Homecoming came and went and now my husband has been home for almost a week! Homecoming itself was a long day of waiting. The classic, "hurry up and wait" situation that the military often provides us. Travis woke me up bright and early with a nice conversation from him in transit across the world. I hurried up and got the house ready. Then stalled for a bit and forced myself to sit long enough to eat something. Then hurried up and took a shower. Then waited around because it wasn't quite time to get ready. Then hurried up and fixed my hair and got dressed. I got over to the battalion and waited around for the Marines to turn in their weapons and such. Finally after a long day and lots of waiting in the cold at almost midnight, they came marching out! Sharing that first hug and kiss after several long months was amazing!! It's like our first kiss all over again! I wish I could put into words what homecoming means to so many military families. It's something you can only experience if you've been there. So much good and bad anxiety is built up over deployments that homecoming just waiting for the other shoe to drop it seems. It's exciting, magical, relieving, like a big weight lifted off your shoulders, wonderful, and relaxing all at the same time.
Our first week reunited has been wonderful. My cheeks literally hurt from all the smiling and I don't think I've laughed this much in a long time. It's wonderful to be able to see my husband laugh. I truly missed that.
We are also in the midst of some serious nesting. Again like last deployment, I moved while he was deployed. So this is a new house for him and fairly new for myself too. We're having a great deal of fun making this house our home. We've done some decorating and gardening which has been exciting. Hopefully soon we will have fresh tomatoes and squash popping up in our back yard.
As if this past week hasn't had enough excitement, tomorrow we celebrate our third wedding anniversary! I can't believe we've been married three years, yet at the same time it feel more like a decade!

Well I have been missing for good reason.. I have finally made it back to Camp Pendleton! Home sweet home!!! I have the house, have groceries in the fridge, just got the internet all set up, the place is filled with boxes and stuff is everywhere! I am very happy to be back home.

The only thing left is my wonderful husband.

The trip across country went very well. I was bit nervous about driving across country during Memorial Day weekend. I usually stick to driving during the week to avoid traffic and such. But it went off without a hitch. This is also the first time that I really took the time to stop and see some sights. Well worth it! It is amazing what you can find in some of these small towns across our wonderful country. This is just the tip of the iceberg!

These trees were in the Deming Museum in Deming, Texas. The museum covered a wide array of history but this was my favorite part. The tags covering these trees were placed by visitors either commemorating a fallen veteran or celebrating a currently serving military member.

A beautiful view of the Texas sunlight right after driving through my first dust storm.

I have officially been to The Center of the World!! A very odd stop, but someone somewhere decided that Felicity, Ca is the center of the world. There are long granite walls etched full of world history. A very hot trip in the middle of the desert!

A stop off at the Desert View Tower in California. Amazing to see the difference between the east and west coast. 

Now it's just a waiting game for the husband to arrive home. As deployments and homecoming always go, the end always seems never ending. The very long drawn out wait for that first hug make every day seem like an entire week. I can't wait to have our family whole again.

Wow, has it been a week!!! First off, I finished with the semester. I am very happy to have that weight lifted off my shoulders! I didn't do as well as I would have liked, but that's just life. I'm not going to dwell on those grades.
Then, later in the week I received some wonderful news! Travis called and as a huge surprise to both of us... he is coming home early!!!! I am beyond thrilled and still very shocked. We don't get too many good surprises with the Marine Corps. So homecoming has changed considerably. Happily, I am running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. I have accomplished so much in the past two days. I've planned my drive back to California, secured a place for us to live, gotten my mother in law's plane ticket back, planned to see my family before I leave, gotten some clothes packed up, and much more! And this is all happening the week before my brother in law gets married! Family started trickling in today for the wedding festivities and Saturday I will have a new sister in law! Post wedding it's more packing, a dentist visit, and then I am off to Camp Pendleton, California!
I can't wait! I am so excited this deployment is coming to an end!! I absolutely can not wait to see my wonderful husband. We are both so ready to get back to our normal lives. So ready to spend some time together without a looming deployment. Since February of 2010 we have had a deployment looming over us or being surviving a deployment. We are both thrilled to just be together and to be able to actually focus on each other. Elated doesn't even scratch the surface!!

