It's Been A Tad Chaotic

Day 98, 99, 100, & 101.

Phew. Looks like I've missed some days.

I have received several loving messages from people asking if I was okay, since I hadn't posted my blog posts in a little bit.

Yes. I am doing well. Thank you so much for your thoughtful messages and texts.

Last weekend rocked me emotionally from so many different levels, that on Monday I was just so stinking tired that as soon as the kids crawled in bed after gym, I did too! I can't remember the last time I went to bed before 9:00, although I'm about to go to bed soon again.

This week in general has just been filled with a lot of things that have kept me busy.

However, I did mean to post yesterday because we reached another milestone:

Day100!!!

We are feeling the length of time and missing Alex oh so much, but thankful that we have that milestone behind us. We are taking one day at a time and looking towards the light at the end of the tunnel, even if it still seems pretty far away.

We've had fun making care packages for Alex and sending them. We sent a Christmas themed one this week, as well as a coffee themed one. Alex is feeling the fell effect of the 100 days too, so we wanted to send him some extra boxes of love. :)

After Thanksgiving, I will be back to my consistent posting, but until them I am in full prep mode for our Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales AND we are going out of town for the first time and Science Fair is due almost as soon as we get back, but we're still gathering data. So, there is a bit of stress and chaos going on over here that will all come to a close once December hits, however I will say I am very much looking forward to several days with my bfry and I know the kids are looking forward to it too....they've been counting down the days since November 1st....well actually probably longer than that!

Sleep well everyone! Enjoy your weekend!

***Just a fun side note...today during volunteering, I had the privilege of seeing Hudson's super excited because they baked homemade pumpkin pies in his class today, that teased our noses as they baked in the oven. Then, in Madison's class I had so much fun helping the kids transfer corn they sprouted and grew on the cob, into their garden plot at school, as well as putting together their class Science Fair Board.

After...

Day 97.

Today we accomplished a lot.

After church, the kids and I ran some errands and finished with Costco. Kids always love going there with me.....samples on the weekends are always in surplus.

After we made it back home, we had lunch and then we were able to talk with Alex for a bit. Always the highlight of my day.

After that, the kids each had a little bit of homework to do. Madison had a math test to study for and we are in full Science Fair mode right now. Last weekend, Madison did all of the work to get ready for the start of the experiment, so today we began the experiment to test her hypothesis. We will be conducting the experiment for 10 days and then she will draw her conclusion.

After she finished setting up the petri dishes and getting all of the swab samples. We placed the petri dishes in a box and then placed that box in my bathtub with a towel over it.

After this was completed, Madison eagerly gave Hudson his practice spelling test, which she was delighted to do.

After they were both finished with their homework I made dinner and then we snuggled up together and watch Akeela and the Bee. I will say that I was thoroughly impressed with this movie. It was fantastic, as I'd heard it would be. However, momma's there are a few choice words in this movie that I was not expecting. One of them went right over both kids heads because they'd never heard it before, the other one went over Hudson's head, but Madison caught it and just looked at me with a shocked face. She'd read it in a couple of books before, but it always is shocking when it's in a movie. That aside, it was such a motivational movie and truly inspiring.

After the movie, the kids talked to their Oma and Papa for a little bit and then it was time for bed.

After the kids went to bed, I spent some time in front of our "fire place"...aka fireplace app on our TV...it's still too hot for a fire, with Christmas music on and I journaled for a bit. I really love journaling my thoughts and prayers to God. Not only is it so refreshing, but I love being able to go back and mark when prayers have been answered, whether they are a yes or a no.

After journaling, I talked with my friend Kara, who was kind enough to check in on me today and we caught up with each other about our weekends in more depth than we'd been able to on Friday or Saturday. While talking to Kara, Alex called and I was able to talk to him for a little bit and now I am getting ready to go to bed with a big smile on my face because my man is seriously the best and always puts a smile on my face.

Love and miss you babe!

PS....anyone else super annoyed with the new iPhone update that doesn't allow you to write and "I"? Hoping the update to fix this comes out soon!

The Heart of a Marine Corps Spouse

Days 95 & 96.

Yesterday was the USMC's birthday. Today is Veteran's Day.

This weekend has filled my heart with many emotions.

To my knight in shining armor,

You have my heart. You are in my daily prayers. You are in my every thought.

On days like yesterday and today, I am reminded just how filled I am with admiration for the job that you do willingly and so sacrificially. You have such a servant's heart. I am so incredibly proud of you and have loved every single second of being your wife and I look forward to all that is yet to come.

