Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Busy, busy, busy...

Time stops for no one and the Stutesmans are no exception. We've been busy getting ready for Joe's deployment. Joseph is really such a trooper. This is only his second deployment and he's so calm and rational. He drew a picture of a submarine and wrote, "I will not miss Daddy because he's coming back." I was so touched when I read that; I showed it to Joe and he thought that was pretty cool.

My friend Grace hosted her second annual Pity Party. Everyone brought over food and we just sat around, watching movies, talking, and laughing. The kids played together and had a blast all night long. Even though Joseph had school the next day I thought it was a good way to celebrate Joe's departure. It really was a celebration. The whole work-up of deployment drives me nuts! If he's not on duty, he's working until 10 or 11pm. When he was on shore duty, it really spoiled us! Him being away has made us all closer as a family, though. I often wonder what it's like to be a "normal" family where there aren't these long periods of absence. I wonder if they have the same opportunities, challenges, emotions that our family experiences.

I've received one email from Joe so far and it just said that he has been crazy busy. Hopefully that will make the time go by faster for him. I know he hates being away from us.

Joseph has been rocking at school! He's graduated from "B" books to "C" and "D" books. I'm so proud of the way that he's just breezing through the levels. I volunteer in his class on Fridays and this past Friday, he made me so proud! He was picking out "chunks" from the daily message. Chunks are two letters grouped together: Fr, wh, pl, etc. He did it without any prompting from the teacher! He's exceeded all my expectations and I couldn't be prouder of my little man! He's really excited about 1st grade because he wants to get his "Self-Manager" badge at school. I'm glad that he has goals and high expectations for himself!

Work is busy but pretty exciting. I'm training the preschool teachers on the creativecurriculum.net website and it's been so much fun! They are so eager to learn how to do new things. It makes my job so much fun. I've been having individualized trainings to address specific needs and they all seem quite grateful. We're gearing up for the NAEYC accreditation Self-Study and the impending CNIC inspections. Always a stressful time but such a thrill when it is over.

Time will keep marching and Joseph and I will chug along until our family is complete again. Tomorrow I have my official ultrasound. Even though we're pretty sure it's a boy, it's always good to make absolutely certain (especially before making that Potterybarn nursery bedding set investment).

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