We are a military family currently living in California so that Nick can attend graduate school
We have two beautiful boys and are pursuing God's call to adopt a child from China
James 1:37
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
So I realized today that I'm getting a really good 2.5 year anniversary present! I'll be getting him home exactly 2.5 years after we were married! Normally we don't celebrate 1/2 year anniversaries, but Nick was gone for our actual anniversary, and I think there well definitely be reason to celebrate!
So, not too much longer. Which is good because I'm getting really antsy, and there's only so much that will distract me from the fact that he's ALMOST home!!! He should be preparing to leave Kuwait tomorrow night, WOO!
Not too much to report otherwise. I realized I never took pictures of our guest bathroom after I painted it. And I put up Christmas decorations yesterday, yay! So here are some pictures:
Looks pretty good if I do say so myself
The painting in this picture is what inspired the color. It's the beach where we stayed on our honeymoon
Our front door
The mantel with the dogs' stocking. I'm working on Nick's & mine
The kitchen table- I'm trying to find a good Army nutcracker too (that one's a cowboy)
I got an E-mail from Nick this morning saying he was on his way to Kuwait! Woohoo! I haven't heard anything since, so I'm hoping it all went smoothly. Hopefully it won't be more than a few days before he is on his way here!!!
It's getting a little bit more real. I got excited butterflies all last night when I would realize he was on his first leg of the trip home!!! There's no real way of knowing when exactly he'll be on his way here, but hopefully it won't take too long. It will get really real when I'll get the official phone call that his flight has left Kuwait!!!
We're on the way at least though!!! YAY! I'll be sure to update when I know more!
Happy Thanksgiving!!! I was originally intending to pretty much pretend that it wasn't actually Thanksgiving and just hang out at home with the boys. I had a couple of invites to people's celebrations, but they would have been slightly awkward, and I just wasn't really feeling it. There was one viable option, but I didn't find out about it until later. But, God is good, and I met a new friend named Jennifer this week. Her husband is supposed to be coming home from Iraq soon too, and she didn't have any big plans for Thanksgiving either. So, we whipped up an awesome last-minute Thanksgiving!
On the menu: pre-cooked turkey & gravy, instant garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce in a can, crescent rolls, and some tasty appetizers Jennifer cooked up. I also bought an apple pie and made some ice cream, and Jennifer made some cookies, but we were too full from dinner, so I'll get to enjoy those later. It was fun meeting someone new (who is my age without kids!) and we had a lot of fun talking and getting to know each other. I think it turned into a pretty good Thanksgiving! Obviously I would have loved to be with family, or Nick, but it was nice to hang out with someone in the same situation, especially instead of pretending it wasn't actually Thanksgiving.
This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for new friends, my lovely (albeit crazy) dogs, and the fact that Nick will soon be on his way home!
He will hopefully be headed to Kuwait by the weekend. They're starting the process tomorrow and I'm just happy there's forward progress. He was originally supposed to get to Kuwait today, but for some reason, it didn't happen. I haven't really been getting my hopes up too much until there is actually progress, but it's still kind of a bummer, obviously. It still doesn't quite seem real that he's actually coming home (the delays definitely aren't helping), and I'm not sure it will until I see the buses pull up for the homecoming ceremony. And then I'll probably lose it like I did when I saw him coming off the plane for R&R. Can't wait!
Time seems like it's slowly creeping by. I know Nick will be home relatively soon and is supposed to be arriving in Kuwait sometime this week, but it still seems so far away. It's not real yet. I think it'll help once we get through that first step of arriving in Kuwait.
I've been keeping busy. Nothing too exciting, but just kind of preparing the house, getting chores done, getting a pedicure (a must), etc. I started working on Nick's stocking last week. Man, it's slow! It's not necessarily hard, but if I mess up, it takes 10x longer because I have to take out stitches, etc. There's just a lot of detail between sequins, beads, and stitches. It's looking pretty cool though. I've been listening to Christmas music while I work on it, which is fun.
I found a Christmas CD one of Nick's high school buddies burned for him, which was pretty sweet. As much as I love Relient K and the Muppets Christmas albums, it was nice to have a little variety. One of my favorites from the CD is the rock version of the Grinch. Love it! It had a whole bunch of amusing songs like that.
So ya, I just feel like I'm in limbo. I'm keeping busy and getting through the day, but it feels like I'm not going anywhere or getting anything done. I know I really am, it's just tough. The first flight flight came in today and I'm totally jealous. Although I'm really happy for the ladies who have their husbands back. I know it will be my turn soon, it just needs to hurry up and get here already!!!
