A Soldier, his Princess and their 2 Angels

Growing Boy's

2010-08-06T02:59:00.001-07:00

I can't belive how big the boy's are getting! We got our first shipment of fall clothes in the mail, now just waiting for one more. I love having these 2 beautiful boy's in my life, they are truly a blessing. And look how much they look like Josh, Rykkar especially.

An experience from Josh

2010-07-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

So Josh shared a very cool experience that he had just the other night and I thought I would pass it on....

Josh and another soldier were put on guard watching over some nationals working an elder and 4 other boy's in between the ages of 10 and 14. At first the boy's were acting as if they were talking badly on Josh and the other soldier, kind of making fun of them I guess you could say. Later on in night Josh approached the boy's and elder and started talking to them in their native language, Pashto. The boy's helped Josh with the translation and they all had a real conversation. The boy's thought this was the coolest thing ever that a soldier was speaking to them in their launguage, trying to converse. So after this the elder smiled at Josh and looked at his watch and then wanted to see Josh's watch. So Josh lifts up his sleeve to show the elder his watch and the elder makes a gesture to trade.... Soooo without even thinking about it Josh starts taking off his watch to hand to the guy and trade him. The elder asks Josh in Pashto if his watch is waterproof but Josh doesn't understand. So the elder walked over to the ice chest put his watch on top of all the ice and looked at Josh. Once Josh understood he laughed because of what the elder was asking (seeing as we have had waterproof watches in the states forever). Josh takes his own watch opens the ice cooler and places his watch clear to the bottom. All the boy's and the elder started laughing hilariously and Josh joined in. The elder walked over to the ice cooler and dug into the bottom to grab Josh's watch and put it on. Josh then took the elder's watch off the top of the ice and put it on. They shook hands and said "Thank You" in Pashto.

This was such an amazing and bonding experience for Josh and it was so neat of him to share this with me. It goes to show how much we take for granted and don't even think about here in the states.

So Excited for Fall

2010-07-22T00:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know about anyone else but I can not wait for fall. I'm pretty sure fall is the best season of all. Love buying the boy's their new fall clothes, burning yummy fall candles like pumpkin pie and vanilla spice and we get to go to Utah! I can't wait to go to the states in October. I am very intimidated on how we're getting there, but I'm sure it will all work out. We are planning to fly Space A but that means I have to drive to Ramstein which is 3 hours away. For those of you who don't know what a german highway is like, the autobahn, then you wouldn't understand. Just imagine Ferrari's driving past you so close and so fast that your car almost blows off the road lol. That's a pretty good description of how it's like. I personally haven't driven on the autobahn so I'm a little terrified of this. Thank goodness for our trusty GPS or I wouldn't go. The roads and autobahn's out here are crazy and you can get lost easily. Also once we get to Utah the end of October, we only have like 1 1/2 months until Josh comes to Utah for R&R! So excited and looking forward to fall.

Brothers in Arms

2010-07-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Josh and Jon just so happen to be stationed in the same area and were able to meet up with eachother. How fun is this picture! No war can seperate these brothers :) I'm glad Josh and Jon were able to reunite before Jon ends his 12 month tour and Josh finishes his 12 month tour. We love you both and are extremely greatful for the sacrifice that you so willingly give. God bless you.

Josh in the Sand Box

2010-07-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

Josh has been deployed now for a month and he seems to be making the best out of it. We have all pulled together as a family and are making due until we are back together in the same household. I thought it might be fun for everyone to see a picture of him while he's down range. Here's one... Enjoy!

Sad

2010-07-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

I'm using this as an outlet for this post so bare with me... I hate today. I hate that we are at war. I don't understand why people hate other people. Aren't we all from the same place. Didn't we all come down here for the same reason?
I love you so much Joshua. It is almost unbareable to be this far away from you knowing the circumstances that you are put in. I am at a loss as to what to do without you.
It's so incredibly hard to put a strong face on and go on with my day. Raising our 2 beautiful boy's is sooooo hard without you. They remind me so much of you. Rykkar is the spitting image of his daddy with your big loving heart. Bentley has your adventurous, mischievous side and is always one step ahead of me.
It feels twice as hard having you gone as you are not just my husband and companion, but you are my true best friend. I tell you everything. I never hold back with you. I can confide in you and express myself in every way.
While you are gone I just talk to my heart. You are in there, as close to me as possible. To the average stranger I would sound like a crazy person, yakking to myself... But I know that you are in there, always listening and understanding me.
Be safe, and come home to us. I love you always and forever no matter what!

Your Best Friend and Wife, Amanda

Sending Josh Off

2010-06-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very hard day. We all knew it was coming but it felt so surreal. As you can see Rykkar had a very hard time once he understood that this is the day that we have been talking about for a long time. Here's a picture of Josh saying his last goodbye to Rykkar. Very hard to wath.

At home before Josh left. Rykkar got a hat of daddy's to keep while Daddy is gone.

My 3 boys. They enjoyed spending the day with their dad.

Rykkar's very anticipated moment.... Getting to see daddy's gun. He was very excited to get to see this. Right before we sent daddy off.

The love of my life. Very few people will ever understand how much I truly love this man. He is forever my best friend. Sending him off to war is not the highlight of my life but I DO know that he is very well trained to do his job and that he is really needed in this war.

Rykkar says that when he gets big he wants to be a soldier and shoot guns lol.

Formation time. Getting ready to be issued weapons then lockdown until the buses come.

Last family picture before Daddy leaves for a little bit.

We love you so much Joshua. Keep your spirits high and your head down. We will see you in a few months. Stay safe.

For anyone that would like Josh's address let me know. I am sure he would enjoy letters and a few packages every once in a while. You know what they say, care packages and letters are like gold to a soldier........ May God bless our soldiers and their families.

Finally... Bentley is walking :)

2010-04-22T11:09:00.001-07:00

We are glad to announce to the world that little Bentley Coupe is finally walking!!! He started a couple of days ago. He will walk around if he want something. He might fall after 5 or so steps but he'll just pick himself up and start walking again. We had to bribe him with food to get him to walk but that did the trick. He might not look like a pig but HE IS. He will eat anything and everything that you put in front of him. He's our crazy little adventurer. Rykkar is sure happy that Bentley can walk around with him. It's so cute to watch them play. They are best friends and play together all day. They fight like brothers but love like brothers. I am so happy with these 2 beautiful boys.

Coming home in May

2010-04-20T01:23:00.000-07:00

YAY! We just got the best news ever. Because of some very generous people we are going to be coming home in May. One of the soldiers in Josh's unit had his dad put together a fund raiser and they raised enough money to help families that didn't have tickets to go home before the deployment. Yesterday we got confirmation that we will all be coming hom May 15th through the 25th. It will be so nice to see everyone before josh deploys for 12 months. So keep your schedules open and we will see you soon :)

Less than 90 days....

