Danika's First snow

Look at how much fun she is having in the snow with no boots or gloves because she wouldn't wear them.

Thanksgiving Fun In Idaho

Well I hope that everyones Thanksgiving was as fun as ours was. We got to go to Idaho and stay with Kate and see Mom as well. Danika got to meet three more of her cousins and had a blast at the Residence Club with them. She is now a pro at climbing a going down stairs. She did however scare mom a couple of times while becoming pro status. We got a little snow while we were there as well so check out the playing in the snow time video. Danika loved playing with Greg because he played with her like she was one of his own and he wasn't afraid to ruff her up a bit. She thought he was the coolest thing ever since her daddy left town. She learned a few table manners as well by watching what the other kids were doing. We are going to Texas for Christmas and are going to see some old friends who have a little boy the same age as Danika. Well have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy new year because I won't have pictures or updates until we get back after the new year. Keep praying for Lowell so that he will come home on time.

Fun in DC

Hey everyone Happy Halloween!! We hope all of you had a great Halloween and a safe one too. We went up to Nelson and Karen's house for a couple of days during Halloween. We had a great 6 hour drive both ways and no accidents either way. Danika played on her first playground while we were there. She loves the swings and playing pick-a-boo while on the play-set. She went down her first spiral slide and did a somersault in the middle one time. She had a blast and you couldn't help but have a blast with her. I don't have the pictures yet but I will have them by the time we get back from Idaho. We will also have Thanksgiving pictures as well and fun with the cousins and other relatives. Lowell has told me that he should be leaving Iraq between January 15-17th but I won't believe it until I see the whites of his eyes. Lowell just wants you to know that if you are going to send something to Iraq send it before the end of November and it should get there on time or before. The rush of mail that goes out there backs up the system of USPS and it doesn't get there on time. If Lowell is coming home when he says he is then you will want to send it soon or it won't get there on time and you just might get it back. We got sister missionaries in our area finally. So now I have the joy of getting them fed every other week along with the Elders. It is a little harder now because everyone can feed the sisters and want to meet them too. So I have my work cut out for me, but it's nothing I can't handle. If I need help I have a great Ward Missionary Leader who's wife used to have the same job that I have so she knows the work you have to put into it. Well we hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and a safe one if you are traveling like we are. We love and miss everyone and think about you all of the time especially when you don't call to say hey. Just kidding we know you are busy. Keep smiling and mom and dad are coming home soon.

Illinois/St. Louis Vacation

Hey ya'll, I hope that every one is ready for Halloween and is having a great day. Danika and I just went to Crystal's house in Illinois for a week at the beginning of October. We had a great time and we went to the St. Louis Zoo. Danika's first trip to the zoo ever. We took some pictures and hope that you like them. We are back home now and are getting ready to go to see Nelson and Karen's for Halloween. We are driving up there and are hoping for no mis-haps. An update on Lowell is this: He told me that he will be leaving Iraq between January 15-17th and should be home by the end of the month. So if you want to say hi to him then you better do it quick or it will come back to you. I just sent him a package with our Anniversary gift, his birthday, and Halloween all in one and he should get it next week. Danika is growing like a weed and just cut two new teeth last week. Thank goodness that is over. So keep smiling and have a great day if there are any questions that you have feel free to leave me a note or give me a call.

Just an update

Hey all, It has been a couple of months and I haven't had anything exciting to tell so I haven't felt the need to say anything. But the past month has had some news for the Bentley family. Lowell since he has been over in Iraq has eliminated 2 medications from his daily regiment and has lost some weight with working out every day and using GNC products to help. He found out that they might extend him until March instead of coming home in January. He is so upbeat and sees people from church all of the time. Our friends JR Norris and Ben Magleby just went over there at the beginning of August. Something funny about the people he sees over there is that my OB/GYN that I had when I was pregnant is now his doctor in Iraq. So they get to talk and he gets to show off his baby girl to her. She didn't get to deliver Danika she was deployed on my actual due date and since Danika was late she missed that beautiful day. Danika now gets to wear shoes when she wants to which she loves to do all of the time. She is growing rapidly and wears some 18 month clothes and some 12 month, but that is a stretch. She loves to play outside in our yard and all of the yards all around us. Because we live in a Duplex community area she thinks that our yard is your yard and your yard is my yard. She will go to someones house and if they have chairs she will climb up in them. If they have kid toys or balls she will try to play with those too. She loves pushing things with wheels if she is strong enough. She has actually pushed the lawn mower at least 3-4 feet if not farther. She loves to take baths and she is like me and only takes about a 10 minute bath and then tries to climb out which is her way of saying I'm done now. I am now in the cub scouts at church. I am the bear assistant cub master. We have about 3 boys that show up regularly and probably 5-10 that are on the list. I am still making sure that the missionaries get fed every day of every month. I still don't get to go to Sunday School because Danika isn't old enough yet to go to Nursery, but when she is she is going to love it and I know because I filled in for the nursery and she came with and had a blast. The Laurel class at church made the ladies whose husbands are deployed dinner and dessert the other week and it made me feel like someone was thinking of us and noticed that we needed something. That is all that is new with us. Here are some pics from Iraq straight to you. That's what is going on in our world and we hope that everything is good in your world. xoxo

