HE'S HOME!!!!!!

I don't know if I can even write how I feel---I am so unbelievably happy and complete!!! Steve was supposed to come home this Tuesday (the 17th) after being in Iraq for the last 6 months and I was getting really excited. I woke up last Saturday morning (the 14th) and got a call from him--he asked what I was doing that night? And if I would want to come pick him up at the airport! I was so surprised and happy!!!! He was able to get on a earlier flight and get home sooner than we expected! Needless to say, I said "yes--I'll be there!", hung up the phone and ran around the house squealing for about 10 minutes!!

Not seeing your husband for 6 months is hard!! I have missed him so much. I know there are people who are deployed for a lot longer and I appreciate the sacrifices they make--for us---6 months was enough!! We feel so blessed and grateful that he did not have to be gone longer than that. Apart from the emotional difficulty of being separated, I have worried every day about his safety. There were numerous mortar attacks and car bombs very close to him, during his time in Iraq and I feel so blessed that he was protected and is home safe.

So since Saturday night we have been living in our own little world! It has been wonderful. The best thing about him being back is--EVERYTHING!!! By that I mean everything is better! We appreciate and revel in all the "little things"...being able to eat dinner together, snuggle on the couch, kiss each other whenever we want--life is bliss! I couldn't be happier to have him home! Love you Steve! Thanks for how hard you work for us!

The 3 Musketeers (+ Roscoe) Roadtrip to KY Adventure!

This past week my parents helped drive Roscoe and I back to Kentucky, after being in California for the past 6 months, while Steve has been deployed. It was a great trip. We had fun along the way, stopping in Tucson to see my sister-in-law Sarah and her husband Cary and 2 adorable boys, seeing my Dad's mission companion in Midland Texas, and then staying at a "pet-friendly" hotel in McKinney Texas and exploring some of the area. It was a fun trip! When we finally reached my home in Vine Grove, KY...my parents stayed for a week and we just played and played! It was a blast. We went to Fort Knox, the Patton Musuem, Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and childhood home, Mammoth Caves, Glendale, the Louisville Slugger Bat Musuem, a Bat's baseball game (the Cincinnati Red's AA team), and also explored some of Amish country and bought some produce from an authentic Amish farm. Not to mention all the good food we ate and the games of ping pong Dad and I played in my basement. It was so much fun and I was really sad to see them leave. Thanks again Mom and Dad for all the fun times and the support you gave me over the past months! I miss you!!!!