Fathers Day

I think this year's Fathers Day was the best one for the Giant so far. It's the first one we've all spent  together. We could not have asked for better weather to enjoy the day either. Ah, I love Charleston.

We started the day, as we seem to do on most recent holidays, by heading downtown to eat. Its our excuse to go out and try new talked about restaurants. Sunday, we headed to Hominy Grill, a nationally known but tiny, off-the-beaten path place. There was, of course, a wait to eat, which is pretty much everywhere here on any given special day downtown. Maybe one day we'll actually wake up early like we always say we will and get somewhere before the brunch crowds show up. 

Here's Cheyanne waiting patiently outside the restaurant. Notice the wall they are sitting on. In typical Miss Independent fashion, Chey insisted on sitting on it by herself. So, the Momma I am of course insisted that Daddy stand directly in front of her the entire time so she wouldn't fall.

We waited for about 35 minutes and finally got a table. Hominy is one of those restaurants that changes its whole menu based on whats growing local and fresh, which I love. However, I'm hoping it was just the day we ate there, that I did not "die" for the food. I didn't get too adventurous for whatever reason, I stuck to a cheesy egg biscuit. Normally, I'm more adventurous than that. Cheyanne loved her fresh banana bread though. I may or may not have helped her finish it up.  Next time, and there will be a next time, I'm not backing down from ordering their famous buttermilk pie. I don't care if its 9am in the morning. That pie is mine! It looked so good!

This is Cheyanne and her daddy playing hide and seek with the butter on the table. I'm not sure how to explain the details of this game, but the whole restaurant knew she was having fun by her sweet and very LOUD laughter. 

While walking around downtown, Cheyanne fell asleep right before we stopped for Gelato's. Bad timing on her part. After a few minutes of fussing to be out the stroller, we told her we were heading for ice cream. I thought that had calmed her down when she got quiet. Apparently, instead it put her to sleep. The Giant tried waking her up when we got to the Gelatos shop, but not even chocolate could wake her up. So, here's our family picture from the day.

Happy Father's Day, Giant! Thanks for a great day downtown.

We're home but not quite back

No, I didn't hijack my Giant and run away with him forever (like I thought about the minute his plane touched down). We took a little vaca- just us three. And now we're back and readjusting to life back home as a family of three. Life is good, friends. I've never loved vacation more and yet never been so happy to be back in my own home too.

Here's just a hint to life the last week and why this site has been boring for a while.

I have so much that I admittedly need to catch up on. The house is a wreck. The suitcases still aren't unpacked. Laundry is growing by the minute. Christmas is still up (yup…). And my blog is sitting here silent and unloved. 

Can I be honest?

Not to be course, but today none of that really matters because life is seriously good yall. I have a sweet baby yelling "Mom MOM!" to my left and a handsome giant that I can't stand to take my eyes off of to my right. What's a girl to do?! Oh yeah… enjoy every minute of it.

At some point I'll get bored and be ready to update, but for now, I'm just loving my loves. Thanks for understanding! I'll share a few more non-specific pictures just to say thanks. I'll save the best ones for later.

Mmmm… MomMom loves Epcot

Looky who I found!

The Giant is home!!!!

So thankful that a friend took the picture above and sent it to me because my brain was so scattered once he landed that the only picture I remembered to take was the one below…in the parking lot before we loaded up to head home. I'm learning.

I did get a few videos but nothing like I should have. Once I saw the Giant climb down the steps, all forethought of blogging escaped me. That and I was going on 4 hours of sleep… See?

This is the plane coming in. Captain obvi here at your service.

And here we spotted the Giant. The end. HA!

Cheyanne didn't know what to think at first. It was cold and there were a lot of people screaming. Oh and she was not thrilled when the plane came right towards us to turn and unload. It was too close for her comfort. Not for me though! The closer the better at that point. 