2010-04-05T01:39:00.000-07:00

It's so crazy that we have come this far with our militairy journey. In less than 90 days Josh will be deploying to a war zone for a 12 month tour. I can't believe it's actually here. Signing up for the Army and knowing that this day would come is very differen't when it's actually here and aproaching. I am so proud of Josh. What an amazing man to be willing to go to war for his country. Also another exciting day for us was last week when Josh was promoted again to Specialist Clements. I believe that he should be getting his Sgt while he's down range. Anyways, we have gotten a tip from Josh's battery that there is a rather wealthy billionare (lol) who knows one of the Sgt's in the battery. He would like to do something for the soldiers and is thinking about flying the soldiers and their families home for block leave in May before the deployment. SO this means anyone who hasn't boughten tickets which means us. I really hope this happens. It sounds a little too good to be true but I am trying not to think that way and trying to positive image this really happening. It would be so nice to come to Utah for even just a week. Josh called me this morning and told me to get our passports ready to give to his Commander so I hope that is a good sign that this really might be happening. Pray for us that this really can happen and that we will get the opportunity to come home in May.

Missing Josh and ways to make the time go by...

2010-03-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love my husband??? I can't believe how lucky I am to have such an amazing husband. It's a great thing to know that you've married your best friend. Josh has been out in the field since February 27th and won't return home until March 21st. I hope I can make it until then. It's funny, I miss him so much that I keep having dreams of him every night lol. The boys and I have definately had to find hobbies to do and routines to keep while Josh has been gone. The boy's have been excellent in keeping their schedules, going to bed, eating, taking naps. It's been pretty good for the most part, I mean they are still little boys. One of the fun crafts that I have done while Josh was gone is to make cute picture frames for the boys's rooms. I still need to put pictures in them but it was a lot of fun. All I did was get 4 picture frames each and chose 4 colors of paint that are in the bedroom sets. Then I got some coordinating fabric. I painted the frames, tore the fabric into strips and then attatched them to the back of the frames. Then all I had to do was tie them and hang them. A fun idea to spruce up a room. I just hate huge empty spaces on walls and Bentley had a whole empty wall with just a border on it. This fixed that.

Room Makeovers

2010-03-07T00:41:00.000-08:00

The boys got room makeovers... Rykkar chose everything for his and Bentley's new rooms. He wanted his and Bentley's bed stuff to be the same so Bentley got toddler bedding that will fit his toddler bed when he moves to it but still fits in his crib for now and Rykkar got the same bedding but he got a big boy down comforter and a duvet cover to go over. We did red curtains in both of their rooms as well.

Then Rykkar got to choose wall decals to put in each of their rooms. Rykkar of course chose dragons and knights with swords for his room. And of course because Rykkar is a big boy he got to choose a lamp for is room, which he chose a very cute blue shaded lamp.
For Bentley's room Rykkar chose baby jungle animals to go on Bentley's walls. They are really cute and it was an easy cheap way to decorate seeing as we are limited on what we can do here in government housing.

Josh and I have had our mattresses on the floor for a year because our bed was broken when it got here from the states. We have never owned any bedroom furniture except a bed so we thought we'd treat ourselves. We went to the furniture store here on base on New Years day and they were having a huge sale. We got a great deal on a bedroom suite. We got a long dresser with a mirror, 2 nighstands, and a king size bed for our mattresses that were on the floor. We got everything delivered except the bed. To make a long story short I had to fight to get it but it got here after 2 1/2 months of waiting. Then we decorated our room a little with some new bedding and curtains. Here's the finished product...

My 2 Cutie Patooties!!!

2010-02-25T04:27:00.001-08:00

So we got this big love sac type thing yesterday and the boy's just love it, I had to post pictures. It's so cute to see them sitting on it together watching cartoons and movies. My 2 little love boys!!!!

2010-02-16T04:58:00.000-08:00

We had a great Valentines day weekend. We all headed up to Ramstein area near the Air Force Base there. It was a lot of fun. We stayed in 2 differen't hotels. The first wasn't bad, but not the best. And the second was amazing! It was a castle that we found in Potzberg which was 20 minutes away from the base. It's called Turm Hotel which translated means Tower Hotel. It was very cool. It was all still olden day german decorated. Very medevil feeling. All of the workers wore medevil attire and it was just breathtaking. It snowed (of course) so it was very pretty but very cold. While we went on base we enjoyed their amazing PX/BX with some shopping. They are so spoiled there. We have nothing at our PX. Also we went swimming at the base pool which was a lot of fun. Rykkar loved the slides. And Bentley loved splashing in the water. They have a Chilis on base... It has been over a year since we have eaten there so we waited 2 hours to be seated, but it was well worth it! As we were getting ready to start the drive home back to Vilseck, Josh gave me my valentines present. It was so beautiful! He picked out a white gold necklace with 3 hearts and a diamond. He explained that the three hearts represented Him, Rykkar, and Bentley and that the diamond represented me. I absolutely love it. I have the best husband! How thoughtful. Well I hope you enjoy the pictures. Bentley also had his first birthday on the 12th. I will post pics of that later.

Driving wow it is cold here!
German street signs

Bentley enjoying some milk at the first hotel (hotel Europa)

Rykkar and Bentley caught hiding in the cabinet. I opened the door and said "Boo" this is what I got!

The Knight that is awaiting you upon entry... Rykkar loved this because he had a sword

The dining area in the hotel

The front of the hotel

The tower of the hotel

Utah Here We Come!!!!

2010-02-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

Thought we'd give everyone a heads up on our block leave. It's May 15th through the 30th. If all goes as planned and our dates get approved we will be heading to Utah, yay! Our plans are to fly out on May 12th and return on May 27th back to Germany. We will keep everyone posted but so far these are the plans. We should be setting everything in stone next week and purchasing our tickets. Hope to see you all during our trip. Love you all.

It's Coming....

2010-01-28T02:03:00.000-08:00

Here we are... January is almost done and February is on it's way. This is when the time is going to start going by fast. I start to cry just writing this because it's such a reality check..... It's coming, the Deployment. There is no hiding from it, no running, no pretending that it's not going to come. IT IS. I try to stay positive. I know that it is just a small stepping stone in our life. But it is hard. I am not going to pretend that it's not hard to think about. Why was I given this challenge? I have had a very hard time in my life when it comes to religion. I have a very logical way of thinking, and when it comes to religion, logical is not the best way to think. Faith is a key stone to religion. I am interested to see why God has given me the challenge of having 2 children in Germany while my husband is deployed to a war zone. What am I going to learn and how am I going to grow through this? I know that a lot is going to happen and that I am going to have to embrace my Heavenly Father's love and lean on him and my faith. I know that Josh will be looked after. I know that I need to rely on my role as a mother during that time and just enjoy spending time with my 2 beautiful boys. I have been so blessed throughout my life. And I am overwhelmed at the moment thinking about all that I have been given. I am excited to visit Utah next fall through the winter. But as for now we have a pretty busy schedule. February we have Bentley's first birthday, valentines day, my 23rd birthday. March is Josh's 25th birthday. Also March will be a little practice deployment. Not far only about 20 minutes away, but Josh might as well be in a differen't country. He will be gone for 21 days. I'm sure glad I just got my German license. Then we have April and May... Josh will be in the field and training a lot during this time. We have block leave in May the 15th through the 31st. And then they deploy around June 17th. We are still deciding whether we are going to come home during block leave. It's around $2,500 for all of us to fly back so we will have to see.... That's all for now. We love and miss you all.

