The last month in a nutshell.

Wow it's been awhile since I posted.  In the month that has passed I have driven myself, 3 children and one dog from Oklahoma City to Charlotte, NC; Charlotte to Daytona Beach; Daytona Beach to West Palm Beach; West Palm Beach to Goose Creek, SC; Goose Creek back to Charlotte; and Charlotte back to Oklahoma City.  I attended not one but two family weddings, met some new family members, saw old friends, and made new ones.  It was a long trip, but I am very glad we made it.  My sister made a beautiful bride and I couldn't be happier for her, my niece and my new brother.
During my first stay in Charlotte I recieved a phone call from my deployed hubby informing me that when he gets back from the desert, we will be moving to the West Coast for 6 months and then from there we will be going to Germany for a few years.  We are so excited! 
We're almost two months into this deployment.  It seems like he's been gone so much longer.  I'm hoping time starts going quicker once the kiddos go back to school.
Today though I got a big surprise from my hubby.  A HUGE bouquet of flowers.  Little things like this make me smile and really help me get through the days without him.

Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Easy Pizza Rolls

Found this gem on Pinterest (originally from this blog) about a month ago and I thought it'd be a great post-baseball practice/game meal for my family.  Little did I know how big of a hit it would actually be!  It's super easy and the kids beg for it at least once a week.  I made a couple of changes to the original recipe to accomodate the monstrous appetites of my kids.

Here's what you need:
2 cans refridgerated crescent rolls (the kind in the tube over in the dairy section)
1 package pepperoni
5-6 string cheeses, cut into thirds
Pizza Sauce
Garlic salt

Preheat oven to 375*
Unroll and seperate crescents rolls.  Spread about a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto each unrolled crescent.  Depending on size of pepperonis, add 2-3 on top of the sauce. Then add a cut of string cheese on top of pepperonis.  Roll up and place on baking sheet.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and pop in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

I have one crumb snatcher who doesn't like pepperoni, so on the smaller crescent rolls (which there always are some that are not cut evenly!), I just use the sauce and string cheese so he can have cheese pizza rolls.

You can serve these with a small bowl of pizza sauce for dipping.
Enjoy and get ready to make these all the time!

She's Five.

Happy 5th Birthday to my sweet Sophia Elizabeth.

When she woke up this morning she said "Momma don't I look taller now that I'm five?"
Daddy called her from overseas to wish her happy birthday and she was all smiles.  We are heading to the pool this afternoon and having some cake after dinner. 

Phia Bia, you are silly, smart, loving, creative and such a goofball.  Daddy calls you his princess and you sure take that title seriously.  You never cease to make us laugh and we are so glad that God blessed us with you!  We love you to the moon and back!
Love Momma, Daddy, Noah & Jonah (and Zoey too!)

Deployment Countdown

Last time the hubby got deployed I made a big countdown calendar to hang on the door to help the boys get a sense of how long Daddy would be gone.  Noah turned 4 while he was away, and Jonah was just a year and a half.  I added all the special events so that they could have things to look forward to and make the time pass.
Then when the hubby got sent to FLETC in 2010 for four months I made another one.  It's sort of become a tradition when he leaves for more than two months at a time.
I finally got the calendar made for this tour and man-oh-man is it big.  The biggest I've ever made. 

It's three posterboards tall and had to be hung on the wall instead of the door this time.  We don't have a return date this far out, just a projected homecoming day.  I went about a week and a half past that and I'm praying I don't have to add more paper.

Remember.

To those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and also to their families who find the strength to go on afterwards, this military wife gives you her sincere thanks and appreciation. Because of you and those who continue to fight for our great nation we can enjoy the freedoms we have come to take for granted.  God bless our troops and the ones they leave behind.

I can smile.

Friday morning I woke up to a quick email from the hubby telling me that he arrived safely.  I hadn't heard from him since Wednesday afternoon between flights and I was trying to keep calm.  I know from previous deployments that I have to be patient, but just because I know that doesn't mean it was easy.  I kept reminding myself that no news is good news.

Then, Friday afternoon my phone rang with a number I didn't recognize and I almost didn't answer.  Boy, am I glad I did!  It was my hero on the other end and it was so great to hear his voice.  I wasn't expecting a phone call because in the craziness of pre-deployment, we forgot to buy calling cards.  All three of the kids happened to be in the house at the time and I put the hubby on speaker but didn't tell the them who it was.  I said "Okay, say hi" and when he did, you should've seen the way their faces lit up! 

He called again late last night (his early morning) and I went to bed for the first time all week with a smile on my face.

And again this afternoon my phone rang (I don't think twice now when that number shows up on my caller I.D.) and the kids all got to say hello.  We can't wait for his internet to get hooked up so that we can Skype.  But until then I will soak up every second of every phone call and replay it in my head until the next time my phone rings.

Mixed emotions.

Alot has happened again.  We moved into a newer house on base (which is AMAZING.)  I still hate Oklahoma but at least I love my house.  Noah's finger is completely healed and will not need surgery.  Hallelujah!   The kids are out of school for the summer.  I hope I can keep them busy over the next 3 months!!

Today is the day that we've been dreading since late last year.  My hubby left for deployment.  We were able to get family gate passes so that we could wait with him there until he boarded.  It was very emotional.  He flew in civilian clothes so when we started hugging and crying we got alot of side glances and I even saw a few people roll their eyes.  It made it that much harder for me.  I don't wear my emotions on my sleeve and for people to just assume I'm overreacting to a business trip really made me upset. 

The kids had a hard time with it...especially Noah and Sophia.  Noah's old enough to understand it more than the other two.  And Sophia is so in love with her daddy that she didn't want to let go.  It was rough.

My heart is so full of love and pride for my husband, yet it is empty because he is not here.  I am fighting within myself to stay strong for my kids who need me now more than ever, but all I want to do is go to bed and not get up until these six months are over. 

Now we try to dry our eyes and hike up our boot straps and move on. Not every day will be this hard and we'll get into a routine. Soon our lives will look normal on the outside but to us each day will be anything but.  Life must go on and I pray it does so quickly!