And So Begins Three Daddy-less Weeks...

Caleb left on Saturday.  His plane took off at 6:30am, but we left him there at 5:30am so that Clara and I could go back to sleep.  I last heard from him very briefly on Sunday, and he officially started Special Forces Selection on Monday.  If I don't hear from him, that is good!  I just wish I could fast forward to December 16th so that I would know whether or not he gets selected!!  I want to know where we are going and when we are going there...

But, back to the rest of my weekend.

On Thanksgiving, we went to Caleb's mom's house.  Caleb's brothers, Daniel and Brendan were there along with Daniel's wife Paula, and his son, Michael.  Michael is four and one half years old, so he and Clara can't really play together very well this year, but next year should be fun (or interesting).  Daniel has a Canon 7D, and I was excited to get to play with that and his external flash.  (I want both now... even though I know that that will not happen for a while.  A girl can dream, right?)  We had A LOT of great food (we only had one meal that day because of it).  We went to the park where Clara had fun in a swing for the first time.  And, I had a lot of fun with multiple Clara photoshoots.

On Black Friday, we just relaxed at home.  I bought my mom's Christmas present online (I almost slipped up and said what it was, but she does read this blog), and I picked it up later that night.  We also went out to Buffalo Wild Wings to bid farewell to our friend, Jared Carpenter.  He got out of the Army as a Captain, and had spend at least three months trying very hard to find a job.  When he got the job in Memphis, Tennessee, he was two weeks away of being homeless because the house he was renting got rented out from under him.  He accepted the job on Tuesday, and moved on Saturday.  He will be working in the medical supply field.  We all wish him good luck on his life's next chapter, and hope that he finds a nice big house with a backyard for his cute puppy.  Caleb and I went to Cold Stone for dessert... the cookies and cream shake that I had was delicious.

Saturday started off with Caleb leaving us for three weeks.  The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing with Clara.  I was able to talk to Caleb once he got to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

On Sunday, Clara and I went to church.  I put Clara into the nursery for the first time EVER.  It was SO awesome to not have to hold her and entertain her during church.  She did great, too.  She was the only kid in the infant room.  And, the nursery worker did great with her cloth diapers.  We went to Wal-Mart after church to check on the prices of the Jillian Michaels DVDs to see if it was better to get them online or in the store... online won out.  I ended up buying: Six Week Six Pack, 30 Day Shred, and The Biggest Loser: Cardio Max online.  I wanted Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism, but they sold out of that online before I was able to order them.  I also bought some more of my Christmas presents for people in my online order.  While I was in the store, though, I did get part of Caleb's present and a little bit more for Clara's present.  Yes, I finally decided on what to get Caleb! 

On Monday, I worked out with friends in the morning, and Clara ate green beans for the first time for lunch.  She is not too sure about them, but I think that that is because of their texture... and my blender not working.  I'm done, I WILL be getting a new blender!  Making baby food will just be too difficult without one because she needs to eat more than just oatmeal, avocados, and bananas!  Then, right before the end of Cyber Monday, I bought a little bit more for Christmas presents.  I now have everyone covered except for one more thing for Clara, my grandma, grandpa, grammy, Carl, and Sookie (because she is part of the family after all).  I know what I want to get all of them, but it Clara's last part, my grandma and grandpa, and my grammy's presents will all be homemade.  I hope that I can get them done before Christmas!!

Today, I went to Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) and had a great Bible study (Guarding Your Child's Heart by Gary Smalley).  I will just be playing with Clara the rest of the day.  Later today, my friend Amy will be coming by to watch Clara while I go to my personal training session.  It will be my last time seeing Amy before she moves back to New York.  It will be a sad day, but I am glad that I will get to see her (and I am thankful that she volunteered her time to watch Clara for me).

Well, that was my long weekend in a nutshell.  We are getting by here.  In fact, I feel a lot more productive when Cale is not around.  The only problem I have is going to bed at a reasonable time... I have been going to bed at midnight since Caleb left and it is wearing on me.  I hope that I can start going to bed earlier!!

Please keep Caleb in your prayers while he is at Selection!!  Thanks!