A romantic surprise!

So I finally got some more of my pictures off of my camera and on to the computer. And these are my Anniversary flowers from RUSH! He is such a sweet heart. They were in Somerset waiting for me when I got to my parent's house, the weekend we had my brother and sister-in-laws' baby shower. Pretty sure it made my mom slightly jealous. Anyways, aren't they just so pretty! I love, love, love my Hubby! :)

The Downhill Slide!

Well I'm not sure how many people actually follow this blog, but I felt just in case I should keep updating.

For those of you who don't know, we are on the downhill slide of this deployment! I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is BEAUTIFUL! Our Advon (Advance Party: the guys who come home early to get ready for the Main Body) are home and hard at work. We don't have dates yet for many reasons: one being the uppers honestly don't know when they might be getting home, flights are not easy to secure in advance, and because of OPSEC. We want our guys to make it home safely so if I don't know until the day before he gets home, that's fine with me. I just want him home safe.

All I know is that he should be home sometime in November! Once he is home I am sure he will make some calls to family and friends. And over the Christmas holidays we are hoping to see everyone. Of course it will all depend on how much leave time we get, and we won't know that until we know when he is going to be home. :)

If you click on the picture it will enlarge it.

Finally a picture of Rush!

So I got an email from Rush, and there is (was) a NPR guy embedded with their unit for a little while and I found one fairly good picture of RUSH! Finally. Not seeing your husband for seven straight months is really weird (and difficult.) Anyways if you want to read up on the NPR guy's blog it is http://the-athenian.blogspot.com/ . I found Rush's picture from the October 19th post. Hope y'all are doing well, we are hoping to get a homecoming date soon!

Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman

A few weeks ago I started my first ever bible study with a group of women here in Jacksonville. Most of them are also military wives and it is the Chaplain's wife that is running the show. Well if you have never done a bible study, I totally recommend it! Beth Moore is a wonderful God fearing woman who knows how to send a message. She makes the books of the Bible come to life in a way that is easily understood. Now Esther (the book we are studying) is for women, but I believe that her other bible studies are for everyone. And ladies, if you are anything like me and wondering what your purpose in life is, or if you can make a difference, this book and bible study are for you. Wow, is the only way I know how to describe it. It may even bring you to tears. You were made for a reason and God has a plan for you, don't miss your destiny.

"...And who knows, you may have been chosen queen for just such a time as this." Esther 4:14

Financial Peace University (FPU)

So this past Sunday was my first of thirteen sessions, and I am super excited about them! I know Robin has been preaching me to do this, and Robin, "I'm sorry I didn't do it earlier." :) Thanks for being the all-knowing big sis. Well needless to say I am looking forward to learning how to handle our money. It really is a great opportunity and if you go to his website you can find classes near you. It is a one-time life-time fee for you and your spouse! So you can go now, take your spouse later, and do refresher courses down the road.

If you will live like no one else, later you can LIVE like no one else!

This past Sunday was about budgeting, and lets just say that I really needed this class. Rush and I attempted to make a budget before he left, but I can't and don't know how to work with it. Now that I have these nifty envelopes, come payday I am starting my new budget! :)

L.I.N.K.S.

So today was spent in a classroom with about twenty other wives, learning ALL about the Marine Corp. Everything from traditions, customs, finances, ranks, moving, volunteering, and ALL the many resources available to us as spouses. Talk about information OVERLOAD! :) So I'm going to be spending the next few days looking into some of these new resources. My only regret is that I didn't get into this class earlier in the deployment. That and it's going to take the next few days for my brain to recover. ;)

I Love LOVE Love my Hubby!

He is so thoughtful. Well first he sent me an email last night asking me to not go to town tomorrow (meaning today) so that he could call me. (It seems like every time he calls I am in Jacksonville or with a friend!) And it worked out great because it was raining ALL day, so I didn't mind staying home. Well anyways we got to talk for close to an HOUR! That is a first. :) And he asked me if I got anything today...hmmm? No, why? Well he managed to send me flowers! It may not seem that hard to get online and purchase them, but if you think about how long they have to stand in line, then they only get 30 minutes (and that's it! If their page doesn't load, that's too bad) and the fact that the internet is worse than dial up! So I know it wasn't an easy task, and it is just so thoughtful. They really brightened my rainy day. :) And I am guessing that is why he also didn't want me to go in to town today, that sneaky guy! All I know is that I am a lucky woman.

