A Piece of My Heart

I've put this off long enough. . . . I thought of not writing about it at all as writing makes it more real, but I can't pretend that it didn't happen, so here goes. . . .

Going into a deployment there is always the knowledge that something could happen, but there is also the overlying optimism that nothing will. Tragically, real life doesn't always go the way we think it should. . . . April 19th was one of those times.

If any of you were watching the news anytime during or after the afternoon of the 19th, then you probably know that a Blackhawk helicopter went down in Afghanistan while performing a rescue operation. The next two and a half days passed in a blur as we (the wives and families of our aviation brigade--we knew it was within our brigade, but didn't know any other details) held our breath and waited for any news about what had happened. Thankfully, I knew my husband was safe because I had been talking to him when it happened. A couple of my fellow wives and friends knew that their husband's were safe as well--having also just talked to them. However, that news was bittersweet as we waited to learn the identities of the men we had lost--wondering just how close to home the news was going to hit. . . . We were horrified when we realized just how close to home it was.

When the news slowly started to come in, it was one heartbreaking blow after another. The men who are just names to most who have watched the news or read the articles, are so much more than that to us--they were our friends, and indeed a part of our family. They were part of my husband's company and a couple were close friends.

Let me just say right now that I am incredibly grateful to have had two of my fellow military wives to lean on during that time of waiting and wondering. We were able to provide support to each other during that time and it was good to know that we weren't each alone in our fears. I am very thankful that God provided me with my 'battle-buddies'. . .having other wives to talk to who understood exactly what I was going through (and I them) really did help--especially since all three of us relocated for the deployment and were far away from other military families who could relate in ways that civilians cannot (not bashing civilian friends, just saying there is a difference in understanding when you are in the midst of a similar situation yourself [or have been in the past] vs. being on the outside looking in. . . .).

It's hard to believe that come this Saturday, a month will have already passed since we suffered this heavy loss to our company. My heart still aches for the families whose lives have been forever changed--as well as for my husband and for the others in his company and the entire aviation brigade overall.

Please remember to pray for the families of our fallen heroes: CW2 Nick Johnson, CW2 Don Viray, SPC Dean Shaffer, and SPC Chris Workman. The past 3 1/2 weeks have without a doubt been some of the most difficult in their lives. . . . Please also pray for my husband and the others in his company as the loss of their brothers is understandably hard. God is at work through this tragedy though. . .as we have seen the evidence of His workings.

Also, please pray for the wives and families of our remaining deployed soldiers. . .I know I speak for more than myself when I say that the events of April 19th really shook us up in some ways and truly broke our hearts at the loss of our friends and extended family.

Thank you.

Wordless Wednesday

Penny--Then & Now

I was looking through some of the first pictures I have of Penny-Cat, and decided I would share a quick before and after of her. She didn't turn out anything like we thought she would when we first took her in as a 'foster'--though the lady who asked us to foster her apparently really had no intentions of it being a foster, but more of a free kitten kind of thing. Ah, well, we love our Penny girl, so it all worked out okay.

Anyhow, here are her before and after shots. =)

This was taken within a couple days of our getting her. . .she was about 8 weeks old here.

This was taken back in February. See how much she's changed? Ha ha! Sadly, I don't have any recent full-body shots of her to show how dark and tabby-ish she is on her back and tail. . . .

By the way, apparently my previous post was my 100th post! Craziness!

Emotional Overload

You may not remember, but last year I asked my readers to be praying for a homeless man we were ministering to back in Hawaii. . . . Well, that man, Raymond, became a dear friend of ours and I have been trying to keep in touch with him since we left via snail mail and a care package filled with snacks, food for his beloved dog, Coby, and Raymond's favorite cookie: OREOS! =)

In the package I sent stationary, pens, and stamps so he would have a way to write us back and let us know how him and Coby were doing. So, imagine my absolute joy to find a letter from him waiting in my mailbox this past Friday! I couldn't wait to hear how he was doing, so I opened it and started reading it as we walked back up the driveway. . .A couple of pages into the letter I discovered the reason why Raymond had written that particular letter: Coby had been hit by a car, left for dead on the side of the road, and died in Raymond's arms shortly thereafter. My heart broke when I realized that Coby was gone and Raymond had lost his best friend. I started crying right there on the driveway. You have to realize that Coby was almost quite literally ALL that Raymond had--and now he is gone. Raymond and Coby were completely devoted to one another. . .you only had to take one look at Coby to know how much he adored Raymond and vice versa. It always made us feel better knowing that he had Coby, because we knew they had each other.

Raymond said he knew he needed to tell us what had happened. . .he knew how much we loved Coby right along with him. He blames himself for the circumstances surrounding Coby's death and is so incredibly heartbroken--and understandably so. Please pray for Raymond that he would feel God's peace and that he would indeed turn to God even more so in his grief than before. . . . My heart is broken for him knowing how much this loss has affected him--and knowing that his beloved Coby is gone.

Please pray for me as well. . .the grief of Coby's loss is like the cherry on top of a whole lot of family drama that has been causing quite a bit of stress for me. I've been so exhausted emotionally ever since I read the letter about Coby. . .along with other events from the past couple of days just piling up on top of everything else. Please pray that I would have wisdom and strength and that I would be able to show God's grace and love to Raymond and my family.

