Then and Now

I will compile a nice blog post all about my husband's homecoming and reunion with the kids, but for now, I thought I'd just post two pictures.

This was the last picture I took of B and the kids as we dropped him off to deploy on November 2, 2009.

Then this was taken on the morning he came home, June 25, 2010. The kids sure have grown! B is just as good looking as always :-)

I am so glad he isn't leaving again anytime soon. He will be here for Thanksgivings, Christmases, birthdays, and anniversaries for at least the next 4 years. Praise God!!!

Opinions please!

I know I should be cleaning and doing laundry before B arrives this evening, but I can't help but to need your opinions.

I bought this outfit yesterday at the mall. I was kind of "ify" on it but decided to grab it since it was on sale and I loved the color. However, I really needed the consultation of a friend :-) So - is this cute and summer"y" or too 1980's? I will say it's very lightweight and good for this 100 degree weather, but..I don't want to look like a fool.

And yes, it is a one piece romper. A ROMPER for crying out loud!

It's here!

Today is FINALLY here!

My wonderful husband flies home very very late tonight. The plan for today is to make the hours go by as quickly as possible. C is going to a friend's house so I can make sure the house is super clean and ready for B's return. After dinner and baths, I will get the kids to bed and then begin work on myself...shower, do my hair and make up, and slip on my red dress (hey, I have to look my best you know!). My oh-so-helpful friend is coming over to sit at the house while I head to the airport to lay eyes (and hands) on the man I love.

I know there will be tears. I tear up thinking about seeing him :-) By the time we get home from the airport it will be in the wee hours of tomorrow...probably around 1am. But truthfully, I could care less about the time. I know I will be wide awake with adrenaline, haha!

B can't wait to peek in on the sleeping kids. I know he'll be shocked at how big they've gotten. He will laugh at all the animals and toys C sleeps with (last week when I checked on her, she was sleeping with her step stool that she had decorated with stickers - seriously!) and he will be in awe of how our little man looks so big sprawled out on his pillow covered with his blanket. He isn't a baby anymore...

We'll all be up super early the next morning since C knows that Daddy is coming home while she sleeps. I think she is picturing him coming in kind of like Santa, haha. Either way, she has told me she is going to get up early and come and sneak into our bed and "SNUGGLE!"

It's going to be a great 3 day weekend for us! Praise the Lord that this deployment has finally come to an end :-) I've learned a lot along the way but I am SO READY to have him home again!!

After all, we move (and report to our next duty station) in less than a month - I can't do that alone!

The Energizer Diapers...they just keep going...and going...and going...

Want to know one reason cloth diapers are so fabulous?

My 20 month old son is still wearing the EXACT same diapers he wore when he was 6 months old. Seriously. The exact same ones. Where is that disposable diaper your baby wore 14 months ago?

Check it out!

This is a Bum Genius Pocket diaper. It is a one size diaper, so it grows with him as he grows. It was the very first cloth diaper I bought - and this is a picture of him wearing it for the first time at 6 month old.

Fast forward 14 months....here is D in the same exact diaper at 20 months old. I converted it to snaps with a pair of snap pliers because the velcro got a little funky, but it still works great and is used about every 3 days!

This particular diaper costs $17.95. It does seem expensive up front, but it was definitely worth it! I have 3 of these and I love them and use them all the time.

This one does not show the diaper much, but it was too cute not to share :-)

And here he is in a Mother Ease one-size fitted diaper (needs a waterproof cover...although he goes coverless at home).

At about 7 months old

Same diaper at 20 months old...not bad for a diaper that only costs about $12 brand new. These diapers will last for multiple children. And yes, I do intend to prove that :-)

An action shot!

I have about 20-22 diapers in my rotation - half are pocket style/or all-in-ones that do not require a cover of any type and the other half are the Mother Ease fitted diapers that require a cover. D usually naps in these with a soft wool cover or just goes coverless around the house. I still very much enjoy washing my diapers (with watermelon scented detergent!) and buying/selling/trading them on www.diaperswappers.com. Cloth diapering is way more than just a way to catch poo, it really is a hobby for thousands of moms - me included!!

So fun and SO stinkin' adorable :-)

We have a house!

First of all, let me just get this out of the way:

8 MORE DAYS!! Yipee!!!

Okay :-) Now to the body of this blog... As you have read before, this entire move and deployment has caused me much stress. I am now happy to report that MUCH of this is getting lifted lately.

