SFC Severin W.Summers,III , 2/20 SFG...

Very early this morning, I found out that my oldest cousin, Sev, was killed in action in Afghanistan. The note from my Uncle West was simple and to the point:

SFC Severin W.Summers,III , 2/20 SFG was killed in Afghanistan August 2, 2009. Sev was a warrior who never avoided a challenge. We love him,we are proud of him and we will miss him immensely.
Charlene,Tammy & West Summers

The following was published by the Natchez Democrat:

Natchez man killed in Afghanistan
By Julie Cooper (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat
Published Monday, August 3, 2009
NATCHEZ — Sgt. First Class Severin Summers of Natchez was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend.
Summers’ wife Tammy was notified by a sergeant major and a chaplain from the Army National Guard Sunday night.
Summers, 43 or 44, was killed by an improvised explosive device, family friend Phyllis Beach said.
Tammy Summers is currently in route to Dover, Del., where her husband’s body will be sent. No arrangements have been made, and it may be several days before the military releases Summers’ body, Beach said.

Summers was deployed July 2 for Afghanistan, a repeat trip for the special forces solider and ranger who has been in the military nearly 20 years.
Recently, he was stationed in Bagram, Afghanistan, but had recently left for Marzak, Afghanistan.
Tammy had received an e-mail from her husband Saturday.
The couple was married Jan. 17.
“They were that perfect couple,” Beach said. “She met him right before he was deployed three years ago. They were soul mates.”
Summers also has a 13-year-old daughter, Shelby, who lives in Baton Rouge.
He is survived by his parents West and Charlene Summers of New Roads, La., three brothers and one sister.
One brother is currently serving in a different part of Afghanistan and another brother is in Iraq.
Summers split his time in the states between his house in Natchez and his job as the Mississippi Special Forces recruiter in Bentonia.

This says so much, yet not nearly enough. My family is in such pain right now. I can't stay focused on things that need to be done today, because they just seem pointless at this moment.

In my family, I have 15 first cousins on my dad's side (my mom is an only child). Sev was the very first one of us, and has always been larger than life!

He was so funny!!! The last time I was able to see him in person was during the 2008 Easter trip we made to Louisiana to see my Grandmother and extended family. I had spoken with him on the phone a few times, and we had exchanged the occasional emails. We had talked about arranging a visit to MS to check out his new place and land. Best laid plans, right?

I find myself flipping through my pictures from the 2008 trip, and am posting a few of these for you guys to see.






















I was not able to go to Sev and Tammy's wedding in January...had just had the twins. Here is a Wedding Picture:
















He had sent me pictures from his previous tour in Afghanistan from 2006. He was a self proclaimed Bad Ass, and we all agreed! But he kept his sense of humor. In one of the pictures, he is imitating a Mountain Goat!! :) In his own words:

It was the end of a fun day zeroing our sniper rifles in strong winds and high elevation. I thought there would be no one around and yet three Afghan children and a donkey show up out of know where. And naturally I had to impress them w/ my mt.goat like skills! Even Afghan kids think I'm funny!

He died Serving and Protecting our Country. He loved doing it. He VOLUNTEERED for this tour. His full time job was as a Special Forces recruiter stationed in Mississippi. But he volunteered to do yet another tour, because it was that important to him. I believe he volunteered for some of his other tours as well, if not all of them.

He was a Son, a Brother, a Father, a Soldier, a Husband, an Uncle, a Cousin....really, a force of nature....

And given that we are all God's Children, he was that too.

He was funny and serious; someone that you wanted to be friends with, and never wanted to get cross with.

He will be missed more than I can put into words, at least not words adequate enough to convey.

I loved him, and there will be an empty place in my heart now. But I will try to remember him and smile when I think of him; and laugh to myself when recalling the last joke he told me....I'm sure some of the family will know it....the one about the tattoo on his leg ;|

Sev, I love you!
I'm proud of you!
And I will miss you terribly.

Your Cousin,
Cherise

UPDATE AS OF 8/5/09: I want to express my family's gratitude for all of the wonderful comments that have been left on this post. At this time, Sev has arrived in Dover, escorted by his brother Sean, who was also deployed to Afghanistan. The arrangements are still pending. When we know something, I will post what I can here. Again, thank you for all of the fond memories and prayers and support. It is just what we all need. God bless you! And Bless our Military!

