Sisters!!!

When it comes to sisters, I am rich!  Why would I need to make friends when I already have eight friends with the same Mommy and Daddy as me?  Growing up was like living in a sorority house, but much louder and no drinking.  I was definitely the mean girl on the block back then, but I would like to think I have changed quite a bit since that time.  My sisters never held it against me and I am glad for that.  I love my sisters and they are always there for me in times of need.  They are there on the phone or in person to love, support and care for me and my little ones when I need them most.  To all of my loving sisters: I LOVE YOU AND THANK GOD FOR YOU!!!  Thank you for your loving support when I need it most.

Thanks Mom

One of the best things about having a mom is that she is always there....especially during long separations from your husband.   This may sound cliche, however, until you live far enough away from your mom for long enough, you will not fully understand the meaning of "there."  Though she may not physically come rushing over to help with the kids or sit and have a cup of tea (or Starbucks French Roast coffee in our case), she is just a phone call away.  She may not always be the one to meet you for lunch or watch the kids for an evening.  Though on the contrary, she is the one you call when the kids are sick and you are not sure what to do.  At night when you hear something odd, you call mom, thousands of miles away, just to hear her voice.  She is there with an idea when you've exhausted your internal cookbook.  She is the one who you ask for advice on how to discipline your two year old.  After all she did go through the "terrible" two's eleven times!  If one was wise, she would heed her advice.  What about the times when you do visit her? Most often these special times are during a deployment for me. You can bring your little ones home to her and know for sure that they will be well fed, well loved and well dressed for the allotted time of visit.  She is my favorite chef, my personal stylist and my spiritual advisor.  She brings me coffee in bed, chocolate in sorrow and green shakes in moments of draining desperation.  My mom has spent anniversaries, birthdays, Christmases and every other yearly holiday with me when my husband could not.  Tonight, she spent the Valentine's Saturday on the phone with me.  Is there anyone else in the world who would or could do that?  Somehow, Mommy still makes it all OK.  I feel for those of you who do not have a special or close relationship with your mother.  I give you so much more credit when it comes to facing deployments, childbirth and the rearing of children without your mom.  My prayer is that you would find a motherly figure whose wisdom you value, whose words you trust and whose love will carry you through.  Deployments would be awful if I did not have my mom.  She has made this deployment and the past two very bearable for me.  Thanks Mom for being there.  Better yet, thank you Lord for giving me my mother.  She is one of a kind and I am so glad I can call her mine!

The Long Awaited Skype Date gone BAD

It was a Sunday like any other for us.  Church, grocery store, home for lunch and thankfully on this day a family Skype date was set for around noon.  My two little girls and I were to meet my husband for a half hour of technological bliss between the Rocky Mountains and the deserts of Afghanistan.  Oh joy...I love these times.  My husband can see how his girls have been growing and hopefully the opposite for his wife.  Yes, I do exercise and try to eat healthy despite my love of dark chocolate, therefore I should not be growing.  Anyway, I rushed home, fed the girls, put on my lipstick, fixed my hair and finally received the phone call queuing me to head to the computer.
Ahhh....I sat down, baby on lap, two year old standing by, and PROJECTILE VOMIT out of the mouth of my 9 month old immediately following the initial hellos.  Poor little baby.  My husband burst into laughter, I screamed, I laughed too and then the tears began to flow.  Why right then? She was covered, I was covered.  My two year old headed for baby wipes and towels as instructed by her father over the computer screen.  So far, great Skype date.  We hung up until the mess was cleaned and I could think clearly.
My husband apologized and showed me such loving sympathy.  I am so thankful for his love and concern for us.  It is never about him, he always makes myself and the girls the priority of every situation...small or great.  Our date continued without issue until the goodbyes when my little two year old decided to bite me on the arm.  For obvious reasons, she was acting out her emotions.  It hurt though and I screamed and my husband displayed his disappointment with her.  He encouraged her to apologize and behave.  She concurred until later that evening when she hit her sister on the head with a doll car seat and wet her pants on the kitchen floor.  I love her, I truly love this girl.  I cannot stay upset with her, because she is such a joy in my life.  I have to laugh it off and remember I will miss these days.  Wow, writing is fun.  I don't have to tell the truth of how I really responded to the accident on the kitchen floor.  I am such a saint!  Anyhow, we said our goodbyes to Daddy and the Skype date ended.
The day may have been a rough one for me, however the love of a family can conquer mishaps.  Just seeing my husband's smile and hearing his voice reminded me why I love being with my girls and supporting him in the way I care for them.  It is not always easy, but Skype days are better than others for this family no matter what happens!
Lord, may we get through this deployment with your strength and the love of your Son.  My you guide us and strengthen our love for one another, with or without communication.  Be our help in time of need.  Pick us up when things happen outside the view of one another.  Grow our love, our patience and our reliance on you.  You bring good out of every situation.  Praise be to Your Holy Name.

