Happy Halloween

Pumpkin

&

Cowboy

Mei-Ling trying to get her costume off.

Blessed

I'm so thankful to God for my family and friends, especially my friends in FL. They haven't known me for quite a year yet, but they're so hospitable and gracious enough to invite me to tag along on their outings. It's been wonderful, it keeps me busy and it's nice to not be at home all the time. I even have plans for Thanksgiving!! I'll be going to John & Katie's house. John teaches my Sunday School class. I'm so thankful for my FL friends!! :) 

Have you heard

"This Is The Stuff" by Francesca Battistelli?

I love this song!! It always puts me in a good mood. :)

I also received the "Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul" book. I'm looking forward to reading it. Mom, did you hear that? I said,"I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO READING A BOOK!!!!" 

Our pumpkins

Cats

Today Buddy & Mei-Ling got an early Christmas gift.......

And I put it together all by myself!!! :)


Just hanging out

Daydreaming

Ever heard the song "Far Away" by Carole King???

Tonight I made the mistake to watch re-runs of "Surprise Homecomings" - when those who are serving our country come home from deployment, don't tell their families and SURPRISE!!!!  Yeah, my eyes filled up with tears, and some ran down my cheeks. I long for the day Kevin comes home from deployment. I tend to daydream about it often. It always brings a smile to my face, thinking about waiting on the pier as the sailors get off the ship, then eventually being reunited with him!!! Giving him a big hug & kiss, and (most likely) happy tears!!! Everyday that passes is one day closer to being reunited with Kevin!!!! If you're reading this, you probably think I'm nuts for thinking about this already, but if it's what gets me through the days, then why not? Please continue to pray for ALL of our military men and women serving our country and for them to return safely to their families. Here is one of my favorite mixes of surprise homecomings (you can find many more on youtube),  warning: *keep the tissues handy*

“May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other" - Genesis 31:49

One year ago

Kevin and I were moving to FL!!!! I can't believe it has been 1 year already!! So I will leave you with,

The Story of Our Big Move

On Tuesday 10/19/10  - Kevin & I left Norfolk and drove all the way to St. Georges South Carolina. We were really trying to make it to the Georgia state line, when a peg from the dolly that Kevin's car was hooked up to, came out, and the ramp was scraping the ground causing sparks. So we pulled over. Kevin found a stick and shoved it in the spot where the peg should've been, and it worked well. That night at our hotel, Kevin called the U-Haul company. They told us they would be out between 7 & 8am.

9am came the next morning, and never heard from U-Haul. So we got on the phone and they said that their closest U-Haul place was 90 miles away. Well we waited 4 hours and they finally came with a new dolly. So we got back on the road at 11am. We finally arrived to Mayport by a little after 3pm. Once we arrived we went to the housing office to get the keys to our military housing. Who knew we'd have to go through so much paper work. The fun part I get to look forward to are hurricanes, and evacuating by myself if Kevin is out at sea. Hopefully that won't happen.  *fingers crossed*

So we get to our apartment, and right across the street is the community center. So the housing representative takes us over there and shows us around. There's a pool table, ping pong table, computers to use the internet etc. Kevin saw a guy playing pool, goes up to him and says,"Want to make $25?" The guy responds,"Heck yeah!!" Kevin replies,"We just arrived, and need help moving our stuff in." The guy replies,"I use to do this for a living before I joined the Navy."

So after 2 and a half hours of the 3 of us moving our stuff, we went and bought him dinner too.

Kevin reported for his 1st day of work on Monday. He went in for about 2 hours then came home. After a little while, he got a phone call from his sponsor, and turns out that his ship pulled in early and Kevin has to be on the ship as soon as possible. So Kevin grabbed his sea bag and raced around opening boxes to find his clothes. After that, he says,"I need a haircut." So I gave him a haircut, and off he went. He'll be out to sea for a week. I can expect this until he goes out to sea for deployment.

So I've been busy unpacking and getting us settled in. As hard as it was to get a certain someone to pack, he isn't exactly unpacking either....so I put all of his boxes in the second bedroom.

