I’m so sorry that its been so long since I have written here. I honestly don’t know if I even have readers since Facebook has been invented and every one I know is there.

So much has happened since the last time I had written. We are in Alaska and things are going really good. We had a bit of a rough start. It took us 6 days to drive to Alaska. We started in Dallas, TX. Only because we had to ship my car from there. The drive was pretty good. Once hitting Dawson City in Alberta the drive was very pretty all the way there. Lots of mountains and hills. One point we were pretty far up that we saw snow! We saw lots of different animals sitting on the side of the road. Wild horses, Bison, Moose, and at one point a coyote. Katy was good for the most part except for the last two days. She was getting cranky and didn’t want to be in the car seat anymore.

Once getting here, we realized we were not going to get much help from the ARMY. It was the one of the many times I was let down. But.. God knew what was going to happen and gave us wisdom to know that He would provide. At one point the ARMY pretty much left us homeless. They didn’t give us nearly enough money to travel. They didn’t give us any money at all to help us survive without a home. Praise God, that I had connections up there. We have been living with friends for almost 3 weeks now. Once looking for a home we realized the earliest we could get in was Oct 1st. Lots of men coming and going through this town. However we did find a place and look forward to moving in to it on the 5th.

It has snowed a couple of times since arriving here. I have stuck Katy in the snow with her boots and snow pants… she loved it! Its getting colder and darker. Its about 8:30 and its still kind of “gloomy” looking.

You can pray that we adjust well in our new home and unpacking goes smoothily. Also pray that Paul adjusts well at work. Pray that Paul and I continue to go to church and seek God first in our lives.

We had a little scare in the Calhoun family yesterday. A howitzer malfunction and blew up while 4 men where around it. Everyone is fine, but Paul was one of the four. It blew them off their feet. Paul has several fingers that are messed up, the muscles and nerves. He had shrapnel in his hand and bruises and cuts. One guy had shrapnel in his neck and had to go into surgery right away. The other two (from my understanding) were not as hurt but with cuts and bruises.

I know this could have gone much worse. God surely kept them from a much  harsher result. I’m so thankful to my God and Father in heaven for keeping them safe.

Please pray for Paul and the others for a smooth recovery from their injuries. Also pray for them in the way of being shook up. It got the best half of them being scared out of their wits as it was happening.

I have been wanting Katy’s room to be girly and to have a theme. Limited money puts that on hold. However, Hobby Lobby was having a sale and I was able to get finishing touches for $25! I was excited. Now all she needs is her matching curtains and blinds. That’ll be next on the list. Hopefully before the Calhoun Family come for a visit. Katy’s room also has our guest bed in there. So I’m sure guests sleeping in there will be greatful for shades.

As we all know Father’s Day is just around the corner. In my family its a special Father’s Day because its Paul’s first Father’s Day. Ms. Katy just loves her “da da”. She says that right to Paul or if she notices that he isn’t in the room. Her favorite time to scream for her daddy is when she wakes up and I bring her to the bed (hoping just 5 for mintues of sleep), she turns to Paul and slaps and says, “DADA!!!”. Its so cute.

Paul makes a good father. I always see a side of Paul with Katy that I haven’t seen. Its enjoyable just to sit back and watch the two of them “talk” to each other.

I would like to say a word on behalf of my father. My dad is an amazing dad. Always was and always will be. I can remember the times when I thought he surely must be sick of me by now! When he only had patience to lead and guide to the right decision. I’m sure there were and will be times when he prays for me to make the right decision. When I look back into my life, there was never a dull moment with Daddilo. There was never a moment when I don’t remember him being there. I guess what I’m trying to say is, Dad I’m so thankful to my father in heaven that he gave you to me. He obviously knew what I needed in a father. (Laughing) He obviously knew what daughter you needed to challenge your faithfulness to Him. : ) I was quite a challenge. Thank you for being my dad then and now. I love you.

I hope one day Katy can have the same relationship I had with my dad. Knowing she can go to her dad when she needs help with advice or just a helping hand in math. Hopefully she won’t have my math genes. Wait… there is none! Thats why I failed!

Here are some pictures!

Katy at LETRA beach

Good Sunday Afternoon!

Paul is getting back Friday and Katy and I are excited to have him home again. House seems so empty without his presence here and even so lonely. However Katy keeps the noise level up and keeps us smiling and comforted.

