Not going to Utah in October

Hi Everyone,

Good news & bad news. The good news is that we'll be spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Utah, the bad news is that we're not coming out in October. Jake's Captain felt he simply couldn't get the Unit set up here at Ft. Bragg without Jake's guidance and leadership, and was concerned that it need to be done & completely "mission ready" by October 16th. That is when they will be put back on first alert for the Homeland Security Mission (ie: earthquakes, hurricanes, chemical spills, basically any kind of national disaster).

So we've canceled our trip for October and re-scheduled it for the end of November. We're planning to come out sometime around the 20th or so, and stay until the first week of December. Although I miss everyone and wish to see them sooner, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving as my sister & her boyfriend will also be visiting Utah at that time.

Otherwise the family is doing very well. Jake has had some good exposure with his photography business (he runs it on the side). He's also getting ready to start college classes again on Oct. 23rd. In addition he's preparing to go to the promotion board for E-6 in the next month or two, He's also accepted a position in our church as a counselor for the Elder's Quarom President. He's busy, busy, busy, and balances it all and our family time amazingly well.

James is loving his pre-school. He was in charge of his classroom snack on Friday so we made "ants on a log" (raisins & cream cheese on celery). Apparently it was a big success. We also did a group field trip to the Clark Park Nature Center last week, and he still talks about seeing the big snake. In addition he is regularly earning his Thomas the Train & Friends for going number 2 in the toilet. I can finally say the potty training is nearing an end.

Mikey is into everything. He's truly a monkey, the other day I had to rescue him from the tree in the back yard where he'd climbed a few feet up and got his foot caught. It's hard to believe, but he'll be 2 in a couple months, and he's starting to act the part of a troublesome two year old. We get quite the tantrum show regularly, and often applaud his grand efforts. He loves shoes and often throws his best trantrums if you take them off, that boy demands that he be able to go to bed with his shoes on.

Evey is the opposite, she follows in Grandma Mac's footsteps - being completely barefoot as much as possible. Sandles are tollerable if necessary. Thank goodness we live in a climate where you can get away with sandles year round. Evey also dazzles us with her vocabulary. She still uses he baby babble but throws in big words too. The other day she was playing with her doll, singing her usual nonsense and then I heard "go downstairs baby" and she stood up walked to the stairs and tossed the baby doll down the stairs.

I'm busy keeping everyone else organized. I've gotten to know several women in our neighborhood and really enjoy our weekly play group. I'm also teaching the 10 year olds at our church each Sunday. Between those regular activities, the unit FRG stuff, projects around the house, house guests, and helping out with the odds and ends of James' preschool I stay busy.

In general, we love being here in North Carolina. We've been blessed with a great church, great neighbors, a beautiful home, and good health as of late. When you remember those kind of blessings the challenges that come seem much more bareable. I hope you all are able to deal with the challenges your lives bring, and still remember the blessings too. We miss you.

Love,
Elizabeth