the end in sight

In less than three weeks, though we still don't know the exact day, Jeremy will be home. He went on his last mission yesterday and has officially turned over his job to the gunner from the replacement unit. Though it's all unofficial still, he expects to be flying from Iraq to Kuwait April 7, and from Kuwait to Fort Dix, NJ on April 10. Hopefully the "Wecome Home Ceremony" will be April 18...or 20...or who knows!

This week I've been slowly but surely packing things up and preparing to make the move back to Connecticut. Saturday afternoon my Dad and some random siblings will drive us to my Maw Maw & Paw Paw's home in Baton Rouge, LA. From there my grandparents will be driving us the rest of the way home in their minivan, stopping to stay with relatives several places along the way. It'll be a long trip, but at the end of the trip I'll be in my own little home again, and I am really excieted about getting to my own home again!

Our time here has been so many things: precious, hard, fun, overwhelming, irreplaceable. It was really awesome to see my parents and siblings actually getting to know my children, and vise versa. There were many times I thought that would never be possible. I got to know my brothers and sisters again, three years older than when I married and left home. They are without a doubt some of the coolest people I know...which I thought three years ago, but they're even cooler now. My family have been such gracious, generous, and patient hosts. I am really going to miss them, and my new church here, and many precious friends.

The last several months I've been very aware that Reuben's training and education was seriously lacking. Knowing what to do with babies and small children does not come naturally to me. So, I've been reading books, asking questions, and listening to a child training course on CD; trying to learn from others wiser than I. I can't wait for Jeremy to get home! He's so much better at this kind of thing than I am.

Amidst all the training issues, I've noticed that Reuben's speaking skills are not much better now than they were a year ago. So, the last Dr. check up I asked about that, and we were sent to get a hearing test, which happened this afternoon. It seems that he has fluid built up in his middle ear, he can hear most things, but it's all muffled. Now comes the excieting task of figuring out what to do about it.