Once we got to Daddy, she wouldn't go to him but she wanted to keep her eyes on him. If you have never experienced a deployment return, the process goes you wait for their return, you greet them, then you have to go your seperate ways again for a while so they can in-process with blood work, etc. It was at that point that Chey was NOT cool with saying goodbye again to Daddy. She didn't understand why he had to leave us again. Thank God for the yummy muffins someone brought that waited for us inside and helped take her mind off of the confusing separation. God bless that person.

Chey actually took to her Daddy amazingly fast. Both the Giant and I are still a little perplexed at how well she has responded to him. Let me just show you a picture that says it better than I can even explain. 

More on their, I mean our day later.

Not long now

Update on 3/3/12: As I am now learning in the military, things change. We will be waiting a little longer after all for the Giant to get home. I wish I could tell more but I'm not able to at this time. I'll be sure to announce it once I've got him home though.

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This is a good sign! The lights are on and the presents are under the Christmas tree.

Giant, don't look too close under the tree, especially not the next picture… not that you probably will get a chance to see this in the next few days :)

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In case you are new to This Wood House… No I'm not a Griswald keeping my Christmas lights up all year. And no, I'm not a tacky Christmas holly loving crazy person celebrating Christmas every day of the year. I am the proud wife of an United States Airman that has been deployed for far too long and has missed way too much of our life. We have been waiting for him and Christmas waited for him as well. 

And now, it won't have to wait much longer. Not long now at all!!

Husband??

I've lost track of when I've heard from the Giant last. I don't think I realized how spoiled I actually was hearing from him in some way every few days before. Now I know. This is not me complaining, but this is me working it out so I can sleep.

Tonight I miss him. Clearly, I miss him every night, but I just try not to think about it. I shut that thought part off at moments when I'm just not sure I'm in a good place to handle it. I do things to ensure that I don't add the extra worriful thoughts on myself. I don't watch war related news. I instinctively turn the channel or leave the room. I pray LOTS. I send up little prayers pretty much at every hour of my day. I have even sent him good thoughts and vibes, because I figure, what can it hurt? No idea if that stuff works, but shoot, I don't care. It makes me feel better so I imagine I'm sending him some of my rest or laughter or alertness. Whatever comes to me that I think he might need at the time, I think it in his direction. Ha! Instead of thinking how far away he is, I tend to  imagine all of the amazing places he's seeing at that moment of where all he's been. Places that one day he'll pin on map and tell Cheyanne stories about. I think of how beautiful even the desert mountains would look from his viewpoint in the sky- even if right now he wouldn't admit it because he's just plain tired of looking at it. At Christmas I didn't watch any of the troop greetings or welcome home clips. You know what I'm talking about.
I go on with our life like I'm supposed to. Cheyanne never knows the difference of my heart. If I get sad, I only get sad after bedtime. That's my me time.

So, tonight I miss him. Tonight, my minds wandering. I thought if I blogged about it, I could clear my head faster and sleep. I think tonight instead of being sad, I think ill just smile because I know I'm one day closer...
....
Yep. That did it :) Goodnight friends!
Love, an Airman's wife

Half way mark

What could this picture possibly mean?!!

Hmmm…

Finger nails growing and a mostly clear face? (Don't judge the absolutely no makeup look I'm rockin'- it was necessary for effect- and I'm lazy)

It can only mean one thing!

We're at the half-way mark of the Giant's deployment!!


Holla'!!!

Three things DO. NOT. HAPPEN when the Giant is away. One- I don't sleep. Between being a military wife and a mother to a toddler that does not yet appreciate the beauty of sleep, I just don't get much rest. Two- my nails don't grow. I'm pretty sure that its just physically impossible, I think they actually shrink back or immediately just crack the minute we say goodbye. Nerves… (and now I'm wishing I had waited to paint them after the picture so you can see how long they actually are!) and Three- No sooner than his plane's wheels lift off the ground, do I suddenly look more like a pre-teen middle schooler going through major hormone changes than an actual 26 year old woman despite my best efforts.

The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to shine brighter around here y'all!! Join me as I do my happy dance!

A last 2011 shout out to the Giant

Happy New Year!!!!!! *kiss kiss kiss*

It is a brand new year where you are. 