B finally got official orders, so we were able to apply for a house at our new duty station. Two days after sending off our application we received a phone call and were offered a 4 bedroom brand-new renovated home with a whole 1800 sq ft! I nearly jumped out of my skin to hear that not only were they upgrading us to a 4 bedroom (we only qualify for a 3 bedroom since we currently only have 2 kiddos), but that they were offering us a (practically) brand new house. We will be the first people to live in it with all the new renovations. These homes were built in 1980, so they desperately needed some serious upgrading. They have put in new roofs, siding, plumbing, walls, carpet, hardwood floors, appliances, landscaping and beautiful privacy fences. They built a dog park and are now building a new community center with a pool and a fitness center. The private company that runs all the on-post housing is trying to make this old neighborhood feel new and updated. They want it to be a desirable community - which is why they offered us a 4 bedroom brand new unit (with a BEAUTIFUL kitchen!).

B and I are so very excited to know that we will be getting the keys to our new home on August 3rd at 11am :-) He will actually report to his new unit in Washington DC on July 23rd while the kids and I head to Atlanta to visit family for a week or so. He will join us down there on the 29th and stay a few days before we make the final drive to accept our home...so find a time between the 22nd and the 1st to come visit us if you live in the Atlanta area. We will not be back home until Christmas!

Next on our agenda was getting a moving truck reserved. Since B doesn't come home for another 8 days and we are getting close to being only a month away from our move, we needed to go a head and reserve transportation of our household goods. I had to go up to the transportation office twice yesterday, but by the end of the second trip, I had gotten all the paperwork completed and had chosen our days for packing and loading. I can't belive that I can now say that we have a house and a moving truck reserved. We have an official report date to the White House Communication Agency and a date that B will begin his 10 days leave to get us all moved.

Somewhere deep in my heart, I knew that God had this all planned out and that it would just be a matter of time before it was all revealed to us. He is just now slowly revealing the details of this move to us. I am so relieved and as always, completely in awe of His wonder and greatness. Seriously, we're going to be the first people to live in our newly renovated 4 bedroom house...and I got to choose the exact dates for our movers to come :-) And we'll be heading back to Atlanta for one final trip before we move 10 hours away! God is SO good!

Lessons Learned

It is said by someone that "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I'd have to say that I totally believe that. This deployment hasn't been a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination, but it also hasn't gotten the best of me...or killed me. I know I am coming out on the other side much stronger than I was when we went into it. In more ways than one.

These are the things that I have learned about myself, life, being a mom, and surviving this deployment:

1. Insects (though disgusting) are really not out to get me. And even if the worst should ever happen - you know, crawl on me in the middle of the night and bite me - I still probably will not die.

2. Weekends are the very worst during a deployment. And long holiday weekends are about 10 times worse than normal ones. It's because seeing everyone else out having fun with Daddy home just makes not having "our daddy" home sting even more.

3. At the end of the day, my kids are my best friends. They love me more than any of you ever can. They know me better than anyone else knows me. We fight, love, play, snuggle, and enjoy each other's company.

4. Every love song makes me want to cry.

5. Sometimes simply locking the doors and windows is not enough to make me feel safe and secure...intrusion alarms and a dog who barks became a necessity. The uncaught serial rapist WAS NOT going to get in my house.

6. Cloth diapers (and the baby in them) still make me incredibly happy. Especially when I get a new one in the mail!

7. Speaking of mail, mail is the best part of my day. Its like a surprise every single day! Bills don't even bother me because every once in a while, I get a card of encouragement from my sisters, mom, or mother-in law. Sometimes we even get packages! Yahoo!!

8. Being in a military town on a military base during a deployment is the very best place to be. All I have to do is look next door or across the street to find someone going through exactly what I am going through.

9. My friends are truly my lifeline.

10. Having my husband gone for the better part of a year is not the worst thing that could happen to me - not having him return home to me would be.

11. It is 100% normal for my kids to drive me nuts. However, I need to stop saying that since the other day, I heard C (age 4) tell D (age 1), "D...I can't deal with this!!" Hmmm....at least I don't curse :-)

12. Having company come in town is like Christmas. Maybe even better than Christmas since I don't even have to load the car and drive 6 hours! Seriously though, I live for company. Please come visit. Anytime!