We have a mail cut-off date!

Well we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! THANK YOU LORD! Since mail takes so long to get over seas and into Rush's hands we have decided that mail should not be sent after the first week in October. So if you were wanting to send him something, DO IT NOW! That and they will start heading to bigger bases where he will have access to the things he needs, therefore we don't need to send it to him. :) And in case you are wondering, if you send him something after the cutoff date, and it doesn't get to him before he leaves it will take just as long to get back to him here in the states. And because it has to be sorted and all that jazz it slows down the mail coming in for the guys taking over for Rush and his men. So lets be nice and not slow down their mail, we all know how frustrating it is for something to take six weeks to get to them. I'll try and keep everyone updated and I will let everyone know when we have an OFFICIAL date! :D YAY!

Okay so everyone knows that I love a good laugh, and well I was browsing through the ASPCA's website at some of the photo contests and there are some hilarious pictures! I was going to post them on here but I don't think I am allowed to, so I'm going to give you the link and you can look over at the adorable pups and kitties if you choose.
Here is some Halloween Pups, and cats being cats! Enjoy! :)

I've been such a slacker...

So sorry about the lack of information coming from me! Well, I've been staying pretty busy meeting new wives and hanging out with the ones I'm already friends with. We (about 4 other wives and myself) try to get together once a week and do dinner, but this coming week we probably won't because one of the wive's husband is coming home tonight! So we are giving them the week together and since it is usually at her house we just figure we could wait a week. So other than that it is random meetings and pot luck dinners. Oh and tomorrow (Monday 24th) I start a week long course that I have to take just to be a substitute! So this coming week should also be pretty busy.
I finally heard from Rush yesterday! I hadn't talked to him since last Thursday and he said it would be a week because they were taking the phones to another unit, but after a week I just tried to think that nothing is wrong he just hasn't gotten the phone back yet. And there wasn't anything wrong just my mind going places I don't want it to go. So we didn't get to talk as long as I would've liked, but I'm grateful to be able to talk to him at all. He is still doing alright just tired and ready to come home. He's already told me that he wants to go swimming when he gets home, even though it'll be winter! So I've already got some pools scoped out, or I'll make a weekend trip and we can go somewhere that has a pool. Oh! I never thought to ask him this until yesterday, but Rush has a mustache! I giggled for a bit and told him he has to at least take a picture and then he might keep it until he gets home. We'll see because they might make him shave it before he gets back. :o)
Well that is all I have for now, I'll make sure I am more timely on my updates in the future!

Help feed my fishies!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to ask y'all to feed my patriotic fishies whenever you drop in so they don't get hungry! All you have to do is click your mouse in their box and *ta-dah* you've dropped in fish kibble. Just make sure you click enough fish kibble in to feed them all. Thanks!

Well I got to talk to Rush yesterday afternoon for about twenty minutes, and he said that he is doing good, just misses his Copenhagen and gatorade powdered drink mixes. Oh and me of course. ;) As of now he is staying pretty busy in an area where either the phones don't work or they don't have one, so he is trying to call me once a week but it is still pretty random. And apparently even at 2 o'clock in the morning over there they still have a line of guys waiting to use the phone! So that's why our calls have been so short. It's a pretty big tease, and really frustrating when you can't get everything out that you want to say. He did mention to me that when he gets back (and even though it'll be winter) he wants to go swimming! So I've got to find a pool that'll be open in the winter, or he might just have to go swim in the Atlantic! Hopefully the Cooling Neck Scarves I made for him and a few of the guys will get to him while it is still hot. I'm not sure what the fall and winter are like in Afghanistan so I might be sending him sweats soon, who knows?! That and it takes forever for mail and packages to get to him, the average is about 4 weeks. But with his position now I am thinking that it is going to take longer. Well again he doesn't get to tell me much about what he is doing, and his usual answer to how he is doing is "fine." So I don't have much other than that to update everyone on. As for me, I am finally back in North Carolina to stay until Rush gets back. Mom drove back with me and we made a pit stop in Athens, GA for Baba's memorial (which was beautiful.) So I got to see my in-laws again which was nice. Then once mom and I got back to my house, we've been blowin' and goin' with getting everything looking like a home. She has helped me decorate just about every room in the house, and given me some great ideas for in the future. Then now that dad has gotten here (he flew in yesterday) we have managed to get just about every big picture hung up where it needs to go. So now I feel like I am walking into a totally different house (and I love it!) Thanks Mom and Dad! So now that we've worked hard, we are hoping to play hard at the beach tomorrow. :) Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Well, it's time to hit the sack so goodnight and sweet dreams everyone!

