He's Home

203 days...all led up to this family's reunion.

There are half-empty cups and used plates on every surface in the house.

His dirty clothes cover the floor of our bedroom.

I have to share the bathroom sink once again.

And I can't wipe this smile off my face.

While Richard was on deployment, there were nights I would dream he was home, and I would wake up suddenly, and look over to the other side of the bed, only to see an empty space and an untouched pillow. Those were the worst moments.

Now, every day I feel like I need to pinch myself. Having him home is a dream come true, and there is such a sense of security and fulfillment having him back.

In a way, it almost seems like he never even left; we've just picked up right where we left off back on May 4th. 

My husband, my friend, my heart. He's home.

Flashback Friday - Last Picture

These were the last two photos taken before Richard left. We have several days to go still, but I am already excited about the first picture I will get to take of him once he is home again.

Looking Back

When I think back to the beginning of this deployment, I had a lot of apprehension. I didn't quite know what to expect or how it would be. I put on a brave face, I told Richard we would be fine, I tried to act like six months would fly by. 

But secretly, I was scared. 

I was scared of those early days, right after his departure when the mountain of separation that stood before us would be at its highest, and seem impossible to tackle. I was scared of the days that would seem never-ending. I was scared of all the hours I was going to have to live and be present and productive, without Richard here.

I was also unsure of how the boys would react to him being gone. They're still young, and toddlers - thankfully - live in the present. But then I also feared that they would forget him altogether, something I was determined not to let happen.

There were some days during these past almost six months that I thought would do me in. They were hard, but I have to say that, surprisingly, this time has gone pretty quickly. I am glad that the boys have done well, even without their Dad physically being with us. And I am, of course, so grateful and lucky to have such wonderful family and friends who saved me during the times I thought the loneliness would do me in.

I also owe my thanks to Facebook and, well, the internet as a whole, since it is a great source of distraction and a good time-killer.

My husband is a rock star in my eyes for completing this deployment. His hard work and motivation are to be admired. His chosen career means that sometimes he has to spend time away from us, but we never stop loving him, or keeping him in our thoughts. And, I believe that our relationship grows stronger with each separation. Near or far, Richard remains my best friend and a wonderful father to our sons. No distance or time apart could change that.

Finished Product

At the beginning of this year, I made a list of goals for myself. One of those goals was to make a quilt. 

When Richard left, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to take on such a task. My Aunt Nancy, who is a master quilter/sewer/crafter of all things, flew in for a one week visit in June, and she helped me in the process of finding the fabric, cutting, sewing and putting it all together. It was awesome.

Fabric prior to being cut

A quilter's workshop...coffee a necessity

Squares being cut and sewn together

Sewing...

Piecing everything together

Nearly-finished product

 My Aunt helped me to make that shirt I was wearing out of leftover fabric

Nancy took it back to California with her at the end of her trip, to have it professionally quilted by a friend of hers.

I got the quilt back last week.

It is beautiful. And huge! I love it. I can hardly believe that I had a hand in making it. It was so much fun, and I am so glad that Nancy was able to help me in the process, I couldn't have learned from a better teacher.

The front and back

Ryan checking it out

 Since her visit I have made three more - much smaller - quilts. I made identical ones for Jacob and Ryan, and one for my niece, Macy.

My niece's quilt, also made out of leftover fabric from my quilt

I have always had a love for creating things, and making a quilt is something I was certain I wanted to accomplish in my life. I am so glad I can say that I have now, and cross it off my list.

12

I never had a favorite number, until one just happened to me.

I met Richard on the 12th.

We got married on the 12th.

Jacob was born on the 24th, which is divisible by 12. Ryan was born on the 4th, which can be multiplied into 12. (Maybe I'm stretching a bit, but stick with me here).

Ryan was also the 12th great-grandchild born on my mom's side of the family.

So, maybe I'm just being romantic, but 12 has become kind of a special number to me.

