Weeks of madness

Well tomorrow is already December! It's crazy! I feel like it was just the beginning of the semester and here I am, a week and a half left before break. 

Oh where to begin!? Well Thanksgiving break was wonderful, but it went by really fast. I was able to go home after work on Tuesday evening until Sunday evening. The time at home was much needed. I didn't do as much relaxing as I had hoped, but it was fun. My grandma and papa came up from Wisconsin for the break to visit and it was wonderful, especially because we don't get to go there for Christmas this year as usual.  I saw some old friends from high school which was great too :)  I can't wait for Christmas break to just be carefree and have time to see everyone! Fortunately I only worked on Black Friday at American Eagle, which was a lot of fun, and I didn't have to work at all the rest of the break. I spent Thanksgiving evening with Sky's dad's family, whom I haven't seen since August. It was so wonderful to see everyone there & the kids. I just love hanging out with them and am SO beyond lucky that his entire family has been there for me through this deployment, I couldn't do it without them. His mom is moving back to Mason this coming weekend, and I couldn't be more excited to have her closer to us!

This week back to school has been madness. I've worked my butt off to get everything done and accomplished so that I have some down time this weekend before I have to start crankin' all the material out for exams again.  I've also worked at 2 out of 3 of my jobs everyday, so I haven't really had time to do much other than that.

My roommates and I have started Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred workout, and its going pretty well. It's actually kind of fun and motivates us all this holiday season :) 

This week was also mine and Sky's 2 year anniversary on Monday. It was a bummer that he wasn't home for it, however it obviously wasn't his choice. I'm just beyond blessed to have spent 2 years with such an amazing guy. I couldn't have gotten luckier <3  He's doing well in Afghanistan, only approximately 40 days until he's home! It's so crazy feeling inside! I have butterflies already! I can't believe its already been 9 months...whoa.  

I'm really looking forward to the holiday's and 2013. Not only because Sky is coming home, but there are TONS of fun things to look forward to! Him and I are taking a trip out to Arizona for a little over a week hopefully to stay with my grandparents in Sedona for spring break and also to see his brother. It's gonna be a blast. Also, Jessi and I bought Taylor Swift tickets for the beginning of May, I'm really looking forward to that! 

"Take Pride in how far you have come and have Faith in how far you can go."


                                 Some of the nieces & nephew.

                                       

                                                       Reunited with my girls <3 

happy two years babe :)

My roommates bought me flowers on my anniversary. 

They're seriously the best <3

Blessings

Wow! It sure has been a busy month! That's a good and bad thing I guess haha. I've been so busy with school, and working that it has made October just FLY on by. 

Only a little over two more months until Sky is home!! It's honestly gone by so fast. I never, ever, EVER would've imagined a year going by this fast. At the beginning of deployment and into summer it just druggggg on. But come August, its crazy how quick time has gone by. Talking to him almost everyday lately sure has helped a lot! He's doing really well, just getting through day by day until January. He's worked SO much lately, so he hasn't gotten much sleep, but it is making time go by fast at least. I just can't wait to welcome the entire 303rd company home in a couple months :)

This month I got a new job at a gymnastics complex here near school. It has ages 12 months - 18 years participating. I actually applied for a front desk position, and at the time of my application they weren't hiring. A couple weeks after my application, I received a call and they wanted to interview me that day. Turns out they needed a gymnastics teacher for the little 3-4 year olds and the 12-18 month kiddos! I was completely shocked, seeing as how I haven't had any gymnastics experience, that they wanted me for that. They offered me the position that day too! Its run off lesson plans, therefore experience wasn't necessary. I've been training for about 2 weeks now, and tonight I taught my first class by myself to the 3-4 year olds. It. was. AWESOME! I absolutely love it. They have so much fun, and so do I! I taught them the "itsy bitsy spider" at the beginning, and they were just laughing the entire time singing with me :) This is a job I will hopefully be able to keep while I finish up at GV in the next couple years, and honestly, I couldn't be more blessed to have gotten it! 

School is almost done for the semester! Only 5 1/2 weeks left until final exam week :) once again...time has just FLOWN by! I can't WAIT for the Holidays. December is my one of my favorite months for sure. I love Christmas. Over the years I've really grown to just love the family aspect of it along with the decorations and love that comes with that season. I absolutely LOVE going to church on Christmas Eve too.  It sure is so close!  The best gift of the holiday season would be to have Sky back home though. His mom is waiting to do Christmas with their family until he is back though, which is going to be perfect. 

Tory & Jessi came up a couple weekends ago for the Homecoming football game :) We love visitors!

