And for my next trick...

Caught Jacob climbing his brother's bunk bed ladder a few days ago... *sigh* Yet another thing to chase him off of! But he was SO proud of himself! And like any good mother, I grabbed some shots of him before saying "No, no, Jacob! You're going to fall and crack your skull!"

New Adventures

Ok, ok. So I'm a little behind in my blogging. I've heard the cries, the frustration, and the threats from all of my loyal fans. So, here's to you!

One or two things have happened since the last blog. The biggest things, Jacob turned 1, we've moved to Illinois, school has started for BOTH boys, and we celebrated David's 3rd Adoption Day!

We had a birthday party for Jacob before we left Abilene. He didn't really get into the cake much, but at least got some icing in his hair! He's walking all over, climbing the stairs, and following his big brother around everywhere he goes. He loves being upside-down, combs, chicken nuggets, slides, baths, fly swatters, and his mommy.


We left our wonderful friends in Abilene in May and headed out on our new adventure in Illinois. We moved into our home the 2nd of June and began a few updates before we received our household goods. We recarpeted and retiled much of the house and painted as many walls as we could. Still have some painting and unpacking to do, but I'm not sure that will ever be done completely! We have a huge, fenced backyard, 4 bedrooms, a storage area in the basement, and a playroom!! We are very blessed and thank God for the wonderful home he has given us. If you didn't receive an email with our new contact information, let me know and I'll get it to you.

David took swimming lessons this summer and did fabulous! He had a hard time with it at first, but by the end of lessons, he was swimming (with floaties) by himself!

Both boys began attending Creation Corner preschool at a church near our house. The are in school 2 days a week and are mostly enjoying it. The drop off is never fun with Jacob, but I'm told that he'll get better.

We celebrated David's 3rd Adoption Day with a trip to get his first bicycle! As with most things, he was a bit scared at first, but now it's hard to keep up with him as he shoots down the sidewalk!

Jaska is enjoying his new job and is already busy as ever. He does, however, have a regular schedule and is home about the same time every night. That is definitely a first for us! Also, the deployment rate is drastically reduced!!!! He'll deploy for 4-6 months ever 15-18 months. It's a welcome change from what we've been through the past 5 years.

I'm starting to get into a routine. MOPs begins in a few weeks, I'm working out a few days a week, and learning my way around the area.

We've been attending Cornerstone Christian Church nearby and are still praying if that is where God would have us serve.

If there's anything I've left out, let me know. (Don't know why I have to say that, I know some of you WILL!) ;)

He Has Returned!

He's Home! After a few months in the middle east, Jaska returned home (hopefully for a while) to an excited David and a hesitant Jacob. As usual, David was stuck to him like glue for a few days. Jacob didn't want to be out of eyesight of mommy, but he soon warmed up to the strange man in the house.

Jacob hit so many milestones while he was away and Jaska was blown away by how much he had grown. Jacob began to sit up, pull up, eat solid food, and cut two teeth all while he was gone.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and encouragement during this latest deployment.

From 7 Weeks to 7 Months

Ok, there’s a REASON why I put the “mostly-up-to-date happenings in the Cason house” at the top of this blog…We’ll just leave it at that.

Since so much time has passed since my last entry, I’ll give you the abbreviated rundown on the last, oh, six months or so!

Jacob and I took a road trip to Mississippi to spend a few days with my grandmother, who was in failing health. Jaska stayed home with David and had some “guy time.” It was a LONG trip and we found out that Jacob is NOT a good traveler. The last 1 ½ hours of the trip to MS, he did nothing but scream and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. He screamed himself hoarse. Broke my heart and my nerves were SHOT! After a short visit, my mom (who was there helping to care for my grandmother) decided that she would travel back to Abilene with us to help out along the way. She stayed a few days and then flew back to MS. It was such a relief to have her on the road. Made Jacob and I BOTH very happy!!

4 Generation Photo

My mom, grandmother, Jacob and I

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we were all in Mississippi bouncing from family to family. We had a great time with extended family and friends. My grandmother passed away 2 days after Thanksgiving, so we were able to be there for her funeral and also to spend some more time with her before she passed. We are thankful that her suffering has ended.

Us with my brother, Darrin

We returned home and celebrated David’s 3rd birthday with friends. It’s so hard to believe that our little baby is 3 already! Then when his attitude shows, it’s EASY to believe that he is 3!! He is such a smart boy. He goes to school 2 days a week at our church and loves it! He amazes us every day with the things that he knows and the phrases that he can come up with. He definitely keeps us on our toes and makes us smile a lot.

