January 30, 2012 D-Day!!

Well, today was a very emotional day. We left the house at 6am, and drove to the Naval Base. Boy was the traffic busy. When we finally got to the pier the Arleigh Burke was at, I dropped Eric off, and went and parked. We waited while he went to his quarters, and put his things in there, and change into his uniform. While we were sitting there, I was looking around, and seeing others as they came and went, and the families that were there to support their loved ones.
When Eric finally got done, and came and got us, I wasn't sure if I was ready. When I got out of the van, we went towards the ship. He showed his ID to get us past the gate, and in we went. He showed us around the ship. I remember going down 2, I'm going to call them ladders. Man, as I was going down, the door to close it up was very close, and the stairs were very narrow. I think I hit my head overtime we either went up or down the ladders. I am sure Eric hits his head many times, but I am sure by now he is use to them.

He showed us where he works, and introduced me to i think his title is LS2, but don't quote me on that :), still trying to get used to the lingo of the Navy. We went all over the ship. He even took us top side, and we got to see what it was like. We finally ended up in the mess hall, they call it called something else, but I forget. We sat there and just talked. The whole time, Shae was saying that she was going to stow away with Eric, and go with him. I said, I wanted to Stow away until they got to Spain, and then I would be ok to go back to the children.

Finally they called over the loud speaker for all civilians to depart the ship. We said our goodbyes on the ship, because it was already hard to leave. He gave each of the children hugs and kisses, and told them they needed to mind their mother. Then, he gave me a hug and some kisses, and then he told me it was my command.

We then went to an area, where other families were waiting for the send off. About 45 minutes into our waiting, I was approached by a news station man. He asked if it was ok to interview our family. I said sure. He then started asking me questions, was this his first deployment - yes it was. How do we feel about him being gone for so long - we are kinda use to it. We have only been married since September, and were separated for the first 3 months of our marriage, so this was nothing. The children this whole time were just saying how they loved Eric, and they will miss him, and they were proud of him. He then asked me something about how I felt about today, and it finally being the time for them to leave. I said:
"For me it's a happy day. For the sooner he goes out to sea, the sooner he can be back."

When we watched the news that night, when they started the segment, they showed our family just talking and waiting, then they talked to a husband and his child. then they showed the ship, and talked to one of the guys in charge of the Arleigh Burke. Finally, they showed me. They ended the segment, with me saying, "For me it's a happy day. For the sooner he goes out to sea, the sooner he can be back. "

The rest of the day was pretty surreal. My brother in law got us lunch at Sonic, and then the rest of the day was just us spending time together and thinking of Eric.

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Our first taste of the VA Beaches!!!!!

How our family loves the beach!!! My children are so excited to live only 15 minutes from the house. And even more excited about how close we are to the airport, as you can see from the pictures:

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The New House

Here are pictures of our new house

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The Big Move

Well, the day after Christmas was a very busy day for my family and I. With the help of my family, especially the best big sister in the world - Beckie, and a pretty awesome brother-in-law - Matt. They worked together to get as much stuff in my van as possible. And boy did they ever. I don't think there was any place in my vehicle that didn't have something.
After packing all morning, we headed to Beaver, to see the grandparents. We slept at a hotel that night, and then got up and were on the road by 9. The first night on the road, we made it all the way to Denver, CO. Once again, because of the thoughtfulness of my older sister, she had activities and snacks for the children every day/and state. We then went Kansas, and stayed at Topeka, KS.
We traveled for a total of 5 days. For the length of time that the children were in the car, they did a fabulous job of being good. I couldn't wait to get to Eric. Then finally on New Years Eve, we drove into Norfolk. The excitement for this part of the trip was going threw a tunnel in the Chesapeake River. Shae said she wants to go threw it again.
The following are some of the pictures that Shae took of our travels.

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Christmas time

A lot has happened in December. Jae had his school program, and did a fabulous job. I will have to find the pictures, and add them late. Next we went to our Ward Christmas party. The children were able to sit on Santa's lap.

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Wedding Pictures by Photographer Scott Woolston!!!!

This week has been a busy week. I have been busily working on my English Research paper. On Friday, I was able to go to a Fabulous Friday event with the Relief Society of my ward. I had such a blast.
Today, as I was setting waiting for church to start, I was approached by one of my photographers from my wedding. He had finished going threw them, and gave me a cd with the pictures. Oh, the memories that it brought to me of this special day. It reminded me of the romantic, fairy-tale story that my husband and I can tell our children.

The following is a slideshow of the pictures taken by Scott:

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Halloween night and before!!

Well, the last week has been really busy. On Wednesday, Dre had has Cub Scouts pack meeting. He earned a badge, and during the games, he had a blast.



Then on Thursday, Dragun and Shakeira went to the eye doctors. They were both examined and chose a pair of glasses. The ones they chose will be posted when we receive them.

On Saturday, after each child had picked out their own pumpkin, each child carved their own pumpkin. They did really well, and only needed a lil bit of help.



Today of course is Halloween. We had a lot of fun. They boys took off with their friends, and Shae went around with her friends. I walked with Christine and her the girls. We got lots of candy. The costumes were really cute as well.



As for Eric,

Eric

we continue to talk to him everyday. We love him very much, and pray to be reunited every day. We know that when it is the right time for us to be together, it will be done.