Happy Happy Birthday Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful, intelligent, remarkable, thoughtful, caring, loving (I could go on and on) daughter Taylor Elaine Eichler today!! Born on this day September 26Th, 1994. Yes, that is 16 years ago!! No one ever told me it would go by THIS fast. It seems like it was just yesterday that God placed her into my arms...all 8lbs 3.6oz, 21in long of pure joy! At exactly 7:59am this world was blessed by her appearance. She decided that the world would wait on her arrival as she was 2 1/2 weeks overdue. She is one of the BEST blessings that I have ever been given in my life. She is a beautiful person both inside AND out, and I am very grateful that I was chosen to be her mother. I could not imagine life without her in it.

I am sorry the pictures are fuzzy. Remember, these are pictures of pictures (no digital camera back then). And since I don't have a scanner the quality is not the best...so I will make due with what I have. September 26, 1994, 8lbs 3.6oz, 21in long, the day God graced this world with her presence







Finally going home from the hospital (after a quick stop at the BX)





The first time we visited Anchorage, Alaska

Here we are at Balooga Point in Anchorage, Alaska

Waiting to leave for the first day of Kindergarten

Walking to class



Waiting for class to start (and for me to stop taking so many pictures and to stop my crying) I have MANY more pictures, but since the quality is not very good I will not put them on here.

Happy Birthday beautiful girl!! I hope all your dreams come true!! And thank you for all the joys you have brought to my life!! I LOVE YOU

Exactly one week, OR 7 days, OR 168 hours, OR 10,080 minutes until we leave to see Daddy!! Can you tell we are getting a little excited? I may have gone a little crazy with the minutes but it is better than saying months or weeks! We can't wait to see Daddy!! Only one more phone call AND it will be on Taylor's 16Th birthday!! Next Wednesday, September 29Th, can't come fast enough!

Silas got another letter in the mail yesterday, Thanks Ra!! It really does brighten his day. Everyday he will ask "is there any mail for me?" It was funny, yesterday I asked him who his letter was from and he replied (in a "duh Mom, you should already know" voice) "Uh Mom, you know it's from Ra"! He really loves opening up the letters and seeing what magnificent surprise is in there!

Silas has built up quite the collection of "Silly Bandz" over the summer. I have bought so many packages of them I have lost count, Taylor has given him some
AND Ra has sent some in his letters! We have helped that company make a few dollars!! Just for fun, and out of curiosity, I asked him if he would put them on. I was hoping he would put them ALL on, but he said this was enough of them!


Homecoming is right around the corner, October 8Th, the weekend after we get back from our trip to see Daddy. We have found the perfect dress and the perfect pair of heels. Hopefully Taylor's date will make the night perfect, fingers crossed!! She deserves to have a perfect night after all the "teenage girl drama" that has been going on here lately (I thought it was awful when I was her age, girls now-a-days are just plain mean and ugly). I will put some pictures up here later, so stay tuned...she looks amazing in it!! It is kind of hard to see her look so grown up, to me she will always be my little girl!! Boy, I thought this whole mother gig would get easier the older they got, I must not have read that page in the handbook!

I hope everyone has a great week! I am off to finish my countdown and watch all 604,800 seconds go by! haha

Welcome Fall!!

My goodness we have been busy! It feels like we have been running from here to there and doing this and that! Oh well, it makes the time fly by faster for our trip to see Daddy graduate from Army BCT! We have officially begun the countdown, 13 days until we leave!

Our search for a car for Taylor has ended. We finally found one! She has a nice and shiny, fire-engine red Chevy Cavalier! Thankfully that chore is done with, and that WAS a chore! I thought trying to find a decent car for her would be cake...BOY was I wrong. And then adding her own input into the mix ("I don't like it", "It looks like an old lady car") just added to the already stressful job of finding one. But like I said, thankfully we found one!

On Sunday we went to my sister Megan's house for a BBQ in honor of our Mom who is leaving for Canada tomorrow. We all had a nice time. Taylor really liked their dog Scooby, who is bigger than Silas and STILL growing. Silas wasn't so sure about Scooby since he is a horse compared to our little Trooper, and Scooby kept trying to gnaw on his arm (he is still a puppy).

Taylor had a big project for her Spanish II class. She had to make a 2011 calender. She did a GREAT job on it and I am sure she will get an A! Here is Taylor working on it while Silas is coloring a very pretty picture for Daddy.

Wal-Mart is just now starting to put out its Halloween decorations and costumes, so while Silas and I were there the other day we decided to take a quick look. They didn't have very much out yet BUT Silas managed to find something that he COULD NOT live without. I am very proud to announce that I now have "Cowboy Sheriff Silas" living in my house! He has put on his "outfit" everyday since we got it and has worn it everywhere we have gone! His outfit is complete with a cowboy hat, "bendena" and badge (the best $5.00 I ever spent). Watch out everyone, there is a new sheriff in town!! Here he is saying "howdy partner". Here Cowboy Silas is telling me that "cowboys don't like their pictures taken a lot". Never thought a Cowboy could look so darn cute!! He is patiently waiting for a movie to get over so we can return it to Redbox.

