Our Halloween

Check out the beehive updo :)


Our friends McCain and Palin - they definitely won best costume!

Bobbing for apples, I'm so proud!



Ben and I dressed up as a couple from some era...it took me 2 tries to get a good beehive going on! We had fun going out to a Halloween Party put on by Bob in Ben's unit and his wife Bridget.

Maple Leaf Thanksgiving

This weekend my family celebrated Thanksgiving in the "True North Strong and Free" (Ben was privy to the entire Canadian National Anthem last night sung by moi before we went to sleep). No I was not there...although I keep missing out on the grand affair, we have been so blessed to see both of our parents (to include a few siblings each time) for American Thanksgiving in the "home of the brave" (still haven't got that anthem down pat)..and in a few weeks it will be 3 years running tradition! We cannot wait!!!

Taylor convinced me to make some great Thanksgiving Food to celebrate in my heart this weekend :) Here she be (above)...

PS (and this is a HUGE PS):

Myles is undergoing his surgery today, he has been in our thoughts and prayers all day, please pray for immaculate recovery.

Long Over Due

I can't believe I haven't posted about my little nephew yet! My sister and her husband recently gave birth to Myles, their precious precious baby boy. Not only has he become the light of their lives, he is quickly taking over my parents hearts and everyone else that comes into any sort of contact with him. My schedule with the Army hasn't yet permitted me to sneak away and visit but I pray that day is coming soon! Daily I look at their blog for updates and pictures. He is one amazing gift from God and we Thank You Lord for the opportunity to stir up in Myles heart the love of Christ. I'm sure he'll teach us far more about your love then we will ever teach him.

Speaking of his heart... Myles was born with Downs Syndrome to include a heart defect. Myles, bless him, is going to have open heart surgery this Tuesday to repair a narrowed Aorta, among other issues. This is very exciting news as it will help him grow big and strong - on the flip side it can be a whirlwind of emotions for his new parents, Jocelyn and Gilby. Pray for them. Pray into the surgery, that the Dr would embody perfection on that day. Pray that Myles is healed and that my sister and brother in-law would see a miracle from the Lord. Lastly pray for the peace of God, the only thing that can calm restless spirits in these situations.

You can see 100s of pictures of Myles on their blog gilbertsnuthouse. Chels is calling me to leave for church but here is one quick snap shot... nevermind it's taking me too long to try and steal it off their web page... take a look at their blog!

great song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tdtzmGTnQE

jimmy needham, hurricane...
what else must be said?

The End of 2 Long Weeks

Well, today is an interesting day in the life of an Army wife. For the last two weeks I have hardly seen my husband, in the beginning it was frustrating and somewhere in the middle I just got "used" to evenings without him. All I knew was he was doing this training thing for a badge called "EFMB". Something that for a month he has been dreading only because he felt that with all the other pressures & responsibilities of work something would have to give.

Each day this week he would come home and say "Chels I passed today!" and as the week went on I got more and more excited and proud of him (still not realizing what a big deal this is). "EFMB" stands for "Expert Field Medic Badge". All I knew was that each day at around 9pm (some days were more like 3 am and then leave again at 6 am) he would get home dirty and stinky - and that there was a MASSIVE manual he would have to study if he was serious about passing the written test at the end.

Well, this morning he left sometime between 3 & 4 am for his 12 mile ruck march into his graduation. I said I'd be there.... I showed up at at the graduation location, but there were LOADS of soldiers for some ceremony and I was sure I was in the wrong place. Apparently not. A Major General addressed the crowd and the 70 graduates out of the 400ish that started this course. So I am posting to bragg a little about my man! Here is what I have learned : This badge is one of the most difficult and most prestigous to earn. They have been trained and tested under extreme battle conditions to treat wounded soldiers and get them out of the worst combat zone.

I will let Ben write more about it if he wants to, but from our conversations I think he would say one of his highlights was being able to go through this with his medics and get to know each of them a little better.

I am a proud wife today! He keeps amazing me with his talents :)

The Shack

I just posted on my blog Sacred Moments about this book :) I thought I would put it as a link here for you to check out!

Chelsa

blue steel

on the chair i broke

i work therefore i get tired

good lookin couple

Chesapeake Symphony

Labor Day Pictures

a Haugen tradition

single and ready to mingle

mitchell, one of my favorites

mason, another of my favorites

marit, the cool one

Is your Epidermis showing?

The East Coast Haugens


I have had more than a few friends ask what our big news is… The big news is that we have a new car. I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to build that up as big news. So settle your minds there isn't a baby Schaefer for Summer ’08.

We just arrived home from one of the more enjoyable Labor Day weekends I can remember. Chelsa and I made the drive up to Chesapeake, VA to visit my 1st cousin once removed Chris and his beautiful family. We not only enjoyed delicious food and good laughs, but the beach (two times), a waterpark, guitar hero, and a symphony under the stars. The Haugen’s don’t disappoint.

Labor Day helped us kick off our new fall season the right way. I’ll finally be doing my job rather than another tradoc school and Chelsa has already begun her fall semester. She is finishing up a few prereqs at Central Carolina Community College enroute to applying for a Dental Hygienist program. Nothing is definite but as of now that is the plan.

I’ll quit boring you with this update and get to the pictures. But first, here are a few websites we have grown to love.
http://www.gilbertsnuthouse.com
http://mattandjohnni.blogspot.com/
http://funwithdickjane.blogspot.com/

Chelsa's 1st Funnel Cake

Mason and Mitchell getting more friendly than usual!

Check out the mileage on this ONE tank of gas!
Even with fuel to spare

The New Ride

Almost immediately after returning from Ranger School it became apparent that Chelsa was going to need a new car. We began searching and finally that search is over. We purchased a 2007 Hyundi Elantra last weekend. Here’s a few pics with Chelsa and her new car.


The backseat actually has plenty of room. We needed a funny picture.