Danika is 1

Hey everyone!! Today Danika went to the doctors and got her shots and check up all in one shot. She weighed a whopping 21 lbs 1oz. That is only a 1lb 1oz difference from 6 months. She was 30 inches long, which is 1 inch longer than last time. Thank you to those who sent her birthday gifts or cards we really liked them. Hope everyone had a good 4th of July. We went to someones home for the afternoon and had a blast playing out in a clean yard with other kids. After the party we came home and watched the fireworks on Capitol Hill trying to find Nelson on the camera. We didn't see him because the show got boring and we flipped back and forth. Here are some cute pictures of the hottest red head in NC. If you want to see more photos of Danika go to snapfish.com. Login as sbentley@ec.rr.com, password is 0307seb and see lots of cute pics. You can also click on the Pictures of Danika Link and it will take you strait to the pictures.

New Calling

Hey all Danika is now 11months old and loving life. She is teething on her right side right now and gets cranky when they start to hurt. She is also climbing on everything. She can get on and off of the couch all by herself without any accidents. The other day she crawled into the dryer and just started playing in it. Hope you like the pictures. In other news I got a new calling last week and am trying to do my best because it isn't as easy as it sounds. I am the new teaching coordinator for the Missionaries. Pretty much what I do is to make sure that the missionaries get fed every night of the week. Some of the people here are not quick to feed them even though they know we are a main source of their missionary work here. So today in Relief Society I got up and gave a cute little speech that said it was fun and enjoyable to feed them, everyone laughed and then I got an okay response. I still have the last week of June to fill out.

Two week vacation

Hey everybody!! We had a mini birthday party for Danika last week while Lowell was here. We forgot and messed up taping the opening of presents, but we got the cake eating on tape. The file is too big to put on here so we took some pictures instead. Hope you like them and the toys too. Lowell goes back to Iraq on the 25th at 0900 and will be gone for 7-8 more months. So keep those prayers, thoughts, and care packages and letters coming. Pictures coming soon so keep a look out for them. Lowell didn't take the time to write anything to everyone. He did tell me that he was happy to be back for the two weeks and he was sad to have to leave again. He and Danika played a lot and had so much fun together. We got Danika two super cool toys for her birthday. She got a drum that is not only bilingual, but it teaches numbers, letters, and is just super fun. She also got a sit to stand Activity Walker that is like a piano and it plays a bunch of noises, songs, and is helping to build her confidence when it comes to walking. She is walking great these days and loves to see how far she can go before she falls over or before she gets to someone she is going toward. Anyway she is loving life and her new toys. We love you all and hope all is well with your families and friends.

Lowell is home finally

Lowell got back to the states on the 9th of May at 11:00am. We went to pick him up and Danika wore a cute little Devil Dog outfit. We have had a great time with Lowell being here. Everyone at church is so surprised that he is back and at how he looks. He lost 40 lbs over in Iraq and I am not sure if he is going to stop there. We are just hanging out and having great quality family time. We are going down to Wilmington on Sunday to get our Temple Recommends renewed so that it doesn't laps in November. Hopefully Lowell will write something to answer all of the questions you are asking yourselves about Iraq and being over there. He no longer has to go on Convoys when he returns. Just one more reason to be thankful he is safe. I am going to add a picture or video from our new camcorder, so I hope it works. Stay safe and keep those care packages and letters flowing in.

