Abby's First Birthday!!!

I can't believe what a year this has been. I mean I never would have dreamed so much could have happened in such a short span. When I think about it, it blows my mind that all of this has happened in Abby's lifespan! Her whole life has been as crazy as my one year!

The first half of the deployment!

Well, we're over halfway now! It's all downhill from here! With the holidays coming up and us going to Arizona for 3 weeks, I'm hoping it just flies by! Here are some pictures of randomness throughout the first 2 months!

Just killing time!

1. Where did you meet your husband? His sophomore year and my junior year of high school. We had actually been in the same Arts and Humanities class most of the semester and had never noticed each other (He says he noticed me) until the last 3 weeks! Our dance teacher paired us as partners, and we've been together ever since!



2. How long did you date before you got married? About 3 years!


3. How long have you been married? 5 years :)


4. What does he do that surprises you? He can't keep a secret from me very well, so not much! LOL! He did get me tickets to see my mom last Christmas, because he knew how homesick I was!


5. What is your favorite feature of his? His eyes

6. What is his best quality? He's just hilarious! I love his sense of humor!


7. Does he have a nickname for you? Not really actually?

8. What is his favorite food? Steak!

9. What is his favorite sport? Football 110%!

10. When and where did you first kiss? On our first real date on the way home! In the back of his friend's car!

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Watching movies or going on road trips!


12. Do you have any children? 2 wonderfully crazy girls! Katie Beth and Abby


13. Does he have any hidden talents? He's a business genius!!! I really think he knows more than he puts out!

14. How old is he? 23 :o)


15. Who said 'I love you' first? He did! I was too shy to make the first move!

16. What is his favorite music? It depends on his moods....just like me!

17. What do you admire most about him? He's always trying to help people and will do whatever it takes to get what needs to be done, done. Even if it means working all night! He loves his family and friends and will give you the shirt off his back.


18. What is his favorite color? Blue


19. Will he read this? Nope probably not unless he gets bored!


20. Who do you tag? Whoever reads this that wants to do it! Maybe Shelly?

Updates and such!

This has been seriously the most exciting and fast paced year I think we have ever had! With the move, Abby Grace coming, Honor Guard and the deployment it's just been nuts....not to mention potty training which is a whooooole other craziness in itself. I'm so grateful that we are where we are and I know there was a reason behind it all. This time last year I was so miserable and couldn't figure out why we would be sent here. It's pretty safe to say I hated it here. I cried everyday for "home" (being San Angelo) and the people that I left behind. Shoot and the people that left me behind! LOL!!!

I think we are finally getting into a routine here with our ward and meeting some friends. It took almost a year and a half, but we're there. The whole situation that happened when Abby was born really changed my outlook on a lot of things. I realized that you need to be happy in the moment, because you never know when someone you love might be taken from you or when you might be taken from them! Chris being gone has really shown me that I can handle much more than I thought I could. Sicknesses from all sides, Abby learning new things, and new schedules with Katie Beth being in school and Dance are just some of the things that have kept me busy. I'm so grateful (and I don't normally get all churchy, so yeah) that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me so much, that I know he will take care of me no matter what. Everything that happens is for a reason and knowing this has given me the peace I need throughout all of the craziness. If I'm feeling stressed, I know I can just stop and have a little chat with my Heavenly Father and it sort of clears the way for me. I feel better and in turn I guess I'm nicer to my kids....goodness knows I need to be! So yeah I really don't know what the point of the post was, but there you go! Hopefully I can get pictures up soon enough!

I just can't believe my little baby girl is one. I'll have to make a separate post on the MANY changes we have going on with her!

5 years!!

So today is our 5th wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long! It's wonderful though! He sent me these GORGEOUS purple orchids (when I get the memory card reader I will post them!) When he called last night to tell me goodnight on his way to work, it was already Saturday there! So now he says he can actually say he loves me more, because he's loved me 8 hours longer. Yeah he's a nerd! So our anniversary will be spend admiring my perty flowers and chowing down on leftover fried rice with my bebes! Chris'll be spending it working :o(

18 days down; 104 to go!

