A positive outlook.

Two years ago almost to the day Justin deployed for the first time. We were on shaky ground in our marriage before he left. A lot had happened in the VERY short 2 years we had been married. Within the first 13 months of marriage we were: married, in the Marines, with a new preemie baby. So as you can imagine it was tough. On top of all that I had a huge resentment problem towards Justin. He was living his dream job, have a social life, and coming home to a family who catered to him. I had no friends. We were the only one of his friends that were married. Again, it was tough. We weren't really walking with the Lord. I certainly didn't have the desire to submit to him or serve him more than making his meals and cleaning his laundry.
When I was in Florida during the deployment it felt like I was on a 7 month vacation from my real life. I still had a child to tend to, but I could come and go as I pleased without a care in the world. I had a great friend open her doors to us and let us stay in her house free of charge. (Still to this day I try to figure out ways to repay them for all their generosity...) When we reunited that early cold October morning, 7 LONG months after he had left, I was unsure how our life together would pan out. We weren't involved in any church so counseling was kinda out of the question, plus we (mainly me) were to prideful to ask for him. "We can do it on our own" was my motto!
Since the beginning of the year Justin and I have made a very honest effort to make God #1 in our lives. We have come sooo far in just the short 3.5 months. I am learning new things ALL the time and just love the Lord so much and am so grateful He never gave up on us (me).
This deployment was much scarier for me than Iraq was. Maybe because 2 years ago I was naive or I just didn't care... I really don't know. I do know that I don't want to live my life without Justin. He is one of my pillars of strength when I am crumbling (I say one of because Jesus is my main man.... but Justin is my physical strength..) We were able to spend nearly 16 months of uninterrupted time together. It was fantastic! We grew more in love with each other. Learned SO much more about on another..... Just the thought of loosing him makes tears well up in my eyes.
I am not focusing on the negative though. I firmly believe we will get through this, together, stronger than ever! The Bible says "Take captive every thought." And that is what I am doing. I will not let Satan have any reign over my thoughts, actions, or words. I want to happily glorify God in good times and happily glorify God in the hard times. After all, HE happily died on the cross for me....
I got to talk to Justin tonight. It wasn't a long talk, but being able to hear his voice and know that he is doing well and not just saying he is, comforts me. Elijah and I are really doing good. Adapting to being a single parent again took a day or so to get use to, but I've got the hang of it... and really who am I kidding, Elijah is the one who had to get use to being with me all day! HA!!! He does miss his daddy and asks about him often and when he's mad at me he says he's gonna go tell daddy.
Today we cleaned. And by we, I mean we! My sweet boy helped me dust and vacuum! I am so sad that he isn't a baby anymore, but I am really really loving this age! (Momma Cate, I told you I wanted to figure out how to keep him 2, I think I'm gonna switch it to 3!) He rode his bike today without my help... Man, what a milestone! Six months ago he couldn't do that... Now I have to run to keep up with him! I am trying my best to capture these moments with pictures.. Especially for his dad! So I'm gonna go, but here are a few I shot today.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm actually writing this a day late... Woops! Can't get behind already. We are only 3 days into the deployment!
I'm pretty sure I haven't said this yet, but for those who know us personally I want to let you know that Justin safely made it to Afghanistan. I have received a few emails from him and unfortunately missed an IM session with him early this morning, but I know he'll try again soon so I'm not beating myself up over it!
If you want to send him stuff you can do so as well as sending him messages through MOTOMAIL. I've already sent one message to him with a picture of us so he can have one for his wallet!
He sounds to be in good spirits and I'm so thankful for that because Elijah and I are doing great too! We miss him so very much, but are proud of him and what he is doing. I hope to be getting a phone call this week/end sometime, but the lines (waiting for the phones) are outrageous so I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't happen till early next week.

