Updates from Mississippi/ Updates from Idaho

Yay! Finally a post about Dallas! I've been begging him to send me some pictures and he finally did.

Dallas is doing really well in Mississippi.  He's staying busy, which is nice, and we usually can talk on the phone and text several times a day, which is great. So far I've sent him two packages.  I told Dallas it was kind of fun because it's like having a missionary without having the stress of. "Does he like me? What if he's writing other girls? What if he wants to date other people when he gets back?" Dallas told me I was a nerd.  Don't get me wrong--him being gone is NOT like a missionary in a lot of other ways...like the fact that he carries a gun instead of a Book of Mormon, we're married and have kids, and I think once he's over there I'll worry about him more than if he were in Kentucky knocking doors. Anyway, off topic, onto the pictures!

Dallas said this was his sad face because he misses us. :)

Dallas' bed--I made that blanket :)

One of the buildings there. I asked Dallas to send me all of these random pictures because I like to be able to visualize things when he says funny stuff like, "I'm going to chow."

The bathrooms and where they sleep are seperate buildings, so they have to walk outside in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and apparently there are skunks everywhere.  Dallas has had a couple of near death experiences.  The little black speck over by the building is a SKUNK! 

Dallas (obviously)

I'm so glad he's having a good time and making friends! Even though I HATE this deployment most days, it has definately been a blessing, because we have grown so much as a family, and have been able to see so many people around us grow, and I couldn't be more proud of Dallas and the amazing person he is. 

On our very first date, I asked Dallas about the Army, his first tour to Iraq, and why he decided to join in the first place. He told me that he just realized that a lot of people had worked and sacrificed so that he could live in a free country and it just seemed like the right thing to do to sacrifice a little so that his kids could enjoy those same blessings.  I'm very grateful to be married to a man who not only says a lot of amazing things, but is willing to live them.

The other day I was walking back to my car from class  and I got caught in some freak rainstorm.

As you can tell,  I wasn't very happy about it.  Later that day, I was driving and I noticed the most beautiful rainbow.

People always say that after the rain comes the rainbow, but sometimes you can see the rainbow before the rain lets up.  It reminded me that we can be grateful for and recognize and enjoy our blessings, even when it's raining. I've learned to live the saying, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." As much as I wish it were next year and Dallas were home, I'm glad it's not because I'm able to watch our little girls grown up right now and I LOVE it.

 sleepy heads

I haven't been very good about taking pictures with my camera lately because I usually snap them with my phone so I can send them to Dallas right away, so enjoy some of our low quality mobile updates.

 That's not my pee--it's Oaklie's.  Gotta love being a mom some days.

I spotted this guy in Sunday School and had to sent a picture to Dal.  White shirt, tie, black slacks, and FLIP FLOPS! Dallas text me back and said, "But yet you had your phone..."

Amaya's been cutting more teeth, so we spent some time on the couch watching Nemo.

Amaya thinks that Oaklie is so neat. She thought it would be SO COOL if they had a slumber party together.

Side note: That blanket was made for Amaya by her great-great-grandma. Grandma Neville died when I was five but I remember going to her house and playing with her poodles when I was little.  My grandma gave me that blanket--the very last one left of Grandma Neville's that hadn't been given away--at my baby shower for Amaya.  Pretty neat!

Oaklie has been full of smiles lately.  I have some really cute pics of her on my camera but they'll have to wait for another day. Poor Oaklie got shots today and hasn't been very happy, but she's still such a sweetheart, even when she's sick.

Amaya is such a dork. She definately keeps me entertained.

Sisterly Love