He's home!!

That's right, my love made it home safely from Afghanistan on Wednesday! We have been enjoying lots of family time the last few days. Homecoming was amazing. I had two sweet friends with me to video tape it as well as photograph it. Our last homecoming sorta fell apart (times kept getting pushed back and it ended up being at 4am!) so needless to say I was so excited to have both Chynna and Kelly there to document the 4th best day of my life!
We are still getting use to being together again. It's certainly a transition, but so far so good! We've been to Lego Land and the beach plus had a really great meal at Outback! Since it's Saturday that means football is on. Anyone who knows me personally knows I absolutely LOVE to snuggle with Justin on football days! It's a good solid afternoon of just me and him on the couch enjoying each others company.
As for Elijah and Justin.... well they picked up right where they left off! Those two are like to peas in a pod! Justin had Elijah laughing so hard the other day and I thought "I'm pretty sure he hasn't laughed that hard since Justin left." Justin has said about 10 times now he can't believe how big he got. Even I have noticed lately how old he is getting and how smart he is! He doesn't forget anything (which is a blessing and a curse) and actually corrects us sometimes!
So, all is well here! I'll post a few homecoming pictures and the link to our video just in case someone hasn't seen it!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubb5eXtQnYA

Final stretch

This is it folks! We are mere days away from our beloved husband and father returning to us! Where has the last 6.5 months gone? It's been a flurry of fun events with both busy and lonely days. This week my calendar looks so busy I'll have to schedule in sleep!
I was able to talk to Justin yesterday. He sounds good. VERY ready to be home. They have officially turned over their jobs to the replacements so now he just waits to leave which is a huge sigh of relief for me because now he is no longer in harms way!
I think I forgot to post about his promotion this month. Better late than never, right? Anyway, he was meritoriously promoted to Sargent the beginning of this month. I've always known he was a fantastic Marine. Seriously, the guy works harder than anyone I know! I am so proud of him! We have just about a year left in the Marines.(or really in this contract) We aren't sure what we are gonna do after this. I think we'll start looking at all his options outside of the Marines and see if any compare. With the economy so tough right now we don't want to be foolish and just assume getting out will be fine. We do sacrifice things being in the Marines, but it has allowed us to be stable in a lot of areas people are struggling in right now. I'm so thankful for God's provision of this job. The time apart from each other and our families is so hard sometimes, but we've created a new family here that we love and it makes missing birthday's and holiday's a little more bearable.
Elijah is so excited for his daddy to be home. He (Eli) has a lot of plans for him when he gets here. Including many soccer games, football games both watching and playing, fishing, and other random things he comes up with. I on the other hand just want to relax! I do realize its not THAT tough being a stay at home mom, but getting a little break everyday is going to be so nice again! Heck, even to take a shower uninterrupted is exciting! Plus I so can't wait to snuggle my beloved and just be able to talk to him whenever (I) want!
So, in case you don't hear from me again for a while it's because we are busy prepping for his return! Hopefully my next post will be our homecoming one!!

We are almost done.

Well, a few people have reminded me to update this thing so I might as well. I don't like posting when I have pictures to post so then I just don't post. Guess I should get over it, eh?
We are so close to the end of this deployment and I'm pretty busy getting things together and in order. I'm not sure why I put so much off before he comes home (as this is a regular habit of mine any time he leaves no matter the length of time) but it probably helps pass the time quicker.
I've been buying things for our house and figuring out what room I'm going to work on next. I'm pretty sure our bedroom will be the next project as I did buy new bedding last week and need to find a paint color to match it. Plus I need new curtains since ours don't match the new bedding. I'm pretty pleased with all the upgrades and love that our house is turning into a home. Just a few more projects and I can take a short break from it!
Well, that's all that is going on with us right now. Elijah is good. Started pre-school and loves it! He is just as excited as I am about Justin coming home. He still wants a brother and asks for one almost daily. Hopefully we can give him one soon!

Weekly posts...

