My gift to you.
Dec. 24th, 2005 03:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
navygreenWell, those of you who wanted it, that is. ;-)
As I'm afraid that this Christmas Eve day might slip away from me before I have a chance to write, I will put this up now. Besides, I'm hoping that not very many of you are actually reading much LJ right now... hehehe.
Our 2005 Christmas newsletter
Late November, 2005
Greetings from Nebraska! I hope that our 'newsy' letter finds you well - happy and healthy and surrounded by loved ones for the upcoming holiday season! We think of you often, and now is the time to let you know, as the holidays are when we wish we could see everyone we love the most!
As all newsletters do, this one serves to "catch you up a bit" on the goings-on in our neck of the woods - heehee! Let's just say that I'm actually glad to be putting the year 2005 behind, and I'm sure that the next year will bring its own share of triumphs and trials. That's the way of life, right?
On New Year's Eve 2004, we learned that Philip would be deploying for Iraq in just 24 days. he had been originally slated to leave in March, so pushing up the date by two months was quite an unwelcome surprise for us. Even in those next three weeks, he spent much of the time in Nevada for different trainings; out of that time, we only had six more days with him as a family. His parents - George and Nancy - flew in for a last-minute visit the weekend before he left, and it was a nice, but all-too-short time with them.
As things always happen, we got our large snows in Nebraska just after Philip left (I think Someone up there likes to see me struggle with the snowblower!). I did, in fact, manage to damage our brand-new snowblower after going only three feet with it - luckily, a friend helped me put it back together and offered to do any needed snowblowing for the rest of the year. Let's just say that I'm "mechanically disadvantaged," and leave it at that.
THe boys and I spent much of February ironing out our routines and settling into a regular "life without Daddy." There were still quite a few tears at that point, and my punishments were often second-guessed, but we made it through. Philip surprised me with a gorgeous arrangement of yellow roses for Valentine's Day, and I was so touched (he's not usually one for romantics, and for him to do this while so far away was truly amazing!). The weather turned warmer a bit earlier this year, and the boys did quite a lot of chalk-drawing on the driveway that month, too.
In early March, a dear family member of ours passed away, Philip's great-aunt Mary. He was torn up about it, not able to come home, and the boys and I weren't able to travel to WV either. Instead, we wrote cards to her, tied them on balloons and let them off from our church parking lot on a Sunday afternoon. I was very moved later to discover that the pictures I had snapped of the four balloons floating away in the sky formed a perfect cross - I think Mary might've been smiling at us.
We built a grand swingset the last week of March, and the boys have played on it almost nonstop since then. It really helped to pass the summer months, too. I'd sit at the picnic table and read books while the boys raced each other down the slide or across the monkey bars.
Philip had lots of action in Iraq, but his worst incident happened in March as well. The vehicle he was driving was hit with an IED (improvised explosive device), and there was a lot of damage done to the truck, as well as injuries within his group (though Philip himself was fine). In other incidents, he received more cuts and scrapes, and he has a nice scar on his elbow from falling from the gunner slot in another incident... but he's okay. (And - truth be told - now that he's home and safe, the scars are kinda sexy. *wink*)
The spring passed quickly, and we kept busy. I went to a Kenny Chesney concert with a dear friend in Iowa, and the boys each celebrated their "graduations" - A.J. from 1st grade, and Jack from 3-year preschool. We spent one Sunday afternoon in a Drug-Free walk, and we went to the zoo many, many times (an annual pass to the zoo is a MUST for our family!). With huge help from a friend, we planted a large garden in our backyard, and the boys loved caring for it and watering the veggies that they'd picked out (and finding grubs, too - they're definitely BOYS!).
During the summer, the boys and I practically lived outside, it seemed. I spent hours weeding the garden while they played on the Slip 'n Slide (we went through three this summer!), in our little pool, in the sprinkler or on the swingset. I took them to a "real" pool a few times as well, and they took to it well! We also picked strawberries in our local patch, went to the zoo some more, arranged a few playdates, and we went to the lake a couple of times. We tried really hard to stay busy, and there were benefits from that: the boys fell asleep easily each night, and I got the best tan of my life. :-)
In late summer, I strangely developed a case of flesh-eating bacteria, and I had to have a small chunk cut out of my abdomen to remove it. My best friend Heather came over to repack my wound daily - I'm so thankful for her! About two and a half weeks later, she drove with us to Chicago to attend the national book release party for the sixth book in the Harry Potter series. I do volunteer work for the largest HP website in the world, and our site was hosting the national party. It was a great time, even if it was a whirlwind trip. The boys love all things Harry Potter as well (I've raised them right!), and they loved the hotel pool, too. *wink*
Once back from our mini-vacation, we settled into our end-of-summer routine - enjoying the last bits of warm weather outside again. I was still working alone on Saturdays at the cash advance store, and I was robbed at knifepoint during closing on July 30th. I was quite a wreck for the next ten days or so, but I began seeing a therapist, and I spent lots of time talking to my Stephen minister, pastors and folks from church.
