DADDY'S FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM

July Fourth-Family Get Together

2013-07-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Family Picture Time

Here is Kinsley...2 years and 2 months! She loved having the baby pool all to herself!

Fourth of July 2013-"the climb"

2013-07-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

I was talked into hiking the mountain while we were in Arizona. I NEVER do this kind of exercise! I agreed and let me tell you...I am a WIMP! I did finish though, with lots of coaching from him, Jeff and Jessica, and Jose! They all very kindly and patiently waited and waited and waited for me to finish! Pictures will prove it!

I made it! I'm not sure when I will do that again. I am glad that I finally saw the view of the city!

The Kids First Run Together...The Heartbreak Ridge

2013-04-14T20:54:00.001-07:00

So we have tested out quite a few sports to try to find one that the kids all like. The girls recently participated in Hip Hop and had their first competition. Meridith's group took third and Annabelle's took second. They both enjoyed it and we forgot our camera...ugh! They decided they wanted to take a break from that for this 9 week session! Which is fine for me...I am enjoying taking them to Sea World and Legoland whenever we want. I do understand the importance of sports, so we aren't giving them up! They all ran yesterday in the Heartbreak Ridge. It was a half marathon, 10k, 5k or a kids run. They started with the kids run and they seemed to enjoy it! Here are a few pictures!

They were following their dad's orders to stretch!

Where did this dog come from? He is not ours!

At the beach with FAMILY!

2013-03-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

It is so great living here, but it is even better finally having more family close. We get to see Holli and her family more now. It is what we have been looking forward to! Holli and her family came down just a little while after we moved here and we were able to go hang out at the beach. Our husbands found a big hole that had been dug out and they continued to expand it so the kids could all get in.

Then it was time to bury all of the boys!

We all had a great time! It was great to get together!

We've Been Having So Much Fun!

2013-03-18T01:18:00.001-07:00

We have loved having Hiram with us and being able to be together as a family. We have spent a lot of time at Legoland and Sea World. It is so great having so many fun places so close to our house!

Now all we have to do is get the camera away from Hiram so we can see if he was really there with us!

Finally some new photos of Kinsley!

2013-03-06T22:57:00.000-08:00

It must be something about being the forth child but I noticed as we were putting up pictures of the kids in our house we had ZERO of Kinsley. So here are new ones of her...I know it's about time, she's almost 2!

We actually made it out WEST!

2013-03-05T21:26:00.000-08:00

After the craziness of this last year, moving in June, then not moving to California until December we are finally here and it is official! They can't send us back east now! We are loving EVERYTHING about being on the west coast AGAIN! We love the beach...

and we love finally being together! Watch out California, we're not going anywhere!

First Day of School 2012

2012-08-13T00:50:00.003-07:00

I'm so glad Holli was here so that I was able to get pictures of the kids this year without it being a last minute photo with my phone. We got some good ones and I am so thrilled! Thanks Aunt Holli!

Meridith 5th Grade, 10 years old

Davin, 3rd grade, 8 years old

Annabelle, 1st grade, 6 years old

I can't believe how fast they have grown! I sure hope they are prepared!

I guess it's time to start blogging...I'm not promising anything!

2012-08-13T00:40:00.004-07:00

I looked at my blog a few weeks ago and realized...Kinsley is 15 months old and she has received only her "birth announcement" post, then I thought oh goodness...where should I even begin! So much has happened since she was born I don't even know where to start.

So I think for now we will just start where we are in life now and then we can always go back and "fill in" later.

We are currently back in AZ waiting for Hiram's new orders to come. We left our home in NC in June to come to AZ for our family reunion and then the plan was to stay for only 2 months while Hiram went to school. So 2 days before school was to start he was notified that he wouldn't be going to that school until October instead of July. I was completely a mess. We had just packed up our whole house, so we could rent it and now we were suppose to go back?! Oh well, it took me a couple of days to get myself together and we sent Hiram back to NC and we are getting our kids in school here so that they can get in 1 full semester before they will transfer to CA. So here are a few pictures since we have been here in AZ.

Meridith and Annabelle doing gymnastics! They love it and they are pretty good at it too!

Davin playing at Makutu's Island!

