It's time for an update

Ok so I was reading Leigh and Laurie's blog and realized that I too really needed to update my blog!

Well I have been pretty busy these last couple of weeks. I got a new job and I am loving it by the way! Just real busy! And this week is my finals week! I get a little time off which I am so excited! I cant believe that it is really December and Christmas is only 15 days away. Today was 5 months since Blake has been gone and we only have 7 months to go! Next month Blake will be coming home and that is so exciting! Blake is excited about coming home and seeing everyone. We will probably be going to Missouri the first week and then be in Alabama the second week! He is moving right now, so we cant send any packages to him. :( Please keep him in your prayer because where they are moving it is supposed to be pretty bad! Here is a picture of Blake with his stocking, and some of the soldiers that got the stockings that I sent over there! Happy Holidays! Will update soon!

She works hard for the money...

I have a job! I know for those of you who never thought I would actually have one.... I do! I have been working at My Kids Attic for a little over a month now! It is a cute store with kinds clothes, purses, jewelry, car decals, and a lot of other cute stuff. But I work every day Mon-Sat with Tuesday off! I haven't had a real job where I have to stand on my feet or actually do stuff in 2 years! And I completely forgot how hard it is. Since it is retail, I have to work on Saturdays and I miss a lot of stuff. Like the Alabama football games, and this coming weekend my mom and brother are going to Massachusetts and I really wanted to go but since I have work I cant go! :( I told Blake that I understand how he feels now. Even though he works much harder than I do! So if you cant find me... I'm probably at work!!

It's September

WOW! I cannot believe that September is already here. On the 10th, Blake will be gone for two months! Which is crazy! He is doing good over there! He says that he stays pretty busy! He loves getting all the packages from everyone. Nobody from his unit has died. People have gotten hurt though! So please pray for them, and their families. But there was another unit that deployed from Fort Lewis. They are 1-17. And they have had 9 soldiers die from that unit. So please keep their families in your prayers! Blake is hopefully going to get leave at the end of January or beginning of February. I will keep you updated as time goes on!

PIctures

Ok so I finally got my camera to hook up to my computer! So here are some pictures from the day Blake left!

Our Hero

Wow has life changed in the past week! Blake left for Afghanistan and my mom and I drove across country with my car. And this next year will surely be a hard long one!

Last Thursday we got up and had to pack our entire apartment up and be moved out by 2. Jan, LaMar, Blake, and I got it all done by 12:30. We were ahead of schedule and having fun spending time with Blake. My mom came in that night and we all went to eat and just hung out. We had to be at the company at 6:00 am on Friday morning. So 4:30 came real early! We left the hotel at 5:30 and this is when I realized today would be the last day for a long while that I would wake up with my husband by my side! When we go to post we unloaded Blake's bags and headed to the company. When we got back there it was just a swarm of camouflage! They had their 1st formation and were told to go get their weapons. While everyone, which is about 250 soldiers, got their weapons out we were able to spend our last couple of hours with Blake. It was fun to be taking pictures with him, and all of our friends, and I was happy that Jan and LaMar were able to see Blake in his environment with all of his Army buddies! At about 10:00 we were told that they were going to be marching to their buses so we had to say goodbye! It was hard! As they started to walk away... we were told that we can to the buses and be with them! So we had just cried our eyes out and we get to go see him again, and say goodbye once more. As we get to where they are going we are able to spend another hour with him. We tried to talk about everyday things, but its just so hard to smile on such a sad day! We all knew that Blake would be okay and that he would be coming home to us. But just knowing that we wont be able to talk or see him for the next year is heartbreaking. As they get ready for their final formation we all say our goodbyes once more. This time it is a little harder because we see him getting on the bus and we cannot hug him anymore. But of course Blake has a last name that starts with an "A" so he is the 3rd person called. As we walk to the bus to see him get on we realize that we will have to wait for every soldier to be called to get on the bus. Remember Blake was 3rd and there are about 250 soldiers leaving. So once again we get to talk to him for about 30 to 45 minutes more. And say goodbye for the 3rd time. This is when it started to get truly painful! He was in the bus holding my hand and I couldn't do anything! I couldn't hug him one more time, I couldn't kiss him one more time, I wouldn't be in his arms for another year! Blake just kept reminding me that he was going to come home and that I had nothing to worry about. Yeah right Blake! I have nothing to worry about!! You are going to war overseas and I cant see or talk to you! How am I not supposed to worry? I was trying to be strong for him but it was just so hard! This was my 3rd time saying goodbye to him! As the bus started up for them to take off I was holding Blake's hand not wanting to let go. But as I saw the first bus start to leave I had to let go and just pray that the love of my life would be okay and come home to me!

