Anderson Cash has arrived!

My nephew was born on Sunday.... well not blood related but "Army Family" related. Anderson Cash Essary is his name and is he not precious?!?! I was sad that he was born while we were gone but was thankful that mommy and baby are doing well.

We just arrived home home from our trip to The Smokey Mtns and visiting my family and friends in Ga. We left Thurs morning and decided to drive all the way. We got to our house around 11:30pm Thurs. night and are pooped! I will catch up in the next few days and about our trip and my little Anderson. I just had to post Anderson's pic and announce that he arrived.

We are thankful for safe travel on our 13 hour drive and for Anderson's safe arrival as well.

kdp

Getting ready for our trip...

Well, no luck on our open house this weekend. We are discouraged but things are certainly out of our hands. Mike and Shelly had a showing today. One of us could us a break.

We are packing for our trip. I made a double batch of chex mix tonight for the journey. We are SO SUPER EXCITED. We are going somewhere that has nothing to do with the Army!!!! We have tickets for the Smokey Mountain Jubilee on Monday night. There is singing, dancing and comedy. I went many years ago with some friends and we had front row seats. The comedian picked on us and it was absolutely hilarious! I called on Thurs. to make reservations and they had just had a cancellation for front row center and we took them. It is going to be awesome! We want to do fun stuff but we also want to just stay in and enjoy the time together and the cabin and all it has to offer.

Molly is excited too. She will be going into heat any day now so we will have to keep her away from all the animals in the woods. Ha!

We are leaving sometime Sunday morning. If you are a nosey busy body (a stranger that we don’t know) that is reading our blog and thinking you might rob our house…don’t even think about it. We have a house sitter. Ha! Had to throw that in…you never know!

I’ve no idea how the cell service or internet service will be while we are in TN. So, if there is time and opportunity I will blog. If not I will catch up when we get to Tim’s house. To you GA friends and family…See you soon! Yeaaaaaa!

kdp

Friday...

Well, it’s Friday and we are having an open house today and tomorrow. This is the first time we have had one on a Friday before. At 4pm our first lookers stopped in. We are going until 6pm so maybe someone else will stop by. The man that stopped can’t buy until his property sells…maybe we should be praying for a buyer for him too!

We are leaving on Sunday for our anniversary trip and then on to GA for a short visit. Larry planned the trip and then told me about it and he could have not have done any better. We are going to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN. He has booked us a cabin that has a full kitchen, Jacuzzi tub inside and a hot tub on the back deck. I can’t wait!!!!! I love the Smokey Mountains and have been wanting to take Larry there but we never had the chance. So we are now on leave before starting his new job. I'm slowly starting to get things together for the trip. Molly is going with us and packing for her is like packing for a baby. I got her bag out today and she went nuts. She knows we are going somewhere. She ran to get in her carrier and was ready to go. I tried to tell her we were not leaving until Sunday but she insisted in going in and out of her carrier. Anyway, we will leave here on the 19th, stop for the night and then arrive at the cabin on Monday. We leave there on Friday and will drive down to GA. We will stop in Cherokee, NC. We are not sure if we will stay the night there or head on to my brother’s house in GA. We will just have to see how the mood strikes us.

On top of the house being for sell and not having a place for at least Larry to live at Ft. Riley (nor extra money for a second house payment or rent) we are having issues with a certain female that is causing havoc. Plus last Sunday Catherine had a wreck. Neither she nor the other person was hurt and we are thankful for that. However, that causes multiple issues.

I am working on getting things together for my website but at the moment it is in a holding pattern. It’s just taking much longer than we had planned but that’s the way life goes sometimes. I want it up and running but like my Momma used to tell me, I’m old enough that my wants wont hurt me.

Well bye for now. Please pray for the buyer for our house to show up soon!!!!!

kdp

Lisa and Christy

This is a long one, better get a snack! Last Wednesday I picked up my friends Christy and Lisa at the airport in Kansas City. They flew in for training classes on new software for their office. We all worked together at NE GA Surgical Assoc. Lisa and I worked together for 10 ½ yr. and Christy and I for about 6 yr. Christy and I think of each other as sisters and we call each other “Sis”. (Big Sis and Little Sis) Lisa and I have been through a lot together. I won’t mention it on the blog but we have definitely seen each other through some really hard times. Christy too. I don’t know what I would have done without them! I am SO thankful that God brought us together and that we have continued our friendship.

Any who…They had a room at Argosy Casino and Spa. SOOOO…I stayed with them. Yep, I packed a bag, left Larry and Molly home alone and stayed with the girls. O-M-G! That place was absolutely gorgeous! Our room had a bathroom to die for! The shower was HUGE with a regular shower head on the wall and a rainfall shower head in the middle. It was of course made of tile with a mosaic design in the center of the longest wall. Also, the entire front was glass. Fabulous!!!!

