Our New Year's Eve this year was spent with friends. A few of our friends had went into together and reserved the entire upstairs to a local bar. It was a fun night, with good food, and spent with great friends! Happy 2009!!
As promised, I wanted to update everyone on Chris. As of today, Chris is heading over to Iraq. I will keep you as updated on him as I can and hopefully have some pictures to post as he sends them. Over the next 11 months, please keep him in your prayers and wish for a safe and quick return.
As you all know, we're in the middle of remodeling our kitchen. While Chris was home we took the opportunity to get the kitchen floor done. It didn't take too long, about a day and a half. I think the worse part was ripping up the old floor and getting that cleaned up before laying the new stuff down, not to mention getting the new floor cut to fit around all the little ins and outs.
Thanks Chris and Dad, it looks great...I LOVE it, it makes a world of difference!
Finished Product: far end of the kitchen
Chris & Justin
The Maderas & The Milams!
Justin & Chris toasting the celebration!
Group shot time!
Chris & I
Me & Chris
Rob & Kailyn
Attempting to get a picture of all the great-grandchildren....it was funny to watch getting them all together!
Catching up among family
The local brothers and sisters
The local brothers & sisters with thier spouses
The local 1st cousins
The local 1st cousins with their spouses
Uncle Chris teaching Bella a tune!
I'm sad to report that Chris is officially gone for the next 10-12 months. He had to report back to his unit this morning at 9am. By 10am they were all pulling out to head back to New Jersey. There, they have a few more training exercises to get through, pack, and get ready to bored the planes. There is no exact date yet of when they will actually head over, it's sounding like the end of next week, but I will definitely keep everyone posted. I know what some of you are thinking...yes we've been apart for a year before. However, we did get to see each other twice during that year and with him being in Cuba, I knew he was safe. For some reason, this time feels different, it somehow feels harder!
This morning was definitely not easy. As the alarm went off and I rolled over, all I kept thinking was how fast these 10 days went by. How there wasn't enough time to spend together and all the things we wished we got to do. The 40 minute drive to his unit wasn't all smiles either. I definitely kept my composure, but at the same time I had SO many thoughts going through my head. How will I ever get through this? Will he come home 'okay'? And then other thoughts like, I'm going to miss sharing our days together, I'll miss his smile and the way he makes me laugh. All the things he'll miss out on throughout the year...family birthdays and functions, his 35th birthday, my birthday, our 5th Anniversary, any holidays between now and November, all the summer activities we've always enjoyed doing, not to mention the things at the house that will change. However, he did give me his blessing on anything I want to upgrade or remodel...it's nice to know he trusts me 100% with those choices!
So as Chris goes off to war and I stay back to keep our lives together, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. The next year will definitely not be easy for me or Chris, but our relationship has been tested many times before and our love with conquer all!
