Feeling Blessed and Thankful

A tradition at my mom and dad's house is to go around the table before we eat our Thanksgiving meal and say something that we are thankful for. Well, this year I am thankful for family!! More than one family, at that! My dad recently sent me a fantastic camera that I am anxious to learn how to use (perfect hobby for me right now!). My sister gathered two HUGE bags full of maternity clothes and sent them to me in Alabama (perfect timing for my ever growing belly and slimming wardrobe!). My mother in law sent me a beautiful maternity winter coat, considering that even Alabama gets down to freezing temperatures!! I am thankful for a husband that has been so incredibly understanding (that in itself is an understatement!!!!) during my pregnancy. (My pregnancy hormones, moving, being away from family, not having many friends, no church home, and no satisfying job outside of the home...add up to an emotional Abigail!!) I am thankful for a son that continues to surprise me daily with lessons learned at school and desire to learn more at home. I am thankful for errands that get me out of the house! I am thankful that we are blessed financially and able to put great food on the table each day, and for me to stay home to provide that for Arthur and Aden. Most of all, I am thankful for my Lord that gets me through each day of life! Even when I am in a miserable mood, He is forever unchanging and is always waiting for me to seek the peace and understanding that only He can provide. God has covered Arthur, Aden, and myself in blankets of protection and love as we have face multiple circumstances over the past 6 months. So, I hope that you are feeling blessed on this Thanksgiving holiday! If you are a family member reading this...know that you are greatly missed and that I will have a TON of leftovers after making a feast for only 3 people:)

Still so many things to talk about

Well, this past month has definitely been full of 'firsts' for Aden. (Not sure if that's even a word!) He moved out of state, and did an AMAZING job for being awake during the 13 hour car ride!! Aden has completely molded into the lifestyle that we have thrust upon him! Of course, there are some perks that he gets to experience along the way! He goes to an incredible new school that offers so many cool opportunities, gets to ride the school bus, and attend many functions and festivals geared towards kids! He's been learning sign language at an incredibly fast pace, some cute songs on the school bus (which he only rides for 9 minutes), and he still loves taking his teachers apples and cute notes. Here are some pics with his new teacher and riding on the school bus on his first day of school!

After being here for about 2 weeks, we decided it was time to head to the beach!! We live about an hour and a half from Destin, FL, so we definitely took advantage of it! The sand is pure white, the water is clear, the beach wasn't crowded, and we had some amazing sea food that night for dinner-while we watched the sun go down over the ocean!! It was incredible!! We will definitely go back when we have more time and funds:) Aden was nervous at first about the moving water, but was soon diving or jumping through the waves with daddy. I even got in on the action, but you will not see a picture of me in a bathing suit for about the next 2 years!!

We also went to Oktoberfest on post a couple of days after we arrived. They had German food, German music, snacks, bouncy toys, and lots of trinket booths. Arthur and I were still pretty exhausted from the move, but it was nice for Aden to experience! There is also a lake on post, about 10 minutes from our house. We drove down there and were amazed by what we saw. (First of all, don't know if I'll be swimming in ANY water in Alabama...hello, alligators!!) The lake is so kid friendly! Lots of slides and parks that are not pictured, and best of all-it's another sandy beach!

Arthur was present at all of these activities, but I'm taking full advantage of the fact that I am actually IN some of the pictures!! Aden had a halloween parade at his school today, and we'll be going trick or treating tonight. So, I should have plenty of cute little costume pics to show you soon! Oh!! Something that you can be praying for! I have had pelvic/low back pain that has been getting increasingly worse over the past couple of months. The Dr. finally put me on Hydrocodone to treat the pain (I know all of you previously pregnant moms just winced. It's like taking 4 Tylenol). I'm extremely against taking any medicine that could harm the baby, so I started Physical Therapy yesterday. Lord willing, I'll gain some relief there and can bypass taking meds for much longer! Hope you are well, and I'd love to hear from more family and friends soon!!! Arthur gets home Sunday, so if you want my undivided attention...now's your chance!

Too much to talk about

Wow, there have been so many things that have happened since I last wrote!! I'm going to try to put a timeline to my paragraphs so you can follow along on the most recent and EXCITING events in our lives!!


September 9, 2008: Aden was adopted and is officially Aden Dane Clymer!! He received so many cool gifts that day! He now has his own signant ring with a 'C' on it (which he wears daily), a Spiderman computer, an embroidered blanket with his new name, a Cars watch to see what time he became a Clymer, etc...We had such a great time and it is now our Celebration Day!!





September 15, 2008: Drove to Leavenworth with Aden to visit my sister Beverly and my friend Val. Aden had a blast at a T-Rex restaurant with Aunt Beverly and playing with Val's girls Mackenzie and Bella. I was extrememly sick, otherwise I would have LOVED to hold her new baby Deacon!!

