The Crespo Newsletter UPDATE!

Well, we have some good news here!

Kevin will NOT be deploying after all!
That puts to rest what was causing all of us so much heartache!
He will be going to the promotion board in early October! Then mid October we will be traveling to GA. for Will's boot camp graduation! So I will be with both my soldiers!! We will get to spend some time with him and drop him off for AIT. His AIT is 23 weeks long!!! That's quite a bit more time than boot camp! But, he will get to come home for Christmas exodus and spend time with the family! So, We will have everyone home for Christmas!! YAY!!
So that's the update and news around here, I am so happy to be able to share it with everyone!

The Family Newsletter - September 08

From:
04 September 2008 @ 08:52 am

The Family newsletter for September 08

Here is the latest news on The Crespo Family Home...
William left for boot camp on Aug. 7th, 2008
So far we've gotten a few calls and letters and he seems to be doing rather well! He went in with the rank of E-3 after much hard work and help from "Dad" and our great neighbors - Thanks Chuck, Sherri and Dan! - I know he appreciates it, especially when he finally sees his paycheck! ;)
William will be graduating boot camp in October, so we will be gearing up for a trip to the South!
However, with his graduation, comes Kevin leaving me... At the end of the month, My Soldier will be leaving for his 6 month trip to the desert. I cannot begin to tell you how with each day that creeps by, my heart sinks a little lower and my soul cries a little more. I miss him already and don't want to spend a moment without him. I know this is the way of things in the Army, but I don't have to like it, nor do I.
So, to keep me busy, I guess I will turn to my neighbors and friends and try not to be the biggest, saddest, pain in the arse they've ever known - note to all : Good Luck dealing with me! LOL!
The kids are back in school, which does help a great deal, at least I know my house will not look like a hurricane came through... nevermind, they all just got home.. let me edit - My house will not look like a hurricane came through from 8am to 4pm. If you want to visit, those are the times you will want to do it if you want to walk through a clean house. HA!
So, now you know the happenings here....
Hugs and Support definately encouraged and to my REAL "Army Wives" Friends... I am always here for y'all, As I know y'all have been for me!

Summertime in the Southwest!

From:
27 July 2008 @ 04:23 pm

Summer Time in the Southwest

Howdy! I know it has been a while since I've been able to get posting, it's been so hectic around here with Hubby at his new duty station, us having a baby - Connor Hayden was born May 1st. - The day Daddy got promoted too! He came into the world at 5 pounds, 11 ounces and was 18.5 inches long! not bad at all for a 36 weeker! We are just so thankful and greatful we made it as far as we did! We certainly feel blessed!Here is the most recent addition to the picture collection....The Texas heat has been sweltering, although lately we've gotten lots of rain since the recent hurricane blew by for a visit down south of us. The kids have been enjoying summer, as I type, 4 of the kids are gone visiting for the next week and a half... the quiet is maddening!! I never thought I would miss all the noise, the bickering, the door slamming as kids run in and out of the house five zillion times, didn't think I'd miss yelling out "Do you think I am air conditioning all of Texas? Close the door!" I miss my kids!! And they've only been gone 2 days.... oy!Only the littler ones are left, I don't have to do much around the house and I feel like I am ready to climb the walls! Although, my house is much cleaner, there is less to cook and less laundry to do... that's for sure!My Son, Will, recently swore in for the Army! He's shipping out to boot camp the first week of August! I am now a Proud Army Wife and Proud Army Mom! I can't believe it! He is looking forward to it so much, getting ready, practicing drill and marching around the yard with the hubby-man and neighboring Army guys. *sigh* Where did the time go? He was just my "baby" not too long ago yaknow!My Other Son, Matt, is now a welder! He is working on a project down in Fl. and earning great money! I am so proud of my boys!! Again... wasn't it just yesterday I was changing them, chasing them and trying to figure out which one was the one who took apart my vaccum cleaner? or toaster? or VCR? or some other appliance they decided needed to be "looked into"? Boys! Oy!Now, the girls... they are growing up fast too... They are always going to the pool, the park, the shops and commissary & PX. But, in true "girly" fashion, it's always about the shopping for them. I could let them go every day and they wouldn't get tired of it! - good thing my wallet gives out long before they do or we'd be sunk!The little guys aren't so little anymore.... Gabe is walking, talking and making sure he can get into everything! that includes all the sissy's rooms, all the bathrooms so we can have all kinds of fun with the toilet paper and the kitchen where he can fit right into the cabinets to play!The baby is going on 3 months, I am happy to say he is smiling and giggling his way into everyone's hearts... but everyone is in love already anyway!As for the Army... Kevin is gearing up to deploy soon. It will be a very sad event and we will miss him so very much. I am just hoping we will stay busy enough to make the days go by faster and end that gap without him as quickly as possible! - I am sure we will be writing more about that enough, you will all be bored with me soon enough on it! ;) As for now, we are gearing up for him to go and mentally, I am just trying to prepare for it... like there is any preparing for being a single mother with a dozen kids in the house......I will post a pretty picture of our evening views from the porch... We sit most evenings on the back porch, our neighbors wander over, we discuss all kinds of things, just sitting and relaxing, unwinding from our day and getting that much needed "adult time" we all should get. (But good luck really getting it, kwim?)Well, this concludes my latest update for now... off to go burn dinner, chase kids, juggle poopy diapers and trip over the dog! Peace and Many Blessings to all, I've missed everyone and hope to get back online soon!!I will be back.... !

