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.....