Setting Goals

I've been slow going with this post.  Mostly because I feel if I actually post my goals publicly, there will be accountability to fulfill them.  Acountability.  Blah.

So, here it goes.  My goals for the next many months of this deployment:

1. Read a book every day.  I mean a real book with more than 10 words on a page.  I love to read but have lost my drive to do so over the last few years.
2. Spend one-on-one time with each of my girls each day.  I spend so much time running around the house doing this and that.  I need to be sure to sit, talk, play and participate in play that both Grace and Autumn need. 
3. Lose 15 pounds.  I have lost every single last pound I gained with Autumn plus a few, but I want to get back to where I was before I got pregnant with Grace.  This will mean getting back to working out at least four times a week and eating healthy.
4. Make a plan for our basement.  We have a finished basement with a bathroom, laundry area and a decent sized all-purpose room..  It's been completely under-utilized since we bought the house and I need to make the space work.
5. Study Scripture every day.  I have times in my life when I'm really good about setting aside quiet time for myself and other times I simply do not make this a priority.  I need to set aside part of my day for just me and God - whether it be right before bed or before the kids wake up.  I'm in the middle of studying Proverbs right now and I want to study Colossians after that.

So there they are - my five measurable goals for this deployment.  I'll keep you updated.

Of Skype and Sand: An open letter to family members and friends

Of Skype and Sand: An open letter to family members and friends: "Dear Family and Friends, I swear on all that is holy that if any of you EVER AGAIN send me an email showing flag draped coffins I will come..."

Happy BirThanksMas

Happy BirThanksMas!  What?  You've never heard of such a holiday?  Well, when you're deployment is during your birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas, you need a meal to celebrate all of them at once!

I decided to surprise Joel one night for dinner with a few of his favorites.  I got the girls up early one morning and ran to the grocery store so I could have everything prepared before Joel got home from work at the base.  Nothing like making a batch of stuffing at 10:00 in the morning on a 80+ degree July day!

So for dinner we had stuffing, Italian cut green beans (yuck, but he loves them), sirloin steak and chocolate fudge cake.  To drink was raspberry lemonade and one of his favorite beers - St. Pauli Girl.  Dinner was quite a strange mix of foods, but I wanted him to get some of his favorites before his deployment.  He gets all sorts of skinny on deployments, so I needed to fatten him up a bit beforehand.

Dinner was a hit.  We were both feeling it though - the steaks were gigantic and it was kind of hot for a big pile of stuffing, but it was well worth it.

Our Goodbye

We are finally into the deployment.  After nearly a year of deployment talk and plenty of anticipation (and some dread), we said our goodbyes last week and sent our favorite troop on his way.

Last week was plenty busy... there are always a lot of things to tie up - household projects, finances, legal paperwork.  We managed to set aside a part of one day to go out to a museum with the kids and have lunch afterward.  Joel and I stayed up "late" two nights to hang out, talk and get some Wii in.  And by late, I mean we both crashed by about 11:30.  What happened to the days of staying up 'til 3 every night?

The morning Joel left, he and I both woke up about an hour before the alarm - both anxious and nervous about the goodbye, I think.  I woke up with a feeling in my gut like I used to get before I took an exam I wasn't prepared for in college... kinda sick, thinking "how am I going to do this?", wishing I could just crawl back into bed.  Joel got up and made pancakes for all of us - he wanted to crack open the maple syrup form New Hampshire before he left.  I'm guessing the military doesn't serve real maple syrup overseas... We took a few pictures before we left for the base and once we got there, our goodbye was brief.  A few good "Joel hugs" (they force any air inside of you out), some kisses - I was trying to hold it together for the girls and Joel and was also trying not to break down.  I told him I loved him, that I'd miss him and that I was so proud of him.

I went straight to my parents house from the base.  I wanted to go right home and curl up on the couch with a blanket and call it a day at 9 am, but for the sake of the kids, I knew I needed to have some support around.  I actually called my mom earlier in the week to let her know my plans to come over the day Joel left.  I told her that I'd most likely call that morning and make up some excuse why I wasn't coming over and if I did that, she was to drive over and force me into the car!  Being home was not a good option for me.

So, we've survived the last few days.  One foot in front of the other.  Filling our days with projects and outings.  So far so good.

I'm missing my troop, but am so proud of him for what he's going to do.

A Brief Break

D-Day is fast approaching.  I'm going to take some time off from the blogging world so that we can spend time together as a family.  For those of you who have done the deployment thing before, you know how busy things get right before a deployment... packing, shopping, tying up loose ends, last-minute house projects.  Those are all on our to-dos right now and we're also trying to squeeze in as much family time as possible.