Love to all,
Cherise




















UPDATE AS OF 8/7/09:

There are 10 of these billboards all around Baton Rouge. They were donated by Lamar Sign Company. Sev would love this. We are very grateful to the Lamar Sign Company.

For those of you on Facebook, the family has started a group named Sev Summers Memorial: Click Here. This group gives people the opportunity to post comments and stories, and also pictures and videos regarding Sev.

For those of you not on Facebook, there is another Memorial site for Sev on Legacy.com: Click Here.

We are still waiting on the ARMY to release the remains....so we are in the "Hurry Up and Wait!" mode. Again, I will post the date of the memorial as soon as that information has been finalized.

Thanks again for all of your love and support and kind words. They are very much needed and appreciated.

Love to all,
Cherise

UPDATE AS OF 8/8/09:

The FUNERAL DATE is still PENDING.

The Funeral will be held at Resthaven Funeral Home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He will then be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

The family is requesting, in lieu of flowers, to please make a donation to Hunts for Heroes. Mailing address is:
Hunts for Heroes
P.O. Drawer 1663
El Campo, Texas 77437.

We are honored to have the Patriot Guard Riders attending both the funeral and the burial.

Love to all,
Cherise


UPDATE AS OF 8/10/09:

FUNERAL DATE HAS BEEN SET FOR AUGUST 13, 2009.
VISITATION will be from Noon until 3:00pm.
The SERVICE will begin at 3:00pm.

Love to all,
Cherise

Where does all the time go...

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything. These kids sure do keep me busy! :)

So we packed up the kids and headed to Arkansas for the July 4th holiday with Memaw and Paw. Also Aunt Marcy and Uncle Taim were there so we were able to finally meet our newest cousin Madeline, Lucas' little sister. And we got to show off M & F to Aunt Marcy's crew :)

We tried to watch some fireworks that weekend, but E does not like loud noises. She likes the lights, but she has to have her ears covered to enjoy it. :)

Later in the evening I started showing my age...the house behind Memaw's sits in a cul de sac and around 10:00 pm, they were shooting off fireworks that were SO LOUD...I lost my temper....we had 3 infants and 2 toddlers trying to sleep. When the firecrackers started hitting the house, I went into Memaw's room and told her she should probably call the cops before I started walking around the block to perform some violence (I know what you are thinking: "{gasp!} No! Not you Cherise!")

Yup. That was me. Well she did in fact call...they told her they had had more than one complaint in that area. But God still loved me despite my temper tantrum....so He rained on them, and then it was all quiet. However, the storm did eventually wake up E with nightmares...she and the hubby spent some quality time in the recliner in the front room while trying to reassure her it was all okay.

{sigh}
Anyway...

E is really starting to swim more and more on her own. The hubby has worked miracles with her this summer! She will actually jump in from the side of the pool without any type of flotation device and swim to you; and then turn around and swim back so she can do it all over again!! We are very happy at her progress! There is a short little (very grainy) movie clip of E swimming back and forth to Papa.

She is also practicing writing. They are teaching her to write the letters of the alphabet at school, and she will come home and ask us to write out words, like "Mama" and "Papa" and then go off and write them herself. One day she surprised me with writing these out ON HER OWN without me having written them first for her to use as an example!!!! She wrote Papa as Popo and Mama she wrote as Momo, but backwards....still!! We are just so excited for her! She just seems so eager to learn! She does write stuff backwards a lot, but we are told that is normal for her age. Still! Pretty Cool!

The twins, M & F, are both rolling over now. F is -way- better at rolling from his front to his back than M is, but every now and then, they both end up stuck on their tummies, WAILING for someone to come and save them from the blanket or carpet or what ever toy is under them. But they are getting better and better.

M just loves her toes, and with all this Texas heat, we have taken to letting them go sock-less...they both find this to be rather enjoyable. :)

They are both eating cereal 2-3 times a day. M is very vocal with her eating...she likes to make yummy noises and hums and coos while eating. F is still trying to figure the whole spoon thing out, but is starting to get the hang of it with each passing meal. They will be starting green veggies very soon! Green Beans! Yay! Come on people....show some support here.....YAY!!! Thank you.

