Art!! ?

Malaki drew his first real picture. Something other than just scribbles! His choice of canvas for the wonderful self portrait...

The walls of our new house which we had been in for less than 48 hours at the time...

Thank you Raven!

First of all, I don't know if you read this Rae but THANK YOU SO MUCH!

The kids and I were Living in a hotel, not a bad hotel, nor was it really nice. It made eating meals hard, and it was just one room, not much of a car to use, and kids going stir crazy.

Then one day I drove the car to post. The thing has a transmission leak, and it doesn't like to go unless it wants to. So it is very frustrating to drive. I get there, we fill it with gas, hang out with Jereme for a bit. While we were sitting there I thought I smelled gas, but since we had just filled up I didn't think much of it.

Jereme had to go eat and we had to head home, so he took off with some of the guys while I buckled the kids and we started to leave. As soon as I backed out I saw that the gas I was smelling was because my car had leaked gas all over the parking lot. I quickly parked and one of the Sgts there told me to get the kids out of the car and yelled for someone to go get "Guenther".

They didn't want me driving the car, but they didn't want it there either.

Not knowing what to do I called Raven. At this point we had never met. We had talked via facebook, and one time on the phone. I only "knew her" because our husbands are friends and are in the same AIT.

She came and followed Jereme, who went and parked the car somewhere else, and then loaded the kids and I in her car. She and her little girl Zoe, and me and my three kids, were one person more than the car should handle. But we managed to make it work with all the kids in carseats. We stopped at my hotel, grabbed my stuff, and she insisted the kids and I stay with her.

Oh one thing I forgot... the night before all of this Lillie was throwing up all night. she was feeling mostly better by the morning, but Malaki and Kori were throwing up all night now. So we sat in the soldiers day room for over an hour while they worked on the car, with my kids throwing up... not much fun. Raven knew this and still had us come and stay with her.

That night her friend Wendy came over with her 4 month old Charlie. We got all 5 kids to bed and were just hanging out, then I started throwing up. All night long.

The next day everyone was feeling way better! We spent about a week at Ravens, going on post to see the boys as often as we could.

Eventually we got our papers signed and got our house here on post. I am so grateful to Raven for letting us stay in her little 2 bedroom apartment with her. While I was there she found out she was pregnant! So it was an interesting time.

She still had to help us out with the car thing, picking up the boys so we could see them, and taking me shopping for food. But finally my car came and we could go from me leaning on her, to being great friends who hung out by choice and not by force! :)

Love you Raven, and thanks again!!!

Zoe has this amazing pink rocking horse, which Kori stands over and waddles around carrying.

So much fun!

Grocery stores are different over here. They don't have Safeway, they have Krogers. And thankfully they have a shopping cart that holds 4 kids AND groceries!

Kori and Zoe Sittin Pretty

Malaki and Lillie take the Wheel (s)

My beautiful little blondie!

FOUND MY CAMERA! YAY! *FlashBack*

Found my camera again... here is a quick flashback before catching everyone up on current news.

Over the summer while Jereme was at basic the kids and I went on with our summer as normal as we could without having daddy around. This is a bunch of pictures and clips from our camping trip with the Wilson side of the family. We have been going to this same spot at the dunes for as long as I can remember, although we did have a few years where we went elsewhere. This will always be my favorite. I have so many great memories with my cousins there and love to see my kids enjoying the same things I did.

Lillie boarding on the dune, she's so cool!

Malaki REALLY loved sand boarding

"Mom my hands are dirty

We went for a bike ride and everyone was wiped out by the end, the kids actually all fell asleep. We only wished we could...

My sister Mandi, and her son Kaden.

The girls passed out in the trailer.

Nice view at the end of the ride.

Sunscreen hair... READY TO GO

This is a different bike ride, yet he fell asleep again. It was a sure fire way to get Kori and Kaden to take a nap.

Sand babies

1. My cousin takes the kids for a ride down the dunes.

2. Malaki boarding, someone says "thats awesome!" his response "thats me"

3 & 4. Papa helps Malaki board, he is pretty proud of himself for how good he is getting.