Rykkar's Sword

2010-01-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

Every time we go into our PX in Grafenwoehr Rykkar always begs us for a sword. Inside the PX there is a little german kiosk where they sell wood goodies such as swords, shields, family placks, bouncy wooden animals and such. Of course Rykkar wants the sword! Well today we just happened to surprise him into getting a sword on our way out of the PX. It is so cute and he just loves it. When you purchasse your goodie the german man will engrave what you want by using his wood burner and burning the words onto your item. Rykkar got Germany '10 on the handle of his sword, and on the "blade" he got Sir Rykkar. Here is a picture of him with his most prized posetion lol.

20 Pounds!!!

2010-01-14T06:41:00.000-08:00

So it's been 11 months after having Bentley and my body is finally getting back to normal. I have let my body take the time that it needs to get back down to size. Although I did want starve myself and get a quick fix, I fought that urge and just changed my eating. I did walk a little in the summer but most of all I watched the portion size of what I ate and tried cutting out soda and sweets. I still have an occassional soda or candy but I've done alright with that. I am very proud to say that I am officially 2o POUNDS lighter than after I had Bentley. YAY!!!!

2010-01-01T23:56:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. It was a lot of fun having 2 kids to share in the fun. Rykkar and Bentley loved their Christmas Eve pj's. Of course Rykkar had Transformer pj's and Bentley got Toy Story.

Here are the boy's on Christmas Eve opening their pj's.

Here's Josh and I on Christmas Eve...

One of Rykkar's favorite toys he got from GG, his Elefun game, Bentley enjoyed all the butterflies that fly out of the elephants nose. It was cute to watch them play.

Bentley enjoy's doing a little yoga while he plays with his toys lol...

A candid of Bentley with some of his toys...

Bentley really enjoyed all of the toys that Santa brought him, so cute!

And of course the NERF Gun!!! Rykkar wanted this more than anything. I'm pretty sure the gun is as big as he is.

Smiling Bentley always happy.

Grandma Huntsman got Rykkar his very own video game system and 2 games yay!

Rykkar loved his dragon and played with it alot.

Opening all the toys and putting them together was exhausting!

LOL more elefun...

We hope all of you had a good Christmas. It was differen't not having all of our friends and family to go visit and share the holidays with but we still had a good time. We miss you all very much and look forward to moving back to Utah in 2 years lol. That's so long.

Now it's crunch time for us... Getting ready for the deployment this summer. Sometime around June this year Josh will be leaving for Afghanistan. They will be in the field a lot training up until the deployment. We will keep you all posted for any changes and when we find out the exact date for deployment. Love you all <3 Keep safe!

Growing up Fast!

2009-12-21T00:25:00.000-08:00

Well the boys have had a lot of fun playing lately. Rykkar is enjoying Bentley's new found independance. I can't believe how much Bentley has grown up this month. He is doing everything. They love to play in the tent together.

Bentley's newest talent is climbing. He has discovered that the limbs hanging from his behind are actually good for something.... Climbing! He is finally using his legs to do everthing. You can't leave him alone for a secong or he will be climbing up the stairs...............................

Or the gaming chair.............

Or off the gaming chair.....................................

Or his favorite, the dishwasher! I love my boys. They are such a joy to watch play together. I hope that they grow up loving eachother and that they can be best friends.

Christmas Party

2009-12-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

We had the Charlie Battery Christmas party on Friday night. It was a lot of fun. Just a casual dinner where new comers could meet everyone. There was a lot of good food and fun people. Rykkar had a lot of fun playing with Izzy and Lilly and all the other kids that he met. Sant Clause even mad an appearance. I wish all of you could be there to see Rykkar's reaction. Santa came in the door saying HO HO HO and Rykkar's face just lit up like a Christmas tree. Santa was saying hi to all the kids and Rykkar was stuck in the croud and Santa missed him... So Rykkar followed Santa and just climbed up on his lap the first chance he got. It was hilarious!!! Everyone was laughing at how determined Rykkar was to see Santa, and to make sure that Santa saw him. When Santa asked Rykkar what he wanted for Christmas of course Rykkar replied, "A gun" It was so cute. Next Bentley got his turn to sit on Santa. Bentley was in amazement to what this man with a white fluffy thing on his face was doing holding him... He loved it. We were so afraid that he was going to pull Santa's beard off and put it in his mouth. But he didn't. Here are some pictures of the night. Lilly and Rykkar had a lot of fun playing on the piano as you can see.

Christmas Tree

2009-11-22T05:42:00.000-08:00

We finally broke down and put our Christmas Tree up today. It's only a few days before we normally put it up so I figure it's not too early. We are really excited for the Holidays this year but we have a lot of mixed feelings about it. It's a lot of fun because this year we have 2 boys so 2 times the fun. Rykkar is older and is annoyingly excited for Santa Claus lol. Apparently Santa is bringing him everything in his toy magazine.... It's so fun to see Rykkar so excited. Then we are sad to spend the holidays alone. No family for the holidays is definately an adjustment. We have always had so much family to visit that it was near impossible to visit everyone in one day. This year we will have a lot of family time to ourselves. We miss you all so much and can't wait to be living in Utah again... Only 2 more Christmas's then we will be back in the states February 2012!Hope everyone is having a great time. Love you all!

An Update

2009-10-29T02:43:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've updated the blog. I feel so bad because I haven't written about Rykkar's birthday or posted pics. Our desktop crashed and just a few days ago we downloaded something on to our laptop and now it is swimming with viruses and we can only use it on safe mode. Rykkar had a great birthday. We invited some of his friends over and had a BBQ, cake and opened presents. He had a lot of fun. I can't believe he is already 3! Bentley is finally crawling which is insane because he gets into everything!!! You turn your back for one second and he's in the other room lol. Batman is sadly no longer with us. He was beginning to be to much for me to handle. I wasn't looking forward to standing out in the snow so he could go potty... So we decided to try a kitty. We got Ayla our little girl kitten when someone abandoned her at 4 weeks old. So sad! We are also getting another girl kitten the second week of November. Another girl, Mia. Ayla is a lot of fun and we are looking forward to Mia coming and giving Ayla a friend. It's official, Josh's Battery will be deploying for a year next year leaving between May and July. I'm really sad about the deployment but I try not to think about it too much. Other than that not much is happening. It's really cold here, we get snow every once in a while. Germany is beautiful!

Kids say the darndest things...

