Pete is on the move

Well, we had a wonderful two weeks with Pete home. We spent the first week at the beach having a wonderful time swimming and sight seeing. Thanks to Mom, who came to the beach but stayed in her own place, we had three date nights in a row. We were able to eat at beautiful restaurants on the beach or marina. We created some beautiful memories.

The second week we were blessed to have Pete's parents and brother Mark with us for three days. We enjoyed spending time with them at the pool and just hanging out together. The boys enjoyed water gun fights with Uncle Mark and blowing bubbles with Grandma and Grandpa.

On Saturday, August 25th, Peter left to begin his trip to the Middle East. Thankfully we were able to get passes to walk him to the gate. My brother, Eugene, accompanied us. Once at the gate we had time to sit and have lunch together and a few minutes of playing and watching airplanes. The goodbye part was very difficult. Thank God for my brother who was by my side to help with the boys and to remind me that all would be O.K.
We are so blessed to have family and friends who love us and are willing to go the extra mile with us and for us. Thank you LORD!

I heard from Pete early this morning as he had his lay over in Germany. He said he thought they would make it to the Middle East tonight. He wasn't sure if he would be in Afghanistan tonight or later this week. He still is unsure about which part of Afghanistan he will be stationed in. I promise that as soon as I get an address for him I will post it here as well as e-mail it out to all. He has a laptop now with a web cam. It will be fun to stay in touch through e-mail as well.
We are not sure how the phone situation will work out. He has his cell phone but I found out that it would cost $4.99 a minute to call from Afghanistan using the cell phone. So, we bought a couple of international calling cards for cell phones to get him started. I'll send more details on what he can use once he knows more about his situation.

The main thing I ask for is fervent prayer. Please pray for Pete's safety. Please pray for us here at home, not just me and the boys but my family as well. They are doing so much to support us. I also ask for prayers for Pete's family as they endure some difficult times these days. Pete's maternal grandmother is in the hospital with renal failure and his family dog is very ill with cancer. Please keep them all in your prayers.
Thank you for your constant support!
Love,
Cristina
God Bless America!

Peter is Home

Praise God!!! Our Peter is home. It is wonderful to have his strong, Godly presence home again. The boys are so excited. We were able to get passes to meet Pete at the gate at the airport. When they saw Pete walk out the boys ran into his arms. I got a couple of great pictures. Then we had the family hug! What a great feeling!
We ate dinner at the airport in order to avoid rush hour traffic and then came home to begin the playing and updates. We all had to show Pete all of the new toys, decorations, etc. around the home. Ricky was so excited that daddy would be reading him his bedtime story. It took them both a while to settle down enough to fall asleep.
We spent this morning having a family breakfast and then packing up lunch to spend some time at the pool. Ricky showed dad how he can now jump off of the diving board. Paul showed him how he can jump from the wall and how he plays with balls in the baby pool. It was wonderful to be together as a family.
Tomorrow we'll gather with the G-C family for lunch and see our friends at church. Then Monday we head out to the beach. We are looking forward to creating some more great family memories at one of our favorite places, St. Augustine. We'll take the boys to the Mission of Our Lady of La Leche. Peter and I made a pilgrimage there when we were trying to conceive. It will be great to show the boys where we prayed for our babies. Pete can't wait to show them the fort. And of course we'll spend plenty of time at the beach.
We pray that you are all doing well and enjoying your families. May God bless you with peace and happiness.
Love,
Cristina