The other night I was abruptly woken up by my security alarm going off. It was definitely not a good sound to wake up to. I was freaked out for a minute, but then I got up the guts (with Scout by my side) to check things out. Because as scary as that is to wake up to, it is also blaringly loud and obnoxious. Apparently I wasn't quite awake enough to think to grab Nick's handgun out of the bedside table (and, of course, didn't think about it until afterwards).
But thankfully, I didn't need it! Apparently, I didn't fully shut the door from the house to the garage earlier that evening. I thought it was funny that it took like 4 hours to creak back open & set off the alarm though. Good times. Needless to say, I didn't sleep quite as well the rest of the night. It wouldn't be a deployment without a little excitement, I guess. Even at the end.
We're getting to the home stretch! Almost to single digits, woohoo! Although, time definitely seems like it's slowing down some. My to-do list is shrinking, and most of the major stuff is done (woohoo!). I got my house cleaned yesterday, and it looks so nice! I'm glad I didn't have to give it a really good scrub down. I'm much better at keeping it clean (which I definitely have to do).
My new FRG (Family Readiness Group)- since Nick changed jobs a couple months ago- had an end of deployment party last night. It was pretty fun, and thankfully, I know a bunch of people already. They had door prizes and Olive Garden, yum! It was hard to hear when everyone else's husband is coming home though, since Nick is on one of the last flights. I know we're still really close, but I couldn't help but feel slightly bummed out. I know at least one wife who's in the same boat though, so that's good. I'm hoping my Thanksgiving plans aren't going to be altered since hubbies will be home. It'll kind of suck being husbandless in a room full of couples, but not as much as not having Thanksgiving plans.
Somehow yesterday, the heart charm on my necklace fell off and I have no idea where it is. I have a sneaking suspicion that a certain dog named Rufus may have eaten it since I looked down to see the chain on the floor with the charm nowhere in sight. Of course, this is a necklace that Nick gave me that has our birthstones. I normally wear it everyday, so it's absence is obvious and keeps bumming me out. I'm hoping it'll turn up, and hopefully not in a gross place.
Today was the last day of work until sometime after the new year (they haven't narrowed down a time yet for their next bible study). I'm hoping most of the same kids will be there next time...although I could do without some of the 2 year old drama. Two kids went to time-out today and there was definitely a temper tantrum. Even still, it's going to be weird not taking care of these kids for awhile after seeing them every week for 2 months.
I totally kicked butt today and painted the entire guest bathroom! I now have paint all over my hands though, despite several washings. I might have to wash them in paint thinner, goody. I'll still probably have some touch-ups, but the bathroom is probably about 90-95% done. Go me! It is amazing how much quicker it went, but it's also significantly smaller than our master bathroom. I'm really happy to have crossed another major thing off of my to-do list. Nick's homecoming date has been trying to sneak up on me! But now, I think I have a pretty good handle on things.
I also decided to go to Yoga today, which was a good call. I tried to go once 2 weeks ago, but they were transitioning teachers and didn't have one yet. But the new teacher has started and it's gonna be a good workout - apparently she teaches "Power Yoga", nice.
Otherwise, I'm just keeping busy. Oh, I forgot, I also got some significant Christmas shopping done this weekend. I went to a local Holiday Bazaar with R.A.B. and picked up some cool presents for my family, yay! I'm nowhere near being done with Christmas shopping, but hey, progress is progress!
My awesome friend Alice came back in town for the weekend! Her mom and grandmother came with her and we all went out to lunch after church. It was sooo good to see Alice and get to know some of her family. We now have a standing invitation if we're ever in Memphis. Gotta love that Southern hospitality. They even treated me to lunch! So sweet! We also went to one of the fun division museums on post and looked at all the cool Cav stuff.
Alice is coming back in about 2 weeks, thank goodness! I was reminded today of how much I miss hanging out with her. It was nice talking about all the fun things (yoga, bible study, etc) we're going to do when she gets back. So, not only do I get my hubby back soon, I get one of my best friends too. YAY! Now if only she weren't moving away in July...although she'll only be about 3 hours away.
We have officially gotten through 11 months of deployment (over 335 days), woohoo! This will probably be my last month in review because Nick is supposed to be home well before the year mark (YAY! Not too much longer!). Here are some highlights from this month:
- Had a pretty good Halloween where I watched a whole bunch of Halloweeny movies and handed out candy. I went to a Halloween-themed coffee for the month too, which was pretty fun.
- We are still going through the loan/payment process, but Nick got a gorgeous new truck! We are very excited to pick it up once we get to California in December!