I miss you terribly and the emotions in my heart have been high these last couple of days as I see all of the social media posts, but our God is good. He's calmed my heart and reminded me we each have a job to do. It's always hard being away from you, whether it's for one day or for 270 days, each day I yearn for you. I long to be in your presence.

But while this time could be seen as dark and unbearable, God is faithful and is doing a good work in each of us and in our marriage. He is growing us and teaching us. I can feel God working in my heart and He's teaching me about grace and forgiveness, even though I still have a lot to learn. He's speaking to me through each of my devotions, my friends, my small group I'm in online, and through the messages at church. I can see how God is using you as well my love. You are being open and real with the guys you're deployed with and the way God has orchestrated you to lead a small group leaves me in awe. I love you. I love your heart. I love the journey God has had you on and seeing where you've come from and where He's taking you.

I miss not being able to go to the Birthday Ball with you and I miss not having you here in my arms to hug personally and to tell you how very proud I am of you, my sweet Veteran. But, I choose to find the joy in this situation and to see the good that God is doing in each of us and in our beautiful children that He's blessed us with. We will be stronger as a result of this deployment.

Our kids are so very proud of you. As Hudson joined his first grade class last week in honoring the men and women of the military and our great country, I could see the pride in his face knowing his dad was in the slide show of veterans. When Madison read the Veterans Day tribute over the loud speaker on Thursday morning, she was nervous, but because she is so stinking proud of you, she was able to make it through.

So my love, Happy Birthday and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifice. I know that it's not easy and I know that you'd much rather be here with us, but you've been called to do a very important job and we are here praying for you and are so very proud of you.

With all my love,

Your adoring wife
xoxoxo

Encourage One Another

Day 94.

Happy Thursday! I hope that you had a lovely day! We have tomorrow off of school in honor of Veteran's Day, so it's sort of like Friday for us.

This morning the kids did the PA announcements. They were asked a few weeks ago, by the principal, to prepare a little something in honor of Veteran's Day. The whole school was asked to wear red to honor the veterans and then Madison (Hudson stood by her, but was a tad too nervous to speak over the PA system), share with them that R.E.D. stands for Remember Everyone Deployed. It was a sweet moment and coming after Hudson's performance last night and the Marine Corps birthday being tomorrow, it felt wonderful to know our family has so much support and encouragement out here.

I feel like everything I've been reading, studying, hearing, etc has been about encouragement. I've always considered myself a positive person and I LOVE encouraging others, but what I've been reading takes it a step further. When we take the time to encourage and lift others up, it takes the focus off of ourselves. So, no matter what we are going through, by putting our efforts and energy into encouraging others, our circumstances because lighter because they are no longer consuming our thoughts.

Madison has some very sweet girls at her school, that both happen to be in her class this year that have been such an encouragement to her during this deployment and I know it's really lifted her spirits and helped her to feel supported. I was able to snap a quick picture of this trio earlier this morning and then of course I had to get one of her with her BFF, Mackenzie.

    

So my challenge to you tonight is to make a point to encourage someone because you never know what they are going through and even if you're going through a tough time, focusing on someone else will lift your spirits too! 

Hudson's Performance

Day 93.

We had a GREAT day today.

Had a killer workout and made a new friend at the gym.

Raced home and showered to get ready for Hudson's performance that was this evening...this was going to be my only time to get ready since Madison had gym after school.

I was able to basically see Alex just long enough to tell him goodnight because he'd been at work a crazy long time and was beat and needed to go to bed.

I ran and picked the kids up. We raced home. Madison changed for gym. We dropped her off. Hudson and I came back home to eat dinner and for him to get ready for his performance.

We picked Madison back up. She ate dinner. We got to school with perfect timing and ended up getting front row seats, which was perfect because Alex was able to FaceTime in and watch the WHOLE thing.

Hudson's performance was a tribute to America and Veterans. It was super cute. Here are a couple of pictures I was able to snap. Most of the time I was using my phone to FaceTime Alex, but my mom took a few videos and snapped some pictures also.

     

When the show was over, we came home and the kids went to bed. They are super excited about tomorrow because they get to share, over the loudspeaker in the morning, a little bit about Veteran's Day and what it means to wear R.E.D. on Fridays. I'm hoping to be able to record them and if I can, I'll be sure to share it tomorrow. 

My Beautiful Surprise

Day 92.

Happy Tuesday to you!!!!