And we're back....

The girls and I went to Bowling Green this weekend for my cousin's wedding! It was GORGEOUS! I'm serious!!! It was just...yeah. Erin was so beautiful!!! Her dress was awesome! I was a wreck the whole night cause I was wishing Chris was there, and I know how badly he wanted to be there! Katie Beth had such a good time and I think she might have gotten a little bit of a crush on the ring bearer! LOL! He was an older guy....about 4. They danced together all night! He spun her around that dance floor like a pro! Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures here in the next week or so when I finally figure out a way to upload my pictures without the stupid cord!!! UGH! But anyway Congrats to Brian and Erin!

The drive back was nuts though! The wind was horrible (thanks Ike.) and it was throwing the Blazer all over the road! I kept my cool though and got us home safely! Go me! So yeah! We're home now! YAY! I'll have Chris' address tonight if anyone wants it, let me know!

Harmer Family Portraits 2008!

He Did It!!!!!!!

I don't have much time since I have to go back out on the great little backpack search of 2008 for Katie Beth, but I would like to introduce Staff Sergeant Select Harmer!!!! Yes!!!!! He made it his first go round!!! I'm so proud of him!! More to come!

Lots of just Stuff....

So it's been a while since I've posted! Man there's a lot going on here! Tonight we're going to the library. The USO has a program that they will record Chris reading different books and then mail them to the girls on whatever day we ask! I think he's going to do one for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Abbie's birthday, Christmas (something from the Bible and then the Night Before Christmas) and then one for Katie Beth to watch before bed. They gave us a whole hour to do it! So then next week we find out if he made Staff. That's nerve wracking! Thursday is Katie Beth's first day of school!!! Isn't that crazy?! Then I go to the doctor Friday in St. Louis. He leaves at the beginning of September, so now it's just trying to get everything together for him to leave...Yay. Oh! I almost forgot! Abbie stood up for the first time on Sunday! I'll have to take a picture of it to post!

Keeping Busy

So, I decided that while Chris is gone I'm going to try and get the Enrichment program rolling here! I figure between the girls and doing that I'll be plenty busy! At least I hope I will be. Chris comes home late Sunday night and I think we're ready for it! The girls have been on and off with the craziness this past week, but we are finally hitting our stride....right before he comes home to wreck it! LOL It'll be worth a few days of craziness to have him with us for next month! We still don't know for sure when he is leaving. I guess they like to keep that for last minute as always! A guy across the street left a week before the day they had told him he was leaving so I guess it's whenever they need you. We're hoping he'll at least be here for Katie Beth's first day of school on August 21st. I'll make sure and take pictures for everyone! She asks me everyday when school starts. I think she's a little excited! Well we don't have many plans for this week....Dinner with some friends Wednesday night, visiting teaching on Thursday, then cleaning and getting ready for him to come home over the weekend! Shelly said she wanted a picture of me! This was the closest I had! Hahaha sad...

Back to Reality!

Well we're home from our vacation :o( It was a lot of fun, but coming back means it's closer to when he has to leave....Chris left Sunday morning for 2 weeks of training at Ft. Dix in New Jersey. The poor girls miss him so much already! I don't know what they'll do with 4 or more months! Abby just looks for him around the house and calls out for him, and Katie Beth asks for him first thing when she wakes up in the morning. He's gotten to call and talk to them already a bunch so that's been good for all of us! I didn't realize how much I was going to miss him either! I thought it would be cake since he was gone so much with Honor Guard, but this time is different I guess...Ugh! Anyway everyone here is great besides missing the Daddy! I'm going to try and find a sitter for the girls so I can get some errands done and doctor's appointments taken care of. There's a dinner tomorrow with some of the girls from the ward that I really want to go to, but of course I can't find a sitter! Story of my life huh? Who knows maybe something will pop up! I just want to get to know some of these women finally! I feel like I know maybe 2 people from the ward! It's a different feeling from where I came from! Well time for dishes and dinner! I'll try and add a slideshow of the trip later tonight after they are in bed!