We're holding on to every last precious hour together. 

Be back soon...

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

As we get very close to Joel's deployment date, I started thinking about the week leading up to Joel's England deployment.  It seems with us, that before each deployment, things go wrong at home - either with illness or with our 80+ year old home falling apart.  Here's a note I wrote on Facebook right before he left last year.  Hope it's encouraging to you.  It's helped me keep perspective during these last few, busy days.

"I loved "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" when I was a kid. I remember checking and re-checking it out of our school's library... Never have I related to poor Alexander more than this week. First of all, Grace is doing much better and we are so thankful for that - it's frightening to see how quickly a toddler can decline with the flu!

So, Joel's getting ready to deploy for three months in a few days, so we were anticipating a busy week with last minute to-dos and seeing family and friends. We prayed that God would allow good family time, and I'm kind of wondering what "good family time" means in His eyes!

Grace started throwing up on Tuesday which is a first for her and kind of threw us for a loop. Poor little kids just don't know what's going on and they just want Mom and Dad to make it all better. Joel slept on her floor that night and woke up to her asking him to wash her baby and blanket. She had a nice present waiting for us that morning and nothing matches starting your day like that. She felt better throughout the day - just kinda sleepy and clingy. So we cuddled, read books and just hung out!

That night we all cuddled on the couch and the power went out - one of our tree limbs fell on our line. Joel went out to see what was going on. Another big "boom" and we realized that one of our neighbor's big limbs fell and a piece broke off and fell on Joel's car. Nice. Luckily, Joel's car took it like a man and only had a few dings.

We got ready for bed and realized that our back portion of the fence completely collapsed. So, we went to bed, all bundled up and prayed for a new day.

That morning Grace and I went to the neighbor's until our power was restored. Karen told me that our fence along their property line collapsed on her husband's truck the night before.  Ok, so a whole new fence is on the way!

Grace seemed fine that morning - just a little tired. Within a few hours she started throwing up, dry heaving and just acting completely lethargic. I called the doctor and was told by the nurse to just monitor her. Thanks, yes, I'll do that. I'm so glad my friend was so gracious in allowing my sick kid to throw up all over her house and then offer to make me lunch!

Grace continued to vomit and started throwing up blood so I called the doctor back and we got in within an hour. By that point, Grace is barely responding to us and is basically just staring blankly - not her normal bouncy self!

The doctor decided to admit her to the hospital so they could rehydrate her quickly. I know so many parents who have gone through worse with their children, but I think it's frightening for anyone to see their little ones poked and prodded and put in a hospital crib! Grace was a trooper and handled all the poking remarkably well!

After a few hours of IV fluids, she quickly perked up and started resembling the Grace we knew. She loved having a TV right next to her bed and told Joel and I that she wanted to stay there instead of going home.

Thursday night, I went home for a quick shower and on my way back to the hospital, hit my neighbors shiny new pick-up truck. I left a quick note and left for the hospital in tears... another deductible to pay. I came into Grace's room - her and Joel are cuddled together watching TV and Grace greets me with a big "MOMMY!". Wow. In that moment, I realized that nothing else mattered but the fact that my little girl was back to her normal self. The fence, the power, Joel's car, my car, our neighbors truck , Joel's deployment... "Rejoice in the Lord always" came immediately to mind and I knew that all was in God's hands. And I'm thankful for that!

Grace is perky, happy and giving orders. Joel's working on the fence this very minute. I placed a claim with the insurance company and our neighbor is completely understanding about the truck. All is well and we have a few precious days together as a family before Joel leaves on Monday.

Philippians 4 has long been a special passage to me. I cling to it once again and know that I am to be anxious for nothing - for God holds all things in His hands!"

Happy 4th

Happy Birthday, USA!

You were expecting a patriotic post from me this weekend, right? I thought I would keep it simple and list five reasons why I love this country so much:

1. I have freedom to worship God, wherever I choose and however I choose.
2. Our country is beautiful - full of mountains, rolling hills, deserts, glaciers and lakes.
3. I had the opportunity to get a great education and pursue a career of my choosing.
4. I live in a country where men and women choose to fight for us here at home as well as far away from home.
5. Our country is full of people from different backgrounds, beliefs and cultures - we can learn so much from each other.

Thank you to those who have served our country well in the past and continue to do so in the present. It's because of your passion, drive and courage that we can celebrate with friends and family this weekend.

Here's the last verse of the Star Spangled Banner - it's beautiful...

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Be safe and remember this weekend why you love your country so much.