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“I like to get it all again and in the end you know you get what you got…”

January 26, 2011 in Animals, Being a military wife, Celiac, Darby, Jacob, Justice, Paige, Pregnancy by Petra | 3 comments

It dawned on my I haven’t been blogging for the last few weeks.  I guess all my internet typing time has been spent i.m.’ing with Andrew.  So… a quick update…

  • I got glutened the other day.  I haven’t had this bad of a gluten attack in a very long time.  I’m on my 3rd day of a migraine and major intestinal issues (among the other symptoms that go along with me consuming gluten).  I’m only blogging now because I finally gave in and took a Goody’s powder (it has aspirin, and I’m pregnant, so I had been avoiding it – even though it’s the only thing that’ll take any of the edge off a migraine like this… it was just too much though, so I decided to go ahead and take one today).  Hopefully tomorrow will be better…
  • My first OB appointment is at 9:00 tomorrow morning.  I’m not even sure which doctor I’m seeing.  I requested one, Tricare assigned another, and they weren’t clear who I was seeing when they called to tell me when my first appointment was.  I’ll just go to whomever they assigned, and if I don’t like them – I’ll be sure to switch.  I just hope it’s a woman!  I used to see male OB/Gyn’s, but it kind of creeps me out now, and I prefer to stick to women.  I’m also hoping for an ultrasound!
  • Andrew is alive and well on the other side of the world.  We have thankfully gotten to chat on the instant messenger pretty much every day, and have even gotten to have a few short phone calls.  Being able to communicate with him regularly helps us get through this time apart.  Continue to pray for him, please. 
  • Paige’s favorite show right now is The Backyardigans.  She copies their dance moves, and sings along with the theme song.  To ask to watch it, she will sing her version of the theme song, which sounds kind of like “yah-ah-gan” in her sweet little singing voice. 
  • Justice is halfway through his basketball season and he is doing great!  He started off his 2nd game this past Saturday with a 3-pointer.  Woo hoo!  I love watching him play!
  • I am 8 weeks, 1 day pregnant, assuming I have my due date correct, which I’m pretty sure I do.  I still have approximately one million weeks to go.  At least, that’s what it feels like.  :)   I’m still ridiculously nauseous and exhausted.  Hoping this passes with the first trimester – another month to go!  :)
  • Justice and Jarvis got all but two pieces of furniture moved out of the office/school room in the basement.  I’m hoping to feel good enough to get down there with the older kids and get some work done, eventually.  It would be SO nice to have a place for all our school stuff, a place for my bill stuff, a place to do scrapbooking and cards, etc.  I may let the older kids have at priming the walls themselves… we’ll see.  lol
  • We gave away one kitten (the orange one), and we are giving away the fluffy calico one this week.  That’ll just leave us with Chili (the mom), and Odin (the 3rd kitten).  Chili is actually in heat again so she is forbidden from going outside!  Pretty sure I’m going to work getting her fixed into the near-future budget!  ;)
  • I have so many photos to share – hoping to have the focus to be able to go through them and post them in the foreseeable future.  Stay tuned.  I’ll try to add at least one photo to this post. 
  • I’ve been watching more TV than usual since I got pregnant.  When I’m feeling awful, it helps to just zone out to senseless nonsense.  I enjoy the show Lie to Me and am nearly caught up to the current episodes.  I just started watching the first season of the Duggars, 17 and Counting, two days ago, and I’m already addicted.  I didn’t realize I would enjoy it so I never even gave it a try, but I saw it on netflix and clicked it, and ended up watching several episodes already.  I started watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent again too – I abandoned it in the middle of the 2nd season when I was pregnant with Paige and on bedrest, but it’s time to bring it back.  I don’t really love the show, but I love Vincent D’onofrio’s character. 
  • Jacob had a blast at his 5th birthday party last week!  It was his first “friend” birthday party, and he was definitely a fan.  I posted the photos on facebook already, but will try to add a few on here eventually too (so that they’re here when I print my blog into a ‘book’ for the kids).  :)
  • I’m pretty sure it’s nap time. 

