Some Pics and a Video

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry for taking SO LONG to update the blog. The last few weeks have felt like a whirlwind! Rodney is recovering from surgery well but the first few days were hectic. He is able to move around on his own now but, if he's out of bed for more than an hour his knee swells up like a baloon and gets really purple all the way to his toes. I dont know how normal that is but, we try to keep him off his foot as much as possible. He's starting to sing all of the fabulous Guam commercials now which, is so FANTASTIC!! For those of you who have been here or for those of you who will be here, you will soon discover that Guam is a little behind on the technology scale! This Wednesday Rodney will have his follow up and get the staples out and then he's back to light duty on the 10th. I don't know how he's ever going to go back to work with the way his knee is now but, I guess he just has to do what he's told.

As for the rest of us, we're doing good. Tatum and Rodney have become the typical brother and sister. Aggravating each other every chance they get. But then they end it with a big hug so I know that they still love each other. Finn is getting big. No more small fluffy puppy but he's still a cutie. He keeps me on my toes all day long though. Gotta love those puppy stages!

I just posted some new pics that I took over the last few weeks. I'll update the picasa album as soon as I get a chance to erase the old stuff off. I ran out of storage space!!

Tatum being silly.
I put Trisan in bed with Rodney one morning and in less than two minutes he was asleep.
Rodney's knee after surgery
Sleeping Tatum
Yes, he's sleeping with his eyes open. He takes after his dad.
Sleeping Rodney Jr.
Tatum and Tristan hanging out.
Not sure what this face was for..

Rodney's Surgery

First, let me apologize for not writing sooner. It has been a crazy couple of days around here. With preparing the house for the surgery and getting the kids situated and of course, the craziness after the surgery.. I have finally found a moment to update you.
Everything with the surgery went well. Rodney was under for 5 hours but in actual surgery for 4. He had a torn meniscus and his ACL was not there at all. They took some pictures of the inside of his knee and if I get a chance I will add them to this post later. Anyways, they put a wire in his knee and a bio-degradable screw. Basically, it will dissolve in time. The first 24 hours was the worst for Rodney. (and for me) ;c) The pain meds aren't really working for him so sleeping was really out of the question. He can't seem to find a comfortable position in bed and it makes me feel so bad for him. I would not want to be in his position right now!
As for the recovery, he will be home for 21 days and then he will go back to work on light duty. This means that he will NOT be going back to the ship for atleast 90 days. And physical therapy should be starting in about two weeks.
Overall, everything went well and we're just praying for an easy, fast recovery.
As for the rest of us, no real news to report. We're still hoping for a visit from Jonathan and also Amanda in July. I will try to get on later this week and post some new pics of the kids...

Just an Update

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are finding out about Rodney's knee today. Please pray that it is nothing serious and that with just a little physical therapy he will be back to his old self again. I will post the news as soon as I get it.

Happy Mothers Day

Today is Mother's Day for me and although I'm really bummed out that Rodney has duty, I really enjoyed the day that we had yesterday. Rodney let me pick any restaurant that I wanted to eat lunch at. And, we haven't had any Italian food, besides what I've TRIED to cook, since we've been on the island. So, we tried this little pizza shop that everyone's been talking about. The food was fabulous!
After lunch, we went to Underwater World. This was also a first for us. It is an aquarium that is above and around you. The kids had a blast and I was fascinated with the sea turtles. I tried to take some video's but, it was a little too dark. The kids got to touch a shark which I was really proud of Rodney Jr. for doing. He's my not so adventurous one. Tatum had no problem. She stuck her hand right in there and then said "I'm done". No big deal for her. haha. We bought a year pass there so when we have family come in we can split the cost of everyone else who goes. (It's pretty expensive for a one time visit if you're not military or a local). Plus, it gives me something to do with the kids if we're ever bored and have no money. :c)
After our visit with the fishies, we headed for the NEX. I stopped at a furniture store on the way and they sell really neat teak furniture. I wish I could afford to furnish my entire house with teak furniture because I'm just in love with the natural look of it. I promised myself that one day I will spend that $400 to get a tree bench, even if it's the day before our packout to leave the island! They also had a lot of really pretty canvas paintings that I will also have to get since we've seemed to have started a collection of paintings and masks from everywhere we go! At the NEX we bought a few movies for the kids and spent the evening eating leftovers in front of the tv and watching the Bee Movie. 8pm and Rodney and I decided to go to sleep the same time the kids did. He needed the sleep from a very late night the night before but I was exhausted from waking up with Tristan at 4am that morning. We both got to sleep all the way through the night until Tristan woke me up at 4am again and Rodney had to get up to go to duty.
I woke up this morning missing everyone from back home. Every once in a while it really hits me hard that its been a year since I've seen anyone from my side of the family. But, I keep thinking, when everyone is planning on coming to see us that will be our half way mark so, if I can just make it til then, then I should be able to prepare myself for the next year and a half. (Or, I should say a year since the kids and I are planning leaving here a little early to find a house at our next duty station.)
Happy Mother's day to all of you moms and Grandmoms and Godmothers and Aunts. We love and miss you all!
Oh, sorry but I've bombarded you guys with a lot of videos and pictures this time. I have to update my picasa album because I know a lot of you are still looking for pictures from a few events ago. I'll try to do that today!