Despite it all...

From:
21 March 2008 @ 07:22 am

Despite it all....

We are feeling Blessed! We've made it to Texas! After all of us being jammed in a car/van for 4 days, we finally made it! Now, it hasn't been the easiest trip - We had to share most of the room in our vehicles with scattered stuff left behind that we had to pack and bring... no, none of it was my shoes or toilet paper or anything handy, BUT, it was stuff we wanted to hang on to. Which now I question with all that I am. I am overwhelmed thinking about al the stuff we actually have.We made it to a nice 2 room suite here in El Paso. Now, I know that sounds nice, but with 9 kids, 2 adults a dog, and a clean freak for a Mom, it's been quite the little stay! I've been keeping the kids cleaning and picking up and I love when the maid comes by so I can steal her vaccum, broom and change out towels. After all, I can't let her see my mess, right!? What would they think of us?? We've been here a week almost, and I've developed quite the friendship with the housecleaning staff who love to come see us all and grab our trash as she asks what I need and now automatically takes the vaccum off her trolly. lolKevin has said "Oh God forbid the housekeepers see you need something cleaned!" well ha ha Mr. Smarty pants... No, I don't want people to see us at our worst! I know this all goes back to "Large Family Syndrome".(You know, we have to be cleaner, more organized, more together and just really, set ourselves at a higher standard.) Why? Because... If I ever heard something about us like "Oh, her house is THAT WAY because she has ALL THOSE KIDS", I might have a stroke! No, I am thankful the only comments I've ever heard were things like, Wow, how do you keep your house so nice with a large family? Or, "You really are so organized!" and even one that amazes me still: "Wow your kids are so well behaved!" I always look shocked when I hear that one! - and it makes me wonder if all these people ever see "out in the real world" is dirty houses, chaos and wild banshee children.Anyhoo... On the Army news. Kevin finally has a unit. He has been assigned to the MP unit. Which is about to deploy. HOWEVER.... He landed an interview with processing at the Welcome center and will be attached with them and will be staying put right here for at least a year. *whew!* Given the situation, we are mighty thankful! And we know we are surely blessed by this!!We also went in to housing... yes, all of us went into housing. The Lady at the front desk gave us paperwork, application, etc to fill out and told us about the 8+ month waiting list. Well, wouldn't hurt to get our application in, right?The Housing Specialist called Kevin and I back and we went to her office. She told us she had no openings for a 5 bedrooms. I told her we could take 4 since my oldest son is leaving for the Marines. She said, "Oh, ok, how about on the first?" We almost fell over! Seems another family is moving out and a home will be open for us to move in to on the 1st. WOW! It is an older home, and originally a duplex, but it has been modified and we have 2 halves of a house... 2 living rooms, 2 dining rooms, 2 laundry rooms, you get the idea. WOW!Again... We are blessed and so very thankful!!So, things are coming along. Things I have been so stressed and worried over, God has taken care of. Now we can focus on getting to the 1st and getting moved in to our new home on post. - which by the way, is conveniently located next to the Elementary school, the commissary, the PX and all the shopping/gas/necessities and about 2 minutes from Kevin's building where he will be working!!! YAY!We honestly wouldn't have a reason to leave the base for anything!So, that's us so far... We will try and keep you all posted, which is a challenge... we don't have the best internet connection, but make due with what we do have. So, we will wish you all a very happy spring and Easter... just in case we don't get back for a while!Thanks so much for all the well wishes and encouragement, it means so much to us as we transition our lives.