Life has been INSANE!!!!!

Just wanted to do a quick update!! We've been in Arizona and California the past two weeks! We didn't get to see everything we wanted to, but there's always next time right? We've just been enjoying the little time we have left to spend together as a family before Chris has to leave. We go back to St. Louis tomorrow and Chris leaves for 2 weeks of training in New Jersey early on Sunday. Just getting myself prepared for the long road ahead! It's amazing all of the junk we have to get done before he leaves! I never thought there would be that much! Oh well I better get back to packing for the long flight home! I'm not ready to go, just because it means we are that much closer to when Chris leaves. :o( I'll be updating a lot more in the next 2 weeks!

I always knew this day would come....

So why am I still nauseous the next day? It hasn't really sunk in for me yet, but yesterday we found out Chris will be going to Iraq for 4-6 months leaving in September....It's a surreal feeling that I can't describe....Oh well I know I'll be okay and all I just worry about him. Katie will be in Preschool (hopefully) so I'll most likely be staying here. It just stinks more for the timing of when he's going! He'll be missing our 5th wedding anniversary, Halloween(Abby's 1st),Abby's 1st birthday,Thanksgiving, Christmas, Our 8th dating anniversary (yes it's dorky), and New Years! Ugh Just cruddy timing! Oh well I'll update as much as I can! We're all doing great here though! The girls are doing great! Abby is getting her two bottom teeth so that has been fun! More to come!

Miss Abigail Grace at 6 months

Katie Beth's 3rd Birthday Party!

So Katie Beth's birthday party was last weekend! She had a blast! I can't believe she's 3....It's so weird. She of course had her Princess party and had some little friends over... Here are a few pictures from that day!

I know I've been a stranger....

Hey everyone! Things are still crazy for us here (surprise of surprises.) Today is our big day for Chris! He tests for promotion today!!! Eeep. He's studied for the past 3 weeks straight on top of work and homework! (For the record I am SO glad that I never have to take Managerial Economics.) So we have been consumed with that! Ugh! Thank goodness we'll have a weekend of nothing before the next two classes start! We are going to have to fly to Arizona now with gas being so crazy. It was a bummer for us not to be able to go back to San Angelo, but we will sometime hopefully! I think we might be trying to take a trip to Nauvoo this summer and we need to make a trip to Milwaukee too! I hope it all goes well! I FINALLY got to go to Church Sunday! YAY! Our meetinghouse is like 30 minutes away though! We were a little late (my poor time management) but got there right before it started! Go me! Abby's ear is doing much better and she is starting to respond to more sound! Both girls have appointments Monday so we'll be checking up on her hearing then! Nothing new is going on with me! Same old boring! I'm trying to teach myself to sew...not very well.... I made our friend a blanket for her baby shower and it actually turned out okay....not the best....many crooked lines....LOL I was proud of myself! I'm going to try a few more blankets for the girls and then maybe if I get brave I'll attempt a dress or something!

Busy Busy craziness!!!

Things just can't seem to settle down here! GAH! Chris found out last week that instead of testing for his promotion in June like he was thinking, he tests May 6th. That's right a whole MONTH early! Blah. SO that means no family time for us! LOL He's holed up in the man room pretty much from when he comes home til bed time, stopping for dinner, bedtime for Katie and then finally when he comes to bed! No fun for him! At least he decided to only take one class this 6 weeks, because I really think his head might have just exploded if he has to add another class to the mix! We went to Bowling Green this weekend...It was a nice little break. We didn't do much at all, but we got to go out for 30 minutes without kids!!! It was weird. We didn't know what to do with ourselves! Haha! How sad.... We're trying to make plans to go back later in May or so and we're going again in June for Mandy's wedding!

