My husband came home from Afghanistan on New Years Eve! This deployment lasted 353 days apart total, lasting from December 29, 2010 to December 31, 2011. It was one long year! 

My husband's career in the military will be ending in 2013, so we are blessed knowing that we are done with deployments - this was our final homecoming.

Back in August I came across the song "After All" - I had heard it before, but it was almost like I was hearing it for the first time. And I realized that it was our sto...
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Meet Kayla...


The story of our friendship is very unique, and honestly makes me think that God has quite a sense of humor. Kayla and I went to the same Christian school growing up. But we were five years apart, so never interacted. At all. I vaguely remember hearing her name once or twice, and her same with me. She remembers my little brother, and I remember her inlaws as her brothers-in-law were closer to my age and that of my brothers. But that's it.

Here's us in 1998 - Kayla in first grade, ...
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This is the question that I've been hearing a lot this week! And it's a good question. But it's one that in some ways I don't know how to answer with a quick reply. 

Words like "great," "awesome," and "wonderful" are indeed true...but so are words like "hard," "emotional," and "difficult."  But those are words that most people don't expect to hear when they ask the question.

What I'd like to do is take this post to go into more detail and answer the question on everyone's mind. I am going to b...
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Monday, September 5th, 2011...what most people knew as Labor Day.

What I knew is that it was the day my husband was coming home for mid-tour leave!!! 

I woke up at 3am totally unable to sleep because of the butterflies - normal. Was awake for a while and then fell back to sleep. Woke up around 6am and the butterflies were worse. I had a BAD stomach ache. I knew I wouldn't be getting any more sleep, so I got up to change the sheets on the bed. I got the sheets stripped and had to run for the bat...
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In just the last 24 hours...



In a conversation with a friend, we talked about the two separate times that her husband has been injured this deployment alone due to IEDs. The first time he ended up with shrapnel in his arms...the second he had a head injury and a leg injury. We talked about how they deal with PTSD (from his previous deployment) and the nightmares he has when he is home.

I went to bed last night and dreamed that a young unmarried soldier who works with my husband was KIA and we w...
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I know I haven't blogged much recently...I haven't felt much like it. If you have been keeping up with my facebook posts, you know that the past two months have been difficult on me.

Quite honestly, I am burned out. I'm burned out on deployment. We are 4 1/2 months in, with a good 4 months left until RnR. Four months until we get to be a family again.

Honestly I am just tired of it all. I'm tired of juggling all of the responsibilities on my own. I'm tired of waiting for the phone to ring and ...
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A few weeks ago, I wrote a guest blog for my friend Kathryn about deployment. One of the things that I encouraged her to do in that post was to "enjoy the deployment." Shortly thereafter she responded on her blog by writing a post entitled "Reasons to Enjoy a TDY" I enjoyed reading her post so much that I thought I would steal her idea and do a similar one here on my blog!

Reasons I enjoy deployment:

1. More freedom in scheduling and caring for Ezra. Let me say that, while raising a child with ...
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Check out this guest post I wrote for my friend's blog: http://www.singingthroughtherain.com/2011/03/yellow-ribbon-sisterhood.html

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I ran out of milk sometime last week.

Well, actually, I didn't run out...it expired, and I didn't have any left to replace it.

Thus begins the madness that is also known as "the last 5 days of my life."

I shall begin with Thursday morning's status update: 

FRG calls - almost done. Photos ordered - check. Now to shower, run to walgreens for photos, come back, finish setting up russell's computer, decorate the box, then run back out to the post office! oh and I need to go by the MWR office! And ...

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I'm posting this because one of my friends on Facebook asked about songs for deployment...after writing half a book on her status I figured I'd copy the information here so I don't lose my list if anyone else ever asks.


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I laid in bed the other night struggling to find a comfortable position in which to sleep. Amongst all of the tossing and turning I was struck with the realization that "I've done this before."


At the risk of sounding extremely melodramatic...
Deployment and pregnancy have a lot in common.

At first you might be taken back by this statement. Generally we think that deployment = bad and pregnancy = good. But looking back at both the one year deployment we went through, and now this pregnancy, I ...
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Well I don't know how to read I guess! So my last post was my *blonde moment of the day*...but I will keep it because it is a good post!

Now onto the REAL topic: "After all of the packages you’ve packed for your husband, wouldn’t it be nice if someone mailed you a care package? What would be in it? Today we’re asking you to write about your dream care package you would love to receive in the mail for yourself – no expense spared, but it has to fit in a flat rate box. (Sorry, you can’...
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WIVES OF FAITH 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS BLOG CARNIVAL DAY 11.

I would have to say that the perfect care package for Christmas is one that is packed with the intention of bringing Christmas to the soldier, the way that he wants it. For some men that means mini trees and lights to put in their barracks rooms, or santa hats for all their platoon buddies.

For Russ, he just wanted another package filled with love. I sent him some goodies (Christmas cookies of course!) and snacks, as well as some gifts....
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Today, in between visiting a friend at the hospital and picking up my husband at noon when he got off of work, I decided to go to the PX to kill some time. As I drove up I saw on the PX sign the words "Meet Mark Wills...Friday December 11, 1100."

I had seen the sign previously that week but had forgotten about it. I didn't go to the PX with the intent of seeing him, it just happened.

It was 1030 when I arrived, so I knew I would be able to see him. I have to admit, I was a little bit nervous. ...
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Hello Friends. Russ and I have befriended a young couple in our unit. Matthew and Rachel just PCSed up here to Fort Knox about a month after we did. They just received the call this week that they could move from their temporary house into their on-post house. Rachel is pregnant with her first...her baby girl Olivia is due December 5th. They haven't been able to buy very much for their baby yet so we have set up an online baby shower for them so that others who care could reach out to them.
...
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I am kind of laughing at myself right now...it's amazing how we can see the circumstances around us and long for something better or easier. Then, once we get there, we do the very same thing.

Two weeks ago, I was at a point with both my husband and this deployment where I was just tired. I was tired of him being gone, tired of being up at all hours of the night for instant message conversations for months on end...I was just plain old worn out EXHAUSTED. I told Russ in all sincerity that I r...
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My newest song...all glory goes to God!!
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Beautiful In His Time

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