Whoever Said...

That the old adage "Slow and steady wins the race" needs to be shot! Today is a cleanup day around the house and somehow we all got involved emptying the dishwasher. It was packed with an assortment of dishes and silverware and little Caleb wanted to help out so bad that he would hand one item to me at a time, wait for me to put it away and then find something else to get out of the dishwasher to hand to me so I could happily find its place among our cupboards. The hare definitely won this race... by a mile! It was undeniably fun though and we all had some laughs while putting things away and enjoying one another's company.


There have been plenty of milestones reached in this household (while I've been away and since I've been back) that I'd love to make you all aware of. They follow in no particular order...

• Caleb is frantically trying to potty train himself so he can get the giant "twuck" at Walmart that he has had his eye on for the longest time. Out of 25 stickers he has 21 filled and gets one sticker for tinkling and two for the next step up. When I got home yesterday (Sunday) he was well on his way and informed me that he was "pooping" so he could get two stickers! Its his first time and he was very proud of himself yesterday. We were all very proud of him. At my expense, everyone else happily laughed at me while I wound up with a brand new chore. Moving said "poop" from training toilet to the real toilet to be flushed away. Katie couldn't help but laugh as I turned ghostly pale and saw my gag reflex react as I took care of business. Its an unpleasant chore that I think I'll slowly grow accustomed to but currently having problems holding my meals down when that assignment comes around. All that aside, congrats to Caleb for his new found enthusiasm to get potty trained and his first successful "poop" in his singing toilet.


• In the time that I've been gone little Caleb has grown like a weed (in a good way)! As has already been said he's actually excited about potty training now. He can speaks phenomenally for a three year old and constantly surprises us with the things he knows, points out to us and even says. Maybe I'm biased but this boy is a genius! He knows his numbers, his alphabet, social speaking and saying what he wants to say and being understood. He quotes bits and pieces from movies (or, in his case, he says "boobies") and finds many different ways to keep us entertained, amused and constantly learning from our sweet toddler.

• Katie has successfully completed her fifth continuous year of continued education since she's been a teacher and finally figured out that continued education is great but better done with a break now and again. She's taking this entire year off to just enjoy teaching and return to her family at the end of the day. Her last completed class was a two year long class that brought her to arms reach of her Masters degree. Hopefully in the near future that will be attainable but she's proud of her accomplishments (as she should be) and delighted to sit back and relax and not worry about classes outside of her 5th grade classroom this year. Hooray Katie for all your hard work and the deserved rest coming your way. We love you!


• Katie has always been a very independent woman. Since I've left she's gone through the school of hard knocks and has learned how much more independent she can be now. She understands how single parents feel and feels that she can relate to them now and reach out and help where she can too. She has grown and become as independent as they come (thankfully not independent enough to send me packing once I got home though - *phew*) and has many experiences to draw upon now. She is grateful for my return though and has stepped down from the mother/father role and has allowed a great deal of stress to roll off her shoulders. The more monkeys off her back the better.

• After three months of sitting around and fighting a bout with some depression issues (which have since disappeared) I graduated on Thursday, July 2, 2009! Let me first start by saying that being anchored in the gospel, having my family as my driving force and motivation and having the support of friends and family from all over is what kept me glued together throughout this entire experience. I left for basic just over 200+ pounds and dropped to roughly 170 pounds before I was put on my medical profile for three months. In that time, I nearly gained all my weight back because there was nothing I could do to keep myself in shape because of the parameters of my profile and all the things it wouldn't allow me to do. When I was given my "fit for duty" and allowed to continue on with my training I got back into soldier mode fast! I had no time to think of being away from family (the main thing that brought about my depression in my opinion) and was excited about being able to exercise and lose all my gained poundage again. I weighed in a few days ago (with pants and a shirt on - and shoes but not sure) at 180 pounds exactly. I'm nearly back to 170 pounds again and feel terrific! Now that I'm out of training and on my own again I'm seeing myself falling into my old routine (except being a better father and husband) and not exercising nearly as much as I ought to. Time to kick me into gear and keep up with all that I've been doing for the past eleven months that I've been away.


• I had a very happy, if somewhat emotional (for good reasons), wife pick me up at the airport in the pickup lane. Little did I know that our little monster was sound asleep in his seat and when I threw my stuff in the back I yelled out, "Hey little man! Daddy's home." Katie told me he was sleeping just after that. When I got into the car - I was passenger because Katie was afraid of what I might do after 11 months of not driving - he was awake but groggy. As anyone would be he was quite miffed about being woken up. After a few minutes of casually talking to him and getting his attention he started talking to me and got very excited. We were talking to one another most of the way home and it was a great father/son moment (even if he doesn't know that yet).


• As said in an earlier blog, I have received my EMT-B certification and am enjoying the fact that I have the opportunity to help people. Being at home again and realizing how hard the economy has been hit I am having serious issues with finding a job that will take my credentials (the prison isn't even hiring for med techs). Thankfully my unit is employing me for the next 5 or 6 weeks to work full time while I continue my job hunting. If things go well and they like my hard work and I can show that I'm an asset to them they'll keep me on and provide me work for a good time to come.


• With the above said I believe the next statement will send many of you out of your rockers! I have much more to live for now than I did a few short years ago (when I was single) and have loved learning and growing in the health care field. With that said, Mr. Procrastinator, myself, has decided (as an option at the moment but really leaning towards it) to go back to school and further my education. I have decided to pursue my BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) and get additional training in helping people that will not only help me but bless my family immensely. Once that is done I believe I'll start considering what specialty in that field I want to pursue but I'll leave that alone until I reach that door and open it. Wish me luck because Nursing is highly competitive and I'll need to stay on top of my studies and my grades in order to pull this off but I know I can do it. I may be asking Aunt Lynne to be my new best friend as she has been through this and will become an awesome confidant as I take this next step in my life.


• I just completed my first drill weekend. Its great being at my unit getting to know all the soldiers who I will be involved with for the next several months to years. We had a military doctor come down from Jackson, WY, and teach us about suturing/stitching. Knowing that no one wants me working on them for a long time pig feet were happily provided for us all to work on. It was better while they were still frozen because they got a touch bloody as they really started to thaw. The afternoon was full of learning about wilderness medicine and how you can prepare yourself for all sorts of situations (just by being properly prepared) when you go anywhere in the outdoors enjoying whatever season you love. It was good to know. If you are even remotely curious the doctor has his own website that you are welcome to visit. http://www.wildernessdoc.com/. On Sunday we were issued all our new gear (TA-50) and had a long day of sitting around and getting to know one another. We had an enormous BBQ on the lawns just outside of Ft. Douglas and enjoyed some beautiful cloud cover and some sprinkling of rain. In the afternoon we were given a class (more having an open discussion though) about suicide and how many of us have had someone close to them try or succeed. It was very educating and emotional learning about other experiences and drawing closer together.

So many things await me in this life and these are but a few of the personal glimpses into my life and what makes me a proud father and a happy husband. I'm happy to be back home, with or without struggles, because I now have my family surrounding me and I am more blessed than I ever realized.

PS - Thank you Emery for your "Liberty" blog. What an awesome perspective to see. It certainly brought me to tears as I have thought about that myself and as it has become closer to my heart than ever this past year (and the years to come). God bless the USA and the soldiers willing to set everything else aside, even their own lives if it comes to it, to protect our country, our communities, our families and our freedoms! Hats off to you.

Captain Moroni comes to mind as I wrote this final paragraph and am grateful to him too for the example he set. May we all live as he did and bless those around us. My love to you all. - Alma 48:17