the same age - even enjoying the organ with all the buttons, just like I used to do.

Reuben, Great Paw Paw Zeek, and Anna

Playing in Maw Maw & Paw Paw's living room

Reuben playing the organ

Me playing the organ, when I was his age

Shortly after returning to Texas, we were suprised and delighted to get an inch or two of snow on the ground; the most snow I'd ever seen in all my years living in Texas. It was mostly gone by morning, but boy did my brothers and sisters live it up while it lasted.

The week before Christmas found us moving into the spare room next door (finally!), and the crazy adventure of repainting the main living area at my parents, while having hard wood floor installed.

My sister Rebekah...after lots of paint fumes

We got the whole thing...well, mostly done and put together again just hours before Dad's family arrived from Louisianna to spend the holiday with us.

Me, Bekah, Minda, Aunt Marisa, & Cayla in our penguin slippers

Anna, me, and Reuben

Zeek family group pictures - Christmas 2008

Anna has been growing so fast! She's right on the verge of sitting up unassisted, regularly gets up on all fours, and rolls/ooches herself all over the floor when she's given the chance. She's generally a happy little kid, pretty dang noisey much of the time, a wiggle worm like you never saw, but happy and sweet as they come.

Sweet Anna

Reuben is so close to talking it's painful. Seriously, it's so frustrating, for him and us. He tells us all sorts of things in the course of the day, but most of the time we just can't make it out for the life of us. My youngest brother Willie has become very good buddies with Reuben, though he really enjoys playing with all his uncles (and Aunts too, though not as much).

Uncle Willie & Reuben

Jeremy's doing pretty good over there in Baghdad, with less that 100 days to go we are on the home stretch and very, very thrilled about it. He got the day off Thanksgiving and Christmas, though some administrator at the battalion level didn't file his paperwork, so the brigade level administrator decided Jeremy's battalion didn't get their day off for New Years (Jeremy was pretty bummed about that).

Jeremy & his new MRAP truck

Despite the fact that Reuben, Anna, and I are still batteling the same miserable cold we got five days ago, this was a very happy day for me. We finally paid off our credit card, and Jeremy and I both chopped up our cards to celebrate going into the new year debt free! Plus, when 2008 dawned I was dreading Jeremy leaving and having to somehow survive without him for a very long year; as 2009 dawns, I'm looking forward to him coming home, and the only thing happier than that is Jesus coming back.

the adventures of not-quite-superwoman

So, the weekend before I flew to Texas I did something I'd been planning on doing ever since Jeremy went to Fort Dix for mobilization: I went to New Jersey to visit my very dear friend Beth Anne and her family. It's about a five hour drive from my home to her's, and I must say I sorta felt like a hardcore pioneer woman. It was all rather empowering really, discovering that I can do far more wild and adventurous things I never would have imagined myself capable of.

Beth Anne & Anna Beth

Reuben at Beth Anne's neighborhood playground

It was a good warm-up for our trip to Texas the weekend following. I started out that morning happily ready to face the day as a grand adventure, and determined to enjoy every minute for Reuben's sake. Reuben got a little concerned when his stoller and blanket disappeared into a dark hole (the x-ray machine) going through security, but he was as good as gold until he was so tired he was beyond miserable. That came about two hours into our four hour layover. His misery reached it's climax as we sat on the runway for three hours before finally taking off for our three hour flight. When I finally saw my brother Jonathan on arriving at the airport in Houston, I was so tired, and so relieved that the whole ordeal was over, I burst into tears.

On the plane

Since our arrival we have been having an absolute blast. With a huge yard, a whole new set of toys, and a small army of adoring aunts and uncles Reuben is in little boy heaven. He is so rediculously happy, and Anna doesn't mind all the attention either. There's hardly a moment free for me to be bored or lonely (one of the main reasons I came) so I don't miss Jeremy as acutely as I do in CT. It still kills me watching his little ones grow up so fast without him, but there's no fixing that

15 days in paradise

I picked Jeremy up Sunday, September 21st, for 15 days of leave and we made it back from the airport in time for a bonfire birthday party for Jeremy's sister and niece at their house. Thus began a whirlwind two weeks, apple picking, hiking, visiting museums and air shows, eating dinner with someone almost every night, and ultimately just enjoying ever minute we had together.

Holding Anna for the first time

Apple Picking

Minter Family Picture

Reuben was not immediately overjoyed to see his Daddy, nor was he indifferent. He acted just as happy to see him as he would be to see any of his uncles that first evening. By the next day though, he opted to snuggle and play with Jeremy instead of me on multiple occasions, and from there on he acted almost as if Jeremy had never left. They had an awful lot of fun together now that Reuben can walk, run, and climb. Anna was her remarkably smiley and sweet little self for most of Jeremy's visit, charming her father just as every little girl should. Jeremy and I got to get away a few times just the two of us, or for a double date with a sibling now and again, which I thought was especially fun myself. Looking back I'm not sure how the visit could have been any better.