To get involved into something that I could represent well I am now a lia sophia advisor. This is a company that allows me to sell their jewelry and represent them and yet I am in the buisness individually. I started a few weeks ago and have enjoyed ever since. I also started this because I wanted to be able to bring in some sort of income and yet be a stay at home mom. This job allows me to work at nights and be home all day with Katy. She gets her “daddy time” while I’m away doing the parties.

If any of my readers are interested in seeing what I do, you can do so by going to www.liasophia.com, clicking “Our Jewelry” and looking at their 2009 spring and summer collection. If you are interested in buying any of the peices, let me know and I’ll be at service for you.

I am offering something for this week til Thursday (April 30), if you buy one regular price item, I’ll put your name down to win a special of picking out a peice of jewelry up to $100 for only $15.

Moving on… I did talk to Paul today. He is out of the field now and is getting ready to pack up and head on the road to home again. He seems to miss his little girl a lot. Who by the screamed da da when I told her no. I thought that was funny and started laughing.

I hope everyone is ready for summer because I know I am!

Our little Katybug is growing up. She has figured out how to scream. She’ll sit in her chair and scream and scream. Using her lungs.

She said her first words. Well according to Paul. She was sitting in her chair eating cereal and she had her mouth full and Paul walked into the room. She screamed with joy over seeing her daddy and said da da. However she has yet to say it again. So we’ll see if we can get her to say it again sometime soon.

On Saturday we went to an Easter carnival on post. Although it wasn’t all I expected it to be. Plus Katy wasn’t really enjoying herself so for her sake we headed home and enjoyed our family day with each other at home.

Paul is leaving soon. Please pray for him as he does his training.

Our growing Calhoun family is doing so well. Katy is getting so big, I was picking her up today and thought… man, you are getting heavy!

Paul is getting ready for a busy up coming month. He is leaving for 3 weeks for field training. They are also possibly getting Paul prepared for becoming a section cheif. Paul has his All Ranks Ball on the 2nd as well. Katy and I will be visiting our family in Enid. I know her Grandma and Auntie Grace are dying to see her again.

Katy and I just got back from our trip. We were in Ill for a week. Visiting my Aunt Dawn for several days. We met up with a friend of mine, Mel in bloomington. Then we went and spend a few days with our good friends Brandon and Brigit. We spend most if not all of our time with Brigit and her family and friends. Over all the week was long and hard on Katy. We hit the road on Saturday and what could have been a 12 hr drive became a 15 hr drive.

Something else new is I just became a Lia Sophia advisor. I’m very excited about working part time again. Something I could do at night so that Katy and have her “daddy time”.

One day at a time is all I can take. Having a little one to take care of slows my planning down however I’m not complaining. Having Katy to occupy my days has been a blessing. We laugh together, talk together, eat together. I can’t wait until she grows and her and I can have a mother, daughter relationship and I can be an advisor in other ways.

Katy is doing really good. She rolled once by herself but hasn’t figured out how to repeat it. She tries really hard and gets very close. She gets lots of tummy and floor time.

Paul is now a SGT and is doing real well in that area. He stays busy longer. There are days I get dinner ready and then he doesn’t come in the door until 7:30 pm. Everyday its a new time. Paul just had his 24th birthday. We didn’t really do too much but this Thursday I’m planning a little something with friends. I didn’t forget about his birthday but I feel bad that I didn’t do much for him. Its actually a surprise but I know he NEVER looks at this after I write something so.. it’ll remain a surprise. : ) Let this be a test if he ever reads! Ha.

We are still excited about going to Alaska. However the future home away from home is starting to sink in. I’m starting to realize how far I’m going to be from my loved ones and especially my new friends. I will miss everyone dearly. Please keep praying as we get through this spring and summer and prepare for the big move.

I never realized how much Ft Sill had become home until I was away for 2 weeks and in the car total 34 hours! When Paul and I were just an hour away from Ft. Sill…. relief overcame me. Katy had been screaming and we had just stopped to tend to her needs. Most of the time those needs were just her getting out and stretching her body. She doesn’t mind riding in the car however… after 17 hours one way, it was her least favorite place.

Christmas was successful. We managed to get everything home in once piece. However along our car ride a woman pulled up while driving and started mouthing something to us. We thought she yelling at us but then she pulled up to the other side of our car and said something was open. After pulling over at the next stop we noticed that the trunk was open. Paul’s puzzle had fallen out that his parents gave him but nothing else did. Other than that it was an uneventful car ride.

I have to hurry up and get off… someone is screaming my name.. and right now my name is just all in baby cries.