In my shoes

So life has been a lot different lately. For one thing, we are over 1500 miles away from anyone we know. For another, Steven has been sick more in the last month than he ever has. He had another ear infection last week along with an upper respiratory infection. His ear infection is now gone, but he still has a very bad cough and runny nose, and now the poor thing has pink eye! Even with all of this going on, he is still the happiest little boy I've ever seen. He is such a trooper. He is becoming more aware and curious every day. We are having fun exploring our new surroundings together. It is strange for me to be a stay-at-home-mom and a wife. In the past I have only been a wife and a working mother or just a stay-at-home-mom with a husband that was off in the USAF. I have never had the pleasure of taking care of my husband, child, and home. Richard and I have always shared the household responsibilities because neither of us had the time to manage them; basically we did what we could when it had to be done right that second. Since we have been reunited after nearly 5 months of being apart, I am now a full time wife and mother, and that's it. No job to steal my attention and energy; just my family. I have to tell you, I'm loving it. It's just a little strange- I always feel like I should be doing more than just playing with my son, or cooking, or cleaning, or well you get the picture. LOL. I'm confident that I will get used to it. Anyways, like I said Steven and I are having fun exploring this new town of Altus, Oklahoma. The other day, after we brought Richard his breakfast and lunch we went to Payless in search of some flip-flop sandals (I never thought there would be a day when those would be difficult to find- ha! that's Oklahoma for ya, lol). Since we were the only ones in the store, Steven had pretty much full reign of it. While I was looking, he was exploring the shelves of shoes trying each one on and, of course, testing them out. It was really cute to watch him figure them out. I made the mistake of showing him the kids section and he immediately found the Lighting McQueen light up sandals, which I inevitably purchased for him. Now he just loves them and he gets very upset when it is too cold of wear them. He loves to wear them even just around the house, and the best part is, he can put them on himself. He also loves to try mine out once in a while. (see the pictures).

On a different note, Richard was finally able to move off base with us last night. We spent the evening yesterday figuring out where on earth we were going to put all of his stuff in this tiny apartment. I swear, he has more stuff than I brought with me from California! LOL Well, we eventually figured it out and are happy to be a family again, all living under one roof. No more dorm life, no more "details," and best of all no more bringing him breakfast, lunch, and occasionally dinner when he gets stuck on base because of some bogus "lighting warning." He can come and go whenever he wants, as long as he is at his classes.

How sweet it is!

I cannot begin to describe how wonderful it is to finally be a family again, well actually I can and I will, lol. My heart is so full as I watch Richard and Steven enjoy each other's company. Those two have been unseparable lately. We are staying in a very small, one bedroom apartment here is Altus, Oklahoma. It is pretty much perfect though. Yes, it is small but it has a bigger closet that we are using for Steven's "room. " We don't close the door but a least he has his own little space. We put up posters on the walls and Steven really loves it; he knows that it is his. These days Steven really, REALLY likes trains and cars. Since we made the 1500+ mile trip here, he has fallen head-or-heels for them. Anything and everything trains! One cool thing about living here is that they actually use the train tracks. We are close enough to them that you can faintly here the trains whistle at the crossings and Steven get so excited and runs around the house going "choo choo, choo choo!" It is positively adorable. Each day he continues to mature and become more of a little boy and less of a toddler. Richard is doing very well in school and has recently begun the process of becoming a "rope" which is a student leader. They get to wear a distinguishing green rope on their shoulder. Basically it looks good in your files and he is excited at the chance of a new challenge. We all know he'll be a great "rope." To sum it up, we are all settling in very nicely here. Steven and I are staying busy with a play group, bible study at the local First Baptist Church, and a gymnastics class. We also plan to start a swimming class in June. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. LOVE YOU, MISS YOU!!!

We made it to Oklahoma!

Steven and I have relocated, temporarily, to Oklahoma to be with Richard while he finishes up his training. We left California on Sunday (March 30th) and drove over 1500 miles to Altus, OKlahoma accompanied by Wally (our dog) and Pam (Richard's mom). The first day we drove about 655 miles to Kingman, AZ and then stayed the night in a lovely Motel 6, lol. It was actually one of the cleanest hotel I've ever stayed in. The only thing was, as they noted at the check-in counter, "We are proud to inform you that we have a train that runs right through the center of town and whistles at the crossings. " Oh how cool is that, I thought. Well, what the sign didn't say is that this train runs very late and whistels very late! So we heard whistles, coming from right next to the hotel, until around 10pm. Steven thought it was the best thing ever though! He seems to really like trains and cars these days. The town had some neat things to offer. In the morning, before getting back on the road, we took Steven to see a train they had on display in the center of town at a park. He thought is was great to be able to climb on it and play with things. ( see the pictures) While we where there playing, a train passed by and Steven was amazed and so excited, lol.


We continued on our way that day about another 650 miles to Tucumcari, NM. We stayed the night there and then drove pretty much straight to Altus, which was only another 280 miles. We rolled into town and were pleasantly surprised. It is very cute; small, but really nice. We are renting a one bedroom furnished apartment and are very happy with it. We live about 4-5 miles from base which is very convenient. :) Richard is still waiting to get to move off base with us, but we see him every day and he gets to stay over on the weekends. Steven seems to be very happy here, we both are. He is so excited to see his daddy! Well, that's all for now.