Indiana, Here We Come!!

Last Monday, Emmy and I drove up to Indiana to look after Andy and Claire while Kris enjoyed a hard earned vacation in Jamaica with the Sacksteder ladies, Ann, Maggie and Katie (and J.P. while was at work!)  Mom flew in to help me for a couple of days!  As well behaved as all the kiddos were, I was so thankful for an extra pair of hands (and eyes!)  Not to mention, I can never get enough of being loved on by my mom. :)

Nick and Kris both arrived late Thursday night/early Friday morning, and our much-anticipated visit commenced!  On our way home, Nick, Emmy and I paid a visit to his Aunt Cindy and her husband, Joe's, farm in Centerpoint, Indiana.  We had SUCH a fantastic time!!

Stories will come when I have finished unpacking and have a chance to think in full sentences, but I wanted to share the pics ASAP!!

Graham crackers and applesauce for snack...Clairey is disgusted by Emmy's meal time etiquette:

 Walking to the park...We started off with Andy on his bike and Clairey & Emmy were in the wagon.

 Andy decided to ride in the stroller after I asked him to put on his helmet.

 At the end of the driveway: Clairey was seriously distrurbed by the dirt on her shirt after I accidentally ran the wagon into an overgrown bush. 

Clairey no longer wants to ride in the wagon, opting for the stroller instead.

 Finally made it to the park.

 The ride home.

 Baking chocolate chip cookies.  (Emmy stole Clairey's "pincess" sippy cup, which is a big, BIG no-no in Clairey's book.)

Emmy thought it was hilarious to turn the mixer up to full speed.  She was only egged on by Andy's giggles.  She's already showing signs that she will probably be that girl at the party that accepts all the dares.

 Playing beauty shop with Auntie Kristi.

 Don't forget the shades!

 Rock on, Twinkle Toes.

Pig tail day!

 Clairey in time-out for picking on Emmy.

 "NO NO, Emmy!!"

"You've done enough already!"

 Penny Belle, Aunt Cindy and Little Joe's pup after Molly showed her who's boss.

 Emmy meets her second cousin, Andrea!

Emmy, Andy and Claire play with cousin Joe!

 Dusty, Penny Belle, Molly, Darla and Peej hangin' together.

 Date Night!

A few of the 20 alpacas on Aunt Cindy's farm!

 Who's that hot guy leading the horses??

 Emmy gets some cuddles with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Joe.

 Emmy clings to Uncle Joe while Daddy...

 ...mounts the horse!

 My Nick and Raven

 Emmy's first reaction when she sat on Shadow...

 Aunt Cindy holds on tight!

 Still a little unsure...but no tears!

  How's the weather up there?

 For now, Emmy prefers the stationary saddle.  I do believe this is the first time she has smiled at the camera unprompted. :-P

 We are wrestling with giving Molly and Darla a four-legged brother, Fort.  He is SUCH a sweet boy.

 Uncle Joe, Aunt Cindy, Emmy and my Nick!  Can't wait for next time!

Catching Up

It's been pretty crazy around our house since I last posted...Nick completed his seven days of reintegration (physical and dental exams, tax forms, briefings about coping with the transition, etc).  The day after Nick finished reintegration, he came down with a nasty stomach bug that kept him in bed for the duration of his first four day weekend.  I got to dust off my nurse hat as not even Emmy could alleviate his maladies.  The following week flew by between numerous doctors appointments, multiple meetings with the chain of command, the Nashville Hilton, and my party vendors, a giant FRG fundraiser blitz, and a boatload of other preparations for our Welcome Home Party extravaganza.

We were overjoyed to have 75 soldiers and spouses/fiances/girlfriends in attendance.  Each and every one of them walked into the hotel with a giant smile on their face; which was all I could have hoped for.  Our Lancers dined on heavy hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, mingled, and watched a slideshow of deployment photos in the candlelit hotel lobby.  After Nick gave a brief but heartfelt toast to our soldiers and families, we moved the party upstairs.  The fun became exponentially greater with the dancing, "prom" pictures (embellished with outrageous costumes and props), and dessert and candy bar.

