We Made It!

Well we finally made it here in Turkey. It has been a long time coming followed by one problem after another after another. These are the many problems we have encountered thus far:

1. Ruby's Passport: We put in for an emergency passport with note that it was needed by the 22nd of February and no later. Well the 19th comes along and it is done but still at the Embassy. So on the 23rd we went down to London, as planned, to stay the night before our morning flight. Once we got there, Steven left us at the hotel and left and headed to the Embassy. After a four hour trip he came back with passport in hand! Thank God!

2. GTC: Steven's GTC has not worked since he paid for the plane tickets and billeting at Mildenhall. We got on the bus to the airport and had to pay the 250 pounds out of pocket. Thank God for our tax return money or we would have been SOL. We also had to pay for the hotel at the airport out of pocket. We have spent about $1000 in two days for everything that should have gone on the GTC. Hopefully it gets fixed soon and we can get reimbursed ASAP.

3. Our flight to Istanbul got in a 6:10pm last night. Our flight to Adana started boarding at 6:35pm. We finally get to the front of the passport line and the guy says we need Visas. Now the passport line is super long and we're freaking out. So we go get Visas and Steven's GTC still doesn't work, so there's another $80 out of pocket. We cut the line and piss everyone in line off, but the passport guy waved us forward anyways so oh well. We get stamped and start racing for the domestic terminal. On of the guys that works there helped us to the domestic terminal and kept telling us he wanted a tip, Steven was a little annoyed, but I could care less as long as we made the flight. He ended up with 5 British pounds which is almost 12 Turkish Lira. We made the flight with 10 minutes to spare.

4. This morning Lilly played with the passports and we couldn't find hers for about an hour. Needless to say I was freaking out. Then Steven left his backpack at one of his stops today. He found it but was freaking out too until he did.

The girls were all SO SO SO good on the planes too. I was super shocked. Sadie fell asleep as soon as we got on the plane and woke up as soon as we reached altitude. Lilly loved everything, her meals, the movie (FAME), and even got some airplane toys for the flight attendants. Ruby was great, she either ate, slept, or looked around. She was only fussy when we were landing in Adana. I am truly amazed at how well they traveled. Now I can't wait to fly back to the states on leave, except that it is a much, much longer flight.

Tomorrow we get to move into our new house! I am beyond excited. I can't wait to be all settled in and unpacked. Oh, and have my car back. I don't mind walking but it is inconvenient when you need to go shopping. Now all we need to do is find a way to get all of our stuff to the house from the hotel. Thankfully this PCS is almost over, but I'm not looking forward to Steven going back to work.

I was going to upload some photos, but the uploader is taking FOREVER! So I will try again time.

-Kristen

One Week Left

Well our time here in England is down to a week. It's crazy how fast these 4+ years have come and gone. I can still remember like yesterday the entire ordeal moving here, but this time with 3 kids under 4 I am stressing a whole lot more. Children need a lot of things and it seems crazy trying to fit all of it into luggage. If we were moving back stateside I would say screw it, we can replace everything when we get there, but I have been old that Incirlik is limited in the BX department. I know it will all come together and come Friday, I know I will have another couple of chips off my shoulders.

Tomorrow we are shipping my car. Steven is getting up super early to vacuum and wash it and then it's off to the shipping place. When he is done with all the paper work and everything he'll call me and the kids and I will pick him up. He is going to do some more stuff on base and we have our last WIC appointment tomorrow too. Cleaning the house has not been so bad since all we have to do is basically clean the walls and that is taking less time than anticipated. Hopefully I will be able to knock off all the bedrooms tomorrow and we can move everything downstairs.

Wednesday, I am going to take the girls to story time and maybe the Bob Hope so that they can blow off some steam. They seriously have been super troopers the past few week. First the were horribly sick and then they have an empty house and bored while they're home.

Thursday we have our last shipment of household goods going out. Then we move into billeting. That will be great since I will be done figuring out what to keep in suitcases and what to mail/ship. And we'll have furniture again! Steven and mine's backs will be thanking us! It hasn't been so bad in our house without furniture, but we definitely feel like squatters, ha!

Friday we officially turn the house back over! And then we can relax until we fly out. Hopefully we here some good news about Ruby's passport tomorrow. I don't know if my stress levels and blood pressure can take anymore! I am praying everything continues to go as smoothly as it has been.

