Posted by Aprille D on Saturday, May 19, 2012,
In :
Toddler Play
We found a new fun activity for Ezra. The pictures pretty much say it all!   (action shot!)  This was his reaction the first time a marble rolled under the fridge! Then he started rolling them under the fridge on purpose!    (now he's just being cute on purpose)
Posted by Aprille D on Thursday, May 17, 2012,
In :
Holidays
I had a very nice weekend for Mother's Day. On Thursday night Russ admitted that he had no plans or no ideas what to do...I was rather upset at first, but I knew that he would probably come up with something, even if it was at the last minute. The next morning he told me, "I'm going to buy you flowers!" Okay...it made me smile, even though he "ruined" the surprise. Friday was a good day. Ezra and I went to Walmart (a much better shopping experience than the one I had last week!) and I got som...
Posted by Aprille D on Friday, January 20, 2012,
In :
Army Life
My husband came home from Afghanistan on New Years Eve! This deployment lasted 353 days apart total, lasting from December 29, 2010 to December 31, 2011. It was one long year! My husband's career in the military will be ending in 2013, so we are blessed knowing that we are done with deployments - this was our final homecoming. Back in August I came across the song "After All" - I had heard it before, but it was almost like I was hearing it for the first time. And I realized that it was our sto... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Sunday, December 4, 2011,
In :
Family News
Is it possible to catch you up on the last 3 months of random, everyday fun and Ezra's developmental milestones in 10 pictures or less? It is when you know how to cheat! :) So what's happening these days? Ezra has made a lot of progress in his eating! He's almost completely off of baby food and onto table solids. He also likes to drink water and juice, as well as mommy-milk. His new favorite food is soup - of any kind. Which is great because I can sneak in meat and vegetables when he isn't look... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Wednesday, November 16, 2011,
In :
Family News
Since Russ went back to Afghanistan, I've really been struggling. Struggling with what? Well, just everything. I think that 90% of the time I feel utterly exhausted and overwhelmed. There's a song that has a line that says something like "You can only be strong so long before you break..." Which is true. But I think that most of the time people don't realize that I'm not even trying to be strong - I stopped trying a LONG time ago. Mostly, I'm just trying to survive. I have chronic fatigue, fr... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Wednesday, November 16, 2011,
In :
Family News
Where have I been the last month? um...I'm not even really sure that I know! But, I'm going to attempt to remember enough to write this rather picture-heavy series of blog posts. I'm glad I take a lot of pictures, because without them I don't know if I would remember--it's been that crazy! _________
Shortly after Russ left to go back to Afghanistan, Ezra and I flew to Chicago to spend 10 days with my family again. Ezra managed to get sick - again - while we were there, but we had a
great time.... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Wednesday, October 19, 2011,
In :
Baby Ezra
It's been a long while since I have written a "baby update" post. Life really has been flying right by, and mostly I am trying to enjoy it as much as possible. A lot of times that means blogging less frequently! It's amazing to me how rapidly Ezra has grown and changed in the last year. Oh yeah, did I mention that he had a birthday? (I still have to write a post about his party!) He's almost 14 months now! Life with a toddler is a blast! Exhausting, but so much fun! Ezra keeps me laughing and... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Wednesday, October 19, 2011,
In :
Photo blogs
One of the greatest blessings in my life is the fact that my husband and my brother are best friends. And not just because it got me a husband. Kurt has continued to be not only my best friend, and my husband's best friend, but also a wonderful uncle to Ezra and sometimes even a stand-in father over these past few months. Kurt calls to talk to Ezra just about every day and is always checking in on both of us to make sure we are okay while Russ is away. Kurt and Russ don't talk much while Russ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Wednesday, October 5, 2011,
In :
Family News
My husband and I have extremely different tastes in music. I like country and operatic pop. He likes 80s-90s rock and trance and a bunch of other random stuff. He likes to poke fun at my favorite country songs by making up his own words and renditions. It has become a little bit of a game to us. And, over the last few years our tastes have begun to mesh just a little bit. I've found some awesome 80s songs that I like, and he's found some country songs and artists that he likes. Darius Rucker ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Saturday, September 24, 2011,
In :
Army Life
This is the question that I've been hearing a lot this week! And it's a good question. But it's one that in some ways I don't know how to answer with a quick reply. Words like "great," "awesome," and "wonderful" are indeed true...but so are words like "hard," "emotional," and "difficult." But those are words that most people don't expect to hear when they ask the question. What I'd like to do is take this post to go into more detail and answer the question on everyone's mind. I am going to b... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Saturday, September 17, 2011,
In :
Photo blogs
This post is somewhat out of order, but I realized it's something I meant to post a while back and never got around to it. Living this military lifestyle definitely has it's challenges...it's hard! But it also gives our family some AMAZING opportunities and privileges that others do not have. One such opportunity was given to us by the organization called Operation Love Reunited. "OpLove is a 100% VOLUNTEER group of professional photographers that donate their time and efforts towards portrait... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Tuesday, August 16, 2011,
In :
Photo blogs
Posted by Aprille D on Tuesday, August 9, 2011,
In :
Holidays
On July 4th, we woke up and I tried be domestic and made red, white, and blue pancakes.  Topped with blueberries:  Ezra wasn't quite sure what to make of them:  Ezra and I both got dressed in patriotic clothes and I took a bunch of random photos:     Then in the evening we went on-post for their festival. There wasn't much to do for little ones like Ezra but we found a few things! Like the swing ride:   And the fishy ride:   And of course some normal swings!  We ended the day watching fireworks with some friend...
