And So It Begins

As you may or may not know, yesterday Jeff was deployed. If you don't know where he's going, sorry I can't tell you here. But I'm sure you can imagine. And if you do know, keep that info to yourself for the guys' safety. We don't know for sure how long he'll be gone, but we have a pretty good idea. (aka- a long damn time).
The kids and I are doing good. We had a rough time saying goodbye Monday, but we managed. Olivia is a typical two year old and has no real concept of what's going on or what "daddy's going to be gone for a long time" really means. She's so adorable, and hates to have serious conversations for too long...so she'll bust it up with some comedy or something cute- like "mom you look sad, I think we need ice cream to feel better". She's too young to explain anything early, so we have to do it the night before. She took it well and understood alot more this time. Jeff gave her a special new blanket to help her cope when she misses him. We call it the "Daddy Blanket" and trust me she is already all over that thing!
We had an extra chance to steal a little time Monday. You see his jerky command banned all spouses and family members from coming in to say goodbye or to come to the airport with them. (Absolutely no movie like goodbyes aloud here!). But Jeff, being Jeff, disappeared from work for a little bit and met us just outside base to say goodbye one last time. Lindsey was with us (thank heaven) so she could say goodbye to her newfound love Peter. It really helped having her there. Yes, I lost it, but I didn't dive off the deep end (which I probably would have done if alone). And the kids got one last chance to play with daddy in the car (see pics below).
Olivia is such a goone, we were all done with our sappy goodbyes and the guys were walking back to their car when she yelled out at the top of her lungs, " I LOVE YOU PETER!" We all just busted out laughing! Jeff ran over and got her good laughing, then she took it back and yelled that she loved him. It was the best ice breaker ever! Gotta love kids!

So they had a four hour layover in Germany, in which they got to sample some great food. And get their spirits up with a few free calls home.

I talked to him this evening and they had made it to their final destination safely. It was so good to hear his voice and a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders just knowing he was there and he was safe.

And so now the fun begins. The sleepless nights, the crazy children, the sad children, the breath being sucked out of my lungs each and every time the phone rings, and the disappointment when it's a telemarketer! He's supposed to have pretty open communication lines, which will be a life saver.

For those of you who don't know (which is probably most, since things have changed so much over the last month). The kids and I are moving to Michigan. We groveled over the situation for a long time and decided that it was the best choice. I am going to go back to school in the fall and work towards my masters and get my teaching certificate. It's just too lonely down here without family. I love Angie to death, but I can't invade her family each and every weekend. And given the situation, I need help, mentally and physically. And Michigan is just the best choice.

So we will be putting our house on the market right after the fourth of july, and then coming up to Michigan for three weeks of 'vacation' and then coming back down to completely move out of the house. Hopefully it will have sold by then (the market is AMAZING down here right now). And then in late August we will be moving in with my parents in Brighton.

It's all so much, and all so fast. I'm still in a tailspin and haven't quite digested all of this yet. It's still not real. He's still not gone. It's not even just a bad dream, it's a thick fog. Hopefully after the move things will begin to settle down and we can find some sort of routine again while we wait this next year out.

Thanks for all of the love and support from all of you family and friends, it really means the world to me!