Ugh! Today's only Tuesday??

So Elyse woke up super early at 3:15 AM and couldn't get back to sleep because of her sinuses being so congested, and she had a fever! Then, when she climbed into to bed with me, that woke Kayne up--and at some point we were all 3 in bed crying! :-(

The day went by and the kids got to sleep for like 4 hours, but I got NONE. I was trying to get a nap all day, but between vacuuming-picking up baby toys-and preparing meals- I found myself out of time! Bryan even got to see Kayne destroying the living room via the webcam. I was so glad that at least SOMEONE now knows how quickly he tears everything up!

The good news for today was our counseling session with Rita. Elyse and I have grown to LOVE going to her for our bi-monthly 'chats.' It started as grief counseling for Marcus, and has continued to LIFE talks. LOL! She is a great Christian woman, and I enjoy so much talking to her about the ups and downs of the day-to-day routine. We have also started discussing when Bryan comes home, and the transitions that will have to be made--beyond the 'Welcome Home' signs and excitement. Can't wait to put all of this talk into action! COME HOME BRY!!!

Oh! And, at the top are a few pics of Kayne today (Lysee declined to be in them, due to 'looking sick'). We got his Maclaren stroller in today and it is PERFECT!! Uncle Marcus LOVED orange and so that is why we went with that color. I am in love with it already, and wondering how I ever lived without it. Out with that heavy HUGE Graco... in with the Maclaren! ((Notice the 5 point harness??-- WE NEED THAT to keep him in now!))

I am CrAzY??

Maybe so!

I joined Elyse's Tae Kwon Do class, that she takes at a local church. It is a great program, and she loves it--so I decided instead of just sitting and watching her I would get up and do it!! Tonight was my first night, and we had a great time together. It is an amazing work-out, and they also have a lesson and prayer every class. I love that this is something that we will have in common and that will give us time to spend without Kayne.

I spend all day with the baby, and sometimes it seems difficult to find things to talk to Elyse about (other than school or homework). I am praying that she will feel close to me even as she gets in to these difficult years that are coming soon.

I am also including a couple pictures of the Kayne man. He just got his first bottom tooth today, and should have the second one by tomorrow! WOW! He is well on his way to a full set of teeth. I am spending my days now trying to clean and organize the house, and then following after him and cleaning up again. It is quite EXHAUSTING!! I am also still taking master's classes. Ohhhh my! If there were only like 5 more hours in a day, and I had just ONE more of myself I could catch up! :-))

T.G.I.F.

He wouldn't let me get a picture of the front of him, but he looks ADORABLE in his Superman jammies! If we don't decide on anything different, he may just wear them for his Halloween costume.

*****************

I worked on our bedroom all day, and it is definitely becoming more organized and looking MUCH better! I am trying to de-clutter our home and it just takes much longer than simply cleaning.

After the long day of cleaning, I went out to dinner with my friend Sarah without the kids--I don't get out without them much ((at ALL)). We had fun talking, and already made plans to see a movie next Sunday afternoon. YEA!

Progress!

I was so inspired by the act of putting Kayne's bins together, that I decided to get busy cleaning in there! This is a picture of the room when I emptied out Elyse's old toy box (with the purple lid). I call this my "Where's Waldo?" picture of Kayne. Can you find the child in this photo? LOL!

I worked for hours with him 'helping' which

probably equaled like 45 minutes withOUT his help! He was a good boy, though... and I want him to be part of putting his room together! My revised goal is to have his room done in time for him to spend the night in there on his birthday!

(Half way done, and Kayne is dumping toys out for Mommy!)

All done for today! We worked on Sissy's arts and crafts table too! I will post those in another blog. She was SO excited!

Forget Handy Manny...

^^^^^^^^^^^

Handy Manny

Handy Mommy
------------>

I may not have talking tools, but I have determination! So, in the spirit of having our OWN room when Bry gets home, I have been trying to get our 'office' organized and made into a place for Kayne. It is an extra room that is a step down from our living room and the only problem is that it doesn't have doors seperating it right now--and the noise may be an issue. However, we are working with what we have right now and this home is what we have. Our prayer is to be able to move into a 3 or 4 bedroom home in a couple of years!

Moving forward! Today I purchased a storage bin for Kayne's room. It is one that he can stand holding and get his toys out. Elyse's old toy chest is in there, but he can only get to the toys on top. We also got a few more things for him at Target today and it seems that KIDS ARE EXPENSIVE!! LOL! I told Bryan not to worry- I will just wrap this stuff up and have him open it for his birthday!