Also they are really starting to recognize each other. It is like they see each other and after a few seconds, they get very excited, like they are thinking "Holy Cow! Short People!" HA! I laugh my butt off when this occurs. There is a lot of very excited leg and arm gestures and wide eyes and smiles and laughing and cooing between them. We keep trying to get it on video, but have not succeeded yet. They get distracted by the camera and turn their attention to it instead of each other.

As for me, No More Coumadin! I am officially eating spinach and drinkin' beer people!!! Very happy to be doing so! My very last test will be in Aug and will be a blood draw to make sure that everything is still ok, sans coumadin. So happy that is all over! Whew!

The twins had their 6 Month Blue Chair pictures taken this month. Those are below for all to see!

And on a strange note, a Cicada Killer Wasp decided she wanted to inspect what I was doing one afternoon. And Yes, upon hearing the sound of what I can only describe as a helicopter buzzing around my head, I ran screaming like the little girl I am.

I was cleaning out our game room to prep it for the complete overhaul we are having done, and the door was open to make all the trips to the trash cans easier. She came in, snooping around. I ran out screaming, and slammed the door. Got the hubby. He saw nothing. The next morning, he found her in his office (next door to the game room) on the ceiling. A quick smack with a fly swatter knocked her 'loopy' long enough for us to put her in a mason jar. He then went and looked her up on the internet and found out she was a Cicada Killer.

We had friends coming over for swimming and lunch, so we saved her to show them. Their son is collecting bugs, so he suggested we put the jar in the freezer to kill her with out having to open the jar again. Done! But check out that stinger!!! Dude! I'm so glad I got the hell outta there :) The picture is of her in a mason jar lid.

I do feel bad for the cicada's ... but that is the circle of life, I suppose.
Everything in Moderation. Bugs, Beer and Spinach :)

Love to you all,
Cherise

Coffee with a side of Sweet Big Sister...

So the morning routine in our house for the past few months has been the same:

1. The Hubby gets up b/w 5:30-6:30 am and 'does his thing' [translation: surfs the web and drinks coffee]

2. He feeds the twins at 6:30 am.

3. He then gets E up at 7:00 am if she has not already come out front to greet him. They then watch 'abc videos' [translation: he opens a second browser window (shrinking his own to share the screen with E 50/50); goes to youtube and searches for videos of different things that she likes, such as School House Rock videos, any cartoon that is peppy and sings, etc.; she watches her screen while he continues to do his thing in his screen.]

4. I get up by 7:30 am and help out with either the twins or E until he takes her to school at 8:00am. He returns by 9:00-9:30 and begins working for the day; I take over with the kids for the duration of the work day. {sometimes he pitches in during the day if he can or on his lunch, if I need him to hold a baby}.

Pretty basic stuff, right? So the only change has been with E. Now that the babies are out front with us when she gets up, she starts to interact with whichever one might be awake! Pretty impressive considering they are only 5 months old :)

As with any 3 year old, E has her pile of FAVORITE Toys. These are almost exclusively stuffed animals. They are:

"Kitty"
"MommaJo Kitty"
"Puppy"
"Squishy/Winky Baby" (the name depends upon her mood)
"Baby Bob"
"Turtle Dude"
"Blue Turtle"
"Purple Monkey"

This pile comes out with her in the morning.......EVERY morning. She then takes "Kitty" to school with her for naptime. ["Kitty" was the original stuffed animal / lovey toy that she HAD to have at nap and bed times....the rest have come on board thru the years]

After the twins came home, she would gently place these "lovey's" around one or both of the twins. Just for a little while. And then tell us "I want them back now". We would smile and tell her "Go ahead. Be gentle. And THANK YOU for sharing so nicely with your brother and sister!"

This morning M was awake and in the pack-n-play cooing at her mobile. E went over and placed "Kitty" in there with her.....and then proceeded to bring her large quantities of M & F toys from the floor.....virtually covering her up! The hubby said it was so sweet to see her ferrying all those toys to M. :)

Once out in the truck to go to school, the following conversation occurred:

E: "Kitty! Kitty! I need my Kitty!"
The Hubby: "Oh my gosh! We almost forgot her! I'll go get her. I know right where she is....she is in with M."
E: "Okay, but she wants another toy. Give her my "MommaJo Kitty".

