Unplanned Absence

So, I really didn't mean to be away from here for so long--yet again--truly!! I have frequently thought about posting since my last post--does that count for anything? No? Awww, shucks.

I'm working on another book review at the moment and that made me realize how much I've been neglecting my poor blog lately. One of these days I hope to be better organized and be able to fit everything in that I want to get done.

Well, anyhow, in the case that anyone is still reading this I guess I should give a brief update. . . .

My hubby came home for his mid tour leave at the very end of May and was here 'til mid-June--which meant he was able to be home for his birthday! WOOHOO! =D It was such a blessing having him home for that time and saying goodbye again was almost as hard as the first time, though this time it was a little different because instead of saying goodbye for a year we were only having to say goodbye for about six months. It was awesome that his R&R was moved up. . .it had originally been set to be in September, so when it got changed around I wasn't going to complain. ;) Especially after April 19th. . .even though my head knew that my beloved husband was okay, my heart needed to be reassured of that. . .I needed to be able to touch him and know that he was truly okay.

We went to Gatlinburg, TN for a week while my hubby was home. . .it was where we first 'officially' met back in 2005 after having been pen-pals through his first deployment to Afghanistan, so there is a lot of sentimental value in that area for us. =) We spent our time there exploring the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and driving through the mountains. I wish I could say that I got some fantastic pictures of the gorgeous vistas while we were there, but sadly the only lens I had that could capture the scope of them happened to be my kit lens and it would suffice it to say that they were of pretty poor quality. I truly despise that lens--with a passion--and have been doing quite a bit of research as to what lens I am going to replace it with. . .stay tuned for more on that in another post.

The Munchkin has been getting bigger and is becoming more and more verbal. He started picking up the pace while his daddy was home (he was SO excited to see his daddy at the airport--which was such a huge relief as I wasn't sure how he would react after not having seen him for so long), ha ha. He is starting to form sentences now, and though quite often he still says quite a bit of what he's saying in 'his' language, he is starting to use real words more and more. It is fun to be able to understand more of what is going on in his head now. . .he is so smart. Too smart for his own good. =p

Thankfully we passed the half-way mark of my 'he should be home by now' deployment countdown yesterday. It felt good to see that the number of days left now are smaller than the number of days we've already been apart. =) That is such a BIG milestone!!!!

I guess I should post a couple of pictures now since it's been awhile. . .ha ha. =)

One of the better pictures from our trip to TN.

The day after my hubby got home. =)

Near the base of the Clingman's Dome trailhead.

Our last full day together for a while. . .such a bittersweet day.

Well, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll be back more frequently now.

Book Review: SEAL of GOD

SEAL of GOD is a book about the author’s journey from a cocky, arrogant, and self-centered young Navy SEAL who underwent a massive change when he accepted Christ as his Savior. A good chunk of the book details the time when Williams’ was in BUD/S (the initial SEAL training), and gave a pretty detailed behind-the-scenes glimpse into what SEAL ‘hopefuls’ go through to be able to hold the coveted title of: Navy SEAL. The book gives an honest look at the attitudes and actions the author, Chad Williams, allowed to rule him from very early on in his life--up until the dramatic change that took place one night at a revival meeting. The story doesn’t end there though as Williams still had time left to serve in the SEALs before his contract was up, and the book tells how his new-found faith affected the remainder of his time in the SEALs, and (briefly) where God has led him since his enlistment contract was finished.

When I first started reading the book my thoughts were along the lines of: “Who did this guy think he was? Did he think he was invincible or something? What an IDIOT.” Reading about his reckless behaviors truly made me sad knowing it was his way of trying to fill the void in his life during his time of running from God. Like so many others--‘the next biggest thrill’ was always tantalizingly there--promising him fulfillment, but always leaving Williams still so frustratingly empty. That being said, it was incredible to ‘witness’ the change in his life, attitudes, and overall mentality that took place literally instantly after he realized the truth of the Gospel and accepted Christ as his Savior. The book was pretty well written--and several parts were actually quite humorous--overall, it was a fascinating look into the difficult process of becoming a SEAL and the transformation of one of those heroic men into a SEAL of God.

Earlier today I was listening to Remedy Drive’s song “All Along”, and the song struck me as a rather fitting illustration of Chad Williams’ journey to Christ, so I will end this review with the lyrics. The lyrics are as follows (please note: I do not claim to own any rights to the lyrics--I am simply including them here as an illustration):

"It's not everything it seems - the world and it's dreams

Slipping like water through my hands tonight

All the things I thought would fill me up inside

Left me empty here - and now I know why

All along I was looking for something else

You're something else

All along I was looking for something more

You're so much more 

I finally found what I could never see before

You've always been the one that I was looking for

All of my castles in the sand - washed away again

And I'm back where I began tonight

The only thing that can ever fill me up

Has been right in front of me all the time"

Thank you Tyndale House Publishers for providing a free copy of SEAL of GOD for me to review!

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!