Life on the Homefront

Black River Trail

After picking Gavin up from school Friday, the kids were still talking about the nature walk at Remington Park the day prior and how much fun it was. We went home to get Gavin's bike and decided to continue the nature exploration with a trip to Black River Trail. I've always wanted to go, but we've never managed to actually make it happen in the past. With the leaves changing and nothing on our agenda, it was the perfect excuse to go. I'm glad we did. We brought Gavin's bike and I carried Stella part of the way in the Kelty and the other half of the trip she just walked/ran/explored. It was great exercise for them both and I could tell they remembered a lot from the field trip. Gavin was on a constant hunt for scat and used his backpack as a drink and treasure holder. There were several places along the trail to venture off and explore rocks, the water, and even a corn field. Gavin was MESMERIZED by the corn field. I let him open a couple of the stalks and he was so amazed to discover corn inside (one of his favorite side dishes). Sorry to whomever the farmer may be, we may or may not have brought a couple ears home with us to look at! There were a few tears shed on our last quarter mile. The kids reached their limit and were DONE. Stella didn't want to walk or be in the carrier. Sitting on the floor crying was much more up her alley. Gavin wanted to carry Stella IN the back pack so that didn't end well either. I was so thankful when we could see our car in site and noticed a couple of our friends had pulled in to do a walk of their own. It was a nice distraction from the fits that had just occurred!

Once we arrived back home I had to quickly get showered and ready for a 2-14 coffee. I'm so glad I got a sitter and went. A group of us ladies ended up staying at the coffee until almost 2am chatting, laughing, and having a grande ole time! I knew I'd regret the decision in the morning staying out so late, but sometimes when your husband is away training with no means of communication its just great to have other spouses in the same boat ready and willing to have a good time! I can foresee great relationships building with these ladies that will carry us through the deployment and I'm very thankful for that!

Field Trip to Remington Park

Today was the first field trip for Everyday Discoveries Preschool. The children have been learning all about trees/the forest… what grows on trees, the parts of a tree, animals in the forest, etc. Today we ventured to Remington Pond and walked a trail through the woods stopping to explore and discover every little thing their hearts desired. We compared leaves, we felt and described moss, we did a scavenger hunt to find spider webs, clouds, a bird, a stick that looked like a "y", red leaves, yellow leaves, tree bark, etc. They were so happy each time they found something! Before the walk began, each child was given a "treasure bag" to hold their goodies they found. They shoved every little thing they could into those bags and were so proud it was their treasure. After the hour walk, we stopped for a picnic and enjoyed PBJ's, carrot sticks, apples, and cheese sticks with milk to drink. As the kids finished they were given clip boards with paper and crayons and they were able to draw anything they wanted from their nature walk. Some were very serious about it and some were creative {yep, Gavin falls into that category}… his was all about him and daddy riding in a race car through the forest trying to go fast to reach the finish line. He did include a tree somewhere in his drawing I think. Then the fun began, the kids were able to dump their treasure bags and add the items to a huge nature collage they would bring back to school and put on display. It looked amazing when finished. We finished with a few minutes at the play ground and before we knew it the time had come to load up and head back to school. It was a great first field trip and we're already looking forward to the next {starts with "fire"… ends with "station"}.

Everyday Discoveries Preschool

I love preschool. I'm thankful everyday that the public schools were full and the wait list was too long for me to even consider fighting with. It caused me to work to find an alternate program for our son, Gavin, and out of that frustration we found Mrs. Dawnna Benoit. She is a God send. Mrs. Benoit decided to open a program in her home and it has been a complete blessing to our family. Anyone that knows our sweet Gavin knows that he is a busy boy with a lot to say. There are many words that can be used to describe him, but yet his teacher always finds a way to make it positive. She calls him "spirited"… she says he's a great "negotiator"… she tells me often he reminds her of one of her three boys. I know she loves her boys and so when I hear he reminds her of one of them I know there is a connection and she loves my boy too. It's always a scary moment when you reach the point in parenthood that it's time to send them "off" into the world. To send them out to be a living, breathing, active part of the community. Mrs. Benoit has made the transition effortless. She loves what she does. So much that she spends her evenings in grad school learning to be even better at her job. She values a Montessori learning environment which Gavin has really drawn to. She knows ASL (American Sign Language) and is teaching Gavin new signs every day so he can come home and teach Stella how to better communicate with us. I stand in awe everyday when I go in to take Gavin. There are new activities in their centers daily and they are so inviting that I have to pry Stella out everyday. The kids get a home cooked meal for lunch. They sit at a table together to eat and discuss food groups, why things are healthy, why sometimes things should be eaten in moderation because of the sodium level, etc. What preschool does these things??? I.LOVE.IT. I'm going to be heartbroken when the school year is over, but hope we'll be able to send Stella once she turns three. There is no doubt in my mind Gavin will be able and ready for kindergarten next year. Only 6 days into school he could say the pledge of allegiance, by the third week he could write his first name. He's recognizing letters and their sounds, he tells me rhyming words, he is learning to make preferences, use nice touches, walking feet, inside voices, and what "danger" means. He's learning that he is a part of a community and with that brings responsibility. I could go on and on and probably will many times in this blog. I'm just so thankful. One more thing. She's an Army wife. With a deployed husband. She knows what service and sacrifice and separation and loving someone so far is all about. When it's our time to send daddy off, I know that she will understand our bad days and always be there with an extra hug and positive words for Gavin.