Well, we hit a small hiccup. Unfortunately, this already unwelcome deployment was extended a little bit longer. We were very excited to finally hit what we thought was the half way mark. Then, in keeping with the Marine Corps theme, the deployment got extended. Now we are eagerly awaiting the half way mark to roll around again. I've unwillingly accepted the extension. I think my husband and his team are unwillingly accepting it will be just that much longer till they are back in the United States.
School could be going better, but it could be going worse as well. I haven't done as well as I have in past semesters but honestly my mind is elsewhere. My motivation and drive with school is dwindling quickly. Only two more weeks of school and then I am free for the summer. I've gathered quite a few little craft projects for the summer. I'm very excited to get my mind off of stressful school work and preoccupy my time with something a little lighter. One project I've posted here before that has our wedding vows included. I would love to have our vows displayed somewhere in our home. Deployments make you acutely aware of each vow and how much you deeply cherish your marriage. Not to say that those who have never been through a long separation don't cherish each other. It just goes along with the saying, "you don't know what you have till it's gone."

My little bass!

Easter weekend has come and gone. For the most part it was fun, filled with things to do but it still came with that tinge of another holiday missed with my husband. The weekend itself was nice though. My brother's birthday came, along with a wonderful visit with my precious niece! It was wonderful to see how much she's grown! I can't believe she'll be turning three this summer. I still remember going to the hospital to see her and loving her tiny little features. I went fishing with my father in law and got my nails done with my mother in law. Easter service with my mom. And a full Easter dinner cooked. I successfully made prime rib for the first time ever. And this week brings me up to midterms week! After this week I will be four weeks away from a much needed school break!

I have been a terrible blogger lately. This term has proven to be more challenging that I originally thought it would be. Most of the challenge though is probably due to some lack in motivation. It feels like I've been going to school for an eternity! Also as homecoming draws closer and closer, the less and less I want to do any school work! I'm thrown off a bit about my classes. Before I started I prepared myself to have trouble in statistics and do well in microeconomics. So I'm a bit surprised it's quite the opposite. It seems I'm doing very well in my statistics class and should have no problem pulling out an A. Economics on the other hand is a different story. I am going to need to reread everything we've gone through. There is just so much to remember.
We are finally into April! I'm so happy to see Spring weather finally making it's appearance in Georgia. I love the flowers blooming, the birds coming out, the trees starting to blossom. It just looks happy outside. I can't help but to feel a little bit better when there is so much going on outside. April also means deployment is nearing it's 100 days down mark soon. I torn between being happy and annoyed. I want to be so happy we are finally getting through this deployment. I can't help but been annoyed. It seems like it's been so much longer than just 100 days since I last saw my sweet husband. I miss him dearly. I try not to worry too much but sometimes it's hard to see so many people affected by deployments. Not everyone's husband comes home. There are so many widows younger than I am. So many wives that now have husbands that are unable to walk. Life isn't fair and danger doesn't care who it hits or misses. I feel like I already got lucky that he came home last deployment! I can't wait to have him home again. I will try to err on the side of happiness though! I am very happy we will soon be on the downhill side of things. The next month will be very busy with school, Easter, my brother in law's wedding, and many fun activities!

Spring break went by so quickly! For the most part it was a good week. The only downside of spring break is the phone my husband has been calling with broke. It was slightly different circumstances, but this happened to us last deployment too. Most likely it wont be fixed. So that means the second half of this deployment is going to be quite different communication wise. The end of March is quickly approaching along with three months down!
Spring break did come with a momentous goal accomplished! I ran my first ever 5k! I ran the Fallen Heroes of Georgia 5k. It was a wonderful experience.. besides the rain! I ran it quite slow but finishing it was a great accomplishment! It was very humbling to see so many people there remembering those killed in action in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I almost feel as though I am neglecting my poor blog, but honestly not much has happened lately. I think time moves in slow motion while my husband is away!