Anywho, as I said Elijah and I are doing great! We are keeping busy and finding things to do. The weather here has been great this week! Shorts and t-shirts for sure! We've been to the park a few times as well as played in the yard a bit.
Yesterday we of course wore green in honor of St. Patty's Day! I watched a friends little boy in the morning and then went to lunch with them once she came back! Elijah and his friends (as well as Kelly and I) took the boys to the playground to let off some steam before nap time! I love that Elijah has such good friends already. He really does get along with them most of the time! We are still learning to share as well as having a positive attitude when he doesn't get his way.
I skyped with my sisters and mom yesterday afternoon! I played Simon Says with Emmie! It was so much fun! Skype really does help make me feel so much less alone. Because I don't work it's nice to have that time with grown-ups, even if it is over the computer making funny faces and trying to wiggle my ears! (My sister Alicia is pretty funny... She has quite a talent in moving her eyes, nose, ears, and tongue into weird things... Lindsay and I aren't blessed with being able to do most of what she can!)
We had dinner over at Kelly and Brian's. BBQ chicken, mashed potatos, and rolls! It was great, even if it wasn't a traditional Irish meal! The boys played outside for a while afterwards and wore themselves out! Eli came home and went right to bed he was so tired!
All in all it was a good day! One down, not sure how many to go and I'm not counting them either!
Hope everyone else had a great St. Patty's Day!

Finally pausing a second long enough to take a picture!

Elijah and Grayson looking for roly-poly's!

Yes, he's wearing Elmo slippers... He wouldn't wear anything else!

I did something today I haven't done in a long time... I'm talking like months and months!

I cooked!

I'm not really proud of that, but it's the truth. Since we've moved here I've made small simple meals. ex. pizza, tacos, etc. But tonight I went all out. I made steak, broccoli, and mashed potatoes and let me tell you what it was FANTASTIC! I spent most of the day home with Elijah. I did laundry, cleaned, and just relaxed. Elijah has been fighting a cold since last week so it was good to just rest. He watched two of the new movies he got from his birthday party last week. I really can't believe that in less than a week he'll be 3! Where did the time go?
I spent nap time taking a shower and reading my Bible. Have I mentioned lately how much I love reading God's Word?! I'm learning new things daily and really taking to heart all He's teaching me!

I do have some annoyingly bad news though..... Elijah has selective hearing. You know the blank stare you use to give your parents when they were yelling at you or telling you to do something, ya I get that. SUPER FRUSTRATING! I am getting more stern with him and hopefully he'll catch the drift before his butt is raw! Throwing a fit in the middle of Target cause I won't go to the toy isles at that EXACT minute is not acceptable to me. Call me strict, call me mean, call me whatever you want, but I firmly believe rearing him now will benefit me later!

Well, this has turned into a vent and I didn't mean for it too. I hope I covered all my bases on our day today.

I love you Justin! Thanks for the cute email today! Miss you loads and loads!

Our day today.

Today was hard. Much harder than I expected, but God was definitely faithful and was with me all day.
I am so grateful for our loving family and friends who have come beside us and covered us in prayer and comforted us (especially me) during this time.
I tried to nap today, no such luck. My day started at 2:30am... YUCK! It was worth it though. I got to take a nice uninterrupted shower, spend some time with Jesus, and relax for a little while before I had to leave.
Once we said good-bye I came home and laid Elijah down. He slept for a few hours which was great because I needed to talk to my mom and sweet sister in law Carleigh.
I've been able to talk to Justin on and off all day. I went out to dinner with friends from a USMC forum I have been with since Justin was in boot camp. It's how I met my friend, Kelly, who lives out here too.
Justin made a video for Elijah of him reading one of Elijah's favorite books, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. Elijah was able to read along with him before bed tonight. It was so sweet! I will hopefully be able to share that with Elijah most every night before bed.
I am sure Elijah notices life is different, but so far he's been great with the whole thing. I'm expecting to have hard days, but I am praying God will give me the strength to extend to him. I will happily cry with him, snuggle him, and try to play with him like his daddy does!
Well, that's all for tonight. I need sleep.
Good night my sweet love, wherever you are! Know we are thinking about you ALL the time, we miss you, and love you more than we can express! Keep your eyes on Jesus. We'll see you soon!!