2009-09-18T01:24:00.000-07:00

So because Rykkar is about to turn 3 we have been teaching him things such as counting numbers, ABC's and saying his full name. He is so cute saying Rykkar Jonathan Clements. Of course when he says Rykkar it comes out as "Cracker" lol Because his nickname is Cracker that's how he says his first name. Whenever anyone asks "What's your name?" he always replys "Cracker" That's my boy haha. And he tottally butchers the rest of his name, Jonathan Clements. But it's so cute and he gets so proud of himself. Yesterday when Bentley woke up from his nap Rykkar and I went up the stairs to get him. Rykkar goes into his room and stands up on the bottom of Bentley's crib so that he can look in. I asked him if he could say Bentley's full name and he said yes. So I pronounced "Bentley Coupe Clements" Then Rykkar pronounced back "Bentley Poop Clements" hahahaha so freaking funny. He can't say coupe for the life of him. I can't believe how funny it was. When Josh got home he said it again and Josh couldn't believe his ears. For about 15 minutes Josh was determined to teach Rykkar to say Coupe. He kind of did it but when you ask him to say Bentley's full name it is still "Bentley Poop Clements" Rykkar can put a smile on your face just by being himself what a cute boy!

Pictures of the boys

2009-09-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

I guess you're supposed to introduce a sippy cup to your baby around 6-8 months. Bentley is 7 months old today. So the people from wic gave us one to try. He absolutely loved it! He's obsessed with cups. If you are holding him and drinking you better watch out because he will try to grab it away from you.
The boy's fall clothes finally came from Gap and Old Navy. It was decent shipping. They got here in 9 days. Not too bad. Bentley looks so studly.

I was so worried about the clothes fitting but they fit great. They are a tiny bit big which is great, just enough room for growing. Rykkar is so beautiful. I think he looks just like Josh. He is a little boy now, sad tear tear :(

They are such cute brothers. They are looking more a like every day.

Awww brotherly love. I'm hoping Josh's friend can take some pictures of the boys and family pictures for us soon. There are some pretty places that we could do them.

Growing up

2009-09-10T00:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast the boy's are growing up. Rykkar will be turning 3 on September 30th. I swear it was just yesterday that I had my chunky little cracker. And Bentley is 7 months old on the 12th. He has been getting very chunky ever since he started eating his Gerber #1 fruits and vegetables and his rice cereal ond oatmeal. He loves all of them. He can actually sit up now. He'll lose his balance if he moves too much and he kind of slouches still. But it's better than it was before. I can tell that his muscles are stronger because he can hold himself up

Fall

2009-09-05T01:03:00.000-07:00

Wow this fall is going to be a cold one! It has already started and it's freaking freezing. Our days are now 51 degrees instead of 71 degrees. I can't believe how fast the weather changed. I thought it was just a fluke but it's proving to be permanent. I am so glad I ordered the boys cold weather clothes instead of waiting. If the weather stays this way they will definitely need them...

Another One?

2009-09-02T23:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, so Bentley had another one of his days like on Sunday. And lo and behold another tooth has broken through!!! Now he has his 2 front bottom teeth sprouting. Haha so cute! Poor guy I bet that's annoying but I'm glad they've broken through... The worst part is over for him for now. Until another tooth decides to come out and play.

What's happening here

2009-09-02T01:53:00.000-07:00

So Sunday Bentley woke up on the wrong side of the crib. He was cranky and seeming tired but all day he wouldn't take a nap. All he would do is scream in his crib. Then when you went to get him he would just rub his eyes and snuggle into your neck like he wanted to sleep. We were going crazy trying to figure out what he needed. Then when he was crying I thought I saw something white on his gums, I thought it was spit up. Then when I got him to open his mouth I saw that it was a little white line of a tooth that had just broken through on the bottom right of his mouth. LOL That explains his crankiness. I was okay with him crying then. I felt so bad for him. I bet it hurts so bad to have those little teeth come in. It will be fun to see it come out more. Haha I love babies little teeth they are so cute. I was a little surprised because Bentley is only 6 months, and Rykkar didn't get teeth until he was like 9 months. Then again Rykkar could sit up by himself at 5 months, and Bentley is 6 and a half months and still can't sit up by himself... He can kind of slouch :) Also the weather here is starting to cool down. I am so ready for fall. It's freezing in the mornings and nights here. I hope it gets cold by the end of September. We actually ordered the boy's fall/winter clothes. I love Old Navy and Gap. I hear they deliver relatively fast. It's annoying ordering clothes. but that's all the choice you get here. I tried ordering some boots and they said they wouldn't get here until OCTOBER 21ST! I cancelled that real fast and ordered some from Zappos, which only takes a week... Much more realistic. I guess we will just have to wait and see if they arive on time. I will post pictures of the kids soon. Oh and of our amazing couches. Josh is amazing for getting them for me. They are the most comfortable couches I have ever sat on. I love you babe!

Happy 4 Year Anniversary...

2009-08-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

So wednesday was mine and Josh's 4 year anniversary. It's crazy how time flies by. It feels like just yesterday when I met Josh at Landon Webster's house with my best friend Cassie (Hansen) Webster. Now, 4 years later we have 2 kids and are living in Germany serving in the US Army. I love Josh so much and I don't know what I would do without him. Today we went and bought some new couches, I guess you could say it's our present to eachother... Truth be told we both actually forgot about or anniversary. I guess that's what a busy life and 2 kids will do to you.

Taken Advantage Of

2009-08-24T23:36:00.000-07:00

Wow I love how people can just take advantage of you and not even care. So I did a weave and color inbetween on my neighbor about a month ago and a haircut and she said she would go get the money at the atm and bring it over... She never did. Then yesterday she asked if I was busy and wanted to know if I could take her hair a little darker. I told her that I would charge her and she said that she would pay me for last time and this time. So yet again I did a weave with color inbetween, without gloves! My hands look nasty. And then she said she would go home and wash it out and then bring the money over becaus she "left it at home" Well I waited until after 10 pm and sent her 2 text messages seeing if everything was ok. She totally ignored me but had time to daddle on facebook. Some people have a nerve!!! I can't believe how annoyed I am. I didn't pay thousands of dollars to gain my skill as a hairdresser and then have people use me. It took a lot of time and effort to be able to do hair that looks good and I don't just hand that out. She got a deal anyways she would have paid way more at the salon on base. Let's hope she can explain when I talk to her today....

Fall is coming!

2009-08-24T01:03:00.000-07:00

The time is coming for fall and the weather is starting to get colder. You know what that means... Time to buy fall clothes for the kids. It was no big deal to drop money down for one kid to get a fall wardrobe but 2 kids is a differen't story. I can't imagine buying 3 or 4 kids new clothes. For anyone who is interested, kohls.com is having a big sale lots of cute baby and toddler clothes for way cheap!

