"There are four of us"... Five of the most selfless words uttered by a hero. These five words might have been his last, I don't know. This past week has been a very painful one for many of us, none more so than our Hooter brothers and sisters. As many if not all of you know, our unit lost a helicopter training in Colorado and four heroes were lost. Four fathers, husbands and sons. My pain is deep and touched close to heart so I cannot imagine the pain that is being felt by the wives, children, parents and families left behind. My prayers are with you all.

The memorial was graceful and amazing. The room was filled with thousands of friends, family and total strangers. The hikers that were the first on the scene... the ones that helped our wounded and the ones that heard those words "there are four of us" were there to pay respect, paying their own way to be a part of honoring these heroes.

Utter silence was heard when each family entered the memorial room. In a room with 12deep standing, you could hear a pin drop. With each speaker telling stories and giving tribute to the men, I had to contain myself from standing and clapping after each man spoke. Cheering on the lives that these great men lead. Not knowing any of them personally, hearing the stories, jokes and kind words that were spoken about each hero really made me long to know them. I am sorry that I will never get the opportunity to be a part of the lives of such great men. One thing that I was profoundly taken by was the fact that all four of them were strong Christians. Knowing that they are in Heaven with God, watching over our Nightstalkers brings comfort and I know each family gets comfort knowing their hero is watching over them as well.

All of this has me thinking about what it means to be a part of this family.. my Army and Nightstalker family.. "There are four of us" was spoken by someone mortally injured. He wasn't crying out to save himself or for attention to be brought to him. He was looking out for his brothers. I am sure he was hoping with all his might that they had some how survived the crash. That one if not all would make it. His might and that of a thousand others was not enough to save these heroes but we can be sure that our love for their sacrifice will ensure they will always be remembered and that their families will always be taken care of.

For me, I weep for the widows... I have much sorrow for their pain and loss but what really gets me... the deep down sorrow is seeing the children... many that will never know who their father was by the sound of his voice or with their own memories. They will know because they will hear the stories told about their hero father and will be shown photos to remember but many will never remember the sound of his voice...it really breaks my heart. Then there are those children that get it. They know what it means when the men with the shiny shoes show up at their door at 2am. They know their daddy is a hero they know what a wonderful person he was and how much love he had for them. Those children are in my prayers daily. I pray for the wife but I pray on my knees for the children.. We as military spouses understand the risk with what our husbands do for a living. We know the risk, get it and accept that is a part of life. The children don't sign up for such risk and don't get a vote. They are who I pray most for.

Seeing the faces of the family who just got the more horrific news ever, news that we all think about but never expect to have to hear makes me realize that every second of every day need not be taken for granted. We all need to cherish the moments that challenge us, that push us to the limit, that make us cry with sorrow and laugh with delight. That every second of every day might be the last second you share with your loved ones. Your fiends and family. I want to cling to my children and family... ensure they know just how much they mean to me. How much I love them. I beg of you to do the same.

When days seem too long and the challenges of life get you down remember these four men. Chad, Terry, PJ and Rob. Remember their families that are left with a hole in the middle. The children that won't remember daddy and those that will miss him every second of every day. Remember that your problems really are nothing compared to what others have to deal with.

God bless... Love to you all

Today's theme.... There goes my life. please pardon the ad at the beginning of the video.. I can't find the video without an add that I can embed.

While running the other day, this song started to play on the ipod, generally I skip the slow songs but not this one. Before I knew it I was no longer running, but walking and in tears. I can't belive Annabelle is growing up so fast. I simply want to hang on to her every moment.. Even the ones that drive me crazy. Enjoy

Gran and Odie just left yesterday after a great 5 day visit with us. It really is a wonderful time having them here and both the girls were just thrilled to spend so much time with them. Both Gran and Odie are recovering from issues, Gran broke her right wrist and Odie had back surgery. Both are recovering well and have appointments this week (or next, for Odie) to see how well they are progressing. I know both are ready to get back to normal.
While they were here we did go to the zoo. It was really hot and very humid so we didn't get to see everything and it was probably too hot to go. We will think better next time. My parents came up Sunday and we enjoyed time with all 4 grand-parents... Annabelle was in hog heaven and loving all the attention. I always enjoy seeing mine and John's parents interact. It isn't everyday that the in laws get together and get along. We are very blessed. Sharelle, Randy and Craven were supposed to come up too but Craven was running a temp and they have now found out he has a double ear infection so they were unable to make it up.

Annabelle is now officially in a big girl bed! I cannot believe she is so grown up!! We got her a twin bed and she loves it! Thank you to Gran and Odie for the bedding. She took to the bed with no problem and hasn't fallen out yet. Right now we have it just sitting on the floor but at some point I will get her an actual bed, at least a frame. Now I need to find window treatments for her and move the ones in her room to Addison's room.

Addison is almost, depending on who you ask, crawling. She takes about three steps then falls down to her belly. She still does more of the plank position than hands and knees but she is getting there. She is eating and sleeping really well and has her 9 month appointment in a few weeks. No shots this time but we will see how much she weighs and how well she is progressing.. She has all four of her front teeth in and I believe she is getting the next two top teeth in as well.

Annabelle had her first dental appointment yesterday... Here is the summary: Wait in the waiting room for 10 minutes, free play on several electronic games such as pac-man and the likes, we get called back to the "chair", Dr Mike comes over and in the process of me talking to him, Annabelle starts to scream. Dr Mike spends 60 seconds counting her teeth while Annabelle spends her time, screaming bloody murder. No kidding. All he did was count her teeth.. she has 20 by the way, and that was it. ?!?! Seemed like a waste of time but maybe it is a way to get her used to the dentist before they really "do" anything. The two of us spent the rest of the day just the two of us (Addison was in hourly care)

*** just stopped blogging to capture Addison from rolling off the mat into the tv and discovered a huge hairy spider AAAAKKKKKKKKK... God how I hate spiders but I tried with all my might to stay calm and kill it.... choking back a gag in the process***

Today we are heading to a friends house for some adult conversation therapy.

I feel like I am forgetting something... If I think of it, I will add another post.. :)

Love to you all
Carolyn

Annabelle's new bed
Gran, Odie, Annabelle and Addison on the porch
Addison and her topknot hair (and a loaf of bread!! haha) Annabelle was well into her second year before she had this much hair
Odie and Addison on the porch