September 19, 2008: The day that changed our lives was the day we left for Alabama!! Arthur got home around noon, we loaded up the car with the help of my sisters Bridget and Uriel, then had to say 'goodbye' to my adorable niece and nephew, sisters, and brother-in-law! There were plenty of tears to go around, as life was about to drastically change for all of us!! Bridget and I have gotten very close over the past 4 years. The relationship that I'm concerned about the most is between Bridget and Aden!! Aden is so young, that it's hard to think he won't remember a lot of what happened to him in Oklahoma. Bridget will, though! She watched him daily over the past 4 years while I completed my Master's and worked 2-3 jobs at a time! Bridget made him an amazing picture book from the time he was born until the move. The pictures will be great for keeping his memories and cousins vivid in his mind!! Great job, Aunt B!



September 21, 2008: Arthur and I moved into our new 4 bedroom duplex in Fort Rucker, AL! We unpacked and arranged the house in one week! Quick and efficient! There are still some rooms that will need some work, but for now we have the house in pretty good condition. Let's just say our house was built in the 1950's and has some odd colored bathrooms:) Otherwise, it has plenty of closet space, cabinets, and good size bedrooms!




October 3, 2008: Aden's first day at his new school! He is going to a Pre-K program with an amazing teacher! She has been teaching for over 22 years and has a Master's in Childhood Education. He comes home daily with new songs and sign language that he has learned! They have a computer lab, library, music room, Spanish teacher, life-skills teacher, and overall just a pretty cool environment! I wish that you could all hear his stories about the firemen that came to visit, the different kind of spiderwebs that he can name, and the adorable songs that he learns on the school bus! That's right, a school bus! He rides the bus 9 minutes in the morning, and 11 minutes after school. Arthur and I have been very fortunate to drop him off and pick him up everyday at the bus stop, which is up the hill from our house. It's so much fun!! He wears a backpack and takes a snack everyday! He likes to write notes to his teacher and take her apples (all of these ideas come from his sweet little brain!!).


October 9, 2008: Had a Dr. visit to tell us that we are 9 1/2 weeks pregnant!! For those of you that wonder how this all happened since Arthur was gone all summer, let's just say that we basically got pregnant as soon as he came home. We were trying to plan for a baby's arrival while he is in flight school in Alabama. In good terms, he will not be deployed during this time and will be able to be there for the birth and at least a few months of the baby's growth!!


October 12, 2008: Arthur left again for 21 days with no contact. Yuck! So far, he has at least had his cell phone on him. This school is a very important and high detailed school, ummmm, did I also mention that it's out in the woods and he will most likely be eating snake, rabbit, and squirrel (if berries can't hold him over)!! He'll probably come back as thin as a rail, but with my raging hormones and incredible appetite, I'll fatten him back up in no time;)


So, Aden and I are just hanging out alone while daddy is gone again! We have been taking nature hikes, bike rides to local parks, trying out new churches, going to the library, attending about every fall festival in the area, and spending time with our good friends Julie and Terry that have also moved here from Tahlequah. Keep us in your prayers!! We love Alabama and everything has been great so far! We are definitely looking forward to daddy coming home again, and this time he should stay put for a while!!! Love and prayers to our friends and families!! Oh yeah, and if I don't call you...it's probably because I'm hoping that you will call me! Backwards, I know!

Arthur's home...er, kind of!!

Well, life has been coming at us like a sack of potatoes!! Arthur came home early on July 28th, and we had an incredible week together! Aden and I picked him up from the airport...and headed H-O-M-E! I stood back and took pictures of Arthur and Aden, but in my heart I wished that I would have jumped in his arms!! Don't worry, plenty of hugs came later!

The first night home, I made a lasagna, crescents, fruit platter with dip, and cake! I decorated the house all red/white/and blue with Aden's pictures that he had colored all over the walls, and had some family over to welcome him home. The rest of the week included a lot of laziness! We went to the river one day, tried camping in the backyard during the 100 degree weather stint (and by 'tried' I mean we went inside to sleep in the air conditioning at about 1am!), barbequed hamburgers, and had a date night in Tulsa where we watched The Dark Night in the imax!! It was so great to have him home and spend husband/wife time together!!