Darby with her new bangs that she's so proud of

Well it’s a good day, for singing the blues…

January 7, 2011 in Andrew, Being a military wife by Petra | 3 comments

Well, my man is gone until summer.  It was a sad morning, but I came home and slept for five hours (I was just physically and emotionally drained… and also pregnant, so exhausted anyway).  Now, though I feel more rested, I’m kind of groggy and have plans of doing nothing the rest of the day.  I’m thinking Netfix might be calling my name. 

Andrew and I did not complete all of our to do list before he left.  So now I have to get my brakes fixed by myself (next payday), so that should be fun.  I know nothing about cars, so I always get taken advantage of at car repair places.  It’s a problem.  lol.  Also, we tried to get our webcams and skype set up last night on our laptops, but alas, our webcams from last deployment don’t WORK on our computers.  Apparently there are no drivers available for them past Windows XP. *sigh*  So no skype for us until we can get new webcams.  We did manage to take some family photos at the absolute last minute.  I need to go through them, but here is one of the group shots (taken in poor indoor lighting with a camera whose ISO only goes to 1600).  It’s not the best photography, but I’m so glad we took some photos before he left!  :)

This was the best of the shots with Andrew in uniform – Jarvis is surprised, apparently, and Jacob, I think, must be actually saying the word “cheese” – lol.  Paige is just wondering why we’re messing with her evening.  :)  

We definitely appreciate any and all prayers for our family over the next half a year.  We are all in God’s Hands, and He is more than capable of getting us through this time and bringing Andrew home safely.  We are ever so thankful for a strong marriage (which doesn’t mean we are without issues, but that we are relying on God through faith to get us through every trial, and that just brings us closer together with each day that passes – even if we are on opposite sides of the world), and thankful for six (now seven… or eight?) wonderfully amazing children.  :)

Home again, home again, jiggety jig…

December 28, 2010 in Andrew, Christmas, Military, Pregnancy by Petra | 8 comments

We are home after eight days in Tennessee, and it is so nice.  I do wish we had left the house immaculate, but alas, we weren’t able to (December has been incredibly busy!).  Andy and the kids got the car unloaded already, though, and the kids and I have put a lot of it away, and the laundry is going.  But it’s time to relax.  Well, and I have to take Justice to basketball practice in 30 minutes ~ no rest for the weary ~ lol.  :)

Here is a quick update, and a promise of good intentions to post more detailed updates and photos very soon…

  • Andrew leaves very soon, and won’t be back until summer.  Please pray for all of us ~ it would be much appreciated.
  • We came home to snow.  Apparently there was 6 to 8 inches while we were gone, but there is only a couple of inches out there now.  Three of the kids are outside playing in it now.  They are sad they missed it.  Hopefully they’ll get another big snow this year that they can play in! :)
  • Christmas in Tennessee was wonderful!  We saw lots of family and a couple of friends (wish we’d had time to see more!), and everyone was so hospitable and kind.  I’m so glad we went!!  There will be more details of our trip to come when I post the photos.
  • Since I wrote the first paragraph, Andrew got home from the store and is taking Justice to ball practice for me – yay! :)
  • And last but not least, for those of you who haven’t checked facebook lately ~ we are expecting #7.  Not planned, we thought we were done, but our lives are in God’s Hands, and we are open to whatever He wants for us.  I love babies and children, and honestly, I think I’ve mentioned before, that if my pregnancies were even a little bit easier, we’d probably have a dozen kids by now (on purpose).  So… just giving it all to God, and am still in a little bit of shock (lol), but it doesn’t even matter if this is the worst pregnancy yet because every child is a gift from God and we are excited.  :)   {how’s that for some run-on sentences?}

And that’s all for now…

Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow…

December 21, 2010 in Andrew, Animals, Being a military wife, Brittany, Christianity, Christmas, Darby, Food, Home & Garden, Justice, Lists, Paige by Petra | 2 comments