Anyway, we got checked in and then went to dinner. Of course I had to style Lisa’s hair first! (Long story but if you know Lisa that would make a lot of sense) I wanted to take them to a restaurant that they don’t have in GA so we went to 54th Street Grill. It is SO good! Once our bellies were satisfied we went back to the casino. I had to teach Lisa what to do and by gosh she had beginners luck! Christy was doing terrible and I was not doing much better. Well, we were playing the penny machines and if you know anything about the slots you don’t just bet a penny. Well, sometimes Lisa would get confused and she bet $4! On one bet she got 20something bonus spins and wound up winning close to $30 on just the bonus spins. Being the picture freak that I am, I got out my camera and took a picture of Lisa while the machine was racking up her $$$. By the time I snapped a picture a security guard came over and told me that cameras were not allowed in the casino for security reasons. I poured on the southern charm, apologized by saying that it was my first time there and I had no idea. He didn’t throw us out but I felt like I was being watched the rest of the night. Barney was not rude but still it was funny…after he walked off.

Thursday Christy and I woke up to Lisa, who is the loudest person I know, saying, “Good Mornin’ It’s time to get up”. She was bright eyed and ready to go! Again, I fixed her hair! Christy finally got up and they went to their classes. I had stuff to do in the city but first I started my day off with some Reflexology at the casino spa. That was nice! Then off I went. Later in the afternoon Larry met me and we did some errands together. After the girls’ classes were finished we met back at the hotel. Lisa, Christy, Larry and I went to dinner at Lone Star. Then…we took them to Sheridans Custard for some desert. Yum yum! Of course once we got back to the hotel we went to the casino. Larry stayed for a little while and then he headed home. With very little luck, the girls and I played the slots a little longer. Lisa is early to bed and early to rise so she was ready to call it a night way before me and Christy were. Christy and I are the opposite. On our way to the room we stopped at the shoeshine stand and took turns polishing shoes.

We finally made our way back to the room. The first night I slept with Lisa and the second night I slept with Christy. Well Christy is used to her almost 3 yr old son joining her in her bed during the night. So I think that in her sleep Christy was subconsciously thinking that he was beside her. I would wake up and she would be patting me like she was making sure I was there only I think I was supposed to be Sawyer. Too funny!

Friday was their last day and we woke once again to Lisa and her bubbly personality. ..and I did Lisas hair! Christy was about to strangle Lisa and I was laughing. She told Christy over and over what time it was. They joked back and forth and it was way funny. They had class until 11 and when they finished I had all their stuff in the Mountaineer and ready to go. We had lunch together and I dropped them off at the airport. It was great to see them and sad to see them leave. I enjoyed the visit and wish they could have stayed longer. So that was my few days with the girls. Of course I can’t put ‘everything’ on the blog. I’ll just leave you wondering. Ha!

kdp

Back to Momma and Aunt Jean

I’m SO behind on blogging. Life gets in the way!

Back to my mom and aunt visiting. Last time I left off at the end of Thursday night. Friday was just a goof off day. We went to Merle Norman who should just hire my mother as their spokes person and to be the face of Merle Norman. She has used it for at least 30 years. Next we went to Whiteman Air Force Base which is about 10 miles from our house. Momma and Aunt Jean (and me too) took pictures of planes and different things on the base. For dinner we roasted a chicken on the grill and it was SO good. If anyone wants the recipe let me know.
Saturday, the children came over to see their G-Ma. They were so excited to spend the day with her and Aunt Jean. The kids talked up a storm and made us all laugh as usual.

Sunday we got us EARLY…like at the butt crack of dawn to leave and head to St. Louis. We were up at 5am and left at 6am. Momma and Aunt Jean wanted to go to the arch on their way back home which is on the way. It’s a 3 hour drive from our house and they needed to get on the road as soon as they could so that’s why we left early. St. Louis is a very hard city to get around in and there was no way we were going to let them go alone. One wrong turn and they would have been in a bad area of the city and it is easy to do there. Anyway, they followed us there and we made our way to the arch. I’ve been to the top of the arch 3 times now and have driven by in more times than I can count but every time I see it I am amazed at the magnitude of it. There are steps to go up and down on your way to the carrier that takes you to the top and I had not thought of that. Aunt Jean is recovering from a fractured pelvis and has trouble with excess stairs and walking. She did very well! If you have never been to the arch you get into this elevator cart thingy. The door opens and it is a small door that you duck into. There are 5 very small seats in there that make a semi-circle and the top is low even for short people like me. There is NO WAY you can have personal space in that thing. Once you are at the top there are windows to see out each side. It is amazing to look out over a city as large as St. Louis. We took lots of pictures, visited the gift shops and headed back to our cars. We gave lots of hugs and kisses and sent them on their way.