I am still trudging through school work. Made it through mid-terms quite successfully! Now I just have to finish out these two classes strong.. and start my next two classes till May. The running has not been going very well due to the weather. I am not terribly interested in running in the cold and rain. It seems to be warming up a bit but I'm not so sure it isn't just the tricky Georgia weather. I got my hair cut, which I am loving! I did treat myself to a bit of shopping this past weekend. It was a nice treat! I do miss shopping with my husband though. I think I may have an anomaly of a husband! He enjoys shopping with me so we always have a good time at the mall. He enjoys treating me and I of course enjoy him telling me I look beautiful! There are a lot of things that are just more fun with your husband and best friend.

Besides all of this, in one week from today we will have finished two months of this deployment! Two long months. I am trying to be patient. And in reality I am being incredibly patient. I think going through as much separation as we have due to training and deployments proves how amazingly patient I am. Sometimes I have to give myself more credit. It isn't easy. I don't believe everyone could handle it. We are kicking deployment butt!

As of a couple days ago, we have officially finished a month of this deployment! I am stoked about the first month going by relatively easy! I moved across country, started the spring semester of school, and have started working out in this past month. School is going okay so far. It would be doing better if I could focus myself a bit more. The working out is going very well. Today I, along with my mother in law, finished the first day of the Couch to 5K program. (Couch to 5K) I had started it with my husband months ago but unfortunately our complicated busy life got in the way before we could finish the nine week program. When my husband gets home we are going to run (not walk) a 5K together. I am so excited! Though for him it will be an easy thing, this is a great big challenge for me.
For one month down, we are doing very well! I can't wait till this moment again....

  

Having your husband thousands and thousands of miles away makes caring for him very challenging. Spoiling my husband with treats is one of my favorite things! Though I don't mind hearing him praise my cooking :) 

This is my first attempt at baking "Cake in a Jar"

I used white funfetti cake. I figured the sprinkles in the cake would look sweet in the jars. 

Be sure to wash your jars with hot water before hand. Keep a pot of boiling water off to the side to sanitize the lids right before they are sealed. Wide mouth jars meant for jarring work best for this! I found mine at the commissary.

I mixed the cake batter like normal and filled the jars about half way full. In this case it was a half a cup of batter per jar.

Ready to go in the oven

These cooked for a little longer than the cupcake directions on the box. When they are done turn off the oven and throw the lids in some boiling water to sanitize. Once the lids have sat in the boiling water you can lay them out on a clean paper towel. Take the jars out of the oven and with some oven mitts on screw on the lids. If the cake has baked over the top of the jar a little, don't worry. Just squish it down with the lid a little. Screw on hand tight.

All sealed up

After they are sealed up you should hear the jars "ping" and the tops should but unable to be pushed down. This should let you know they are sealed well. If the lid flexes, the jars have not sealed and they will not keep for much longer than a normal cake. Be sure to send along a tub of icing!

Enjoy! I sure hope my husband does! I intend to mail them off tomorrow in hopes they make it to him for Valentine's Day!

Goodbye California!

Well, for now, I have said my goodbyes to warm sunny Camp Pendleton and am back in Georgia! It is quite a cross country drive. Roughly 2,250 miles. It's so amazing to see the vastness of America! I love seeing the mountains of California, the desert of Arizona and New Mexico, the oil and windmills in Texas, the fields and trees in Louisiana,  Mississippi, and Alabama. And finally familiar Georgia.

So far we've finished about a week and a half of the deployment. We're trying to get settled into our separate routines. He's settling into his night shift. I'm settling in Georgia and about to start the spring semester. I am ready for consistency. And eagerly awaiting homecoming! I can't wait to be picking out a homecoming outfit, getting a sign together, planning meals, and getting all ready! Soon... but never soon enough! :)

Deployment #2. Can't wait to be on the other side of all of this. The most comforting thought is that this is the last one! The Marine Corps has had it's positives, but I'm ready to have my husband home and with me!

Right now it may not seem like spring at all, we're drifting and the laughs are few.
But I've got rainbows planned for tomorrow, and all my tomorrows belong to you.

Well we are back in San Diego after an awesome time with family. It was so nice to be able to spend time back in Ga with my husband! It's fun to see. Going "home" was so enjoyable for us both! Makes us dream even more about life after the Marine Corps.

I am finally finished with this fall semester! Still have a 4.0! I'm ready to just power through next semester. I absolutely can't wait to be done. May 2014! Seems so far away.

