Colorado Cashens

...and attacked all day by our four little pigs! Tim got home last night! After 5 days in the airport waiting to get on a flight, Tim arrived from Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq!!! Wow. That's a lot of travel. He's doing so well though! You'd never know he was going through any jet lag! Made it through the day with hardly a nap! They kids were at his side all day and Tom hardly napped as he thought Daddy would leave before he got up! "Best friends"? He asked Tim as they colored today. "Yes, Best Friends." Daddy answered. We had Christmas with Tim today. His only request was our rockin sweet potato casserole which is more like a dessert than a side dish. We celebrated by opening presents and playing all day and then had dinner here with my parents and my little sister. It is marvelous to have him home. AAhhh...a sigh of relief and a content and happy heart thanking God for his safe return.

I often think..."What is the purpose of family?" Then I am drawn to different parallels that are made: Mary as a new mother -accepting the gift of a healthy newborn when Jesus came to earth as a baby. (Matthew 1-3) God giving up His only Son to die in our place. (I Corinthians 15:4) And the thought with me right now...Jesus as the bridegroom returning to accept the bride (the church). You won't know the day or the hour...we are told. And so another parallel here. Tim comes home for Christmas. But we don't know the day or the hour. We are told to prepare our hearts for Christ's return and I'm drawn to that over and over again as I clean the house to get ready for my husband...make his favorite foods and prepare my own heart to see him again. How God wants me to do that for Him. How gracious He is to give us physical examples of what He desires to see in us. We will be caught up with Him in the blink of an eye...I keep thinking I'll turn arou...

Tim called very excited about his trip home the other day. He should be on a plane soon to head back to us! Hooray! I can't believe it! I'm so excited that the waiting is killing me! I'm trying to surprise the kids, but I don't know how good I'm doing. No one seems to know yet! So if you see them...don't say anything yet! Kate glued a red circle to her nose today...she was pretending she was Rudolph and she and Tom and Chris ran around the house with antlers on their heads. Ben just takes it all in with big eyes and an open mouth. So, next time I post...Tim should be back!!!

Wow now that last post was on the down swing. Anyone who read that would just want to stop reading altogether! Yikes! Guess I should delete that one, huh? Oh well...it was real. Today not so bad. Pretty good actually. We did our school work, made cookies for teachers, went for a toddle down the street with Ben and Tom, and watched Christmas movies while Tom turned the Christmas tree lights on and off over and over again. Ben sat staring at him with his mouth gaping open. Who am I kidding...I've got it good. These little guys are awesome...

Have you ever had someone yelling in your ear for hours at a time...really in your ear? Take that...and a toddler pooping on your floor...then add a little beautiful girl asking you to play and a boy who really needs a man watching you respond to it all. That is my life for the last almost 5 months. Can you say, "deployment"? No. I didn't think so. It really is hard. Anyone who doesn't think so hasn't been through it. It is in every way a hard day....every single one.

Yesterday was Sunday. We take Sundays off most of the time. I try not to do much housework and we don't school those days. We go to church and then come home and play. We'd had lunch, Chris had already played his allowed screen time on the Wii. He and Kate were starting to pick at each other so I looked outside...thankful for a sunbreak from our nearly constant rain, I sent them out. They were not happy about it. "Go play. I don't care what you do. Watch for cars, and don't go home with a stranger." So they grabbed their bikes. Kate didn't want to...she's been on training wheels and trying to get off them for about 6 months now. So Chris decided to help her find her balance. I decided to play the piano while the little ones napped and when I looked out the window, I saw Chris yelling, "Good job Kate! Let's go tell Mom!" She was peddling! Hooray! I ran out with the camera. So here it is! Yeah Kate!!!

Of course Halloween was filled with fun...we begged for candy around our neighborhood and aside from a ding dong ditch that ended with the hose, it was quite elementary. When you're a parent, that is the goal isn't it? Chris was Darth Vader...anyone who knows Chris knows that he loves Star Wars. Kate was a bride. Nana altered a friends' dress to fit an 8 yr old and Kate wore it with sheer delight. Tom the helper was Bob the builder with a tool belt to fix any problem. Little Ben slept in the stroller, contented and warm as a snuggly Tiger. It's the Cashen tradition, thanks to Roxanne who gave us the costume at Chris' baby shower! So we ventured out happy to retrieve a bucket of sugary snacks destined to be consumed after every salad gulped down by a child with their nose plugged enduring nutrition to enjoy their sweet goodness.