Last night I went to a meeting for the wives and families of Richard's ship. They were prepping us for the ship's return...at some point. The Ombudsmen was given 24 passes for families to park on the pier that day. The pier, would be only feet from where the ship will pull in at, so those are highly coveted spots. The rest of the families who don't get a pass, have to park literally about a mile away, and take a shuttle to the pier.

The Ombudsmen decided the best thing to do, was to give everyone a number, then pull 24 numbers out of a basket, like a raffle, as a way to fairly disperse the pier passes.

I was so nervous. If I had to, yes, I could park far away and take the shuttle. But, the thing is, I know that the day Richard comes home, I am going to be so excited, and anxious, and bubbling over with nervous energy, that I am not going to want to wait on any shuttle.

So when the Ombudsmen handed me my number, which would act as my raffle ticket, I had a good feeling.

I got a pier parking pass! I am so excited. Now I just can't wait for the day I get to use it.

Burn Victim

I wrote in this post earlier in the summer about Jacob's favorite stuffed animal, Lion. They are inseparable. If anything, Jacob has become more attached to Lion since I wrote that post. He now likes to take Lion on walks with us in the stroller, as well as on car rides whenever we go somewhere. Lion is his constant companion. He sleeps with Lion every night, and plays with Lion every day. One of his favorite games to play is "Go Lion", where he throws Lion as high in the air as he can while yelling "go Lion!" and then he has to find where Lion landed.

He was playing just this game on Saturday morning when Lion landed in the lamp in the boys' bedroom. Lion landed directly on top of the hot lightbulb. It took me a few minutes to notice, and by the time I did, Lion was stuck to it. I had to rip him off of the hot bulb, only to find that Lion's "fur" had melted and in its place were three holes, exposing his stuffing.

I was devastated. I know that Lion is irreplaceable - literally - he isn't sold anymore. So I had prepared myself on how to deal with a situation where Lion might get dirty, or torn, or even thrown in the toilet. But I had not prepared myself for the event where Lion would become a burn victim.

I enlisted the help of my mom, and she  performed emergency "surgery" on Lion's damaged backside. The whole time Jacob kept coming over to me, tugging on my arm and saying, "Lion? Lion?" I knew he was wondering where his little blue friend was, and it broke my heart.

Once my mom finished the stitching, the big moment came when they were reunited. I was so worried Jacob wouldn't accept Lion with his new "band aid", but he barely even noticed; he was just happy to have his Lion back. 

Lion is holding up well, and things seem to be back to normal for the time being. Thank goodness for needle and thread! 

Oh, and thank goodness the house didn't burn down.

A Peak in the Combat Information Center Aboard the USS MacQ

As a kid, I loved making forts. My brother and I would use any found materials we could get into our grasp. Oftentimes, we would simply drape large sheets over the backs of chairs and the couch, and then we would play for hours in our "fort", or simply hang out in there watching TV until one of our parents would tell us we needed to take the fort down.

Living near the beach, we also got to make forts out of driftwood at times, or, even better, we often would come upon one that someone else had made, allowing us to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

I remember one time, I was so desperate I took one of my mom's huge umbrellas out on our back deck and sat under that while reading a book, and it was my makeshift playhouse. 

The best material for making forts or houses though, are boxes. Large boxes, like those for appliances or huge Christmas presents are the most useful.

So when a large box came in the mail last week, I quickly emptied the contents of it, cut a hole for a door and two holes for windows. I figured the boys couldn't be in a "playhouse", that's more for girls. So instead, it became the Combat Information Center aboard the USS MacQ.

The boys weren't so sure about it at first, I had to show them how to get in and out of it, and once they realized how awesome it was, they both instantly wanted to be in it - alone. There was a bit of pushing and non-sharing going on, but in the end they really had a lot of fun with it. It didn't take long for a stash of their favorite books and toys to be hidden within the CIC, and by the end of the evening I had to literally pull them out of it.

I could only obtain pictures from outside of it though, because apparently, the happenings within the CIC are so top-secret that even mommy isn't allowed inside!