Now we're just packing up and preparing for the deployment. I am so not ready, though to be fair I don't think anyone is ever ready to send their significant other off to war. Prepared perhaps, ready... never! I've kept it together quite well though. Just a few tears here and there. I think sometimes the tears throw people off. Deployments are very misunderstood unless you've been in those shoes. Yes, I will miss my husband immensely every single day. He's my best friend, of course I want him by my side! But I'm not crying over 6-8 months without my husband. It's about what happens after that. The giant unknown. I wish I could remember the blog, but I read something on another blog that hit the nail on the head. She said something to the effect that she wasn't scared about spending 6 months without her husband, she was scared about spending the rest of her life without him. That's so true. I know we can do a deployment, but what about the after.  As a natural worrier as it seems many fellow wives are, we are plagued with tons of tough questions. How will he be when he comes home? How different will I be? What happens if Heaven forbid he was injured? Will he come home the same man? Will our marriage be just as strong as before he left? Will the lack of communication drive us apart? Will we still have enough in common?

While I am truly blessed to be able to be one hundred percent confident in our strong marriage, war is just a scary thing. It's meant to be. It isn't romantic. I've seen too many lives and marriages ruined.

Bottom line, I can't wait to have my husband home again. Where he belongs. 

So the house is all quiet again with Travis away in the field. Hopefully this will be the last of it until he deploys. We are both dying to get this deployment over with. It has become a huge thorn in our sides. The last deployment wasn't exactly a walk in the park for either of us by any means. But this one is just going to be different. We both weren't exactly expecting him to be doing what he's going to do. It looks like communication is actually going to be worse this time. I'm sick of hearing about it. He literally got home from Afghanistan and that week started talking about the next go. We're just ready to get it over with.

Thankfully, there are a few positives. He won't be deployed over the holidays again. Though he will miss my birthday (which is nothing new..) and our third anniversary. This will also be the last deployment. There won't be enough time on his enlistment to deploy again. What we do next after this deployment is really up to us. I am so thankful that his job in Marines has provided him with good training. I feel like we are less stuck than other couples. Whether he stays in or gets out is still up in the air. Either way I'm excited and ready for our options!

With all this alone time, I have no excuses with homework. This semester is proving to be a lot more difficult. Being sick and away at the beginning pushed me behind a bit. I hope next term is a bit easier! That's a big hope though! Next term will fall during a lot of predeployment stuff, a tonsillectomy, and the holidays. Yikes. I will work my little school butt of during the deployment, and if all goes as planned I'm thinking I might take a semester off during homecoming. I think homecoming is challenging enough without the added stress of school!

I've been really needing to get this off my chest.
I think at some point every single military wife grapples with the question, "is it worth it?".
While I try not to keep tally, it inevitably creeps in. Our two year anniversary is coming up next week. That's 24 months of martial bliss. Travis has spent one quarter of our marriage in Afghanistan. Almost three quarters of our marriage has been spent living apart, consumed by field exercises, training, and schooling. That leaves this grasping at straws feeling with me. Weeks where you try to ignore the constant coming and going, unpacking and repacking, and try to make the most out of the time you have together, which is easier said than done.
While we were at the VA marriage retreat, there was a couple there who had just finished their fourteenth deployment. Fourteen deployments in the Marine Corps is somewhere in the neighborhood of at least 100 months of just deployment time. One hundred months is over eight years. That doesn't include the many many weeks of field exercises and training to prepare for deployments. Is that worth it? Is missing countless holidays and birthdays worth it? Is being gone when you need each other most?
The yes or no answer may be in a gray area. But these are some things I do know. I know that we love each other. I know we are together purely by choice and sheer determination because it would be simpler if we weren't. I know that even with Travis gone a lot, he is worth it. I know that our marriage is a lot stronger than the people I am jealous of. When I am wishing I could just hold my husband's hand at Christmas, Thanksgiving, or during a birthday time like everybody else, I should remind myself that that moment in time is fleeting and quantity does not make up for quality.
I know we are freaking awesome together :) With Travis' next deployment speeding towards us, I should remind myself daily how lucky we both are to have each other.

On a lighter note, part of Travis' anniversary gift came in the mail today! I wish I could show you all but we still have a week to go!