It's been awhile...

I cannot believe it has been two-and-half years since I last posted. Talk about life getting crazy busy. Obi-wan has been home for quite awhile...I'm finally settling into the fact that he won't be leaving anytime soon for longer than a month at a time. We're still a guard family, he just renewed his contract this past December. I've began and completed my LPN schooling, have my license and am working full-time as well as beginning my bridge to RN program. (Yay me!).

The Diva and Prima Donna have been busy as well. Mostly growing up WAY too fast. The Diva has been pursuing her art, acting and a little of her singing. They both had main character roles in our churches summer musical program. The Prima Donna has joined the Civil Air Patrol in anticipation of becoming a pilot when she is older. She is also homeschooling again so that she can graduate early. She has been begging for the past year to homeschool again; we had placed both the girls back in the local brick and mortar school for awhile, and Obi-wan & I finally agreed this year. 

I still knit when I am able, but most of my time is taken up with taking care of the family, school and work. In fact I have had to learn to say "no" when asked to help or work extra shifts. This may not be a big deal to some, but it is very difficult for me sometimes. The result being, schedule, mental and emotional overload from lack of sleep or accomplishing anything.

Obi-wan switched to a new unit this year with his promotion, and I've been so busy I haven't even been able to contact our FRG leader to touch base. In my defense, I work night shift, so when I think about it, most normal people are in bed asleep.

So there's a quick a run-down on where I have been while MIA.  

Worth the Wait

HE'S HERE!!!!

After frustrating delays, and changes to arrival dates & times, this was the text I sent out last week. This is Obi-wan as we waited at the airport to get his bags as he came home for his two week R&R. (BTW, he doesn't normally look this goofy, but between the MANY MANY hours of travel, jet lag, and sheer happiness of being home he was being goofy.)

This past week has been wonderful to have him home. The Diva & Prima Donna have been beside themselves with excitement. School was put on hold, we homeschool and both girls worked through the Christmas break to take it now instead.  We have not done anything real special, just hang out at home and be together. Obi-wan & I decided we would do something when he comes home for good in a few months. For now we have over 6 months of being together to make up for.





Just a little rant

Dear US Army,
I honor your values & traditions, I have the upmost respect for you as an entity and for those men & women who serve. I get that your needs come before mine & those of my family, that when Obi-Wan signed the dotted line, we agreed to put aside our desires so he could do his duty to you. However, tonight I REALLY am not liking you too much, I am struggling with your needs over my family's desires.
People ask me what the hardest part of Obi-wan being gone is, really it is not the lonely nights when I can't sleep for worry and do not have him to talk to, those times we have limited communication, missed birthdays, anniversaries or holidays. It is not even those little things in life he has to miss to be where you need him...it is the nights like to tonight when I have to hold one of my babies who is crying her heart out over missing her daddy and the fear she has for his safety. This is when I question: "Is it worth it?" Even so, deep in my heart I know it is, but for this night, this moment, I will not like you and maybe even be a little angry with you.
Sincerely,
Just Another Guard Wife

Wow! Its been 7 months!

As you might have noticed, I am not the best at keeping up with blog posts.  I cannot believe it has been 7 months, so much has gone on during this time. I have been busy, to say the least...but that is to be expected.  Where to start? How about month by month (give or take), beginning with June.
June 2011: This month was full of lots of fun things the most important being Obi-Wan's 4 day pass. (Yes, GI Joe has had a name change, more about that in a moment.) I drove down to MS with another wife from the unit...we bonded to say the least, thanks to a broken air compressor for the AC and 'aliens in the cornfields.' 

This is my partner in crime & battle buddy: "The Mrs." as we begun our trip to see our men. What a fun drive we had yelling at each other, laughing, drinking energy drinks and being postively giddy to be with the love of our life's.  I would like to say we went through some beautiful country, but to be honest, I'm not sure, we drove through the night. However, I can say a beautiful friendship was born that night. These past few months would have been unbearable without her & the other wonderful women God has blessed me with.

Upon arriving on post, where we thought we'd catch a nap in the car until the guys were dismissed, we found out they would be let out early...so much for a nap, but the trade off was well worth it. We immediately left for Biloxi/Gulf Port.

Our motel was a block away from the beach. That evening we walked down there. Other than the wind, it was nice, not a lot of humidity like there was further north on Post, but warm enough to be comfortable in shorts.





 

Spiderman

"After You

One of the evenings there we met "The Mr. & Mrs." at their hotel, where they were staying with his parents who had come down to visit also. Dinner by the pool, followed by some good natured frolicking.