How's it looking on the other side? Better? I still have a solid 7 hours left in 2011.

See you next year, Love. Literally.

And all you other following loves in blogland, happy new year to you too!!!  Thanks for another great year. 2012 is going to be even better. I promise bigger and better things here.  

But for now, I think its time I go get a start on my new year's resolutions list. What's on your new year's resolution list? Anything I should put on mine?

Merry Christmas Daddy

My daddy is an Airman 

Doing all that he can do

To protect our land, keep it free

Its causes great and true

And while he is away from home

I want everyone to know

My daddy is my hero

And I love him so

Merry Christmas Daddy wherever you are.

We miss you and wish you were here. Be extra safe today. We love you always.

Love, Your girls

And Merry Christmas to the rest of the 15th who are away from home this year. We hold you in our hearts and prayers. You are dearly missed and loved this Christmas season, more than you know. 

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"I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; 

he is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10

It's Official. It's over!

Not that this affects our family too much since my husband is still over there flying high and will be for some time, it is historic and needs to be shared. And, in sixteen years, if Cheyanne ever looks back at her old Momma's blog, I want her to know what she was doing the day that the Iraq War ended.

Today, Chey met someone new in her family to love. Since we've been back home with my family, we've been soaking up as much family time as possible.

Especially Cheyanne. Little miss shy Chey has become quite the social butterfly. At least in the family, that is. Since she was so shy as a younger baby, I tended to shy away from groups of people or unfamiliar faces with her because it caused her such distress. Well, something in her switched. She still definitely does better in small groups, but she is not half as intimidated by people like she used to be. Today, we finally got to test this new phase out. My parents and I drove up to West Virginia to see our dear Aunt Phyllis. While she is technically my dad's cousin, she "practically raised him" as she likes to say. She is a special and vital member of our family from WVa, and I have been itching for Cheyanne to meet her. Of course, like the horrible blogger that I've become, I didn't take a single dang picture during our visit. ::Ugh Sigh:: What was I thinking- or better yet- what was I not thinking? I was definitely not thinking about pictures because I was too busy keeping an eye on Cheyanne who was more than happy to chase be introduced to her Phyllis' 3 cats today. My daughter is 15 months old and has rarely seen a cat before. Yeah, we're completely dog people. So, needless to say, I saved a few cats lives today from a curious tail pulling toddler. And just in time for the cats to learn that Cheyanne wasn't giving up easily, they disappeared into their hiding spots which clearly meant it was time for us to go. Anyways, this post is not about cats. Its about our day on the day that the war ended. 

That's what we've been up to. Visiting and soaking up some extra attention. Extra attention definitely isn't scarce here. With grandparents less than 50 yards away, I'm loving the family time and Cheyanne is loving the many open arms and laps. 

Here she is tasting her first cherry. Despite the grimace on her face, she actually loved them. I know this because she not only ate Nana's but she ate mine too (along with my eggnog milkshake).

So, what were you doing on this historic day?  Anything worth jotting down? You might want to because in sixteen years, who knows who will be asking you as they read about it in their history books. My Giant, Chey will definitely want to hear it from you. I'm sure your day was much more worthy of a jot. Mahoney, Graves, same goes for you… 

In other important news… Auntie T comes east bound in 24 hours!! Even though she won't be here at home until Thursday, DC is waaay closer than San Francisco so I'll take it. I think I can hold out for a few more days… but just barely! Come home fast Sister!

Morning moments

This sight is rare. Me. Alone. Showered. With coffee. In morning silence. Ahhh.

I needed this. With Cheyanne asleep and the house cleaned, I sit here peacefully enjoying my early morning cup of pumpkin spice coffee catching up on some good blog reads.

Yeah, I should do this more often. Early mornings are worth it, usually...

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Even though I did not plan this early morning, it was a nice surprise. I woke up because of an early morning surprise phone call from the Giant. Time differences have us all over the place in our conversations. He is doing well, remains healthy- unlike the rest of his squadron, and is flying constantly. I have his address if anyone would like to send him a note, just contact me- as a wife I'd appreciate all the support he can get.