- I got the walls in our master bathroom textured, although unfortunately, my toilet was broken in the process. It's fixed, but it was a big, expensive pain in the butt. Also, had some other stressful moments, including my water almost getting shut off because I wasn't getting my mail. Thankfully, everything got resolved. But man, not fun.
- Have had some fun days at work, and have gotten very good at holding 2 kids at one time, ha ha. Only one more week until they start up a new bible study in the new year.
- Helped put together welcome home bags (with toiletries and such) for the single soldiers in Nick's unit.
- Was invited to a Pampered Chef party and dinner party in one day! I thoroughly spoiled myself at the Pampered Chef party getting lots of fun cooking toys. And it was lots of fun hanging out with the ladies from Nick's unit at the dinner party!
- My community went through the horrific shooting on 11/5. I'm still in shock that something could happen like that on post, but it is obvious that God is bringing healing and peace in the aftermath.
-Am keeping busy otherwise & just waiting & preparing for Nick to get home!
- I just finished painting the walls in our master bathroom. I tried to put up a new light over the mirror, but unfortunately, I somehow did not get the instructions, or the required parts to put it up. Hmm. Anyway, here are the promised pictures:
I'm really excited about the result!
Countdowns 94% done with the deployment!!! I can't quite bring myself to put in the date that Nick is "supposed" to be home, so I did a week after that. Still, not too shabby! And the first flights from his unit started coming in this week!!!
Deployment Goals
- This month, I cooked my gramma's fabulous Hamburger Soup recipe & I also tried Huevos Rancheros (because I was craving it and needed something new to cook). Tasty!
- Totally kicked butt working out. I'm hoping to start going back to the Yoga classes too. I stopped going because the teacher moved and they were in the process of getting a new one.
- The dogs are still driving me a bit crazy, but it's mostly Scout barking at me for attention (a habit I'm trying desperately to break). I've upped the discipline some, mostly time-outs so I can have some peace and quiet. They're pretty good on walks, except apparently when I take them both at the same time (which I try not to do unless I'm in a time crunch) and we see cats. Good times.
- I read both Something Borrowed, and Something Blue this month. I own both of them, but they're always a good read.
- I obviously worked on the house a bunch with the Master Bathroom. I also did a little bit of organizing of CDs and am just generally trying to tidy more with Nick coming home!!!
Prayer Requests
- That time would continue on the pace it's going (it seems like it's flying by!) for both Nick and I, and that I would get everything done that I wanted to before he gets home.
- That Nick's "transition" back to home is a smooth one without a lot of stress. And that we would have lots of patience with each other and just enjoy being together again.
- That we would keep up our new habits and not fall back into old, bad habits.
My mom mentioned last week that she felt extremely unmotivated once it got dark in the evening. This week, I totally experienced this as well. I think it's partially due to the fact that I my major project of the week is painting my bathroom, and I took down the light to get the walls textured. So, once it gets dark, I can't really work in there anymore. It's crazy though, once 5:30 hits, the day magically seems like it's over. All I feel like doing is sitting down and watching TV. But there are still like 4 hours until bedtime. I think it's helping me get to sleep earlier though, which is always a good thing.
I know Daylight Savings happens every year (well, twice a year), but the past couple years, it has seemed like a total adjustment for me. I'm sooo ready for winter -who wouldn't be when you've just lived through a Texas summer AND your husband will soon be coming home from a deployment. The one good thing about all this is the days definitely seem to be going by quickly!
I promise, pictures of my bathroom will come tomorrow! I'm going to do a few more touch-ups, but I finished the major work today. I just forgot to take a picture before the sun went down, and then realized I still have all the painter's tape up anyway (it'll look better without it, believe me). Yay for being productive! At least while the sun was still up anyway.
So much to do, so little time! I'm really not stressed or anything, but I feel like from the time I wake up in the morning, I have all these little tasks running through my head. There are a million little things I need to do, or have forgotten to do. I feel like it never ends. But, I guess I could be going crazy from boredom, so I'd much rather have it this way. It sure makes the days go by quicker when I'm (at least mentally) running from one thing to the next!
Happy Veteran's Day! I, for one, am looking forward to welcoming home my veteran soon! Not too much longer, thank goodness!
Not a whole lot going on around here. I'm keeping busy with everything, just nothing terribly exciting. Oh, except I spent like half of today painting our master bathroom, woohoo! I still have to do a bit tomorrow, but I did all I could with the roller brush, now onto the tediousness of those lovely textured walls (the roller brush can only get so much, so there are a bunch of white spots everywhere). Pictures to come soon! I would take them now, but it's dark & I don't have a good light in there at the moment.
