i finished work on friday. we had a base wide christmas party that night, which is where the real craziness begins. just as the kids and i were about to pick up chris to go to the party, he calls and says he had to go to a meeting. fantastic! i wasn't sure that i'd really know anyone at the party and quite honestly, wasn't up for tackling two kiddos on my own all evening. that being said, i decided to go and check it out. so glad i did. it was fun. my friend, misty and her clan, were there. she was a kind soul and helped me out with mya so i could do some of the crafts with claire. both kiddos were traumatized at the sight of santa. thankfully, we didn't have a santa to visit this year, which spared us that agony. claire eventually warmed up to the jolly man, but it took several of her friends paving the way. both of our kiddos were ripping up the dance floor; however, this wasn't a dance per say. they had entertainment--a bubbleman, sand guy, quartet, so our kids, were THOSE kids. you know, the ones, going crazy in the middle of the floor, but they were well behaved and had a great time.anyway, chris arrived and the saga begins. he suggests i go home with the kiddos for christmas. obviously, this was a huge turn from our original plans, so something was definitely up. i debated, but rationalized with him. several other military personnel left the party, but returned, mentioning no such plans to their wives, so why mine. anyway, news was out that n. korea was going to play dirty and fight. he was simply trying to get us out of here before things got ugly. chris and i are pretty good together. when one of us gets crazy, the other mellows them out. it is our way. generally, chris is the mellow one and i am the crazy one, but not this time. i kept my cool and pushed for the original plan. we have a plan if the intensity increases. we'll evacuate. after the debacle at thanksgiving time, i had planned on packing that bag, but haven't. until now. my bag is packed. you know that one bag. the little game you used to play to pass the time--if you were going to a deserted island and all you could bring with you was one bag? what would be in it? yeah. never thought it would be real. never. my get away bag (for all three of us) is in my car. ready to roll. nope, we are not fleeing from bill collectors or bad guys and our house isn't on fire. we are ready to go if and when n. korea decides to play dirty. real dirty. let's just hope that day never comes. thankfully, the s. korean exercise is over and things are calm on both sides of the border. our minds are at ease, yet we are vigilent. i can't quite imagine life without my precious things. sick thinking, i know, but really. i have some pretty great treasures that won't fit in one suitcase and i know i'd look like a terrible mom if i left my kids behind and took the treasures ;) only kidding of course. my kiddos are my most prized possession, i think you all know that. so, i'll leave you with a little thinking...if you had to pack one bag and leave all else behind, what would you bring?
Claire is nine months old. She is such an active kid, always on the go. She no longer lays nicely when we change her diaper. It is quite the challenge. She is getting rather quick at crawling, so we have to move just as quickly to keep her out of where she doesn't belong--the fridge, cupboards, etc. Developmentally, she is right on track or maybe a bit advanced in our biased eyes. She crawls, pulls herself up, is beginning to move from one piece of furniture to another, mostly eats table food, and imitates us (both in the noises we make or actions--knocking on a door). When we hold her hands, she is beginning to take steps without much guidance. On Saturday, she made her first attempt to climb a step. Sadly, it ended with her sliding down. She has three teeth--two on the bottom, one on top with another coming in on top. Ten things we love about her: 1. her smile 2. her curiosity 3. the way she holds our hands or her own hands when she sleeps 4. her easy-goingness 5....
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As for what I would put in my bag. It would be a childhood cabbage patch, Backup harddrive with all my photos and scans of important documents on it, my cell phone, wallet, and some money. Everything else I think I could live without if I had to (well, clothes too of course).
Here's hoping things stay calm and you have a very Merry Christmas!
Praying for safety for you, Chris, and the girls.
Just know that you guys are thought of frequently and I love you all.
In my bag, all I would need is my loved ones or pics of them, ID, and medical records.
The most precious things in life are not things. (unknown)
Love you guys
Mom