We're almost done and I have hope and faith in that it will all turn out well!
-Kristen

Will It Ever End?

So after 2 weeks off Lilly, Sadie, Steven, and me being sick, Ruby is sick and Lilly is sick again. Ruby has like a cold in her right eye. It's been goopy for about a week now, a very chesty cough, and a runny nose. She also has been vomiting after she eats. The doctor told us that she would lose a little weight from it but start back up gaining and growing again. He also said if she wasn't better in a few days, call back. Lilly on the other hand started complaining that it hurt to pee last weekend, and on Tuesday when Steven picked her up from school she had taken a nap there and had a fever. The doctor did a urine analysis and there's no infection but she still has blood in her urine. Hopefully we figure out what is wrong soon. She has been very sleepy lately and didn't even want to go to the indoor playground yesterday, she just wanted to sit and do her activity books which she is now calling her homework. Today she has been sleepy and not energetic, even at gymnastics. She complained about a stomach ache and then cried about pooping while she was in the bathroom. She went to sleep at like 5:30-6 tonight before eating dinner and I think she is out for the night. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow since it is her last day of school.

On a happier note, Sadie is POTTY TRAINED!!!! She hasn't had an accident in a week, even at night, and is happily wearing her big girl underwear. She is so happy about going on the potty, and is utterly disgusted when Ruby dirties her diapers. It's pretty funny that she doesn't understand why there is a need for diapers anymore, or why Ruby has to wear them!

We also had our housing pre-inspection this past Monday, and good news, we only have to clean the walls. They thankfully understood that the moths eating our carpet was not our fault. They said that they have had one other house where this has happened. We do have to clean up all the crayon on the walls that the girls have so graciously left for us! We will move into billeting next Thursday and on Friday we will be done with this house. The only other big things are Ruby's passport and shipping my car. Thank the Lord we are almost done! This is the worst part of moving.

And last, here are some more photos of the girls!

2 Months and 1 Day Old!

Miss Ruby Elaina is now 2 months old! It's so hard to believe that it has been over two months since we had this little girl! She is still itty bitty. At her appointment on Tuesday she was 10lbs. 12oz. and about 22" long. She has outgrown about all of her newborn clothes and moved onto 0-3 mos and 3 month sizes. They are still big, but the newborn stuff was too short. She is still in size 1 diapers and still eating about 4 oz of formula every 4 hours. She usually sleeps for 6 hours, eats, and then goes back to sleep for another 4 hours before eating again. She is a very easy baby. She has been cooing and smiling, and even laughs in her sleep. That's all I need is another sleep talker. Her favorite things right now are her daddy, the ceiling fan- on or off -, and the small camping lantern in our bedroom! It's crazy how fast time flies with kids, I mean can you believe Lilly is going to be 4 in a month and a half?

Ruby's Baptism

We had Ruby baptized today at the Lakenheath Chapel by Father Max. It was just us and a couple of our sweet friends who stood in for the Godparents. It only lasted about 30 minutes and Ruby slept the entire time. She didn't peep once. The other two on the other hand were terrors. Lilly probably would have been good but Sadie was so terrible that we think she was coping Sadie. Here are a few photos! The ones not of the baptism are from last night. Lilly loves modeling in front of the camera so her and Sadie took turns modeling.

One more week....

Next week is Lilly's last week of school and gymnastics. I know she'll be sad eventually butu for now she's okay. Her teachers have asked her if she wants to stay with them and she tells them "No, I am going to Turkey." She and Sadie keep asking where their things are, I think they are done and over the toys and books we kept with us, and we keep telling them that they are on the big blue truck on their way to Turkey. They are so excited that they are getting a new bedroom and they don't know it yet but we bought them feather blankets for their beds. Steven and I have been looking all over the place for duvet covers for them but haven't had any luck in over a month. Then I looked at Argos, it's a store that you purchase items in a catalog or online (there aren't any items in their stores either, just catalogs) and they either deliver them or you pick them up at the nearest store. I found some for only 8 pounds and were delivered to the house for free the very next day. I got them this heart pattern because it is reversible so their beds will match but not be exactly the same if they're not feeling think matching. Most of the time they ask to be the same, especially clothes, they love wearing matching outfits. They picked that up themselves! Oh and one of the games they like to play is "Next Patient", they made this up themselves. One of them is the doctor and checks out the other as the patient. When the doctor is done she yells "next patient" and the patient gets up and walks around and comes back as the new patient. The pharmacy at the hospital has two patient windows and usually one is opened and the other is closed except when it's busy. When it gets busy there is one pharmacist that will work the window and yells next patient when the window is empty so the girls now yell next patient all over the hospital. They love to do it the clinic waiting rooms and we can't help but crack up every time they do :-)
Everyday when Steven gets home, this is what happens. Ruby looks around the room for him as he says hello to the Lilly and Sadie, and then he picks up Ruby. She is so content just staring at him and hearing is voice.

