And the tiebreaker is...

Another girl!!!!

As of March 16, we have 5 nieces and 4 nephews.

Mackenzie Ellen was born Monday afternoon at 1:45 p.m. weighing 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches long. More pictures to come...

Six years later...

Six years ago today, January 31, 2003 - Josh enlisted.   When we met in 2004 -  4 years and 10 months ago, it seemed so far off.  Of course, I never would have thought the night we met that I would be celebrating his last "official" day of his enlistment!  It is somewhat over.  Josh cannot be released until the "stop-loss" is lifted.  Even once that is done, it will be approximately 90 days, so we have a few more months of things to do (reintegration weekends, in particular), but the end is very near.  Beginning tomorrow he will technically begin his independent ready reserve commitment, which will end on January 31, 2011.  Josh is protected for some time from being re-deployed or called up for duty, and we cross our fingers that it will never be a remote issue for us.  

This is where we really celebrate the trip to Hawaii.  He was supposed to receive that surprise tonight, but I couldn't wait.  Many people have asked and the trip is scheduled for August 2009!  It is part of my month off from work; instead of July this year, I will be gone part of July and August.  We can't wait and look forward to being in paradise for 11 days.   A great celebration to look forward to in the months ahead.

Our celebration seems a little less important after learning of some extremely saddening events our friends and family have endured in the last 36 hours.   To all of the people who prayed for us in the past year, we ask you to say an extra prayer for the Brown and Sheppard families.    They need some extra support and strength in days and months ahead.  

Settling In

Josh and I have enjoyed our time together since I posted last. We have enjoyed lazy days, doing some light work, shoveling snow, cleaning the house, watching tv (downstairs, of course!), visiting family and friends, meeting with school, grocery shopping, visiting the Veterans Services office, visting the town office with the DD214, and sleeping!

Josh's deployment officially began a year ago today! Worse case scenario, we were expecting him today, but enjoy the fact that he has been home for three weeks already!

Josh will be returning to school on January 26, being in the classroom for 1/2 days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He will be in the room full-time on Thursday and Friday. The whole week the substitute teacher will be in the room all day. On February 2, a teacher work day, Josh will return to his room as the full-time teacher and prepare for his first day with the students on February 3. He looks forward to returning and has been working on several items in preparation for his return. He wrote a very lengthy letter to the parents explaining the transition and introducing himself to the parents. He is also putting together a book a different pictures from Afghanistan to share with the 1st graders (his kindergarteners last year) and other students in the school. He will be visiting with the 1st graders and his classroom on Friday, January 23.

We celebrated the Contri Christmas last Sunday and had an opportunity to snap a picture with the nieces and nephews from the Contri side of the family in front of the Welcome Home sign.

From left to right: TJ (in bouncy seat), Uncle Josh with Cassie, Dominc with Franny, Jonathan, Hailey, and Ella (in bouncy seat).

Last year when we celebrated Christmas, Josh plugged in the red, white and blue tribute of lights. This year, he "ceremoniously" unplugged the lights with one quick yank of the cord!

(Uncle Josh with Jonathan)

Here a few shots of the kids...

Franny with her new set of Doh...

Hailey...

Dom with a big grin and Jonathan with some crazy curls (I love it!)...

This was a recent picture from the Pisciotti's blog... TJ and Ella after bathtime (3 1/2 months old)!

We are looking forward to wrapping up our post-deployment checklist in the coming week and returning to a routine with both of us back at work and life after the deployment. Countdown to Hawaii... 6 months and 17 days!

Check back soon for a Question and Answer post!