Today is the day....

May 20, 2010. It is the day that my husband officially returns to active duty in the Army National Guard. While he won't actually be leaving for another couple of days, it is still a sad day. We have known about this date for over a year. It is the day we thought would take forever to get here and yet, here it is.

It really is amazing how time flies. I sure hope the next year plus a month or two flies by as well. As I sit here, our almost 7 month old son is happy and playing in his jumparoo. And yet, every few minutes, I see him stop, look at the front door, say "Da Da Da Daddy," then go back to his play. He is so young and does not understand. But he knows something is up. I think he feels the anticipation and sadness is both Ray and myself.

This deployment will be good in some ways. Ray will be making some great money and will give him the opportunity to both take a much needed break from the job at the prison that he hates as well as get the groundwork ready for him to hopefully enter the Army Chaplain Corps.

On the other hand, it means that Ray and Derrek will miss out on each other for a year. A YEAR! When Ray comes back from Iraq, even for his 2 week R&R, he and our son will have to get to know each other all over again. As Derrek starts talking, and asking questions, how do I explain where his daddy is without crying? How do I explain that his daddy had to go, that it was not a choice, and that his daddy loves him sooooooooo much?

Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute is how we are going to survive this next year. My prayer is that we will become a family that is more close and in love with each other and dependent on God because of this separation. Right now however, on May 20, 2010, it is hard to see past that bus which is getting ready to roll away with my husband in it.

4 Days And A Wake-Up

And......my husband will be riding away on a bus to begin his deployment. This past week and a half has been full of good times and strong emotions regarding the upcoming separation of our family.


Mother's Day was fine. We went to church and then to my in-laws home for dinner and a visit. It really is fun to watch them enjoy our son so much. In a few short days our baby boy turns 7 months old. People always said the time would fly by and to try to not look ahead but enjoy each day. I have been taking that advice to heart and I'm so glad! He is beautiful, handsome, smart, funny and a blessing to be a mommy to.


We then left for a few days to go to a nearby state park for a little family R&R. We rented a small cabin for two nights. The best part? The fireplace. Nothing like letting my inner pyro out to play. It was cold, damp, rainy and stormy for the majority of the time but that did not stop us from enjoying each other and making memories.

We were able to get a little bit of hiking in on the first day. The park boasts of a "waterfall." Not exactly what I was expecting, but it was easy enough to explore being that the drop is maybe 5 feet. Baby Derrek did well on his first hike (and first diaper change out in the middle of the woods). I was able to do some dutch oven experimental type cooking in the cabin. Next time I think I'm going to use an actual iron dutch oven and not the kind you use on top of a stove. Gotta love just throwing stuff in a pot and letting it cook itself. I sooooooooo wish we had a wood burning fireplace here at home. I suppose that is just something we will have to look for whenever we look for our next home.

Speaking of our home, WEEDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On the next few sunny days, my yard is not going to know what hit it! Now, we just need a few sunny days and no more of this "global cooling" stuff. That's all I have to say about that.

I know, I'm a blog slacker....

There are normally about 3 or 4 times a week that I think, wow, this would make a GREAT blog post. But, do I sit down to blog about it? It is clear that I don't. It is odd that I don't, simply because, I love to write. I suppose it is going to take a more concise effort to blog on a regular basis. No promises, but I am going to try ;-)

While it is nice to have people who follow your blog or comment, it really is not necessary. In a manner of speaking, this is an online journal of my day to day life. I'm setting a goal for myself to try and blog twice a week. If I can at least get that accomplished and make it a habit, that will be a big accomplishment for me.

Not only will blogging on a regular basis help me, but it will also hopefully be a help to my husband who will very soon be deploying to Iraq.

So, here it goes....!!!!! Next post......Mother's Day!