Goodbye

Brad left for Afghanistan this morning. We have such heavy hearts today. We'll miss him so much. Until next year....We love you, Brad.

Smile

This song is stuck on repeat inside my head as well as my computer. The words are just so fitting for what we face in the next couple of days. I love you, Brad!

Pre-Deployment pics

With Brad leaving in a couple days we decided to get our family pics done. We haven't had them done since Miles was 5 months old. We were definitely over-due.

We took these in our backyard with my camera. We had a neighbor snap them for us. Not too bad and it didn't cost a penny! I just wish Matthew would have smiled and not screamed the whole time.

Legoland!

Today we took the plunge and bought season passes to Legoland. Why not? It's only 20 miles away and we could use a little fun in our lives. The truth is, I can't believe we've lived in Southern CA for years and haven't bought into the dozens of huge theme parks all around us. I guess having kids changes all that.

Legoland is pretty cool! I don't know who was more excited, Brad or Miles. There was tons to do for both adults and kids. It has a waterpark and an aquarium inside as well! The best part? If you own a Volvo you get to park within feet of the entrance! I can see myself now; packing our Volvo like a can of sardines just to save our friend's a mile walk.

A Volvo XC-90 made entirely of legos!

The white house...in CA.

Floating down the lazy river.

Brad's reaction to coming down a slide moving 1 MPH.

Miles' very first rollar coaster ever... The Dragon. It was so fun!

The time has almost come...

to say goodbye. Brad is home after a month of training in 29 Palms. He is home for about 2-3 weeks and then deploys. I do not know the date and won't know until 24-48 hours before hand. This is the most bitter-sweet time of my life. I wish I could either stop time or just hit fast-forward. I finally broke down last night and just cried. I have been holding these emotions in for so long because a) I'd rather not feel them and b) I need to be strong for Miles. I've been getting so mad at myself for getting attached to him again in just the few days he's been home. When he left for the desert it was like my heart just ripped in half. But then I think, he's my husband, I married him, of course I'm attached to him. The real problem is this deployment. It's just not natural for husband and wife to spend more than half a year separated by different parts of the world. Add the stress of war, wondering if I'll ever see him again, and single-parenting and...::sigh::

My hope is that time will just fly. It seems having kids really helps with that. I am thankful that he's leaving right before the Fall when things really pick up with preschool and other activities. My next hurdle after the big goodbye will be getting through the Holidays, then we'll be on the home stretch. Sweet, sweet homestretch.

I am already done with 2011. This is how I know I'm just done with the military because I hate wasting my life away waiting, waiting, waiting. You should never want to fast-forward your life. You should savor each day. I just find this impossible to do with Brad at war. How do I savor my days when he's so deprived? How do I relax and enjoy the sun on my skin when he's in a country full of people who wish death upon him. At the same time-- if I worry so much he's going to come home to a nut-case wife who's lost her mind. It's a tough balance.

Enough venting! I guess to sum this up... please pray for my husband, Brad, as he heads off to war and for me, the wife, to hold down the homefront and keep a smile on my face (even if it's one of those crazy smiles. )

Michigan part 1: Everything Land

We are back from MI! I won't even talk about the flight back by myself with my 3 year old and infant. I had several women stop me and say, "you are BRAVE!" and my response was, "No, I'm crazy." But, we survived and we are home. Here are pics in random order. I think I was lucky that I could even try to sort them land/water. I have no time anymore it seems! Story short... it was my grandparents 90th and we had tons of family come to celebrate! I tried to capture as much of it as I could while having an infant strapped to me at all times. :)

Michigan part 2: Everything Water