The Year in Review

Dear Friends and Family,

We are posting a short year-in-review post in lieu of a Christmas letter.  This way we can keep everyone updated that cares to be.

The year started with Eric on a plane back to basic training and Junior and I at home.  It turns out that I was pregnant at the time, but I was still unaware of this fact.  Eric graduated from basic training in February and Junior and I were able to attend his graduation.  I know I took pictures (even though Junior was a handful and I alone had to take care of him), but I cannot find them anywhere, so there are no pictures here.

After that Eric went to Arizona for his advanced training.  During that training, we were allowed to go visit him and he was able to come home on pass.  So Junior and I went down for Eric's birthday and Eric came home on a 4-day weekend 2 different times.  It was nice to be able to see him.

In the mean time, Junior was growing up and I was growing a baby.  I was still working part-time from home for Core Engineering here in Boise.

In August, my mother-in-law went down with me to Arizona to see Eric graduate.  We are very proud of him.

On the way home, we found out he would be deployed with the 116th to Iraq in September.  This meant that we would only have a month before he would leave again for a year.  It was a hard time.  It was made worse by the fact that in his 1 month home he had to spend 3 weeks at the National Guard's yearly training.  We enjoyed our time together and I was able to be induced into labor so I had Carolyn Hope Rogers on September 15th.

On September 20th, Eric left for his deployment.  He spent 2 months in Mississipi training before going to Iraq.

Right before they left, Eric got a 4 day pass so we were able to fly out there and see him.  My mother came along to help so I could bring the children and we all went to Florida.  It was a great time that we were so glad to be able to spend together.

I am staying home full-time with Junior and Carolyn.  Junior is 2 and never stops.  He keeps me running.  Carolyn is almost 3 months old now and is already showing her personality more and more.  She loves to smile and look at us.  Junior is a sweet big brother.  So together we are learning and growing and waiting for Eric to come home.

Thank you all for your love and support and prayers.  We love you all!