it finally came. the day you that's been inspiring us to spend every possible moment together as a family. deployment day. i'm pretty much a live-in-the-now sort of girl. i don't worry too much about what will happen tomorrow, or what didn't get done yesterday. sometimes i feel very blessed to be saddled with that particular personality trait in this military lifestyle. being able to enjoy every last moment until goodbye, gives you that many more precious moments to enjoy.
monday the girls and i took stan out to the base to send stan on his way into harm's way. we got him all checked in, and we ended up with 4 more hours of free time together before goodbye. i'm not sure i've ever been so thankful for the little slice of heaven on the base with the bowling alley and games. they have a whole area with foosball, ping pong, kid's pool table, play area, bouldering wall, etc. it afforded us several hours of playful family bonding. a perfect way to spend together.
there were no tears until goodbye finally hit. and it did hit hard. torrey really took it hard. there's all of the changes that come about in 4th grade have made this a bit of a different monster for her this time. with all the new reasoning skills and a drop of hormones... life seems harder to take sometimes. but with those new skills and hormones, come new ways to cope and see your world that make those hard times manageable at the same time. i am thankful God only gives us what we can handle! the whole thing didn't hit emma until we got home. that first night brings its own kind of loneliness. thankfully it is only one night, and anyone can make it through one night.
on wednesday torrey and i were talking and she described it this way, "it's not like you're so sad you're about to cry all of the time. it's really only like that on the first day. after that, you're just kind of gloomy." it put to words the first week better than i had been able to describe. so we're trudging along, doing quite well, counting our blessings and checking off days. i am always amazed at how much seeing your blessings makes each day a blessing to be a part of. especially now, but really, for always.
monday the girls and i took stan out to the base to send stan on his way into harm's way. we got him all checked in, and we ended up with 4 more hours of free time together before goodbye. i'm not sure i've ever been so thankful for the little slice of heaven on the base with the bowling alley and games. they have a whole area with foosball, ping pong, kid's pool table, play area, bouldering wall, etc. it afforded us several hours of playful family bonding. a perfect way to spend together.
there were no tears until goodbye finally hit. and it did hit hard. torrey really took it hard. there's all of the changes that come about in 4th grade have made this a bit of a different monster for her this time. with all the new reasoning skills and a drop of hormones... life seems harder to take sometimes. but with those new skills and hormones, come new ways to cope and see your world that make those hard times manageable at the same time. i am thankful God only gives us what we can handle! the whole thing didn't hit emma until we got home. that first night brings its own kind of loneliness. thankfully it is only one night, and anyone can make it through one night.
on wednesday torrey and i were talking and she described it this way, "it's not like you're so sad you're about to cry all of the time. it's really only like that on the first day. after that, you're just kind of gloomy." it put to words the first week better than i had been able to describe. so we're trudging along, doing quite well, counting our blessings and checking off days. i am always amazed at how much seeing your blessings makes each day a blessing to be a part of. especially now, but really, for always.
i couldn't decide which picture i wanted for monday's moment in time... so i went with two. stan taking his bags and one with him and the girls. he always gets a little something special for them each time he deploys. this year, he asked a wonderful lady from church, who makes stamped silver bracelets, to make a little something special for them. he had part of a verse from 1 corinthians 13 put on the front, love never fails. and a special message to each of them stamped on the inside. i am amazed everyday at the incredible man i am married to. we're lucky girls... the whole lot of us. there are a few more d-day pictures here.
Supplies: patterned paper: Leiko Beck Designs - Veteran’s day gift kit; stitches: Kathryn Wilson, Eastbourne Kit; poloroid frame: Taylor Made, Composure Kit; staples and tag: Paislee Press, Chasing the Sun; flower brush: Fei Fei’s Stuff, Embrace Kit; dream word art: Paislee Press, Philosophie Kit; font: Century Gothic
with all of the magic moments of the past couple weeks, i've been in the get-these-puppies-on-paper sort of mood. a 10 year anniversary seemed a very good place to start on the paper putting-on path. Especially with the beautiful veteran's day digital gift set from Leiko Beck Designs. thank you oscraps and your designers for your generous support of our troops!
