Benjamin's First Birthday, Baby Shower, and More!

Saturday, August 21st Benjamin turned one!! I can't believe how big he is getting! He is such a little toddler now. He had a great birthday and all of his grandparents, and a couple of uncles and great-grandparents, were able to come. He was a little overwhelmed by all the attention and cameras but he really enjoyed his cupcake! I broke it in half so he could break the pieces and eat them himself, but once that cupcake touched his mouth it literally never left. He ate the first half without ever pulling away. Chris and I were both pulling back on his arms trying to get him to take smaller bites but he didn't give in. That boy is strong! The second half of the cupcake I broke into bite size pieces before he got a hold of it. :) Benjamin received lots of wonderful gifts and although he didn't seem interested in opening them all that day, he has enjoyed playing with all of them since then. I think his top interest on his birthday day were the balloons.

Benjamin's one year check up went really well. He is 26 pounds and 30 inches tall! When I looked at the medicine bottle to see how much he should get (he wasn't feeling well after his shots) the dosage chart listed his weight as that of a 2-3 year old. haha! He is a solid one year old.

This past weekend Chris' mom and some other family members hosted a baby shower for us. It was so nice! Chris and Benjamin came over to join us after nap and snack. We really enjoyed seeing everyone and Benjamin seemed to enjoy walking around and inspecting all the guests. We received so many nice things. Little girl is going to be the best dressed baby around!

Today I had another doctor appointment. I will start going once a week. Although it may not be for long because it looks like little girl will be coming early! Her head is down and I am 2 cm. dilated and 50% effaced. So we'll see when she decides to come. The nice part is that Chris will most likely get to be here for it, as long as she comes before Sept. 19th. We'll see!

We're still working towards getting everything finished and ready for baby girl's arrival, Benjamin and I moving to NB, and Chris leaving. Unfortunately, there are quite a few things that we don't have control over, so in the meantime we are taking care of the things that we can. Please pray that everything will happen the way that God wants it to and that we will be granted whatever graces we need to prepare for and endure the coming months.

Big Changes for the Moses Family

We found out last week that Chris is being called up to serve in Iraq. He is not being deployed with his unit in San Antonio, but is being attached to a unit in Maryland, the 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion, for this particular mission. September 19th he leaves for Maryland to partake in preparations with the 203rd. October 4th he will be at Fort Huachuca in Arizona for a Joint Weapons Intelligence Course. He will be there until sometime in December. Early January he will go to Ft. Dix in New Jersey to finish training with the 203rd and sometime in the Spring they will go to Iraq until next October. He will be part of a 5 person Weapons Intelligence Team that will basically be like CSI: Baghdad. When an IED is used or disarmed (and most importantly after the area has been secured) they are called in to get whatever information they can. Chris' job will be to look at the electronics (or what is left of the electronics) and figure out how the bomb was made/used/set off. They will take the information they find and use it to help prevent roadside bombs, etc. from being used against us in the future. We are thankful that his job should be fairly safe and that he will be able to help save a lot of lives. We are also thankful that he is being sent to Iraq and not Afghanistan. He will also be able to come home for Thanksgiving, most likely Christmas, and the 203rd pays for me and the kids to come visit him in Maryland before they leave.

Benjamin, baby girl, and I will be living with my parents in New Braunfels. We will be able to Skype with Chris when he is away. We are hoping and praying that Chris will be able to get a few days off to come home around little one's due date. I can't imagine giving birth without him beside me. He is the best husband and father and, next to Jesus, he is my rock. Please pray that everything will work out the way that God wants it to.