Priorities

A couple of weeks ago I told my husband I wanted to start blogging again. By the look on his face I could tell he thought I was out of my mind. "Don't you have enough going on?" he says. "When are you going to fit in blogging between raising the kids, our family time, running a photography business, selling AdvoCare, leading the FRG…." the list went on. I thought about what he said. All those things he mentioned PLUS paying bills, cleaning house, making meals, taking the kids to and from their activities, working out, finding quiet time to read a page or two from a book, Facebook /Pinterest {trying to keep it real, here}, keeping up with extended family, etc. I quickly realized he was right. I have a lot on my plate. We didn't talk much more about it that night but for days the conversation ran through my mind. I had a bit of an ah-ha moment and realized if I'm at a point in my life where I don't have time for the little things in life I personally want to do for myself and my family {blog, get a pedicure, pillow fights, etc} then maybe I need to lower a few other things on the priority list. It was a hard realization…

That brings me to my photography business. I love photography. My passion for it began the day I met my husband. I wanted every moment of our love frozen in time. I wanted every date captured and turned into something I could develop and physically hold in my hand and hang up on my walls. Then came our engagement, our wedding, and his commissioning into the Army. We knew in a matter of time he'd be sent to war. And then it happened. 15 months into our marriage he went to Iraq. Photos of our lives together are what got me through that first deployment. They gave me something tangible to hold on to and to remember. The few photos of him I received while deployed we're like gold. I treasured them. They showed me our time apart was for a purpose and that he was, in fact, making a difference and serving others. Fast forward a bit later… He returned from war and within two months we found out we were pregnant with Gavin. My passion for photography quadrupled. I wanted every second of his life documented. For the first two years of his life, I think I did document just about every other second. I blogged almost every day of his life. You see, Jason returned to war THREE more times after Gavin was born. Jason watched his son grow up his first two years through photographs. See why photography holds such a special place in my heart? Fast forward a bit more… we found out we were pregnant with Stella, had her, moved from Savannah to Benning to Drum (did two moves at Drum), and all of a sudden got crazy busy. Life picked up and we ran with it. He took on more responsibility at work and I took on two work from home jobs and a FRG. Those little special family moments slowly diminished. We put the kids to bed and my work began. Quality time suffered. My late nights editing led to a tired mommy in the morning. Tired mommy = no fun mommy. The busier our lives got, the less I took the time to enjoy and document family time.

That brings me back to our conversation on the couch weeks ago and my realization. I decided its time I make other peoples photos less of a priority and my families more. I will still do occasional sessions for others (especially through Photos for Soldiers, a program I volunteer with to provide free photos to military families preparing for a deployment or homecoming), but right now my #1 priority is about using that time to capture and document my family life together. To freeze the memories.We are now gearing up for deployment #5. This blog is my commitment to better documenting our lives. My way to fill the "emotional bank" with deposits to look back on when I need to walk down memory lane.

When Jason heads overseas in a few short months I don't want him to miss out on what goes on back at home… Smith Life on the Homefront. This is my way of capturing and sharing it with him.

You may notice my small quote up top "She who waits, also serves…" That quote came across my news feed the week I was having this ah-ha moment. It confirmed the reasoning to me that even the woman beside the soldier, the one often waiting (waiting for them to get off work, waiting for them to return from training, waiting for a deployment homecoming, etc…) also serves. Life doesn't stop just because a service member is away.

It must go on.

My service is to my family and to fellow army wives and their families. I hope through this blog I am able to bring that service to life and encourage others to do the same.