6 Month shots :(

2009-08-20T02:53:00.000-07:00

The time has come for Bentley's 6 month well baby check up and imunizations. He turned 6 months old August 12th. I can't believe my baby is already 6 months old. Crazy! His appointment was at 8 this morning which means we have to be there at 7:45 for his scanning. He weighs 15 pounds and is 26 inches long. He is so tiny lol. He was so sad when he got his shots. Once the first needle was in the binkie fell out and he started screaming... Then he had to endure 2 more shots. So sad. After some good cuddling into my neck and shoulder and a few sniffles later he was ok. We walked home from the clinic and he fell asleep on the walk. It takes so much out of him to get shots. Anyways when we got home he didn't want to eat he just wanted to sleep. After a few hours I wen in to check on him and he was so cute all snuggled in his blanket with his hand up on his head. What a doll!!!

First time for everything....

2009-08-18T11:44:00.000-07:00

Bentley had his first encounter with eating some rice cereal. He was a little unsure of it at first and kept pushing it out with his tongue. But once I left the spoon in his mouth for a bit he would suck on it and swallow the cereal. We made quite a mess. Then we played peek a boo with his messy cereal onesie. What a cute little boy he is!

Mickey Mouse Club House

2009-08-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

You guessed it, Rykkar is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Club House. He loves watching it in the mornings. Grandma Huntsman has been sending him surprises in the mail and now he has 4 of the 6 characters. And yes, they do have to snuggle with him in the mornings to watch cartoons.

Yay for me!

2009-08-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

Yay, I am officially back to my prepregnancy weight! Now it's time to lose 15 - 20 more pounds so I can get back to my weight before I started having babies... It actually wasn't hard, which is motivating to me to think about the rest of the weight I need to lose. I am starting the master cleanse lemonade fast this weekend. It's not a starvation diet, it's actually a very healthy cleanse that detoxifies your body of all the waste and toxins sitting in your body. I am hoping that this will help me with starting a new lifestyle and only putting good things into my body. They say that these cleanses are what's missing from western medicine. They can help in curing your body of infections and disease as well. So here it is. It's The juice of half a lemon, 2 Tbsp of Grade B pure maple syrup, 1/10 tsp of red cayenne pepper, and 10 oz of purified water. You drink this at least 6 times a day up to 12 times a day. No food, this has everything you need in it. You can drink purified water though. You do this for a minimum of 6 days and a max of 40 days although not that long if it's your first time. I am doing it for 14 days. Coming off the cleanse is very important. You need to drink several 8 oz glasses of orange juice to prepare your digestive track for food. 1-2 days before beginning food (1st and 2nd day after fast). East raw fruit during the day and a vegetable salad in the evening. Start a vegatable soup 3-4 days after the fast No bread or crackers! Around the 4th day you can return to eating normally.
* The first 3 days are the hardest. After this your body is adjusted.
* You can lessen the amount of Maple Syrup for those seeking weight loss as well. The average person will usually lose around 20 pounds anyways. Depending on your body and if you are overweight to begin with.

Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!

Poor Bentley

2009-07-22T02:54:00.000-07:00

Poor Bentley... He has hit the teething stage. I can't see any teeth trying to come out, but his gums are definately bothering him. He is chewing on everything and drooling like crazy. When you rub his gums he gets aggitated like it hurts. And if he can grab onto your finger it better be clean, because he will put it straight into his mouth and go to town on chewing it. He has finally discovered how to roll all the way over. He's been able to roll over for a while, but his arm underneath always gets stuck under. This morning he woke me up at 5 to eat and he was screaming. So I made a bottle, went into his room and he had rolled over all the way onto his tummy and he couldn't get back over. I am trying to teach him how to sit up by himself. He has no balance so far. He will sit up alright if I am behind him. But with no support he will fall instantly. I hope he gets the hang of it by the end of August. We are going to try and get family pictures done but I want him to be able to sit up so he can be sitting in this own pictures. We will just have to wait and see.

A little on Rykkar, he is fully potty trained! Yay! He doesn't wear diapers at all. He doesn't have accidents at night or bedtime and he always tells us when he has to go. All I can say is thank goodness for flushable wipes! Toliet paper does not do to well for wiping... Got to make sure we get it all lol. Because Rykkar was such a big boy he got a special surprise in the mail from grandma. He loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so Gradma sent him a big stuffed Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, he loves them. Thanks Grandma!

I am doing well just missing Utah and our family and friends. Trying to get used to Josh having to go out in the field. Josh has been working non stop. His battery is preparing for their deployment to Bulgaria. So Josh has been out in the field every day. We also have a few overnight stays out in the field for Josh. That's gonna suck. I don't know what I am gonna do when he is in Bulgaria for 30 days. Makes me wonder how hard Afghanistan for a year is gonna be. I know I have a lot of support, and we'll be in Utah for 3 months at a time twice so we'll only be alone for like 6 months. We'll just have to take it one day at a time.

Hoorah for Rykkar

2009-07-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of Rykkar he is now officially fully potty trained. He will go by himself, recognizing when he has to go. He also sleeps in his underwear, no diapers at all! It's nice only changing 1 bumb...

What's happening here

2009-07-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

A little update on what we have been up to out here in Germany... We had a nice 4th of July. It would have been much funner in Utah with our family but we made due. We had a bunch of soldiers over and had a BBQ and everyone just hung out in the backyard. Rykkar did some swimming in his froggy pool in the backyard and Bentley just hung out. Fireworks are illegal to sell here so we couldn't even have sparklers. But the Army was allowed to put on a firework show for us. They set off a bunch of big fireworks around 10:15. They were nice and Rykkar liked them until they started to get loud and huge. Then he just clung on to Josh saying "I want daddy". It was cute. Bentley is getting huge and is really putting on the chunk! Rykkar is really cute with Bentley. Now that Bentley is getting older and he's not so fragile Rykkar likes to play with him and snuggle him. He brings him his toys and addresses him when he's talking to him. Rykkar is doing very well at potty training. He will now go poopy in the potty. He does great and will go by himself, but Mommy isn't allowed in the bathroom. He shuts the door and tells me "No, Go out!" It's so funny... But whatever works. He loves to flush the potty and wash his hands by himself. Rykkar is really in to coloring right now. He loves the color wonder books and markers by Crayola. I like them too because he can't ruin anything with them. Rykkar also loves playing with the "kids" Savannah and Mckenzie that live 3 doors down from us. They love to play in his room with all of his toys while a movie is going on on the tv that grandma gave him. Bentley can roll over but no sitting up yet. He loves to chew on anything he can find. His favorite is the front of his onesie. He puts his thumb under his onesie and lifts into his mouth. From there he will suck and chew on it until the entire front of him is soaked... Josh is doing well, just living the life of a soldier. The Army is not as fun as life as a civilian but we're hoping that once our 3 years are up we can move back to Utah and Josh can get a job as a police officer. We have started to meet some decent people which is hard to find over here. I'm am doing well. Basically just being a mom to 2 beautiful boys and a wife to an amazing man. I am very proud of myself for actually losing weight. I am only 5 piunds away from my prepregnancy weight and from there I plan on getting down to my previous weight before I had Rykkar. I never realized how easy it is to lose weight if you do it the right way. Eating right and small portions is the simplest thing. I go on little walks with the boys and that's the extent of my work out. I'm sure if I worked out harder the weight would come off even faster. Cutting simple things out of your diet like soda and sweets makes a huge impact on your weight. Doing these simple things allows me to lose between 1 and 2 pounds a week. On another note, It gets hard every day knowing that I am one day closer to Josh deploying to Afghanistan, but I try not to think about that too much. We like to look at these few years as a stepping stone to Josh's career as a police officer and an experience to enjoy. We really miss Utah and our family and friends. Civillians really take their lives for granite. Before we were in the Army I never understood the sacrifice that soldiers and their families give. Now that I live the life it's so much more clear what we really give up.

