Christmas Treasure Hunt

Merry Christmas!! We had a wonderful day celebrating the birth of Jesus and remembering all the blessings that God has given us this year. I decided to do a treasure hunt for the boys to be able to find their presents so I was up really late on Christmas Eve making up clues and hiding everything in the right places. I started in the boys' room and then they went up and downstairs quite a bit. They had a really good time finding everything. It made for a fun day!! We were able to chat with Joe on the phone in the morning. We were suppose to have a video conference with him but unfortunately that planned failed. Joe was able to have a home cooked meal of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and even an apple pie on Christmas Eve. Then, on Christmas morning all of his guys grilled eggs, bacon, and hash browns for a great breakfast which is something they haven't had for a while. Even though we were apart again this year, we know that there were many of you who have constantly prayed for us. I definitely felt the Lord's wonderful grace and all of your prayers yesterday. The boys and I had a great time playing with our new Wii. More of the boys playing than me. I managed to get one game of bowling in last night but I am sure I will have lots more chances soon. We pray that you all have enjoyed your Christmas too!! May the Lord continue to shine on all of you!

Decorations

Well, last weekend after my family left from Thanksgiving, I spent Friday evening cleaning and making space for the Christmas tree. I decided I better get up my decorations before I didn't really want to put anything up. Then Christian and I decided that we wanted to decorate out in front of the house since we really have never done it before. So here is a picture of our work. We decided to use the red, white, and blue in honor of Joe and our country. We had a great time working together on this project and Christian is really happy with the results and most of all it was fun.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, NO! It's SUPERCLIMBER!!!

Everyday I have to take a friends son to the bus stop in the morning with Nathan so when we come in I leave the stroller in the front room of our house. Well, Nathan loves to go and discover how the buckle works on the stroller. Well, I was doing dishes and I didn't see Nathan anywhere and it was really quiet. Ususally,you know what that means...TROUBLE!!! Well, the video explains it all. He had decided to climb into the stroller this time and so I decided to see if he could get himself out of it but it was hilarious to watch.
ENJOY!!!

My Walking Boy

Well I thought that I would put a video of Nathan in the Nursery at church on Sunday trying to walk. As much as I don't really want him to do it yet, he is pretty much doing it on his own. This is for his daddy to see mostly since he can't be here to witness it in person.

Football, Football, and More Football

I thought I would give you an update on Christian's football team, the Ft. Belvoir Bulldogs. Last Saturday, they played the Gum Spring Panthers which by far has been their toughest game. The Panthers were undefeated and we knew it would be a hard game for the boys. At halftime it was still 0 - 0. Then in the third quarter we were able to score a touchdown to make it 7 -0. That is the way it stayed. Our defense did a great job holding them off. Now, our team is 3 - 1. It looks like we might be making the playoffs. Christian is really enjoying being a part of this team and has learned a lot from the other players and coaches. The other news is that Joe was able to come home for a couple of weeks due to some military snafu's so he was able to be a part of the "chain gang" at the game on Saturday. He will be leaving to go back out on his deployment some time at the end of this week or next week. It's on a day to day basis right now, but we will deal with it when it comes, but for right now it is nice to have him home.

Fun Pictures

I decided to finally download the outrageous number of photos from my camera. I hope that you enjoy them. We have been having some very busy days with school, football practice and games, piano, and karate. It helps time to go by faster and it helps us when we are missing Daddy. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.

THANK YOU!!!

Thank you all for your prayers! Joe made it safely to where he is suppose to be. We appreciate your continued prayers.

Tears of Frustration

OK! This is a hard post for me as I have to tell you that my husband is leaving again tomorrow for another deployment after just getting home from the last one just six months ago. I know that there are lots of other Army wives who deal with this all of the time. This being the third deployment you think I would know how to, but, guess what, I DON'T!!!! Usually we have a few months to digest the fact that Joe would be leaving but in this case we have only had about 2 weeks. So, hence the Tears of Frustration. So, I guess I am asking you to pray for all of us and we deal with once again being separated for a lot of those special days that were missed last year, like my birthday, Isaac's bday and death anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Nathan's 1st birthday(which Joe missed his birth too!). Lord willing, I will get over my frustration and continue to know that God's grace is sufficient for me and His strength will be ever present. Even as a Christian sometimes it is hard for me not to focus on the circumstances and keep my eyes on things above as they are suppose to be. I guess I am only human and still have that sinful nature to be this way. We love all of you and thank you for always keeping us in your prayers. May God Bless all of you!!