13. Taking pictures of everything my children do makes me feel like I am keeping my husband in the loop of what is going on here at home. And it makes me feel like I can capture them (the kids) right at this age - and preserve them.

14. My dog hates to go potty. She only goes when it is such an emergency that it is practically eeking out. I don't know why she doesn't understand that dog are supposed to "mark" their territory. She just likes to sniff hers.

15. Muscle really does burn fat! You will NOT bulk up by lifting heavy weights - crazy thought!

16. Oh, here is a good one!! Foot scrub, you know the peppermint one with the microscrubbers, makes an excellent shoulder scrub in the tub when there is nobody here to rub my tired back. I must make do by lathering on some gritty footscrub. Feels pretty good...and takes off any dead skin, haha!

17. I am stronger than I thought I was.

18. But the Lord is so much stronger!!! I don't know how anyone survives this life without Him!

19. Sometimes the Army does come through on its word...B FINALLY got his official orders today! Like the paper copy....like I was able to fax over everything to apply for housing. Like He is officially going to work for the White House Communications Agency for the next 4 years! And not deploy! See....I told you God is super good and strong. He can control the Army!

Just the Right Words

Oceans apart

day after day

and I slowly go insane

I hear your voice

on the line

but it doesn't stop the pain

if I see you next to never

how can we say forever

Wherever you go

Whatever you do

I will be right here waiting for you

Whatever it takes

or how my heart breaks

I will be right here waiting for you

I took for granted

all the times

that I thought would last somehow

I hear the laughter

I taste the tears

But I cant get near you now

oh can't you see it baby

You've got me going crazy

Wherever you go

Whatever you do

I will be right here waiting for you

Whatever it takes

or how my heart breaks

I will be right here waiting for you

I wonder how we can survive this romance

but in the end

If I'm with you, I'll take the chance

Do you recognize those words? Did you think I wrote them? I think if I could actually write poetry at all, that is pretty much what I would write.

These are actually the lyrics to my very favorite song about 20 years ago. You read that right - when I was 7-8 years old, I used to call the radio station (Power 99 for those of you in Atlanta...remember 99X before it was 99X?) and request this song. It's by Richard Marx and its called Right Here Waiting.

This song always stuck with me and I have had it downloaded on our computer for a long time. I came across it the other day and listened to it just because, and I couldn't believe how perfect the lyrics were for what I feel right now! I miss my husband like crazy! Like something I can't describe. He'll be home in 17 days, but it doesn't actually make me miss him any less. I still day dream about him and think about what he's doing. I think about if he's thinking about me - since I'm sure he does sit around all day dreaming of me :-)

Anyway, I just wanted to share these words. I feel like they perfectly describe how I feel. Yet, I've been hearing them for 20 years. The Lord has an odd way of preparing us for certain things doesn't He? haha...could He have been prepping me for these long separations by settling this song in my heart as a child? I wouldn't put it past Him!!! God is pretty amazing :-)

Ballerina Princess

This weekend was C's second ballet recital. I can't say she did much "better" but she did look cute and did a few twirls and arm raises....then they formed a circle by holding hands and spun around. It was very sweet - especially to a beautiful rendition of Taps. The whole recital was a salute to the troops. I can truly say that it was very special to watch. Here is the post from her Christmas recital. And yes, they wore the same costumes - saves money that way!

Nana and Auntie came to see C too :-)

For some reason unknown to me, watching this little video of my daughter dance - or rather stand for the most part - to Taps makes me tear up. I don't know if it's because she is big enough to be in her second ballet recital, or if its because when I see her, I see the Lord and all His goodness, or if it's because my husband is deployed and every patriotic song hits home just a little bit harder. Maybe its a combination of all three... I hope it makes you smile :-)

For those of you that don't know who my daughter is, she is the one I am sort of focusing on that is...well...just standing there :-)

Really Want to!

I want to blog. I really want to! I love sitting down at the computer and hashing out my thoughts into readable (I hope they are!) sentences and paragraphs. I love the writing...hate the editing - which is why I often find typos a day or so after an entry posts.

But today we had a lovely new friend come over. And now D is down for a nap. We have to go do some grocery shopping after he wakes up. I have laundry to fold. I haven't had a shower. Or washed my hair. So, I don't really have time to write. So...today's blog entry is just this...

21 MORE DAYS! PRAISE THE LORD!