I think he was in the tree most of the time!

Kinsley's first adventure with spaghetti! She LOVED it!

We had snow cones EVERYDAY when everyone was here for the Family reunion.

Mom and her girls, minus Kari, we missed you!

The kids all being silly, but they loved it!

We had such a great time with all of the cousins and we miss all of them who had to leave! We are thankful to have cousins with us everyday now that we are staying at Grandma's. It has made the transition so much easier for all of us!

And she's here...Kinsley

2011-12-30T19:28:00.000-08:00

Two moreshots of me at the very end of my pregnancy ...

The picture in the pink shirt was Monday and boy did I have a lot of cleaning to do...which helped me go into labor because...after laboring at home for most of the night, we arrived at the hospital with only 20 minutes to spare! Thank goodness she came quickly.. weighing in at 6 pounds 1 ounce and only 18 inches long, Kinsley joined our family!

Grandma was on the airplane as we were driving to the hospital and arrived only minutes after Kinsley was born. Thank goodness Kinsley came quickly otherwise Grandma would have had to stay the night in our tiny little airport! Thank you Grandma for coming! We love you so much and you were a HUGE help, as always!

Kinsley came quickly and in doing so she also scared the doctors and she ended up in the NICU for a few days, while they did all sorts of testing because she had such low body temperature. She was fine though after medicines of all kinds and we are extremely thankful for that! She was born on a Tuesday and we finally came home on Friday. Sunday was Mother's Day so Grandma was invited to my brother, Bryan's house for the weekend, so we didn't get to spend too much time with her but we know she had a good time with him.

Spring Break & a whole lot more posts to come ...

2011-12-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

After Hiram arrived home ( I was 33 weeks pregnant) I went to the dr and told them that we were going to go to Disneyworld when I was 36 weeks pregnant. My midwife (on the base) told me that probably wouldn't be a good idea but I really didn't care where our new baby would be born, NC or FL, didn't really matter. So she said well I won't even wonder who it is when they make an announcement that a baby was born at Disneyworld! So we decided to go ... we went for a week ... walked a ton ... and of course ... NO BABY! Any way here are some of our fun pictures...

The Entrance of Course

A break for me, I'm sure

oh fixing the hair...we are always doing that!

my cuties!

Meridith looks just like Davin in that hat!

I think I was having a contraction

I will have to do another post with more photos soon! We had most of our photos on our laptop and it completely crashed and all of those photos were lost :(

I'm Back & So is Daddy!

2011-11-12T20:51:00.001-08:00

It's been a CRAZY year but I am back to my blogging again so I will start right where I left off! My last post was about how the time was dragging until Hiram got home. Well obviously he's home! Well sort of...he is back in the states but will be spending the next few weeks in California. We won't have him here for another Thanksgiving but that's ok. At least he is able to come home after that!

Anyway back to his homecoming...it was the worst day of the year to be outside that's for sure! I had bought the kids clothes for the spring and it was not spring like weather at all! It was so cold, windy and there was a horrible drizzle going on. My friend came and suffered through the weather to take pictures and we are so thankful to her for that! So here they are:

Welcome Home!

We waited for 2 hours in the cold, windy, wet weather.

Finally, a phone call to let us know they are COMING!!

The buses arrived . . .

we didn't know which one he was on . . .

they unloaded and we looked all around and finally found this . . .

I no longer could control my kids...no words can describe this moment...

Finally! Don't forget the pregnant wife...I missed you too!

Our family is very blessed to all be back together again! Too many people don't get this moment and we are thankful for their sacrifice.

Welcome Home Gifts!

2011-04-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

While he was gone I saved, and saved and SAVED, his deployment money so that he could buy whatever he wanted when he got home. After all, he did miss Christmas, his birthday and our anniversary. So here is what he got ...

then he sold his car and got this...

UGH! It is DRAGGING!!