Please pray

This next week is going to be an adjustment for our family as Justin is deploying again. Elijah and I are staying here in California. We have an amazing church family that I can't rave enough about and some good friends here as well.
I'm really going to try to not complain this deployment about how hard it is or how much I miss Justin, but I want to be straight up and tell you (my faithful reader's!) that I will miss Justin more than words can say and that this deployment is much different than any time apart we've ever experienced. God has really done a major work and change in our lives this year so letting him go (who am I kidding, I had no choice in this matter) is something that is going to be very difficult for me in an emotional way.
I am sure that we can only become stronger together in our marriage as well as our individual walks with Jesus. We are both madly, passionately, crazily, in love with our Savior.
I ask that you would be praying for us, and specifically for the people Justin is deploying with. Pray for traveling mercies, energy, patience, and understanding as they make their way into country. Also more specifically for a Christian buddy for Justin to be able to "hang" with or just fellowship with!
He has his iPod loaded with sermons and books so He will get plenty of great teachings.
I thank you in advance for your faithful prayers and consistent support. We know it is through our Savior that we will succeed through this deployment and that God will use it for the bettering of His kingdom!

Megan

Real quick.

I know, I know. I've been TERRIBLE about posting blogs, but honestly there are just times in my life right now where I have to steer clear of stuff like this or I won't say anything nice.
It's been a fantastic few weeks. Our countdown till Daddy comes home has almost begun.
I can't say that I'm not nervous because I am. I think there is always fear of the unknown, but I am not letting satan take captive my thoughts. I want the Lord to be glorified even in the hard times. I obviously am staying put here in Camp Pendleton. We (as a family) are in a really great place here. I have a few friends, an amazing church, and a beautiful beach. Our decision to stay here was a pretty easy one, though going to Utah to live for 6 months would have been nice too. We love our home. Not just the bones of the house, but the location too! I have a huge city right at my finger tips! It will be interesting to stay here and be admist the Marine Corps while Justin is gone, but I think it is the best thing for Elijah and I right now. We aren't sure if we'll re-enlist yet. If I had to decide today, we'd get out. The Marines have been great to us, most days, but I miss simple pleasures in life. Plus, trying to get pregnant when your husband isn't here all the time is umm.... impossible!
I'm going to take these 6ish months and revamp my body back into the way it should be. Draw closer to the Lord and really make an honest effort to be a hands on mom. I am hoping to be on the right path of getting pregnant by the time Justin gets home. We soooo want another baby, but we know that it's in the Lord's timing! I'm so thankful for that! I'm sort of glad we didn't get pregnant before Justin leaves for 2 reasons. 1. He doesn't get to miss another pregnancy and 2. I get to enjoy watching my friend, Kelly, grow through her pregnancy! They find out tomorrow what they are having!! I'm praying for a girl!
My parents are in town right now. It's been such a blessing to have them come visit us! My mom and I are best friends so as you can imagine we have a great time when we do get to see each other! It is also nice to have my dad here too. He's never been to our house (aside from when we were newleywed's still living in FL). I'm proud of our place and all that we have accomplished in the short 4 years we've been married.
Anyway, just wanted to write really quick before our weekend started. Once Justin is gone I will be posting a lot more as this will be his way of keeping up with all those mundane details I seem to forget when he calls!
Off to snuggle with my loves and enjoy all these last precious moments together!

Mom's visit in pictures

Mom's visit started off with a fantastic Valentine's breakfast!

Had to get both views!

We spent that afternoon at the Randall's! Joel and Eli had a great time playing together.

Some goofy kids just hanging out!

Photo op!

Mom with John and Michelle Randall

We went to Sea World and watched Elmo's Live in 3D. Doesn't he look a little like Mr. Incredible here?

Elijah and Grandma

Elijah met Elmo!

Dun-a Dun-a Du, Shamu! Shamu!

Flamingo's are very smelly birds. Elijah enjoyed them!

My little man!

We enjoyed some ice cream

Some of us a little to much! LOL

Watched the Beluga whales swim.

Enjoyed a walk on the beach.

Well, not all of us enjoyed it...

"cooking" hot dogs on an open propane flame.... not so safe

Explaining you should use a pot of water instead...

Played a little soccer in the yard.

Monkey'd around at the zoo!

Went to see the elephants!

Sat on a random bird!

Entertained a rattle snake!

Visited the friendly giraffe's

Took the skyride

The boys wrestled when we got home.

We had a great visit!

Our wild man really misses his grandma!!