Snuggling with Daddy

Playing in the Puddles at Church

Jeremy's sister Hannah went with me and the kids to take Jeremy to the airport October 7 for his 10:40a.m. flight. Reuben gave Jeremy a good hug and understood we were saying goodbye, but didn't particularly understand the significance. This goodbye was the easiest one for me so far, and coincidentally our first goodbye where I wasn't pregnant (ah, life is so much easier without all those extra hormones!) A girl friend and fellow military wife from church brought over dinner and a movie that evening, and so mercifully I've had people around to keep me from slipping into the blues and staying there. Reuben woke up in the middle of the night, and when I brought him to my bed to warm up and go back to sleep, he immediately began searching the bed for Jeremy and grew rather agitated when he couldn't find him. Once I explained that Daddy was gone and he wouldn't be back for awhile he settled down and fell asleep, only to awaken shortly and start searching to see if Daddy had gotten home yet, needing yet another explanation before going back to sleep for good. Reuben isn't talking yet, so it's hard to know exactly what's going on in his little mind, and interesting to see how much he understands even though he doesn't respond verbally. I miss Jeremy quite a lot myself, but at the moment watching my little boy miss his Daddy is the hardest part of this separation.

Saying Goodbye at the Airport

My family, who lives south of Houston, is still recovering from Hurricane Ike but they're making steady progress. Reuben, Anna, and I will be flying to Texas October 25th for our extended visit. My grandparents camper (that I was going to stay in) was smashed by a tree that fell across my parent's driveway. However, the widow that lived next door decided to go ahead and move closer to her son in the aftermath of the storm, and her son has agreed to let me stay in the converted garage and house sit for him while he prepares her now vacated home to be sold. Brings to mind an all too familiar verse about God working all things together for good, doesn't it?

news from the front

My darling husband is wonderful in many ways...sending us pictures on a regular basis isn't one of them. ;) But, that makes it an extra special treat when we do get pictures from him.

Jeremy - out on patrol

the View from Jeremy's turret

the MRAP his squad just got

Jeremy's unit suffered it's first casualty this past Thursday. During a patrol a road side bomb went off, which they handled in text book fashion and no one was hurt. But when they went back later to investigate the incident, a secondary explosive device was detonated, killing one man and severely injuring another.

It's been best for me not think about this much at all, but it is a sobering reminder of how very much our prayers are needed. Psalm 91 has long been one of my favorites, but even more so recently as I pray that passage for Jeremy. Earlier that same week I had my first real "fear attack" for some reason. My mind got running and I was totally falling apart imagining the worst, all the while kicking myself for being so stupid. (Surely, just left over pregnancy hormones, right?) Anyhow, a few times through those familiar verses, and my confidence in God's perfect care and protection were finally restored.


Reuben and Anna Beth both seem to be growing before my very eyes. Anna's gotten into a smiley phase, where she often spends half the time she's supposed to be eating just staring up at me grinning her little head off. The other day we got our webcam connection up and Jeremy got to see her doing her little smiley thing, plus Reuben leaned over and kissed his little sister (as he very often does) right in front of the camera so his Daddy got to see it. Only 17 days left until Jeremy comes home on leave! I can't wait! :)

Six Flags, etc.

Saturday we went with Jeremy's family to Six Flags over New England, which is in Hartford about an hour from where we live. Remarkably enough, I never went on a single roller coaster the whole day, and I still had a really fun time. I did get to ride the Cold Spaghetti Ferris Wheel, the something-or-other Helicopters, and the Airplane ride with Reuben. The best part of the day was spent in the water park. They have a playground + water set up in the children's area, but Reuben didn't much care for the playground part, he was fully entertained just running around in the surrounding shallow pool, occasionally throwing himself down face first in the water.

Last week I manged to finish Reuben's quilt (quil-o actually, it folds up into a pocket on the back and becomes a pillow), and I'm a third of the way through making Anna's. I had really wanted to make each of my kids some sort of baby blanket, and finally hit on the idea of making a lap size blanket that can double as a pillow. Hopefully it'll be something they can use for years to come, particularly on road trips and camping trips. I'm using the simplest quilt design known to woman, and it's actually gone pretty quickly. I should have Anna's done in a week or less, now that I've got the bugs worked out of the pattern.

Over the weekend Jeremy's unit was helping with a mass Iraqi Police recruiting mission for the stations they're working with. I forget how many people they processed, including security screening and all that, but the first day alone they processed 200, so I'm thinking it was somewhere between 400-600 by the time it was all over. Those made for some long days, not that they have many short days under normal circumstances of course.