2011-02-27T16:11:00.000-08:00

At the top of my intro to the blog it states that "time D.....R.....A.....G......S for us when Hiram is gone". Well this is the worst part of it all. I am so thankful that at least my husband is coming home but the last few weeks is the worst part of it all! We have 2 countdown calendars and one jar that we take a pom pom out of every day and transfer it to another jar. The days are few but could they really go any slower? We just want Hiram back NOW!! Everyone at church states that, "wow the time has really gone by fast....well speak for yourselves!" The only way time would have ever gone by fast is if he never would have left!! We continue to keep them all in our prayers as things are never 100% that he will make it home safely! We are praying for these next few weeks to somehow fly by like they will for most anyone who is not waiting for their husband or their daddy!

Sorry for the ranting and raving but there is no possible way to describe what this feels like unless you are going through it!

26 weeks already!!

2011-02-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

This is not the best picture but when your photographer is a 5 year old it really isn't that bad! We are getting really excited because Hiram will be home soon and soon after we will be having our baby girl!!

It's A Girl!!

2011-01-12T19:45:00.000-08:00

Here is the 5 month shot of our newest addition to our family. Our new baby is due in the middle of May! We just found out today that baby number four will be a baby girl!!

A Christmas Letter From Afghanistan

2010-12-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

I could not believe the email that my wonderful husband sent today. I don't know if the rest of the world knows it, but my husband is the best man in the world. I dare anyone to even try to challenge him!! Here is his email...I could never top this one so I will just use it as our Christmas letter this year! I wish that I could post a picture of him from over there but we have not been able to receive any pictures from this deployment.

Hello everyone just want to thank you all for your support and prayers, I find myself for the first time and most special time of the year away from my family and loved ones in a vast distant place that I wish not to ever visit again.

Heavenly Father hears are prayers as I have experienced first hand the results that could have been if I did not listen to the Holy Ghost, and it is why like on my mission but different type of mission now the blessing of drawing closer to the Lord through constant prayer. Being the only member of the church here in this Company and being alone without loved has been hard, but knowing that I can turn to Heavenly Father for comfort and support is a great relieve since he is the only one who can dry our tears during these periods of loneliness with his spirit.

Now the one thing that I have always focused on to make the time easier during these trials of loneliness and hard times was to count the many blessings, focusing on the things we have rather than the things we don't have, showing gratitude and being humble about it, and it is what I tell my guys we need, all the help we can get.

Let us remember the words of the Savior to his Disciples: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

Honey I love you, love your parents, love my family and all of our surrounding family, see you all very soon HC

Halloween

2010-11-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

This year we decided that we would participate in the primary Halloween Festival. They don't do a trunk or treat like most wards do, so it was all indoors. The kids had a great time and are still enjoying loads of candy. We missed daddy and his fun side for Halloween. Daddy just makes everything more fun and he takes a lot of pictures. I only managed to get the kids in front of the house before we left!!

Life is not fair...and sometimes it's so short

2010-10-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

As most of you know from my last post Hiram can call me on Fridays. I look so forward to Fridays just so that I can hear his voice. Well this Friday I went on a walking field trip with Meridith and her class. I figured that it would be ok because we were going to be outside. The field trip was fun and we learned a little more about our little town.

We arrived back at the house at 11 am and still no phone call from Hiram. I wasn't too worried yet...that worry came later when one of my neighbors (her husband is also deployed) came over and told me that Hiram's unit lost another Marine. Hiram was able to email her husband and let him know (which I was very grateful for). Anyway, no phone call Friday or Saturday. By this point I was beginning to think that Hiram might have been hurt. They usually shut off phone and computer communication for 24 hr, but I guess it must have taken longer to contact this Marine's family. Hiram finally called me this morning and told me that it was his corpsman that was killed. Hiram really got along well with him and he had a lot of respect for him. He had recently gone to church with Hiram over there, and Hiram had given him a Book of Mormon. They were pretty close. Hiram is a tough guy when he has to be. My heart aches for this Marine's family and for my husband. I wish that I knew some words that could comfort him. I am thankful everyday that Heavenly Father continues to keep my sweetheart safe. Please everyone keep the military in your prayers they need them.

For those of you who have not heard we have started a sock drive...Operation Sock It To 'Em...we are sending out white crew socks to help the marines keep their feet clean and free from infection. If you would like to donate please contact me. I would also like to add the corpsman name and do it in honor of him. As soon as this death is made public knowledge I will add that. Please help us with the sock drive. Even one pair helps!!

Do I Help or Do I Not Help??