Our fall has been gorgeous. The warm air and gentle breezes ushered in torential downpour last weekend and Chris had his first induction to hard core sports. He played several soccer games in VERY wet weather. I was so proud! All the guys on his team were aching to prove their stuff by playing in rough conditions so they were strutting too. We continue to hear from Tim every several days. The weekends are usually hard to talk so we get to talk to him pretty regularly on Mon/Tues/Weds. We can't call him, so we wait for his call...or rather continue with our lives hoping he'll call from day to day. This past week, he phoned and gave us the news that he may be coming home in December! WHAT? His Colonel said that the rear detachment commander for thier Battalion is overwhelmed and needs help processing all the work at Ft Lewis. He asked Tim if he'd like to join in the forces down there en lieu of his current position in Iraq. He called me early one morning to ask me what my tho...

Deployment has been fine. We miss Tim like crazy. We are happy to have family here, and are in the haven of Seattle and all it's conveniences....so we decided to give in a bit. We were so tired of feeling alone at night, that we decided to get the big ass TV. Edit as you read to children . I sold our leather living room couches on CL and together the kids and I went shopping! We decided to reclaim our living room. Who really lives in it anyway? SPIDERS? So we headed to Costco, the haven of big screen TVs and snack foods. After a year of no cable...really...we were enjoying snow on our 10 yr old TV...we bought the mother of plasmas! Oh how Tim would LOVE it! The Movie Watcher of all movie watchers! He was proud...I could hear it in his voice as he listened to us recap our purchase. He was like, "Lady, what are you smoking?!", in a cool very happy way. Needless to say, he's looking fwd to joining us for Christmas and then we'll watch cable together. Ahhh family tim...

Tim is doing well...as good as can be given location and circumstances. That is a huge blessing for all of us. If he's going to be far away, we want him to enjoy his work. His mission is unique and he's really encouraged by the direction that it is going. Can I be more vague? Hmmm I don't think so. But I could be writing that he's miserable and cold. Life is hard every day and his life is endangered every minute. That is not the case. We are in the hands of a mighty God and He gives us evidence of His presence in small and great ways. At home we continue to school. We bought rockin curriculum this year and we're really enjoying doing it together! Tim has been going to a Bible study on Wednesdays. They started their study in Genesis and we have started there this year for History and our Bible lessons. So it's good to compare notes! We also joined a co-op in Maple Valley that is closer to our home and fits our family really well. The kids look fwd to going each w...

So Tim has finally arrived in Iraq! After nearly 3 weeks of acclimation in Kuwait, he has finally touched down and is getting things in order for his time there. Prayers for patience and strength would be so appreciated. He is the supplies officer and is getting the kinks ironed out before the rest of the Battalion arrives, so he's really busy right now. Meanwhile, we continue to hold down the Fort at home. Chris lost a tooth, Tommy is potty training, Kate moved into her own room and Ben can grab his toys ...all in the three weeks that have passed! Tommy and his convoy of vehicles encouraging him on the job! We can't wait to post pics of Tim when we get some!

Well Tim headed out on Friday. All went well as the soldiers lined up to get on the bus. Tim and I were teary as we parted, but the kids were quite distracted by the climbing rope that was just adjacent to the basketball court where we stood. They thought it was a rope swing and forgot all about the reason why we were there! Such innocence. We both appreciated it and I continue to appreciate how God gives us the ability to move on and be absorbed by what is going on in the present as we step forward into this year sans Tim....and hooray for technology! We look fwd to a call from him and using webcam soon. He should have landed already...just looking for a phone to use. :)

Well, we're on the count down until Tim leaves. He heads out on Friday though we're uncertain of the time as of yet. He had two weeks of block leave and we spent it with his parents and siblings in Orlando, FL. It was relaxing to get out of the normal routine of work. We ran around theme parks for 5 days! Woo hoo! Can one have too much Disney? It rained like crazy and was super hot. Ben was nursed and changed all over Disneyworld, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot! I kept ducking into souvenir shops and hiding in the corner somewhere to feed him in the air conditioning. Ahhh!! We enjoyed it immensely, and also enjoyed the few days we spent swimming in the pool and playing with cousins. I find myself trying to enjoy every moment we have left with Tim. The passage in Luke 2:51 keeps coming to my mind where Mary is recorded to have "treasured all these things in her heart". I wish I could capture our days more vividly. How did she do it without a camera? (and ...