5. Lillie boards, then gets bored.

6. Morgan helps Lillie get going.

7. Morgan wipes out.

There was a lot of really good wipe outs from various cousin but I don't have them on my computer...

Coming soon

posts about:

living with Raven

The joys of an empty house

Getting our stuff back

Picking up sticks

and more...

Settled

Sort of....

It feels like one thing after another has happened since we got here, not much of which was good. But yet as I look back, it sucks, but it's not so bad. I'm with my husband, well sort of. And things are finally seeming to go right. Lets pray that lasts.

ANyhow Starting tomorrow I will start getting a more normal routine going. My goal is to post 1-3 times a week. We shall see how it goes.

I got the house all unpacked on Friday. THAT was an exciting day. It took 5 days for me to unpack and put away everything. It would have been less but I got sick on day 2 and did not do a thing that day and hardly anything on day 3...

I got my car today, there will be a post about the "adventure" that came with that later.

So life is starting to get normal again.

I am watching what I eat and working out and have lost about 9 pounds, so I am feel encouraged. :)

Well that is it for tonight, it is 2 minutes till midnight here. Tomorrow I will hopefully get time and start posting, I have some cute picture to share and some fun stories.

Adventure? A quick update

So since we got here we bought a car, the transmission isn't great on it, it leaks and is starting to go out... not good. HOWEVER, not bad enough I guess, cause i got it filled the other day, then parked outside of the barracks for a few minutes to say goodbye to Jereme (he still isn't living with us) and when I backed out noticed my car had leaked allover, I thought I had smelled gas.

So The car can not hold more than half a tank of gas or it starts to leak.

Not really safe to be driving around with the kids in that thing, so we parked it and Raven came and got me and the kids. Her car is made to hold 5, and with 4 kids in car seats it is interesting. She is letting us stay with her till out stuff gets here, which is so sweet of her.

Thankfully they said the last day they have to get the stuff off the truck is the 18th... so It should be less than a week now, and my car should be here just a few days after that (we are having it shipped) so I should be doing really good soon.

Other than all that we are doing good. We we got to sign for the house and get keys, so we now have a house on post. It isn't perfect, it doesn't have carpet, but it is big (4 beds 2 1/2 baths) and it is ours. Malaki was sad we didn't get to sleep there tonight. He is ready to have his own space as we are a little crammed in this 2 bedroom apartment with Raven and Zoe. The kids have already picked there own rooms. Malaki picked the smallest room right away. Lillie tried to pick the room with it's own potty but I told her that one was mine, so she carefully checked the other rooms and then picked the biggest. It will be interesting to see if they actually sleep in their own rooms or if they end up in the same. They have always shared before. Raven has an extra twin bed she has been trying to get rid of, so she is giving it to us to put in Lillie's room. Now we just need a washer and dryer, a few more dressers, and I would like to get a full or queen size bed to put in Kori's room, so when we have company we can move her toddler bed to Lillie's room and that can become a guest room.

Oh I also want to get a piano now that I have the space for it.

We are doing pretty good in spite of everything, I really miss home and everyone there, but I think that will be a lot better once Jereme and I are able to live together and see each other everyday.

I hope you are all doing well, feel free to email or write, I love hearing from everyone!!!

Our new address is

1838 B Shaffer Dr

Fort Gordon 30905

I will be getting a new phone soon and will try to either keep the same number or get my new number out to everyone somehow. :)

We miss you and love you all! I will post picture when we get more settled in... hmm, that wasn't a very "QUICK" update! Oh well!

Stylin kids, crazy hair and sick babies

Our first night here Jereme got to stay in the hotel with us. The next day we got our stuff all ready to go, most of it packed and loaded to the car, and snapped a few pictures of my super stylish kids ;)

"Look mom! I got one like YOU!!!!"

Like mother like daughter

Super stud is still not to cool to give mom a kiss

One thing we have quickly learned through being here is that the weather is not friendly to our hair!!!

Don't touch me or I'll zap you!

"Mom take a picture me! Look at MY hair!"

"She smoothed it down, but it WAS sticking straight out!"

"Mom look, my hair is CWAZY!"

