Welcoming Baby Kraft in October

Yes you read correctly. We are welcoming a buddle of joy October 10, 2011. We have been praying about starting a family for quite some time. Probably since last summer. After we returned from our Europe trip we decided to start trying. We didn't have to wait long since 4 weeks later I discovered I was pregnant. It was overwhelmingly exciting for us to share with our family and close friends. We chose not to make it "facebook official" until we were a little bit further into the pregnancy. At 10 weeks and 5 days Jeff couldn't wait any longer so I agreed to make it "official". Overall I've experienced boughts of nausea but it hasn't consumed me. I've only been sick a few times which I HATE. Plus brushing my teeth is causing one heck of a gag reflex. The exhaustion is what seems to be the most daunting. I've had very little motivation to clean or exercise. Some days are better than others and when that happens I do my best to take advantage of it. I'm hoping as I near the end of my 1st trimester these things will begin to diminish. As far as planning and buying things for the baby we've gotten diapers but waiting until we know the gender to go further. I love my doctor and have heard good things about the military hospital here on post. We are so excited about this new adventure in our lives. Sharing this with all our friends and our family will make this baby's arrival that much more joyful.

God's Amazing...did you know that?

Jeff and I have just come off of a lovely 4 day weekend. We spent it with friends, family, and of course ourselves. It was beautiful weather and we managed to finally give our new bikes a try. With Jeff's busy schedule during the week we relish any extra time we have together. GoD has done some amazing things in our lives this year, already. He is making some big changes that we're both excited about. It is going to be a great year and we are blessed to have made some wonderful friends here at Fort Benning who will be with us through out it all. I'm blown away by GoD's grace and daily I am in awe of how my life is turning out. He has provided Jeff and I with more than we could have imagined. The fact that we are secure enough that I don't have to work but can focus on volunteering and getting involved in his unit as a spouse is incredible to me. Since we only have one car we struggled with finding a job close enough and flexible enough that we could function with one car. Unfortunately we couldn't find a job like that. If I could work from home that would be fabulous, but what could I do?? I am just hopeful that one day a job will present itself. Right now I am just trying to be content in being home when Jeff is home and not feel like I have no purpose in life. If you know about the Army life you know that our soldier's schedules are NOTHING like normal people. It is so difficult to plan ahead and when they are off you may not be. That is frustrating. Some days it is a struggle to be thankful and trust that we are forever in GoD's hands. But we are reminded daily how blessed we really are. So we are looking forward to being amazed by God each and everyday.

Ugh, This House!!

I am so frustrated with this house. Yes, it is military housing and yes it is old and no, it has not been renovated. I grew up in houses like this, but I don't remember them being in this state. Of course I wasn't doing the cleaning then. When they re-paint the houses in between residence they just slap it on the walls and don't take the time to make it nice. The tile floors are fine, however, they are so old that they don't ever look clean. Add two long haired black animals and you've got yourself a messy house no matter how often I vacuum. The difference between Fort Knox and here is black and white. We lived in the historic houses in KY, so they were actually a lot older than the one we live in know. But it had been renovated and the housing office did an amazing job cleaning it and painting it. We had wood floors (which makes a HUGE difference) and the walls were painted either a nice sage color or a camel tan color. Makes it a little more homey. Here is it just different. I think it would make all the difference if we had 2 bathrooms and the stupid washer and dryer didn't have to be in the kitchen. Oh well, as long as Jeff and I are together it is a home.

I think I got it

Alright, I've spent all of 2 afternoons on this and I finally figured it all out. I think it is so stupid that the newer templates for blogger do don't have an option for the header to be center. I take that back...there is an option but you have to go to infinite and beyond to find it. Even then it may not work out. But whoever designed them obviously wasn't thinking of people like me who like things to be symmetrical. Now I have to figure out how I can change the font of my post title to something more fun. I just want a cute blog people!! Now to be productive for the first time this week. Good Grief!!

OMG!!