 

Another day, we took a boat ride out to 'Ship Island.' (*note to self* spray on suntan lotion, even sport/waterproof type doesn't work worth a hoot). We were on the Island from 10am until about 4pm. Even with several applications of sunblock we ended up burned, some of us worse than the other...nothing is worse than spending one of your few precious days before your husband leaves for months with 2nd degree burns that negate any type of touch, no matter how innocent!

We still had fun. The boat ride was about 50 minute and we saw some dolphins on the way over. Once there we were privy to pristine white beaches for the most part, there was some evidence of the oil spill. I am not sure exactly how close we were to actual spill site, if it was close they did an awesome job of cleaning it up.  We collected some shells, teased "The Mrs." about never being in the ocean before, exasperating her & freaking her out when "The Mr." would dive underwater and swim up behind her to grab her. Ofcourse the schools of fish that would swim right up to and around you or the 'jumping fish' did not help either.

Our last night, our men had to report back by midnight. We were able to go to one last dinner and pretend for just a little while longer we were just normal couples hanging out on vacation together.

It was hard to say good-bye that night...letting him go was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I know I had done it before but this time was different...I could not have done it without the strength of God. Bittersweet, my heart was swelling with pride even as it was breaking. For my husband, our children, our friends...all the families that have had to say 'good-bye' to their loved ones.

The next morning, in the harsh reality of day light, "The Mrs." and I were facing the long trip home. Her mother-in-law came to the rescue & gave us a gift and told us to stop and do something fun on the way home. We were returning via Memphis and where MUST you stop if in Memphis? Graceland ofcourse. Because this post has been long I will continue in another.

Catching up and other fun things Part II

     Here is an update on my New Year's goals, since we are almost half way through the New Year. (Can I tell you I'm happy we have a whole other half to this year!):

• Return to a healthier lifestyle.

      *snicker, cough, cough* Do I really have to report back on this one?! Oh, alright, here goes...IT DOESN'T! Seriously, I'm a yo-yo with this one. I know it will take time, and I need to allow myself to unlearn and break all the bad habits I've learned/picked up these past 10 years or so. BUT I WANT IT NOW!!!! Don't we all, however, I know just working at it day by day is an improvement to not doing anything. And I have to admit, a couple of weeks ago when I was going through some clothes I was able to put on, zip & button a pair of jeans I couldn't even get up all  the way last year...just don't ask me to breathe!

• Simplify, by removing, reusing or re purposing.

     This is going sorta...again its a new habit I need to try to learn. I have been better about going through & getting rid of stuff...or at least sacking it up to take to the thrift store or good will. I gave up the idea of doing a garage sale.

• Increase my sewing skills.

     This one is on hold for the moment.

• Increase my knitting skills.

     OK, if there is one area I am succeeding in, it is this one. As I noted in my last post I have completed my first big lace project. I have a pair of gloves on the needles for GI Joe, another new knitting technique. I have taught myself several new stitches, well to read & knit the patterns, in an effort to complete a project for a RAL (read-a-long) and swap I signed up for on Ravelry. Another first for me. Also I will be designing my handmade object fo the RAL/swap. I am seriously addicted and loving it. Also I have been working on knitting up some lace weight yellow ribbons for those wonderful women who support me.

     Almost half way through the year and I have had my successes and failures. I have six more months to succeed and as long as I keep moving forward I will succeed.

     In other news, the Diva & Prima Donna are doing great! They just finished the gymnastic team season a couple of weekends ago. They have improved so much over the past few months. Both girls will also be moving up levels on the team. The Diva to level 4 and the Prima Donna to level 3 next month. 

     Over the summer they will be participating in our chruches summer musical and activities...I do not know who is more excited. Them or me! Three hours, two times a week to myself...I'm positively giddy. Do not get me wrong, I love my girls, but when I am with them 24/7, I welcome their activty time that gives me some free time.

    I also have been doing some cleaning at my church on a temporary basis, which I hope will become permanent. It would be perfect. I can take the girls with me, it is part time and will bring in some extra cash. In all honesty, I would be bringing in the same amout I cleared when I worked fulltime, away from my girls 11 - 12 hours a day when GI Joe was deployed last time. After paying childcare, lunches, gas, etc...add the emotional stress of both parents essentially being gone, it wasn't worth it. However, under these circumstances, it would be very much worth it. 

     Finally for a wrap up I'll tell you a bit about a project I am working on for GI Joe. I realize that it's been done before, but I'm pretty excited about doing it. I am going to have some photo's taken for him to have while he's away. Something a little different than the typical family photos. I am going to do something a little more...fun. Think vintage WWII era calender girls type thing.