Once again the kids didn't go to sleep till about 10:30. I couldn't fall asleep till about 2 am. Then at 4 Lillie woke up throwing up, which she has done 5 times since. I now need new towels, bedding, and an air freshener! We are supposed to go see the house this afternoon but she is pale and not feeling good, Kori is acting like she might be feeling crummy, Malaki is getting a fever and I don't feel so hot myself, so i need to see if I can reschedule.

A little behind? Perhaps... ;)

Ok I know I am way behind, and for now I am not going to try and back track and catch everything I missed. So lets start with now, or a few days ago at least....

And the journey begins.

Jereme came home from exodus on December 17th. Picking him up at the airport was one of the best days of my life. We spent two week together, the army came and loaded up everything in our townhouse, and then on Jan 2nd my parents drove us to the airport.

Traveling right after new years is a very busy time.. we got there and waited in line for a long time before getting our bags checked.

We were able to get passes for my parents so they could help us through security and see us to our gate with the kids.

We didn't have much time so we had to say quick and very tearful goodbyes, Malaki wanted to stay with grandma and grandpa, it was one of the hardest moments of my life. Of course I want to be with my husband, but that doesn't make it easy to leave my family and everything I have always known, my comfort zone.

Once on the plane things went pretty good. Our flight got into the airport a little later than it was supposed to, making us run from one end of the airport to the other to make our connecting fight. Which also ended up leaving late, meaning we didn't have to run the first time, but the we had to run again from one end of the airport to the other at our next stop to make that flight... which ALSO left late. So really we never needed to run, but we did and it wasn't fun. 3 kids, stroller, blankets, carry on bags, and flip flops for shoes.

Anyhow we got there, got a cab to our hotel. At which time he suggested a different hotel. So we spent 2 nights in the first hotel at $69 a night... nothing special, the pool was closed, not many channels on tv and in the middle of nowhere. Then we moved to the suggested hotel, $169 for 1 week. Right by a lot of places to eat and shop. Oh and way more channels so I can actually fine something that I am ok with the kids watching.

Jereme got a car for us, however it has issues (thats what you get for cheap) so I can't drive much till we get it fixed.

Tomorrow at 2:30 we get to see the house we are going to be living in, then the next day we sign papers and it becomes mine.

Our stuff will be here no later that the 18th, so we stay here for one week and if it is still not here Raven (an army wife with a little girl) said we can stay with her.

That pretty much catches you up to now. The weather makes our hair crazy, Lillie's gets so bad it sticks straight out! no one else seems to have this problem, will our hair just get used to the weather?

My parents got a web cam and skype so we have talked to them and to my sister a couple times. If you have skype add us... jenifer.guenther@gmail.com is the one I currently use. We have another one that is mine and Jereme's but he uses it right now. I think it is jereme.guenther@gmail.com

Hope everyone is doing well, we miss you all already! The weather here is beautiful!!! From inside! Blue skies and sunny, then you walk outside and it is 20 degrees! BRRRR! So far no rain though, and always very pretty looking!

Picture didn't turn out good cause my finger was over part of the flash so I had to crop it, we didn't have a ton of time and I wanted to give hugs goodbye rather than try for the perfect picture. We love you and misses you Grandma and "crappa"

Not a great picture... last plane, leaning across the aisle. The kids are in the row behind us, it was a small plane, the last rows, short ride, and they really wanted to sit together alone.

Almost to our new home.

"take my "piscur" mom"

being silly with no grownups!

Kori sat next to me and quickly fell asleep!

My big kids! They are getting so grownup!

The time has come

Tomorrow night at 11:50pm we fly out of PDX and head across the states to see Jereme graduate. We are so proud of him. I will have a ton of pictures when we come home (on Saturday) that I will try to get up as soon as I can. But for now, here is a couple that a fellow soldier took with his phone and sent to me...

Work out clothes

Class A's

He has his cell now, so I should get to talk to him every night before we go over there... only 2 days, but oh well, better than nothing I guess :)

Tickets!

So Jereme had better not mess up now cause I just bought plane tickets, reserved a car and a hotel. We leave Late at night on Tuesday October 13th, and get to North Carolina early Wednesday the 14th. We will get our car and drive to Columbia, South Carolina where our hotel is, get checked in and hang out for the day.

