a little of everything

Wow...it's been almost 4 months since I have updated this. A lot has changed since my last post. One of the biggest changes is that Jason is home! He came home (along withe the rest of the sailors on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower) on July 30, 2009. It was truly one of the best days of my life! He's been home for 70 days according to my ticker :) & it has been great. I have pictures posted on my Facebook page. Needless to say, homecoming was more than what I anticipated it to be. I spent months & months of trying to picture it in my head & it was just unreal. I am so glad we were able to have the experience of a deployment & homecoming. I had a photographer through Operation: Love Reunited & he was just amazing! I'm glad that it was documented in pictures & I love looking back on them. Matti went straight to Jason & they have been attached since. Jason was also able to see some of Matti's first few steps...

Here is the link to my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=136073&id=504482742

Another big change we have in our little family is that Jason is no longer in the Navy! Shortly after homecoming, he was out of the Navy. It was scary at first but all our trust was put on Him & He has plans for us. We have moved out of our house in Virginia & we are in the process of putting it on the market. We pray that it sells fast! We are currently (temporarily) living at my parents' house & it's a little hectic, but hopefully the house sells soon so we can move out & give my parents their space back. & so we can have our own lol. Jason is in the process of getting a job & hopefully in a few weeks or so, I'll post good news about that. Prayers, please! Jason hasn't worked in the last 70 days, and has been home with Matthias & myself that whole time period. & we don't get tired of each other. We don't have a routine, we don't know what we're doing for the day or in the next hour, we just take things as they come along. It's great! We're enjoying this time together because we'll never have this much time together in a very long time. Retirement? lol.

Matthias is going on 16 months on the 22nd. Our boy is just wonderful. What a blessing he is! He's a full on walking, running, dancing, getting into everything, screaming, crazy & goofy little toddler. How & when did he get to be such a big boy?! We love every minute with him even though at times it's tiring because he screams & just wants to be held, but it's worth it. We love just sitting back & watching him walk around & play because he is so funny! He says "naoh" for no & shakes his head when he doesn't want something. He knows how to ask for milk & how to sign "more." He says "bye" & waves. When the phone rings, he puts his hand to his ear & says "hao" for hello. Or if you say hi or hello to him, he will put his hand to his ear...haha. He dances...aka marches. Says mama & likes to call out DAT! for "dad." It's hard for others to see just how much he knows because we're with him all the time so WE know what he asks for or what certain things mean. Like running to the refrigerator or putting his palm out with an outstretched arm towards the fridge means he needs a drink. If you ask "do you want a cracker?" he'll smile because he's saying yes. He also puts both palms up & moves them side to side to say "all gone/done" when he eats. Gives my mom flying kisses *she is STILL the favorite in this house* Oh he likes to hide & jump up & say "baaah!!!" instead of "boo" & plays peek-a-boo lol. Baaahhh is totally my fault because I used to say that instead of boo lol. He loves playing drums, piano & guitar. He brings me his books when he wants to read & says "vroom" when he sees a picture of a car & does the phone gesture when he sees a phone. He loved finger painting & drawing on his pad of paper. He can even hold a pen/crayon/pencil the proper way & "writes." He is definitely a water baby--loves the pool & bath time. He is quite the character & such a smart little boy. He is tiny as ever, though. Still 20-21 lbs..he takes after his mama, but hopefully not too much. He's definitely started having tantrums & hits when he's mad, sometimes he bites (usually it's me), he has started to bang his head on the floor & wall when he's upset & does a great job & fake crying. The kid could be an actor, I swear! I think I can go on & on about him, but I'll cut it short.

As for Jaces, we are doing great. I love having help around...I haven't had to put Matti in his car seat since he's been home. LOL. Matti is still rear facing so it gets challenging when I have to lift him in there haha. We've been attending the Families in Christ Jesus (FCJ) Life in Christ Series (LCS) every Saturday and we love it. & everyone always comments about how we've been spoonfed the material & if we're learning everything new, but we are. I know the talks are similar to the youth & yea Jason & I used to be so active in the youth group & even gave the talks ourselves, but it's different because we're at a different stage in our life now. We have a family & we're "old" but not lol...and we get something out of it each week. We didn't have anything like this while we were in Virginia, so we are really excited to have this now. So yea! As a family we've been going on walks/runs & riding our bikes. I'm out of shape again. I haven't touch the Wii Fit since Jason's been back & I really should, but Jason & I are on the same page with this fitness thing. We have P90x & hopefully we'll start that soon. Jason loves being home & working on our cars. He says it feels good to change our car's oil, wash them & take care of them. It's always something new when it comes to maintenance. As for me, I have been cooking more (finally!) again. I'm trying out new recipes & so far so good. I love cooking for Jason & even more when he loves what I've made. I even baked (gasp!) because that's some I NEVER do. I made Pianono Roll (Filipino cake roll). I'm also trying out more crockpot recipes...hello!? it couldn't be any easier! So I'll leave with the recipe I just tried that I got from a military wife site I'm on..

3 envelope chicken

Need:
boneless chicken (frozen or thawed, I used a pack)
1 packet of Ranch dressing
1 packet of Italian dressing
1 packet of chicken gravy
1 cup of water

Directions:
1. Place chicken in crockpot
2. Mix all three packets in 1 cup of water
3. Pour over chicken
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
5. Get your eat on!

*halfway through, I flipped the chicken--you don't have to. & I tasted the gravy/sauce & added more water cause I didn't want it too salty--optional, again.*

We put the sauce over our rice but you can put it over mashed potatoes too.