What a day

Not the best one in the books but thankfully my parents are here to make today better.

After an hour of wanting to throw my phone across East Bay Street into oncoming traffic because my phone was not allowing my husband's calls to come through, I thankfully still have a "working" phone. I say thankfully because it means we can try the phone call again tomorrow if he gets the time. Fingers crossed so tightly. Seeing him calling and not being able to speak to him made me almost jump out of my own skin. My parents can attest. Thank God that they were here to help me with Cheyanne. I tried to keep it together in front of her, but my blood was boiling inside. I think boiling is actually putting it mildly.

Anyways, after trying for an hour to answer his calls, we called it a day on touring downtown, and in effort to save my nerves, we headed home to internet to catch him on Skype. Unfortunately, it was too late. I'm really hoping tomorrow we have better luck. Say a little prayer for my nerves.

Even though that little fiasco altered our plans, we still enjoyed the day together. We did a little halloween shopping, home decorating with all the fall wedding beauties my parents unloaded brought down, cooking AND baking, and reorganizing the kitchen. Gotta love my mom- the Queen of Organizing.

Wanna see all we've done?

Improvement right?!

And Chey of course helped us relocate and organize the tupperware cabinet.

and unorganize

and then reorganize

In fun news…

Guess who had her first set of pigtails in today!!!! 13.5 long months and we finally have enough hair for pigtails- and she hated every minute of them being put in thus the little lopsidedness. Still, doesn't she look ridiculously cute with them?!

Her expressions kill me.

Ok, so tomorrow will be a better day and hopefully I'll be a much better/happier hostess. Its gotta be better, right? Its Halloween! We're ready to have some fun (and a whole lot of trick or treaters.

Here's a sneak peak at Little Miss' costume. Can you guess what she's going to be? I'll give you a hint- she's going to be one cute little fluff ball.

Yay for Grandparents!

The grandparents have arrived and I couldn't be more excited! I love my parents and I'm so glad they are here to visit for a few days. Cheyanne is too. It's obvious she's missed her Nana and Skipper. And their timing is perfect.

We've got a fun 3 days planned if the weather permits. Its gotten a little cold (high of 65- brrr- for my Northern Virginia friends in snow this weekend) so that might squelch our walking downtown Charleston tour tomorrow, but fingers are crossed. If it gets too cold, I guess we'll just have to revert to plan B and stay inside to bake my airman some cookies for care package number one instead. Which plan do you think we should go with Hubs? No comments on my lack of baking abilities allowed peeps. They'll be delish.

Skipper and Cheyanne wasted no time. Skipper got to "fixing" her walker after she ran into the wall a few times.

The puppet and the puppeteer

Then it got a little confusing and I'm not sure who was leading whom.

Chey snuck in some sweet hugs while loving on her Nana before bed time too.

We can't wait for more fun tomorrow.

On another topic:
I did get a Skype call from the Giant today. Despite the fact that the reception was beyond horrible and we could only understand every other word each other said, I saw his face and it settled my heart. He's now in Qatar and ready to start work. One step closer…

Sweetheart, you are loved and missed tonight. I'll be seeing you in my dreams. My love always and forever.

Deployment Day One

Well, he's gone. By now I'd say he's probably on the other side of the world. That's so weird to think about. Yesterday he was here. Today he's in the middle east. I haven't heard from him yet so I'm just guessing but it seems about right.

Yesterday was rough. You ever heard that Rascal Flatts song that's lyrics say "what he don't know is how hard it is to make it look so easy?" Yeah, that same line kept playing in my head ALL. DAY. LONG as I was trying to keep it together. It didn't help. I choked and teared up a couple times throughout the day, despite my best efforts to put on a straight face and think of all things happy and sunshines. Damn you Rascal Flatts. It doesn't even matter that that song is actually about a break up. Whatever- somehow those lyrics still applied and kept playing over and over.

