40 straws, $200, 200 Q-tips, and 20 pairs of socks

What in the world do these things have in common you ask?

They have all been strewn on the floor in various rooms of my house in the past 2 days! Of course, these are only a few examples of the hundreds of things strewn on the floor everyday. Whatever the 13 month old can get her hands on will be emptied, examined, and tossed aside. She is very into taking things out and putting them back in (and especially into other things) right now. So this money was tucked into the wet bag (where dirty diapers go) and other nooks and crannies. My wallet is emptied several times a day, so that was nothing new.

The little thing got her hands on the box of straws and carried it around the house with her randomly throwing straws throughout the whole first floor. The Q-tips were my favorite, though. We have a huge bathroom upstairs with shower with glass door. Yesterday while I was showering, she managed to pull the box of 750 Q-tips (biggest box I've ever bought) down from a high shelf. She then pulled q-tips out by the handful until I quickly wrapped up my shower and jumped out to get the box from her. Of course, I didn't want to waste all of the ones she had already gotten, so I leaned over, picked one up, and used it on my ears. She watches EVERYTHING I do VERY carefully and copies immediately these days. So, she then started picking one up, putting it in (or around) her ear and tossing it, on to the next one, in the ear, toss, etc.... She is now obsessed with Q-tips (even more than before) and has been putting them in her ear (only the right one) all day.

Not all things that she throws on the floor (and herself) can be quantified or else the list would be MUCH longer...

Oh, and I almost forgot the dog food. How could I forget that one (all the time!)? Instead of eating the dog food herself or merely dumping the bowl all over the floor, she's getting more creative in her old age. SOUP! And they ate it too.

P.S. I still plan to update a bit for the last few months that are lacking. I just know that I will never be able to keep up with backlogging if I don't at least add a few recent things as they happen.

Completing the Story

Well, I sure left you hanging, didn't I? If you are still checking in with us, then you deserve some updating. My plan was to get all caught up during my break between semesters, and now I have one week left, so hopefully I will be all caught up by the end of the week! ;)

To finish the story from the last post...

The plan for Michael's return with that aircraft changed again...he was supposed to fly to Greenland then Iceland, sleep there, and then continue. On Feb. 14, they attempted to carry out the plan. However, he was about 45-50 min. out from Greenland airport en route to Iceland when the entire cockpit quickly filled with smoke and he saw foot-long flames from the engine on his side. By the grace of God (and all your prayers, thank you), my Valentine survived an engine failure and made it safely back to the airport in Greenland. He then got to fly commercially back to us a few days later (just like I had wanted a few days prior). So, that trip ended up being 3.5 weeks instead of one, but he made it back in one piece and we praise God for that!

Yay! I finally finished that story. Now tomorrow I can give you some updates on Michaela and finally post a recent photo like EVERYONE has been asking for! :)

Crazy Little Adventure

called LIFE. I know I have so much to update with the past few months and all the milestones Michaela has hit, etc., but we are just going to jump in with what has been going on for the past couple weeks. Michael went to Arkansas on Jan. 25 to pick up a plane (he flew commercially to fly back as pilot of one of their RC12s). This trip was supposed to take 1 week....leave, take time to adjust to time zone, then a few days to get back with several stops for refueling and sleeping. He has been super excited about this as "this is what fixed wing is all about" - flying over the Atlantic, that is. Well, this 1 week venture has turned into several. When he got to Ark., the plane was not quite ready when supposed to be, so he got stuck in good old Mena, Arkansas for the weekend with 6 inches of snow. When he and his friend/co-pilot test flew the thing on Monday, they found some issues that needed fixed, so they finally get out of Ark. on Wed., stop in Lancaster and spend the night at my in-laws, and continue onto St. Johns, Canada. This was supposed to be a 1 night stopover also. However, they get stuck there for the blizzard. He starts flying to Greenland on Sunday and has to turn back because of indicator light and maintenance issues. After another day or two in Canada, he then takes the plane to Bangor, Maine (with indicator light on) to get the issues addressed. The mechanics there are fixing the plane as I type (maybe), and he thinks he will be leaving there and heading back to Canada tomorrow. If this next attempt is successful, he will sleep in Canada tomorrow, continue to Greenland to sleep the next day, and then stop in Iceland and Scotland to refuel and arrive back here in Germany on Saturday night (just a day shy of 3 weeks since initial departure). So, we will see if this happens, but we will also be excited to see him.





Meanwhile in Germany, Michaela and I (mostly Michaela) have been sick pretty much the entire time he has been gone (except for about 1-2 days in between). After a week and half of diarrhea, loads of snot, and high fevers, we have antibiotics on board and are on the mend, I think. Please pray for her to continue healing and for Michael's trip back.

Baby crying again...must go...to be continued...

8 month photos

So, where to begin after such a loooong lapse of no blogging is hard, but hope this makes up for some of it. While we were home we had some professional pics taken of MJ (last minute at JCPenney). Some of them were very good. Here are a few...

My apologies

Hello all! I just wanted to apologize for the long absence. Just when I was getting good at blogging more regularly, October was crazy. I had a big paper due 1st of November that made me feel like I should be working on if I ever had free computer time instead of the blog. We had a lot to blog about, though, in the past month and a half, and hopefully I will start updating you all on at least a few of those things very soon. Michaela is over a half a year already...crazy! My mom is here right now. She came for two weeks to keep me company while Michael was deployed, but he never deployed, so she is just enjoying time being a grandma, and I am enjoying time catching up on sleep and cleaning and more schoolwork while she is entertaining. More to come soon....promise!

Halloween Week

Just came in from handing out candy with Mom.

Earlier in the week, Michaela got to go the pumpkin wagon with one of her little boyfriends. Christopher is 3 days older than her. Their grandmas sent them the same exact froggy costumes, too, so we also got pics of them together as frogs, but I don't have those pics on this computer so you will have to ask (or see FB) for those.

(Thanks for the CUTE outfit Auntie Susie!)

Also earlier in the week (or month...I can't even remember now since I am blogging soooo much later than what the date of this blog says)...Michaela and Mommy in their pumpkin pajamas.

6 months!

Michaela is 6 months old already!! In this picture, she is all set in her new high chair to try baby cereal for the first time. We tried it this morning, but it didn't go so well. We'll see if she is more into it again tomorrow.



A few days ago, she sported her first ponytail!!