with all of the magic moments of the past couple weeks, i've been in the get-these-puppies-on-paper sort of mood. a 10 year anniversary seemed a very good place to start on the paper putting-on path. Especially with the beautiful veteran's day digital gift set from Leiko Beck Designs. thank you oscraps and your designers for your generous support of our troops!
tuesday life started back to normal. the girls both went back to school after monday's craziness. torrey was met with the book order she'd been waiting to get her hands on. the latest installment of the diary of a wimpy kid books. if you have a kiddo anywhere near this age group, you've probably heard much about greg. it's goofy and funny, and reminiscent of the real life humorous awkwardness of jr high from the view of a kid. she had the entire book devoured in a little more than an hour. now if that next sister's grimm book will come out, i think she'll be really happy! :)
wednesday night was a kind of uninspired photo day. so it was a one with the lensbaby & the star thingy again. this time we were trying to get the catchlight in her eye into a star shape. it is in this one... although i'm not sure it's very easy to see unless it's way zoomed in... and if it's really zoomed in you can also see how blurry the picture is. so i guess it's best just like this. lol.
thursday was parent/teacher conference day, and the first day the girls got to talk to stan! they got to have a nice long web-cam chat with him in the morning before conferences. is it silly to list skype toward the top of the list of things i'm thankful?
conferences went well. it's always reassuring to hear your kids are doing ok in the middle of a bit of craziness. definitely another blessing there. that, and they both have amazing teachers.
thursday night torrey went to a slumber party. the perfect opportunity to have some one on one time with emma. she helped me make dinner and we drug out a bunch of scrapbooking stuff to make notebooks for the "treasure box" in her class. the bind it all got a work out, and we got to keep the memories. friday morning, we had a bit more hang out time before picking torrey up, so i grabbed a couple of quick pictures outside.
Supplies: Patterned Paper & embellishments: In Good Company kit by Paislee Press; font: Courier, Chicago House; photo by Becky Van Hofwegen
a quickie page i did today while snuggling under a blanket with the girls. definitely a good way to spend a rainy saturday when you're waiting for the oven repair man. wednesday the oven decided it wanted to join stan on deployment... at least the numbers 4, 5 & 6 on the touch screen did. so we cooked wednesday's dinner in the oven at 330 degrees for 30 minutes. the funny thing is... after not working for 4 days, they decided to randomly start again about an hour before the fella got here. they ust have heard he was coming! good thing it was under warranty!
10 comments:
WOW! How do you do it? You are brave and strong and amazing! I guess I too am thankful for Stan, although I don't know him. I am thankful for him and the others that leave their families to protect mine! We are forever greatful. Blessings to you and your girls. You are all in my prayers. I have been visiting your blog since the last deployment. Love your work. Thanks for sharing.
I dont know how you do it. You are such an amazing Mom! <3 <3 <3 I get that lump in my throat when I think about not having my hubs around for even the little things. I'll keep Stan and your family in my prayers :) xo
You amaze me Noel. Your live in the moment attitude most certainly helps! Wish my DH didn't get upset with me when I'm like that LOL! Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the last picture of the girls & stan on webcam. totally cool and an AWESOME moment to capture! I bet he's so grateful during deployment that you're an incredible photographer! Love & prayers!
hugs to you all
his safety & all your hearts will be in my thoughts
So glad you are all adapting to Stan leaving, I must say the photos made me feel like crying for you all, so it is good to hear you are doing OK. Love the scrapbook pages & the photo chatting on skype is great, thank goodness for the internet!
thinking of you! You have such strength!
Love the photo of their hands!
PS What filters do you use with the lensbaby? Are their special ones for it? wanna try that...!
hugs my sweet friend!!!
liz
Thank you for sacrificing so the rest of us don't have to. You are an amazing family, and I love getting to "know" you all through your blog. Your pictures and stories inspire me to look at the little things in my life that make me happy. Noel, thank you for that.
Wow, it seems like he just got home. Great attitude. I love the very top picture with all his gear.
I always enjoy reading your blog! I list Skype high on my list of things to be thankful for! My husband is deployed so we are able to talk nearly every day now thanks to Skype. I love it! Thanks for sharing your feelings with us...you express things that so many of us military wives feel while are husbands are away. Take care.
So beautiful...the blessing of family... and these pictures show the true treasure you all are to one another. That last photo made me cry. How precious a moment!
- Becca Grinder
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