Danika's 9 month check up

Hey everybody!! Danika had her 9 month check up Monday and we found out that she is a whopping 20 lbs even and she is 29 inches long. She had a real hard time with this check up for some reason. She cried the entire time the doctor was looking at her to make sure everything was okay. I think she just doesn't like the lady who is a PA. Her PA is also my PA so maybe my vibes of dislike rubbed off on Danika so she screams every time she sees Dr. Ferrand. Lowell is coming home on the 1st and will be staying for about 2 weeks. We are having a mini family birthday for Danika while he is here so we can video tape it and he can take it with him to the desert. Well we hope all is well with you and ask for your prayers and thoughts to be with Lowell while he is in the desert.

Danika getting teeth/Lowell coming home

Danika is getting 4 upper teeth at the same time. She is loving life. She is almost walking. Right now she cruises around the furniture and crawls so fast that I miss place her sometimes. Lowell is coming home on May 1st. He will stay here for about two weeks and then he will go back to the desert for another 8 months. We will find out how much Danika weighs and how tall she is on April 23rd and then I will do another blog for that appointment. Danika is eating solid foods like cheerios, bananas, bread, the basics. She loves to play with kids even though she can't keep up yet she loves to watch them play and tries to catch them. Until next time keep smiling.

New pictures at snapfish

Hey all, I created a snapfish account so that I can put up lots of pictures and you all can look at them. I also put the link in the link area. Here is the site:northcarolinabentleys.snapfish.com. Well take a look at some cute Danika pictures and tell me what you think!! Stay safe in all that you do, Sara

Just keeping busy

Danika turns 9 months this week and I will write again to tell about her check up, but I wanted to give a Lowell update as well. Lowell is the Group Leader in his "ward", which is actually called a group out there because there aren't very many people there. He said that there is only about 15-20 people that go in the morning. He doesn't know about the ones that go in the afternoon. His Group Leader Assistant does Sacrament in the afternoon. Here are some old and new pictures of Danika growing up. He is doing great, but at the same time he is struggling with his own demons and he really needs to be in your prayers. He also needs your support and letters would really boost his moral and spirit. Until next time keep praying for Lowell and our troops.

Lowell's Art Work

Hey all, Lowell sent us this picture that he colored and shaded. I think it is pretty good for a color blind person. What do you think? Anyway he says hello to all of you and that he misses everything of the "free life". Well please send him something to say hello and that you are thinking of him as well. He would really appreciate it and he will write you back and let you know anything he can tell you about his days and nights over in Iraq. Until next time keep Lowell in your prayers!!

Danika is growing

Danika had a cold the other day and a super yukky diaper rash. Sara took her in to see what she could do to fix it and make it better. Danika weighed in at 18 lbs 12 oz and is 28 inches long. She is getting so big and so smart. She climbs on anything that is short enough and eats anything that looks fun to put in her mouth. She is finding out that she can get Sara's attention when she uses her vocal cords to make real loud screams that are high pitched and annoying to me. We were at Toys'R'Us the other day and got a play yard for her to have her own space. Also so that I can eat and do things on the computer without having to watch her like a hawk. Until next time stay safe and keep smiling.

A quick update

Danika is doing fine and she is growing so much. We went to the doctor for an ear infection and she weighed in at 18lbs 10oz. She is over her infection in her ear, but now she is getting over a diaper rash caused by the Pampers Diapers with the blue gel stuff on the inside of the diaper. The PA said that it was her 10Th case of it in the past couple of weeks or so. We'll try them again later on in life. Danika is climbing all over things especially mommy. She gets on the love sac which is usually where mommy is sitting and she climbs over mommy and then over mommy again. I keep telling her that I am not a jungle gym, but she just giggles at me and does it some more. She definitely misses Lowell because every time she sees a guy in uniform she lunges toward him thinking that it is daddy coming to see her. She is being very good and learning lots. She eats cheerios and bread. She tried ice cream the other day and pizza crust, but it didn't agree with her and she barfed it back up. Anyway Lowell is doing fine and he is going to his allotted hour of church on Sunday. He only goes for 1 hour because that is all they are aloud to be away from work not including lunch. He has gotten a couple of packages and is happy that he got them. He hasn't told me of anything that I can't send to him, so if you aren't sure of what he is aloud to have there in Iraq just let me know and I will investigate or be able to tell you yea or nay. We love you all and appreciate all of your support during this hard time in our lives. Hugs and kisses from us to you. Danika Sara and Lowell