2010-09-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

My kids schools both do popcorn Fridays, sponsored by the PTO. I use to help each week last year. They were both at the same school, so that made it easier. This year they are at two different schools so I thought I would rotate weeks (that's only fair, right?).

Today I went to my little boys school to help and because we live in the "country" there is not great cell phone service so I don't get any reception in the building! Now here is the problem...with my husband fighting in the war and it seems that he ALWAYS calls when I can't answer the phone...I don't know what to do! I need to know that he is ok and I don't want to find out on an answering machine!!

I am thinking that now might just be the time to "let" other parents support the PTO and let me support my family! What do you think?

What a week it has been!

2010-09-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

This has been a rough week and deployments don't start that way for me. They usually end that way! One positive is that he's been gone one week!! Yes the countdown began on the day he left.

Weekly happenings:

Said goodbye to my dearest sweetheart and my best friend
my children (all three of them) came down with strep throat this week!

I'll tell you what, that is not what I needed this week.

had a brand new tire go flat...and the company didn't want to replace it. It was a terrible phone call! For the first time this Marine wife didn't cry but strapped on the armor and went and got it all taken care of! Sometimes I amaze myself!
no sleep--I haven't slept very much all week, Hiram is traveling a lot and things seem to heat up during that time.

I will pray that this next week gets better and that these next MONTHS go by quickly! I miss my sweetheart so much and I want him to know that I love him so much! I know that it is through Heavenly Father that we make it through these deployments. Thank you everyone for your prayers and keep them coming, Hiram really needs them right now.

Goodbye

2010-09-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

This is one topic that I absolutely HATE! Sorry for the strong word but that is how I feel. We had to say goodbye this past week to Grandma and to Daddy. I don't really have any words to describe how I feel so I will just share some pictures.

Looking for Daddy's bag

Daddy and his Babies!

Daddy's Gun is HEAVY!

My Sweetheart

Oh No! The buses arrived and Daddy has to go.

Last Family Shots

Meridith's Baptism

2010-08-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

This month has been absolutely crazy! We have had family in town all month, which has been nice, Hiram was off almost all month, as he is getting ready to leave, and then last week we had Meridith's baptism. I am still so amazed that my baby is eight. I can't believe it.

Everything went perfect! I think how easily everything went. It wasn't like a baptism in Bolivia (where I served my mission). The clothes fit perfectly, Thank you Aunt Kari! The speakers were all there, Grandma & Uncle Bryan and Aunt Amy did a wonderful job playing the music! Thank you all so much for your love and support. Here are some pictures:

Thank you everyone for coming. Grandma & Grandpa, Abuelo & Abuela, Tios Roman y Lila and Mikey and Bryan and Amy and their family. We love you all!

Finally time at the beach with Daddy

2010-08-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

Today we were finally able to make a trip out to the beach. The kids had a great time really using their boogie boards. Hiram really had them going all the way into the beach.

Here is Meridith after really catching a good wave! And a good mouthful of yucky salt water!

Davin also had a lot of fun but when he got tired he loved the goldfish and just "chillin' " in the sun!

The girls had a great time feeding the seagulls and building sand castles.

We had a great time today and hopefully we can get a few more trips to the beach before the craziness of pre deployment begins.

We have a big couple of weeks ahead of us with grandparents coming this week, Meridith's baptism on Sunday, and Hiram's deployment that is quickly approaching. We hope everyone has a good week!

Fourth of July in Florida!

2010-08-01T16:58:00.005-07:00

We took a great week long vacation with a few of my siblings and my parents to Ft Myers Beach over the 4th of July. I was so excited to celebrate this holiday with Hiram. This is the first time we celebrated the holiday together since 2006. I can't beleive that the last time we were together for fireworks that Annabelle was only a baby!

This it what she looked like in 2006...

Now here she is ... We had so much fun with my family in Florida. We loved staying at the beach house and going swimming and we had a great time at the beach on the sand bar finding all kinds of things like: starfish, sand dollars, sting ray, clams and shells. We also saw the dolphin swimming really close to where we were playing.

We took a few family photos:

We had a great time and we missed everyone that was not able to come. Hope to see you all soon! We love you!

**DADDY'S FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM**