These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding

These arms of mine will not be empty tonight! He's coming home today! And so far, with the bitter cold here and the winter mess through so much of the country, his flight is still on schedule. Please, God, may he have a safe flight!

Missing Him Monday...a day late

I missed yesterday. My anxiety level is high...we only have 7 days, 5 hours and 58 minutes until we are reunited! Somehow most of the last six months have been much easier than these past 2 weeks! To say I can't wait for him to get home would be a complete understatement. All the emotions, fears, worries, etc. that have been kept in check for the deployment seem to be flooding out of me now. Funny how that works.

Anyway, now that he is so close to being home, his usual "chores" won't be mine for much longer. Tuesday is trash day. Every other Tuesday is recycling day. There are only 2 more Tuesday mornings before he gets home! So, I took out the trash this morning, and next Tuesday I will take out the trash and the recycling. Then I am done! =)

So, Dear, missing you immensely is...






...or should I say me? Let me add how grateful I am to have a loving husband who is a great father to our children and a man who is willing to help me with anything and everything!

wiiiiiiiiiiii

Our middle child is relentless in the sword matches on wii! Be afraid...be very afraid!

2 Weeks

This one is for you, my true companion! I love you and can't wait until you are here...I am honestly jumping out of my skin in anticipation!

Missing Him Monday

I am tired today from shoveling snow 3 times in about a 24 hour span. We got about 6 inches total (my guess, anyway).I have discovered two things (although I am pretty sure I rediscover them each time I do this chore). 1) I loathe shoveling snow. 2) It is a really good workout! =)

He is almost done with his deployment...just 22+ (hopefully) short days until we get to meet him at the airport! The weather where he has been hasn't been quite as cold as our's has, and he hasn't had any snow. So, missing him today is the very snow I shoveled...and the snowman that could have been built...and the snowballs that could have been thrown...and the fort that could have provided a barricade. =) And even the sledding that we might have done at his high school alma mater.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby

Happy Birthday says Elvis

My hubby and Elvis share a birthday. I happen to be an Elvis fan, so this is a pretty cool coincidence. My husband likes to say one of the reasons I married him is because of that coincidence. :)

Anyway, I hope you have a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my love! I couldn't sing it better than the King of Rock-n-Roll, so here ya go, babe! Love you...even more than I love Elvis! ;)

This Is Dedicated To John Williams (And To The One I Love)

Here it is, as promised. Love ya, Babe!

Missing Him Monday

If all goes as it should, this is one of only four more Missing Him Mondays until we are reunited! Yahooooo!

To say that he is a Star Wars fan is an understatement. He has loved them since he can remember seeing the movies. He still has toys from his childhood. The 3 newest movies came out while we lived in England. It was fun to be a part of his Star Wars life when we saw them in the theaters.

Our boys have also developed a love for all things Star Wars. The oldest plays video games - sometimes for hours on end if I let him. The middle and the youngest enjoy playing with all the Legos and toys we have. Lightsaber duels are a regular occurence at our house these days. And of course we own all the movies, so we watch them pretty regularly. My favorite is The Return of the Jedi. Our oldest loves A New Hope. The 2 younger ones like Darth Maul, so that movie seems to be their favorite at the moment.

Missing him this Monday are...

...all of the various Star Wars toys/movies/games that we own, including those pictured here that a neighbor gave to the boys when he realized how much they love Star Wars!

Coming soon to a blog near you, a video of our youngest playing with Star Wars Legos and singing the Star Wars song! =)

Happy New Year

We said goodbye to 2010 and welcomed in the New Year last night. I have such a hard time staying up until midnight now - old before my time! =)

2011 is very welcome in our household! It means he is only 31 days (as long as weather cooperates on both sides of the world) from being home again! It is a gross understatement to say that none of us can wait! He posted lyrics to an appropriate song on facebook by one of his favorite bands. Here it is, for your listening enjoyment...



I pray you have many blessings in 2011!

Christmas Greetings for Him

And I taped myself, but because I am technically uninclined, it didn't work. So glad I got to talk to him so I could give him my Christmas greeting "in person."

Elvis Presley & Olivia Newton-John - Come All Ye Faithfull

Missing Missing Him Monday

So, things have been crazy! I have missed a couple of Missing Him Mondays. Shame on me! Hopefully I will get back to it next Monday, when he'll be missing the fun that I'll be having with my sister and her girlfriend here! They arrive Thursday or Friday and I am SO excited! The boys are too, though with Christmas around the corner, there isn't much that they aren't excited about!

I pray that everyone has a blessed Christmas spent with loved ones, remembering the Savior who's birth we celebrate that day. For those, like my husband who can't be with their loved ones, I pray you are kept safe, have some good food and good company, and are warmed by the memories of past Christmases and the thoughts of those to come with those you love!

Eleven Care Packages

He said:

I received eleven care packages in the mail today.

Last night I was chatting with my wife on Facebook. She'd just gone through several very stressful and hectic days, and she commented that she wished I were there (not deployed to Afghanistan) to give her hug. I wished that too---first because I sympathized with what she'd been through and wanted to provide comfort to her; second, because I personally was craving a hug. It occurred to me that the last time I had any physical contact with another human being other than perhaps a handshake was 144 days before when I said goodbye to my wife and our three boys, gave them hugs, and boarded a plane to begin my travel to Afghanistan.

Thinking on this made me realize just how wonderful it is to receive a hug from someone special. A hug can communicate so many things. I love you. I'll miss you. I have missed you. It is good to see you again. I'm sorry. It'll be okay. On and on.

So I posted on my Facebook status the fact that it had been 144 days since I last received a hug.

Then today when I went in to work, I was amazed to see that mail had come in and that I received ELEVEN, yes ELEVEN, care packages.

This is proof that God has a sense of humor.

I received a box of baked goodies from a friend. I received nine boxes from a friend's company, with help from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, full of a myriad of snacks and sweets and magazines and notepads and pens and sundry. I also received a live (Charlie Brown-sized) Christmas tree from a 2nd grade class in New York working with a local tree farm. I'm quite certain I don't know any 2nd graders in New York. Quite certain of that. I was also completely unaware that one could get a live pine tree through Customs from America to Afghanistan. I am completely perplexed as to how an elementary school in New York obtained my name and my deployment address.

On top of that, my boss also received five huge boxes of snacks and toiletries from our deployment office in Maryland. I commented to one of my team members that between the five of us, we don't have enough teeth to use all the toothpaste we received during our final month here.

We put all the boxes on a big table. My team and a group of Soldiers we are here to support had lots of fun going through all the boxes, laying claim to this flavor of fruit snack, that magazine...oh hey! Tabasco Slim Jim! It was like...well, it was like Christmas!

Several of the Soldiers were absolutely delighted by the live Christmas tree! It didn't come with a stand, but no problem. Within 15 minutes, we'd nailed two boards together, filled a big coffee can with rocks, cut the top off a water bottle, stuck the tree in the water bottle, stuck the water bottle in the coffee can, duct taped the coffee can to the boards, and wired the tree down to the boards for further stability. And five minutes after that the tree was covered in garland and ornaments.

The care packages were also full of nice letters from all the kids and the adults, thanking us for our service and our contributions to the freedom and security Americans enjoy, praying for our safe return, wishing us joy for the upcoming holidays. One card in particular struck my attention, from one of the second graders: "Thank you for saving our country."

Having served 19 years in the Navy, I've grown quite accustomed to being approached by random people thanking me for my service. I am glad the time of my service is now...so much has changed from the Vietnam era to the post-Gulf War and post-9/11 eras.

My original intentions in joining the Navy were for college money. I stayed with it because I enjoyed it. I don't think most of us, joining right out of high school, truly understand what the oath means when we take it. But it sinks in, deep down, after a few years. "I solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same..."

It means that we love America, whether we agree with everything or not. We love the freedom Americans have. We love our way of life. We love knowing Americans can rest safely within our borders. We will aggressively pursue anyone and anything that threatens that freedom and that safety. We will sacrifice our time, endure hardships, endure separation from our loved ones, sacrifice our very lives because we know the collective sacrifice of our fellow Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guardsmen --- past, present, and future --- helps to ensure the continuance of our great country and our way of life.

