Halfway Point

Well folks we are finally on the other side of the hill in this marathon known as deployment!! Just last weekend marked the 6 month mark of Brandon leaving. Now with no set date of return or even a range of dates to go, we are hoping for January as that will be his 12 month mark in this so called 12 month tour. It still feels like we have a LONG way to go but I can also see that we've come a long already! Although right now I feel time is at a crawl, I am also amazed that 6 months have flown by just like that! I never thought this day would come the night I dropped him off... I was left feeling empty and unsettled... and now I am finally starting to feel like I can do this! Its been a wild ride these past six months.. with a lot of highs and some rock bottoms. This was a whole new experience for me in so many ways. We have never faced a true deployment before... yes Brandon has been gone for months on end on several times... we've face the separation of basic training, AIT, multiple TDYs and OSC schooling.. but no true Brandon's gone for a full year with just a 2 week R&R. And on top of this, we bought our first house just a month before he was set to leave and Henry Clay was due just a month after he left. We were beyond bless that Brandon was sent home and arrived less than 24 hours before Henry's birth! As I look past these six months, I've endure more than I could ever dream and know I am only a stronger wive, mother, and person in general for it! So far, I've face multiple snow storms, adjusting to life with 2 munchkins including a newborn, multiple road trips solo, AC breaking twice upstairs, flooding in the area, having to get the car fixed, keeping up with yard work, taking off a locked doorknob off of P's bedroom, unclogging a toilet.. and the list could keep going... the joys of homeownership, parenting, and life in general in the midst of a deployment... and with 6 more months still on the horizon I'm sure I will endure even more to write about. But I've learned and I've grown.. and I will continue to grow. Yes I can already gurantee some more bad days along the journey... but its like what they say what wont kill you will only make you stronger... so I continue on.... all the while waiting for the countdown to truly begin... and see my handsome hubby's face again!!

Summer Pics

the kids had a GREAT time at Mimi's and Papa's!!

Summer Vacation

This summer has been dragging... and we were in need of a change in scenery... and to get out of town for awhile. So off to Mimi and Papa's we went for 3 whole weeks!! It was a wonderful trip and we had lots of fun and made some great memories. The drive was uneventful down except for the traffic.. note to self don't travel on a Saturday during the summer... it took us a little over 6 hours to go 300 miles and made it to the halfway, pit stop of Conyers, GA which is right outside of Atlanta on the east side of the 20 toward Charleston. My mom met us there and we spent the night in a hotel... then got up the next morning and pushed through the other 300 miles to Summerville. It was a much mellower day of driving with Peighton in the car with Mimi so I just had Henry and Pete our dog. We were lucky enough that Papa had off the first week we were there so both Henry and Peighton got in some Papa time!! We had a first great week... my mom and I took Peighton to see Toy Story 3.. we all enjoyed it! I also got to spend an afternoon at the Spa which was a birthday/anniversary present from the hubs... it was a wonderful experience and beyond needed... 3 hours of pure relaxation and pampering... I got a massage, a body wrap and a haircut. It was fabulous!! My aunt, uncle, and two cousins came up from south Florida for a week while we were there. It was great to see them.. and they all got to meet Mister Henry Clay for the first time.. they were all in love and smitten with him especially Aunt Liz. We enjoyed going to the pool a few times with them as well as downtown Charleston. We had a great visit with them!! We celebrated the 4th with a fantastic cookout with the whole family... what a wonderful memory.. all had fun!! I was also thrilled that while I was at home in SC my best friend Celeste had her baby girl.. she is so precious... and I got to visit them both in the hospital the day after Bailee Grace was born... then we all went and visited them at home. Peighton was most impressed with the little one... weighing in at only 6.5 pounds at birth.. she was quite smaller than Peighton's little brother! We had a great time being back in SC... lots of good memories and fun times. It was a good way to break up the mundane of the summer!! We look forward to going back again this fall :)