Posted by Aprille D on Tuesday, August 9, 2011,
In :
Holidays
On July 3rd, we went to a local church for their Independence Day Festival. They had a LOT going on, but here's just a few things we were able to do! Ezra got to sit in a firetruck for the first time:
We hung out on blankets in the grass and tried to stay cool:
Hung out with friends:
  Took cover while the fireworks almost got rained out!   After waiting an hour inside, the storm blew over and the show went on! (although by that time Ezra was half asleep...the colors mesmerized him and he was aslee...
Posted by Aprille D on Tuesday, August 9, 2011,
In :
Family News
I was going to get on here this morning and apologize for running behind on blogging...yet again. Then I realized that I didn't really care that much. I love blogging. I love sharing my photos with the world. I love having a place to share inspirational thoughts or vent about life as it is. But I'm learning that time with my son is so much more important. The older Ezra gets, the harder it is to spend time online. 1) Now, unless I am sitting at the kitchen table, he can reach the computer and ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Monday, July 4, 2011,
In :
Family News
Running behind on my blog...yet again! Catch up time! Two weeks and 2 days ago, my little brother got married. It's really crazy to me to think about...we haven't been able to spend a lot of time together since we were in highschool...I've been married and gallavanting across the country following my soldier husband; Michael has been in school at Pensacola Christian College. We've only seen each other a few times a year since 2006. Michael married a beautiful girl named Mandy - the short versi... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille D on Tuesday, May 24, 2011,
In :
Photo blogs
She loves me...
 she loves me not...  she loves me...  she loves me not...  She loves me...  she loves me not...  She loves me...  She loves me not...  SHE LOVES ME!!!! 
Posted by Aprille D on Thursday, April 21, 2011,
In :
Baby Ezra
Posted by Aprille on Sunday, March 13, 2011,
In :
Photo blogs
Posted by Aprille on Thursday, March 10, 2011,
In :
Photo blogs
Posted by Aprille on Thursday, March 10, 2011,
In :
Photo blogs
Oh yes... I am. His name is Canon EOS Rebel XS! He was a gift from my husband...a gift to occupy my thoughts and time while my True Love is away fighting in this war. With My Rebel, I can capture clearly everyday moments and freeze them forever:   I can capture my favorite things:  (My favorite coffee mug and my Macbook Pro)  (My favorite flower)  (some of my favorite people) I can capture details I might have otherwise missed:
 "Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving.
What you hav...
Posted by Aprille on Friday, February 11, 2011,
In :
Miscellaneous
"A time to get, and a time to lose..."
(Ecclesiastes 3:6)
For most of my adult life, my weight has fluctuated right around 100 pounds, regardless of how much I ate or how often I exercised. Honestly, it was AWESOME and I loved being so skinny! After Russ came home from Afghanistan in June of 2009, for some reason within about 3 months I had put on about 20-25 pounds (fluctuating between 120-125). Which I was totally fine with. I still looked good, and most people said that I looked healthier. Th... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Wednesday, February 9, 2011,
In :
Photo blogs
Posted by Aprille on Thursday, December 23, 2010,
In :
Holidays
Normally, in keeping with our little Christmas tradition, we would be headed up to Chicago to spend Christmas and New Years with my family. But this year, plans had to change, thanks to Uncle Sam. I can't really go into a lot of detail at this time, but let's just say that we were forced to celebrate Christmas Day as just the three of us. Knowing that we were faced with this, my mother-in-law and her husband decided to bring Christmas to us, a little bit early! While this isn't what I had ima... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Wednesday, December 1, 2010,
In :
Family News
November was a good month for us. We started out with a pre-Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina to see Russell's family. The baby traveled amazingly well. On the way there we drove through the night and he slept the whole way except when he wanted to eat! Ezra had a lot of fun visiting family. We also took a day-trip while we were there to visit Ezra's "Aunt Maggie" down at Ambassador. We got to hang out on campus pretty much all day and meet some of Maggie's friends, as well as talk with som... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Saturday, October 23, 2010,
In :
Baby Ezra
Ezra is now 6 (almost 7) weeks old! He weighs over 12 pounds now! Milestones this week were more smiles, him grasping onto things, and him FINALLY losing his umbilical cord stump! Last week we bought him this little playmat and he loves to lay there and look at the toys. He kind of is starting to bat at them but I'm not sure if he's really doing it on purpose so much as it's still just his little arms flailing around. Either way it is fascinating! Things are going so much better for our little... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Wednesday, October 20, 2010,
In :
Baby Ezra
Posted by Aprille on Wednesday, October 13, 2010,
In :
Baby Ezra
Posted by Aprille on Wednesday, June 9, 2010,
In :
Baby Ezra
It's been about 6 weeks since our last update so I figured I should share how our baby is doing. Nothing really has changed except that the baby is growing rapidly and developing quite a personality! Since my last appointment (5 weeks ago), I gained 15 pounds and 8 inches in my tummy! When my midwife told me that the baby enters a huge growth spurt at 28 weeks, my initial reaction was UH OH!!!! (How much bigger can it get right?!?!)