The continued adventures of an Army family

From:
11 March 2008 @ 12:51 am

The continued adventures of an Army Family...

It has been a crazy few months... Since Kevin re-enlisted in the Army it has been one incredible ride, ups, downs, we've been through it all.We finally got his orders! Yes, he was even held over at AIT (schooling, basically) because they originally gave him orders to Korea... unaccompanied... meaning he would have had to leave us all and go play Army in Korea for a year without us.Now That didn't work for me, he did'nt like it either... so he asked about that since he had to get us on EFMP (the program identifying us as having special medical needs) and they decided to cancel the orders.. but, with that, meant they had to wait until all of us with special medical needs were updated in the computer and were processed so they could determine what base to send us to that would be able to meet those needs.Well, after his gradutaion - which was very nice, btw - He had to stay in South Carolina for an extra 2 weeks for a new assignment. We will now be headed to Texas!!We are currently in PA. We also only got 10 days notice!! Yes, 10 days to move! - 10 days to move a house of this many people, and me almost 8 months pregnant! Boy don't we like to live on the edge?!So, we have to do so many things to do this, it feels like I have to move a mountain sometimes!I have to clear out a house, get it packed and loaded and then drive over 2,000 miles across the country, pregnant with 9 kids in "Momzilla" (our 15 passeneger van) to end up in a studio motel for we don't know how long, and try to house hunt so we can find us a home - because post housing has an 8 month waiting list thus far - and meanwhile the kids are out of school and we all get to just "hurry up and wait"!So, let the adventure begin!!Yes, I am going into this with an open mind... do I really have a choice?? But, I have Faith that God will provide, he will look after us and he will settle us where he wants us to be do what we were meant to do... now, we don't know what that is... do any of us? we will just go along though... that incredible Faith will just have to do! :)Well now, it's been about a week since we got the news, so now we have the actual "pack up and move" part to deal with....
So... The movers came today - there were 3 guys, I was in serious doubt they would be able to pack up my entire house by the day's end....
Let me tell something to you!... lol (Happy Feet)
They packed and I have never seen such efficient work!! WOW!! The only thing is, they pack EVERYTHING... and I mean EVERYTHING!! One of the guys packed my crock pot with my dinner in it!! LMSO!!! I am NOT KIDDING!! I had to stop him and tell him "Oh wait!! That's my dinner in there!!" He kinda laughed!Of Course, they were all (Kids, Movers, Kevin, even my Mom called cuz she "had the feeling" I wasn't "sitting still") Yelled at me to go lay down, sit down, stay out of it, or go relax. OY!! they are a pain in the butt!! he he he! Um, yeah. that works out so well for me! First off, I am a control freak, secondly, I want things done a certain way... yaknow? (And you will have to keep reading to see that they should have let me be more involved!!) Anyhoo, about mid-day Kevin brought me up to our room and made me just stay put, I actually took a nap - they left my bed alone. (good thing, I might have been packed up to!)
I went back down as they were finishing up... they packed it ALL!! My house is all gone! - they didn't leave a dish, a spoon, a NOTHING! They even packed my furbaby's dogfood that was sitting out for her!! DOG FOOD!!! They packed my shots - yes, my injections I have to do everyday -, they packed up all the toilet paper!! They packed up all our clothes, everything!!... I hadn't even packed for the trip yet, so we were left, literally, with the clothes on our backs!! We didn't have our shoes on... guess where those are?? PACKED!
I was glad we kept a close eye on the little ones they would have gone missing in a box!! The only thing left behind was open containers of any kind, the oil, perfumes, meds, etc... if it was open, they left it!
I had to go to Wally's to get paper plates, bowls, plastic cups, all that! We couldn't make or eat dinner!! I also had to buy us a change of clothes, a package of undies and socks each, I got us shoes - just some slipper/sandals things that were cheap to travel in - So, frozen pizza's for the kids on disposable pizza trays and Kev and I got chinese....
Now, the other movers come tomorrow to load everything on to the truck.. My house will be empty!!! I am sad you know.... I am going to miss our huge Victorian home... I did love this house and we could not have asked for better neighbors - Awesome folks! - they were also the landlords! ;) I will miss my Mom, I moved out here to get to know her and I am so glad that I did. I never knew my Mom, she left when I was just an itty bitty thing, so getting to know her after all these years was nice - for both of us! My mom's side of the family and Kevin's folks are here local too... It's been a nice 3 years in PA!
I write you this now - by some miracle! (because they packed my wireless router!) - seems I have a neighbor somewhere that has a wireless router because I was amazed that I could get online when I got on here to write up a letter - that I now realize I can't print because they packed my printer too... LOL
Unbelievable!!
Anyhoo, since everything is packed and will be gone tomorrow, we are going to hit the road once they are done and the house is empty and I get to clean the place and turn in the keys!
So, If y'all don't hear from me, I am en route to Texas!!
It's been a crazy time, this last few months... I will keep everyone posted on this incredible new journey with the Army as we go, and tell you of all the adventures of The Tribe as we live it!
Much Love, Luck and Happiness to all and we will update soon!! - and If I don't get to post before it comes around... Have a Happy Easter!