So obviously, everyone knows about the horrific shooting that happened in my community this week. I really don't know what to say about it. I was in utter shock and disbelief when I watched the news on Thursday. Of all the places this could have happened, I never would have guessed that it would be on an Army post. This is a place I have gone to hundreds of times, multiple times a week (at least 3 lately). And Nick or I could have so easily been there. For the first time ever, I was happy that Nick was in Iraq, and not on post that day. I still can't believe something like this happened here and was done at the hands of a soldier. It's not something that ever crossed my mind as a possibility, and unfortunately, I don't think it was something that could have been avoided.
I found out recently that a soldier in Nick's brigade was a victim. He had just come back from Iraq, in fact. Thankfully, he's doing really well, especially considering he had a 50/50 shot on Thursday. As of yesterday, he was standing on his own. Totally amazing.
But ya, it's been an interesting couple of days. I've kind of been in a fog lately, although I feel like it's lifting somewhat. At this point, it feels like it wasn't real. Or at least, it's not as present in my mind. I'm lucky that I haven't needed to go on post since, and I don't really plan on it for another week or so. I'm not really scared, but it'll definitely be weird and bring it back to the forefront of my mind.
Things are kind of going back to normal though. My toilet got fixed this week, yay! That was a huge load off. I'm so glad we have 2 bathrooms, but it was a bit of a pain to not be able to use the master bathroom (since the toilet was being stored in my shower). But now I can again!
Yesterday was really busy and fun. I got invited to a Pampered Chef party and got a whole bunch of fun new toys for the kitchen, woo! Then, one of the lovely ladies that used to be in our battalion had a bunch of us over for dinner. Her husband is home and cooked us an absolutely delicious meal! We were all seriously in a food coma by the end of it. Soooo good. It was just a fun, goofy night. I'm totally exhausted today though.
Not too much longer until Nick comes home!!! I'm not quite feeling the pressure to get everything done, but it does feel like it's soon. Yay! We're getting there!
I'm still alive, just super busy. I have or have had something going on every single day from this past Sunday to this coming Sunday. There is just so much to do before Nick comes home! I'm not stressed, but I'm realizing I need to get stuff done, especially since 4 days are pretty much shot because of Thanksgiving.
This week, I'm trying to set up a cleaning service, get the toilet fixed (hopefully soon!), and paint two bathrooms. On top of all that, I started volunteering in R.A.B.'s Pre-K classroom once a week (which is really fun. Those kids are super cute!), and then, of course, there's work. Phew! I don't know how I did all that I did when I was working full time. Because man, I'm tired. But time is going quickly since I'm so busy!
Today I helped put together welcome home bags for all of the single soldiers in Nick's unit (I think we did like 400 all together)! It's starting to get a more and more real that everyone will be home soon!!!
My Halloween was pretty fun last night! I had a Halloween movie marathon while I handed out candy (of course dressed up in my costume). I was worried I was going to have to eat all of my candy myself since trick-or-treaters didn't show up until after 7pm. But thankfully, we got a good showing. I attempted to put up a dog barricade, but Rufus broke through in about 2 minutes. So, unfortunately, the dogs were exiled to the bedroom.
I watched 4 of the 8 Halloween-themed movies I thought of for my Halloween movie marathon. I'm a huge chicken and hate scary movies, so these are all non scary, and actually pretty funny for the most part. I was surprised I came up with so many: Corpse Bride, Nightmare Before Christmas, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2, Young Frankenstein, Shaun of the Dead, Sleepy Hollow, and Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
I may continue my movie marathon, even though it's no longer Halloween, because all of these movies are awesome. I have to say though, one of my ultimate favorites is Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It became one of our Halloween traditions 2 years ago. If you have never seen it (or any of the Wallace & Gromit movies), please do. I swear, it is not just for Animation nerds like me. It makes me laugh out loud, even though I've seen it a million times. The director described it as a "vegetarian horror movie", love it! If you like British humor, (Shaun of the Dead falls in that category) you will totally enjoy it. And Claymation/stop motion Animation is really cool, even though I don't think I'd ever have the patience to do it (they move the clay mere millimeters for each frame, and only film seconds per day). It's totally entertaining, fun, and visually gorgeous.
Here are some Halloweeny pictures from my fun night:
My awesome painted jeans for my costume. I'm pretty impressed with myself for making those
Hippie headband
The whole outfit (or at least the best picture I could get- somehow I'm incapable of getting a full body shot)
Looks pretty good if I do say so myself
The painting in this picture is what inspired the color. It's the beach where we stayed on our honeymoon
Our front door
The mantel with the dogs' stocking. I'm working on Nick's & mine
The kitchen table- I'm trying to find a good Army nutcracker too (that one's a cowboy)
