Since Daddy Has Been Gone....

I know that I have been MIA for a few months but life got really crazy really fast. I decided today that I need to get back to the things that gave me peace and comfort and along with spiritual matters, crafting and blogging were some of them. So here is an update of what the Winegars have been up to.

As you can see, Kevin went on his first deployment in January. He is in the Pacific. He has enjoyed his deployment because he has visited different countries, but also because he has been able to focus on more of his medical certifications and be more hands on with his wanted specialty, Anesthesia. I am so extremely pleased with my Sailor. He is such a good man and I am so grateful to be his wife. Joey has handled the deployment a little more difficult than Emma. He gets sad a lot for his Dad and looks forward to skyping with him. Emma is 2 and a girl. Need I say more? But shes still my precious little girl and we love her.

These are some of the spouses of Kevin's Squadron, VMA-211. They are such amazing and strong women. I am so happy to know them. We waited outside and watched them take off on the jets and planes and waved our final goodbyes. Made it much easier to say goodbye together.

Joey skyping with Daddy. He loves these moments and rambles on about Legos, or Thomas, or Batman, or school. He is now the man of the house.

My mother came to visit in late January and she was a great help. She has now been coast to coast and loves coming to visit me where ever we move to. She was amazing while here. The kids absolutely love her and so do I.

Its so hard to determine when Daddy will EXACTLY be home- though we have a rough estimate. So I decided to make a link chain for everyday that he is gone. I change the colors with the different months (holidays) and we will use it to decorate when Daddy finally comes home.

Our FRO is great about doing activities with the families and making sure that we get together and help each other cope. In February, we made pillow cases for Daddy. Emma LOVED painting her hand all over it.

I have been trying to keep the kids busy with gymnastics, play dates, and school. We took a road trip to San Diego and visited Sea World, Old Town, the Mormon Battalion, and the beach. It was a great weekend with David and Ana's family. It was nice to get away and enjoy a mini- vacation.

I turned 29 this year! Wow! I AM getting old. Last year in my 20's. This is Andrea, Amberly, and Megan. We went to dinner for my birthday. I have truly been blessed with some amazing friends in Yuma that have been such a great support to me and my kids. I don't think I could get through this without them.

Daddy sent the kids a package today. Boy were they EXCITED! They loved getting mail and trying on their outfits right away. Their Daddy sure does love them.

Kevin also sent me a card and I thought I would share it with you:

"Once there was this guy. A nice guy, really. And he met this girl. An incredible girl-truly amazing. So naturally the guy falls head over heals in love with her, and pretty soon they're picking out china patterns and rings and there's a wedding and the starry-eyed couple rides off into what will surely be a rosy future.

"Okay, so now some time has passed and the guy is living in the future. He's still married to this girl, but now their life includes a lot of stuff- appliances and bills and loads of laundry and home repair projects and a deployment (I added this). But between all the to-do's and have to's, there are these moments when the guy stops for a minute and looks around him.

"He looks at his wife, who is still truly amazing, he looks at their life together, all the ways and different directions it's grown, he looks at all the responsibilities he's got, and he thinks to himself, so, this is my life.

And then he thinks, I am one helluva lucky guy."


You might think this is pretty personal and maybe cheesy or maybe I am showing off. Its definitely not the latter. But this deployment has been so difficult for Kevin and I both spiritually and physically. Maybe more than I have expressed. When I read this card, I realized that it doesn't matter how much money we do or do not have, who is there or not there for us during difficult times, or where we are in the world. What matters most is our true commitment to each other, the love that we share, and the faith that we have. The days that I do not read my scriptures or say my prayers are truly the hardest. But sometimes they are still hard when I DO say my prayers and read my scriptures, but if I stand firm and faithful, the peace and comfort I gain in the long run, make this deployment seem like a blink of an eye.

So maybe sometimes I feel like I have lost my faith, maybe sometimes I need a big break from my children, but in the long run, I wouldn't trade this experience in for anything in the world. I have faith that though its not going to be easy, it will be worth it.

So starting today, no more "Woe is Me." I will go back to crafting, blogging, reading, nurturing my children, being a better runner, and the sexiest wife in the hanger when my amazing husband comes home. Everything else is Moo ;)

I love you, Sweetheart. Without wax for all ETERNITY!