Since Kevin's been gone, I really noticed how much the apartment creeks....especially at night.

p.s. We don't have Wawa's...but we do have Dunkin' Donuts!!!

If you're interested in reading about our "firsts" in FL, check out my old blog -  www.christine-lifeasanavywife.blogspot.com

I saw this on my way to work yesterday

And it wasn't even raining!
It was a great way to start the day! I love God's artwork!

New York Post

US, British special forces storm Italian ship seized by Somali pirates

NEWSCORE

Last Updated: 11:43 AM, October 11, 2011

Posted: 9:26 AM, October 11, 2011

More Print

ROME -- US and British naval forces Tuesday freed an Italian cargo ship seized by pirates off the Somali coast, releasing the crew and taking the attackers into custody.
The Italian vessel, the Montecristo, had 23 crew on board when it was attacked by pirates Monday. It was freed in a joint operation carried out by Royal Marines from Britain's RFA Fort Victoria and the USS De Wert, part of NATO's operation Ocean Shield which protects the waters off the Horn of Africa.
The US vessel first approached the ship, while British forces prepared a mission to board it.

The Italian ship Montecristo docked in a harbor in Italy.

The USS De Wert "was the first ship to close in and assess the situation while the boarding team on Fort Victoria got ready," Lieutenant Gwenn Laine, a spokesman for Ocean Shield, told NewsCore. "The crew of the ship confined themselves in the engine room of the ship and they managed to send the information to NATO forces that they were safe and well."
He added, "NATO forces got on board and the pirates surrendered immediately. No one on board from the team, the crew or the pirates were injured."
The operation was launched following discussions between British defense secretary Liam Fox and his Italian counterpart Ignazio La Russa, Italy's ANSA news agency reported. The Montecristo crew included seven Italians, 10 Ukrainians and six Indian nationals.


Kevin is on the USS DEWERT

2 Months Down

I've survived the first two months of this deployment. Most days it seems to be going by quickly, but there are those other days when I just wish there was a fast forward button to get this deployment over with, so Kevin can come home! Otherwise, I'm hanging in there. Doing my best to stay busy so my thoughts don't linger over the fact that Kevin is away. I try to have monthly goals to look forward to each month. Luckily there's one holiday each month coming up.

2 months down - Whoooooooooooo Hoooooooooooo!!!!!!


"May the Lord keep watch between us whenever we are apart." - Genesis 31:49

Adrienne's visit

On Saturday I took Adrienne to St. Augustine

Later we went to the beach (on base)

Buddy wanted some of our pumpkin pancakes

Before our girls night out

I also cut and colored Adrienne's hair on Saturday. We had a lot of fun!! Hopefully we can get together again a few more times before she graduates in the spring. While Adrienne and I were on the beach, we took a video. However since it was so windy you really can't hear anything we're saying.

Halloween fun

Hope you don't get too spooked!! Enjoy!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/Qv3PxAON1CnbYIOu

Just a little something

Last week when we had evening showers, I washed both my car & Kevin's car in the rain. How fast can I wash this car before I get drenched? It was pretty fun, haha!  It kinda made me feel like a kid again. :)

Today, on my way home from Bible Study, as I was about to pull into the drive way, I got a glimpse of Kevin's car, and thought "Oh Kevin's home from work!!" Then quickly remembered he's not.  However almost 2 months have gone by!!! YAY!!!!!  I think it has gone by, somewhat quickly so far. I keep trying to have monthly goals to look forward to. There's a holiday each month, so it's something to look forward to!! Although I do try to have other things throughout each month to look forward to as well. For example not only is the 2 months done for the deployment mark approaching, but Halloween marks the "gotcha day" (when we celebrate his birthday) for Buddy!!!! Hard to believe he's 1 year old!!!! The middle of October will mark our 1 year of living in Florida!  That year went by real fast! Also this weekend my friend Adrienne, who goes to SCAD in Savannah, GA, is coming to visit me!!!! YAY!!!! I'm so looking forward to that!!!! And it works out perfectly because I have off Friday & Saturday. Can't wait!!!

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” - Romans 12:12