All of the ladies agreed that it was amazing to be able to have adult conversations, uninterrupted by our children (we made a pact that we couldn't speak of them for the night.)  I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. :) The mood among the soldiers was just as lighthearted and fun.  Although I was unable to partake, I hear the party atmosphere spilled out onto Broadway as our Lancers set out to paint the town red and black...To our great relief, everyone was on their very best behavior as they blew off some steam. :)

Everything far exceeded all of my greatest expectations...Except for our obnoxious DJ who called me out each and every time I left the dance floor; and that the small wine glasses I made fun of, were apparently still too big for me.  Three of those suckers landed me kneeling before the porcelain god...Thank goodness my hubby was there to hold my hair back.

Day 1 of reintegration.

Cleaning up Cheerios courtesy of Emmy.

We found her sipping on my drink watching soap operas...

Emmy's new favorite hiding place.

Lunch disaster.

Dinner disaster.

New fascination: dumping the contents of her high chair tray in her lap.

All of our girls...

...sitting for cheese.

Welcome table at the party!

The carving station.

I love the mod decor. :)

Posing with a few of the ladies...Kicking myself that I didn't get one with my Nick.  Thank goodness for the professional pics!

Can't forget the shoes!

The Homecoming Scoop!

It's crazy how my productivity skyrocketed with Nick's arrival time in mind.  Emmy and I were up with the sun on Thursday, March 3rd.  It's almost like she knew how momentous the day would be.  Either that, or she had a fever and felt like crud.  Crud aside, she rallied big time.  Decked out in our jammies, we hit the grocery store with the early birds to stock our fridge with Nick's favorites: hummus and pita chips, sandwich fixin's, guac and chips, and not to forget the Purple Haze and Blue Moon beer.  Emmy enjoyed her very first donut as a treat for her perfect (sick) behavior!

We filled up the air in Nick's tires and topped off the tank of gas before heading home to clean house and decorate.  It was all going way too smoothly; I should've known my rotten luck would insert itself somehow.

As I was making bread, my Kitchen Aid shimmied its way off the counter to obliterate Molly and Darla's water bowl (PRAISE JESUS that Emmy was no where near!)  Later, as I stepped into the shower, after frantically cleaning the whole house, the shower head broke.  Of course, that's the only part of the house that Nick would appreciate to be clean and functioning when he arrived home.  Wearing not much more than soap suds, I made a mad dash around the house to gather tools in an attempt to make a quick repair.  Much to my chagrin, that was not in the cards and neither was a relaxing shower.  So, I showered, with an intense stream of water spouting out of the wall, to then throw myself together, before waking up a feverish Emmy to get ready to go.  To exacerbate my time crunch further, I needed to come up with a quick home remedy for an unfortunate self waxing mishap (I will refrain from any more detail as that already teeters on the brink of too much).  Nothing, NOTHING, ever goes as smoothly as it does in my head.  God's sense of humor with me is boundless.

Emmy and I came screeching into the nearby gas station where we were 15 minutes late to connect up with Thomas, a producer with The Documentary Group in New York.  His company was hired by the  history department at West Point and the Class of '67 to create a film on the changing times of the military centered on the members for that particular graduating class.  They have interviewed Nick's dad (a '67 grad) and will interview Nick in the coming weeks.  They were interested in having footage of Nick's homecoming to show during the interview portion of the film.  Who am I to tell a documentarian not to document our homecoming!?!?  Nerves aside, I was more than happy to oblige; especially after I had dropped some dough at TJ Maxx on a more becoming homecoming outfit.  With 22 hours lead time, Thomas traveled from the Big Apple to meet me at the exit 1 Shell station in time to get to post for Nick's plane to land.  The fact that it worked so seamlessly was truly an act of God!  