Mommy and Bentley in the morning

2009-06-28T03:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some clips of Bentley this morning. He was quite chipper!

Some fun Pictures

2009-06-22T00:55:00.000-07:00

So here are some fun pictures of the boys. Batman and Rykkar are best friends. Here they are enjoying a little game of tug a war with good ol' "Cars Gippy"

Here's the best picture we got of the boys together this weekend. Bentley is practicing sitting, more like leaning on his brother, which I'm sure he will do a lot through out his life. I am so lucky to be blessed with 2 wonderful boys, they are so beautiful.

This weekend we were relaxing on the couch when Bentley decided to suck his thumb for the first time. We grabbed the camera and got a quick snapshot! So sweet.

Batman

2009-06-18T05:28:00.000-07:00

How could you say NO to a face like this? He is so dang cute. I'm so glad we got him. He now sleeps in our room on the floor in his bed, as opposed to the laundry room where he use to sleep. I'm surprised how fast he learned to potty train outside. He puts his paws up on the back door and gives a little bark, that's when you know. He's almost 6 months old. Everyone should get a Morkie (Yorkie-Maltese) they are such good dogs.

Growing Boys

2009-06-11T01:33:00.000-07:00

So we went to an appointment yesterday and they measured Rykkar and Bentley. In just 11 weeks Rykkar grew 2 inches and gained 2 pounds. He's turning into a little skinny string bean. He use to be my fat chubby little baby, sad he's growing up. Bentley now weighs 14 pounds and is 28 inches long. It's so crazy to watch your children grow before your eyes. I bet it's even crazier for my mom because she hasn't seen them since February so in pictures they probably look huge.

Congratulations Josh

2009-06-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

Yay! Josh got his promotion moving him up to a Private First Class (PFC). I am so proud of him and I love him so much. Josh has put so much effort into the Army. He has grown so much as a person and I know he's learned so much about himself this past year. He wakes up everyday at 5:30 to go to PT and then has the rest of the day doing duties in his battery until 5:30 that night. He has so much endurance and is always going up and beyond. We love you so much Josh and we are all so proud of you. We are all so greateful that you are serving our country and that you are willing to put your life on the line. MUAH!

The cutest son

2009-05-28T01:37:00.000-07:00

Rykkar is such a doll. He is so concerned about everyone. If he sees that you have a "Boo Boo" he gets very upset because he thinks it hurts you. The mosquitos out here are out of control and I have bites all over. The bites are so itchy that I scratch them until they bleed and scab, grose I know. This morning while I was feeding Bentley, Rykkar happened to see a bite on my foot and said, "Oh no you have a boo boo, can I kiss it?" And then he bent over and kissed it. So dang cute! Every time he gets a boo boo he asks you to kiss it. I gues kisses make it feel better. I swear this child has a mind of his own.

3 and a half months!

2009-05-21T04:25:00.000-07:00

This boy is so adorable! I can't believe how blessed Josh and I are too have such beautiful children!

HAHAHA

2009-05-13T04:42:00.000-07:00

This is the cutest thing I have ever seen.... Rykkar like to catch up on his Mens Fitnees reading material while he uses the "Potty" What a guy!

Finally my stroller is here!

2009-05-08T07:03:00.001-07:00

6 Weeks of waiting and finally my stroller is here. It is a thing of beauty. I am so glad I decided on this one. Rykkar absolutely loves it and Bentley seems very comfortable. I can't wait to try it out.

Model Babies

2009-04-30T07:41:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't think their kids are the most beautiful children in the whole world? The boys and I did a fun little photo shoot. Rykkar is quite the model, he loves being in front of the camera. And I don't think Bentley minded too much either.

Potty Training

2009-04-29T01:55:00.000-07:00

Yay! Rykkar has decided to potty train. I don't use pull up's, I hate them. They are just fancy diapers. We put Rykkar in his big boy underwear and after a few accidents he knows to go pee in the potty, and to wash his hands after. Lol he is a little scared of going poop in the potty so he has held it in. I guess it will eventually come out and he will see that pooping in the potty isn't bad. Oh and a great insentive is 2 m&m's everytime he goes in the potty. Hopefully we will be accident free in a month or so.

Cutting my own hair

2009-04-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

Oh the joys of Germany.... So there is one salon on base and if you've been on a base you'd inderstand how ridiculous that is. There are so many women on base you have to make an appointment a month in advance. Of course you could go to a german salon, but all german stores close by 5, sometimes 4. So what's a girl to do? Of course I cut my own hair. It looked awful and needed a cut. I'm not afraid to lose some hair and I wanted to cut it really short anyways. Here's the end result.... Not to shabby if I do say so myself!

Scary Reality

2009-04-16T04:52:00.000-07:00

Deployment is never a fun subject but I guess it needs to be talked about so here are some details. We just found out that Josh will be deploying to Bulgaria, most likely September 29th for 25 days. It's not combat deployment, but none the less it's a deployment. It's so that his battery can go and shoot their weapons and play war. Now the other half..... The reason why they are doing this, is to prepare for their combat deployment to Afghanistan in June 2010. I'm terrified for that time to come and I really don't know what I will do but keep trucking and praying until my knees bleed. In a weird way this short deployment will be good because it will give me a sense of what a long deployment will be like. A little taste I guess you could say. A cool thing for Josh is that he will have the opportunity to go the Black Sea. We will keep everyone updated as to what happens with all of it.
On another note, we are very excited that we are being given a family retreat to Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in the Bavarian Alps. Here is their website if anyone wants to take a look: http://www.edelweisslodgeandresort.com/home.html May 15th-17th we will drive to Garmisch to begin our fun little vacation. The Army pays for the hotel, breakfast and dinner. All we pay is lunch and site seeing. We will be visiting the Neuschwanstein Castle and the Linderhof Palace. We will post pictures when we go!

Colored Eggs

2009-04-11T09:50:00.001-07:00

We colored eggs today with our neighbors and hung outside all day. It was such a perfect day. I don't know what the weather is like for anyone else but lately it has been 75 degrees and sunny. We BBQ hamburgers and the kids played in the pool. we turned our heads for 2 seconds and even Batman took a dive in the pool all by himself haha. We let Rykkar choose the colors for his and Bentley's eggs. He chose green for Bentley's and pink for his lol. Here are a few pictures. Happy Easter everyone.

Happy Easter spoiled boy!