The last few days haven't all been negative though. . .on Friday evening I received a delivery of a beautiful bouquet of red roses and Calla Lillies from my wonderful hubby! Thank you Baby!! =) It was perfect timing--and a wonderful 'pick-me-up' in the aftermath of Raymond's letter.

Anyhow, all that to say: please remember Raymond in your prayers--he really needs them right now! Thanks everyone!

Valentine's Day Care Package

Sooooo, I'm over a month late in posting this, but I figured I'd go ahead and post it anyhow. . . .

This is a breakdown of the package Munchkin and I sent to the hubby for Valentine's Day. It ended up taking me longer to get everything finished and then actually get to the Post Office, so I was really concerned that it was going to arrive late. We were shocked when it actually arrived at the end of the week (on the 11th!) since I'd only mailed it out on the Monday before. I was definitely praising God for that blessing!!

So, not only did it arrive on time for Valentine's Day, but we also got to 'be there' via Skype to watch my hubby open it--so much fun!!! I'd had a blast getting everything together and giggling over things that I thought would make him smile. . .it was a huge plus actually getting to see it happen. =)

Many of my ideas came from Pinterest (anyone who has NOT been on that site needs to check it out STAT! It is addicting though. . .so many good ideas on it--though I should warn you that there are also some rather inappropriate images that get pinned on there occasionally as well. =( Ugh.), and I will be including the links to the tutorials for those under their respective pictures.

Okay, now on to the contents of the box. . . .

Love Bugs! Aren't they cute? I even made a 'Baby Lovebug' so the Munchkin could be included! =) This is one of the Pinterest crafts, to see the tutorial, click here.

The only thing I had to prevent them from getting crushed in the box was this index card box.

I made little blank cards out of white cardstock to have something to put in the little mailbox I was sending (pictures below), then I stamped on them with my cute, Valentine's Day stamps.

On the other side I wrote romantic quotes. ;-)

Then I used these cute, itty-bitty clothes pins that I got from Michael's to keep them 'sealed' after I folded them.

I searched high and low for this mailbox!!! Most stores only had the cardboard ones. . .I was rather particular about getting an aluminum one. . .couldn't have it getting crushed now could I? :-p

These sealed the personal mini-love notes that I put in the mailbox (they are actually little clothes pins not quite as small as the ones with hearts above, but still quite small though you can't really tell that from the photo). These were inspired by something quite similar on Pinterest, but they are too simple to require a tutorial, so I never even clicked on the picture, ha ha.

This was a LOT of fun, but also a lot of work, lol. Not that I don't have at least 52 things that I love about my hubby, I was just trying to make each one completely different from the rest and not be redundant with similar things. This was a Pinterest inspired project. There are many variations of it, here a links to a couple of them: the one I followed  and another good one.

A glimpse of one of the things I love about my hubby! ;-)

And another. ;-p Ha ha!

Pictures and videos I wanted to send to him along with a playlist of love songs I'd chosen just for him (and another playlist just of other random songs I thought he might enjoy). I had originally meant to video Munchkin and myself with a 'special Valentine's Day message', but we ran out of time, so I didn't. :-/

Lyrics from Josh Turner's "The Longer the Waiting (the Sweeter the Kiss)".

I figured, "Hey, he's red!" Ha ha!

Amigurumi Hearts--Munchkin is still talking about these whenever he sees me crocheting anything. . .he has had an obsession with hearts ever since I made these! These were another Pinterest find, you can see the tutorial here.

What is Valentine's Day without candles? The can was a random idea that I had one day for making a tea light holder. . .I used a nail and punched holes out to form hearts: two large and two (?) small. It took FOREVER. Note to self: next time, glue it to the floor and use a nail gun.

I HAD to send Hugs and Kisses. :-D

Maybe I should have sent a toothbrush and toothpaste with the box. . . .

The steamy love letter. Mwahahahah! Okay, seriously, I still blush every time I think about this.
*ETA: By "steamy" I don't mean inappropriate. . .just more 'lovey-dovey' than what I normally write in my regular letters.*

The contents of this box will remain known only to my hubby and me. :-p

I had no idea you could 'wrap' a box on the inside until I saw the amazingly creative care packages that other military S.O.s had made while searching for ideas on what to do. It was a lot of fun to do and I think my hubby really enjoyed seeing something other than the inside of a brown box for once, ha ha.

I didn't want the thumb drive to get lost and wanted to make sure my hubby saw it, so I taped it to one of the flaps. :-p

So, there you have it. We don't normally do much of anything for Valentine's Day, but I decided I was going to make this year special. My hubby surprised me by e-mailing my printer a list of "100 Reasons Why I Love You" (the day BEFORE my package to him arrived--proof that our hearts and brains are still connected even so far apart!!) so it would be printed and waiting for me to find (I LOVE it when he does that with random notes and stuff!). He was so sweet--it made me get all choked up more than once. I'm going to treasure that list forever and always!!! I'm so blessed to have such a thoughtful husband!

Even though we couldn't spend this past Valentine's Day together, it was still pretty amazing I think! I'm not sure how we are going to 'out-do' it next year. . . . I'll have to start coming up with ideas soon, ha ha.

How did you celebrate Valentine's Day this year or in years past?