David's 3rd Birthday

Mid-December thrust us head-long into another deployment. It was hard to send Jaska off, especially since it would be our first Christmas apart (although it doesn’t ever get easier). However, my mom was able to come over from Mississippi (she was, and still is, getting my grandmothers affairs in order) and be with the boys and I for Christmas. Jaska should be home sometime towards the end of February.

We also found out in December that we are FINALLY getting a new assignment! We love Abilene, but we start getting antsy around the 3 year mark because we’ve never stayed anywhere longer than that. We will be moving to O’Fallon, Illinois, to Scott AFB in May. Jaska will be working in the training office there and will also be able to return to Abilene occasionally to fly! By the time we reach Illinois, we will have been in Abilene for 5 years!

Jacob has changed so much! He is now sitting up and army crawling around the house. He’s not moving very fast yet, but that’s just fine with me. He’s also eating solid food like a horse and will probably be able to tackle his brother if and when he can ever catch him! He weighs 19 pounds and his 6-9 month clothes are starting to get a bit snug. He is such a happy baby and a good sleeper. He’s also quite a chatterbox. He and David are going to have some GREAT conversations when he starts using words, although they will be fighting over who gets to talk!

Jacob @ 3 months

"I'm trying to eat here..."

(6 months)

He wants to crawl so bad...

That’s a quick summary of the last few months here. I’ll do my best to post another update before the children graduate high school… :)

September, 07

Tiny Bit is growing up!

Jacob is 7 weeks old!

It's hard to believe that our "tiny bit" is growing so quickly! Life has been quite a roller coaster over the last 7 weeks. Here are the highlights.

Labor with Jacob was just that...LABOR! Although I've been told I had a great labor for a first pregnancy, I opt NOT to do that again any time soon! I was induced on the morning of June 5th at 6:00 am. At first I was thinking, "This isn't that bad, I can handle it." Then the Dr. came in at 8:00 am and broke my water. I instantly learned how the next few hours were REALLY going to go! Breathing techniques flew right out the window and Jaska has finally regained the feeling back in his hand. At noon, I met my new best friend, the "epidural man."

Over the next 6 hours, I had the most blissful sleep I had had in months! I was then gently nudged and told it was time to push. Only an hour of pushing and Jacob was here! What a true miracle of God!

He had been having an irregular heartbeat throughout the day and the Dr. wanted to monitor him for a while to ensure that everything was ok. After a little snuggle time, he was taken to the nursery and remained on the monitor for his first night.

David was able to meet his baby brother the next day and was very interested in holding the baby...for about 5 seconds. Then he was off to play!

After me dealing with a spinal headache (a complication from my epidural) and nursing Jacob through a good bit of jaundice, we were able to head home.

We have had contiuous live-in help since Jacob was born (Thanks a million moms!) and we are now on our own. Jacob is up 2 times a night or so and we have learned to adjust to living on minimal sleep. He is nursing well and has nearly doubled his birth weight.

Big brother had quite an adjustment to sharing mommy and daddy with the small intruder, but he's doing much better. He loves to help give "baby Jacob" his paci, whether he wants it or not and he's pretty gentle...most of the time. All in all, David is a great big brother.

Here are a few of our favorite shots.

Daddy's Little Man

The Newest Addition

Brothers First Meeting

Ready To Go Home

He's got his Mommy's blue eyes! (for now at least)

In his "going home" outfit at 7 weeks.

Introducing...

We are thrilled to introduce

Jacob Timothy Tyler Cason!!
Born Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 at 7:18 pm.
6 pounds, 13 ounces, 20.5 inches

We've had some issues to work out with my health and Jacob's so we're still in the hospital and hoping to be going home tomorrow (Sun)!

Will update more when things settle down a bit (although I've been told that's 18 years from now...).

Jaska, Dee, David, and Jacob!

Bed Resting Update

The newest information from my favorite hospital bed is that...I'll be here for another week.

Had more tests run yesterday and results today looked good. Good enough for Dr not to induce me, but not good enough to take me off of bed rest. So the plan now is to continue bed rest until next week with an induction around Wednesday as long as my daily test results continue to remain fairly normal.

So if all goes well, little Jacob will arrive next week!

Thanks to all for your continued prayers, emails, and visits. Keep 'em comin!