Last post before his return

This is my last post before HE comes home this week... Yes, the 6 months are almost over !!! They were very long and I am really happy they are over. I missed him very much and love him very dearly. I can't wait to see him and hold him in my arms...

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14 Feb 2005 - 4 years ago...

4 years ago I got admitted at the WPAFB hospital. My baby was breached and they were going to try to turn it around. After an epidural and some efforts from a few docs, the baby's heartbeat was slowing down and I was rushed to the OR for a C-section. A few minutes later, a beautiful little baby girl was born. We named her Claire, Isabelle. What a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day!
She has been a joy since then. Today she is turning 4. I can't believe it!!!
Claire is pretty shy at first but will warm up to you, she is full of energy. She loves to sing, dance. She remembers everything, has an excellent memory (hears a song or story once and remembers them), loves to draw and is really good at it. She likes her bicycle, working in the yard, and LOVES playing with any kind of dolls, Barbie... She is very independent and will play by herself for a long time. I am so happy and blessed to have her in our lives.

a few days old

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

Today - 4 years old!

Emilie 1st school musical - E-I-E-I-Oops

(Don't forget to turn off or pause the musice on the left side before you biew a video)

Emilie played in her first musical. She had the role of a milkmaid in E-I-E-I-Oops(*), the Bluewater Elementary Kindergarten Musical. She had a small role but we were gonr for over 2 months while the other kids were rehearsing. She sat in the middle of the stage on a stool next to the cow and sand and got up to do her part. She did very good. We are so proud of her! At the end of the evening performance, I gave her flowers on Mike's behalf. She loved it!

Here are some videos and pictures. I tried to both film and take pictures at the same time so probably not the best rendition but better than nothing...

Emilie's class played the sheep

Emilie's part

* Let's take a trip to see Farmer MacDonald! The whole barnyard is singin'... rooster's singin' tenor, the mule chimes in on bass, the chicks are pretty good altos, and the sheep are all over the place! But wait! Something's wrong with Madame Cow... she just can't moo! Join the fun as the animals all do their part to save the day!

Batiste and Chloé's Baptism

The past two weekends, we have been celebrating the baptism of Batiste, Béné & Benji' son, and Chloé, Sandrine & Jean-Luc's daughter. Since I am godmother to both of them, both families decided to celebrate the baptism while I was in Belgium.

Batiste is 6 months old and Chloé is 1 1/2 month. Both ceremonies were beautiful.



Chloe's Baptism - 18 Jan 09

-------------------------------Parents and Godparents



Batiste's Baptism - 10 Jan 09

The baptism ---------------------------------THe parents and godparents

The Huwart family ---------------------------- The beautiful cake

As godmother, I made a tray with dragees to give out to the guests

Wordless Saturday...

(Don't forget to turn off or pause the music on the left side of the screen before watching the videos)

Mike, who has been deployed in Irak for about 4 1/2 months now, was assigned for a short mission in Germany. He called me on Friday morning to let me know about it. He thought he could rent a car and drive to Belgium to see us (about 3 1/2h drive). I could not believe it and did not want to get too excited about it till I was sure. I just told my parents but did not say anything to the girls or anybody else. I helped him book a car and got him some civilian clothes.

Saturday afternoon was my godson's Batiste's baptism. (in other post)

Mike got to Germany on Saturday morning where he took care of some business. It took him longer than expected so he finally took the road around 13.00 and got to the after-baptism reception at Beni's house.

I had an idea of when to expect him so I was on the lookout... I was nervous and not really hungry. I was talking to my sister Sandrine and her husband Jean-Luc when I saw him through the window, I ran outside and we hugged and cried for a while till my sister (who was wondering why I had gone out the door like a furry) came out and saw Mike. She screamed 'Mike is here, Mike is here'. I don't know what else happened, a lot of tears and screams. I ran back inside to get the girls. Emilie was the first one to come and I captured that moment on video, then I run to get Claire and got to video tape that moment as well.










The girls in their daddy's arms again after 4 1/2 months...











It was AWESOME !!! and Mike looked GREAT and as handsome as usual!!!

We had not seen Mike since 22 Aug and were not expecting to see him before end of February, beginning of March.

We spent the evening together and he got back on the road to Germany at 8.00 am on Sunday.

It was a very tiring trip for him but it was definitely worth it and it was all we needed to get passed the next 7 weeks!




Emilie sees her dad...



Claire comes to see who the new visitor is... She was not sure at first, you can see she is excited because she is jumping...