Brian

July 27th:
I am in the throes of packing the house.  I have to admit that this has been very difficult, probably the most difficult move I have had to prepare for.  I am so thankful that my wonderful brother, Brian, came up......

I LOVED this picture!  Yes their heads are a little cut off but I was hold Benjamin while taking this picture.

October 6:
Brian wanted to come up for the last weekend we would be in Idaho.  It was so nice to have his help doing some of the jobs that normally Dustin would have done.  I even made Brian his very own "Brian-Do List".  I am so grateful for the help he gave me but also for the time he took to play with the boys.  They enjoyed playing in the water in the backyard that last Saturday afternoon.

The tornado has hit home

Well, there have been rumors of tornado like activity and now there is proof.

We are in full swing of packing mode.  The house is a complete disaster.  The only order in our home is in the room where the packed boxes end up.  I was fortunate enough to have Dustin's mom, Sharon, here for the week to help me get some packing done.  Honestly without her here I don't know that I would have gotten much done - the task was seeming so daunting, especially with an almost 3 month old in the house.

Sharon pushed me to get boxes packed without being overbearing about it, she helped clean cabinets as they were emptied and would finish off boxes I started but had to put on hold to feed Benjamin.  Sharon was able to play with the boys when I just needed a good nap and helped the boys (Matthew mostly) with their chores to help keep the chaos to a minimum.  I don't know what I would have done without her!

I will be so glad when this is all done.  I want all the packing and major cleaning to be done this week.  Once the truck is loaded there will just be the cleaning of the carpets and we'll be out of here!  I have known that this time was coming but now that it's here the time is just flying by so quickly!

With Dustin in North Carolina this week, I have been getting nightly calls telling me about things around town.  Yesterday Dustin did a fair amount of exploring Fort Bragg and Fayetteville.  He found us a new frozen yogurt shop like Kiwi Loco.  This new yogurt shop for us is called Sweet Frog, I love the name and look forward to trying the shop out.  We are so excited to move and start a new chapter of our lives.  It will be fun to make new friends and get back together with old friends.  We are going to be living in a new part of the country with a completely different climate and we couldn't be more excited about it!

Baby Blessing

Benjamin's Baby Blessing

July 14, 2013

Dustin did a wonderful job with the blessing.  I am so grateful that Dustin holds the priesthood and uses it to bless our family.

These are some of the things Benjamin was blessed with
*that he will learn from his brothers
*to be healthy and strong both spiritually and physically
*that he is a special member of our family

The spirit was so strong during that blessing.  I cried a little during, but was still able to take notes. 

Climbing

Saturday during our yard sale David figured out how to climb the tree in the front yard.  He has been climbing the tree at every available chance.  He can climb up there pretty high and even had to talk his way down one time because he got a little higher that he thought.

Tree's everywhere beware!

Life at Home

July 3, 2013

Picking Dustin up from the airport at 11pm.

Brian took pictures for us.

Matthew LOVES Dustin's boots!

This is a picture of Matthew's "uniform".  He puts on his dog tags, his army patrol cap, Dustin's boots and calls it his uniform.  He's done this for 2 days now.

Dustin enjoying a Sunday afternoon movie with the boys on a rainy Sunday.

It is so nice having Dustin home with us, even if it is just for a short amount of time.  I love having him home with me and someone to sleep with.  I love that he spends time with the boys and backs me up when they act up.  I love how much he likes to hold Benjamin, watch Benjamin and burp Benjamin.  I love that he is an extra set of hands around here.  I love that he intercepts boys that try to come in at night.  I love that he is home!

Dustin is glad to be home too!

After we got home on Friday, Dustin checked the house and backyard out; we went to the store and upon getting home out came the grill promptly followed by his disc golf practice basket.

July the 4th

It was a wonderful 4th of July for us.  We were all together as a family of FIVE!  We picked Dustin up at the airport in Salt Lake and spent the night in a hotel in Clearfield, UT.  We got in so late at night and were so excited to be together as a family before going to bed, we missed the parade.  We spent the morning eating donuts (Krispy Kreme) and playing in the hotel.  We dressed ourselves and headed out to South Weber to eat with my brother, Brian.  After lunch and playing at Brian's we all headed to the movies.  Dinner came next with a stop at Five Guys, we took our dinner to the park where we were going to watch the fireworks.  It was a wonderful, relaxing day.  I didn't get many pictures of us, and non of our whole family on this holiday but I did get pictures of the boys in their 4th of July fare.

I love the silly faces of the boys!

Happy 4th of July!

Growth

 4 or 5 days old

 1 month old

2 months old

It's always fun to see our babies grow.  Benjamin has been particularly fun because he started off soooo small.  The black bunny was a gift from Dustin which arrived the day Benjamin and I were released from the hospital.  Benjamin has grown so much and we are pleased with his progress.