Yes, those are often vague and lofty ideals, perhaps a bit esoteric even. But those are the ideals we hold deep down in our hearts, giving us the honor, courage, and commitment to face each new challenge.

Those ideals remind me every day of why I serve.

And when some random stranger stops me in a bar to buy me a beer, or approaches me in a store or the airport to say "thank you for your service"....or better yet, when some random 2nd grader from a New York city I've never even heard of takes time out of his life to help raise money to buy a Christmas tree and to send a card saying "thank you for saving our country" to a random Sailor half the world away in a city in Afghansitan he's never heard of...well that reminds me just who I'm serving for.


I received eleven care packages in the mail today.

John Denver and the Muppets - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

For him...I can't wait until we are together again, once the fates allow! =) Love you soooo much!

A Day That Will Live In Infamy

He posted this on facebook and I thought it was important enough to repost here...

‎69 years ago today, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and awoke a "sleeping giant." Just over 9 years ago, terrorists supported by an extremist Afghan government made the same mistake. Please remember today the sacrifice of those Americans who paid the ultimate price for our freedom, and especially to remember those who answered the call to arms in the aftermath, to fight for American security and freedom.

As my mother-in-law said, thank you isn't always enough. We pray for them everyday!

Missing Him Monday

Our oldest son is a Cub Scout - a Wolf Scout to be exact. This is the second year that he has participated and he likes it very much. Last year his dad took him to the meetings and it was a fun time for the two of them. This year I take him (at least until his dad gets home). It is fun, but it is also lots of work because I also bring my two other boys along. Sometimes it's hard to be in one place trying to focus on one thing (the meeting) and having my energy diverted by an enthusiastic 4 year old and his 2 year old mimic brother. =)

Anyway, the Scouts sell popcorn every year as a fundraiser. Both years our oldest sold quite a bit of popcorn, though I am sure by other gung-ho scouters standards, it is nothing to put on the record books. This year he sold enough to earn a marshmallow shooter. Sounds fun! My husband and I each made a purchase to help with the number of sales that our son makes. I have put quite a dent in the popcorn I purchased (along with two other eaters in this household). He, however, is going to wait to get home before he gets to enjoy his.

And so, missing him today is...



And yes, honey, I promise not to gobble it up (won't even open it) until you get home. I can make no promises about what the 7 and 2 year olds do (the 4 year old can't partake due to food allergies)! ;)

Missing Him Monday

Today I got to shovel the first real snow of the season, though admittedly it wasn't all that much. Perhaps a half an inch to an inch of accumulation. Still, shoveling is his job and one I am not the best at. I feel silly trying to look like I know what I am doing! =)

So, missing him today is...

...and so is my back. Ha!

Missing Him Monday

We are a game family. Before we had children, he and I would play board games regularly. We hadn't owned game consoles for a long time, but we did enjoy computer games often, too. Now that our boys are getting older, they enjoy playing many games. We mostly play dice games now, unless you count the many hours enjoyed playing on our Playstation 2 and Wii. Our oldest boy loves Super Mario and Tetris. He also plays Lego Star Wars. It's fun to watch him playing, mostly enjoying himself (though sometimes getting frustrated) and getting better. He (the hubby) enjoys these games, as well. I really enjoy watching him play, mostly because he is good at them and I am not, and the games are nearly as entertaining to watch as movies are sometimes.

So, for today's Missing Him Monday, missing him is...




We are so looking forward to him being home, all of us playing games together as a family! There are just about 2 months left to go on this journey now! Yahoo!

Missing Him Monday

I love my minivan. There was a time, not that long ago, when I refused to have a minivan, but I have been converted. In fact, I have a hard time imagining myself driving anything else! Having said that, sometimes it is nice to be the passenger. To just sit and enjoy the view. To just stare at nothing and get lost in your thoughts. That kind of thing.

He doesn't leave his base and doesn't have any need to drive. I don't know if he misses that or not. But, missing him this Monday is...



And the passenger seat misses him to. He also loves to sit and get lost in his thoughts, or enjoy the view, or sleep! =)