The Family Newsletters

Well, alot has happened since my last posts! I had to send my laptop back to HP because I had issues getting online since we moved here back in March!
So, Now I can paste all the happenings from when we've gotten here, here are the posts you've missed out on!

February 11, 2008:


" Mealtime Madness "

Why is it a kid can NEVER eat a sandwich like a normal human?I have kids from 19 to 11 mos old and barring the older guys, the kids eat the sandwiches crazy, like, they eat the middles out, or pull it apart or maybe disect the thing first and rebuild it... ?? rocket science? No, just food, kids, eat it!some kids have to make "sections" and put this food here, that food there and etc, eating out of each section... huh?? shovel it in already so I can get back to cleaning some other mess ya made...Then I have Heaven... that child will eat anything that ain't moving... or too dead to stink...When she finishes hers, she scouts out what others have left, to go scavenge their leftovers. - and she is the 3 yr old, micro-preemie that still weighs nothing and is the littlest thing in the house!!And I've learned, if I ask what they want to eat, they take it as "Whatever you say, Mom will make" so then the fits come when I don't make everyone's individual meal... no, I'm not Burger King and you can't have your way, then again, I'm the dork that asked! - no more of that! "Hey Kids, today it's PBJ for lunch with chips!" (listen to whine and groan, but they eat it!, sorta, after the disection and creative food art)I used to take a vote on what was for dinner, now I do like the school and post a weekly menu. I don't want to be insane because of picky kids!!!Then there is Talon, God love him, he will not eat anything I serve unless it's a PBJ. He just does not want to eat anything else but that!! I stick to my guns for the most part, and tell him he still has to sit at the table and try it. he just won't sometimes. By evening before bed, I end up giving him a PBJ because I can't see letting him go to bed hungry.*sigh*

Missing My Soldier this Valentines Day

Well, as some of you may have been following along our lil story, My Hubby and I will not be together this Valentines Day.He is still doing the "Army thing". So for now, we will get phone calls and whatever we've sent each other via USPS to celebrate.
If anyone would have told me a year ago that we would be "here" I would have laughed at that far fetched thought!

A year ago today, we got engaged! Feb. 10th, 2007Jan. 16th, 2007 was our 2 year Anniversary. (first date)and We were married on Dec. 24th, 2007

Wow, we have alot of dates to remember! And that doesn't include the ump-teen hundred birthdays we have to stick on a calendar!

We met, Jan of 2006. We had spent alot of time talking on the phone, and meeting up for pie and coffee in the wee hours of the morning when the kids were asleep. We have such wonderful conversations. We can talk about anything, from politics to poopy diapers.
We can talk all through the night, we can debate and express our ideas and thoughts and it's wonderful! We played cards at my old kitchen table, talking, joking and just being together.
I miss our conversations. I miss our time together, our evenings over pie and coffee and conversations or card games....
Now, we have our conversations, via cell phone and occasionally, on one of the slew of messenger services that we can chat through. We spend hours on the phone once he's done for the day, I will even pull a late nighter with him when it's his turn for "duty" so he's not alone.
I think someone was on to something when they had that idea that communication was the key to a great relationship! It really is, but let's not ignore the physical... although we obviously have to right now. I am looking forward to just being in his arms.So, next week, We will be leaving, taking "Momzilla" (Our 15 passenger van) down to him for a week. We will get to spend time together and attend "Family Day" and his Graduation, FINALLY, from all his Army required trainings!!

Our Valentines Day will be February 16th!

So, I am hoping everyone has a wonderful, Love filled Valentines Day and I will be going to the one I love, to fill him with all our Love... Our Soldier, Our Hero, We will finally get to bring him home... if only for a little while, but we will enjoy every day we can with him!