The bright spots came again as we celebrated Jack and A.J.'s birthdays in August. Jack had a dinosaur party here at home, with tons of friends and water fun. A.J. chose a bowling party at our local alley, and he had friends from school. Both had their best birthdays ever, I think, and I'm happy about that - I'd tried really hard to make them special since Philip was still away.
September was busy with the start of school and the onset of the fall season. A.J. is now a second-grader, and Jack is in the 4-year preschool class. They logged many hours in bunches of fall leaves, and we've had a few field trips that I've chaperoned and tagged along on as well. On October 1st, I was robbed again at the store (and though there are still no leads on the csse, I'd almost swear it was indeed the same man). I quit this time, and my friends have really rallied around my decision to do so.
Philip returned hom on October 6th, and we've had a happy and wonderful reunion since his homecoming. We've been to a farm, to the pumpkin patch, and we've taken our time showing and introducing him to all of the things that had changed while he was away those many months. He is cuter than ever (if I do say so myself!), and the boys love having him home again.
We held our annual Halloween bash, and this year we had 52 people at our home! We've already had our first snow of the season here (as you can see in the picture), and we're looking forward to a wonderful holiday season! We'll be home for a visit in WV from Dec. 26-Jan. 3, determined to make this New Year's Eve start off better than the last one!
Love,
Nicole & Philip
(and A.J. & Jack, too!)
our respective email addresses were here
And that's it! Please now, no comments about how corny it is - trust me, I already know! *gags*
As I'm afraid that this Christmas Eve day might slip away from me before I have a chance to write, I will put this up now. Besides, I'm hoping that not very many of you are actually reading much LJ right now... hehehe.
Our 2005 Christmas newsletter
Late November, 2005
Greetings from Nebraska! I hope that our 'newsy' letter finds you well - happy and healthy and surrounded by loved ones for the upcoming holiday season! We think of you often, and now is the time to let you know, as the holidays are when we wish we could see everyone we love the most!
As all newsletters do, this one serves to "catch you up a bit" on the goings-on in our neck of the woods - heehee! Let's just say that I'm actually glad to be putting the year 2005 behind, and I'm sure that the next year will bring its own share of triumphs and trials. That's the way of life, right?
On New Year's Eve 2004, we learned that Philip would be deploying for Iraq in just 24 days. he had been originally slated to leave in March, so pushing up the date by two months was quite an unwelcome surprise for us. Even in those next three weeks, he spent much of the time in Nevada for different trainings; out of that time, we only had six more days with him as a family. His parents - George and Nancy - flew in for a last-minute visit the weekend before he left, and it was a nice, but all-too-short time with them.
As things always happen, we got our large snows in Nebraska just after Philip left (I think Someone up there likes to see me struggle with the snowblower!). I did, in fact, manage to damage our brand-new snowblower after going only three feet with it - luckily, a friend helped me put it back together and offered to do any needed snowblowing for the rest of the year. Let's just say that I'm "mechanically disadvantaged," and leave it at that.
THe boys and I spent much of February ironing out our routines and settling into a regular "life without Daddy." There were still quite a few tears at that point, and my punishments were often second-guessed, but we made it through. Philip surprised me with a gorgeous arrangement of yellow roses for Valentine's Day, and I was so touched (he's not usually one for romantics, and for him to do this while so far away was truly amazing!). The weather turned warmer a bit earlier this year, and the boys did quite a lot of chalk-drawing on the driveway that month, too.
In early March, a dear family member of ours passed away, Philip's great-aunt Mary. He was torn up about it, not able to come home, and the boys and I weren't able to travel to WV either. Instead, we wrote cards to her, tied them on balloons and let them off from our church parking lot on a Sunday afternoon. I was very moved later to discover that the pictures I had snapped of the four balloons floating away in the sky formed a perfect cross - I think Mary might've been smiling at us.