Lowell's new address

Hey everyone!! We hope all is well with you all. Lowell is doing fine and just wants to be back home I'm sure. He is now in a barracks and has a place to put things. He does have access to a refrigerator so if you wanted to send him anything that needs to be cold you can. He has a new address:

CPL Bentley, L.E. 2 MEF FWD CO TRUCK CO MAINT UNIT 73920 FPO AE 09509-3920

So please send him something to let him know his is missed and loved by everyone he knows. FYI it takes about two weeks for anything to get there. So if you are thinking about sending something for St. Patrick's Day you need to send it by the first week of the month. Danika and Sara are doing fine. Danika is getting over an ear infection and next week we will see if the pneumonia in her right lung is gone. Danika is getting into everything around the house and now when I leave the room she either cries or comes to look for me, which is a new thing. She is going on searches by herself as well and finding the bathroom and kitchen that are across the hall from each other. I am glad I have the time to keep both clean so that she is not crawling on a dirty floor before I get her out of the room. Until next time, keep in touch and stay upbeat.

Family is sick

Danika has an ear infection and we caught it early thank goodness. She also has a yeast infection/diaper rash infection too. We got the medication needed and we are trying to get better. Sara is getting over a cold but doing fine. Just an FYI Lowell's address has changed so I hope that no one has sent anything because I did and it came back. Also when you do send something send it priority so that if it does come back you won't have to pay the fee. I will be getting the new address soon so please just be patient. Love you all from the NC Bentley Family, Lowell, Sara, and Danika

Getting settled in

Lowell is finally in an actual living area with walls now. He is awaiting any kind of care package you feel like sending him. If you don't want to make one yourself, I think that you can purchase one to send to him. His address is Cpl. Bentley, L. E. HQ BN TRUCK CO Unit 73550 FPO AE 09509-3550 Also in case anyone is caring about Danika, she has gotten two front teeth and has had two back molars. She is crawling like crazy and lifting herself up on anything she can get to. Lowell would like even a letter just saying hello. Keep in mind that there are certain things that he cannot talk about. You could even send him an email. His address is LOWELLBENTLEY@ec.rr.com. He would really love to hear from you over in Iraq.

Danika's 6 Month Check Up

Danika went to the check up on the 23rd of January. She weighs 18 lbs 4 oz. She is 27.5 inches long. She is now crawling all over the place and she loves to pull herself up next to things and stand there drooling. She just cut in her left front tooth and there is another one coming in soon. Before her check up and over the Christmas holiday she got sick in Texas on vacation. She had a pneumonia in her right lung. We will go back after February 14th to get another X- ray. Lowell is finally at Fallujah. He says he is living in a tent with 20 - 30 other marines. He isn't at his final destination. When he gives me his address I will give it out. He could use calling cards that go internationally so he doesn't spend so much trying to call here. He is working hard and sleeping fine. He says hi to everyone and that he misses everyone too. The only thing going on is Sara's life is she is getting a crown on a chipped tooth. She chipped it on some stuff that is like Fiddle Faddle over the Christmas holiday.

On the move

Danika is crawling more than she was last week and I have to keep an eye on her a lot more than I used to. She loves to come find mom if she leaves the room for an extended period of time. I am sure that she is looking for dad too, but she won't find him until she is walking. Danika also started cutting in a front tooth last night so neither of us got any sleep. A friend at church told me about the teething tablets so we will see if they work for us. So far so good.

Danika is walking

Danika is totally mobile. I can leave the room for not even a minute and she is somewhere totally different. You were asking about the 2 surgeries that Lowell had. Well he had the first in Okinawa where the original injury took place. He then tried to do his physical therapy the way he was supposed to and it tore out the original screws and holdings. So we had a second surgery done in April and he is now fully recovered and can do anything he could do before. Lowell is finally in Camp Fallujah. Other than that I have no idea maybe tomorrow.

The Bentleys

This Year has been an eventful one for our family. We have added a new person, Danika, and Lowell is fully recovered from his second shoulder surgery. Danika was born on July 7, 2006. She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 21 inches long born in room # 7. She is now crawling on her own and getting into everything she can get her hands on. Sara is a Ward Missionary and a substitute Primary worker. She is a full time mom and wife, no jobs outside of the home for her. Lowell is doing great. He is now in Camp Falujah Iraq for about 1 year. He is also a Ward Missionary and plans on doing as much missionary work while in Iraq that he possibly can. He is a great Daddy and a huge help around the house when he is here. We just recently re-enlisted for another 4 years in the Marine Corps.