Benjamin can also roll over from his tummy to his back and I finally got a video of it a couple weeks ago to send to Dustin.

*Please note that all these pictures and the video were taken on my phone so that I could text them to Dustin.  We will get better pictures of him.*

"Welcome Home"

"Welcome Home, Ma'am" is how I was greeted when entering Fort Leonard Wood the evening before Dustin's graduation.  At first I doubted I had heard the soldier correctly but he said it again.  I found it interesting that he would say that.

The more I thought about it the more I came to realize that the Army is going to be our home.  We will be moving multiple times but no matter how or where we move things will always be the same.  I know that things will be hard at times but I can only think of the Army the same as I think of the Church - no matter where you go it's always the same.  I am excited to become a part of this community.

I look foward to our new life, career and adventure.  I am excited to have our family all together again.  I am excited to be able to tell Dustin, "Welcome Home".

I'm Ready

I know I haven't written in a while.  As it turns out it's kind of crazy caring for 3 boys (one of whom is an infant) without a husband at home.  I never realized all the things I expected Dustin to do when we have a baby (more to come on this later in a Father's Day post)!  I feel like I am on a ship that is barely floating; I'm not sinking, but I'm certainly not going anywhere fast.

I have also had a hard time with the fact that Dustin has been gone for so long and I hadn't seen him since February 3.  February 3rd is the day we dropped him off at the recruiting office to get a ride down to Salt Lake to go through MEPS again before shipping out to Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood.  February 3rd was the last time I had been able to hug and kiss my husband.  It's been hard.  It's been very hard.

I was able to travel with Benjamin to Fort Leonard Wood to see Dustin graduate from AIT.  My sister was kind enough to come stay with David and Matthew so that I could make the trip with some sanity. June 5, 2013 at about 5:30pm central time was the first time I had seen my husband in 17 1/2 weeks.  June 5, 2013 at about 5:35pm central time Dustin was able to lay eyes on his newborn son for the first time in person - not through picture texts or over Skype.  We took the little time we had Wednesday to get some dinner and for Dustin to hold Benjamin.  Dustin held Benjamin almost the entire time we were together aside from eating his sandwich and the little time it took me to feed Benjamin.  We said good night to each other at 7pm and went our separate ways for the night.

The next morning, June 6th Dustin graduated.  We spent the day snacking at Starbucks, exploring the commissary and picking up fixings for a picnic lunch.  We ate lunch in the park across the street from the barracks and then just walked holding hands along the paths.  We took time to explore some of the forested areas of the post and we played a little miniature golf (Dustin won and in winning I had to kiss him - I didn't mind though).  We ate dinner at the bowling alley and then cried for about an hour prior to our final good byes.  Dustin spent time holding Benjamin.  We had a very difficult time saying good bye once again.  Dustin wasn't coming home with me because he still had to go to Airborne school.  Due to the Memorial Day holiday his AIT graduation was on a Thursday instead of a Wednesday which meant he and his other airborne buddies needed to stay at Fort Leonard Wood until the following week to have the time to travel down to Fort Benning and start with the next class.

I never thought it would be as hard as it was to say good bye.  It was hard when he left in February, but leaving him again after already being parted for 17 1/2 weeks was excruciating!  I know that we were only parting for another 4 weeks, and after the time we had already been separated it should have seemed easy, but it was so hard to leave.  I will be so glad to have my husband home in July!

All of that being said, I feel renewed after visiting with Dustin.  I have had a week to process our second departure and know that I can make it just a little longer.  I am ready to get myself back in order.  I am ready to get my family back to church - all of it (we have made it on time for the past two weeks!).  I am ready to start blogging again.  I am ready to get my boys back on schedule.  I am ready for a routine.  I have passed my 6 week recovery and I am ready to start exercising again.  I am ready.  I am ready.  I am ready.  I have to keep telling myself that.

There is a saying about being Army Strong.  I must admit that as strong as I am (or have learned to be) I sometimes have to tell myself that I am Army Amazing.  Amazing seems better than Strong and I just need a little extra confidence sometimes.  For the last month of Dustin being gone I think Army Amazing will be my daily mantra.

Mother's Day

We Skyped with Dustin on Mother's Day.  He captured some still frames of that conversation.

 Dustin and I are just talking, enjoying our conversation. 

Then our child #2 appears in various stages of clothing.  At one point he was completely naked.

Skype

Children make terrible skypers!  Children make terrible skypers because first they are easily distracted, second they don't manage their time to talk very well, and third they don't share the screen and siblings will fight over the computer.

