Welcome Home!!!

The day has finally come ....

185 days/nights spent sleeping alone ... 


6 months separated by almost 8,000 miles ...


4,440 hours missing you ...

I have waited for this day before you even left!

WELCOME HOME HONEY ... I LOVE YOU!!

Photo Courtesy from my friend Kristina. She has a
Facebook page: Captured by Kristina. 21 January 2012.

it's an *ING* kind of week

Have you every realized how busy life can really get? As a military wife, during deployments we tend to keep ourselves as busy as possible because that helps pass the time. Staying idle means that we have more time to watch the time and think about stuff. Alright, so I'm sure "civilian" wives do the same types of things, but I'm a military spouse and that's all I know. Well, this week will be no different than any other week during this deployment.

This week is an 'ING' kind of week ....

vacuumING
dustING
launderING
ironING
okay ... so that's all part of ING word that starts with "c" ......

carpet cleanING
rearrangING
organizING

crochetING
horse ridING
new vehicle needs licensING

and if I'm feeling froggy ......

paintING.

What kind of 'ING' week are you going to have?

Skype Hugs. Skype Kisses.

Last night, my honey opened two of his care packages while we were on Skype. The first care package was all mission minded; while the second care package was more like a box filled with birthday goodies! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE seeing him smile ... and the birthday box was a complete surprise (even though he knew he was getting it, he did not know what was in it). By the smile on his face, I think we did good ... which makes me smile! :-)

Today, we inch one more day closer to him coming home. Today, my honey and I put another Skype chat under us ... to inch closer to the next Skype call. Oh how I  miss him sooo much!! Even saying those words does no justice to how my heart feels without my best friend, the love of my life being here with me. The greatest father (in my opinion) to wrestle with the kids and to play games with them and to kiss and hug them goodnight -- we miss those little things, that seem so monotonous to so some, so much!

Do not take for granted the simple things in life. Like having your husband wrap his arms around you for no reason. Like having him kiss you goodnight and good morning. Or whisper in your ear how much he loves you. There may come a day when you have to go without that ... even if it is just for one day. Try months at a time. It hurts.

Enough with the sad part of this post ... because in all actuality, this deployment has caused an enormous excitement build up for reunion. THAT is a sweet thing! Plus, JESUS has been the keeper of my heart and the uplifter of my spirit this whole time.

Psalm 16:8-11 (ESV)

⁸I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
¹⁰For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
¹¹You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

I love the conversations my honey and I are able to have. Extremely grateful for those times. In all seriousness, deployments really do make the heart grow fonder. NOT that I enjoy being separated from my husband, but the simple fact that there are times when we do take things for granted that one another does. We may say the 'thank yous' but not fully understand or realize how much the other person really does.

After this morning's Skype chat (before my honey went off to work), I cried a little. I really, REALLY miss my honey's kisses and hugs. You have NO. IDEA. how long I am going to wrap my arms around him and hug on him when we see each other for the first time in months! He has been forewarned. Haha. 

I miss his hugs and kisses greatly. I smile every time we are on Skype and we tell each other how much we love one another and put up those little emoticons to show our expression. I love that! It does not replace the real thing; but, for now at least, it will have to do.

**I LOVE YOU SO MUCH HONEY ~ TO THE MOON & BACK ALWAYS ~ XOXO**

Heart.Breaking.Reality

I sat down in the family room tonight checking emails on the laptop and taking care of other things. While updating the NFL game scores and family points, I heard sniffles from our baby girl's bedroom. I quietly sat the laptop down and walked into her room, flipping the light on. Her little nose was so red and her pretty brown eyes were filled with tears.

I softly asked her "What's the matter?" and she replied through the hard sobs and big tears with "I miss daddy so much!" And broke out in a hard cry, again.

I walked over to her, sat down on her bed, and leaned over and gave her a hug. At the initial moment I couldn't say anything because I would have bawled my eyes out. You see, for me, it is so hard to go day-to-day without my best friend here with me, but God's grace is sufficient each day. What makes it extremely difficult is when you can see the pain and the hurt of your child's heart on their face.

So a couple moments pass and I wipe a tear away and say to her, "Would you like to take a couple pictures for daddy?" She agrees and says, "I really miss doing stuff as a family" -- her little chin quivering.

We took a few photos in black and white so you couldn't see our red noses or the redness around our eyes.

This is one of the photos she wanted to send daddy.

Before leaving her room, she said one more thing to me: "I just feel like this time is going by really slow and I don't like it. I want the time to go by faster so he can come home faster."

I completely understand how she feels. I feel like if September would just get over with, then the rest of the year would speed by. I mean, there are no holidays or anything "big" to look forward to in September. There's plenty of things in October, November, December, and then we have a month of "preparation" after that. September, two more weeks to go and you'll be history. At this point in our life, thank goodness!!

I gave her a kiss on her forehead and assured her "You know what? Daddy misses us, too. As much as you're thinking about him, he's thinking about you." She smiled. That smile made it feel like all was well, again.

About 20 minutes later she came out to the family room and says to me, "Mom. When you talk to me when I'm feeling sad, it always makes things better." I felt like God gave me a big hug at that moment to remind me that I'm doing things right. When you're use to being a two-parent family, and because of deployments it takes you to being both mom and dad, it's difficult to feel like you are doing a good job.

So, LORD, thank You for being here with us. We could not get through this without You. *smiling through the tears*