It was the most glorious day, sunny and nearly 70 degrees.  Other homecoming ceremonies took place in freezing temperatures, torrential downpours and thunderstorms; but ours was perfect.  I joked with some of the other family members that it was probably the first thing that had gone right with this deployment.  I hoped that was an indication of what's to come (although that thought was fleeting...:-P)

It was not long before the plane touched down on American soil.  Thank you LORD!

Our soldiers emerged from the plane, one by one, carrying their heavy loads and scary-looking weapons.  With hearts racing, we all squinted to see our soldiers in the distance. 

Then we saw them.  It took me a few tries to project my voice loudly and clearly enough to grab Nick's attention.  Finally, he saw us.  The smile on his face was the biggest and brightest I think I've ever seen.  If I could have seen my own face, I would probably say the same for me.

The surge of relief and elation is indescribable.  I now understand that there's no way to know that level of joy without hitting rock bottom first.

After the families reconvened inside, the hangar doors opened to reveal the formation of our returning soldiers.  The army sure does know how to give a girl goosebumps!  After a brief ceremony, the soldiers were dismissed for 15 minutes of family time.  True to form, it took me three or so minutes of that time, with Thomas hot on my trail, to find Nick.  But that didn't matter, because we tracked him down, and I have known few moments as sweet as when I found myself back in his arms, for good.

We spent our brief time talking with other soldiers who came by to welcome Nick home and exchanged introductions and hugs with two of the families of our fallen.  A very bittersweet but important time, for sure.  All too soon, we were called on to return to our seats, as the soldiers returned to formation to then complete their initial reintegration work.  About an hour and a half later, Thomas, Emmy and I met Nick and his bags at the secondary hangar where he was finally free to come home!

We loaded the car and bid farewell to Thomas.  Nick called his family for the first time since his boots hit the ground; and then we were finally able to relax and speak about whatever came to mind first, without a shaky internet connection or a phone line threatening to cut us off.  Nick's plane had several stops before arriving home: Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Germany, Iceland, and Canada. My husband has seen no shortage of obstacles in the last year, it would be appropriate that his route home be equally as complicated.

My streak of bad luck picked back up when we got home, with my phone (temporarily) dying, a bout of traveler's stomach discomfort and a deranged bird flying into our house.  Albeit annoying, it was less so having my better half there to laugh with me about it.  I now know that together, with God, nothing can knock us down.  NOTHING.

Welcome Home Daddy!!

I am saving a thorough blog post indulging all of the details of homecoming day for one of Nick's later reintegration mornings...But I would like a share the fruits of my labor from today's morning briefing.  I am sure that Thomas, my new friend from The Documentary Group in New York, who joined me for the celebration, would scoff at this little film, but I can't stop reliving the sheer joy that pulsed through my veins, no matter how "Blair Witch" it appears...

** I must give credit where it's due!  The photos are courtesy of Paige Kimball Photography, Stacy Coombs Photography and Team Williams who rocked my camera for the day! :)**

Just Three Words...

HOME AT LAST!

Just Three Words...

GOT THE CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Hello. 

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

This message is to inform you that your Soldier has departed Afghanistan and is currently on their final movement back to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. 

Your Soldier's Welcome Home Mission Ceremony Number is: 92135. 

Any family and friends wishing to attend the Welcome Home Ceremony for this flight should utilize Gate 7 for entry into Fort Campbell. You can check for the most updated detail concerning your Soldier's arrival time and the Welcome Home Ceremony information by visiting the Fort Campbell website at www.campbell.army.mil and by clicking the link "Welcome Home Ceremony" or you may contact the Brigade Rear Detachment at 270-956-3481. 

Your Soldier's flight information will be referenced on the Fort Campbell website by their specific Mission Ceremony Number. This website is kept current with the latest information and is updated with any Welcome Home Ceremony time chan ges.

Again that website is: www.campbell.army.mil and your Soldiers Mission Ceremony Number is: 92135

Thank you for your continued support to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade.

Air Assault!


HE LANDS AT 1630 TOMORROW AFTERNOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!