God Bless my Daddy

In our family, Daddy doesn't just protect us, his job is to protect our country as well. Daddy is being deployed to Kuwait today. We're so proud of him - he is a brave & amazing soldier. We are all lucky to have soldiers like him fighting for us & our freedom. We are grateful that he will only be gone for 6 months, but we are going to miss him soooo much! We will be strong for him while he is away & will be waiting for the day that he can come home to us. We'll be praying for him every day & hope that you will keep him in your prayers as well. We love you Daddy!!

God Bless my Daddy

Who is very far away

Fighting in a country

So others can be free

God Bless my Daddy

And bring him home safe

So Mommy won't worry

So Mommy won't cry

God Bless my Daddy

Please keep him safe

So I can grow up knowing

Just who my Daddy is

God Bless my Daddy

And all soldiers gone

Please keep them all safe

And bring them all home

To Daddy, Love Mommy

The day you left I felt so empty inside

As we held each other tight and said our good byes

you gave me one last kiss and said

"Honey please don't fear

for I will be home soon

Please no more tears"

I ask myself how I can go on

when the love of my life isn't with me

where he belongs

a mommy & a daddy I must be

for Daddy is gone

fighting for our country

because it's a job he must do

not just fighting for me

but also fighting for you

I'll pray for you night and day

because my soldier I LOVE YOU

in every single way

do your duty, fight your fight

so when you return

your arms can hold me tight

The pro fisherman

Daddy took Lily fishing & she caught her first fish!!! It must have been beginners luck, or maybe the princess fishing pole, because Daddy couldn't catch any - but he tried pretty hard! She was so proud of herself. She must be her Daddy's kid, because she had no problem touching the worms & saying they were "slimy!!". Mommy wouldn't go anywhere near them - yuck!

My first fishing pole

Daddy bought Lily her very own Princess fishing pole & was teaching her how to cast in our yard! She was a natural (inherited from her Dad I'm sure!). Daddy can't wait to take her on a fishing trip with him.

I'm a BIG girl now!

Daddy bought Lily a big girl bike this summer, and at first she LOVED riding it, but then she took a couple tumbles & from then on she refused to ride her bike. We tried everything we could think of to get her back on, but she was terrified. One day we were shopping I saw these princess elbow & knee pads & had a brilliant idea...I showed them to Lily knowing she loves anything with princesses on it & explained to her what they were. I told her they protect her elbows & knees in case she falls off her bike while she is riding. Because she always wants anything to do with princesses, she asked if we could take them home to try them. I had her promise that if we got them she would try to ride her bike when we got home & she agreed. Well, my idea worked & she has been riding her bike ever since! YAY!!! We are SO proud of her!!

Fun at Mimi & Grants house

We all had such a fun trip to Texas before Daddy had to leave for Kuwait. Here's Princess Lily at one of her infamous tea parties...and Lily & Daddy playing in the speed boat in the pool. Lily always spends hours in the pool whenever we visit - we can hardly ever get her out! Swimming is one of her favorite things to do.

Lily hiding at the beach house. We found this boogie board in the garage at the beach house, but had no idea how well it would go over. Lily spent the majority of the day playing with it. She had Mommy & Grant pulling her along the shore & Mommy held the boogie board so Lily could ride over the waves on it.

We all posed for a family photo - but we're missing Lily!

(There are more pics I would like to post on here, but they won't load on here for some reason...Sorry!)

4th of July 06

We drove back from Pennsylvania just in time for the fireworks celebration on post. Unfortunately the fireworks were cancelled because of bad weather, so we drove to the next town over to watch fireworks there. Lexi, Paige, Lily & AJ watched the fireworks from the roof of my car. Then we went back home & Lily & Paige played with sparklers while Daddy & his friends set off their own fireworks. What a show!





Lily in her 4th of July outfit. (Thank you Mimi!)

Sesame Place

Our last stop in Pennsylvania was Sesame Place. What a great place for kids! Lily thought seeing her favorite Sesame Street characters was awesome. Cookie Monster took a special interest in Daddy, which Lily thought was hilarious. We had a lot of fun at the water park & Lily went on her first water slide all by herself! She said that was her favorite part of the whole trip. Daddy & Lily played in the pool & Lily danced along to the parade music from the best seat in the house - Daddy's shoulders! What a fun day!!

Lily & Zoe

Daddy & Cookie Monster

Lily & Big Bird

Lily & Elmo!

Lily, Daddy, Bert & Ernie

Lily & Telly

Lily, Mommy & Cookie Monster

Lily in the pool

Lily & Daddy about to make a run for it!

Amish Country

Our next stop in Pennsylvania was Lancaster - or "Amish Country". It was really interesting to see all the people who live without modern conveniences like indoor plumbing or electricity. It was so beautiful there! Farmland as far as you could see. We took a horse & buggy tour through Amish Country which Lily really enjoyed. She also found a new "friend (as she called it) - a ladybug (on the stick she's holding) while we were waiting for our horse & buggy. I think we wore her out though because she fell asleep almost as soon as we got in the car that evening!

Hershey, PA

These pics are from our Pennsylvania vacation this summer. Our first stop was Hershey, PA.

They were looking for new factory workers at the Hershey factory & Lily had the right qualifications! She got her own employee ID card & everything. She filled a container with Hershey Kisses as they came out of the machine, then sealed it, shook it, spun around, did a little dance & put it on the conveyor belt to be shipped out.
Lily bought the biggest cookie she could find with her first "paycheck" from the factory!

Lucky Find

We found these firetrucks in a parking lot when we stopped for lunch on our way to Pennsylvania. The firemen were nice enough to let Lily & Daddy pose for pictures.

Antique firetruck