We enjoyed their visit more than we can say. I am blessed to have a loving Christian mother and a loving Christian aunt as role models in my life. Larry adores them too and treats them as family and not in-laws.

Momma and Aunt Jean, thank you for making that long drive to our house. We love you and are blessed to be family. Our door is always open!

Kdp & mlp

PS We are having issues with our home computer which is where the pictures are of the trip. I will ad pictures when I can access them.

Larry's Award Ceremony

When soldiers leave one duty station and goes to another they have “Award Ceremonies”. Today was Larry’s ceremony along with Mike who is also going to Ft. Riley. Also there was a retirement award for another friend, Terry. The Ops group commander, COL Blain, spoke highly of all three of the guys.

When COL Blain started, I guess you could say he was presenting us. He said to me, “I only know you as Peaches, is that what you go by? Is that what most people call you?” With chuckles from the room of folks I said, “To most of the people in this room, yes, but my name is Kim.” Everyone laughed and we continued….

COL Blain talked about the positive influences that Larry has had on the team and on all the units he has trained. Larry trains units to deploy into combat and one thing that was mentioned is that Larry has a way of teaching and training in a way that others understand. To complete his job well, communication is a must. After more positive words from Blain about the job Larry has done, I was presented with flowers and given a Thank you on behalf of the Army for “Keeping the home fires burning.” COL Blain said something that was touching; he has a mentor that tells him all the time that, “GOD has a special place in haven for Army spouses. “ I don’t know that to be true but I do feel that we should have an extra jewel in our crown. HAHA! On a funny note; I have a t-shirt that say, “Army Wife, Toughest job in the Army.” Larry says that is 100% true! Ok, lets get back on track…

Then, Larry was presented with his award and a going away gift from BCTP. The gift is a 31” X35” frame with a picture of the officer corp from 1819 taken in front of the building where Larry works now, a picture of his team, a plate with his name and years in BCTP and unit patches of all the units he has trained and/or touched in some way. It is awesome! It is a special item and overwhelming to him as he looks back at all he has been a part of while in BCTP. That brings me to his travels which are called “TDY’s”. He has been in BCTP for 4 years and in years 2-4 he traveled 601 days. So there were many more days in year 1 and he actually said that at 601…he stopped counting. Sometimes he was home for a few days, sometimes a week, sometimes 3 weeks and in a ‘few rare cases’ he was home for over a month. Yep…a whole month! Sorry, I got off track…again!

I then sat down and Larry gave his going away remarks. He began by thanking me which was very humbling for me. He told the story about the first day we spoke on the phone. He also said that marrying me was the smartest thing he had ever done. He said many more nice things about me and I am thankful that he feels the way he does about me and that he is more than comfortable telling the world his thoughts and feelings. (This is not word for word what came from him but as close as I could get!) He went on to thank those on his team. He reminded everyone to never forget about what others do to prepare the team for success. He also talked about surrounding yourself with good people. Not one person can do all and know all but by surrounding yourself with good people that have the answers that you don’t makes you successful.

His remarks were great and heartfelt. Before Larry, Mike received his award and Shelly was too presented with flowers. His remarks were great as well and he thanked Shelly for all she does.

Being an Army wife has many up’s and down’s. I am honored to be the wife of my hero, my Prince, LTC Parr, and I am proud of him and love him more than I can possible find the words to express.

After the ceremony, Shelly and I went shopping in a little town named Parkville, MO. It is such a cute town! We went in a few shops and then found a place for lunch. After that we went to a VERY HIGH class neighborhood that was having a weekend yard sale. They were putting stuff out today so we made our way through all the sales. If was funny because Shelly only had some coins and I only had $7. Lot of good that would do! Ha! Well, we managed to spend what little we had but still stopped to look around. I found something I really wanted so I went to look in every pocket of my purse and wallet and I found $10! Yeah! We were excited because I could by my item and I got 2 things that Shelly wanted…and we still had a $1 left! (and some change) THEN…I found something else at another house. So, when we met up with Larry, we hit the ATM and went to get the office chair I wanted. I got an office chair that was in great condition for $15! Great deal!

Rewind…Last night, Thursday, we spent the night at Mike and Shelly’s. They live much closer to post and since the ceremony was this morning, we crashed at their house. Mike grilled steaks and of course Shelly did all that other stuff. She made a yummy strawberry cake!!!!! They were having some water drain issues and they were calling for professional help around 10 or so last night. It was fixed and all was well but still it was stressful for mommy to be. Speaking of, only 5 weeks left before we meet wee one!

That’s enough for now since I’ve written a book! I still have to finish telling about the visit from my Mom and aunt. I will do that tomorrow but I felt that today, I needed to share my husbands success and his career. (There is only a picture of the departure gift on the blog. There are no pictures in uniform because Larry does not like pictures of him in uniform anywhere online.)

Thank you again my hero, my husband!

Hooah!