An update (with photos, of course)…

  • Andrew and I decided to try Carrabba’s on a date last week.  I had heard they had a gluten-free menu, but hadn’t tried it since Italian food mostly consists of wheat-filled pasta.  I figured they wouldn’t have anything good.  While their gluten-free menu isn’t extremely long, the Chicken Bryan is AWESOME.  And it didn’t make me sick at all!  Oh yum, so good.  Also, the garlic mashed potatoes are delicious.  We went there for our next date too.  But we can’t afford to go back for a while (Christmas kind of puts a dent in the ‘date’ budget – ha!).  Man oh man – I am craving it though!  :)
  • We had our Sunday School Christmas party at our house.  My friend, Karyn, and I made the invitations (which reminded me how much I miss scrapbooking!), and the party was tons of fun.  Andrew ended up missing most of it (he was stuck at work – :-P ), but he joined in on the fun game at the end. 
  • Justice started basketball practices.  His games will start towards the end of January.  He likes his coach and his team so far.  I like watching him play!
  • Darby has been loving her gymnastics classes!  I think she’d like to do them every day instead of once a week!
  • The kittens are SO adorable right now.  Here are a few photos that were taken on December 10th.  I am amazed at how much they have grown since then!!!  They are running around getting into things now.  Between 4 and 10 weeks is the CUTEST age. 



  • God has really been working in our family.  It’s exciting to see how He makes us learn and grow and how His Holy Spirit becomes more and more evident in our lives as we turn more and more over to Him.  I’m just in awe of His grace and love.  He is amazing.
  • I actually ate a piece of candy with corn syrup in it earlier today.  What is wrong with me?  That is SO unlike me.  I can actually handle very SMALL amounts of corn and chemicals, but I usually avoid them altogether.  But for some reason that york peppermint patty was just staring at me and I HAD to eat it.  It’s been a long time since I have craved a non-food item.  lol. 
  • Andrew and I have had so much fun doing all our Christmas shopping this year.  We have turned our shopping trips into dates.  We have so much fun together.  I’m so thankful for our marriage!

  • We are getting closer to Andrew’s deployment.  It hasn’t really sunk in yet that he’s leaving, but I’m sure I’ll cry when it does.  At least it isn’t a year this time!
  • Speaking of crying, I really hate crying in front of people.  If you have ever seen me cry, congratulations!  You must be special, because I will normally go WAY out of my way to NOT cry.  I have cried a couple of times in the last few days though – I am just so thrilled about some things that God is doing… it’s a little emotional sometimes. 
  • I love my family.  I love my husband. I love my kids. I love my life.  I am just so blessed. 
  • Question: Do any of you want to come to my house and do some construction/decorating work?  I have a big long list of things that need doing and not enough time/energy/money to get it all done.  I think time is the biggest hindrance to the progress.  First up: cleaning up all the dust in the basement (from the sanding) and putting the primer on the walls (I haven’t bought the colored paint yet, but I’ve got a huge tub of primer sitting down there waiting).  Any takers?  Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?  ;)
  • Paige thinks she’s a big girl because she can now eat things like cereal-with-milk or soup out of a bowl with a spoon without making a huge mess.  She’s adorable. 
  • I think I might work on one of my books tonight.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be an old lady before any of the books I’ve been working on are done, but hey – someone can read them in 50 years. 
  • I’m pretty sure I need to ask Andrew to go buy me some dark chocolate, because I’m very tempted to go eat another york peppermint patty.  The last one wasn’t even that delicious (your taste buds change when you stop eating chemicals and they no longer taste like food).  I  must just be hungry. lol
  • (while I was checking my spelling and proof-reading this post, I ate a reeses’ cup.  I figured at least it didn’t have corn syrup in it so it was a better choice than the peppermint patty.  It was so disgusting.  And now I have a chemical residue taste in my mouth.  Why did I do that ? So gross.  I need to hit Trader Joe’s and get some of their chocolate-peanut butter cups.  Those taste like real food!  And they’re delicious!)

Bye-um-pum-pum, bye-um-pum-pum, bye-um-pum-pum, bye-um…

October 25, 2010 in Andrew, Jacob, Jarvis, Marriage, Military, Paige, Photography by Petra | 3 comments

I cannot believe it has been a week and a half since my last post!  Where is the time going?  Well, the last two weeks HAVE been incredibly busy – I’m pretty much just chilling out today, and the change is kind of nice (though I do have some errands to run in a little while).  I’m pretty sure it’s time for a bulleted list – it’s the only way my brain is going to cooperate for updates.  :)