The computer can be very distracting, there is so much to look at and play with.  When Skypeing I find that my children are easily distracted by the picture in picture.  They like to look at their faces and then to see their dad's reaction.  Most of the time this will occur and the conversation will go something like this,
kids:  "Dad can you see us?"
dad:  "Yes, I see you"
kids:  dead silence for at least 1 minute
           "Dad did you see my face?"
dad:  "Yes, I saw"
This will continue for 5-10 minutes.  The whole time Dustin will try to ask the boys questions that may or may not be answered.

As you can see from the conversation above the boys just can't focus on actually talking to their dad.  The kids will just play while "talking" to their dad.  Time that if they would actually talk to their dad I wouldn't mind sharing, but since they just play, it makes me sad that I'm not able to get a turn.

The boys will carry on with all of this for the entire time we have to skype.  The only thing missing is the constant bickering between the boys about who gets to have their face on the computer next or that the screen is not being shared equally.

At some point, usually the last couple minutes of our Skype time, I will kick the boys off the computer. I then get my turn to talk which will inevitably get cut short because our connection will drop.  Dustin and I will try to reconnect via Skype and we'll end up just talking on the phone.

In all of our Skypeing attempts Dustin has been able to see Benjamin, I have been able to see Dustin and where he is living.  I am grateful for the communication we do get to have with him and will be glad to have him home once again.  I think the boys will like having him home too.

Benjamin Ray Hinton

Due to some complications that arose during the last week I ended up delivery Benjamin 3 weeks early.  He is tiny but cute and healthy.  Because of the early delivery we were unable to Skype it with Dustin because he had a scheduled exam at the same time I was going into surgery.  We were able to talk at lunch and Dustin received many, many texted pictures.

Benjamin Ray Hinton

April 24, 2013

5 lb. 13 oz.

6:52am

The Big Brothers excited to hold their new baby

Family Picture 

(even though Dustin is missing just pretend he's there)

*also, this was before I could sit up all the way but Benjamin is in my arms*

Going Home

Friday, April 26, 2013

We have all been doing well.  We are adjusting to having a little baby in the house, Matthew is adjusting to having to share Mommy, David is adjusting to having to help out a little more.  My mom has been here to help me but she'll be leaving early Tuesday - then I'm on my own for a while- wish us luck!

David and Matthew really do like having Benjamin home, they like to hold him and look at him, and watch him.  I send Dustin a picture of Benjamin almost daily and we were able to Skype yesterday so that Dustin could see Benjamin.  Benjamin has his eyes opened and was moving around for Dustin so it was good for Dustin to see.

We are so glad for our little family.  We are glad that it has grown by a couple of feet and we're excited to be together forever!

So Proud!

This week I was all on my own.

David and Matthew left with Sharon (Dustin's mom) on Saturday to begin the long trip to Missouri for Dustin's BCT graduation.  From Pocatello to Fort Leonard Wood is a 21 hour drive.  It was broken up across three days going out so that the boys would be able to see their dad for family day and graduation.

The boys just after finding Dustin on Wednesday - family day  

Dustin was so surprised to find a little blonde kid hugging his leg.  Matthew loved the uniform and took a little while to talk to Dustin.  David was just excited to see his dad.  They were both so excited to see him, they had been telling everyone about getting to see their dad for the past week and half.

Dustin in his ASU (Army Service Uniform)

He is so handsome.  I wish I could have been there and look forward to seeing him in June.  Right now he has a marksman badge and hopes to be able to get it up to a sharpshooter.  The glasses are keepers although he can see without them, he just sees better with them than without.

I am so proud of all that he has accomplished in a short amount of time.  I know that we have both grown and learned much while he has been away.  Our relationship has also developed and strengthened across the miles.  Despite how hard it is at times to be separated for so long this has really been a good move for our family.  We look forward to the many adventures the Army will provide us.

*If you are interested in sending Dustin letters his address has changed.  Just email me and I'll send it to you.

Pictures for Dustin

Dustin had been asking for pictures of the boys and me from one of the very first letters we got from him.  I would send a picture here and there because I had this photo shoot planned with Jen Simmons.  We got the disc back and I love the pictures we got from it.  The boys didn't last long so all of these were done in about 30 minutes total (10 minutes of which was with the boys).  These are some of the pictures I had printed to send to Dustin.  I hope he likes them.  The boys will leave on Saturday to start their trip to see Dustin for his BCT graduation.  I can't believe it's almost been 10 weeks since he left!  AIT should be so much easier, since it's shorter and he'll get to have his phone.

I have never done maternity pictures before now.  Dustin isn't here for this one and I know he wants to be a part of this so...this was my favorite maternity shot.

These are my two favorite pictures of the boys individually.  They are such handsome boys, if I do say so myself.