Strawberry Picking & Camping Trip

On Memorial Day Weekend, Joe decided to take the boys camping with some of our friends from church but before they left I took the boys up to Maryland to go strawberry picking. It was a really nice farm and we met another homeschooling family there to pick beautiful strawberries. The boys did a great job at picking the right ones too. We ended up with 3 very full flats of strawberries. Then we went inside and had fresh homemade ice cream and donuts. It was delicious. The following week, I decided to make jam and strawberry sauce. I ended up with 21 quart jars of jam and 8 jars of Strawberry sauce. At least I won't have to buy any for a long time!! We had a great time together.

We went home and then proceeded to get Joe and the boys ready to leave for camping. The went to a local campground, only about 5 miles from the house, but still a beautiful place. Our church holds it's picnic's there on Memorial Day weekend which is one of the reasons that they choose to go there. Joe and the boys left that afternoon and I went out to meet them later on for dinner. I did not camp with Nathan this year but by God's grace maybe next year. I think for their first camping experience they had a good time with their Dad and some of their friends that were there as well. It was a beautiful weekend too. I was just warm enough during the day and not too cold at night. Most of all, there was wonderful fellowship between believers.

Enjoy the pictures and hopefully tomorrow I will have more to come.

Updates

Hi Everyone!!

Well, I know I have been a lot behind on blogging as of late but stay tuned for some updates. The life of living with three very active boys has caught up with me. So, my plan is to have a new blog for the next 5 days with updates from what has been happening for the past few months. I hope you enjoy them. Have a great day!!!

The Power of a Dollar

Today, the boys and I had to go out to pick up Aaron's new eyeglasses at the mall. We did that and then went on to canvassing the mall just to have some time out of the house. We ended up hitting the Dollar Store which honestly I haven't gone to in a really long time. I was cruising around just looking and found these really cool little sunglasses for Nathan. Christian exclaims to Nathan, "Don't let her put those silly things on you!" Well, I purchased them for a dollar and when we got home I decided to try them out. As soon as I put them on he started smiling and was so excited. These will last me all summer especially the many days at the swimming pool here on post and I will be protecting his eyes. So even though the economy may be in a slump at the moment, and even though they may only be "silly" sunglasses, that dollar will go a long way for me.

Piano Recital

Well, this past Saturday, the boys had their 2nd piano recital. This is the second year they have taken lessons with some time off in between to find a new piano teacher who is Mrs. Jan Z. from our church. She is a wonderful teacher and very patient with the boys. Christian actually ended up going first because the person before him was unexpectedly late. I thought that would make him more nervous but he handled it very well. Mrs. Jan was very pleased with their performances as they made no mistakes and played from memory. Joe and I were happy and proud of both of the boys and the good job they did. Hopefully, over this next year they will continue to improve. We hope you all enjoy hearing and seeing them play!!

Nathan's Dedication

This past Sunday we had Nathan's Baby Dedication. We as a family brought Nathan forward with the decision to dedicate to teaching and training him in the admonition of the Lord along with the help of our pastors and church family. Pastor prayed for us and Ms. Sue presented us with his first little Bible and a certificate of dedication. We pray that Nathan will grow up knowing God's word in his heart and one day come to a working knowledge of Jesus Christ and to be saved. We continually thank the Lord for blessing us with Nathan and the joy he has brought to our family.

What's Been Happening....

Well, this month has been pretty busy for us. When Joe arrived home from his deployment we decided to go down to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. It's our favorite place to go as a family. Anyways, as you can see from the pictures, it was Nathan's first time in the big wave pool and he seem to enjoy the warm 84 degree water. He did really well for the two times that he was in the water. They also had opened the new Wave Boarding area and Joe and the boys really liked that, especially Aaron. It was nice to all be together again and enjoying each others company. On Good Friday we decided to go down to the Air & Space Museum in downtown DC for the day. It's always fun trying to find parking which took us about an hour and half but we finally made it to the museum. It was also a very pretty day out. We enjoyed the space section of the museum, had lunch, and then went walking down through the mall. We went over to the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden and looked at the interesting pieces of Art. The boys and I have been working hard at school and our goal is to be finished by the end of May before we have our homeschool graduation on May 31st. It just means a few extra lessons here and there. Nathan turned 3 months old this week and he is smiling all of the time. He is very long. He does have his moments just like any other baby but he really enjoys having his big brothers around to entertain him and hold him. The boys love to make him laugh as much as he can but they do enjoy it. Joe has been busy back at work and I have been keeping everything on track with the boys. They are both involved in Karate as well as piano and continue to do well with their AWANAs at church on Wednesday evening. Well, I will try to do a better job at getting the blog updated, so until next time, we love you all!

Update...