:)
{sigh} . . . So Sweet!!!! So Precious!!! So Generous!!! I just love our kids!!!!

Love to all,
Cherise

Baptism, Friends and Potty Training Updates...

This past weekend we had the Twins (M & F) baptized at St. Joseph Catholic Church. It was a great event! We had asked two sets of our friends to be godparents and they graciously agreed! It was a beautiful ceremony, and the twins were great! They were not freaked out by the water or anything...the priest was a little concerned when we asked him to hold both of them for a picture, but he mustered up the courage and complied :)

Our friends from St. Louis came in with their crew and we had a great weekend with them, cooking out and swimming. The hubby commented that any reservation he had about the return on investment on installing a pool was completely washed away with this visit.....their kids wanted to stay in the pool morning, noon and night! :) Glad I talked him into a house with a pool! HA!

The twins are moving around a little more everyday. They have both discovered their hands....and (unfortunately) how yummy their own fingers are ... especially to suck on.....LOUDLY. We have started calling M "Col. Sanders" when she starts to slurp loudly on her hands ('cuz she's "finger lickin'")....which we immediately remove and try to substitute with a binky. Sometimes it works, other times not so much. They have both started 'trying' to roll over....they end up on their sides, but have not completed the roll as of this post. But they are VERY close to doing it!

E is very close to being what we would consider 'completely' potty trained. She has even started to let us know when she has to poop....which is a REALLY big deal.....we were not making any progress on that front, but the hubby worked his magic, and now she let's us know so we can scoop her up and run to the potty. She even gets out of the pool to go 'pee pee on the potty'.....which is really funny, cuz I snatch her out of her suit -before- I run with her into the Air Conditioned House to go potty....yes, that's right: she is streakin' at age three! :)

Speaking of swimming, we have been doing a lot of that this year also. E has decided that the latest flotation device we purchased for her is 'acceptable'. This is like number 5 or something, but she Loves It! So she is all about swimming this year. And she insists on floating around without you holding on to her. She will even Jump Into The Pool!! She has figured out that when she kicks her feet she does, in fact, move. Yes, it is true. We were not lying to her about all that. :) So we are hopeful that this summer when we sign her up for swimming lessons, it will take this time! [said while crossing fingers and saying a little prayer]

The twins have turned 5 months and I'm attaching the 5 Month Blue Chair pictures to this post. They both are getting better at sitting up in the chair, and don't fall over as fast. They are babbling and smiling and drooling and in general, lovin' life!

And finally, I cut my hair short. The twins kept grabbing it and trying to basically snatch me bald...so I gave in to the scissors. When E saw it, she stared at me for a very long time. Then this exchange occurred:

E: "What happened to your hair?"
Me: "I got it cut. Do you like it?"
E: "Why?"
Me: "Because the babies kept pulling it. Do you like it?"
E: "...{staring blankly at me}
Me: "Well? Do you like it?"
E: "You look funny."
Me: "Thanks."

Love to all,
Cherise

Coumadin Update...

So Monday I had a Doppler Sonogram of both of my legs. They showed NO clots! YAY! Upon hearing this, I was expecting my appointment today with my hematologist to be my -last- appointment....but, alas, no.

Dr. Maisel informed us that I need to stay on the blood thinners for 6 months total. That means until the 4th of July. Well, I guess the American Independence Day may be more meaningful to me this year than in years past! :)

He also told us that he wanted to run the "full battery" of tests they normally run when someone throws a clot. He is being extra careful, and making sure that the clots truly were just a side-effect of the pregnancy and not something else. Fine by us! We would rather not have any additional surprises down the road! So they took EIGHT VIALS OF BLOOD! DANG!!!!

So let us all pause and take a moment to thinks positive happy thoughts and offer up some prayers requesting that all these tests come back with nothing but good news.....please.

In the meantime, we will just keep truckin' along! :)

Love to all,
Cherise

Twin's First Cereal Event

Remember in the last post, I mentioned that we were given the 'green light' to start the twins on cereal? Well, we started that today.

I must admit, the hubby and I found it hysterical! I'm sure, based on their initial reactions, the kiddos did NOT find it as amusing as we did... hehehehehehe!

I am attaching a video we took of the event. It is 3 minutes long. Enjoy!

Love to all,
Cherise