Month 10 in Review

Another month down, woohoo! I can't believe in the last 10 months, I have seen my husband all of 2 weeks. That is totally crazy. And looking back, it seems like a long time, but I can't believe we've made it this far. This past month was kind of a blur. Obviously, half of it was R&R, but otherwise, I really can't remember much. But, we are almost there! He "should be" home "for good" in the next month or so (eek!). Anyway, here are some highlights from this past month:

- We had a fabulous 2 weeks together for R&R or "mid-tour leave"! We went to Austin, his family came to visit and we just hung out and were a "normal" married couple for awhile. I'm so glad Nick took it so late in the deployment. I feel like he'll be home in no time, which is good because I remembered why I kinda like having him around! It definitely gave me the stamina to get through these last couple months. I still have to get the rest of our R&R pictures from Nick, but he's currently without internet. I won't forget though, don't worry!

- I started my new job at our church as the childcare coordinator for a weekly women's bible study. It's been pretty fun so far! It's amazing how tired I can get chasing around, holding, and playing with little kids for 2 hours a week. It's definitely helping to break up my week and make my Thursdays a little more exciting.

- It started to actually feel like fall here! Yes, under 70 degrees is considered fall here in Texas. People put on their down jackets, beanies and scarves- no lie. I'm just happy for a little rain, and a little chill in the air. I'll take what I can get after a HOT summer! And it has gotten down to the 50s at night, so it is actually what the rest of the world calls chilly. Mmm, fall. I've been drinking lots of Apple Cider in celebration.

- My awesome "battle buddy" Alice left to go back home to Memphis for a couple of months. I'm doing ok without her, but I miss hanging out.

- I started going to a free Yoga class on post, which I'm enjoying a lot (especially for the price, ha ha). They hold it 3 times a week, but I have yet to go that much (holiday weekend on post). I took a couple Yoga and Pilates classes in college, so it's nice to get back into that.

- I got a beautiful new computer and I'm totally loving it so far! I'm still kind of transitioning from my old one, but it totally kicks butt.

- I started weeding my yard for hours and hours a day, only to find out that I have a form of "wild grass" that just looks like weeds. Good to know. At least I don't have to try to tame the wild beast that was my front yard! I still do have some ivy-like weeds that are taking over the backyard that I need to take care of though.

- I took advantage of Hobby Lobby's awesome sales and bought a whole bunch of holiday decorations at 50% off, woo!

- My totally adorable niece, Katie, turned 2 yesterday! I can't believe she's so big already! I talked to her on the phone and she wished me Happy Birthday too, ha ha. Can't wait to see her over the holidays! And I can't believe the last time Nick saw her, she was 1!


Countdowns
83% done with the deployment, 17% to go- and that's set at 365 days of deployment. There "should be" about 5% less. But, knowing the Army, I'm going to set my expectations low.


Deployment Goals

- This month, I cooked Garlic Lime Chicken and Baked Potato Soup- both delicious and pretty easy to make!

- I definitely dropped the ball on working out during R&R, although we still did walk the dogs and walk alllll over Austin. That counts, right?

- The dog training is going ok. Scout still likes to bark and whine at me...and may be hopping in bed with me at all hours of the night. But they won't be sleeping in the same room once Nick comes home anyway.

- I only missed one week of church in the last month because I was at the airport picking Nick up! Not bad. I'm also obviously working at the church once a week. They started the Heroes at Home group back up, but I'm debating going since we're almost done with the deployment. Nick wants to help out in the nursery and possibly go to the young marrieds class when he gets back, so I think we'll just do that instead.

- Ya, I didn't read at all this past month. Oops.

- As far as organizing and working on the house, I think the weeding definitely applies. I also finally went up in our attic, although that's pretty organized. I realized I'm missing some stuff (a couple CDs and DVDs), so I think I need to get slightly more organized, especially before we move sometime in the next year.

- R&R kind of killed the budget for the month, but it was worth it, so it doesn't matter! Oh, and maybe I should add a Hobby Lobby category to our budget, ha ha.


Prayer Requests

- That time continues to go quickly until Nick comes home. Also, that both of us are able to keep busy.

- For the transition back to "normal" when Nick gets home. Obviously, it will be difficult for both of us to get used to living together again.

- That we would both continue to make God a priority in our lives.

- Eyes to see all that God has done for us in the past year


Upcoming Events

- A Halloween themed Battalion coffee

- Halloween (which will probably be me handing out candy and watching non-scary Halloween movies, like last year. And the dogs may or may not wear their Army jerseys again)

- November- possibly the last month of this deployment!!!