Well, things at the Santimaw household are pretty much back to normal. Joe took two weeks off from work and last week we enjoyed a few days at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. It is our favorite place to go as a family. Joe will be headed back to work next Monday and then life will really be back to normal. We all have enjoyed having him home and it has been a blessing for me to have help with all of the boys. He loves spending time with Nathan, cuddling him and talking to him. It's fun to watch him with him. I am posting the pictures from the airport the night he finally got to hold Nathan for the first time and some of us too. Thanks for your prayers they have been wonderful!! Nathan had is 2 month well baby appt. today and weighed 10 1/4 lbs and was 25.3 inches. I can't believe how long he is especially for a 2 month old. Enjoy the pics!

Home Safe and Sound

Well, after four days of waiting Joe finally made it home last night to BWI. He arrived around 8:45 p.m. and the boys and I were so excited. He had to fly to Ft. Benning this morning to turn in his equipment and go through a class so he should be home for good by Wednesday or Thursday. We did get to spend the night with him in Baltimore and it was a great reunion. Thank you all for your prayers and I will post some pics later as I am feeling a little tired and Nathan is out of sorts at the moment too. We thank the Lord for His wonderful love and mercy through this time we have been separated. God is so good to us!! We love you all!

Change of Plans AGAIN!

Well, Joe emailed this morning to say that they are sending in a new plane and isn't sure when they will be leaving so he doesn't know when he will be here. Please continue to keep him in your prayers and us too. It's so difficult to not know when your husband/daddy is coming home and not to get too excited knowing you may be disappointed. Anyways, thanks for your prayers and we love you all!

Update & Prayer Request

Well, to begin Joe was suppose to arrive in the states on Wednesday evening, unfortunately his plane was delayed and has now been delayed for the past three days due to mechanical difficulties. So the prayer request comes in several parts. First, please pray for the plane to be fixed properly so that all of those soldiers who have been waiting to get home after their service can finally get home to their families. Secondly, pray for Joe not to get too frustrated with the whole situation.
Thirdly, pray for Christian and Aaron who have been told for the last three days, "Daddy is coming home," only to have their hopes shattered after I have to tell them he isn't coming. Lastly, please pray for me to remember the Lord's timing and know it is perfect. Also not to do things in my strength but in His as it is hard for me at this moment to not become frustrated with circumstances. Thank you in advance for your prayers as they are so appreciated by us all.

One Month Old

I can't believe that Nathan is one month old already! Time is going rather quickly except for waiting for my husband to come home. Anyway,Nathan is a very good little boy and has been sleeping mostly through the night except for these last two nights but I just chalk it up to he's having a growth spurt. You can also see that he is trying to smile. You can tell he wants to but just isn't all the way there yet. Aaron and Christian are very protective of him and they love to hold him. They can't understand when he cries though what is wrong with him mostly because he is tired and ready to nap. They will get use to it eventually. Well, I am back off to bed, Nathan has nursed and now back to sleep. Enjoy the pictures!!

Ski Trip

Well, this week my sister, brother-in-law, and niece flew up from Florida to come to see Nathan and to go on a ski trip to Massanutten Ski Resort. We arrived Saturday afternoon to our condo rental for the week and got settled. Everyone went skiing on Sunday except me and Nathan, of course, and they all had a great time. The boys are doing extremely well for their first time. They have improved from red group to orange group and now they are both in yellow group. My brother in law is going to try to get some video of the boys so hopefully I can put that on here in a few days. Nathan and I have been doing well. We went out to the mountain today to watch Aaron and Christian ski. We also went to the arcade room last night and played games after dinner. It's been pretty relaxing with a few bumps in the road here like a flat tire on the truck but what vacation doesn't have that. Thank the Lord for AAA. You call and they come when needed. It's been great to see my family and we are having a good time together. It's making the time until Joe gets home pass a little bit faster too. We are truly looking forward to him being home in February and we are sorry he missed being here with us this week.

Nathan's First Bath

On Sunday night, I was able to give Nathan his first bath. His cord fell off Saturday afternoon. I was so excited to see how he would do in the water since Aaron and Christian both loved taking a bath and the water in general. I was glad to see that he was relaxed and mostly calm while getting cleaned by me for the first time. Christian was nice enough to take the pictures for me so enjoy them. We are all doing well and back into our normal routine of school, bowling, and piano lessons. We are expecting my sister and her family this weekend for a week of vacation and then my parents will be here the first week of February. We have about 3 1/2 weeks or so until Joe will be coming home and we are all getting excited about that especially Joe. He can't wait to hold Nathan for the first time and see him in person. Please continue to pray for Joe's safety and his safe return, we appreciate it so very much. May the Lord's grace keep you in His peace.