July can't come soon enough for me though! We're going to see my parents in Arizona!!!! I'm so stinkin' excited!!! I loved being there in January, but that was January....July is going to be a WHOLE different story I think! I'm more excited to be going with Chris this time and taking him sightseeing (yes I already have had him agree to go on a date with me to the Mesa Temple to go walking around. That was happy day for me!) So I'm excited and I think we might take a weekend trip to San Diego and MAYBE even Disney for Katie! It'll be so much fun (I hope) and now it's a matter of are we driving or flying! Driving in the Blazer adds at least 4 days on either end, but we can go visit San Angelo which we have been really homesick for (never thought I would utter those words.) On the other hand flying gives us more time in Arizona and not having to put the miles on the Blazer! Blah decisions, decisions! Well I think the kids are quiet for now so it's off to clean the house! We're having a baby shower here for one of my friends and the house is SO not ready for people! YAY!

Harmer Family Update

Things have just been insane here with us since we moved into the new house. Sicknesses and just all around fun for us! I figured I would update each person on their own!

Abby: She is a ball of energy now! It's amazing how different she is than Katie at this age! She's really mellow and just likes to take everything in. Not a fan of the tummy time though! LOL! She always wants to be held and loved on and is always smiling! We started solids about a month ago to see if it would help with the reflux. No luck yet, but you never know. She rolls now, but not often. I think she might be teething since she is CONSTANTLY drooling and chewing!

Katie Beth: Now this little girl is 2 going on 22! I swear she thinks she is an adult! She's turning 3 next month and I can hardly believe it! It's just so weird for me to comprehend! LOL! We are STILL working on potty training. I swear it feels like 2 steps forward and 3 back sometimes with it! We're going to try and get her going at the base preschool next school year and also in a dance class to get some of that energy out. We're at the why? stage and it's driving me a little nuts at times! She's talking all the time and loves helping with her little sister!

Chris: He is a busy, busy man! Now that he is off of Honor Guard I think he is BUSIER! Ugh! He's going to school full time and working full time! Right now he is taking a class called Managerial Econ and I really think the book is in some foreign language! He's testing for Staff next month so he also has to study for that! He's volunteering his tail off and also is going to try and run in the Air Force Marathon in September! Plus his normal duties at the clinic he's one busy guy!

Shelley: I'm pretty much still doing the same old. I'm going to be a Phoenix Spouse for the clinic, that pretty much is a person who welcomes newcomers, checks on spouses of deployed members and is the liason for the spouses at the clinic! I think it'll be interesting and help keep me busy! Still haven't had the chance to go to the new ward with the sicknesses we have been having, but hope to go soon! I'm planning to go to school in the fall and I think I'm going to major in Political Science. That's still up in the air! Hopefully it works out!

Well I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but as I think of it I'll post! Hopefully when the wireless gets hooked up I'll post some recent pictures of the girls and stuff!

Logan Tyler Hale

So my best friend Shelly (yes I know) had her baby Saturday. She is in Maryland now at Fort Meade, but we try to talk at least once a week. Little man was a whole week late! He was just too comfy I guess. I just watched a video on the family page and it was just beautiful. I'm not a crier and I was in tears. Maybe cause I wanted to be there so badly. Plus Tyler makes super cool awesome movies on his little mac. Hopefully sometime this summer I can make it out there to see him. He's just beautiful. I can't get over it! I love that little guy already!

Putting off packing....

I'm needing to pack so I thought I would do this instead! LOL! Thanks Evelyn!

10 years ago I was..........

about to turn 14. . . my mom had just been in a really horrible car accident and was in the ICU. It wasn't really fun times then! My best friend lived next door to me and I was starting High School.

5 Thing on my to-do list today
1. Do more laundry
2. pack the toys and books from Katie's room
3. shower
4. pick up the keys to the new house! (YAY!)
5. pack up more junk!


