14 months old, 11 months down, 2 weeks to go!

It's such a sweet feeling to know that it will only be a couple of weeks until we are reunited as a family.   If only my 11th wind would kick in to tide me over.   I keep reminding myself that we must keep our blinders on to remain focused on the finish line, no matter how tired we may be.  It is a constant pep talk that happens multiple times each day.

Emmy's sense of humor is developing way beyond her months, we seem to share so many unspoken jokes that leave us both in stitches.  I can't wait to let Nick in on them.  I bet he has a few new ones to share with us.  While she now lets me know when she's "all done" (aaall-do) over the baby monitor when she wakes up in the morning and after each meal, she still sticks with "uhoh" for the most part.  A couple of weeks ago, she perfectly timed the usage of her favorite phrase while I had an impromptu meeting with the Brigade Commander's wife and other important members of the chain of command.  (A meeting that would usually cause me to take special notice of my posture.)  As we discussed some major snafus in the redeployment process, Emmy blurted out a big, dramatic "uhoh."  Everyone paused to chuckle and agreed that it was, indeed, a BIG "uhoh."  Emmy loves opening drawers and pushing our dining room chairs around the house.  It takes roughly T-minus 2 seconds for her to ransack the downstairs.  I'm afraid I will be horribly outnumbered once Nick returns and joins her effort.

Nick has been working long hours completing the hand-off with the company that is replacing them.  Unfortunately, the incoming company has had a slew of maintenance issues with their aircraft that has prolonged their ability to relieve Nick and his soldiers.  Worse yet, 1/3 of Nick's company is either home or enroute, which has made for some excessively long days for those who remain (surely they are wishing that they hadn't drawn the short straw right about now).  Nick was sick for most of the month, but is fortunately now on the up and up.  Nothing like long work days and inhaling the staggering stench of human waste around the clock for 11 months to wreak havoc on the immune system.  Today was the first day that Nick allowed himself to dream up plans for when he arrives home.  He admitted that he finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel.  He said he's excited to hang out, drink beers and chat (my addition) by our fire bowl after we put Emmy down for the night. :)  At this rate, we will have perfect spring weather to support our late night fire bowl conversations.  Now to get him home first...

This past month has been a toughy.  Between planning the party with so many obstacles (oh how I wish I had a direct line to Afghanistan), and serving as the whipping boy for our one angry widow, I had been feeling pretty defeated.  It was one of those times where I wanted nothing more than to submit my resignation and cite that the additional stress and political pressure is just not worth it anymore.  Then God revealed Himself and picked me up, yet again.  This time, it was in the form of my surprise thank you party.  For every one oblivious person who expects the sun and the moon and the stars from me without concern of my own situation, there are ten others who just appreciate a simple cheerful e-mail encouraging them to stay focused.  I have been amazed by the number of people who reached out to lift me up.  My incredible family, my dear friends and near strangers have offered me encouragement; and without it, I just don't know how I would have overcome the struggles that I have faced this deployment.  

Valentine's Day brought fresh reminders of the love that surrounds us.  Emmy and I felt so special through the thoughtful Valentines from Mom and Dad (aka Mimi and Papa,) Andy and Claire, sweet Will, Miss Annie and the incredible Miss Ellen.  Emmy's holiday became even more lucrative at her Valentine's party at school!  Judging by her mood for the rest of the day after dismissal, it could easily pass as Emmy's favorite holiday!  Perhaps she is a hopeless romantic just like her mother, only time will tell if she shares my affinity for a man in uniform.

E-Army Messaging

I went to lunch today with a couple of friends whose husbands are also in the chain of command.  In the middle of our gossip sesh, all three of our phones rang at the same time.  Upon answering, this is the message we heard:

"Hello. This is CPT Matt Hodges, your 6-101 Rear Detachment Commander.

The intent of this message is to inform you on the procedures for tracking the arrival of your family member as they redeploy to Fort Campbell. Your Soldier is scheduled to depart Afghanistan within the next couple of weeks.

Please be advised that the exact time for your Soldier's arrival into Fort Campbell, Kentucky is not currently known. Once your Soldier begins their final flight movement to the United States, you will receive another message detailing the information and Welcome Home Mission Ceremony Number that you will need in order to track their arrival...."

When we hung up, we cheered for everyone in the restaurant to hear; and we didn't care, because we finally got the call we've been waiting a whole year for.

Praise, Jesus!  We're almost done!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Nick,

To us, you are larger than life.  God has blessed us to richly when He made you the man of our house!  We love you more than words can say.  Happy Valentine's Day!

FROM ALL YOUR GIRLS (and Emmy's dolly, Baby.)

Timer Out-takes:

We made a special heart-shaped pizza for dinner tonight!

"helping"

So far no belly aches from all the raw dough she consumed.

Party of the Year!

I have been so fortunate to have attended many swanky soirees in my day.  I routinely find myself in roles that require planning showers, weddings, sorority functions, church functions, reunions and, of course all of my high school dances and balls! Even if I wasn't coordinating it, I still made myself available to go to every prom in Danville and greater east bay area since my freshman year of high school.  I pretty much have an eye for this sort of thing.  If I do say so myself. :-P

Recently, I had an e-mail in my mailbox from a spouse that I don't hear from very regularly.  She was asking for my help to secure a babysitter and a romantic restaurant for she and her soldier's third wedding anniversary.  She told me how excited she was that he is taking her out for a night on the town, and that she's never been on a date that required dressing up.  With the help of my trusty babysitter, a few great restaurant recommendations, and her husband's pocket book, she had a night that she will never forget.  She told me so.