<-------ALMOST done!!

YEA I'm All DONE!!>>

With Halloween coming up, I'm trying to decide what to have Kayne be for his FIRST trick-or-treating adventure. Be sure to participate in the poll on what Kayne should be. As of right now, Amy is the only one who EVER comments on this blog... COME ON, GUYS!!

Packages for Bryan

Some of you have asked me what you could send to Bryan while he is still 'over there.' With the holiday season coming so quickly, I thought I could help some of you get a head-start on the holiday shopping!

First Things First! Here is Bry's mailing address. Oh! And you should definitely used the 'Military flat rate' boxes--they have a reduced rate at 10.95 instead of 12.95 and no weight limit! YEAH!

Bryan Harvey

Unit #41579

A. Co 94th BSB

FOB Rustamiyah

APO, AE 09390

Here are a few ideas, and things that Bry likes:

Food Items:

• Chicken breast in pouches, or canned chicken with pop-tops


• Energy Drinks!! He likes Rip It, Rockstar, Amp'd, Full Throttle, etc... just NO sugar free kinds


• Mountain Dew (bottle or cans)


• Chef Boyardee cans with the pop tops


• Campbell's chunky soups--nothing low or reduced fat.


• Snickers bars, DOTS candy, Swedish Fish


• Flavored sunflower seeds


• Gum

Non-Food Items:

• Gillette Fusion razor refills


• Febreze spray (extra strength or anti-microbial)


• Neutrogena or Clearasil Men's shave gel


• Vaseline lotion


• Daily facial wipes (no water face cleansers)


• Clorox wipes


• Truck or Men's magazines


• Axe body spray and deodorant

I will be adding to this list as Bry advises :-)

Thank you all so much ALREADY for just thinking of us during this holiday season. It will be our third year apart and we are NOT looking forward to it. We are excited about spending next Christmas together, however!! Please keep praying for Bryan and his fellow soldiers... Until they ALL come home!

Mr. Man

It's soooo sad for Kayne when his Sissy gets on the school bus in the morning. So, it's Mommy's job to play with Kayne and make him smile. We had fun making words today with Kayne's letter blocks... and then he was playing with Mommy's cell phone when Daddy called! Check out the videos at the bottom of the blog to see the fun that we had!

Here are a few pics from today...

Sooooo amazed!!

I am on the computer...LOTS! My graduate courses are online, my husband is online... after 8 PM when the kids go to bed, my LIFE is online. :-)

So, I began looking for 'Mommy and Me' groups that are free in my area and found a forum for Tampa Bay Moms that seems to be pretty cool. I recently saw a post that seemed 'to good to be true'--a professional photographer offering NO SITTING FEE for family photos! Because Bry has been gone for so much during Kayne's life, I take LOTS of pictures. But, it is so nice to go to a professional and have fun, animated family portraits done. Going out on a limb, I contacted Mr. Booray (yes, his real name) Perry to set up an appointment. I half-explained to him the situation with Marcus and Bryan, and told him that Jules would like her picture taken as well!

Anyways, long story short--we met him to take the pics and he was AMAZING! We had such a genuinely GOOD TIME just laughing and playing with one another--and he just made the pictures work with us, instead of the opposite. I can't wait to send these to Bryan! I showed him the website tonight when he was on webcam, and he loved them--he was soooo surprised!

Everyone should check them out and let me know what they think! If you guys have any favorites, let me know- these are looking like good Christmas present potential! LOL!

The web address is www.boorayperry.com
We are featured on his blog--so click on the right hand side of the site first, and read the story. Then, go back to the main page and choose the left side and click on ORDER ONLINE and enter the following information:

E-mail: harveyfamily4906@hotmail.com
Password: heather

Can't wait to see what you all think!

JONAS BROS~Burning Up Tour9/4/08

JONAS BROTHERS!!! YEAAAAA!!!

We had such a great time at the concert on Thursday night. Elyse had her best friend Olivia and Tazia along with her, and they were also HUGE Jo Bros fans. I have never heard so much shreiking in my life! We almost needed earplugs... but seeing Elyse so happy was worth every bit of hearing lost.

Elyse has had such a hard time since Aunt Janie died in February, and then Uncle Marcus in April... she misses them on a daily basis, and has a hard time understanding why this has happened to her. I try to reassure her everyday that Jesus hears her prayers, and knows that her heart hurts. He is working on repairing it :-) I loved seeing her BIG smile at the concert, because I haven't seen her that happy since Marcus was killed...
Be sure to check out the videos at the bottom from our Youtube account!