Last time I went home I got to spend the entire weekend with the family, carving/decorating pumpkins. We had so much fun. 

Love my roomies (Trait's not pictured) <3

There's Light at the End of the Tunnel

Well, it's finally October! YAY! This means Halloween, apple cider, corn mazes...all sorts of fun. Most importantly though (well to me at least ;]) is that it's one more month checked off of my countdown until Sky gets home! It has been 7 months since he has been in Michigan...and a long 7 months at that.

Some of these months have gone by really quickly, while others drug on for what seemed like forever. Throughout this time my faith has really pushed me to keep going everyday. I'm not a perfect person by any means and I would never claim to be. I make mistakes just like everyone else, but I really owe it to the big man for everything in life. I have an amazing family, wonderful friends and the best, most loving guy I could ever ask for in my life...all due with God's help. This deployment has really strengthened my faith all around. I've developed the habit to take time every night before I fall asleep to pray. I believe that God has shown me more than ever since Sky has been gone that I can get through anything, no matter how hard the situation may be. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how long the tunnel is.

Since Sky left, things haven't all been easy. I had to overcome the scary fact that he was going to war to fight for our country and was going to be put in danger everyday and to continue positive. But, all I can do is support him no matter what and pray that God watches over him and the men he is with. This summer was really rough too. Things were a lot different during than last summer. It was the first summer back from college and all of my friends were working or busy including myself. I had a full time job that I hated some days and loved others, but was blessed to have for the time it lasted. Unfortunately though, I was getting thrown through the ringer over and over again there with no stability what so ever. I had a major foot surgery done and was on crutches and in a boot until the middle of July, and thankfully was able to continue work despite my circumstances. Right after I got my boot off some unexpected issues happened with my job and I was no longer working there. I made so many wonderful friends over the summer from that job, and I wouldn't take back a day if I had the choice despite the end results. I was welcomed very easily by every man in that shop and I was so lucky to develop the relationships that I did with everyone there. Then, come the middle of July, my grandpa was in the hospital with major heart issues. This was his second time being critical in the hospital, and I thank God everyday that he is alive and gaining strength right now. The rest of the summer seemed like it went by really slow after everything in July. I learned the values of friendship, love, honesty and betrayal more than I would've ever imagined I could at the age of 19 just from just one summer. 

Those times were probably the hardest its been since Sky has been deployed. I wasn't able to talk to the one person who I feel knows me better than I know myself most of the time. When he was home, he was ALWAYS there when I was sad, moody, and even when I just needed to cry. At this point of the deployment, we weren't able to communicate for about a month. This was the longest month of my life. Not having him there was really, really difficult, but I overcame this with a smile on my face, staying strong for him. I knew that if I broke down, he would too and I wouldn't allow that to happen. I knew he'd want me to be smiling no matter what, so I made that conscious effort to do that. 

As these months go by, I continue to have obstacles thrown my way, but I can't let down now. I figure it's God testing my strength throughout this deployment. I can't believe that Sky will be home in a couple months though, it is CRAZY how fast this time has gone. This past weekend Jessi and I spent Saturday with his mom watching movies, shopping and looking through old baby pictures! Oh my did I have so much fun!! We were talking about his homecoming the entire day and it made me SO happy just talking about it! 

It's truly amazing how much support I've had through this. I never feel alone at any minute, knowing that I have my family, his family and all of my friends out there's support and prayers. I couldn't do it without everyone, so thank you all so much for being there for me through the good times and bad.

I can't WAIT for him to come back and get another motorcycle! <3 <3 <3

LOVE her so much! I couldn't ask for a better best friend. She's been through this entire thing with me with full support. Thanks, Court <3

Jessi & I have grown closer than ever the past 4 months & I couldn't be more lucky as a sister. 

The Leaves are Changing

Well, I have to say that fall has come officially. It has been pretty nice thought for the most part. I LOVE this time of year. It's sooo gorgeous outside, with the leaves changing and all. Halloween is such a fun holiday in my opinion. I don't really celebrate it much anymore but I sure do have some wonderful childhood memories from it. Up here in our apartment we back up to a field & some woods, so we get to see all the beautiful colors everyday. It almost feels as if I was at home back in Mason. Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors and scents, so it obviously fits this season!

