Deployment Weekend

He is there and I am here
Those last 10 days came and went, just like I knew they would.
Still, some part of me feels like it's just a joke.
I'm going to come home late one night and Mr will answer the door,
he'll tell me he was just kidding and that he won't be going there, not now, 
not ever.
We'll stay up late, maybe bicker for a minute about whether we're going to watch 
American Chopper or Grey's Anatomy re-runs. 
We'll settle on Two and a Half Men though, because that's what we do.
Mr will fall asleep, but try really hard to stay up late with me
(because he knows I love it when he does).
But he'll fall asleep anyway, on accident usually, and I'll read my book.  
Every now and then I'll look at Mr and get butterflies 
knowing we belong to each other.
Everyone says babies are peaceful and most lovable when they sleep,
well, so are husbands
and sometimes, seeing him sleep so peacefully..
that's when I remember just how much I love him.

...

2 days before Mr and I took off for the big weekend, 
we were sitting on the couch and Mr's Dad text him.
I don't know what that text said but after he read it, he looked at me and said
it's here. 
My heart sank down lower than I'd ever felt.
We acknowledged it, the unspoken, the topic weighing on our minds since 
April 13th, a date that I will never forget. 
Deployment had arrived, and it came unfashionably on time. 
How selfish, rude and stupid of Deployment to do that!
After hearing those words it took everything in me not to curl up in bed 
and stay there for days.
I put on my big girl face and sucked it up.

 ...
We arrived at the hangar nice and early so Mr could get his bags in line 
and have their first formation.
I felt like I was handing Mr over to the care of someone else 
once he ran into formation.
From that point on, the Government owned him, and that scared me. 
General..Commander..Sergeant So-and-So, 
take care of my Mr and don't yell at him!
After formation we had a small window of free-time, so we took a pointless drive. 
After our short window of a break, we decided to follow the rules and go back, 
so Mr could get in.. yet, another formation. 
A BBQ also awaited us, so we had some motivation.
 
It was so moving to see this deploying group of soldiers 
in one, very large formation.
I remember standing by myself in awe at all of the men & women  
voluntarily fighting for my freedom. 
My husband stood beside those men and women. 
After the formation and BBQ 
we were free for the remainder of the night.
...

Day Two was the Yellow Ribbon Ceremony Day.
Throughout most of the ceremony
I listened to the speakers and it was fine.
I appreciated the General addressing family members and so on.
But, when it came time to call out the mobilization of Mr's unit, 
my heart beat out of my chest.
There's something about a man in uniform 
calling out orders from the President of the United States,
(and knowing that it was directed toward my husband)
that brings chills to anyone listening.
Here are a few pictures from the ceremony.








Once the ceremony came to a close Mr and I were given the rest of the day to do what we pleased.
I was so happy to have that last night with Mr.
We laughed, we held hands, we joked, we made memories.
found this awesome car in the Target parking lot.
who doesn't want Yoda to ride shot gun?


...

 Deployment day arrived. 
The countdowns were over. 
The anticipation was gone.
It was here.


It became real once we arrived to the hangar/air field. 
Families stood around taking pictures and holding on to their loved ones.
It was then that I realized deployment is hard for
more than just the spouse.
Young kids were holding on so tight to their Mommies and Daddies.
I felt like I could relate to these children though.
Almost like, if I started pouring my heart out to one of them..
they would listen..and know.
So I thought to my self,
If these children can do this I can do this.
I'm bigger, stronger, older..and wiser...right? 
But deep down inside I wanted to get on their level.
I wanted to kick and scream and not let go.
That wasn't an option though and,
I thought it'd be best if I didn't create a scene.
Nearly an hour and a half after we arrived it was time for Mr to line up. 
We said our goodbye,
I squeezed him with all I could
told him I loved him
and that was it.
Then he made his way through the crowd to find his place in line.
I watched him run out there.
I pushed my way through the crowd, right to the front.
I didn't take my eyes off of him the entire time.
The tears came out hard,
but I could still see a blurry Mr among all of those ACUs. 
A nice lady decided to give me a tissue and ask a little about
who I was sending off and if it was our first time, etc. 
She put her arm around me and made me feel less alone
for a few minutes.
So, thank you lady..whoever you are.
Before I knew it, every soldier had loaded onto the plane, but not without turning and waving goodbye to all of their loved ones below.
Mr told me what seat he was in.
He told me to get to the front of the crowd so he could see me.
At this point, I felt like my body was running out of energy and I was so exhausted from everything,
my mind was going crazy trying to comprehend what was happening.
Not much can prepare you for watching your whole life take off into the sky..
with out you.
But it came and went, just like those 10 days.
One minute we were in each others arms and the next
he was in the sky and out of reach.
I didn't take my eyes off that plane until it disappeared into the sky.
Once the plane was gone there was a rush of people.
I felt so out of place and just needed to get out of there.
So I did.

