It Begins

It has officially begun, the deployment.  The kids and I are currently on the road.  Tonight we are in a hotel in Santa Rosa, NM.  We left last Thursday and are taking our sweet time making it out to San Diego.  We spent a night at my brothers in Ohio.  Then spent a day at our wonderful friends parents home (Thank you Stoddards!).  Then on Saturday we drove to Kansas and stayed with the Pettys. They are the most fantastic friends in the whole world and I love them so much.  We had a fantastic time with them.  They wanted us to stay longer, but we need to keep moving.  So today the kids and I made it to New Mexico.  Tomorrrow we head south to Safford, Az to see more awesome friends, the Hargis'.  And then Thursday is the last stretch to the new homestead.  The kids are doing awesome, and so am I.  I am enjoying seeing the ENTIRE continental United States, its all brown right now, and lots of farm country.  I am trying hard to make this trip a fun adventure for the kids and I think is working.

Ron had to work super hard to finish fixing the house and move everything out.  Apparantly he only slept for 6 hours from Thursday to Sunday (I feel really bad about that).  And a HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to all the friends that came to help him on Saturday.  He really needed it and he couldn't have finished without you.  Then on Sunday he flew out and headed for Afghanistan.  He even called me on Sunday night when he landed in Germany.  He was thrilled because he got to sit in Business class all the way there.  So the 365 day countdown has begun, only 364 more to go.  I hope it goes fast.  And another ENORMOUS thank you to my dad who flew out to New York so he could drive the truck and our Uhaul trailer with all our stuff to California for us.  He even volunteered to take our dog with him - what a guy!!  I absolutely love my dad and I'm so greatful for all he does for me.  He made the trip in 3 1/2 days - amazing!!  And now my mom, dad, and our friends the Marlers and Campbells are unloading all my stuff for me.  There are so many amazing people that love me and are helping me and I can't say THANK YOU enough.

I promise I have pictures to show, and more details of our adventures to share.  But right now, I need to go to sleep.  I'll post more when we finally get to California.

Hijacked

Grace, I hope you don't mind but I'm going to hijack your blog.  I have to show the pictures of the house leading up where it has finally ended up.

The Kitchen

OK, I was going to label all the pictures to tell you what you’re looking at, but realized it wouldn't really help you know what you're seeing. So I'm just going to post the pictures, you'll get the idea.

So a year later and the house is almost done, just in time for us to move. At least we'll get a chance to enjoy it for a few days. I've already told the kids our next house will not be a fixer upper. Tyson and Zach were ecstatic, although Emma then asked, "Then what will you do all day Dad?" Guess she's still figuring out that I'm suppose to spent more time with her than with my tools...

House Pictures - for Adriann

Some people (Adriann mostly) have been asking to see pictures of our finally completed house. There are still a few small things for Ron to finish, but it is MOSTLY done. Just in time for us to move!  So here are pictures of my entire house, excluding closets :-)  I usually have alot more pictures on the walls but we packed up a lot of our decorations when we put the house on the maket.

View from the front door - looking through our study into the dining room

Family room equipped with a little girl

She was watching Dora, and was mad at me when I closed the doors on the entertainment center to take the picture.  You can see the small entry way, straight ahead.

View from dining room into the study and family room.

Down stairs bathroom/laundry room.  Bathroom side.

Laundry room half with linen cabinet on the left.

Study.  Our favorite reading chairs and desk.

Book shelf that is normally busting, but we downsized during our "staging" phase.

Upstairs bathroom.  Did you know how hard it is to take a good picture of a small bathroom?  HARD!

Girls room.  Again, there is usually a lot more toys in there, but they are already packed up.

My room.  Tight squeeze for my big furniture, but I love it.

There is a small room attached to my room which I did not take pictures of.  Mostly because right now it only has my dresser in it.  It was my craft room, but that is already packed up as well, to help the house look bigger.

Boys room.  All their stuff is packed up too, so their room is pretty boring also.  Notice the camo bedding?  They are all camo!!

We are down to only one reptile - the tortoise went to live with another family.

So there you have it.  My house.  I didn't include any outside photos - sorry.  That will come later. 

Happy Adriann?

COUNTDOWN

Do you ever want to scream at people and tell them to just stop pointing out the obvious? That’s how I have felt the last 4 days. Starting with Thursday night when I went to my last Coffee group. I was so sad to say goodbye to these PHENOMENAL women and my Army support group. Everyone was asking me when I was leaving, where I was going, blah blah blah. They pointed out to me that it was just 3 weeks away – 3 weeks!! Leaving that night I was filled with so many emotions. All of these women are pillars of strength to me, and wonderful examples of what being an Army Wife is all about. I was incredibly sad to be losing their support and encouragement for this upcoming deployment. They all “said” that they understood why I was going home and that I needed to do what was best for my family, but they also pointed out something to me that I knew but didn’t want to think about. Having family to support you during a deployment is great, but they just don’t “get it”. They don’t. They can try all they want but there is a huge void there that they can’t fill. There is nothing they can say or do to help you truly feel comforted. As opposed to your Army family, who all you have to do is be with them and you are comforted. You don’t have to cry on each other’s shoulders, or complain about all your woes, or even say anything at all. Because we get it, and that is enough. Just being together is a calming balm on my spirit. I was crushed when they pointed out this fact, that I already knew, I have already lived, and it all came rushing back. This is going to be very, very tough. The pit in my stomach arrived.

What is the pit you say? Well I’ll tell you. The pit comes before every deployment. The heavy pit of loneliness that just lies in wait for the day that he leaves. The pit that is your constant companion until he steps off that plane. It never, never, ever, goes away. I’ve been very happy that the pit waited so long to come this time. Usually I put up my wall before he leaves, a way to protect myself from losing it. I haven’t put up the wall yet. I am blissfully trying to live in denial for as long as possible, so I can enjoy every last second with him.

The second time I wanted everyone to shut up and stop pointing out the obvious was on Friday. I had a fun play date with two of my closest friends and a new friend. I told them the exact date of my departure (Thursday, March 18th) and they flipped out. They must have said “That’s less than 3 weeks away!” at least 10 times. I just kept thinking, “I know, so stop pointing it out!” I haven’t made lists yet, I haven’t started major packing, I have been putting off doing EVERYTHING. Because in 3 weeks I don’t just move. If that was it, it would be a whole different ball of wax. In 3 weeks, I leave the first place I have loved living in. I leave our first home that my husband has spent thousands of hours making beautiful for me. I am leaving dear friends. I am saying goodbye to my best friend, my companion, my rock. I am driving across the continental United States with 4 kids and a leopard gecko. I am moving in with my parents. Do you see why I want to live in denial just a little bit longer? Just a little bit – pretty please!! I know I can’t stop time. I know I have to get serious and make things happen. I have to start packing, make all the arrangements to close up shop here and move to California. I KNOW WHAT I HAVE TO DO. I just don’t want other people pointing it out to me – not yet anyway.