I absolutely love this time of year (minus the allergies)! I have pulled out all the fall decorations and put away all the summer ones. I LOVE the cooler temperatures, the wind blowing leaves off the trees, the changing colors of leaves, being able to wear sweatshirts with shorts or tank tops with jammy pants and the smells of "fall" candles!! This is my favorite time of year! I have a new door decoration, I am not sure about it but Taylor loves it, any thoughts?

I hope everyone has a great finish to the week AND has a wonderful weekend!! I am off to clean my house in my "newly pulled out" jammy pants and set out stuff to make chili for dinner....have I mentioned that this is my FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR?!?!?!

Sticker Fun!!

Silas got another letter stuffed full of stickers from Ra!! These stickers didn't last very long. As soon as he opened his letter he put them on

Silas got out his train tracks the other day and had lots of fun He even built a tunnel for them to go under


He wanted me to include this picture as well

He got a postcard in the mail from Dylan. They just got back from Disney World and BOY was Silas excited!! He has carried this around the house and has a "special" place to put it (so it won't get messed up)!!


We have been actively looking for a car for Taylor. Let me just say that car shopping is not one of my favorite things to do by far, especially with Wayne being gone!! I have recruited my brother-in-law into helping us as well, so that is a plus! I have forgotten how many pieces of junk are out there. I wish there was a website that sold only the crappy cars and another that just offered the good ones. I really think there should be these out there!! On top of trying to weed through all the junk cars, Taylor is hell bent on wanting a Ford ZX2. I am trying to persuade her into other types of cars, but as you all know she is one headstrong individual!! I am glad she has her own opinions, but it does make for some VERY interesting conversations (if you want to call them that)!! As my Mom said over the weekend, gotta love "the Mother curse"!! I don't know how many times I have appologized to her, and probably will for several years to come too!!

We are getting very excited for our trip to see Daddy the end of this month!! His graduation is October 1st, and I couldn't be more proud of him!! We look forward to being able to see what he has been doing and to see all "the Army guys" (per Silas)!

The Range

Wayne put this in the letter I received yesterday. He said he went to the range to group and zero his weapon. He said his groups were really good, that means he is a real good shot with his rifle. He said his goal is 40 out of 40, but he at least wants to get expert which is 36 out of 40. If he gets that it will be another medal he puts on his ACU's. They will be out at the range for most of the next 2 weeks shooting. When I talked to him on the phone the other day he was ecstatic about this!!



This is the target that he shot at (they are both the same target, I was trying to emphasize the holes). He told me that his Drill Sergent even complimented him!! Most people only got to shoot 30 rounds, while Wayne was one of the lucky ones who got to shoot 75 rounds. He said it was a blast!! I am extremely proud of him for doing such a great job (and enjoying it as much as he does)!! I never had any doubts he would be awesome!!



On a sad note...my tomato plant is no longer around. We had a terrible storm last week and were in a tornado warning for more than an hour. The winds were excessive and proved to be too much for my poor little tomato plant. It is a little disappointing especially with how much time I devoted to that thing. Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be. Maybe I'll try again next year, depending on where we get stationed at.

Taylor started school on Wednesday. She is loving being an upper-classman this year. She has not been as excited about school starting this year as she has been in the past, but I think this will change as she gets settled into her "school" routine. Back to school can be difficult because it brings an end to all the summer fun, and boy has she had some fun!

Silas had some difficulty understanding why sissy had to go back to school. After some coaxing, slight bribery and long hugs and kisses he was fine with the idea. But he gave her one big hug and kiss when she came home! Gotta love the brother-sister love, especially times like these because they are not fighting!! You can always tell when it is about time for school to start because the fighting reaches insane levels.

Silas got a wonderful surprise in the mail yesterday...a letter from Ra!! He was tickled pink. He opened it all by himself and didn't have time to actually "read" it because there were stickers inside! What a great idea Ra! I had to read the letter as fast as I possibly could because he had stickers to play with--Thanks Ra for the stickers (and the letter)! By the way, he even wanted to sleep with them last night!

Taylor wanted me to dye a red stripe in her hair. I guess this is the newest "cool" thing?! The actual color was bright red and I was afraid of what the results would be. Well...It turned out really cute! If I knew what it would look like with curly hair I might do it myself! Now, she is on the lookout for different colors.

The other day Silas and I went to St. Joe and got my military ID card. He was happy he didn't have to get one because he didn't want to have his picture taken. He was so good that on the way home we stopped by Target and he got a car transporter truck! He was so excited (we have been looking for one for a while now)! This is what I was left with after a long day of running around

Wayne is doing good. He said their platoon has won a couple of streamers to put on their banner. I guess the better the platoon, the more streamers they have. He even scored 100% on his Combat Life Savers test. He said there were about 10 of them in the platoon who got 100% so that is good news! He did say the gas chamber was awful..."the worst thing I have ever done". He said he thought he was going to get sick but managed not to, "burns all exposed skin, your mouth, nose and eyes". Poor thing, I am glad he is done with that! I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like. I am soo very proud of him...my soldier!!