...
I miss my husband more than I can explain.
It's hard to put into words.
I get asked that question almost daily now.
"How is...that going for you?"
Well, to answer that question for you,

it's going...

I'm here, he's there

and...it's going.


Come home safe to me Mr.
I'm waiting.

<3




Shutterfly for the Holidays!

Do you want in on THIS?

 Shutterfly is offering an amazing deal for all bloggers
during this Christmas season!

I used to make tons and tons of scrapbooks by hand.
I loved cutting out the papers and pictures to make just the right page.
As I've become older, I've had less and less time do hand made scrapbooks.
A friend of mine told me about This amazing website where you could make
scrapbooks online, in half the amount of time!

I have not yet made any albums on Shutterfly but I do plan
to make my entire wedding album there.
It's fast, quick, easy and the results will be priceless.
I have seen many an album from this website and not one has disappointed me.

My family and I plan to use these holiday Christmas cards to mail out to
family and friends. I know they will all be jealous of our stylish cards.
They'll wish they checked out Shutterfly before they made their trip to Walgreens.

Since my Mr is going to be overseas this holiday season,
a bright and cheery Christmas card might be just the ticket for him!

THIS is one of my favorite Holiday cards this season!
I would LOVE to make one of THESE for my Momma at some point.
I think she'd really appreciate it :)

They have so many cute cards,
and here are some of my favorites


How cute, right?
All of their Christmas cards are creative and fun.
These are not your typical holiday cards

 no no no, they are so much more.
So go, get on it!
check out their selection here.
you won't regret it.
Thanks for this offer Shutterfly

 you rock.




When Opposites Meet

 I shot these pictures on opposite sides of the country, 
I'm not sure why I love this picture combo so much, but the green color
paired with the black and white just makes my eyeballs happy :) 
 



Meet Kee Kee :)



Day One

I made it through Day One
There's so many more to go, but taking it one day at a time is the strategy from here on out.
Last night Mr and I started reading James together. 
Chapter One just so happened to have the most amazing passage for us.

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

So here we go, 
facing one of the biggest trials of our lives,
so God may produce perseverance in us both. 
<3

Thank you to all of the beautiful people in my life who have been sending me texts, emails, facebook messages, phone calls and to the nice lady at the air field who gave me a tissue yesterday. Mr and I could not get through this without the support of all the loved ones around us, your kind words and prayers are truly helping, so thank you.


Embrace.

The days are getting shorter and time is running out.
I find myself not wanting to fall asleep at night
because that just means one more day has come and gone.
People want to make plans with me after Mr. is gone
but I don't even want to think past today.
 My heart is here, my head is in the clouds.
Most years the time change is a pain, but not this year.
We gained one more hour together yesterday, it was awesome. 
Now I'll just pray that Jesus will stretch the hours,
prolong, drag out, extend, and lengthen the days
so Mr and I can have just a little bit more time together.
He'll be gone soon,
But he is home for today and I'll embrace that.


Hike

Yesterday Mr woke me up bright and early and gave me the news..
we are going on a hike!
At first I was so excited because we would be out in nature, I'd get to take some awesome pictures, and it would be just the two of us, out in nature, together! Then I got a little nervous..
what kinda hike does Mr have in mind?
are we going to be scaling walls, swimming through rivers, and fighting harsh mountain conditions?
that's not quite what I had in mind...and lucky for me, neither did Mr. whew! I mean I love the great outdoors but I just don't like fighting with it so I was relieved to hear Mr tell me it was an easy to medium hike that he had planned :)
For the record: Mr made me breakfast and had an entire day planned, dreamy right? take note boys, plan a day for your gal..she will appreciate the mere idea that you even thought about spending special time with her. good job Mr!

Here are some of the pictures from our adventure.


I decided that Fall time is the best time to be in the mountains.
How pretty is all of that yellow mixed in with the green pines?
Thanks Mr for an awesome day and fun hike :)


Why I love California

10. Great milk comes from happy cows, happy cows come from California.

9. Home of the California Roll

 8. Everyone surfs and we all live by celebrities

 7. CPK and In-n-Out Burger
  
6California girls
We're undeniable
fine, fresh, fierce
We got it on lock

5. Our teams win stuff like the World Series

4. We have toilet seat covers, everywhere. Not just in airports (get on board East Coast!)

3. Disneyland

2. We have Santa Cruz and Pizza my Heart

and the number 1 reason why I love California..
it's where I was born and raised :)