  • Jarvis has one more game in the fall soccer season (the 31st).  He’s really good and his team has had some good games and some bad games.  He’s having a blast with it, and we love watching him play!  He’ll be on the same Challenge team in the spring.  I really need to remember my camera next week!
  • Andrea and Gideon came for a week-long visit and we LOVED having them here.  They left on Saturday and Paige got all excited last night when I showed her pictures of Gideon on my computer.  She kept pointing and going “who’s that?” (which doesn’t mean she doesn’t know, it just means she wants me to say his name because she can’t say it).   The two of them were actually starting to enjoy each other’s company by the time Gideon left.  However, Jacob remains Gideon’s favorite, I think. (and these photos are much clearer on my computer – whenever I upload to my blog, even if I size them properly first, they get blurry and pixelated – what’s up with that, wordpress?!)

  • I was actually pretty horrible about taking photos while Andrea and Gideon were here.  I managed to get the above series and just a few more, but for some reason I have not been using my camera much as of late.  I’m not sure why – I love photos, I love taking photos… seems like a no brainer that I would get my camera out now and then.  Oh well.
  • I love how well Andrea and I get along.  It really does not seem like there are eleven years between us.  I totally wish we lived near one another. 

  • And how adorable is Gideon?!?!  He is just the cutest thing!! And he’s so lovable and let’s you hug and squeeze him without complaint (unlike Paige, who has to be in the mood to cuddle or she shoves you away).  :)

  • While Andrea was here, we did some shopping (including finding these adorable neon converse for Paige and Gideon), we hung out at the house, we took one very full day and drove to Richmond (see next bullet), and we didn’t get enough chances to watch nearly enough TV… something we both thoroughly enjoy. 

  • My friend, Ali, who I’ve mentioned many times before, met us in Richmond this past Thursday.  We had a really fun day together walking around, eating, and laughing – and she took lots of totally fabulous photos!!  Seriously, if you are in Virginia or DC or anywhere close, hire her for a shoot – you’ll be thrilled with the images and she is totally affordable as far as photographers go!!!  A sample of our photoshoot is below, but to see more become a fan of her photography page on Facebook and scroll down to the “Carden Family” and “Gideon” albums…

  • (photo by Ali McLaughlin)

  • We found out a few days ago that Andrew will be deployed much sooner than we thought.  Please keep him (and us) in your prayers.  I am soaking up every second of time with him while I can.  We will really miss him, but know that he is in God’s very capable Hands and, after all, trials make us stronger.  And might I also add that Andrew is the most amazing husband ever and I am so thankful for all God has done in our lives and in our marriage – life gets sweeter every day!!! :)

I have more stories to tell and photos to share, but alas, I have a life, and it has already taken me several hours to get this far into this post (lots of interruptions in my house).  I shall try my best to keep the ole blog updated more frequently.  I know you are excited at the prospect, but are also fearful because I have made similar empty promises in the past.  ;)   Hopefully I will get a chance to get caught up on stories and photos this week though! :)

Over hill, over dale, we have hit the dusty trail…

October 4, 2010 in Andrew, Brittany, Jacob, Military, Paige by Petra | 8 comments

I’m finally posting some photos from Andrew’s PSYOP, er MISO, graduation.  He’s so awesome. He learned Russian, won the Leadership Award in school, and all while still being the perfect husband and father.  I love him.

Jacob waiting for the graduation to begin.

The plaque and certificate table (Andrew got a plaque for the Leadership Award, a graduation certificate, and an Army Commendation medal/certificate)

Ze podium.

Getting his medal

Yes, I realize all these photos are incredibly blurry - it's a long story, and I don't want to talk about it. Okay? Okay.

My wondrously awesome husband!

The Darbster in Daddy's beret.

Paige enjoying the spoils of the reception table.

Beautiful Britta.

More cuteness (and she picked out her pink cowgirl boots - seriously - at Target, she refused to buy any shoes other than these.)

Next up, photos from our trip to the museum after the graduation. Tomorrow?  Perhaps.

