summer 2011

summer 2011

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012
family

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

more tears....but we got some donuts....

I do not know who took this picture, but I am guessing this is whipped cream....Miss Camille
Here is Ben with Ashley....he cut his own hair last night....he looks slightly scary.

Samuel with Ben....Samuel is obsessed with the military. He told Ben today, in all seriousness, "I am SO proud of you, Ben." He said it while giving Ben his last good-bye hug...wah.


Benjamin with Kathryn



Kathryn



Evelyn snapped this lovely picture of me, so I thought I would be fair and include it....up for hours with no coffee or breakfast....blah.




Evelyn and Samuel




Benjamin being sworn in. Those kids look so young and innocent....Ben had a roommate last night, nineteen years old, and married....I saw his wife today, was I actually that young when I got married?

Benjamin Paul, Private First Class, U.S. Army.....



Poor Ashley...I think she cried a bucket today.....she is a sweet nice lovely girl, and she brings out the best in Ben. I told her I was going to adopt her.....

The sad part is that we found out today that if Ben comes home for Christmas, he goes "in the hole" with his leave time. If he comes for eight days, it will take until the beginning of May for him to have two days saved up....so if he comes home, he won't be able to come home again for quite a while....six months at least. He would be allowed to stay on base and work....I don't know how it will work out. He gets to call home tomorrow night, but not again for a few weeks.....
Yes, I am a big girl. I will be okay. He will be okay. 1% of the population of the U.S. is in the military, so I know I am not alone. But today he just seemed so vulnerable. And young. I guess no matter how old he gets, I am still his mommy, and I am a wimp. So with all this in mind, I declared this day officially: Cry Day. You can cry all you want, and no one can ask what's wrong.
Well.....we did try to make ourselves feel better by stopping at the Best Bakery in the World. I bought two dozen donuts, (glazed, chocloate frosted longjohns, vanilla frosted, lemon headlights), and an apple fritter and a cinnamon swirl for Mali, an apple turnover because it looked so good, a half-moon cookie for Sam, and two loaves of warm Italian bread for dinner. All for twenty bucks. Then, we went to Dunkin Donuts for the coffees and Coolatas.....I have a giant headache from waiting so long for coffee....almost five hours.
Suzanne is sick, throwing up.....she got up several times last night to be sick, but didn't wake me up. For that I am thankful. But I also feel bad....I SHOULD get up with a nine year old.....she is feeling horrible right now....blah, I HATE the throw-up bug. (especially because of how many kids it can go through....blah!!!)
Now, since i have been blah blah blogging about Ben so much, I shall write some things about him....
1. When he was little, I called him Benjamin Bunny.
2. When he was a little bigger, I called him Hurricane Hugo. Because he knocked over all of Emily's duplo and waffleblock towers.
3. When he was three years old, he would pick up all the toys in the living room and vacuum. All by himself. Because he liked to.
4. Emily and Abigail were sweet and well-behaved. Then I had Ben. He was the terror of the Mother's room at church. He jumped off the couch, and could never sit still.
5. Benjamin put silly putty on his head, got a school-band pin stuck in his knee, and got himself tangled in a six-pack plastic.
6. Ben fell off a boat when he was ten, and almost died. He hit the propeller. He had 106 stitches. When we went to school for a Reading picnic at the end of the summer, he pulled up his shirt and told the teachers he got attacked by a bear. His scars were still fresh and I think he still had some stitches in. The teachers almost fainted.
7. Ben got in a four-wheeler accident when he was fifteen, and again almost died.....he a severe infection in his leg from the tree branch that got stuck in there.....
8, Benjamin smashed up our truck, causing $7000 in damages, because he was changing a CD while going around a curve. Sideways in the ditch.
9. He went through a red light while delivering pizzas, totalling his car.....
10. Ben went to college three times, earning almost 40 credits but not getting a degree in anything.
And that is all for now....it is busy in here...nine of us are here in the living room, someone is playing the drums, someone is playing Wii......life goes on.
Thank you all so much for your kind comments and prayers for Benjamin. I warms my heart...and yes, I am going to start crying again.....









9 comments:

Mary Kate said...

You are very wise to declare today a Cry Day, but don't feel like you have to limit yourself to just today. I am so proud of you and your husband for your selfless generosity in giving our nation the gift of your son's abilities to serve our country. I am so grateful to Ben for protecting our people and our freedoms. I am grateful to his girlfriend for her understanding, even though it must hurt her greatly.

May God bless the lot of you and I will pray that He keeps you in His Care until you are together again.

Happy Gobble Gobble!!

Kristi said...

As the wife of a retired Air Force NCO, I would like to thank Ben for serving his country in a job that will be quite often a thankless one. Freedom is not free and we have the men and women of our armed forces to thank for our freedom. May God protect him and all our troops as they serve.

Nanny Debbie said...

i'm so sorry that you are all sad. My brother in law is in the British Army and my sister finds it SO hard when he is away, we all do. My prayers are with you.
Debbie
P.S. I love reading your blog :-)

Mom said...

You have no idea how much hope this post gives me. At first I was just going to say #4 is my Ian--then I read the rest with the stiches and the leg and the truck. The best part is that you still love him so much and that Ben has grown into a wonderful young man who is doing something honorable with his life. What Mum could ask for more? He's on our list and we'll pray everyday. If I were you--I would also observe a Cry Day! Hugs...

Felicia said...

Where is he going for basic training? My son went to Ft Leonard Wood and my daughter and myself went to Ft Jackson. He will do fine but phone calls will be kind of intermittant in the beginning.

Martha said...

I would cry too. Josiah wanted to go in the army. Apparently they didn't want him. I'm not sure if it was his small stature, his nervous tendencies, the fact that he has an artificial lens in his right eye, or a combination of the above. I guess I felt bad for him, but the mommy inside me was relieved. I am blessed by all who serve our country and would be a proud military mom if one of my own should ever choose and be able to serve. I'm praying for your Ben.

Book Lover said...

I really feel for you. Having your son far away from you for so long must be very tough. I too am very proud of him though. Our country is indebted to young men like him, who give their youth, time and talents to this country. God obviously has great plans for this kid.

Blessings
Kim Chrisman

PS: I'm just an hour and half away if he needs ANYTHING at all. I would be so honored to visit him and help out in any way!!

Tereza said...

that is just so sad!! He does look so young and it pulls at my heart strings to think how you feel and how I would feel if it were my son. Big hugs to you!

Cassandra said...

Della, I can't imagine how sad you feel about Ben , but you must be so proud too!
We will all say a prayer for him.

Cassandra xx