Just Another Morning

So this morning was certainly nothing out the ordinary for us but it definitely got my heart racing.

I don't set an alarm clock to wake me up. My son is usually the first one up and he'll come join me in bed. Then when my daughter gets up not long after, she'll come in too. Well I went to bed too late and must have been sleeping hard b/c I vaguely remember them waking up.

I was woken to the sound of running water. I assumed the kids were playing in the bathroom sink and hopped out of bed and sleepily walked to the bathroom. I was greeted by Christian sitting on the bathroom counter and Alena on the stool by the sink trying to wash her hands.

Why was she washing her hands...? WELLLLL, she had taken it upon herself to paint her own nails. I had done them the day before and apparently they needed "fixing". She had gotten out the darkest purple I have and literally painted her nails.... and toes. It was not pretty and I was scared to see what her room looked like. I was expecting to see paint everywhere but surprisingly there were just a few small spots on her pillow and comforter. Whew!

It took me a half hour of scrubbing and soaking her nails in polish remover and it still didn't all come off! Luckily, I saw SOME humor in it and managed to get some pics.

Can you tell which hand was holding the brush?

What's in a Name?

As I'm trying to figure out this whole blogging thing, I'm giving you fair warning that the name will be changing. Probably multiple times. I'm already on my second blog name and I'm just trying to find one that fits. It might also change if I get bored of the one I have.

How do you do it?

This is probably the most asked question that I get. Or the "I don't know how you do it." statement.

With Gabe in Iraq and my nearest relatives over 2000 miles away, I don't really know how. The best way to answer the question is that I just take it one day at a time. I have no other choice. With a house to take care of and two kids who are counting on me, giving up is not an option.

The same question and statements have been said about my marriage. We've been married for five years and have spent over half of it apart. We were married in 2005 and have spent (outside of 2008) all or part of every year since then apart. Believe me, it hasn't been easy and we have had a few close calls with calling it quits. But we've never given up and have worked hard at staying close and connected. Being a military wife and a vet myself, I have seen all too many marriages end in divorce due to too much time apart. Just yesterday, I heard the news of a friend (who's husband is currently deployed) getting divorced.

Sometimes, I just want to shout "What is going on here!?!" Marriage and divorce are not something to be taken lightly. They are serious matters. And except for extreme cases, divorce should not be an option. I believe you can work through any problem with hard work and determination. Marriage problems will NEVER solve themselves.

And with that, I would like to say that despite all our separations and problems that we've encountered, our marriage right now is the best it's ever been. And yes, I am bragging. If you've got a great marriage, why would you not want to brag? I'm not ashamed. But I'm not going out and flaunting my marriage in any divorced person's face either.

I have also gotten this question a LOT when it comes to my kids. And frankly, I don't really have an answer for them. We planned both kids and were super stoked when we got pregnant. There are many days where I just want to scream and crawl back into bed. But then there are days where the kids get along and not much goes wrong, and I think about how lucky I am.

So how do I do it? I JUST DO! There's no simpler way of saying it.

It's Been a While

Ok, so I haven't keep up with the blog AT ALL. But I'd like to think I have a good excuse. The kids and I spent six weeks away this summer visiting our family back in Ohio. And praise the Lord, my husband was able to come back from Iraq for three weeks to join us there! He left back in Nov of 2009. So we had been apart for 7 1/2 months. We had a wonderful time!

We took the first 4 days to ourselves and spent time reconnecting. We got to stay out late, go out to eat, did the Cedar Point VIP tour, and just enjoyed being a couple again.

The kids took right back to their daddy which I was nervous about. Alena was the most excited because she's old enough to remember Gabe leaving. Within a couple hours of daddy being back with the kids, they seemed to have forgotten about me. I didn't mind so much because I had just spent the past 7+ months being mom AND dad. I was ready to share the load.

Time went by so quick and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye again. I didn't break down until I was pulling away from the airport. I cried for a few minutes and then told myself that I WOULD be seeing him again.

This being the second time that he's been overseas, I got to thinking... Do people really realize how much sacrificing the military, contractors, and their family have to go through? Yes, they see it in the news, know some people who are in the military, hear about it, etc etc. But until they actually have to say goodbye to their loved one and not know if that was the last goodbye they will ever get to say, I don't think they can fully understand. They don't know what it's like to constantly worry, or sit by the phone and wait all day for a chance to talk for even just a few minutes, constantly watching the news hoping never to hear bad news about the base they are stationed at, checking your e-mail multiple times a day because he might have sent you one, or even watching the front door hoping to never see that solemn faced messenger walking to your front door with "the" bad news.

And then add the stress it puts on the kids... My daughter brings me to near tears everyday when I hear her talk about her daddy. Every craft project she does she wants to save it for daddy. Seeing her face light up when she gets the chance to see him through the webcam is priceless. She loves and misses him so much. The most gut wrenching thing is when she tells me that her daddy is not coming home. Or that she misses him and wants him home. I almost lose it when she's crying and calling out for her daddy. I can't break down in front of her so I have to put on my game face and tell her that yes, daddy will be coming home and he misses her a lot too.

Unfortunately, Gabe will not be home until around Memorial Day of NEXT year. He will have been gone a total of 18 months. And out of those 18 months, we only get to see him for a measly three weeks. He left to go back to Iraq on July 20. By the time he comes home, it will have been 10 1/2 months since we have last seen him. Yup, that was TEN and a half MONTHS! If that's not sacrifice, I don't know what is.