I hope you had a GREAT day! Last week was such a strange week for me. I was constantly off on what day it was and this week, I can't believe it's already the end of Tuesday.

It's been a good day.

During a deployment, friends play an extra roll in our lives. My dear friend Kara made me feel extra special today. She sent me a beautiful fall bouquet of flowers that were delivered to my door.

Kara and I have been friends for almost 20 years...we met in 1999 as we both started our freshman year of college at Cal State Fullerton. We have been friends ever since, but God had extra special plans and brought Kara into my life in a very beautiful way just before Alex deployed and she's been a constant ever since. She texts me almost daily to check on me and we talk on the phone as often as our schedules allow. It's been such a sweet time of seeing God move in each of our lives and being able to pray for each other along the way. 

In addition to this wonderful surprise, I had the chance to talk to Alex a couple of times today, which is always amazing. Love my man something fierce! 

Also, this morning at the kids school, there was a special performance. World Champion Boxer Tim Bradley, gave each child at the school a copy of his new book and he donated $5,000.00 to the school library. He has a daughter at our school and so he wanted to help them out. He shared with the kids about how he chased his dreams and made them a reality. The kids all really thought it was fantastic. 

Then a little earlier tonight I got to share one of my Winter Wellness tips on LIVE video on my fb page. It's been fun because I'm also hosting a private fb Winter Wellness class and I love being able to share what has worked for us and help others be proactive with their health. 

Looking forward to what the rest of the week has in store....Hudson has a big day tomorrow and Thursday will be full of goodies and Friday is a holiday (and the USMC birthday).....yes...this has been and will continue to be a GREAT week!

She Works Hard

Day 91.

I'm going to keep today's post short and sweet.

I had a great morning at my gym.

This evening, while Madison was at gym and I was at home with Hudson, I received a text from Madison's coach. She had sent me a video of Madison reaching a HUGE milestone for a gymnast.

Madison did giants on the high bar today and she did really well. Here is the video she sent me.



So proud of this sweet girl and how hard she works. She's been making some big strides at the gym lately and I couldn't be happier for her!

MILESTONE 1!!!!!

DAY 90!!!!!!


Did you see that? Day 90!?!?!?!?!?!?!

We are 1/3 of the way done with this deployment!!!! So excited to hit this milestone. While it still feels like we have a long way to go, it is nice to know that those 90 days are behind us and that we are 90 days closer to having Alex home. I'm definitely missing my man more now than ever....as the holidays get closer and closer, while they are a great to help pass the time, they emphasize the piece of my heart that is missing right now.

The kids and I had a great day today. We went to church. We went to Trader Joe's. Then, we came home and had lunch and shortly after lunch our longtime family friends the Carmichael's came over with my parents for a little bit before they headed back home (they were just in town for the weekend). It was so fun to see them and to catch up with them for a little bit.

Then the kids and I watched Prancer because we downloaded the free trial of Hallmark Movie Now to see if we wanted it. I'm trying to see what the three different Hallmark channels get. With Sling we have Hallmark, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Then we have the Hallmark App and now this new movie one.....I just know I don't want to miss our Christmas movies and a few other Hallmark shows/movies that I enjoy, when I have time to watch them.

Anyway, the kids were tired early because of the time change, so I put them both to bed a little early, since it felt later for them and they both fell right to sleep. And, I've been working ever since and took a quick break to write this post.

I'm actually working on my private class for this Thursday about Winter Wellness. If you'd like to be added to it please let me know. I am just doing a quick class around 7:30 to help people learn how to boost their immune system and to be proactive with staying well this winter season.

3 for 1

Days 87 & 88 & 89.


I started my post yesterday and woke up to the realization that I never finished it. Whoops. So, then I started my post yesterday with the plans to cover those two days and ended up getting side tracked with something for work and because I'd started writing the blog, in my mind I'd finished it and then I woke up this morning realizing I didn't post the blog...for crying out loud. So......tonight will cover Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The struggle is real y'all. Nights are so full that some times I have to just decide to stop because I could keep working into the wee hours of the morning, but then my alarm would be going off  too soon (it goes off at 5:15am) and I'd be a zombie all day.


Anyway, on Thursday, I helped out in Hudson's class and we got to deliver a special present to his class. Alex had a flag flown and dedicated to his class to go with their IB unit and performance later on this week that is a tribute to the military. Hudson was super excited to share this flag with his class. Alex also was able to send over a folder with pictures that the Combat Camera took while they are raising and flying the flag.

