Adventures in waiting

Some of you may or may not know, Doug joined the Army National Guard last July. With joining he has had his drill weekends in Denver once a month to help him prepare for his basic training. Then the day came when it was time for him to report to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The kids and I took him do a hotel in Denver where he would spend the night and fly out the next day. That was March 30. After about a month of the kids not understanding fully why Daddy was gone let alone when he would be back I decided it was time to create something tangible, that they could understand. This is our beloved countdown chain to see our Daddy!. When we built it in FHE at the very end of April it seemed to far away to fathom the day we would reach the blue and orange chain you see hanging to the lower left of the picture on the wall. That was the coveted link, when that chain came off we would fly to see our Daddy. Each month had a different color to help the kids break it down. Ayden and Ry alternate nights as to whose turn it is to take the chain off. It has been wonderful watching the kids build up their excitement for our big trip.

One day I went into get Ayden out of the bath tub and he wanted me to help him write a note to Doug. Here is what he wanted me to write.

Above is a picture of the opening ceremony of family day at Fort Jackson. It was really neat they had a presentation of what things they had been working on. There were hummers and mortar shells going off. After the presentation the colors were brought forward. It is hard to see but behind all of the smoke and the colors are the trees, the soldiers were "hiding" in. I had completely missed them, but Ayden was quick to notice them right away.

After the officers were done talking we were allowed to go onto the field and pick up our soldier. My Mom joined us on the trip and watched the kids while I went to get Doug. When I came back with him the kids were super excited. We had made signs the night before for the kids to hold up, so that Doug could find them a little easier. Needless to say it was a tearful reunion. Ry did take a little while to warm up to Doug, with him being in his ACU's not being something she was used to.

One of our family day visits was to the Fort Jackson Museum. Unfortunately the actual museum was closed for renovations. We ended up touring the outside where there were several tanks, a helicopter, a spotlight and many other things.

This is a picture of Doug's company while at graduation. If you look real close you can see Doug he is in the second row from the left and fourth down from the back.

While our traveling for the trip was the most stressful, and not because of kids, the trip was great. With Doug traveling to his AIT site he had a layover in the Atlanta airport right over the time we were waiting for our flight home. So the kids and I were able to get one more squeeze and spend lunch with him before he left for the next journey.