Sorry! I haven't forgotten about y'all...

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've just been going 90 miles an hour and I am just now starting to slow down. No excuses though, I'm sorry. From this point on I am going to try my darndist to stay up to date. But not tonight because it is really late and I have a feeling I mom and dad are going to wake me up really early, and I really need my eight hours of sleep. So I look forward to blogging for y'all real soon! Take care everyone.

The First Annual Lake-lympics!

So this Fourth of July at the cliff house at Lake Whitney there was quite a competition going on. There were eight teams of two and seven events. The events included darts, pool, ping pong, horseshoes, corn hole, washers, and red-neck golf! It was a blast and we are all looking forward to next years competition. Fair warning: y'all are all going down once my partner gets back from Afghanistan! ;)

*Ring, Ring* *Hello?*

So I heard from Rush today! It wasn't a very long talk but it was longer than they used to be, and I'll take what I can get! :) Anyways they are going to be moving again, and again I have no clue where to or where from. Fun. But I think in this situation the saying, "Ignorance is bliss" applies. He did get to see my friend Stefanie's husband Brock while he was out, which is pretty cool. While he was there he was also able to pick up some of his mail, so now I know that he can get it (it just might be a long while before he can get to it.) But in all I was glad to hear from him, and can't wait till Christmas!

D-Day

Isn't he just so handsome! This was from deployment day. :(

So I cut my hair...

Seeing as Rush is gone for a while and my hair could use some healthy treatment, I decided to let Tamara cut off all of my split ends and then some. Now if only I could get her to do my hair everyday. :) Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for her teaching me how to do it myself!

Stone Mountain

Okay so this is when we stopped at Stone Mountain. We had a good time, but of course the actual park was closed, so we just sat in the parking lot for a bit and took a rest from driving. Which is probably a good thing! Well I hope y'all enjoy these photos, I saw them and thought I should post them. I sure enjoy them! :)

Boy or Girl?

I am really interested in what my brother has picked out for a girls name. We still have ten weeks though until we find out the sex of their baby. This is going to be killer! Garrett would you mind if I took guesses? I mean, why can't you just tell us? It's not nice to keep secrets you know.

Drum roll please...

So here are my much anticipated paintings. I finally got them uploaded to the computer and downloaded to this blog. These paintings are done in about four hours each in a class that is given every week on base. Each week it's a new painting. The instructor is a certified Bob Ross teacher and she tells us pretty much what to do at each step. Of course everyone's painting is slightly different but overall they are kind of the same idea. Since I've never painted before I am mostly trying to learn techniques. These two are landscapes, and I've done wildlife (I just can't post it because it is a surprise gift for someone) and I hope to soon learn florals. Each kind varies greatly in colors and techniques so I have a lot to learn! But I always look forward to these classes. As soon as I get back home I'll keep downloading my recent paintings (now that I know how.)

I heard from Rush!

It really was a pleasant surprise! Any time I get a 717 area code number calling me I get excited. Well he is doing good, and said he is going to try to call again in the next few days, which just means that my phone is constantly in my hand and fully charged, no exceptions. He said that they are going to be away from the phones and computers randomly over the next few weeks so he might not even be able to check his emails. I also asked about the mail situation and it isn't any better. Apparently they are in a place where it is hard to get to. Even by a helicopter. So if everyone would just hold on to their packages that would be great, no need to send them since he won't be getting them. Or you can send them and they will give them to another Marine who isn't getting anything. Just mark as abandoned. Anyways I am going to be working on those cooling scarves this week with my aunt and hopefully at some point I will be able to get those to him. Makes me mad I didn't think to get these to him before he left. Oh well, what can you do? It's not like I can change the past. Well I hope all is well with everyone, I look forward to being able to keep people updated on Rush and myself. Take care! :)

So this is blogging...

Hey everyone! I am new to blogging so bear with me as I learn what I am doing.