Blake and I never knew that this deployment and that goodbye would be so hard! I guess I was in denial a little. As I sit here I cant help but wonder what he is doing and what he is going through! I have got to talk to him about 3 times since he left, which was a week ago. Right now he is in Afghanistan. I cannot say exactly where he is, but he wont be in actual combat until sometime August I believe. I promise to update the blog and let you know how he is doing. And when we can start sending packages I will let you know, and give you the address. Blake is amazing and I know that he is loved by so many. And I thank everyone that is praying for him!

I will post pictures later, my camera isn't connecting with my computer so I am trying to get it fixed! As soon as I can get pictures up I will!

17 days left

Well this is a sad blog to post! Since we got home from leave we have been packing our apartment, putting it in storage and getting ready for the deployment. We pretty much have everything out of the apartment except for the furniture. So this weekend we will have a truck and will be moving everything else out of the apartment.

Last night we went to our final pre deployment briefing and we have his address which I will be emailing to everyone, I do not want to put it on the blog. But at the meeting last night we were told to watch what we say about our soldier and where is he. The only thing you are allowed to say is Blake is in the Army and he is deployed to Afghanistan. They don't want their location to be revealed to anyone. So I just thought I would share that with everyone.

Blake will be leaving from Fort Lewis on July 11th. So from today we only have 17 days. I cant believe that we are counting down days now. For so long we would say next year or 6 months now we only have 2 weeks. Its sad but I know that he will be safe and he is excited to go. Also we were told last night that we will only get to talk to him once a month. And that doesn't always mean on the phone. It might only mean that we get an email from him once a month. Their goal is to get the soldiers to be able to talk to family weekly but they aren't sure that will happen. So if you don't hear from Blake don't be alarmed and please try not to get upset. If something bad happens over there I will be the only one that is informed and I promise that I will let everyone know as soon as possible. I will also keep you updated on what I hear from our Captain's wife. So his deployment is coming up fast so try to get your phone calls into Blake because his phone will be shut off the last week he is here. And again please pray for us because this is starting to become real and its getting harder by the day.

We love all of you!!

My Blake...

I cant believe that it is already May. Monday we go to our pre deployment briefing! It makes me so sad to think about Blake deploying. I know that he is fighting for my freedom and I know that he loves being a sniper! I think he believes he has the best job in the Army. It crazy to think that in August Blake and I will be married for 2 years, but he wont be here to share that with me. I cant imagine not being with him for my birthday, or Thanksgiving, or Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, his birthday and all the rest of the holidays! I cant imagine how things will be without him for a year! I cant wrap my head around us not being together for that long! People change so much in a year and to think that we will be a year older when he returns home is hard. I appreciate Blake so much! He is the most kind hearted person that I know. And he is so excited about going to Afghanistan. I want him to go because I know how pumped he is but on the other hand I have that wife mentality that it just isn't fair. Why does he have to go? I knew what I was signing up for when Blake asked me to marry him and I have to take on the roll of the military wife, not a civilian wife! Times are hard when your married to a military man but even though I will have to be away from him for a year I wouldn't have it any other way. All I can do is look to the Lord and my friends and family for the support that I will need for that year. I love and appreciate my Blake so much! I love you baby!

The Update for the Summer

Blake left for Yakima today for 10 days. He will get back May 16th. Then on May 18th we have a Pre-Deployment Briefing where we will hear whats going on for their deployment. So hopefully we will have information for everyone when we come home to Alabama and Missouri. So the big question is when are we coming home?? Well today we found out that our dates will be changing. So we will be in Missouri the last week of May and the first week of June. This can change!!! Don't forget we are with the Army. We hope to see everyone while we are there. I think the only Saturday and Sunday that we will be in Missouri is May 30th and 31st. So we cannot wait to see everyone! After that week in Missouri we will go to Alabama. We plan on having a pool party at my parents house and we hope to see everyone while we are there.