The baby is really learning to enjoy mommys tummy! Squirt now...
Posted by Aprille on Saturday, June 5, 2010,
In :
Photo blogs
Posted by Aprille on Wednesday, May 19, 2010,
In :
Photo blogs
Last night we got to drive up to Springfield, Ohio to see one of my bestest friends graduate from high school...again one of "those friends" who I met via the internet. This was our first time meeting "IRL" (in real life), after knowing each other for two long years in an online FRIENDSHIP!   Kurt met us there, as he also is a mutual friend, so it was great to spend some time with FAMILY!   Then of course we had to end the evening with some "mushiness." I think our LOVE grows sweeter every day!
Posted by Aprille on Wednesday, April 28, 2010,
In :
Baby Ezra
Baby Squirt continues to grow! We went back to the specialist for our follow-up ultrasound and got some wonderful news! The baby's heart is perfectly healthy and normal as far as they could tell! The baby is also measuring exactly on schedule, weighing 15 ounces.
Baby is definitely making sure that we know that there is a Squirt in there! Kicks are becoming my constant companion both day and night. Russ even got to feel one a few days ago! Even the ultrasound tech commented to us on what an "...
Posted by Aprille on Wednesday, April 28, 2010,
In :
Photo blogs
Posted by Aprille on Wednesday, February 10, 2010,
In :
Baby Ezra
Wow. I can't believe I have made it to 11 weeks. Honestly I have been so fearful that something awful would happen before I made it out of the first trimester, but I am just in awe and so thankful to God that my baby is still here with us.
Yesterday (Monday), we had our first ultrasound, along with a myriad of other physical tests and labwork tests. Baby is looking healthy and strong, measuring spot on with where I thought I was, to the day. During the ultrasound we realized the first thing ab... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Monday, February 8, 2010,
In :
Baby Ezra
Posted by Aprille on Monday, February 8, 2010,
In :
Photo blogs
Posted by Aprille on Saturday, December 12, 2009,
In :
Army Life
Today, in between visiting a friend at the hospital and picking up my husband at noon when he got off of work, I decided to go to the PX to kill some time. As I drove up I saw on the PX sign the words "Meet Mark Wills...Friday December 11, 1100." I had seen the sign previously that week but had forgotten about it. I didn't go to the PX with the intent of seeing him, it just happened. It was 1030 when I arrived, so I knew I would be able to see him. I have to admit, I was a little bit nervous. ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Tuesday, December 8, 2009,
In :
Holidays
I'm thankful for him... Russ and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We took a very short trip down to visit his family in North Carolina. We spent Thanksgiving Day with "the family" doing the normal Thanksgiving activities like eating yummy food, exchanging a few gifts (because we won't be there at Christmastime), watching football, and doing crossword puzzles with Grandma and Uncle Gavin. On Friday we went to a huge craft fair in town and did some more Christmas shopping. In the evening all the... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Sunday, November 1, 2009,
In :
Photo blogs
had to take more kissykissy pictures...in the picture on the left you can tell Russ is laughing at me!  Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Thursday, October 29, 2009,
In :
Photo blogs
These are two new photo additions to our new home. The frame on the left is in our hallway right across from our bedroom door. The one on the right is over our couch in the living room.  Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Tuesday, October 13, 2009,
In :
Photo blogs
I found this pattern for a handbag in a random book I picked up at the library this afternoon. It was very simple and I was able to finish it in about four hours! I was so excited! Closeups can be found in this facebook album. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=263269&id=872280704&l=3cf602e6d0 Continue reading ...
If you are a Christian and on Facebook, then you have probably had the opportunity to watch one or more of Youtube videos by comedian Tim Hawkins. Well, a few weeks ago I introduced my hubby to the videos and he spent probably two hours one afternoon laughing his head off at the videos. I "became a fan" of Tim Hawkins on Facebook to keep track of when new videos came out. Last week I was checking my Facebook "updates" and saw that Tim Hawkins was going to be in our area this weekend. I called... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Sunday, September 20, 2009,
In :
Photo blogs
Posted by Aprille on Sunday, September 20, 2009,
In :
Photo blogs
Posted by Aprille on Friday, September 11, 2009,
In :
Photo blogs
Today Russ picked me some wildflowers.He's so sweet to me! Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Saturday, July 25, 2009,
In :
Photo blogs
God works in strange ways many times. This is actually the second time I have written this post, but the first time got deleted. I was immediately filled with frustration when all that work disappeared, but now I'm looking at it as a new opportunity to maybe approach this post in a way I didn't before. The past week has been difficult for me, well for both of us. I know personally I've felt like I reached this breaking point...that I couldn't really go on with this deployment, this being sepa... Continue reading ...
Posted by Aprille on Tuesday, February 24, 2009,
In :
Photo blogs
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