It has gotten colder here again so we had to buy Ruby some bigger jackets. She was going a few days of being awake many different times throughout the day and now she is back to her usually sleepy self. I think 5 minutes after this picture she was in her car seat and passed out again. She's so funny when she sleeps, she often smiles and has started laughing in her sleep too! Lilly finished coloring her Peppa Pig picture the other day. And man, do I not like markers. This was the last time they are ever going to use markers that aren't color wonder ones. The marker is everywhere. Lilly even decided to paint her finger nails in red marker. Cute, huh? The girl just loves to color and craft. I seriously think she could color all day long if given the chance. Steven and I would like to have some of her artwork framed in Turkey. Some of her creations are just so beautiful and unique that I don't think you would even know it was done by a 3 year old. As soon as life goes back to normal, I'll have to scan some of her things and post them for everyone to see. I don't know who is more proud of her work, me and Steven or her. Oh and one more thing before I go and feed Miss Ruby, Sadie is teething. She is getting one of her top molars and is constantly whining and crying. That's why she looks less than thrilled and happy in the photo with Lilly and Ruby. Hopefully those teeth finish coming through and she perks up because she is driving me nuts!
-Kristen

Rediscovered :)

This is an older video of Lilly bowling at Mildenhall. This was taken in July 2009.

A Ruby Video

Ruby is starting to interact more with people and toys :)

In this one she smiles!

Still Sick...

Not only are the girls still sick, i'm sick now too! I hate being sick but what's to expect when you are cooped up in a house for a week with sickies. Other than that everything is pretty good. We are hopefully going to ship my car early next week. We still need to turn off TV/phone/internet and do our housing inspections. There's only about 3 more weeks and we'll finally be out of here. I can't wait to get there, we are desperate for more sunshine and warmer weather! I am praying that we get a house pretty quickly and don't have to stay in billeting for too long. I am ready to move on already and get settled in. Throughout all of this, I have learned I hate moving. I don't mind having to live somewhere else, I hate the physical part of moving all of our things, especially with 3 kids.
Oh! Our air mattress popped! It was so nice and comfy to sleep on, but Sadie threw up in her sleep last night and was choking so Steven jumped on the bed to help me. So we think that is what popped it. I am hoping Steven brings home a new one after work today.
Sadie and Lilly come up with the funniest things to say randomly. It's hilarious.
-Steven came home from work on Friday with the stomach virus the girls have been fighting. Thankfully it didn't last long for him. Sadie was running a fever so I told her I had to take her temperature. She asked where (mouth, armpit, or butt) and I told her the butt because she doesn't hold still long enough for the others and the BX didn't have any ear or forehead thermometers. She gasped and said "But I don't like it in the butt!" The told Steven he needed his temp taken in the butt because he was sick. He said the same thing she did and then told "It's ok, it just tickles."
-Sadie blew her nose and put the dirty tissue back in the box. I told no that's disgusting. Steven told her to throw it away so she turns around, hands him the tissue and says "Here, you do it."
-When we were at church yesterday morning, Sadie kept asking "Is it over yet?" or "Are we done yet?" or "I want to go to the BX, it's just outside." She wasn't quiet about it at all. When we were leaving she stops and says "Hey! Why we leaving?"
-Steven and I got new tattoos yesterday and Sadie keeps asking, "Mom, can I see yous tat?"
-Me and the girls woke this morning and I felt like crap. Sore throat, coughing, and losing my voice. I told them both that they needed to behave for me today because I was sick now. Lilly says, "Mom, if you get diarrhea you need to take medicine. " Thanks Lilly!
-The girls are coloring Peppa Pig pictures and Lilly keeps grunting, "I am sick of this!" I asked her why and she said her markers keeping getting jumbled and not following their pattern in the box. The poor child was having a mini meltdown.
These are some new photos of us. I have been taking a LOT of photos with my new camera! I love it and can't wait to get some new lenses for it!