On August 3rd, he left early to report at his next assignment in Fort Sill, which is only 4 hours away. Soooo, this means he can come home on the weekends and we can visit with family! Last weekend I made his favorite, upside down pizza, and we rented some movies. He's on a pretty tight schedule with the ARMY, so he has to come and go rather quickly. Just enough time for me to feed him and do his laundry:)!! We have some pretty important dates coming up, so please pray for us as we go through this journey together!! Arthur is going through some more training and I'm preparing the house for our first move! He gets home on Sept 19th and we start driving on the 20th!! Oh...and Aden is turning 5 next Saturday! Can you believe it!? Arthur and I plan on getting him a super duper bicycle for his birthday, but shhhh...don't tell:)

Arthur N Me in Washington!

Well, the Lord truly worked out details to go on the trip to visit Arthur! The airplane, the car rental, the hotels, and the entire adventure!! I got there about noon on Friday. Arthur kept calling and sending texts to see if I was getting closer...very cute, because it showed me his excitement! We toured the post and met all of his coworkers while we waited for a meeting that afternoon. After that, we went back to the hotel and literally slept from 4:30-11:15 pm!! We were exhausted!









We enjoyed our time driving down different exits and following signs to harbors. One day, we ate brunch overlooking a harbor filled with sailboats, yachts, and kayaks! We also went to Pike's Market Place where they throw the fish the customers had bought. Quite a show! We walked down to the pier and Arthur had a seagull eating right out of his hand!

We also visited the Museum of Flight, the Seattle Space Needle, took a 3 hour whale watching boat tour, and drove to Snoqualmie Falls (where we ate at a restaurant on top of a 185 foot waterfall!). There were also 3 days that we stayed in the hotel room and spent time together! One of our favorite things to do together is order pizza and watch a movie-so we did:)

Arthur looked amazing in his Army uniform, and I am very proud of what he is doing! He has been working incredibly hard (3:30 am to 10:30 pm) for almost 2 months straight!! Just seeing him in his uniform with a beret, and watching cadets stand at attention and call him 'sir' was just amazing! I have so much respect for him and what he does, especially after seeing it first hand! He is living in less than a bad-dorm-room type conditions, not being compensated enough for dedicating his life to his country, putting in an 80 hour work week in 2 1/2 days, and he has to be separated from his family right after experiencing the excitement of getting married! It's hard to find a quiet moment to talk like a husband and wife on the phone, unless he sits outside and gets eaten alive by mosquitoes!! So, all in all, it was a great trip...but we are ready to have ARTHUR COME HOME!!! I pick him up from the airport July 29th at 12:05 a.m.!!

Leaving on a jet plane

My prayers have been answered! The plane ticket has been bought, now we are just finalizing car rentals and hotels. Kind of a fast track to Seattle, but the Lord's hand has been in the midst of things. I had a garage sale last weekend and cleaned out our house, to raise money for the trip:) I needed to do it before we moved, so what better timing!?

We had a wonderfuly July 4th! I'll have to post pics later. We spend the morning at the house, the afternoon at the lake, the evening at church for BBQ and fireworks, and then talked to daddy on the phone when we came home. He was out in the woods (I know, still playing soldier), so I took a great pic of a firework and sent it to him. He said that's the only one that he saw. By the way (BIG PRAYER REQUEST), I had told Arthur that I would like to buy fireworks so that Aden and him could shoot them off when he comes home in a couple of weeks. Well, I waited 1 day too late and am unable to buy them from those road side stands. If anyone knows where I can get my late little hands on them, it would be much appreciated!!

Well, goodbye for now! I hope to have great stories and pictures to share when I get home from seeing my HUSBAND!!

Slowly, but surely!

Well, Aden and I are getting through this summer slowly, but surely. Every day seems like a week, and every week seems like a month. All of this Army business needed to wait until we had a year long honeymoon:) Like that would ever happen! So, we're making the best of it! Now that the weather has become HOT, we have been going to the pool and river quite a bit. Aden stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Clymer's house while Bridget was in Dallas and I was working full time! It would be SO great not to work, and be able to spend all of that time with Aden...but somebody's gotta pay the bills while Arthur is off playing in the woods!!

That's a joke, by the way! He works 18-20 hour days, talks to me on the phone in the middle of the night, and gets up at 3:30 am every morning! YUCK! He has been patient and gracious through it all, knowing that it will eventually end! He left today for a 10 day trip into the great woods of Washington, so we most likely won't hear much from him until he gets back. Last year, he told me about the terradactile size mosquitos, swarms of hornets that chased them, and ant hills that were as tall as he is!! Ewww...

Well, please continue praying for Aden and I as we are missing 'husband' and 'daddy' so much! Every time the phone rings, he says, "Is that my daddy?". "No, baby". Then he just hangs his head in disappointment:(. There is a shaky possibility that I will fly out to see Arthur July 10-15, but please keep me in your prayers as I am searching to find a plane ticket! It would be AMAZING to visit him in the middle of this mess, and it would probably comfort both of our hearts as newlyweds more than you will ever know!!