      

On Friday, I had a GREAT workout at my gym. Really can't say enough about how much I love my trainers and how much I love the gym. I have only been there a month (on the 6th) and I've seen so many amazing results and have gotten so much stronger, and I have wonderful friends that I look forward to seeing every time I go to my training sessions. 

Another BIG thing that happened on Friday was that Madison got a big connection on the beam. She was so excited and if it keeps going well, they might have her work it into her beam routine. She's started connecting a back walkover, back handspring. I wasn't able to get a video, but I'm hoping that maybe next week I can get one. All I know is this sweet girl was beaming from ear to ear when I picked her up and hasn't stopped talking about it and every night she prays that God would keep helping her to get stronger at the skill because she's so excited to be executing it. 

On Friday, I also received a call from the jeweler that has my ring and was told it will be another week before I have my ring back because the setting that was sent to them did not satisfy the jeweler. So, he ordered a new one from another company and thinks it will be a much better fit for my ring and for a heart shaped diamond. 

Today, Hudson had golf this morning and he did amazing. When he takes his time, he's really starting to have a strong swing and has been hitting the ball really well. But the biggest thing, is that he's having so much fun with it and I LOVE seeing that wonderful smile across his face through the whole class and then when he comes to find me after class. 

It was a beautiful day. We had the sliders open today and the front door....we would have had the windows open, but our management company didn't feel they were necessary when renting out the house, so we are screenless. I might go try to figure out how to get screens because days like today are too beautiful to not have the windows open. Anyway, my parents came over after golf and we talked and then played Five Crowns. We all just love that game so much. If you've never played it and you like card games, you have to check it out. I'd say we all highly recommend it. 

After they left, we had lunch and then Madison and I worked on her Science Fair Project a little bit. She needed to come up with a project that can be done fairly quickly because they were given the packets last week and the science fair isn't that far away. So Madison searched through several possibly ideas from a website Alex found and through some ideas we found on Pinterest and ended up not really liking anything she saw...go figure. ;) So, she remember that I'd told her someone on my team had a daughter who had done an experiment with essential oils, so she brainstormed and she decided on what I think will be a very fun, very interesting science project. We ordered the petri dishes today...they should be here Monday so that she can start the actual experiment and start tracking the results. She's going to put Thieves oil to the test again vinegar and lysol. Anyway, we worked on gathering research today and she wrote her question, her hypothesis, her research points, her bibliography, her materials and began thinking about her procedure and will write that tomorrow. Basically she finished everything except the experiment, data and conclusion, so she's feeling good about where she's at now. Then next weekend we'll probably start working on her Science Fair Board...at least with the info we have. Because of Madison's new gym schedule we try to make the most of our weekends when it comes to homework and school projects. I think we're doing okay so far....the Science Fair is November 28th. 

After Science Fair prep, we watched Star Wars Rebels and then started our movie night. I forgot to grab our Applegate Pepperoni from Target this week, so we just made homemade cheese pizza. Kids had fun and enjoyed our movie night. They had popcorn and each picked a candy to have while they watched. 

Don't forget to turn your clocks back tonight. Hopefully you'll get to enjoy your extra hour of sleep, but if you're a parent....might want to add an extra swipe of Rutavala to the bottom of your kids big toes, as an extra precaution. 

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We Flipped the Calendar!!!!

Day 86.

IT'S NOVEMBER!!!!

LOVE when I get to change that calendar to a new month....can't believe we've been able to flip the calendar 3 times so far since Alex left. We're moving along.

The kids are already on a count down until they get to see their cousins. As soon as they woke up, that's all they could talk about. To say we're excited is an understatement.

Today, I am going on very little sleep because End of the Month Hustle is Legit!!!! However, I had a killer run and workout with my trainers today. Felt so good to get a good workout in. Then, I ran to Costco, to drop our rent check off and then had a few minutes to meet my mom and aunt while they were eating lunch. Then I ran home, and did some more work and then it was time to get the kids.

After pick up, a sweet friend called me to just say hi and check in on me and it made my day. Then we quickly loaded back in the car and headed to gymnastics. Hudson and I dropped Madison off and then came home and finished his homework and had dinner. Afterwards, we watched the World Series until we had to go get Madison and I finished watching it once we were back home and the kids were in bed.

I have so much I could do right now, but I am beyond wiped out from the last few days, so I think I'm going to head to bed to catch up on some rest and then I'll hit it hard tomorrow after I'm done volunteering.

Hope everyone had a GREAT day~!!!!