Sky should come home in a little over 3 months, which could not come sooner.  Lately it's been tough to talk a lot because I've been so busy with school and he has been busy as well, but we Skype whenever the opportunity is there. I tell him all the time how much I wish I could just fly over to Afghanistan and bring him home right now. Its so tough sometimes when we are apart because I feel like I just need his advice right away or I need to call him up to tell him something, but I just can't do that.  I don't think I will ever get used to that until he is back home and everything is back to normal. I have such a hard time with understanding what information he as a soldier can give me without breaking the law or whatever it is considered. I see him upset, and it makes me upset. Lately it's been affecting my mood a lot, and I feel awful for letting it do that, so I try my best to not let it show. Thank God for my roommates who can sit there and just let me vent all my frustrations out. I honestly couldnt be more proud of Sky for what he is doing. I know he is BEYOND ready to come home, and obviously I'm ready for him to come home too, but we are finally on the last stretch of the long journey & hopefully he will never have to be gone like this again. I give so much support out to all of the wives, husbands, and families who go through deployment multiple times in their lives.  Gosh, that has got to be so hard. I see pictures on the internet, or watch coming home videos and I just cryyyyyy because I have never been so excited for something in my life. It's all I can think about these days. When I am stressed, I just think about what that moment is going to be like.  I remember from the day he left, we stood on the side of the road watching the buses drive away as my mom & Sheri stood behind me crying as I was balling. I didnt cry that entire day until that moment. I was so proud, scared, anxious, happy...every emotion in the book I felt that day. I just can't wait to watch those buses pull back into that parking lot again. It's times like these that I will never, ever forget.

The Beginning

So this blogging thing...

I've read through some blogs lately and it's been making me think a lot about starting one about my experiences, thoughts, and everyday events that I go through on a daily basis while my loved one is deployed. I've been keeping a journal of all the things that happen while Sky is gone, but I've been slacking majorly lately.  It seems as if I'm always on my computer doing homework, searching the web, pinteresting, tweeting, etc., so why not start a blog?!

So, as many people know, my boyfriend Sky is deployed in Afghanistan right now.  He's been there since February and he will most likely be there a full year unfortunately without leave. It's the military...so things change all the time which means that I probably will never know an exact date that he will be home until he is actually back here in the states. He is in the Army, and has been since right after high school.  We've been together for almost 2 years now and I couldn't imagine my life any differently.

I knew when I met him that there was a chance he could be deploying anytime.  Actually, he was supposed to deploy a couple months after we met, but that didn't happen...thank God.  Now he has been gone for almost 7 months, and I can't believe how fast time has gone by.  I tell everyone when they ask me how I'm doing that there are some really good days and some bad ones as well.  It gets hard sometimes, but I wouldn't do it if I didn't see a future with him. I've always been the type of person who is happy and bubbly.  I love being around people.  I have read so many blogs, tweets, articles, and even watched TV shows where women just sit at home and are so lonely all the time. I can't do that.  I've never been that way...and I will never let myself become that way.  I can't just sit at home and be lonely, because that will change me and who I've always been. Life is too short.  I told Sky before he left, "I will be the same person I am now when you come home...I promise you that."  He knows who I am as a person, and I wanted to make him know, that even if everything else were to change in the year that he is gone, I would be there a year later.  There are days that him being gone realllllllly takes a toll on me.  The first half of deployment, seemed to go by so slow at the time.  I wasn't able to hear from him but maybe once a week through a Facebook message, and if we were lucky he got to call me for a couple minutes.  This was really hard at first. I went from him being home and being only a phone call away if I was at school, to being thousands of miles away with very little communication.  It felt as if I had temporarily lost my best friend.  Over time I learned to deal with it, but my phone was ALWAYS on the loudest volume.  The only time I've ever missed a phone call was the very first time he was able to call me, and luckily he called back ten minutes later and we got to talk. If you're wondering if I sit by my phone and just wait for it to ring, then the answer to that question is no, but I usually always have my phone near me so I can hear the volume if it rings.  

I have to continue my everyday life like I normally would do if he were here.  I'm going to school to be a Special Education teacher right now, and I still have a little under 4 years left.  I chose to come to Grand Valley because that was the best thing to do for my future in education.  Sky has fully supported me with school and always will.  He does a great job showing that, even when he is deployed.  Being back in school really makes time fly. I am SOO busy doing homework all the time that it is making the days go by so fast... which means closer to homecoming time :)  It helps a lot that I live with some of my best friends.  I couldn't do it without them.  They're always there to listen to me tell my happy stories, complain about stupid things, and even cry if I have to.  My friends and family are my biggest supporters through this deployment.  It's not even just the friends that I live with. I have best friends all over the map that send me texts, tweets, messages of any kind about how they are thinking about me and such.  Every time it's a reminder that I'm not alone in this. I have so many supporters and I'm so lucky to be blessed with each and every one of them.

"The task AHEAD of you is never as strong as the power BEHIND you. Everything is possible for those who believe."