Ok so i know everyone is wondering about Blake's deployment. So far we have heard that he is deploying July 14th. But this could change to July 6th. Last month the date was July 6th. So we are just saying sometime in the first two weeks of July. Blake is excited and cant wait to get over there. I will be going home and hopefully finish school! On May 18th they said that we might get the address to where Blake will be in Afghanistan. So if we do find I out I will let you know when we come home. So i think that is about all i have for right now! Cant wait to see everyone!! We love you!

Our Getaway Weekend

Well tomorrow is Blake's 25th Birthday! So I knew Blake was going to have the 10th-13th off from work and I planned a trip. I told him that we were going somewhere for the whole weekend. All he knew was it was in Washington. So Friday when I got off work we headed out for Mt. Rainier. It is only about an hour away from our house so it wasn't a bad drive at all. When we got there he thought we were going to be staying at a hotel, but to his surprise I had rented a cabin for us. It was absolutely perfect! We didn't get any service on our cell phones, so we couldn't talk to anyone. The peace and quiet was truly needed for the both of us. We went to dinner Friday night and hung out in the room for the rest of the night. The town that we were staying in, was so little! Like there were only 5 family owned restaurants, a general store, and a gas station. So that is how little! Saturday we went and got breakfast and I had already had a reservation for us to go horseback riding! It was so much fun! We rode for about an hour and a half. We stopped at 2 spots that were so gorgeous! And after that we went to Mt. Rainier National Park. Sunday we also went into the National Park. There was so much snow! The snow was taller than our car. They had it all pushed to the side of the roads! It was a lot of fun! We got home this morning around 10:30. We had a lot of fun and cant wait to go back! Here are a few pictures from the weekend!

Update on Blake...

Sorry guys... I don't think I am going to get Blake on this computer and write about NTC. But I did find some pictures of him that his team lead Whitaker took so I will post a couple on here. Pictures from NTC at Fort Irwin, California.

The 2nd picture is of Blake and his team leader Whitaker, the 3rd picture is Blake and his friend Massaro (these are of course their last names because that's what they go by in the Army, which is funny because that is how i know most of the guys in his unit, by their last names not their first names) The 4th picture is Blake in his truck! Blake and his team leader Whitaker had to drive this truck out to their mission and the truck had no windows and no roof. And of course on their way out, it started raining, which turned into hail. So funny story... but they were not happy! The 5th picture is of Blake shooting a guy jumping out of a window, since they were only training he didn't actually kill someone but he will be killing in Afghanistan.

Here we are again

Daisy and I are back from Alabama. We got home early Monday morning around 2:30 am. So I was pretty tired, but couldn't sleep all day like I wanted to, because I had to go to work at 12:45. But its ok! Alabama was a lot of fun! I got to see all of my friends, and family. The first week I was there, I had to take Daisy to get surgery. She had a bladder stone, and since it was cheaper in Alabama we did the surgery there. The surgery went perfect and you can tell that she feels a lot better! Daisy loved playing with Eli, my dad's dog. She also loved going outside without being on a leash. It always took forever for us to get her back in the house. But she is doing good! Still spoiled as can be! The last day I was in Alabama it snowed! It never snows in Alabama, so I don't know what happened! But my flight was cancelled and I was put on another one and I was so thankful that I actually got out, because Delta had cancelled more than 300 flights for Sunday and Monday! I'm doing good, just kinda tired. It's Thursday and I have yet to unpack. I hate that part of traveling! But after this blog I am going to unpack and clean the house because... BLAKE IS COMING HOME! I am so excited that February is over and Blake is coming home! Its crazy that it has already been a month! He was supposed to come home on Friday but yesterday he called and said that he isn't coming home until Saturday! Which is sad but at least he has Monday off! So now we only have about 3 months left together until he deploys. So please pray for us that we will be able to spend as much time together as possible, and that we will find out his leave dates and his deployment dates soon! Its crazy to think that June is right around the corner! But Blake is so excited to be going over there! He is ready to go, so I'm ready for him to go, get it over with and come home! As soon as we know anything I promise to tell whatever I can. We probably wont be able to tell you where he is actually going because most of the time it is classified, but we will be able to tell you that is he is going to Afghanistan and when he actually leaves. So again pray for us, and pray for the rest of the families in Blake's company! Well alright this house is a mess and I need to start cleaning! I will write soon and let you know how Blake's training went! I might have him write a blog about NTC... you never know!!

