The Countdown is ON!!!

We took Mike to the airport today for the last time! We have 33 days until we pick him up for the last time! We had a lot of fun, and actually got a lot of important things done while he was home. Again, since I'm so slow with pictures, they will have to follow later. However, we did not get a few key things done, like getting passports for me and the children, or doing Christmas shopping. I think I may be able to squeeze those things in sometime this week - maybe. We're starting our Santa Shoppe at school this week, and I'm in charge. We're a little lacking on volunteers, so it might be all me, all the time. Since it will be one of the last responsibilities I have as PTO president, I'm okay with it. And now with with Mike gone, let the madness resume!

Scouting!

We had Pack Meeting this last week, and Chris received his Wolf! My batteries died in my camera, so I'll post pictures after I get them from my sister-in-law. My nephew also received his Arrow of Light. It was a really neat ceremony, and Chris is really excited about being a Cub Scout. Our Cubmaster told us of a meeting he and his wife attended recently with David Pack. He is the highest rank Scout in the church (besides President Monson) and is the liaison between the church and the Boy Scouts of America. In this meeting, he said that the Boy Scouts organization was put on this earth to teach boys to lead boys. I never thought of it in that context. My brothers are all Eagle Scouts, so I have seen the commitment, time, and energy that they put into the program. While there is a reason that the mothers get pins for each achievement, I never saw my mother do anything but encourage them. I hope I can be that kind of Scout mom. Knowing that this program is what has been chosen by our Heavenly Father to help prepare our boys to become men and leaders of their peers is inspiring. Chris is having so much fun as he learns, and I hope he continues to have fun with scouting. It will be interesting to see how we will be able to do scouting overseas, but we are determined.

Here we go!

I finally broke down and created a blog that will stick. Hopefully I will be able to keep everyone up to date on our adventures. Mike gets home for Thanksgiving in 2 days! He'll be here until December 14th, back to Baghdad for a month, and home for good January 15th! We are very excited that we are almost done with this separation! He's working on a few weird things in his orders, but we're planning on heading to Falls Church, VA the middle of February. The craziness that is my life will only get crazier in the next few months, but it's all good. Hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!