I’m singing in the rain…

July 17, 2010 in Being a military wife, Celiac, Paige by Petra | 3 comments

Dates, gluten-free menus, TV shows, and new teeth…

Last night, Andrew and I went on a ‘real’ date that didn’t include grocery shopping, but an actual restaurant with cloth napkins and everything – plus a bad experience at Maggie Moo’s and browsing Barnes & Noble. We had a blast! I’m so glad he’s home from the field!!! I hate it when he’s away. Of course, once he gets through with school, he’ll be deployed 1/2 the time, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

We ate at the Bonefish Grill. We’ve known for a while that they have a gluten-free menu and were wanting to try it, but alas – we have six children and a military income, so eating at places like the Bonefish Grill isn’t usually on the menu (no pun intended). Anyway – our entrees were only so-so, we’d both order something different next time, but the side dishes and our saucy shrimp appetizer were completely fabulous!!!! I was so stoked to be able to order off the menu and not have to say “leave this off” and “please only steam everything” and “can you cook mine in a separate place”… I enjoyed rich, tasty sauces and did not get ill! Fabulous. Oh, and I enjoyed the first adult beverage that I’ve had in two years (since before I got pregnant with Paige). It was yummy.

Our 'saucy shrimp' appetizer - I didn't eat any chunks of feta or kalamata olives, but the shrimp was absolutely delicious!

 I’ve been watching ’24′ lately. We figured out how much we were spending on the redbox and it averaged to about 10 bucks a month. Well, netflix is 8.99 a month. So we decided netflix was the better option – we can watch all the instant stuff on our TV using the Wii, plus we can have one disc at a time out. So far, we’re thinking it was the right choice. Anyway, ’24′ is on the instant play list, and everyone goes on and on about it, so I thought I’d give it a try. Here’s my review so far (about 20 episodes into the 1st season)…

The acting? Not so wonderful. I mean, there are a few people on the show who can act, but some of the main characters are really bad actors, such as Jack’s wife (whose name eludes me at the moment). The story of the senator who is running for president annoys me. His wife is a complete jerk (for lack of a better, appropriate word). And everything involving them is way over-dramatized. There are many contrived and “yeah, like that would actually happen” moments throughout. But… the story kind of sucks you in, and I want to know what happens. It’s a neat concept and an interesting storyline. I’m thinking season 2 will be better, so I’m sticking with it for now. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Paige’s 3rd molar finally poked through, and the 4th is pushing hard against the gums. She’s sleeping better, after my new methods which were implemented this past week while Andrew was gone. I’ll go more into that later once I’m sure it’s working. For now, though, here’s an iphone photo of her I took this morning (excuse my unmade bed). I got this tank top at Target for $1.50 the other day – I love their clearances!!! And, as you can see, she’s still enjoying her new shoes (which are almost too small – not going to get many uses out of them before I need to get the next size – oh well).

Cutie patootie!

Aaaaaaaaaaaa…

May 22, 2009 in Being a military wife, Brittany, Fibromyalgia, Jarvis, Paige by Petra | 4 comments

Could my to-do list BE any longer?!

Countdown:

  • 25 days – last day of school
  • 25 & 26 days – the packers will be here
  • 27 days – the movers will load up the truck
  • 29 days – the kids & I officially hit the road

Meanwhile, aside from single parenting six kids, doing all the last-month-of-school stuff with four kids, and various doctor appointments, I am trying to get this house ready for my walk-thru with the landlord (should I replace the broken doors or have him take it out of the deposit?  should I try to get by with cleaning the carpets myself?  what about those chunks of drywall missing in Darby’s room?, etc, etc, etc,).  Andrew and I are working on getting a house in NC.  We got pre-approved for a loan today, and I’ve been talking to a realtor… so the wheels are in motion there.  I’m SO glad the kids have a four-day weekend (they are out of school Monday and Tuesday), so we can get some things done around here – it’s hard during school because taking care of Paige and Jacob is a full time job in and of itself, add normal chores to that (which I can’t even keep up with), and ‘move stuff’ plus anything extra gets put on the back burner.  So I’m glad to have helpers for four days.  Yay.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining, I’m just explaining that I’m BUSY!  :)

Other updates:

We are all feeling better from our cold/flu junk we passed around, so please pray that we continue to have good health.