My Leaders: My Savior and My Husband

My husband is a leader.  It is lonely at the top from what he says.  It was lonely for Jesus too.  All of His friends left him in His greatest time of need.  His best friend denied that he even knew Jesus, three times.  Jesus is our ultimate model of what a leader is.  My husband relies on his Savior to see him through the times in life that are too great for him to bear alone. That alone makes him a great leader.
A leader is a servant.  Our leader in life, Jesus, came to serve, not to be served.  He tells us that we should do the same.  I cannot say that I have arrived to servant hood as of yet.  However, my husband is a servant.  He has served me every day since I met him, whether I deserved it or not. He serves his country every day.  He lays down his life for others.  Like my Savior, he is a man I want to follow.  He is a man I trust.  I love him.
A leader loves, not himself, but those who he leads.  Jesus loves us, deserving or not.   He is not a respecter of persons as it says in the Word of God.   He is the Good Shepherd and He lay down His life for His sheep, for all sheep.  Have you trusted Him with your life?  Have you allowed Him to lead you? I have, and though it may not always be easy, it is the only way to live.  I fail, often, but He will never leave me or forsake me.
A leader is wise.  He is does not rush his decisions, but he carefully weighs them and considers not his own good, but the good of those who follow him.  Again, Jesus laid down His life for us.  It cost Him everything, but He considered not Himself.  My husband does not look out for himself either, but for those who follow him, whether it be his family or his men.
I am not a leader...yet.  However, as I spend my days being led by Jesus and following my husband, I pray that I begin to showcase some of the qualities they have shown me.  Thank you Father in heaven for giving me a husband who loves and obeys you.  Thank you Father ever more for a Savior who never fails to lead his sheep by His example of unselfish love .

To be Loved

Tonight was a rare occasion, I watched a movie.  I actually sat down alone on the couch at 7:30 PM, both little ones soundly asleep, and I watched an entire movie start to finish.  WOW!  This does not even happen when my husband is home, yet alone when he is away.  Of course my pick was a sappy love story ending in tears for the actors and myself.  How is it that a love story can make you fall in love all over again every single time?  I walked away from the television day dreaming of my love and longing for his return and the safety of his arms.  The need to be loved and to love is eternally within us.  I love and I am loved.  This is a blessing and a joy.  It does not matter that my husband is across the world and I have not seen him in six months, he loves me.  He loves me, he loves me, he loves and it makes me want to sing!

Good Friends are Hard to Find

"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."

It doesn't take much time as an Army wife to discover the need to make fast friends.  Just as most people rely on their family and the friends they grew up with, military spouses tend to rely on people they meet on their journey.  This post is dedicated to a dear friend I met earlier this year, but who I feel just as close to as friends I have known for a long time.
A friend is someone who steps in to help you when you need it most.  A friend is someone who you enjoy spending time with because they truly listen and you know you can trust them.  A friend gives of oneself and does not expect anything in return.  This friend is those things to me and I pray I am the same to her.  God sent me a friend to help me through this deployment and I am not sure how I would be doing without her.  May the Lord bless this dear friend of mine.
I cannot tell you what it is like to have a friend who will come over and empty your dishwasher or play with your two year old in the backyard, or hold your baby while you take a shower.  I have a friend who will do these things for me and it has never meant more because some days I am unable to do it all alone. What a true blessing it is to have a friend.  May the Lord bless my helpful friend.
I have a friend who I can be myself around and who I can pray with and share a meal with. She is a friend with whom I find comfort because our husbands are on the other side of the world spending cold nights together and perhaps sharing a hot cup of coffee and a conversation every now and then.  What a beautiful thing it is to face a challenge together.  The bond we have may not be understood by others.  However, we quickly grow close as we walk a challenging path side by side.  May the Lord bless my faithful friend. May He help us to help each other until in the arms of our husbands we abide.