Thursday morning we will get up early and get the kids ready to go see daddy. My mother in Law is going with me so that will make things way easier. Once there we will go to a reception sort of thing where we can look around a little and get all kinds of information on being a military family while we wait for Jereme. Eventually we will get to see him and go to some planned activities for "family day" although I don't really know what they are.

It will be interesting to see his reaction to the kids, as well as theirs to him. He hasn't seen them in so long and they have already changed so much. Korinthia was only crawling when he left, now she is walking, climbing, and terrorizing! :)

We will get to spend the first part of the day with him, then he has to go get ready for graduation. That starts at 5... there is a lot of companies graduating, so it may be a LONG day. After that we will be allowed to come back to the hotel with us, but he will have to be back to the base the next morning I believe. Not a whole lot of time, but I am hoping the kids won't be too tired because I want for them to be able to reconnect with their daddy. This has been hard on all of us, but I am a grown up and I understand what is going on, they don't. And since it looks like we won't be moving I feel it is important for them to spend as much time with him as possible.

Our flight returns home on Saturday afternoon, so it is possible that I will drive him to AIT and drop him off. I won't get to stay there or anything, but at least then I will have an idea of what it is like where he is living.

From everything he has said in his letters it sounds like he is doing good and feeling more like his old self. They are back to white phase, although still no phone privileges, but at least they are on track for graduating.

Bad news...

I got a letter from Jereme today. He could really use some prayer right now as things aren't going so good. Last week several guys from his platoon got caught with a bunch of candy in their lockers. This is not ok for many reason and the whole platoon is in huge trouble. They got set back to red phase (which is the first phase they started on) and the drill sergeant is recommending to the captain that the whole platoon be recycled. What that means is basically they start at day one all over again, and it will be another 9 weeks before they graduate. We thought we were half done, now it may not even be close.

We don't know anything for sure yet, but they did get phone privileges away and now he can't even call to let me know. I hadn't bought our plane tickets yet because I was waiting for my bank card. I just got it today, thankfully I got the letter today as well. I can't buy tickets till I know for sure that he is going to graduate...

Be praying for him. He says this is the most depressed he has been since he left. The kids are so excited to go on a big plane and see them and I don't know how to tell them it is going to be even longer.

The hardest part of being a military wife is the not knowing what is going to happen.....

Letters

We have gotten several letters. I'm not going to type them all up since they are a bit mushy at times, and very long. :)

But I will say Jereme is doing alright. It is way harder than he thought.

He has his ACU's now, and all his other uniform gear. The boots aren't too bad he said, and as of his last letter he still hasn't gotten any blisters, just a couple hot, sore spots.

They have all been punished for various things, though it doesn't sound like he has been the cause of anything so far. Anytime one member of the platoon does something wrong they all pay though.

They had to hold their full water canteens out in front of them using only their index fingers for about 20 minutes. Another thing they had to do was hold their water canteens and "smart book" up above their heads for about 30 minutes. He said he made it about 25 before needing to take a quick break. In his line of vision he was the only one that made it that long.

The working out has been easy, less than what he was doing while training at home. However when they get in trouble and get "smoked" he gets a really good work out in then.

So far he hasn't had his bed torn apart or his locker tipped over. Although it did get knocked over when another was thrown at it.

He hasn't made a ton of friends as most of the soldiers are young kids who think they are cool. He does have one pretty good friend though, Spector, but he has asked for prayer for him. Spector has a heart mummer I guess and he will find out next week if he gets to stay in or if they are kicking him out. Spector and his wife are pretty worried because they have no idea what they will do if he is discharged. The DS (Drill Sergeant) says he has about a 50% chance of staying. Please pray lots for him.

Jereme called today, we got to talk for 3 minutes... actually it was 2 minutes and 59 seconds. They are still in the first phase right now though, white phase, so hopefully when then move on to red phase we will get more phone time.

He said they did the gas chamber, it was awful, and they had a breathing tube shoved down their noses... gross...

Being there has really changed his way of thinking. He has apologised for taking the kids and I, as well as the life we had, for granted. He asks about the kids all the time, and sounded excited when I mentioned bringing them with me to see him Graduate in October.