Jarvis went to the doctor yesterday and had an x-ray.  We won’t know anything “official” until after the long weekend, but he is able to move around with no pain now, and the x-ray technician said he looks good, but the doctor will look at his x-rays on Wednesday and call if there are any abnormalities.  He is out of his sling with instructions to still be super careful until Wednesday, but he is able to lightly use his arm again.  His arm was sore last night from not using it for a month and then using it a little yesterday afternoon and evening.  Gotta build those muscles back up. :)

I have my postpartum appointment June 5th (first appointment that was available even though I scheduled it weeks ago).  I am still having some issues with getting around easily and without pain, so also please pray I heal completely.   Some of it is the fibromyalgia, so that’ll just take time from the pregnancy and delivery and getting my body into a new routine before some of the pain and stiffness subsides.  Right now, if I go up and down the stairs more than once (which I have to do often) or do too much walking around, I have a LOT of pain.  :-P  All part of the fun, though, I suppose.  Paige was definitely worth it. And I’m hoping to find out how my uterus is doing when I go in, since there was talk that I may need to have a hysterectomy after she was born since things aren’t where they are supposed to be anymore and since my cervix was trying to escape during delivery (gross? yes.).  Anyway – so I’ll keep you posted and I appreciate any prayers there.

Paige will have her two month appointment before we move, on June 8th.

Brittany will have her final orthodontist appointment before we move, on June 2nd.

Jarvis is going to camp for four days the first week of June, with his 5th grade class.

I doubt I’ll be blogging much until the move (and my goal then is to take you with me via daily stories and photos, like the last time we moved), but if you are on facebook, I will continue with the frequent status updates and occasional mobile photo uploads. I will try to get more photos uploaded on here when I can – as they are already edited.  Oh, and I’m planning on removing the blog password as soon as I get around to it.  There are pros and cons to having it and not having it, but I think I’m preferring NOT having it.

And now, I’m getting back to work!! :)

December 2, 2005 in Military, Photography by Petra | No comments

It just dawned on me as I started to update my blog that I haven’t updated for December. Never fear… I will give you a nice Christmas-y background to look at soon. I’m sure you were all concerned. :)

I heard from Andrew a couple mornings ago (in the wee hours) – he made it over there after spending 21 hours on the plane. But we could only talk for a few minutes and I haven’t heard from him since, so I can only assume everything else is going well. I miss him! A lot!

Happy Birthday to Michael today (Michael is my brother-in-law, not to be confused with my friend Ali’s husband Michael – whose birthday is ALSO today – but happy birthday to him as well). :)

I am back to using 35mm film. I sent my digital camera with Andy. I don’t know if I’ll survive. I do know I’ll be spending way too much on film and developing (maybe – I have about 26 roles of film accumulated in the last couple of years that need to be developed? They just sort of piled up on us). Okay, so my question is – for those who still use the archaic 35mm film – where do you get your photos developed? I usually use Wally World’s one-hour developing, but the quality isn’t stellar. But I don’t want to spend ten dollars more PER roll at some specialty shop. So let me know who you use and how satisfactory the results are. I may try the other two Wal-Marts that are here – maybe theirs will be better? Or does anyone use Target or KMart? Seems like I used KMart in KY and they actually did a good job (even though I don’t care for that store and never go there). It may be a few months before I get my new digital camera (or longer), so I need to figure something out since I am such a picture freak (not as much while pregnant because I feel ugh, but once Jacob is here I’ll be snapping away again).

Gone…

November 20, 2005 in Marriage, Military by Petra | No comments

Andrew left yesterday afternoon. I miss him already! Watching his unit march away from us was the worst! “They” say the first couple of weeks are the hardest (transition period). We’ll see. Not that he’s never been gone before, but a year is a LONG time, especially when I’m about to have a baby. We’ll get through it though, and there is always the two weeks mid-tour leave to look forward to. We’ve come through worse things than being far apart. I’m not sad or depressed (I learned a long time ago that God is the ONLY place to find true joy – not other people or circumstances), but I DO miss him tremendously!!! While this separation will be difficult for both of us (and for the kids), I think it will help us appreciate one another even more and become even closer (for those who know us well – you know that seems odd since we are already SOOOO in love – but there is ALWAYS room to become MORE in love and MORE appreciative of your spouse). Well, I am exhausted from all the running around the past few days (my bedrested pregnant body isn’t able to handle much exertion), so I’m headed back to the couch to rest.

If anyone that does not have it would like Andrew’s address to write to him while he’s gone, just email me and I’ll send it to you… petracarden@yahoo.com.

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