By last night at 9pm we were on base checking him in at the departure center along with about 130 other members of the squadron and their families. It was loud and chaotic and had this overwhelming feeling of anticipation. The single guys were chatting it up, laughing and talking like they were just hanging out at a party having a good ol' time. Wives were holding on to their husbands and sneaking kisses every chance they could get. It was obvious who'd been down this road before and who hadn't (me). Daddies were smothering their laughing babies who were up way past bedtime with kisses while others were rocking their brand new sleeping little ones.

And my family, we were in the middle of it soaking it all in. Cheyanne was as awake as she could possibly be, oblivious to the fact that her Daddy and "uncles" were leaving, only wanting to run around with the bigger kids who all seemed like pros at this.

Some of our guys even came to see the my boys off.

We all took turns entertaining Cheyanne.  It was especially great they were all there because they were able to stroll Chey around allowing Hubs and I a few moments to ourselves amidst the chaos (which I have no pictures of because I was ABSOLUTELY not camera ready).

Here's Cheyanne with her Uncle Mahoney before he left.

After 3 hours of waiting around, finally the call came through the building announcing time to load up. At that moment, there was no more escaping it in my head. (I'm sure this sounds overdramatized, but until you're in these shoes, well, its not). It was by far the hardest thing to do- hugging them goodbye. I pray that people are right and it gets easier with each deployment. This wasn't easy. Not at all. All I could process to say was be safe and come back to me.

Lordy, I'll miss them all in this quiet house. He's been gone a day and I already miss my husband too much. Thankfully, though, today was much easier than I thought it would be. Since Chey and I slept most of the afternoon away with a very nice nap, I didn't have to think too much. I know from experience that this time away does actually get easier. Once she and I get into our groove, we'll be cruising to the end of deployment. The hard part is behind us- saying goodbye. Now, thankfully we're on the other side of the deployment- the countdown side to his return. I don't know when that will be since there is no actual "countdown" but we're told he'll be home March so let that countdown begin.

(Can you tell who was happy to take our family picture before deployment…and who wasn't?)

Day one of deployment- CHECK!.


Sweetheart, whenever you get to read this- I love you and am more than proud of you. We're doing fine. My love always.

Early bird

With the clock ticking on time left with the Hubs, we've been making the most of it the last few week.

We've got the house "finished" (for the time that he's away). We've painted all that we can paint. We've got chair rail up in the family room. All pesky pests have been e.lim.in.ated!!! The carpets have been cleaned. The Maids have even come and made the house sparkly bright.

All this means one thing. Time for our family to get together one last time before saying "see you later." ::In case you didn't know by now, our family of three has expanded in the last few months since moving south. We've picked up a few boys along the way::. Since Sunday is our usual family dinner night, we decided to do it BIG and make it family thanksgiving night with the whole gang. With half of my family leaving for deployment (the Giant and two of his friends Mahoney and Graves), I made it the biggest thanksgiving dinner we could handle. Sad note- its hard to believe that it will be a full year before we're all together as a family again since my guys in the 15th are leaving for _blank_ months and then the our other guys in the 16th will be replacing them for _blank_ more months before they all come home.

The Giant and I cooked all night and day before the big dinner. We had everything my Giant could dream of since this will be two years in a row he'll be missing the holidays with us. Turkey. Ham. Green bean casserole. Sweet potato casserole. Heavenly squash that he made all on his own. Cherry cheesecake. Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin bread. The list goes on... and on... and on. I told you- all the food he could dream of.

It was all so delish. I think its safe to say we moved a little slower after that ridiculous meal.

I know I'm not the best at taking pictures (of things other than Cheyanne) when I need to, but I did manage to grab a few before the feast began.

My elaborate fall decorations. Boys just don't care about these kinds of things.

The feast

For some reason this post was very hard to write. Since when is writing about food hard? I've got to get it together before tomorrow... I'm going to miss my boys. I am going to miss my Giant even more. I feel like I should be more ready than this. Ugh, that's for another time and another post.