October 16th is his graduation date, we are going to fly late on Tuesday and then get there Wednesday morning. My mother In Law is going to go with me so she can watch as well, and also so she can help with the kids. We will rent a car, and after he graduates we get to drive him to Fort Gordon, where he will do AIT. I am pretty excited about that since that is where we will be living if we get to more to Georgia with him.

This has been way harder than either of us imagined it would be. But we are making it through one day at a time.

If anyone plans to go watch him graduate I need to know 3 or 4 weeks before hand so that I can let him know, that way he can be sure to get enough tickets for everyone.

He is feeling lonely and home sick, so I know any letter would be appreciated... and he is trying to reply to everyone that writes. If you do write try to include a "return envelope" with address, and stamp already on it, as well as a blank paper. The stuff I sent him with got ruined, and I did send him more, but he is using a lot more than he expected too...

Thanks for all the continued prayers!

A letter from Jereme

I am getting ready to go camping, but when I got home this morning there was a letter for me, and then when the mail came a few moments ago there was 2 more. I will share them all with you when I get back, for now, if you get a chance send Jereme a letter, I know he would appreciate it. He may not write back, but he needs everyones love, prayers, and support right now.

SPC Jereme Guenther
A Co, 3/13th IN Regt
1st Platoon Outlaws
5422 Jackson Blvd
Fort Jackson, SC 29207

(yes that whole thing is his address... )

Daddy misses me

So Malaki is finally started to really notice daddy is gone and miss him.

1. "mommy, you take me see my daddy please"

2. *playing with toy cell phone* "it's my daddy. Daddy sad" "why is daddy sad sweety?" "cause daddy misses me"

3. "daddy no more work, daddy just come home now, it's ok"

4. "daddy wanna come home watch voltron with my Malaki"

Having him miss daddy is the hardest thing so far. I hope we are able to talk to him or get a letter from him soon!

Handsome Hubby

How do I know he is Handsome without seeing him, I just know! Today he got his uniforms and gear and all that jazz. He had to wear his boots all day and he said his feet are a bit sore, but no blisters so far.

I got to talk to him for nearly an hour tonight! It was so great! He misses me and the kids, but he is glad they are shipping out for basic tomorrow morning... hooah for no more reception!

The only bad part is, now I don't know when I will get to talk to him again. But we pray for him daily, and he left the kids and I some voicemails to listen to while he is gone... which the kids love!

God Said Yes

God Said Yes - by Malaki W. Guenther Background vocals by Lillie L. Guenther

God said yes, mom said no

mom said no canny

God said yes you can canny

(only canny when you potty you can canny potty canny potty canny)

No no no God said yes

mommy says no canny right noooooowwwwwww maybe laterrrrrrrr

but Goooooooood say yesssss

he moms boss and he say yes

God says yes

(God God God say Yes yes yes yesssssss yes yes)

*sadly*

but mom say no, mom my boss, mom say no

as sung by my 4 and three year old... lol

A few calls

So Yesterday at church I had a melt down. I was doing ok with Jereme leaving, just keeping busy and trying to not think about it too much... that way I was only crying a little here and there. But then at Church during communion I had to just sit, be still, and my mind started thinking. I broke down and started crying in the middle of communion, in the second pew from the front, so it's not like I could just get up and walk out.

Then later that say I got a call from Jereme. He called just long enough to say "I love you, I miss you, and I won't be done as soon as I thought" *click*... ok not that bad, but pretty close to it.

Then I left to take Morgan and Amy tubing on the river... while picking up tubes at my in-laws Jereme called again. It turned out he had more time than he had thought so I go to talk to him a little longer.

He told me how he hasn't been sleeping well due to missing me, and the fact that they keep them up late and get them up at 4am. Plus something happened so they hadn't actually shipped out to basic yet, they were still at reception. Which meant pushing back their graduation.

The connection wasn't very clear, and hearing him all choked up was so hard for me. Up till that point I was able to imagine him having a good time and enjoying himself, but no more... So I let his mom talk to him for a couple minutes and worried about if we were doing the right thing or not. I know, too late now!

The whole time we were floating down the river I was trying not to think about how sad he sounded and how much I missed him.