With that in mind, I knew that it was imperative that the rest of our ladies are reciprocated the same boost that they've been providing to our soldiers throughout this deployment.  They need to ditch the kids and their "Lancer" t-shirts and sweat pants to spend an evening being made to feel as special as they are.  With our soldiers being wiped out from, oh, being deployed for a year; I knew that I had a big party to plan.

Six weeks, three dates, five venue changes, and three last minute fundraisers later, we have a party plan in motion!

I will say this has been my most complicated party planning experience yet, since my only accomplice, my Nick, is not an easy one to pin down! :-P (Nor does party planning top his list of priorities right now as it does on my own! Go figure. ;))

The Lancers are going to blow off some steam at the Hilton Downtown Nashville just half a block from the main music strip!  We will start off with a cocktail reception with heavy hors d'oeuvres and a bar in the lobby.  Then we'll move the party to a secondary location within the hotel for dessert and dancing (and another bar and "prom" pictures with a funky twist!)  Something about the word "cocktail" makes a party sound so much more...posh!  As if that weren't already great enough, the Hilton is offering us an extreme discount on rooms for the night!  Like, 1/3 of the price these rooms usually cost...Unbelievable!

Nothing says "charity case" like a girl coming into your establishment, with signs of early frostbite, with her ragamuffin child strapped to her chest, asking for help to plan a welcome home party on a meager budget.  Kind of a "Pretty Woman" moment, but with an entirely different response!  The Hilton has absolutely risen to the occasion, I have been amazed by their generosity!

The word is out and people are RSVP-ing!  I can hardly wait!!!!

This is where the cocktail reception will take place, obviously it will look different when it's set up for the party & with the night time lighting (there are enormous windows in the hotel and in the atrium lobby.)  We lucked out and get to take advantage of the jazz musician that will already be entertaining in the lobby during cocktails!  

 This is a wacky picture (I blame Emmy being on my chest in the ergo).  But, this is the Ryman Tea Room and hallway.  We will have the DJ set up at the end.  There are small "break out" meeting rooms coming off the hallway.  In one of them, we will have the photographer set up with her back drop and plenty of ridiculous costumes and props for hilarious prom photos.  This space will be set-up with soft seating to resemble a "lounge" feel, with a bar and dessert display in the center area.

 There are windows along the side of the whole hallway that look out to the Bridgestone arena and onto the music strip.  There are huge glass doors that open out to an outdoor terrace that will be available for our use as well!  I am keeping my fingers crossed that the weather is warmer so that we can enjoy this awesome perk!

Just Three Words...

GOT DUMPED ON

So what do we do when we are cooped up in the house?

Hang out in the fridge.

SURPRISE!!

Oh. my. word.  I have been had.  In the most amazing way possible.

A little background...

About a month ago, one of the ladies in my FRG, Holly, sent me an e-mail asking me if I was free on February 5th.  When I wrote back with an affirmative, she told me to save the date and more information would follow.  Two weeks later, she wrote to tell me that my babysitter, Ericka would be at my house at 1:30.  Then just a couple days prior to the date, she wrote to tell me someone would be at my house to pick me up shortly after Ericka arrived.  To say that my interest was peaked, would be putting it mildly, but I had no other information from which to draw conclusions.

I had no choice but to be patient.

1:30 on February 5th, finally arrived and so did my babysitter.  At 1:45, my friend Angie knocked on my door.  We started driving, and soon passed the turn off to Holly's house, now I was really confused.  I soon realized that we were headed towards Fort Campbell.  Through the gate we went to the Family Readiness Center.  We walked up to the front door, and my friend, Julie, was waiting for us.  They led me into the dining room where there was a big group of ladies from my FRG waiting!  Stunned, I scanned the room to see who all was there, and, at the end of the line, was my Kris.  Barely a nanosecond later, I was reduced to sobs.  They had thrown me a surprise thank you party!

Holly had gone out of her way to contact both Nick and Kris to learn all of my favorites, down to the color motif in our home and my favorite flavor of tea. Holly and the Lancer crew had been plotting for weeks and had gathered donations to spoil Nick and I with the most unbelievably thoughtful gifts!  Each and every present was something that I love.  They showered us with baskets filled with bottles of wine, my favorite tea, chocolates, a large canvas of my favorite family picture, a gorgeous glass pitcher filled with white roses, a gift certificate to spafinder.com, a gift certificate to Ruth's Chris (Nick and my FAVORITE dinner out) and money for a babysitter for a date night.  There was a big spread of food and my favorite homemade chocolate cake.  I felt as though I needed to pinch myself because it felt like a dream, especially having my Kris there.  After a really tough week, gosh, a really tough deployment, they made me feel like a million bucks.

Kris and I arrived home to a very happy Emmy.  After staying up chatting like old times, we retreated to bed.  I had trouble sleeping, though, I just couldn't stop thinking about my incredible surprise.  I only wish I could throw a party just like it for each and every one of those ladies, working their fingers to the bone to hold down the fort in their soldiers' absence.

my Kris!

A hot mess.

We saw each other two weeks ago, but you would've though It's been months, man I miss that girl. :-P

 Baby Mason, born the day Nick came home for R&R!

Holly successfully pulled off the impossible.  She deserves a medal! :)

Just Three Words...

IT'S REALLY HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!

Last night, Emmy and I attended the first of the six homecoming ceremonies for our redeploying Lancers!!  We had three soldiers from our company on that plane, who came home first to make way for the masses!  I get goosebumps knowing that our turn is just around the corner!!!!

 Waiting for the plane with two other Lancer wives, Rease and Paige, and Matt Wagstaff's widow, Tiffany (wearing the hat).  Tiffany believes that Matt would have been arriving home on that plane, and felt the need to be there.  She's a very strong lady.

Landed on American soil!  Praise Jesus! One down, five to go!