   

I know it's a NAVY uniform...but it's still inspiration

Catching up and other fun things Part I

     So this is late in coming...yes, I need to work on my scheduling a bit. Would you believe there was a time when I kept track of 3 different schedules and everyone made it to appointments on time and deadlines were met. That was before I had kids though and my husband decided he wanted to be GI Joe. Oh well, its the little things in life that are important.

   GI Joe has mobilized, he's off having fun shooting big guns & blowing up stuff.  He is still stateside for the time being, 

   In February we attended the going away ceremony for the Brigade. It was the first time I had attended one, on his previous overseas deployment the girls were young and we said our good-byes at home. This time the ceremony was held in advance of the Brigade leaving for mobilization stations and the girls are older so we decided to attend. Imagine my surprise the following day while standing in line to check out at Wal-Mart, I glanced at the newspaper and saw GI Joe in a group picture from the ceremony. Very cool.  

Unfortunately, he is not the soldier waving to his family. To be honest, he's up in the right hand corner & kinda blurry. However, it just goes to show how easily we can spot our own in a sea of green.

 

     We experienced the first major family event we were unable to attend. My sister-in-law was married last month. A beautiful wedding from all I have seen and heard so far. The girls were supposed to be flower girls, but unfortunately with the uncertainty of the Government shut down and how it would effect GI Joe's pay, we ended up having to cancel our trip (we were driving out of state), a couple weeks before. Thankfully, she had a third flower girl so she was not left without one.       

     I also finished my first major lace knitting project. A shawl for said sister-in-law's wedding present.  It took me several months to work on and finish. I did not begin it until after the first of the year and then was only able to knit on it a couple hours a week on average. The first picture is of the shawl still on the needles. The second of the Diva laying next to it as it is blocking and finally, a corner draped over my shoulder to give perspective of design size.

     Through out this time the girls and I have begun to play the "silver lining" game. We try to come up with things that are "good" about GI Joe being gone. So far #1 on the list: eating cereal for dinner! My girls LOVE that and the only time they are allowed to do so is when Dad's not home. There is also the fact that I am able to pick the movies for the Netflix que, we do not have cable. The amount of toilet paper I buy actually lasts until next shopping day, telling you its the little things. The left overs I put in the fridge for my lunch the next day, are still there when I go to eat them.  I can set my schedule according to my plans and be shelfish in not considering him...if I want to stay late at church talking with friends,I won't feel rushed. Finally, I can knit in bed, bwahahahaha. I'll share more as we rock along day by day.

Osama bin Laden is dead...so why the mixed emotions?

Osama bin Laden is dead.  As I do not have cable or any type of television service, I might not have known about this,well as long as it took me to check my facebook account, had there not been a breaking news banner on the Yahoo homepage. I have to tell you I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

My first reaction: "Why are we not in the streets celebrating the victory this is?" Ya know, the type that will leave us with iconal images of sailors kissing random women. Flags waving, etc. We cut off the head of the snake. Then reality set in. (*WARNING* DO NOT continue to read if you do not want to think about anything but the positive).

While this is a major victory, we must not lose sight of the fact that if he were as good a leader as we all believe him to be, he has other's trained & primed to take his place. We have increased their motivation of vengeance and retaliation, we have given them a martyr.

Do not get me wrong, I wholly support our military and their mission. This needed to be done, the man is evil. However, I am unable to ignore the trepidation I have for our service members overseas. Especially those in Afghanistan and those preparing to go. The realist in me sees an increase in not only attacks but also an a feuling of the fervor of the estimated 36,000 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan , and other Taliban around the world. I am not alone in this assessment, our government feels the same way. Warnings have been issued to all service members overseas for increased awareness and security.

I am not the only wife feeling this way either, over at SpouseBuzz wives are experiencing many of the same emotions and fear for their spouses, friends and loved ones. So we will do what we always do, take a deep breath, process the emotions, thoughts and fears and continue with our lives. To do otherwise would be giving victory to our enemies. I need the peace of God that surpasses all understanding at times like this...His strength is what keeps me going, on my own I would be a nervous wreck of tears going down many dark paths in my mind. "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say on the Lord." Psalm 27:14(NKJ)


*Edit* Is it any surprise that within a week of their leader being killed the Taliban release a two-page report stateing on May 1 they will launch a spring offensive? A day before we as a nation knew bin Laden was dead, they show an need to prove that they are still a very real threat.