Monday Jeremy had me send him some shaving gel and body wash that the base store was out of, and as soon as I got back from the post office he remembered that he needed razor blades too. Tuesday I didn't have a babysitter available, so it was off to get the razor blades and mail them (with some homemade cookies this time) with two small children in tow. Shopping for the razor blades was simple enough, Reuben in the stroller and Anna in the arm that wasn't pushing the stroller. Our post office was built in the 1800s, beautiful building, but no handicap/stroller ramp. To make matters worse, I don't parallel park too well, so I ended up parking a block away, and then discovered Reuben had fallen asleep. So I was carrying him in one arm, and Anna in her car seat in the other, with the package sitting on top of her for a full city block, plus a full flight of stairs. Reuben weighs around 25 pounds, and Anna in the car seat seemed to weigh about the same, though how that's possible I don't know. On the way back to the car I was pretty sure I was going to collapse right there on the sidewalk before I made it to the car, but I guess all those years of canoeing and the grace of God made up the difference. That's the last time I attempt another trip to the post office with two kids though. ;)

Never a dull moment...

Jeremy found out on Saturday that the Army is going to fly him home for 15 days of leave starting September 20th. We had both been hoping that his leave time, if he got any, could be in January, though anything November or later would have been past the half-way point of the deployment. So at first the news had us both...at a loss. We wanted to be happy, but we just weren't. Right now being apart is miserable, but we've become more or less accustomed to it. Getting two full weeks together will be like heaven on earth, but then we have to say good bye all over again for six whole months, which rather overshadows the heave on earth bit. Up 'till now there's at least been the hope of leave time to look forward to somewhere in the middle of this forever long deployment.

This new development also means that I'm not going to Texas until early October, rather than next week like I had been planning on. It also means that when I go to Texas I will stay there until it's time to come home for good. Basically all major life events for the next eight months were just changed quite suddenly and without warning, and that really threw me for a loop. But, after sleeping on it, I had gotten over my sense of bewilderment and now I'm just thrilled Jeremy's coming home in a month! :)

My Mom used to have a Nancy Reagan quote posted in her kitchen, "You never know how strong a woman is until you put her in hot water."As days and weeks keep passing, I am frequently surprised to find how strong I can be when I have no choice. It takes about 3-4 times as long, is at least twice as difficult, and I end up doing deep breathing exercises before it's all over, but we can do just about anything we need to. However empowering each little achievement is, I am so weary of parenting alone. Though surrounded by people who love us and help out all they can, the care, training, and discipline of our two children ultimately rests on me. It's a burden that would be so much easier if it were shared. It isn't so much that I want Jeremy to take his turn or I want a break, I miss the camaraderie. Beyond parenthood, I just plain miss having a husband around. He makes life so much more fun.

A weekend visit from my friend Beth Anne

Anna Beth & me

Reuben & Anna, enjoying the Washington County Fair in RI

Ah...Motherhood

Whew! What a whirlwind it has been since Anna was born. My Mom was able to stay with us until Anna was a little over a week old. It was really wonderful having her here, and just precious getting to watch her spend time with her two Connecticut grandchildren. She did such a good job taking care of us I was really afraid I wouldn't know how to manage on my own once she left. But manage is exactly what I've done...it just takes a lot longer to do things without her help. ;)

There have been a multitude of precious moments enjoying my two little ones, and a multitude of crazy hours where I was trying to decide if I should scream and pull my hair out, or just sit down and cry. Like the night Reuben covered my entire bedroom floor in pop corn (despite my best efforts to minimize the mess), Anna had a blow out diaper on my bed (soaking through the heirloom quilt my great aunt gave us), Reuben was constantly on the verge of loving Anna to death, and both children were fussy grumps most of the evening. Or the other day when Anna woke up puking everything she ate, and continued throwing up almost everything she ate for most of the day (which happened to be on laundry day, the busiest day of our week). But this morning I managed a full scale supermom moment, when I walked all the way to the post office for stamps, pushing Reuben in the stroller with one hand, and hanging onto Anna in the baby carrier with the other hand (it's about a mile one way, over rather rough terrain for a stroller).

Last week I bought material to make quilts for Reuben & Anna, and since I had planned an extremely simple design, I was quite sure I could finish at least one of them before I leave for Texas the end of August. But...my refrigerator needs to be cleaned, not to mention the baseboards, and the kitchen floor needs a good scrubbing, and I can't manage to fit those things into my already very full day. So, I've revised my goals to finishing off that last bit on Jeremy's quilt (the one I was going to give him as a wedding present), if I have any time for projects at all that is, and otherwise I just plan to survive. ;)