Introduction to James, Elias, and Cora

One of the many joys of being a military family is having the opportunity to travel. One of the sorrows is moving. And so after 4 1/2 years in Jacksonville we are loading up and moving west to Coronado, California. All 3 of us really enjoyed our time in Jacksonville and we all tried to make the most of our last couple of weeks before moving. Tobias took advantage of his last flight in the area and took pictures of downtown Jacksonville and our church. James spent his last weekend in Jacksonville going to the zoo with his best buddy. James is still asking for his friend at least every day. In this picture James is on the left. For James' last day at school we brought in ice cream and cookies for the kids to enjoy. Yummy! We also spent one more evening with James' Jacksonville grandparents where he enjoyed another piano recital. And so, after everyone had a chance to say goodbye to their friends (or in my case, avoiding good-byes entirely) and the car was all loaded up, we...

After six and a half long months - Tobias is finally home. We were fortunate enough to have lots of family and friends join us in helping make Tobias' homecoming celebration very special. Here we are about 6:30am as we head out to meet Tobias' ship. Everyone was feeling patriotic. Here's James and his buddy, Clayton, showing their pride. James helped prepare for Daddy's homecoming by making this very special sign. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I'm awfully glad that James added his own artistic influence. Watching the mighty Mac pulling in. Tobias deployed onboard the USS McInerney (FFG 8) the oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy, excluding the USS Constitution (which has sails) up in Boston. Edie, Tobias' mom, and I showing our excitement. While it was hard to have Tobias gone for so long, we are so proud of him! Can you spot Tobias? James had no problems spotting his Daddy and running into his arms. It was a perfect moment! And Tobias couldn...

Having fun and waiting for the warm weather. James loves his helicopter. Here he is playing with his pilots doing rescue missions. Football is still James' favorite thing! Happy boy! James and his good buddy walking through the zoo. Such nice boys. Football, football all the time! It's a bit hard to play football when your mom just wants to take pictures instead of play with you. =) Yummy! Strawberries!! Deep in thought. Look at this little guy - so sweet.