Will ya'll be her godparents?

Well Blake has been gone for almost a week now at NTC. I have been staying with one of my friends here, Tami. Her husband, Matt, is in Blake's company. So we hang out with them all the time. In these last couple of months we have become really close to Matt and Tami. And in December they had the cutest little girl, Keelie. So last night I was sitting on the couch and Tami and Keelie were on the other one and Tami looks at me and says, "So Matt and I have been talking about this and we want you and Blake to be Keelie's godparents!" I was like really? Yes! I almost started crying! She told me that she wanted to wait until we were both here but Matt couldn't wait any longer and he went ahead and asked Blake. So she wanted to ask me before Blake called. I was super excited, so Blake calls like right afterwards, and I was like oh my goodness we are godparents! He is super excited too! Keelie just loves Blake! Anytime Blake holds her she falls asleep in his arms! He is so good with kids! So when I have a good picture of Keelie I will post it.

NTC

Blake left yesterday for Fort Irwin, CA. He had to be at work at 4 so I took him. That way his car wouldn't have to sit on post for a month. Blake will be there for a month, the first week they will process in and unload the trucks, the second and third week they will actually be training, and the fourth week they will process out and load the trucks back up for leaving. So what will they be doing here? Well at Fort Irwin they have a town set up like if you were actually in Afghanistan they even have Afghan people there to make it more real. They train the soldiers for everything. Blake should be home between March 4th- 8th.

Since Blake will be gone for a month, I will be here in Washington for a week, then I will be going home to Alabama for 2 weeks, then I will come back to Washington for a week.

Surgery?!?

Well Blake and I took Daisy to the vet this past weekend for her regular checkup and everything seemed fine except for the vet felt something in Daisy's bladder. So we had to bring her back two days later with a full bladder, and sure enough she has a urinary tract infection, so we got antibiotics. But that's not all he said he still felt the bump in her bladder and he suggested an x-ray. so we said ok to it, and he called back and told us that Daisy has a bladder stone about the size of a walnut. Poor thing right! I know! So he said that usually you can put your dog on a diet to get rid of these stones, but since hers had gotten so big she will need surgery. So of course I had to ask "How much does this surgery cost?" And he reply with.... $900 to $1000. I was like WHAT?!? I looked at Blake and said we can't afford that! So I decided to do some searching for other vets to get estimates, so I called two others, on said it would be $1100, well that just went up a $100 which isn't any better. And the other one said we would have to come in for a consultant. Yeah right and pay for another vet visit? I don't think so! Well I am going home on Feb 14th for two weeks. And I decided to check with some of the vets in Montgomery, because everything is cheaper in Alabama! Which by the way is soooo true. So I called the Blue Ridge Animal Clinic and I asked about the bladder stone removal and how much it costs and the vet there told me that it will be between $250-$300!!! I was so excited and I told her so. I told her, "You have no idea how happy that makes me, I live in Washington State because my husband is in the Army and our vet up here wanted us to pay $1000 for the surgery", she responded with "Well maybe I should move." I was so glad to know that we will be able to get the surgery for Daisy. I fly in on the 14th and Daisy surgery is scheduled for the 16th, and it will take her a couple of days to recuperate, but at least she will be better! Our poor Daisy! :(

The Life of a Dog.... a Spoiled Dog

I always tell my mom that Daisy is so spoiled. She always replies with a spoiled dog for a spoiled girl. I know I am spoiled rotten! I have always known that simply because I was the youngest kid and my Dad's only little girl! What can I say?? But back to Daisy! Anyways... this past weekend Blake and I went to the Posh Paw to get Daisy's food. And at the Posh Paw they have these cookies that are baked just for dogs. Which of course we had to get her one! They have all different kinds, they have little donuts, cakes, apples, cowboy boots. Its crazy but Daisy is so spoiled that every time we go to the Posh Paw she gets at least one. Also she has so many clothes its funny. When LaMar, Jan, and Andrew were here in December I put on a little fashion show with Daisy's clothes. She has a raincoat, rain booties, 2 houndstooth sweaters, 2 dresses, and 3 or 4 t shirts. We also had to take her to the groomers this past weekend. I love when she gets her haircut because she looks so prissy! And of course we get new bows for her hair. I know what your thinking... you put bows in her hair? That poor dog. But she doesn't mind. She actually keeps them in, and it makes her look more girly. While we were at PetSmart waiting for her to be done. Blake and I decided to take a look down the clothes aisle. She certainly doesn't need anymore clothes but they always have cute stuff. When we were looking we saw a lot of funny t shirts for dogs. There was one that said "You cant afford me" (and the afford part was in gold), also "Honey, You cant buy attitude like mine", also "I'm the princess you scoop it up", and last but not least they had a valentine's shirt that said "I'm the pooch to smooch." I love them all but we got Daisy a pink t shirt that said "I love my mom" we thought that it was so funny and cute that we just had to get it!! I cant wait for everyone to meet her and love all over her! She is spoiled but she is our only child for the time being, so we get to spend all of our extra loving and money on her! By the way here is a picture of her cookie that we got her!