What a GRAND Saturday!

Ok, so before I get into my little rant let me say I hope everyone had a wonderful Saturday!! So with that being said, prepare yourself for the usage of A LOT of caps. I can't yell at the kids, so this is my attempt at hopefully getting it off my chest and letting it go. Good thing it is just a computer and you can turn it off if you don't want to hear (or read) about it! ;)

This great day started with me sleeping in a bit. Woke up around 8:15 and got my coffee. The coffee wasn't good, I think I put an extra scoop in there last night before bed. Note to self: Don't get coffee ready when you are distracted by a 3 year old who is screaming and throwing a HUGE fit because they don't want to go to bed. Ok, lesson learned. While taking a shower, shampoo procedes to ever so slowly drip into my eyes (yes, BOTH of them). For a split second I think I am going to die. It takes me, what seemed like FOREVER, a moment to realize what had happened and wash my eyes out.

Ok, out of shower and dressed, so now I'm thinking the day can't get any worse, can it? It has been a LONG time since I have had this kind of start to my day, surely it will get better....WRONG!! Taylor comes home from her friends house, Silas wakes up and we procede to head out to pay some bills and get groceries from Wal-Mart. We go out to get in the van. Taylor gets into the passenger seat, Silas is all buckeled in his seat and I get behind the wheel. Mind you, the heat wave doesn't want to leave my house (or anywhere I go for that matter). Put key in ignition...CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. This startles me and I hurry to turn it off. Wait a couple of seconds and try again...CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.
WHAT THE H#!L? What is that noise? Everyone gets BACK out of the van and goes back inside. I think maybe it's because the van was running on fumes so I call my friend Shane over to bring some gas. Shane comes over, puts gas in it and listens to it. He thinks it could be the starter. WONDERFUL! I ask if he can fix it, he says no but does give me the number for someone who can. Great, I go back inside and make the call...NO ANSWER(I am still waiting for a call back)! I leave a message and try to calm Silas down. Silas thought this was the END of the world. In tears he says "Mommy, what are we gonna do? Now we will NEVER be able to go to Wal-Mart ever agin"! I say it is fine, we will get it fixed and then go to Wal-Mart. I warm him up a hotdog and all is fine.

Meanwhile, Taylor is on her phone calling her friends to see if they know what to do or how to get it running. One guy comes over, Buster. He tries everything he knows to do, but still NOTHING. He did tell me that someone has left me a note on the undercarriage of the van, "J. W. was here" and "I was here too". What the...? I think Shane was the "I was here too", but as for J. W.? Who are you and what are you doing under MY van? Are you the one who jacked it up and left me with the clicking noise? Well J. W., you can take that click and SHOVE IT!

I call my sister and ask what my brother-in-law is doing today and if he could come and look at it. Sure thing, Jonathon is here in an hour with his Dad and Mom AND Dylan! YAY, Silas has someone to play with (Taylor has already left with her friend)! After I let them hear the click, they both have one word BATTERY! Shoo, at least it's not the starter. They try to take the old battery out BUT the cable connecting it to the van pulls off the knob from the actual battery. They both said they have NEVER seen this happen before. Finally, they get the knob thing out of the cable thing and off they go to O'Riellys. I stay at home with Silas and Dylan, and $100.00 later they are back with a new battery! It gets installed and THE VAN IS HEALED!!!! Praise God!! THANK YOU Jonathon and Johnny!! I don't know what I would have done without your help today!!

So Silas and I get in the van and go to the gas station on our way to Wal-Mart. We see Jonathon there and guess what happens next...He gets BACKED INTO by some girl who just drove her brand new car off the lot!! What, is this the way things happen to good people? Luckily, no damage was done to either vehicle (good thing Jonathon has a truck). Off to Wal-Mart we go.

We get what we need at Wal-Mart and head to the check-out. I get all done and start to head out the doors when, low and behold, I forget there is a plastic tub on the bottom of the cart I forgot to pay for. GREAT! This place is not only busy, but now I am one of THOSE people who have to hold the line up! I pay for my $5.00 bucket and go out to the van. It is HOT and we both are crabby so I am in a hurry to load everything up. We get home and I start to put stuff away when I realize...I forgot the plant prop thing! WHAT, ARE YOU KIDDING? Silas and I go back to Wal-Mart with our receipt (because I bought one and left it in the cart). We get the plant prop and go home AGAIN.

I needed the prop because of the 75+ mph winds from the storm last night. They about snapped that poor plant in half. I get the prop home and realize that I need to jerry-rig it somehow (almost snapping the thing in half myself). Seriously, today is the day if anything else bad wants to happen to me...BRING IT! AND today was my 15 year high school reunion. Good thing I couldn't make it, can you imagine what it would have been like to get stranded two hours away from home with two kids in tow?

On a brighter note, here is Silas and Dylan playing together

Here is my poor tomato plant last night during the storm. I had to "hide" and "prop" it up in the corner Here is my jerry-rig