2009-04-08T02:27:00.000-07:00

On Rykkar's 2nd birthday he got a puppy, Harley, and shortly after we found out that we were going to be stationed in Germany. We didn't bring Harley with us because it was such a hassel to get him over here. Rykkar has been wanting a dog since and so Josh and I began a search in Germany. We found a cute Maltese-Yorkie mixed puppy and I guess we caved in. We took Rykkar to pick him up and he was so excited. He's such a cute puppy and doing pretty well with the housebreaking. We let Rykkar name him because it's his puppy. Yep, you guessed it, he named his puppy Batman! lol. He is so cute.

Colorful Sunday....

2009-03-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

So Josh and I bought a grill a couple of weeks ago and we have had a lot of fun cooking on it . Our latest creation turned out very beautiful and colorful. We made lemon pepper chicken kabobs with bell peppers and brown and wild rice with pina colada's on the rocks yummy!

Turk look a like

2009-03-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Josh calls Bentley Turk because he looks like Turk from Tarzan. Here's a picture of both of them!

Some pictures

2009-03-26T04:51:00.000-07:00

So here are a few pictures. Rykkar nice enough to share his Cars pillow for his little brother to lay on to make his gassy tummy feel better. What a nice brother!

First smile!

2009-03-23T05:03:00.000-07:00

So I just happened to have the camera right by me when I was talking to Bentley. I was trying to get him to smile and maybe coo.... It worked. I actually caught his first smile on camera and it was huge! He even cooed and and started talking to me. It was adorable.

Also, here is a picture of Rykkar. I love my BIG boy sooo much! He is so cute. He calls everything his gun so that he can be like his Daddy. Here is a picture of his air rocket launcher "His Gun" he is ready to shoot bad guys.

"Fruit Loops are not for babies!"

2009-03-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

This is a story for the books..... A couple of days ago Rykkar came in my room in the morning and wanted some fruit loops dry in a cup. So I got him some fuit loops in a cup and he got in bed with me and Bentley. Now as I watched him I could definately see the wheels turning in his head as he looked back and forth at his cup of fruit loops and at Bentley. I had to step out of the room for literally 15 seconds to get some clothes for Bentley and as I came back into the room I saw a single Fruit loop sticking to Bentley's lip. lol.... Apparently Rykkar thought he would share his cereal with his little brother. What a cute little boy, he tried to feed Bentley some fruit loops. I sat Rykkar down and explained to him that baby brother is too small to eat fruit loops and any other food and that he only eats his bottle. Rykkar replied back that the babies bottle was babies chocolate milk. And he had his cholcolate milk. So to Rykkar Bentley's formula is Chocolate milk for babies and he has his big boy chocolate milk. Kids do the darndest things!

Nervous!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

So we got all of Bentley's enrollment done today so that he is insured and we got his dual citizenship birth certificates and went to make his appointment to get circumsized on the "German Economy" which basically means in Army terms, that we don't pay and tricare pays for it. Well I guess in Amberg, where I had Bentley, they don't believe that it is safe to do before the babies are 6 months because anesthesia. So we are going to Sulzbach on Monday and the lady told me that they DON'T use anesthesia!!!! What does she mean?! Are they crazy! That seems like torture.... She said they spray them with stuff to numb them but how is that going to help???? Now I am really nervous. It feels like I'm taking my precious 4 week old baby to get butchered and tortured.... I hope this goes alright....

A few Pictures....

2009-03-03T04:24:00.000-08:00

So we are still trying to get settled in. Our stuff has arrived in Germany and is being delivered tomorrow!!! Yay!!! We are vey happy to see all of our belongings and have our familiar items around us again. I hate bare walls, so I will be especially happy to hang all of my pictures and decorations. Also just a little FYI, Josh and I are pretty sure our house is haunted lol.... We here people down stairs at night when we are sleeping and banging noises and noises like stuff is falling when we are trying to sleep. When we go down stairs to see what it is we can't find anything out of the ordinary. HA HA good old Germany. Also my Mom has come and gone. A week goes by so fast. She was such a big help and we really miss her. Hopefully her and Dad can come out soon. Here are a few pictures of Bentley and Rykkar. Rykkar thinks he's a soldier, he wants to be just like his Daddy, and Bentley is growing so fast!

Bentley Is Here!

2009-02-19T04:05:00.000-08:00

Yay! We are so happy to announce the arrival of Bentley Coupe Clements. He was born February 12th at 9:38 AM weighing in at 7lbs. 8oz. and measuring 19 1/2" long. He came into this world with a nickname in tow. We call him "Piglet" because for the first 36 hours of his life he grunted like a little pig lol. The grunting has since stopped, but he has the appetite of a little pig. Rykkar loves his little brother. He especially likes to point out the fact that Bentley has eyes, a nose, ears, a mouth, and even hair just like him. He also enjoys giving baby brother high fives and knuckles. Bentley loves to gaze at Daddy and grin at him. He also trys to copy his mouth movements. Bentley loves his mommy and the fact that she can satisfy his hearty appetite. Mommy is astounded that such a little baby can eat and poop so much. Apparently breast fed babies like to eat 24/7 and they poop like it is going out of style. I think I change atleast 13 poopy diapers a day. All in all we are doing very well. We moved into our house and are enjoying the new found space with our slightly larger family. Here are some pictures of Bentley at 5 days old. We will post more later. We hope the states are treating everyone well. Germany is beautiful, snowy, and very cold. We love you all!

Bentley's Scheduled Arrival

2009-02-08T02:23:00.000-08:00

So we went to the doctor on Friday the 6th, and we got to schedule the c section for the arrival of Bentley Coupe. We will arrive at the hospital Wednesday, the 11th, and I will stay over night to be monitored. And then they will do the c section Thursday morning. So his birthday will be February 12th. I will stay in the hospital for 3-4 days, depending on how I feel. I just thought I would update everyone on when we expect our little bundle of joy. We will let you know when he is finally here and how things went.

German Pizza

2009-02-03T01:23:00.000-08:00

Yummy.... I just wanted to let everyone know about my latest indulgence. Ever since we arrived in Germany I think we have ordered pizza at least 2 times a week. It is beyond amazing. You could call it a little slice of heaven. The pizza here is completely different than in the states. Because I'm not really a pizza person. The pizza that we get has marinara sauce, cheese, ham, pepperoni, bell peppers, onions, and pepperchini. It's not just the ingredients that can be a bit unusual it's that the ingredients are so fresh. The meats that they use aren't all prepackaged like Pizza Hut for example. The vegetables are especially fresh. The marinara they use has to be an old family recipe, it's sweet and tangy. And they don't use very much cheese, just enough. And the dough is cooked just to a golden brown. The best part about the pizza is that it's not greasy in the slightest. No grease what so ever. Even Rykkar loves the pizza, and that's saying a lot seeing as the kid never eats because he's so picky...... But that's for another post. Anyone who comes to visit us will get to try this pizza so start booking flights. Hope to see you all soon.

