Florida Pictures

A random collection of pictures I've taken since I've moved to Florida

Siesta Key Beach

Welcome Home flowers from my Hubby :)

Halloween goodies I baked for Chris

 Beautiful Beach Day!

Me and Marsh catching some rays by the pool

Marshmellow decided to take a little snooze in the flower pot

Fall Chocolate Chip Muffins

The girls sleeping one sunny morning

 Back to the propsal site :)

All tucked in for bed

Helpful Article

I found this article online a couple days ago and I was reading it I found it really helpful to those who don't often send care packages overseas or going through their first deployment.

So, I figured I would share.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Community/Cooks-Who-Care/The-Strength-Behind-The-Strong

Basically, that link will lead you to the article regarding tips for sending packages overseas.

But, there is a link within the article that will lead you to her website, which is all about staying connected with and supporting your loved ones while they are serving our wonderful country.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my little Princess!

I can't believe we've already had her for 3 years!

Time is just flying by!

She still acts like she is 6 months old, she is not anywhere close to growing out of her kitten stage.

She still purrs just as loud as a kitten does, sometimes she purrs so hard, she literally starts panting because she can't breathe.

It's quite funny to watch.

She LOVE to play fetch.

Weird. A cat that plays fetch. I know.

But she loves it.

She has her FAVORITE ball.

We throw it. She brings it back to us.  Rubs her face in our face for some loving and then expects the ball to be thrown.

Expect she only likes to play fetch as we are trying to go to bed or the middle of the night.

She loves to run around the house like a crazy madwomen.

If we don't get up to feed her when she is ready to be fed, she will knock over EVERYTHING on our dresser, TV stand, nightstands... and then start nibbling at any exposed body part of ours...all while purring her little heart out.

And if we hide under the covers, she will find us.

She loves to snuggle under the covers will us.

She loves to sleep on my neck, my head, and my stomach.

If chris doesn't shave she loves to give him kisses.

If we leave any cabinet door open for more than 2.5 seconds she crawls in, knocks out anything that is her way and then falls asleep.

She loves to take showers with me.

Which is weird because cats don't normally like water, but she doesn't seem to mind it.

She loves to chase Abby around the house and pretend like Abby wants to play with her.

When in reality, Abby wants nothing to do with her.

But she doesn't care, she'll chase her all day and all night long. 

No matter how matter times we yell at her. 

If we leave any snack open on the counter, she'll dig right in and help herself to it. And we let her.  Ok, ok. I laugh, take a picture of her, and then yell at her. Chris yells at her for real. Then blames me because she's so bad. Which is probably true

But she's so dang cute.

It seems just yesterday I sent Chris a picture of her with a message that said "meet our new family friend!"

After telling me not to bring home another pet (which i clearly ignored),

he fell in love just as much as I did at first sight and she is now one of our children.

We love her to pieces.

We spoil her rotten.

She's my little baby.

I'm so glad she came into our lives.

So happy birthday little marshmellow, we love you.

Hard Days

Some days I just feel so disconnected from some of friends back home.  And it's not from lack of trying.  I feel like even though I try to talk  to them, I get the distinct feeling that I'm annoying them.  And it's not always, just some days.  And it might just be my mind playing tricks on me.  I'm trying my hardest to maintain my relationships as close as they were before I left, but some days I feel like my best friends are just drifting away from me even though I'm doing everything I can to keep that from happening.  I understand that they still have their friends there and they're lives keep going, but I don't want to be forgotten. So I'm doing all that I can to keep our friendships as tight as we have always been. I've always been good about maintaining my friendships, so I feel like this should be no different.  I have to put just as much (if not more, since I'm the one who moved) effort into maintaining communication, which is no problem because I love being able to hear about what's going on in my friend's lives and how their days went. 


I miss my friends. I miss seeing them at the drop of a hat. I miss the feeling of closeness that comes with living practically right next door to your best friends of years.  I guess this is something that happens when you move thousands of miles away but I honestly did not expect it to be so hard, especially with all the new age technology, like skype.  But it's hard not seeing them all the time.  It's not being there for all the exciting things that are going on in their lives.

I do realize that this is what WE wanted. This is where we wanted to be. I do love living here. I love the sunshine and the warm weather. I love the palm trees and the beach.  I love the thought of raising our children down here.  All in all I love living down here, but I do miss my friends.  A lot. It's going to take a long to time for me to get used to not being able to see them at the drop of the hat.  I have to just take a deep breathe and just remind myself that I've only been here a couple weeks and I'm allowed to have my hard days.

A little poem I found online...

I found this online the other day and thought I'd share it with you...

You don't know, but I'm the girl who cries every morning, and hopes every night for his safe return. I'm the girl who drags herself out of bed every morning so that he will be proud of her when he comes home. I'm the girl who lies in bed longing for him to be lying next to me. I'm the girl who sits quietly during class because all I can think about is that next moment when he will safely be in my arms again. You don't know, but I'm the girl with a million things to say, but not one will come out without the thought of him. I'm the girl who checks my cell phone every five seconds just to make sure I haven't missed his call. I'm the girl who stops and stares and wishes for him to return soon each and every time another man in uniform walks by.