 Typical of our boys

I love the way all of our pictures turned out.  I really have to thank Jen Simmons for a job well done.  I am hoping that while Dustin is home for a few days in June that we can do family pictures with Jen.

Dustin graduates in about a week and a half from Basic Combat Training.  I can't believe that we have really been apart for almost 10 weeks already.  The boys will be leaving this coming Saturday to begin their journey to see Dustin graduate.  I am so proud of him for doing what he is doing and for how well he is doing it.

SPRING BREAK!!!

Spring Break was much anticipated this year - probably mostly by me.  Dustin's mom had agreed back in January to come out this week to help me do something fun with the boys since I wouldn't have gone any further than Idaho Falls otherwise.  We took a trip to Boise.  We left Monday and came back on Thursday.  Everyday we had one field trip and then just shopping/relaxing/playing/walking time until dinner.

Monday:
Spent most of the day getting ready to leave and then traveling.  Matthew was so excited to get to Boise that when we stopped in Twin Falls for some lunch he was very upset that it wasn't Boise and didn't want to get out to eat.  We did get him out.  When we arrived in Boise he shouted Yay, Boise!  It was fun and cute and made me happy.

Tuesday:
Discovery Center day.  The boys really enjoyed running around trying out the experiments.  They even enjoyed playing the the little grocery store at the entrance of the center - they played there at the beginning and the end.  The Discovery Center had a special bodies exhibit.  We did go, Matthew did not last more that 5 minutes before yelling GROSS! and running out of the exhibit.  I stopped to get stamped so that I could return when David and Sharon were done, the men gave Matthew a stamp too and he immediately freaked out.  Everyone outside of the exhibit thought it was because of the exhibit but no, it was the just having a stamp on his hand.  As soon as I cleaned it off we were okay and ready to play with the toys.

We took time to explore the trail by the hotel (which is about 2 - 2 1/2 miles from Downtown Boise) and see how walking to the zoo would go the next day.  We had hoped to find a grocery store in order to just pick up a couple of lunchables and salads to eat on the patio outside our hotel room.  Well it turns out that it was a really long walk for the boys and we hadn't even made it to the grocery store.  Sharon had to walk back quickly to the hotel, get the car and pick the rest of us up.  We did have our relaxing hotel dinner.  We had hoped to be able to just walk to the zoo the next day but realized that it would not be a wise thing to do with the boys.

 

Wednesday:
Zoo Boise.  I was pleasantly surprised by the zoo.  The space for the zoo is just a little bigger than the zoo in Pueblo, CO if not the same size.  However, Boise seems to use their space much more effectively resulting in a more enjoyable zoo.  We were able to see many animals and were there for a couple of hours despite my preconceptions of the space.  It was lots of fun and the boys really had a great time.

After the zoo we picnicked in the park and let the boys play on the playground for 30 minutes.  I went back to the room for a nap and the boys went to the book store with Sharon to get some new books.  Dinner was out because I was really wanting a good dessert - Olive Garden was the winner.

Thursday:
After checking out of the hotel we headed south to The Peregrine Fund which is a Birds of Prey center.  We were able to see many birds; Condors, Peregrines, other hawks and falcons.  It was fun.  The live bird presentation was the Harris Hawk.  The Harris Hawk is a really interesting bird.  They live in the desert and hunt in "packs".  Matthew was really insistent on getting a picture of this bird and I did the best I could with the presentation being done at noon outside.

From the birds of prey we headed to lunch and then hit the road home.  There was another stop in Twin Falls so that I could walk around a bit and try to keep the swelling down in my feet.

**We got a call from Dustin while we were driving home!  It was even a 20 minute call.  It was so nice to talk to him.  Dustin and I had both expected the call to happen in Sunday and then it didn't come.  The whole week we were gone I felt like we were back at the beginning of his departure just waiting anxiously for the phone to ring.  Dustin is still doing really well.  We are in the final 3 weeks of basic training.  The boys will get to go see him and they are excited to see Dustin as is Dustin to see them.

Friday:
This was a relaxation day.  We slept in and just hung around the house all morning.  The afternoon David was at a birthday party and the rest of us ran errands/did a little shopping.  The boys enjoyed spending their last evening with Grandma out in the back yard and playing.

Saturday:
I'm glad that all though the previous weekend had awful weather that it has only gotten nicer as the week has gone on.  Today was also a relaxing/get back to normal day.  We got the house cleaned up and spent plenty of time outside playing.  We even took a walk to Ross park.  David rode his bike and Matthew (rode in the stroller there) walked the whole way home.  Here's hoping that spring is really here and that winter won't be coming back again until the appropriate time at the end of the year (after we have moved).