Oh, what a beautiful morning! Oh, what a beautiful day!

Mom used to love to sing that song loudly and shrilly to try to wake us up in the mornings. Don't know why I thought of that, but I can hear her flip-flopping down the hallway in her thong sandals with the rubber soles slapping against the tile floor, singing at the top of her lungs. Sometimes I do that to Matt and think it's such fun, but oh how it drove me crazy when I was on the other end of it!

It is a beautiful morning here. Not on the outside - it's drizzling, cloudy and humid - but on the inside it's gorgeous. If Matt were here, it would be perfect. Garin has gone down for a nap, I'm on my third load of laundry, and I've already scoured the kitchen, straightened the house, and vacuumed downstairs. I'll finish upstairs as soon as he gets up. Because we have a big night ahead, there's been no rush to get showers and get ready. We're just hanging out. I bought two new coffees this week in an effort to thwart my inevitable cravings for hot chocolate as the weather cools. One is caramel truffle; the other is cinnamon hazelnut. Both are delicious, but the caramel wins hands down. I've been drinking WAY too much of it (it isn't decaf) but enjoying the energy boost!

I got a new baby carrier, a Hotsling, yesterday. I also bought some more Baby Legs. They're like leg warmers, basically, that go from ankle to hip and are great for winter - especially for crawling babies. And they make diaper changes so much easier. Garin and I went to WalMart yesterday afternoon for babyproofing stuff (At this point, it has become urgent.), and he really enjoyed the new sling. He was getting too big for the knit one, and he doesn't like being as confined as it made him.

It seems like so many of the spouses are struggling these days with health problems and discouragement. I just wonder how much of it is brought on, or at least exacerbated, by stress. Last night, I talked to my friend who had the breakdown. She's doing better now. Her husband leaves next week, and his mom will be there with her until the first of November, but she'll be alone from then until Christmas. It's a day's drive from here to her house, and Karl will be gone a lot this fall, doing his Aircraft Commander missions, so Garin and I are going to go visit her and the kids for a few days, I think - maybe on her birthday (Nov 14). I haven't heard how Julie's chemo and tests went yesterday. Hopefully I'll run into her today. Another friend here, Anita, has been ill for a long time. She had two surgeries this year, one to remove her gallbladder and another I'm not sure about, and they can't seem to get rid of her abdominal pain. She had a third surgery yesterday. She said she was going to go to the ball tonight. I can't imagine that, but knowing her, it may happen. I know that so many people in our country are praying for our servicemen, but please don't forget their families.