We built a grand swingset the last week of March, and the boys have played on it almost nonstop since then. It really helped to pass the summer months, too. I'd sit at the picnic table and read books while the boys raced each other down the slide or across the monkey bars.
Philip had lots of action in Iraq, but his worst incident happened in March as well. The vehicle he was driving was hit with an IED (improvised explosive device), and there was a lot of damage done to the truck, as well as injuries within his group (though Philip himself was fine). In other incidents, he received more cuts and scrapes, and he has a nice scar on his elbow from falling from the gunner slot in another incident... but he's okay. (And - truth be told - now that he's home and safe, the scars are kinda sexy. *wink*)
The spring passed quickly, and we kept busy. I went to a Kenny Chesney concert with a dear friend in Iowa, and the boys each celebrated their "graduations" - A.J. from 1st grade, and Jack from 3-year preschool. We spent one Sunday afternoon in a Drug-Free walk, and we went to the zoo many, many times (an annual pass to the zoo is a MUST for our family!). With huge help from a friend, we planted a large garden in our backyard, and the boys loved caring for it and watering the veggies that they'd picked out (and finding grubs, too - they're definitely BOYS!).
During the summer, the boys and I practically lived outside, it seemed. I spent hours weeding the garden while they played on the Slip 'n Slide (we went through three this summer!), in our little pool, in the sprinkler or on the swingset. I took them to a "real" pool a few times as well, and they took to it well! We also picked strawberries in our local patch, went to the zoo some more, arranged a few playdates, and we went to the lake a couple of times. We tried really hard to stay busy, and there were benefits from that: the boys fell asleep easily each night, and I got the best tan of my life. :-)
In late summer, I strangely developed a case of flesh-eating bacteria, and I had to have a small chunk cut out of my abdomen to remove it. My best friend Heather came over to repack my wound daily - I'm so thankful for her! About two and a half weeks later, she drove with us to Chicago to attend the national book release party for the sixth book in the Harry Potter series. I do volunteer work for the largest HP website in the world, and our site was hosting the national party. It was a great time, even if it was a whirlwind trip. The boys love all things Harry Potter as well (I've raised them right!), and they loved the hotel pool, too. *wink*
Once back from our mini-vacation, we settled into our end-of-summer routine - enjoying the last bits of warm weather outside again. I was still working alone on Saturdays at the cash advance store, and I was robbed at knifepoint during closing on July 30th. I was quite a wreck for the next ten days or so, but I began seeing a therapist, and I spent lots of time talking to my Stephen minister, pastors and folks from church.
The bright spots came again as we celebrated Jack and A.J.'s birthdays in August. Jack had a dinosaur party here at home, with tons of friends and water fun. A.J. chose a bowling party at our local alley, and he had friends from school. Both had their best birthdays ever, I think, and I'm happy about that - I'd tried really hard to make them special since Philip was still away.
September was busy with the start of school and the onset of the fall season. A.J. is now a second-grader, and Jack is in the 4-year preschool class. They logged many hours in bunches of fall leaves, and we've had a few field trips that I've chaperoned and tagged along on as well. On October 1st, I was robbed again at the store (and though there are still no leads on the csse, I'd almost swear it was indeed the same man). I quit this time, and my friends have really rallied around my decision to do so.
Philip returned hom on October 6th, and we've had a happy and wonderful reunion since his homecoming. We've been to a farm, to the pumpkin patch, and we've taken our time showing and introducing him to all of the things that had changed while he was away those many months. He is cuter than ever (if I do say so myself!), and the boys love having him home again.
We held our annual Halloween bash, and this year we had 52 people at our home! We've already had our first snow of the season here (as you can see in the picture), and we're looking forward to a wonderful holiday season! We'll be home for a visit in WV from Dec. 26-Jan. 3, determined to make this New Year's Eve start off better than the last one!
Love,
Nicole & Philip
(and A.J. & Jack, too!)
our respective email addresses were here
And that's it! Please now, no comments about how corny it is - trust me, I already know! *gags*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 09:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 09:47 am (UTC)Merry Christmas to you and yours!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-25 01:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 12:25 pm (UTC)And really? Yours is quite a bit better than some of the ones that have shown up at my house this year!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 02:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 02:34 pm (UTC)Thanks so much for sharing!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 03:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 08:01 pm (UTC)Will read yours soon...
Date: 2005-12-24 03:27 pm (UTC)You will get one next year.
Maria
Re: Will read yours soon...
Date: 2005-12-24 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 04:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-24 11:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-26 07:51 pm (UTC)Hope you are having a great trip!!!