Rodney Jr. at Vitale's
Tatum finishing off the tomatoes from the bruschetta
Caught him making a funny face
Tristan all stretched out in the stroller.
they looked so amused don't they?
Rodney Jr. didn't want to touch this thing. He laughed when he figured out it was only glass.
Rodney Jr. looking at the fish
Me trying to take a good picture of Rodney and I
Coconut Crab. We have these all over the island. Some of you may have heard of them if you are watching Survivor this season. They call them coconut crabs because they are strong enough to crack open a coconut.. which is not a very easy thing to do! Don't put your fingers near them cause you won't have them for long!

this is a video of Tristan talking and playing on the floor. The floor is his favorite place to play.

This video makes me laugh. I left the camera on the couch to do something and later, I found this video and a bunch of odd pictures. I guess Rodney Jr. was teaching himself how to use the camera. haha.

Tatum eating her tomatoes.

Good Birthday Weekend

Even though Rodney had duty on my birthday, it still ended up being a pretty good weekend. Friday night we went out to eat at the Hilton with a bunch of friends. Rodney Jr. very clearly and loudly announced at dinner that he had to go poop. When I came back to the table they all started singing to me as loud as they could, which, from that group, would be expected. They also made me a three tier cake of plates of coffee creamers and straws for candles. (Thanks guys). I also treated myself to a 'variety' birthday cake. They seemed to have all my fav deserts.. tirimisu, strawberry shortcake, cheesecake.... I made sure I tried a bit of everything! When we got home, Rodney had the kids surprise me with a bunch of gifts. He definitely spoiled me this year!
Saturday was a pretty relaxed day. I cleaned a little but mostly allowed myself to be lazy. I watched a movie at the kids nap time and the kids were pretty good for the rest of the day. My friend Lauren stopped by to give me a gift which was really sweet. She's leaving the island on Friday for a new duty station. I'm really going to miss her.
Sunday we had a cook out at the beach. The day started off rough with a cranky Tristan and a puppy who seemed to be doing everything he could to put me in a bad mood. But, the day seemed to turn around quite nicely. Here are some pictures of the day.
Thank you to everyone who sent me cards and gifts! It's always nice to get things while we're so far away!
Rodney finally had his MRI on his knee yesterday. We still won't know anything for another three weeks because that is the earliest we could get a follow up appointment. I will keep you updated as I know anything.

All of us swimming. This was a funny moment because we got to the beach before anyone else. When Wolf showed up and saw that we were swimming, he jumped out of the truck and shouted.. "Where's the camera!" as he raced towards my camera bag. I then realized that he didn't even shut the truck door!

My little Guam baby

So sweet

Ok, this is quite disgusting. Rodney Jr is holding a sea cucumber. These things squirt out white stringy stuff that looks like something I will not mention. He thought it was a rock. While I was screaming at him to hurry up and put it down, the guys thought it would be a good camera opportunity and egged him on to keep holding it. (Gross guys)

There will be lots more good pictures in the Picasa album.

One Down, Two to Go...

Well, today officially makes it one year since we've left the states. It feels like a long time coming with months of saying "It's almost a year, its almost a year". Now, it is here and two more to go. Here's our countdown...

This year, we get to look forward to my birthday, Rodney Jr.'s birthday, Rodney's birthday, Tatums birthday, a visit from Dad and Karen, a visit from mom, Tristan's birthday,(our halfway mark), a visit from Rodney's mom and dad, and then Thanksgiving and Christmas. That brings us back to the beginning of another year and, hopefully, in June of '09 we can start looking at orders for our next duty station. It is bittersweet to hope for the next two years to go by fast. While I want so badly to be back in the states ASAP... I don't want my babies to grow up. Here are some 'then and now' photos of the kids a year ago, and the kids now.

Me three months pregnant with Tristan... and, Tristan now...

A Day of Doctors

Yesterday I spent the whole day at the hospital going to doctors appointments. First was my follow up appointment from last week. We are still trying to figure out why I don't feel good all the time. The previous blood work came back normal, so, they took more blood work for more tests and today I need to have an upper GI done to see if my stomach ulcers came back.
Tristan's appointment was later. He is fine. He went in with a cold but just a cold, so they gave him his immunizations. Poor kid. Now, he has his cold and a fever. But, he's still my happy baby. Looking at me with a big smile regardless of his watery red eyes and runny nose. He weighs 18 pounds now and is 27 inches long. He is in between the 75th and 90th percentile on both. In 6 weeks he will have another appointment and more shots... :c( and at 6 months we can call for his urology appointment. That is something that I am NOT looking forward to! Please pray for his safety and my sanity!! :c)