What you don't know is that I know love on an entirely different level from most. I know the love that spans time and space; that love that most people are constantly searching for. I'm one of the girls who waits months for a single kiss; a kiss that will make the months apart worth every second. A kiss where everything in the world stops and for what seems like eternity, you can see into that person's soul and know that without them, life is not worth living. You tell me, I'm too young to be "so in love"; I know that love has no age limit. You tell me I don't even understand what love is, I tell you, I know more love in one homecoming, than most know in a life time. You don't know that every time he leaves part of me goes with him and part of him stays with me. You tell me that people change and I tell you, true love with always remain constant and steady. You tell me, I'm too young to be married, I tell you, and I'm too in love to not be. You tell me you know how I feel and that you understand what I'm going through; you have no idea. What you don't realize is that I understand the true meaning of not only love, but of longing and anticipation.

You don't see, but I'm one of the few who gets goose bumps as my heart fills with pride every time the National Anthem is played. I'm one of the girls who will stand tall and stay strong on the outside, but be dying on the inside. I am one of the girls who will make friends with complete strangers for only they can even begin to understand what I am going through. You don't understand that I picture his face everywhere I go and that he is with me in everything I do. You think I don't cry anymore, that I have gotten over it, but what you don't know is that I just hide it better.

You don't know the feeling the first time you hear the word deployment or the feeling of his hands as it slides out of yours for what could be the last time. You don't know what that last hug or kiss means and how important that goodbye truly is. I'm the girl you see standing alone in the corner of the airport watching quietly out the window with tears rolling down my cheeks. I'm the girl you see walking by with a disheartened face staring silently at the ground. What you don't know, is that I know true love and that no matter what obstacles we have to face, our love will live forever, that only we know.

You tell me that you support the troops; I tell you, I'm in love with one. I'm one of the silent, but outgoing; weak, but strong; scared, but grateful. What you don't see is that without me, he is nothing and without him, I am nothing. I'm one of those girls; the girl who stands tall behind her Soldier, stands proud behind her Hero, stands strong behind her man, watching silently as he serves and defends our country.

Welcome Home Blog

It doesn't matter if you are against the war or for the war.

No one can deny the joy and goosebumps the feel upon seeing loved ones return home and being reunited with their family members.

I found this blog which is all about celebrating the return of loved ones with amazing welcome home videos.

It is extremely heart warming and you can't help but smile when watching these homemade videos and feel nothing but warmth in your heart for these families who have been through so much in deployments.

So enjoy! :)

http://welcomehomeblog.com/

A Military Promise

A Military Mans promise…

I cannot promise you every night of my life.

I cannot promise to be beside you for every difficult moment, every trial, every hardship.

In truth, I can promise you that I will not be with you for most. I will leave you at inconvenient times. I may miss the births of our children. Any special date to us may be tainted with the anniversary of the... death of one of my friends..........

I will ask you to take over whatever life we have built together for months and years at a time. And will then crash back into that life that you have used your sweat and your tears and your heartache to keep together and try to take it back as I knew it before.

I will shut you out at times because it will be the best way for me to hold it together at that moment. I will lie to you. I will tell you I don’t know things when I do. I will not always tell you where I am going, when I will be back, or who I am with. I may not call you for weeks and months and you will not be able to call me.

You will ask questions that I won’t answer. You will know answers to questions that you will hope you never need. I will share things with my brothers that you will never understand. They will know things about me that you never will. They will be a support to me in some things that you cannot be.

I will miss birthdays. I will miss anniversaries. I will have to get to know our children over and over again. I may need time to process things that seem natural to everyone else. It will seem that someone - or something - will always take precedence over you. You may lose me long before you ever thought possible.

I will uproot you and ask you to re-establish our family anywhere in the world, in any season, at any time - over and over again. Sand and mud will be tracked through your halls from the boots I am too tired to take off. I will leave you when you beg me not to. I will stand at attention while you cry beside me. I will not turn my head and I will walk away.

I will knowingly break your heart. And I will do it again - and again.

I cannot promise you all of me. I cannot promise that to our children. I cannot promise you much of anything.

But if you will have me, I can promise that as I march away from you it is not without sharing your heartache. I promise you that every time I break your heart I will be breaking mine. Every time that I cannot answer you I will be protecting you. Whenever you want to call and you have no number to dial I will be wanting to do the same. I will protect everything that we have created together with every fiber of my being while you do the same back at home. I will honor you in everything - every moment that we are apart and every moment that I am with you. I will fight harder and push further knowing that I do so for you. I will see the faces of our children in every life that I protect. And I will carry you with me in everything until my sandy boots once again sit just inside our door.

A Military Spouse's promise …  

I cannot promise that I will not become frustrated when you leave me and the world seems to fall apart around me.

I cannot promise that I will not curse those who sent you when the dryer breaks, and the transmission needs to be replaced, and the dog eats the couch all in the same week - most likely the week after you deploy.

I cannot promise that the sand and mud that cakes my floor will not cause me to give you harsh looks and rude thoughts. I cannot promise that my heart will not be torn in twelve different ways when you march away from me.

I cannot promise that I will not let my anger show when you refuse to answer questions.

I cannot promise to understand why you share things with your comrades that you will not share with me.

I cannot promise that there won’t be times when my heartache makes its presence known before my pride can mask it.

I cannot promise that I will not show my worry and my concern when it is best for you not to see it.

I cannot promise to understand why you do so many of the things you do.