Things I would do if I were suddenly a Billionaire:
pay off all of our debt, get new cars, buy land and a house somewhere, start the kids' college funds with extra for more kids, invest, buy stupid things for ourselves, family and friends!

3 of my bad habits
1. procrastinating - i'm doing it right now! :)
2. playing on the computer instead of playing w/ Katie. . . i know, bad mommy. . . :( ( me too Ev)
3. procrastinating! (It's so bad I had to put it twice)

Jobs I've had...
Physical Therapy tech
Managing a consignment store
Marketing Assistant for the Air Force
Mama

5 Thing people don't know about me...
1. i am OCD about stupid things....Like how Abby's bottles have to be washed in order and the dishes in the dishwasher all have to be the same way.
2. i am addicted to Snyders Pretzel Dips.
3. I don't drink water unless it's absolutely necessary.
4. I have no sense of crafty-ness. If someone tells me how to do something I can rock it out, but I cannot come up with stuff on my own! How sad....
5. i'm VERY into Politics and just in the last 4 years have totally changed my views and am very republican and conservative!

New house!!!

Here's a picture of the new house I took from my cell phone! I tried to fit as much as I could! I'm going to take more pictures on my regular camera when we get the keys Thursday and as we are moving in! I'm also going to take pictures of the old house so you all can see the difference! YAY! Less than a week!

A really BUSY weekend!!

So we have just had the craziest 4 days we have had in a while! I figure I'd break em up into each day since there is a bunch!

Friday

Friday was the last day of Honor Guard for Chris! YAY!!!! He had his last colors detail (the flags) that afternoon at the club so we knew he would be home! That sent our plan into motion! Danielle and I decided that we wanted to throw him a little party. We made pulled pork, hush puppies, potato salad, baked beans, a red velvet cake, a cheeseball, and pigs in a blanket! We decorated the house with white and blue streamers and red balloons. I also made little pictures of the girls hands and Abby's feet with little sayings like Welcome Home (for good) and We missed you, and We (heart) Daddy! It was great! We sprayed him with Silly string (so messy) when he walked in the door and he was so surprised!! We had the greatest time and it was the first time in a long time I have cooked everything from scratch!!

Saturday

We helped our friends Zach and Danielle move out of their apartment into base housing! It was a tiring, busy day for everyone! The girls just sort of hung around and Katie tried to help as much as an almost 3 (weird to say) year old can help! She pretty much was just under-foot the whole time, but it was cute to see her try. We got them all moved in and had fun afterwards just putting stuff together and eating pizza. We were worn out at the end of the day, and it made us want to move on base that much more being in the neighborhood and seeing the house!

Sunday

Chris decides we should at least just try to ask our landlords if they will let us break our lease. They don't call back til 8 that night and after some negotiating they say yes if we can meet all of the demands they ask! YAY!!! The apartment we are in now is really nice, but way too small for 4 people, especially when one is as active as Katie! We have no backyard for her to play in, no front yard either, just a parking lot, and all of our things are just cramped in the house and in a storage building! So we just have to wait until Monday so we can talk to the base housing office and see if anything is open! We took dinner to our friends that just moved so they didn't have to cook!

Monday

Chris calls the housing office to see if it will work out. They were running a special that would help us with the move a lot. It ended Friday. I was so sad to hear that, and we ask if they can just make a little exception since it was just 2 days! The girl says she will talk to the manager and see what she can do! The funny thing is she remembered us from when I was calling them when we were in Texas still!! So two horribly slow hours later she calls back and says we have a deal!!!!! Meet her at 1:30 to look at the house and to sign a lease if it is what we want! I was so happy I was crying.....I feel bad because this place is nice, but it is just so small and I am so tired of having to drive just so Katie can play outside. Our new house is 4 bedrooms and is just great! We are right by a playground in a cul-de-sac. The neighborhood is so great with sidewalks and all! No interstate roaring by anymore! We do have to switch wards which sort of stinks, since I just got a calling 2 weeks ago and I really like the people we have met. The new ward is actually a longer drive to the meetinghouse, but we have a couple of people we already know there and I'm just so excited about the whole thing! We have a backyard and it's bigger than 5x7 and no sand spurs!!! Bonus!!! Hopefully we'll have some pictures soon!