Today I was a chaperon for the youth group. They needed someone to go hang out with the kids on shore while the youth leader took another group out tubing on the boat. I had a good time with the kids, and I got a LOT of sun. I am pretty red right now, but it is dark enough it should tan soon.

Anyhow, after we were done I was on my way back from taking Morgan home when my phone rang. It was Jereme again. We didn't get to talk long because I was driving and on my cell *gasp* but I told him I would be home in 10-15 minutes and he could call be back. He said he needed a shower anyhow and promised to call. When he called I let each of the kids talk to him for a couple minutes, and then I go to talk to him for about 20.

He said they get up at 4am, stand in formation, march to breakfast, get in line, stand in line for anywhere from 1-2 hours. Eat FAST. Go stand in formation again for a few hours, sometimes get a short break. March to lunch, stand in line for 1 -2 hours again, eat fast, march back, stand in formation for several more hours, maybe go do some paperwork, formation, line, eat, formation bed.... and that is all he has been doing since he got there. He is looking forward to basic so he can start working out rather than stand all day every day.

Laundry is hard because the only time to do it is late at night really, so you sleep or do laundry. They have one little laundry room for over 1000 soldiers....

He has about 60 other guys in his barracks, so the worst thing at night is just that some of the guys like to talk.... LOUDLY. However he told me today that after he and I talked last night and he found out I was doing ok with this he finally got his first night of good sleep, so I was glad tohear that. I finally feel like I will get a good night sleep tonight after hearing that. He called me at about 10 his time, so he was getting ready to go to bed.... but then an inspector was on his way to their barracks, so he may be up all night scrubbing floors or something.

Anyhow... he said that they will ship out to basic on Wednesday, and once he is there he will send me the address so I can start sending him letters. I have written a few already, now i just need to be able to send them. He is mailing me a letter tomorrow at 4am when he gets up, so I am looking forward to getting that. Once i get his address I will post it. He sounds homesick so I am sure he would love as many letters as possible. I don't know if he will have time to write back or not, but I do know that he will have time to read them. :)

Thanks for all the continued prayers!

thoughtfulness

I still have not yet actually heard from Jereme, but I guess no news is good news. Before he left he wrote me some emails, and he has them set to send to me various times while he is gone. I didn't know this until today...

The first email was the day he left, an I love you and a goodbye.

Today I got one as well, reminding me he loves me, and that he will be thinking about me and we will see each other soon.

Seeing as how I was having a hard day today, it was perfect timing for the email! It isn't as good as really getting to communicate, but at this point I I'll take what I can get!

Not much time

Just wanted to let you all know that Jereme's plane arrived safely in SC, as to him and his group making it, I have no way of knowing if they got on the plane... but I haven't heard anything from anyone saying otherwise, so I assume they did.

He should be processing today and the rest of the week, so this will be a pretty easy week for him. The yelling will start later, but not today, at least that is what we have been told.

I have some fun things about the kids to share as weel, but right now I need to get ready to go clean out the apartment and turn in the keys.... so more to come later.

I will be sure to let Jereme know when I talk to him about all the love and support he has back home. :)

Keep our Daddy safe

Last night at 8pm I said goodbye to my husband. Our goodbye started at 7:15, standing outside my car in the hot hot weather we both clung to each other as we cried our eyes out.

This morning at 6:00am he got on a plane and flew to Chicago. He is there currently, but will be flying again soon. Once he gets to Columbia he will have about a week of "reception" which is orientation, paper work, all that fun stuff.

During that time he will be able to write to me, but I won't be able to write him because as soon as he is done his address will change. Once he is actually at basic training I will be able to start writing him. I don't like that I have no way of contacting him, but I am just trying to keep busy and not think about it too much.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, I know we all can use it!

Jeni

Mommy WOW! I'm a big girl now!

The pictures are in no particular order as I am getting ready to take Jereme to MEPs... but here they are anyhow. Lillie is now 3 years old!

Kori really enjoyed the cake, Lillie ate

hers to fast to get pics.

Lillie was having a hard time waiting to blow out the candles while I tried to get her to show me how old she is now. Daddy tried to help her but she was to excited! :)

The cars were a bigger hit the the actual present!

Happy Birthday beautiful, Mommy and Daddy love you!