Being a Mom

2009-01-31T01:40:00.000-08:00

Being a Mom is such an amazing blessing. It is amazing what is instilled in you the moment you become pregnant. You would do anything and everything for your children. You find strength in yourself that you didn't know you had. You find patience you never dreamed you would have. Things that you never imagined you would do come so natural. You go through poopy diapers and sleepless nights. You automatically put yourself in the back of the line, making sure that your family has everything they need before you attend to your own needs. I love being a mom. And I am pregnant and feeling a bit mushy. I'm glad that I had a great mom to look up to. It's such a cliche' but you really don't realize all that your mom does for you until you yourself are a mom.
Rykkar and Josh are both pretty sick with colds that are very uncomfortable. Last night we tried going to bed at 9 pm. I got the boys down and decided to take a shower for the day that was now over lol. Once out and ready for bed myself I crawled in at around 10 pm and our wonderful new neighbor decided to turn his music up so loud that it sounded like it was a concert in our living room. Then Rykkar woke up demanding that he sleep with Josh and I in the tiny inn bed. So at about 10:30 pm I got up and let Rykkar and Josh sleep comfortably in the bed together and I decided to call the MP's (Militairy Police). It took them about an half an hour but they finally came and put an end to the noise. After that I put Rykkar in his room because Josh and him kept waking each other up coughing. Anyways I was woken up about 10 times after that from a crying 2 year old sick of being sick and an 8 1/2 month pregnant body demanding to pee and drink gallons of water, only to have to pee more in another hour. Then Rykkar woke up bright and early at 8 am wanting to watch Barney and have Mommy make him pancakes, which when done he decided not to eat. Needless to say I honestly didn't mind any of it. It made me think of my mom and I saw a lot of my mom in myself. I'm glad I had that example
So thanks mom for always thinking of us before yourself. I love you and I'm very grateful to have you in my life. I'm happy that my kids will have you as a grandma to look up to. I know where you got it from because I have the most amazing grandmother in the world. I guess we are all taught by example. I hope I can carry this example on to my children. I love you all. Mom's are the BEST!

All happening at once.....

2009-01-27T00:33:00.000-08:00

So I guess when it rains, it poors.... Not in a bad way though. We've gotten a lot of good news, it's just all happening at once. We had our fist doctors appointment on Friday the 23rd. We met our Dr, Dr. Erhart. She is very nice and speaks great English which makes things a little easier. We had our appointment at 10 and didn't get done until 1. These Germans don't mess around with having babies. I had the full work up. I was poked and prodded and given every test imaginable. I don't know why but oh well. We had an ultra sound and little Bentley Coupe is doing great. He looks just like his brother did in his ultra sound. The difference between Rykkar and Bentley is that Bentley is a whole lot smaller than Rykkar was. He shows to be 5 1/2 lbs right now and he only has 2 1/2 more weeks to grow. We are doing my c section between February 11th or 13th. I guess they like to do them 10 days before your due date. I can't believe how soon that is. I am so happy about not being pregnant though. I have had a hard time watching a 2 year old and being in so much pain! So I will have to stay in the hospital for 3 to 4 days and then get to go home. Then my mom is flying out to be with us for a week on the 21st.

We also found out that they have a house for us. We went into our appointment in the housing department and were given a 2 bedroom apartment available to move in on February 6th. But when they saw that I was pregnant again they offered us their last town home. It's a 3 bedroom and much bigger. It won't be available to move into until February 17th but we'll be there for 3 years. So I am ok waiting a little longer for the right place to live. We've driven past the house and it's so cute. We feel very lucky to be able to get such a larger place. And we're very surprised. The Army is funny because we were told that because of Josh's rank and because our kids were so young and both boys that there was no way to get anything but a 2 bedroom apartment, and then we go in and they ask why we didn't tell them I was pregnant. Which we did tell them but to out knowledge it didn't matter. Anyways we're very greateful to get into a house.

So In 2 weeks it's going to be very crazy. I will have Bentley hopefully on the 13th and then get out of the hospital on the 16th or 17th. Then we will be moving into our house which I will be on baby duty, also taking it easy from my surgery. Josh will be juggling Rykkar and moving all of our stuff into our house. Then our car arrives on the 19th!!!! Yay no more walking. Then we will pick my mom up from the Frankfurt airport on the 21st. WOW! Crazy stuff. Then our stuff will arrive from the states on March 3rd. It will be nice to have our furniture and clothes and all of our familiar things. Rykkar will be excited to get his toys. Anyways... This is our crazy life for the next month. It's going to be exciting but very hectic. We will keep everyone updated and try to post some pictures. Love you all.

Germany

2009-01-20T00:29:00.000-08:00

Wow..... Where to start??? So clearly we are alive and living in Germany. It has been quite an adventure so far. First off Josh had to leave to Germany without Rykkar and I because our passports weren't here yet. That was really disappointing but we got through it. Rykkar's and my passport got here and we left 2 days later. We boarded a plane to Chicago on January 1st. This was an easy flight, Rykkar slept the whole flight. Then we got off the plane and headed to McDonald's for a happy meal, YAY! After this we waited for what was suppose to be an hour layover. It turned into 2 hours because of mechanical problems with the plane. That's gotta make you feel all warm and fuzzy boarding a 9 hour flight on a plane with mechanical problems. Anyways all I can say is travelling that long, by yourself, with a 2 year old, 7 1/2 months pregnant is no picnic! It was worth it though. We met a good Samaritan family who helped us get our 4 bags and 1 car seat off the belt and on to a cart. We found Josh and got into the car for another 3 hours to get to Vilseck, Germany Rose Barracks Military Community.

So now we're here and it is absolutely beautiful! It's very cold though, especially when you have to walk everywhere. We're still waiting for our car which will arrive by February 19th. We are staying in temporary housing until a house is available for us. We live on corn dogs and sandwich's, haha, we have no stove but we're making the best of it. As of now our new addition, baby Bentley Coupe, is still due on February 23rd. We will be having him at a German hospital in Amberg. It is a very nice hospital so that is comforting. We have our first doctor's appointment on Friday the 23rd so that will be nice. Hopefully we can schedule a date for our c-section.

A few things that are different about Germany.... You most definitely have to pay to use the bathroom. I found this out when I shoplifted a pee pee from a German Burger King lol. Also they have a holiday about every 10 days I swear. German's take their holiday's very seriously. No one works on a holiday. Also every store closes at like 5 pm. Most German's speak English, but a lot of them will pretend like they don't. Also I'm pretty sure everyone here smokes cigarettes. And they smoke everywhere. No clean air act here. Oh ya, also Germany is very environmental. There is no litter here. You have to recycle everything. There isn't just one garbage can there is about 5 for every category, metal, compost, waste, cardboard, plastic, and a few more. Oh and gas off post changes every day but it is usually around like 1.20 Euro a liter. WOW, that's expensive.

Well anyways we will try to post later and let you know what's going on here half way around the world. Watch some good old TV for us, we are having with drawls, and enjoy your free pee's out in public. We love you all! Love, The Clements Family.