So that was the crazy weekend!!!! We have to move in by the 14th so we will be SO busy this next few weeks!!! I'll try and keep everyone updated!

Thank Goodness!!!!

Oh goodness, after the two weeks of horrible sickness we have had here, I think we have FINALLY turned the corner! Abby went today for the first time without Tylenol and no fever! It was great! She actually smiled at me a few times! I wanted to cry I was so happy! It was definitely a scary few days there! Chris is supposed to come home tomorrow. I'm so happy! I hope he gets to stay for longer than 6 hours this time! We got a weird ice/snow storm thing. There's like an inch or two of ice on my car and then it snowed a bit and covered the ground! It looks like it should be soft powdery snow, but when you step on it if you aren't careful, your legs would go out from under you!! Scary business....I miss Texas and the nice month of winter, then we are done thing! Did I really say I wanted to move where there was snow? What was I thinking??? Spring come soon!!!

Here's a picture of Abby from when we were in Phoenix! I forgot the cord from my camera there so I can't dump the pictures that are on there and I have some really pretty pictures of Katie and I at the Mesa Temple that I need to have my mom email me too! Hopefully those will be up soon!

A little update!

So I thought I would start us a little family blog! A good way for us to keep in touch as we move around the country! Many exciting things have happened along the way! As many of you know our little blessing, Abby Grace, was welcomed to the family on November 10th 2007! She has been such a great addition to the family and Katie Beth just loves her little sister to pieces! (Which was SUCH a relief to us!) We also had to leave our wonderful friends in San Angelo when we got our orders to Scott AFB in Illinois. It has been a hard transition for us all! Katie really misses her friends back in Texas and so do we! Chris has been on Honor Guard for the past six months, but his contract is ending at the end of the month! YAY for Shelley! Haha! I've been pretty much holding things down around here while he has been gone. Going from one girl to two has been pretty crazy, but I've gotten the hang of it! Needless to say, not without some crazy days.....well crazy weeks!

We started going to our new ward a few weeks ago. It's been okay so far (two weeks is hard to tell LOL) I just got a calling to be on the Enrichment Committee again (YAY!) and it's tons of fun! We're starting up some weekly activities for the sisters, and just getting it all going! I'm pretty much using all of Kym and Kari's ideas from back in San Angelo! I am loving getting involved again and just having something to do!

Chris is doing his thing with Honor Guard. He really loves doing it, but hates being away so much! He's back in school now and only has a year left before he has his bachelors! YAY! Then it's on to his MBA. That will be fun times! He's pretty much set on commissioning. He's not too into Dental anymore and wants to start looking forward! He's a busy guy, but always tries to make time for us!

Katie is LOVING being back in Nursery again. She feels like such a big girl! I can't believe she's going to be 3 in May! She's not supposed to be getting older!!! She's very active! I feel bad since it's been so cold here (yeah....huge shocker) that we can't play outside! Spring will come soon enough! She's ready and raring to start school. She's a little bummed it will be a year or two though. She wants to go NOW! She's doing great on her letters and numbers! We're going to start trying reading soon! EEP!!! We are also working on the whole potty training deal....yeah tons-o-fun! She's been doing great though! We have been trying it since about December and she is starting to get the hang of it!

Abby is doing great! She's a strong little one! She's going to be my thinker. She just looks around and takes everything in! Really sensitive to what is going on around her! We've all been sick this week and it hit her pretty hard. We have been in the ER already once with her breathing problems and a horrible cough. Poor Bitty, it just racks her whole body when she coughs! It's really sad! She seems to have turned a corner though! Her fever has broken I think and she's only had a few really bad coughing fits today! YAY! Well she is finally asleep and will be up in 4 hours so I need some sleep!