I just spent an entire afternoon trying to get this header thing right. Obviously it still isn't right. GRRR!! So frustrating. We kind of hit the ground running since our fabulous trip to Europe. It was three weeks filled with adventure, culture, and family. We visited so many places and I can't even describe them all to you. But it was a blast I can tell you that, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Like I said before since we got back we have been busy, busy, busy. Jeff started his "real" job as platoon leader for 2nd platoon Charlie Company. His hours are usually from 5am to 10 or 11pm. At least that's how it has been the past few weeks. I got certified to teach Army Family Team Building classes. Starting this month I'll be volunteering with Army Community Services. I'm excited and nervous. This is something I've been wanting to do for awhile and now that it is here I'm a nervous wreck. Jeff has been doing an amazing job. His company commander thinks highly of him and awarded him a special coin with Jeff's call signal engraved on. This past week the Brigade commander requested the Operations Order Jeff made for a range he was in charge of. This is a rare thing so Jeff felt really honored to have this opportunity. I am sooooo proud of him!!! Despite not seeing him very often I know that he is happy with what he is doing and that he is good at it. What wife could ask for more!! I am looking forward to getting involved in the unit more. As well as getting to know our new Battalion commander...who just happens to be LTC and Mrs Kraft. Yep spelled the same and everything. It has been interesting and will probably cause some confusion. Jeff's a good sport about it though. I'm just happy I won't be left off any email lists. Having the same last name as the commander makes it easy to be spotted. Hayley was super sick last week so she is slowly recovering from that. She is such a perky puppy that when she is sick it is a complete difference.

With Love from Paris

Getting Closer!

I'm so unbelievably excited because we have 20 days left until our big Europe trip! I can barely focus on Thanksgiving I'm that anxious. Twenty days until we leave, 28 days until we get to Weisbaden to see my Mom, brother, and sister, and 29 days until my Dad comes home from Iraq. It is going to be an amazing trip. Not too sure what we are doing for Thanksgiving yet since Jeff may be serving at the Mess Hall. We will either leave that afternoon for Augusta or stay here and be thankful for our friends who have offered to share their dinners with us. Planning ahead for our 3 week trip has been a little overwhelming. Trying to plan out what we should send ahead of time, buying Christmas presents, how to pay bills, and our taking care of our pets all has to be decided a month in advance. Luckily we have two wonderful families who have willingly offered to watch Hayley and KitCat while we are gone. Ten days at one house, 12 days at another. The separation will be harder on Jeff and I then on them I suspect.
Other than our trip we have nothing new happening. Jeff continues to learn the ways of the Army in his Platoon Leader position. He has decided (after consulting with his commander) that going to Ranger School while a PL will only hurt his leadership experience. Therefore we hope he will continue with Ranger School after his PL time is over next November. I am looking forward to my first coffee group (a social group for spouses in the unit) in December. This will hopefully help me feel more connected to the wives in the unit and maybe make some new friends. Since we came here just as the soldiers of 1/15 were returning home from deployment everyone has been busy readjusting to their families so there hasn't been much going on to get involved with. Hoping that will change come January when we welcome a new Battalion commander. Hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving week.

Happy Fall

We have had ourselves a very busy October. Jeff has been busy with welcome home stuff for the Unit and has just been made Platoon Leader this week. As for me I have traveled to Chicago and Orlando this month. One was a girls trip with Sarah Faulkner and the other was to take my cousin to her Disney World Character audition. Which she made it!!! Very exciting. We had a lovely Halloween weekend. First we had the Doughboy Bowl which was a football game between 3rd Brigade and Columbus State University. On Friday Hayley had a very important "Howloween" party to attend at the dog park. We had a blast and even though she didn't win anything we came away with a rockin door prize which she has destroyed already. Saturday was post wide trick-o-treating so we went to some friends house for dinner and to pass out candy. Sunday we went to church and had a nice lunch out at Olive Garden with my sister and Jeff's buddy JP. We have had gorgeous weather but now it is starting to get colder. Which I'm really ok with.

Hayley's Costume for the Howloween Party

Burt's Pumpkin Farm


My Sissy and I at Burt's