Okay, here goes my attempt at keeping up with my blog. I mean, I have this thing... I might as well use it! It might be a little random because I still need to blog about all the things we did on our 2 month vacation. I'm starting to work on a series of posts that include lots of pictures. Hopefully it will be done in the coming weeks.
Until then, I'll post about the happenings that are going on now. We are officially in the tale end of this deployment! Only about a handful of weeks left and boy am I ready! The 5.5 months have flown by and we've been so blessed to have many visitors and to take a nice vacation. The weather here has been beautiful this past week, but of course we never made it to the beach. For one reason or another I talked myself out of going and I so desperately need a tan! We are definitely back into the swing of things here and settled into a nice routine. Though I don't expect it to last to long with Justin coming home soon, I am certainly enjoying the quiet slow-pace lifestyle right now. Elijah will be headed off to pre-school at the end of the month. How and when did he get old enough to go to pre-school?! I am so not okay with that! He is thrilled though. It's only 2 half days a week which is perfect for me because as much as I want the short break I am going to miss having him around all the time. Plus it just means we are that much closer to him going to school full time.
This past week my dear friend Kelly and her husband Brian welcomed a sweet little princess into this world! She is the sister of Elijah's best friends, Quinn and Grayson. I was able to bless them by watching their boys the few days Kelly was in the hospital and it allowed Brian (who is deploying very very soon) to spend much needed alone time with his girls. I love that family so much. Adelyn is a beautiful baby and my heart is so full of love for her!
We are slowly starting to prep for Justin's homecoming. Finishing projects around the house that I've put off all these months. Last weekend I learned how to sew with a sewing machine and sewed 5 curtains! They are so pretty and make me smile when I see them!
In the next weeks I want to finish little things in our dining room and also make my own soap so be on the look out for those posts! Until then I'll leave you with some cute pictures of Elijah, Adelyn, and another little project I did last weekend!

MIA

So sorry I've been absent from blogging. Really, I'll be the one kicking myself later more than anything. I have so much to catch up on and I probably should do a series of posts about it all. We have had a super crazy few months full of lots of fun adventures, family time, traveling, sight-seeing, and very little sleep! I will be better about posting, but for now Elijah and I are off to play outside a little while before bed! I sure do love that little guy of mine! He gets more fun the older he gets! I can officially say that 3 has been my favorite age!
Until we meet again---- tata!

-25 pounds!

Since March 15th I have lost 25 pounds! I'm so stoked! I have another 10 to loose before I'll be around my goal weight, but I really love the way I look thus far--aside from very loose skin around my belly. I've been running for over a month now. Yesterday I was able to run 2 miles without stopping. Pretty stinkin' awesome if you ask me! I use to be the worst runner ever and I still am not the most amazing at it, but I'm getting there and it's neat to see how my endurance has built up.
Elijah and I were on vacation for a month in Utah and Colorado. It was a fantastic vacation and now that we are home I wish I would have extended it! Only because I'm way more bored now than I was, but it has been great to be home in my own house without living in a suitcase!
I have a ton of pictures to upload which I won't do right now because it would take forever and I need to run.
I am going to upload two pictures I took of myself this week.
Sorry for the long period of nothingness. Vacations will do that to ya! Plus, I'm getting to talk to Justin more so writing things here isn't near as important.
We are roughly 10 weeks away from homecoming and I cannot wait!!
Till I post again--

Elijah

The past 3 years of Elijah's life have been anything but boring! Our sweet boy has experienced more things (traveling, vacations, road trips....) than most people do in a lifetime! Our first big trip with him was when he was 9 months old. We made our trek from Florida to England to visit with Justin's parents. Since then he has been back there one time as well as road tripped across the US with my mom and I, and also up from SOCal to Utah and Colorado!
While I think those life experiences are fantastic and I'm so thankful to have those memories, there isn't anything like being at home with him. Elijah has a joy for life. He daily surprises me, encourages me, and humbles me!
Ever since I was little I wanted to be a mom. I always bartered with God that if He would just wait till I had my first kiss to rapture the church then I'd be ready to go, then it was till I got married, then till I had a baby.... Now, having accomplished all those things I still make barters with God! I know it's super silly and obviously God is not on my timing, but I am so thankful to have my amazing husband and little boy and to be growing through this season of my life.
Justin and I have had our share of issues in our marriage, finances, parenting, and even relationship with the Lord. But this year God really opened our eyes and gave us the passion for Him again and the drive to serve Him in all that we do. We are far from perfect and I struggle daily giving over my "control", but having a whole new perspective on my walk with the Lord keeps me going each day.
Since Justin left 3 months ago I have seen such a radical change in Elijah. He has a better grasp on who Jesus is and what He did for us. He LOVES learning Bible verses and reading from his own Bible. Even last night after he came home from Emily's Rainbow class he told me as I laid him down for bed "I will follow Jesus, mommy." How does that just not melt your heart? Now being a wife and mom I appreciate so much more the time and effort my parents invested into my to be brought up with good morals and values and to really know who my God is.
I pray as we continue to learn and grow as parents that we can invest those same principles and love for the Lord into our own children. I am so excited for all that God has in store for our small family of 3! I am anxious to see it all pan out, but I am more than happy to be content with right where I'm at!