Good things do come to those who wait.......

It's been a long time since I've "blogged" my thoughts. First I will say that I'm a very private person especially when times are rough. To all my friends, I hope you don't feel like I have shut you out....it hasn't been intentional.  I just kind of felt like I had no good news to share or anything to talk about at all and it was depressing. On top of that being a full time mommy to 2 kiddos under 3 is very demanding and takes up most of my time. It's been pretty scary financially for us, though my pride HATES to admit that. Living from training checks, drill pay, & unemployment here and there when we could get it has been extremely trying to say the least. Going from being able to never really having to budget much of anything to becoming a coupon queen making every penny stretch to the max has been an art to learn in  itself. I give all credit to God of course for helping us get through this rough patch in J's career. This whole process has been humbling in so many ways.

After 1 year and almost 5 months of J getting out of the Navy.....things seem to finally be looking up for us! We recently got some really great news and I would love to share but I don't want to just yet until I can SEE it on paper and really be able to plan our next military adventure....only this time it will be in the Army and not the Navy. At this time it's only a "maybe" anyways so I don't wanna jinx it. I know things will be a little different because it's a different branch, but in the end we know this was the right decision for us. I hope to meet some wonderful new people in addition to the amazing people I already have come to know throughout my journey as a military spouse. I'm excited. My heart is happy. This is the fresh start we needed.....it took awhile to get it but we put it in the God jar and now things are finally coming into fruition for us <3 There has been nothing but waiting, waiting, and more waiting.....and now things seem to finally be moving forward. I am thankful for the opportunity to have been able to be near family during this time because my boys have had the chance to meet them and I have got the chance to spend time with my amazing friends from home. Its bittersweet to think about having to leave.....on the one hand its awesome because J will finally be back on track to his career path (not to mention it will be oh so nice to get a normal paycheck again!), but on the other hand I won't be near my sister anymore:( We have grown extremely close (closer than we were in childhood) and it sucks to think about saying goodbye and missing the next however many years in my niece's life. Yes we can visit and call etc... but it's not the same as being right down the street and being able to come over at will any time of day or night.  That's the only downside......besides the fact that I love Charleston and the people here so much and wish we could go ahead and settle down....can't wait for that reality in 8-12 years when J retires.

In any case it's been a rough year for us and I'm a very private person so you wouldn't know all of this. I much rather share good news than bad, so I kept my mouth shut! The good that has come out of this long wait is that for all the times J has been deployed or stuck on a ship or in training, we have made all that time up. So far I can honestly say I'm enjoying being an Army wife.....now we will see what it has to bring in the next however many years and hopefully its all good! We can only keep going up from where we have been!!! So that's my update....for now.

Welcome 2011!!!

2010 has been a pretty crazy year to say the least!!!! Huge career shift putting us in a financial situation we hadn't been faced with before, finding out we had another baby coming, an unexpected death in the family :(, my sis getting a near fatal bite from a snake, and other things have really made this year a roller coaster ride for sure! We had to make some really tough decisions, but we just know in our hearts that things are for the best and they will just keep getting better-even if it takes a ton of work....nothing worth achieving is achieved easily right?! My motto this year is pretty much the same as last year-to keep striving to be the best wife, mommy, sister, friend, etc... that my loved ones could ask for. 


My advice for everyone else is to make decisions that benefit you and your family! Don't do things because everyone else is doing them!! Do what's best for you and yours FIRST!!! For example, if we had not made the decision to change his career, J would still be in the Navy hating life right now in the command he was at and be locked into it for another 2.5 years. It's never a good thing to be in a position where you are extremely under-appreciated among many other just WRONG things that went down. He made a decision that was best for us and it's been awesome having him home for about a year. It makes up for the time he missed out in LJ's and my life because of being deployed and stuck on a ship 24/7 LITERALLY. It's truly been amazing to get to spend each waking day together (minus going back and forth from Army training on and off). Now I know this won't last because of the plans for the future, but I must say I didn't take it for granted one bit because I know God gave us that time together because we needed it. I'm so positive about the future and am really excited to see what this year brings for us. 


In just a few days I will be holding my newborn baby boy and I couldn't be happier! Not excited about the labor part at all, but who is?! He is such a blessing and I'm so excited for my hubby to be able to witness it this time!!!! This year is all about family for us. We have 2 children now and our priorities are those little boys. Everything we do is for them and they have made me a better person each day <3 I feel  a bit wiser from the experiences we have gone through in 2010, but I also know that I have a ton more learning to do in the years to come. I'm truly proud of myself and the graceful person I am becoming:) 2011 is all about family!!! It's been awesome moving back home and being able to get a deeper relationship with my sister and other family members after being gone for over 6 years.  I'm looking forward to our future plans and can't wait to put them into practice with God's help!