oh the weekends

Well this weekend has been great! Blake got off work Thursday around 3:30 and he has Friday through Monday off! We have been super tired lately so we decided that this weekend we would just stay around the house and be lazy! You know everyone needs those weekends sometime! But to our surprise we were wrong! Thursday night some of Blake's friends wanted us to come have a drink with them. So we met up with them and had a lot of fun. Well Friday we had to run some errands, I had to babysit so Blake went with me, we then had to go to my doctors appointment, go to the mall to get Blake safety goggles for NTC and for his deployment, and finally we were going to a friends house that night. They had just moved into their house and were having a little get together. They also just had their first baby girl, Keelie. She is absolutely gorgeous! So last night when we got home we both looked at each other and said I cant wait to lay around the house tomorrow! 

But this morning around 9 our friend Elyse text me and asked if we wanted to go to IHop with her and her husband and another couple. So we got up and decided to go. Well Blake had heard that Circuit City is going out of business so he wanted to go by there and take a look at what they had for sale. We didn't find anything that we absolutely had to have so we went to Best Buy. (Which is Blake's all time favorite store) When we got to best buy Blake started looking at the Apple computers and we got pretty interested. So we decided to take a trip to the South Center Mall and go to the Apple store. To end this long story..... we bought an Apple computer today. We were planning on getting a new one before Blake deployed, we just got it a little sooner! It is a super nice computer but it takes a little bit to get used to it. 

That has been our weekend so far. Running around, so I hope for the rest of Blake's 4 day we will be able to just sit at the house and do nothing! 

Welcome 2009

Well Christmas has come and gone and so has 2008! LaMar,Jan, and Andrew all got here safe for Christmas. LaMar,Jan and I were going to surprise Blake with them coming up two days early but since we had so much snow, SeaTac (the airport here) shut down and they were stuck in Dallas so they got here one day earlier then originally planned, but a day late for our surprise. But either way we were glad they were here! Christmas was great, we missed our family that we weren't able to be with. While they were here we went to Victoria, Canada. It was super cold but fun. We got on a ferry from Seattle that took us over there. That is the only way to get to Victoria, other than plane, because it is an island! The ferry ride was long but fun! The ride was two hours and forty five minutes. And it was gorgeous! We took a few pictures outside on the deck which was so cold and windy! When we got to Victoria we went to the Royal British Museum which was huge! We also went to a pub and the food there was so amazing! We also went to a place called Miniature World, and everything was in glass cases but they were all little. We had a lot of fun with LaMar, Jan , and Andrew and it was sad to see them go! This past week Blake and I haven't been doing much. He only had to work half days. We had a good New Year's eve. Blake and I used a gift card and went to Red Lobster. Then we just came home and rang in the New Year with each other! But I wasn't feeling good the whole day so that is kinda our excuse for staying in! I cant believe that it is already 2009! This year Blake and I will certainly be going through a lot. This is the year that Blake will be deployed! Our first anniversary apart, our first Christmas apart, and many more things that we will miss out on. But I know that Blake is excited to go overseas, he joined the Army to go over there and fight! Not just to "play" Army. I know that one of his best friends died over there and he wants to go over and fight and come back home for his friend, since Dustin wasn't able to come home! Please pray for us as this will be a very difficult year. We know that the Lord has a plan for us, and Blake will come home safe and sound! Because he is my ultimate Hero, and he wouldn't leave me all alone! Well until next time!