Life Around Here

Here is some randomness I thought you might enjoy.

Beth rocking her "baby" to sleep:

Oliver rocking his girl lashes:

Beth covered in yogurt she stole from Abby's breakfast:

My arm a week after I fell down the stairs:

Here is a photo of Jeremy babysitting. He's so resourceful:

Here is a video of Abby trying to find the perfect Christmas tree:

Mix and Match

I know it's been a while since I checked in last. Here are some updates on the Robertsons.

Jeremy is being deployed to Djibouti (Africa) from January to August of next year. We are going to miss him SO much. It is a fantastic opportunity for him, and he is looking forward to being immersed in the military lifestyle again. Originally he was slated to go to Afghanistan but was offered Africa at the last minute. It is recommended that he be deployed every three years so this assignment was well overdue. I am keeping a positive attitude about the challenges ahead, and look forward to experiencing the tender mercies that are bound to come my way. I am thankful the children will be young enough that they won't be traumatized by the absence of their father for such a long time.

Having him gone for six months is such a small sacrifice compared to the military spouses that go well over a year (or six months every year -- boo hiss Navy) without their partners. My last ward was full of valiant, resilient and brave women who rarely complained about the huge burden deployments are. I am glad I got a chance to see how they prepared for the separation, how they met the day-to-day challenges while their spouses were gone, and how they transitioned backed to normal life when their spouses returned. I miss those awesome ladies EVERY single day.

On to happier news...

I got Abby a set of watercolor paints, but she will only use the black paint. I guess she must be going through a 'dark' period in her life. She was kind enough to paint one for me and each one of her grandmas.

I gave myself a makeover last week. I finally cut off all the dead and damaged hair and got a bob with highlights. I also got some fun to new clothes for all the date nights Jeremy and I will be having before he goes.

We got to experience St. Martin's Day for the first time with Abby's school. Here is a brief history I stole from Wikipedia: St. Martin started out as a Roman soldier. He was baptized as an adult and became a monk. It is understood that he was a kind man who led a quiet and simple life. The most famous legend of his life is that he once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying of the cold. That night he dreamed that Jesus was wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. Martin heard Jesus say to the angels: "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clothed me."

Most of the children in the school followed St. Martin (a boy riding a horse) around the neighborhood to show off their awesome lanterns that they made in class. There is a video on the bottom of the blog. It was so much fun.

The walk started at 4:30 and it was already pitch black. I swear the sun doesn't reach the top of the sky before it starts setting again. DEPRESSING.

Oliver has started to use his bumbo seat. He loves it.

Abby only draws in color on the walls. She was kind enough to stretch this design from the top of the stairs all the way to the bottom. You can clearly see how sorry she is (or not).

Jeremy is in charge of getting Abby to bed. It was so quiet upstairs the other night that I thought they were both sleeping, but I found them both engrossed in reading in the bathroom instead. I love that the magazine he gave her to read is Food and Wine. If she breaks the Word of Wisdom then it's going to be his fault.

Here are some fun videos. Enjoy!

Spectacular

Jeremy, here is what the forest behind our house looks like today. The dogs and I were throughly delighted by the beauty of it. Fall here is awesome. Come home and enjoy it!

Extreme Makeovers

Halloween started with a rather unconventional makeover for Oliver. With awesome hair like that it was only a matter of time. Abby was a maverick with those hair clips, and she even got the roller in right. Perhaps she has a future in this...

This look epitomizes that old ditty, 'I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hurts"....

My man is such a diva.

Abby wanted me to take some photos of her in her church getup. Some of her friends were wearing ballerina skirts yesterday in their family photos and she was just dying to join in.

She enjoyed a hearty lunch of Pringles on the stove.

Sundays are always incredibly hard when Jeremy is gone. I am able to keep busy for most of the week but Saturdays and Sundays DRAG by. That being said, I am not shy about inviting myself over for Sunday dinner at people's houses. I think I've managed to ask myself into someones house nearly every Sunday evening Jeremy has been gone. I even surprised some members by showing up at their family home evening, because we are literally brothers and sisters and I believe it is ALWAYS appropriate that I be invited when the 'family' gets together.

I was THRILLED -- and probably the only Mormon that was --that this year Halloween came on a Sunday so I would have a reason to go visit everyone. Halloween is just visiting people in costume and some of them were even sick (way to take one for the team, Shawna) and/or old, so I consider that an Sabbath activity. I even got an invite from the Fellows to come to dinner before hand and sample some of their soups. There were seriously fantastic.

They had over 1000 kids come to their house. Most of them were not children. I was incredibly surprised that a lot of the parents were drinking while taking their little ones house to house. FYI -- I do not consider that a safe Sabbath activity.

Here are some photos of the kiddos:

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

You are my favorite friend, husband, father, provider, and Priesthood holder I have ever known. Every day you amaze me more and more. It is such a thrill that we get to experience this life together. Having you away today is so hard. I wish you were here to cuddle! There is a big stack of presents waiting for you, but I’m sure the best ones will be little tiny hugs from some baby babes that miss their daddy.

I can’t wait to see your list of 30 things to do before your 40. I went ahead and came up with 10 ideas to inspire you. I hope other people reading this list will contribute as well.

10 of the 30 things you should do before you’re 40:

1. Take a course at the Cordon Bleu school

2. Learn Farsi so we can get a cool Middle East post or French so we can get a cool Africa post.

3. Get over your fear of LASIK surgery and just do it.

4. Attend the Westminster Dog Show.

5. Build a woodworking shop in our backyard.

6. Read all the half-read books on your bookshelf (this might seriously take 10 years).

7. Design a real wedding band.

8. Buy a piano and learn to play it.

9. Use that gigantic brain to make us some fast cash (think Jeopardy or Who Wants to be a Millionaire).

10. Go dog sledding.

As a part of your present I wanted to take some Mormon-inspired photos of the kids. You know which ones – everyone wears the same colors, flat irons their hair, and searches for months to get the ‘perfect’ locations. Ha. Abby was not having it. Instead I got some fun shots of Oliver. Since only a mother can truly know what is on his mind, I was kind enough to put some captions for you.

This is the only photo I have of Abby. She had already, literally, pulled her hair out in protest.

Oliver was content to sleep but I had other plans.

If he could talk he would say.... "Did you really just put me on the dirty ground."

"I have on those silly bear ears, don't I?"

"Where is my sister, and why is no one holding my head up?"

"This is just getting ridiculous. Who is going to believe I climbed this tree?"

"Falling backwards.... someone grab me... leaves not strong enough to hold my chub upright..."

After a day like this, there better be chocolate in that breast milk!"

We’ve traveled the world together, and my favorite place in the whole wide world is next to you.

Now come home so I can kiss you!